Kaiser the Great
The official site for the lackluster goings-on of Michael Kaiser
Labor & Delivery
Feb 2nd
While I have never been a part of another labor, and while I wasn’t the one actually laboring, I gotta say The Dude seemed to arrive here relatively easily. Here’s how it went, from what I can recall of the whirlwind:
The Girl jinxes us by commented around bedtime how it would be so great if we could get a full nights sleep and go into labor after 9am the next day. She then starts having contractions about 20 minutes later. They are about 10 minutes apart and by 10:30 they are about 2-3 minutes apart and we are calling the advice nurse, who tells us to come in.
We get to the hospital about 11:30 and she’s still contracting about 2 minutes part and she’s dilated 2cm. The nurses hum and haw about whether we should be officially admitted and suggest we go for a walk around the hallways for 30 minutes or so.
We walk for 30 minutes and come back and The Girl is now 6cm dilated. The nurses now seem to get slightly panicky about how fast she’s progressing and proceed to get us a room real quick.
By 2am The Girl is 10cm dilated and her mother arrives just in time to witness the initially pushing. But The Dude is still too far up so the NP tells us to chill with the plan of trying again in 30 minutes.
About six “30 minutes” later, they start humming and hawing about possibly giving The Girl some pitocin to make The Dude spit out faster, which he apparently hears, because he decides it’s time and three pushes later and he’s out.
The Girl and mom get gushy, I take pictures and make phone calls. The Dude doesn’t cry as loud as staff would like so they run a few checks on him, but in the end, he’s fine and just doesn’t like to cry that loud because he’s too cool for school.
And that was the birth experience. Again, I didn’t go through any of the pain, but all in all it still seemed pretty easy to me. After all the possible complications you learn about when pregnant, I was fairly surprised (and happy) that nothing bad happened.
The End Result - All 10 Fingers and Toes
People keep smiling at me and nodding knowingly like I just joined some club they’ve been a member of for decades, asking me questions like “so what’s it like having a new baby at home?” or “wasn’t the birth the greatest day of your life?” and I nod and say vaguely what’s expected, but really I have no clue. I’m assuming these people are all speaking in hindsight or something, because for me it all seems very surreal still. He’s cute as hell, but I have no idea who this little guy is, even though I’ve been waiting for him for what seems like a decade.
It blows my mind when I think on it and remind myself that he is 50% me. I’m curious to see what form he will grow into, as right now his features still consist of buttons and squishiness. Who’s eyes will he have, how tall will be? People are already saying he has my feet, which is hopefully not true. Otherwise, sucks to be you, little guy!
TV Watching Meme
Jan 8th
Hey, I’m good at watching TV, let’s do this. Lifted from BlogNoir.
RULES
1. Bold the shows you watch/used to watch on a regular basis and tried to see the completion of most seasons.
2. Italicize the shows you’ve seen at least one episode of/watched but only on occasion.
3. Underline the shows you own on DVD (at least one season).
4. Post your answers.
50. Quantum Leap (I would own the DVDs but I hear they changed songs for copyright reasons and I don’t dig on that.)
49. Prison Break
48. Veronica Mars
47. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
46. Sex & The City
45. Farscape
44. Cracker
43. Star Trek
42. Only Fools and Horses
41. Band of Brothers
40. Life on Mars
39. Monty Python
38. Curb Your Enthusiasm
37. Star Trek: The Next Generation
36. Father Ted
35. Alias (I initially watched this religiously but gave up after season three tanked it for me.)
34. Frasier
33. CSI: Las Vegas
32. Babylon 5
31. Deadwood
30. Dexter (Got through the first two seasons because they were available in “Instant” form on Netflix. I just can’t get past the premise.)
