Scorch!

old mix (CDs)

2010-10-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

It's very telling of what generation you grew up in when you speak more of 'old mix CDs' in lieu of the almost ubiquitous pop-culture term 'old mix tapes.' I'm not sure how I began this recent process, but I recently came across my 'sought-after' series of K-State Mix CDs and, as I deemed them then, Home Mix CDs (because I was home over the summer when I burned those).

The 16 K-State mixes and 14 Home mixes were burned, if I recall correctly, during the course of freshman year at Kansas State (fall 2000, spring 2001) and through the next summer. What I've been doing lately, as I refresh the selection of CDs that I listen to in my car while I drive to and from work, is grabbing one or two of these mix CDs as a part of my listening menu.

And, quite honestly, I haven't been this excited about popping in a CD in a long time. There's a true excitement of the unknown with each CD (especially the ones where I didn't write track names on the front, which I stopped doing after the first couple discs). It's corny and probably fairly nerdy, but also really fun to not know what's coming next, and knowing at least at one point in time, that I liked these songs.

Not to sound too heady or hipster or whatever the appropriate term might be (douchey?), but it's fun to 'glimpse' back at that time in my life about ten years ago, via the music that I listened to (most of it probably downloaded via Napster -- talk about dating yourself, throwing around archaic software program names like that). I was but a wee 17-year-old lad, with peach fuzz mustache and backwards baseball cap proudly sported.

And the results have been enjoyable -- more often than not, my reaction has been 'YES, that song was awesome,' or 'cool, I remember this point in college when I was listening to that song (walking across campus or what have you).' Also on multiple occasions, I have skipped past a track. Phil Anselmo, I love you dearly, but I am not into the heavy stuff like I used to be (though you can never go wrong with 'A Good Friend and a Bottle of Pills,' am I right??).

Anyway, kind of a nerdy project that I'm in the middle of, but it's been really fun, slowly listening to each of these mix CDs from my 'distant' college days. I invite anyone who might have some old mixes lying around to pop one in when they have a free minute. Explore your past, brah.

half-marathon analysis

2010-10-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

Since 2004, I have run in four different half-marathons. After my most recent one on October 10, 2010, I think I've made the official decision to attempt a full marathon sometime during 2011. I know that the endurance and training required is on a whole other level, so I don't make this decision lightly. My friends Tim and Dave have told me focus on a triathlon of some sort next, but I'd rather stick to running at this point, before introducing swimming (which I'm very poor at) and bicycling to my 'repertoire,' as it were.

I'll try to keep everyone posted on any decisions and developments as we approach 2011.

It is fairly interesting to compare my half-marathon results, as I know my improvement in times relates fairly directly to weight, but probably also that I've grown better at pacing and probably gotten overall healthier as I've lived the past few years (minor stuff -- drinking more water, watching what I eat to an extent, the amount I eat, etc.).

Here they are, with date, age, weight, and time included:

4/18/2004 - Linz, Austria - age 20, 185 lbs. - 2:08:51
4/20/2008 - Lawrence, KS - age 24, 220 lbs. - 2:18:55
4/18/2010 - Lawrence, KS - age 26, 190 lbs. - 1:58:04
10/10/2010 - Wichita, KS - age 27, 180 lbs. - 1:56:50

I haven't thought far enough ahead at this point, so I'm not sure what to set for my goal time at this point. Logically, I would shoot for 4 hours, 30 minutes, but that's only a minute slower page than my fastest half-marathon time, which might be a fairly optimistic goal. We shall see.

On a related note, congrats to the aforementioned Dave Lodewyck, who successfully completed the 2010 Chicago Marathon that was also on October 10. He is one of my many inspirations.

The blog is back

2010-09-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

The recent birth of Gretchen's blog has inspired me (at least tentatively) to kickstart my blog back into gear.

It may or may not last, but at this moment, the burning in my loins is there.

Another reason is that at my 10-year high school reunion this past weekend, there were a few requests to bring back my newsletter, the Scorch! With this being the Scorch!'s 'cousin' so to speak, I thought that if I did decide to do that, it would be in this forum.

I'm at least considering a '10-year reunion' edition, and we'll see where it goes from there.
Quite frankly, in this day and age, Facebook and these other social media do the job that the Scorch! used to do, and in a much more powerful way.

The Scorch! was the protozoa, while these Twitters and LinkedIns and Bookfaces are the blue people from Avatar (which I haven't seen, so there).

Anyway, we have a lot to catch up on since my last post about 27 months ago.
Let's hope my motivation doesn't wane.

half-marathon run

2008-06-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

Ran the half-marathon on 4/20/08.

Still hovering around 225 pounds, though.

Thought about running another half in the fall.

Sadly, I have been too busy for much blogging.

Please berate me to be more diligent.

Thanks.

2008 resolutions

2008-01-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

1. Get down to 200 pounds (right now, I'm around 225 to 230).

2. Run a half-marathon (will help with item #1 -- depending on progress, might try to run another later in the year)

What are your resolutions?

yes, another Ween post

2007-12-20T12:14:00.000-08:00

A few readers complain about the frequency of my Ween-related posts, but I don't give a hoot.

This is another reason why I love Ween. Dean Ween (aka Mickey Melchiondo) is the member of the band who upkeeps their website, and in the "Waste" section of the site, he usually post pictures, rants about things, posts song rarities, etc., etc.

The most recent Waste section was especially cool, as he explains how to make his "Sunday sauce," an Italian dish that takes all afternoon to cook (hence the name). It looks like a really great recipe, but I appreciate it more because it's a small glimpse into the life of this relatively famous rock star. I just stop and wonder, how many other rock bands offer up things like this on their website? You just don't see something like that everyday.

Anyway, just head to the website, and at the top click "Waste," then click the big picture of the pot of meat and pasta sauce. (Sorry, I would have linked it here, but I'm not sure how to link to sites with Flash-based navigation -- it's the same web address link for the "Waste" section as it is for the main page of the Ween site, etc.).

Here are some pics from it, though.

interesting media reads

2007-11-21T10:05:00.000-08:00

Here are a few articles I've come across (via the Drudge Report and Bryan Hayes, respectively) on the topic of the internet and how it is (or can) affect other forms of mainstream media.

Obscene Losses - How free pornography available on the Internet is wreaking havoc within the adult-entertainment industry.

Radio Free Everywhere - An article regarding the ubiquity of Internet radio, and how it's variety and availability should make it universally popular (at least, I think it should). I listen to it everyday at work -- mainly two college stations (KSDB, Kansas State University's college station, and WMBR, MIT's sutdent station) that I wouldn't normally have the capability of listening to, at least via normal analog radio waves. Internet radio is good stuff.

Enjoy the reading and I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving.

Dean Ween in the Onion

2007-10-31T12:28:00.000-07:00

There's a great interview in The Onion's A/V Club this week, with Dean Ween, lead guitarist of my favorite band Ween. He is also one of my favorite guitarists. He can solo with the best of them. He also gets really into it with crazy facial expressions and the like. As my friend put it after he saw Ween about a week ago -- "Dean is a machine."

Here's a video to illustrate his awesomeness.

(4:35 into the video is when Dean's solo starts, but by all means, enjoy the whole song, Fluffy -- one of my favorites from Ween.)

studio's greatest hits - volume II

2007-10-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

That's right -- there are plenty of other tunes that got me and several others through the daily (and nightly) grind of architectural studio.

Let's visit a few more:

The Association - Windy

This song was one of a few Association songs that I had on my computer in studio (see "Cherish" revisited in one of my previous blog entries). It's got a peppy, airy sound that kicked your ass right out of that 3 AM funk you found yourself in. Another interesting aside -- Ryan Kurlbaum, fellow member of my studio during 5th year, made up some ridiculous story that this song was written about his sorority brother's aunt named Wendy or something. Sure, Ryan, we believe you.

The Lovin' Spoonful - Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?

This song is so heavy with meaning I don't know where to start. Yes, it sure sounds like they're singing about deciding between two girls and the inner turmoil that goes along with it. But this question crosses all boundaries and knows no limits. Anyone could apply it to their own life. Which of these five design schemes do I pursue? Do I drink Mad Dog 20/20 or Evil Eye tonight? This song is short in length, but chock full of meaning. (Also, I couldn't find a good video for this song, so it's some lame slideshow -- but still, I do love that embed function.)

Ween - Piss Up a Rope

A big "fuck you" with a country twist. This is about some dude kicking his woman out, because he's had enough of her whoring and disrespect. But it could just as easily apply to: that studio professor who's too busy being a douche to help you with your design (he shall remain nameless), that guy you're playing in intramural racquetball who screams with rage every time something doesn't go his way (I beat him good, too), or the parking patrol, making you feel like a fugitive every night of the week (Dan Typaldos knows from experience -- the irony being he missed his first Ween concert ever due to a BOOT on his car back on May 6, 2003). It's got some pretty quotable lyrics, too.

Ween - Waving my Dick in the Wind

This isn't just a vulgar homage to public indecency. It's also a story of reunion, love rekindled, and a distaste for law enforcement. It also happened to be a tune Dan and I would play in studio, as we waved our phantom members in the air, to motivate and inspire not just us, but our classmates as well. Never did so much work get done in studio as it did right after a rousing rendition of "Waving My Dick in the Wind." (I've included two versions here: one that Gretchen, Dan and I saw live on 8/11/07, and another version that's slightly better quality.)

Frank Zappa - Uncle Remus

The hatred Gretchen had for this song was equivalent in measure to the love Dan and I had. As we air guitared its solos, and Gretchen sat there disgusted, something happened. Cleveland steamers were designed (Dan and my 3rd year performing arts center), schlongs were born (Dan's 5th year high rise building). It was wonderful. (Also, couldn't find a good video for this song, but it's still the audio, and again I got to use that fulfilling embed function.)

Journey - Lights

Journey didn't get played too much in studio, but on a couple fateful evenings at 909 Kearney St. (my residence for 3 years in Manhattan), namely Pure Funk B-day 2004 and that one night me, John, and Mullet drank SoCo and listened to Journey, Journey made the room come alive. It was a magic similar to that one so often felt in studio when a particular song was suddenly heard from your computer speakers. Hence, it gets an honorary mention in Studio's Greatest Hits (also, like many Journey videos, it's fairly ridiculous and awesome at the same time, most probably because it comes from the late 70's, a fairly ridiculous time).

Until next time, remember sometimes all it takes is a song to get you where you want to go, even if where you want to go is somewhere, ANYWHERE, as long as it's away from all the mind-numbing work that's slowly crushing your soul.

writing to prevent disabling of my blog

2007-10-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

I don't know what the cutoff is, but I thought I'd post an entry before Blogger gives me the ol' proverbial administrative cockslap and shuts down my blog due to lack of activity.

Things I've learned recently:

Brad saw a ghost the other day.
K-State has a good football team this year.
The new Ween album is due October 23rd.
The new Facebook application Scrabulous rules. You should add it so we can play (and I am quite particular about what applications I add. It can become a messy and confusing cluster of a facebook page if you add too many).

studio's greatest hits - volume I

2007-05-19T16:01:00.000-07:00

To keep one's sanity in studio, sometimes a random song was needed. It boosted morale, livened the spirit, and kept everyone working hard.

Well, at least for Dan Typaldos and me. Others in our 5th year studio might have been irritated as we trumpeted a song loudly in studio for seemingly no reason at all.

So, now, a walk down memory lane, to look at the tunes that we held near and dear to our heart. (With related BONUS videos -- man, I love this embed function. Also, I love that You Tube has all these cool videos from a long time ago. It's just neat to watch some of them.)

1. Cherish by The Association

If Dan and I had gotten married, this is the song we would have danced to. Alas, it wasn't to be, but we managed to still have a special moment.

The place: somewhere in Tokyo. More specifically, a karaoke bar.
The song: of course, the above mentioned.
The review: I'll be damned if it wasn't the best I had ever sung. Correction, that WE had ever sung. Our voices were one that night. You want proof? Oh, there were witnesses. Even better, one of the bar owners rang the "wind chimes of approval" after we completed Cherish. That, in the end, is all the proof you need.

2. This Diamond Ring by Gary Lewis and the Playboys

Our tribute to lost love, Dan and I would sing this when were just a bit down in the dumps about a schematic design. This very "diamond ring" sung about by Gary was in fact a symbolic offer by us as we cast out another idea that was shat upon by Robert Arens. But it was even more than that. "Who wants to buy-uy-uy this diamond ring?" asked Gary Lewis. More like "who wants to buy this Cleveland Steamer of an excuse for a building design?" Good song, though -- good song.

3. No Time by The Guess Who

This song needs little to no explanation. Five design sketches due by morning? And it's 4 AM? Play it. Day before the projects due? With no model begun? Play it. Five minutes til the Cat's Den closed? (is that what it was called? -- it seems so long ago, I don't even remember) Hell, yes, play that song. Catchy as hell. And I'm sure there was some social justice issue they were singing about, but that's beside the point.

4. 1-2-3 by Len Barry

This little ditty was just a shot-in-the-arm type of song. Only around 2 minutes in length, it got your spirits up real quick when you needed to get some work done. And Mr. Barry makes it all seem so EASY, "like taking candy, FROM A BABY!"

5. The Mollusk by Ween (with accompanying badass Lego "brick-mation" video)

A bit different than the flavor of the previous four songs, we sometimes switched gears from 60's oldies to 90's (very) alternative rock. Ween just does it a little bit differently than other bands. Maybe that's why I love their music so much. This song in particular is one of the most accessible, though still very different, songs to date. What makes it especially great is when a fan went and put together a corresponding "brick-mation" video to the song. (brick-mation is pretty self-explanatory once you see the vid.) And, for just a moment, you are THERE. Your are the "little boy" with the "mollusk you've found." It sucked us in and made everything seem alright -- even if it was only for three minutes of your day (or night, more often than not). And then there you were, back at your desk, with your stalled high-rise design staring you back in the face. But, it was OK. Because The Mollusk told you that everything was gonna be alright.

There were many other songs that we used to escape. Perhaps a volume II shall soon be authored. Until then, savor these aural nuggets, whenever you need a little psychological pat on the rump.

comics i like

2007-05-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

After reading about Intern Architects In Hell on Brad's blog, I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite strips.

They are strange, but that is probably why I enjoy the humor so much. They're just a little bit different than the average cartoon (I still like Garfield too, if you were wondering).

Wondermark:

And Red Meat:

Roy Rules

2007-04-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday Night Live isn't what it used to be, but it still has its funny moments.

A new SNL Digital Short came out last weekend, called Roy Rules. Whatever Andy Samberg does is usually goofy, and I don't believe you can be on the fence about his stuff. It's either hilarious to you, or absolutely stupid.

Anyway, enjoy. Or not.

Bud Light commercials

2007-04-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

I think I sent this information via forwarded e-mail a while back, but I thought I'd spread the word a little more this way.

Several months ago, a friend of mine sent me a link to this website. Someone has taken the time to compile all of the Bud Light "Real Men of Genius" and "Real American Heroes" commercials that you hear on the radio. (It may not be completely up-to-date, I think the last time I was there, the last update was late 2006.)

Some of them are pretty funny. Check it out.

Here's the Wikipedia page about Real Men of Genius.

And, I guess there are some video versions I didn't know about.

Martinville

2007-04-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

It only took about 24 hours for Kansas State to act quickly and name a new basketball coach.

Frank Martin, who was an assistant under Bob Huggins last year, was named head coach, and Dalonte Hill, also an assistant last year, was named associate head coach (associate -- to quote one of my favorite movies -- "it means less than....*weeping quietly to self*"). A press conference was held yesterday.

Basically, there are two groups of people that formed after this news was announced.

One group thought it was good that Tim Weiser and Jon Wefald acted so quickly. Also, they promoted the two guys who have the best chance of keeping this current crop of recruits that several are deeming to be the "#1 recruiting class in the country next season." I'm in this group of folks.

There is another group of negative-nelly naysayers who are crying foul about all sorts of things. Among others, they're saying that Martin was an awful choice of coach. He has no collegiate coaching experience. They only kept him and Hill around to keep these recruits onboard. They're going to have talent, but no coaching to go along with it. After all these recruits play for a year or two, they're gone, and the Wildcats are back to square one with no talent and no coach. And, of course, they bring up mention of recruiting violations that happened while he was a high school coach back in Florida. And, they mention what an angry, foul-mouthed man he can become on the sidelines (they say he makes Bobby Knight look like a therapist).

Jason Whitlock is one of the idiots who is lambasting K-State's choice of Martin as coach. Here are a few of his articles recently.

Huggins' con continues on
Martin OK, but kids in control

And here are a few more of the articles that seemed to pop up almost instantly after Frank Martin was promoted:

New Kansas State Coach Frank Martin's Unethical History
Shaky past for new KSU coach Frank Martin?
Wildcats' panic yields big gamble

The media is so quick to jump on this decision or that, but it really comes down to good reading. Heck, yes, I'll try to dig up all these articles that I can find, so it can be that much sweeter when they're proven wrong.

