The Rodeo

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish) and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

The first task set was a fairly simple one: Spend at least 15 minutes immersing yourself in a field you know nothing about.

Sounds easy enough doesn’t it?

I think I spent nearly 2 hours trying to figure out what I didn’t know anything about. I was going to read up on French art history (really!) when Jen suggested I learn how to play the ukulele we bought Mat for Christmas.

So while Jen slipped into the bath, I started investigating the Ukulele. Did you know that ukulele means jumping flea? If you visit a site with that name (no, I won’t link it ;)) you will find lots of information on ukuleles presented by a hawaiian girl in a pink hibiscus bikini. I didn’t spend much time there. Rather, I went to Ukulele Lesson and the much more user-friendly The Uke which had a three minute learn-to-play-the-ukulele lesson, and a four minute lesson. I took both.

So after twenty (not seven… I’m a slow learner) minutes, I learned how to tune a ukulele (it’s not the same as a guitar - the strings are A-E-C-G, and they aren’t in pitch order), and the tuning gets lost very quickly (espescially since Mat’s uke is a cheap one).

I also learned how to play a C chord and a G⁷ chord. Together these make for very little song playing.

My final lesson learned was that I have very fat fingers (I actually already knew this - I find it hard to type fast because my fingers generally mash multiple keys at once) and that I am not built for playing the ukulele. I might try learning a few more chords so I can play some stuff for Matthias and Jen (who isn’t a fan of my uke skills as they stand), but I think on the whole I would much rather stick with my great bass guitar. One note at a time, with huge spaces between frets, is great for my chubby fingers.

As for immersing myself in something entirely new, I think that was a success.

RodeoClown: can play two chords on a ukulele, which he couldn’t this morning

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish) and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

The second task: Find a reason to celebrate and do something to celebrate it.

This one was actually fairly easy. Domino’s Pizza plastered us with the only paper-spam I like - discount vouchers for pizza.

This one was different though… it was promoting…

Triple. Cheese. Pizza.

Now that is a reason to celebrate. And celebrate we did, Chicken and Bacon pizza on a triple cheese base plus a small garlic pizza on the side. I had two garlic slices on the way home, and then three slices of the real pizza at the dinner table. I honestly couldn’t fit more than that. Washed it down with a cold milo.

This is truly the way pizzas should be. I loved it even more than the old cheese burst pizzas (of which this is really just a souped-up model). The fact that the celebration reason and method are one and the same is an added bonus.

And yes, you can ask Jen, I really do think this is a reason to celebrate

RodeoClown: will continue this celebration of the next phase in pizza technology tomorrow morning. Hoorah!

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish) and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

The third task : Do something that is typically seen as inappropriate for someone of your age.

Pffft… too easy. For someone who routinely dives down the stairs on the train, slides down bannisters, bounces while at work, eats with his fingers, picks his nose… wait… scrap that last one. Anyway, I think you get my point: doing something that is typically seen as age-inappropriate is something that I do without even trying, so coming up with something truly ground-breaking in this area shouldn’t be too difficult.

At first I was planning on giving Extreme Skipping a go, after reading Kim’s post on skipping into the new year, I figured that it was something I haven’t done in at least five years* (I thought about it a month or three ago on my way home from work, but I wussed out and didn’t do it).

So, we headed out to fill the car with petrol, and whilst there I skipped a little. Got a few funny looks from people, made Jen laugh, but it didn’t really make me feel inappropriate.

So after that skipping setback, we went for a cruise while I tried to think of something to do.

While we were waiting for dinner to cook, it struck me. Underpants. Towel. I had everything I needed to be my very own superhero. So I donned my wonder-pants (red ones, on the outside, of course) and threw my cape around my neck and proceeded to fulfil my mission to bring laughter to my family.

Mat completely ignored me, so I dubbed him tiger-boy (because he insisted on wearing his Tigger pyjamas from lunchtime onwards), and left him to his own heroic duties, which consisted entirely of climbing onto the arm of our lounge and diving into it, face first.

I managed to make Jen laugh a few times, we ate dinner, and I will continue to survey my domain and offer it my protection until we go to bed later this evening.

RodeoClown: loves the fact that a child considers it not at all unusual to wear underpants on the outside.

*Computer studies. Penrith High. 1999: picture a dozen teenagers, young adults, seventeen or eighteen years of age, skipping their way through the school grounds and to their seats in front of bewildered schoolkids and teachers. Yeah, that was the last time I skipped.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish) and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

The fourth task : Add something childlike (not necessarily childish) to your workspace or home.

