Laurie and Jed's Wedding

I heard that if it storms on a wedding day, there will be good luck. Well, it rained on Saturday but let up just in time to be pleasant for the ceremony and reception. I'll take that as being good luck all around.

The ceremony was great. The Gillettes remarked on how much pageantry was involved. Apparently, their church's ceremonies are shorter and to the point. I guess Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches are a little too alike. I like a little bit of pageantry. The only thing that I didn't expect was communion. This Episcopalian church practices open communion so they welcomed all baptized Christians. I can not begin to express how happy I was over that. My church practices closed communion and I have not been able to participate in the Eucharist for over a year. Maybe I should consider converting but I think I need to sort myself out before making such a decision.

The reception was held at the Century Center. When I got there, I immediately looked for Amber G. Most of the people at the wedding were people that I didn't know so I was going to attach myself to the only person I did. It turned out pretty nice as I ended up at her table along with her husband. Also there was Freida K. and her husband. I knew them from high school. My highlight of the night? Oh it had to be me grooving to the Cha-Cha Slide.

All in all, I had a great time.

Congrats, Laurie and Jed! I may not have any wisdom or advice on the matter, but I do wish you all the best.

Prep, Prep, Prep

I can not stress the importance of good preperation.

I tried finding a good wedding present on Thursday and came this || close to buying a spice rack. A spice rack! Also in the running were wine glasses, a picnic basket, and trash can. (It was a cool looking trash can, honest.) It may seem like no thought goes into it, but how can you beat a gift card? If there is something that they didn't get at the wedding and yet is something they need, they can always use a gift card. At least, that's my justification of it.

Some other tips-- dry clean your suits at least one week before using it. I got lucky. Also, make sure you have a tie that matches well with the rest of what you are wearing. It saves a trip to JC Penny an hour before actually needing it.

Give it another shot?

In the summer of 2002, I was living in Mason Hall up at Michigan State University watching the World Cup at an ungodly hour of the morning. Football (I will try to use the more common term for soccer in this post) isn't a popular sport here in the United States and so it wasn't surprising to find me and the German student living two doors down being the only ones watching. Four in the morning is late--even for summer college students.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the first time I sat down to watch a game of football. Well, that's not quite true. I've seen games on TV before but was bored to tears watching people kick a ball around endlessly. This time, however, I got into it and began to look at it more as a strategic game. I actually began to enjoy it so much that I probably woke some people up on my floor a couple times.

Now that the 2006 games are up, I'm not sure if I want to watch it. The games are on in the middle of the day so time definitely wouldn't be a problem. Maybe it's the superstitious side of me, but I know that if I watch--the teams that I root for will fall. It happened every time in 2002. Cheered on the U.S. and then they lost. Cheered on the Germans and then they lost. I dunno... we'll see.

In the mean time-- GO CZECH REPUBLIC! :P

You're not getting my buck.

There are moments when I could pull out my camera and take a picture. A picture is not only worth a thousand words but can be a nexus of a thousand thoughts.

While I was walking toward the barber shop, I walked past Hollister where I saw an obese kid sitting on the steps. I wanted to take a picture because this guy was sitting there, eating his frozen dots. Behind him were the mannequins of incredibly fit people. I’m talking about muscles that begin to look grotesque. The contrast was something that I wanted to capture: fit and unfit. Reality and image.

I will not dance around it—I hate Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch. While American Eagle and Aeropostale are virtual clones of the other two, they don’t provoke me much. It’s that exclusion is the image that Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch give out. Every time that I go past one of their stores, I feel like I can’t shop there. They might as well throw up a sign that says “You must be thin, beautiful, and rich to enter.” The fact that their stores are frequently decorated in a style that is closed and dark only adds to the air exclusivity. And it doesn’t help their case any when they openly admit that they market to a crowd that can pull off their image. I don’t get nearly as worked up with American Eagle and Aeropostale. While, it may take a minor miracle for me to find a size 38/40 in one of their stores, at least they have been fairly welcoming in my experiences.

While I was walking on, I was imagining that that guy who was sitting on the steps was waiting for his thinner friends to come back out of the store. I mean, why would he want to go in there when he is not wanted in the first place?

