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This is an archive collection of entries from  my main personal blog, My Mundane Mid-Life.

This collection of entries is from March 2003.

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Monday, March 31, 2003

Baseball at work

I've got RealOne Player open and listening to MLB Gameday Audio of the White Sox season opener in Kansas City. Of course, I don't like the content (we're losing), though the quality is fine. Opening Day at the office... ahhhhh...
Update: Royals 3 White Sox 0

posted at 03:36 PM | Link | Baseball § |
... the boys in the newsroom got a running bet...

Note to all News Producers, both at national networks and on local stations: knock it off with dragging widows and families of war casualties on the air and asking "how do you feel?" or "what are you going to do?" or "what are you going to tell your children?" and other crap like that. The American public doesn't want to see this. The American public doesn't need to see this. Is it absolutely necessary to personalize the war, to "put a face" on the war, that America must endure the grief and suffering of every casualty or MIA? I'm tired of what feels like the need to fill time about the war during every newscast or, heaven forbid, each segment of the national news channels. Is it necessary to show a wife bawling over her lost husband, in front of all of America? Enough already. Report the facts, cut down the speculation, and stop humiliating these poor families in their time of grief and sorrow.

posted at 02:26 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Damn cable modem...

Can you see any photos or graphics on this site??? No??? Didn't think so. Thank you cable company. Now I'm going to have to move my images someplace else that's "real" instead of hosting them from home. An awful lot of work, but in the long run, probably a better thing to do. I shouldn't have tried to secure them and serve them from home. Oh, well... I'm still pissed at the company, though. If I can't get to my home net, then the connectivity must be down still again. Well, at least I'm blogging from work... ooops! I don't think I should have said that...
Update: Down @ 08:46 Up @ 18:26 after a lousy phone call where all they could do is "dispatch a tech" on Wednesday... and the link magically comes up 3 minutes after I hang up the damn phone...

posted at 10:27 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Meigs Field is gone???

Screen Capture of local news coverage on the secret demolition of Meigs Field
What the hell is Richie up to??? Overnight, he closed Meigs Field indefinately and had backhoes carve large X's into the runway so no one can land there. He demolishing Meigs Field and didn't tell anybody!?!?!?! Problem? How to get the 12 planes that are stranded there off the field. What the hell is he doing? Why was this a secret??? What is the mayor up to??? Homeland security concerns?
Update: WGN video report at Chicago Tribune FeedRoom

posted at 06:43 AM | Link | Current Events § |

Sunday, March 30, 2003

Can you hear that? It's my clock! It's ticking again!

Well, at 7:16 PM CST, all became alright in my little, twisted world. Why? Because at 5:16 PM PST, John Lackey pitched a ball to Doug Glanville, and the 2003 Season of Major League Baseball is underway. Aaahhhhhh... baseball...
Update: Final - Texas 6 Anaheim 3

posted at 09:57 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Penny Stock

Shares of My Mundane Mid-Life are listed at BlogShares
I had to jump in and get myself registered. Have a blog? want to "buy" some cheap stock? Check out BlogShares. It's not fully in production yet, but it's a place to "buy" and "sell" shares in your blog. Think blogging meets HSX. Could be fun.
Update: Out of Beta, into production. And I'm under a buck! ($ 0.96 with a P/E of 1.03 - and not a single investor!)

posted at 04:00 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Comcast not much better

I got a replacement cable modem from AT&T Broadband. THey wanted me to swap out my existing modem. No big deal, but one thing that I know from my experience with the cable company - no matter who they may be - is that I'm skeptical about their actions. I swapped the modem yesterday and was satisfied with the performance. Today - different story. The modem has lost connectivity at least twice and the DNS servers keep bouncing. Net result: sucky internet connectivity. Damn cable companies...

posted at 01:29 PM | Link | Mundane § |

Saturday, March 29, 2003

Wolves 2 - Bears 2

Chicago Wolves Hershey Bears

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:11 PM | Link | Wolves § |

Friday, March 28, 2003

Fish

Mom on duty cutting pies The nerve center of the Fish Fry - the kitchen The crowd enjoying the Fish Fry
Time for the annual trek to the old parish and go to St. Ferdinand's Fish Fry. Mom still works there every week during Lent, cutting cakes. Tonight, though, was pies. When we got there it was crowded as usual. We put our orders in, got a table, and I was off to find mom. It took a while - I found the pies, didn't find her. I took a lap around the place and when I got back I saw her, so I snuck up and took her picture. She then took me on a quick tour of the Fish Fry Nerve Center. By the time I got back to the table, the fish was already there. The fish is always pretty decent. The special of the week was corn on the cob and apple pie a la mode (very tasty). We missed Polish night and the free pierogi. Next week is Philippine night and free eggrolls. It's a great money maker for the parish and a great place for the community to socialize. The downswide of the evening? Ray Charles singing "America" over the P.A. for the one and a half hours that we were there, over and over and over and over and over ...

posted at 08:35 PM | Link | Mundane § |
The size of a Volkswagen bug?