This one prompted me to just do something simple but nice.

I went into the garden and grabbed a handful of daffodils, a hydrangea flower and leaf and the head of an agapanthus. I put these into a bowl, arranged them nicely and then set them on the table.

Jen thought it looked nice, and it seemed like a very childlike thing to do. Flowers are beautiful, and these aren’t your normal flower arrangement type. Beautiful.

Five Iron Frenzy - Dandelions

In a field of yellow flowers
Underneath the sun
Bluest eyes that spark with lightning
Boy with shoes undone
He is young, so full of hope
Reveling in tiny dreams
Filling up his arms with flowers
Right for giving any queen
Running to her, beaming bright
While cradling his prize
A flickering of yellow light
Within his mother’s eyes
She holds them to her heart
Keeping them where they’ll be safe
Clasped within her very marrow
Dandelions in a vase.

She sees love where anyone else would see weeds
All hope is found, here is everything he needs

Fathomless Your endless mercy
Weight I could not lift
Where do I fit in this puzzle?
What good are these gifts?
Not a martyr or a saint
Scarcely can I struggle through
All that I have ever wanted
Was to give my best to You

Lord search my heart
Create in me something clean
…dandelions…
You see flowers in these weeds

Gently lifting hands to heaven
Softened by the sweetest hush
A Father sings over His children
Loving them so very much
More than words could warrant
Deeper than the darkest blue
More than sacrifice could merit
Lord, I give my heart to you

Lord search my heart
Create in me something clean
…dandelions…
You see flowers in these weeds

RodeoClown: sees flowers where others see weeds.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish) and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Aim:
To determine whether hair-care products provide a noticable improvement to the quality of underarm hair.

Hypothesis:
Applying standard hair-care products to underarm hair will not make said hair noticably shinier, smoother or less frizzy.

Method:
1. Wash right underarm (control arm) with soap and water.
2. Wash left underarm with Shampoo. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
3. Apply Conditioner from tip to root.
4. Leave for 1-2 minutes before rinsing (as per directions).
5. Get observer to feel both underarms and identify which used the hair-care products.

Products used:
Pears’ Transparent Soap
IGA Vita Shine (with pro-vitamin B5) Shampoo (normal/everyday use)
IGA Vita Shine (with pro-vitamin B5) Conditioner (normal/everyday use)

Results:
Observer successfully determined which underarm had been washed using hair-care products.
Observer noted that the control arm hair was “festy” and “felt like it was coated with something”.
Observer and experimenter decided that a second test may be needed, washing the control underarm with water only, as the soap coated the hairs and this may have invalidated the test.
Experimenter notes that the observer is unlikely to repeat her part in a repeat test.

Conclusion:
Shampooing and conditioning underarm hair produces a noticably different feel to using only soap. Whether using water only for the control arm would provide different results is unclear.

RodeoClown: found it really hard to have his underams touched, because 1) he is extremely ticklish and 2) it’s freaking wierd.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish) and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

My dream is this: Make a game that is played by thousands of people.

I’ve written it (in crayon) on a big bit of paper and it will be stuck on the wall behind my computers once I find some Blu-tack.

That demotivation poster will remind me to chase this dream like a rainbow, I might not ever catch it, but it’s fun to run. If that makes me an idiot, then call me an idiot :).

RodeoClown: is a bigger idiot than you.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish) and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Today I was working from home, so after lunch, Jen and I put the boy to bed and spent 15 minutes or so just having kisses with each other. That was really nice, and something we haven’t really made time to do for a while.

RodeoClown: loves kissing his wife.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

* *

The next person to sit down in the first toilet cubicle at work will have that masterpiece to stare at while they do their ‘busy-work’.

Woo! This plan is 20% done!

RodeoClown: is keeping his eyes peeled for midgets. In disguise.

Note: This podcast is very (very) funny (see this additional warning) but it contains some swearing and some quite rude topics of conversation. It is just about the funniest thing I have ever heard in my life - espescially Monkey News.

*Note: This is supposed to be two midgets dressing in a long coat to disguise themselves. But you all knew that. Didn’t you?

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Today (well, yesterday… sorry), I wrote a letter to Tony Abbott, our Federal Minister for Health and Ageing. Mr Abbott is well known (in Australia anyway) as having strong views against abortion, and lots of people (well, maybe lots, I’m not sure, but they are very vocal) don’t like the fact that he has beliefs different to theirs and happens to be in a position where those beliefs can affect public policy.