29. ER
28. Fawlty Towers
27. Six Feet Under (One of my favorite shows but not the kind I see myself rewatching, hence no DVD ownage.)
26. Red Dwarf
25. Futurama (I should watch more of these. I love the ones I’ve seen.)
24. Twin Peaks (Liked the first season, then it went too weird for me.)
23. The Office (Don’t care for the BBC version, followed American for a while but have slacked lately.)
22. The Shield
21. Angel
20. Blackadder
19. Scrubs
18. Arrested Development
17. South Park
16. Doctor Who (Only the new stuff I’m afraid. I’ll get around the Classic Who someday, I swear!)
15. Heroes
14. Firefly
13. Battlestar Galactica (Seen some of the original, much of the remake, but it went to “predestined” on me so I quit.)
12. Family Guy
11. Seinfeld
10. Spaced
09. The X-Files (I only own season 2 for some reason. I think I got it as a gift. Have never rewatched it though. Anyone want season 2?)
08. The Wire (I watched the first two seasons but then slacked off.)
07. Friends
06. 24
05. Lost (Only watch it via DVD though, so never in “real time.”)
04. The West Wing (Been catching it in reruns, good stuff. Should watch it in order some day.)
03. The Sopranos (Made it through five seasons. Got bored of it.)
02. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
01. The Simpsons (Thanks to reruns, I’m sure I’ve seen mucho episodes, but I can’t say I’ve “followed it” or try and tune in specifically for it.)
New Year’s Wishy Washes
Jan 7th
Another Wordpress update! Let’s start keeping track.
Christmas came and went. I think we celebrated it four times, between The Kid, my parents, The Girl’s parents and then various in-laws. It’s all a whirlwind now in my head. The Girl and I hosted dinner aka I sat around and drank while she cooked all day. As far as loot, the best thing I got was a rocking chair and high chair from my parents, which isn’t necessarily for me specifically, but it means I don’t have to buy either of those things, which pleases me immensely. Favorite loot given? A custom CD of The Kid singing over some tracks, given to the grandparents and created courtesy of Audacity, which just rocks, BTW. Here’s the cover:
New Year’s resolutions? Well I feel like I’m channeling Fat Elvis again, which makes sense as I’m eating and drinking whatever I want and not exercising in the slightest. Seems like I do this every year; get vigilant in the summer and fat in the winter. Perhaps I was a bear in a previous life. I’m liking the idea of P90X, but that would require me cleaning out the garage and buying accessories, so maybe I’ll just try across the street again. Of course, another resolution is to actually clean out the garage, so perhaps I should do that at some point! Otherwise I can’t think of much I want to do or change. I got a baby coming, I figure that will take up most of this year’s time. I don’t need to add more hobbies or missions to my agenda.
Speaking of baby, The Dude has yet to arrive still. Not that he’s late, but I think The Girl assumed she would not go to term because The Kid escaped early. But nope, it looks like he’s going to wait until the last minute, probably because he’s lazy like his old man.
Speaking of old man, lookit:
Yep! Can’t see no more. The doctor said I have an astigmatism, which isn’t necessarily an old age thing and probably something I should have addressed a long time ago, but maybe she was just being nice.
Read and That’s It 2009
Jan 4th
| Title | Author | Series | Series Part | Reading Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | Terry Brooks | 3/8/2009 | 6 | ||
| Treason | Peter Davis | Star Trek: New Frontier | 17 | 4/30/2009 | 8 |
| The Road | Cormac McCarthy | 6/14/2009 | 10 | ||
| Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | Philip K. Dick | 9/9/2009 | 8 | ||
| The Gunslinger | Stephen King | Dark Tower | 1 | 10/31/2009 | 8 |
Sad sad sad. But hey, it was my first year of marriage, and I have a new step-daughter at home, and another kid on the way, and more stuff to do at work and… okay okay, I think I was just lazy. Nothing was really grabbing me last year, or calling to me either. Hopefully I’ll do better this year, but so far it doesn’t feel any different.