So I guess the flash of light I saw was from a meteorite "the size of a Volkswagen bug". OK, it was that big when it started to enter the atmosphere. The largest piece they've seen was about 7˝ pounds, mostly gravel-sized to softball-sized. One 5-pounder crashed into a house. There were a handful of homes hit by pieces - no one hurt. It is rare - very rare - for a meteorite to hit a populated area.

posted at 12:34 PM | Link | Odd § |
Friday 5 - Your place in the world

The Friday Five
Time for another Friday Five...
1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week? Toasting what would have been my dad's 89th birthday
2. What one person touched your life this week? I don't recall anybody touching me. (That sounds weird...)
3. How have you helped someone this week? All I've done is my help desk work - I've helped my user community, but I think I can honestly say that I don't believe I've helped mankind this week.
4. What one thing do you need to get done by this time next week? Get the day off so that I can go to the White Sox Home Opener!
5. What one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place? I have nothing planned. Perhaps my little world would be really a better place if I can get my taxes done...

posted at 06:46 AM | Link | Friday Five § |

Thursday, March 27, 2003

Reality TV updates

ABC has decided to put The Family on hiatus until the summer - similar to what they did to Mole 2 last year. I like the concept of the show - I just don't like the family itself.

Speaking of The Mole, ABC has ordered seven hour-long episodes of another Celebrity Mole from Stone Stanley Entertainment, with casting set to begin immediately. The series is being targeted for either summer or even perhaps fall. Oh, great - Ahmad Rashad is expected to return as host.

Amazing Race 4 should have started by now. It was bumped when CBS ordered another series of Star Search, and there have been "unexpected delays" in production (wonder what that means... maybe they ordered more Star Search because of the delays?) and we're probably looking at summer for that one as well.

Big Brother 4 auditions are in full swing. Applications are due April 18.

posted at 06:33 PM | Link | Reality TV § |
Flash of light

I was sitting on the couch last night before midnight, surfing the channels, when I saw this flash of light outside. It didn't strike me as too odd - it had been raining earlier, and I just thought it was lightning. There wasn't any sound of thunder afterward, which isn't too unusual, so I didn't pay too much attention to it. That is, until this morning when I heard on the news that I wasn't the only one that saw it - people from Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and (allegedly) Ohio saw it, too. This was in today's Chicago Tribune:

In a suburb south of Chicago several homes were struck by what appear to be chunks of meteorite. The falling objects pierced the roofs of two homes and the Park Forest fire station, but no one was injured, said Park Forest Police Capt. Francis DioGuardi.
Weird.

posted at 06:44 AM | Link | Mundane § |

Wednesday, March 26, 2003

I forgot TiVo did that...

TiVo!
This is the first time I've actually seen this information published. I had forgotten that TiVo acquired data and sent it back to TiVo Central Command, or whatever it's called wherever it is... TiVo reported on what its subscribers did during last Sunday's Oscar telecast.

The single most paused or freeze-framed event of the live show was the stage entrance of presenter Julia Roberts.
... the speeches by Mr. Moore, best documentary winner, and Mr. Brody, best actor winner, were the most rewound and replayed segments of the program.
The measurement of audience behavior was based on a review of 10,000 of TiVo anonymous subscribers' viewing patterns during the broadcast.

For those of you that don't know, TiVo actually records every remote control button press along with content information of what was being watched - that's how they were able to come up with this info.

posted at 11:17 AM | Link | Mundane § |
89

Dad with some of his birthday presents
He would have been 89 today if he just would have lived three more months. Our little family had our last birthday with him a year ago this past weekend. A year ago today, I was doing my Radiation Therapy Chauffeur™ duty, bringing him to Loyola for still another radiation treatment. I look back on both of those days, and it was evident that I thought he was lucky and we had more time. I never thought that he wouldn't see 89. I've included a picture of him from his last birthday. Tonight, I'll hoist a drink for him, quietly at home, missing him like a son would. Happy Birthday, Dad.

posted at 09:24 AM | Link | Family | 2 comments § |
Limbs on the Lawn

A very bare locust and a pile of branches Fresh new cuts in our maple tree The tree trimming crew works its way through the neighborhood
I saw the devastation when I got home last night, but it was getting dark and I couldn't really get the effect. This morning, in the sun, it was easy to see. Hoffman Estates started trimming the trees on my block and they really hacked-up my trees. They said they were trimming the low branches, dead branches, and any branches that were "hazardous", as well as a few branches to promote the correct growth for the tree. Well, our two locusts were chopped back pretty dramatically. Out poor little maple in the front also got hacked-up pretty well. Its pile of branches had at least one main branch with buds on it. Man, i hope they know what they're doing - these trees look empty.

posted at 08:10 AM | Link | Mundane § |

Tuesday, March 25, 2003

OK, so she flies...

Screen Capture of the CBS Special "Celine in Las Vegas... Opening Night Live!" - Celine sings "I've got the World on a String" Screen Capture of the CBS Special "Celine in Las Vegas... Opening Night Live!" - Celine and the cast fly as she sings "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
So, Celine flies... she's pretty damn high in the air, too. Hope they check the cables very regularly. I found the segments from the stage show on the CBS Special tonight entertaining, but I still don't think I'd spend the $200 for a ticket..

posted at 09:36 PM | Link | Mundane § |
A New Day???

