David's Tangled Thoughts

Getting Over the Flu

2012-02-03T18:56:00.003-05:00

I've been sick these past few days with the flu. Nasty bug too. I know that I'm on the mend though. Usually vomiting is the climax of the event and that was this morning. My poor neighbor probably heard all that. I'm glad he didn't come downstairs to check on me but then again, I'm a little disappointed that he didn't. I'm heading off to bed shortly and probably wont get up until some time in the afternoon.

Happy Birthday Mom

2012-01-24T18:56:00.001-05:00

My Mom turned 50 not too long ago and there was a party this past Sunday. Get a sneak peek here!

2012-01-19T22:10:00.002-05:00

See Also: "Chili Cheer" & "What Happens When You Put Fire to Ice and Lookalikes"

This past Sunday my friends Kraig, Stacey, and I checked out the Hunter Ice Festival downtown. While checking out the ice sculptures we did a chili crawl as well as had some ice cream. Ice cream? Yeah it sounds crazy I know but it tasted really good.

I'm a kinda surprised that no one has smashed into this yet. :P

You’re at Disney for Eff’s sake!

2012-01-13T15:44:00.002-05:00

I’mback from a trip to Florida that started on Thursday, 12/15 and ended onWednesday, 12/21.

Thursdaynight/Friday

Onthis trip was supposed to be my father, mother, Uncle Art and his daughter,Aunt Julie and her son and daughter. Myparents and I left with my uncle in two cars. My aunt and her kids were feeling sick so they stayed behind for anextra day. We left around 1930 but anhour later we had only traveled 15 miles because we needed to make a stop atWalmart for food and supplies.

Ourtravel time was supposed to be 20 hours but mostly because of directions snafuin Atlanta and an extended search near Robins AFB, Georgia for pecans, itturned out to be 27 hours. That wasexcruciating let me tell you.

Saturday

Onthis day we went to Hollywood Studios (I still call it MGM.) We figured that we would start with the lesspopular park since Aunt Julie and company were, by then, still driving down. Everyone was still tired and by 1600, UncleArt and his daughter we ready to call it day. We left with them to meet my Aunt who had by then just arrived. We had dinner at the Sizzler and while therest of the family attempted to catch up on some sleep, my parents and I headedback to MGM to see the Christmas decorations.

Sunday

UncleArt and Aunt Julie weren’t interested in going to Universal Studios opting tojust sticking to Disney World. It soundssadder than it really is but I wanted to see the new Harry Potter addition atUniversal’s Islands of Adventure. So whilewe were at Universal, my aunt, uncle and their kids went Animal Kingdom. Harry Potter was crowded. Almost an hour to get into Olivander’s and anhour to get on the new Harry Potter ride.

Idon’t know if there really is a difference but frozen Butter Beer tastes betterthan regular Butter Beer. Pumpkin juicetastes great but for $6 a bottle, it really isn’t worth it.

Ifa wand is all you really want, there is a kiosk that sells wands. That way you don’t have to wait to get intoOlivander’s.

Monday

Thisday we all went to Epcot. My parents andI arrived when the park opened. While wewaited for the rest of the family to show up we went to the more boring ridesas I expected the kids to want to do the more exciting stuff. Wow was I wrong! All day the kids wanted to meet characters orbrowse the gift shops. One of the kidswas even given $50 to spend. I didn’t even have $50 tospend! As I recall I was carrying exactlytwo nickels!

The Land Pavilion. Gotta do the educational stuff too.

Myfriend from college, Mike, was participating in the CandlelightProcessional. The wait for this event isextremely long but I was determined to attend. I made it to the last show. TraceAdkins was the guest speaker. If youever go to Epcot during Christmas, I highly suggest that you make time for thisshow.

Specialkudos to the ASL interpreter. We canhear music and for a little while I believed I could see it as well.

Therest of the family continued on as they didn’t want to attend. I left them at the France Pavilion. This guy pictured here makes me regret—just abit—that I didn’t join them. Ha!

Istill ended the day highly irritated. Itseemed like a waste of the day as everyone could not make efficient use oftime.

Tuesday

Sending Christmas Cards out from the Magic Kingdom

Aftersuch a horrible day at Epcot, I vowed that I wasn’t going to let anyone slow medown. While we were waiting for everyoneat the Magic Kingdom I told my parents that I would have to separate myself ifthe kids continued to do the character signing BS and shopping. I suggested that maybe the best thing to dowas to take James with me and go off on our own. I’m not sureif someone said something to someone but when we all met up, they pretty muchlet me set the agenda.

Idragged them all around the park. I madejudicious use of the Fastpass system and got us on almost all the rides. I would have gotten everything done exceptthe adults called it a night about 3 hours before the park was supposed toclose.

Lateron, through my parents, I found out that my aunt and uncle were thankful that Iwas able to get so much accomplished. That’s right. I don’t mess aroundat Disney!

Wednesday

Wednesdaywas my travel day back to Michigan as I had to be into work on thatThursday. Everyone else stayedbehind. They still had Seaworld to do. The flight wasn’t bad and I breezed throughsecurity like a pro. Left around 1000 andgot to South Bend just after 1500. I wassad to be back. Vacations may bestressful situations but I’ll take that stress over home any day.

Another Damn Tooth

2012-01-12T23:15:00.000-05:00

There's some pretty nasty weather outside! I've got the day off tomorrow so I don't have to wake up too early to uncover my car and head to work. Instead, I get to wake up a little later, uncover my car, and head to the dentist's office.

I don't usually talk about work but it seems like it has engulfed my life. It's been very tough with some new workload as well as trying to cover for people in other buildings. One nice thing was some personal words of thanks from the ops manager.

I've uploaded some pictures from my trip to Florida last month. I had meant to make a post on them sooner but I got lazy. Plus, some of the picture files were at my parents' house. I'm not sure if I will write too much about the trip and instead just post pictures. But as a teaser:

Money Karma?

2011-12-29T20:30:00.001-05:00

I am beginning to think that I suffer from some sort of bad money karma. Against my better judgement, I went to Florida for a vacation. The way I had budgeted it out, I would have, by tomorrow, enough money to pay off the debt I owe to my sister as well as catch up a little on my credit card debt.

A few days ago I started to experience some sensitivity in my teeth. Then last night it became excruciating. At one point I was bent over a towel, drooling out because it was too painful to close my mouth or swallow. I called off of work so I could go into the dentist's office first thing.

Turns out that I have a crack in a tooth that allowed bacteria to travel down into the jaw and start an infection. I will have to have a root canal done and a crown installed. I'm probably looking at $800 out of pocket or more.

I feel so fraked over right now and the Vicodin just isn't helping.

Tron with Grandma

2011-11-24T22:46:00.002-05:00

I’m back from a Thanksgiving evening at my aunt’s place with the extended family. It went pretty well. The turkey was tasty. No one said anything when I passed over the beets and coleslaw. The apple cider was flowing. To top off the night, I watched Tron Legacy with my grandma which I would not have imagined happening before today.

My sister is back in town. Her fiancé’s parents have apparently invited us over for lunch on Saturday. I’m a little nervous about going. It’s bad enough when my family tries to make small talk and ask about my life I’m not sure I want people who won’t even be my in-laws asking me about it. I just hope they focus on the happy couple and torture them with wedding suggestions.

Tomorrow, I’m gonna see the Muppets. Woo hoo!

“Don’t let him tear you down.”

2011-11-23T22:27:00.000-05:00

The other night I got a text out of the blue from Ben. The last text that I sent him was over a week prior saying that I got the clue that he was no longer interested and that for what it was worth, I was glad we met. I wonder if that aggravated him or if he is like some Mr. Hyde character.

He called me “pathetic” because I am a shy and reserved guy. I didn’t know that was a crime.

He said that I shouldn’t take a vegetarian out to a steak house. Well, I wouldn’t have if I had known he was a vegetarian. Perhaps he should have said something when I asked him if Logan’s was okay. If some guy asked me if I wanted to go eat at …. Hmmm… I don’t think that there is a place I wouldn’t try at least once—but if there was one, I would certainly voice my objection.

He also complained that he didn’t like having to wake up in the morning to go see a movie. I guess this was the straw that broke his back because I never heard from him after asking him on this date. I did ask him to the movies but I asked him to park in them municipal lot. Why? Because I had planned not on a movie, but to take him to lunch and a hike at the dunes. It was one of the last warm days to go out and see the fall foliage.

When I read his text, I was confused as to why he was so mean. I really thought that he was a nice guy and it seemed like his personality did a 180. Then I felt really angry and I rejected most of what he said. As my friend Zoe said, I will not let him tear me down. I will not be defeated by a bad man that looks like an American stick insect. Instead, I choose vodka… and Chaka Kahn. Okay, I totally ripped that off of Bridget Jones’s Diary but you get the idea.

We’ll just say it’s the first snow.

2011-11-10T20:51:00.000-05:00

I knew, KNEW, I should have done my grocery shopping yesterday. I walked out of work and into the snowy night and all I could think was, “Damn. I’m gonna have to deal with fucktard drivers.” The snow wasn’t even sticking to the roads and I ended up getting stuck behind a pack of cars going 35mph in a 50mph zone. There was also some idiot that decided that turning lanes were to be avoided when covered with a thin layer of slush. Meanwhile down in Florida, my friend Mike is turning on the heat when the temp reached 70 degrees. I have ordered him to surrender his Midwestern Membership Card to the nearest snowbird.

Silence Will Get You What You Want

2011-11-06T12:45:00.002-05:00

It’s been a while I know. October has been on whirlwind of a month. I don’t think I have felt so great in such a long time. Now that I’m starting into November, that high has dipped into a low. Lemme go back about four weeks ago…

Early in the morning I got a text message from my friend Kevin saying that he met someone at the bar that he thought I would hit it off with. Because of work and the fact that it was already the morning, I declined. Kevin did send a picture of “Patrick.” and I agreed to meet him for a date.

I learned that Patrick was a theater/performance arts fan so I took him to see Simply Barbra. He loved it. He was singing along and just having a blast. I’m no Streisand follower so I didn’t follow along as well as he did but I enjoyed it and I was glad that I seemed to hit one out of the ballpark on the first try. So we ended the night. He got my number and I told him that if he wanted to go out again to let me know. I wanted to make sure that he knew that the ball was in his court and I was definitely willing to continue the game. No call ever came.

I texted him a couple times more or less to let him know that the door was still open. The last time I did was to invite him to come along to a drag show with Kevin, “Josh” (A mutual friend of Patrick), and myself. He declined. I suppose that was fortunate because that night I met “Ben.”

Ben sat down next to me at the bar and I was instantly drawn to him. In my head I was trying to come up with some way to start up a conversation. Eventually I did and we hit it off. We were talking to each other more than watching the show. I had to leave early that night because of work the next morning and I wanted to give Ben my number but there was a kind of miscommunication. I think he thought I was getting up to go to the bathroom and I took his nonchalant attention for disinterest. On my way home, Kevin called saying that Ben was asking where I went and if Kevin would forward on his phone number for him.

I got the phone number and called. I left a voicemail message asking him out. I got no response. I thought it would be odd to give out a number to someone you didn’t want to talk to so I tried again a day later with a text message. This time he responded and we made plans for coffee (which later got upgraded to dinner). It had been going so well… apparently until this weekend.

We were supposed to go yesterday to see a movie, walk in the park, and have lunch but he cancelled saying he had a presentation. Fine, I get that so I asked him when he wanted to reschedule. No response. Not that day. Not the next day and so far, not this day either.

I try to tell myself that maybe there are circumstances that prevent him from contacting me but in this day of smartphones (which he has one), I find it difficult to believe that he couldn’t take a couple minutes out of his day to shoot me a message. That finally gets me to one of my biggest peeves.

I absolutely hate when people will cut off communications in hopes that another person will “get a clue.” It may be too early to say that this is what happened with Ben but the more time passes, it seems more likely. I consider it rude. I will say this, I don’t suffer this treatment for very long. With Patrick, it was two tries and I was done. With Ben, I’ve already made my two tries and… I’m leaving the door open just because I like him that much BUT he’s gotten the last message from me until I hear from him.

I think that I might be done trying out this dating thing for a while. It’s done a number on my head.

Scratch Three

2011-09-10T19:33:00.002-04:00

For years, I have felt like a bad Michigander as I have never been up to the UP. Every Labor Day, the Mackinac Bridge is opened for pedestrians and I figured that this last Monday would been a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Along with my friends, Kraig and Stacey, we made plans to go do it.

Since the walk was to begin early in the morning, Stacey wanted to spend the night near there. Otherwise, we would have had to leave from our homes in the wee hours of the morning. I was open to this as we could also fit in Sleeping Bear Dunes. The fact that the park was recently voted the number most beautiful place in America helped. Seriously, click that link.

We started out on Sunday morning and the drive up there was okay for me. It wasn’t so comfortable for Kraig and Stacey. Poor Kraig had his knees pressed up against the dash to give what little room there was in the back for Stacey. Once we got through Cadillac, the drive scenery improved… but then it got old. I’m not one to appreciate long drives on two-lane country roads. At home in Michiana, I am surrounded by essentially three interstates so it’s a little unnatural for me.

We stopped in Empire for some lunch at a local diner. It was crowded. I think it was because it was the only apparent eatery for miles that tourists like us would have seen. The food was decent enough I thought.

When we reached Sleeping Bear the entrance was blocked off. I, along with a number of others, parked just around the corner and waited to see what was up. No one seemed to know what was going on so I resolved to walk back to the entrance and ask what the deal was. Stacey came along and we were also joined by some bald guy. We found out that they shut down the entrance because of some medical emergency. It seemed odd to me that they would shut down a park for that!

As always, you can click on the pictures to enlarge.

