I am all that is man!

Arson and the BCS, my thoughts.

2006-12-02T23:18:00.000-06:00

So I guess we'll start with THE question of my young generations time; University of Michigan or University of Florida? As a midwesterner, a fan of the Big Ten (11), and a friend of some die-hard UM fans, I certainly have to go with Michigan. I suppose an argument could be made for Florida; that whole hardest schedule, they actually won their conference, they haven't had their chance yet. Right or wrong, the decision will be made by a computer so at least no one person can be attacked over the decision. Oh, and can we go ahead and get ready for this argument? No doubt, if OSU wins the game, they are national champs. But if UM or UF win the national title game, are they outright champs? Certainly if the other team loses their BCS bowl, then yes they are, but what if UM goes and beats OSU then UF blows out whoever they play? I'm not all about dual national champions, but if the AP puts at #2 the opposite of the BCS #2, well, let's just say things could get crazy. Anyway, yeah, just think about it.

Now for my next topic, arson. Maybe I'm cynical, or I just assume that people are mostly shady, but anytime I see a place burn down it is by default that I say it was an act of arson. Especially if the old place was a run down shackle that looked like a crack house, not that I'm saying I know what a crack house looks like....but you know, I've heard a thing or two. So the reasoning behind all of this, there's a house close to my old house that burnt down. It was ok, but old. Well their new house, it belongs in Carmel, or Fishers. It's a huge brick house that just looks absolutly beautiful. So I assumed it was arson and as long as they don't get caught, then good for them. But the question that sparked all of this was me wondering how much you're allowed to take out of the old house before you light it up? Obviously, nothing like a couch or a piano can go, because that would be a huge red light. But you certainly get all your family pictures out, right? TV, furniture, clothes, dishes....all replaceable. With the computer, you just make disc backups of everything and you're set there. How much do you think you can get away with taking before it looks suspicious? I'm just wondering, and just throwing it out there.

So for you other blogger.com'ers out there, are there any of you that haven't switched to the new version of blogger yet? If you haven't, then would you agree with me that blogger.com is being shady? I know that I still have the Asser, but the slowness of this webpage is rediculous. They are sooo making my computer slow intentionally....somehow. I just don't want to create a google account, because I have enough accounts elsewhere. I suppose I'll break down eventually.

Alright, it's bedtime now. Looking forward to the next couple weeks, got a lot of Christmas things coming up.

Well how about that?

2006-11-19T17:50:00.000-06:00

What a great way to start my day. Ok, well....not start....but interject with. So I was looking for my old headlights to Monte!!!! so I can change them and not get pulled over again, and as a result of, I emptied out the trunk of Monte!!!! where I had one of my winter coats. I put it on and reached into my pockets and there, quite amazingly I may add, was my second set of keys to Baby. To give you an idea of how long I've been without these, there were some things with the keys that I know I needed for something in October....of my senior year of college. That was 25 months ago. I haven't put my hands in the pocket's of this jacket for 25 months. Now I know I don't get hold, but maybe I have too many winter jackets if it didn't work into the rotation for that long. Just a thought.

That, my friends, could be the source of much fun for me. I just put some clothes in Megler's washer. It's one of those front loads where you can see what's going on. Yeah, it's awesome. I want to put a cat in there just to watch it tumble....come on, you know it'd be fun. You'd have to worry about the cat scratching on the ceramic though, that'd be no good.

So anyway, I had a good weekend. Went to the Spaghetti Factory and a Pacers game Friday night. We got some 40th anniversary Pacers deal where he had upper level tickets for $4. The seats weren't bad (see pictures), especially for $4. They lost, which from I'm told is all Matt's fault. Enough of that. Saturday Hassler and I went to the IU game up at Purdue. I was disappointed but more than that, I was inspired. It was a sloppy game but I can confidently say that just a couple unlucky breaks kept IU from winning. I would hardly say Purdue was the better team. It enourages me to believe next year could be very promising. Makes me feel better about my plans to get season tickets. All pictures are on Facebook and will eventually be put on Yahoo photos. I hate uploading on Yahoo photos so those will probably take an extra day or two.

I'm looking forward to a three day week and the upcoming holiday season. I am looking for gift ideas for people. Mainly for friends but evidently I have to create a list for myself so tell me what I want, and I'll evaluate how badly I want it. I guess I can never go wrong with anything IU or Colts or Raiders. I don't know. We'll see.

Nah, you won't forget.

Survey time, honest response here needed people. Regardless of your feelings for IU. Do you think a front license plate with red would work on Superior Blue Metallic Monte!!!!? The plate I most like as of now is a silver reflective one with a crimson IU logo in the middle. The IU logo also is reflective. Think about it, and let me know your thoughts.

Steak 'n Shake is awesome. Since those d-bags posted a 'Go Cowboy's' type of add in the Indy media (by accident mind you) they are offereing free shakes to dine-in customers from 10a-10p today, Sunday the 19th. No other purchase necessary.

In about two minutes and twenty seconds of football time I'm going to be rather disappointed. I have a feeling the Colts are about to lose this one.

Ok, so that's enough of a blog for today. Time to finish laundry and try to get Baby cleaned up.

Holding tryouts

2006-11-15T20:18:00.000-06:00

Yeah, this is my formal announcement. I/we are holding tryouts for a couple different things.

1) I am holding tryouts for someone who can actually play me in Madden. Yeah, that's right, I threw down....I went there. It's been brought.
2) We are holding tryouts for our basketball team. I call Kyle a 2 guard. I'm sure he calls himself, and Megan will probably agree, a 1-2-3-4-5 guard because let's face it, he likes to shoot....from anywhere. I would call myself a modest 3/4. So we need the others and subs.

So anyway, the basketball team. League starts in January, it's a rec league at the old Brownsburg varsity gym. I'm serious about wanting to find other people to play on our team so let me know if you're interested.

So I just realized I never posted a blog about Italy. I suppose that makes me a complete slap/loser.

So not sure how you wouldn't have known by now because I've told just about everybody, but I've moved back to Indianapolis with a new job and everything. I've moved in with Hassler which, and time will tell for sure, is most likely going to be interesting. I haven't caused any damage, I keep my stuff relatively clean, and Baby has a new home inside the garage, so not a bad start. I know, I know, why don't I keep Monte!!!! in the garage so it stays nice? Well, since you asked, evidently not everybody else in this house (not naming names) sees Baby for the beauty that she is and refused to let 'that piece of shit' sit in the driveway. So as compromise I guess she has to live in the garage, which I guess in retrospect, should be good for her because that's less of a winter beating she has to take. Speaking of Baby, I think Cat and Megan wanted to assault her the other day. Mainly, take off the back bumper. I laughed it off at the time, but I really should be more careful in the future, they could have had their way and I would have been hurtin'.

So anyway, reason for being in Indy. I'm working with Hassler at Rolls-Royce. Yeah, it's awesome in case you were wondering. In my short time there (five days) I can already say I've been more intrigued/felt more like I have a kick ass job than I ever did at that other place. We're working on the LiftFan for the Joint Strike Fighter (F-35). That link has some video and whatnot, actually, very interesting information. Take a look, anytime the plane lands vertically, that's what we do. We make sure it can land vertically. It's not worth going into details because a) you don't care, b) I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you. I think part of the reason I love working there so much is that what I do actually has purpose, oh, and the fact that I work on a military jet. I mean, come on, it's fricking' sweet.

