Second excuse is that it's Passover this week which means the wife is on a housecleaning rampage to find and remove chometz and if I ever find him, he's dead meat for upsetting the quiet calm that is the household trademark (that is, when the kids are asleep). Passover is, of course, the ritual remembrance of the Jews escaping Egyptian bondage with some Divine help. Ironically, the bondage is painstakingly reenacted via hours long seders. As a kid I thought that seders lasted way too long. As an adult I know they last way too long. You'd think that a celebration of gaining Freedom would not mean losing Freedom by forever continuing a ritual. But, hey, I never was one for religion.

The third excuse is Red Alert 2 - Yuri's Revenge. This somewhat old Command and Conquer has been discovered by the kids. They love the gameplay. I love the over-the-top acting. In fact, we're finding that we enjoy the game more thanRise of Nations. The kids have built Psychic Dominators out of their Legos and "Yuri" tends to make an appearnace around bedtime...

"This is Yuri. You will listen to Yuri. It is time to sleep. Trust Yuri. Slleep..."

But then Tanya tends to ruin things...

"Yeah baby! Ready for action!"

And the kids are bouncing off the walls again. Where's Boris when you need him...