Word of the day

The word of the day is:
foursquare • \FOR-SKWAIR\ • adjective
1 : square
*2 : marked by boldness and conviction : forthright
Stuart O'Grady shows his metal with quick recovery from injury and his foursquare style of attack.

Poor UGA VI

In all seriousness, condolences go out to the Dawg Nation today regarding the loss of UGA VI. I am sure that they have UGA VII waiting in the wings to become the next "only mascot to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated". Now, I am a Florida Gator fan, so anyone can understand the grace and sincerity I had to conjure to write this (Matt, I'm talking to you, buddy). Had he been eaten by an alligator I might consider his passing as an omen for this season, but fortunately he was spared from the jaws of the mighty reptile... until the last weekend in October, that is. GO GATORS!!!!!!

Word for the day

And, oh yeah! Here is a word for the day:
fatuous

Pronunciation:

\ˈfa-chü-əs, -tyü-\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Latin fatuus foolish

Date: 1633

: complacently or inanely foolish : silly fatuous remark

Used in a sentence: Tom Boonen proved himself a fatuous young man after

testing positive for cocaine use, which led to his exclusion from the Tour de France.

Doc Brown, Schmrock Schmrown

Is time travel possible? Have you ever thought, "I would like to kick____ in the flux capacitors, and then go back in time and not do it"? Here I offer my thoughts... Time travel a possibility?? How can a Temporal Sojourn be likely when time seems to be a construct of human thought in the first place? Do my thoughts have basis in reality or is this blog simply an excuse to reference Back to the Future? You be the judge...

Ichthyosapiens

Our oldest child can swim. I don't mean float and bob and survive, but swim. Once she decides she can do something, she goes for it and does it right. Her sister is doing her best and will soon be able to swim without floaties as well but until then, she is happiest not listening and doing as she pleases (can't wait for puberty). Anyway, we are proud of our girls and their accomplishments.

Words, words, I love words

I'll begin this post by revealing my favorite word: lull. I have no specific reason save that this word consists of four letters, three of which are L. I would like to put forth a new word for vocabulary, picked at random, as much as possible. For this post, the word is grandiloquent.
Grandiloquent: Pronunciation\gran-ˈdi-lə-kwən(t)s\ Function:noun
Etymology: probably from Middle French, from Latin grandiloquus using lofty language, from grandis + loqui to speak
Date: 1589

: a lofty, extravagantly colorful, pompous, or bombastic style, manner, or quality especially in language

Mysterious Affliction

This morning I awoke stiff and achy as if I had been beaten. Was I in a sleepwalking street fight? Am I a nuftegenarian (I have no clue if that is a real word but it sure sounds like a Mighty Wind way to say ninety year old)? Did I have one of those vivid dreams about falling out of the ugly tree and hitting every branch on the way down? No... none of these explanations proved true. Our bed is not wrought of iron and we don't fistfight if things aren't right (is that a George Jones song?). So what is the source of my pain? Oh, yeah, I'm waking up with a 3 year old steamroller next to me. I love my girls. I love them beyond description. I love the way they climb into bed in the middle of the night whining, "Daaaaaady" or "Mooooommy". I'm not so thrilled with being pummeled by someone whose sleeping ambition is to smother me. One day our bed will be devoid of children. That day will signal that they are growing up or that we're not wimps. Until then, Jenny and I will enjoy snuggling with each other when we can(-;

Goats= Evil

Today I saw something that helped me draw a conclusion about goats; I saw a goat urinate into it's own mouth. It took aim, and then with intent, did the deed. I realize that this is slightly distasteful but when you draw such a conclusion, it seems important until you print it and then you realize what a strange person you are. Nevertheless, goats are horribly hedonistic, silly animals. Take this picture for example. Is this really necessary?! Did the goat I saw today really need a drink that badly?? I think not. Draw your own conclusion, hopefully not about me but about goats.

Against all odds

Sometimes you realize how much your significant other really loves you without them saying it or making a big deal about it. Like the time I took her to a quarry hole in Florida to ride bikes without having ridden there myself first. We got lost in about 10 square acres, and finally made it back to the car only after being cursed. I deserved it. This was before we married and she still went through with it. Then yesterday, we went for a ride together in a much more controlled and idiot proof environment. Though she faced the unknown (and a very sore rear) she loves me, we had a great time, and I came away without tire marks on my face. And yes, in case you're wondering, Jenny is 100 times more attractive than Sean Young and I am more attractive than Jeff Bridges... or at least more attractive than Beau Bridges... Okay, I'm better looking than the Big Lebowski.

TV shows we love

There are many things that we love. Our family and each other goes without saying. No one wants to hear about that though, its too mushy and I might start to baby-talk. No, these are things of trivial report. We don't watch very much TV but the things that we do watch range from mildly entertaining to sacred. Both of us are entranced by the social spectacle that is competition reality. American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Nashville Star, The Ultimate Fighter, Dirty Jobs, etc... I would love to say that we watch these shows to laugh, but that wouldn't be entirely true. Someone should write a show where they sing while punching and kicking each other in the face, after which they form partnerships and dance, followed by criticism from people who don't know what they're talking about and are covered with pig feces. SWEET! Fingers crossed!! We are also huge Quantum Leap fans, and Jenny loves The Golden Girls with a passion. Our favorite current show is How I Met Your Mother. All of the characters are funny but Barney, played by Doogie Houser or Neil Patrick Harris whatever, makes the show legen, wait for it.................dary.

Two halves

My wife teaches Physical Sciences. You can ask her anything about anything and she will tell you the answer and more. Its beautiful, the empirical nature of the physical sciences makes you responsible for what you say. She did her graduate projects on marine mammals. My education focus is Social Science. My graduate project focus is a collection of artifacts from a rice plantation in South Carolina. You can ask me anything and I will tell you a possible answer based upon the flexibility of Social Science. Its beautiful, no one can really say that you are wrong!! The dichotomy of our backgrounds is awesome and if I had her knowledge, I would make a heck of a well rounded scholar. I'm proud of her past the prospect of description.

Bikenerd recant

I must recant my support for Robbie McEwen... After hearing that he cursed Switzerland and is considered an unpopular man amongst the other riders in the peloton, I cannot throw my lot in with him any longer. I asked him not to wear his "Ridge is my man crush" shirt again. I have been a fan of the Slipstream-Chipotle team (now Garmin-Chipotle) since their inception. I certainly feel comfortable supporting this team given their clean policy and American core of riders. So go Garmin-Chipotle in Le Grand Boucle! Plus, they are brave enough to wear orange and blue argyle in public life.

Park Therapy

It's amazing how stressed one can be about adult things, house, money, etc. Sometimes you just have to jump in the car with some sandwiches and head to the best park in town that hasn't been razed or vandalized with pseudo-prosaic phrases such as "Bubba was here" and "Slappy is the MAN!!". Watching your kids and playing with them on their level is the closest some of us mortals will get to enlightenment. Stroking the ears of a barnyard animal and feeding it ambrosia (potatoes) is good for what ails you. Picking up litter helps as well.

Bikenerd

I have to comment on the recent success of my favorite athlete. Yes, my name is Ridge and I am a bike nerd... Robbie McEwen one todays and yesterdays stages of the Tour de Suisse. I am happy he is showing his legs and not his age. I'm also pleased with his choice of sportswear. Classy!

Christen this blog ya'll!!

Offer your judgments if you must. We are woefully behind technology. A timeline of lameness: first cell phones? 2004; texting? NEVER! First blogspot? Well, we're branching out in the year ought-8 and exploring the new world. Our friends Cheyney and Ryan exposed us to this forum so thank them or send them searing hate blog!