This collection of entries is from January 2003.
Friday, January 31, 2003
SoxFest 2003Carol got off work early, came and picked me up so I could leave early and on an ugly, wet Friday we drove downtown to the Hyatt Regency Chicago to attend SoxFest 2003.
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We got there a half hour early and made our way to the event. We were in line, about 30 people from the front of the line, when we realized what had happened - there were people in front of us that had been waiting since 7am to get to the Opening Ceremony at 5pm. We were 30 people behind the cutoff to get into the ballroom. Now we had to wait for that entire event to be over and the ballroom to be cleared before they would let the rest of us go in. Now I know why the line was so long last year! We had been standing in line for almost half an hour one a gentleman walked up to me. He was Teddy Greenstein, the White Sox beat reporter for the Chicago Tribune. He came over to get my reaction to an announcement that was just made in the ballroom - Comiskey Park will be no more - it will be called U.S. Cellular Field, thanks to a 23-year naming rights deal that will pay the club for $68 million over 20 years. Oh, crap... NOOOooooo!!! Anyway, I give him a few quotes and then he moved on down the line. Damn. I'm more of a purist, I guess. U.S. Cellular Field? Like that company will be around for the 23 years of the agreement. Well, at about 5:50, we finally get inside. I check my coat and we hang around the front of the ballroom area waiting for our friend Janie, and Jeff and his sister Doreen. After about 10 minutes, Jeff & Do show up, but no Janie - she's home sick. Bummer. We just sort of wander around - checking out some All Star merchandise, and walk the show floor and actually doing some shopping. We get something to drink and we meet-up with some of Jeff's relatives. We kill a little more time and go to the only session that we are always interested in: the panel discussion with management. There were some great acquisitions this year, like Bartolo Colon and Billy Koch. There were a few things that came out in that meeting, one that I was actually hoping to hear. In a discussion on how sometimes you try to make player movements and they don't work, GM Kenny Williams said that the Todd Ritchie trade was a mistake that blew up in his face. Somehow, I needed to hear that. There was an awful lot of talk about the players still waiting to come up. One name never came up anywhere in the discussion, or anywhere else for that matter - Frank Thomas. Everyone is so focused on how good the other players are, it seems like Frank is just another player (they way it should be, in my opinion). We left SoxFest, had a quick dinner at Houlihan's in Illinois Center and made our way home. It was a long friggin' night. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:50 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Does this mean I can PING Columbia?OK Space Geeks out there - the current shuttle mission (STS-107) is running an experiment called OMNI (Operating Missions as a Node on the Internet). Yep, the shuttle has an IP address! It's on an an embedded PC that has a 233 MHz processor, 128 MB of RAM and a solid-state 144 MB hard drive running Red Hat Linux. Cool.
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Low Power Transceiver
One of the FREESTAR experiments, the Low Power Transceiver (LPT) experiment is a low-power, lightweight software programmable transceiver prototype technology demonstration that is being developed by NASA as a low-cost S-band spacecraft navigation and communication device.
The LPT prototype receives Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite signals for spacecraft navigation support and provides both forward and return, low-rate data communications links to the Merritt Island (MILA) and Dryden Flight Research Facility (DFRC) ground stations and to the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). The experiment is designed to demonstrate the system’s ability to do simultaneous communications and navigation, as well as multi-mode communications and reconfiguration. LPT is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and sponsored by NASA/HQ Code M.
The LPT experiment consists of one thermally conductive box containing the electronics stack, three S-band antennas and one L-band antenna. The LPT payload uses general Orbiter services, including power control, command, and telemetry provided through the HHC avionics. On-orbit, the LPT payload will be primarily operated via direct communications between LPT and ground stations (MILA, WLPS, or DFRC) and/or TDRSS, with backup command and telemetry capability provided via the hitchhiker avionics and remote Payload Operations Control Center. During operations, LPT will utilize high Sband frequencies for communications.
The LPT TDRSS (and GN) forward link (uplink) frequency is 2106.40625 MHz and their TDRSS (and GN) return link (downlink) frequency is 2287.5 MHz (utilizing Left-handed Circular Polarization to work with the TDRSS MA system). Two standard switch panel switches will be utilized to prohibit inadvertent operation of the antenna. An additional inhibit will be provided through the HH avionics power relay to the LPT.
LPT
History/ Background
The paradigm of spacecraft design is changing throughout the space industry. Designs are requiring smaller, cheaper, and more capable systems. A key technology component that will enable these types of designs is a small, highly integrated, reprogrammable, multipurpose communications and navigation payload that can withstand the radiation environments encountered over a variety of orbits.
LPT Experiment Description
The Low Power Transceiver (LPT) is a compact, flexible device that can be configured to perform custom communications and navigation functions in terrestrial, airborne, and space applications. The LPT is a collection of interchangeable hardware modules that form a software programmable platform for a variety of communication and navigation applications. The LPT can simultaneously process multiple radio frequencies (RF bands) in the transmittance or retrieval direction, and simultaneously process multiple data channels within each RF band; further, its modular architecture provides a flexible arrangement of signal processing resources. This technology thrust strives to return the maximum possible scientific information from instruments on board a spacecraft to the customer/principal investigator on Earth. GSFC engineers are working rapidly to prototype and demonstrate applicable Internet technologies and methodologies and to infuse them into flight missions where they will significantly reduce development costs and greatly increase mission flexibility. Furthermore, they expect these technologies to enable entirely new, distributed, system and mission models in the future.
LPT Physical Description
• One thermally conductive box containing the LPT electronics stack.
• The LPT experiment will be mounted on two HH Single Bay Pallets, one of which is shared with SOLCON-3, on top of the HH MPESS.
• LPT has been integrated with a commercial processor board functioning as the flight computer, along with an three S-Band Receive Antenna, and one L-Band Antenna or Low Gain Transmit Antenna, all mounted to the top of the HH Multi-purpose Equipment Support Structure (MPESS) via a HH Single Bay Pallet (SBP).
• The flight computer will use GPS-Enhanced Orbit Navigation System (GEONS) software to process the Global Positing System (GPS) data.
• The flight computer will run the Linux operating system, and use Mobile IP over all of the RF links.
• The LPT TDRSS (and GN) forward link frequency is 2106.40625 MHz and the TDRSS (and GN) return link frequency is 2287.5 MHz.
• Two Standard Switch Panel (SSP) switches will be incorporated to prohibit inadvertent Radio Frequency (RF) transmission from the antenna. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:31 AM | Link | Space § |
Friday 5 - Potpourri
Time for another Friday Five...
1. As a child, who was your favorite superhero/heroine? Why? Easy - Batman. Superman had the whole flying thing and strength an other cool powers, but Batman was just a normal guy (well, OK, Bruce Wayne really wasn't all that normal I guess... how about "average" guy?... OK, how about "average millionaire"?) He had the coolest stuff! The whole Bat Cave thing, the Batmobile, and God knows what in his Bat Utility Belt. I just thought that was cool.
2. What was one thing you always wanted as a child but never got? Umm, well, I wanted to go into space and of course that didn't happen. I can't recall wanting something and being devastated by not getting it.
3. What's the furthest from home you've been? Hawaii - Senior class trip 1975. Big Island, Maui, and Oahu.
4. What's one thing you've always wanted to learn but haven't yet? I want to be able to speak a foreign language fluently. I stumbled through a few years of Spanish in high school and that's about it. I've wanted to learn Russian and Japanese.
5. What are your plans for the weekend? Going over to Barry & Buffy's tomorrow night, going to my Mom's on Sunday, but tonight - it's SoxFest 2003 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago!
posted at 06:58 AM | Link | Friday Five | 1 comment § |
Thursday, January 30, 2003
R.I.P. Oolong
I'm at my desk at home sobbing my eyes out. I mean, really crying. Why? Oh, this is so silly... you see, I just found out Oolong passed away on January 7th. Who was Oolong? I never met Oolong. Oolong lived in Japan with a wonderful keeper, who had a great eye for photography, and a heart for humor. Oolong was his bunny. Oolong did things that I never knew bunnies did - like romp around outside in the snow and balance things on their head like dolls, flowers, fruit, or pancakes. Damn it, this is killing me... he looked like a wonderful bunny. It isn't known what he died from. He had been fine and then turned bad in just a few hours. I can't tell you how much the photography of Oolong touched my very soul. I had to rush downstairs and hold Indy for a while... Crap, I'm a mess...
Please visit Oolong's website. It's mostly in Japanese, but there's English translations if you hover over the photos. Make sure you view as many photos as possible to get a feel for the style of photography and the relationship he had with his bunny.
I am a weepy mess...
posted at 10:41 PM | Link | Bunnies | 2 comments § |
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
Celebrity Mole Hawaii - Episode 4
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I'm chickening out - I'm bored with the show tonight, so I'm using the synopsis from Television Without Pity:
Tonight's first game involves the women surfing and the men hula dancing. Kathy fails to stand on a surfboard for five seconds, so they don't win any money. Erik has a chance to make up for her failure by standing on a surfboard for ten seconds, but he can't do it. Then all four of them get to compete for one final exemption that will guarantee a spot in the final round. First, they pair up to do math puzzles, and Kathy and Erik win. Then those two square off in a series of SAT-style logic puzzles, and Erik wins with a three-second faster time. Finally, Erik has to complete a game of concentration using a deck of cards in a mystery location before Kathy, Michael, or Frederique finds him. A security guard weirdly detains Frederique, and Erik gets the exemption. And then Michael gets executed.