What's Up?

I haven’t been terribly busy but I haven’t been in the blogging mood for a bit.

The trip to Muncie went fine. It wasn’t the best use of company money to send me down there. I wasn’t able to do much in the way of improving the store. I wouldn’t mind going to some other store as I really do like the traveling bit. I got to go through Fort Wayne for the first time in my life. Not exactly thrilling, I know but I’ve never been to the UP either and I’m meaning to go to that someday.

I’ve been trying to set up a way to go running this summer. Kacey used to run with me when I was in AFROTC and since we still live near each other, I think it would be good to get together with her. It’s totally my fault, but so far, we can’t seem to get it going. Shoes, work, time, that sort of thing.

It looks like the tennis games might be on hold for a while. Season broke her foot on her trip to NYC a little while ago. I saw her last night and she seems to be a lot better from the last time that I saw her.

For today, I’ve got to do some things in prep for Laurie and Jed’s wedding on Saturday. More on that, after the actual event. I’m promising pictures—compromising ones if we’re lucky.

It's corny...

...why didn't I think of this?

Why not spend 06/06/06 in Hell?

"Would you like to know more?"

It's just a song.

While I was at Muncie, I had access to high speed internet. A few weeks prior to my Muncie assignment, my sister let me have a copy of the song, Wo Bist Do by the German band Rammstein. Up until that time, my only knowledge of Rammstein were of some vague connections to white supremacist groups here in the United States. While white supremacists may appreciate the band and their songs, it didn’t necessarily mean that the band held the same views. Fortunately, that sentiment seemed to be confirmed when I looked up the band on Wikipedia. Now that I knew that I wasn’t going to rock out with a band that would rather exterminate me and other like me, I went ahead and listened to their songs on Napster which I could do since I had broadband.

Anyone who knows me well would say that I have a very eclectic taste in music. Rammstein is at the outer limits of what I like. That is, the general sound of their music. Most of the music I sampled, I honestly didn’t care for. But I found and downloaded the song, Amerika.

On the surface, Amerika seems to be another America bashing song. The main message, though, seems to be railing against Americanization of the world. Indeed, plenty of the American backlash can also be attributed to the impression of American culture rather than its foreign policy. Who can deny the ubiquity of Coca-Cola or McDonalds? Can a moviegoer in the Philippines expect to not be able to see a Hollywood movie?

We're all living in America,
America is wunderbar.

Isn’t it?

While, I won’t pretend that Americanization is not taking place, I do have to balk at the Anti-American sentiments that are based on it. How can companies like Coca-Cola be so successful? It’s because people are buying their products! They have this cause—and yet, they don’t have the backbone to actually do anything about it other than bitch. Let’s continue to use Coca-Cola as an example. I have heard the excuse that Coca-Cola drives away competition in foreign countries. People support Coke because they can’t get anything else. What hogwash. Drink water. Drink goat-milk. No one but customer causes the coin to cross the counter.

I've seen it! I've seen it!

<--See Also: What that on the horizon?
I wish I could have taken better pictures but here you have it: Chicago from across the lake. In a way, I'm almost sad that I've seen the city. Somehow, Lake Michigan seems a little smaller.

A Brief Return

I’m back from Muncie, It wasn’t that bad at all. Actually, in some way… I actually enjoyed it. But five days of it was a little much so I am glad to be back home. Well, at least for a couple days. I have to go back again on Thursday.

I had planned to take plenty of pictures. It never materialized however. For me, Muncie was South Bend planted in the middle of the world’s largest cornfield. The Boss better not be considering me as a candidate for the manager spot for that place. I don’t think I could stand living there for long. Apparently the two Ball State students I worked with feel the same way.

Muncie? Well...

Hey everyone, I'm about to start by third day of working in Muncie, Indiana. It hasn't been bad too far despite the work load that the boss has put on me. In these situations, I rarely let it bother me. I figure, I'll do the best I can do with what I have. Basically, they are having me overhaul the store by cleaning and moving products around while at the same time, increasing sales. Problem is that this place is absolutely dead. How do you increase sales when no one is coming in the store? Whatever.

