I've smelled something in the air in the last couple of days. I can't put my finger/nose on it.

It smells like a swimming pool and steam from old water boiling in a tea kettle. And there's a note of some painty smelling chemical.

Anyone else smell anything?

Well, he was 3 weeks early and he came out in a hurry. He's beautiful and I am starting to cry as I type. I think we might name him Jude.

He was born this morning...12:09. Yes. Yes. Yes. 

Warning: If you are offended by me warning folks that content may not be suitable for all then please accept my apology.

Warning: Before you read any further, I want to let you know that I might type about eating animal products. If this offends then I apologize.

My current favorite food is the egg. I love the crap out of eggs. I love cooking eggs, too. They’re kind of magical. They can become so many things. Sure you can just fry ‘em. Or you can make ‘em into omelets. Cream cheese and steamed broccoli omelets. Sun-dried tomato and basil, garlic omelets. The list is endless.

Lately, I’ve been into making quiches. It’s pretty easy and it’s a tasty breakfast. I usually make mine at night and pop it in the fridge for tomorrow. Wanna try? Here’s how I do it.

I just got off the phone with Robinder from Mumbai, India. We just had a 30 minute cross-cultural phone experience. I wished him and his family the best.

I had originally started out calling Earthlink to talk about my account. Then, after business, I started with, "So are you in the north or south of India?

I told him I didn't know where Mumbai is but he didn't know where Seattle Washington is either.

"It's north of California." 

"Oh. I know the Beach Boys!"

Anyway, did you know in a couple of months it will be monsoon season and then it's winter after that? We talked about seasons (they only recognize 3, no autumn) and flowers. Religion too. He's Catholic, which surprised me. 

So, I guess I'm weird like that. Anytime someone calls to sell me direct TV, I'm totally psyched. I usually end up talking politics and religion with the Indian fellow on the other end of the line for 30 minutes. My longest such call was well over an hour.

On every such call, they usually ask when I am coming to India to visit and I find that completely cool.

So if you have the time and the inclination but just never thought of it - the next time Robinder calls you with a sweet deal on DirecTV, take some time to say "hello" from America.

Here's the number I called for Earthlink 1-888-327-8454 

The checks started going out this week. What are you going to purchase?

Mine's either going towards my student loans or its going towards a new computer.

We seem to be having the old "post-procession honeymoon" feeling about our town lately. To balance things out, I'd like to hear what people hate about Olympia. Maybe hate is too strong of a word...

What don't you like about Oly or what would you do different if you were the Monarch of the town.

I think it would be fine to rant about what really bugs you but I can imagine a question such as this leading to hateful comments. THAT is not what I'm looking for.

Where do you go for live music and who plays there? Inquiring minds want to know. I'm thinking of the noise ordinance a bit here.

Also, I'd like to know what you usually spend when you go to see live music. You know, cover, beer, coffee, food etc.

Who do you go hear, where do you hear 'em & whaddya spend?

My First Fight

Confessions of a short, recovering book addict.

Hi. My name is Timothy Tweed and I’m a recovering book addict. I am also a short guy.

When I was in the sixth grade, I was obsessed, you could say, like most pubescent boys, with two things: Sex and violence. Upon reflection, I am astounded at how many times we see these two words linked together now days. Nevertheless, it is not my purpose here to rhapsodize on the sad condition of morality and culture in the U.S., which might have been implied by the mere mention of those two oh-so-enticing subjects. I cannot, of course, speak from any moral high ground, having been raised on The Dukes of Hazzard and Charlie’s Angels. Alas, so many of my generation were spoon-fed this type of violent soft-core crap, that it really is no wonder that we are in such a mess these days. But I digress…