After a short wait, we did notice that the park was opened again. We went in and realized why they shut down in an emergency. The road into the park is only one lane and is a long winding loop. It is totally understandable why they have to close it down to get emergency vehicles in and out. *COUGH* It might be worth some money to widen the lanes??? Let me tell you though, the drive is GREAT. It’s absolutely gorgeous driving up and down the hills and through the woods. Along the drive are stop points that you can park and get views of the park. Eventually you will get to the stop where Sleeping Bear is.

Sleeping Bear is a 450 foot drop into Lake Michigan. Really guys, pictures don’t convey a real perspective on that thing. I was a little reluctant to go down because I knew it would be hell to get back up but you know, I came this far and by God I was going to do the full experience. I came real close to turning back about halfway down though because it seemed like a very bad idea. Glad I went through with it though.

As predicted the trip back up was horrible! HORRIBLE! I don’t know how many times I had to plop down on my ass to get my breath back. Kraig was helpful as he would go up ahead 10 meters [snickers] and I would have a goal to climb to before I would rest again. BTW, that woman that gave me her water bottle deserves her ticket to heaven now. When I was done, though, it felt great. It may seem weird, but it really felt like an accomplishment. …And it only took an hour to complete. And... I wouldn't mind doing it again.

Kraig has established the “Big Lie” in which I ended up having a heart attack climbing up Sleeping Bear and needed rescue. I added that it cost me $250. That’s sound believable right?

We spent the night in a Motel 6 at Traverse City. The check-in and check-out process was frustrating but I guess that’s what I get for going for a budget chain. We woke up early to head over to Mackinaw City (which is actually a village) for the walk.

I was already getting a little sore from my time at Sleeping Bear and I knew that I would have to take it slow on the bridge. It was crowded and walking side by side with either Kraig or Stacey turned out to be futile so I slipped back and let Kraig take point. I would have thought that with that many people on the bridge, it would be loud with conversations. Oddly enough, it was pretty quiet. Maybe it was because it was so early in the morning? Also, I have never felt so well protected as the guard was out there with soldiers stationed at short intervals.

I got to see Governor Snyder. He’s shorter than I imagined.

If you want a numbered certificate, get your group together and get them from one person handing them out. I got mine at the same time Kraig and Stacey but got it from a different person. Based on our certificate numbers they arrived at the finish line hundreds of people before me.

Apparently fudge is the thing in Mackinaw City. I would recommend walking around before buying though as different shops offer different deals. Also, apparently cats are acceptable in shops up there. I had one nearly scare the crap out of me. It was large, grey and black, and for a split second, I thought it was a raccoon that trotted past my leg.

We headed into the UP on our way to Tahquamenon Falls. Before heading into the state park, we stopped by a local eatery to try a pasty which is a kind of Yooper dish that I have never had. …And I will never have it again. Granted, it could have just been a fluke but the one I had tasted like a pot pie drained of gravy. It was gross and became even worse when I kept belching it up later.

After lunch, I was ready for a nap! We made it to the lower falls of Tahquamenon Falls. Stacey and I read a map that seemed to indicate that it would have been a four mile round trip walk from the lower falls to the upper falls. That seemed reasonable until we found out that it was a dirt trail and more like another 8 miles more than what we already walked. Hell no! We drove to the upper falls.

It truly is beautiful up there. I love to visit but I’m telling you, I’d much rather live day to day with my Walmart nearby.

Yay! No need to buy that couch now.

2011-08-26T23:25:00.002-04:00

Last weekend the company put on a picnic. It’s not as a big deal as the Christmas party as only hardcore workers actually come to this thing it seems. It’s only been my second time and if I am totally honest, I just came for the food.

Food wasn’t the only thing that they were giving out. There were ~~door~~ ~~tent~~ … prizes. In all my years there I haven’t won one damn thing. That’s okay I thought. Something bigger must be on the way, right? Well turns out that my name was called and I ended up with a nice folding chair.

Terry and his husband Dwight ended up with an odd pair of prizes.

Excess/outdated stock of VCRs were also being pushed out. Tim won one and went back for a second to use as an eventual replacement.

As I Like It

2011-08-07T19:36:00.004-04:00

A long time ago in a school district far, far away—like 15 miles--, I was in play called As You Like It by William Shakespeare. Every year volunteers from the fourth grade put on a Shakespeare play for the community. The play changes from year to year.

There weren’t many of us guys that volunteered to be in the play. If I remember right, there were only three of us guys. To audition, all of us had to read a famous monologue. I’m not sure if it really mattered as far as the guys were concerned. One named Cory got the lead named Orlando. I played his antagonist and brother, Oliver. The third guy, whose name I’ve forgotten, played a wrestler. Late in the production, we landed a fourth guy but all the roles had been cast so he played a lion that ~~attacked~~ tickled me to near death. My inability to control myself when someone touched my side has convinced me that I will never make it as an actor. Still, it was one of the best things I ever did in school and I still think back on it with fond memories.
Yesterday afternoon, I was reading the local news online when I saw that a group from Notre Dame was putting on a free play at a park in South Bend. When I read that it was As You Like It, I had to go. With only a few hours before it was due to start, I texted friends that I thought would dig it and managed to get my friends Stacey and Kevin to come along.

It did seem a little odd that the play was placed in the Civil War period so it seemed odd that they still retained “dukes.” Actually, one person looked to be wearing a Union uniform but with a Confederate cover. But you know, it is what it is. I suppose it could have been set in Japan. Oh wait, no, that’s been done.

I did enjoy it very much and I was surprised at how many of my lines that I could remember. Some of the supporting characters really shined with their hilarious takes like Phebe and Audrey. The guy who played Touchstone the clown was perfect for the part in my opinion. I’m gonna have to remember to keep an eye out for public plays next summer.

2011-08-06T16:17:00.005-04:00

<<--See also: "Dragons on the River."

Just got back from the Niles Riverfest. I was only there for a short time as I got word that it was raining in the next town over. I managed to get back to my car just as the sprinkles started falling. I managed to resist the urge to eat some fair food. Of course the idea of paying $10 for a little bowl of sirloin tips (an nothing else) helped that out. I stopped by a nearby eatery and got a panini and pop for less than half of that.

It didn't look it at the time they passed me, but the blue dragon won this heat.

Let this chapter end already!

2011-07-20T22:29:00.004-04:00

With all this debt ceiling talk, entitlement reform, high unemployment, fragile foreign and domestic economies, upcoming recall elections, yadda yadda yadda-I'm beginning to feel a little depressed about the state of my country. I need another dose of feel-good history that gives me hope that our best days (and my social security checks) are still ahead.

Michiana in the Sauna

2011-07-18T22:58:00.002-04:00

With all this heat and humidity, I feel like I’m back in the Philippines. I’m not tolerating it very well. If I had a couple months to adapt, I’d be fine but we were 20 degrees cooler just the other day.

I’ve stocked up on Fla-Vor-Ice and I’ve got an extra jug of water in the fridge. Also a trip to the Lake may be warranted as the lake temp has shot up to the mid seventies, I hear. Oooooh, I’m getting excited just thinking about it.

I’m back! (Again)

2011-07-09T23:34:00.000-04:00

Ever since I took my vacation, I have been swamped at work. The usual end of the month stuff plus I’ve been covering for other people that have been out. Thankfully it should start getting back to normal mid-week.

So what’s been happening:

My friend Sara has given birth to her second child so congrats to her.

Kraig, my new-found movie buddy, and I saw the new Transformers movie. I thought it was okay. He, apparently, likes it well enough to want to go to a second viewing. One thing that I did enjoy was the movie including the voice talent of Leonard Nimoy and chuckled at the use of one of his famous lines from Star Trek.

The Green Lantern is merely okay as well. I think that they did well on the actor and the look but the story was pretty horrible especially when it came to the villains.

It sounds horrible, but I have been amused by people’s reactions to the Casey Anthony verdict. I can understand why many were upset over the verdict but I have been surprised at how hysterical a few have gotten. From the sound of it, if they knew they could get away with it, they would drive down to Florida and administer the lethal doses themselves. Do I believe that she is guilty but I’m not willing to throw the jury under the bus for their verdicts.

I’m a bit confused about the phone hacking scandal that is happening in the UK, or specifically at the News of the World. In my mind it appears to be portrayed as an immoral act rather than being blatantly illegal. I dunno, maybe the UK doesn’t have strong laws in this area but I’m too lazy right now to research them.

Oak Park, Michigan has ticketed a family for planting a garden in their front yard. Apparently, a garden does not meet the town’s ordinance of “suitable” plant material. *rolls eyes* The family has refused to pay the fine and are being taken to court. I sincerely hope they win because I rather admire people who can make productive use of their property. You can eat out of a garden. Unless you’re a sheep, you can’t eat a lawn.

I’ve joined Google+ but unless the rest of my friends and family join too, it’s going to be just as useful as Google Wave and Google Latitude have been. That is, not at all.

Out to the Shedd

2011-06-14T20:24:00.004-04:00

I’ve taken a couple days off of work. Mostly it’s to just rest as I haven’t had a day off in… I can’t remember. Through my sister, I found out that the Shedd Aquarium had a discount day going this week and I took advantage of it yesterday.

I’ve learned in DC that I can spend all day in a museum. That and considering that it was a discount day and many schools are out for the summer, I thought that it might be a good idea to get there as early as possible. I may have over anticipated as I ended up being the 10th or so person in line.

The aquarium is a nice place but I didn’t appreciate its pricing structure. General admission doesn’t allow a person much access. Much of the place is segmented into various exhibits that require an additional charge. I think that they are counting on people’s aversion to this kind of bullshit to entice them to buy an all access pass.

This lungfish is older than my grandmother!

The aquatic show was pretty nice although I think I would have liked to have seen more than just two types of animals on display: beluga whales and a great horned owl. Cut out the owl and you could rename it the Beluga Show. Otherwise, I give them high-fives as I appreciated a more educational approach to the show rather than a performance that only showcased tricks. I mean if you want that, Sea World would probably be a better choice.

There’s a 4-D theater that has multiple shows. 4-D being that they show the film with 3-D glasses but augment the experience with physical movements and objects. For example shooting wind, blowing bubbles, shaking the seats, etc. I opted for Planet Earth over Dora the Explorer. I liked the series and, well, it’s not a cartoon. Yeeeaaah, I should have chosen Dora. Planet Earth turned out to be the same film used in the series but compressed down to less than 15 minutes and re-narrated. Oh yeah and with bubbles. *Rolls Eyes* If you’re going, do the Dora movie and let me know what I missed.

The best exhibit—and I may be biased here—was the Wild Reef exhibit which was modeled after one in the Philippines. No really, it was superbly presented just like exhibit above it, Amazon Rising. I really enjoyed the large tanks of coral reef critters. While I was there, there was a lady giving a presentation which gets me to my only real helpful hint: to make this place worth your money, be sure to catch the special presentations. They are listed on the brochure that you receive when you enter.

And here is a human-enemy to all creatures at the aquarium. If you've seen it, chances are a human has tried to eat it.

Oh… and don’t eat there. $11 for a sandwich is outrageous.

This was the line to get in when I left. Good thing I came early!

I was completely done with the aquarium by 2PM. With a couple hours until the next train for South Bend was due to depart, I continued north into Grant Park and Millennium Park.

Buckingham Fountain

On the BP Bridge

Cloud Gate. (Or, the Bean)

The Pritzker Pavilion had a live blues band playing so I sat back and enjoyed listening to it for a while while soaking up some sun. A group caught my eye though. They were coming down the BP Bridge in single file and came into the Pavilion. It was like a somber game of follow the leader. They just walked. It had to be the lamest piece of performance art I have ever seen. Fortunately they did stop walking. Unfortunately, the band quit playing at the same time.

Of course, I had to make a video recording of it.

Part of the Crown Fountain. I really dig how interactive this fountain is. Kids are all over it.

Chicago. One of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Too much of a good thing is… good.

2011-06-05T21:29:00.002-04:00

A double feature is when you see two movies back to back right? Two friends had asked if I was interested in seeing two movies. First up was Jennifer who asked if I wanted to see Bridesmaids. Up next was Kraig who also wanted to see X-Men: First Class.

Jennifer described Bridesmaids as being the chick version of the The Hangover. Seeing as how I liked the Hangover films, I didn’t object to seeing another comedy. I didn’t go in with high expectations and I think that helped me to leave the film very impressed. The movie centers around a woman who has been picked to be a maid of honor. She isn’t at a very good place in her life, though. She’s broke. She lives with disturbing roommates and among other things, she keeps hooking up with a douche bag fuck buddy. Due to these pressures along with competition from another member of the bridal party, hilarity ensues.

My friend Kraig apparently is the go-to guy for all things cartoon. I like the stuff but he knows the stuff. The last X-Men movie I saw was The Last Stand and I did not like it so I was hesitant about seeing this one. I think that because it was reboot/prequel/whatever, I was won over. Personally, I think that it is a good movie. It’s not hot stuff but it kept my attention and the characters of Professor X and Magneto were refreshed. Mystique was even more interesting because I saw a whole other side to her and I kind of mourn over the character’s evolution to the dark side.

If you haven’t seen these movies and have thought about them, I would recommend them as being well worth the ticket price. Unless you’re in a city like New York where seeing a movie sets you back $20. I mean, really, at those prices you’re bending over and holding your ankles.

Bluegrass Evening

2011-06-02T20:58:00.002-04:00

Today was the start of the Bluegrass Festival. I've been meaning to take advantage of the free events that my local communities offer over the summer. This festival isn't particularly big but it's nice to go to the river park and relax to this music. This Saturday, I think I will be meeting my friend Erin there. She says that it's good family time. I agree. Please enjoy the little snippet.

They're Good for a Laugh

2011-05-21T23:20:00.002-04:00

Only a little longer for Harold Camping to be correct in his prediction that the rapture is going to occur. Of course, 1800hrs has come and passed for most of us on the planet including me. Personally, I spent the day watching a film about the Fountain of Youth, doing a little shopping, cleaning, napping, cooking, and making fun of the people that actually bought into Camping’s prediction.