The pot is still at $151,000 since no money was won in this episode. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:10 PM | Link | The Mole § |
Sorry, didn't watchWARNING: HEAVY PERSONAL OPINION BELOW. REMEMBER, IT IS OPINION
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I didn't watch the State of the Union speech last night. I just couldn't do it. I'm a bit upset and angry at our President right now. His posturing makes it look like "we're going to war, damn it, I don't care what you say or find!" and I think that's just not a healthy thing to do. (I can't shake this feeling that this is all about "his daddy.") I don't like that the focus has moved away from the terrorism threat to focus on Iraq (which may be helping out al Qaeda, but isn't the focus of the war). What about alienating the Arab world (and perhaps the whole world) by doing this unilaterally? It just scares the hell out of me about what could happen on our soil if this happens. Let the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission team keep going. Period. Don't impede them or rush them. Wait for them to finish. Whatever happened to the hunt for al Qaeda? What about the elimination of terrorism in general? That seems, to me, to be a better stance and would help out the world community is a more productive manner. And what about North Korea? Which reminds me - I don't want to hear about the use on nuclear weapons in the war against Iraq. We're going to suffer dearly if that happens.
I don't even want to know what he said about domestic issues. Unemployment sucks - I know, I was there for almost 20 months and at the rate everything is going I'll probably be there again in my career. Jobs aren't there. Tax cuts don't help when all I see in my pocket is measured in 2 or 3 digits of cash. That doesn't help me to live, that doesn't help the economy, it just makes you look better now that you're giving money back. It doesn't fix what's happening. No jobs - no money - no consumer spending.
I think that I'm suffering from creeping fogyism. I'm sounding like an old fogy, and I don't think I'm that old. I'm just upset, I guess. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 08:32 AM | Link | Mundane | 2 comments § |
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Well, that wasn't much fun...
OK, it was snowing a bit more than I had expected. Since it was coming down quicker, the salt on the streets really doesn't work, so, yes, it's accumulating on the streets. It was slow-going on the way home. Wasn't too bad, but it was a bit slick, and the traffic was moving a bit slower than normal, so the travel time to get home was a little longer than normal.
posted at 06:00 PM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |
Getting whiterWell, it's been snowing for the last few hours here. Starting to accumulate off the roads - the roads, just like I had thought, were so salty that they're just wet. Originally I heard 1"-3", but I think that could now be up to 3"-5". Can't wait for that commute.
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BOONE IL-COOK IL-DE KALB IL-DUPAGE IL-GRUNDY IL-KANE IL-KENDALL IL-LA SALLE IL-LAKE IN-LAKE IL-LEE IL-MCHENRY IL-OGLE IL-PORTER IN-WILL IL-WINNEBAGO IL-
330 PM CST TUE JAN 28 2003
...SNOW ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING...
A THREE TO FIVE INCH SNOW ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA...WITH HEAVIER AMOUNTS EXPECTED ALONG THE INTERSTATE 88 AND 80 CORRIDOR. THIS WILL MAKE FOR DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS ACROSS UNTREATED ROADWAYS DURING AND AFTER RUSH HOUR TODAY.
MAKE PLANS TO LEAVE EARLY FOR YOUR DESTINATION THIS EVENING...SO YOU ARRIVE SAFELY AND ON TIME.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES.
$$
ROGOWSKI/CMS « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 03:43 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Much better... maybe notIt's 25° outside - much better than yesterday, except that later today the weather critters are calling for freezing rain, sleet, and snow between 1" to 3". Should be great traveling. They said that the rain should be freezing on the pavement when it hits - I don't think so. There's just way too much salt on the streets around here to freeze-up the roads.
posted at 06:37 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, January 27, 2003
Zamboni on eBayThe AHL's Syracuse Crunch is auctioning-off their Zamboni on eBay. It's not the current one (I guess they retired this one last year), but it's fully operational. The last bid I saw was $3,050.00, and it met it's reserve. How cool is it to get a fully functional Zamboni for just over 3 grand? It does need work, however ("The washer tank is rusted, but could be replaced"). Still that's cheaper than the jersey I saw auctioned at a Wolves game a few weeks ago (coincidentally, a game against the Syracuse Crunch). (Auction ends February 4)
Update: It went for the $3,050.00 bid.
posted at 09:35 AM | Link | Hockey | 1 comment § |
Negative-2° this morning. Sunny, no clouds, and no wind so the wind chill is not worse than the temperature. the good news? After today it's supposed to be in the 30's.
posted at 08:13 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunday, January 26, 2003
This ain't a song for the broken-hearted
Carol & I picked-up my mom and we went to Diane & Melinda's for our own private Super Bowl party.
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They had made some home-made barbecue beef and slaw, not to mention a ton of munchies. Melinda also made a white chocolate bundt cake that they were calling a "punt cake" in honor of the game. We, of course, not only paid attention to the game (Mom was actually cheering during the 4th Quarter!), but paid attention to the commercials.
This was a great game and a tip of the hat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a great win! I liked what I saw during the season from their defense and they really stepped-up and showed Oakland who was boss on that field. Up until the 4th quarter, Oakland look shook and out of it. However, I was glad to see Jerry Rice get a touchdown. But Oakland, at every point-after opportunity in the game, went for a two-point conversion and failed each time. I don't get it. Quarterback Rich Gannon - a Super Bowl Record 5 interceptions (3 were touchdowns). Ouch, but that shows how well the Buc's pass defense works. However, I wasn't impressed with Brad Johnson's passing. It looks like he's got nothing on the ball. Does he always throw like that? the oddest or grossest thing of the game? How about Oakland's John Ritchie. At the beginning of the 2nd quarter, he's on a table on the sidelines getting 2 holes in his forehead butterflied shut. Later in the game, ABC uses a shot of him in a clip package, with his helmet off, blood gushing down his face from the two holes in his forehead. (Madden called them "calcium deposits" even though the location looks like they're right around where the two bolts attach the top of the face mask to the helmet. He also said he's usually bleeding "2 minutes into the first quarter".)
The grossest commercial? Well, that had to be the Dodge Truck Beef Jerky commercial (ew!). Favorite? I don't know. I think there were way too many movie trailers (and not of them stellar). I though that Budweiser/Anheuser-Busch packages were pretty good (like the Clydesdales Instant Replay and the Designated Driver with Tim McGraw). I loved Reebok's "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker" spot (wouldn't you love to see that at your office? I thought the FedEx Castaway was good, but... shouldn't have that been on last year? The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy commercials were a bit shocking, and did we have to see a dead parakeet in the Quizno's ad?
USA Today's Ad Meter rankings are here and actual streaming versions of all of the Super Bowl commercials are at IFILM. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:39 PM | Link | Sports § |
Saturday, January 25, 2003
A light dusting
So, it went from nice and sunny to windy and snowing. It's not much snow, it's just a light dusting to cover everything. the salt trucks are out and I don't understand why. There is so much salt on our streets in the area that, in the morning, it looks like fog in the air, but it's salt clouds stirred-up by the traffic.
posted at 08:04 PM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |
Comiskey Park UpdateLast month, when we were on our meat run to Michigan, we were on the Dan Ryan and passed Comiskey Park. That was the first time I noticed it - there was something different about the park. The Upper deck looked the same, so there was no structural change there, but something else was going on. So, since I had nothing else to do today, I drove down to Comiskey to check it out.
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I had heard some rumors that there would be another round of renovations at the park before this year's All Star Game in July. In the prior years, I've always heard about what was going on through our Season Ticket Rep, but nothing was released this year. I vaguely remember Hawk talking at the end of the season about a new scoreboard. At our last season ticket game and the last home game at the park last year, it was obvious they were doing some testing of paint.
The first thing I noticed on the drive to the park, as I was heading south on the Dan Ryan, just before that big sweeping turn at the Stevenson, you could see a crane inside the park. I didn't look too heavy, but it was definitely taller than the top of the stadium. I drove to the park and parked in the E lot and walked around the park. The sun may have been out, but it was cold out there. Well, there wasn't much I could see from the lot (the angles were all wrong) and I was getting a bit spooked-out by the security cameras panning around, so I got back in the car and drove around the park a few times and in different routes. The upper deck has definitely not changed in size or shape. There are temporary walls on the upper deck concourse. My guess is that they're doing renovations similar to the Main Concourse renovations of last year. The ramps outside the left field corner are now painted dark gray. the other ramps are still bare concrete. The inside of the roof on the upper deck that used to be white is now black. Even though we saw paint tests on the concrete facing of the upper deck at the end of the season, I couldn't get a good angle to see into the park to see if that had been done. All of the truss work above the outfield concourse (that held all of the advertising and the scoreboards) that used to be white is now painted black, or maybe a very dark gray. This includes the light towers as well. The backside of the scoreboards and ads are still white. There was a service door that was open behind the left-field scoreboard, and you could see that the scoreboard was gone - just support girders were left. The crane that can be seen inside the park seems to be positioned by that scoreboard. (I wouldn't mind seeing an upgrade to the scoreboards. The Sony display on the main scoreboard, though only 12 years old, sure isn't the latest technology. And the bulb density of the left field scoreboard could be upgraded a bit.) I'd like to see if they've changed the color scheme inside the park at all (I, for the record, am against the all blue crap used in the park - blue seats, blue scoreboards. blue padding on the outfield walls.) So far, in general, it looks like the park is going to look "darker", which, from a player perspective, is a good thing. You see, the players have always complained at Comiskey that they lose sight of the ball against the color of all the concrete used in the place. My guess is that they're painting the concrete to darken the background for the players. Maybe we'll find out more next weejkend at SoxFest. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 03:38 PM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |
Feeling sluggish?Does the web feel a little slow for you today? Well, guess what - it is. Why? Because, according to Symantec and CNN, it's under attack. It's a SQL worm called the "SQL Slammer" that's hitting about 22,000 machines, taking advantage of a vulnerability detected six months ago in Microsoft SQL Server 2000. Yeah, nice job Microsoft - you don't know security from a hole in the ground. Never have. The worm is apparently generating a ton of traffic, so response times are going up. At least there not as many servers involved as the Code Red worm back in July 2001 that hit more than 700,000 computers.
posted at 08:12 AM | Link | Internet | 1 comment § |
Friday, January 24, 2003
MMMmmm... cake....