Who knows what's going to happen, both this coming season and the next several? Time will tell. We'll at least get a solid season or two out of it.

Frank Martin is a recruiter, not a coach. I've heard that a couple times from different sources. OK -- then maybe this will give K-State the chance to become one of those schools that all the recruits take a look at as they're finishing up high school. Maybe he can actually coach, too.

I'm thinking positively about this situation (probably because I'm such a KSU fan), but I think that's how all K-Staters need to look at it. Let the naysayers nay, and then look dumb as we cruise to the Final Four next season.

(Here's a few links to some more positive articles -- I don't want to give the cranky side all of the attention:

Martin: 'I'm a fighter'
Anatomy of a grinder

Huggins - thanks for the memories

2007-04-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

While this story is still breaking, I thought I'd post something about it really quickly.

Unfortunately, with the West Virginia coaching job recently vacated by John Beilein (who, small bit of trivia, has a nephew who went to my high school), Bob Huggins has decided to leave Kansas State after one fairly successful season to go coach where he was born and attended college.

Here are four stories about it that have popped up within the past hour:

Huggins to replace Beilein
Bob Huggins Leaves Kansas State for West Virginia
Huggins to Coach West Virginia
Huggins leaving to coach alma mater

What a bummer. This is a real disappointing turn of events. I understand the fact that this was a sudden chance at his "dream job," to coach where he was born and raised. But, after all of the excitement and anticipation that was building about the program, with K-State coming into next season with the best recruiting class in college, having the rug pulled out from under all of us is such a downer. Who knows what will happen to all the recruits now? They obviously all came to Manhattan, Kansas because of Bob Huggins. K-State is not a Florida or Kentucky or Duke.

The program, it unfortunately seems, is now back to where it was just two years ago.

Yet, not everyone is in a bad mood about this whole situation.

squirrel solution

2007-03-08T07:37:00.000-08:00

I can't say it isn't awful, but I haven't posted in ages, and I do love using the embed video function.

you may need to sit down for this

2007-01-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

July 4, 2007: A new Die Hard movie is being released.
Live Free or Die Hard

And it looks ridiculous. Also, ridiculously awesome.

(Others are excited about the Transformers movie coming out on the same day, which also looks pretty cool.)

video blog?

2007-01-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

It's easy, and probably more entertaining than long, drawn-out ramblings of mine, so I thought about turning this blog into a more video-based journal.

Now that I've mastered how to embed YouTube material (and trust me, it's a challenge), I can share videos with you that I find out about over the course of the week.

We'll see how it goes.

My favorite band, Ween, came out with a country album back in 1997. It was a new genre for them basically, though they are constantly "testing the waters," so to speak, of every other genre out there. Nonetheless, it was a bold move on Ween's part, only because, as I've read in several interviews, releasing an entire country album did two things. One, it alienated a lot of the casual Ween fans ("ugh, country? I hate country"), and two, piqued the interest of country fans while misleading them at the same time ("this is some decent country; let me check out some of their other stuff....oh my, this is not what I expected"). To be blunt, though, Ween didn't, and still doesn't, give a damn.

I personally enjoy the album a lot. You have to be in the right mood, but it's a kind of country I actually enjoy. (Twangy, but also bluesy -- very different than, say, the Faith Hills and George Straits of our day...I don't know how you classify those two types of country, but they're different in several ways).

Anyway, it gets me to the two videos I'm posting today. Ween brought in a number of legendary country musicians from Nashville, who they eventually dubbed the "Shit Creek Boys." The musicians included Bobby Ogdin (piano), Russ Hicks (steel guitar), and Charlie McCoy (harmonica).

Here's a video of Russ Hicks and another guy on guitar. Is this not one of the most badass instruments ever created? It looks extremely hard to play (but what do I know?), but these guys make it look simple. Also, I'm amused that there is such a thing as an International Steel Guitar Convention, and that it was in St. Louis, my hometown. (Darn, upon closer inspection, they only are allowing a link to YouTube, but no embedding of the video. Here's the link if you want to check it out.)

And here's a video of Charlie McCoy, who can play the mouth harp like no other:

best video of 2006?

2007-01-16T06:29:00.000-08:00

To me, at least, this was the funniest video I had seen all year (though I'm sure I don't remember every video I saw all of last year, so we'll say within the last month or two of '06, to be truthful).

I also wanted to experiment with the "embed" function between YouTube and Blogger, so we'll see how it works.

Enjoy.

Special Christmas Gift

unfortunate hiatus

2006-11-28T14:05:00.000-08:00

My lax attitude towards this blog saddens me.

That doesn't mean it will end anytime soon, though.

Don't miss me too much.

I'll be busy raking leaves, catching up on Onions I haven't read yet, and buying Christmas presents.

Have a happy December.
(Let's say I make writing in my blog a New Year's resolution.)

Tate Modern slides

2006-10-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

I saw this article on Fark, a website I frequent that is usually a good source of current event news of all kinds. It's basically a site of links to other stories, and I swear I want to read two out of every three of the stories that are posted.

Anyway, some Belgian artist put a bunch of slides in the huge atrium at the Tate Modern in London. They look AWESOME.

I don't really care to get into the debate of whether they are art or not; I'm just saying they look and sound really fun.

anecdote from Dean Ween

2006-09-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

I frequent the website of Ween, one of my favorite bands.

After a tour, Dean Ween, the guitarist, usually writes a tour diary. It's brief, but usually pretty funny and informative.

The reason I write today is because I found one of his entries to be frightening and interesting.

Here's the text to the diary entry, and then a link to the story he's referring to. It would be quite a trip if this happened to me; that's all I kept thinking.

"the new york state fair syracuse, ny
this gig was almost identical to the gig in allentown the night before. we played on the infield of a race track facing the grandstand both nights. this set was really good and brown and the best part was that we beat out the monsoon rains by only a few hours. i can't imagine what the fairgrounds must have been like for the days after our set. now i swear to god that this next part is true. if you follow the news at all, you'd know that there was a fugitive in upstate new york named ralph "bucky" phillips, wanted for shooting three state troopers and he was also an escapee from the erie prison. there was a massive manhunt underway for him right about the time we were up in that part of the state. i had only heard about the story and hadn't seen him on the news at this point. on our drive back to new hope from syracuse i fell asleep in the van and when i woke up we were off the interstate at this tiny little gas station with a shitty little diner. the other guys were inside using the bathroom and gettting food and i was the last one to wake up and get out of the truck. as i was walking across the gravel parking lot all groggy this dude was walking towards me and i remember thinking as i looked at his face "if i don't stare at the top of my sneakers right now, this motherfucker is gonna kill me on the spot." it scared the fucking shit out of me. to make a long story short, i got home, slept for a couple days, turned on the t.v. and lo and behold, there was the same dude from the parking lot. they captured him right after that, and no one believes my story, but it fucking happened just like i told it."

News story about Bucky Phillips: Not cut out for the straight life

this song rocks

2006-09-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

Play it for the one you love.

The Margy Song

The Old Simpsons, vivariums, Elliott Smith, and Jerry Stiller

2006-09-08T06:17:00.000-07:00

(Note: I've recently posted several new blog entries consecutively, so
be sure to catch all of them, because there are a few others below
this new one.)

After watching the past few weeks at 6:30, I realize nothing beats The
Simpsons. The newer episodes of the past few seasons don't stack up to
the episodes from back in the mid-90's. I swear; it's just good
comedy. It kicks the crap out of Family Guy, which has turned into
crap. All they do is try to be off-the-wall and offensive. And it
grows tiring. Family Guy had good stuff the first season or two. But
since then, it's stupid. Simpsons > Family Guy, is the simple equation
to remember. Futurama, by the Simpsons creator, is also really good.
Just my two cents on the matter.

A little definition for you to impress people with (good luck making
it contextual within the conversations you're engaging in, but that's
your problem): VIVARIUM: noun, a terrarium used for especially small
animals. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

My music recommendation of the moment is Elliott Smith. I squirm at
the fact that it took me so long to discover this guy. (Also, I'm
really good at discovering musicians after they've died in one way or
another, so I'll never be able to see them play live. See: Blind
Melon). It takes a few listens through each of his CDs, but damn, the
guy just writes a catchy song. And almost all of them just grow on you
and you love them more each time. I won't drill it into your brains,
but if you like solid pop songwriting (I guess that's the best way to
describe his music), check him out. Some consider it dark music, and
the lyrics are rather dark and depressing, but you don't always pick
up on it because the melodies are so well-written. He stabbed himself
in 2003, so perhaps that's a subtle indicator of his lyrical style.
(As a slight aside, his voice takes a little getting used to. As
Gretchen described it once, it can be whiny at points. But I told her
to give him another shot, after her initial disdain for the music. She
hasn't gotten back to me yet.)

My last point of the day and it's bold. I'd take Seinfeld over King of
Queens any day of the week, but in my opinion, Jerry Stiller's
character on King of Queens is much more amusing than his Seinfeld
character. In Seinfeld, he's pure rage (and that's funny for sure),
but the writing for his character in King of Queens is more than that.
Hard to describe, but if you watched a few, you'd know what I mean.

Alien Ant Farm anecdote

2006-09-08T06:15:00.000-07:00

On the topic of Pantera, as morbid of a segue as it is, it reminds me
of an incident that happened to me and some friends in July 2001.

The group consisted of Dirty Dave, Joe B., John, and I and the
location was Kansas City, MO on July 9, 2001. We were on what was
titled the "Extreme Steel Road Trip 2001," where we traveled from St.
Louis to the Lake of the Ozarks, then to Manhattan, KS, followed by KC
and back to STL. We picked up John (who was actually was a sorry
substitute for our friend Stephen who encountered some trouble with
the parents and had to return home for the week) and headed to Kansas
City for the Extreme Steel concert, which consisted of headliners
Pantera and Slayer (hardcore bands, to sum it up) along with Static-X,
Skrape, and Morbid Angel as the openers. I was, and still am to an
extent, into this type of heavy metal, but I need to be in the right
mood.

The concert rocked hard (it really is a natural wonder to see a
Pantera live, and I pity anyone who never had the chance to
observe, or participate, in one), but this is secondary to the
anecdote at hand.

We were departing the concert after it ended, and as we were exiting,
I spotted a short man with a uniquely shaved crew cut. He also had a
tattoo at the back of his neck; it was the logo of alternative rock
band Alien Ant Farm. I followed him down the concourse a bit and, upon
further facial investigation, realized it was actually THE lead singer
of Alien Ant Farm. (Simple explanation: the Vans Warped Tour was going
on the next day, which AAF was playing. Just wanted to take in a
relaxing show the night before, I assume.)

Dirty Dave (trust me, the description is rather applicable), being the
extrovert that he is, led the charge in approaching Dryden Mitchell
and engaging him in a conversation. As amusing as the story is
already, Mitchell's reaction furthered the experience. Actually, if I
recall the situation correctly, I began by say, "Hey, are you the lead
singer of alien ant farm?" And he responded, startled, "Ye..ye…yes…,"
Basically, the man was frightened out if his mind. I'm assuming,
because he's a stage performer who I wouldn't think would be prone to
shyness except when performing (though I think there are personality
types like that out there), that this dude was probably messed up on
some sort of drug and feared for his life. Heck, I would be scared of
four Pantera fans accosted me and struck up a conversation. The
conversation was brief, but a mention was made of Dave and Joe
attending the Warped Tour when it came through St. Louis in the
following days.

Sure enough, Dave and Joe caught Mitchell's eye at the concert. He
wasn't too f'ed up back in KC, I guess, since he remembered them, and
proceeded to silently offer them a sip of his lukewarm Busch Light.

After thinking about it further, I think maybe Dryden Mitchell is a
little messed up in one way or another. Anyway, it makes for a good
story, right?

Steve Irwin

2006-09-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

While it's turned into overkill at this point, it is weird how
gripping and affecting this story has become. I'll admit, it stunned
me when I heard the news that a stingray had stung the Crocodile
Hunter in the chest, ironically while he was doing some "soft pieces" for
his daughter's television show, due to inclement weather postponing
his more dangerous shoot.

I haven't quite figured out why it has affected me like it did. Maybe
I just had that idea stuck in my head that he was somehow invincible
(a farce I know, but you get what I'm saying: he tackled alligators,
taunted snakes by the tail, and constantly stared death in the face).
I never watched the guy regularly. I was still stunned when I first
heard he had died, but was more amazed when it was due to an attack
from a normally docile animal. He had no idea it was coming (not that
he was expecting it whenever he held a king cobra by the neck, but I
bet the adrenaline was pumping a little at that point), and if had
been hit anywhere other than directly in the heart, he might still be
here.

In the end, I think it was the combination of Steve Irwin, this
energetic and cool TV personality, dying, the animal that actually
took his life, and the incredibly small chances of him actually dying
from such an attack (I'm assuming only a strike to the heart, a major
artery or vein, or the brain, if that were possible) that probably
took me aback.

It's just kind of weird, you know? It isn't affecting me like a family
member dying or anything, don't read into it like that, it's just one
of those stories that catches you by surprise. (Dimebag Darrell from
Pantera was probably the last celebrity that really shocked me when
they died, when he was shot at a concert in December of '04. See some details about it here.)

Two vexing problems

2006-09-08T06:11:00.000-07:00

Though these issues are rather trite, I'm wondering if anyone has
these problems like I do.

Lately, I've been fighting allergies (I don't know to what
specifically I'm allergic to; something in nature is what I've
narrowed it down to). Anyway, it's led to a runny nose, sneezing, and
general chest congestion. The problem that plagues me is that when I
blow my nose with a tissue, because of my manly stubble, I get these
particles of tissue stuck in the "mustache" I have (I quote it because
I'm not growing a mustache; it's just the hair that forms after a day
or two of growth…as an unrelated aside, I'm having to shave about
every other day now and needless to say, it's quite an inconvenience).
Am I the only who is having this tissue in the 'stache problem? I'm
surmising that this is the reason that the handkerchief was invented,
most probably by a man suffering from this very problem. My opinion of
the handkerchief was always one of disgust, but perhaps now I can see
why carrying around a rag of dried snot might have its benefits.
Monogrammed perhaps? (X-mas isn't too far off, you know, and it'd make
a fine gift. For me, to be specific.)

(Edit: Gretchen got a sneak preview of this post, and said there was no way I was carrying around gross handkerchiefs. I guess she'll get used to me having a flaky, papery mustache then.)

The other problem that has irked me as of late are what I have deemed
"unwieldy" box flaps. Normally that refers to something that is
awkward or hard to handle (like an armoire perhaps). In this case, I
mean a box flap that is not easy to penetrate at initial use or that
does not easily clasp once it is broken in. The top of a box of cereal
is probably the most common example. It really bothers me when doesn't
clasp like it should or it simply gets torn off when the box is open
or that it won't even go together with ease. They've had this box flap
thing for decades now, I'm sure, and I figure they would have
perfected the design by this point. It's quite possibly my anal side
coming out, but I really prefer having those boxes clasped with the
flap, as they should be, prior to putting them away in the pantry. Is
that really to much to ask, you cereal mogul sons-of-bitches?

radio show and feet out the window

2006-08-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

If you're on the computer a lot, you probably listen to music while you're at it.

I recommend checking out a local radio show that a friend of mine is hosting on Wednesday nights starting tonight from 9 to 11 PM central time. The show, Know Alternative, will feature alternative (obviously) and other modern rock music. You can listen to it online if you aren't in the St. Louis area.

Derek knows good music and if you like this type of stuff (think Smashing Pumpkins, Local H, Placebo), then you'll probably dig the show.

Hey, no pressure, but I'll be listening, that's for damn sure.

Go to the bottom of the webpage and you should see the "Listen" button. And then rock out.

(As an aside, I must admit how much I despise seeing the passenger in a car with their foot or feet out the window. Why it enrages me so much I have no idea, but it does. Arms and hands that rest on the window ledge don't bother me a whit. But the sight of a protruding foot really, really bothers me. It's just uncouth.)

quite a hiatus

2006-07-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

And a bit more to come.

Just dropping a line to let the five of you who read regularly know that I'm still alive. I haven't posted in a while, but I'll be back soon.

I know it can be frustrating to check a blog multiple times and still see the same entry week after week.

Once Gretchen Postiglione and I get the house cleaned up, write some thank-you notes, and take care of a few other things, I'll get back on the horse, to be figurative.

As a peace offering, I shall post a picture of my younger brother during a track meet. I found it as I was scouring Facebook the other day. It's such a wonderful combination of so many things: raw determination, ferocious facial expression, and exposed gut (no offense, Anthony...though it better not be beer gut, young man). They are all pure Postiglione qualities. Seriously, though, I think it's an awesome picture. Enjoy.

gravitas

2006-06-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

Gravitas:
Pronunciation: 'gra-v&-"täs, -"tas
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin
: high seriousness (as in a person's bearing or in the treatment of a subject)

I recently caught an episode of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central. I don't watch it all the time, but Stephen Colbert can be pretty funny on occasion.