As I was reading some news articles earlier this evening, I also read some of the comments. There were a number of people who think that Camping should compensate the people who gave up their jobs, family, and money to spread his message. I find a hard time scraping any amount of sympathy for them. Well… I do feel sorry for the family members that were dragged through this mess. I guess I just can’t understand how someone who should be capable of rational thought can be duped like this. Even if a person believes that it is going to happen, past precedent should have told them that there would be no harm in hedging their bet. God’s gonna get you whether you are at work or slacking off at the beach. Best to be doing something in case things don’t go as planned.

Hiding From the Weather

2011-05-15T13:42:00.002-04:00

Me: "I think im going to pass on the reenactment. Weather model shows that rain will move into the area mid afternoon during the battle."

Friend: "Works 4 me. Its cold and wet out there right now 2"

Me: "We would make horrible union soldiers wouldn't we? :-P"

Friend: "Lol"

Friday the 13th – A Bad Day for TV

2011-05-14T20:36:00.002-04:00

I got news on the 13th that a number of televisions shows had been axed. Three of them are shows that I am sorry to see go. Scratch that. I’m upset.

I am really upset that V was cancelled, the last episode left everything pretty damn bleak. The two of the main characters ended up dead and the humans were falling under the control of Visitors. It’s not really a surprise that V was cancelled. It was a high cost show with mediocre ratings. Honestly, though, I think that it is the network, ABC, contributed to this program’s problems. The seasons were short, spaced too far apart, and scheduled broadcast times were shifted. All of those things do not help keep an audience, much less build one.

Brothers & Sisters were another casualty of ABC’s axe. It was a bit of a surprise because I had already read an article that said that ABC was renewing it for a final season. This final season would have the episode count slashed as well as the story time regarding the character of Kitty Walker. I have had declining interest in this show and even vowed to quit watching it early in the season when one of my beloved characters left the show. Still, I kept with it and in a way, I can accept the ~~season~~ series finale as good farewell to the show.

Sill, screw you ABC. I’m still mad about Eli Stone.

NBC decided that it didn’t want Outsourced around anymore. I know that there were a number of people that did not find this show funny. Some actually said it was racist. Personally, I found it funny even though I could tell that it was trying to find its footing. My only criticism over the season was when the Indian love interest of the main character seemed to be sidelined. I have a suspicion, though, that had Outsourced been renewed, we would have been seeing a lot more of her.

Osama’s Death Causes Annoyance

2011-05-02T20:11:00.002-04:00

I was surfing the net last night when word about Osama Bin Laden’s death started leaking out and that President Barak Obama was going to make an announcement. My twitter feed started going mad with updates. I immediately posted a tweet and facebook update on the matter and as the event when on I watched the television and the social updates roll in and it was interesting to see the reactions of my friends, followers, and those I follow.

The first round of reactions came from my Air Force buddies and could be basically summed up with “America! Fuck yeah!” I was basically in with this group. Hearing about the death of Bin Laden is a psychological boost. It’s been almost a decade with this guy in the back of our minds and largely symbolic of the mess that we are in the middle east.

The second round came from a couple sober friends that were quite disgusted in how a lot of us were reacting. They thought it was disgusting on how we were cheering over a person’s death. I suppose that’s a fair enough point but I have never subscribed to the idea that all life is precious or that a death of a human being—even the most monstrous—of us, should not be something to smile over. I think, though, that there is something more than just whether a man like Osama Bin Laden is alive or not. The death of John Doe down the street does not elicit the same kinds of responses in people that Osama’s does. As a result, I feel quite comfortable with my feelings of relief and happiness that something negative is gone. What undiscovered country we will move into now is another matter.

The third round, and my turn in getting annoyed, came when some people posted this:

A HUGE THANK YOU to our military, who have sacrificed, died, suffered, and worked hard, to fight people like Osama Bin Laden. YOU are the ones we thank. YOU are the ones who deserve ALL CREDIT. Thank our military for bringing due justice for those lost on 9/11 and all the victims around the world who suffered from his commands. Copy and paste if you agree...

Don’t get me wrong, I have a huge respect for our armed forces but I was getting annoyed by people with this sentiment which seemed to spread. While this operation would not have been possible without the military, it kinda gets me on to a peeve of mine that really isn’t a part of this story—and that is some people’s treatment of the military (and members) as a sacred cow. But anyways, I just think that something like this is insulting for all the others involved. Does not President Obama get some credit for making the elimination of Bin Laden a priority? (Something that was dropped by Bush administration, BTW) Does not the intelligence agencies get some credit for cultivating leads and providing intel?

Oh well, the social feeds have died down and are reverting back to mundane things like gas prices. I will still be looking forward to more information on the ops as well as the fallout. Will we see counter attacks? What is going to be politicized? We shall see.

Okay, so they got married.

2011-04-30T18:58:00.001-04:00

When I got to work on Friday morning, the one question that was floating around the place was, “Did you watch any of the wedding?” I did not. I’ve got something better to do at 0500—sleep. It’s not that I’m not totally devoid of interest for Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage, I just figured that I can catch the highlights on the news. Lord knows there’s been enough news coverage already. Sure enough, I got more than I cared for that night when I turned on the national news.

Argh! Why is this still coming up?

2011-04-26T21:26:00.001-04:00

It was bad when Donald Trump decided to throw his hat in the ring for President. It got worse when he moved up in popularity amongst the Republicans. It is now over the top as Trump has basically presented himself as a birther-a person who believes that President Obama not a natural born citizen. Whether that means, he’s Kenyan, Canadian, or Indonesian… they haven’t quite got that pinned down yet.

I am so over the birther crap and it’s embarrassing that I share a political party with them. I never questioned whether Obama is a natural born citizen. It’s simply something that I am not concerned with. Besides, if there was any shred of possibility of this being true—trust me then Senator Clinton would have been all over it.

I think it would have been funny if Barak Obama had been born in the Panama Canal Zone. Oh wait, that was Senator McCain!

The Ginger Ale Challenge

2011-04-25T20:55:00.002-04:00

When it comes to ginger ale pop (or soda for you other people), I’ve always preferred the local Vernors over all other brands. My dad prefers Canada Dry so as a kid, Vernors in the house didn’t happen unless I got it myself. On a whim, I picked up three brands of ginger ale that is sold locally: Schweppes, Canada Dry, and Vernors.

I ended up tasting all three and found that I really do like Vernors the best. I don’t critique consumables very well. I just like what I like but to give you some analysis I suppose that Vernors as a cleaner taste. Schweppes made me pucker up a little and both it and Canada Dry had more of a lingering after taste. Vernors also has a very noticeable vanilla taste to it.

Ugh, I’m going to have to drink 4L of so-so pop before I can finish off my now confirmed favorite brand ginger ale.

I’m sure these numbers and letters mean something.

2011-04-04T23:07:00.002-04:00

During my senior year of college, I saw an interesting presentation on television called Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey. Basically, it was about tracking the human migration out of Africa and into the rest of the world all those tens of thousands of years ago. How they do this is finding mutations or markers in genetic samples from populations all over the world. By identifying and comparing these markers they can find common ones that bind different groups together. …Oh just watch this.

I sent in a sample a few months ago and I just recently got my results. I don’t know much about my family tree beyond a few great grandparents on both sides. I’ve heard stories. Like my paternal grandfather’s family is descended from some Scandinavian royal house or that my maternal grandmother’s family we wealthy landowners from Spain. I’ve come to just accept that one side of my family is essentially German, and the other side is essentially Malay.

I wanted something more than just a verbal history. I wanted some evidence. Although this test wouldn’t confirm or deny the stories that I have been told, it is going to go deeper. What it would tell me is where my genetic relatives are and trace my lineage all the way back to Africa. Specifically it was going to show my paternal lineage—from me to my father, to my father’s father and so on.

The result was surprising. I was expecting a result to tell me that I was related to the peoples of northern central Europe. Turns out I have to travel further west to find my genetic relatives. I am a member of a haplogroup called R1b. According to the website where I pulled my results, the surviving members of the man whose marker is M343 live as far to the west in Europe as you can possibly go before falling into the Atlantic. Heavy concentrations of them are in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, western France, and northern Spain.
This doesn’t necessarily mean what I have been told about my family is wrong. There are, after all, men who are in the same haplogroup that I am in all over Europe and even into Asia and Africa.

This has actually fired up my imagination. I find myself wondering about the various great^N grandfathers and what their lives were like and what kind of journeys they took. Could they imagine how successful their descendants would be?

I'm Trippin'

2011-03-25T22:01:00.004-04:00

My friend Season has twisted my arm and so here I am with another post. It's about damn time right? I haven't been in a blogging mood lately. I should have been since there have been a number of events to write about.

First is that the company that I work for has been sold to a larger competitor. That has made a nervous wreck. The positive is that the new owner is committed to growth and the previous owner had made provisions that would guarantee operations for a number of years here. My main worry is the integrations process when they are going to go over ops personnel. Part of what they are going to do is identify redundant roles, and review our pay scales to make sure they are in line with theirs. My position was specially created to serve the company Ops Manager and I earn slightly more than my contemporaries (which there are six of us). So I'm freaking out that I may be a nice target for a cut.

The day after we were told of the sale, I took the acquisition letter that we were all given and headed for Verizon to see if I could get a discount. It turns out that I could get a 14% discount.

With my car on its last legs, I also checked to see if we could get a discount through any of the automobile companies that does business with the new owners. I got a very small one through Ford for the car that I have been eying for the past couple months-- the Fiesta. I made a stomach churning decision to combine my yearly bonus and tax refund and make a down payment and so now I have a new (yes, new) car.

It's a base model and the only thing that I miss is the speed control. It's stupid that they don't offer this a singular option. I didn't want to pay thousands more just to get that plus other features that I don't really care for. Other than that slightly bitter fact, I do like the car. Mostly, I'm happy that I'm going from a car that got 25 mpg highway to this one which approaches 40.

Although I can fit the car into my monthly budget it leaves me very little in discretionary funds--like less than $150 per month. So I am now on the search for a second part time job...or a new full time one. Although, I kinda want to know what opportunities may be available with this new company that has given me quite a ride lately.

Maybe it's not as bad as I think.

2011-03-02T23:35:00.001-05:00

1. We've been on a hiring binge.
2. We just started processing orders for a huge client.
3. The guy is old and isn't around much.
4. Why groom the kids if not to expect them to take over?
5. The executive staff hasn't displayed any unusual behavior.

It took me a few days but...

2011-02-25T21:38:00.003-05:00

Earlier this week, with my workload being light, I helped the inventory control team with a new project. Without giving too much of my work info away, I’m basically scouring three warehouses, finding product and weighing them. I’m not too sure what this is about, I think it has something to do with international shipments and dealing with customs requirements. Anyways, I was sneezing and having a runny nose. It was gross and this seemed like a classic allergy attack. Trouble is, is that it still freakin’ freezing around here. Turns out I’ve caught the cold. Yay me.

I’m just slightly bummed as I had a dinner planned for this weekend. Also, my friend Season will be flying in from Florida tomorrow. I’m eager to see her again but I probably should let this cold run its course before I try to put together a mini-reunion.

Oh and if anyone is interested, Kevin and I saw “I Am Number Four.” I didn’t know much about it before going in other than that Glee gal was in it. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it had aliens in it but you know, I’m a geek like that. It was pretty decent. Not a spectacular movie but enjoyable. They better make a damn sequel, that’s for sure.

San Fernando Market

2011-02-25T21:24:00.002-05:00

I thought that I would try out the new Blogger app using one of the pictures from my phone. Hopefully what you are now seeing is the market in San Fernando, La Union in the Philippines. I used to live a couple blocks from here and right next to a bay. The last time I was there, I could find almost anything I wanted except for shoes. Apparently size thirteens over there were only sold at Giants R Us.

UPDATE:

Wow, this app is pretty sucky with the pictures.

Being Correct and Being Technically Correct

2011-02-21T19:22:00.002-05:00

About a day ago on Twitter I saw the following post in my feed:

I was amused that someone would say that it would drive him or her bonkers if Queen Elizabeth II was referred to as the Queen of England. It was a sentiment that was echoed by a couple other people. Personally, I don’t really care whether the Queen is referred to as the Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or “that rich old bag lady with the dogs.” Well, at least informally.

I wrote back saying “I dunno. Maybe because saying the Queen of Canada or Queen of Australia sounds odd.” The fact is that many people will refer to Queen Elizabeth II, that old bag lady, as the Queen of England. It’s not to say that she’s the queen of only England or to insist that it is her proper title. No, it’s just to identify a person that is being talked about. When someone says “Queen of England” most people know exactly who you are talking about. Using the proper designation or even saying something like the Queen of Britain doesn’t have the same… ring to it.

I think what was assumed in this whole thing was that saying the Queen of England is a symptom of the belief that England and the UK are synonymous. Yes, they are used interchangeably and in those occasions -inappropriately. I am not advocating that view nor do I have it.

When Japanese whispers said this:

I pounced on it because he said “country of 4.” Now using the same reasoning as Grodag, should I be going bonkers because he is saying that the UK is a country? The answer is yes, because the UK is not a country. It is a sovereign state comprised of four countries. Don’t believe me? Here it is right from the Prime Minister’s website and in the Queen’s own language. Also from the British Embassy in the United States. Or you can try Wikipedia too. "These four countries together form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which is a sovereign state." :P

Then we get into a piss off where I responded to some of quips.

But am I going bonkers Japanesewhiper saying the UK is a country? No. Am I going bonkers when people call that old lady the Queen of England? No. Because there is a difference between being correct and being technically correct.

I apologize if I seem to have come across as being a prick. Tone doesn’t travel well through my writings but I was trying to illustrate (in my own subtle way) we all aren’t getting it all right all the time--and that’s okay.

Our Problems Makes Canadians Look Like Geniuses

2011-02-14T21:34:00.004-05:00

Our debt is about to exceed our economy. Article here.