Been back for 1.5 weeks so far, had a couple awesome weekends so far. Got the Old Oaken Bucket game up in West Lafayette this weekend, yeah, it's going to be fun. Then Thanksgiving the next weekend. So let me know if you want to get together sometime. I'll be around.

Holla! Hopefully I'll blog again soon.

Best....Weekend....Ever

2006-09-04T22:21:00.000-05:00

Found out some good news Friday. With time there will be more progression as to the extent of the goodness of news. Don't worry, the logic is there. Friday was a good evening. Got to hang out with Snyder, Hassler, Thiede, little bro 1 (apparently little bro 2 is too cool for us), and a bunch of other guys I hadn't gotten to see in a while. Sleeping on the floor isn't really all that it's made out to be, I'll be honest with you. My alternative was a couch that has what can only be described as rebar at 1/3 and 2/3 of the way through it....and you stick to it. Yeah, great accomodations Snyder. That place he lives in. Apparently it used to be a motel then it was turned into an apartment complex. And by used to be a motel, I mean it is roughly circa 1930's. And the shower head is evidently the original. Saturday went well also. Got in a nice bike ride. The Hoosiers were able to pull out the Western Michigan win (Rose Bowl here we come). My Volunteers were also able to get the win. I guess a better description would be that the Volunteers annihilated/mutilated/tortured the Cal Bears. Saturday evening was quite a bit of fun. Kober peed his pants and I got to catch up with some old friends. Hmmm, just realized this blog is really different than my normal. A lot more like description here than the typical thought provoking blog. Anyway, Sunday was action packed with Cranium, symphonies and Kyle/sangria. The boy gets going and you got to watch out for him. Some more biking Monday and a drive back.

Hmmm, I suppose best....weekend....ever comment because it was just a collaboration of events that lead to that statement. Time for bed. I suppose I still need to hook up that Italy blog. Yeah, I'll get on that.

World Cup

2006-06-23T12:13:00.001-05:00

So it's been two months since I last updated, yeah, my bad. I'd like to say I've been busy, but we all know that doesn't mean I've been too busy to update this thing.

Leaving for Italy two weeks from yesterday. That is so scary. Next time I don't have to work that's where I'll be. It's weird when I put it in those terms. I guess I just don't know what to expect, and that's what is kind of rocking my world.

Ok, now just so it's out there, in order of favorites I am cheering for the following teams in the World Cup. I will address elimination once favorites are stated. USA, England, Netherlands, Ukraine, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Brazil. So that's a top eight, and some teams make it out of virtue of them having some of my favorite players. Also noted, out of those top eight, only one team didn't make it out of the group stage. Yeah, it's crappy, but what are you going to do? Who would have thought Ghana would get out? Speaking of them, I can't stand it when people dive like they were doing the entire match. If you want something to throw a yellow card on, throw it on that. I suppose you could blame the entire match on the refs, because it would be easy to do, but we shouldn't. I'm not going to say that the US deserved to win their Czech or Ghana matches, but they didn't deserve to lose the Ghana and the Italy matches like they did. FIFA said they were going to step up the cards and the penalties and whatnot, but you can't just change something overnight and expect it to all of a sudden start working. I think I can say that the refs hurt the Italy game, but the Ghana match, we just didn't play. It's like the US just wasn't playing. Beasley and Donovan needed to attack, go at the the other teams defense. I don't know, it's over now. I still got 7 teams and my favorite three players left in the tournament.

So I don't really have a whole lot else to type about. Got to go biking and work on the tan.

Yes, that's really all I have left anymore these days. Biking, working, and trying to get tan.

World Cup

2006-06-23T12:13:00.000-05:00

Totally boring probably, but I bet you'll still read it.

2006-05-01T05:48:00.000-05:00

So the following is like a play-by-play of me watching A History of Violence. May be of interest to you if you've seen it. I'm just offering some of my insights.

Another warning. The following is seriously just me commenting on the movie, so don't read it, waste five minutes of your life you'll never get back, then complain to me.

History of Violence is.... Who wears a long sleeve shirt and pants when they live in the southwest, presumably Texas, and it's "already this hot at 8 a.m.?" "We never got to be teenagers together." Hehe, giggity, awesome. Wait, you can show that in a mainstream movie? Side note, if you've seen the movie, try to visualize the parts I'm going through as I make these observations and it will make sense. Tokin' up in the middle of downtown, real smart guys, real smart. Even smarter than tokin' up downtown is driving drunk and pissing off the killers. Right in the ol' noggin, that's what I'm talking about. They can show that in a movie? In one, out the other. What? This takes place in Indiana? Millbrook, Indiana I am not familiar with. Oh, perhaps because it isn't real!!!! I'll be honest, Indiana doesn't get a lot of movie coverage, sans Phil's favorite movie. Maybe that's why it's so nice around? Yes, perhaps. Short movie, must progress quickly, and that's why we're getting to the eye so quickly. Joey, from Philly, hmmm, I'm intrigued. Bad news bears for the po-po. As I told Snyder the other day, I would like to get into organized crime. Let me rephrase, I would have liked to have gotten in back in the day, like when it was cool and cops could be bought, back then, yeah, when it was cool.... Ooo, he wants something from her, hehe, intimately. We need to start moving along now so I can start to figure out who Joey/Tom is. Yeah, that's what I want to know. And that boys and girls, is what we call going postal. That'll get you suspended from high school. Oh wait, he did get suspended. Ok, his boy has like some serious issues. Buy a gun, that's your only option!!!! Ok, you got a gun, buy another gun. Who's Viggo's wife? She's got some hotness working. Me likey. Desperate is not attractive though, I'll tell you that right now. Oh, we're getting somewhere now. Come on Joey, let us know what's going on. Ok, lot of blood in this movie. Lots of it I say. Ok, now, how much would it hurt to have your, oh um, name of the bone right above your nose? Anyway, yeah, that driven right into your brain. Lots of pain. Viggo, what's with the look? Show some appreciation. Worst....fake....throw up....ever! Serial schizo, yes. Haha, it was available. Oh, the brushoff, he's not getting any. So obviously we hid the bodies I guess? Or was it all self defense and we know that? Ok, help me out here somebody. I need closure, just like everything in life, I need some damn closure!!!! How do you transition to that? On the stairs? Come on, let's at least be realistic. They need some counseling or something. What, hoah, snuck that one in there on me. What? Indy to Philly out of the blue overnight, on all state highways. Ok (eyes rolling). Take a plane, you've got the means. Starting to get some resolution I guess. Maybe working on that closure part. Ok, tell me I'm wrong, but why does that look like the house from Richie Rich? Ok, why would I remember that? Whose desk is seriously that clean? Apparently he doesn't do much 'real' business. The man can kill, I will tell you that. He sure can kill. Did this guy never get shown how to hold a gun? More blood, a big theme here. Well, I'm not all too clear on how you transition from this one. Awkward silence in the Stall household. Cute kid, now I know why tigers eat their young. How do they possibly know where he's been? And who eats dinner that late anyway?!?!?!?!

Final Impressions: Good, but I've seen better. Wanted a little more explanation. Only 96 minutes long, could have got that extra 30 minutes and made a little more out of it.

Ok, so if you're not sure how that went, then DYKT, this is basically what Snyder and I do over AIM when we watch CSI or a ballgame. Yes, that is our lives, sad as it may be.

More early morning random thoughts.