I luckily caught the 100th episode last week. I say luckily because he had on Stone Phillips from NBC, who also was on the inaugural episode of the show.

They proceeded to have a rematch of a "gravitas-off" they had on the first episode. Basically, it was a competition of who could say something more seriously and news anchor-like, for lack of a better term. Of course, the phrases they were saying were ridiculous, making the showdown even more amusing. (An example of this phenomenon is when a news anchor says "some of the images you are about to see..." and so on.)

Maybe it's just me, but I found these unbelievably hilarious. Here are links to the two "gravitas-offs" that Stephen Colbert and Stone Phillips had on the Colbert Report.

The original gravitas-off from the first episode

The gravitas-off rematch (I like this one better, but they're both pretty good)

Dual Action Cleanse

2006-06-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

While I thought I had found the greatest infomercials with the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie (side note: check out the Popeil ladies on the left side of the page...lookin' good) and the Miracle Blade knife set (caution: somewhat loud and annoying, but still amusing video comes on when entering the site), those infomercials are now retired.

I have found Dual Action Cleanse. And frankly, the website does it no justice. This infomercial must be viewed to be understood and believed.

In essence, and I quote the website to explain product, Dual Action Cleanse is a "two-part system that is formulated to maximize one's elimination without causing loose stools or uncomfortable cramping. It encourages healthy bowel movements while assisting in cleansing the vital organs and lymphatic system."

To be blunt, it sounds like an herbal remedy you take that causes you to "go" up to three times a day, which I guess is "normal" and "healthy" for some people. (I always think back to high school, when my friend Joe Balmer was in the peak part of his cross-country season, he said he would go FOUR times a day. To this day, that boggles my mind.)

Besides the fact that this product sounds like a total crock (and the number of anti-DAC websites backs that theory), the infomercial is so amusing that I can't describe it. It's the creepy creator, Klee Irwin, who can't be better described by anything other than the word "creepy," along with the "hosts" of the segment, who are the oddest couple I've ever seen. Not that they're involved or anything, but they choose this partially senile older woman and a balding and muscular middle-aged man to interview Irwin. Words just don't do it justice.

Yet, a partial, and thoroughly disturbing clip, can: Klee Irwin describes his 4-year-old daughter's earth-shattering bowel movement and how emasculated it made him feel

Unbelievable. If that hasn't convinced you to buy the product, then you can take heart in the fact that after John Wayne passed away, an autospy was done. The coroner concluded that there was FORTY-FOUR pounds of compacted and unpassed fecal matter in his large intestine. Believe it or not. Are you sold yet?

Anyway, I don't mean to gross anyone out with this. It's just what you stumble across at 1 AM on Sunday morning. And it rekindles your faith in the fact that humanity has a couple of loose screws, because you know there are folks out there buying this stuff.

(If you or someone you know has purchased Dual Action Cleanse, no offense was meant in the submission of this post.)

the sports page at the office

2006-06-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

It's nothing really worth complaining about, but sometime I head into the restroom in the morning to do what needs to be done. Say it's around 8:30 in the morning, for example.

I walk in and, almost like clockwork, the sports page is slightly wrinkled and lying in the trash can. It can be easily surmised that someone (and I'm assuming it's the same culprit every time it happens) used the bathroom earlier that day, and they utilized the daily sports page while doing so. Of course, as a courtesy, they dispose of this section before leaving the restoom, since normally the Kansas City Star is placed on the table in the kitchen each morning.

I'm not a germophobe by any means, but I could see why it would be a slight sanitary issue if someone brought back the sports page that had made a trip to the john.

Yet, I'm MORE offended at the fact that they have the gall (or chutzpah if you will) to take what is easily the most popular section of the paper (at least in our office) and go relieve themselves with it and dispose of it when finished. Maybe if your daily routine was using the restroom at 3:30 or 4 PM everyday, I could be more lenient. But this bastard deprives everyone of sports page reading if he has to do his duty in the morning. It happens probably two or three times a week at the most.

Come on, take the Metro section or Arts and Entertainment. Even the classifieds will get the job done. But it takes some nerve to do something as obviously inconsiderate as that. This is the office paper for all in the office to use.

Is it the end of the world? No. It's really not a big deal. And I'm grounded enough to realize this.

But I'm interested to find out who the person is. I won't confront them; I won't say a word. That's not my style.

But I'll tell you this: I will never view this man in the same way again. You can tell a lot about a person by the little things that they say or do. This is just one small example.

early exercisers

2006-06-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

I went into work early last week. I wanted to be in by 6:30 AM, so I left the house around ten after six. As I'm driving through the neighborhood, I saw at least five or ten people out walking or jogging in the park or on the sidewalk.

Wow, talk about making a person feel like a lazy bum. I haven't exercised regularly in several months, and these people are up at six in the morning to better themselves. I swear, sometimes waking up is the hardest thing in the world. It contrasts that wonderful feeling where you hit snooze and get to sleep another ten minutes. If the rest of sleeping felt how those ten minutes did, no one would ever get out of bed.

But maybe that's just me. I'm not a morning person, and perhaps all these healthy folks who are out barely after the sun rises are. It ain't my cup of tea.

(For crying out loud, I tried three or four times to make this image come out looking reasonable, but I say screw it. I'm leaving it as it is, in all it's pixelated glory, as a testament to how awful I am at things like blogging and picture editing and so on. Kansas State taught a lot of you people to be awesome at that sort of thing, but they sure as hell failed with me.)

expectant mothers

2006-06-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

I love them to death, I really do, but I must admit that I do not see the logic in have "expectant mother" parking spaces at malls and grocery stores. I've begun to see this phenomenon the past couple years.

Gretchen made an excellent point the other day that a mother with a 6-month old and a 2-year-old deserves a closer spot way more than a chick who's gained twenty pounds in the last couple months. I know I can never relate to what a pregnant woman goes through, so I won't try to empathize in any way, but this evolution in parking space demarcation is the biggest crock I've come across in a long time.

And I'm the last guy who needs a close space to where I'm walking. (For example, those KSU students who would troll the big lot out by the old stadium like they're looking for their favorite hooker. You lazy fools. That you would sit at the end of an aisle for twenty minutes so you have to walk fifty less feet to class is mind-boggling. What a bunch of arrogant sloths.

But I digress. I'm just saying that the handicapped have a legitimate case. If you get knocked up, in my opinion, I think the dude should be going to buy your ice cream and pickles in the first place. (Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite me in the ass one of these days. I'm pretty sure she doesn't read my blog anyway. I pretty sure anyway...)

Stan Musial

2006-05-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

Usually, I'm the type who remembers dates (and I don't mean the kind with women; I never had that many.) Case in point, I recall my grandma and mom got caught in a flash flood on September 22, 1993, and the previous two times I've vomited were October 14, 1994 and September 26, 2004.

The reason I mention this is that one of the coolest things that ever happened to me was actually one of the very things that I can't recall what day it was.

It was a weeknight during the summer in St. Louis, probably four or five years ago, and I had just finished getting a haircut at Hair Saloon for Men, a fine establishment. They offer you beer or soda when you arrive, and there are also complimentary shoeshines available. (I must admit, though, here in Kansas City I frequent Sports Clips, which is also a great place. I might even prefer it over Hair Saloon. True, Hair Saloon felt a bit classier {Sports Clips has more of a "Great Clips" feel to it}, but they have sports on TVs everywhere in the place and you can get the "MVP," which is the best haircut they offer, for $20, and it includes haircut, massaging shampoo, steaming face towel, leave-in conditioner, and a shoulder and neck massage {though it's with one of those rubber-knobbed things you always see people screwing around with at Brookstone, but still}. It's a solid, but affordable place.)

Anyway, the haircut wasn't the cool part of the story. I was departing the Saloon and approaching my car when an elderly voice asked me if I could help him put his wife's wheelchair into the trunk of their car. I'm a generally nice guy, so I said I would give him a hand. I looked at the man as I approached the wheelchair. It took me about half a second to realize who he was.

Though he was pushing 80, I knew it was Stan Musial, one of the greatest baseball players of all-time. (I guess if you aren't a sports fan, this might not be a big deal, but insert your favorite rap artist or architect into the story, and you'd get the idea). I literally have a hazy recollection of the next 30 seconds. I was in this shocked state because I was helping Stan Musial with his wife's wheelchair. I put it into the back of his Caddy and was prepared to go on my way.

Then Stan said to me, "Thanks, son; here you go." He had reached into a cardboard box in his trunk and tossed me an autographed baseball. (I guess he kept a boxful for every possible occasion, including the "thanks for putting my wife's wheelchair in the trunk after we ate dinner at this fancy restaurant" occasion). I said, "Thanks," and that was pretty much the only word I got out during the whole conversation.

Honestly, I don't care much for the autographed ball. I'm looking at it on the shelf as I write this, and the signature starting to fade. I'm sure it might be worth something if it were in better shape, but I don't think I'd ever sell it anyway. I appreciate the great story I can tell from time to time much more than any souvenir. Those two or three phone calls I made to the people I knew who would REALLY appreciate my run-in with Stan the Man right after it happened was the most fun I had had in a long time.

Here's a few Stan links, if you aren't too familiar with the guy.
Stan Musial at Wikipedia
his official site
his entry at baseballlibrary.com

phone scam?

2006-05-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've been getting calls from a number that shows up as 604-550-7000.

I didn't recognize it, and when I did pick it up once or twice, there was no one there. They finally left a message. It was some lady with an accent who left an 800 number to call.

I went to trust Google and "googled" the phone number. Several things showed up about some sort of phone scam. Other links showed up about how it's just a general number that shows up when someone is using a calling card or something like that.

Anyway, I didn't know if anyone had had similar experiences. It's a nuisance more than anything, though I haven't heard from the number in a day or two.

Also, the other day I got a speeding ticket and it was bullshit of course. I'm honestly thinking about going to court though. He documented that my "state license plate" was "KS," when I actually have "MO" plates. If I recall, someone told me that that is grounds for dismissal of the charges. But, we'll see. Anyway, there's no way that the road I was on should have been 30 MPH. I was going 43 MPH. And he was sitting there yanking it, just waiting to bust some innocent civilian. It sucks for cops, because they really are there for so many good reasons, but they get such a bad name for what they spend most of their shifts doing: busting people for nothing serious, while the money just fills the government's coffers. (That's right; I said coffers.) And half the people in prison in the US are in there for drug offenses, so that's money being crapped away. But, that's a tirade for a different day.

Hmm, that was a tangent, wasn't it?

KFC Bowls

2006-05-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a man who is not picky when it comes to food. I'll eat almost anything for the most part.

That's why it's especially shocking that I was repulsed by something I saw on TV the other day. From Kentucky Fried Chicken comes the new KFC Bowl.

A quick description: "Freshly prepared with layers of your KFC favorites - a generous serving of our creamy mashed potatoes, sweet kernel corn, bite size pieces of all-white meat crispy chicken, topped with our homestyle gravy and 3-cheese blend."

Don't get me wrong; I enjoy all of those things. But together in one bowl I find it to be a disgusting blend.

Perhaps I should keep an open mind (much like I did with herring in sour cream and cow testicles, of which I'm a huge fan of both now), and maybe I should give a Bowl a try.

But at this point, it's in the same category as Crystal Clear Pepsi and green ketchup. There just seems to be something wrong with it.

Slow Motion

2006-05-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

My cousin writes for the Georgetown Hoya, the student newspaper. He is a sportswriter, and in my opinion, he is ridiculously good. I am a humble man, but I have to be honest: I'm jealous of his writing skills.

Well-written and eloquent, yet easy to read. THAT is the key in my opinion. If your writing is readable, that's pretty much the whole battle.

Here's his most recent article: Easy Choice is Sometimes the Best Choice

Here are the archives if you want to check out his old articles too.

Keep kicking some ass, Chris. Good stuff.

computer game(s) of the week

2006-04-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

I've been playing these games intensely for the past week or two (at lunch only, of course). They are very rudimentary and simple to play, but quite addictive at least for me.

Mini Putt - my low score is a 20 (16 holes in one). Supposedly 18 is possible, but I find that VERY hard to believe (holes 8 and 17 are the ones I can't sink in one shot).

Mini Putt 2 - I just started into this one, but this sequel is much more intense than its predecessor. The original is a par 48; this version is a par 70, with some very unforgiving holes. Currently, my best score is 26 (attained on May 5, 2006).

Good luck, and sorry if I affect your productivity.

Amish kid at the Wright City rest stop

2006-04-21T12:47:00.001-07:00

I was traveling to St. Louis two weekends ago to see the family and take in a Blues game, among other things, when I stopped in Wright City, Missouri (about 40 miles outside of STL) to relieve myself. (I'd been hitting the Rooster Booster pretty hard, and had had about 72 ounces over the course of the trip.)

I was approaching the restroom when I saw a kid proceed inside. He was probably ten and he was wearing what you might call very traditional garb. (Later, I saw that he met up who I assumed to be his mother and sister. They wore bonnets and long dresses. I was guessing the family was Amish or Quaker.)

So I head inside and do my thing. He's also at a urinal, and he's occasionally staring over at me (which I don't mind; as long as it isn't constant staring, I'll give kids a free pass). He finishes a bit before me and heads over to the sinks. He stops and seems befuddled.

It's one of those sinks where you stick your hands under and it lathers, rinses, and dries all at once. At this point, I'm just assuming he comes from a farm somewhere that doesn't have the newest microwave or high-speed internet access. But that's besides the point. If I hadn't seen this type of sink at the KSU Student Union before, and I was only ten, I'd be just as confused.

So I made my way to the sink and proceeded to use it like I finally learned how to (it took me a couple times). I'm not the type to call things "cute," but let's say as he proceeded to imitate me, it was an amusing situation. He watched my every move; I pretended I didn't see him, though I did. From soap to dry, he followed my lead. I left before he did, as he was still finishing up drying. I caught sight of the family as I left the rest stop to get back on the highway.

Every once in a while, a little incident like that brightens your day and give you a good story to tell.

LEAP

2006-04-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

I consider myself conservative in general. There a few issues where I lean to the left.

One of those issues is illegal drugs. I'm not a druggie by any means. Who's to say if I've ever even tried any drugs? (It shan't be dissimenated in as public a forum as this.) While I can understand why drugs are outlawed, the simple fact is this because they are outlawed, it is created a black market worth billions and billions of dollars.

The past few weeks, a group has been appearing in the news, making public speaking appearances, and so on. Their name is LEAP, or Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Their site does a good job of explaining what they're about.

Their viewpoint and ideas are absolutely mind-blowing and seemingly ridiculous. Basically, they feel because prohibition of illegal drugs has failed so horribly (and it seems it has, at least from what I've read or observed), a drastic change should occur. ALL illegal drugs should be legalized. Then, they should be regulated and treatment instead of incarceration is what money would be spent on. At least, I think that's the gist of it.

I know one thing would happen. Legalization would destroy the black market; prices would plummet. The entire drug distribution chain would be drastically affected. That, in and of itself, seems like a positive outcome. Cheap drugs for all, though, especially the deranged and addicted, poses a whole different set of issues.

I don't see this group ever getting very far, but perhaps people said the same thing about alcohol when it was prohibited for a time. In the end, perhaps it's just an interesting read. But, it sort of makes you think, "Hmm, what if?"

loathing dogs

2006-04-21T12:46:00.001-07:00

I don't mean to offend dog lovers, but I've come to the recent conclusion that I loathe dogs. And, you know, I'm sure yours is the perfect dog, but I'll tell you the ones that stick in my mind.

It's the ones that live on every side of our new house that bark constantly the second they see you or someone walking down the street. It's the ones that jump up on you ten times, even though their owner tells them each time to get down or sit or whatever. It's the ones you hear about on the news that are ripping at the throats of 3-year-olds and 80-year-olds (usually it's pit bulls).

I know that I'm generalizing. And I shouldn't. I've met some find and upstanding dogs in my day. But it's not just dogs that can't behave. It's what dogs have done to the human race. Or perhaps we've done it to ourselves.

We dress these asshole dogs up in clothing. They don't need clothing. There are doggy ice cream treats on the market. And on and on.

And while I first heard it from Jerry Seinfeld in his stand-up act a while back, he makes an excellent point. If visitors from another planet came to observe Earth, they would see dogs leading humans around and the humans are picking up their shit. He posed the question: who would the aliens think were the dominant species?

Some people border on being slaves to their dogs and it amazes me. I know that you have to give time to your dog, or it will be one of those misbehaving psycho dogs, but it seems like a delicate balance could be found. But what do I know?