So, starting this month at the office, they're doing a little birthday celebration for those people that have birthdays in the month. Total for January? One - ME! So, we had a great cake from Jarosch's (Yellow and German Chocolate with strawberries and buttercream frosting) (actually, for the size of the group that works here, it was quite a bit too big). So, everyone sang Happy Birthday to me, and I got cake cutting duties, eventually getting a piece myself. Yumm...
posted at 02:46 PM | Link | Mundane | 2 comments § |
Friday 5 - 5 more things
Time for another Friday Five...
1. What is one thing you don't like about your body? This is in reverse order - I think it should be 5 things here and 1 thing at the bottom. I'm not liking this week's Friday 5... Height, weight, rapidly disintegrating hair line, ears, nose... pick one from the list.
2. What are two things you love about your body? Huh? I am "neutral" about my body. I don't "love" it.
3. What are three things you want to change about your home? Carpeting, landscaping, furniture
4. What are four books you want to read this year? HA!!! If you know me, you know that my wife Carol is the voracious reader. I never pickup a book. I am visually stimulated (TV & movies)
5. What are five promises you have kept to yourself? I have failed most of my promises, and right now, I can't remember even one.
posted at 06:51 AM | Link | Friday Five | 2 comments § |
Thursday, January 23, 2003
A casino - in my town???Wisconsin's Ho-Chunk Indian tribe wants to develop a casino-hotel complex in my town of Hoffman Estates (at the northwest corner of the I-90 Northwest Tollway and Beverly Road)! I'm not sure how I feel about this... my first, knee-jerk" reaction is "Wooooo Hooooo!!!! YES!!!!!!", but there's an awful lot of hurdles to clear for this to happen. No sense in getting excited over it...
posted at 07:56 PM | Link | Gambling § |
RRRrrrr... rrrrrr... rrrrrr...OK, the sun went down, the car got cold, and definitely needed time to warm up. Zero to 4 below tonight. I'm tired of this. Please let it warm up...
posted at 06:08 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Mmmmm...Have I ever mentioned how much I love tomatoes? Some just rolled off my Subway sandwich onto my desk, so I ate them... and they were wonderful. Reminded me of summer, getting a fresh tomato off the vine and just slicing it up and eating it with just a little salt and pepper... Now it just reminded me of that - it's the middle of winter, pretty damn cold outside, and the tomatoes aren't that great right now, but, damn that tasted good...
posted at 12:55 PM | Link | Mundane | 2 comments § |
Hmmm... not bad...Decided that if it's going to be so cold today, I'll force myself to go out and grab something to eat just so that I can start my car. It's 9 degrees outside and the wind chill is about -17. However, the sun is out - not a cloud in the sky. The car started without a problem and didn't labor at all. Must be getting some solar heat. Drove to Subway (12" Italian B.M.T® on Hearty Italian bread) and came back. Got out of the car at the office and my Indiana Jones hat got blown off and rolled through the parking lot picking up salt. It looks like hell. Crap.
posted at 12:03 PM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |
OK, we're freezing...2 degrees below zero, Wind Chill 22 below. High today 9. Going to be a great day.
posted at 06:39 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Wednesday, January 22, 2003
Celebrity Mole Hawaii - Episode 3
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The first game is called Offshore Account. Corbin leads a the group in building a raft out of material dumped on the beach that will hold the entire team and get a flag out on a buoy within 30 minutes to claim $30,000 that is stashed there. Erik's only job is to make smoothies for the rest of the team. Ahmad offers Erik an exemption if he can get to the flag on the buoy first. the catch - he has to finish making the smoothies, and he has to rent a kayak from the cabana boy for $15 (which Erik doesn't have). Oh, and the money doesn't go into the pot either. Ahmad calls for the cabana boy and up pops - Stephen Baldwin! Erik must use a metal detector on the beach to find the $15 in change. Well, the raft making isn't turning out all that well, and falls apart as they test it. Erik finds enough change, rents the kayak, and gets out to the buoy to grab the flag and the exemption, stopping the $35,000 from making it into the pot. Ahmad calls Erik over to the rocks and offers to add $60,000 into the pot if Erik gives up the exemption. He gives it up. Erik finally tells the group what happened - and no one seems to care. During a meal outside the hotel (could have been a breakfast or lunch) Ahmad tells the group that he hopes they left some room for the next game and a woman walks out with a tray of six different hot peppers. The group goes inside. On a table is a plastic maze containing five mice. Ahmad explains that they each get to pick a mouse. The mouse will be released, and whichever door the mouse runs through will determine which pepper the player has to eat. Each pepper is worth $10,000. Ahmad will ask each player a pop-culture question. A correct answer means the player can either eat the pepper or pass it on to another player. An incorrect answer means the player has to eat the pepper for the money. Ahmad points out that each pepper is numbered from one to six. One means hot, and six means really, really, really hot. The game is called Hot Pepper Lookie-Lookie. The player must bite the pepper in the middle and chew, and when ready, the other players say "Lookie lookie!" and look at the chewed-up pepper before the player can swallow. Oh, and there's a big pitcher of cold milk - the perfect thing to combat the burn of the peppers. Each glass of milk will cost $1,000. Corbin goes first and blows his question, and his mouse (Stripe) picks pepper 6 - the hottest. Corbin eats it without a problem. Erik blows his question, his mouse (Grey Ghost) goes for Pepper 4, and eats his pepper. Corbin, for no reason, eats another pepper. Michael blows his question, the mouse (Daphne) picks pepper 5, and he gets through the pepper. Frederique answers correctly, her mouse (Zoro) picks pepper 3, and passes the pepper to Corbin who eats it. Kathy answers correctly, her mouse (Spooky) picks pepper 2, and passes it to Corbin - who eats the pepper and finally requests a glass of milk. The team wins $49,000 and the pot is now up to $151,000. At dinner, Ahmad asks the team to open their journals and tear out page 17. He collects them and reads them aloud to the group. Ahmad reads one of the pages: "I hate everybody. The game is driving me crazy. I can't stand Frederique. Every day she comes out and looks so pretty, and I just can't stand it. Michael thinks he's just the tops. Corbin? A bully." Everyone laughs because it's Kathy's - except it isn't: her page is blank and Ahmad is just making it up. Time for the quiz and execution. Ahmad enters the names into the laptop, and after four people come up green, they all look toward the only one left - as Corbin turns up red and is executed. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:31 PM | Link | The Mole § |
2003 BloggiesThe Third Annual Weblog Award nominations, also known as the 2003 Bloggies, were announced yesterday. Take a look at the nominees, visit their sites and vote. (Now, before anyone says anything, I'm not doing this blog to ever win an award - I'm doing it for me, so I'm not upset at all that I didn't get nominated for anything... I'm a realist. My stuff isn't that good and, I think, doesn't hold a candle to any of these nominees. I think that's a healthy way of blogging. Do it for yourself. My life is mundane, that's why I named the blog My Mundane Mid-Life, and I have no aspirations to become something bigger. That's why I write about the things I do, that's why the blog doesn't look any "snazzier" than it does, that's why a lot of people don't come here to read it. I'm mundane and boring and that's just the way it is. Now, for those people that do come here regularly to read my drivel, thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing so! I really do appreciate you being 'round!) If you want to see the list of sites that were submitted to the judges for voting to come up with this year's nominees, wander over here. The list isn't linked, so you'll have to do some searching on your own for the URL's.
posted at 03:54 PM | Link | Blogging | 1 comment § |
How cold is it?Another morning of 6 degree weather. (What is it with 6 degrees every morning? It's either coincidence or somebody's equipment may need calibrating...) 17 deaths in the Chicago area related to the cold. The weather-critters are using the term "dangerously cold" when talking about the wind chills. Looks like we may be in the 20's at the weekend. That's if you trust those weather-critters. Why is it that there's hardly a weatherman in your local town that you trust? Must of the TV guys are just goofy or even possibly inept. There's some that should have retired decades ago, others that can't form complete sentences, let alone come up with witty banter with the other news people. I just want it to warm-up a bit, and the winds to die down.
posted at 08:09 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, January 21, 2003
A new Michael!