I haven't had time to go out and enjoy the area (such as it is). Truthfully, I don' t know if I will. When I'm not working, I'm pretty much tuckered out--either on the bed or in front of the computer. Since I get off a little early today, however, I may walk over to Ball State's campus and check it out.

Luckily, a hail storm passed south of here last night. I slept like a baby though. I love thunderstorms.

See you in a week.... maybe.

I leave in a few hours for Muncie, Indiana. I don't know what accommodations the company is providing for me so I may not have internet access. Not to worry, I'll amaze you with tons of pictures come Sunday. Do I hear groans? :P

Take care, all of you.

M&M's not for sale

M&M’s needs to get its act together. They have been sending us shipments of ruined product. Those white splotches you see here is blooming. The white film forms when chocolate is cooled down. In this case, it was caused when some idiot packed the ice packs directly onto the product. Normally, they put a buffer in between the ice packs and the M&M’s. The bloom is not harmful and it doesn’t affect the taste but we can’t sell it like that. If you were paying nine dollars per pound, would you want it?

100,000

My car passed 100,000 miles today and being the total dork that I am, took pictures to remember it by.

Coincidentally, it happened only yards away from the Saturn dealership where I bought it.

I bought myself a Rally burger for myself and a full tank of gas for the car to celebrate.

Where's the outrage for this?

It appears that Iran is taking a page out of the Nazi playbook. The Iranian Parliament passed a law that would require religious minorities to wear identifying symbols.

Article here.

UPDATE:
A lot of us jumped the gun on this one. See? This is why I'm a blogger an not a journalist :P

Article here.

Endings On Thursday Night

For a moment, I had a bit of a dilemma last night. Should I watch the series finale of Will & Grace or watch the season finale of CSI. While I like CSI a lot more, I have watched Will & Grace with off and on regularity throughout its run and I felt like I should at least watch the last episode. CSI will return again next year. But after that small second of worry, I figured out that I could watch CSI and tape Will & Grace. There, problem solved.

Kate! Just like last year… don’t read on if you don’t want to know!
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So last week on CSI, we ended the episode with Captain Brass being shot. For the next week, we saw the previews of the finale which seemed centered on the question of whether Brass would live or die. Instead, we get an episode where Brass’s situation is the B story. (I would consider the dead partier the C story.) Seriously, take those ten minutes out and it would have seemed like any regular episode. The writers seriously dropped the ball on this one, I feel.

The A story concerning the decapitated civil war guy (and I thought trekkies were bad) was a little enlightening. I never realized that men wore corsets. I almost wish that I had taped this episode so that I could go back and listen to Grissom explain why this was practiced. Seriously, if I saw a guy look like that, I would think that there was some serious birth defect. I’ve got a mental note to look up on that subject. It’s oddly curious.

And to let everyone know, I found those last few minutes of the show to be insanely creepy.


Now, on with Will & Grace.

I have read books where in the epilogue, they go on to tell what happened to the characters of the story. After getting involved with the characters, it’s kind of nice to know how they will end up. Tonight’s episode was so horrible because that was what it was. They showed Will & Grace in the future.

Basically, Leo comes back from Rome and confesses his love for Grace. Grace chooses to find her happiness with Leo. That makes Will mad because he gave up Vince as a commitment to her and now is hurt that Grace can’t do the same.

Flash forward two years latter and we find that Grace is with Leo with their daughter, Lila. Will is with Vince and they have a son, Ben. Neither of them are speaking to each other. Karen and Jack decide to bring them back together. It sorta works. While Will and Grace are able to bury the hatchet, they find that there family commitments keep them from hanging out with each other. Meanwhile, Karen becomes broke and Jack becomes Beverly Leslie’s new associate. Beverly Leslie dies and Jack inherits his money. Karen and of course, Rosario, move in with Jack.

Flash forward almost two decades and we find Ben and Lila meeting at college. They hit it off and a couple years latter those two get married. In the last few moments of the show, the foursome get together for a drink and make a toast to family.