I had TiVo'd Oprah yesterday to see her show about Celine Dion's new show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas called A New Day... that opens today. Since we love Vegas, and the show was produced by Franco Dragone, the producer of the Cirque du Soleil show at Bellagio, "O", and it's in the brand new Colosseum at Caesars, we wanted to see what this was all about. The show looks really good. The stage is friggin' huge - 120 feet wide - even if she had all 58 performers onstage. No seat in the theater is further than 120 feet from the stage. Now, on the downside - First, Oprah was fawning way the hell too much. I've never really seen Celine at home and, in my opinion, she may be a great performer, but I think she's a bit on the loony side. The main downside to the show? Cost of the ticket. 2nd Mezzanine is $87.50, 1st Mezzanine is $127.50, Orchestra is $150, and VIP/Orchestra is $200! Don't you think that's a little outrageous? (The highest ticket for "O" is $110) They only showed two numbers from the show and they were OK. The stage has the world's largest LED background used on stage - and it's used well. We'll have to see if this is just all hype or if she can sustain 4,000 people a night in that theater. Oh, and that's at 200 shows per year of her three year contract. CBS is airing a special tonight about opening night. Wonder if they'll show more.

posted at 11:41 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Flag on the lawn

A sure sign of spring in the front yard
Another true sign of spring - as I was leaving for work this morning I noticed the plastic flag on the lawn. Trugreen had come for the first lawn treatment of the year. Can't wait to get rid of the brown, crunchy grass.

posted at 07:56 AM | Link | Mundane § |

Monday, March 24, 2003

Dragged

The day just dragged - I'm just too tired after staying up for the Oscars and eating too much at B&B's. The drive home, though, was wonderful. It was truly a spring day. The temps were in the low 70's and it was warm. It just felt so good, I can't explain it. The weather for the rest of the week goes downhill again, but today... today was great.

posted at 07:02 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Groggy

Whoa! I'm not awake. I don't remember much of the ride to work. I didn't sleep well last night at all - I kept thinking I was hearing noises in the house. When the alarm went off, I could barely get my arm flopped over to turn the blasted thing off. In the process of making a super-strong pot-o-coffee hoping that will actually get my brain to twitch correctly. Sleep. Mmmm... sleeeeeeep...

posted at 08:11 AM | Link | Mundane § |

Sunday, March 23, 2003

Oscar Night

We went to Barry & Buffy's (B&B's) for our annual Oscar Party. We got there at our usual time, but this year without a Red Carpet, there was nothing to really watch. And I mean that - Joan Rivers was lost doing her thing on E! and the director and camera people just couldn't handle shooting the stars arriving in their limos. We could see a damn thing. We wound up yelling at the TV much more than we normally would. I thought the Oscar telecast was great. Steve Martin did a fabulous job (though, at times, it felt like he was a bit too "mean" and it sure looked like Salma Hayek was pretty pissed off at him), the show had a great pace and never seemed to lull. Other than Michael Moore's statements, everyone else, when referencing the war, always had what we thought was a "good perspective" as what to say - pro-peace, pro-support for the troops. Going back to Salma, I though she looked great. Actually, I didn't think there were any bad looks this year... although Carmen Diaz needed some work on the hair, and maybe Geena Davis, too (didn't like the dark, stringy hair), and I hate to say it but Jennifer Garner bodice was just a wee-bit too tight. The show ended at 3 1/2 hours, so you gotta love that. Upsets? How about Eminem for Best Song? Best actor Adrien Brody and best actress Nicole Kidman seemed to be surprises, but both deserving.

posted at 11:51 PM | Link | Mundane § |

Saturday, March 22, 2003

White Sox Open House

Well, here it is spring, and it's only fitting that Carol & I head down to Comiskey park for a Season Ticket Holder Open House for the team to show-off what they're doing inside the park for renovations.

read more of this entry »


posted at 01:52 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Friday, March 21, 2003

Wolves 3 - Americans 2 (Overtime)

Chicago Wolves Rochester Americans

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posted at 10:47 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Teddy

As we were watching the media last night, there was a point where every local channel as well as CNN was covering the anti-war protests down on Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue. We couldn't get away from seeing Chicago on the TV. I saw this at Robyn's site and had to republish it here. Between seeing the demonstrations, hearing about the Dixie Chicks, hearing about a lawyer being arrested for trespass by security guards in a mall for wearing a Peace t-shirt, it just seems appropriate:

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."

- President Theodore Roosevelt

posted at 02:46 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Grover is Bitter

Lets get away from the damn war for a while, and let's take a stroll over to Grover is Bitter - Yes, that lovable monster from Sesame Street has actually had a hard life. Born in Queens as Grovski Carbunkle back in the mid 50's, he was the star of Sesame Street for quite a while. Then he wasn't picked to be on The Muppet Show, and he started to drink, hang with hookers, and do drugs. He had a short recording career, but he doesn't remember it. Things changed - Mr. Hooper died, Snuffleupagus and Maria had broken up with David and taken up with Luis, and then he came by: Elmo.

posted at 01:37 PM | Link | Odd § |
No shockenaw?

So, we may not see this "Shock and Awe" attack on Iraq after all. Now, it seems like we going after Baghdad with what's being described as "exemplary destruction." There's anti-aircraft fire in Baghdad now, so there's something going on, though someone said that it's "too early" for the attack. Humpf. It's sounding more like Saddam is alive and the speculation about... Oops, no here we go. Here comes the air assault on Baghdad...

posted at 12:01 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Friday 5 - Different

The Friday Five
Time for another Friday Five...
1. If you had the chance to meet someone you've never met, from the past or present, who would it be? Frank Sinatra. Actually, anyone from the Rat Pack. No, no... the entire Rat Pack, backstage, waiting to go onstage at the Sands...
2. If you had to live in a different century, past or future, which would it be? Future, though not too far - not sure humans would be around!
3. If you had to move anywhere else on Earth, where would it be? An island, private, somewhat large, South Pacific. Hey, I can dream...
4. If you had to be a fictional character, who would it be? Superman. Love that flying thing.
5. If you had to live with having someone else's face as your own for the rest of your life, whose would it be? Mel Gibson. Don't know why.

posted at 06:59 AM | Link | Friday Five § |

Thursday, March 20, 2003

Is he dead?