I'm a hamster and fish guy myself. (Ah, one of the neighbor dogs is going on one of his barking binges. Perfect time to end my post.)

Hit on

2006-04-21T12:37:00.000-07:00

I was driving to St. Louis with Gretchen three weekends ago when we stopped in Columbia, Missouri for some gas at Quiktrip (a fine establishment). I got out and began to pump my gas. All of a sudden, this dude on the other side of the pump, filling his car, says to me, "Nice car." It took me a second to realize he was speaking to me, mainly because I was driving Gretchen's 2003 Honda Civic. No offense to Gretchen and other Civic owners, but a Civic just isn't the type of car that one gets complimented on. My pump stopped and I got back in the car.

I didn't pick up on anything until Gretchen piped up and said, "Was that guy talking to you?" I said yes and he told me I had a nice car. "I think he was hitting on you," she said. I thought a moment and then all the pieces fell into place. Yes, he WAS hitting on me. The guy was scrawny, with glasses, and you could consider him slightly effeminate. Our squeegees awkwardly met at the water bin hanging on the column. He complimented me on "my" Honda Civic. I was hit on by a gay man.

This is not a problem at all. I think it's happened a couple times before. And trust me, I'm flattered. I'm either good-looking enough or gay-looking enough to be hit on. I'll assume good-looking. (When I think back, when I said, "Actually, it's my fiancee's..." that probably sent the no-go signal to the guy. Who knows where it would have ended up at that point? Sharing a taquito, perhaps, Lady and the Tramp-style?)

top 5 lists

2006-04-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

Tagged by Jackie:

In the kitchen:

1. fry cooker (Gretchen makes good fries, in lard mind you, not oil or some weak stuff like that)
2. Sasha Poell(American Family Insurance agent) letter opener - I much prefer the clean slice of a letter opener as opposed to just using a finger; it's just so messy
3. pen and pad of paper - I'm a list-maker, and that's what's needed to, you know, make lists
4. self-propelled electric can opener - I put the can in, start it, WALK AWAY, go do something else for five or ten seconds, I get back, and BOOM, the can is open for me
5. pictures on the fridge (including me and Gretchen, me and my niece, Olivia, and my freakishly large football-playing younger brother)

In the closet (various closets, I should say):

1. CDs that aren't in my car (most of them are good; some I regret ever buying, but that'll happen)
2. old print issues of The Onion
3. a box fan (I prefer to sleep with a fan or something else that makes a calming noise)
4. solid-colored t-shirts (green, black, and brown, among others)
5. tennis shoes (i have a old pair for lawn mowing, etc., a kind of new pair for casual wear, and a new pair for b-ball and v-ball)

In my bag (or briefcase really):

1. my planner (I can't stress that enough)
2. current issue of The Onion
3. current book I'm reading (in this case, Under and Alone by William Queen, this badass who went undercover in a motorcycle gang and then busted a bunch of them -- it ain't deep reading, but I'm fascinating by crim e books and things like that)
4. my fancy leather portfolio (trust me, it impresses people -- only mine was only $9.99, yet still impressive)
5. my business card (currently saying Mike Postiglione, Estimating, someday to say ESTIMATOR)

At the office:

1. my computer speakers (on which I listen to the Wildcat 91.9 online most of the time)
2. my ScrabbleGram and Onion daily desk calendars (as an aside, here's an interview with John D. Williams, Jr., Executive Director of the National Scrabble Association)
3. every color of highlighter (used during drawing take-offs)
4. daily to-do list (created in Word and printed out at the end of the day)
5. digitizer board (where take-off is done; it's actually kind of fun, believe it or not)

At home:

1. a bottle or can of thrifty beer (say, Milwaukee's Best Light or Natural Light)
2. my computer (a lot of entertainment from one box, that's what I always say)
3. my leather recliner (recently acquired from Gretchen's cousin's grandparents, and it is comfy)
4. my bed
5. foosball table (working on becoming a master, but I have a ways to go)

I tag Chris R. and Eric W. if no one has yet, anyway.

musicians I wish I'd seen and BOB HUGGINS

2006-03-22T07:09:00.000-08:00

The following is a list of musicians I wish I had had the chance to see (and the past tense I use in the case of a few of the still active bands or musicians refers to them in their prime, b/c i just have a feeling that some of them just ain't the same today as they were 30 years ago):

Blind Melon
Jimi Hendrix
Bob Dylan
The Who
The Beatles
The Band
Pantera (I've seen them twice, but not until '99 and '01 -- just an electric show)

There are others, but they don't come to mind at this point.

I must admit that I am thoroughly excited about Bob Huggins becoming the new coach of Kansas State basketball. He has an amazing win percentage over 25 years of coaching (I think about .750). He's going to bring awesome recruits to the school, and K-State is going to become really good at basketball, which I think a lot of people had just come to accept wouldn't happen for a long time.

Others bring up his questionable past. He was asked to leave and his contract was bought out at the University of Cincinnati. This probably stemmed from several incidences involving his players and a DUI he has a few years ago. Seeing a timeline of his career might make one a bit skeptical of his character.

Yet, I trust him to do the best job he can do at coaching. I won't worry about his past, as checkered as it is, if he makes K-State basketball a success, which everyone is saying he will. It will be interesting to see how he pans out. Will it be more of the same? Will thug life transcend on Manhattan? Will there be another drunk driver on the road (just what Manhattan needs)? Only time will tell.

The Kansas City Star has a lot of related articles to this legitimately huge story. See the right side of the page for those.

Chef - NCAA tournament - house

2006-03-15T06:12:00.000-08:00

Isaac Hayes, who played Chef on South Park, quit the show a couple days ago. He stated that he was tired of the show’s "inappropriate ridicule" of religion. Matt Stone, one of the creators of the show, countered beautifully. He pointed out that Hayes never had a problem when the show made fun of almost every other religion out there, along with gays, pedophiles, and other easy-to-ridicule groups. They recently did an episode lampooning Scientology (which if you ever read up on, you realize it is a really weird religion or group or whatever you might call it). Isaac Hayes is a Scientologist.

No matter how you slice it, this looks bad on Hayes part. It seems that he’s either bowing to pressure from the higher-ups in the church of Scientology, or he is one of the biggest hypocrites in recent memory. The term “double standard” doesn’t do the whole situation justice. “Oh yeah, mock those stupid Mormons, Christians, Jews, and whoever else you’d like. I’ll go along; I’ll collect my (probably) millions. Oh, wait. You’re going to make fun of Scientology? My religion? I have a problem with this.”

Talk about burning a bridge. While I’ll always respect him for the Shaft theme song (and Chef was a pretty funny character too), this is really a black mark on his reputation. And it might not have been, but Matt Stone went ahead and called him out on it.

I think I might get more excited about the NCAA tournament more than any other sporting event during the year. There’s just something about it. I think it’s the single-elimination aspect combined with the ever-present possibility of a big upset. Even the selection show, where you see which teams slip in and which teams get the big stiffy, is an interesting part of the process.

My favorite two days of the basketball year are tomorrow and Friday, when it’s just wall-to-wall basketball on CBS, with several games going on at once. Unfortunately, now that I have a job, it will be hard to catch the 11 AM to 5 PM shift. Back in the good ol’ days of college and high school, I could either skip class or watch it on TVs in the classrooms (if it were study hall or an especially lax teacher). And, I really don’t pay that much attention to college basketball during the year, save for K-State or what I see on Sportcenter, but when it comes to basketball in March, it just has this allure, even if I don’t really have a predilection towards one team or another.

Gretchen and I closed on a house yesterday. We are officially homeowners. This, of course, is exciting and frightening at the same time. It’s good, though, that we’ll finally be investing in something instead of just blowing money on rent. Yet, now I’m responsible for fixing stuff, mowing the lawn, and all that other business. Nothing I can’t handle, but more to handle nonetheless. Here’s a few pics.

follow up to the boob-grab story

2006-03-03T09:36:00.000-08:00

This just article just came out about 30 minutes ago.

If you recall, at the Golden Globes, some gay fashion designers grabbed Scarlett Johansson's boob after she arrived at the show. She's finally spoken out about it.

Red carpet groping no fun, star says

I guess the headline is a double entendre in itself, now that I look at it. Though she isn't a redhead. Anyway, I digress.

my office

2006-02-21T06:53:00.000-08:00

Some of the women in my office light candles in their areas because they enjoy the smell.

I also have a couple of (free) candles that I brought into the office. There are two reasons I did so.

One, there are times, usually in the early morning, when my body tends to emanate some rather off-putting odors. So, the scent of the candle masks this smell, to some extent.

Secondly, I place the candles on a shelf that is clearly visible down the hallway that leads to my office. This way, it serves as a beacon or warning light to those approaching. "Proceed at your own risk," it subtly reveals.

Slowly, people are realizing what the candles are there for. No, it's not because I'm a "fruit," to quote one of my co-workers. Funnily enough, the few who haven't caught on yet include the ladies in the office who are regular candle users. They visit me every time they spot the candle lit, to either compliment how well my candle goes with theirs, or to check what scent it is today. If they only knew the rest of the story...

Matisyahu, estimating, hoops, Pete and Pete

2006-02-15T14:04:00.000-08:00

Two weeks from today, Matisyahu comes to Kansas City for a show. If you haven’t heard of him yet, you probably will soon. He is a Hasidic Jew (this a conservative form of Judaism; he wears the long, uncut beard and will not perform on Friday evenings or Saturdays, out of respect for the Sabbath) who performs reggae. While this kitschy combination is a part of his appeal, his music is very enjoyable. Only recently has his popularity begun to surge. A song of his recently broke into the top ten at a lot of radio stations. (The irony of this is that the song just came on the radio as I wrote this.)

I plan on attending the concert on March 1, as I’ve heard his live show is rather exciting. I also hear, because of his Jewish background, that the crowd is an eclectic mix of the “normal” concert crowd, along with an older Jewish audience. This could be because the content of his music is very faith-based. A few others have expressed interest in attending, and I think it will be a fine concert experience.

I’ve been at my mechanical contracting job for about seven months now and it is still interesting. This bodes well thus far. I’m still learning new things everyday, but with the educational background I have (and the mechanical background that I lack—thank you very much, Environmental Systems I through III), this is the way that I will have to go about it. And I don’t take for granted the opportunity that was offered to me (a mechanical contracting firm hiring an architectural graduate; trust me, architects aren’t spoken too highly of in this office). Anyway, the head estimator has moved back by my office, and this was a beneficial development, I believe. I can walk in and see what he’s working on, and he stops in frequently to see how my practice is going. (I’m practicing on old jobs and then comparing my results to his original estimate.) In due time, the title on my business will change from “Estimating” to “Estimator.” Mark my words.

For the past few Thursdays, I’ve been going to play some pick-up basketball with a co-worker of mine (the estimator mentioned above, actually). Usually, ten or fifteen guys show up. I usually try my hardest when playing sports, be it during a practice or a championship game, so that counts for something in this case. Meaning, I’m probably one of the least talented, basketball-wise, on the court. I mean, I’ll dunk on someone’s ass every now and again, but I’m not fundamentally sound overall. Nevertheless, it’s been good exercise and I enjoy playing. In a way, it brings me back to the glory days of Team Scorch! basketball (if by “glory days” I mean the one season we played and ended up 0-5, being outscored an averaged of 35 points a game, including our inaugural game where we lost 107-31). Yet, I still enjoyed intramural basketball, even if it wasn’t our most successful of Scorch! teams.

And, I’ve recently received DVDs of the old Nickelodeon show, The Adventures of Pete and Pete. I got Season 2 for Christmas, and just received Season 1 for Valentine’s Day yesterday. I don’t know if anyone else used to be a fan, but this show takes me way back. The great thing is that I enjoyed the show when I was a kid because it was very strange and funny. But, now, as I watch these episodes again, I realize there’s really another level to the show that I had no idea was there the first time around. (I sort of equate it to Scrubs in that sense; a show with very goofy humor in general, but that has a serious message somewhere within each episode, no matter how strange it gets) Not to get overly analytical about a TV show, but there aren’t too many shows that just break the mold of your average 30-minute television show. Pete and Pete is one; My Name is Earl, Arrested Development, and Scrubs are a few others that come to mind. Good stuff. Here's one fansite: The Adventures of Pete and Pete

(As a quick and bitter aside, Gretchen and I watched the last four episodes of Arrested Development to be shown on Fox. They were on last Friday. And it really is a sad day when a show as great as this one is ended (at least on one network; there are rumors that a few others might pick up the re-runs or, optimally, new episodes), and crap like Wife Swap, American Idol, and Will and Grace is still on the air (personally, they aren’t worthy of the italics I normally give TV shows and movies). It’s a funny, intelligent show that I don’t think enough of the public gave a chance, nor did Fox extend any effort whatsoever in advertising and marketing it either. A sad situation that I hope turns out for the best. Here’s a fansite with some info about the show and its undecided future.

great (and appropriate) Onion article

2006-02-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

I was in Target yesterday evening and I saw the new Fusion razor (not sure if it's Gillette or Schick or whoever). It has FIVE blades and a SIXTH blade on the back for trimming hard-to-reach places. This is getting out of hand, really. When will it end? I use the Mach 3 with aloe strip and it is awesome. It works really well, and I don't have what you'd consider a tough beard to shave. But they're going to have to stop with the blades sooner or later, and I really thought four was where they would max out.

Anyway, it reminded me of an Onion article from a year or two ago that's one of my favorites. It is hilarious. Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five Blades

football, USBs, meth, Carl Sagan, and the Hogan Family

2006-02-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

The Super Bowl is Sunday. And I'm really not that interested at all. It's exciting in and of itself, because it's the last big game of the season. Both teams are trying really hard. Yet, I'm not really a fan of either of the teams, nor do I want either of them to win (for one particular reason or another). Like last year, for example, I wanted the Eagles to win, because I didn't want the Patriots to win again. This stems not from their dominance in prior Super Bowls, but because they beat the St. Louis Rams in the big game a few seasons ago. (Yes, I hold grudges.) Anyway, this year, there are none of those petty reasons. So, I'll watch the game, probably have a brew or two, but am I filled with anticipation like I usually am? Not really.

I saw an intriguing article online yesterday. It was entitled "Top 10 Weirdest USB Devices Ever." It was an enjoyable read. See the article here. My favorites were the USB George Foreman Grill and the heated gloves, mainly because they are so ridiculous in nature. I wouldn't necessarily want a grill that close to my computer, and the heated slippers make a lot more sense to me than the gloves (mainly because it seems like gloves would hinder typing, and to me it seems feet get colder more often than hands). Honestly, I don't find the vibrator to be that odd of a USB device, because I'm sure plenty of individuals could find many different things to do with a computer and a vibrator.

There was also a sobering story I read yesterday. I had heard rumors that Stephanie from Full House had become a meth addict. Apparently, this is true. Jodie Sweetin was on Good Morning America on Wednesday officially coming out about it. Here's an article about it. It's actually an interesting story. She had become bored after not acting for a while, so she took up methamphetamines to pass the time. Then, some of her old Full House castmates held an intervention for her when they found out. I'm glad she's doing better. She used to be my favorite girl on Full House (probably because she was closest in age to me). I don't mean to slight Becky, D.J., or the modern-day Olsen twins. Because they are also attractive. Anyway, the moral of this story is most drugs are very dangerous, and should be steered clear of.

Segue to this very interesting website a friend referred me to. Dr. Lester Grinspoon is a very enlightened thinker. I enjoy his ideas and insights. His website has some very enjoyable reading. One of my favorite essays in the "read" section is the essay entitled "Mr. X" which was later discovered to be Carl Sagan, one of the most badass astronomers in the history of the world. See his writing here. I'm not a liberal thinker in very many ways. This is one exception.

And, my friend Bryan sent me a link to this totally AWESOME site, Retro Junk. It takes you back to the good ol' days of the 80's and early 90's. My favorite section of the site so far is where you can view all the intros to the 80's sitcoms. The Hogan Family, ALF, Muppet Babies. A nostalgic tear forms in my eye. It has tons of other interesting content too. I haven't even delved through it all yet. (Hmm, did I use "delve" properly? It's nagging at me a bit.)

PS - Check out Carl Sagan's unbelievable documentary "Cosmos." It was originally on PBS. I got it on DVD (in a seven disc set). It is mind-blowing. Buy it here if it tickles your fancy. Here is a link to Sagan's website too, if you're interested. (I think he died about ten years ago, unfortunately.)

a blog by any other name would smell as sweet

2006-01-27T08:47:00.000-08:00

It’s been a substantially long time since I’ve posted, and I make no excuses. I’ve been pretty busy at work, which is good. When not at work, I’ve been dealing with tons of paperwork related to, among other things, the house Gretchen and I are getting, homeowner’s insurances quotes, taxes, and wedding things. And I’ve been trying to catch up on my reading, since I have a pile of 20 books or so to get through, along with the weekly newspaper and monthly magazine I receive in the mail. And I have to get in a game of online Scrabble every now and then. But again, I make NO excuses.

