Drew is spoiled this year

His new keyboard is huge. Neither of us thought a full 88 key unit was quite this size. For reference, those are Shaq's size 23 flip flops i got off ebay.

Logan's roadhouse

We ate at one of those restaurants where you throw the shells on the floor when you eat peanuts. I followed suit by sending my plate and glass crashing to the floor when i was done eating. When i discovered that wasn't the expected behavior, i decided to tip over 15 percent.

My little buddy

Buddy as long as he's not in our back yard. Actually,now that i've declared war on the rats, i guess squirrels can rest easily...for now.

View from the cart

Drew's perspective of target

Give coke a chance

So, we found out that Diet Coke can go bad. I'd taken a couple for my lunches, and they just didn't taste good...at all. Amy had one for dinner a couple nights ago and was commenting on how bad it was, and we happened to look at the bottom of the can. It was 2 years expired, and we could taste every month. In a mission to determine the best methadone style diet beverage to use in order to get off sugar coke, Amy picked up cases of Coke Zero, Diet Coke, and Diet Coke: Splenda Edition. I'm doing my part to sample the options and provide my input. So far - tastes like coke. I think any of these are fine alternatives, provided they aren't consumed multiple years past their expiration date.

Back on the bike

He wore his helmet while riding, this is his daredevil look for the camera.

A ladybug

Return of the bubble mower

If it only cut grass, he could do the whole neighborhood.

I really need one of these permits

All the best parking spots around the office are 30 minute spots. It's either find a permit or run out and move the car twice an hour.

The green balloon

Shortly before it met some sharp grass

Walking with Amy

At fair oaks park

Visiting with Nana

The Eskaton chicken

A truly noble animal

In the car wash

It's very exciting

The valero preacher

There's a dude that works at the valero gas station who yells the good word at the cars waiting for the light to turn green. I'm afraid his methods don't make him appear very sane.

Drew's truck

This may be the best picture he's taken so far

Trucks? Where are you?

Killing time at the fedex station

Doing it myself

Attempting to diaper himself. This is far too late to still not be toilet trained!

The ghetto bird

The white light is a helicopter that's been circling our house for over an hour. Amy suggested we buy another house tonight, i agree that is a good idea. Maybe a neighborhood where helicopters don't circle the houses at night.

Plan A

This isn't working as well as i'd hoped

Waiting for the propane dude

And waiting and waiting and waiting

A better mousetrap pt. 2

Amy knows me so well...on Friday, while I was at work, she was out buying D-cell batteries to fuel my bloodlust. That's not to say I'm the only one hellbent on eradicating the backyard of vermin, she's probably more creeped out by their presence than I am. She just keeps a low profile and lets me get maniacal about the whole thing.

I figured after leaving for the weekend with a baited and primed mousetrap, I'd surely be greeted by a corpse on returning home. After all, this is the world's most advanced mousetrap. Sadly, when I checked the trap on Sunday afternoon, I was disappointed to see that the trap was empty. I even saw a bit of dog kibble around the entrance. It was quite a letdown, after talking all weekend about how I'd come home to find the trap stuffed with dead rats, who each had clamored into the trap, one after another, oblivious to the fact that this was the very device slaughtering their brethren.

I'm not one to give up in the face of minor advertsity, after all, the man who lent the trap to me told me it would take several days to gain the rat's trust, and I had baited and set it almost immediately. So I gave it another day and went to bed.

This morning, I was greeted with the most wonderful sight. An enormous dead rat in the trap. It was so perfect, he was dead as a doornail, with none of the signature gore that the snap traps left. I took a few pictures, tossed the body, re-set the trap, and tossed in a few more pieces of kibble. As long as I'm pulling in bodies, I'll keep setting the trap, hoping to rid the neighborhood of every last one of these foul beasts.

As a matter of decorum, and because Drew occasionally peeks over my shoulder when I'm writing/reviewing the blog, I'll link to the pictures I took. These are pictures of dead rats, so only look if you're cool with that sort of thing. Approaching the trap, a whale of a tail, and the final kill.