Interesting story that's coming out in tomorrow's Washington Post - Hussein's Fate Still Uncertain. It has some very interesting pieces of information, such as:

U.S. intelligence officials believe Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, possibly accompanied by one or both of his powerful sons, was still inside a compound in southern Baghdad early yesterday when it was struck by a barrage of U.S. bombs and cruise missiles.
"The preponderance of the evidence is he was there when the building blew up," said one senior U.S. official with access to sensitive intelligence. The official added that Hussein's sons, Qusay and Uday, may also have been at the compound. "He didn't get out" beforehand, another senior official said of the Iraqi president.

A third administration official said "there is evidence that he [Hussein] was at least injured" because of indications that medical attention was urgently summoned on his behalf. The condition of Hussein's sons, and any others who may have been at the compound, was also unknown, officials said.

... the government also consulted Parisoula Lampsos, who the Defense Department believes has passed a polygraph examination in support of her claim that she was Hussein's mistress in Iraq for many years. Lampsos has previously distinguished Hussein from his doubles in more than a dozen cases, one official said, and this time she said he was not the man in the broadcast.

posted at 09:43 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Shockenaw?

Carol and I are watching the ABC coverage tonight and we keep hearing this word "shockenaw". It took us a while to realize that the word is actually the phrase "shock and awe", pertaining to the alleged big attack (that hasn't happened yet). It's just weird hearing everyone speculating about "shockenaw", which sounded like some Native American tribe somewhere. I think the pundits and analysts as well as the newscasters need to either drop the phrase or start pronouncing it a bit more distinctly.

posted at 09:25 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Live from Iraq - II

I had mentioned CNN correspondent Kevin Sites blog, but now comes news of another blog - Where is Raed ? This is a blog that's hosted on blog*spot, but the author is apparently in Baghdad, and Paul Boutin has done a little research and believes he is REALLY there.

posted at 06:44 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Cisco buys Linksys

Nuts. I'm not really sure this is a good thing: Cisco Systems Announces Agreement to Acquire The Linksys Group, Inc. I mean, they wouldn't hose-up such a great line of products, would they?

posted at 11:01 AM | Link | Computing § |
CENTCOM

In case you wanted to see it, here's the link to the United States Central Command commanded by General Tommy Franks. There's an entire gallery of all the leaflets that they've dropped since November.

posted at 08:32 AM | Link | Current Events § |
Fog of war?

This morning's fog Traffic lights that are dark
The drive into work was interesting - some of the best fog we've had in a while. It's ben foggy in the morning for almost a week because of all the weird weather coming through. Today, though, was good - visibility in the hundreds of feet in some places. Everybody "played well together" in traffic. But why the hell is it that a single traffic light that's flashing red (or, as in the case this morning, not working at all) can screw up traffic so terribly?

posted at 07:59 AM | Link | Mundane § |

Wednesday, March 19, 2003

EMail the video?

Did I hear this correctly tonight - that the video of the cruise missile being launched from the USS Donald Cook in the Red Sea was emailed to the Pentagon and released to the media from there?

posted at 11:10 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Operation Iraqi Freedom is GO

Ari Fleischer says "The opening stages of the disarmament of the Iraqi regime have begun." Air raid sirens were heard in Baghdad about 15 minutes ago. Of course, it's sounding like it's only a few smart bombs/cruise missles striking some tragets of opportunity. The air raid sirens may be going off, but it's getting to be daylight and there's no sound of bombs, aircraft, anti-aircraft. I don't know - I say it's just a few strikes to get their attention and take out a few strategic targets along the way.

posted at 08:47 PM | Link | Current Events § |

Tuesday, March 18, 2003

Re-design time

Well, I wanted to change the "feel" of this site, so I'm in the middle of a redesign. It's going to take a while to roll all the changes across to all of the pages, so please be patient and don't get too dizzy as you whip back and forth between the new gray pages and the old green pages.

posted at 11:01 PM | Link | Blogging § |
Around television

A bunch of things that caught my eye that have to do with television: CBS may have to dump Round 1 and Round 2 of the NCAA tournament coverage to ESPN/ESPN2, and whatever doesn't fit there would go to on TNN or TV Land. The Academy Awards are still scheduled to go on, even if the war starts by then. Oprah Winfrey wants "The Bachelorette" stars Trista Rehn and her intended, Ryan Sutter, to get married on her show. Oh, no - Discovery Kids is putting together a new series for 8 to 13 year-olds: "Trading Spaces: Boys vs. Girls". If you have a TiVo, did you know that when you zip through those commercials that you actually recall those ads at roughly the same rates as people who see them at normal speed in real time?

posted at 12:32 PM | Link | TV § |
A little disturbing

Anybody else out there a little disturbed by this Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) bug going around? I mean, I don't have much doubt that it's just a naturally occurring bug (versus an engineered one), but it's just a bit nasty and a bit scary. Hopefully it can be identified. At least they've figured out it's not as infectious to the public as airborne viruses. One tourism industry official estimated new tour group bookings to Hong Kong had dropped between 80 and 90 percent over the last few days amid growing fears of the disease.

posted at 09:49 AM | Link | Current Events § |
Maps! Git yer maps here! Can't tell your region without a map!