2006-05-01T04:09:00.000-05:00

John Lequizamo just doesn't fit on ER, no two ways about it. With this whole DVR thing, not sleeping Sunday nights is kind of ok because I get to watch all the tv shows I missed during the week. But still, I long for the glory days of Goose and George Clooney. I like Kovac (sic) and Abby, but they're like the veterans, along with the beyotch that has a crutch. Other than that, just isn't quite the same. So not that I've ever had the desire to, but I see no reason to ever go to Africa....ever. I'm just not sure what it could bring me. I'm sure it would be humbling, which we all need, but I just don't think I could handle it. I know that's random, but whatever. What? There's Carter! Ok, I haven't seen him forever. I guess he's an older guy, but he took his drug relapse break there for a couple years.

Las Vegas....new favorite show? It's a possibility. Has hotties, has smart-aleck quips, has action when needed. I'm all about it.

Played soccer today. I'm going to make my team watch real people play soccer....that or we're going to practice. I think possession was like 80/20 today, the 20 being my team. We just weren't passing and we weren't keeping our heads up. Without our best player it just isn't quite the same, I'll be honest. He keeps a good flow, and he distributes well. We play much more like a team than we did when we first started last summer, I'm all about it. Argh! Somebody yoinked, or accidentally took, my soccer ball today. My sister and I have been playing with that ball since like, forever. Hopefully it gets returned next week to the lost and found, otherwise I'm not sure I would know what to do.

"You have died of dysentery."

Hmmm, I need to work the track somehow into my month of May. I think if I can get that week off maybe I can head there on like Monday or Tuesday, maybe back early the next week? No, that wouldn't work, have to be Peoria until Thursday night for hockey. Oh yeah, hockey is so much fun. I was kind of sore last week. I done got myself beat up by falling and whatnot. Oh well, it's all good.

I'm thinking about finding myself a nice cardboard box, or maybe a van down by the river to move into. Or I'm thinking about raiding the basement of the new house Stu is moving into. You know, all options that are out there on the table right now.

So last week's South Park didn't really seem to promote an agenda, which is really weird, because like the entire season thus far has made light of a recent or somewhat recent event in the real world.

Sometimes I wonder if people really need glasses, or if they convince themselves that they need them, because right now, I'm not sure....and I think I've convinced myself otherwise, but I'm not sure. What a conundrum.

Ooops, need to get my registrations on my cars. Wait, it's on Baby, need to get it in Monte, but I don't really drive Monte a whole lot because I don't have the occasions for it. Oh well, soon enough I will.

Someone tell Bronson Arroyo the double eared batting helmet has got to go.

My 3:27 a.m. thoughts

2006-04-17T03:28:00.000-05:00

I know, two posts in two days, after going 1.5 months without a post, that's just how it is.

So if you ever have a chance to live the life that I do, you'll realize there's not much on tv except for music videos.

Just some thoughts....

Madonna - How many kids? How old? I straight up don't care, she's still got it. Now, saying what 'it' is with her is hard to do because Madonna's 'it' has always been a little off of everyone else. I just saw her music video on VH1 espanol where she's wearing that 80's jumpsuit thing with the oversized boombox and roller skates. Yeah, weird, but still hot.

New things that irk me. Apparently we don't put the musician and the song title on music videos anymore. I'm watching this video on VH1 espanol again and I have no idea what he's saying but I'd like to be able to look it up. No can do.

Outkast - 'Roses' is still a hilarious video and 'I Love the Way You Move' is just weird. Like a different kind of weird, like a hard to explain weird.

Kelly Clarkson - Not sure what style she's going for in the 'Walk Away' video, but I don't care, she's still Kelly. She can do whatever she wants.

Michael Jackson - As a part of my philosophy that if you bring joy somehow into my life, I really don't believe all the laws and rules of society apply to you that I make this portion of my post. I would pay decent money for a Michael Jackson concert if I was somehow guaranteed he would play all of his good stuff, and he wouldn't wig out on me. I don't care about what he likes to do (little boys, oh snap!) in his spare time.

The Killers - Ok, now this is pushing it. 'Mr. Brightside' on VH1 espanol. I just don't buy that. The Madonna video on here at least had her saying some spanish in it. But nothing about jealousy can inherently be lumped in with the spanish culture.

Cascada - 'Everytime We Touch' has worked it's way into the years breakthrough European dance song that I like but somehow feel guilty listening to it.

Huey Lewis and the News - 'Fore' will always be one of my top five albums. As a sidenote though, I also like 'I Want a New Drug.' Well, apparently he got that new drug....and then some, when he was making the video for 'Doing It All For My Baby.'

John Mellencamp - Nothing quite like listening to some old Johnny that just makes me think about Indiana.

Kanye - 'All Falls Down' still perplexes me to no end how they do that. I know technology has done some wondrous things recently, but still, that video is just so cool

Non music related - I want to thank my boy for pointing out Ed vs. Spencer on BBC America. it is one of the funniest shows on tv right now, hands down. I would highly recommend you find out if you have BBC America and watch that show, some of the funniest shit out there. It's on Thursday nights at 10 central time, and reruns Monday night at 10.

All right, that's enough for one night/day/morning/I don't even know what to call how I break up my day anymore.

Later!

Ah yes, the French....

2006-04-15T20:54:00.000-05:00

So in accordance with my slight obsession with Bill O’Reilly, I’ve been professing this recently to a few of you, I have recently acquired the knowledge that he dislikes the French about as much as me. In their defense, they have the Tour de France and….and….and….ok, that’s right, not a whole lot else. Anyway, Bill was pointing out the other night how French people have become accustomed to a society of entitlement, and according to him the far left is on board with this. Now, since Bill has a tendency to make things sound beneficial for him, I will not believe that the entire left is that way, but I’m sure that some do. If, like me, you were confused about what exactly a life of entitlement means it’s rather simple. Basically, it’s a watered down version of communism where everyone gets a job, a good salary, five weeks vacation, a pension, and retirement at 55. Ok, maybe a few liberties there with what exactly they get, but that’s the general idea behind the French economy. This was all stemming from the fact that they wanted to institute a law saying anybody under age like 26 could be fired without less than two years of experience on a job. Wow, there’s a concept? You mean people are allowed to be fired if they’re doing a poor job? A’int that a bitch!

So I know I’ve been away from the blog’ing for a while, my apologies to all.

I continue to keep on feeling older and older. My best friends are all either graduating this May or about to become seniors in college. I’ve always said that I’m a rather nostalgic person, but it just seems that it’s all going so fast. I still remember stuff from high school like it was yesterday. Man, I was such a loser back then. A dweeb if you will, and it certainly wasn’t any better any earlier in my life, wow! I was looking at some old pictures the other day. Odd….to say the least.

Cardinals are not off to the hottest start I’ve ever seen, but I have faith, they can turn it around. I still contend that Izzy walking to batters then grooving a fastball was like a once in a lifetime thing and with time this season, he will again prove that he’s one of the best.

