• On Life and Love

    House!

    I have pictures as the house gets cleaned up one box at a time. I moved in successfully (barely) last Friday night (the 29th). The empty house: And after I got my stuff in: I had no idea that I had that much furniture. I feel better in that Greg’s been living like a hobo in terms of home decor and that I’m essentially furnishing the entire house. That didn’t make the move any easier, though, except that we didn’t have to move an equal amount of furniture on Saturday. Jackie was scared shitless all throughout the move. They were both so bewildered by the whole thing, although they love…

  • On Life and Love

    Pyramid Apricot beer

    Very bitter. Like, shudder-when-you-drink-it bitter. Greg and I took it on a picnic with us — cheeseburgers, fries, cookies, water, and apricot beer. (We found out later that no alcoholic beverages are allowed at parks in Charlotte. Oops.) So we’re sipping on it, cringing, not liking it very much… …Until we start eating the cookies. I evidently don’t understand taste chemistry as well as I thought I did, because I was expecting a donuts-and-OJ effect: more bitterness. But the cookies actually smoothed away almost all the bitterness into something much more palatable. Greg was much more a fan than I was, but I would definitely try it again if I…

  • On Life and Love

    New beers to try!

    Turns out my boss is also a beer enthusiast. I left work today with a whole list of beers to try, some from Steve and Mr. Weir’s comments over the last few days. Here’s the list of beers I came home with. I’ll post what I think of ’em as I drink them: Chimay Blue (I’m expecting this to be strong — it’s got an 8 or 9% alc. content) Fat Tire Pyramid Apricot Magic Hat #9 (another apricot, and recommended by two folks who don’t like the Pyramid) Leinenkugel Berry Weiss Sea Dog Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale (described to me as “a blueberry beer with a dog on it”……

  • On Life and Love

    “Special needs” posted

    It’s been a couple of weeks, thanks to the Tampa trip and the move, but I have a new Transhuman Congress story done: “Special needs“. The Meta in the office gave no acknowledgment of Miriam or Donna, but walked lightly to the door to Ser Harold’s office, opened it, and went in. Donna’s theatrical shudder drew Miriam’s attention back to her. “I’ll tell you, I don’t mind them, of course,” she said, eyes wide, “but I do wish they were polite and would ask to see Ser Harold like anyone else.” “Don’t be silly. Politeness is a culturally-defined term,” Miriam muttered. She wanted to talk to that Meta.

  • On Life and Love

    Tampa — the Beach and Beyond

    I finally got around to putting up the pictures from the Tampa trip. That Saturday was our beach day. We walked for a while on one beach, chatting and playing around: We ended up increasingly in the water, despite the fact that Dre and Tyrone don’t swim: Hell, I was wearing jean pants and a fancy shirt, and I got submerged. We finally bought me and Tyrone swimsuits from a little shack on our way to the second beach. We played for hours in the water: tag and variations thereof, me trying to teach them how to float and tread water, etc. We ended up cooling down in a swimming…