Dang. This has all got me thinking about jumping the border and heading north. Better do it now before they build a fence. :P

Hey Brett!

2011-02-14T21:17:00.001-05:00

I’ve made it out of my “godawful two-horse town.” Still no improvement!

Chili Cheer

2011-02-05T21:23:00.003-05:00

My friend Stacey is back in the area and she invited me to accompany her to Dowagiac for some chili tasting. A number of the local restaurants offered their own recipes up for public scrutiny. So with pen, paper, and ballot in hand we went around old downtown eating as much free chili as we could. While we were there, we saw some wood and ice carving done. Stacey also snagged herself a box of Girl Scout Cookies. (Thin mints, if you wanna know.)

All the offerings were noticeably different. I did my best to note the plusses and minuses and make loose judgments based on presentation, smell, use of ingredients, consistency, condition of the beans, spiciness, and overall taste. Additional points were considered based on unique ingredients, the offer of crackers, and… how big the samples were.

It was a good time and who doesn’t like free food?

I’m just asking for a world of hurt.

2011-02-03T22:40:00.000-05:00

Last week my ear started to ache. Then it moved to my jaw. I figured out that I had a toothache. When I wiggled my last upper, right hand molar, a bit of it broke off. Freaked me out. The odd thing though was that the ache went away. Aside from a little irritation to the cheek from the jagged edges, I was fine. Still, I went to the dentist’s office today where I was given two options: a root canal or an extraction. But really my choices were to pay $800 or $150. Hmmm… guess which one I chose.

It’s a good thing that I took the entire day off from work as my tried and true way of dealing with pain is to sleep through it. I was out for most of the afternoon. Now I’m hungry and my body likes to mess with the brain because I want to have a steak not something “cold and soft.” Blech.

I head back in a week for a follow up but the bleeding has stopped and the pain—so far—hasn’t been that bad. I think I should be fine. But man, this could not come at a worse time when I’ve got my vehicle registration fees and auto insurance fees coming due soon.

It’s…uh… an Emergency

2011-02-02T10:02:00.002-05:00

I’m sitting here in my PJ pants and drinking some nice hot tea instead of being at work. A blizzard came through last night. Chicagoland was expecting two feet of snow. Looking outside my bedroom window, it doesn’t look like it but actually snowfall isn’t as important as the wind. I took the back roads home last night and they were already clogged up snow drifts.

The company that I worked for said that they would be closed if a state of emergency was declared. While a state of emergency wasn’t declared in the county where I work, a similar one (called a road emergency) was declared in the Michigan county where I live. That means the public is restricted from travel. It’s a good thing that the company did close for the day otherwise I would have had to make the choice of breaking the law to get to work or not. From what other friends have told me and what I see outside, it doesn’t seem all that bad. Again, I think the main issues all the snow drifting onto the roadways.

I’m totally fine staying in today and letting the work crews do their thang. I got myself a kettle ready for tea, some corned beef, and plenty of entertainment.

Hairy Situations

2011-01-28T19:19:00.005-05:00

Every time that comes on, I want to throw my speakers out a window. What evil is Mr. Smith unleashing upon the world!

So this thing in Egypt has gotten really interesting. The democratization of the middle east does pose some problems for the US. If free.. okay relatively free elections were to be held in countries all over the region. What are the odds that those popularly elected governments would be better alternatives to US interests than the ones they just replaced? Not very good. Still, it may be in the long term interests for the US for letting these governments go. Eventually they are going to fall and it could further aggravate the populations there if America continues to be viewed as propping up oppressive regimes.

A Cup of 80’s New Wave

2011-01-27T21:41:00.003-05:00

Last week I tweeted this picture daring someone to identify what movie I was watching with the hint that it was from the 1980s. Sadly no one responded but it is from The Flight of the Navigator, one of my favorite movies from when I was a kid.

In the movie, a kid named David falls into a ravine and loses consciousness. When he wakes up, it is 1986, eight years later. He hasn’t aged and everything and everyone around him seems to have moved on. Meanwhile, NASA has taken custody of a disabled UFO and eventually make a connection between David and the spacecraft. Wanting to know more, they take David to a base where he is given a room as the tests NASA plans to do will take place over a couple of days. When David turns on the television with his “remote control wand,” he sees something odd to him—a music video.

I did not know this group nor the song that was playing and as far as I know, I never heard the song on the radio. Whatever it is, all I know is that it tends to linger in my mind. At first, I thought I would track it down by something another character in the movie (played by a young Sarah Jessica Parker) mentioned: Twisted Sister. Yeah… it didn’t take me long to figure out that the song that I was looking for was not by Twisted Sister.

But I have now found it and thanks to UltimaThule8888 for posting it.

Blancmange? Nope, I never heard of them except for that one time in that one movie.

Scraping my cheeks? Feels more like rubbin’.

2011-01-19T22:17:00.001-05:00

This morning I sent off two samples of my DNA to get tested for the Genographic Project. I’ve been thinking about it for over a year now and because I wanted some concrete evidence of where I come from. My knowledge of both sides of my family does not extend past my grandparents and what I’ve been told. I’d like something more even if it’s not specific information.

My mom’s side is a big mystery to me. From what I’ve been told my grandmother has Spanish blood and that her family were wealthy landowners until the Japanese invaded. She once told me about how she and her sisters fled into the mountains. Two of her sisters were killed. Only she and one other sister survived. She married my grandfather and had quite a number of children. Off the top of my head, I can think of four daughters and two sons although there may be more. My grandfather picked up two other wives (it’s not limited to those Mormon sects) and who knows what’s been happening there. While there is definite Malay blood in the family and perhaps Spanish (due to my grandma’s early social position), I am inclined to think that they’re also may be Chinese blood as well since that part of the Philippines has been settled and visited by Chinese.

My dad’s side doesn’t make much sense. Most of what makes up his side is large amounts of German by both my grandma’s side and my grandpa’s side. There is a story though, that my grandpa’s family hails from the royal court of some Scandinavian country. Which royal family that was and which country is never elaborated on.

The samples that I took will be tracing my paternal lineage. I chose my dad’s side of the family because that lineage is actually the most murky. Will I pass through Germany? Scandinavia? Although my mom’s side probably has a good story to tell, I’m pretty confident that whether or not my grandmother has Spanish blood in her or not, probably wouldn’t make a difference. That blood would likely have been contributed by a male. Tracing my maternal lineage would probably still keep me in with the Malays and into South Asia.

I hope to have the results back within a couple months.

Did they quit making full sized beds?

2011-01-01T22:37:00.002-05:00

Wow, I didn't think I'd stay up so late last night. The kicker is that I didn't even leave the house. I guess I had to wait and ring in the New Year with the Alaskans. Ha! But going to bed at 0430 means not even waking up until noon. That's a couple hours later than I planned as I wanted to get to Mishawaka for the expected New Years sale. I had a JC Penny gift card to spend after all. Also, I would have wanted to get back before the Capital One Bowl game started. Well I left for the stores as soon as I saw the writing on the wall that State was going to wind up with their britches around their ankles and their asses red from a spanking.

When I left for college, my grandma gave me a large quilt blanket. It's heavy and I love it but it's all frayed around the edges and coming undone. It probably wouldn't withstand another wash so I think it is time for a new comforter.

The first stop was the JC Penny home store. It's probably one of the few stores in the area where I could expect a large selection. Of course the fact that I have gift card helps. But when I got there, I could not find anything in full size. It was nothing but Queen and King size. Oh there were a few full sized sets but they were located in the kids section with colors and patterns better suited for kids. I left and decided to try my luck online.

My second and last stop was at Meijer. I thought I would check out their bedding selection and it was the same story there.

So here's what I ordered online:

And yes, it's a full.

Back to work (for a few more days)!

2010-12-28T21:11:00.003-05:00

Yay for another short work week!

I hope that y’all had a good Christmas. I certainly did. So time to catch up with some shorts.

I saw three movies over the holidays. Yogi Bear was alright even though it got nasty reviews. I didn’t like Little Fockers because those little Fockers are barely featured in the film. Tron: Legacy, was for me, way better than the first which I have yet to sit all the way through—still, it’s one of those movies that I could have waited until it was available to rent.

I tagged along with my parents and sister and went up north to my uncle’s church for the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. My aunt and father didn’t like the service that much. I suspect that it was because the liturgy was a bit different. My sister and I were kept amused by other church members. I think we’re too snarky to go to church anymore. That and maybe a good dose of ADHD.

After church, Dad directed us out the middle of nowhere to find this large display of Christmas lights and decorations. Apparently, Dad wasn’t the only person that knew about this place as a number of other people stopped to see it too. I’d like to have seen the owner’s meter and know how fast that was spinning around.

I spent nearly all of Christmas Day at my parents’ house. I got some nice slippers so now I don’t have to walk on the cold floor in the morning (‘cuz I turn the heat off at night). Also, I got some nice new State t-shirts to replace the ones that are beginning to deteriorate. Geeze… have I been out that long?! Oh, and I gave a shot to trying to convince my grandmother that mice were the most intelligent creatures on the planet.

Now it’s time to play catch-up at work. One of my co-workers has left so some of his job responsibilities are now going to be put on me. To be totally honest, I welcome it because 1.) I get to let go of something that I do and 2.) What I am getting is going to make my end-of-month periods fly by.

I haven’t decided if I want to go to a particular party for New Years. It sounds great but I’m not sure if I want to be stuck there for 6 hours. And if I have to pay to get in, I’m gonna be there for the dinner portion.

Where I Split Off

2010-12-18T10:55:00.000-05:00

I'm watching the debate on the repeal of DADT and the passage of the DREAM act on C-SPAN. With my support for the Democrats on these issues, I wonder if I'm crossing over to the dark side! I think I will write more on this later.

Stamp Day

2010-12-15T21:56:00.004-05:00

I woke up early to go to the post office today. Other than Saturday, 0800-0900 is the only time on the weekdays that I can get in there because of my work schedule. I had to purchase some international stamps for Christmas cards that I’m sending out. Would you believe that they didn’t have any? It’s Christmas, their busiest time of the year and they don’t have them?! I messaged a tweet to one of the recipients who lives in Scotland. I asked him if he collected stamps because he’s getting a few domestic ones from me: Boy Scouts, military award, and some clock thing.

Later in the day, it was slow so I asked a different department if they needed any help. Since it’s the end of the year, some documents needed to be destroyed. One of the box contained post cards. Now these are business reply cards and if they are mailed from within the US, no postage is needed on them. If they are mailed from outside, then they do. I was halfway through the pile when I noticed that a number of them had stamps on them. They were all international stamps. I asked the supervisor if I could tear off the stamps and she said she didn’t mind and so that's what I did.

I’ve never collected stamps but I guess I’ve started. Not bad for only half an hour’s worth, eh?

I guess I can see why some people get into stamps. They can really be artful and there’s so much variety…
…unless they’re from the UK.

When I don’t listen to the radio.

2010-12-13T22:22:00.002-05:00

I wouldn’t say that I’m a Grinch but I do not listen to the radio when they start broadcasting Christmas music. Most of the Christmas music they play makes me cringe-they’re so horrible. Off the top of my head, I thought I would share with you some of my most hated of the bunch.

Wham – Last Christmas
Mostly I hate the synthesizer in this. I guess you can say that it’s not even really a Christmas song as the real focus is on that bitch of a girlfriend that George had. Oddly enough though, there was a cover done by Scala & Kolacny Brothers and loved it. It’s all about the packaging, I guess.

John Lennon – Happy Xmas (War is Over)
I don’t have anything against the song and its artistic value but if there is one song that I’m burnt out on—it’s this one. Turn on the radio and see how long you can go before hearing it and then hearing it again.

Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime
Lennon could at least write a respectable song. Paul McCartney’s offering is total shit. Again with the synthesizers but it is then drilled into you with “simply having a wonderful Christmas time” over and over again.

NewSong – The Christmas Shoes
I feel bad for not liking this song because I get sentiment but, really, I don’t want to take trip on the sob train at this time of year.

Elmo & Patsy - Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
As a very young kid, I probably took this song way to seriously. Why would anyone sing a happy song about a grandmother getting killed by Santa? I loved my grandmothers and I found the song distasteful.

There are plenty more, I’m sure but this is all I got right now. Do you have any to add to this list?

Boy Problems

2010-12-07T21:20:00.001-05:00

Can someone explain to me why I have boy problems when I’m not even dating them?

In short, I believe a guy has a serious crush on me. This guy is someone I knew from high school. We are acquainted with one another but we aren’t friends. I got a message from him the other night on facebook and we had a chat. He extended an invite to have dinner with him and his roommates some time in the future. Just to be sure, I wanted to be clear that this was just a friendly dinner and not a date and he kind of blew it off basically saying, “yes, of course.”

Since then he has broken up with his boyfriend and last night I got these text messages from him:

On my way home. I Have been thinking about u.

I Want to cook u dinner. And its going to be soon baby.

Then later around midnight he messages me:

I wanted to say GOOD NIGHT sweetie.

Seriously, I do not know how you can read that any other way. There have been other messages from him but let’s just get to the point: I have a boy problem. I think that no matter what I do, I’m going to come off as an asshole as I try to tell him that I am not interested.

4 Days < 2 Days

2010-11-27T21:06:00.001-05:00

I hope that everyone who celebrated had a great Thanksgiving Day. Tomorrow is the last day of my four day weekend and it sure feels like this weekend has actually been shorter than normal. Crazy.

Having dinner with my family went well for the most part. The food was great. The turkey was fantastic—as my mom and sister would attest to (heh heh). Mom made lumpia and I had to fight the dog for the last pieces. The dog won. Photo albums were brought out and there was some fun with those.