So I guess its April now, with Easter tomorrow. How weird is that? It doesn’t hardly seem like this year has gone by so quick. I’ve been at work for 10 months now! Almost a year! Now if only I knew what I wanted to do with the next year or two of my life. I know people have always ripped on me for having such an organized life, but it’s just how I was raised to the point that I have to know when and where I’m doing everything. For what its worth, and some people can attest to this, I have gotten a whole lot better over the years about my life plan. I’ve allowed it to fluctuate and some things have changed, mostly for the better. I’ve been looking at buying a house because of the financial savings that are supposedly there for buying as opposed to renting. While I will not deny that those savings are there, because they are, those savings are there for people who are certain that house will be their home for a couple years. The going number is around three years these days. With that mind, I don’t know if my future with ADM has me in Peoria for three more years. What if I do get that opportunity in Europe? What if I move to Decatur for a different opportunity? So many what if’s, and that is not good. The alternative is finding a cheaper place to live, and taking those savings to the bank (stocks, bank, same thing) and if my time in Peoria is shorter, then I net in the future most likely. Anybody have any thoughts on what to do?

Oh yeah, by the way, my sister decided she’s moving. No no, you’re fine Jess, whatever you want. Whatever whatever, you do what you want! Although, it can’t be all that bad, I’ve always wanted to spend Christmas in D.C. And I still contend that post-Columbus, OH that drive to D.C. is about one of my favorites. I’m not sure if it’s the great memories from senior year driving out there….sans that twenty mile stretch of road where Phil was never more concerned for his car’s upholstery in his life. Or maybe it was just going to our nation’s capital like we did. Either way, the Tour de Force of vacations I went on my senior year was awesome, and while probably never to be repeated, I can always hold onto those memories. D.C., cruise, and Daytona Beach….so awesome!

As part of working straight thirds I get to listen to Bob & Tom come on air at 5:00 am CDT, which is awesome. Anyway, in case you’re having a bad day, Paul Thorn has a great song called ‘It’s A Great Day to Whoop Somebody’s Ass,’ lyrics of which can be found at that link. Still working on finding the actual song itself, but lyrics will have to do for now.

What else is happening….

Hmm, oh yeah, that whole straight thirds thing, there are worse things in life, but the real killer has been recently when it’s started getting nice outside and I get home from work and realize I can’t go outside and play otherwise I’ll be dead ass tired. This whole boiler thing has worked out pretty well, I know a lot about them that will probably help me down the road.

So, that sounds like enough for today, I think I’ll be on my way to bed. Back in the Haute mid to late May, let me know if you’ll be around and want to do something.

Why Disney is so unbelievably awesome!

2006-03-05T21:06:00.000-06:00

Actually, I don't have specific reasons, it just is and we all know that. Jasmine (live) has gotten hotter over the years. I know that as a proponent of Disney being pure and representative in life I shouldn't view the characters that way in real life, but come on, I'm still a 23 year old male. She used to be a little pudgy around the waist but she really brought her A-game this past weekend. Also, Ariel and Jasmine in 3-D....now that's what I'm talking about.
-Epcot, so much cooler than it used to be. The new Mission: Space thing that killed those two people is like the coolest ride ever. That whole killing people thing has got me in a catch 22 because they are the ultimate reason I didn't have to wait once to ride that ride, but at the same time, because of those people nobody will ride it and therefore Disney will undoubtedly have to close it before it's time is up because it won't be a money maker. Also, Living With the Seas is now cool. It's totally beyond me how they do it, well, not totally, but still cool. Crush from Finding Nemo comes out and he interacts with the audience and he talks and everything. It's cool, because, well....let's face it, Crush is cool.
-Animal Kingdom, new ride, Everest, is totally sweeeet. Lion King show is still the best. Just a little upset that the Tarzan show is no longer there, but elsewhere made up for it. I always have, and always will, think The Bug's Life 3-D show is kind of scary. Yeah, that's right, I said it, when the bees sting you in the back, it's scary. Yeah, that makes me a sissy, I know.
-MGM is still tough to beat with Aerosmith and the Tower of Terror. Tower of Terror being first it will always be a tough one to beat. Still found ourselves going back to that to finish things off. MGM's new stunt show is pretty sweet too. Anytime cars are going fast and almost blowing things up you're bound to have a good time. Classics like Indiana Jones, Star Tours, the Beauty and the Beast show, and Ariel's show will always keep you coming back for more.
-Magic Kingdom will always be Disney and therefore the best. Getting off the monorail and seeing that giant Mickey out of flowers then walking in and looking down Main Street and Cinderella's castle. Ahhh, almost brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it now. The parade, even though it hasn't changed in 10 years is still a good one. Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Thunder Mountain Railroad. All just wonderful rides. I already want to go back, not fair that I have to be stuck in "dreary ol' Peoria." Slightly modified quote from Caddyshack is what earned it the quotation marks.

I know there's so much more I could write about Disney, but I think it'll just depress me more than I'm here and not there, know what I mean? Besides, you definitely got the main gist of it right there with all that.

So what else is new....? Hmmm, oh, the Raiders dropped Kerry Collins today which I believe puts me one step closer to Matt Leinart, we'll see.

Karma, yeah, it'll totally bite you in the butt, no doubt about that. Sometimes you wonder if it isn't just totally a bunch of random acts conjoining at a single time to make you think it's karma. Or maybe that's what karma is? Maybe it's just totally in our heads and we know we've done something wrong, we just expect to be punished, so the next big thing that comes up bad for us we assume, "hey, that's karma kicking me right in the arse." Any thoughts on that, or am I just crazy?

The Hoosiers picked up a tight victory over the Wolverine's the other day possibly solidifying a berth in the NCAA tournament. Hopefully Mike Davis can go out and prove everyone wrong for firing him because we all know that that is his only motivation left now.

I think it's time to turn up the difficulty setting in Madden 06. I beat the Titans 75-14 today and believe me when I say their 14 was gracious of me, and of my 75, I had four field goals that I easily could have turned into touchdowns had I brought my A-game. So basically, I should have had 91 to their 0. I'm afraid I'm going to pull a Snyder and make the Edge and Peyton so valuable that I won't be able to afford them come time for their contracts. Heck, by my season the Edge is in a contract year. Thankfully Peyton is locked up until 2011. Peyton is second in the MVP running only to the Edge. I've gotten myself in quite a conundrum now. Maybe I should get him hurt towards the end of the season so nobody will take him. Yes....maybe....

Ok, so, more thoughts on going abroad with ADM for a couple years. The more I think about it, the more I want to do it. I just need to start asking around work about the different opportunities. While I will only be in Italy for about 13 days this summer, I hope that it will give me a look into how people live over there. I know I'm hitting the tourist traps up pretty hard, but it's still Italy, it's still not America.

My newest venture....if I haven't already told you this then it might be a surprise to you, hockey. Yes, that's right, I'm going to play hockey. I've always wanted to play, and I figure if not now, then when? My costs are totally upfront and shouldn't be a recurring thing. If I don't like it, then I sell my stuff on eBay and it's a lesson learned sort of thing. Peoria has a class I can take that will teach me how to play. It's designed specifically for adults that have never played but want to learn and are moderate at skating. If that's not a definition of me then I don't know what is. I've been going and will continue to go learn how to skate on my own. There are still a couple of things I need to work on, but overall I hope for it to be a good experience.

Now to leave you with a thought for the day....hmmm, hmmm, actually, I don't have one. So, yes, I'll just leave you.

Check back in a couple days for another update.

THAT'S CRAZY TALK!

2006-02-17T23:31:00.000-06:00

Engineering faux pa of the week: I was in a training class for ADM and a guy showed something that funneled down to a point. He proceeds to make an analogy relating class material to how as you go towards the narrow part of the funnel everything slows down. I weighed my options and determined leaving it alone was my most beneficial course of action. Correcting him on how for his analogy to be true we would basically have to do no work and leave early didn't seem the wise thing to do. Still confused? Think of a hour glass with sand, does the sand move faster on the very top or when it's about to move through the narrowest part?

