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We had a great visit with mom and dad this weekend, as they came out for Alex’s graduation. Before they hit the road this morning, they posed for a picture with their awesome grandkids.

We followed with a “goofy picture” but I guess grandpa doesn’t have a goofy face (or if he does, it looks remarkably like his normal face).

Well, Alex did it! Graduation was last Saturday.

It’s been raining pretty much all month, so the morning started out pretty threatening. The skies were completely overcast, it was chilly, and there was a slight drizzle. The school had a Plan B to have the graduation ceremony indoors, but no one really wanted to do that, so they braved the weather and made the call to go outdoors.

Here’s Alex heading past the choir and band to take his seat:

Here’s what the overall area looked like… notice the looming grey skies.

Miraculously, the sun came out for a while, and eventually the clouds dissipated a bit. The drizzle stopped and it was actually quite nice– not too hot, but not too cold either.

I couldn’t get a good shot of Alex receiving his diploma from the principal, but here he is heading offstage, diploma in hand:

Afterward, he was a pretty happy guy. It was really nice that mom and dad could come out to support him.

He was pretty decked-out. The large medallion is for “co-valedictorian”… I’d never heard of that, but there were around 30 seniors who finished high school with a GPA of 4.0 or higher, and they were all counted as co-valedictorians. The teal cords are for his STEM degree– all of the tough math and engineering courses paid off. The gold cords are for National Honor Society. And the red-and-gold cords are for completing the honors program, which included a lot of honors-level classes, extracurricular activities, and community service hours. Impressive.

And here are the proud parents:

One down, two to go…

Here’s a sharp-dressed guy.

No, that’s not my first wife or something. Dirk sent me this photo tonight– he must have found it in a dusty box in the basement or something. It’s his wife Jennifer just before their wedding. I was a groomsman but apparently I hadn’t yet put on my tux. She was being all beautiful and smiley for the photographer, and suddenly suggested that I join her for a shot. What can I say– I’m just so photogenic.

So for many years, whenever a woman asks me the mysterious question “Guess what?”, my glib response is always “You’re pregnant?” I find that most of the time it elicits a chuckle, but in general I’m wrong. Well, in fact I don’t think I’ve ever been right.

Until Saturday.

Here’s my conversation with a friend (who will remain nameless for now):

Hah! Nailed it!

Zack’s had a Ripstik for several years now. It’s one of those funky skateboard-like things with two wheels:

He loves it and zips all over the neighborhood. Well, he finally decided it might be time to get some new wheels for it, because the old ones had basically worn down to a nub. We ordered the wheels, and the difference is pretty staggering:

The one on the right has worn through to whatever weird filler material they stuff inside. With the new wheels, he should be ready for another few years of zipping around.

Our old lawnmower was self-propelled, but the motor had given out years ago so it was basically a push mower that weighed about 15 pounds more than it needed to. Laralee finally got tired of heaving it around the yard, as well as listening to Zack complain about how heavy it was when he used it. We had a friend who was looking for a mower, so it seemed like an opportune time to donate it.

After extensive research online and at the local hardware stores, Laralee found a push mower that was highly rated and reasonably priced. It’s a little Honda, and since we have three Honda cars I guess we might as well continue the trend.

It’s been raining nearly continuously for weeks, so as soon as the sun broke through and the grass dried enough, Zack went out to give it a whirl.

I’m sure he’s excited about all of the opportunities he’ll have to use it this summer…

Tonight was the final week of indoor ultimate. We got smoked in the first round of the tournament (against the top-ranked team who was 26-1 for the season). Our second game in the consolation round was a ton of fun, and even though we ended up with a 20-18 loss, everyone had a good time. I really enjoyed playing indoor, although it’s very different from the outdoor game I’ve been playing for almost 25 years.

Here’s the obligatory team photo:

Thanks for a great season, guys!

Yesterday I received two calls (neither of which I answered) with a message that said it was “very important” that I call the “IRS hotline” to talk about an “urgent tax matter”. Whoa. What could it be?

I’m kidding. I know exactly what it was: a scam.

The callback number was 302-251-8071, which is somewhere in Delaware. These guys should at least get a 202 number, which would be Washington DC and a little more believable. From what I understand, the scam typically works by telling the victim that there’s a serious problem with their tax returns from some years past, and they owe the IRS tens of thousands of dollars. Apparently there’s occasionally a vague threat of legal action and jail time if they don’t pay immediately. Of course, few people have that kind of money, so the scammers explain that they can make a partial payment immediately via a bank transfer or by loading up pre-paid credit cards, and that’ll resolve the “urgent tax matter”. Anyone who believes it then gives them a bunch of money– often hundreds or even a few thousand dollars.

Just because I was in a mood, I called the number today. Sure enough, some guy with an Indian accent answered and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi, I received a message about an URGENT TAX MATTER and I wanted to get it resolved. What’s going on?

Him: Hello sir. Who am I speaking with? [Since he has no idea who’s calling back on this number]

Me: Who am I? Don’t you know who I am? You’re the IRS.

Him: Is this (undecipherable name that sounded like “Doom”)?

Me: Are you asking if I’m Mr. Doom?

Him: Yes.

Me: That’s a great name but it’s not me.

Him: Is your address (undecipherable street) in Boston, Massachusetts?

Me: Hmm, no, that’s not my address either. This is strange.

Him: Please ignore our message. Good bye. [He hung up quickly]

So I’m wondering if these guys are using public-record information (like the Boston phone book) and calling people at random. Then, with their name and address, they can sound official and scare the person into paying to avoid jail or whatever. But when I called the number, they had no context and couldn’t identify me, so they quickly dropped the call.

In any case, I’ve received plenty of letters from the IRS for my businesses and so forth, and I know the IRS only communicates by postal mail and would never call and expect me to call some random number in Delaware to resolve a tax matter. In addition, when you call the IRS, the person who answers will always give their name and some ID number… you’d think these scammers would at least act like that to be more realistic. Sheesh. Amateurs.

So if you have a few spare minutes and want to have some fun, call 302-251-8071 and pretend to be all worried about your URGENT TAX MATTER.

I was reading an article this afternoon and found an interesting infographic. This shows the most popular profession by state:

Four states, including Colorado, have more software developers than people in other careers. Primary school teachers are tops in six other states. Five states are popular for secretaries. And an astounding twenty-eight states list truck driver as their most popular profession. I find that pretty interesting.

Here’s a cool sunset picture:

But wait– why is it so blue? Shouldn’t a sunset be more orange and red?

Yes it should. But this is on freakin’ Mars!

This photo was taken in mid-April by the Curiosity rover on Mars, somewhere near Gale Crater. The rover is nearing its 1,000-th day on the Martian surface and continues to do cool stuff.

Man, I love science.