Terrible Analogies

2011 was a whirlwind of change, a time for reflection, and a year of uncertainty.

As we countdown the final few days of the year, I thought I’d jot down a quick list of what happened over the past 365 days. I find that as time marches on our short-term memories seem to fail us. With the glut of information at our fingertips we tend to quickly slough off yesterday’s news in favor of the flavor of the moment.

But taking a step back and reflecting on what went down in the short span of a single year can come as a shock to the system, bringing home the fact that we are, indeed, living in some amazing (and odd) times.

So please, if you will, step into the wayback machine with me and ask yourself, “Do I remember….”:

• The loss of the iPhone 4 prototype in a bar
• Netflix and Quickster
• The assassination of Osama bin-Laden via Seal Team Six
• The assassination of Gaddafi
• The death of Kim Jon-il
• The Japanese earthquake and Tsunami
• Arab Spring and the role social sites played
• The final movie and wrap-up of the Harry Potter series
• Obama releasing his birth certificate
• The royal wedding
• “Don’t ask, don’t tell” repealed
• Anthony Weiner and “Weiner-Gate”
• The hacking of the Playstation network
• The end of the war in Iraq
• Earth’s population reached 7 billion
• NASA launched its final shuttle mission
• The “Occupy” movement
• The global economy
• Apple becomes the most valuable company in the world
• IBM’s Watson beats human champions on Jeopardy
• Jerry Sandusky child molestation charges
• The NBA lockout
• Tim Tebow
• News of the World phone hacking
• Solyndra and the waste of taxpayer dollars
• Salmonella from ground turkey
• Listeria from cantaloupes
• The Casey Anthony aquittal
• Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shot
• Mass shooting in Norway
• Ted “Golden Voice” Willaims
• The trial of Dr. Conrad Murphy
• Notable deaths: Elizabeth Taylor, Jeff Conaway, Ryan Dunn, Peter Falk, Amy Winehouse, Steve Jobs, Andy Rooney, Heavy D, Patrice O’Neal, Harry Morgan, Bil Keane, “Smokin’” Joe Frazier, Dan Wheldon, Al Davis, Cliff Robertson, Nick Ashford, Bubba “Hightower” Smith, Betty Ford, Clarence Clemons, James Arness, Jack “Dr. Death” Kevorkian, Clarice Taylor, Gil Scott-Heron, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Harmon Killebrew, Jackie Cooper, Gelandine Ferraro, Warren Christopher, Michael Gough, Len Lesser

And so we wrap up 2011, and look forward to what will hopefully be an interesting 2012 (crossing my fingers that the Mayans were wrong about the end of times in 2012).

Here’s wishing everyone out there a very Happy New Year!

Will see you again on January 3rd!

The worst thing about the holidays is that, eventually, you have to return to work.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas, and for those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, here’s hoping that you had a relaxing three days at home.

Over the past ten days I’ve finished reading Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, and The Night Of The Triffids by Simon Clark.  In fact, I wrapped up The Night Of The Triffids on Christmas morning, so receiving the book 11/22/63 by Stephen King from my parents couldn’t have been better timed.  Can’t wait to dive into it this Tuesday!

And why do gift cards get such a bad rap?  These things are amazing!  I can go to my favorite store and stock up on whatever I like, and the sender doesn’t have to worry about picking out the wrong gift.  This year I got gift cards for Best Buy, the Apple store, and a very generous gift card for the Hope Depot.  Thanks, Mom/Dad -in-law!  You guys are awesome

Tyler, or course, made out like a bandit.  I don’t recall ever receiving as many presents when I was a kid as he did on Christmas morning!  Two days after receiving his presents and I’m still finding Lego cubes under the television, couch, and secreted away in several drawers in the kitchen.  Heh…

Anyway, it was great to break away for a bit, but I actually can’t wait to get back to work.  After five days away from the office I find myself actually looking forward to getting back into my cubicle and doing something productive.  Am I the only one who feels this way after an extended vacation?

Tyler deeply engrossed in his tractor video. Thanks, Grandpa!

"Can we go though the Thomas & Friends book again, mom? I'm finding many inconsistencies between the sum of the energy input and the final tally of produced product. My hypothesis is that the trains can work 20% more efficiently and produce 50% more output. Here, let me show you..."

Godfather Dain really hooked Tyler up with gifts. Tyler now refuses to go on car rides unless he can take along a Thomas toy. Thanks, Dain, for unleashing the beast

It’s that time of year again when I take a few days off from work to spend time with friends and family.

I wanted to take a quick moment to wish each and every one of you out there a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Crazy Kwanzaa, Ludicrous Las Posadas, Breathtaking Boxing Day, and a pleasant non-denominational observance day.  Many thanks for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment!

I’ll be away from the Terrible Analogies for several days, but will be returning on Tuesday the 27th.

In the meantime, here’s hoping for nothing but the best for you and yours!

Merry Christmas!

This past weekend Karin and I took Tyler to see Santa for the first time.

For the first ten seconds that he was sitting on Santa’s knee, Tyler didn’t know what to make of him.

But then a light blinked on in Tyler’s head, and for five seconds he smiled.  That’s when this picture was taken.

The next 15 seconds were filled with maniacal shrills and flowing tears.  Tyler was suddenly overcome with a terrible fear of Santa and wanted nothing more than mommy, who quickly came to his rescue.

But man, those five seconds of smiling were something special!

Oh, and for the record, Tyler wants “choos-choos” and “brmm-brmms” for Christmas.  He’s all about trains and cars…

I’m going to be taking the next two days off, so for all of my North American friends:  Happy Thanksgiving!

For everybody else:  Happy Thursday!

Tonight Karin and I are going to make a dessert (Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake) to take over to the parents for Thanksgiving dinner Thursday eve, where I hope to avoid my sister who now considers herself an “artist” and can’t stop going on about her run down apartment-turned-studio where the next door neighbor hasn’t bothered to take down the crime scene tape from last month’s “incident”. Oh, she’s a pip, that one.

Regardless, on Thursday night I plan to do much of the following after stuffing my face:

Will be back to posting Monday morning after the tryptophan wears off.

Hope everyone is able to ease into the holidays unscathed. See you next week!