There were a lot of big sports stories this past week. One of them was Kobe Bryant scoring 81 points in one game against the Raptors last Sunday. It was the second highest total in a game ever. That is a LOT of points. At this point, the debate rages on. Is he a selfish ball hog, or one of the greatest players of the current generation? Though compromise is not allowed in this day and age, I’d say it’s a little bit of both. He needs to get the ball and shoot a lot to be able to score 81 points. And he definitely shoots a lot. Even though he was lying, he said after the game that all he cares about is the win. And in a way, that’s true. So what if comes by 6 people all chipping in 10 or 15 points, or one guy putting up 50 or 60? A win is a win. Kobe haters say, “He’s so selfish; he never passes.” He had two assists that game. Yet, Kobe is a shooting guard. He shoots. He isn’t a point guard. They pass the ball, set up the plays, and run the team basically. But go on and criticize him for doing his job. I think he is an arrogant jerk, who cheats on his hot wife (though he didn’t sexually assault that chick in Colorado; he just picked a psycho broad to mess around with). So, while his moral character is questionable, he plays basketball very well. We could judge Kobe and hold him to a higher moral standard because he’s a celebrity, but why do that when there are probably a hundred cheating maintenance men and florists in Kansas City as I write this? Athletes as role models isn’t the best idea, but for every asshole out there, there’s a genuine nice guy for the kids to look up to also. And I think most kids are smart enough to figure out who the bad apples are and who aren’t.

I’ll tell you what was ridiculous. Isaac Mizrahi grabbing Scarlett Johansson’s breast at the Golden Globes, that’s what’s ridiculous. See the video here. I don’t care how gay you are; you don’t go grabbing people’s breasts, penises, or taints. The stupid commentator woman justified it with that simple reason. He’s gay, so he’s allowed. Well, I guess it’s fine if I go grab a dude’s groin, since I’m straight. “Oh no, don’t worry, man. It’s cool; I’m straight, so we’re fine.” Ridiculous. Isaac Mizrahi’s got a lot of growing up to do. Way out of line. I don’t think it would be right for a woman to grab another woman’s boob. There are a couple of forums where breast-grabbing is acceptable: engaged in sexual activities (of course), in the operating room (implants, etc.), and perhaps in adult-oriented entertainment (say strip clubs, for example). Again, “acceptable” and “appropriate” are two different terms. While strip clubs aren’t necessarily the classiest of places, I find it much more appropriate that a dirty paying customer grabs a stripper’s breast than when Mizrahi did it on live television outside the awards show Monday night. And, it wasn’t a big deal. It seems like Johansson took it all in stride. I just thought it was a bit presumptuous to go ahead and grab her teat, that’s all. (As an aside, I enjoyed it the other day when I heard Dan Patrick, on his ESPN radio show, say, “Scarlett and her two Johannsons looked good the other night.”)

litigation

2006-01-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

Society's litigiousness in this day and age absolutely enrages me.

Get your piece of the pie some other way, assholes.

My anger stems from a new book out that I'd like to read called "The True Stella Awards" by Randy Cassingham. It's a whole book about the ridiculous lawsuits you hear about in the news every now and then. The "Stella" referred to is the original idiot who sued McDonalds because she spilled her coffee, burned herself, and claimed it was too hot. The coffee was too hot. (After reading a bit further into the story, while I don't know the final outcome of the lawsuit, I did learn that McDonalds admits it heats its coffee to 180 degrees or some extreme temperature, so that people can't finish it all in one sitting, and keep coming up for refills. I assume it's aimed at all the elderly tightwads who frequent McDonalds for a 6 AM breakfast and 2-hour newspaper reading session.)

But it seems this knee-jerk reaction is prevalent in today's society, and while at times it's reasonable, for the most part it seems to be an irresponsible and greedy attempt to profit from an unfortunate situation. And, again, there are some instances where it might be suitable, but this book is filled with the ones that I'm sure will get your blood boiling and leave your mouth agape.

In other news, Gretchen and I just signed on a house. I guess there's no turning back now. Honestly, though, it's exciting. Oh, and I got a foosball table for Christmas, so I'm learning how to play foosball better now too.

Alright, back to work for another hour and a half. Have a good weekend.

to phree or not to phree

2006-01-03T11:50:00.000-08:00

That is the question.

I stumbled upon this section of the website last week. Want to be a Writer?

I had always assumed it was similar to the Onion, where there was a certain group of hired writers and that was that. But, apparently, there are hundreds of contributors across the country that submit stories every week. (See the Contributors section for that large list.)

So now I wonder, do I attempt to submit some stories to the Phat Phree? I've always enjoyed everything I've read on the site. Inappropriate and sexually-tinged humor is right up my alley. But can I produce something they'd be looking for? I guess it's worth a shot. It isn't for the money (they don't offer any) or the fame (I prefer to avoid the limelight); I just think it would just be cool to see a submission by me on one of my favorite sites. The only other catch is "We also want people who are interested in contributing regularly," say the editors of the Phat Phree. I can't guarantee that would happen, as infrequent posts on my blog might illustrate. In the end, I was pondering sending something in, but I thought I'd get everyone's two cents on the issue.

PS - I thank Brad K. especially, because he introduced me to the Phat Phree about a year ago. It was a beautiful moment indeed. Also, it's Brad's birthday tomorrow. Happy birthday. Loser.

revisiting the Europe trip, part 2

2005-12-30T05:51:00.000-08:00

Just a few pics from the European jaunt (Feb.-Jun. 2004) to celebrate Friday and ring in the new year:

(It shouldn't be this fucking hard to put captions right under my pictures, but I'm screwing it up somehow, so here's a key at the top for the pictures below instead. I'll figure it out one of these days.)

1. Big model, awesome hair, mediocre camera.
2. Sometimes all these lights start blinking on the Tower. I'm serious.
3. Some Austrian chick I met by the tulips, ya?
4. Once again, at the Hotel Post. Weird, huh?
5. View from the hotel in Switzerland.
6. Me, in the Linz half-marathon. (40 pounds heavier now, I wonder how I pulled that off only a year and a half ago.)
7. Outside the Rome Airport, since those dirty wops kicked us out for the night.
8. JP 2, up close and personal. May he RIP.
9. Waiting for the Prague night tram with a bunch of foreigners.
10. Watching some big chess in Amsterdam.

Good times. Everyone have a good New Year's Eve and 2006. Be safe.

if i could do it all over again

2005-12-29T06:50:00.000-08:00

I usually catch myself saying that once every couple weeks. Not really in a serious sense, but I think of things that I really enjoy as hobbies and wonder if they would have been good as careers. The list, of those I can recall at this point:

Astronomer – This is of course due to my love of astronomy and stars and the like. I think what I enjoy about it is how unfathomable it all is, as far as distances and sizes go. We talk about light-years like they’re nothing, but one light year equals six trillion miles. If I calculated correctly, and I might not have, it would take over a million years to travel that far in one of our modern airplanes. I guess space shuttles are faster, and that’s what would be used, but you catch my drift. Anyway, astronomy is cool.

Pharmacist – I’m fascinated by pills and that side of medicine. I own a copy of the Pill Book. It’s a handy reference. It’s just cool that scientists came up with all these different chemicals to treat thousands of different illnesses and disorders. I also like organizing stuff, and pharmacies seem very neat and organized. And pharmacists seem like they have less required schooling and also less responsibility than a doctor. And the pay is doctor-like, though I don’t think it’s exactly equivalent.

Geographer – Or perhaps I’d enjoy being a cartographer. Not sure what exactly each job entails, but I do know I love maps. And atlases. I could spend a good hour just sitting and reading through a U.S. atlas. Call me odd; I know I am. But it’s fascinating to me. I figure, therefore, that an interest in maps and atlases would mean I would enjoy geography. I know it deals with statistics and things of that nature too. That’d be fine. I could crunch numbers.

Professional Baseball Player – It’s a bit more fantastic and unbelievable that the other ideas, but of all the pro sports to play in, I think I’d do baseball. It’s a pretty long season from spring training to optimally the World Series (February through October), but if it’s doing what you love, you dig? The travel would be hard at times, especially if you had a wife or family, but having millions of dollars is nice too. The simple fact is that there is no way anyone on earth deserves to make as much money as baseball players (or any sports figures) do, doing what they do. They are batting a ball around and catching it with gloves, for other people’s entertainment. Get off your high horses, assholes. Here’s your salary cap. I say the best player in the league gets $1,500,000 at the end of the year, based on performance. All 900 or so players that will appear in the majors that year are ranked accordingly. #2 player that year gets $1,000 less. And on down the line. So, for roundness’ sake, say there are 1,000 players who play in a year. The “worst” guy who plays, or performs the least, let’s say, gets $500,000. That would be the minimum salary in the league. So, in the end, the league minimum is raised, but the exorbitant salaries of these haughty bastards would be controlled too. I’m sure there are several flaws in my plan, and it would probably never work, but a basic scheme is there. It just needs tweaking.

I think in the end, we can all discover what our dream jobs would be by pretending we won the lottery. A big lottery. You would never have to work again, but say you end up working just to “keep busy.” What job would you take at that point? It would have to be based solely on enjoyment. There’s everyone’s answer. I’m still think about my answer. I would think it would be one of the above. But maybe it wouldn’t.

Have a happy 2006.

horror movies, hate, and the holidays

2005-12-22T09:08:00.000-08:00

All alliterations aside, I hadn’t written in a while. It’s probably not right that I’m writing an entry more because I feel an obligation than because I enjoy writing them, but here I am. I do enjoy writing them honestly; it’s either that I’m too busy or a bit too lazy. My goal is one entry a week, and I’ve done a moderately good job of that. It’s the damn Christmas shopping and preparation that takes up all my time,

I found out there’s a new horror film coming out soon called Hostel. If you’re into that sort of thing (I’m not), it looks good. Quentin Tarantino “presents” it, meaning he must have checked it out and giving it his seal of approval (meaning they’re allowed to use his name to attract major attention). Just from screen shots and movie posters, it looks extremely violent. It also has an intriguing plotline. We European travelers might enjoy the story. Roughly, it’s about three students backpacking through Europe and they come across this one guy in Slovakia who tells them all about this great hostel where all these hot chicks there are desperate to have sex with you. Think with your head, not with your dong—that’s what I always say. They don’t take my advice. Of course, it’s this horrible torture chamber of a hostel, and so on. Again, I won’t see it, but it looks like it could be a good horror movie for fans of the genre. http://www.hostelfilm.com/ and http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/film/684 are a couple of sites with some info on the movie.

One of the most hateful religious groups in the world, I’m safely assuming, is the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. The leader is Fred Phelps, one of the craziest old men ever to inhabit the earth. Its total membership is about 100 people and 90% of them are related to Phelps, if that tells you anything. Nonetheless, it’s an extreme Christian sect; I personally wouldn’t consider them Christian, though I guess technically they are. To be blunt, they’re a religion based on horrible racism and homophobia and hate for basically everyone but themselves. They have done so many awful things over the years, and I only write about them today because they are planning on picketing this Friday in St. Louis. They plan on protesting at a funeral for a soldier who died in Iraq. They justify this because they blame the military for not keeping our country and the world free of gays and lesbians (to use more proper terms than they do). It’s unreal how they think.

Other tactics include having their children as young as toddlers protest, while wearing t-shirts that say “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for the Tsunami.” (They say thank God for every disaster and attack that has occurred, because they say it is God sending a message that the world is being destroyed and needs to change its ways. As of now, they believe only members of their Church will be accepted in to Heaven.) They also hate Swedes; I forgot why. It is the most unbelievable ideology I’ve ever seen. And it’s despicable. The last thing I should do is tell all ten people a day that visit my site about this horrible church and its backwards views, but it’s a sight (and site) to be seen. It’s a sight that’s a sober reminder of how much hate exists in the world, and that we probably don’t know the half of it. The amazing part is that they believe they are absolutely justified and correct.

On a lighter note, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, or whatever holiday they celebrate. It should be a good time. Gretchen and I are heading to Wichita for X-mas weekend, and then to St. Louis for New Year's weekend (for an "X-mas" celebration there). A lot of travel, but a lot of fun still. Hope everyone travels safely and eats a lot of food.

(Sorry, my "link-making" tool in Blogger still isn't working, or I'm doing it wrong, so the links aren't clickable. I'll figure it out soon enough.)

good food, free booze

2005-12-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

On Friday evening, Environmental Mechanical had their annual holiday party (I prefer Christmas party, but let us all be PC, just to be safe, right?). It took place at the Culinary Center of Kansas City. They do cooking classes and team building activities there, but they also host parties.

My attractive date and I both enjoyed the gathering. The food was delicious, with the menu consisting of butternut squash bisque, three flavors of risotto, some sort of Italian pasta and vegetable casserole (but it had a classier name than “casserole”), red snapper, and tiramisu for dessert. There were also three types of wine served with the meal. It was one of the fancier meals I’ve ever had. I’m not the best in classy social situations, but it wasn’t too bad. There was pleasant conversation had by all. The open bar was also tasty.
After the party, Gretchen and I went with Tim and his wife (Tim’s probably the next youngest guy in the office next to me; if I had to guess, he’s 26 or 27). We went to the Other Place (no, really, that’s the name of the bar. Get it? People can be so clever sometimes.) We had a few drinks and I OWNED Tim in trivia, even after all his trash talking. His hubris was his downfall.

Other than that, my time has been consumed with buying presents (X-mas, of course, but also Gretchen’s b-day, sister-in-law’s b-day, etc.). I can’t stand shopping either. I enjoy giving gifts, but the task of going to stores and buying all these things is absolutely horrendous. It’s a huge relief after all the shopping is done. (And, fortunately, Gretchen said she would do all the wrapping, since she doesn’t trust my shoddy, imprecise wrapping style. Works for me.)

Also, I made some exciting video rentals this weekend. I viewed Batman Begins on Saturday evening. I’m not usually a huge fan of these blockbuster movies (Batman, Spiderman, Lord of the Rings, etc.); you know, I’m not going out and seeing them in the theaters. Maybe they’re worth a rental. Maybe. But, I truly enjoyed Batman Begins. The two hour, twenty minute length made me weary when I first read it on the box, but it really flew by. That’s when movies can go bad, when they drag on and on. The action and storyline was good, Katie Holmes was good, and the movie was mostly believable in regards to the action scenes (the Batmobile jumping from rooftop to rooftop was a stretch, but they even made his ability to “fly” explainable. True, it was through the use of top-secret, ultra-expensive, never-used government equipment, but still, the effort was there).

And, on tap after watching some Arrested Development on FOX (good television show, check it out tonight at 7 PM central) is Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo! The much-anticipated (by me, at least) follow-up to Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, I can't wait to dig into this epic. I love movies like this. Call it the ridiculous and inappropriate SNL-alum comedies. Refer to Dirty Work, Billy Madison, and Black Sheep for a few examples. European Gigolo got AWFUL reviews, but so did the original, so screw 'em. That doesn't mean anything. These uppity movie reviewers are just trying to polish their reputation. It's pandering and it's bullshit. I'll be sure to let you know how the film turns out.

[Edit, for movie review: Goodness gracious, I couldn't get through it. I had been looking forward to Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo. It was horrendous. It was exponentially stupider than the average "stupid" comedy. It was disgusting. The physical deformity jokes were unnecessary (and plentiful). The two plusses were that the movie took place in Amsterdam (a place I've been to and one of my favorite European cities) and Deuce's "love interest" (I assume they get together, but again, I didn't make it through the movie), played by a little-known Belgian model/actress, Hanna Verboom. Quite attractive. But for the love of God, that was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I was embarrassed to watch it in front of people I am quite comfortable with. That's the real test. If it's so bad, it makes me uncomfortable to watch it with anyone else, it's BAD. And it was especially disappointing because the first Deuce Bigalow was quite enjoyable. Oh well, live and learn.]

To conclude, I offer you some palindromes to brighten your day.

Campus motto: bottoms up, Mac!
I saw desserts; I’d no lemons, alas no melon. Distressed was I.
Kay, a red nude, peeped under a yak.
Lew, Otto has a hot towel!
Was it Eliot’s toilet I saw?

jolly good show

2005-11-30T06:39:00.000-08:00

Monday, Gretchen and I attended the Ween show in Lawrence, Kansas.

And it was epic. I don’t just throw that word around either. It was their first show of the winter tour, so they must have had a lot of energy to play.

Three hours and forty minutes. 44 songs total. Ten song encore. It was worth missing a couple hours of sleep. A massive show. My favorite band played for almost four hours. It was great.