Oh! I forgot! My former coworker Peggy had a baby! (You remember Peg - I've got some pictures of her and the family at Comiskey Park last year on Elvis night and the year before.) She and Rob and daughter Madison welcomed little Michael Jacob on the 12th. Congrats, Peg! Great name!!!
posted at 08:52 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Damn, it's coldYou know, there's one specific aspect of Chicago weather that I hate. Cold. And in Chicago, cold is COLD and it's usually "raised up a couple of notches" (as Emeril would say) (actually it would be "lowered") by the damn wind. It was 6 degrees again this morning, 17 degrees now, and this is the way it's going to be all week. I just want to see it get up into the high 20's to low 30's every once in a while. It eases the pain of the suffering. Now, on the plus-side this year, we haven't got much snow (knock on wood). I don't mind snow if it's on the warm-side of the temperature range around here. In fact, I really liked last year, when about seems like three different times, we would get dumped-on to the tune of about a foot of snow and within days the temperatures were in the 40's and it would melt. That I like. Also, we're in the weird time of year when it seems to stay light longer in the day, but the sun doesn't seem to be rising any earlier in the morning. Sunlight = good.
posted at 04:48 PM | Link | Mundane § |
I'm getting that itch...Last week on the Travel Channel was another Vegas Week. The Travel Channel goes to Las Vegas every couple of months to shoot things there, and I swear that what they're doing is just shooting items for the network and not for any specific show. the only reason I say this is because I keep seeing the same footage in different shows, so either it's the same producer or they're sharing the footage. At any rate, I miss going there. Because of the unemployment situation, we haven't been to Las Vegas since 2001 and for us, that's the longest we've been away from that town since the two of us started going in 1994. I just miss the travel. I miss the excitement of that town. I don't have to gamble there - I could always just go to a riverboat around here if I just wanted to gamble. I just like the town, I can't help it. Sometimes I feel like it's calling me back (sort of like the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Authority commercials, with the guy that sounds like Don Rickles on the phone.. "Vegas calling...").
posted at 03:12 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, January 20, 2003
Pain in the neckYes, it's still there. That weird pain I have in my neck is still there. It has been slowly going away all week, but now it's been hurting almost all day. There's no lump there that I can feel, but the pain feels like a swollen gland or something, about an inch to the right of my windpipe. Like I said, it's been slowly going away all week. By the weekend, I had totally forgotten about it. Now, since I talk a bit in my job, it's bother me. it bother me when I drink. It bothers me when I chew. It bother me when I swallow. It bothers me when I don't appear to be doing anything. Now, I feel like I'm coming down with a cold - my sinuses are filling up a bit and my throat is dry and scratchy, so I'm not sure if that's what's causing the increase in the occurrence of the pain. I need to talk to somebody about benefits, since my physician isn't in my "plan" and this would be all out of network.
posted at 01:43 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunday, January 19, 2003
What was she thinking?posted at 10:00 PM | Link | TV § |
OK, you've had enough time...Today is Sunday, January 19th. Come on people, get off your arses and take down the friggin' Christmas decorations!!! Get the damn wire reindeer that light up off the lawn, take down the helical Christmas trees, get the lights off the railings on your front stairs... Too cold? OK, how about taking down the friggin' Christmas tree that I see in your front window, eh???? No? Then the least you could do is turn off the friggin' Christmas lights!!!!
posted at 04:51 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, January 18, 2003
Trading Spaces Las Vegas Live Reveal
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This was a normal Trading Spaces episode, taking place in Henderson, sort of a suburb of Las Vegas, but the twist was dubbed the Las Vegas Live Reveal. This how was heavily hyped for the Live Reveal, prompting commercials featuring dance numbers and appearances from each of the cast members. The homeowners fortunately live across the street from each other, making the Day Zero setup for the crew a little easier. Now, remember, only the Reveal would be live. Usually, shooting a typical episode produces about 20 hours of footage that is edited usually six weeks later. Day Zero was Wednesday, shooting was Thursday and Friday, leaving Friday night and Saturday for editing the show before it was broadcast at 7pm locally. The neighbors spent Friday night in Vegas somewhere, isolated from the other neighbors, cast, and crew so the reveal tonight would be a surprise. Stephen and Caysi, the Green Team with Hildi did their neighbor's family room, while Jeff and Kim, the Red Team with Doug did their neighbor's bedroom. (Tonight's carpenter: Amy Wynn Pastor.) Well, a few Las Vegas celebrities stopped by (including an Elvis impersonator) and the live reveals went off on time without a technical hitch. The rooms, I thought, were just OK, and when the reveals were done, it just seemed like any other Trading Spaces show, not really worthy of the effort to produce a live reveal.
(Now, if any of you saw the episode before the "live one" (from Austin, TX), Hildi struck again by putting-up over 4,000 wine labels (from a Texas winery) on the walls of a kitchen of an associate pastor at Morning Star Christian Church, doesn't drink or want alcohol in his home, so within hours of the big "reveal," the labels were steamed off the walls. The next day, the damaged wallpaper had to be torn down and the kitchen painted. This story is here in the Austin American-Statesman) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:23 PM | Link | TV | 1 comment § |
The Fellowship of the RingSpent the afternoon watching a TiVo recording of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Oh, boy, I am out of the loop on this. I have read the trilogy back in High School and loved it. I watched the movie this afternoon and hated it. I'm still trying to figure out why. Perhaps the trilogy has lost its luster on me over all these years. Perhaps its because (I feel) the CG effects, specifically any in dark scenes, look like crap. (I've always felt this about watching a movie on television. If I see it in a theater, though the image is much larger, the color rendition and contrast is different and the effects just seem to work better.) Perhaps it's the friggin' length of the movie (178 minutes... God the special expanded edition is 208 minutes) that has a story with so many details, that I found it tiresome. Perhaps it was the audio levels that were all over hell and back that made it uncomfortable to listen to with a furnace and humidifier turning on and off, masking the lower levels and frequencies. Perhaps that gargantuan pork fajita burrito from Chipotle just made me too uncomfortable to sit for that long of a time (Ads on the website say "It would be a delicacy if it weren't so damn big", "Burritos so big they should be called burros", "Burritos the size of speedbumps" "20 ounces isn't the drink. It's the burrito", and my favorite "Ours goes to eleven"). Perhaps I'm just an idiot and wasn't in the mood to watch this thing in the first place...
posted at 05:41 PM | Link | Movies § |
Friday, January 17, 2003
Picture Yourself
So, after reading Christine talk about Picture Yourself, I got inspired and took two pictures of me - one driving to work, the other driving home. What was that? Why, yes, I took these while actually driving. Why? I don't know - something to do while I'm driving, in traffic, doing about 45 mph. I just submitted them, so I guess they'll be posted next week some time. Why not snap yourself and send them in over there?!
Update: They're up: Driving to work and driving home.
posted at 08:49 PM | Link | Odd § |
Friday 5 - Jobs
Time for another Friday Five...
1. Where do you currently work? in the "discontinued operations" part of IT at Corporate of an eye surgery and laser centers company
2. How many other jobs have you had and where? In IT, it looks like six. I started as a COBOL Programmer Trainee at the World Headquarters for a company back in 1978, worked my way over to systems programming, networking, security, etc. until a RIF in 1997. I had a consulting gig doing a GroupWise to Notes R5 conversion for a home builder, went to an established consulting company to work as a Notes Admin for its infrastructure group, then the company merged with another and wound up one of the dotcom darlings - for all of a few months, when the company crashed and declared bankruptcy. Parts of the company were purchased by another dotcom'er, but I was brought over on only a 60-day contract. I had a contract with a company also going through a GroupWise to Notes R5 conversion, but that was cut short when the contracting company lost the support contract. Then a really short contract (9 days) with a company recovering emails that were lost in the WTC attack (no valid off-site backups for 2 months prior). There's a lot of unemployment time in that span from 1997 until now.
3. What do you like best about your job? Right now - it's a job (something I haven't had in too long of a time). The commute is very tolerable. The workload, right now, is light. I'm learning a few new things (but, unfortunately, not getting very deep into them to feel like I've learned something extensively). It's a permanent position instead of a contract, so at least I have benefits.
4. What do you like least about your job? It's not in my area of expertise over the past 5 years. It's at half the salary I used to earn. the job will end as IT is being downsized (it's already down from 52 to 6) and outsourced, so I probably only have another 3-4 months max staying here.
5. What is your dream job? NONE Meaning I don't want to be working. I've enjoyed my time when I was unemployed, and I real, really, really want to win a Lottery so that I can accomplish that. Now, barring that, I wouldn't mind finding a line of business that allows me to work from home that I would enjoy doing. Barring that, I want to work for an airline in any corporate capacity, but with the industry going into the tank, I don't think that's going to happen either. *sigh*
posted at 09:43 AM | Link | Friday Five § |
Thursday, January 16, 2003
Will it go 'round in circles...Back in November, the San Francisco Zoo got 6 new Magellanic penguins, from Sea World in Aurora, Ohio (now Six Flags Worlds of Adventure), a normal occurrence for the zoo. (Man I love those penguins... I always wanted one of them as a pet...) Somehow, these 6 penguins, "communicated and changed the minds of the other 46" penguins, and now all 52 penguins are swimming laps around their enclosure all day long "until they stagger out of the pool at dusk". The zookeepers are perplexed, but then again, so am I...
posted at 06:42 PM | Link | Odd § |
I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing...CNN is reporting that U.N. weapons inspectors found a 11 empty chemical warheads and another one that is still being evaluated, and the warheads are in "excellent condition". I'm not sure how I feel about this. Are these warheads just for chemical delivery or can they be used for something else? Just because they have them, does that prove their guilt that they have delivered a chemical WMD or does it just prove that they were capable of assembling a chemical WMD, or what? Is this a smoking gun or does that only come when we find the actual chemical compounds? And why am I uneasy about the one warhead that's requiring further examination?