Personally, I would have rather ended it with the two reestablishing their relationships with Leo and Vince and then leaving it there. Keeping the show as it was and then wrapping it up at the very end, is something I would have liked to see. A whole episode depicting what happens to Will and Grace’s relationship changed the flavor of the show. It’s like it lost its substance. Instead of sharing the experience, it felt like a cram course in history. While knowing that Will and Grace’s kids would end up together is a nice thought, wouldn’t it have been better if the viewers were left to make up their own endings?

Manila Movie Ban

Read the article here.

The movie, The Da Vinci Code has been banned in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It always amazes me on how religious Filipinos are. I keep thinking of myself as Catholic-lite. When they come in to the picture, I barely feel Christian.

The ban on Da Vinci doesn't amount to anything other than lost revenue for legitimate businesses. The pirates are going to have a field day with this one.

A little higher next time.

<--See Also: Eggs Anyone?

As always, clicking on the pictures will make them somewhat larger.






As predicted, the chicks did not survive. The other morning, we found that the nest had been tipped onto its side and the chicks were no longer there. We think that one of the three stray cats in the area may have killed them.

Wet to dry?

I woke up this morning to a box of powdered milk on the kitchen counter. It must've been bought last night along with the rest of the grocieries but I hadn't noticed it when I came in from work. I really, really hope that my parents are not planning to replace the regular milk with this crap. They've got to have something else in mind for it. (I hope.)

Poseidon

Can you say, “Titanic?”—Season

Before Friday night, I had no intention of seeing Poseidon. I heard that it was a bad movie, but that wasn’t the reason I wasn’t going to watch it. After all, Gladiator was ripped apart by the critics and look what happened. No, the reason why I didn’t want to watch it was because it was another disaster movie which typically has one plot thread: survive. Given the lack of quality choices (M.I. III, Just My Luck, RV, and Scary Movie 4), Poseidon seemed to be the best bet. Actually, Season wanted to see United 93 but I couldn’t watch something like that. I’ll admit it. It touches a raw nerve and I would be completely uncomfortable. Like Doug said, it’s “stomachachey.” Poseidon ended up as the compromise movie.

Basically what happens is that a luxury ocean liner gets hit by a rogue wave and is turned upside down. A small group of survivors decide to make their way up toward the keel of the ship in hopes of exiting through the propeller tubes. They have to make their way through various obstacles… yadda, yadda, yadda, until they succeed.

The positives of this movie are that it is suspenseful and keeps you alert for almost the entire movie and that it does move along pretty quickly. But then again, going too fast is not always a good thing. The set-up to the disaster was short. The introductions of the characters were just enough to let the viewer know the basics: who they are, why they are here, and such. Yet, it wasn’t enough to establish a connection. So I didn’t care if someone lived or died nor did I respond well to the character interactions.

Unlike Season, I wouldn’t say that this movie is like Titanic. Not that I would know, since I’ve only seen bits and parts of Titanic. The only similarity I see was the sinking of a ship and a fight to survive. Poseidon focused on survival. Titanic, in my view was a sappy love story interrupted by a disaster. For Poseidon, I recommend passing it up. It’s not worth the price of admission. It is however, worth a rental. It’s one of those zone-out movies that you can watch on a slow Sunday night.

I would be interested. (No. Not really.)

I had a talk with the company president the other day in regards to my promotion to assistant manager. Now I am considering quitting this job. The president cornered me. He wants me to accept assistant manager as a lead in to becoming a store manager. Although, I can appreciate him looking out for his company, I do not want to become a store manager. I want to go back to school and this job is supposed to tide me over until I can get in. I know that I can do something more than retail management and I want the opportunity to do it. So I am horribly PO'd that I am being expected to eventually become a store manager. No offense to those out there, but I don't find the job appealing and it doesn't pay well.

I leave for Muncie, Indiana at the end of the month for a week where I will start in my new position.

There's better things to come.

Ah, it's been a while huh? Well, I've got some massive updates coming up within the next day or two. Prepare for quite a few more links (and hopefully new readers--well, new to you.) Welcome to those who have already made the trip out to this site and thanks for sticking with me.

Not the best survey in the world but....

My friend Sara sent me this a couple days ago via email. Since I have only a couple minutes before heading out to the job... I'll post this.

