FizzyLizzy

Buyouts are nothing new to Mr. FizzyLizzy. This is the fourth corporate buyout he's been on the wrong side of over the past ten years. Oracle--a humongous tech company based in California with something like 65,000 employees worldwide--is the purchaser in this case. One might think that such a large company would have a halfways decent restructuring plan for those whose lives are going to be negatively affected by the buyout. Not so. Among other things, they are having all the employees of Mr. FL's company send in resumes and be interviewed for their current jobs. Besides being a complete crock--Oracle already knows who they're going to keep and who they're going to dump--their insensitivity has put morale in the toilet. So the Accounting Department is going to see Borat today.

Coincidentally, William and I both discovered today that he is having problems with his lunchroom code (which he has to key in to pay for his lunch). This morning I was online replenishing Katherine's account and wondered why William's account was still at $14 (they should be close to the same balance). So I checked his lunchroom activity and there were no purchases for about a third of the school days in November. At the very least he should be buying milk every day. Now maybe he skipped a few or something, but I knew he had eaten school lunch on Monday and there was no record of a purchase on Monday. Hmmm. Today he came home from school and said, "I think I need to work on my lunch code." I wonder who paid for his lunch today.

At least I hope not. Talking to another mom after school today she relayed this story: After coming home from her daughter's swim practice, she told her son that she saw one of his kindergarten classmates at the practice. A girl that he has shown an interest in. He asked his mom, "Was she wearing a one-piece or a two-piece?" Yikes! Like I said, William's not there yet. (Thankfully) But...as we were leaving the school two girls from his class started yelling William's name and one ran down the hall to give him a hug. I'm sure it's nothing. I'm sure it's nothing. I'm sure it's nothing.

Sorry about the finger in the photo.



















I agree, Finn. Finn's friend, Caleb, was thankful for Finn. William's best friend, Blake, was thankful for his dog, who then got lost, but was then thankfully found. Several of the kindergarteners were thankful for their blankets.

Interactive chimpanzee head

Features:
- very lifelike
- touch sensitive head
- four moods: curious, happy, fearful, aggressive
- stereo hearing so it can detect and react to sound
- infrared vision sensors and eyes that blink, following anything that moves in front of them
- five modes: guard, alive, demo, sleep, program
- may frighten pets and small children
- list price only $139.99

No, not that Tom. HB TK!!!

From the blog of Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert cartoon:

"What we need is a new way to help voters make decisions. If that ever happens, I’ll start voting. I don’t vote now because my vote would be uninformed and random. But I’d like to vote. It’s a good concept. I just need better tools."

This guy was bright enough to get his cartoon strip nationally syndicated and sell a bunch of calendars and mugs. But apparently he's not bright enough to make up his own mind about issues and candidates. It's really not that difficult to become an informed voter. I hate politics and I believe there are major flaws in the electoral process, but I do my part and then some. I attend caucuses and conventions not because I enjoy them but because I believe it is my responsibility to do so. I research all the candidates I vote for because it is my responsibility to do so. This year education funding was my hot-button issue so I voted for candidates that put it a priority in their platform. I research the Soil and Water Conservation District candidates to find out who has the background to do the job. Apparently not most voters do not since the two qualified candidates did not win. It's not that hard to Google someone, people. And Mr. Adams, since you have a blog, I'm assuming you know how to use Google. 'Nuf said.

If you know someone who loves birds enough to spend $500 on a gift for them, instead of purchasing this package from National Geographic I would suggest saving $50 by buying the $250 (what?!?) software from NG and the $200 PDA from pretty much any other retail outlet.

I was looking for a particular photo of myself to show Mrs. Bickerson my late-80's permed-out hair. I didn't find it, but did come across this gem of Mr. FizzyLizzy and his dad fishing. I think it's the only photo of him in his long-hair phase. When I quizzed the kids about who was in the photo they both pegged their grandpa (who no longer wears a moustache) but W thought I was the one with the long hair. Katherine said, "His arms look like your arms." That's just what every 19-year-old man-boy would want to hear--that his arms look like those of a 39-year-old woman.

And we weren't home. That's just the luck we've been having. Last week started off good (for me at least). I got a free pair of ankle boots from my mother-in-law's neighbor and then found the perfect pair of tall black boots at two-thirds off. Not only are they super cute and fashionable, I comfortably sprinted down several flights of stairs and through a parking ramp in them. (No, we weren’t trying to ditch the fuzz, just avoiding the post-theater traffic jam. But if I ever do find myself in some sort of European-espionage-chase scenario, I know just what to wear.)

Then things started to go awry. Mr. FizzyLizzy found out his company is being bought. Unsure what the job sitch will be. And our water heater broke on Sunday. The new one was supposed to be installed yesterday, but because of some snafu they didn’t come until this morning. Other problems that turned out not to be problems means we have been without water all day. I can probably go 24 hours without using the bathroom, seriously, but I think Mr. FL is starting to look a little peaked. The guy is back and hopefully everything will be back to normal soon.

Here's my blog sticker: I voted.

Check out these cool t-shirts! (Sorry, kids sizes only.)






















These are two favorite games Uncle Dave plays with Katherine and William. At $36 each, these tees are a bit pricey but might be a good Grandma gift idea.

I really want to send out this Christmas card this year, but I don't know if I have the chutzpah.












On the inside it says "Merry Christmas to you."

If knowing that there is less than two months until Christmas isn't enough to elevate your blood pressure by a point or two, try visiting this site. You're already two months behind.

The one-toothed jack-o-lantern was a common theme for us this year.
























Luke and Leia
























Mr. FizzyLizzy & I did not dress as Queen Amadala & Anakin/Darth Vader.