If you're a fellow engineer don't even get into how you have make all the assumptions that we all know are true for Bernoulli's to work because we're not in school anymore and now stuff just works because it does!

So apparently I was in about the biggest doze off mode I had ever been in the other night. My parents called to ask me if I wanted to go to Florida (reference previous blog) and I was a little unsure of what I wanted to do because I had people coming to town. Now, in my defense, a little background. I had just woken up, yeah, at 6 p.m., 3rd's will do that to you, and I got an email from my dad saying they were going and then I get a call asking if I wanted to go. I initially balk thinking; 1) I've got plans and people coming, 2) Sun is fun and all, but I was just in S. Carolina for two weeks, 3) I love my family, but four days in a small room....eh. Then I get it out of them that we're actually going to Disney, and then it was a whole new ballgame. It's like the sun came out and all was clear. After long thought, about half a second, it was determined that Mickey undoubtedly trumps all. QED! Sorry guys, but being as childish as I am, Disney still has me by the cajones. So, I get to go to the Magic Kingdom, MGM, and the Animal Kingdom. Unless my parents find something at Epcot on Thursday so cool I can't miss out on it, then I won't be making it over there. I'll concede that Test Track is pretty cool (when it's not broken!) and I'm sure the new Bruce from Nemo is cool, but with minimal time, I can't really work it into my precious schedule.

That's my first of two trips coming up in the near future. Tonight I'm in Indy at my sister's apartment helping to plan our trip to Italy. Italy has always been the one European country I've wanted to go to and now it looks like it's for real. That country is going to take me for a heck of a ride financially speaking, but I can't take it with me and if not now, when? I'm kind of starting to lighten up with my money and it's not all that bad. Actually, you know what it's like? You know that credit card commercial where the guy is a cheapskate and at the end he's at the theater with his girlfriend and he's like, "today, we'll get a large popcorn." Then the girl spazzes out and the guy working the register is taken aback. Trying to ride the wave he asks him if he wants a Coke and the guy's like, "no." See, Italy is my increase in popcorn size, and adding that Coke, well, I suppose you all will be some of the first few to know when I add that Coke. It'll be something big, just don't know what. So back to Italy, it's looking like over the course of 10/11 (time changes screw us over going) days we'll be visiting five different places. Fly into Roma then to La Spezia, then to Venezia, then to Firenza, then to Siena, then back to Roma to finish up the trip. I know it sounds like a lot, but let's be honest, would you expect less from the Farmer's? It's just a whole different type of planning going to Europe rather than D.C. or Cali. Traveling in America, you know you can stay at a Holiday Inn, or you know what to do if you rent a car, or you know how the subway systems work. But over there. Hotel or hostel? Car or train? Express or local? It all boils down to just being more research, which isn't bad, but I certainly don't have to tell you all that I don't like being taken out of my element, and going to Italy is about as out of my element as I can get. Still no guarantees that I don't run away for a day if the U.S. ends up having a soccer game in Germany. By train I can get from Venzia to Munchen in 7 hours, that'd be tempting....

Speaking of Italy, I'd like to take a minute to talk about the Olympics. As one of the few people excited that the Olympics were starting I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say, WTF? I never dreamed that we'd match our Salt Lake games medal total, but still, a little better I thought. We made strides in the positive direction; Tony Benshoof, Bode/Rahlves being contenders, Kwan finally quitting. We also had quite a few, um, screw ups; women's hockey so worried about Canada they forgot about Sweden, Bode/Rahlves only being contenders (they lost to a frenchie for the love of Pete). Now before you start thinking I'm with all those people calling Bode a flop let me explain those. I am upset that neither of those two won gold in their events....yet. If memory serves me correctly they still have a few to go. Also, people need to understand what these guys are doing. They go 85 miles/hour down crazy steep hills for two miles and end up losing to the other guys by fractions of a second. As Bode said the other day, it's not that he skiied (sp?) poorly, it's just that Deneriaz skiied (sp?) perfectly. I still love you Bode. If nothing else, you're a great promoter of the sport.

Sarah Hughes is hot and almost brought me to tears out of amazement/seeing history with her free skate program four years ago. Can Emily do the same thing? She got the spot she earned, congrats.

Man, going back east a time zone really makes me feel like I'm staying up late.

Mike Davis got fired/resigned. D.J. White, Robert Vaden, and possibly A.J. Ratliff are thinking about leaving IU. Ok, one question, why? Out of spite? Davis, in my opinion, will not be rehired at a program big enough to suit their need for competitive basketball. If he goes to another big school then ok, maybe they are at IU because of him and that could be why they leave. But why mess up a good thing? The fact remains that they have a strong core of basketball players. They know it. Hell, even Davis knows it, before the season he said if he can't win with this bunch then he deserved to be fired. Wouldn't make no sense to me, but who am I?

Sometimes in life it's necessary to kind of rededicate your self to a cause. That's what I'm doing now and it's working so far. I feel and look better. Hopefully I can stick to it and it shouldn't be a problem. If you disagree you may have to take it up with Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson, that is....only if you can get tickets, snap!

If you're laughing, and you should be because it's funny (most likely because it's true), then it's because you know someone who majored in comparitive literature. If you're not laughing, then check your diploma, you might be the one that majored in comparitive literature.

Alright, I'm Outtie 5000! Isn't that what you always called it?

What to do what to do?

2006-02-13T21:19:00.000-06:00

So my parents just rocked my world. I've got a four day coming up and my parents want to fly me to FL and go to Disney for two days. Ok, there will be another update soon as to what I do. Until then, below....

So the following is an article I got from Yahoo News. The chick is obviously far right, and that's probably half the reason I love it so much. But let's be honest, even all you left wing commies will have to laugh at this.