posted at 01:37 PM | Link | Current Events | 1 comment § |
Going for a Double Leaning Jowler ...I've only played this game a few times in real-life and thought it was an absolute hoot. Now, we've got the online version of Pass the Pigs!
posted at 11:11 AM | Link | Odd § |
Wednesday, January 15, 2003
Celebrity Mole Hawaii - Episode 2
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OK, too much horseplay with Stephen Baldwin and everyone else. The first game, "Take This Job", has three groups of two - Short Order Cooks (Kathy & Frederique - Walk across a bed of hot lava to retrieve cooking chicken); Flight Attendents (Stephen & Corbin - Ride in a biplane performing stunts while cleaning the plane's gauges); Lifeguards (Erik & Michael - Plunge off a 40-foot cliff into the crashing waves of the ocean to retrieve a rescue buoy). Everyone has to videotape a prediction on whether the other players will complete their tasks. For every correct prediction, $1,000 is added to the pot, for a potential $24,000. Michael didn't jump. The results of the predictions only produce $17,000 for the pot. The second game was "Six Feet Under". Let's see if we can follow this: Corbin and Michael don scuba gear and act out charades underwater at night. Frederique and Stephen are in a submarine (dubbed "Das Mole") watching, and relay their answers to Kathy and Erik who are in a graveyard, who must figure out the character that died in the movie or TV show that was the answer and dig up the correct coffin, and dig up Josh Hartnet for "Pearl Harbor", Harrison Ford for "What Lies Beneath", Kenny for "South Park", and Chow Yun Fat for "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon". They don't get "American Beauty" as the last charade clue in the alotted time. The money is not in Chow Yun Fat's, or Kenny's coffin, so Ahmad offers $5,000 for the pot to end the game, or go on to look in the other coffins. The go for it. It's not in Harrison Ford's. Ahmad offers $10,000 to to quite now. Now, Erik accidentally opened the casket when it was dug up and he knows there's just bones in there. The whole group - minus Kathy who knows - agrees to go for it. Yes, it's just bones (the money is in the undug Kevin Spacey coffin) - the group gets no money. The pot - $67,000. At dinner, it's time for another game - the players are given 30 minutes to come up with a unanimous vote for who someone to get an exemption. If they do it, they get the $25,000 that was lost in "Six Feet Under". If they don't, they will lose $25,000 from the pot. Everyone - except Corbin - wants to vote for Erik. Corbin wants it himself. No one can agree. The pot goes down to $42,000. The quiz is taken, the cast is assembled and Stephen Baldwin is executed. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:14 PM | Link | The Mole § |
Wolves 4 - Aeros 5 - Overtime
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Nothing to really say about the game tonight. Hardly anybody was there (probably because a) it's a weeknight and b) it's friggin' cold outside). There's no way there were 3,994 people there. Wolves were up 2-1 and let the Aeros back in the game, losing in overtime. Blech.
On a somewhat unrelated note, Chelby & Damian finally came to a game tonight - they hadn't been there since mid-December, and it's their first game since Edwin, Chelby's dad, died of cancer last week Wednesday (just weeks after diagnosis). It was surprising and sudden and the family his having a tough time handling the loss. They only stayed 2 periods, but it got them "out and about", and hopefully they enjoyed some time watching the game that they love. Too bad it was a bad game...
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:07 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Do you have a swollen bubo?How do you lose 35 vials containing samples of the bubonic plague???? Well, they're missing from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Lubbock City Council member Frank Morrison said it is premature to say the items were stolen.
Update: The FBI says "All of the vials reported missing from Texas Tech Health Sciences Center have been accounted for."
Update: A university scientist was arrested for making false statements to the FBI. He had accidentally destroyed the vials but told his laboratory safety officer that they were missing.
posted at 12:44 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Happiness = P + (5xE) + (3xH)Psychologists have actually found a formula for happiness! They also admitted that the equation was not easy for most people to understand, but it's all derived for a series of questions.
posted at 10:09 AM | Link | Odd § |
No CoffeeI blew up the coffee machine. I didn't mean to. I just ground the beans, put the grounds in the filter, popped the filter basket into the machine and hit the brew button. The next thing I know, I have cold coffee running all over the floor. The machine shorted out, a tripped the GFI-breaker in the outlet. The bad thing? The damn water valve fails open, fills the pot, and empties the rest of the water all over the counter and floor. I can't get the outlet to reset - it sort of arcs when I hit the reset button, so things are not good... I need my morning cafeine...
posted at 08:25 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Six degrees of...It's cold outside. Six degrees. Zero down south in Aurora. Thankfully, Carol will start my car on her way out so after I'm done showering, I can jump in to a toasty car... after I remember to tag and take out the garbage... At least the house feels toasty as well, and it looks like the sun is coming up, so it's another trip to work squinting all the way as I drive toward the sun...
posted at 07:06 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, January 14, 2003
Touched by CBSAccording to CNN, CBS has canceled "Touched by an Angel".
*yawn*
It was still on the air???
posted at 12:31 PM | Link | TV § |
3.2 MegapixelsThanks to the generosity of some friends, I had received a ton of Best Buy Gift Cards over the holidays and my birthday. I've wanted to replace my old Canon PowerShot A50 camera for some time. It's a bit too big to cary around effectively, and I've been burning a lot of money buying batteries for the thing. It was time to cut down on that battery expense and upgrade. I bought a Canon PowerShot S230 Digital Elph. Well, I'm still learning. I used it last night at the party, but it was a bit dark and I didn't get the quality I wanted. But moving from 2 to 3.2 megapixels - holy crap! - WHAT a difference! Of course, my old camera's images were at 1280 x 960 - this one is 2048 x 1536, so they take up a bit more room. I'm going to need a new CompactFlash card. The other cool thing? Movies! I tried it out last night on Indy. The camera produces an AVI file, 15 fps, at 320 x 240 with audio. It was very good (though the cage was a bit dark, and I'm still learning when to use the macro focus effectively), and I was pleased with the result. (Would you like to see it? Watch out - it's 11.95Mb!) (The camera could also do 160 x 120, as well as 640 x 480, but the files are probably going to get big at that point.) Perhaps some quick movies may be in the works for the website???
posted at 10:29 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Half inch and coldThere was a dusting of about half an inch of snow overnight (it was snowing when I drove home from the Allstate Arena). It's 14 degrees and tonight they're claiming will be the coldest night of the year (3 degrees. Big deal, it's not even an negative number). Guess I'll have to make sure I don't go outside (which shouldn't be a problem).
posted at 06:37 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, January 13, 2003
Chicago Wolves Season Ticket Holder PartyWent to the annual Chicago Wolves Season Ticket Holder Party at the Allstate Arena tonight. Same stuff - not any different than last year. Saw all the team. Went in the locker room. Climbed on the Zamboni. Free stadium food. *yawn*
read more of this entry »
posted at 09:12 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Survivor The Amazon Cast Revealed
CBS unveiled the cast for Survivor The Amazon this morning. (*Spoilers Below*).
read more of this entry »
According to CNN, it's going to be a tribe of men (Tambaqui) competing against a tribe of women (Jaburu).
The Jaburu Tribe ("Jaburu" refers to a bird or stork that is native to the area) wearing yellow buffs will consist of:
Christy Smith, 24, Children Adventure Guide for the Deaf, Basalt, CO (She is partially deaf and wears a hearing aid the first person with a disability to compete on Survivor)
Deena Bennett, 35, Deputy District Attorney, Riverside, CA
Heidi Strobel, 24, P.E. Teacher, Eldon, MO
Janet Koth, 47, Travel Agent/Abstinence Counselor, Manchester, MO
Jeanne Hebert, 41, Director of Marketing, North Attleboro, MA
Jenna Morasca, 21, Swimsuit Model (! - past work includes posing for "Stuff Magazine"), Pittsburgh, PA
JoAnna Ward, 31, School Guidance Counselor, Orangesburg, SC
Shawna Mitchell, 23, Retail Clothing Sales, Redwood City, CA
The Tambaqui Tribe ("Tambaqui" meaning a local fish) wearing blue buffs will consist of:
Alex Bell, 32, Triathlon Trainer, Los Angeles, CA
Butch Lockley, 50, Middle School Principal, Olney, IL
Daniel Lue, 27, Tax Accountant, Houston, TX
Dave Johnson, 22, Rocket Scientist (No, really, a freakin' rocket scientist from JPL!), Pasadena, CA
Matthew Von Ertfelda, 33, Restaurant Designer, Washington, D.C.
Rob Cesternino, 24, Computer Projects Coordinator, Wantagh, NY
Roger Sexton, 56, Vice President of Estimating, Valencia, CA
Ryan Aiken, 23, Model & Actor, Ellicott City, MD
Don't forget to check out Survivor Maps for info on the location, tribal camp sites, etc. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 02:36 PM | Link | Survivor § |
Effing™ Health Care BenefitsI worried about healthcare for a long time after I started my unemployment. I mean, it took 12 months to get cleared to get on Carol's plans from her job. Now that I have a job and have to use this company's healthcare insurance, I'm no better off. As usual, probably like millions of other Americans, my doctor is not in their PPO plan. Damn it, I'm not changing doctors! I'm going to have to do it out of network and maybe have Carol's plan as secondary and maybe between the two of them they can hash this out. If figures, now that I'm scared about this damn nerve in my neck that this would happen. Effing™ insurance companies! How are you supposed to keep healthy when you are expected to change doctors as often (or sometimes more often) as you change jobs? What good is that to the consumer? Screw them... of course, I will wind up paying more just to keep my doctor... <grumble><grumble><grumble>...