Back in the last Gulf War, I had purchased aeronautical maps of the entire region, from Iran to the Mediterranean, just to be able to tell where things were and what kind of terrain they were talking about. Well, I dug them up again and scanned a few areas in case you are interested. First, a couple of caveats: 1) These are aeronautical navigation maps - if you know how to read one, you'll understand some of the notations. If you don't, at least you'll see what some of the area looks like 2) Though these are Aeronautical charts, please note: <disclaimer>Not for Navigational Use</disclaimer> 3) The maps are old - 1985 and 1990, so even though the terrain and towns/cities would not have changed, other items like the main 6-lane highway from Kuwait through Iraq didn't exist on the map. I'm sure some of these airports that are listed don't exist either 4) Files are in PDF format

Map 1 - Baghdad - area around the city of Baghdad, Iraq (1.69Mb)
Map 2 - Basra - area around the port city of Basra, Iraq and the gulf (1.727Mb)
Map 3 - Kuwait - the country of Kuwait, up to the city of Basra, Iraq (1.725Mb)
Map 4 - Qatar - the countries of Bahrain and Qatar (1.828Mb)
Map 5 - Tikrit - area from city of Baghdad to Tikrit (Saddam Hussein's hometown) north to Kirkuk (1.804Mb)

For a very complete set of maps, look at the University of Texas at Austin library on Iraq Maps.

posted at 07:59 AM | Link | Current Events § |

Monday, March 17, 2003

Yellow to Orange

The Department of Homeland Security has raised the national terrorism threat level from Yellow (Elevated) to Orange (High) after the speech tonight, because intelligence officials believe terrorists will attempt multiple attacks against U.S. and coalition targets worldwide.

posted at 09:41 PM | Link | Current Events § |
We're on the clock

Well, this is it. We're going to war. Yes, I know, no one has actually said that. Do you honestly believe that something is going to stop this from happening? The amount of military assets in the Gulf region is just too staggering. I think this nation was committed long ago to this war, though we paid lip service to diplomacy - and that's about it: lip service. Now, we just have to embrace and support our troops over there and hope they get through this alive. I may not agree with what they've been told to do, but you must support them doing it. (I think that's where a lot of people have gone haywire recently, thinking that being against the war means you do not support the men and women fighting in it. That's not the case. I can whole-heartedly support them in their assigned duties. I just don't agree with the assignment. And I believe there's a difference between the two.)

Pray that we don't get attacked on our soil as retaliation. Pray that the rest of the world doesn't turn it's back against America for doing this without the support or sanction of the U.N (Even though 1441 can be interpreted as giving the approval). The U.N. has ordered their people out of Iraq, so we're on the clock now.

Any side bets on when it starts? 72 hours? By NCAA start? (Notice I didn't say "March Madness" because, after all, isn't this March Madness???) By the Oscars? By baseball's Opening Day?

Any other side bets, like are the oil fields booby-trapped? Will we see the use of chemical or biological weapons that Iraq said they didn't have? (And if so, will they blame us for their usage?) Will Iraq launch attacks westward (say, toward Israel)? How many of their troops will surrender? Will we even get close to Saddam? How many civilians will die because Saddam has used them as a Human Shield, placing military targets right in the middle of populated areas or near sensitive civilian buildings, like hospitals?

Oh, just in case it's not clearly obvious - I am not taking bets on any of these events.

posted at 01:04 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Tradition

Shamrock Shake from McDonald's
67 degrees. Sunny. Wind: 3 mph. St. Patrick's Day. What to do for lunch? has to be quick, so... McDonald's for a Shamrock Shake!!! Haven't had one of these in a while. What a great day outside. What a quiet day inside. Getting warm in here. It always seems that building automation systems can't handle a quick warm-up outside.

posted at 12:31 PM | Link | Mundane § |

Sunday, March 16, 2003

*achooooo*

Gracie and Chelsea watching "The Food Lady" (Mom)
Went to Mom's. What a wonderful weather day. Mom is watching Gracie and Chelsea, as Diane and Melinda are vacationing in the Turks & Caicos in the British West Indies. Between the dust that I inhaled from that server this afternoon and the dogs today, my allergies are kicking-in big time. I'm miserable.

posted at 09:51 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Gorgeous!!!!

66 degrees and sunny!!!! Gorgeous for Chicago in March!!! Went to CompUSA just to get out of the house. Bought a copy of Adobe Photoshop Album to help sort out my digital image problem. Had a server crash on me this morning. It was sitting near Indy's cage, so it was just full of dust and bunny fur inside. Looks like I lost the drive controller. It sounded like I lost the hard drive. No backup. Need to do that quickly. Looks like I can limp along, because if I unplug the CD-ROM data and power, I can get to the hard drive.

posted at 02:42 PM | Link | Mundane § |

Saturday, March 15, 2003

Wolves 3 - Phantoms 2

Chicago Wolves Philadelphia Phantoms

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:25 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Spring????