As my regular readers know, I've long been skeptical of the "Religion of Peace" moniker for Muslims -- for at least 3,000 reasons right off the top of my head. I think the evidence is going my way this week.
The culture editor of a newspaper in Denmark suspected writers and cartoonists were engaging in self-censorship when it came to the Religion of Peace. It was subtle things, like a Danish comedian's statement, paraphrased by The New York Times, "that he had no problem urinating on the Bible but that he would not dare do the same to the Quran."
So, after verifying that his life insurance premiums were paid up, the editor expressly requested cartoons of Muhammad from every cartoonist with a Danish cartoon syndicate. Out of 40 cartoonists, only 10 accepted the invitation, most of them submitting utterly neutral drawings with no political content whatsoever.
But three cartoons made political points.
One showed Muhammad turning away suicide bombers from the gates of heaven, saying "Stop, stop -- we ran out of virgins!" -- which I believe was a commentary on Muslims' predilection for violence. Another was a cartoon of Muhammad with horns, which I believe was a commentary on Muslims' predilection for violence. The third showed Muhammad with a turban in the shape of a bomb, which I believe was an expression of post-industrial ennui in a secular -- oops, no, wait: It was more of a commentary on Muslims' predilection for violence.
In order to express their displeasure with the idea that Muslims are violent, thousands of Muslims around the world engaged in rioting, arson, mob savagery, flag-burning, murder and mayhem, among other peaceful acts of nonviolence.
Muslims are the only people who make feminists seem laid-back.
The little darlings brandish placards with typical Religion of Peace slogans, such as: "Behead Those Who Insult Islam," "Europe, you will pay, extermination is on the way" and "Butcher those who mock Islam." They warn Europe of their own impending 9/11 with signs that say: "Europe: Your 9/11 will come" -- which is ironic, because they almost had me convinced the Jews were behind the 9/11 attack.
The rioting Muslims claim they are upset because Islam prohibits any depictions of Muhammad -- though the text is ambiguous on beheadings, suicide bombings and flying planes into skyscrapers.
The belief that Islam forbids portrayals of Muhammad is recently acquired. Back when Muslims created things, rather than blowing them up, they made paintings, frescoes, miniatures and prints of Muhammad.
But apparently the Quran is like the Constitution: It's a "living document," capable of sprouting all-new provisions at will. Muslims ought to start claiming the Quran also prohibits indoor plumbing, to explain their lack of it.
Other interpretations of the Quran forbid images of humans or animals, which makes even a child's coloring book blasphemous. That's why the Taliban blew up those priceless Buddhist statues, bless their innocent, peace-loving little hearts.
Largely unnoticed in this spectacle is the blinding fact that one nation is missing from the long list of Muslim countries (by which I mean France and England) with hundreds of crazy Muslims experiencing bipolar rage over some cartoons: Iraq. Hey -- maybe this democracy thing does work! The barbaric behavior of Europe's Muslims suggests that the European welfare state may not be attracting your top-notch Muslims.
Making the rash assumption for purposes of discussion that Islam is a religion and not a car-burning cult, even a real religion can't go bossing around other people like this.
Catholics aren't short on rules, but they couldn't care less if non-Catholics use birth control. Conservative Jews have no interest in forbidding other people from mixing meat and dairy. Protestants don't make a peep about other people eating food off one another's plates. (Just stay away from our plates -- that's disgusting.)
But Muslims think they can issue decrees about what images can appear in newspaper cartoons. Who do they think they are, liberals?

Follow Me Here

2006-02-07T03:45:00.000-06:00

I have, for quite some time now, been on the record as to exactly who it is that I don't like....people wise that is. Those two things are liars and hypocrites. I just got home from work (it's 3:45 in the morning and I was supposed to be off at midnight by the way) because I had to take an employee to the hospital. She was fine and it was an outside non-work related incident that made us go so no worries about ADM. But we get there and the Dr. we get is a real bitch....and ugly too, never a good combo. So anyway, our employee is getting checked out and everything and she's telling the Dr. how we work a swing shift so the Dr. gets on me about how we need to change our policy because people that work a life of swing die 10 years younger than everyone else, which is probably true, but come on, how is this my fault? Crazy lady is telling me all this crap like I can do anything about it. So anyway, this story has nothing to do with liars, but it has to do with hypocrites and within the medical profession there's quite a few. Crazy lady, word of advice, don't preach health and proper eating and how people need to maintain a healthy lifestyle to live well when you are blatantly overweight. And a bitch too, but that doesn't really have anything to do with being a liar or a hypocrite, I just wanted to reiterate that point.

Ok, enough of that. I so need Wednesday and Thursday off to clean my place up. I couldn't even take a picture and show it to you on my blog because no picture could do it justice, it's just a pit.

So, as many of you may have read the other day, Snyder and I played too much Madden last weekend and it was all that we thought it could be and more. So I get home from work tonight and he's trash talking me over IM about how I better be ready when they come to town in a couple weeks because he thinks he's going to whip me. So I guess this is where most mature people would say how childish that is that we trash talk over IM, and for that matter, to one's away message. But really, I'm just mad I didn't try it first. You know, it's a good thought, try to get into your opponent's head. I like your style Snyder. I don't care what they say about you, you're alright.

So I'm getting a little better at this right handed 'shift' key thing. We'll see how it goes over the next couple weeks.

Oh, yeah, here's another one of my curse's as an engineer/person who uses logic. I took a company vehicle to el hospital tonight and driving back to the plant I looked at the temperature gauge and it had three numbers; 260 210 100; in that order from top to bottom with the same spacing from 260 to 210 as 210 to 100. Who else sees a problem here? Is the temperature gauge a freakin' log scale or something? Two real legitimate concerns with this. One is that an engineer probably designed that part, yet they didn't see a problem with this? What kind of engineers does GMC have working for them? Two is that the thermostat can't be all that accurate. If the gauge increases at a certain rate from a common start temperature, easily double digits in the winter, to a running temperature of just below 200 then it increases at the same speed apparently until it hits 210, at which point, according to the dash it would have to slow down to increase the same temperature increments on the dash because it change the temperature on the top as much as on the bottom but over a shorter distance. So this means I have to believe that the van knows when it hits 210, and when that happens the temperature cluster stops raising as quickly as pre-210. Um, yeah, no friggin' way!

WOW! That was a whole lot of rambling. I'll plan on waking up sometime Tuesday late morning so I can workout then go to work. Off to bed for me.

Gone for so long!!!!

2006-02-04T21:28:00.000-06:00

I don't really know what I was going for there. So I was just thinking about how my left shift key, my dominant key, is broken and how much it just straight up pisses me off. Do you have any idea how hard it is to switch which shift key you use on your keyboard after 4.5 years? I really think I could start blogging and just not quit for like five hours because I got so much random stuff going on upstairs right now. Instead of boring you though, I'm just going to give you the tip of the iceberg. That's 10% by the way, I learned that in OSHA 10 hour training. I guess I'll need that info the next time I'm piloting the Titanic across the Atlantic. So I will make no accusations about the time reasoning of this blog. I typed some stuff up on the ol' Asser during training and I will just be pasting it into my blog a little later. That means chances are very good that the tenses will be very out of whack....and I don't care. One of these days my computer will understand that even though I have the ability to (with financial assistance) run a USB 2.0, it's never going to happen. I am so super psyched about the Olympics starting in less than a week. I understand my excitement may be singular in nature, but I don't care, because I like watching them and there's nobody here to change the channel.

Haha, this is going to get me into trouble here. The reason my computer wants to run a 2.0 USB is because I was getting pictures from my camera from banquet. As this picture you're about to see will prove my matchmaking abilities are virtually unparalleled. If these two just don't look like the perfect couple then where else do we have to go as a society?

For the record, even though it looks like it and we were at IU, to the best of my knowledge nobody did any tokin' up before the banquet. That picture is really just a lead in for making myself not look so bad. Leigh, like always, is looking very nice, but I have lower others to make myself feel good. Haha, yes, that was a joke.

So now that I think I'm done with that, I did have a really awesome time. Especially for finding out I was going like two nights in advance. It worked out pretty well I think.

So back to being totally random....um wait,what did I have. Oh yeah, I hate the right shift key and I hate working 12's. That stuff is hard, I just kind of got into my swing shift and I had to work a 12 today and a 12 tomorrow (Sunday). I get off work at 8 so hopefully I'll get to see some of the Super Bowl.

So this is where I'm going to do a copy paste of last week's blog. I think it mentions banquet in there, so just read it again because it's only like a sentence if it's actually in there. Ummm, yeah, that's enough for one night.

