When Dee Dee Attacks

Apparently "Best Fit" Magazine placed Springfield on the top 10 Worst Places to Raise a Family.

• http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/family-fatherhood/The_100_Best_Places_to_Raise_a_Family.shtml

10. Springfield, Missouri
9. Dayton, Ohio
8. Corpus Christi, Texas
7. Flint, Michigan (Country's highest violent-crime rate)
6. Columbia, South Carolina
5. Waco, Texas
4. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3. Fayetteville, North Carolina
2. Beaumont, Texas (Long-standing air-quality challenges)
1. Clarksville, Tennessee (Low educational spending: $6,729 per student)

Curiously, Flint, Michigan also appears on this list. Some may think it a coincidence, but investigators (the Jacoburgers) suspect that there may be a link between the downfall of Springfield, Missouri (once thought of as one of the best places to live) and the presence of Flint, Michigan on the list of family-hating cities. That link, I'm afraid to say, is the notorious child and family hater, Dee Dee Jacobs. When she moved to the innocent, family-loving city of Springfield, she quickly began her work. We are already number ten on the list. What is next?!

Curiously, Springfield has frequently been listed (by NYTimes, MONEY Magazine, etc...) as one of the best cities to retire in. This is proof that Dee Dee eats children and poops out happy old people. I knew it!


--(Dee Dee Attacks)-->

Tom Cruise Crazy

One of my favorite internet ukulele players got to play with Jonathan Coulton here in Seattle, though I didn't make it.

Maybe now you kids will think ukuleles are "rad" and "wizar'd".

So far, my summer is just going to school, working on projects, reading Pratchett, and some game-playing (Okami turned out to be good). However, besides the guys at school and friends and family on the internet, I'm not sociallizing as much as I like. So, I may jump in on some bonus weekend classes, like tai chi (Not that wimpy health tai chi, the martial art tai chi). Though, if anyone else has any recommendations for making friends in a big city (goils?), feel free to shoot them my way.

Throw your partner out of the boat, and listen to him scream

Whelp, it's getting to be summer. And you know what they say -" 'Tis the season to sing 'Row row row your boat'." Mom has evil plans to go on a float trip in a two or three weeks. I think she wants to go on the Buffalo River, although maybe she just meant that she wants to ride on a Buffalo down the river.

Anyways, she has bestowed upon me the holy task of "firgurin' out whens everyone (but Kelly - she said he smells too bad) can go." She'll be done with school in a couple of weeks, and Bre will be done this week. I think Steve has a pretty open schedule. I know Dee Dee works during the week though, and who knows what the heck Briley does during the week?

As for me, Saturdays are generally bad, but I can pull Sundays off most of the time. I also usually have Tuesdays and Thursdays off. I don't have my schedule for June yet though. I may be able to do other days of the week.

What works for other people? Reply and let me know!

What About This Guy?

Is this Mykl & Alli's secret cloned son? He just graduated high school and is Valedictorian to boot. Nice going you two, but you could have told us about him so we could've gone to his graduation.

I Choo-Choo-Choose You

Gas prices are ridiculous, and Pat and I have been planning a trip to Michigan for Fourth of July for a while. Some quick math showed me we could expect to pay at LEAST $500 for gas to get there and back. And that's optimistic! So, the other day, we bought train tickets!

We're so excited, me probably a little more than Pat. I have an image in my head of a magical adventure through rolling country hills, like in Harry Potter. Pat is much more realistic! Neither of us has ridden a train before. Has anyone else? We would love any tips.

The best part is that every time I drive by a gas station that tells me it's now $1 million for a gallon of gas, I think of my train ticket and feel like I'm sticking it to the man! See if you'll get my money! Mwahahaha. Of course, I still have to buy gas for everything else, but at least it's something!

Another highlight is that both to Michigan and back, our train has about a 2 1/2-hour layover at Union Station in downtown Chicago, just a block or two from the Sear's Tower. How cool is that? I'm thinking that surely we can do something fun in the Windy City with 2 hours to play with. Does anyone have any advice? Both of us have been to Chicago a couple of times, but we haven't thought of any great ideas on what to do. Whatever we do, it'll be a fun date for our one-year anniversary, which will be the next day! Our trip is July 2-6.

Magical train adventure, here we come!

So, Duku This....

Well, I recently discovered the Sudoku puzzles. I never really understood what people found so appealing about them. I still don't, but I cannot help but try to solve them. It is like my brain is addicted to it or something. I am still on the easy levels, but I have books that go all the way up to SUPER CHALLENGER!! It is going to take a long time to get through all of them and I figure it will give me something to do when I am working in Joplin and in between classes this Fall.

Alli and I have gone through a "Computer Holeocaust," over the last month or so. My Desktop bit the dust first, then Alli's computer, and then our laptop- they all went into convulsions and began to have intermittant Hardware malfunctions. It is currently being looked at as possible terrorist activity...I can only hope they are back in shape before Starcraft comes out.

For anyone who doesn't know...the only games I play religiously are Mario games and Starcraft. At least I have the Wii, some books, and Sudoku to keep me busy. The next time you guys see me I may look a little something like this because my brain will be fried from the Sudoku!