Watching White Sox Baseball on WGN
Sunny. Upper 50's. Got the patio door open, letting that great fresh air into the house. Laying on the couch, watching the White Sox play the Brewers in Arizona. Ahhhhhhh. I'm diggin' this. Spring is a week away. We're going to Comiskey... oh, crap, I mean <gag>U.S. Cellular Field</gag> next Saturday for a Season Ticket Holder Open House. Rob Gallas, (Sr. Vice President, Marketing and Broadcasting) was on the TV with Hawk and DJ talking about the park improvements - a new jumbotron from Mitsubishi that's twice the size of the old one (I think it was a Sony) (also explains the big hole in the scoreboard that I saw when I was at the Garage Sale), new LED boards running 300 feet down each line on the upperdeck showing stats and information, and a new Fan Deck above the Batter's Eye in centerfield. Ahhhhh... baseball...

posted at 04:21 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Ides of March

Soothsayer Caesar!
CAESAR Ha! who calls?
CASCA Bid every noise be still: peace yet again!
CAESAR Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music,
Cry 'Caesar!' Speak; Caesar is turn'd to hear.
Soothsayer Beware the ides of March.
CAESAR What man is that?
BRUTUS A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.
CAESAR Set him before me; let me see his face.
CASSIUS Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar.
CAESAR What say'st thou to me now? speak once again.
Soothsayer Beware the ides of March.
CAESAR He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass.
Julius Caesar Act I Scene II

posted at 07:33 AM | Link | Mundane § |

Friday, March 14, 2003

Crabs

Joe's Crab Shack in Schaumburg
Had a hankerin' for some crabs, so Carol and I met at Joe's Crab Shack in Schaumburg. What a great drive home - sunny and 54 degrees. Place was packed, so lots of people were outside waiting, just like a nice spring night.

posted at 06:57 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Live from Iraq

Kevin Sites is a CNN correspondent, usually working as a solo broadcast journalist, using portable, digital technology to report, write, edit and transmit his stories from around the world. Add to his arsenal Blogging. He's keeping a blog (with Audblog entries as well!) about his journeys in Kuwait, Iran, and it looks like Northern Iraq. Check it out for a journalist's first-person view from "over there".

posted at 09:44 AM | Link | Current Events § |
Weapons of Mouse Destruction

I forgot about this... I love the comic Non Sequitur, and saw this back on March 1st - here's Wiley Miller's take on WMD. And here's his take on the French and Inspection Teams.

posted at 09:19 AM | Link | Odd § |
Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing

A very odd, hysterically funny and sad at the same time website that captured naming questions and suggestions posted on two different baby naming bulletin boards going back as far as early 2001. Oh, my - what are these parents and parents-to-be thinking?

posted at 09:01 AM | Link | Odd § |
Friday 5 - Telephones

The Friday Five
Time for another Friday Five...
1. Do you like talking on the phone? Why or why not? Hate it. HATE IT. Go on, ask anybody that knows me. I just don't like it and I have no idea why.
2. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone? Well, since I hate talking on the phone SO much, what do I do for a living? Run a help desk where I'm on the phone all the time. It was a user from Chattanooga.
3. About how many telephones do you have at home? Three. Used to have four, but Indy chewed through the phone cable that's not replaceable (It's a clock radio/phone in our bedroom. Needs to be replaced.)
4. Have you encountered anyone who has really bad phone manners? What happened? No sure about what the definition of "bad phone manners" is, so I'll pass on this one.
5. Would you rather pick up the phone and call someone or write them an e-mail or a letter? Why or why not? EMail. Hands down, EMail. Because I can write the EMail on my time and the person can receive it when they have time. Doesn't require that both people MUST be in simultaneous communication at a specific time.

posted at 08:46 AM | Link | Friday Five § |

Thursday, March 13, 2003

*ugh*... need sleep...

I've been dragging all day, feeling tired and a little "loopy". Had to go see the doctor today to re-up my prescriptions and check my blood pressure. Well, my weight is up (no surprise there), but my BP disturbed me a bit 124/92. Don't like that 92 at all. Need to lose weight, need to exercise. Too tired right now. Need to veg on couch to watch Survivor and CSI... after Carol's delicious meat loaf...

posted at 05:50 PM | Link | Mundane § |

Wednesday, March 12, 2003

Wolves 5 - Mighty Ducks 2

Chicago Wolves Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:32 PM | Link | Wolves § |
She's alive?!?!?!?

I just got my CNN Breaking News email: Missing teenager Elizabeth Smart found alive in Salt Lake City suburb, police say.

She's been missing since June 5, 2002.

WOW.

Salt Lake City

Today, March 12th at approximately 13:00 hrs Sandy Police received a call from two citizens reporting a possible sighting of the male suspect that was wanted for questioning by Salt Lake City Police in the Elizabeth Smart case. Officers responded to the area of 10200 S State and located a male and two females at the side of the road. Sandy Officers questioned the three and determined one of them was possibly Elizabeth Smart. All three were transported to Sandy Police Department, where SLCPD was notified. Upon further investigation, positive identification was made on Elizabeth Smart. Salt Lake City Police Detectives arrived and took over the investigation. There will be a joint press conference today at 17:00 in front of SLCPD at 315 E 200 S. It would be premature to answer any questions at this time. Please wait for the press conference.

Sgt. Michelle Burnette Sandy City Police Department

There were reports earlier today that the family was frustrated with the police.

posted at 04:25 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Mmmmm...Dairy Queen...

Mmmmm... Dairy Queen chocolate shake
It must be getting closer to spring... the boys went out to the local Dairy Queen that just opened for the season and brought me back a nice chocolate shake... mmmmmm.....

posted at 03:18 PM | Link | Mundane § |
CNN on WiFi

CNN has an article on how WiFi is finally coming to the forefront, including a link to Wi-Fi ZONE™ to find access points.

posted at 02:47 PM | Link | Computing § |
Warmer!

