My birthday evening began with a trip home from work at 5:00pm to feed Tara. While at home i received a package from Amazon containing the season 1 DVD of the Venture Bros. ("have a scientastic day!"), a gift from the folks. Awesome. I then drove over to Sequoia Station to catch Caltrain up to the city. On my way into an open parking space, i noticed a little black bird hopping around on the pavement. I slowed down to let him get out of the way, but he didn't seem to be interested in helping me out so i drove on in, expecting he would either fly off or i would pull over him and he could hop out from under the car. I grabbed my iPod, got out of the car, and began walking to the station when i felt something hit me in the back. I turned around and saw the black bird had flown into me. Weird. I started walking again when i again felt him run into me, this time hovering just behind me flapping his wings. At this point i started flailing my arms wildly as the thought of a bird assaulting me was creeping me out. I began moving once again when chippy attacked a third time, afterward hovering at about 10 feet, giving me the evil eye. At this point i all but ran across the parking lot, glancing back occasionally to see if my cowardly escape was working. Bizarre. And on my birthday, too.

The festivities included a low-key dinner with Veronica, Naomi, Raffi, and lo and behold old roommate Alex and his new girlfriend, at the cozy environs of Chai Yo. We followed that up with a beer at the Hemlock, then headed home. To conclude the evening, we got to jump the Tercel that has been parked on the street for six months or so, in order to move it into our driveway at the request of the Redwood City police. I'm off later today to donate it to Parca, a charity serving the developmentally disabled.

Ana's site is almost ready for prime time. Rudha drew this cartoon fairy that i then colored and animated, which will serve as the host of the page. Awwww.

Our lawn is now fully sodded, and looks wonderful with next to the lone lemon tree. I've now got to figure out how to program the mess of pins and dials that is my sprinkler system. I now how to make it turn on and off for set periods of time, but haven't deduced how to schedule regular watering sessions. Hopefully with the aid of twice a month visits from our new gardeners, this lawn will have a longer life than the last one. Veronica and i are debating how to put our new backyard to use. Hammock, anyone?

Miami capped off a good season and a great postseason by coming back from an early 13 point deficit to beat the Mavericks 95-92 and win their first ever championship. As one of the millions for whom the NBA used to be a passion and is now mostly forgotten, i had but a few thoughts watching Shaq, DWade, and the Heat celebrate.

• Kobe Bryant must be popping a blood vessel or twelve about now. Between Shaq calling Wade the "best player ever" and Wade taking over the last four games in Jordan-esque fashion, Kobe is yesterday's news. Shaq made good on his promise to bring a championship to Miami and get his fourth ring after his ugly exit from the Lakers. Kobe isn't going to win his fourth in the foreseeable future. Bryant is now even further removed from the "next MJ" throne with the emergence of Wade and Lebron James. Boo freakin' hoo.

• The legions of Dallas faithful are crying about the refereeing the series ... news flash, this was brought on by your freakin' boss. If Mark Cuban wasn't constantly baiting the league, the Mavs might get a fair shake from the officials. I'm not saying David Stern is rigging games, but Cuban has definitely made enemies of the people who preside over the games.

• Wait a minute, what do i care about the fairness of the NBA? This sport lost 99% of its interest to me after Jordan retired. I harbor a secret hope that Lebron and DWade can recapture past glories for the league, but i doubt it.

• Congrats to Alonzo Mourning on his first championship. For a fierce competitor who has come back from a god damn kidney transplant, this is a fitting reward. Congrats to GP and Antoine Walker on their first as well, but they've been mostly petulant and annoying all these years so i'm not too teary-eyed for them.

There's something really comforting about the Howard Stern show. That sounds a bit odd, but it's true. The show perfectly captures the dynamic of a bunch of guys hanging around shooting the shit. It's not PC. But it's how we interact.