Copper Smith

Copper Smith is our pet. I often stop and think something like this: "I can't believe I have a rabbit." But Lynette loves him, so I love him too.

He got us worried a little last month. He was acting a little weird, he wasn't eating and wasn't moving around as much as normal. Fortunately, he is back to his normal mischief. Running up and down the stairs, random jumping and nibbling on toes.

I can't believe I have a rabbit.

Happy Birthday

OK, so this post is a bit late. Lynette had a birthday last month. I made her a cake the evening of her birthday after she said, "Aren't you going to make me a cake?"

I'm grateful for subtle hints like that make me understand what she is thinking. I had to go to the store to buy the cake mix and frosting.

I also got her a docking station for her i-pod. I bought it online (because it was cheaper) from Amazon.com but I accidently used her business account to pay for it. I was planning on changing the credit card number and mailing address to my work address and keep everything a secret from Lynette.

But, as soon as I pushed proceed to checkout the item had been purchased with the default settings and a confirmation e-mail was sent directly to her. Ooops, so much for the surprise. A guy at work said that is something that could only happen to me. Lynette agreed. I've had such bad luck with birthday and anniversary gifts over the past few years. Fortunately, she was able to see the humor in all this over the years.

I love her.

Big Wii

I found these pictures from last month. I've never been one to play video games, but my neice Mackenzie made me my very own 'me' on her families Wii. She taught me how to play. It was fun.

Here are some pictures:

Mackenzie's creation of 'me':

Boxing, me versus Lynette.

Although it looks like I may have landed a punch here, she ended up knocking me out.

F-Minus

When I went to ASU, I loved picking up the daily edition of the State Press (the student run newspaper). I'd read what was going on at ASU, and in the world, and without fail I always read one particular comic strip by a fellow student.

It was called F-Minus. I loved it so much I joined the fan club, way back when. The author, Tony Carrillo graduated before I did leaving a void in the comic section. The paper wasn't the same without F-Minus..

Tony's Graduation Comic Strip (a self portrait):

Well, after Tony's graduation he worked hard and got a couple of lucky breaks. Before long he got his comic strip syndicated and it was back in the State Press. That was a happy day. Now, six years later I still I get his daily comic strip e-mailed to me for my viewing pleasure. I was one of the first to buy his original self published book, and am seriously comtemplating getting his first 'official' book: F-Minus: A collection of the first year of F Minus comics by Tony Carrillo

I'm not sure why I haven't thought to post about F-Minus on my blog before, but I figured I better do it now. (I got the idea to post some of my favorite comic strips from my best friends wife. Click here to see her blog and here to see her Etsy shop).

Anyway, as a loyal F-Minus reader I'm posting some of my favorite F-Minus comic strips for your viewing pleasure.

Scott

It was very hard to narrow down my favorites, later, I'll probably do an additional post to include more. Mostly, these comic strips are some of his older stuff.

I had to include this one because Lynette and I disagree about the future of my beard:

Bless my Shoe Horn!

Here are some books I've recently 'read' (I'm sure there are others, but this is all I could remember reading since my last book reading post in 2006.) I love getting books from the library. For many of these I checked out the AudioBook, but I read a respectable number of these as well.

The Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Call of the Wild by Jack London

White Fang by Jack London

Faith of My Fathers by John McCain

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn
Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

Indestructible: The Unforgettable Story of a Marine Hero at the Battle of Iwo Jima by Jack Lucas

Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America by Steven Waldman

Nick of Time by Ted Bell

The Universe in a Single Atom by Dalai Lama

Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship by Victor Appleton

The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

Nothing to Lose by Lee Child

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

.

I'm glad I am able to read so much. I really think it helps me understand what my own opinions are and helps me define my world view. Reading helps me begin to understand how the world works. Even though most of these are fiction novels, I believe I learn a great deal about life and about myself by reading.

Books I would definitely recommend:
.
In Defense of Food (this is the book I'm currently reading. I find this study of American culture and our conception of food fascinating)
Call of The Wild (I read this book when I was a teenager, and liked it more now as an adult)
Nick of Time (written for adolescents, the teenage hero of this book travels through time and battles pirates, Nazi's and stormy seas.)

I would not recommend Pursuit of Happyness. Although not as 'accurate', the movie is much better. This book was too graphic and vulgar for my taste. Certainly, if there was a rating system for books, this one would be rated R. I probably should have stopped reading it, but I'm not a fan of unfinished books.

Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship was the first Tom Swift novel I have read. It was written in 1915, so the diction was humorous at times. For example, when a character wanted to express surprise, dismay or shock they often would shout out and bless something.

Here are some examples:
.

Bless my gasoline tank! Bless my insurance policy! Bless my ham sandwich! Bless my suspenders! Bless my chest protector! Bless my night cap! Bless my shoe horn! Bless my fountain pen!
.

It was funny to imagine the characters when they made these exclamations (and others...I ended up writing them all down so I can humor myself later).

Feel free to comment on any of your favorite books, or recently read good ones. I'm always willing to consider recommendations.