Okay, back to the grindstone...have a great Memorial Day everyone!

Peace out,

Mykl B

(It is only rootbeer everyone!)

Family Guy - Bullfrog

Are Wii Having Fun Yet?

Watching my hubby hula-hoop on Wii Fit was so great, I had to run for the camera. Unfortunately I didn't make it in time, but I caught him doing some cool balancing acts! Ones that I myself am not so great at...

On the other hand I'm really loving the yoga part of the game! Can't wait to unlock more poses!

Below is a Family Guy clip that someone at work made me watch today. It's officially the funniest FG scene I've ever seen - it even tops my previous favorite: "Uh, sir, you can't park your minivan on the diving board. Sir? Sir? Oh wait, that's a kid? Dude, that's a kid!"

My New Video Game Pulled My Muscle

Above is a silly video I found of the two most awesome things invented by man: Mario and Marimba. Anyways...

Wii Fit is here! Dee Dee and I decided we were going to invest in this game (we justified it by saying it's her early b-day gift). For those that don't know, Wii Fit is a video game where you stand on an electronic mat (sold with the game) that detects your weight and balance. The game involved countless aerobics, strength training, balance and yoga exercises as well as sports. A personal trainer will do the exercises with you, gives you a number of reps, and a tempo to go with. I "played" for about 10 minutes and I broke into a sweat and pulled a leg muscle. Man, I'm outta shape!

The game also tracks your weight, BMI, and "Wii Fit Age". It will track your daily progress as well as make you set goals for yourself. My goal is to gain 2 pounds in 2 weeks. It even told me what excersizes I should do and what I should eat! Since it seems most of us are becoming interested of our health lately, I highly recommend this game - that or come over to our place and try it out (cough...Mom...cough…). Anyways, It seems I’m coughing from my intense workout session. Back to work! Blarg!

Sciencebeard and Porkcycle's Guide to Fighting Draculas and Family Blog Jamboree Machine

Fine lookin' blarg! Welz, I survived the party and made it back to Seattles. Classes are in full gear, so it's back to codin like a crazy person.

Oh yeah, I told Digipen to give me my financial aid this time, but I wouldn't be surprised if they sent it to Missouri. As cool as the school is, their officeworks aren't incredibly organized. So, gimme.

Lake Dates

Howdy! The dates for the lake melted off of Two-Mom's computer, so I called Uncle Mike today and got them! They are:

Monday July 28 - Friday August 1

Yay lake! Hope our campsite isn't too flooded. If it is, we should just achor the boats over where the campsite usually is and just set up our tents there. That would be so cool! Or we could just camp out at the swimming area. We're going to be there most of the time anyways...

Fleeing the Chaos...lets go to Canada

All right, hello all.
I thought I would start off my bloggin' adventure by trying to think of something funny to say. So, without further ado......IM A BIG OL' Bear!!! Ok, now that I got that out of the way, here goes the meat of this post.

As many know, and many do not, I am going to be beginning studies at MSU next semester. I was working for a time in online classes. It took some time, but eventually I began to feel as though it really wasn't working out. I wasn't getting out of the classes what I needed to in order to feel I was prepared for a job. Ergo, I have switched from Court reporting to Anthropology. This is a noticeable change, but it is for the best. Who knows where this path may lead?

All right, I'll sign off for now- just wanted to get that explanation out there.

Oh yeah...if the world collapses and crap, lets all move up to Canada and live in some trees.

Mykl B

Sleeping in a Tree

I'm so thrilled about being done with school! No more hoops to jump through...for a couple of months anyways. Yay for relaxing! I am planning on buying a 6-pack of sit-on-my-pompis (that means butt in Spanish) Then again, maybe a 24 pack might be better.

Speaking of relaxing, my friend from work told me about these awesome treehouse cottage things you can stay in in Eureka Springs! I've always wanted to sleep in a treehouse! This one is from Oak Crest cottages (http://www.oakcrestcottages.com/). I wonder if they have sling-shots and smoke bombs and stuff to use against the other treehouses. Haha I bet they would appreciate that. Flippin' awesome!

Graduation!

Here are some photos from the graduation on Friday. Congrats to Riley and Alli!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26666709@N03/sets/72157605106820424

Family Blog Jamboree!

Hello all! Welcome to the new family blog! Kelly came up with the idea of a blog that the entire family can contribute to, so this is what we've all come up with.

The blog's functions will be twofold: 1.) so we can stay updated with Kelroy's mischiefs in Seattle while not making him obligated to think of something to talk about every week, and 2.) so that we can all share any news, ideas, videos, music, geek talk, stool jokes, random thoughts, or whatevers with each other at any time. Btw, to respond to someone's blog, don't post a new entry. It's just like Kelly's in that you just click on the comments link and post a comment. Easy right?

We also thought the name of the blog would fit everyone's likings since most of us like H.P. So, speak up if you think something on the blog should be different or added. Otherwise, that's all I got!

Peaces out.
- Riley