Up To Date
Dec 21st
Once again, logged into Wordpress and there is another update. Just like last month. Six plugin updates too. Guess I should log into Wordpress more often, eh? Damn that Facebook. Seriously, it’s so much easier to write, “Man this month went by fast!” as a Facebook status update over writing five paragraphs about it on this journal. But then it’s a lot easier to look up my past adventures here than on Facebook, which doesn’t have an archive feature other than “Click Here for Older Posts.” But do I look at my past adventures? Not really. So maybe I’ll turn this journal into something else, but until I figure out what “else” is…
Here is the 2009 Year End Catchup, brought to you by iGoogle – helping me remember what I’ve done lately since 2006:
We celebrated Halloween much like we did last year, only with a few more kids and adults. I still find it funny that the adults outnumber the kids on this holiday. I don’t remember it being like that when I was a kid. Maybe my family needs to produce more children. (Working on it!) Anyway, here are the kids:
And here are the bored adults:
Good times. Next up, we had a faux-Thanksgiving at my parents house because my long-lost aunts were in town. That was the original plan anyway, but instead we just got some deli trays because visiting is more interesting than cooking. Here’s a picture of the original Kaiser clan where almost everyone is looking in the same direction:
Then my mother-in-law celebrated her 20th anniversary of her 21st birthday. I have pictures but I will not post them because she doesn’t like when I do that without her signing off on the picture first, and she’s not here right now.
Then at some point last month The Girl got The Dude’s side of the room complete. Isn’t she talented?
Wait, didn’t I already post that? Maybe it was on Facebook. Oh well, next! Still in November. My brother and his long time gal decided to get married. Shocker, I know. I thought they were going to do the whole “engaged forever” thing too. Most of us didn’t see the ceremony because they don’t like public displays of affection, I guess? But the dinner afterward was nice and everyone had a good time. Here’s a picture where they both look about as happy as they get.
Congrats little brother! Now we’re in December and The Girl gets the tree up ASAP because that’s how she rolls.
That’s right fellas, I did that too her! (High Five!) The Kid helped with the tree too, and I took pictures per usual. Then my Best Good Friend and I went to Star Trek: The Exhibit. It was fun, if not a bit small, and renewed my love of Trek for about three days. And of course, I bought a bunch of overly priced photos. Here’s one of them:
Season 3 Captain Kirk gut totally on purpose. (cough) Then The Kid had part one of her December spoilifercation process by celebrating turning six with a blow out at Chuck’s:
And that about covers October through December, not counting Christmas of course, which hasn’t happened yet. We’re having Christmas at our house this year, assuming The Girl doesn’t go into labor first. Should be fun. It feels like the last arc of this year has really flown by, and I guess I can see why now that I’ve lay it all out for myself. I’m a lot busier than I used to be, but it’s fun. The Girl and I have been ready for Christmas, gift-wise and decoration-wise, since November 30th. Not sure I’m feeling it yet though. Maybe because I’m more interested in this:
He’s not due until next year, and let’s hope that’s how it plays out but…stand by!
I Say Thee Yay!
Nov 24th
I’m behind on posting stuff. But who cares, let’s look at the latest cast announcements for Thor!
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| Chris Hemsworth | Thor |
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| Tom Hiddleston | Loki |
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| Anthony Hopkins | Odin |
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| Natalie Portman | Jane Foster |
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| Stuart Townsend | Fandral |
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| Tadanobu Asano | Hogun |
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| Ray Stevenson | Volstagg |
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| Kat Dennings | ??? |
Chris Hemsworth as Thor – He was cool as James Kirk’s daddy in Star Trek. Otherwise, don’t know much about him. Apparently he’s bigger in Australia or something. Might be on the young side, but it’s an origin story, so that’s probably a good thing. And Thor’s nigh-immortal, so why would he be old anyway? Thumbs up!
Tom Hiddelston as Loki – Never heard of him. Looks creepy. Thumbs up!
Anthony Hopkins as Odin – Ugh. I’m tired of him. He plays the same role in ever movie and the role he plays is nothing like how I perceive Odin. Thumbs down!