I’m very much against abortion (it’s a horrible thing to kill a child), and so I wrote a letter to Mr Abbott encouraging him to not cave in on his views, that people voted him in to office knowing what those views were, and that there are at least some people who think he’s doing the right thing in promoting options to abortion.

RodeoClown: hates the idea of killing a baby because you don’t feel like having it.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Tonight Jennifer and I are going to write a love letter to each other (I know it’s soppy, but hey…) and then we are going to seal them up in two envelopes, stick ‘em in a photo frame, hang them on the wall and open them in ten years time.

Well, that’s the plan assuming this train actually gets me home tonight… Wait, we might make it, just jerked forward another foot. Blasted CityRail.

RodeoClown: is waiting on a train.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

My parents are/were pretty cool thinking back on it now.

Eating dessert for breakfast? I got a few discouraging looks from mum when I’d eat leftover chocolate self-saucing pudding and custard (Best. Breakfast. Ever), but I never got in trouble for it.

Curfews? I never really had one, I normally went to bed at 8:30 or so because that’s when I got tired.

I watched an MA rated movie today (Shaun of the Dead - very funny, lots of swearing/violence). I don’t think I was ever forbidden to watch them though… maybe I can count it anyway…

I think I’m going to have to call a pass on this one. Sorry guys.

Update: Callum thinks that me driving the car counts as something my parents wouldn’t let me do as a child. That’s cool. Except I didn’t drive the car.

RodeoClown: doesn’t think that having Jen sleep in his bed counts.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Dear Alby,
Thanks for being a great role model and friend when I was younger. You had a huge influence on my development throughout school, and showed me that someone could be both cool and Christian. You tried so hard to love everyone you met (and generally succeeded), you inspired me to try and do the same.

I’m not as good at it as you were/are.

Thankyou for showing me that having integrity often came at a cost, but that the cost was one worth paying. Thanks for showing me the truth that could be found in the Bible, and for befriending me even though I was nearly a decade younger than you.

Thanks for being a shoulder to lean on when I needed it, a sounding board for my ideas, and an inspiration to be a great man. I hope that you read this someday and that you will know just how important to my life you were.

Know that if you ever need anything, a place to crash, food to eat, someone to lean on or just an ear to talk at, I will drop everything to help you.

You have been a great friend, and are my childhood hero. Contact me sometime (leave a comment here if you want, or email me).

God bless you Alby.
-Ian Tyrrell

RodeoClown: wouldn’t be who he is today without Alby’s help.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

I went for a walk around Darling Harbour yesterday. In the rain.

*

Neither of those are something that I have never done before, but… this time it was different. This time, rather than trying to get undercover, keep dry, stay warm, I decided to enjoy the feel of the rain. To relish it rather than resent it. I walked along the rapidly emptied harbour side, jumping in (shallow) puddles, feeling the rain on my face. My shirt got soaked through (there was nothing I could do to prevent that anyway), and I had the biggest grin in Sydney that lunchtime. I ran. I jumped. I laughed.

I got a few looks from the many people running to get undercover, hurrying their children along. People genuinely seemed frightened of the rain. I don’t know why. It’s only water.

I thought it was glorious.

RodeoClown: discovered that his new shoes are waterproof. For now.

*note: Dave Pinn let me use this photo, thanks Dave!

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Yesterday though, no dice. No old people needing stuff carried. No mums with prams (except in the rain). Plenty of seats on the train.

I thought I wasn’t going to be able to accomplish this, when a lady sitting opposite me got up, leaving her jumper behind.

I gave it back to her.

Mission accomplished. Lamely.

RodeoClown: couldn’t find anybody to help.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

As not everyone who reads my stuff has done university level maths (where I learned this topic), I am going to give a (very) brief overview of set theory.

Ok, so to start, a definition: A set is a collection of unique objects.

Yep, that’s it. A collection of unique objects. That means that in the set of numbers from 1 to 10 I would have: {1, 3, 2, 5, 4, 9, 7, 8, 10, 6}. If you want to have multiple copies of a number in there, it would stop being a set and start being a list. So the fibonacci numbers (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13) are a list, not a set.

You might have also noticed in that set there is no given order - that’s because sets don’t have  an order. They are just a collection of values.

