Dave's Beer

Request...

2008-05-17T07:08:00.001-04:00

Anyone have a good asphalt company to suggest? I have contracted A J Asphalt, but they keep delaying me because it sprinkles rain occasionally.
Thanks

One of those nights you don't forget

2008-05-10T22:20:00.003-04:00

The day was going swimmingly. Up early, to the soccer field for the season's closing game. Mustangs v. the mighty Tide. Good game. Don't know who won. Finished with snacks and the award ceremony. Trophies and all. The ceremony had a slight delay when all the Mustangs went running to see one of the siblings showing off his snail. The rest of the day we gardened, Frankie showed off her trophy to everyone in Columbus, hung around and got ready to start the Mother's day celebration. Tomorrow morning: multi-grain waffles, tomorrow afternoon: Frankie would take Mom to a late lunch at (her) Mom's favorite place, Hometown Buffet.

Frankie and I even had time to prepare Mom's present late this afternoon. For dinner, we all decided to go to Dosa Corner (1077 Old Henderson). As we drove there, Frankie started to feel a bit sick. We thought she just had hunger pains.

We were so wrong.

Just as the wonderful smelling dosa came to the table with many sides, Frankie and mom darted to the women's room, luckily choosing the correct path to the bathroom and missing the kitchen. Well, you know the rest. Mom helped Frankie, I jumped to my knees wiping the floor, and the waiter put the stuff in take out containers. We apologized vigorously to the other diners (only 2 fortunately). As we apologized, they just laughed and said (while being grateful it wasn't them) don't worry, we've got kids too. We scurried out and left a handsome tip. We hope they'll let us back.

Frankie and her 30-something pound frail frame have been sick all night. Mrs. Dave's Beer and I are alternating helping her through the night. Happy Mother's Day my love.

Incidentally, Dosa Corner is pretty amazing. Vegetarian and inexpensive, we can't wait to go back.

Oh yeah, they all get a trophy.

Whose site is this ...

2008-05-03T08:31:00.002-04:00

Columbus.downbeat.com?
Clean, everyone's posts in one place, no ads, nice.

Because, if I didn't have my camera, you wouldn't believe it.

2008-05-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

The funny thing is, I've seen the Sasquatch quite a few times. It even waited until I got my camera. It's usually spotted on Arcadia in the afternoon. I was going to call 645-4545, but all he was doing was yelling at the poor dog. I didn't think that was enough for the police to come out.

Don't taunt happy fun ball

2008-04-24T20:07:00.003-04:00

I pass by this machine daily. It's one of those blood pressure/heartbeat/weight thingies. This is the warning message that precedes the blood pressure determination. My blood pressure's fine. I just sit here because it makes me smile.

Consumer Behavior: An Experiment

2008-04-19T13:50:00.007-04:00

The Dave's Beer household has always operated on a fairly sophisticated economic plan:

spending < income

Sometimes a little tricky, but we've been fortunate - and frugal. A million years in school will do that.

We've also never, ever paid a nickel in finance charges on a credit card. However, it still is pretty easy to use one of these nifty cards so frequently it gets warm from the friction of swiping. So, for a couple months, aside from gas purchases (since carrying that much cash might put us in danger), we're tossing the credit aside and using cash. Means we have to plan for the grocery store, and, just about everything. Stuff isn't cheap.

Even though I lusted for and agreed to buy a Briggs and Stratton this year, shelling out $120 for a refurbished one at Como Mower has given me pause about my fantasy mower. We've been doing this a couple weeks now and it's interesting. Even though we anticipated not changing spending habits, our habits have changed. Why buy that extra $3 box of savory crackers when you can make something healthier and better when you get home? We may not stick with it permanently; it's a bit inconvenient. But, when the economy seems on the verge of a depression, it's not hurting us to think a bit more about purchases.

Still sick. Sideline work?

2008-04-10T13:20:00.003-04:00

Frankie's still sick and I'm home with her today, running out of things to do. She's kind of quiet today, so no biggie. Yesterday, I painted her nails. We ran out of shades of pink and red and had to use her fingerpaints to provide added detail.

If you want an exclusive nail design, just get in touch.

