Now Accepting New Theories

I give up. I'm out of decent theories about how Mario Kart chooses the winner of a match.

Yeah, I've got ALL their albums

This little game has been going around Facebook, and I had enough fun on my turn that I'll post it here, too.

The essence of the game is thus:

Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.

(If you spend more than 5 minutes, you're doing it wrong.)

Now, admit it — if you've been in a record store lately, that's par for the course, maybe even a bit better. I'm thinking they probably sound a bit like They Might be Giants or Five Iron Frenzy. I'd buy it for the album artwork, but I probably wouldn't listen to it all that often.

The full quote, by the way, is classic Dan Quayle: "I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy — but that could change."

Pink Link

Deborah and I have been relaxing in the evenings by playing old N64 games, particularly Zelda. Deborah has been working through Ocarina of Time again, and I'm hacking my way through Majora's Mask.

This has not gone unnoticed by the kids, who are fascinated by the interactive quest and its mysterious puzzles and oddball objects. The kids have taken to playing "Zelda" with each other, equipping themselves with Swords (wiffle bat), Megaton Hammers (toy hammers), and, their favorite, Fire Arrows, most of which look suspiciously like paper towel tubes.

Fiona, dressed for adventure:

"I'm ZELDA!" ...OK, never mind that Zelda is actually the princess you're supposed to be saving, and that the hero's name is actually Link. You can be Zelda.

I included this picture as a premonition of things to come... "I have conquered this living room. Now, off to break all the boy's hearts!"

Upside Down

Ever since she was very little, Fiona would squeal with laughter at being turned upside down. And she'd want to do it again, and again. Well, now she can do it for herself (with a little help from the furniture) and is teaching Aiden the joys of Upside Down, as well.

A note to cats, concerning games

If you're trying to disrupt a game of cards, curling up in the middle of the playing surface is usually a good ploy. However, if you fall asleep doing so, you have no-one else to blame if play continues.

Minigolf

We went minigolfing.

How many people does it take to teach a 3-year-old to play minigolf?

Aiden took a fairly direct approach to a low score.

Where did it go?
We managed to retrieve one of the balls, but we eventually figured out that there was a rock in there, and there were at least six balls backed up, including ours. Fortunately, we had gotten an extra ball for Aiden to play with, and we borrowed that to finish out the evening...

Sittin' by the dock o' the golf course, just a-wastin' time...

The princess and her castle.

Aiden occupied himself with the many pinecones (or, as Fiona calls them, pinecorns) that littered the course.

It's not a box!

Look sharp, mateys. Pirates off the starboard bow!

C'mon, sweetheart, this box can do 0 to 100 in six seconds flat! You want to go for a drive with me, I know it!

Coming around turn 5, Aiden Kerr steers his one-man boxsled down the ice to a new Olympic record!

A Wonderful Warm Weekend

You couldn't beat the weather this weekend. The temperature was all the way up in the 50s and 60s. The vast wastelands of slush and mud were receding, and there was no reason to stay inside whatsoever.

Saturday morning, I volunteered to take Deborah's sewing machine to be repaired — in Marion, a good 65 miles away. On the motorcycle. (Of course!) She'd been pining to have it repaired for some time, but the local repairman evidently either didn't know how much of a gem a Singer Featherweight is, or was trying to cheat us out of it by offering us $40 on it as a trade-in — and neither interpretation inspired much confidence. So with the case ratcheted down to the passenger seat, and a big grin on my face, off to Marion I went, to a shop where we've had it worked on before. I tried to make out like I was doing Deborah a great service, but she wasn't buying it. She knew I just wanted to go for a long ride.

Along the way, stopped at a light in Wabash, I saw this building, which I'll let speak for itself.

How do you get a chicken drunk, anyway? They drink like birds!

Sunday afternoon was even warmer and sunnier.

Paul found a Frisbee that the kids hadn't stepped on, and several of us retreated to the back yard. Deborah said she'd be out once Fiona woke up from her nap.

Deborah catches one

May grabs gracefully

Paul plays with a handicap

Even Fiona got into it!

Deborah brought a Koosh ball to add to the mix. So after a while of simultaneous 3-way frisbee and 3-way catch, the game turned into something akin to shooting skeet. (Or Calivinball; I miss Calvin and Hobbes...) One person would throw the Frisbee, and the other person would try to knock it down with the Koosh ball. We teased Paul about not being able to hit the Frisbee, saying it wasn't his fault, because the reticle hadn't turned red yet — a lighthearted jab at his video game playing.

Deborah, knocking the Frisbee out of the air.

It was many hours before hunger drove us back inside.