That’s the definition, but not very useful on it’s own. However, using sets in combination can be quite useful.

An example is probably in order. Say I have two sets: the set of number between 1 and 10 (as given above) and a set of numbers that are multiples of 3  {3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18}. Using these two sets I can find the set of numbers that are multiples of three and under ten.

To find this set we perform what is known as an intersection - that is, where the two sets intersect each other, or where they overlap when you put them on top of each other.

So the resulting set is {3, 6, 9}.

The other major thing you can do with sets is a union. A union is quite simply putting the combination of two sets together. So, lets take our set that we created last time: {3, 6, 9} and combine it with the multiples of two that are less than ten: {2, 4, 6, 8}.

The resulting set this time is {2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9} (notice how the 6 only ends up in the set once).
Not hugely interesting, but you can use these two procedures to find out lots of useful things with sets.

Now a real world example.

I usually have peanut butter and vegemite on my sandwiches. So that means I would have the set of sandwich ingredients like so: {PB, V}. I also like to have peanut butter and honey on sandwiches: {PB, H}. So, considering each sandwich a set of toppings, we can perform an intersection and find out that I like having peanut butter on my sandwiches - the intersection of the two sets is {PB}.

Now, we can also perform a union on the two sets here and find another combination that I might also like.

The union of the two sets of sandwich toppings I like provides this {PB, V, H}.

So, it seems like a good sandwich for me to try would be peanut butter, vegemite and honey.

… insert 5 minutes here…

Not too bad. It’s like eating dinner and dessert at the same time. The vegemite is pretty salty, and the honey is quite sweet, and the peanut butter… it’s peanut butter. Probably not what I would eat every day, but it wasn’t the horror I imagined it would be.

There you go then, a lesson on set theory, and a tasty snack.

RodeoClown: really does eat this stuff.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

According to Mum, her dad’s line runs back to the first fleet, but all her grandparents were Australian. Dad’s grandparents were all Aussie too, except one (I think), who was from America.

If you keep going back, there is Irish, Scottish, German, English and a bunch of other European countries represented in there. I think we have some Scandanavian (or similar) in the blood too.

RodeoClown: didn’t learn very much this time.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

I’ll update here when I actually get to making it (should be tomorrow).

RodeoClown: likes this cake a whole lot. It has cinnamon and sour-cream icing.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

I read this task after having gone for a short drive with Jen. I think we fulfilled the criteria without even trying.Mat was being looked after by his grandparents, so we decided to go for a drive. Jen wanted to go to the beach, as we haven’t been for about six months and we probably won’t get much of a chance to go too often for the next six months either.So we started driving not too sure where we’d end up.

We ended up at Collaroy - one of Sydney’s Northern beaches.

We’ve both been there before (mainly with youth group camps), so that didn’t count. But where we had lunch does: The Atlas, a restaurant in Newcastle. I haven’t been to Newcastle since I was about 10, when we went to see my cousin (I think?) get cannonised at the cathedral there. The restaurant did pretty decent food, but I wasn’t too hungry as I’d had some hot chips at Wiseman’s Ferry beforehand.

So there you go, a nice little drive to eat somewhere I’ve never eaten before.

RodeoClown: drove the whole five-hundred and fifty-odd kilometres.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Jen comes round, she smells faintly of oil paints, as she’s been busy painting more masterpieces. Our whole house is full of them. She hands me a plate covered with pieces of chocolate fudge and banana cake. This is the future, so they taste great and have no calories whatsoever. I can eat as much of them as I want without putting on any more weight. Jen still looks fantastic.

I can feel the breeze on my face as I sit and think and thank God for my family and friends (who are all still around and healthy).

RodeoClown: is almost living his dream now. If only he didn’t have to change nappies.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

The only wrongs I could think of were when I was a jerk to people at school* over a decade ago. I don’t even know if they have the same names now, and I seriously doubt they read my blog.

The only other person I have hurt recently I’ve apologised to in private.

RodeoClown: is really sorry you guys.

*Leonie Jones, Lauren Matthews and Leslie Gosner**, sorry for being a jerk on the last day of year six, when I saw you on the train in year eight, and for losing your watch respectively. These things have been bugging me for ten years and I don’t have any idea how to contact you guys. Maybe you’ll find this in an ego search. I am sorry.

**Apparently I’m a jerk to people who’s names begin with ‘L’.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

It is haiku time.
It’s not really poetry
If it doesn’t rhyme

He doesn’t like dirt.
He tells everybody that
His “Finger. Door. Hurt.”

