16.1.06

Test For Blogger

If everything goes as it should, this shouldn't post. I've jacked with the settings so much I'd be surprised.

If you do see this, start moving over to the new site from now on. I'll be updating there.

It'll be ugly and it'll change a lot, but we'll get it the way we want soon enough.

Mean Sleeper

You know how they say when you're drunk or asleep, you're without inhibitions and so you act and speak more truthfully then when you're alert? I really hope they're wrong because I'm an asshole when I sleep.

"Define: asshole," you say.

Alrightie sir. As an example, last night, Mrs. A and I went to bed on bad terms. I was an insensitive caveman while fully conscious and the day ended poorly. Mrs. A's family came over on Saturday and spent the weekend with us and we had a great time. We all got hammered on Saturday night and Mrs. A was feeling really bad the next day. But it was more than just hungover, it was something more etherial.

Anyway, add that to me being a jerk and we ended the day not talking.

So apparently, she woke up screaming and crying from a bad dream at some point. Being Mr. Caring and Attentive, I told her I'd get more sleep if she went to the couch.

Yeah, that's right.

Only thing is, I don't remember it. It's a pattern. Lil Miss Austin wakes up and screams at the top of the stairs, I grumble that she's got no room to be crying like that. Yogi wakes up and I blame Mrs. Austin for not giving him the right PJs or bottle or something. She'll wake me up if I'm snoring really bad because she's worried about me not breathing right and I give her a load of crap for it being 4:30 in the morning.

Now, I used to pride myself on going from REM to Alertness in nothing flat. I've always thought myself a light sleeper and still feel I take a long time to get to sleep and am easily disturbed by sounds or motion. So to hear that not only do I not wake up when my kids cry, but that I'm a selfish prick when I do really gets under my skin.

Why? Well why not? Would anyone feel good after finding out you're a mean ass bastard when you sleeptalk; especially to your loved ones? I love my wife and kids, I hate the idea that any part of me is mean to them, especially parts I can't control. That makes it somehow worse.

At first it was kind of funny, I'd swear like an old sailor or WWII vet, spouting some nearly discernable gibberish, then roll over in a huff and continue sleeping. It was charming because I was sleeping. Now it's just a pain in the ass and I don't know that there is anything I can do about it. I'm really a nice guy when I'm awake, most of the time.

If you've ever been blamed for something you didn't do, but enough blame is heaped upon you that you start going back over your actions to see if in fact you did do something wrong, all the while still knowing that you're innocent yet having that sureness start to crumble, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's completely out of your control, and yet in the end, you still did something wrong. It's like dreaming about have sex with someone that's not your spouse; there's nothing you can do about it, but people do get bent outta shape when they hear it.

So thanks to my stupid brain, we started the day bad too.

12.1.06

Big Move Part I

In the first of many installments, this is the first announcement that http://lifeinaustin.blogspot.com will be moving to http://www.life-in-austin.com. The domain and forwarding service have been ordered and the server has been configured to start running the site.

Next step will be to get the server applications running correctly, followed by the Blogger to Wordpress migration, then the template and archive design and adjustment, and finally the unparking of the domain to forward to the server.

I've got a three day weekend coming up so hopefully I can get this done by next week. Wish me luck.

10.1.06

It's actually a job.

I want to set the record straight.

Mrs. Austin runs her own business. Her business is wedding photography. That means on weekends (just about all of them) she is shooting for 5-12 hours a day. The time she's not shooting she's editing photos, answering emails and phone calls, conducting meetings, packaging and shipping albums and doing account maintenance. She works very hard at it.

On top of it, she also does the lion's share of the household duties like bills and cleaning and wrangling.

She does not sit home all day watching TV and chatting on her laptop.

She has no more time to watch sick kids than I do during the day.

Her business is the same as my office job with the exception of the dress code.

When the kids stay home, she loses money and reputation because it's another day she can't do work.

Her being at our house doesn't mean she's at home.

There, that's done. I don't know who out there keeps putting this thought into her head that people don't think she's actually working, but I really wish you would stop. It's making her crazy and me have to hear about the crazy every day. Since she can't explain it to you, she explains it to me like clockwork. So the next person who says, "Well, but she's home all day..." gets a punch in the throat.

