Heheh. Love the zonked-on-the-couch pic. Now that's parenthood!

I caught my daughter fishing things out of the recycling today... but she was only "helping" her mom clean up. She doesn't quite get it yet.

Oh steam thread...
I should stop buying competitive multiiplayer games. There's a pattern to each one I've bought in recent years, that goes like this:

- See a cool looking MP game on sale. Think "Neato, I can play this with friends, maybe". Poor impulse control takes over.
- Play the game. Have no bloody idea what's going on. Get my arse handed to me over and over again, and eventually quit in rage and shame.
- Think "I just need more practice! If I play enough I'll get good!"
- 20-30 game hours later: Have a vague idea about what's going on. Get my arse handed to me over and over again, and eventually quit in rage and shame.
- Realize that I'm never not going to suck, and abandon the game forever.
- Feel bad about myself.

I guess I shouldn't get frustrated at losing, but when my kill:death ratio is 1:10 and people on the server are asking me if I'm trolling... it... hurts my feelings. I should maybe stick to single player and co-op games.
<sigh>
It wouldn't be so bad except that I remember a time when I was GOOD at these things. I have no idea what happened to me. Old age? Cumulative brain damage? Several years of chronic sleep deprivation? Cursed by a witch? I just don't get it.

She just asked us to phone the park and ask them to make the rain stop, so she could go there.

They just keep getting cuter.

That's just precious.

My girl has regular tooth-brushing before bed every night, and she usually insists that whoever's supervising also brushes their teeth, so she's seen that spitting is the proper way to finish. Of course she doesn't use real toothpaste, so there's no real need to spit, but she'll want to be lifted up to the sink anyway, when she's done, so she can pretend to spit, making a "BOIT!" sound to go with it. It's pretty funny.

We've gotten to the age where she freaks out about any problem she encounters, regardless of how large or small. It really seems like she's genuinely unable to tell the difference between spilled milk and a broken arm, in terms of appropriate response.
Yesterday she wanted to go out and play on the balcony, so my wife told her, "OK, but you need to put your boots on." So my daughter finds her boots, and attempts to put them on her feet, unsuccessfully. My wife tries to help, which triggers Toddler Rage. After a second failed attempt my daughter gets REALLY mad, and throws one of her boots across the room.

Now, she KNOWS she's not supposed to throw things, especially when angry, so IMMEDIATELY after throwing it, she sits down in a heap and starts to weep despondently. After a few seconds, in a tiny voice fraught with despair and self-recrimination, she says "Now we can't go ANYWHERE!" <sobs> "Just close the door."
She thought that throwing her boot was enough of a crime that cancelling the balcony trip was a foregone conclusion, without even waiting to see how we reacted. She's officially punishing herself for misbehaviour.
It was so hard not to laugh while explaining to her that boot-tossing was bad, but not THAT bad, and that she was still allowed to go outside. We kept having to take breaks to turn around & stifle giggles, while the poor girl looked up at us with such big regretful eyes.

Undead Guppies in a Rotten Barrel



Contest Results:

Slightly delayed as always, and in no particular order the winners are:

@Jeix. This guy should work for NASA or something. Get this: Custard powder. I know, sounds crazy right?
But the thing about custard powder is:
a) it's edible, non-perishable and tasty
b) when combined with water, it's a non-Newtonian liquid (like corn starch), which means its density varies based on pressure, which means you can create pools with the stuff that fast-moving creatures can walk/run across, while slow-moving creatures sink as though in quicksand. Zombie moat, anyone?
c) the unmixed powder is actually quite flammable
These points lead me to believe that, in the event of a full-blown zombie apocalypse, the person or persons who control the custard suppy will in fact control the very future of mankind. Yeah.

@NotoriusBEN. A passage from one of my favorite shorts in World War Z. There's something compelling and poetic about a redemptive blind man offing a shambler with his prayer stick.

@Shiflett. A clip from Zombieland. I mean, if they're around all the time, and you get used to slayin' 'em... eventually it becomes a bit of a game, right?

Thanks to everyone who entered!
Now, go shoot some decaying heads!