Gorgeous redhead. Yes,
Jennifer is the one that
I really love best.

RodeoClown: me.
My little family will
soon be four, not three.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Anyone who would like to join me in doing this is welcome to do so.

So, The Rules:

1) No complaining. If something sucks, deal with it. Or get help. 
Don’t whinge about it. That really won’t fix it.

2) You ARE allowed to say that something was bad - i.e., you get 
your leg ripped off by a savage dog - say “Ouch, it appears a dog has torn my leg from my body. If somebody could staunch the free flow of blood, and perhaps call an ambulance, that would be most excellent”.

3) Cries of pain are allowed (see point 2).

4) If someone starts complaining around you tell them to knock it
off. They can complain tomorrow. If they really must.

5) Don’t complain about not being allowed to complain. You didn’t have to join in you know.

6) You don’t have to stop complaining for only a day. Make it a week, month or year if you can. A lifetime would be great too.

Enjoy your complaint-free day.

RodeoClown: not complaining today.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Sometimes the obvious response to a task is the best, so Jen and Mat accompanied me to Gloria Park, which happens to be about two minutes walk from our house. Or twenty minutes if Mat walks too.

This is me, giving my thoughts on that bit of equipment to my right (your left). It is the funnest thing at the park, being a stick that swivels. You jump on it and give it a spin, then hold on. Tight. Falling off is easier than it looks. Lean in closer to speed it up and increase the centrifugal force on your body greatly. Lean back to slacken the pace.

This place is basically a jail for kids. Only they actually want to be there. So maybe it is actually a jail for adults who are watching their kids…

Matty being just as cute as can be.

I used to be this tall too.

The swings. Not much else to say.

RodeoClown: loves showing off his family.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Inspired by Jason’s blue milk. I decided to have some too.

I saw Beru Lars years ago on Star Wars drinking it, and always wanted to try, but never got around to doing it. After adding the food colouring, the milk did taste a little bit different (but that might have just been my imagination). Mat seemed to like it too.

RodeoClown: has got a blue milk moustache.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

I figured I’d better keep it up for the remainder of the conversation otherwise I might sound wierd, what, with the switching accents and all.

He didn’t seem very interested in a chat, just wanted me to sign his little computer-thing.

He didn’t even care that I, Paddy O’Shamus, was obviously a member of the IRA, and all I ate was potatoes. The clover in my hair didn’t phase him, nor did my green top hat and suit (overflowing with gold coins). I offered him a taste of the magical land of leprechauns, rainbows and Guinness, and he couldn’t care less.

Poor guy.

RodeoClown: didn’t sing about rovin’.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

variegated \VAIR-ee-uh-gay-tid\, adjective:

1. Having marks or patches of different colors; as, “variegated leaves or flowers.”
2. Varied; distinguished or characterized by variety; diversified.

We have variegated plants in the garden, and Mat’s topics of interest are also quite variegated. I think I managed to use this word a few times in the day and it will probably remain in general usage for a little while yet.

RodeoClown: has an increasingly variegated vocabulary.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

What am I talking about?

Next time you walk, you will notice that your arms naturally swing opposite to the direction you are placing the foot on that side. So, if you put your right foot forward, your left arm will swing forward to match it. This keeps your balance quite nicely.

If you make a conscious effort to swing your arms together instead of separately, you’ll find your body moves differently while you walk, jerking back and forward at the end of the swing.

People also look at you funny. I don’t know why.

RodeoClown: swinging.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

After I got home today, I went for a drive with Jen and Mat and then pulled in at the shops to purchase one of these:

No, not the two keyboards, or the mouse (that’s just my desk). I bought that bright orange gumball at the bottom of the picture, it cost 20c (also pictured). I’m chewing it now.

I always wanted to get these when I was a kid, and I can count the number of times I did on one hand. With fingers to spare. Anyway, I got one now.

Here’s a closeup:

RodeoClown: chewing.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

We asked her about breech deliveries vs. caesarean sections.

Found out a whole bunch of stuff on that topic. If the baby has it’s head up when it is due to be born, it is considered to be in the breech position. They should be facing the other direction (for best results).

Some doctors won’t deliver babies in the breech position, rather, they’ll just perform a c-section and take the baby out directly, as this way the baby won’t get ’stuck’ on the way out. Dr Parry said she would let Jen try a breech delivery if she wanted as she’s had a baby before and so we her body can handle it.

