Troubles McSteans

My brother Doug is having a heck of a week. After returning home from the hospital with Kristen (who I hear is recovering and should be A-ok for the wedding, thankfully), he had to take his kitty Digger to the kitty ER in the middle of the night. He had a surgery consult the next morning to decide if they should attempt to remove a mass as well as part of some intestine (ironically, the same surgery Kristen had just undergone). If Digger had been a younger cat, Doug would have without question done the surgery. But Dig was 14 and has had a number of other medical trials recently. Doug made the difficult decision to say goodbye to his friend. Ryan said it better here , but Digger was a great kitty. I am sorry I didn't get to spend more time with him, because he was always super friendly and sweet when I went out to visit Doug. He had a good life and was even playing and frisky when we were in Berkeley this summer. I know Doug and Kristen will miss him tremendously, and my he...

Doug visits a pet cemetery These were taken completely independent of each other, years apart:

*Go here for video that doesn't get cut off on the side. Thanks to the Dug for the link

We're back! Here are some pictures of our trip in mostly chronological order: This was our view of San Francisco across the Bay from our hotel room at the Doubletree Marina Hotel in Berkeley. Doug informed me that the clouds were haze, not smog. No, really. Tilden Park Botanical Garden. Having just gotten off the plane from Austin, Ryan and I spent most of the time in awe that it was mid afternoon and we weren't dead from heat. I also managed to get caught in the sprinklers three times. Window Lion at Mr. Mopps Toy Shop in Berkeley, where I purchased a kick ass clock. You should come see it sometime. Fisherman's Wharf. Fisherman's Wharf with Alcatraaaaaaaz! in the background. It was a clear day, but we still couldn't see the Golden Gate bridge. It was pretty much wearing a nice layer of clouds the entire time we were there. We did drive over it on Saturday, though. Waiting for the cable car, being serenaded by a street trumpeter with the talent of a six...

If you enjoyed Mystery Science Theater back in the day, you'll be happy to know that those same guys are still in business. They now have a website called Rifftrax (warning: site has autoplay) where you can download their commentary on a wide variety of popular films. They've recently started allowing fans to create and sell their own spoofs. The Dug and his pals jumped at the opportunity and have mocked 2 short films. They operate under the name Team Swizzlebeef and their latest offering is in my totally unbiased opinion, hilarious. Seriously, though, it's really damn funny. You can find it here . Also, here's why you will never catch me anywhere near a theater that's showing the new Transformers. Warning: massive spoilers, but does anyone care? Thanks to Doug for the link.

The gorilla approves I would like to say congratulations to the Dug and my soon to be sister-in-law Kristen on their recent engagement! I couldn't be happier for them. Kristen is super awesome and a real sweetheart. We are looking forward to having her join the McBride clan, even though I'm not sure she knows what she's getting into. And just because: The BatDug and wee McSteans head out for a night of tomfoolery circa 1976

This is so exciting. I ran my errands early this morning so I could be home to watch the inauguration live. Lucy has lost consciousness due to her excitement Jeff the Cat, a staunch John McCain supporter, is sulking upstairs and I suspect planning his escape to Canada They keep showing shots of the crowd - 2 million they are estimating. It's mind boggling and I'm jealous of each and every one of them. Wolf Blitzer just informed us that this will be the most watched worldwide television event ever. Wow. Oh Dan Quayle. How I have completely forgotten about you. Al Gore! OOOh, they're going to show a satellite image of the mall.** OK, this is the second time in 30 minutes Soledad O'Brien has mentioned the fact that a black man's vote used to be 3/5 a normal vote. Horrible, yes, but we get it. George H.W. is looking a little fragile. What's wrong, George? You were jumping out of airplanes 3 years ago. I wonder if Hillary will be entering with Bill or with th...

Oh. My. God. The Arizona Cardinals, who have been the joke of the NFL for as long as I can remember, are going to Superbowl 43. Way to go, Cards! It's been 60 years since they played in a national championship and slipped into this year's playoff season as a Wild Card with a 9-7 regular season record. Basically no one expected them to make it this far. I actually have a good Kurt Warner (the Cardinals quarterback) story. When we lived in Phoenix, we took a vacation with my parents in northern Minnesota. Ryan and I were sitting in a Starbucks at Sky Harbor Airport before our flight and noticed Warner with one of his little girls standing in line for a coffee. We mouthed 'Kurt Warner!' to each other excitedly. Then we watched him board our flight with his family and sit two rows in front of us. We giggled to each other. After meeting up with the Dug and Kristen at the Minneapolis airport, we hopped in a rental car and drove four hours north into th...

For Christmas Ryan got me a little video camera. I love it. When Doug and Kristen were still in town we took them to the Austin Zoo. I took the opportunity to bring the camera for a test run. Here is a small sampling of our day. For those of you who live in Austin and have not yet visited the zoo, I highly recommend it. It's not expensive, nor is it an all day adventure, but they have an impressive collection of big cats you can view at incredibly close range.

I hope everyone is keeping warm. Winter came early to Central Texas this year and showered us with a small ice/snow storm last night. While I did not enjoy emerging from my warm cocoon of blankets at 6:30 this morning to drag myself to dialysis, I was thankful the streets were not frozen and I did not have to scrape ice off of my car. I enjoyed my trip home much more, admiring the Christmassy look of the snow dusted houses with a hot cup of Starbucks in hand. The League has made a call for 2008 Top Ten lists and since I've been less than inspired of late in regards to blogging (you may have noticed, ahem) I will oblige. Since this year has been relatively kind (knock on wood - don't take that as a challenge, 2008), I will be taking a glass half full approach and reflect upon the Awesome of 2008. And so, in no particular order: McSteans' 2008 Top Ten 1. New floors and new TV Thanks to both sets of parents, Christmas came early this year to League HQ. Ryan's folks ...

Thanks to Nathan for the link. Quantum of Wallace Thanks to Doug for this one (don't try this at home, kids): Extreme Gymnastic Bullfighting . You just really don't want to get the timing wrong on that one.

My parents were always great about taking my brother Doug and me on trips when we were kids. Spring break we'd usually fly somewhere and since most times my birthday fell in that timeframe, I've had birthdays in Hawaii, Grand Cayman, Washington D.C., and turned 11 in Berlin. With more time at our disposal, summers were more about hopping in the white Dodge Caravan with the fake wood panelling to see the country. Most summers we'd make at least one trip to northern Minnesota where we spent a number of years alternately canoeing/camping and houseboating before my mom put her foot down and demanded the comfort and convenience of a cabin. I had to side with mom on that one -- marching up a dark path in the middle of the night to a concrete 'throne' when nature calls was a little TOO 'roughing it' for me. Then there was the infamous 2 week road trip of 1984. Any longer than a week is just too much time for any family to spend in a car together. I know Ryan ...