Natalie Portman as Jane Foster – Ugh again. I’m sure she can play a nurse pining for a god just fine, but I’m tired of her eeking into my geek movies. Especially since she never seems to appreciate the success she gets from being in them. Thumbs down!
Stuart Townsend as Fandral – All I know him from is Queen of the Damned but sure, why not? Thumbs up!
Tadanobu Asano as Hogun – Never heard of him, but he looks like he could be mean and stuff. Thumbs up!
Ray Stevenson as Volstagg – I liked him in Rome, but they better make him a lot fatter and hairier. He was also just in a Marvel movie that tanked, but it probably wasn’t his fault. Thumbs up!
Kat Dennings as ??? – Hard to say when you don’t know who she’s playing. Lady Sif? Actually, I don’t care who she’s playing, she always comes off as stoned. Thumbs down!
I have no idea how this movie is going to turn out. Kenneth Branagh at the helm is probably a plus. Not to say that I’m his biggest fan, but at least the movie won’t be silly or gimmicky. I’m curious how they will accomplish melding a heavily based magic film with the likes of Iron Man or Spider-Man. Hopefully well since all these people are supposed to join in Avengers, which will be the absolute coolest thing ever if Marvel can pull that off, especially before DC!
Oh and…!
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| Samuel L. Jackson | Nick Fury |
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury – Another guy I’m tired of, but you can’t argue with the likeness, and I love that he keeps popping in to tie all these movies together. Thumbs up!
Everything’s Bigger and Junk
Oct 26th
Went to Austin, TX for work. Other than layovers in airports, don’t think I’ve ever been to Texas before. Can’t say I completely immersed myself in the experience. The problem with trade shows is that after the day is over, I’d rather find a quick and close place for dinner and then crash in my hotel room, rather than spend all my free time in tourist mode. But here are some things I learned about Austin without really trying:
That thing up there is what’s called a Great-Tailed Grackle. They plagued the block where my hotel was located. Like scary plagued. Only at night too, for whatever reason. Maybe that’s when they come out to get their breeding on or something. The first night we got there, we were dropped off at the wrong Hilton (because there are apparently three Hiltons in the downtown area located within five blocks of each other – it’s good to be Paris), and hoofing our way to the correct hotel in the dark and in the rain, we came across a tree that suddenly exploded with Grackles Gone Wild. Apparently we scared them! Every night after that, the sky and neighboring trees were filled with them. Every morning the street and parked cars were painted with their waste. I have no idea if Daphne du Maurier ever visited Austin, but I’m betting! Don’t believe me? Check this out!
Austin, TX loves their Texas Longhorns. Every building, every street, every time I turned my head, someone or something was sporting a longhorn symbol and colors. The sports dummy that I am, I didn’t realize the logo applies to multiple sports, so that helps explain its prevalence, but I still don’t see that sort of thing around here, and we have our colleges too. Texans are really into the pride thing.
Speaking of pride, the two times I was on the freeway I couldn’t’ help but notice that every car had a Texas bumper sticker. You’re right, I’m lying. It was more like 1 out of 3 cars, but dang! We get it people, Texas is the most awesomest toughest specialist place on earth!
There are all these big guitar statue things everywhere, painted differently, much like the cows in that other city that escapes me. I asked a waitress why and evidently Austin is know for its live music. I did not see or hear any, but it must be true because otherwise the big guitars all over the place wouldn’t make any sense.
This is where I am going to go to buy my bike. (As soon as I have money and learn how to ride.)
Junk Drawer: Micro-Heroes – Old Template
Oct 16th
I got a folder on my server called “zzzfiles” which I use to store a bunch of junk I don’t know what to do with but don’t necessarily want to delete either. It occurred to me today I can just as easily store most of its content on my blog, thereby streamlining my file keeping and allowing the files themselves to (however briefly) see the light of day.