Yes! It's feeling better outside! The sun's out, 32 degrees. Supposed to be around 40 today, and around 60 by Saturday! this is great for Chicago weather! I need to go out more at lunch to enjoy this!

posted at 08:39 AM | Link | Mundane § |

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

Three months

Huh... I've been working three months. Doesn't feel like it was that long. I'm still trying to fit in, to join "the club" of the long-timers (5-7 years) that I work with. Getting information around here is like pulling teeth, getting direction is worse. No one else in my department has worked a full 5 days straight in the office, most working from home if possible, or at least keeping "bankers hours". I can't blame them too much - after all, the IT staff used to be 52 people and these people are the ones that were involved in the building of the company and infrastructure. Now, there's six of us, with one scheduled to be released next month and two more that don't have their date set. Not the greatest environment. But I can't complain too loudly - after all, I am getting paid (though only 57% of what I used to make). There are too many unemployed IT people out there - I used to be one of them. You've got to grab whatever comes your way.

posted at 06:35 PM | Link | Work § |
Pygmy rabbits

Apparently, Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits that live in Washington state are rapidly approaching extinction. There's probably only a dozen left in the wild, and now they've been added to the Federal list of endangered species. Nuts. I don't like hearing about bunnies going away. But, then again, I'm a sap for bunnies. I can't help it. When you live with one, you sort of get attached to the species.

posted at 10:27 AM | Link | Bunnies § |

Monday, March 10, 2003

Tickets!

2003 Season Tickets Package
I got home from work to find a package from 333 W. 35th Street. YES!!! Our White Sox Season Tickets came! Let's see what's new... there's 4 Sunday games with TBA times - meaning we'll have to see if there's interest at the end of the year to be on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Dog Day is Saturday April 19, Paul Konerko Bobble Head Dolls on Friday July 18, a new night - Rat Pack Night Friday July 25, White Sox Comic Books Sunday August 10, and Elvis Night Friday August 22. We also got tickets to a party in two weeks to see some of the renovations at the park. The season is getting closer!!!!

posted at 06:06 PM | Link | White Sox § |
It started already?

I know this is a bit old, but I had to link to it. An article in London's Sunday Mirror says that Iraqi troops have already tried to surrender.

posted at 11:18 AM | Link | Current Events § |
Blogging in the news

Why did it take so long for AP to come up with an article on blogging? Was it Goggle buying Pyra that caused it?

posted at 09:57 AM | Link | Blogging § |
Record low

... in my life? No, just a record low temperature for today: 2 degrees. Going to be in the 50's by Friday, though. Damn, it's cold outside... bright sun though. Fun driving into the sun on the way to work. At least no accidents.

posted at 07:55 AM | Link | Mundane § |

Sunday, March 09, 2003

Chickens

Had Mom and Diane and Melinda and the dogs over for dinner today. It's cold outside, so taking the dogs for a walk was a real character builder. Supposed to get even colder tonight. For the second day in a row, Carol cooked-up another fine meal, this time a couple of roasted chickens that I love - and apparently are easy to cook. Sat around and watched the SAG awards in the evening. Not exactly an eventful day.

posted at 09:09 PM | Link | Mundane § |

Saturday, March 08, 2003

Friends and movies

Daredevil Signs
Barry & Buffy came over this afternoon and we finally got out to see a movie. We went over to the AMC South Barrington 30 and caught the 4:30 showing of Daredevil. Good movie. I don't know why I can't call it a great movie - I think it has to do with the Daredevil vs Kingpin scene. I'm not satisfied on how that played-out. Good action, though. The temperature outside must have dropped at least 20 degrees. The driveway was slick from the rain turning into ice, so getting into and out of the car was a bit daunting. Back at the house, Carol cooked-up a great dinner of beef tenderloin with tarragon butter, the scallops that she made for me last month, new potatoes in olive oil, garlic and onions, and a nice salad. To top it off, she actually baked a gingerbread cake. (She's more of a ersatz chef, not a baker, but this turned out pretty well.) After dinner, we did a DirecTV Pay-Per-View of a movie that we hadn't seen - Signs. OK, now that was a great movie. The surprising thing to us was the use of humor in telling the story. I think I would have liked to have seen it in the theaters. Anyway, it was nice having B&B out to the house.

posted at 10:31 PM | Link | Friends § |
White Sox Garage Sale

Took a drive down to Comiskey Park today to go to the White Sox annual Garage Sale, just to see if there was anything interesting, not to mention to see if there was anything interesting around the park.

read more of this entry »


posted at 02:11 PM | Link | White Sox § |

Friday, March 07, 2003

Katie

Funnel-headed Katie waiting for me to come back from getting the mail Katie waiting for Chelby to come and pick her up
I don't know if you remember, but over a year ago, while in the midst of my unemployment, I dog sat our friend Chelby's dog Katie during the day. She had just lost an eye to glaucoma, so she had to be watched, and since Chelby & Damian both worked and "Uncle Michael" didn't have anything to do during the day, she was with me for two weeks. She's was really sweet while she was here, she would just howl a bit in the mornings when Chelby dropped her off - a separation anxiety thing.