I am beginning to hate one part of these family get togethers and that’s when someone tries to guilt me into going to church. I don’t go to church because my dad says that I’m an embarrassment to him because I don’t take communion. I don’t take communion because I am prohibited if I do not believe in the teachings of the synod. My grandma has already told me I’m going to hell. I wouldn’t put it past her and my aunt to suddenly show up at my door with the pastor in hand to try and save my soul.

Black Friday is non-event for me. I’ve never done my Christmas shopping this early in the year and I don’t intend to. Actually, this year, I’m not sure I even have the money to spend so it may just be Christmas cards only. Anyways, the idea of getting up so early on a day that I have off to go spend money, to me, is crazy. I’d rather fork over the extra 10-20% that I would have saved and go later. Then I won’t have to freeze my ass off, get pushed, shoved, or trampled on.

My sister and I did see the new Harry Potter movie that just came out. It wasn’t horrible but I think I could have waited until the second part comes out.

Then that brings me today and tomorrow which I will spend cleaning as I haven’t gotten around to that for a few weeks. I’ve run out of washcloths and socks and am two days from running out of undies.

Blast from the past! ...For some of us.

2010-11-21T19:17:00.002-05:00

Anybody remember this?

Just try and get that out of heads again!

h/t to mchelbert for the vid upload.

Books? That's my sister's department.

2010-11-20T12:27:00.002-05:00

I've read 15 of the books listed below in their entirety. I don't really believe that the BBC really provided this list but anyways...

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.

Instructions: Bold those books you've read in their entirety, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish. Tag other book nerds.

If nothing else, it's a good way to pick some summer reading material!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26 White Fang - Jack London
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma -Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

What's wrong with my shirt?

2010-11-18T22:41:00.002-05:00

I'm an 80's child and I like my 80's stuff. One of my shirts has a big G.I. Joe logo on it and I wear it to work sometimes. I get thumbs up by my fellow coworkers who grew up watching the show but there is this one guy--Tyler... well let's just say that we sit on opposite ends of almost everything.

"Oh look. G.I. Joe. Nothing like a jingoistic TV--"

"--Shut up, you snake loving commie."

It's a good thing that the people who overhear that and worse, know that we really don't hate each other.

I hope they do a better job of cleaning!

2010-11-15T22:15:00.003-05:00

On my 1999 trip to the Philippines, I had to go through a pretty invasive pat down as I went down the causeway to the boarding area for my flight back home. The guy who performed the procedure didn’t touch my groin but he covered everything else. I’ll tell you it steamed me up, and not in a good way. Well get prepared for the TSA here in America to give you a “thorough” check which includes touching your “junk.” At least if you don’t want to be seen naked.

On one side you’ve got people yelling that it’s an invasion of privacy and an illegal strip search because they don’t have probably cause. On the other, you’ve got people defending the policy saying that it is all for our safety and that those that don’t like it…well, they don’t have to fly.

I’d say I lean more to the protesters on this issue than the defenders. While I recognize the need for safety, I believe that the TSA is going too far. The need for every person to decide whether they want to be seen naked or felt up aren’t acceptable choices. If it is a choice between one violation or the other, why don’t I make like the Germans and take everything off everything save my boxers, put them through the x-ray machine, and walk through the metal detectors. Actually, I think I would have more of my dignity intact if that was option 3.

I don’t see anything wrong with society having a debate on where we want to draw the line between liberty and safety. I mean if we all wanted to be safe, why not make us fly naked? I mean… I wouldn’t mind sitting next to some of those Germans…

h/t theTOLDyou for the YouTube vid.

Thanks Michigan grumble, grumble

2010-11-14T21:31:00.000-05:00

Last night I had a blast playing a trivia tournament. I was originally invited to join a team with Ed and Amanda but they suddenly had to change plans and go out of town. I got a call from her sister asking me if I was still interested. There was a ten dollar entry fee and I had to bring a dish to pass.

We started pretty well with 2nd place but then we slipped to the middle of the pack, and then to second place, and then to dead last. We kept on saying that we were going to make a comeback. Some of the questions were insanely hard yet were low-value questions. For example, can you name the last President that became a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? Yeah, didn’t think so. It was Taft by the way.

It was actually a question about Notre Dame and the University of Michigan that got us back in the game. And wow, did I feel dirty about it, especially the UofM question. The question was what was Michigan’s first state university and where was it founded. I believe everyone was going for Michigan State. Our team was the only one that got it correct with UofM and Detroit. That managed to get us into a tie for first place.

The last question which was TV catch-phrases had ten parts to it and we had to first bet on how many points we wanted to wager. To win the points, we would have to answer all 10 correctly. Our team decided to go all in thinking that the other team we were tied with would do the same thing. Well it turns out that we got all the answers correct so we either won or would go into a playoff if the other team bet the same. To our delight the bet ZERO. We won!

Well we won but we didn’t really win money. After taking my cut of the winnings and subtracting the entrance fee, the cost of the food I brought along, and the drinks I had from the bar… well I was in the hole $5. BUT, it was a blast and I will do it again.

[Fill in the Blank] American

2010-11-11T20:26:00.002-05:00

I am a Filipino American.

I am a German American.

Someone I know from the internet as a visible tattoo of the German flag and he gets comments from people written in German. They assume that because he has this tattoo he is German so they assume he can speak the language. He can’t.

Elsewhere on the internet, in a comments section of a news article, there was a little flame war which ended with one of the guys saying that he was a Scottish/Irish American. The guy that he was trading with was from the UK and said that he was an American period and that he can’t be all three.

In the US, it is common for someone to say that they are this kind of American or that kind of American and it must be perplexing to Europeans as to why we go around saying this. How can a person be a German American and not speak German? How can a person be a Filipino American and not know how to eat fried chicken with a spoon?

I sometimes think on how I can make any claims on my Filipino, German, English, Spanish, and Scandinavian heritages. Any ties that I have to those places and cultures are tenuous at best. When I lived in the Philippines, I was not recognized as one of them. And in any real way, I don’t think of myself as being one of them either.

I am an American and when it comes down to it, I think that most people here feel the same way. What we like to do is remind ourselves of where we come from. Most of us are descendents of immigrants and as we cannot lay claim to a culture that has been sitting on this continent since time immemorial, we lay claim to the cultures of our ancestors.

The question of what is American culture has been asked to me so many times. The only answer that I can give is that I don’t know; it’s still in the process of being made.

Sorry Sari-Sari

2010-11-06T21:26:00.000-04:00

I needed to get rid of some carrots and a head of cabbage so I thought I would make some lumpia. (Recipe here.) I headed to the Sari-Sari store in Mishawaka only to find the building gone, taken over by an expanded intersection. This was depressing news as I didn’t know of any place that sold the Simex brand of wrappers which I am fond of. I tried the Korean store that I knew of but as I suspected they didn’t have it.

Let me give you an example of why I love my smart phone. As I sat outside the Korean store, I googled up oriental stores in Mishawaka and South Bend. I found one promising result that was just outside the Notre Dame campus. Then I pressed a button to get turn-by-turn directions to the place. Oh what wonderful technology we have available now. If only the coupon app that I had anything useful.

The Oriental Store (yes that’s its real name) did have what I was looking for, thankfully. It has now become my new go-to Asian store. While I was ringing out, the very nice lady there told me that the Sari-Sari store had actually burnt down. Burnt down? What a coincidence then that the there would be a road/intersection expansion. Hmmm…

I told my mom about this and she told me that I should go to a store that’s in the middle of downtown South Bend. I’m guessing word of the Sari-Sari store’s demise has already when through the Filipino phone tree and an alternative establishment chosen. The thing is that… I detest downtown. I dunno, maybe I’ll give it a shot next time.

It must be nice to be a Canadian

2010-11-05T22:23:00.001-04:00

I love it when I check the Canadian news and the biggest thing they've got going is a controversy over potash. Oh to have those kinds of problems!

Trying to Guarantee Genetic Survival or HOLY SHIT, YOU HAVE HOW MANY?!

2010-11-04T21:17:00.001-04:00

You know those personal/professional exercises that are supposed to get you to open up to your peers? Like fostering trust by having a person fall backwards into the arms of some other people? Well I had to go through that today but it was one of those, “so tell us a little about yourself” deals.

Now there’s a lot I’m willing to talk about if someone asks, but there are things that I probably would never admit. One of them is if I had 31 brothers and sisters. Yes, someone shared that and my jaw, like everyone else’s, hit the floor. The lady said that her father did not discriminate when it came to women. No doubt there.

Forget that Arkansas family, I would have probably watched a couple of episodes of this jagoff trying to provide for his kids. –‘Cause you know he can’t! Seriously, there are people in this world that really make me wonder why we can’t sterilize people first and then reverse the procedure when they pass some kind of test showing that they are capable of parenting.

I Hate it But… Like it?

2010-11-03T22:35:00.002-04:00

I’ve just finished up the movie Hamlet. It’s the fourth time I’ve seen it and what I like about it is that every time I do, I gain some new insight. I catch an inflection or a phrase that has a deeper meaning. I can make a connection from one scene to another. It’s great… except that I hate Shakespeare.

Reading Shakespeare and even watching it live or on screen is torture! If I was watching it done in Spanish, I’d probably enjoy it more. I think the reason why I hate it is because I can understand half of it and other half leaves me all confused. It’s the most frustrating foreign language (it might as well be classed as that) I can try to work through.

It’s still awesome, though, when you make those mini-revelations.

Grim Gridlock

2010-11-02T22:03:00.000-04:00

From the way it looks, the Republicans, as expected will take the House but will fall short of the Senate. This actually might be a blessing in disguise for them. If they were to have taken both chambers, they still wouldn't have been able to accomplish much as President Obama still holds a veto pen. Going into 2012, the Democrats would be able to say that the Republicans had control of Congress but couldn't accomplish much. Since the lower house is in the hands of one party and the upper in the hands of another, the Republicans can say that they still can't do much since the Senate and the President are still stumbling blocks and can appeal to the public to remove them.

Still the Republicans have quite a rope to walk as they have to appear to their Tea Party backers that they are standing up to the President Obama and the rest of the Democrats. Yet they still can't go too hard against the other party as that can backfire on them if they can't move any meaningful legislation without at least a few Democrats coming on board and the President ultimately signing them.

One Last Look and Proposals

2010-11-01T22:32:00.002-04:00

Thanks to the good folks at Publius, I was able to get a copy of my ballot so I could do some research before heading to my polling location tomorrow and casting my vote. It may surprise you to know that if it had not been for the research, I would have known next to nothing about most of the candidates on the ballot. As for the candidates for Indiana offices, that’s a whole different story. I’m Walorskied out because the media hub for this region is South Bend, Indiana. I don’t get much media from Michigan sources.

So taking a look at what I had and eliminating all third party candidates, it looks like I will be voting almost straight party. There are three Democratic candidates that I plan on voting for, though. There are a few sections that I will defer on making a decision though such as the fire protection and road repair which are asking to raise taxes on property owners. Since I don’t own any property… well…

Proposal 1 is interesting. Under Article XII of the state constitution, every 16 years, Michigan citizens are given the choice to continue on with the current constitution or call for a convention. This year is the year and like I suspect most voters, I will be voting no on this. I’m satisfied with the current constitution and the only complaint that I have is that amendments to the constitution are too easy to approve. Hello, Proposal 2 (2004) anyone? I wouldn’t let that issue, though, to cause me to want to scrap the entire constitution.

Where I will be parting company with most of my fellow state citizens is with Proposal 2 (2010). Go ahead and read it:

PROPOSAL 10-2 A PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN FELONS FROM HOLDING ELECTIVE OFFICE AND SPECIFIED TYPES OF PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT POSITIONS

The proposed constitutional amendment would: Make a person ineligible for election or appointment to any state or local elective office or to hold a position in public employment in this state that is policy-making or has discretionary authority over public assets, if: " within the preceding 20 years, the person was convicted of a felony involving dishonesty, deceit, fraud, or a breach of the public trust; and " the conviction was related to the person's official capacity while holding any elective office or position of employment in local, state or federal government. Require the State Legislature to enact laws to implement the prohibition. Should this proposal be adopted?

What? Seriously, that’s what I first thought when I read this because it seems so vague to me. I mean it sounds good but this is a mess on a Blagojevichian scale. I think that this amendment to the constitution could be twisted to fit almost any type of felony conviction that an office holder may get and I’m uncomfortable with the idea that this is going to be catch-all. I have faith that a constituency would be smart enough to judge a candidate’s history. And if not, well, they get the government they deserve I guess. So I will be voting no on that one too.

So I will be getting up extra early as my polling location is in one direction and my work place is the opposite.

What am I gonna do with this?

2010-10-31T16:42:00.002-04:00

Last night, or Devil’s Night, the town that I live in had trick or treating. I bought four bags of candy bars in prep. They were the kind of candies that I preferred when I was a kid. If I had gotten those cheap candies, I would have felt like a douche. Now I live in an apartment complex and there are 36 of us facing into a courtyard--easy pickings for kids. Unfortunately for them and my BMI, not one kid showed up to my door.

Later in the evening I headed over to a Halloween party. Started off with Michigan-Penn State game and running into some old classmates. It’s sick but I kinda get a kick out of interacting with them and talking about other classmates when they don’t even remember who I am.

Here I am with the Queen of Hearts. It’s too bad I don’t have a better picture as her costume is top notch.

Shorts

2010-10-26T22:58:00.002-04:00

I just had put away my summer shorts. Now it’s warm and again and I’ve got to drag them back out. Believe me, that’s not a complaint!

As I put the shorts away, I went shopping for some thermal underwear. There harder to find than I thought. Meijer didn’t have any. (They don’t have much of anything for men.) Then I tried the tractor and supply store and they had plenty of thermal outerwear but not what I was looking for. I checked out Dick’s and they did have some—for $30 a piece. No way. Even though the Wal-mart website said that my local store didn’t carry them, it turns out it does for $6 a piece.

…Yeah, you’re not gonna see a picture of that.

