David Obbee's (obbee) Blog

I love my puggle.  He is a constant source of discussion and amusement in our home.  When he's good, he's very sweet, loving and calm.  When he's bad... well, he's lucky he hasn't been sentenced to life imprisonment in his bed!  While he's good, we say he's a puggle, and while he's bad, we say he...

Oh no... I suppose it had to happen sooner or later, but this morning my oldest daughter uttered her first "Whatever!" in response to a parental directive (in this case, being polite about sharing use of the toaster with her sister).  For kicks, I looked up "whatever" on the dictionary.com websit...

This morning before I came into the office, I took my oldest daughter to school for a special conference with her teacher.  The meeting was to discuss my daughter's recurring problem with getting her homework turned in on time and what we could do, collectively, to help remedy the situation. On t...

My poor wife has been sick the last couple days.  She is an attorney with her own office, so when she's run down, her business shuts down.  I know she's frustrated, and I feel bad for her.  Also, I had to make dinner last night, and the kids would definitely prefer her cooking to mine (although t...

The health insurance debate is certainly a hot topic, whether in the news or around the office water cooler.  Personally, I have mixed feelings about many of the issues surrounding health care reform.  Bottom line, I suppose, is that I would like to fix the parts of the current system that are br...

I was visiting with my mom, who is 64.  She was very excited because she had just purchased a Palm Pre, which is a fancy new "smart phone" that allows the user to surf the web, watch videos and run multiple applications (in addition to actually making calls).  I asked her what had prompted this e...

My oldest daughter checked out a book for me to read from her school library called "The City of Ember."  She thought I would like it because it's in the science fiction genre, which she knows I enjoy.  I did like the book- my wife even read it, too, and so next we ordered the film version from N...

Last night my wife and I took the kids out to dinner with my parents at a "fancy" restaurant for my mother's birthday.  Despite repeated, consistent efforts to instill the importance of politeness into my two elementary-school-age daughters, it's something of a crapshoot when you get them in an a...

I try to pack my lunch at least a couple days each week.  I like to get out for a bit during the day for fresh air and a change of pace, but I also figure to save a few bucks and eat healthier.  Plus, I get some extra time in at the office on those days I dine at my desk. As far as groceries to m...

After my daughters went to bed last night, my wife and I watched "American Idol."  It's a guilty pleasure, I suppose- certainly it's not something I talk about at work the same way I discuss NFL games.  But I really do enjoy it.  I like seeing the kids from all over the country come from obscurit...