they say he looks like me

, originally uploaded by beths96.

Mom and Beth both swear that holding Ryan is like holding me when I was his age.

Watching him shovel in the food just confirms that fact. :)

in case you're wondering, i composed that song myself.

You ever get tired of people telling you how talented you are?

Me neither.

And yet, after a few years of hearing "You know, you're a good photographer" ... I finally took the hint and decided to do something about it.

Now I have some ground rules:

No ugly children.

That's all I've managed to come up with so far. "No ugly children" should be on a t-shirt somewhere, actually. It reminds me of something I heard once from good ol'G. Ogden Nutting C. Montgomery Burns ... "I don't like being outside, Smithers. For one thing, there's too many fat children."

I keed, I keed ... fat children are fine (I used to be one myself). I'm just looking to find some good subjects to build the portfolio for now. I want to focus on child and family photography, with hopefully some pets thrown in for good measure.

I really enjoy taking pictures, especially the candid, "photojournalism" shots, because they can show the subject's true personality. It's uniquely rewarding to look at a photo afterward and realize you caught it for a fleeting moment.

So hit the site, make my bandwidth costs soar and sign up today. Maybe I'll be able to retire one day.

leave the gun. take the cannoli.

Carbolic Smoke Blog is always funny.

i'm sorry, but my niece is gorgeous

, originally uploaded by beths96.

all dialog guaranteed true

A client's issue just magically repaired itself; the vendor sent me this classic Dilbert in an email:



So then I wrote:

me reporter. me good at math.

This article about high food prices made me laugh, out of pity for the reporter and editor(s) who think the italicized comment is insightful:

In broad terms, the economy isn't terrible ... But it is for those Americans who are pinched by rising food and gasoline costs, and that’s a lot of folks. Half the nation’s families earn below the median family income of about $56,000. Three-fifths of American families report income under $70,000.

Yeah. Half make above the median too. That's why it's a median.

The article is correct about rising food prices, though ... I'm seeing that every time I go to the grocery store.

"You're awesome. That's all that needs to be said" ... about 30 times, apparently.

My wife and I are big fans of Top Chef on Bravo. We're also fans of Anthony Bourdain (and for that I have my former team member T to thank).

Nevertheless, the sycophantic praise of Bourdain borders on the insane. Every time the man farts, people praise its smell, texture and sound.  Need evidence? Check out his very entertaining blog about the most recent Top Chef episode. Ignore that Bravo makes you click six times to read the whole piece ... ignore the crazy design of the web page, daring the reader to pay attention to the words ...

But don't ignore the comments. I got through 53 of them, and found that 30 were nothing but unadulterated praise of Bourdain.

Don't believe me? Check this out:

I've always adored anthony bordain ... WIth blogs like yours, I think I look forward to reading about the show more than I like watching it! ... Your observations are always spot on (and a delight to read, as are all your books). ... Love the comments from Anthony B., he always keeps it real. ... your humor and candor is sorely needed! ... This is scaring me. Are you inside my head now? ... Telling it like it is... Mr. Bourdain, you are right on ... Ah, Chef Bourdain...a rare treat. ... Go, Tony, go! The truth will set us all free. ... You're awesome. That's all that needs to be said. ... You are truly amazing Mr Bourdain. You are so cool!!!!!!!!! ... I love you Anthony never leave us ... I find your blogs insightful, and extremely entertaining. If only life could be narrated by you ... First off I've recently become a huge fan of You Mr. B........I love U, ... OMG - Anthony; you always manage to keep me thoroughly entertained. ... Once again, I hate you!! Not only am I envious of your way with food, but I am jealous of your way with words. ... Once again, Chef, laugh out loud funny and absolutely true. ... Your blog said it all. ... "Snarkologist?" OMG, I am so in love with you! ... Well played Chef, well played indeed! ... Bravo! You hit every single important point of the episode. ... Hello Mr. Bourdain~ You are a riot! I am thrilled that you have your own blog now along with everyone else. ... Simply put this is ther best TC blog I have read. ... Anthony, you rock! ... Yours are the best blogs of all (sorry, everybody else). ... Mr Bourdain: That was a helluva blog. That was the best blog of all time ever. You are God. ... Excellent blog, Lord Bourdain. I was all a-tingle to see you are becoming a regular blogger here ... AB is nail on the head as always. ... Oh Tony... as if I didn't love you enough already, you bust out the Simpsons reference and bring up Mr. Teeny. ... Mr. Bourdain, you are fantastic, sir, absolutely fantastic. ...

rose

, originally uploaded by pr9000.