Unfortunately, I didn’t end up going to the Omaha show last night. I didn’t feel like making the drive three hours each way, and I couldn’t nail anyone down to use the second ticket (Gretchen said she would, but I couldn’t drag her to another three hour show along with a six hour drive. She was dragging ass Tuesday, because she was a trooper Monday). After deciding not to go, I tried to at least get rid of the tickets. Online, I got a message from a guy who said his friends might drive from Omaha and get the tickets, but I think I responded too late, because they never gave me a call. No worries.

In other news, I played some roller hockey with Ron and his NorCo (North County) friends last Friday when I was back in St. Louis for Thanksgiving. I was worried about my skills, since it had been at least four or five years since I had played last.

Honestly, I did alright. I wasn’t used to roller blades without a heel brake either, but it wasn’t as hard as I had feared. I broke a thorough sweat, which I usually do, and Ron and I held our own in the informal two-on-two tournament. It’s rekindled my interest in rollerblading and roller hockey now too. Gretchen and I are going to get new pairs of rollerblades (for Christmas perhaps?…wink wink) and start exercising that way. And, I might look into roller hockey leagues in the area, since I consider myself, and I’m usually pretty modest, an average roller hockey player. We’ll see what happens.

Also, in my current fervor about roller hockey, I have been surfing around looking at websites on the topic. One of the most intriguing I’ve come across is the NCRHA website. That stands for National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association. Though it’s only a club sport, there is a large amount of participation. There has to be a couple hundred teams involved. I was surprised at its popularity. I also enjoyed the informal nature of some of the teams. Like K-State’s, for example, who are currently 0-8 on the season: “Practices will be held from 7-9 Pm on all Mondays (except Holidays) at the Junction City Roller Rink. The travel team will be chosen from those who attend these practices. The practices are open to all students at K-State.” So, you or I easily could have made the team and played on any given week. Perhaps. Maybe I’m underestimating the talent our team possesses. Anyway, check it out. www.ncrha.org. Not to be confused with www.ncrha.com, unless you want to learn about riding horses or their upcoming silent auction.

One of the guys we played with last Friday supposedly played for the Mizzou club team. If anyone's wondering, I scorched him.

Have a good rest of the month.

Thanksgiving entendres

2005-11-22T06:15:00.000-08:00

Two days from Thanksgiving. Love it. Especially since I eat a lot, though I'm getting fat now and that means I'll have to start watching how much I eat. I'll start the day after Thanksgiving, of course. Man, do I love stuffing.

The funny thing is how much Thanksgiving can change from year to year. I'm sure some of us have had the same Thanksgiving at the same place with the same people every year. And it's great. It was like that for me and my family for a while. The past few years, though, it's been different. My grandma passed in 2001, and that made for a different crowd. For several years, it had been, me, mom, dad, brother, aunt, uncle, grandma, and at some point my brother and sister-in-law with kids (they have a busy schedule on holidays and arrive when they can). The next year, my aunt and uncle separated and eventually divorced. So, the uncle was gone. Then, in 2004, my dad died. That was what threw us for the biggest loop.

That's the double-edged sword that is the holidays. You get together with the people you love and it's a good time. But you can't help but remember the people that aren't there this time around. And you reminisce and you all still have fun, but it's a little sad deep down. This year, I know several people who will be having "different" Thanksgivings because a close family member has died, or a recent breakup has occurred. But, and I usually don't like to get too "mushy" as I call it, that's what is good about holidays. They help you realize that you're lucky to be with the people that you're with, and you can be reminded of what really matters in the end. Those first holidays where someone isn't where they usually are can be hard to handle sometimes, but I think they make everyone stronger in the end.

To even out this post, I shall transcipt a e-mail forward I received this morning, which I find to be hilarious. I rarely forward things, unless I find them truly funny. This is to get everyone through the short workweek to turkey time. Have a happy Thanksgiving.

Things you can only say on Thanksgiving:
1. Talk about a huge breast.
2. Tying the legs together keeps the inside moist.
3. It's Cool Whip time.
4. If I don't undo my pants, I'll burst.
5. That's one terrific spread.
6. I'm in the mood for a little dark meat.
7. Are you ready for seconds yet?
8. It's a little dry, do you still want to eat it?
9. Just wait your turn, you'll get some.
10. Don't play with your meat.
11. Just spread the legs open and stuff it in.
12. Do you think you'll be able to handle these people all at once?
13. I didn't expect everyone to come at once.
14. You still have a little bit on your chin.
15. How long will it take after you stick it in?
16. You'll know it's ready when it pops up.
17. Wow, I didn't think I could handle all of that.
18. That's the biggest one I've ever seen.

M.A.D.D.

2005-11-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

Drunk driving is one of the most talked-about automobile-related crimes in the United States. Listening to a radio show earlier this week helped me to realize how there are two radically different ends to the opinion spectrum. They all make interesting points, and I’m not here to express my personal opinion.

MADD stands for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. They are a non-profit group design to spread awareness of this activity that results in thousands of deaths each year. Some say, though, they have overstepped their bounds in recent years. They’ve turned their attention to promoting the abolition of all underage drinking. Again, I’m not say underage drinking is acceptable or not, but it seems to be a lack of focus on their original goals and efforts. This is coming from their staunch critics, of course. These critics also present cases of how MADD uses skewed and extrapolated statistics (but then again, who doesn’t when they’re trying to promote a cause or make a persuasive argument one way or the other?). For example, it has been reported that when they produce numbers for “alcohol-related accidents,” this can include an incident where a driver runs up onto a curb and strikes someone sipping on a beer.

I’m not saying this is fact or not. My main criticism toward MADD do not deal with the use of supposedly falsified statistics, but that they are promoting other agendas under the guise of being Mothers (which I think adds an element to the whole organization, mommies dedicating their time to the cause) simply being Against Drunk Driving.

Another interesting and not wholly disputed aspect of the whole drunk driving debate deals with police and their “crackdown” on drunk driving in the past ten or twenty years. This is a noble cause to be sure. Drivers are stupid enough as it is; we need to get more of these sots off the streets, I agree. But, it’s a fine line, no matter what MADD or SADD or RADD (I would say GLAAD, but I don’t think their main ideologies deal with drunk driving) say, between spending all night at the bar versus having a beer or two. This is of course where BAC, blood alcohol content, comes in. The flaw of BAC, unfortunately, is that it doesn’t necessarily correspond to the “drunkenness” of the individual. Number of drinks isn’t the most effective indicator either. People, in general, are physiologically different to an infinite degree. So, this generalized test is the best we can do at this point.

What I’m getting at is that as the battle wages on to stop drunk driving, revenue is an integral part of the equation. (I almost sound liberal here, ugh.) A DUI or DWI usually ends up costing the offender ten times more than another type of ticket, say speeding or running a red light, for example. That means the money is flowing as we get all these drunkards off the street. That presents a unique question. What are the end goals of someone proposing a lower legal BAC limit to be passed and become a law? (Right now, it’s .08 in the USA. Some politicians, MADD, and other groups want it lowered to .06 and downward.)

Is it so that we can save even more lives each year? Yes, there will be more arrests, which will inevitably have helped to avoid more accidents and deaths. Is it so the governments will create even more revenue by taking advantage of the lower BAC limit? Quite possibly. But is it at the cost of the guy who had two beers visiting with his friend he hadn’t seen for ten years, then heading home at 9:30 to go to bed? Maybe.

It’s just interesting to get a broader perspective on the whole situation. Yes, drunk driving is stupid and ridiculous, and I do not condone it. But, it would be enlightening to know how much the crackdown has to do with saving lives and how much it has to do with increasing revenues. The hard part is trying to get unbiased information on the issue itself.

Check out www.madd.org and www.getmadd.com for differing viewpoints on the issue.

Clutch

2005-11-11T05:27:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was what some would call a hardcore day. I attended a concert in St. Louis that evening. Clutch was the band. If you haven’t heard of them, I’d describe them as a hard rock band with blues and funk influences. I enjoy their music and had heard their live show was a sight to be seen.

Of course, working and living in Kansas City made this a time-consuming proposition. (Gretchen suggested I go to their Lawrence show instead, but I don’t really know anyone who would like to attend this show with me here in KC. Not that I don’t have friends though. I just don't know anyone here in town who enjoys this particular genre of music. I have TONS of friends. Really. I’m not a loser….[quiet sobbing]….) In all actuality, I went with three friends who are living in St. Louis and I couldn’t go with them the last three or four times Clutch had swung through this part of the country.

Obviously, since I had work to attend on Wednesday and then Thursday, it proved to be an intense twelve hours or so. I departed KC at 2:30 and, with the drive being approximately four hours (for me anyway, sorry I’m not a maniacal speeder. When I hear things from people like, “FOUR hours? It’s that far? Grandma,” it makes me want to see these people make the drive. They think they’re hardasses, and they aren’t), I arrived at 6:30.

The show was at 7, but Clutch hadn’t arrived yet. Eventually, the show began at 8:30 with an opening act. Finally, Clutch is on stage at 9:30. And they rock hard, of course. The exciting thing about the show was that it was a two-set show, so they played one, for about an hour, took a break, and then came back and played for an hour and 15 minutes. They were an excellent live band indeed. Neil Fallon, the studly vocalist, was very animated in his delivery. The mosh pits were intense, and though I occasionally indulge in a pit for a song or two, I passed at this concert. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when I saw this huge guy walk out of crowd with blood literally pouring from his mouth.

The show ended around midnight. I was ready to crawl into bed, except that I had a four hour drive ahead of me. Off I went at 12:20 AM, across the great state of Missouri. I stop at Jack in the Box for a late-late dinner, filled up my tank at QuikTrip, and forged onward. Thankfully, my friends Rooster Booster and Donkey Kick kept me going. (Take that, Red Bull.) I pulled into the garage at 4:20 AM, precisely four hours later. Nothing like two hours of sleep before work the next day, but who hasn’t been there before, right? Although, I can’t choose to skip work if I want to, unlike in previous instances. In the end, though, it was eight hours of driving and two hours of sleeping well worth it.

glimpse ahead...and behind

2005-11-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

What’s happened the past week, and what is to come this weekend, you ask? (Well, maybe you didn’t, but you’re here reading anyway, so carry on)

Just another day at the office today. I’m holding down the fort because Bob is out of the office, traveling to South Bend for the Notre Dame game. Luckily, I’m big enough for my britches. It’s hard to be motivated though because: A) it’s Friday, B) Bob and Tim are gone, making me wish I was gone, and C) all my tasks for the day aren’t immediately pressing, making it harder to complete them. This week, though, I’ve switched to listening to radio on the computer instead of the stereo, because I recently came to the realization that Kansas City radio is mindless, repetitive crap. (Some would say that’s how all radio is, and to an extent, I agree, but that’s for another time and place).

Lately, I’ve been on a talk radio kick. My rough schedule has been Mancow in the morning. He’s a “shock jock” of sorts. He’s easy to listen to, if that makes sense, though I find his prank phone calls annoying and ridiculous. I usually follow that up with some Rush Limbaugh (yeah, I consider myself conservative, wanna fight about it?), who is also an intriguing listen. In the late afternoon, it varies. I’ll either hook up some KMOX action (AM talk station back in STL) or just surf around to find another station. www.radio-locator.com is a solid site. It lists thousands of radio stations all around the country, and also lets you know which are capable of being listened to online.

The weekend looks to be slightly eventful. Gretchen and I are heading to Wichita for the weekend. We’ll visit with her family, and also attend the wedding of a couple of losers we know. Brad and Bekka, best of luck to the both of you. I’ll be sure to enjoy the leisure time that the weekend brings as well. Perhaps take a jog, hit the tennis courts, play a game of Scrabble or two. That is one conflict this weekend to mention: I’ll be missing the semimonthly Overland Park Scrabble Club meeting, but I’ll take it to the house next time I’m there.

Ooh, the boss just gave me a project to handle. That gives it the official “pressing” tag, so I better scorch it. Have a nice weekend.

old Halloween costumes - a history of those I can recall

2005-10-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

I was reminiscing earlier as I tried to get through the last half-hour of work today, and I was thinking back to some of my older Halloween costumes. (This year, I shall be a Scrabble tile.)

year unknown - a devil (cliched, yes, but it was elementary school). the embarassing thing was my mom wouldn't spring for a real pitchfork, so she helped me make one with a dowel and construction paper. it was awful. the kids at school that day with "real" manufactured plastic pitchforks put me to shame.

2000 - Pearl Jam vocalist, Eddie Vedder. I pulled off the look well, with "grunge" clothes, mine specifically being a sweaty Italian t-shirt and unbuttoned plaid shirt. I also had a plastic microphone. And I nailed the voluptuous singing voice of Vedder himself as well.

2001 - Hugh Hefner, Playboy mogul. I got the perfect robe at Wal-Mart, some gray hair paint, and a stogie. And Ron's girlfriend, now fiancee, was one of my Bunnies. It turned out well for a "last-second" costume (I think I started figuring it out on the 29th or so).

2002 - Nathan Schutte, architectural student/douchebag. Oh, did I loathe that man. And I nailed his look too. If only I had driven a motorcycle to the party. I borrowed the newsie, old-man hat from Brad. I had the shades. I had the black jeans and the sweater vest. BOOM! What an excellent tribute to the man I despised so dearly. (I'm a modest man, not really one to desire to be in the spotlight, but I remember Bill Miller gave me the "best in show" award for Halloween costumes that one day in class. I was proud that my effort was recognized.) Also, I brought a Smurf to the party. Aren’t I a stud?
A Schutte aside: I still recall the first incident that set me off and birthed my dislike for Nathan Schutte. It was a second year mid-crit for McNamara. Schutte comes strutting in out of nowhere in the middle of my crit, donning his fancy boy hat. Of course, he’s his douchey self on this day. “UH, if you think that section is gonna work, then give me some of what you’re smoking, because it must be good.” Fuck you. Don’t worry about what I smoke, either. What a jackass.

2003 – Mr. Fred Rogers, may he rest in peace. I had my grandpa’s old cashmere sweater. I wore the old shirt and tie, and I think I changed my shoes when I got to Ron’s. Man, I loved that show.

2004 – Napoleon Dynamite. And, you know what? I was Napoleon before half the people in the world knew who he was. It was before the movie became huge. It was popular at the time, but not HUGE. Not everyone even knew who I was. I had the hair at the time, so I went with it. I bought the cool snow boots too. Still have them and wear them when appropriate. At the football game the next day, some cock yelled, “Fuck Pedro, the Red Sox’s fucking suck!” (I had the “Vote for Pedro” shirt on.) Not Pedro Martinez, you idiot. What a dolt. If I weren’t alone and the dude wasn’t a meathead oaf who was drunk off his ass, AND I was confrontational at all, I would have kicked his ASS. I miss that hair now…

Good times indeed. What’s your favorite costumes from years passed? Share a few. Be a friend. Have a good Halloween if I don’t see you.

mortgages and a lack of respect

2005-10-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

Last night, Gretchen and I met with Brian Brockman. He’s what you or I would call a “mortgage consultant.” We met with him since we know little to nothing about mortgages, homeownership, and financial aspects of buying a home in general. He is a nice guy, and the liaison was informative. Gretchen’s uncle is a part-time realtor at the same office, and he has been quite helpful in the early stages of our home search.

Afterwards, we headed to IHOP for a pleasant breakfast/dinner. At least, we were hoping it would be pleasant. I’m not an old coot, but I was a bit disappointed when we were seated (the restaurant is half-full, roughly) in the booth directly next to the bathrooms. There were several other tables, but still, I looked past that. I’m pretty go-with-the-flow. After waiting a few minutes to be served, the waiter apologized, and was quite prompt from there on out.

Yet, that wasn’t the main issue at hand. For the first five or ten minutes of our visit, there was a party finishing their meal two booths away (thank God for every other patron in the place that they would soon be finished). It appeared to be two mothers and three children, though I don’t know whose was who (I never am sure whether to use “whose” or “who’s.” Hi ho.) I was quickly enraged and dumbfounded by the way the two mother figures focused on their conversation and completely disregarded the kids’ behavior. I don’t believe I can recall all of the examples of the kids’ ridiculous and maniacal behavior. There was running around, yelling and screaming, playing with the “wet floor” sign and coffee carafes sitting on adjacent tables, a fight between two of, slapping the manager on the ass quite firmly, grabbing the crotch of our waiter, and the list goes on. On maybe four of the countless occasions where the kids were worthy of a spanking or slap upside the head, the moms attempted to say “stop it” or “sit down.” And back to their conversation. Did the kids stop it or sit down? I’ll give you three guesses and the first two don’t count.

It’s little shit like this that really ticks me off. It’s a lack of respect. It’s a lack of respect for every single one of their fellow customers at IHOP. They might as well have squatted upon every single one of our tables and relieved themselves in one form or another. It’s roughly equivalent. Just because you two women have grown accustomed to ignoring the incessant, psychotic ramblings and spastic behavior of your ugly children doesn’t mean anyone else has. Get a clue.

