Tuesday, April 29, 2008

THIEVES!!!

I know that eating at the airport isn't the cheapest thing but $29 for two cheeseburgers, fries, and two drinks?!?!


P/S Don't give me shit about one of the drinks being a float...

Day 3 of Kid Watch

Baby no name threw up on me right after I took a shower. It was fun.

Baby no name you say? Yeah, the new niece still has no name. My brother even set up a website to name her. Its been 3 weeks!!!

Jacob has named her Lily. He actually calls her Queen Lily and even though Oscar and Missy haven't officially settled on it, I think no matter what they name her - she's Lily to him.

I've actually grown fond of Lily as well. Lets cross our fingers!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Day 1 of Kid Watch

Jake and I are in Vegas visiting the new niece. I joked with my sister-in-law that this weekend was going to be this make it or break it in terms of me wanting another child down the line.

Two 6 year olds, one 3 year old and a newborn.

Birth control - 1
Procreation - 0

New Record!

It took 49 minutes for my brother and I to have one of those great "Oh my God! Stop talking my stomach is hurting and I can't breath" laughing fits.

CAMMY!!!

So Jake and I just met Michael Cammalleri at LAX after we checked in for our flight. I have to admit that I think I came across as an idiot in the instance.

Here it comes...
Me: Jake I think thats Cammy!
Jake: Who?
Me: Michael Cammalleri from the Kings
Jake: Really?
Me: Yeah - go up to him and say hi.
Jake: Uhhhh (surprisingly enough my kid can get shy REALLY quick)
Me: Come on man! You gotta take the chances when you get them!
Jake: Ok! Ok!

So we kind of stand in front of him and he looks up from his luggage. And I'm just standing there because I'm waiting for Jake to say something but, he doesn't say anything. Now I realize that Jake isnt saying anything and I have ot scramble to save at least a little face.

Me: I'm sorry to bother you, but you are Michael Cammalleri right?
Cammy: Yes I am.
Jake: Cool!
Me (to Jake): I told you!
Jake: Hi Cammy!
Cammy: Hi! Whats your name?
Jake: Jacob
Cammy: Are you a big hockey fan?
Jake: Yeah
Cammy: Cool!

At this point some airline person came over to ask him about something and so we were just standing there. And yes, it was one of those awkward surreal moments that a part of me just wanted to say "Ok, just wanted to see if it was actually you - Thanks!" And thats kind of what I did.

Cammy: Sorry about that.
Me: No worries, just wanted to say hi. Have a safe trip!
Cammy: Thanks you too. Bye Jacob!
Me: Bye!!

All and all pretty good - other than the fact that I looked like a complete bum. The funniest thing is that I left my camera at home so I couldn't go that extra mile to ask for a picture. Although I believe he's at the next gate, I may run over there to use the webcam on the laptop.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Study: If you tweak results, you'll eventually prove your dumbass hypothesis

One of my (many) pet peeves is the annoucements of studies that either 1) are so obvious you actually roll your eyes when they announce the results or 2) studies that are just plain stupid.

This one falls in the latter category.

This is the headline I saw on Yahoo's homepage:
MOTHER'S DIET CAN HELP DETERMINE SEX OF CHILD - STUDY

Um - correct me if my 5th grade science is wrong but doesn't the father's sperm determine the sex of the child? Mom has XX and dad has XY...an XX can only give an X and XY is the one that determines the sex of the child.

All this is doing is helping the whole "men are not accountable for anything" or "women are to blame" arguments. I'm actually so annoyed by this article, that I'm going to do an ongoing commentary for those of you who do not want to click on the link for it. (Its like my own MST3000!)

PARIS (AFP) (Please don't blame the French, I heart them)- Oysters may excite the libido, but there is nothing like a hearty breakfast laced with sugar to boost a woman's chances of conceiving a son, according to a study released Wednesday.

Likewise, a low-energy diet that skimps on calories, minerals and nutrients is more likely to yield a female of the human species, says the study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Britain's de facto academy of sciences. Fiona Mathews of the University of Exeter in Britain and colleagues wanted to find out if a woman's diet has an impact on the sex of her offspring. So less calories, minerals, nutrients equals weak woman?
So they asked 740 first-time mothers who did not know if their unborn foetuses were male or female to provide detailed records of eating habits before and after they became pregnant. The women were split into three groups according to the number calories they consumed per day around the time of conception. I have issues with this part of the study. First of all, they had to talk to women who were preparing to become pregnant because otherwise how would you have this detailed record of eating habits. I barely remember what I ate last week.


