It’s still the holiday season… or at least that’s what I’m told. Christmas is over. Our tree and decorations are down. Christmas carols seem to have disappeared overnight. Conversations are no longer about the warmth and goodness of Christmas but about how cold it’s getting. That conversation usually starts off strong: “It’s finally getting cold.” But ends pretty weak: “Yup.”
But the holiday season is not over and I have thoroughly enjoyed my empty commute to work this past week as New Year’s is about to roll around. The idea of saying farewell to one year and welcoming another is a bit odd to me, but the chance to start over or take on new challenges should never be wasted. Therefore, it is with great anticipation that I await the New Year.
This week, I have been compiling a list of goals and aspirations for the New Year… so far I have two typed pages worth, single-spaced. The list includes both simple tasks of a to-do nature and broad resolutions for vast self-improvement. In fact, there are quite a few things on my list that I didn’t put there, but were included by my wife (how else would “finish the basement bathroom” make it on to the list? I have no desire to do that.). I mention it here because I hope that it will help out with my number of posts as I cross out stuff on my list.
In fact, one item on my list that I am sure will help drive up my stock prices is to blog more. It’s a pretty frequent goal of mine that hardly ever gets realized, but I’m turning the page on the past and have high hopes for the future. In fact, "blog more” is also open to some interpretation. Posting some thought-provoking essay offering a unique and refreshing take on the American mundane every single day would be ideal, but posting anything at all just once or twice a week would be an improvement. In fact, if it sounds like good writing, but doesn’t sound anything like me, all the better… in fact, I am tempted to delete this whole thing and just post… “It is with great anticipation that I await the New Year.” End fact.
Happy New Year everyone!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Christmas Eve
Click here to view this video
Leo showed off on Christmas Eve for my wife's family. Our camera was low on batteries but my wife's aunt got a pretty cute video of him.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Popularizing Development
When I was a kid, I loved the video game SimCity. You grew an entire city, planning out what should go where and dealing with crime rates and traffic congestion. At some point, Godzilla would terrorize your budding metropolis. I imagine it is similar to working in the Zoning and Planning Office for any typical city government. Except the Godzilla part… that’s what the police are for.
I am slowly returning to my love of city building, but this time, I have replaced the virtual world for the vicarious world, as I am just reading a lot about it. From trains and subways to development plans and forgotten ideas, I just think it is all pretty neat stuff. Recently though I stumbled upon the coolest thing yet.
Popularise.com is a new website that takes an empty storefront in a decent neighborhood and lets people vote on what should go there. What a great idea! The aim is to prevent the cookie-cutter neighborhood models that work for town X so they must work for town Y. It is brilliant and I hope that people embrace it. Neighborhoods should have their own identity and offer something unique that helps drive that identity. This method of development, if successful, seems to lead to that.
This might be more appealing to me than most as I live in the suburbs where our “downtown” area of shops and shoppes is all owned by the same company. That same company is building another towncenter which many folks are pretty excited about. This new development is bookended by a movie theater and a BJ’s Membership Club (think CostCo) and will include a PF Chang’s! Yeah!
I’ve never been to a PF Chang’s, but a new movie theater should be nice. Although it does make me wonder if the other planned movie theater, which is one mile from my house rather than the three miles to the one under construction, will ever be built. It is part of another planned towncenter that was supposed to be the nicest of the bunch… even nicer than the planned fourth one I would have to drive past to get there.
For what it is worth, I have wild visions of farming the vacant land of that fourth planned development. I would gaze proudly over my rows of corn stalks and tomato plants, bean sprouts and potato patches, wearing a big straw hat and squinting into the sun … it would be great. Farming, however, is not part of SimCity, so my wild visions are primarily of me wearing over-alls and being interviewed by the paper.
The headline would read “Local Man Farms Land for the Hell of It.” It would make me a minor celebrity for fighting off officials from the Zoning and Planning Office, who don’t allow farming on land zoned for commercial. I could get half-off tickets to the local movie theater! Of course, the story of my agricultural success would be pushed to the small column on the side of the front page as the big story that day would be “Godzilla Terrorizes Towncenter! PF Chang’s survives.”
Anyways, popularize.com. I don’t know the guys running it but I like what they are doing.
I am slowly returning to my love of city building, but this time, I have replaced the virtual world for the vicarious world, as I am just reading a lot about it. From trains and subways to development plans and forgotten ideas, I just think it is all pretty neat stuff. Recently though I stumbled upon the coolest thing yet.
Popularise.com is a new website that takes an empty storefront in a decent neighborhood and lets people vote on what should go there. What a great idea! The aim is to prevent the cookie-cutter neighborhood models that work for town X so they must work for town Y. It is brilliant and I hope that people embrace it. Neighborhoods should have their own identity and offer something unique that helps drive that identity. This method of development, if successful, seems to lead to that.
This might be more appealing to me than most as I live in the suburbs where our “downtown” area of shops and shoppes is all owned by the same company. That same company is building another towncenter which many folks are pretty excited about. This new development is bookended by a movie theater and a BJ’s Membership Club (think CostCo) and will include a PF Chang’s! Yeah!