Lunch Preparation 101 - I failed

2008-04-08T20:07:00.002-04:00

We do not for a second take for granted that Frankie is lucky enough to have good to excellent lunches every day at school. I've sat in on several and they're often simple but balanced and good. Today, she went on a field trip to the Museum of Art. They were supposed to bring a picnic lunch for the outing.

I prepared a sandwich on homemade sunflower-seeded honey wheat bread with a lovely imported ham and provolone. For sides, she had a portion of sugar snap peas, the best black raspberries I could find, some carrots, a crisp Gala apple, a linen napkin and some pretzels to share. I even threw a sprig of rosemary in her Curious George lunch box to make it smell nice when she opened it. Damn proud of myself I was.

I would've been more successful if I put ketchup on a hotdog bun and wrapped it in foil.

Paige had the winning lunch of the day. It had something chocolate in it.

Columbus Needs a Streetcar to Remove Shit Piled Up On High Street

2008-03-31T17:46:00.006-04:00

I must be the only person in Columbus vehemently opposed to the streetcar project. It's 100 million dollars.

I think I could revitalize the corridor for about a few thousand bucks.

I was out early Sunday morning on my way to Spinelli's Deli to get a bunch of Columbus' absolutely best bagels for a Sunday get together. I drove up and down High Street in the University District. It looked like SHIT. Trash everywhere. We recently moved from the area, so I was even more sensitive to it now than I ever was.

I know the connection may be odd, but when I observed the surrounding neighborhoods of IU, UM and Purdue, the neighborhoods are beautiful. Speckled with Craftsman homes, clean, nice shops, quaint, not too many franchises. Comfy. OSU's surrounding neighborhood is dingy with trash and shit everywhere. Landlords must receive bonuses for moving to Florida while their properties decay.

Instead of taking care of the area holding the greatest density population in central Ohio, the current administration wants to replace the old Honda with a big friggin' expensive (hybrid) Hummer. And, waste a shitload of money doing it.

A shiny, clean campus, I argue, would provide a major boost to Columbus. People would want to live closer to campus, the surrounding neighborhoods would be stimulated, more would use the bus system that seems to be working just fine. Why the obsession with this streetcar thing? Hearing about it in the news is more painful than a Mariah Carey ballad.

• Dispatch Updates sorted by date. Many opposed.
• Editorial Thomas Sawyer's editorial (former Akron mayor, Dispatch 12-Apr-08.

She's not four and a half and three quarters forever anymore.

2008-03-28T21:18:00.002-04:00

She's 5.
I can't believe we all survived.
She has a pretty grueling schedule for the next few days; parties, dentist, circus, etc. If you call to wish her a happy birthday, call tonight between 7-7:30 (to try to keep her schedule) and don't worry if you call sometime during the weekend. Sunday evening she may not be home.

Today, I spent the morning with her doing science experiments with her and her friends and teachers (whatever they're paid, it's not enough) at school (we made slime). All had a blast. Pics and movies will be distributed later.

Amazing

2008-03-25T20:06:00.004-04:00

This past weekend, Suze went to camp with one of our dedicated dog walkers and we took a break to Coco Key Water Resort. It was kind of interesting to go only 40 minutes away to vacation. Fun actually. The fun of a new setting and none of the exhaustion of long travel.

The indoor waterpark is pretty intimidating at first but much like Vegas for the 12 and under crowd. Got to get out early and claim your lounge chairs or cabana. Once your turf is established, the fun begins. On Saturday we went to the water park from 9 until 5, no breaks. Frankie had a friend join her and we even met some neighbors for a dinner there on Saturday night. A bit pricey, but I think we'd go back sometime. Here's a very brief clip of a quick pan of a chunk of the water park.

Coco Key Water Resort from dave_scarpetti on Vimeo.

Frankie imitates Leslie Nielsen

2008-03-20T22:41:00.002-04:00

Frankie walks in today after school with a basket made of hardened dough containing two colored eggs.

Frankie: "Papa, they're edible!"
Me: "They're what?"
Frankie (exasperated): "You can eat them!"

And in the aftermath of one of the greatest auctions in history, we are left with absolutely hilarious detritus

2008-03-18T22:09:00.002-04:00

--created with togo.ebay.com (it's a fun tool)

Why is this happening??????????

