I think Jonas and I are finally hitting our stride. We both apparently enjoy routine, and each morning now we practice the same set of events: Food for him, coffee for me, potty for him, food and email for me. When I get ready to leave, he follows me over to The Wife to kiss her goodbye and then prances stomps over to the garage door to watch me leave. And then he sits as we shake hands to bid farewell. It’s actually kinda cute. Anyway, here are the five things I enjoyed this week:

1. “Well, this just really sucks…” T-shirt - I’m totally diggin’ this Scrabble-themed shirt. At my last job we used to having running Scrabble games that lasted days on end. It helped break the monotony of a day and actually helped a bit with creativity. I miss that. This shirt rules!
2. Half Of Us - Okay, kinda weird that I’m linking to a PSA-style site about depression and whatnot as a FTILFF item. But I think it’s well done and could see it being an effective resource for kids. I was even startled the the candor of some of the celebrity confessions like Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy. Simple concept, nice execution.
3. BWE-DITORIAL: American Idol, Sanjaya Malakar, And The Postmodern Condition - A strange vehicle for this to come in the form of, but this editorial from VH1’s Best Week Ever is rather insightful. I think it pegs the exact reason(s) that I loathe this show and why I secretly hope that dude with his Pony Hawk wins. On talent and personality, it’s clearly Melinda D. But I want this show out of the American conscience so that we can go back to a life where celebrities aren’t churned out of a hit-machine, but instead rely on hard work and real talent.
4. The smell of fermenting wort - The Wife™ hates it when I brew beer. She complains about the smell of cooked malted barley and hops for days. But each morning and evening when I peek in on the six-gallon carboy bubbling away in our spare bathroom, I am greeted by the sweetest most heavenly wave of pale ale and Cascade hops. I hope she realizes that I’m doing a wheat beer tomorrow.
5. “The Emperor’s New Woes” - The title is a bit melodramatic, but the article is intriguing. I recently finished a book on this topic and have been increasingly interested in the topic of the changing roles of men in modern households/relationships/workplaces. Worth a read, even if you’re not married.

Everyone have a good weekend. A special happy birthday to Andrew and to my sister in Baltimore.