In the end, they left soon after we received our drinks. Silence and peace had returned. We enjoyed our meal. I went with the international omelet (if I recall it has ham, peppers, onions, and salsa) and three pancakes. It did hit the spot. Gretchen chose the blueberry pancakes with two eggs and bacon strips. She enjoyed as well, if I recall correctly.

It shall be busy the rest of the week. Activities include: carving three pumpkins, making my costume for Halloween (classified information at this time), writing five thank-you notes, making four phone calls, jogging, and preparing for the party on Saturday evening. Now, it’s work time. Good day.

working man

2005-10-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

I've been putting in 9 hour days this week (7 to 5), so I can take a half-day Friday and head back to STL to see my younger brother play football, among other things. It should be a pleasant weekend, getting back to see some friends and family. Waking up hasn't been too hard, but I'm not really an early bird, so it's not my favorite thing to do either.

The Cardinals game Monday night was awesome. I didn't expect that we had a chance, but Albert Pujols saved the day. That was a moment to remember. Still, the Cardinals have to win tonight and tomorrow night to head to the World Series, and that will be no small task.

Other than that, nothing too exciting to report. I bought Dirty Work on DVD. Great movie, if you like stupid, vulgar comedy. Which I do enjoy on occasion. Don't we all? Well, probably not, but still, I recommend this movie.

Have a good hump day.

Muhammad Ali

2005-10-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

"So who were those faggots?"

- Muhammed Ali, on meeting the Beatles and posing for photos with them in the early 1960s.

blog you very much

2005-10-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

What's new these days? A couple things matter at this point.

For one, the St. Louis Cardinals are in the baseball playoffs and up one to nothing in the series. BOOM. I think they can win the World Series, but it will not be an easy road; there are several good teams in the playoffs this year. Let's just hope the Cardinals bats don't die in the World Series like they did last year.

TV is taking up more of my time this new season. There are a couple of good, well, I hesitate to use the word "sitcom," because I don't think any of them really are. I'll just say a couple of good comedy shows on. They come in pairs. On Monday nights on FOX, are Arrested Development at 7 PM CST, and Kitchen Confidential right after that. They both just have this unique visual and comedic style, and it's the type of humor that I enjoy. I can't quite put a name on it, but I know I like it.

And, on Tuesday evenings, at 8 PM CST, is My Name is Earl, which came off looking bad in the previews and commercials, but in actuality is a really good show. I'd say I recommend it more than any of the other shows I'm enjoying currently. After that is the Office at 8:30, which I say takes a watching or two to get used to, but it really is subtly hilarious. Working in an office helps to understand the humor as well (but I sat back and thought, who doesn't work in an office? not that people don't, but honestly the first ten folks I thought of worked in an office. so don't refute my claim if you take it literally) Last night's episode was especially good. The boss was gone, so they came up with the first interoffice Olympiad. And they gave out medals made of paper clips and yogurt lids. In the end, just try these shows. I love them. You may not. But please, wet your feet a bit.

And, in the more serious realm, Gretchen and I are doing a little house browsing. It's early, since our lease on the townhouse isn't up til June, but it's good to get a head start. The reality of it all has not freaked me out just yet. It's probably my after-work ritual of a beer, listening to Blind Melon and Ween, and playing some online Scrabble that keeps me sane.

It's starting to get rather cool. Remember your jacket next time you go out.

RPS-25

2005-09-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

We're all familiar with the classic game, Rock Paper Scissors.

A certain individual has had enough free time to expand on the principle of this game, and create larger iterations of it.

He had come up with an RPS-15, which meant there were fifteen options to play in the game. For each one, it could beat 7 of the others and lose to 7 of the others.

Now, he has come up with an RPS-25, which has twenty-five different plays. Ridiculous. He explains it more on his website. It's pathetic, intriguing, and impressive all at the same time (especially the graphic he created explaining each possible outcome.)

http://www.umop.com/rps25.htm

I tried to insert this as a link and it didn't show up. It pissed me off.

Whoa. Deep.

2005-09-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

birthday gone by

2005-09-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my 22nd birthday. It was just another day really. I had a pleasant weekend, which included a K-State football game on Saturday and a visit to Wichita through Sunday. Gretchen and I had a few nice meals; I opened some presents (a Nintendo Gamecube and a Michael Graves’ Scrabble set among others).

Then, on Monday, my official b-day, it was another day at work, Yet, that was followed by an enjoyable get-together that evening. Aaron had some people over for the Chiefs football game, and when he found out it would coincide with my birthday, he promptly changed it to a football/birthday party. Pizza Hut and Michelob Light ruled the evening, as Brad and Bekka came over to help us celebrate. There was some domination in Catchphrase before the night was over. In the end, a successful birthday indeed.

Tonight, it’s back to reality. After work, I’ll have to take care of some necessities in life, including setting up a dentist’s appointment, doing laundry, checking the oil in my car, and cleaning my room. Another important task, for Aaron and I both, is to help finish the “torpedo” of Michelob Light that we picked up last night. With poor help from the football fans (only Aaron, Brad, and I helped to tackle the torpedo last night, no pun intended), Aaron and I have to noble task of finishing it off this evening. And it shall be done.

In other news, the baseball season is really exciting right now. There are only two teams guaranteed playoffs spots right now, with roughly six games to play. Four teams in the hunt play each other the final weekend. Basically, it will be a playoff series to get into the playoffs. That’s good stuff. Still, in the end, the Cardinals will final win a World Series that’s been due to them (23 years, I think; that’s older than I am). Go Cards.

Secondly, I’m in no position to chastise people for lack of blog entries (I went through a spurt where I didn’t blog for weeks), but I have a listen of friends who have blogs that I check upon frequently, and some of those have been sitting a long time without a new entry. I understand a busy schedule, or a feeling of apathy, or writer’s block too, I just thought I’d give a bit motivation, in hopes that maybe that’s just what you needed to get writing again. Feel free to mock and belittle me, if that would help spark some of your creative juices.

And in the end, you probably wonder why I’m blogging at this hour of the morning (obviously I’m at work). Well, after my boss and I had a chat last Friday, saying I should be “aggressive” when it comes to pursuing work (from others in the office), since that’s the position I’m in currently. I’m still learning, and will be for a while I’m sure. I was accepting tasks from Bob Gregory, the piping operations manager, but David seemingly was giving me the green light to go pursue work from Gene, sheet metal operations manager, and Steve, loft project manager. Yet, currently, I’m in a lull, simply because they are all absent at this moment. So, I can drum up some work to occupy myself after this writing, and I will do my best to be “aggressive,” as David said (though David can be a smooth-talking motivator type). I think once I start estimating, meaning doing takeoff on a drawing with the cool digitizer board and pen, I will start fitting better into the company. Patience is key. I think it takes anywhere from three to six months to get situated in any particular work atmosphere. And we’ll see how it goes. I’m just going to soak up all the mechanical contracting I can and take it from there.

interesting developments

2005-09-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

At the risk of becoming a one-topic blog, I must again mention Ween. This shall be the last for a while, I promise.

Anyway, I was excited about the Ween show coming up in Lawrence on 11/29/05. I knew tickets were first on sale this past Saturday at 10 AM. I ended up trying to buy once Sunday around noon at the K-state bookstore (I was in Manhattan for the weekend), but the young lady didn't know how to connect to the Ticketmaster server. No worries yet. After returning to Kansas City that night, i tried again to order tickets, this time online. My credit card was rejected for no good reason. Four times. (I have no current balance, and as far as I know, it hasn't been stolen). This led into a vexing Monday, where I tried once by phone and again by internet. This time the response was far more dire. It seemed the tickets sold out. I was completely bummed. All because of various obstacles (none of which was my negligence to attempt to buy tickets), I was now planning on not attending that Lawrence show.

Monday night, I decided that, well, Omaha isn't that far. Ween is having a show in Omaha, Nebraska on Tuesday evening. A lot of driving for one show, and what is sure to be a drag-ass Wednesday morning, after getting back at probably 2 or 3 AM, but we should all ask ourselves "would I drive six hours round-trip in night to see [insert your favorite band here]?" I answered yes, and ordered tickets for Gretchen and myself. (As an aside, and a bit of trivia, back in May 2003, Gretchen and I traveled to Columbia, MO for a Ween show, round trip about 8 hours. Of course, we could sleep in the next day, classes be damned. As a bonus bit of trivia, Dan Typaldos was planning on attending this concert with us, yet due to a late night in studio, found his car to be wearing a "boot," and for reasons I still don't fully understand, decided to pass on the concert opportunity).

The interesting development occurred today. I had a little downtime at work (much like at this moment) and thought, "what the hey, I'll check Ticketmaster online for the Lawrence show." Sure enough, like Murphy's Law come to life, tickets were aplenty. Well, non-refundable means non-refundable, so Gretchen and I are going to Omaha. But, then I pondered, while growing slightly ecstatic at the thought, TWO Ween shows in TWO nights? What a concept.

The one catch to the plan, and I feared it, was Gretchen herself. She enjoys Ween to an extent, but if I had to guess, I would equate her love for Ween (my favorite band) to my love for fondue (one of her favorite foods). I like it every once in awhile, but I wouldn't want it every night. Same for her and Ween, I would guess. Yet, at lunch today, I offered up to her an "exciting proposition." She was not enthralled initially at the idea, but as she saw the joy in my eyes....she reluctantly said, "whatever you want to do." What a woman! For me, she will endure 6 combined hours of live music (even though their live show rules) and 7 combined hours of driving (along with probably 5 or 6 hours of sacrificed sleep), just so I can enjoy my favorite band. That is a sacrifice much appreciated.

And as for me, BOOM! Two Ween shows. I'm psyched, needless to say. Yes, a little pricey for the four tickets total, but I at least find it to be money well-spent.

the wisdom of Ween

2005-09-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

I talk about several topics frequently, including Scrabble and Ween, my favorite band. I do this because they are awesome.

I just wanted to post a few quotes from a couple interviews I read recently. It’s further proof why I think they’re badasses, musically and socially.

“You really have to search, if you're a teenager, for real music, 'cause you're not gonna get it on the radio. . . It's shit. A lot of these rock acts are made over to be aggressive-looking, like Limp Bizkit with their tattoos, but it's no different from Christina Aguilera. Johnny Rotten wouldn't piss on these guys if they were on fire." – Dean Ween

“When we write music now, it's not like we have to be doing drugs or anything. Now, we do more insidious drugs. It's just like pills and booze.” – Gene Ween

“I mean, our music generally appeals to children and retarded people, and I'm into that. In a way, we've been making children's records for years.” – Gene Ween

Everyone have a nice weekend. I’m heading to K-State to meet some friends for the weekend. And have a brew or two. Maybe play some badminton.

revisiting the Europe trip

2005-09-15T05:45:00.000-07:00

Europe was fun. A few photos to bring back some memories.

man, did i love this look

fine name for a hotel, wouldn't you say?

brushing up on my botany

the bone church in kutna hora, czech republic. no, really, it's decorated with human bones. commence freaking out.

good times, indeed.

shared interests

2005-09-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

A quick spurt of blog before I charge into the workday.

I’m currently reading a biography about Jimi Hendrix, the famous musician and badass. It’s a slightly depressing story, at least at this point, where his success and happiness has been replaced by hangers-on taking his money and legal battles involving his manager and even a court case involved drugs that were found in his luggage at an airport (twice, both supposedly planted by random “fans”). It is interesting to find out sides of a story that you haven’t heard before though.

Something I read last night, though, piqued my interest thoroughly. The line in the book said “his myriad interests included science fiction, art, history, politics, football, chess, and any board game that called for quick thinking. A lot went on in his head.”

I immediately got excited after reading this. “Any board game that called for quick thinking” definitely could refer to my favorite board game, Scrabble! So, basically, we could assume Jimi Hendrix enjoyed and played Scrabble. Just like me.

Also, I found out my younger brother has the same birthday as Hendrix did. Small world.

damn it, lost the post

2005-09-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

Damn it.

I just wrote a post for a whole fifteen minutes, went to preview, tried to come back, and fucking lost the whole thing. That peeves me. It was quite riveting. I spoke of beer, people who are in their sixth year of college, board games, online Scrabble, visiting the guitar store this weekend, and how I had sardines for lunch (and am trying to eat vegetarian for a while, to try to lose a little weight, since it worked for my friend Dirty Dave. and i'll exercise too.)

All I can do now is offer you this:

Ken Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang.

debauchery and domination

2005-09-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

It was a good Labor Day weekend. And there's nothing like a short workweek to come back to.

Gretchen and I drove to St. Louis Friday after work. There were the requisite backups in Kansas City, mainly at the exits where people were heading down to the lake for the holiday weekend. After penetrating those clogs, we were plugging along.

Our first task was to pick up my brother Anthony, and his girlfriend Stacy(i?)(ie?), and friend Scott from the Chaminade football game. Prior to that, though, Gretchen and I had a chance to stop for a late dinner (we did snack on Bugles, pretzels, and Kit Kats in the car fortunately). Of course, we chose to go to DEL TACO, the finest fast-food mexican in the land, and only seven minutes from Chaminade. I indulged in two chicken soft tacos (with the heavenly secret sauce), and an order of deluxe chili cheddar fries (mmmmm, fries, chili, cheese, tomatoes, onions). Gretchen went with a cheese quesadilla and a carne asada lime salsa taco, or something like that. Like a classic Del Taco run should be, it took an excessively long time to get the order, and it was greasy to the point of feeling wet after you finish eating. But, that's what makes it so wonderful.

We then drove on over to Chaminade and caught the last two minutes of the game. They lost to Sumner, 23-17 (I think). Anthony was nowhere to be found, so we called a cell phone they had to track them down. Finally, they appear out of a dark corner, obviously doing something they shouldn't have been doing. As we walk to the car, the kids (at least, kids relative to my age) were loud and obnoxious, as teenagers usually are.

Gretchen, being the more observant one than I (at least it was demonstrated in this instance), noted a certain, bum-like smell coming from their general direction. No, not nasty B.O., but more like cheap booze. Yes, in this blog, is my first accusation towards Anthony and said confidants of underage drinking. You heard me, Anthony. (He is one of my faithful readers.) You may have thought you could pull one over on me, but you weren't banking on Gretchen, with her acute senses of sight and smell. (I have excellent hearing, at least I say I do.) So, we trucked these drunken sots home. Dropped Scott off at his house, ran home to our house to grab Stacy's stuff, and then dropped her off. In the end, quite an evening. I don't condone your substance abuse, Anthony. It's a foul habit. Keep it up, and you'll end up like John Iffrig. That should be warning enough.

After the night of delinquency, the weekend took a pleasant turn. Saturday morning, the family took a trip to the St. Louis Zoo. Nothing wrong with a day at the zoo, checking out the carmine bee-eaters (badass sounding, but really just these little birds) and the penguins. Penguins rules, if you didn't know. St. Louis has one of the few penguin exhibits in the US (I think, though I did just make that up. It seems like a relatively rare exhibit, that's all.) The ones who really enjoyed the trip and picnic lunch were Emma, my 5-year-old niece, and Olivia, 2, my niece and goddaughter.

In the afternoon, I had a chance to own Anthony in NFL 2k5 football, beating him 27-17. Following the trend, Patrick, my older brother, called me and challenged me to some racquetball (this had been a war of words for many years; finally, a showdown would take place). We went to his YMCA, I signed in as guest, and away we went. The trend I referred to was TOTAL DOMINATION. I'm a humble winner, don't get me wrong, especially when I could tell Patrick was off his r-ball game. (He's also the type who gets PEEVED when he's playing poor. The expletives bounced off the walls much like the ball itself.) I beat him in five games, 15-10, 15-0, 15-2, 15-9, 15-6. Yet, we had fun, and I could tell he has the skills to challenge me the next time we play.

Later that night, Gretchen and I joined up with some of my friends from high school. We hung out in their new loft (though the air conditioning was broke; the word SCORCHING was never so appropriate). A few beers and hands of Speed Uno later, we called it a night.

Sunday was church, followed by another sporting competition. This time, it was golf with my Aunt Beth (aka Aunt Annika) and Patrick. It wasn't as hot as I thought it would be, and I hadn't played 18 holes in awhile, but I BLEW. 66 on the front, 68 on the back nine. A pitiful 134. I putted awfully. Aunt Beth won, based on low score, but we also played this game called "Bingo, Bango, Bongo" while keeps track of first on the green, closest to pin, and first in the hole. It's a way to have fun competition even if, skill-wise, the players aren't that well-matched. In the end, golf is frustrating, but occasionally fun. First place: Aunt Beth. Second: Patrick. Then me. Life goes on. (I'm not as competitive as you think.)

Saturday night was some bowling with Ron and Patty way up in Norco. It was expensive, but the lounge seating was sweet. Lucky Strike Lanes. Check it out.