So, Damian called me this afternoon to let "Uncle Michael" know that they had lost Katie. She was out in front of the house with Chelby's mom Carolyn when she decided to chase a UPS truck that was passing by. At least there's consolation that she didn't suffer at all. She was always really friendly and sweet when we were over at their house. I'll miss her.

posted at 04:50 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Hooters Air

Yep, I heard this on the radio last night while driving home. Hooters Air has officially taken to the skies (it was the old Pace Airlines). It's based out of Atlanta, and so far only serves Myrtle Beach, S.C. with service to Newark, N.J. starting March 20. Each flight has 3 Flight Attendants and "Hooters Girls" who are there to "just be friendly." (They're serving the drinks.)

posted at 09:19 AM | Link | Odd § |
Friday 5 - 5 Things

The Friday Five
Time for another Friday Five...
1. What was the last song you heard? Crap. I had the Channel 5 news on this morning and they had a musical improv troupe on that did a song about Dr. Phil called "What was I thinkin'" and it was soooo bad and now it's stuck in my head like an earworm.
2. What were the last two movies you saw? Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Die Another Day. (Don't get to the movies as often as we would like.)
3. What were the last three things you purchased? a marchFIRST windbreaker from eBay, a powered 5x8 multiswitch to redistribute my satellite signal around the house, and some cables to do a better job of video capture with my Dazzle Hollywood Bridge and Adobe Premiere.
4. What four things do you need to do this weekend? See our friends B&B, go to the movies, do to Comiskey Park (damn it, I can't call it U.S. Cellular Field yet...) for the Garage Sale, and have my mom & sister over for dinner.
5. Who are the last five people you talked to? I work on a help desk - I talk to people around the country. I don't remember who they all are.

posted at 06:37 AM | Link | Friday Five § |

Thursday, March 06, 2003

Even TiVo won't save you now...

TiVo!
I've said it before - I love my TiVo, I love my TiVo, I love my TiVo..., but even TiVo won't save recording Survivor when George the 43rd decides earlier in the day to hold a national press conference on Iraq, delaying the start of Survivor by 53 minutes. If there was only some way for the networks to tell TiVo (or another service) what they were up to, they could figure out a way of contacting the DVR's and adjusting schedules... yeah, in a perfect world...

posted at 07:59 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Lost

Me. I'm lost. At least I feel that way lately. No time to do the things I used to do when unemployed. No searching the web looking for cool stuff. No time to even try to put something witty or meaningful here (yeah, like there was something here before that was witty or meaningful. Riiiiight.) I feel like I'm getting whiplash from being pulled in too many directions at work. When that happens, I'm usually doomed for failure (at least my "past lives" have shown that this is not a good situation for me to be in). That's putting excess stress on me and I'm not happy about it, thus some of the "happy camper" statements I've made recently. At least it's a job, and at least cash is dribbling in from it. I need to turn this around somehow. Don't know how, but I've got to make it work.

posted at 03:13 PM | Link | Mundane § |

Wednesday, March 05, 2003

I'm A Celebrity — Get Me Out Of Here!

I'm a Celebrity - Get me out of here!

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:04 PM | Link | Reality TV § |
... but it's looking better

Getting the driveway plowed
Six inches of snow. The plowing service did our driveway before we left this morning, so everything was good with that. The roads were very good. All-in-all, a non-event.

posted at 08:06 AM | Link | Mundane § |

Tuesday, March 04, 2003

The Family

The Family

read more of this entry »


posted at 09:57 PM | Link | Reality TV § |
Pizza steak

There was a saving grace to today. Carol made Pizza Steak for dinner. It's my mom's recipe and I love it. Carol hasn't made it in a least a year. She usually doesn't make it because, well, I love it so much that I wind up eating way too much. There was once a few years ago when I actually had to undo the belt on my pants and just lay on the couch and moan for quite a while because I gorged myself on the stuff. Tonight, I tried to take it in moderation, but I'm still stuffed. Maybe it's my subconscious celebration of Fat Tuesday...

posted at 07:14 PM | Link | Mundane § |
... this is turning out worse...

The latest snow hits the neighborhood
I don't like major issues before my first cup of coffee at work. I'm not a morning person. This day just went downhill and I didn't think it could get worse after yesterday. A major snow storm starts-up this evening, so I bail out of work a little early - about 30 minutes. It was still way after everyone else. I'm just not a happy camper. At least I beat the heavy snowfall - it was more like blowing snow pellets for the drive home.

posted at 05:40 PM | Link | Mundane § |

Monday, March 03, 2003

If you think this is bad...

Gassing-up for the big storm
Well, the crappy day at work (more last minute notebook building) was just topped off with a whipped cream and maraschino cherry of a drive home - snow and a little bit of ice. Had to stop for gas on the way home because no matter how uneventful this snowfall will be, tomorrow will be much worse. The Weather Critters are predicting the largest snow of the season (which, fortunately for us, is no where near the snow that the east coast got a few weeks ago). Did I mention how much I don't love my job?

posted at 06:28 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Trey Day!

03-03-03!!!!

Wooooo Hoooo! Symmetry! Catch it!
posted at 08:19 AM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |

Sunday, March 02, 2003

Nosedive

Snow and cold invade the neighborhood
Well, it's actually been "nice" the past few days - temps in the 30's, hardly any wind at all. Pleasant for this time of year. Today - snow, plunging temperatures already in the teens. One thing's for sure: it's not Spring yet.

posted at 03:01 PM | Link | Mundane § |

Saturday, March 01, 2003

Wolves 5 - Grizzlies 4 (Overtime)

Chicago Wolves Utah Grizzlies

read more of this entry »


posted at 10:40 PM | Link | Wolves | 3 comments § |
You know what today is?

marchFIRST
Why, it's March 1st. Know where I used to work? Yes, marchFIRST. This day will never be the same on so many different levels...

posted at 10:14 AM | Link | Work | 2 comments § |
*nose wiggle*
posted at 08:30 AM | Link | Memes | 1 comment § |

 

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