(The use of "Effing" is trademarked by Erin at Gigglechick.com! Well, not really... but at least I gave her props for the use!)
posted at 01:45 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunday, January 12, 2003
PainI'm not really sure, but this nerve problem is escalating. I'm thinking that there just might be something else going on because this nerve is firing at weird times, not always with the position of the neck. I think I yawned once and it fired. The pain is terrible - I usually wind up grabbing my neck and try to massage the area to get it to calm down. Damn it, I just may have to go to the doctor...
posted at 09:41 PM | Link | Mundane | 2 comments § |
Wolves 3 - Crunch 1
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This afternoon's game on the ice was uneventful as the Wolves beat Syracuse 3-1 (although, it was "entertaining" to watch the Syracuse goaltender Karl Goehring - he's only 5' 7" and when he crouches, he can easily fit inside the net). Off the ice, a little different story.
First, the pregame presentations and player introductions go off without a hitch. The National Anthem is normal, the lights come up, and the next thing we know, the referees and the officials in the box below us are having discussions. There's a lot of pointing - up at the scoreboard. Apparently, the fireworks have set off a small fire burning inside the scoreboard for about 6 minutes. They winch the scoreboard down to center ice and climb inside to make sure everything is OK, and then they winch it back up again for the puck drop. Total delay: 20 minutes.
Second, today is the last day of the Collegiate-Style Jersey Auction. This is always a big day at the tables, where somebody's jersey bidding gets out of hand. Now remember, the Wolves are a minor league hockey team. They jersey auctions (usually, at least two a year - a specialty jersey and a St. Patrick's Day jersey) are big fundraisers for charities. This was no exception today, as the cheapest jerseys were going for $600 and some select ones where $1,400-$1,800. The exception, that I actually watched, was for the jersey of defenseman Dallas Eakins. two women were standing by a clipboard, outbidding each other. The final winning bid: and outrageous $5,150. It's ridiculous, and "normal" fans have no chance of getting a jersey. No chance at all.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 06:24 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Nerves and BBC AmericaWell, last night's sleep was interrupted much more frequently than the night before with excruciating pain up and down my neck by this nerve thing. Perhaps it's just my pillow. So, I rolled over when the sun came up and popped-on BBC America to watch Charlie's Garden Army (which I've never seen before) and Bargain Hunt, whose presenter David Dickinson reminds us of Richard Dawson for some reason. And What Not to Wear is just intriguing for how much these stylists are demanding and getting away with. (Just an FYI - TLC is running a preview of their American version of the series What Not To Wear next Saturday night, the 18th, at 10pm EST/9pm CST, in the time slot that While You Were Out normally occupies).
Well, time to get up... we're going to my Mom's house for lunch and then off to a Wolves afternoon game...
posted at 08:39 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Maurice Gibb 1949 - 2003Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees died this morning after emergency surgery last week. Carol loved the Bee Gees. About 15-20 years ago, I remember looking at some photos of the band with Carol and we found one of Maurice and it looked exactly like me. Then another, and still another. So, even though I didn't follow the band as much as she did, I had a little bit of a connection (though totally subjective) with them.
Update: The brothers are upset and are questioning his treatment
Update: Maurice Gibb died because he had an inherited condition that caused his small intestine to twist, which cut its access to the blood supply
Update: The autopsy report at The Smoking Gun
posted at 07:35 AM | Link | Entertainment § |
Saturday, January 11, 2003
More Nigerian 419 FraudThe Third to Fifth largest industry in Nigeria, this "419 Fraud" is still going strong. I received another Nigerian Spam msg this morning. There is info about this at the U.S. Secret Service Financial Crimes Division website, and at the 419 Coalition Website.
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FROM:BARRISTER PHILLIP MUAZU ESQ.
TUNJI MUAZU & CO
ATTORNEYS/LEGAL PRACTITIONER
NIGERIA.
Email: p.muazu@caramail.com
DEAR FRIEND,
COMPLIMENTS OF THE SEASON. GRACE AND PEACE AND LOVE FROM THIS PART OF THE ATLANTIC TO YOU. I HOPE MY LETTER DOES NOT CAUSE YOU TOO MUCH EMBARRASSMENT AS I WRITE TO YOU IN GOOD FAITH BASED ON THE CONTACT ADDRESS GIVEN TO ME BY A FRIEND WHO WORKS AT THE NIGERIAN EMBASSY IN YOUR COUNTRY. PLEASE EXCUSE MY INTRUSION INTO YOUR PRIVATE LIFE.
I AM BARRISTER PHILLIP MUAZU ESQ. I REPRESENT MOHAMMED ABACHA, SON OF THE LATE GEN.SANI ABACHA, WHO WAS THE FORMER MILITARY HEAD OF STATE IN NIGERIA. HE DIED IN 1998. SINCE HIS DEATH, THE FAMILY HAS BEEN LOSING A LOT OF MONEY DUE TO VINDICTIVE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WHO ARE BENT ON DEALING WITH THE FAMILY. BASED ON THIS THEREFORE, THE FAMILY HAS ASKED ME TO SEEK FOR A FOREIGN PARTNER WHO CAN WORK WITH US AS TO MOVE OUT THE TOTAL SUM OF US$75,000,000.00 ( SEVENTY FIVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS ), PRESENTLY IN THEIR POSSESSION. THIS MONEY WAS OF COURSE, ACQUIRED BY THE LATE PRESIDENT AND IS NOW KEPT SECRETLY BY THE FAMILY. THE SWISS GOVERNMENT HAS ALREADY FROZEN ALL THE ACCOUNTS OF THE FAMILY IN SWITZERLAND, AND SOME OTHER COUNTRIES WOULD SOON FOLLOW TO DO THE SAME. THIS BID BY SOME GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO DEAL WITH THIS FAMILY HAS MADE IT NECESSARY THAT WE SEEK YOUR ASSISITANCE IN RECEIVING THIS MONEY AND IN INVESTING IT ON BEHALF OFTHE FAMILY. THIS MUST BE A JOINT VENTURE TRANSACTION AND WE MUST ALL WORK TOGETHER.
SINCE THIS MONEY IS STILL CASH, EXTRA SECURITY MEASURES HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO PROTECT IT FROM THEFT OR SEIZURE, PENDING WHEN AGREEMENT IS REACHED ON WHEN AND HOW TO MOVE IT INTO ANY OF YOUR NOMINATED BANK ACCOUNTS. I HAVE PERSONALLY WORKED OUT ALL MODALITIES FOR THE PEACEFUL CONCLUSION OF THIS TRANSACTION. THE TRANSACTION DEFINITELY WOULD BE HANDLED IN PHASES AND THE FIRST PHASE WILL INVOLVE THE MOVING OF US$25,000,000.00(TWENTY FIVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS ). MY CLIENTS ARE WILLING TO GIVE YOU A REASONABLE PERCENTAGE OF THIS MONEY AS SOON AS THE TRANSACTIONIS CONCLUDED.
I WILL, HOWEVER, BASED ON THE GROUNDS THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH US AND ALSO ALL CONTENTIOUS ISSUES DISCUSSED BEFORE THE COMMENCEMENT OF THIS TRANSACTION. YOU MAY ALSO DISCUSS YOUR PERCENTAGE BEFORE WE START TO WORK. AS SOON AS I HEAR FROM YOU, I WILL GIVE YOU ALL NECESSARY DETAILS AS TO HOW WE INTEND TO CARRY OUT THE WHOLE TRANSACTION. PLEASE, DO NOT ENTERTAIN ANY FEARS,AS ALL NECESSARY MODALITIES ARE IN PLACE, AND I ASSURE YOU OF ALL SUCCESS AND SAFETY IN THIS TRANSACTION. PLEASE, THIS TRANSACTION REQUIRES ABSOLUTE CONFIDENTIALITY AND YOU WOULD BE EXPECTED TO TREAT IT AS SUCH UNTIL THE FUNDS ARE MOVED OUT OF THIS COUNTRY.
PLEASE, YOU WILL ALSO IGNORE THIS LETTER AND RESPECT OUR TRUST IN YOU BY NOT EXPOSING THIS TRANSACTION, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED.LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU.THANK YOU.
TRULY YOURS,
BARRISTER PHILLIP MUAZU ESQ.
NOTE: ALL FURTHER CORRESPONDENCE SHOULD BE MADE THROUGH p.muazu@caramail.
« hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:27 AM | Link | Odd § |
*ow* effing™ *ow*Got a few hours extra sleep, but it wasn't "good quality" sleep. The damn pinched nerve in my neck is actually scaring me a bit. The nerve fires if I've got my head in the wrong position when I sleep, sending what seems like a bazillion volts of current from the right side of my lower jaw, down the right side of my neck, usually causing me to actually vocalize my pain through a grunt or squeal like a little school girl. Not pleasant. Then, on some occasions, it fires for a few seconds, causing the muscles to pulsate. Ew. Ow.
Ok, let's add on a GERD issue at 3:30 in the morning, and then waking up and finding out it's 11 degrees outside... I don't want to be up... I just want to sleep some more... OW!
posted at 09:33 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday, January 10, 2003
My 'hoodWent out to GeoURL.com and got my blog all setup so that it's now identified by my home latitude/longitude. The really cool thing is that the website pulls coordinates from everyone that registers and produces a list of my geographic "neighbors". Click on the button and you'll see everyone within 100 miles of me!
posted at 09:51 PM | Link | Blogging § |
Friday 5 - Right Now
Time for another Friday Five...
