Marquette

 I want to publicly thank Marquette for not only taking outrageous amounts of my money each semester, but also for being nice enough to close the parking garage to students every time they schedule a poorly attended, barely noticed political debate. Because of this screwed up sense of priorities, and the resulting parking overflow on side streets, I had to park more than four blocks away and hike uphill with a 30 pound backpack on a surgically repaired hip . It was already a shi**y day, and now its a really *painful* shi**y day. #AngryGimp

Smiley tries Sushi!

Tonight I bought some sushi, and while I was napping Smiley tried some and liked it. Raw tuna, seaweed, wasabi, the works. Plus hummus has now become popular with him and Junie. I'm proud of them for trying new food.

'Tis a Bad Day for Danny

My hip hurts. My house is a mess. My evidence assignment was skewered by the Prof. I'm exhausted. For a day "off" this is s**t.

My Choice

If I had to choose between fame and fortune, I'd choose fame. No hesitation. #AttentionHo

Internet Purchase Exchange Location

 Brilliant idea! Does Milwaukee have this? - Lisa

Need I Say More?

 Pete Rose and Mike Tyson both came out in support of Trump.....need I say more? - Lisa

American Tragedy by Lawrence Schiller

I just finished American Tragedy by Lawrence Schiller, a 900+ page inside look at the OJ Simpson trials (criminal and civil). Great read, great information. As a law student it was enthralling. My verdict (no pun intended): whether factually guilty or not, legally there was plenty of reasonable doubt to find OJ not guilty. The Rockingham search was illegal, the crime scene botched, the DNA samples mishandled, the Bronco (supposedly kept locked) was in fact opened by officers, the prosecutions timeline was too narrow, and of course, most of the pivotal evidence was found by a racist cop who bragged about framing blacks. Seating a nearly all black jury might have sealed the deal, but this white, Catholic Republican would have voted for acquittal.

I should point out that just as everything good in this world inspires some bad, the bad inspires the good. In the wake of the Simpson trial debacle LAPD procedures, training, and diversity all improved. Even the FBI refined their DNA procedures because of the trial. One commentator on the FBI - and I forget the exact quote - said the real title of the new FBI rules might as well have been "How not to screw up another Simpson case."

In an eerie parallel to the Simpson alibi, just about an hour after I finished the book I came home and tried to cut a pan of brownies. The knife slipped and drove into the palm of my hand. Not a bad cut, but a deep one, it left a nifty blood trail across my floor. Lisa immediately joked that it would screw any alibi for the next few hours and I should lay low. But it got me thinking - what if Simpson was telling the truth (he wasn't) and the cut on his hand was just an ill-timed coincidence? The world turns on the tiniest of details.

 #Truth

A conversation with Smiley

Smiley: Do you think we would have been friends if we were the same age?

Me: I don't know. What do you think buddy?

Smiley: I don't think so. I don't like to hang out with, like, the real cool kids, and I don't like to hang out with the dorky kids. I like to hang out with the normal ones.

Me: So which one am I?

Smiley: (smiles)

Me: The hell with you boy.

Trump Protests in Chicago

I know somebody at work who tried to attend the Trump rally in Chicago. She said protestors trapped her in the parking structure and admits to being scared. She took video of their pathetic, violent actions. The more the extreme Left strikes against Trump in their usual loud, threatening manner, the stronger he grows. Right now people would vote for him just out of spite.

 Jeez, people online are stupid. Read a headline, jump to a conclusion, share the link, post a 100 word rant that has nothing to do with the actual content of the article, deny it when you're called out on it. Rinse and repeat.

Also irritating tonight (I suppose the hip is making me grumpy): using your voice inflection to render every sentence you utter in class into a question. You're in LAW SCHOOL. Try not to sound like you're a cross between a beaten puppy and a character from Clueless.

 Kudos to LuLu for making tuna casserole for the family's dinner!

 Per the PT program, I started using the weight machines at the gym today, keeping under his guidelines. It was unnerving, because the right leg started shaking and hurting pretty quickly. I'm surprised how much strength I've lost in that leg since the surgery.

 My Fitbit, activated only last week, stopped syncing at 3:49 A.M. Wednesday morning because of a firmware update. After half an hour with a service rep, it's now up and running. If you beat my totals from the last 48 hours, it's only by default.

 Yesterday was sad and depressing, but as Fred would have said with a laugh, "What are you complaining about? My day was much worse." Thanks to everyone here for your thoughts and prayers, and to Team Slap for their efforts to cheer me up.

George Martin

 It hardly matters given Fred's passing but RIP George Martin, legendary Beatles producer.

Fred Bryan

At 4 AM my good friend Fred Bryan passed away. We met online when he commented on my blog and we began IM'ing. In 2005, still ignorant about how to put images on my site, I sent him pictures of newborn Parker and he added them for all to see. I hired him to do the website for Job Prior.

When I lost that job he was there to cheer me on, and when times got rough in the recession he was the only person who stepped in to help my family.

In recent years we talked on the phone on the long ride home from work as we both worked 3rd shift. I never met him in person; our attempt to meet when I was in Florida didn't work out. We didn't always agree, but he was a good man and a good friend and he deserved more time than he was given.

Rest in Peace my friend. You were loved.

 A friend of mine is dying of cancer. I spoke with his Mom about flying about to visit him in Florida before he passes, but today she wrote to say he is unresponsive and the end is near. I ask that you keep him in your prayers. Not for a recovery; that time has passed. But that when it comes, death is painless and he is received into his Savior's embrace.

 A very rough night with the hip, which blessedly is a rare thing nowadays. The pain woke me up every half hour or so, even with an ice pack on it. Total sleep: less than three hours. And of course I chaperoned a field trip to the PAC this morning, with all its stairs lol. Time for a nap before Marquette. Field trip post at a later time.

Room

 A great if sorrowful film. Lisa read the book, and on her recommendation I sold many copies of it in my time at BN. I don't agree that this deserved an Oscar for Best Actress, but it's a damn shame the young boy didn't get a nod for his role.

Really? Maybe you should treat people in a more timely manner I'd you want us to stay off our phones. How is being on your phone in a closed private room disrespectful to anyone? That's where this was posted, the exam room. - Lisa

After Marquette I stopped home for a minute then went to the gym for half an hour. I'm trying people, I'm trying.

video

 A tradition of my Grandma's (and my Great-Grandma's) that I'm trying to keep going. Sorry about the awful pronunciation Marta M Starosciak lol. Happy Birthday Parker Slap!

Smiley's 11th Birthday

Yesterday we held Smiley's birthday party - the 46th of our parenting career - at Escape MKE. We were all handcuffed and locked in a room and had one hour to uncover clues to a) get out of the handcuffs b) open various safes and c) defuse a bomb before it went off. Alas, we failed. The staff said we were seconds away from the solution when the blast went off. We expected meltdowns, tantrums, and arguments, but none lasted more than a few seconds, and the entire party answered a resounding "Yes!" when I asked if they had fun.

note: no video or photographs were allowed in the actual puzzle room to protect the "sanctity" of the clues. These are from a conference room we gathered in for cake.

 I'm converting a VHS of Lisa's dance recital from 1989. Everyone else is asleep, the house is dark, and the the only noise (outside of the fishtank) is Artie Shaw playing "Begin the Beguine". If the internet wasn't such a bore I think I'd stay up a little longer and enjoy the tranquility.