I’ve never been to a PF Chang’s, but a new movie theater should be nice. Although it does make me wonder if the other planned movie theater, which is one mile from my house rather than the three miles to the one under construction, will ever be built. It is part of another planned towncenter that was supposed to be the nicest of the bunch… even nicer than the planned fourth one I would have to drive past to get there.
For what it is worth, I have wild visions of farming the vacant land of that fourth planned development. I would gaze proudly over my rows of corn stalks and tomato plants, bean sprouts and potato patches, wearing a big straw hat and squinting into the sun … it would be great. Farming, however, is not part of SimCity, so my wild visions are primarily of me wearing over-alls and being interviewed by the paper.
The headline would read “Local Man Farms Land for the Hell of It.” It would make me a minor celebrity for fighting off officials from the Zoning and Planning Office, who don’t allow farming on land zoned for commercial. I could get half-off tickets to the local movie theater! Of course, the story of my agricultural success would be pushed to the small column on the side of the front page as the big story that day would be “Godzilla Terrorizes Towncenter! PF Chang’s survives.”
Anyways, popularize.com. I don’t know the guys running it but I like what they are doing.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Zazzle Sale!
Today I made another sale from Zazzle T-Shirt shop. It’s been up and running for almost five years now and this is already my third sale! At this rate…
This sale is by far the best one yet though. Rich, from Pleasanton, California , bought one of my personal favorites!
WWJDdn: What will John Duffy do next?
Some guy in California is walking around with my name on his shirt! I love it. Rich, you just made my day!
This sale is by far the best one yet though. Rich, from Pleasanton, California , bought one of my personal favorites!
WWJDdn: What will John Duffy do next?
Some guy in California is walking around with my name on his shirt! I love it. Rich, you just made my day!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Goodnight Leo
Another week has already slipped by and already Leo is thirteen weeks! This parenthood gig is flying by.
Leo had a big weekend, as he spent the night at his Grandma's. He had a great time, but he came back really tired. Grandma must have wore him out. Here's a video of him eating his last bottle of the day before an early bedtime.
He fell asleep as soon as we laid him down and haven't heard a peep out from him since.
His Mom and Dad had a big night themselves as they went to a song and dance Rockette-esque show called Santa's Special Delivery for their anniversary. I'll admit that I was a little concerned going into this show at a community college auditorium put on by a bunch of teenagers. But, somewhere around the third number I truly enjoyed it and was stunned by how great it was. It will definitely be a new holiday tradition. It was so good!
Doh! Leo's making noise... gotta go.
Leo had a big weekend, as he spent the night at his Grandma's. He had a great time, but he came back really tired. Grandma must have wore him out. Here's a video of him eating his last bottle of the day before an early bedtime.
He fell asleep as soon as we laid him down and haven't heard a peep out from him since.
His Mom and Dad had a big night themselves as they went to a song and dance Rockette-esque show called Santa's Special Delivery for their anniversary. I'll admit that I was a little concerned going into this show at a community college auditorium put on by a bunch of teenagers. But, somewhere around the third number I truly enjoyed it and was stunned by how great it was. It will definitely be a new holiday tradition. It was so good!
Doh! Leo's making noise... gotta go.
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Leo's Bad Habits
This week Leo finally found his thumb.
Speaking of bad habits, you may notice that he is fully watching television in this video. I think he finds the social commentary and political satire of Saturday Night Live on-point and often frames situations that we, as a nation, need to come together and discuss. Maybe.
There is definitely something about television that seems to enthrall him, which I find surprising seeing as he is only 12 weeks. Some might say that kids shouldn't be watching any television and they are undoubtedly correct, but we have found that his interest in anything on television is great for tummy time as he will undoubtedly lift his head to watch the show. Here he is with me Saturday morning watching soccer in our PJ's.
Just to prove that we don't rely on television for tummy time, here's another video of my boy talking to an elephant.
Nope, no television on in this video, instead we are setting up advertisements on it. It's time our boy starts earning his keep. You can purchase the Garanimal Wind-Up Musical Elephant at Amazon this holiday season! Hurry, while supplies last!
Speaking of bad habits, you may notice that he is fully watching television in this video. I think he finds the social commentary and political satire of Saturday Night Live on-point and often frames situations that we, as a nation, need to come together and discuss. Maybe.
There is definitely something about television that seems to enthrall him, which I find surprising seeing as he is only 12 weeks. Some might say that kids shouldn't be watching any television and they are undoubtedly correct, but we have found that his interest in anything on television is great for tummy time as he will undoubtedly lift his head to watch the show. Here he is with me Saturday morning watching soccer in our PJ's.
 |
| Like father, like son. |
Nope, no television on in this video, instead we are setting up advertisements on it. It's time our boy starts earning his keep. You can purchase the Garanimal Wind-Up Musical Elephant at Amazon this holiday season! Hurry, while supplies last!
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