So I think I’m getting a little tired of being on the road so much. I just got back from Decatur which is where I went when I got back from Terre Haute. The Haute was kind of cool because Snyder and I played Madden 06 WAY too much. I do believe it was starting to straight up piss Phil, Kober, and probably not so much Hassler because he, like the two of us, had nothing to do. We also played Tiger Woods 04. It is becoming amazingly apparent that my PS2 will go down as the most time distracting piece of equipment ever. Anyway, Haute was cool because I was able to go to banquet Saturday. In a totally random move I gave a call to an old friend who goes to IU and she was able to make the trip with me. Leigh and I had a good time and it was in the Tudor Room, it was nice. Kober also helped me to reinstall XP on my computer so mad props out to him for making my computer work again. Also crazy ass props to the most awesome Chi-O I know. D-Scully hooked me up big time with XP, a new razor, and new razor cartridges. I love her. Also thanks to Wojo for getting me Office. It’s amazing how helpless I really am on my own.

Ah huh, Bacardi and Cola. Ok, so those commercials where we meet Diet Cola. Awesome! That little vertically challenged guy is crazy funny.

I will say the nice thing about being on the road so much is the food. Let’s piece together my last week of food, shall we?
Friday – Steak at Roadhouse
Saturday – Steak at banquet
Sunday – Best pizza ever at Ballyhoo
Monday – Steak at Outback
Tuesday – Steak at Roadhouse
Wednesday – Ribs at Cheddar’s
Thursday – Steak at Outback

You see a general theme I got going on here? Yeah, red meat is so awesome. Vegetarians can suck on it.

Man, so if you’ve talked to me recently I’ve told you this, but God weirdos freak me out more than the ‘watch a girl in her sleep’ weirdos. I don’t know what it is

Well, where was I going to go? Detroit?

So I was watching the South Park where the town of Beaverton goes down in a flood because Stan and Cartman run a boat into the Beaver Dam. This shit is so funny because South Park is so awesome at making fun of real stuff and it just puts everything into light. Maybe it’s even more funny for me because I’m a fan of Bush….hehehehe….and this show is totally ripping on the left. Oh my, this is so awesome.

So during a South Park commercial, I turned to the Duke-BC game and JJ Redick represents everything I’d want to be as a professional athlete. He pulls down a board and has a five on one breakaway against a white guy who is just standing under the basket ready to get beat. So what does JJ do? Does he drive then kick to a teammate for an easy dunk or layup? NO! He pulls up and drains a three. How awesome is he that he 1) does it and doesn’t get yelled at by Coach K for not taking the easy two, or that he 2) knows he is going to drain the three.

Haha, back now to South Park being so funny. I love the parts where they talk about the death tolls in such high frequency.
“We’re hearing death tolls of over 8 million in the town of only 8,000.”
“So you’ve actually seen these people dead?””No, we can’t actually get to the town, but that’s what we’ve been told”
Obviously the reference there is when Katrina hit they said death tolls would be in the millions when we all knew that was b.s.

And because I'm not a terrible terrible person, here's a real picture of Hassler and Megan. Congrats on one year whenever the actual date is. For simplicity, I will always be counting it from the first time you guys met, but obviously since my opinion doesn't matter you can pick whatever day you want.

As always, there will be more to come in hopefully the near future....

So much catching up....

2006-01-23T18:48:00.000-06:00

So I've been away for about the last two weeks without blog'ing....so this is like a two week update. Lots to say, lots to type, let's see if I can get it all.

First off....my new friends.

So if you've talked to me in the last couple days I've told you this story and you can ignore the next paragraph.

I was flying home from South Carolina and we were in Atlanta and the plane was full so they were looking for bumps. Ever the cheapskate that I am I saw they were offering $400 and I was like, "that's a third of my plane ticket to Italy, I'd be crazy to not take it." So I take it, and they throw in a hotel and dinner and breakfast. So since I've already eaten dinner, I get ice cream with their money and as I get up to the concourse I'm not paying attention, because, let's be honest, it was ice cream and it was good and I was enthralled with it. So ice cream in hand and not paying attention I'm walking and proceed to stumble over my own feet and there to break my fall is Mia Hamm. I apologize and don't realize who she is, I double take, it's Mia, and I knocked Mia into Nomar, I probably hurt Nomar....sorry Dodger's fans. I'm sure she thought I was just trying to run into her so I could say I ran into Mia, but really, I'm an idiot. So seizing the opportunity I busted out the camera and you see the result. In a state of bewilderment I did not get in the picture with them, I think I was out of it. Kind of star struck, you know what I mean?

Ok, so now onto the last two weeks. I've been in Aiken, SC for process control training for ADM. It wasn't bad, but, I'm not too sure how much of it I'm going to be able to apply to my everyday job. There was so much food though, it was so unhealthy but it was so good. I turned in my expense report today and expense free living for the last two weeks was really nice. The weather was absolutely beautiful down there. Upper 60's and into the 70's a couple days. Luckily our instructor was lazy like we were so he let us go early to go golfing and whatnot. I see why old people migrate now for the winter time. It's a good endeavour I may have to look into one day. When we flew back we could see where the snow started and it was so disheartening. So, I must say, the only reason I would have wanted to come back would have been last week when all those Illinois fans would have had to take my wrath. Unfortunately, it just had to wait until today.

Why is ice skating backwards so hard? I think I'm going to start ice skating more often....maybe I can pick it up? Maybe I can play hockey come next season? Last time I went skating I watched a recreational league and I'm pretty sure without practicing I could have played with these teams.

So, and this is news to me, I never knew how many people carry guns around. The two guys that went to SC with me both pack heat. The one guy carries around little Deringers in his back pocket when he goes to Chicago. The other has guns just around his house for protection against criminals and stuff. One's a .38 and the other is a .30-06 for hunting. Don't get me wrong, I'm republican and I think guns are cool, but come on people....draw the line somewhere. The one guy has little kids and doesn't lock it up, that scares me. Maybe I can buy a gun too and then I can be like Mike Vanderjagt. This is from the Star, and it's good; "Mike Vanderjagt's kick was so far right it landed in Pat Robertson's lap." What an awesome observation.

SC was a chance for me to catch up on my tv viewing. I've recently determined that Gilmore Girls is a funny show and it has Lauren Graham in it. Lauren Graham is not only hot, but is from Bad Santa, and has the greatest lines ever in that movie. Also, 24 started when I was gone. That show is so super awesome that I almost can't believe it.

AHHHH!!!! Olympics start on February 10th. I don't think anybody is as stoked as I am about those. America is going to be like super awesome. Between Bode, Apolo, Lindsay....and everyone else, oh my, so awesome. I love any chance for America to show some dominance.

Madden 06, if I may say, is the hardest game ever. That qb vision crap is so hard to do. And playing defense on a game is also super hard. I need to practice a lot, but we'll see how that works out.

If I don't stop seeing all these damn cruise commercials I am going to go postal, like serial postal.

Wow, you know, I have like so much more to type about, but....I just can't pull the string and I don't know what else to type about. I was told I need to respond to my critics about some earlier posts, but I'm going to generate some response from this blog, and then respond to all of them in an upcoming blog.

BCS Recap....and a lot of other crap too!

2006-01-05T00:48:00.000-06:00

First off, anybody can now post comments, not just other members of blogger.com. Any other changes requested will probably be made, just let me know.

Today's lesson: I can affect the decision you make but in the end the result will be the effect. Get it, affect is a verb, and effect is a noun. OMG! I just distinguished between a verb and a noun. Tear. Sadly enough, that is the first time in a long time I can recall making a distinction between the two....because I had terrible teachers in grade school!!!!