2008-03-17T18:48:00.006-04:00

This absolutely fascinating. Currently bid at $2,225 and 52,000 visitors to ebay.
ebay listing.

$200,444.00, I ... can't ... go ... to ... sleep ...

What if it gets moldy?

Did I win?

2008-03-13T22:01:00.005-04:00

About a 2 or 3 times a year I buy one of these things. Why do I get the urge to toss a dollar away? For some reason it makes thinking about the financial fortune and what I'd do with it a bit more fun. I usually don't check the ticket for days.

My most recent lottery fantasy is pretty simple. I'd probably keep my job, maybe knock it back to part time. Go on a trip with the gang to Lyon, give my family a few bucks. The material stuff? I'd get an F-350 lifted with duallies, a hard hat and go rebuild homes around the city and sell them at cost to deserving families.

Ayone got a good lottery wish?

Blogrush, Site Traffic and WorldCooking123

2008-03-09T16:58:00.004-04:00

If you fantasize about someday getting rich and/or popular via the internets, site traffic is pretty much the holy grail. Projects such as BlogRush give you some way to get more traffic by linking you to other like-minded blogs. Doesn't work very well. Despite their "evaluation" of the content of your site, they make a judgement about whether you're worthy of the almighty Blogrush widget.

They actually approved a site called World Cooking 123. This site has approximately 18-20 clickable ads above the fold. Don't visit, the site will likely crash your browser. It's a detestable site (and, yes, I'm hoping they Technorati themselves 'til they're blind and see this post) I've ever seen. Once you page down a few times, there's a blip of content. I never made it, my browser kept crashing.

I can never figure out sites like this. They usually don't get any traffic, they're ugly and I suspect they make about a nickel per thousand visitors. Fortunately, these sites languish quickly. Everyone's busy and everyone knows how to buy stuff, going to some obscure site isn't the major path to buying cheap shit for your kitchen.

Fortunately, quality content trumps all. Smart, clever and not greedy people rule the creative web.

2008-03-05T13:58:00.001-05:00

Tonight, we will eat spaghetti and meatballs!

brrrr

2008-03-04T21:53:00.003-05:00

This is not what you want to see in front of your home.

So I get in this afternoon, excessively salivating over the meatballs I made last night for tonight's dinner. Hmmm. Chilly in the house, gas burner not turning on, paid the bill on time, ...?

That was about 4 hours ago and it's now about 58-deg-F in my home. We're especially close tonight. Columbia Gas is in my front lawn digging holes playing utility CSI. Most evidence points to water in the line - on their side fortunately. I suspect they'll get the heat on by ~~about 5 in the morning~~ Wednesday night. We hope.

I just over seeded the lawn this past Sunday.

How's Suze taking this ...

At least it makes her pooping in the living room much less of a problem.

I'm hooked

2008-02-27T21:49:00.002-05:00

Well, this Chuck E. Cheese thing is officially out of hand. I actually suggested it for our night out this week. And, I bought the super discount 100 token package.

I did realize the dirty secret of the palace of Chuck. The prizes are being traded at massively inflated ticket prices. Why? Last night I found out why. The parents actually play the games more than their kids do. I saw this guy smash the hammer game about 40 times straight. His family had a stack of tickets on their table that, if they were worth a nickel a piece, he'd have had a night comped at the Luxor. It's just wrong.

We had a blast though.

Lifelock.com, Credit Freeze, etc.

2008-02-25T19:55:00.007-05:00

If you have a blog, some other online presence or even show up in civic meetings once in a while, you have an online presence. Whether you want it or not. Our identities and images are being divulged by Google, Flickr, etc. I'm always thinking about the ultimate backfire of the web, identity theft. The two words give me a chill.

The other day, I heard an advertisement exploiting this fear. The CEO of Lifelock [1] advertises his social security number because his company's service is so good. The company seems to simply do a few things on your behalf that any of us could do for free, but they do it diligently and on schedule. They put fraud alerts on your accounts on your behalf [9] with the big 3 credit agencies [6-8], send you free annual credit reports and fight on your behalf if these efforts fail.

