Weasel Of Doom

On Saturday, DemonChild sat down to watch a movie with HisMelness, BelovedSpouse, and Squeektar. Squeektar got to choose the movie.

[DemonChild, unhappy with his younger brother's choice, muttering]
“Fucking movie”

[BelovedSpouse, unable to believe his ears]
“What did you just say???”

[DemonChild, still muttering]
“Fucking movie”

[me, happily]
“I never used the word ‘fucking’ with the word ‘movie’ ;-)”

[BelovedSpouse, after giving DemonChild a timeout]
“I might have said it the other day, when I was very frustrated”

[me]
“For the foreseeable future, you are picking the kids up at daycare, because I don’t want to explain that one ;-)”

I just find it highly amusing that DemonChild picked up something BelovedSpouse said, and not me. For the record, I am the one with the potty mouth, so I would have expected my kid’s first swear phrase to be “fucking Tom” or “fucking Development” :P

P.S. I was planning to post this yesterday, but fell asleep, so the answer to “NaBloPoMo or bust!” is a resounding “bust.”

My cousin Julie had a baby girl this Saturday, 6 weeks early. She is 18 in long, and weighs almost 5 lbs. Julie will be released tomorrow, and the baby (so far, unnamed) will stay in NICU for another one to three weeks. I am beginning to think the whole “ooops, the baby’s name – THAT’S what we forgot to decide” thing runs in our family :-)

Here’s hoping everything goes well. We need some good news, for a change.

But if my mother-in-law tells us one more time how when she was laid off she actually made money because she did not have to pay for daycare, and how it was so great and she had no stress and got to spend time with her kids, I am going to SCREAM. Loudly.

The kids are being sweet today. Squeektar has a cold, so he was extra snuggly, and is asleep already. ChairmanMao is quietly laying on the floor and smiling at me. DemonChild had a great time swimming. In a few minutes, I will pack up the kids and drive the babysitter home. When we get back, Husband and I will play some WoW. Trying not to think about the future too much. Best-case scenario: he gets a new job that he enjoys greatly and that pays good money. Worst-case scenario: we sell the house; cut out frivolous things like high-speed internet, cell phones, Netflix, swimming and gymnastics for kids; learn to love Ramen noodles again, and develop a healthy relationship with lentils. Yay.

God, how I need a cigarette….

P.S. Sorry for swearing, Karen :-(

I am very glad Obama won. Here’s hoping at least some of the positive changes he talks about will materialize!

Thank you for your comments on my previous post. The higher-up in question is probably even now asking God in disbelief how He had let such a thing as a Democrat for President happen. I am betting God is chuckling :P

On a more serious note, it looks like only 64% or so of all eligible voters actually went to the polls and cast their votes. I know that’s considered a high turn out, but I find it sad that 40% did not care or did not feel that their votes mattered. Frankly, if I were a Republican in a blue state, or a Democrat in a red state, I probably would not have gone to vote, either. To me, that’s the greatest problem with the electoral votes as they are now. I wish they were split according to popular vote in the state, instead. (Let’s say a certain state has 10 electoral votes. The popular vote went 60/40 in favor of Republicans. Therefore, 6 votes should go to the Republican candidate, and 4 to the Democrat one. Seems fair to me :-)

One of the higher-ups at my workplace emailed us the following today:

So I went online and looked up various translations of the verse in question.

• NIV: The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.
• King James: A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.
• Contemporary English: Sensible thoughts lead you to do right; foolish thoughts lead you to do wrong.
• New Living Translation: A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one.

(translations courtesy of BibleGateway.com)

And now I am so, so pissed off… And dammit, I was in a good mood today before that little gem arrived in my inbox.

P.S. For those of us unencumbered by religious teachings, the right/left thing is referring to the belief that an angel sits on our right shoulder, and a devil on our left, so our decisions should be pleasing to god (on the right side), and not the devil (on the left side). That is also why in Russia we spit over our left shoulder (into the devil’s face) when we don’t want something bad to happen. That is also why the priest got so mad at Dad at my baptism, when Dad accidentally crossed himself left-to-right instead of right-to-left. It has NOTHING to do with politics.

Or so it feels, judging by the amount we pay for daycare…

Consider:

In 2005, we spent $6,600 on daycare (DemonChild, 9 months).
In 2006, we spent $10,300 (DemonChild, 12 months; Squeeker, 1 month).
In 2007, we spent $18,600 (DemonChild and Squeeker, 12 months).
In 2008, we spent $20,300 (DemonChild and Squeeker, 12 months; ChairmanMao, 2 months).

Two months for three kids is roughly $5,000. Multiply that by six, and we are looking at around $30,000 for 2009 (I am SO not kidding when I tell people I work so my kids can go to daycare… that and have health insurance).

Now let’s take a look at UW-Milwaukee’s full-time off-campus Fall 2008 tuition for Wisconsin residents, conveniently listed for us on their website, and calculate what it would have cost to send all three kids there for a year:

Undergraduate: $19,600 ($3,265.56 per child per semester).
Graduate: $26,500 ($4,413.28 per child per semester).
Masters, Business: $30,660 ($5,110.24 per child per semester).
Masters, Health Science: $31,780 ($5,295.76 per child per semester).

Years from now, we will be guilt-tripping our kids with “We put you through daycare, and THIS is the gratitude we get???” I can’t wait ;-)

Whenever ChairmanMao starts crying, Squeektar pipes in with “Baby is crying! He is hungry! He wants boobies! With milk!”

This one is from a few months back, when Squeek discovered the difference between the sexes: “[Squeektar] has a penis. [DemonChild] has a penis. Papa has a penis. Mommy has a penis?” After being assured that Mommy does not have a penis (but knows where to get one when she needs it), he goes right down the line with “Grandma has a penis?” We got to have this discussion every day for at least a month.