So let’s start with the Micro-Heroes directory. Back when sometime, I used to actively post at ComicBoards.com, and even moderated one or three of their boards. During that time, the Micro-Hero craze kicked in and I joined in along with everyone else. I won’t get into the whole history, but you can read about it here. I will mention that the part about storTroopers threatening a lawsuit was my fault, because I created a Webring for Micro-Heroes. I think all they were really asking for us to do was drop the Webring, but everyone freaked out and dropped the original template all together. Oh well.
The following are Micro-Heroes I created, that I managed to keep, in the old template style. I like the old template much better, way more cookie-cutter than the new stuff. I think there were a lot more of the old template that I lost, especially in the Green Lantern department. At one point I was trying to make a Micro-Hero for every known Green Lantern, but now I don’t have any! I wonder if someone out there saved them?
Captain America
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| Captain America | Nomad w/ Cape | Nomad | The Captain w/ Stark Shield | The Captain w/ T’Challa Shield | The Captain |
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| Superia Stratagem | Ex-Patriot | Captain America w/ Plasma Shield | Super Patriot | Captain America Jr. | The Patriot |
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| Wing Flappin’ Avatar | |||||
Star Trek
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| James T. Kirk | Spock | Leonard McCoy | Montgomery Scott | Hikaru Sulu | Uhura | Pavel Chekov |
Command Uniforms
Engineering Uniforms
Medical Uniforms
Doctor Who - I meant to do all 10, but alas…
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| William Hartnell | Patrick Troughton |
Miscellaneous
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| Iron Man | Nexus |
Galactic Surprise
Oct 13th
The Girl turned 30 this week. Or, as she puts it, she celebrated her first anniversary of being 29. We celebrated on her actual birthday with a little party at our house, so that The Kid could participate. My mom and in-laws were all in attendance. Then the plan was to go to Outback on Saturday, but (insert nefarious mustache twirling here) the REAL plan was for her mother and sister to take her out shopping so we could set up a surprise party at her sister’s house. Totally worked, and she got suckered. I was sure she was on to us, but I guess not, though now her hindsight is 20/20. Good thing I’m an excellent liar! (“Hi honey!”) And even though she has told me she doesn’t like surprises, none of us were maimed or killed, so I guess it worked out. This was my first planning of a surprise party, and while it was not my idea, and I did have help, gotta say it’s not all that fun! Found it to be a big source of stress, actually. Ultimately worth it of course, but I think on her 2nd anniversary of being 29 I’ll plan something out loud. The Girl handled turning 30 much better than I did. I had a real crisis of DC proportions, but she seems to have cruised through it. I guess it helps when you’re pregnant and have bigger things to worry about.
Next day, went to Star Wars: In Concert with my Best Good Friend at the San Jose Pavilion (home of the Sharks). The crowd was pretty good, though not sold out, which worked for us because we moved up a couple rows to give ourselves some elbow room. The music was, of course, amazing and it was great to hear it live. Sometimes the videos set to the music were equally amazing and moving, but sometimes it seemed like whoever made all those up was just mailing it in. But it’s hard to beat a stadium full of persecuted people all loving the same thing, cheering for all the same things that make you cheer. It’s very energizing! And unlike conventions, no discernible B.O. that I noticed! Aside from the concert itself, there were a bunch of Star Wars props in the lobby, but the crowd and lighting were too intense to score any decent pictures. What was really cool was, even though it was a 7-10 show on a Sunday night, many delinquent parents brought their kids anyway. It’s awesome to see that something I loved as a kid is still going strong for the next generation and it warms the heart to see a bunch of little dudes holding lightsabers and head banging to the Imperial March!
I created a site for myself called Desktop Geekery, so that I have somewhere to put the wallpapers I make for myself, instead of discarded them after I get bored. It’s also my first Wordpress theme. Even though it looks like the Default them (and essentially is from a style perspective), I learned all kinds of fun stuff about built in Wordpress functions to get it to automatically display the Wallpaper thumbnail and download links the same way for every post. Ginchy! Well I think so anyway…