Since I mentioned Walmart, I have just recently found out the term for a group of people that I look down upon: University of Michigan fans that have no connection whatsoever to the school. They’re called Walmart Wolverines. Check this out:

h/t to Forgazi for putting up (and creating?) this video.

That was a parody for the Pure Michigan ads that have been running for the past few years. If I remember right, there was an article that came out that said the money spent on these ads have been a good investment. That is, if you can say the tourism money that came to this state really is because of ads? Who really knows how much of it was would have ended up here anyways. But in any event, I do like the campaign.

Only days away to the elections and the races are tightening and the ads are maddening. I’ve got Jackie Walorski ads popping up not only on the TV and radio but also on facebook and YouTube. Ugh. I don’t even live in the district she’s running for. It's not just her, but I'm gonna be glad when the campaign season ends.

You heard it. “It was because of his role on Fox.”

2010-10-22T20:46:00.000-04:00

I wasn’t terribly surprised the other day when I heard that NPR fired Juan Williams. I would say that it has been well known that NPR had not been comfortable with their employees appearing on Fox News—in particular, Juan Williams and Mara Lisasson. The reasons they gave for terminating his contract was a breach in their ethical standards. Mr. Wiliams shouldn’t have offered his personal opinions on a pundit show because his position as an NPR analyst.

While I used to watch punditry shows like Hannity and Colmes in the past, I don’t anymore. I actually find the more balanced shows like Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace and Meet the Press more intellectually stimulating. It’s because people like Mr. Williams can provide a different perspective in what I see as a calm and reasonable manner. I think that the huge support that he is seeing not only from his fellow leftists, but also from the right* has to do with the respect that he has earned.

Was NPR right? Well, I think that their ombudsman had the right idea. What should have happened was the NPR should have talked Mr. Williams and given him a choice: he could appear on Fox News or he could continue on with NPR but not both. (And given the weight between the two paychecks, I think I know which one he would have chosen.)

I don’t feel too sorry for Juan. He’s going to Fox full time for $2 million from what I’ve read. I do wonder though if Mara is next on the chopping block.

*I hesitate to include people like Palin and Huckabee who are using this to score political points.

I Hate to Break it to Ya

2010-10-16T16:45:00.003-04:00

After the recent number of teen suicides brought on by homophobic bullying, Facebook has decided to take steps in removing hateful and inflammatory speech. When this was reported on in the news, a number of commenters expressed disapproval that Facebook would do such a thing. I guess their fear is that they won’t be able to call people "fag" as much as they want. I especially love those people that are claiming that this violates their right to free speech. That’s absurd. Facebook is not the government and users are not in a public forum. That company has a right to restrict what it wants and when it wants. I laughed when one said that the federal government should step in because Facebook has become a de facto public forum.

I don’t think that Facebook is interested in restricting a homophobe’s views but really… bringing hateful speech to a site that is dedicated to gay youth is a slap to gays and their allies. I am glad to see Facebook taking a stand to keep a lid on inflammatory material. It’s their product.

Wow, that's quite an image you paint...

2010-10-14T21:39:00.003-04:00

From an article a few days ago that I forgot to keep a link of :

America Today-Anthony

Thankfully someone brought up the truth of "gay pride" events and this misconception that homosexuals like to bring up about their conservative natural lifestyle they choose to live. Is part of being a responsible conservative homosexual getting a complimentary bag of rainbow condoms and spermicidal lube during New Orleans LGBT Pride Weekend? Trying to tend bar during that weekend was like being dropped into the orgy scene in Conan the Barbarian... So filled with guilt and so wanting to be accepted.

Methinks Anthony is one of those guys that would like to have his luggage lifted.

Yay! Wait... what?

2010-10-11T18:05:00.003-04:00

I just learned that in a nearby town, there is a Walt Disney Elementary School. Okay, who wants to break it to the new kindergartners that this place, which sounds like a magical, fun-filled school, is really the beginning of 13 years of hell?

My short time with the Droid X

2010-10-10T17:33:00.002-04:00

As promised, here is a more in length review of my new cell phone, the Droid X.

I’m not gonna bother too much with the specs, just my reaction to them. If you want to know the details, click here.

First of all, this phone is pretty big as you can see and initially I thought that this might be a problem since I have considered my BlackBerry Storm to be as large as I’d want to go. Actually, the size has not been an issue at all. It’s thin enough that it slips into my pocket easily. Not being able to carry it around in a pants pocket is really the only worry I have when it comes to the size of any device. The 4.3 inch screen is great for browsing. Funny, though, when it comes to typing on the virtual keyboard in landscape, it can seem too big as your fingers require a lot of travel.
Radio reception, I have found has been excellent. Where I live, the Verizon signal was poorly picked up by my BlackBerry Storm and I have even suffered a couple of dropped calls. With the Droid X, the signal is sometimes lost but usually hovers around the mid-range of my bars and has always stayed there while using my phone for data. I have never dropped any calls as of yet.

Talking on the phone has been great. No noticeable issues have come up when it comes to talking. The multiple microphones used for noise canceling does appear to work. I have held a conversation in front of my speakers playing music at a moderate volume and the person I was talking to didn’t realize it when I asked. I do not like using the phone’s dialer and I especially miss having an autosearch and complete feature when beginning to type out a person’s name or number. I’m hoping a software update comes out to fix that. Also, there are issues in tying contact information from various social networking sites as well as being able to manage them—for example sorting by last name or overriding contact names.

Battery life is not spectacular but I don’t expect too much with smartphones anyways. I have not seen a smartphone yet that can survive beyond two days without some serious power management. That said, the battery does last me all day. I usually disconnect it around 0730 and with my level of usage (moderate data and a few minutes of phone calls), I am usually at the 40-50% mark by the time I charge it up around 2300-2400. In the interests of disclosure, I do keep Bluetooth, Wi-fi, and GPS turned off but I can toggle them on and off easily when needed by an application.

Camera and video recording capabilities I found were of lower quality than I expected. Images in the camera comes out soft and often times blurry. Performance outdoors in light, both clear and cloudy days were acceptable with good color correctness. HD video in 720p was alright but it records at 24 frames per sec and the choppiness is noticeable when the phone is moving or a subject is moving fast.

Photos below can be clicked on to enlarge.

The phone does have a panoramic feature that does pretty well in my opinion. I may not be using my photosynth account for a long time.

Pictures taken in low light conditions, I have noticed, come out blurry and or soft. There is steady shot mode, however, that tends to mitigate the effect as seen below:

Out of the box, the camera defaults to widescreen at 6MP (I think) but it does go up to 8MP as you can see here.

I am having issues with media but I’m not sure if that is because of ignorance on my end. With my BlackBerry, it knew the difference between files that I put on there for ringtones and what I put on there to listen as music. While I can designate a music file to serve as a ringtone, it will also show up in my music playlist. When it comes to audio notifications, I can’t seem to designate anything other than the sound selections that was already preloaded. So sadly I have to get rid of my Star Wars Star Tours Chime.

This phone does come with a good amount of bloatware, which I despise especially since I can’t delete it. I don’t know why Verizon does this but it freakin’ pisses me off. Although they remain in my apps drawer, I have removed things like the BlockBuster and VZ Navigator from my home screens. Apps that I do want, however, I have been able to get from the Android Marketplace pretty easily.

Motorola’s new Motoblur (not Motoblur) widgets work okay. It’s not nearly as polished as HTC’s Sense interface but is usable.

Overall, I’m happy with the phone and would probably still make the same decision if I had to choose between today’s offering with Verizon or really anyone else.

Did Droid X Mark the Spot?

2010-09-30T21:16:00.002-04:00

Not quite.

A couple days ago (when I could actually walk), I purchased a Droid X as I was eligible for an upgrade and discount pricing. I’m not going to do real review on it just yet. I haven’t yet settled into normal use of the phone and I’d like to do that first so I can better judge how this phone responds to my needs and expectations. First impression is that I do like it but it does have some quirks and inadequacies.

The biggest pro is that the antenna picks up a cell signal a lot better where I live. Since moving into the apartment with my BlackBerry, the service has been somewhat unreliable with it going between 0/5-3/5 bars, and always fluctuating between 1 and 2. This is where I have experienced my first dropped call- on my end- on Verizon’s network. With the Droid X, I have noticed better reception, and I have not lost signal.

My biggest complaint is accessing contacts in general. First, it pulls in contacts from all your social networking accounts and I can’t delete them. So I end up with this funny feeling of carrying a contact list containing people like David Blue, Sean Bugg, or President Obama because I follow them on Twitter not because I know them personally. Second, with such a huge as contact list, it would be nice that there would be an autofill option for the phone dialer where I can just start typing in a contact name and it would fetch the number for me but there isn’t. Lastly, I can’t always control the contact names. For example, Roy’s contact name is not his real name but his twitter handle and I can’t get that overridden so that comes up as “Roy.”

Before I bought the phone, I scoped out some review sites. I also check out what people were saying about it on twitter.

A lot of people were complaining about the size. They don't get much sympathy for me. Did they not realize this when they bought the device?

There were also a lot of complaints about the battery life. Even with my more-than usual fiddling with it, I'm at 12 hours with.... hmmm... 50% charge left which is what I would expect for a smart phone quite honestly. I haven't had a multi-day phone since my E-815 which was just a run-of-the-mill flip phone.

Another complaint was the UI which I would agree, isn't the best. I have trashed most of the widgets but some are useful. It's definitely not as polished as HTC's or as easy to use as the iPhone but I still find it a couple steps up from my BlackBerry, so I can blind myself to that criticism just a little bit. :P

I've got to take another dose of pain pills now. I’ll probably post some more thoughts next week.

<<--See also: "Considering Giving it Up to the Cloud"

I’m just gonna lay here for a bit.

2010-09-29T20:39:00.002-04:00

It hasn’t been a great couple of weeks for me and I think today is just the icing of that disgusting cake. I went to urgent care clinic this morning because I could hardly walk due to a painful knee. It was swollen all around the cap and felt very tight and tender.

When the doctor first examined me, she noted that the real pain was actually on my kneecap and said that if I had been overstraining the ligaments, then the sides should hurt more. She ordered some bloodwork to see if I had gout like I suspect I do as well as x-rays for the knee. I should get the results for the blood tomorrow. The x-rays showed that I have calcium deposits growing on my tendons. Calcific tendonitis, I believe she called it. She asked me if I had injured it playing sports or something. Honestly, I don’t think so.

So I am doped up on Vicodin and taking Prednisone. I hate Vicodin. Sure it takes away the pain, but I get mild nausea from it, especially if I have to wake up with it. I’ve taken tomorrow off from work. We’ll see if I can limp in there on Friday.

Meme time again!

2010-09-23T21:20:00.003-04:00

It's been a long time since I've done one of these. Thanks Season!

What is your occupation right now? I am an “operations statistician” for a distribution company.

What is your favorite color? Dark Green (and yes, I liked it before I went to MSU)

What are you listening to right now? The Diane Rehm Show (an NPR podcast)

What was the last thing that you ate? Spaghetti and corn-on-the-cob.

Can you drive a stick shift? The simplest answer is no.

Last person you spoke to on the phone? Work phone: a member of inventory control. Cell phone: my sister.

What is your biggest pet peeve? Bad drivers

How old are you today? 28

What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? College football or gymnastics during the summer Olympics.

What is your favorite drink? Coke

Have you ever dyed your hair? No

Favorite food? Lumpia

What is the last movie you watched? In full: The Blind Side. In part: Sunshine

Favorite day of the year? Memorial day for the selfish reason that it’s finally a day off of work since New Years.

How do you vent anger? With a pissy attitude.

What was your favorite toy as a child? Legos

What is your favorite season? Fall

Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries

Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Well how about they just post this one their blogs?

Who is the most likely to respond? Better question: who the hell comes here anymore?

Who is least likely to respond? Google bot.

Living arrangements? Alone. Surrounded by mostly old people (which I kinda dig because they’re quiet).

When was the last time you cried? Two nights ago. Onions are bitches.

What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes and boxes.

Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? Of the people that I know who read this blog, that would be Season.

What did you do last night? Heh… should I answer this…? Vomiting in my bed. Not sick. Didn’t drink anything. My best guess is that I tried to drink the rest of the milk that I had before it would get bad. I’m not much of a milk drinker in the first place.

What are you most afraid of? Rejection

Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Plain. Wait… how plain because if it’s just a patty with some ketchup and mustard, forget it.

Favorite dog breed? Labrador Retreiver

Favorite day of the week? Saturday.

How many states have you lived in? Four (Nevada, Florida, Idaho, and Michigan). Seven if I can count provinces and landers (La Union, Hesse, and Laguna).

Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

What is your favorite flower? Sunflower. What can I say? I think with my stomach.

A New Television Season Starts Tonight

2010-09-21T17:51:00.000-04:00

The season premiers start this week. I’m not planning on picking up any new shows. Actually… now that I think about, I haven’t seen many ads about the new shows. Hmmm.

So far, I am only looking forward to Glee (which is on tonight), Stargate Universe (next week), The Amazing Race and V which will come later.

Partly because I can no longer watch ABC over the air, but mostly because I’m not liking the direction of the shows… I am ditching Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters. Although I will probably stick with Brothers & Sisters for a while until Emily VanCamp leaves the show.

Season, Don't Look!

2010-09-19T20:31:00.001-04:00

...because I can't get enough of it.

h/t MSUAndyHRCMB for posting the vid.

I’ve got a beef with Burger King

2010-09-16T19:25:00.000-04:00

I work in an industrial area of town and if I forget my lunch (which I do far too often), I have very few options. There’s a Subway right around the corner or a Burger King down the road. I took off for Burger King today and as I drove up to the board, I gritted my teeth because I knew what was coming.

BK: “Would you like to try a Whopper value meal today? Order when ready.”

Me: “Yes I would. I’d like a number one, small. Make the drink a coke, no ice. That’s all.”

The next thing anyone should expect is the amount that’s due and maybe a pleasant thank you. Oh no. Not here. I’ve been here enough times that I knew what was coming next:

BK: “You said a number one?”