Rollman Photo Dot Com

Just spent the evening updating the Rollman Photography website.

Behold the informative and insightful bio page!

Marvel at the smooth navigation!

Recoil in sheer awe at the questions which are frequently asked!

In all seriousness, I'm still going through my self teaching program so this is a hodge podge of old HTML, some new XHTML required tags, some CSS2 and some good ol' fashion spit and polish. Mrs. A likes it, so that's all that matters. Plus, clients see this page, so I have to consider this the production level offering and have my little comic page be the sandbox.

Still nothing on the Wordpress thing yet. I've got some tips I got from their forum about the server apps, but finding the time...




Both kids are sick. Gregory's probably got an earache and Rowan has a nice, throaty cough. Luckily, Mrs. A was able to get insurance through the NASE so the kids are covered.

Mrs. A's Expo went pretty well. She did get some bookings and got a lot of phone calls and emails following the event (hence the web update) so we're looking to make a few more house payments.

Yay resourceful mammals!

7.1.06

Are you kidding me?



So we just found out that this wonderful product brought to you by the kind people at Johnson & Johnson, the same folks that have delivered tearless baths for generation, contains an ingredient that may cause serious breathing problems if your family has a history of asthma or allergies.

Now, it's printed on the back, so we have no one to blame for this oversite but ourselves.

But I mean, what the fuck? It's tearless, but it can aggrivate your allergies or asthma? What kind of a trade off is that? You know how many people in the U.S. have both of those?

Anyway, if you're a parent and you read this and you have a child with asthma, be alerted. If you also happen to know where we can find a good asthma safe baby wash please either email me or use the comment field.

Thank you.

LMAisms

Before I forget, I have to write down more wisdom of a 4 year 7 month old.

Mrs. A, "Where did you come from?"

LMA, "Your belly!"

Mrs. A, "And where did you come from before that?"

LMA, "The hospital!"

Mrs. A, "No, BEFORE that..."

LMA, "Um...could you give me a hint?"

and

While working with Yogi on where his nose is, Mrs. A didn't want LMA to feel left out so she turned and ask, "Where is your cerebellum?"

LMA making an educated guess, points at her crotch.

Fun times man.

4.1.06

3.1.06

Top Lists

First of I hope very many wastes of time. This goes out to all my online comic buddies who don't read this site.

Top First Posts on Comic Book Creator Message Boards


  • Hi all, I need a logo for my (non-comic book related group) and I thought I'd ask here. I can't pay, but you'll be making a great portfolio piece.

  • Come see my new online comic that's poorly drawn and the humor has to be explained.

  • Greetings. I haven't been drawing in a while but I thought I'd get back into it. Here's some new art, please don't critique as I have a "style" and all talk of anatomy and composition will only be met with childish retorts.

  • Please visit my eBay site so I can help my collection addiction by selling topless drawings of Elektra and Supergirl.

  • Could I get you guys to look at my gallery site and let me know what you think of it? It's on a free web service, so ignore all the banner ads. Also, I'm no good at html or css or any language so the page is a bit simple and hard to get around. Oh, and I won't respond to this post once I submit it. Thanks!

  • Hey Fellow (insert board name here)-ers/ites/ians! Want a great opportunity?? Such and Such Studios has just opened its doors and is now accepting submissions from all skill levels and any kind of story. All we ask is that you send us a full script, at least 20 pages of artwork, and possibly some splash or cover pages before we'll even talk to you. Don't worry that you may see this in print very shortly without your knowledge, credit or payment, that's part of the magic. So don't wait, send us your best stuff now so we can use it before our ISP figures out we're scamming people!

  • I'm a writer and I've had artists back out on my project...(don't even need to add more to that one.)

  • Hi, I'm new, what's the best book to get to learn how to draw? Can I download it? Will it make me better before the Dragon Con?

  • What's the best place to host images for free with unlimited storage and bandwidth usage that allows remote linking? Shortly followed by...

  • How do I display images here?

  • And finally the all important, How do I get an avatar/change my title/put a picture in my signature, question.



Trust me, if you don't read comic book message boards, all this was freakin hysterical.