1. FIRST NAME? David
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? King David. You know... that guy in the bible.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? If I remember right, it was a couple months ago.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I do like it actually.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Roast Beef
6. KIDS? Hopefully. I’ve got a few other steps to take before I get there though.
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I don’t know if I would have the patience to crack that shell. But once I did, it would be well worth it.
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yes, but my blogging has taken over much of it.
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? I am so bad with sarcasm but I try and try.
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yup. What are they for again?
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Oh hell yes. Bring it on! Anyone want to do some sky diving?
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Golden Grahams.
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Hardly ever unless they are my dress shoes.
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Not particularly.
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Hands down it’s Blue Moon.
16. SHOE SIZE? 12/13
17. RED OR PINK? Red
18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Cowardice? I am totally spineless.
19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Sara.
20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? It’s on a blog. I haven’t sent it to anyone.
21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Tan khakis and no shoes.
22. LAST THING YOU ATE? Chicken soup.
23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The soundtrack for Wicked.
24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Purple. Just kidding! I would want to be Forest Green.
25. FAVORITE SMELL? Water (like when you are at the beach or near a waterfall.)
26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Erin.
27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO: Their smile.
28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? “Like” is not strong enough of a word to describe how I feel about her.
29. FAVORITE DRINK? Coke, Jasmine Green Tea, Labatt, Folgers Caffeinated, Concord Grape, 2%.... did I get all the categories?
30. FAVORITE SPORT? College Football
31. HAIR COLOR? Black but it fades into really dark brown.
32. EYE COLOR? Brown
33. DO YOU WERE CONTACTS? Nope. I’m thinking about it though.
34. FAVORITE FOOD? Lumpia *drools*
35. SCARY MOVIE OR HAPPY ENDINGS? What kind of a question is this? I’ve never heard of the “happy ending” genre. Screw these choices. Comedy.
36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Finding Nemo. What? It’s a good movie.
37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black polo with a blue striped undershirt.
38. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer. There’s more to do.
39. HUGS OR KISSES? Well… I’m trying to break into having hugs. So hugs it is.
40. FAVORITE DESERT? God! I don’t know what it is but it was this confectionary delight that I had in New Orleans. Maybe Heidi or Rachelle remembers, but in some ways, I don’t even want to know. Anything like it would compete for one of my greatest food memories.
41. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Dunno. But it would be nice to see other people do this. They aren’t the most revealing questions and it would be nice to get to know some fellow bloggers a little bit better.
42. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? The person who sent this. I mean, why do it again?
43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? LSAT stuff. Rest assured Brian—I will get to your recommendations.
44. WHAT IS ON YOUR BACKGROUND ON YOUR COMPUTER? Chicago

45. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Will & Grace and CSI.
46. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Wind blowing through trees.
47. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.
48. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? Los Banos, Philippines. (It’s pretty much on the other side of the planet.)
49. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Talent? Not really. But talent isn’t what makes me special.
50. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? I was born at 5:32 am PST in Las Vegas, Nevada on the Ides of March 1982.

For this Cinco de Mayo

What a perfect day to tell you a short story of what happened to me the other day.

A Mexican family came into the shop. From what I could observe, it appeared to be a grandfather along with his son and grandson. While the younger two went off towards the back to look at some candy, the grandfather stayed up at the front.

Wah* wah wah wah "tambien" wah wah

“Uh, No hablo espanol. Lo siento.” I replied.

Wah wah wah. Apparently something was lost in translation because this guy kept going. But you would have died laughing if you could see my panicked face as he continued in Spanish!

“No entiendo.” I continued, hoping it would get the message. Please speak in English!

Wah wah wah. Oh my God. I needed someone to start speaking English!

I think this guy got a kick that I was talking to him in Spanish telling him that I didn’t speak it. Like some Spanish teachers I’ve had, I think he felt that emersion into the language would coax a few more responses from me. Nope. Sorry. Those three phrases are about all I remember from high school. I learned just enough to let people know that I would need a translator.

Eventually they checked out but then when it came time to pay, the guy pulls out a Mexican cincuenta bill. Why is he doing this to me?

“Sorry sir. My manager only accepts American or Canadian.” Well, it’s true.



*Like the an adult on the animated Charlie Brown shows, this is all I heard.