Me. “Yes.”

BK: “Would you like cheese on that?”

Me: “No.”

BK: “Small, medium, or large?”

Me (annoyed): “Small.”

BK: “And you said, ‘no ice,’ right?”

Me (with a death grip on my steering wheel): “No ice.”

I hold my breath for a second because maybe this time they’ll ask if I want onion rings instead of fries.

BK: “Okay, that’ll be five-blah blah blah. Please pull around.”

It never fails. I don’t get this shit from McDonalds in my town. Hell, sometimes they’re telling me my amount due as, “that’s all,” are tumbling past my lips. With this Burger King, not only do I have to repeat my order… I have to walk them through it step by step.

You know, at least I’m not the asshat placing special orders for the four other people in his or her car.

I don’t like to bring it up.

2010-09-11T23:04:00.000-04:00

I dread the anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. In my head I know that I shouldn’t be as affected by this event but in reality I am. It has disturbed me… in ways I can’t even articulate. So when of my friends was talking about how she was crying over the 9-11 videos that she was watching today, I got mad. That morning was one of the most vivid of my life and I have little desire to relive any of it. I don’t understand why she or anyone else wants to reopen old wounds because that’s what it feels like to me. It still makes my stomach cramp up a bit to see those planes flying into the towers even more so when they show people jumping out of windows to their deaths. I haven’t talked about the anniversary in a few years and I certainly haven’t talked about it in depth. Honestly, I don’t know how long it will be until I feel like I can.

Yes, Ma’am

2010-09-10T23:12:00.000-04:00

I was listening to Talk of the Nation on NPR the other day and a piece they did was about the usage of ma’am. The guest that was brought on thought that this form of address was anachronistic. Women these days tend to be insulted by the word and Sen. Boxer was brought up as an example.

Personally, I use sir and ma’am when I speak to strangers and in a formal setting. I have never been comfortable calling my bosses by their first names. I think though I may be one of the last that still holds to the old forms of address.

My friend Sara has a son and he calls me David. When I was his age, I would never have been allowed to address one of my parent’s friends in that fashion. Actually, I remember getting bonked on the head when I dared to call one of them Sherri. But Sara’s son? Didn’t even notice until a bit later. As I thought about it and as I think about it now, it doesn’t really bother me that he calls me by my name. So I wonder why the expectations that I hold for my own conduct, is not the same that I expect from him.

Even if they’re not, it was pretty gay.

2010-09-05T12:29:00.003-04:00

Netflix has been suggesting that I watch Dostana for little while now. It looked to me like a Bollywood movie and I generally tend to avoid movies in other languages as I feel like I end up reading the subtitles rather than enjoying the film. The closest thing to an Indian film that I’ve watched is Bend it Like Beckam (which has become one of my favorite movies, period). Feeling in the mood for something different, I gave Dostana a shot and I am so glad that I did.

Two straight men attempt to go after an apartment but the girl that they would be living with has a protective aunt that will not allow men to live with her so they decide to pose as a gay couple. I know what you’re thinking, and that plot device was what kept me from watching it earlier. I mean, haven’t we’ve seen something like that before? So as you probably guess, both the straight guys fall in love with her and hilarity ensues, right?

The dance sequences are one of the elements that I surprisingly liked. I believed that these kinds of things did not belong in movies unless there was a reason to. While they mess with your head—now is this really happening—they do fit it rather well and I found myself wanting to dance a bit myself.

h/t to PremGatha for the vid post.

Now before you go ahead and check it out yourself, know that it is a fairly long movie. I’m not shitting you—it actually has an intermission. Some plot lines come up and get resolved within the entire movie. For example, one of the men comes out or rather is found out by his mother and goes all the way through to her final acceptance. But this is also where my biggest problem with the movie comes in. The movie is pretty much perfect in the first half but the mood changes quite a bit in the second when the two guys start their plots into winning over the girl.

As for the gay angle, I found it interesting to get a glimpse into Indian views on homosexuality. I won’t pretend to know that I have a good idea as I am not at all familiar with their culture but based on what I saw, it seems that they are still pretty homophobic. The movie could not even present an actual kiss between two guys. One of the more interesting lines of dialogue was when one guy told his soon-to-be-wife that he would never kiss another man, not even for her. Seriously?!

I would recommend this movie. It’s available to stream on Netflix.

I got my first visitor!

2010-08-30T23:23:00.002-04:00

Not counting my sister...
Not counting my parents...
Not counting the cable guy...

Fellow blogger Stacey was kind enough to stop by my new apartment. She has been the first of my friends to visit me. Thankfully she gave me enough warning to take out the trash, throw my shtuff in a side closet, and hide some dirty dishes in the oven. You didn't seem to notice did ya Stacey? ;) It was great to see you again!

No Wicker Baskets Involved

2010-08-29T22:45:00.004-04:00

I crossed the state line to attend a company picnic. I skipped out on the first two. The first time because I felt too new and the second because I had something to do that day (although I forget what it was). I had a pretty good time. Heck, I even played some game that I never seen before which I am calling testicles because they were a pair of balls attached together a little bit of rope and I guess the object was to throw them at some bars and get them ensnared on them. Hmm… apparently I’m not the only one that calls them that.

The park that we were at is located by the river and has walking trails. Personally, I like them and in particular I like the ones located by the river because of the varying terrain. I’ve never been to this particular park so I was eager to check it out.

One of the differences between this park and the ones I’ve been to in my county is how wide the trails are. You could drive down some of them. I’m used to ones that are not really maintained and only exist because people keep walking over them.

Only a very short section of trails actually comes up against the river and there isn’t any access point into the water…

…Well not for the humans anyways. Here are some coon tracks.

It’s been a decade?

2010-08-22T21:12:00.001-04:00

I attended my ten year high school reunion. After almost a day of digesting the events, I am still not quite sure on how I feel about meeting my old classmates. I don’t keep in contact with most of them and I’m okay with that. Yet, when I see them again, I’m happy. I’m glad to know that they are doing okay. I don’t know if or when I will ever see any of them again, even if it would be awkward, I think I would like that.

I should choose who gets to see my penis.

2010-08-22T12:19:00.004-04:00

Considering that the government, despite their promises not to, are saving pictures of people going through these body scanners, I would like to bring in with me a sign that says, "Objects in scanner are bigger than they appear." Or... I'll just opt for the pat down.

Is it that bad that you have to go after the kids?

2010-08-20T23:14:00.000-04:00

Republicans in Arizona would like to withhold citizenship to children born to illegal immigrants. The way this would happen would be that a hospital would be prohibited from giving a birth certificate. This, of course, violates the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause which reads, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the States wherein they reside.” Basically, this means that anyone born in the United States is automatically a citizen.

There is now a growing push, particularly amongst Republicans, to amend the constitution. They claim that illegal immigrants are coming to the United States to give birth to “anchor babies.” Their thinking is that if they give birth and have their kids obtain US citizenship, it would guarantee their ability to stay in America. Stripping jus soli out of the 14th Amendment would prevent these anchor babies and keep these kids and their parents deportable.

I am against getting rid of jus soli.

I get the idea of not wanting to reward illegal aliens but doing this would punish these children. If we were to go through with this, these children would be stateless. I can envision a whole new generation of people who will be born and grow up as Americans but not as citizens. They will be just like you and I but because their parents committed an illegal act, they cannot fully participate with the body politic. And then… what happens when those non-citizens start having children of their own?

In the context of illegal immigration as a whole, just how harmful and how numerous are these, “anchor babies.” My guess is that the problem it creates is just a tiny number in comparison.

The 14th Amendment prevents politicians, to a certain extent, from fraking over, racial—but now more practically—immigrant groups. It was passed to ensure that blacks could not be denied citizenship. This overruled the Dred Scott Decision which said that black slaves or their descendants, free or not, could not be citizens of the US. This became important during the time of the Chinese Exclusion Act when Chinese immigrants who could not be naturalized themselves, started having children. The Supreme Court ruled that these children were, by virtue of their birth on American soil, American citizens.

Considering how important the 14th Amendment is to our legal rights (just consider the incorporation of the Bill of Rights through the Due Process Clause), do we really want to start tampering with it?

Keeping jus soli tends to make citizenship a simple case. If we move more towards jus sanguinis, we would have to keep track of a person’s parental lineage. Who wants to deal with those potential court claims?

I don’t think that we need an amendment to punish illegal immigrants. I would allow the new citizen to stay and their parents to stay with them. However any illegal family member caught here would be forever be ineligible to naturalize.

I remember when they actually blew stuff up as well.

2010-08-16T21:09:00.005-04:00

I went to the Chicago Air & Water Show yesterday. You may remember a post about it last year when I met up with a fellow blogger.

My only costs: train tickets at $21.90 and parking: $1:00

Please feel free to click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Walking down Michigan Avenue on my way to the beach by Oak Street.
Aerobatic maneuvers. There were a number of acts similar to these. A couple solos and duos. One memorable one was a small bi-plane. The pilot addressed the crowd through the radio. The guy must be a big fan of the Austin Powers series as he was throwing around “Yeah Baby!” left and right.

B1

A pair of Black Hawks.

KC-10

Here are a few Blue Angels flying out from the Loop.
These two were flying upside down doing a close pass of each other. It was amazing enough to cause the woman in the foreground which buried her face into her husband’s side just moments after the pass was completed and this photo was shot.

Dragons on the River

2010-08-07T18:47:00.002-04:00

I stopped by Niles this morning to check out Riverfest. The highlights of this festival are the boat races. Personally I like the dragon boat races.

This video was taken in the morning. I believe these are just practice runs. They didn't bother with drummers.

After visiting with some people that I knew and grabbing a pop, I headed back home rather than staying to see which of the teams won. I mean, it's not like I had any vested interest in any of them. I did venture up river though to check out the boats participating in the "Anything that Floats" race. One of the teams had a kick ass version of the Mystery Machine--wish I thought of taking a picture of it.

A Yogi Bear Movie?

2010-08-06T19:05:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if I should be horrified or excited.

Results From Yesterday

2010-08-04T21:10:00.004-04:00

I don’t have official numbers from yesterday’s primary but what I do have is this:

Businessman Rick Snyder will be the Republican candidate for governor having secured 36% of the party’s voters. He competed against four others: Oakland Co. Sheriff (and former state senator) Mike Bouchard, Attorney General Mike Cox, Congressman Pete Hoekstra (MI-2), and State Senator Tom George (20th District).

On the Democratic side of the governor ballot, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero has won his party's candidacy. I've actually met this guy. He was invited to one of my Poli Sci classes. I actually remember thinking that this guy was ambitious. I may not have agreed with some of his policy positions but I had to admit, he made very good arguments.

Congressman Fred Upton (MI-6) has won his primary contest against State Rep. Jack Hoogendyk (61st District). He won with 57% of the Republican vote and had the edge in all 7 counties that the 6th District covers.

I’m just gonna call it right now: State Rep John Proos (79th District) will be moving to the other end of the capitol building. He has beat Todd Griffee with 77% of the Republican vote. The senate seat (21st District) is a safe Republican seat so dollars to donuts he will win it in November.

I Will Have My Say. At the Ballot Box If Needed.

2010-08-03T21:19:00.005-04:00

I voted in today's primary. I have mentioned in the past--I do not vote in primaries but I thought that I should make this one an exception. My congressman, Fred Upton, is up against Jack Hoogendyk. Mr. Hoogendyk was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives and whose last run at an office was for Carl Levin's seat in the US Senate. Based on the campaign signs, Hoogendyk appears to have support of the party in this area. I have seen very few signs up for Upton.

I have been satisfied with Congressman Upton's work in representing MI-6. And as far as I could tell up until now, he had solid support of his constituents. But I think that the anti-incumbency and tea party movements may cast doubt on whether he will be seated again come January. Indeed, Mr. Hoogendyk supporters have labeled Upton a RINO and "water-downed Democrat." While I wouldn't call Congressman Upton a right winger, I wouldn't say he's a RINO either as he has supported many republican plans in congress, some of which that I am actually against such as the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. So if this gentleman to the right of me is a RINO, do I really have to ask what that makes me?

If the Republican party is going to creep further to the right, I don't really have a problem voting for the Democrats and I have already cast votes to prove that but I did vote today and I voted on the Republican ballot. I voted for the republicans that I felt best represented my interests. I intend to stay in this big tent and if my vote in a primary can help it from getting smaller, then I'm gonna do it.

As I make my way out from the "50%" column and into the "plus one," I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to shake my bitterness when the righties and yes--the lefties come looking for my vote.

Justice Served... With a Side of Fries

2010-08-01T22:41:00.002-04:00

Since the changeover to digital, the number of effective channels that I have been able receive has went down from eleven channels* to three**. So I haven’t been too thrilled about it. When I moved to the new place, I decided that I wasn’t going to continue with satellite or get cable. That was too much money to spend per month. Besides, most of the television shows that I was watching were available to stream on the internet. As long as I had high speed internet I’d be fine. Unfortunately the summer is the dry season of worthwhile television shows so I have signed up for… Netflix.

To my surprise, I actually like this service. For nine bucks a month, it’s practically a steal. The cheapest rentals around here are $1 so I figure that if I watch at least nine movies a month, I’d be making it worthwhile. And I’m probably four or five months ahead at this point.

With Netflix, it’s been a trip into my past as I have been able to dredge up some almost-forgotten films and even television shows. Anyone remember that Around the World in 80 Days mini-series with Peirce Brosnan? Was anyone else upset when Earth 2 was canceled and now wishes to see those precious few episodes that aired? My last few movies that I watched were adapted from some of my favorite books that I read as a kid: A Wrinkle in Time and Where the Red Fern Grows. A Winkle it Time was pretty bad but the Red Fern, I liked.

