dilbert-2012-11-16

via Dropbox

dilbert-2012-11-16

via Dropbox

When I'm Gone Lyrics

These are the lyrics to "Cups", aka "When I'm Gone", performed by
Lulu and the Lampshades (also here) on their Cold Water album. I note them here because all the other sources on the internet are either incomplete or incorrect.  Italicized phrases indicate areas where I have trouble understanding the lyrics.

I got my ticket for the long way 'round
two bottles of whiskey for the way
and I sure would like some sweet company
oh I'm leaving tomorrow what'd'ya say


When I'm gone (When I'm gone)
When I'm gone (When I'm gone)
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone


I got my ticket for the long way 'round
the one with the prettiest views
it's got mountains it's got rivers
it's got woods that'll give you shivers [see note]
but it sure would be prettier with you.


When I'm gone (When I'm gone)
When I'm gone (When I'm gone)
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my walk
You will miss me by my talk


You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
I got my ticket for the long way 'round
these feet weren't built to stay too long
and I've gone out on my own 
but you'll miss me when you're home
it's for you, dear, that I sing this song.


When I'm gone (When I'm gone)
When I'm gone (When I'm gone)
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone


When I'm gone (When I'm gone)
When I'm gone (When I'm gone)
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my walk
You will miss me by my talk
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

Note: On the album they sing "it's got woods that'll give you shivers", but at other times they sing, "it's got site's that'll give you shivers".

Max's first bicycle ride

Max rode his bicycle for the first time ever this evening. We've already posted the video to Facebook (and yes, we both posted it, because we are THAT EXCITED).

We were practicing with Max riding while I held on to the seat. I switched to holding his shoulder, since that didn't require bending over and walking like a duck, and noticed that I didn't really have to provide much in the way of assistance. I took my hand off a few times, and when Max realized he was able to bike on his own he started saying, "Don't hold on, Papa! Let go!". It was awesome.

He still needs practice -- starting is of course a challenge -- but this means that any day now we can put Max on his bike and Kira on the push bike and have a little around-the-block adventure together.

Woohoo!

A few funny phrases

Max went to wash his hands the other day...a few minutes later he leapt out of the bathroom with a look of pantomime surprise on his face and exclaimed, "Good heavens! There are no towels in the bathroom!".

I have no idea where he picked that up.

Later that day, he wandered into the kitchen and said to Alix, "Considering that it's so hot today, maybe we should make lemonade."

New kitchen faucet

Replacing our kitchen faucet has been on our list of "things to do someday" since we bought the house last year, but it suddenly became more urgent after I managed to accidentally pull the spray head off. Oops.

The replacement faucet arrived earlier this week. It's a Kohler "Forte":

Not only is this a huge improvement on our previous faucet (for example, while both the old and new faucet are technically "pullout spray" models, only on the new one are we able to reliably pull out -- and put back in -- the spray head), but it was also surprisingly easy to install. I was expecting all sorts of complication and really it was just pop it in place, screw things together, and turn it on. Cool!

Google Powermeter

We recently installed a TED 5000 -- a device that provides realtime data about our power consumption. The TED comprises two parts, a "Measuring Transmitting Unit" (MTU), which connects via a pair of "Current Transformer" (CT) clamps to the mains, and a gateway, which is a small computer the size of a power brick that provides the web interface. The MTU communicates with the gateway over the house power lines.

The web interface ("Footprints") provides current and historical data, realtime graphs, and so forth. The gateway is also able to export data to Google Powermeter, which provides a similar view onto the data but is easier to access from outside the house. Powermeter generates graphs like this for recent usage:

We've only been running the TED for a few days, so while it's fun to look at the data it's not really useful yet. Eventually we hope it will help us get a better handle on our electric bill and help us identify ways to save money.