Marriage, it happens even to the best of us.

An invitation to Laurie and Jed’s wedding arrived in the mail the other day. Believe me, that is one billion times better than the ones that I receive from Capital One, Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, and the like.

It’s quite an honor to be invited. I wondered how long it would be before some of my classmates got married. Even though it has been almost six years since we left high school, it still feels like yesterday. –Okay, maybe not quite yesterday but you get the idea. Perhaps I’m still clinging to the idea that we are still too young. Or maybe it’s just me feeling as if everyone is passing me by.

My own relationship issues (rather, a lack of) are my doing. I’m not going to get anywhere if I don’t step up to the plate and play the game am I?

Even though marriage is no where to be found in my foreseeable future, I still have hope that I will make it there some day. And if not—it’s not a total loss. I’m determined that I will make a contribution to this society, more than just selling stuff.

More on the actual wedding subject to come at a later today. But for now... Congrats you two!

Wasted effort

A few days ago, I was going to do a post about the U.S. Electoral College. Indiana Senator Evan Bayh had said that he would want to abolish the college in favor of direct elections. Anyone who knows me, know that I am a republican (small “R” for those who didn’t notice). So I resist any effort to take away from the states’ role in the union.

A report out of Lansing showed some state legislators urging Congress to pass a constitutional amendment that would change the apportionment process of the House. Rep. Candice Miller of Michigan is sponsoring the amendment. The amendment calls for apportionment to be made on the basis of citizens residing. Legal residents and illegals immigrants would be excluded.

Michigan lost a seat in the house in 2000. Therefore, our electoral votes in the Electoral College got reduced by one as well. Rep. Miller anticipates another loss in 2010. So you can see Michigan’s interest in preserving her representative clout in the Houses of Congress almost at an absurd level of desperation.

The amendment is well meant. And from a certain stand point, I’d support it. I’d support it even more if legal residents were included rather than excluded. While I believe that legal residents don’t have the right to vote, I do believe that they deserve representation. But this amendment is dead—even before arrival. Even in the unlikely event that you get both houses to pass the amendment, it is still going to die with the ratification of the states. If you think that California, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, and quite a few others are going to pass up the opportunity to gain more seats in the House of Representatives, you would be dead wrong. No. I can not even begin to imagine 3/4 of the states to ratify. It just won’t happen.

Save your energy Rep. Miller. In fact, be useful and go find some alternative fuels. My pocketbook is feeling the sting of these gas prices.

Illogical?

I get a kick out of reading the Opinion Section of the South Bend Tribune and even the State News sometimes. It just amazes me that my thinking is quite often different from the contributors. The Tribune, in particular, has quite a few regulars. It makes me wonder if these same people actually contribute to society rather than bitch about it constantly in the Opinion Section. For this post, I am highlighting the gem of the day from William Spier of South Bend.

Illogical

On Jan. 1, 2005, there were only three states that were not on daylight-savings time, Arizona, Hawaii, and Indiana. The Feb. 2 edition of the Arizona Republic reported that metropolitan Phoenix had led all of our nation’s metropolitan regions last year by adding 83,200 jobs to its economy. Metropolitan Phoenix was only the 14th most populous metropolitan region after the last census. The state of Arizona also added 200,000 new residents in the
first six months of 2005.

If “Our Man Mitch” had done an adequate research on daylight-saving time before he sold the House and Senate that it was needed to increase jobs in Indiana, he would have recognized that Arizona has made outstanding growth without it...

...And then he continues with a bitch out about state contracts and the toll road.

What is his argument when he brings up daylight-savings time? Is he saying that Indiana should have stayed with EST because the state had an opportunity to emulate Arizona? Is he pointing out that job creation (which was argued by Gov. Daniels) is unrelated to EST? I think his point is the latter. But assuming that job creation or economic growth is unrelated to using daylight-savings time, why would he bring up the case of Phoenix? I would agree that job creation is unrelated to the use of daylight-savings. That’s why I have a problem with him using the case of Arizona. If standard time was helpful for growth, why didn’t Indiana or Hawaii enjoy the same benefits that Arizona did? It also occurs to me that the growth of Arizona is not limited to that state. The entire Southwestern United States is enjoying rapid growth and those are including states that use daylight savings.