So I was reading ESPN magazine a couple weeks ago and anybody that reads the magazine knows they do an over/under section where they start seriously but are usually joking by the end. Well, anyway, one of the jokes was the over/under on games before the NBA makes Lebron play with one hand tied behind his back....and it was like 20 or something. I laughed initially, but now it's kind of scary the truth behind it. I think he would still embarrass people with one hand. As my good buddy Snizzo just said, "that dude is 21...what are we doing with our lives?" That raises a good point, what are we doing? He makes millions and I just got off second shift and I'm writing a blog. He makes millions and he just got done playing basketball and is probably currently doing (insert girl's name from phonebook). While on the topic of Lebron I have to say his The Lebron's commercials along with Ted Ferguson are some of the best commercials out now.

Enough of that, now for my BCS/bowl recap.

Ohio State - Notre Dame
Come on, we all know why Brady Quinn did so bad against Ohio State, right? Was anybody else thinking in their heads lewd comments that A.J. Hawk was making to Brady when he sacked him? Something along the lines of, "this won't be the last Quinn I'll be on top of today," or "that's right, your sister and I bump uglies." That's not even fair to Brady, he can't compete with that. I recently learned at work there's a lot more people besides me that hate Notre Dame, yet, just like me, none of us know why....we just do.

West Virginia - Georgia
So....the klan vs. rednecks. Wait, which state is which? So, since this game couldn't have really been more boring because, well, it's West Virginia, I probably won't write much about the game. I will concede they played well, but it's still West Virginia. The last time I drove through there I was seriously scared because the entire state looks straight out of Deliverance, agreed? We did manage to piss on their guard rail though....awesome I must say. But it was about 35 degrees, and to quote Jerry Seinfeld, "like a frightened turtle." I'll leave it at that.

Florida State - Penn State
Do I want to even get my heart rate up again thinking about this game? It was like uber pissing me off because I was tired and wanted to sleep, but it got to the point where I couldn't sleep without knowing who would stop screwing up first. Kickers have A job. 'A' being singular, meaning just one thing. Missing a 50 yarder with wind off of grass? I'll give you that. Missing a 30 yarder in beautiful playing conditions because you're a chump. Nah. No excuse. Oh well, a Big 10 victory, I'll take it. Did anyone else notice Joe Pa and Bowden talking after the game to the ABC hottie? I was just waiting for "HEEEEEYYYYY DICKHEAD!" from Grumpy Old Men. Old people, while I will never become one (we can discuss in detail later if you want to learn of how I'm accomplishing this), can be cute from time to time because they're just out there. And these two guys were definitely out there, I couldn't help but laugh at them.

Southern California - Texas
While I have no dislike for either of these teams because in my head I feel they've both become successful by doing it the right way (and by right I mean NOT the Jerry Tarkania way) I did have a favorite. As typical, my favored team lost but I guess you'll have that. Out of this game I will take solice that Vince Young will probably go pro now, which increases my chances of the Raiders getting Leinart or Young. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to see how it works out. You know, Leinart would go really well with my new henway. What's a 'henway' you might have just asked yourself? About three or four pounds. Oh, snap! I got you good......yeah, you finish it. Ok, that's a grandpa joke there, and if I've resorted to grandpa jokes, it obviously means I need to sleep, which means I'm done blogging tonight.

Soon to come;
-the hunt for a boo
-geriatrics convention at the Riverplex
-a change in my outlook on malcontents (gasp, oh, is it possible? oh)

Stay tuned for updates.

Feel the rain on your skin, no one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in. No one else, no one else, can speak the words on your lips.

A new day....a new lesson.

2006-01-01T20:31:00.000-06:00

Well, so I guess you learn something new everyday. This weekend I learned, and this will come as a surprise to all of you I'm sure, that not all shampoos and conditioners are the same. Now I know that as a guy I'm not supposed to know this kind of stuff but I never would have thought twice about it until Megan put it into terms that I could understand. Using bad shampoo on my hair would be like me putting non-Shell (insert name of discount gas here) gasoline into my car. I just don't do it because I care about my cars and I want them to run well, plus I'm getting 15% rebates on shell gas....they're practically giving it away.
Enough of that. So....I learned more about Alice In Wonderland, the Apple Dumpling Gang, and the Rescuers this weekend than I could ever need to know. Megan's Christmas present turned out to be a good choice I think because rather than celebrate the New Year we pretty much played it all afternoon and night. The Disney references are because she got Disney; Scene It?. I never really got into the Alice scene because to me you'd have to be high when watching to understand what's going on. Plus I'm not really big into Cheshire Cat's and the Queen of whatever she's the Queen of.
Also in a good move by Megler (easier to type Megler than Megan and Hassler) I got The Dukes of Hazzard from them. I must say that the director, I shit you not the director is Thorny from Super Troopers, did a good job to make it a present day Dukes rather than an older Dukes like the tv show. Reference to that though, let's be honest, Stiffler, Jackass, and Jessica Simpson are hardly old school. One highlight of the film has to be Thorny and Rabbit doing the "Do you know how fast you were going?" scene to the Duke's. Also, the kid from Dimpus Burger was in the movie. I guess when the director is the same you'll have that.
Who else is totally psyched about 24 starting in like two weeks? It's starting on my birthday, what an awesome present. I'll be in South Carolina but I think I'll be able to get to a tv so I can watch it. It's mid-60's where I'm going right now....it'll be rough I'm sure. I do have to go to class though for two weeks so don't start to get too jealous.

Today's poll: Should I cut my hair or leave as is for my passport photo? I need to know by like Thursday because that's when I'm going. It's not hippie long, but it's not squeaky clean short.

If you got it, flaunt it....

Totally random....

2005-12-29T19:37:00.000-06:00

So....as a newcomer to blog'ing you would think that my first blog would be descriptive, but then I thought about it and I realized that if you're reading this, you know who I am. So what point would there be in saying something about myself? That's right, there isn't any. So this first blog is going to be just a bunch of things I've been thinking about recently.
-Is it odd that I've been in my apartment for just over six months now and I just saw one of my neighbors for the first time tonight?
-So I'm watching the Oregon-Oklahoma Holiday Bowl and they just told me that next year Oregon, the Ducks, will be wearing chrome on their uniforms. Is there seriously not like a....OMG, no way! Ryan Leaf's little brother is quarterbacking Oregon right now. Do you think he's a nutjob just like his brother was? Wait, was? What's wrong with me, more like is, not was. -Perhaps I shouldn't interrupt my typing with other typing? It's not like you guys are reading this in real time.
-Does anybody else love to see a cracker QB and a cracker punter run for first downs in actual pressure situations. There's nothing really like it. Gives me a sense of pride in my people.
-Seeing all these bowl games on makes me really think about the future of the teams I like for football. IU is seriously showing potential with Coach Hep at the helm. They're starting to get a few good Indiana recruits and they're time is coming soon. As far as the Raiders, two words is my future....Matt Leinart. If the Raiders can get him I will seriously be one of the first to get his jersey. He'd be like the Raiders first pick in ten years that I would feel comfortable supporting because I feel he would actually remain a Raider.
-Does anybody else dislike cleaning as much as me? I got people coming this weekend for New Years and I need to clean up. So on that note, my first blog shall end. I'm sure others will follow in the near future, because let's face it, I'm a....actually, how about you write a comment and finish the sentence? Sound good? Good.

Thank you and goodnight. I'll be here all week, remember to tip your waitress.