Demonchild to BelovedSpouse, yesterday: “Papa, go away and talk to Mommy!” (Now where is that attitude when we want them to leave us alone? Nowhere to be found, that’s where.)

DemonChild, after farting: “[DemonChild] puknul!” (“puknul” means “farted” in Russian, and is about the only Russian word he remembers). This is followed by five minutes of giggling. Oh, the joys of life with boys.

November is upon us again, and in an effort to make myself post more frequently, I am doing the NaBloPoMo thing again.

Of course, my motivation to create meaningful content is still low, so here’s the list of books most frequently tagged as “sci-fi” on LibraryThing. Titles in bold are the ones I read…

1. The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
2. Dune by Frank Herbert
3. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
4. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
5. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
6. Neuromancer by William Gibson
7. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
8. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
9. Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
10. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
11. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
12. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
13. Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
14. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
15. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
16. Do androids dream of electric sheep? by Philip K. Dick
17. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
18. Children of Dune by Frank Herbert
19. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
20. Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
21. Foundation’s Edge by Isaac Asimov
22. Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke
23. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
24. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller
25. Ringworld by Larry Niven
26. The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula K. Le Guin
27. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
28. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
29. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
30. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
31. God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
32. 2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke
33. Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov
34. Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
35. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
36. Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card
37. Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams
38. Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
39. The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson
40. The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov
41. Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov
42. The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
43. Contact by Carl Sagan
44. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
45. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
46. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
47. Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
48. The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven
49. Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein
50. The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
51. Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card
52. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
53. 2061: Odyssey Three by Arthur C. Clarke
54. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
55. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
56. The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
57. Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert
58. The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
59. Hyperion by Dan Simmons
60. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
61. Chapterhouse: Dune by Frank Herbert
62. Friday by Robert A. Heinlein
63. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein
64. Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis
65. Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
66. Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
67. Robots and Empire by Isaac Asimov
68. The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov
69. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
70. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
71. 1984 by George Orwell
72. Startide Rising by David Brin
73. Forward the Foundation by Isaac Asimov
74. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
75. The Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven
76. A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
77. Sundiver by David Brin
78. Burning Chrome by William Gibson
79. To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
80. Count Zero by William Gibson
81. Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card
82. Eon by Greg Bear
83. The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
84. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
85. The Difference Engine by William Gibson
86. 3001: The Final Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
87. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
88. Virtual Light by William Gibson
89. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
90. Perelandra by C. S. Lewis
91. Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
92. Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
93. Gateway by Frederik Pohl
94. The Uplift War by David Brin
95. Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear
96. Idoru by William Gibson
97. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
98. Number of the Beast by Robert A. Heinlein
99. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
100. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
101. A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick
102. The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks
103. Rama II by Arthur C. Clarke
104. That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis
105. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
106. A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
107. The Past Through Tomorrow by Robert A. Heinlein
108. Nemesis by Isaac Asimov
109. Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
110. The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
111. Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein
112. A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
113. The Currents of Space by Isaac Asimov
114. Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh
115. I Will Fear No Evil by Robert A. Heinlein
116. The Door into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein
117. The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov
118. Ubik by Philip K. Dick
119. Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
120. Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
121. The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
122. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
123. The Postman by David Brin
124. The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov
125. Songs of Distant Earth by Arthur C. Clarke
126. Have Spacesuit-Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein
127. Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein
128. Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
129. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
130. To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer
131. To Sail Beyond the Sunset by Robert A. Heinlein
132. Footfall by Larry Niven
133. Endymion by Dan Simmons
134. Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold
135. Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov
136. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
137. The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold
138. Farnham’s Freehold by Robert A. Heinlein
139. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams
140. Earth by David Brin
141. Job: A Comedy of Justice by Robert A. Heinlein
142. Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert A. Heinlein
143. Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein
144. Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card
145. Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
146. Star Wars by George Lucas
147. Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
148. Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks
149. Stranger in a Strange Land [Original Uncut] by Robert A. Heinlein
150. Methuselah’s Children by Robert A. Heinlein
151. Excession by Iain M. Banks
152. The Garden of Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
153. The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick: Minority Report by Philip K. Dick
154. Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
155. Brightness Reef by David Brin
156. Revolt in 2100 by Robert A. Heinlein
157. Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh
158. Red Planet by Robert A. Heinlein
159. Sphere by Michael Crichton
160. The Green Hills of Earth by Robert A. Heinlein
161. Podkayne of Mars by Robert A. Heinlein
162. Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven
163. Timescape by Gregory Benford
164. The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke
165. Look to Windward by Iain M. Banks
166. Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn
167. House Atreides by Brian Herbert
168. Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold
169. Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
170. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
171. All Tomorrow’s Parties by William Gibson
172. The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
173. Between Planets by Robert A. Heinlein
174. Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold
175. Ilium by Dan Simmons
176. Imperial Earth by Arthur C. Clarke
177. Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold
178. The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey
179. A Case of Conscience by James Blish
180. Blood Music by Greg Bear
181. The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold
182. Time for the Stars by Robert A. Heinlein
183. Nova by Samuel R. Delany
184. Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
185. Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein
186. Cordelia’s Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
187. Titan by John Varley
188. Nightfall by Isaac Asimov
189. Valis by Philip K. Dick
190. Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
191. The Fabulous Riverboat by Philip Jose Farmer
192. The Rolling Stones by Robert A. Heinlein
193. On Basilisk Station by David Weber
194. Star Beast by Robert A. Heinlein
195. Orphans of the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein
196. Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons
197. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
198. The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert A. Heinlein
199. Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
200. Rama Revealed by Arthur C. Clarke