All ready for school

This week, he gets to use his new lunchbox. And we can't forget turtle!

A healthy breakfast

He gets his favorite on a monday.

Let's fight!

We brawled in the paper store while amy shopped

The ghost of daddy

Amateur photography by Drew

Durian!

Aaron said i could get it, but i couldn't open it inside the house, since it smells like roadkill.

New lunchbox

He's so proud, it's thomas the train.

Child abuse!

I had to take out his eyes to clean them. He says the world is much more clear now.

Spazzin' out

Getting ready for a trip with snake and turtle.

F-Zero GX

He thinks he's playing batman, but that's okay.

A better mousetrap

I feel bad about doing so poorly in my blogging performance this week, there's just not a lot of interesting things to take pictures of. However, I do have an interesting adventure of sorts going on.

While having dinner outside on our back patio last week, we were noticing flashes of motion along the perimeter of the back yard, along the fenceline. We thought we saw something dash behind a few boards we had leaning against the fence, so I went over to the boards and agitated them a bit. A rat ran out from one side. A huge, hairy, disgusting rat. I can't stand rats, and I vowed then and there to eradicate them from our property.

The next day, I went down to Walmart and picked up 3 of the standard rat snap traps. Everyone's seen the little wooden mouse traps, the rat traps are similar, only much bigger. I baited all 3 with peanut butter and spread them around the yard in strategic locations. Rats are nocturnal, so I went to bed and hoped for sweet rat death. The next morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the traps had snapped down hard on the neck of one of these foul beasts. The other two traps had the peanut butter licked clean, but the traps hadn't been sprung.

Over the next few days, I re-baited the traps in the evening, to find them licked clean the next morning. I think it may have been the ease of licking that the creamy peanut butter was providing. I began to lose hope. I know that the back yard is still frequented by rats, and I wanted more blood than I got.

Last night, I caught my neighbor Dick out getting ready for the upcoming weekend, and I mentioned my rat woes. Dick commented that he had the best rat trap he'd ever seen. It was the equivalent of "the chair" for rats. It takes 4 D-cell batteries, and is a death chamber of sorts. You build confidence by putting bait at the door of the trap, and let them gain the chamber's trust for a day or two. After you've gained their trust, you put the bait near the back of the trap and turn on the switch. The trap is supposed to violently electrocute the rat, killing him instantly. Sounds good to me.

I need to get some batteries, and I need them quick. We're visiting friends this weekend, and nothing would make me happier than to come home to see that we have one less rat that is going to be sullying our backyard with his verminous presence.

32nd and Serra Way

This is where these 3 punk kids smoke weed while on their way to school. They're there between 730 and 800. Does sac pd read this blog?

Destruction!

I say these guys knocking down buildings yesterday, this is the empty lot right next to the office.

Brushing teeth

His morning ritual

Last days of spikes

A haircut is coming soon.

Spikey hair

He seems very pleased with his new look. Maybe i'll hold off a couple days on his haircut.

Palm trees on a cloudy day

California trees on a day with seattle weather. It's august, i want to see the sun.

One Seahorse up on top

He will not let the Seahorse drop

Drew and berkeley

His new best friend

Santa monica

The beach was terrifying. Well, not to everyone.

Breadstick

He's learning how much fun it is to play with his food.

Wait a minute...what are those?

An odd shaped set of buildings on the way back to la.

An aquarium in frys?

Drew admires the fish while wearing the backpack he got at the zoo

San marcos frys

On the bus

The WGASA tour

We're waiting for the train. I asked the lady what WGASA meant, and she lied to me, saying world's greatest animal show anywhere. Google for the real answer.

Daddy and Drew

They're fascinated by the cleaning habits of the gorillas. Maybe there is something to be learned.

Drew serenades the flamingos

Fat meerkats

A little too well fed

At the zoo