The Weirdness of the English Language

So we put together an article at work this week that talked about some of the increases in numbers as they apply to the library; visits to the website, attended programs and downloaded books.

Apparently we have over ten thousand books being downloaded from our website each month, an increase of 78 percent over the previous year, a real growth area for the library.

So when we publish this in our monthly newsletter, we stated "A 78 percent increase over FY2009". Interestingly enough, if it had been a bit more we would have put a "An" in front of it instead of an "A", as in, "An 83 percent increase..".

Weird how if the number can determine if an "A" and or an "An" is in front of it.

Cox Farms

Jack and Kate.

Kate and I have started a tradition with Jack in the last few years. We take a half day in the middle of October and go out to Cox Farms where they have plenty of kid (and grown-up) stuff to do. Slides, food, pumpkins, goats, pigs, cows, hayrides, stuff to climb on and Cornundrum.

We have done this the last two years and Jack loves it. He has gotten into the huge slides and getting to pick out a pumpkin at the end. We got two this year.

The goats are always fun, you can get an ice cream cone with feed in it for $1 and feed the goats. Some of them are pushy and I saw a few lock horns after fighting over who gets to be fed, but they are approachable and don't mind a pet or two.

Jack and a little goat.

The pigs smell to high heaven. There was a momma pig that had a brood of about 8 piglets she was feeding and if you walked by, you would get knocked over by the smell.


How big is Jack this year as opposed to last year?


There was a horse stable that had two horses in it. They were friendly or so we thought. They just wanted some feed from one of the staff who stopped by while we were there. Nearby there was a stall of calves that were probably only a month old, their Mom was close by, but they were in their own stable resting.

Me and one of the horses at Cox Farms.

We did the hay ride again this year and Cornundrum (A big maze cut out in a corn field) that also had little things you could walk through like a tiki cave and a swamp, complete with stuffed alligators.

You can find all kinds of surprises in the Cornundrum.

A good time for only a few bucks.


Plenty of picture-taking opportunities.


One of the many slides at Cox Farms. This one went underground and had bumps all the way down.

(A side note: while entering the place, we paid for tickets to get in, clearly marked as $9 for each person. Of course the group in front of us is having a hard time and holding up the entire line because one lady would not believe that it cost $9. [Maybe she was trying to negotiate] So finally she walks all the way back and looks at the sign, clearly saying that its $9 to get in. But she must have argued with that poor girl for three minutes while everyone waited for her to "get it".

Some people are dense. She made everyone behind her wait because she could not accept the simple concept of paying a fair price to enter - she paid and got in anyway. Next time don't pay and don't go, lady. If you are THAT against paying that much, don't make a stink, just don't go - its not a negotiation)

Pumpkins

I did something a little different this year by actually carving INTO the pumpkin for the design. It took me three times as long, so I see why people don't do it this way that much, its a PITA (Pain In The Ass). I am also going to get a brighter light for that one since it barely shows the design if I place a candle in there. I am thinking a 40 watt light build might do it.

Jack asked me a dozen times, "when we gonna carve the pumpkins?", so when I finally do, he doesn't want to scoop out the guts or seeds, doesn't want to cut into the pumpkin or help clean up. Ten minutes later, he is off playing with toys.

I finished, but since Kate was out at a Pampered Chef party at Laurens, nobody was there to take pictures of me digging the guts out of those pumpkins. The slimy insides are a right of passage for every father, cause nobody wants that job.

So here are this years designs.




I am already planning how I am going to dispose of these later. Last year I did it with an M-80, the year before I ran over them with my car. This year I am going to find a three or four story building and drop them off while recording it on video. Of course I will post it.

Sunday Night Football

As I am writing this, the Skins have just won their game against the Bears in a game that can only be described as sloppy. Well, now that I have had a chance to catch up and blog, I thought I would tell all about the Skins/Indianapolis game that happened the week earlier.


Jim was out of town, so Bill asked if I wanted to go to the game with him. Jim and Bill usually go and have season tickets. This was a real treat, a Sunday night game that was nationally televised and an opponent like Manning, who is in my opinion, the best quarterback in the game.

We left early (about 4:30) because the week before Bill had taken the Metro and they decided to do track maintenance on the track the day of the game, so anyone going to the game would have to get off at once stop, shuffle onto a bus, drive to the next Metro station, get off and continue their journey until they reached the end of the line at the Stadium.

So this time, Bill decided to go a little early and buy a parking pass. Our first try on Arena Drive was a guy that wanted $80 for a parking pass. I said we had $40 and that was it. He scoffed. I told him it wasn't a negotiation - I got $40 so let's not play around. I reminded him that in only an hour or so, that piece of paper was nearly worthless. He says $60, I say $40. We drove away and as we look in the rear view mirror, he is waiving us to come back. Too late, we were on a one way street.

Note to others, never negotiate with someone on a one way street because once they drive off, they are gone and can't come back. He should have taken the $40.

We end up going to the Metro station parking lot and leaving it there by paying $25 for parking, a steal compared to "Mr. $80".

The game was great, back and forth, but never led in the game. We had a critical stop late in the fourth and had a shot at winning or at least tying it up, but fell short. It was a great game anyway and it was a fun time. So kudos to Jim for going on vacation and Bill for thinking of me.

The Introductions:

The Woad

I picked up Jack from daycare the other day and he was playing with a Lego town, complete with streets and roads. Fast-forward to a few minutes later while I am buckling him in and he asks me if "I liked the woad I showed you".

I had to pause and think, "What road?", but it dawns on me that he is talking about the Lego road that he put together. I said I liked it and took the opportunity to correct his pronunciation of the word "Road".

I said, "It's pronounced RRrroooad".
He says, "Woad".
I say, "Rrroad., Ro, Row, Road."
He says, "Woad."
I say, "Road, with an R".
He says, "WRoad".
I say, "Rrrroad".
He says, "WRoad".
I say, "Rrrroad".
He says, "WRoad".
I say, "Rrrroad".
Without missing a beat he says, "I can say highway".

Rock Star T-Shirt

I created this design for fun, I was thinking of offering it up for sale and try to come up with a few more concepts that may appeal to a similar crowd.

"Rock Star" T-shirt.


Close up of "Rock Star" design.

2 T-Shirt Designs

So I followed-through on making up a few shirt designs and was inspired by a few things I saw online involving Stormtroopers from Star Wars.


This is the second shirt I made.


This is the two-color design that I remade from a design I saw online. I loved the design, but was unable to find how I could purchase it, so I made one for myself.