This article is for the non-Facebookers out there… because for those of you already on The Face (or FB), you’ve probably heard-seen most of this stuff already.

Many of you choose to avoid the Borg-Like Collective and the Power of the Dark Side.

Those of us on Facebook… well, we miss you. 

Yes, I suppose I could use non-traditional TwenCen methods to reach you… like an e-mail or a phone call.  However, the reverse applies too.

And yes, some of you have been really good about trying to keep in touch despite my more recent Heismann-like approach to most external people-objects-events distant of late.  For that, I thank you for your continued friendship even if at times I’ve been feral about keeping it real in the 94501.

Special note — If you use Skype – I sometimes have an account open in the evenings for vid-conferencing with the Santa Cruz Steeles and may be available to talk.

In my defense, one thing that I can say about a having a young family dynamic and a bone-crushing depressed economy is that it does tend to eat away at available free time.

“Free time” is now more along the lines of “sanity time” or “less productive than I could be” time.

(And I’m not re-opening the discussion of “me time”.  That unknown-double-meaning-to-me-until-I-misused-it-ha-ha-ha ship has sailed.  Seriously.)

Here’s a sample of what you can see if you join up with Facebook.

PH-WOOOOOOFFF!!!

That’s the sound of me blowing the dust off this blog.

I noticed that the www.steelaraza.com link was dead a few days.  It’s since been renewed. 

Lately, family updates can be found over at Valerie’s profile over at facebook.com.  There’s a number of Max shots and a couple of new videos too.

There’s also been a slew of Soquel High reunion photos out there as well.  I had a great time, as evidenced by the following:

This is why I'll never be in politics...

I only wish I could remember what the heck was THAT funny.

First, a few animated videos of the Ramones.  My favorite is, of course, the Legos version of the Ramones signing “Spider-Man”, even if the video seems to be out of focus.

Secondly, I saw this and realized its sheer insanity and genius all at once.  For this — a hearty salute and a warning — I hereby present RPS-101 (RPS=Rock, Paper, Scissors, and now 98 other options).  I remember adding bombs and falling buildings as a kid, but never went past… oh, eight or so options… these folks go beyond anything considered… uh, normal.

Lastly, sorry for the lack of activity on the site.  I need to get my hands on Val’s laptop sometime — that’s where all the good Max stuff gets transferred to!  That said, for our friends on Facebook, I believe Val added a new video of Max within the last week or so…

This is for my next door neighbor.

Should he ever see this, given the date and the tag entries, he should be able to figure out why.

Update:  Neighbor’s response – “IN YOUR FACE, GROOVIN’ AQUAMAN!!!”

Because this is too cool not to share — Fred Astaire makes Michael Jackson proud in a video mashup of “Smooth Criminal”.

Hello family, friends and fans of Max! Surprise, surprise, it’s been a long while since I’ve posted. So many things have happened with Max since my last post, including:

(1) Traveling Man

Max went on his first plane ride! My mom had been staying with us since January, but come May it was time for her to return home to Lolo. We were very lucky to have had Lola’s help during such an important time in Max’s life.

Here’s Max on the plane…looking a bit concerned, but happy nonetheless.

All that traveling tired him out, so he fell asleep on me.

We stayed in San Diego for the weekend, but all good things come to an end. Here they are at the airport before we checked in a security.

And as an aside, the SD Airport is super nice now! I’ve traveled back and forth for the last 10 years, but it’s only now that I’ve noticed all of the nice improvements they’ve made, including the new gate/terminal at the end with practically no lag time.

(2) Creepy Crawlies

Another exciting Max development is that he is starting to crawl. He was using moving along using his tummy muscles in the beginning, but now he’s gotten to the point where his knees and butt are getting him moving. Here he is with Daddy at Lolo and Lola’s house.

(3) Max has two bottom teeth!

Yes, after months of eager anticipation, our bubby finally has his first two teeth coming in. Surprisingly, he hasn’t gotten a fever, which is common with new teeth. On the downside, however, he has been crankier than normal. I guess I’d be cranky too if I had new teeth erupting through my gums.