Hopefully baby #2 will turn over shortly and we won’t have to do either of these options, but it is good to know what happens in both of them so we can make an informed decision if we need to.

RodeoClown: is praying that this baby will turn over soon. Please pray too.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Friday is my work at home day, and I was trying to fix a particularly annoying bug that has been sitting on my to-do list for the last six months. I had to keep restarting a server and then changing things to test it worked correctly and didn’t break anything worse than it was to start with. Not particularly fun. And the fact I had managed to put it off for six months is a good indication that I wasn’t looking forward to it too much.

I noticed a book sitting on the bookshelf to my left -  a book of logic puzzles. The type with a bunch of clues and a grid you use to determine who did what, where and when kind of thing. My mother-in-law found it at her place lying around and gave it to me the other day. Thanks Carol! So while I was waiting for restarts and tests to run, I solved a few of these puzzles. Not super exiting, but it made me feel a whole lot better.

RodeoClown: logician-magician.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

I sat at my computer in my little office space at home and just listened.

I can hear the dishwasher engine, and the occasional quiet ‘clink’ as things get moved around in it.
Whoa - I just heard a series of loud bangs… bang. bang-bang. bang-bang-bang-bang. Gun? Fireworks? Gone now, but it was definitely unexpected.
I can hear the fan in the bathroom whirring as it sucks the moisture out of the air in there (there’s a fair bit as I slipped getting in the bath and created my own little tsunami…).
I can hear my computer occasionally spin up the hard drive as it writes something, and then spin back down when it is done (this is very quick).
I can hear the occasional gumnut drop onto the roof (which is tin, so it’s very loud).
I can hear cars on the highway, and another going past our house.
I can hear the clock just outside the door ticking (very quietly).
I can hear a truck braking as it comes down the hill on the highway. And another.
I can hear a freight train pushing as hard as it can to go up the hill. It’s drowning out pretty much everything else. It has a low noise of the engine, but also a loud squealing of the wheels. Actually, it could be coming down the hill.
I can hear the toilet cistern open up and start refilling (we have a small leak that I need to try and fix again).
I can hear the water in the dishwasher swishing around.
I can hear some small insect outside.

RodeoClown: quiet.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

On the train on the way home, I had a small boy (maybe 6) and his mother sit opposite me in a  4-seater.

The young boy was getting a bit bored, as I was doing a crossword and his mum was just sitting there. She didn’t look much older than me.

Anyway, I put my crossword away and just sat there pulling subtle faces at him. He decided that it was appropriate to do the ‘underarm fart’ trick. Repeatedly.

My response was probably the best (for him) and the worst (for his mum, trying to remain serious on a packed train) - I tried not to laugh. Of course this resulted in me cracking up and laughing long and loud along with him.

I thought about joining in myself, but I have never learnt the art of the underarm fart :(.

RodeoClown: is not convinced that flatulence is a virtue.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Jen got a plain old chocolate milkshake, while I got a Peppermint-Choc-QuakeShake(tm), which is pretty much just a peppermint chocolate bar crushed up and dropped into a green, peppermint flavoured thickshake.

Tasty and filling
RodeoClown: hadn’t tried this before.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Telekinesis sounds pretty cool, but laser eyes and adamantium claws are also extremely awesome.

So, as you can probably guess, as a child I loved watching superhero cartoons, primarily X-men, which was just so well done. I can see flaws in it now that I’m older, but the fact they killed off (supposedly) one of the main characters, who was even in the opening credits, sealed the deal with me. This wasn’t a cartoon like the others I’ve seen. Also, they got the voices so perfectly right that even seeing live actors play the roles still sounds wrong in my head. Wolverine espescially, that guy just didn’t put a word wrong, bub.

The comics are cool too. I think my favourite (having only read the synopsis) story is this one in Ultimate X-Men (they started afresh without all the baggage from the hundreds of other comics). A child has recently manifested his mutant ability, the ability to kill all living things that come near to him. Wolverine finds him alone in a cave and talks to him, his mutant healing factor keeping him alive near this deadly kid. Ah, just reading that overview makes me feel tingly, it is so well written, and such a sad story. I nearly cried just reading it.

Anyway, after thinking about how cool those comics and cartoons were when I was a kid (an now), I watched a few episodes of X-men:Evolution, the latest cartoon incarnation of these superheroes. Not quite as great as the old cartoons, the new intro music isn’t anywhere near as memorable and the voices don’t quite fit, but still very well done, with some great stories.

