I’m heading out for a “going away” lunch, so I don’t have lots of time got a proper post - check out this link for popular baby names in Saskatchewan - as reported in the star kleenex, except they didn’t deign to provide a link to the page with the actual data.

Bah.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “Hey, don’t blame me, this movie is tired and predictable. You know she’s going to wind up marrying Richard Gere.” - Homer

So, I went for the ultrasound today, and they said everything looks normal. I had been starting to think that it was just a really badly pulled muscle, but I’d chalked that thought up to wishful thinking. The internal organs they can see with an ultrasound looked fine apparently, so no gall stones, which is a relief.

The pain followed the pattern of muscle pain, but it was a lot more intense than I would have expected from such a minor thing as rolling over in bed. It hasn’t bothered me in a while now though, so I hope I’ve seen the last of that.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “They think they’re so high and mighty, just because they’ve never been caught driving without pants before.” - Moe

So to recap, last Tuesday I went to the doctor, and she told me to get blood tests and an ultrasound done. Last Wednesday I gave the blood sample and peed in a cup, then we went to Erin’s aunt and Uncle’s for supper.

Thursday night, Erin’s Mom came into town from Calgary. Her plane was delayed, so William had extra time to play in the play area at the airport (note - this is not the same as the area called “security”) He was having a great time playing with a bunch of other kids, even going so far as to give one older kid a big hug. It was pretty cute.

Friday, we tried to bake a birthday cake, changing the recipe slightly. I’m not sure if it was the substitution that we made in the recipe, or if I just took it out of the oven early, but it was still liquidy, and we didn’t realize it until it had cooled for 10 minutes. That just meant that we’d have to make another one on Saturday.

Saturday, we had Erin’s Aunt, Uncle and cousin Jess over for William’s birthday party (part 2.) It was good, and William had a good time again.

Sunday, we drove Erin’s Mom to the airport, and my time off was done.

Looking back, it looks like we didn’t do much, and I suppose technically, we didn’t, but having a severe pain in my side took out a good part of the start of the week’s enjoyment, and when coupled with the fact that the wireless network didn’t want to work, it made for a pretty crappy start of a week off. Overall though, it was good to have the time off to hang out at home, and play with William. He became a real daddy’s boy.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “I am thinking of something orange. Something ORANGE. It’s an orange!” - Homer

It was a very busy week, considering I took it off. First, I had a pain in my side that prompted me to go to the medi-clinic on Saturday. Those of you who know me well, know that I don’t particularly like going to the doctor, so that should be an indication of how painful it was. The doctor there said that it was possibly gall bladder trouble, and prescribed an antacid, telling me to come back if it hadn’t gone away in two days. It didn’t. I made an appointment with our family doctor instead, right after William’s 1 year checkup on Tuesday.

So, Tuesday was William’s first birthday, and we had a bit of a celebration with my family. While preparing for it though, we discovered that our roof leaks. That’s not good. The warm weather melted the snow on the roof, and caused water to leak down inside the kitchen. I guess we need a new roof when it warms up some. There was still a lot of snow up there, so rather than wait for it to melt, I got out the shovel and the ladder, and climbed up there to shovel. The snow on the back of the garage was at least 4 feet deep. Actually, it still is, because I didn’t really clear the garage off completely. After shovelling off the house, I was too tired and sore to bother.

The birthday party went well, William had a really great time visiting with his uncles, and playing with his new toys.

I don’t have time to finish up the rest of the week’s recap right now, so I’ll put it off until tomorrow.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “Mr. Simpson, the tar fumes are making me dizzy.” - Ralph

And I’m gone all next week. That means that the regularly scheduled posting will not be so regular - I’ll probably post a couple of times next week, but who knows when.

This article by Paul DePodesta talks about his approach to the game of baseball. He makes a lot of sense. Baseball [is/has/always will be] a game of percentages. The funny thing is that most of the people in the game disagree on what the percentages are. Yes, clearly it makes sense to try and match your pitcher up against their batter, and if a guy has troubles with lefties, bring in a leftie. There are a lot of decisions that can be laid out just as simply, but the managers [don’t/can’t/won’t] take the time (should I bunt with a guy on first and none out?) so they go with their gut. Now, I’m not saying that numbers should completely rule the way a game is played by the manager, but numbers should be the basis for everything.

The A’s record stands on its own. Of course, once everyone starts doing the same things, the advantage is gone, and you’re back to a money game. Until that happens though, the A’s will be doing well (and the Dodgers, if the rumours are true)

Simpson’s quote of the day: “Arr, why buy a house, when ye can buy a house boat.” - Captain McAllister

I’d posted a link to Adventure Game Studio back in March, when I was playing Escape from Monkey Island, and didn’t do much more exploring beyond that. Then I came across it again yesterday, and thought it might be fun to create an adventure game. At this point, I haven’t even downloaded the software yet, but I’m still thinking hard about it.

The most important thing in any adventure game is the story, so I want to have that mostly plotted out before I even think about creating a game. I’ve got some ideas on a main character, and a setting, I even have some small sub-plots that I think might work well in an adventure game context. Mostly these are ideas culled from prior “creative” projects that didn’t go anywhere.

Anyway, so, while I feel confident that I can write a decent plot for an adventure game, my artistic skills are a little lacking. Anyone out there in reader-land willing to lend a hand? Email me, and we’ll talk. That’s not to say that I’m shunning all creative input from non-artistic types either, but the art direction is where I see a great need.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “Why do we have to play this corny old game anyway? I’ve got my jacks! Hey, I got twosies!” - Milhouse