(this is) durkin.org

So, MR had to work in Selma (where history lives) recently, so the boys and I went down with her; we have some friends whose families live there, and the boys and I planned to go out to one of their family farms for the day while the ladies stayed in town and worked.

I will say this - rural Alabama can be a hauntingly beautiful place, and such a sad one all at the same time. We drove through three different towns outside of Selma, and in each one I tried to imagine why people lived there, hell, how the towns exist, but I just don’t see it. Phillip said some people just won’t leave, so they stay.

But I digress. We made it to the family farm, known as “the Farm,” and let the boys out to run wild. Hilarity ensued as D tried to walk in the tall grasses - no small chore when you’ve been walking about ten days or so. Poor kid kept falling and rolling over on his back and just laughing. R was enthralled by the pond.

I wondered where the mule was. Phillip told the boys on the way out “We’ll ride around on the mule out there.” I looked, but saw no barn, no pen, no nothing that resembled anything that one might keep a mule in safely. So I asked - “Where is the mule?”

“In the woods” came the reply. “Oh,” I said, and thought it odd. Phillip wondered aloud if there was enough gas for us to take a spin around the property. “Gas?” It began to dawn on me that this mule might not be the mule that is often confused with a donkey. So I asked - “What kind of mule are we talking about?”

Again, hilarity ensued. But they were nice about it, and did not mock the city boy. Until I left, that is.

We did have a good time riding the mule, and are all looking forward to a fishing and camping trip this summer.

What’s that? You don’t want people taking your photos and using them for their own use? Here’s a thought: Don’t post them on the Internet.

My asides (of which this is one) are not quite working the way I want them to, but no worries. I asked for help. If you stopped here from there, say hello.

I went out the other evening to drop a package off for my wife.  The kids were bathed and in bed, everyone had eaten - it was the end of a long day and we were ready for bed.  I pulled up to a red light as I ran the errand.  Looking out my window, I saw a guy standing next to his car at a gas station, filling up while talking on his cell phone.  My God, I thought, what could he be doing out so late?  I looked at my clock - 8:15 PM.

Oye.  He was probably heading out to dinner with friends.

After our appointment with the pediatrician the other day, I thought it might be fun (in a really not fun way) to keep track of all the illnesses our kids collect. So, without further commentary, a not-quite-chronological look at being sick at chez durkin:

• The Flu, 2003 Edition.
• Ear Infection (s). We win the prize here, neither kid can get through the winter without at least 40 or so ear infections. Eventually led to tubes for one of them.
• The Flu, 2004 Edition.
• Various tummy bugs, viruses, etc with no real name or treatment. Jackpot once again. Kids under five are like petri dishes with built in germ collectors. And there is nothing you can do about it.
• Benign Big Head. Ok, so that’s not the real name for it, but I can’t remember what the true name is.
• The Flu, 2005 Edition.
• Hand-Foot-Mouth.
• The Flu, 2006 Winter Edition, and more ear infections for Dobbs.
• Coxsachie. More about that.
• The Flu, 2006 Spring Edition.
• The Flu, 2006 Fall Edition.
• The Flu, 2007 Winter Edition. Turns out, this time it was for real. The boys were tested and everything, and sure enough, this is/was the FLU.

Google adds a Finance section. Very nice.

Its amazing the things I talk about nowadays: tonite, Reilly poo-pooed on the potty.  A huge step for the Durkin family, as we have been working towords this for some time now.  Oye.  You will all be very pleased to know that I did not get the camera, although MR and I will admit to talking about whether or not we should!!

As long as the dads of America are aware of their uncoolness, they can get away with attending at least a few more (insert your favorite young / new band here) shows.  Greg Berhrendt on being cool (or not) and old at the same time.

Dobbs walked Friday, just once for about three steps. Reilly, Dobbs and I were playing in the the den, and the little guy just stood up and walked a bit. Like it was nothing. Of course, after I got out the camera he would have nothing to do with it, but I am learning patience. Saturday night, right at his bedtime, Dobbs went for another walk, and this time, I got video. He is walking more and more, and thinks that this whole walking thing might be the funniest ever.

And, because we here at (this is) durkin.org, are fair and balanced too: an oldie but goodie of Reilly that has not seen the light of day until now: The Scary Song.

Unlike the rest of the stories central to Christianity’s history, this one is symbolic; The Morning News serves up St. Patrick’s Day with a little bit of fact and a whole lot of fun. And beer.

R and D go to a mother’s morning out program in town, and usually get along great with the setup.  Today, though, when MR picked them up, she received a BAD REPORT.  BAD REPORTS, you see, are what the parents of disobedient children receive.  We have never been party to this, only witnesses to other parents as they are talked to by the teachers.

We are not pleased.

But, in a way, almost relieved, too.  They have both been so willful lately at home, and R has been, to a certain extent, not so good lately, but no one else seems to see that - ever.  Just like me when I was a kid, mom said I was always great when I was with other people, and only reserved the truly terrible behavior for home.  Perhaps I’ve passed it on?

According to today’s report, not so much.  Here’s hoping its just the end of the terrible two’s for R and teething issues for D.

Here’s the thing - I’ve spent a great deal of time recently trying to get this install looking the way I want it too look, but am having some problems with the final hurdles. And then it occurs to me that this is a beta release of K2, and maybe I should wait to really spend a ton of time getting it write. I know nothing about this php stuff, and only a minimal about css and html.

So, I’ll stop trying for now. I’ll deal with the things I don’t like (the icons, the look of the installs, some general formatting issues, etc); cause all in all, I really like the K2 look and feel. I think I’ll keep a list of things I want to do, but will just wait for the time to be right.

Things I’d like to do:
- Asides that look like the ones from kottkedotorg or Matt’s.
- Show more than excerpts in archives.
- Read up on some of those tutorials out there for customizing
- Superheaders?
- Niffty author comments standout thingy? (That now I can’t find…)
- Maybe have the dates displayed once per day, as opposed to with each entry.

One thing I have not liked about WordPress is the default way the archives look, with excerpts rather than full entries. I think I understand why it was developed that way, but still don’t like it. Problem solved. Easily, too.

Tonite, getting out of the car after dinner at Moe’s, Reilly pulled the straw from his cup and drank from the top, saying - “I am drinking John’s beer.”

I am completely at a loss. I have pined for Fernando’s Provision theme, but am not happy with the resulting colors and presentation on my site with the (public) version. I tried modifying it, played around with other themes (even posted for help on a forum!), but never get what I want.

But I am always pretty pleased, out of the box, if you will, with K2. So I’ll tinker here a bit. Oye.