(4) 9-month Checkup

Max had his 9 month checkup last week. He weighs in at 20 lbs, 11 oz, and is 28.75 inches long.

I knew that he was tall (70th percentile for length), but I was surprised that he didn’t weigh more. He sure feels like a 95th percentile baby! According to the baby birth chart from www.mybirthcare.com, he’s in the 54th percentile for weight. He was in the 75th percentile at his 6 month appointment.

I’m going to have to add more protein to his diet. Chicken and fish…here it comes!

(5) First Baseball Game

We took Max to his first baseball game, courtesy of Uncle Lyman! He was so excited to see all of the people swarming around him, and could barely contain himself in the Baby Bjorn.

By the 4th inning, however, he was passed out. He stayed asleep until the 8th inning.

(6) Go Bruins

Finally, I’ve been waiting for Max to fit into his UCLA Bruins onesie for a while now. He wore it this morning before I went to work and his nanny came over. I know that Dave is pulling for UC Davis, but I would be so happy if he decided to go to UCLA and be a Bruin.

Go Max Go! Grow Max Grow!

So… what’s new? Max hit the nine months old mark on Wednesday!!!

Yay, Maxwell!

Recent Max developmental discoveries:

1)The LOUD button on his volume control. And not just for the “I’m unhappy” voice, just for random happy babble.

2)People are cool.

So are cats!

3) He can stand with support from Mom and Dad for short periods.  He’s also an expert sitter.

4) He’s got two ridges where his lower two teeth are threatening to come out.

5) Rolling left to right is easy. Crawling forward with just your chest muscles is a great work-out, especially when you’re rewarded with the Tivo remote to gum.

For those that still fondly remember playing video games on an Atari 2600, this site will bring back memories.

My favorites:  “Wrong button!” was Missle Command.  We’d grimly name the cities after local cities and even as kids would pause and ponder what that meant after THE END flashed on the screen… (dang Cold War ruining our childhood fun and all)…that and “Starship Future Engineering Challenge” because its real title was “Basic Programming” and I actually did write some old programs on this thing before graduating to an Apple IIe soon after.

Yes, I was a nerd even in the late 70s…

Related:  Fun with Choose Your Own Adventures, which I may have posted here before…

Val and I have updated a lot of family gems on facebook over the last couple of weeks.  There’s a number of Max albums and some videos too, so if you’re into that sort of thing, but don’t yet have access, definitely give us an e-hollah and we’ll tap you into the Steelaraza Facebook Matrix. 

On a COMPLETELY unrelated note, since I’m a statistics geek at times, I thought I’d share a find – it’s a collection of US statistical data since 1878 called The Statistical Abstract of the United States.  It’s the…

authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.

Use the Abstract as a convenient volume for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web.

Sources of data include the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations.

And I wouldn’t fault any of you if your reaction to this lovely bit of statistical wonder is (especially 1:10-1:12):

I came across this during a lunch websurf last week.

And it got me to thinking — which is always dangerous – what sort of strange and weird little untruths will I tell Max when he’s older?  What sort of wonderful warping of his mind will Val and I perpetuate upon him?

So I got to thinking about some of the whoppers my folks told me that I later discovered were probably fabrications…?

• My father would magically KNOW if I ever took drugs.  (Not that I was ever tempted.  But his pharmacutical knowledge on this front was enough.)
• If you collect enough dryer lint, you can create your own hamster.
• Fish can TOTALLY hear you when you’re loud in the early morning hours.  So put a sock in it already!
• “Scroot!” is a perfectly acceptable exclamation in polite company if you say it fast enough.
• If you ever get to the top of the escalator and get sucked under, the flames of hell will flicker at you… so hold on to the escalator until it rotates back around the bottom and you’ll pop back out on Earth at the bottom of the escalator.  (I’m still not sure how THAT one got in my skull.)
• Eating carrots will give you night vision.

I’m sure there’s more in my head that I’m either forgetting or repressing… and I’m sure everybody has their own lists…