Mr. Spier’s letter could have been simplified to say, “Gov. Daniels argument that joining daylight-savings in order to create jobs is weak because the connection between the two is also weak.”

May Day

<<--See also: The Immigration Issue

Ahhh! A day without work! If you’re asking—no, I’m not a part of this “Day Without [Illegal] Immigrants” boycott that is going on in the rest of the country. Actually, I made a point to spend money. I figured that I would show my support for illegal workers by eating some Taco Bell. That made absolutely no sense, but for some odd reason I had a craving for burrito. I also bought a little something from Wal-mart which employs thousands of illegals and screws treats them like any other worker.

The boycott has gone largely unnoticed from where I am sitting. Of course, there really isn’t a significant immigrant population here, legal or illegal. From what I’ve seen in the news casts, it looks like it hasn’t been this big event that it was intended to be either. Honestly, it seemed like business as normal. The CBS evening news actually appeared to be scrounging to find instances where this boycott was having an effect. Sorry, but the one day closing of a couple of plants is no skin off my nose especially in industries that I don’t participate in.

Announcement:

Meijer on roads Grape and Portage has their 12-pack brand cola on sale for $3/5 ($1.67). With the Michigan deposit taken into account that means they are selling for 47¢/pack which translates to about 4¢/can. That is a good deal.

What I'd Give

I got a piece of mail from the National Marrow Donor Program today. I had almost forgotten that I had registered. It's one of the more worthwhile things that I did when I was in college. During my sophomore year, the greeks put up a huge drive at the International Center on campus. This was slightly different than the usual blood drives that happen all the time. As far as I can remember, it was the only time this drive occurred while I was in East Lansing. I am ineligible to donate blood*, but I am eligible to donate bone marrow.

Donating blood is important, but the bone marrow registry needs all the help it can get. Finding blood for a patient is relatively easy even if inventories are low. Finding bone marrow is like trying to win the lottery in comparison. When a person needs a bone marrow transplant, their best hope of finding a donor is with a sibling. But the odds of a match are still low.

Please consider putting yourself on the registry. You may be that one in a million chance that you are a match to a patient in need.


*Apparently, I'm a potential carrier for vCJD (mad cow disease) since I've lived in Germany for a year.

Living on the border no longer great

Before going to college, living in Michiana was great. It was great because you could take advantage of two systems. Consider this:

Food: Go to Michigan. They have 0% sales tax.
Clothing and services: Go to Indiana. They have 5% sales tax.
Cigarettes: Go to Indiana. You'll save 10 bucks a carton.
Gas: Again, Indiana. (Their governor might even rescind the gas tax if pushed)
Land: Live in Michigan--lower taxes.
Jobs: Work in Indiana--higher salaries. (Unless you are a teacher then you might get a little more in MI)

From where I was sitting, life was great. That is until now.

Indiana's sales tax is now 6%--same as Michigan's. Now I don't smoke so no savings there. Gas? It's about the same on both sides of the border and is high as hell. I don't own any land so that doesn't mean anything to me. I work in Indiana but I've just walked into income tax hell!

What prompted this post? I got my paycheck a little while back and I was absolutely livid that two dollars was taken out for the St. Joseph County income tax. Two dollars might seem insignificant, but it's the principal of the thing. I don't live in St. Joseph County. I don't use their services. So why am I paying taxes to them?

Our state and local governments can go to hell!

...Alright, I'm done with my rant.

Eggs anyone?

That robin who built a nest by the front door laid some eggs a few days ago. Poor things. With us coming and going, they are never going to get any peace. Stupid bird.

Stubborn politicians

Article here.

If that article is true, PM Blair is staying in office until 2009. I must say that I am surprised. When the last round of elections took place, I was under the impression that Blair was going to be out after a short while.

President Bush has got two years left and it still is too long for some people here.

I find that funny.

Down south...

...which, in this case, means south South Bend.

A few days ago, I was released from work a few hours early. The store was dead and our usual freight shipment had not been delivered. It was fine with me. Temps in the lower 70's, clear with a slight breeze. With a few hours to kill, I thought that I would head to the southern end of South Bend.