If you like movies but don’t want to spend all that money on a DVD that you’ll probably only watch a few times, I think that Netflix would work well. I’m pretty sure my dad and sister would probably appreciate all the anime crap that is on there. :P

* 7-ABC/Chicago, 9-WGN/Chicago, 11-PBS/Chicago, 16-NBC, 22-CBS, 25-I forget, 28-Fox, 34-PBS, 46-Some Religious Channel, 50-What was UPN, and 57-ABC

**16-NBC, 22-CBS, and 28-Fox.

Thanks IN. I'm rollin' in the dough now!

2010-07-31T21:46:00.001-04:00

It only took Indiana a couple months to cough up eleven bucks. Sheesh!

Rolling My Eyes at Daley

2010-07-29T22:21:00.002-04:00

An oil pipeline owned by Enbridge ruptured near the town of Marshall three days ago. The oil leaked into Talmadge Creek which then flowed into the Kalamazoo River. Chicago’s Mayor Daley is demanding that Michigan AG Cox start an investigation into the oil spill saying that oil leakage into Lake Michigan would be worse than the Asian carp leaking into the lake from his city.

Fuck off Daley.

Is the oil leak an important issue? Of course it is but we’re talking about contamination of, what, 40 miles of a small river in the middle of the state? With all the containment and cleanup efforts, I doubt that much, if any, harmful amounts are going to get to the lake.

But let’s just say that this spill directly dumped into the lake—about a million gallons. It would be an environmental disaster for sure but how many years of damage are we talking about? Even if it was decades, I would argue that would still be far less damaging than one Asian carp about to reproduce. Once an invasive species gets into the Lakes, it’s going to be there long after the oil is broken down. And if the Asian carp is half as bad as it is being portrayed, then we’re talking about a permanent reduction—and some would say loss—of Michigan’s sports fishing industry.

So let’s just be clear, Mayor Daley is willing to grasp at anything to give this state a slap in the face for all the heat he is getting for the Asian carp and his unwillingness to do more to keep those damn fish from getting past the locks and into the Lakes.

Better than single shots, I guess.

2010-07-25T21:57:00.003-04:00

All the clutter has been cleaned out and the apartment looks pretty decent. How long it will last this way? ...Probably not past Monday morning. Heh heh.

I had plans to do a large photosynth of the place so you could take a virtual tour. After 173 individual photos were taken, I loaded them on to photosynth were I only achieved about a 60% synth. I have it another try and still, the great interactive picture turned out to be a depressing dud. Here it is, almost 2200 and I started out at 1700.

Screw it. I took a series of shots from two positions: one at the main entrance and the other at my bedroom entrance.

Time to take these pics and have them synth at 100%: <20 minutes. *facepalm*

Will I ever get unpacked?

2010-07-23T00:03:00.003-04:00

I didn't realize I was such a slow poke when it comes to moving. When I was moving around up in Lansing, I had to do everything in one go. Since I'm only moving a few miles from where I used to live, I'm taking my sweet time. Three weeks after the official move in, the living room is still holding boxes of trash and stuff that I haven't unpacked yet. This weekend, I hope to finally get everything placed, that way I can actually take some pictures of the place and post them here.

Happy Independence Day--About A Week Late

2010-07-11T15:02:00.003-04:00

A little over a week ago, July 3rd, my sister and I went to Six Flags Great America to meet up with our cousins, Jessica and Eric. It was originally hoped that we would go to Cedar Point. We were at Six Flags less than a year ago and it would have been nice to go to a different park but the cousins had things to do on the fourth and a six hour drive to Sandusky wasn’t something they were eager to do.

We waited here just beyond the entrance. It took a long time to get through as people did not know how to line up properly.

Have you ever been to a ride which brought in groups of people into a waiting room where a presentation was made before you got on the actual ride? Like the Haunted Mansion at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom? Well this was a similar one but instead of filling up the room, a line was made up along the back wall. I went ahead and moved to the far end where we would exit to the actual ride. Because of this, we got called names by the idiots who didn’t think to do it themselves. It’s not my fault they don’t know how to fill a room. I’ve been doing this for over two decades over dozens of parks. My guess is that this was their first time. Still, no need to call us assholes when they are ignorant assholes.

The rest of the day went fairly well. We managed to get Eric to go on a wet ride over his protests. It was freakin’ hot out and I was welcoming a chance to get a little wet. We didn’t get to go on all the coasters again but I was satisfied with what we did get on.

A note to 14/15 year olds out there: please don’t make out when we are in the queue. Some quick kisses, no big deal, but when you’re sticking tongues down each other’s throats… go find a bush or head back out to the parking lot. I’d tell you to get a room but you wouldn’t be able to book one. But whatever, please don’t subject the rest of us to it. Some other pervy kids might get into it but the rest of us are a little put out.

Yes. They made the unfortunate decision of not using sunscreen.

We spent the night at my Uncle’s house. On the fourth, we accompanied the family to a party being hosted by some of their friends. I was uncomfortable. I hate being put into situations where I am forced to be in the company of strangers. In hoping to avoid the assembled guests, I followed Eric down to the dock on the lake and for most of my time there, tried to keep my distance.

These folks seemed fine. They were welcoming but still, seeing this flag being flown did not make me feel any more at ease.

Yet, I found it a little amusing to see this flag flying right next door.

We left in the late afternoon after my aunt gave me some extra kitchen items for my new apartment.

As we drove back home on the Illinois Tollway, the local residents were shooting off their fireworks. Sure they’re not as big as the shows the towns put on but not knowing where or when a good mortar would go off had its own thrill.

Back to State and Visit to WMU

2010-06-26T21:40:00.000-04:00

I had some business with my credit union which is based in East Lansing so I went up there today. It’s been a few years since I’ve been back on campus and it always amazes me to see the improvements that are always being made. This time around, I saw that they created underpasses at the rail road crossings on the southern end of the main campus. One of the more shocking was this on the north end by the College of Social Science:
I’m not sure what they are going to be building here.
Here is Phillips Hall, my dorm from freshman and sophomore years. Just recently they installed an art sculpture. The cost for it would have completely paid the tuition and housing for three students seeking a four year degree.

I stopped by the Student Union and I was happy to see that my credit union opened a branch there. That was a very smart thing as together with the campus post office, it makes the Union more of a one-stop service area.
There were a couple things that I didn’t care for. The food courts were closed. Closed! On a Saturday. Now I’ve seen reduced hours during breaks but I have never known them to close. Even the stacks were closed when I walked by them (although they would have opened later in the day.)

On my way back, I contacted my sister to see if she wanted to catch lunch as I would be passing her university on my way back home. We met up and had lunch at a Chinese buffet. After that she took me on a tour of downtown Kalamazoo.
…where we saw a fountain…

…and church.

We also visited candy shop that was very retro. I liked it a lot.

We drank odd pop…

…and ate Blue Moon ice cream. Yum!

Now that I'm back home. I think I'm getting sick :( But that aside, it was an excellent day.

We’ve Got the Power!

2010-06-21T21:36:00.003-04:00

We had a large storm come through late Friday night and early Saturday morning. We rode out the first wave but power was knocked out in the second. I could see that the winds were pretty nasty but it was nothing that I hadn’t seen before. I just thought that we were unlucky enough to catch a cell. Turns out this was a big ass cell that covered multiple counties.

Usually, when a storm knocks out power, it is restored within a day. What was so unusual about this storm was that the damage was so widespread. We pretty much had a micro-hurricane. Around noon on Saturday I headed up north to Stevensville to get some gas at my mom’s request.

Baroda. This is one of many trees that were blown down. I saw a house that had a swath of its roofing blown off.

A few houses down from where I live I saw that these poles. This was probably where our power was interrupted.

That evening, I drove into Niles and South Bend. The traffic signals in Michigan were out. Indiana’s were mostly up but there were a few intersections that were still down.

The fridge in the house and the freezer in the mudroom held together by Sunday. Everything in them was okay. The freezer in the garage couldn’t hold on and much of the meat had begun to thaw. My uncle came by around noon and took two full sized coolers of the beef. I would say about 150 to 200 pounds. The chicken was grilled and the hamburger was cooked so it could be refrozen later.

Power came back on later that day. Some of my friends in the South Bend ‘burbs did not have power. I’m guessing the power poles that were hanging over into the road might have been too much of a hazard and got bumped up on the priority list.

Housing: Affordability vs. Everything Else

2010-06-17T21:47:00.003-04:00

The housing search did not go well earlier this week. Before heading out, I made a list of properties that were in my price range. Every place that I visited in Michigan had waiting lists. I got on them but no one could give me an idea of how long the wait might be. Gritting my teeth, I headed into Mishawaka, Indiana to inquire into a complex down there. To my surprise, they had units open so I filled out an application. At that point, it looked like it was going to be my only option.

So this Mishawaka place. On the plus side, it was well within my price range and there was even a discount internet provider (whose name I’ve never heard of). It looked nice but from what my coworkers tell me, looks can be deceiving. Apparently it is pretty rough and I’ve heard stories of people getting shot there. The fact that the unit that I was applying for was ground level and the windows were secured with wood dowels, did not impress me.

I found out earlier today that a place in Buchanan had a one-bedroom available and those ahead of me on the list didn’t go for it. I asked the office person there if I could drop by after their office hours and check it out. If the apartment worked out, I was going to make out an application and pretty much guarantee them that I would sign a lease.

I toured the unit and it doesn’t look as attractive as the one in Mishawaka but there is more space. It’s also a bit more expensive. I think that the biggest selling point for me was that I could still remain in Michigan. This is hugely important to me because I can still maintain my residency so that if I apply to grad school, I will pay the discounted in-state tuition. In addition, I wouldn’t have to go through all the other annoying obstacles of establishing Indiana residency by changing over my vehicle registration and insurance. In addition, it’s a lot easier to get to and from work. Even though Mishawaka is the next town over, I have would have to drive miles of surface streets. Buchanan is just a shot up the highway and a hook into town.

The lady seemed confident that I would get the unit and even asked me if I wanted to move in within the next couple days. I think it would be less complicated if I just waited until July. At least I would have a couple weeks to see if I can scrounge up some used items to furnish the apartment with. As of right now, I basically have a bed, desk, chair, computer, and some odds and ends still left from living in the dorms.

More on this later...

We.... won? scratches head

2010-06-12T21:05:00.003-04:00

According to my friend Adam, the 1-1 tie between England and the United States is the reason why he can’t get into soccer. How can anyone tolerate a game that ends in a draw? Someone’s gotta win! In addition, it’s strange how a tie can be a “win” for one side *cough*USA*cough* and a loss for another.

See also: “Give it another shot?”

Bringing My Phone Back

2010-06-11T22:43:00.002-04:00

Hey, does anyone remember this:

The music in this vid was one of many ring tones that have been wiped clean off my phone.

Yesterday morning my phone booted up to an error screen and I could not reset it with a battery pull. After fiddling with it all day and getting nowhere I took it the Verizon kiosk in the mall. They referred to one of their actual stores. Then those people sent me home telling me to update the software. I was not happy with their customer service. Although they seemed willing to, ultimately, provide me with a replacement, they wanted me to see if I could figure it out on my own.

When I got home their suggestion of downloading software to the phone didn’t work. I spent a few hours on it and got nowhere. Fed up, I left it connected to my computer and when I came back a few hours later it had somehow connected to my computer and I was able to restore it to factory settings.

Luckily I have my contacts backed up. A lot of media got deleted, mostly but that’s no big deal. I can replace the few ring tones that I liked anyways. I’ll probably be personalizing the phone over the next couple of days. I didn’t realize how customized I had it.

Really, I’m just glad that I don’t have to buy a new phone or go through the hassles of submitting an insurance claim. I can still wait until my renewal window is open or when my contract is up.

Considering Giving it Up to the Cloud

2010-06-06T20:31:00.001-04:00

See also: --> “Well, I needed a new handset anyways,” and “I want to be a Crackberry addict!”

I should have more pressing things to worry about but lately I have been considering what phone I will get when I am eligible for my upgrade—in three months. I haven’t made a decision as to whether I should continue with BlackBerry or move onto a handset carrying Android.

I do like my current phone, the BlackBerry Storm, but as it ages, the shortcomings are becoming more apparent. The messaging capabilities have been top-notch and I have valued its ability to sync up to Outlook but the memory is low and applications are bare bones in comparison to their counterparts made for Android or the iPhone. I don’t know what has changed by the in the past few days, but my phone hasn’t been syncing properly. My calendar entries created on Outlook shows up hidden on my phone. Entries on my phone don’t sync to Outlook.

Outlook has always been my manager of emails, events, and contacts. I have been hesitant to switch over to Gmail completely. I’m not comfortable putting up what I would consider sensitive information up into the cloud. I like to know where that data is—in a computer tower that I can destroy whenever I want. Should I move to Android, it looks like I will have to give it all up to the cloud. It could be a good thing as syncing issues shouldn’t be a problem and well it’s free unlike Outlook. I just have to get over the psychological hurdle of letting my data go.

Finding a place to live, how hard can it be?

2010-06-05T21:02:00.001-04:00

I have submitted an application for low income housing but the waiting list is six months long. I suppose for the application fee, it’s worth the gamble that an available spot might open up within a month or two. I started a broader search and there really isn’t much in my price range but there a few.

Going on to the various apartment hunting websites, most of the listings are in South Bend. I found two places offering studios in my price range. The neighborhoods don’t look too bad either. They’re buried inside the city with no easy way to get to work or my parents. …And, God, I don’t want to be a Hoosier.

There are two places nearby in Michigan that I really like. In fact, when I’ll be inquiring about one of them first. It’s a studio. The setup is nice and the price is just right and—hello indoor pool! I’ll have to put in a time-off request at work so I can check this and other places when their offices are open. Sometimes having a 9-5 job is damn inconvenient!

Cross your fingers for me that there are available spaces.

When Fashion Does Not Make Sense

2010-05-26T19:19:00.002-04:00

Seriously, these people are just fucking dumb.