The most unbiased consumer site I use hasn't said a word about it yet [2]. A quick perusal of Technorati [3] pulled up a lot of useless posts but one especially interesting note [4]. Lifelock costs $110 per year, every year. Kind of pricey after a while.

Alternatives? In the Mouse Print piece below, one of the commenters mentions a "credit freeze." [5] Basically, a credit freeze seems to accomplish everything that the Lifelock system promises. You lock down your credit with the 3 big agencies in writing [6-8] for $10 each. One time. However, if you apply for a credit card or loan of any kind, you need to lift the freeze (by phone, with a couple days notice) for a period of time you specify and it costs $10 to lift it (for any short duration you specify) and it stays locked for at least 7 years. Sounds pricey, but if your life's stable, got enough credit cards, why keep the port open? Judging from my junk mail, credit companies, mortgage brokers, and whoever else is running in and out of my credit account routinely.

I'm going to spend more time on both LifeLock.com and ConsumerReports.org (ConsumerReports.org is paid content, but many of their identity theft articles are free). The links below are a lot of reading, but worth it. The time spent on the phone trying to regain your identity would be a lot more - and a bit more expensive. I'll keep updating this post with my conclusions.

Update
I called Lifelock today to ask a question. I was put in touch with a salesperson who spoke so robotically, after a full couple minutes of monotonous rambling, I interrupted impatiently and asked if I was talking to a robot? She stopped speaking for a second and I told her all I wanted to know was do they do anything more than if I put my own freeze on my credit? She just said "no." She didn't even say much more than that. I also asked about the status of the Experian trial and I was put on hold. After a few minutes I hung up - I suspect I was put on indefinite hold.

So, my only question with a credit freeze is: Will it interfere with my normal credit card usage? I'm going to go through with it and see. Cheap experiment. I'm fairly certain I'll skip the Lifelock. It seems like a good service, but placing a fraud alert on your credit every 90 days just because you're afraid of identity theft isn't in the spirit of the law and sounds dubious. Should be an interesting lawsuit.

Links
1. Lifelock
2. Consumer Reports
3. Technorati (lifelock) - keep an eye on this search.
4. Lifelock post on Mouse Print.org.
5. Consumer's Union details on state by state credit freeze rules.
6. Transunion
7. Experian
8. Equifax
9. Experian sues Lifelock for questionable advertising practices.

We're ready

2008-02-20T20:25:00.001-05:00

My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Noodles (Please)

2008-02-19T19:56:00.004-05:00

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (and Pluto's no longer a planet).

Frankie's very into astronomy these days. Tomorrow night is the last lunar eclipse until 2014! We're all in a tizzy preparing for the event tomorrow night which commences at 8:44 pm. We're going to make popcorn and watch it for a full 74 minutes.

This device is what we're going to use to create a model prior to the event. Just add fruit. The big discussion around the dinner table tonight was about what should represent the sun. A big, bold, wonderful pomelo or a stinky little orange. Feel free to agree with me in the comments. The earth will likely be a marshmallow (colored to an accurate representation) and the moon, a mini-marshmallow, of course.

Lottery Forms

2008-02-04T14:54:00.002-05:00

are out! Link below on my sidebar. Good Luck parents!

Deadline March 7!! (wow, that's 4 exclamation points)

refreshing

2008-02-03T20:15:00.001-05:00

No exposed nipples, no plastic surgery, just a cool guy.

Two Words

2008-01-30T09:17:00.000-05:00

Projectile vomiting.

Now that everyone except parents have escaped, you may indulge in the guilty pleasure of reading someone else's horror story.

The kid's a bit dramatic. When asked if she's sick (we no longer do), she responds she's sick. This time, it really was a wolf. After a night where no one slept well, the cranky bunch trodded out the door. The wife took the brunt of this one. While en route to preschool, bang, out of nowhere, it happened.

Immediate turn around. Clean the kid, get her to bed, clean the car seat, vacuum the car, laundry, laundry, laundry all with sick parents. Playing with the kid and spending time being beat at Candy Land is the fun part. These incidents are where we earn our stripes. It reminds us of the utopia of boredom, we cut our time in pergatory, we're less queasy in most situations that used to shock us; years later we laugh at it while still feeling stabbed by the pain. Let's hope it passes fast.

Wish I could've taken the bullet on this one Hon.