Fifty-six percent of the women in the group with the highest energy intake had sons, compared to 45 percent in the least-well fed cohort. LEAST WELL FED COHORT

Beside racking up a higher calorie count, the group who produced more males were also more likely to have eaten a wider range of nutrients, including potassium, calcium and vitamins C, E and B12. The odds of an XY, or male outcome to a pregnancy also went up sharply "for women who consumed at least one bowl of breakfast cereal daily compared with those who ate less than or equal to one bowl of week," the study reported. Gives a whole new meaning to "make sure you eat your Wheaties".

These surprising findings are consistent with a very gradual shift in favor of girls over the last four decades in the sex ratio of newborns, according to the researchers. Because this article is screwing with my head so much, this sentence doesn't even make sense to me.

Previous research has shown -- despite the rising epidemic in obesity -- a reduction in the average energy uptake in advanced economies. The number of adults who skip breakfast has also increased substantially. Why is this even in this article? "This research may help to explain why in developed countries, where many young women choose low calorie diets, the proportion of boys is falling," Mathews said. Its a stretch but still not buying it. The study's findings, she added, could point to a "natural mechanism" for gender selection. Wait, so now Darwinism is getting brought into this?

The link between a rich diet and male children may have an evolutionary explanation. For most species, the number of offspring a male can father exceeds the number a female can give birth to. But only if conditions are favourable -- poor quality male specimens may fail to breed at all, whereas females reproduce more consistently. HAHAHAHAHA

"If a mother has plentiful resources, then it can make sense to invest in producing a son because he is likely to produce more grandchildren than would a daughter," thus contributing to the survival of the species, explains Mathews. I have to say, that in my family this is true - Oscar 3 Melissa 1

"However, in leaner times having a daughter is a safer bet." So there....

While the mechanism is not yet understood, it is known from in vitro fertilisation research that higher levels of glucose, or sugar, encourage the growth and development of male embryos while inhibiting female embryos. I think they may have to redo that nursery rhyme, since Girls are supposed to be made with sugar 'n spice.

Monday, April 21, 2008

The Joy of Spring

Since its getting kind of warm out here in LA-LA Land...I've been leaving my front door open during the day. On Saturday, as I was watching something insignificant on tv and chatting it up with a friend online I see something curious on the other side of the screen. At first, I don't know what to make of it. I mean, I know what is going on but in my mind - it honestly doesn't register.
Could it be? Could two birds be having sex right outside my apartment?

If I had any sense (and many of you know that its a toss up) I would have turned on the webcam and started recording on the computer - but did I? Nope. I was too busy wondering - is that really how birds have sex? It was one of the oddest moments ever. EVER.

This is pretty much how it went:



What bothers me a little bit more about this - is that I actually Googled "Bird Sex" and looked at different videos about birds having sex until I found a one that I actually liked enough to post.

I should have written my review for Michael Clayton instead.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Topics of Discussion

I had this long list of things to post about but as I sit in front of my laptop, I have a sudden onset of writer's block. Its so bad that I can't even think about what I was thinking about posting. My new iPod seems to resonate some sort of feeling but I have to admit - I have no clue.

I'm watching Major League and the best line just happened:

Yankee First Baseman: Going somewhere meat?
Willie Mayes Hayes: About 90 feet.

I know...its not much. I'm watching and trying to get inspired.

The Indians win it! The Indians win it! Oh my god - the Indians win it!

Yeah, that might help.

Monday, April 14, 2008

One Of Regular People

I finally took the plunge and got my iPod.

I should retype it to reflect my actual emotion towards my new toy. I BOUGHT MY IPOD!!!!!

I have to admit that I couldn't understand why people would be on those things all the time. I see people driving with them, talking to people with the little ear buds in - all the time.

But now...I understand and I have become one of them. Even more so considering that I downloaded Scrabble.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Those Damn Dirty Apes

Charlton Heston died yesterday at the age of 84.

Every time I hear about Chuck Heston, I don't think of his famous roles but rather, an ex-coworker. Her name is Bonnie and I used to work with her at Universal.

Bonnie hated Charlton Heston.
She hated him for his egotistic attitude for playing Moses.
She hated him for being the President of the NRA.
I repeat, she HATED Charlton Heston.

One day, one of my other coworkers thought it would be funny to upload a whole bunch of mp3 files on the various computers in the work area with an array of Heston quotes from his movies.

When she would save a file, the computer said to her "Let my people go!"
When she would minimize a window, her computer would say "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape! "

What made this little prank even more entertaining was the temper that she had.

That day, she hated us just as much as Charlton Heston.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Frakkin' Awesome!

Battlestar Gallactica is back on the air tonight for its final season.


'Nuff Said

And Then There Were Three...

A great big CONGRATULATIONS goes out to my brother and his family!!!

They welcomed their 3rd child to the clan very early this morning (thanks for the call at 12:30am dude).

A baby girl!!! YAY!!! No details on weight, length, or name.

Although I heard Talulah Rue is in running... :P