And Monday, there was the traditional barbecue, though young man Anthony Lagasse manned the grill. He's got potential, that's for sure. Burgers and brats, along with AB's (Aunt Beth's nickname) potato salad and some greeen casserole, made for a good meal. I was stuffed to say the least. After that, we said our goodbyes and cruised on back to KC. The drive was uneventful. Nothing wrong with that. Though it was spiced up by the ultra-conservative talk show host Michael Savage. I enjoy listening to him, and though I consider myself conservative, he is over-the-top on a lot of issues. It's still worth a laugh to listen to, though. I'm sure you liberals, or "red diaper doper babies" as Savage says, would enjoy hearing what he has to say.

And now, back to the short workweek. I can already smell Friday.

weekend

2005-09-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend! A day off of work. Ever since I started working, I have learned to appreciate the weekend, that's for sure. The weekend is as delicious as a frothy, piping-hot crab bisque on a cold winter's day.

I'm going to St. Louis for the weekend to see the family. Various activities include: going to the zoo with nieces, playing some golf, playing some racquetball, playing some video games, eating, possibly playing some Home Run Derby, relaxing, and napping.

And I'm getting ready to leave work. (Fridays are bad enough, motivation-wise, but the Friday before Labor Day weekend? That's, like, negative motivation.)

Have a good three-day weekend.

Jimi

2005-09-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd regale you for a moment (especially because I wanted to use the word "regale") while I speak about the long-donged Jimi Hendrix.

I have been listening to the one record of his that I have at this moment, Are You Experienced?, though I do plan on asking for some of his other discs for the b-day and Christmas. And the album is scorchin'. I enjoy the guitar work in music more than any other aspect (though vocals usually have the "main stage" in a song if you will). And Jimi Hendrix was one of the best guitar players. Ever. And he played left-handed. So, he might be another inspiration if I decide to take up the axe. (He was so badass he played a right-handed guitar left-handed.)

He died young at 27, of a barbiturate overdose, I believe. It will have been 35 years ago on September 18.

I don't know; I'm not really philosophical in any way, but I find him to be an icon. To me, his music had such a distinct sound. Yes, you could put your finger on the era, but I don't think The Jimi Hendrix Experience sounded like anyone else then or now.

One of my favorite musicians, and badasses, Jimi Hendrix. (Trivia note: the last house I lived in, we had neighbors up the street who had two daughters, Lana and Jimi. And she had to have been named after him. Trust me, if you had see these flower children, you would agree.)

this just in - Ween

2005-08-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

This morning, I checked the Ween website, like I have been religiously for the past several weeks, awaiting the announcement for more tour dates.

And then, I see this:

Monday, November 28
Granada Theater
1020 Massachusetts St.
Lawrence, KS 66047
9pm show, 18+
Tickets go on sale September 17 thru www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 816-931-3330

This might not mean much to you, but it means everything to me. At a venue only a half an hour away, in roughly 3 months time, I will get to see my favorite band perform for three sweet, sweet hours. Redemption for the Lawrence show that was cancelled in November 2004.

These dudes fucking rock. Man, it's going to be great. Let me know if you want to go.

Pulp Fiction and playing the guitar

2005-08-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

I enjoy the movie Pulp Fiction. It just has a coolness about it, for lack of a better term, though coolness is an actual word, and it is a playable Scrabble word as well. Then, I was on www.imdb.com checking out more things about Pulp Fiction and it has these trivia and goofs sections. They are very interesting as well. It makes me want to go back and watch the movie again (not that I didn't want to already), since now I know things like the bullet holes in the apartment wall are already there prior to the crazy kid coming out of the bathroom with his gun blazing. And so on. Check out: A) the movie if you haven't seen it, and/or B) all the various "goofs" listed on the internet. I'm sure it was picked out by nerds who watched the movie over and over, frame by frame, but for their efforts, I shall reap the benefits.

And the real question is, should I learn to play the guitar? It is quite an undertaking (the decision to play left or right-handed alone is a difficult decision, since most guitars are right-handed but i'm left-handed, but i'm sure instructional books and things of that nature are geared towards right-handers. yet, i've always air-guitared left-handed. vexing indeed.) I didn't fare well attempting to learn the harmonica, an assumably easier task, so this will take some pondering. And a guitar isn't cheap, either. You can't just stick that guitar in the drawer after spending 10 bucks and forget about it like the mouth harp.

The reason for learning would be to play famous songs I know, definitely not to write my own music. Ween is the music that I want to know how to play the most; of course, Dean Ween is one of the most badass players in the land, so learning the songs he can play is probably harder to the Nth degree. It was just a thought. I'll see how bad the yearning gets.

Well, now, I shall pick out new CDs to bring in to work to listen to (since the radio reception in our metal shed building sucks the big D). It's a 24-CD book, so I must choose wisely from the 275 CDs I currently possess. So far, those who have made the cut include: Ween, Clutch, Flaming Lips, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Big Star, and Neil Young.

Man, I haven't written this much in a long while. My wrists are hurting. But for my (four) faithful readers (if that), I'll do anything.

are you a buff?

2005-08-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

I consider myself to be a "buff" of a few things. Do you?

A buff is a synonym for fan or enthusiast of a particular topic.

To be specific, I consider myself to be a buff of baseball, astronomy, and Scrabble.

Until next time,

www.civilwarbuff.org

bratwurst

2005-08-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

I won't lie. I love bratwurst. I had it for dinner last night. And soon, I will go home and have it for lunch. It's bursting with flavor. It is amazing. My mouth literally is watering as I type this.

I might even like them more than hamburgers and steak. No lying.

Check out this badass vehicle. I think it puts the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile to shame. I think it would be awesome for a monster tailgate at a K-state game.

http://www.johnsonville.com/siteconf.nsf/Lkp/about-l2-bigtaste.html

no one at work, so I'm doing this

2005-08-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

Everyone has for the most part gone home at my office already.

I'm leaving at 4 (normally I leave at 4:30), but I came in early at 7 this morning for a meeting at 8 (which was actually at 8:30), but nonetheless. You can't be motivated on a Friday, unless there is a dire urgency for you to get certain things done. Nothing's pressing at this point.

Work's been good. I'm learning as I go. It's a little bit of everything. Some paper-pushing, phone calls left and right, digging up info to answer a question, meetings now and again.

I'm doing project management stuff right now, and it's decent. I look forward to working more on estimating on projects. There's more coloring involved, and you get to use a digitizer. But it's going well. And the paychecks are quite nice.

Just getting used to the real world.

Play this game. It's intense.

http://www.hurtwood.demon.co.uk/Fun/copter.swf

SCRABBLE

2005-07-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

I will not lie. I adore the game of Scrabble. I was once a "vocabmaster" in my day (I don't believe that was self-proclaimed either, to your chagrin I'm sure), so this love for the deemed "crossword board game" is understandable.

Recently, I've been playing online (an excellent site is www.isc.ro, where you can download the program and play with others, free) and reading up on tips and strategy. I've even been reading some competitive Scrabble player biographies. They are riveting.

I can't totally explain what makes it so great. Yes, it's word-related, so that's one reason. Two, I love the sheer impossibility of two games being exactly alike. Unless people try it, and even then it will be an undeniably vexing task, there will never be two exact Scrabble boards seen by ANYONE in their entire life. Amazing, no?

I'm sure there will be many other blog entries on Scrabble, but for now I'll leave you on the edge of your seat.

Kansas City and scrabble

2005-07-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

Just recently, Barrett reminded me of my neglected weblog page. I was surprised I had dedicated readers (at least one anyway) who noticed I wasn't keeping up. So, after totally forgetting about it, I'll do my best to keep posting.

I'm officially a resident of Kansas City. Well, Overland Park, to be more specific. But just like I live in Fenton, a suburb of St. Louis, the similar situation applies. It's a nice area, with everything convenient, though traffic can be rather vexing and the area as a who is a bit boring and lacking "personality" in a way. Since it's all very new, it's a lot of house after house situated on zero acre lots and not much variation in the way of buildings and streets. But it's nice.

The drivers really are terrible. Man, it's awful. On that note, I will soon have my Kansas driver's license. From the preview, it actually looks like I might have a decent picture. My prior license pics look like disheveled orphan and a serial flasher wearing lipstick, respectively. This one, at this point, has no derisive description as of yet.

So, as I get used to becoming a Kansas Citian (is that right?), I will soon become more familiar with the athletic luxuries this area has to offer. Namely, I need to scope out places to play: racquetball, softball, indoor soccer, and badminton, among other sports. And, I need to get my library card. I like libraries.

Until next time, good day.

no more studio

2005-05-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

I have just completed my final studio project ever. I have a couple of loose ends to tie up, but my schoolwork load has just gotten a lot lighter.

Things left on the agenda:

have several beers
take two exams
write graduation speech
play sports (probably basketball and badminton specifically)
graduate

The real world is getting closer and closer. Lord help us all.

This is the website for the World Footbag Association, an excellent site: www.worldfootbag.com

job is found

2005-04-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

Today, I met the president and vice-president of Environmental Mechanical, Inc. for lunch today. We met in Lawrence, Kansas at the Free State Brewery. The turkey sandwich with Swiss and cream cheeses (a nice touch) was quite tasty.

We discussed my possible employment. They said they like to "move fast with these things." So, they asked me to wait outside while they spoke about the future.

After five minutes, they came out. It was like await the verdict to my trial.
If I recall, Tom, the president, said, "Here's what were going to do. We're going to e-mail you an offer on Monday. 36,000. 1,500 for movie expenses."

I am a happy man. I plan on accepting this job. I will move to Kansas City to enter the real world. Gretchen is happy, as she is close to acquiring a job there. My family is not in the greatest of spirits, slightly perturbed that I won't be moving back home like originally planned. They're playing the old, "I don't want you to sell yourself short," and, "don't put all your eggs in one basket" routines. (They say this because I am taking the first real offer I received. I do feel poorly about that, but I need to do what is best for my future and career. The money is good to start, and before this, I hadn't gotten my foot in the door at all at any of the construction or contracting companies I contacted (at least 8 or 9).

And, it's only 3 hours from Wichita and St. Louis, and 2 from Manhattan. So, its location is also a plus.

The real life will soon begin.

Strange, eh?

www.environmentalmech.com

Dean Ween and his Olive Garden critique

2005-04-24T13:02:00.001-07:00

I bow to Dean Ween today, and his tirade against Olive Garden.

"As an Italian-American nothing offends me more than the commercials on tv for the Olive Garden. You ever eat there? What a bunch of dogshit. The food sucks and a real Italian wouldn't be caught dead ordering "the never ending spaghetti bowl" even if it were free. The food is devoid of any real flavor whatsoever and only the whitest motherfucker could possibly be tricked into believing that they're experiencing anything "authentic". The commercials usually show you some typical looking Italian family with Brooklyn accents bonding over the free breadsticks at the Olive Garden but that's just not where it's at. The Olive Garden can suck my New Jersey dick."

Well-spoken, Dean. Well-spoken.

- excerpted from www.ween.com, the Waste section

haven't blogged in a while

2005-04-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while, so I thought I'd catch up on things.

I now have a WaterPik, so I can fiercely wash out old food chunks from my wisdom tooth sockets.

I just saw Sin City. Very cool-looking movie. Unnecessarily violent, but I'm not complaining about that. Dialogue is lacking (probably because it is adapted from a comic book). Overall, awesome movie, if only for the sweet cinematography.

The Association is an unbelievable band. Underrated band from the 60's. Check them out. "Cherish" rocks.

Badminton, as I always state, is an amazing sport.

www.fark.com

day of reckoning...for my wisdom teeth

2005-03-23T10:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, today is the day. My first surgical procedure.

I've heard it's no big thing. I'm sure it isn't. But there's always that slight apprehension of the unknown.

Yet, that's what the Valium is for. So I at least have that to look forward to.

A lot of people are questioning the method by which I will be having surgery. Specifically, taking valium and then use of a local anesthetic. Others I have talked to say that would rather be "knocked out," which is another common way of tranquilizing the patient. I'm not worried that much in the end.

As long as I can eat solid food again by Easter, and maybe shoot some hoops on Sunday, if I'm feeling up to it, I'll be a happy man.

Next time I write, I will be a different man. Four teeth lighter.

the job search

2005-03-15T14:08:00.000-08:00

Well, reality is setting in. The job search is on. College is almost over.

I sent letters and resumes to nine construction firms last Friday. (Yeah, instead of the straight-up architecture firm courting, I thought I'd travel a different avenue, hopefully a less-traveled one by fellow soon-to-be architecture graduates).

I made some follow-up calls today. Most I either had to leave a message or they had not yet received my correspondence (I figured I had given enough time, but perhaps not). The best phone call was to Jacobs, where Theresa Czolgosz (which might top Postiglione if you ask me) said she had received my resume, and was sending it to the appropriate people. I was supposed to call her back on Monday. They are supposedly in need of "design people," so we'll see what happens.

Hitting the lottery and moving to Amsterdam is still my first choice, but I guess getting a job is a close second.

Until next time...

http://www.ween.com

st. pat's - race day

2005-03-11T14:11:00.000-08:00

Ah, tomorrow. A day of bars opening early in the morning for the glorious celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

Also important is the Manhattan, Kansas, St. Pat's Day Race. The grisled veteran runner, Mike Postiglione, steps out onto the pavement once again. This time, it's a 10K that he's running (roughly 6 miles). He hasn't run an official race since the Linz Half-Marathon in Linz, Austria on April 18th, 2004. How will he fare? Only time will tell, as it will most probably be a battle of willpower and shin splints.

What motivates him? Specifically, the glory of crossing the finish line, the post-race barbecue in Triangle Park, and the celebration of St. Patrick's Day that shall follow.

Wish the running man good luck.

this square-movin' game

2005-03-10T20:38:00.000-08:00

I am addicted to this new square-moving game. It takes a few turns to get accustomed to it, but after you do, prepare to waste some time.

Enjoy.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/orbox.html

Arrested Development

2005-03-08T16:43:00.000-08:00

Arrested Development is the funniest sitcom I've seen on TV in a long time. I think it's just my kind of humor, and that is why I love it. It's very reminiscent of the movie The Royal Tenenbaums, with parallels being the dysfunctional family and the dry humor. Damn, I love it.

I highly recommend watching it on Sundays at 7:30 PM on Fox, or renting the first season, now out on DVD.

http://www.fox.com/arresteddev/

Good stuff.

beat to sh*t

2005-03-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

My face has gotten scorched the past few weekends. Last Sunday, I was playing in our last intramural basketball game of the season (we lost 69-40, but it was one of our better efforts, I would say), and I proceeded to trip while running, sending me forward towards the ground. At that point, my lip met the heel of one of my opponent's shoes. Spurting and gushing blood was the result.

I went to the trainer's room and applied pressure, and the guy said I shouldn't need stitches. At this point in time, it now being one week later, and it still breaks open everyday, I have a notion to disagree with his initial diagnosis. I might go grab a few stitches in the next day or so.

The carnage has just begun though. Yesterday, while playing soccer with seven or so of my friends and eight to ten other players (some of the them being pretty damn good, which usually means a little too intense and serious), it was coming towards the end of the game when I came up to challenge this dude with the ball.

He juked me, a good move admittedly, but somehow managed to smack/punch me in the face as he passed by. While I'm sure it was accidental, if you hit someone with your hand, you can usually feel where you hit them. I received no inquiries about my health, nor apologies for the action. Again, accidental, but that still warrants some reciprocal action. Thanks a lot, fat guy.

So, once more, I got to savor the tasty and calming experience of blood gushing and pouring from my face. Twice in one week. Aren't I lucky? I used my now-retired white t-shirt to sop up the blood. So, it's slightly sore and a bit swollen, and I'll probably get it checked out when I go grab the few stitches that I need. Is it broken? I don't believe so, but damn it, Jim, I'm NOT a doctor, so who knows what's really going on?

I just need to address this issue of "non-competitive" sports. I think the operable prefix is "non." People need to remember it is just a game, I don't care what you're out to prove. That why our basketball team enjoyed practicing on Thursday more than playing on Sundays. The seriousness with which people played sucked the fun out of it when the time came.

But, I digress. I have to go blow more dark red mucous from my nose. (Soon, I'll post a picture of my t-shirt, aka battle fatigue.)

great clips

2005-03-01T11:53:00.000-08:00

Got a haircut today. Went to Great Clips, mainly because I'm cheap, and not picky when it comes to my hair. She did an alright job.

I saw this dude in Great Clips. He was about 55 or 60. And he was reading Teen People. I was amused, that's for sure.

Good for crossword fans: www.oneacross.com

my blog

2005-03-01T01:15:00.000-08:00

Aren't I hip? Now I can expel these scathing rants for the world to see, instead of pushing them deep down inside me. Any little thing that pisses me off, you'll hear about. So, enjoy.

And, I like Del Taco. www.deltaco.com