Reno 97805-1280

A brief glimpse into our tax dollars trying to work: Me: "So how have your first few days of school been going?" Nic: "I hate it! They're always saying 'No' to me. I just want to sit in the front of the class and tell jokes." Wifie: "Well, now. There aren't many places that aren't going to say 'No' to that." Nic: "Well, then I say they're all fired!"

Dateline: Last Friday Nic: "Tee-hee!" Me: "What's so funny?" Nic: "I just peed in the pool." Me: "Whoa! Not cool." Wifie: "Nic, we told you that it's OK to pee only when you're in something like Lake Tahoe." Nic: "But...we are in Lake Tahoe." Technically, we were vacationing in the Greater Lake Tahoe area at the time...

The day I got him, I was buying cat food for Pip, the (then) family cat, in the Burien (WA) days. In one of the pet store bins was a splitting image of the puppy version of the Thorndike-Barnhart Junior Dictionary entry illustration -- that I recalled from second grade -- for "Spaniel". I then remembered that I always wanted a Spaniel. He had no papers, but his markings were good enough to argue that he was far from the Heinz 57 variety (a point groomers over the years had galvanized). So I was curious as to the behind-the-scenes story. The shop owner said that little guy had been the pick of the litter to carry on the legacy for the previous owner, who initially chose to keep him along with the mother. But when the previous owner's new landlord allowed only one dog, s/he had to make a concession. The puppy drew the short straw. So with the benefit of a dog with no papers and good markings, and knowing what a pedigreed dog can fetch, I figured I wouldn't pay a cen...

Correction to prior post : "3300", per the reference manual in the "Winner Paid" display, is a tilt message that says the hopper -- the thing that holds the coins -- is empty. (Geez; you'd think Winner Paid" meant "Winner Paid.") Since the machine had only 5 coins in it, no suprise there. Hmph. So, Nic's jackpot was more like 50 coins (150, had he bet max). Still, an upper-tier pay combination is not bad for a second-ever pull (958 pulls per hit on that pay combo; not too shabby). I'll continue encouraging him to "invest" his lunch money in pursuit of the elusive 10,000-coin top award.

Note: Correction posted OK, so I won a slot machine at my company's holiday party. (Way to go, me! Hypothetical High-5...awesome.) I mean, a genuine article. Something you read about, or try to win in a charity raffle, and as an employee, pretty much give up all hope after the second year of company raffles. It's now in the "John Room" (aka the basement) at 1280, waiting for visitors to drop in the occasional quarter to have a bona-fide player experience in a non-smoking environment. As far as Nic and I are concerned, it's a giant piggy bank. But that's not the big news. On his second-ever coin drop and pull of a slot machine, my beloved Nic unknowingly hit a jackpot: 3,300 quarters on a "multiple nudge" whereby all 3 reels moved a smidge up and/or down, transforming the payline from 3 blanks to a triple bar, triple bar and double bar -- all bonus symbols. All this on one one quarter. You want proof? Here you go. (Click to enlarge) Notice him point...

Let me explain. "Nic[h/k]olas" in the book of baby names stands for "Victory". I thought it was appropriate, given how my wife's card readings prior to his being born kept pointing to a girl. "So be it," I figured. But there was a dream, during the first trimester and prior to the ultrasound that dictated his gender, that made me think otherwise. There I was, riding behind the driver's seat, looking forward at the passenger seat. And there, peeking behind the seat to look at me, a smiling, dimple-faced, blue-eyed boy. And it hit me: that's my boy. And just as I was saying "Hey, little buddy," he takes a swig from an oil can. OK, I haven't yet figured out the oil can part yet, but the remainder served as a portent of what was to come. I figured it was imminent, but maybe the second child (what with the card reading and all). But on the day of the second ultrasound, the nurse could see what the gender was. She asked if w...

I did a little light blog-keeping. "A little to the left..." as the nameplate didn't quite fit, despite the multiple connotations that reflect what I see, hear or live. Plus, it was pretty much forcing me to make regular political commentary or something of the "L"-word flavor (which for me, in between presidential races, is more of a pleasure-filled reactionary thing to polar extremists who throw down the gauntlet at parties or related forums). But ever since Sept. '02, when me and the wife (to be) closed escrow on the primary residence at 1280, evenings and weekends prompted -- mostly during the commute home -- a checklist of: Which home improvement project -- kitchen, bath, basement, landscape, general interior/exterior, yackety-schmackety -- am I working on (or need to research/get up to speed on); Which rental property (mine more-so than the wife's) needs attention; What upgrade/restoration task can I provide "Jul-e-us di Arancia" (my oran...