1. Where are you right now? Sitting in my cubicle at work, drinking coffee
2. What time is it? about 9:40am
3. What are you wearing? This is starting to sound like an obscene phone call... Forest green cotton button-down shirt, black pants.
4. Any people or animals around you? Describe them. My cube is in the middle of 18 empty cubes. There are coworkers down the hall, but I'm alone.
5. What are your plans for the weekend? Wolves hockey Sunday afternoon. Oh, and sleep as much as I can.
posted at 09:41 AM | Link | Friday Five § |
*yawn*I'm tired. No, I'm tired. I feel like I'm not recovering over the stress of last week. Like a Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome thing. I'm exhausted. I'm getting a good night's sleep. I just don't get it.... Even the fresh ground coffee at work doesn't help. (Did I ever mention that I've got a grinder here at work? It's nice being able to pick your beans, grind them and brew them for your morning fix.)
posted at 08:33 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Thursday, January 09, 2003
Ah, yes... the Fantasy Rampage...(Snagged from Quinn) This piece from The Onion just somehow feels right and just about fits every convenience store clerk I can remember doing business with - Twelve Customers Gunned Down in Convenience-Store Clerk's Imagination
posted at 09:33 AM | Link | Odd § |
Downhill from hereA very nice day yesterday - sunny, temps in the 50's. By the weekend, the lows will be in the single digits. At least this morning the sun was out - bright, night a cloud in the sky. Of course, it's a bit difficult when you're driving to work, the sun is low on the horizon, and you are driving into it... The wind is supposed to pick up and the temps drop this afternoon.
Saw something that my little warped mind thought was interesting. In the morning, while I'm taking Higgins all the way to the office, where it does that little jog around Oakton and Busse, just as you make that turn from Oakton onto Higgins, if you look straight down Higgins, you can see the tower at O'Hare at what looks to be the end of the road. In fact, you can see the old tower as well (the one by the airport Hilton). As you get closer, you lose sight of them. And there's some sort of forced-perspective thing going on because the towers look big and close. It's probably the same effect that makes the moon look big when it's on the horizon, when in reality, if you measure it, it really didn't change size at all.
I know, big deal. I thought it was cool.
posted at 08:34 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Wednesday, January 08, 2003
Wolves 4 - Moose 2
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Our "puck boys" are back in town at the Allstate Arena. Today is the first game (of three) that the Wolves are wearing their special "College-Style" jerseys which, of course, will be auctioned-off of Sunday. I think they're nice looking, but this is the first promotional jersey that they've worn that I've felt no compelling drive to purchase. The "College Style" to me is just... bland. In the East Lobby, they had the Calder Cup on display (complete with the Wolves championship roster affixed to the appropriate location). The Calder Cup is just so... cheesy-looking. I want a tiered cup, like Lord Stanley's or even the IHL's old Turner Cup (which we won twice) instead of this style.
The Wolves are playing the Manitoba Moose tonight. We enjoy going to these games for two major reasons. The first is to be able to sing the Canadian National Anthem (which we think is the best National Anthem to sing, and Wayne Messmer does a great job of it. Oh, and it's in our key). I know it's a minor thing, but it's fun.
The second thing is because of one specific Moose player: Jimmy Roy (pronounced "Roy" and not "Wah"). We just hate this guy. He's been with the Moose since '97, back in the IHL, back when the Moose were still in Minnesota. He's just a punk. But for some reason, he doesn't act that way on his home ice, so his fans have no idea what he's like when he's in Chicago.
We started taunting Roy starting with the opening face-off. If he was on the ice, we taunted him. When I mean "we", I mean groups of specific fans all around the Allstate Arena. Specifically, it's a chant: "Ro-oy! Ro-oy! Ro-oy! YOU SUCK!!!" It started across the ice by Sock Boy, it went upstairs to The Rafter Rats, and then it would come down to us - The Penalty Box Police. (A side note - That's what our group is called. First, it's our primary responsibility to "police" the visitors penalty box and hassle them as much as we can. Secondly, there are some Chicago Cops in the group, so Penalty Box Police is a bit fitting. We even have patches to wear on our jerseys (yes, we all wear jerseys).) We were chanting in a round. Anytime he was on the ice, we all took turns and hounded him.
Jump forward - it's the end of the second period, Roy is in some kind of skirmish with Dallas Eakins, and the two are being escorted off the ice to keep them apart. It was reported later that Eakins said to Roy "How does it feel to be a career minor-leaguer?'' Well, that just set him off and he gets a 2 minute unsportsmanlike conduct and a 10-minute misconduct. He starts the 3rd period in the penalty box, and , for all intents and purposes, he's ours. We start laying into him, but this time (for a change) he's not really reacting to us (I think that's another reason why we hassle this guy - there was a few times where we got to him, he reacted to us, and we totally took him out of the game. He was ineffective on the ice.) We weren't paying too much attention to the game, we're focused on Roy. Then, at 3:47 into the period, Andre Payette gets a 10-minute misconduct as well. This guy has been in the ECHL and was signed on New Years Eve for a try out. Naturally, we have to get into his head, so we start our taunting - and he reacts. Oh, that's all we need! from then on, it was the hell with Roy, we're after Payette. He reacts often. He was talking to Roy in the box (who remained calm and just served his time), and it was obvious they were talking about the taunting. After it was all over, Jimmy Roy never played another minute in the game (we lost track of Payette).
The Moose goaltender Alex Auld was unfreakingbelieveable in net. He made saves that just seemed totally impossible. In the end, even though he lost 4-2, his 33 saves made him the #1 star of the game. (A great quote from the Winnipeg Sun: Chicago Wolves coach John Anderson summed up Alex Auld's performance as only someone from the Windy City so eloquently can. "He was playing out of his friggin' mind".)Our goalie, Frederic Cassivi did a pretty good job as well, considering he hasn't seen much action since before Thanksgiving. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:29 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Celebrity Mole Hawaii - Episode 1
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Damn it, they've gone and messed-up a GREAT (and one of my favorite) Reality TV Shows!!!!
ABC aired the first episode (of 6) of Celebrity Mole Hawaii. Crap. Good structure, bad implementation. Seven "celebrities" (and I use the term very loosely) in the competition with <shudder> Ahmad Rashad as the host (in place of Anderson Cooper, who is now firmly stationed at CNN, thank you very much. The "celebrities" are Stephen Baldwin (“Usual Suspects”, the only credit for something legitimate), Corbin Bernsen (“L.A. Law” and "Major League"), Michael Boatman (“Spin City” and ""Arli$$), Kim Coles ("In Living Color" and “Living Single”), supermodel Frederique Van Der Wal, Kathy Griffin (“Suddenly Susan”), and Erik von Detten (“Princess Diaries” and another ABC "hit" "Dinotopia"). Ewwww. ( Here's a great quote from Kathy Griffin: "I have gone from 'B-List' to 'D-List,'" she said in an interview. "I skipped 'C' altogether. I jumped right to 'D.'" )
Now, in case you haven't heard, there was a fire December 17th at the Hollywood Center Studios, where the show was being edited. Stone Stanley Entertainment (the production company) had issued a press release just yesterday saying they were able to make the premiere date today!!! (2500 tapes and hundreds of computer hard drives, as well as written logs were completely immersed in 3 feet of murky water used to douse the fire).
The show just doesn't feel right technically. The edits are poor, perhaps because there wasn't enough of recovered footage to make clean, flowing edits. The incidental music feels weird. Maybe they rushed the editing? On top of that, the press release doesn't say anything about the rest of the episodes - are they edited yet? Also, every single commercial break seems to lead with a tease for the next segment which I don't remember the show doing before.
So the first game was called "On The Line". While one player hangs from a zip line 50-feet over a waterfall, the other players must navigate them to buckets placed around the canyon walls. That player must then fill each with water, navigate back and empty its contents into a container counterbalanced with a moneybag that must be raised to win. Stephen Baldwin completes the task quickly. Frederique fails to beat his time, but Michael Boatman succeeds, adding $20,000 of $30,000 possible into the pot. The second game was called "Baa Baa Black Jack" Ahmad, wearing a white cowboy hat, stands behind a blackjack table and deals a hand for himself: a 3 and a queen, totaling 13. The object of the game are for three teams of two to corral 2 of 52 sheep (each marked as a playing card), beating Ahmad's hand. Only Erik von Detten and Frederique succeed in getting two sheep in the pen and win with 19. Because Stephen sat-out, he had a special game: catch "The Mole Sheep" (one wearing the Mole Logo) that is out with the other playing card sheep, and he will double the pot and earn himself an exemption. He does it successfully. Time for dinner and an execution, where we see the familiar Red Thumbprint come up for Kim Coles, and she leaves.
Accomodations Provided by The Fairmont Orchid Hawaii.