RodeoClown: can kill you with his mind.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Having someone love you this much and showing it in this way is more than I can explain. It’s completely different from the romantic crud thrust upon us around St Valentine’s day, different from the love of a spouse, different from the sex all around us, it is pure and comes from an absolute dependence upon someone else. There’s nothing like it in the world. It’s brought me to tears more than once.

RodeoClown: can’t wait to get home tonight.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Until I visited my parent’s house.

I found a handbag my mum had made, and saw that if I put it on my head, it looked like a cross between a chef’s hat, one of those russian hats, and a beefeater hat. Cool.

I marched around their house for a bit while wearing it, and managed to get everyone there to laugh out loud. Espescially Mat. He fell over laughing.

Kids can wear anything they want and as long as they feel like it’s cool, it’s cool.

I’m cool.

RodeoClown: probably wouldn’t wear this outside.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Tuna Noodles:

1. Start boiling some water (for the noodle part).

2. Turn on the heat under another saucepan, you want it to be about half-heat.
3. Whack a tablespoon or so of butter in the saucepan and let it melt a little.
4. While the butter is starting to melt, go find some flour and throw about a heaped tablespoon into the butter.
5. Mix these up.
6. Open a can of tuna in brine (NOT oil, springwater would probably work too, but it would taste terrible) - I normally use a 500g can. Toss the entire contents of this can into the mix (yes, with the brine).

7. If the water is boiling, chuck some noodles in there, if not, wait till it is and then do it. I like macaroni best, but this is good with most types of noodle.

8. Mix the sauce, adding milk till it’s runny, but not super wet (I normally just drop a half-cup or so of milk in at a time). If you have any cream or sour-cream in the fridge, throw it in now.
9. Grate some cheese - I normally grate about half a block of cheese, so about half a kilo worth. Chuck the cheese in too, leaving a small amount out to stick on top when it’s finished.
10. Keep adding milk so the sauce is a little runny (but still pretty thick), while the noodles cook.

11. When the noodles are ready, drain them.

12. Get a packet of french-onion soup mix, add some of that in (I find the no-name brands taste much better than the expensive ones for this, they make worse soup, but better condiments :)).
13. Add some more cheese.
14. Serve the noodles with sauce, adding some grated cheese on top, along with a bit more soup mix.

14a. If you want to make this a bit more fancy, chuck it in a casserole dish and cover the top with cheese. Stick it under the grill until it goes golden-brown. Then eat it.

RodeoClown: eats this a lot.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

Doesn’t sound very hand-made, does it?

Jen and I have a ‘tradition’ of sticking things (photos, notes and the like) in the backs of frames. When we open the frame up, for whatever reason, a surprise is there waiting.

RodeoClown: will let you draw your own conclusion.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

This isn’t a very amazing practical joke, but you can give people near-heart attacks with it if they don’t notice you coming. It’s even funnier if there is a bunch of people watching you creep up behind someone in mid-conversation.

I did this at work and nearly killed a guy (sorry Mark).

It has now become kind of my work trademark, and people see if they can catch me out with it too, they even mangage it occasionally.

In other kinda-related news: I once convinced my Nana I was a carpet steam-cleaning salesman and had her on the phone for fifteen minutes trying to convince me that she didn’t need her carpet cleaned. Sorry Nana.

RodeoClown: ha.

I have been asked by Kim and Jason to take part in their Adultitis Escape Plan, a 40-day plan to become more childlike (not childish)
and to reduce stress and prevent dullness, depression and [insert
another word beginning with ‘d’ here]. Of course I’m gonna do it.

Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’.

The only real work-type stuff I did was nappy changing. It’s a bit of work, but hey, leave that for a day, and you’ll really be having problems (plus a screaming two-year-old is not great for relaxing).

I’m currently on holidays from work (due to baby #2 Jesse being born and Jen needing some help), and our lawn needs mowing again. Sick-of-it day take 2? I’m not sure. We’ll see whether I can avoid mowing for another day.

Thanks Kim and Jason for the forty days worth of ideas. I know some of them I’ll keep doing, and some I’ll plan for again. Maybe I’ll try and do the whole forty days again in a few years. We’ll see.

RodeoClown: sick of it (where it is unspecified, boring work).

[kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/dyl20G_GSzU” height=”350″ width=”425″ /]

Cure adultitis.

RodeoClown: What are chinos?