I just don't know if I can stomach the bastardization of the show. At least they've kept all of the game elements intact (even the fact that the players keep the money, unheard of in celebrity versions of shows). « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:14 PM | Link | The Mole § |
"Joe Millionaire" killsCrap. The premiere of Joe Millionaire this week was the highest-rated premiere of the season on any network -- scripted or unscripted -- in adults 18-49 and 18-34 (key demographics) with 18.61 million viewers overall. The audience makeup was roughly 42 percent male (compared to 31 percent male for "The Bachelor" - that must be a Fox "thing"). That 18-49 rating is higher than every episode of CBS' "Survivor Thailand" earlier this season, and better than all but the finale of ABC's most recent edition of "The Bachelor."
posted at 12:12 PM | Link | Reality TV § |
Long live The KingIt's Elvis' birthday today. Well, if he were alive that is. Somehow, I never knew his birthday was only 4 days after mine. Oh, well. I never really followed him at all, though I'm starting to dig some of his music (mostly just his hits - probably because of some irrational sense of nostalgia). "Viva Las Vegas" has also become our official vacation theme music - we play it in the rental car when leaving McCarran Airport when we get to town.
posted at 08:47 AM | Link | Odd § |
Tuesday, January 07, 2003
I guess he's in town...I love working near O'Hare. I can watch some of the air traffic and I'm close enough to get good signal on my portable radio scanner, so I can listen to O'Hare Approach, Tower, and Ground at my desk (OK, so it's a little weird). It's also very cool to see the Marine helicopters fly by the window to take Dubya off to his speech to unveil his alleged Economic Incentive plans... (I didn't hear him come in or see him, but the Ground controllers were moving some ground traffic away from him.)
posted at 11:32 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Flashing Red LightsThere is nothing that screws up traffic more than flashing red lights at an intersection. If there was an accident, traffic would still get through the intersection faster than trying to get through an intersection whose traffic signals are blinking red. Cripes. Not like I really wanted to get to work early or anything...
posted at 07:49 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, January 06, 2003
Joe Millionaire - Episode 1
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Oh, oh... here it is: Fox's new reality show Joe Millionaire. I don't know, it's such a "Fox'y" twist on things, but I just can't imagine this guy not blowing his cover by the end of the show. I don't know, I think I'm also questioning is $19,000 job (seems low for a heavy equipment operator) and the fact that he's 28 and still doesn't have anybody in his life. The whole gold-digging aspect of the show is almost unsettling and uneasy to watch since the audience knows the secret and the girls do not. The biggest rumor going around is that this is not all there is to this reality show - that the producers may have still another twist up their sleeve before the curtain falls on Joe (actually, he's Evan Wallace Marriott. Gee.. I Wonder why they don't use his full name?) And I just like Paul the Butler. Oh, The Smoking Gun says that Evan has been cited for "toll evasion" for blowing through a toll plaza on State Road 73 near Irvine, California on September 25. He paid a $104 fine for what could have been somewhere between 50 cents and $2.50 in tolls. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:02 PM | Link | Reality TV § |
Wow! My first one!After a too long day at work (a tape-copy operation that took way too long), I came home to find... a box from Amazon.com. Not a big deal as I had pre-ordered Cory Doctorow's "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" and it should be shipping around now. But then I opened the box to find... a wrapped present! Well, that was a new one to me! It had a card on the gift: "happy birthday (it might be a couple days past, but who says it can't be a birthday week or month!??!!) cheers!! hope all is swell!!!!" There's another envelope in the box, the front reads: "DON'T RUIN YOUR SURPRISE Open your gift before this envelope".
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So, naturally, I tore into the wrapping to find... the Special Edition DVD of Monty Python and the Holy Grail!!! Cool! OK, now who sent this??? So I opened the envelope and... it's just the packing slip. Wait... up on the Billing Address... it's my Blogmom Erin!!! This is my first gift that I've got from my Amazon Wishlist that wasn't from my family... and it came from my blogging family! This is so cool! Erin, thank you so very much! (So this is how it looks when you send an Amazon gift! Thanks!) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 07:06 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Busy-nessBack at work after what feels like a very long time. Relatively busy. I mean riding a Help Desk has it's moments of non-stop phone calls and what could be sheer boredom. Fortunately, I have "other duties as assigned" in my job description, so I'm doing some weekly tape copies for off-site storage and building a notebook for a user in Kansas City. Keeping busy. Busy = good. Of course, I wouldn't mind some downtime to read some blogs...
posted at 04:21 PM | Link | Work § |
Sunday, January 05, 2003
Great dinner
Salad, beef roast with a little horseradish sauce on the side, green beans with garlic, egg noddles in olive oil and herbs, rolls, tiramisu for dessert. That's what Carol cooked for us as my family came over to sort of celebrate my birthday, but more of getting Mom out of the house and just being together. Job well done. Yes, it was a birthday party of sorts, but it was better just sitting around and talking about the events of the past week. I really think that we are just fine.
posted at 09:27 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, January 04, 2003
Harry at the movies...
It's a good time to start catching-up on our movie viewing, so it's off to the AMC South Barrington 30 to catch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Well, 3:50 on a Saturday afternoon is still a bad time to see the movie, as a) it was a full house, and b) people are still bringing toddlers to see the film. This film, though good, is still much darker than the first, and there's just no friggin' way a kid that age is going to sit through a movie that's 161 minutes long. Toddlers just don't understand "movie theater etiquette". Use some judgment, people. Oh, and we went out afterward for my birthday dinner at... umm... Steak n Shake (Hey, it was my choice) and came home and watched Hildi go nuts again on Trading Spaces.
posted at 07:15 PM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |
Oh, those wacky TSA rent-a-cops...I love Penn & Teller. I've seen them in Vegas, caught their TV specials. Penn Jillette had a problem when going through security at McCarran Airport in Las vegas back in November. As Penn says - "You have to ask me before you touch me or it's assault." And you just know that Penn knows his rights... Oh, and check out a new product that Penn talks about - "The Bill of Rights, Security Edition," which are "playing card size copies of the Bill of Rights printed on metal. With the 4th Amendment in red." Fun for airport security checkpoints.
posted at 02:24 PM | Link | Odd § |
I don't think I'd survive there...
Really cool QuickTime VR photo of New Year's in Time Square by Jook Leung from a great site full of panoramas at www.panoramas.dk. Be sure to checkout his panaorama of The Tribute In Light memorial as well.
posted at 01:34 PM | Link | Odd § |
Happy Birthday to MEWell, it's here! Another birthday - Number 46. Hopefully it'll be a good way to end such a crappy week! I have nothing planned (as I mentioned in the Friday Five), though the sister and Mom are coming over tomorrow. Nothing big. Hey, why not pop a comment or sign my GuestMap and let me know you're out there somewhere!
posted at 09:36 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday, January 03, 2003
Friday 5 - Personal Decorations
Time for another Friday Five...
1. Do you wear any jewelry? What kind? Just my wedding ring, and a watch if I want to wear it (it's a bit large).
2. How often do you wear it? Umm, the wedding ring doesn't come off unless I shower (weird, eh?) The watch has more to do with where I'm going, what I'm wearing, since my cell phone (which is always on my belt) has the correct time I don't have to rely on the watch.
3. Do you have any piercings? If so, where? Nope, none.
4. Do you have any tattoos? If so, where? Nope, none.
5. What are your plans for the weekend? My birthday is tomorrow and nothing is planned. It's a bad enough week. The stress of all this happening just over New Year's and before my birthday is a bit draining. Time to recharge.
posted at 11:13 PM | Link | Friday Five | 4 comments § |
Wolves 3 - Griffins 4
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The Wolves scored the first goal of the game just 49 seconds into the game, but I knew this was going to be a hard game for the Wolves to win - they haven't been playing well of late and the Griffins have. The Wolves stayed in it, and it was a give an take the entire game - 2-2 after the 1st, 3-3 after the 2nd, but the boys came up one short and lost. That's three straight losses, and it feels like the boys are starting a freefall. They're trying, but they're not coming together.
As promised, in the middle of the 1st intermission we lifted a cup of Bud Light to our missing parents. OK, so it wasn't the greatest choice to toast with, but this is the Allstate Arena - there's not much to chose from here.
The week is over. It's time to rest-up. It's been very exhausting.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:50 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Thank youTo those who left comments here, I sincerely Thank You.
To those who sent private EMails, I sincerely Thank You.
To those who took the time and effort to actually come to the visitation and/or funeral, my family and I humbly Thank You.
To any one else that stopped by here and did neither, but had a little tug on your "heart strings" seeing the prior post, Thank You.
I needed time away from the Bloggerverse to spend on and with my family. The days have been absolutely exhausting. I'm back and will startup again.
Oh, and Happy New Year!
There's a Wolves game tonight, and I felt I needed to go and decompress watching a hockey game. But this afternoon, I knew that in a weird way, I had to go.
After the funeral, after the cemetery, we were having the usual post-cemetery lunch at the White Eagle in Niles. That's just where you go after being at St. Adelbert's Cemetery which is right across the street. The place is well known for its Polish grub and the place is huge and busy with the dozens of funerals having their luncheons here. The place just churns funerals during the day.
Anyway, we're in one of the many banquet rooms. As usual, there must have been three or four other funeral luncheons in that particular room. During lunch, I happened to look up and saw, across the room, the back of a Chicago Police Officer. There's something about the gestures and the bald spot on the back of his head that looks really familiar. I grab Carol and we walk over, and it's Bob, one our our buddies that sits 4 rows down from us at the Wolves Games. He's there because his Mom died, on Monday, six hours after my Dad.
Weird.
Bob and Chris didn't know if he really wanted to go to the game tonight, but after seeing us, they've decided to go.
We've also decided to hoist a beer for our parents at the game tonight. In a twisted sort of way, it just seemed like the right thing to do.
posted at 04:17 PM | Link | Mundane § |
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