Before Mishawaka was developed in the shopping mecca it is today, the area shopping complex was in south South Bend. It was anchored by Scottsdale Mall. Similarly to how Mishawaka is anchored by University Park Mall (where I work, yea!) By the late 1990's Mishawaka's successful business development had caused the Scottsdale area to decay and eventually the mall and numerous nearby businesses closed. A renewal campaign occurred a few years ago which promised a similar shopping experience as Mishawaka's. I hadn't been in the area since about 1998 so I thought it was about time that I check it out.

My first stop was the Sears Essentials stores. Season pay attention. This building used to be one of three or four K-marts that were in the area. After the major shake-up a few years back. Only the K-mart store in Mishawaka survived. Last year, K-mart bought out Sears and reopened some of their shut-downed properties as Sears Essentials stores. I thought I would check out what they have done and was impressed. It still has a discount store feel but it is a helluva lot cleaner and nicer looking.

I didn't take a picture of the old Scottsdale complex. Stores like Old Navy and Kohls have set up shop. Target is still there. It's all new and looks really nice. The plus side to all of it is that it still looks like the crowds are still flocking to Mishawaka because there weren't any crowds over here. The bypass still makes it somewhat easy to get there.



If you ever wondered what the North/South Continental divide looks like, here it is. Rain falling where that truck would go to the North Atlantic by way of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence. Rain falling where I am would eventually get to the Mississippi River and then to the Gulf of Mexico.

Hey John, aren't our freeways nice and shiny? :P

Spring!

This past Saturday was a gorgeous day. Bright and sunny. So here are some pics from around my home.






This nest is next to the front door. I don't know what this bird was thinking. It can't be comfortable with all the traffic.


The neighbors' horse.


These are buds from one of our cherry trees.






The great maple is starting to green.

Happy Tax Day!

Hey, it’s happy if you're getting a refund, right?

Well, I made my final deposit into the state treasury for 2005. Yea!

I did find it odd that there wasn’t a crowd at the post office. I remember getting into a huge line last year. Of course, it was late in the day that year too. But still, being able to drive up with no wait? Now that was unexpected.

A through Z

Accent: Midwestern a.k.a. General American a.k.a. American Standard a.k.a. American

Booze: Miller Light when I’m cheap. Labatt when I’m at State. Guinness when I can. San Miguel when available. Whatever is free.

Chore I hate: Mowing the yard. I’m terribly allergic and it takes hours to do.

Dogs/Cats: Dogs are cool and I’m allergic to cats.

Essential Electronics: Oh damn. Let’s see… computer, cell phone, mp3 player, camera,…

Favorite Perfume/Cologne: Dunno… I don’t wear any.

Gold and Silver: Um, they are expensive….?

Hometown: Depends on the context: Las Vegas, Niles, or Galien. Take your pick.

Insomnia: It must suck for people who have it.

Job Title: Assistant Manager

Kids: None

Living Arrangements: In a house with my parents but maybe that will change some time soon.

Most Admired Trait: My pragmatism.

Number of Sexual Partners: Currently or in the past? Who am I kidding? The answer for both is technically zero.

Overnight Hospital Stays: Three occasions that I am aware of.

Phobias: Balloons. Yeah… you read that right.

Quote: let’s skip this one.

Religion: Lutheran… but it seems like I’m moving towards agnosticism.

Siblings: One younger sister.

Time I usually wake up: 7:45 if I’m opening the store.

Unusual Talent: I lack talent.

Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Zucchini (squash is close enough)

Worst Habit: Procrastination

X-Rays: It’s radiation…

Yummy Foods I make: Asian food. Although Erin would not agree.

Zodiac Sign: Pisces.

Don't Look!

Until yesterday, I hadn’t had a haircut in over three months. I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but that’s like an eternity for my head. Back in my ROTC days, I was getting trimmed every two weeks on the dot. Every other Wednesday because lead lab was on Thursday. Since quitting, I pretty much stayed with the regulation cut. Simple and fast.

I thought that I would grow out my hair for a bit to see how it would look. It didn’t hurt that I didn’t have to spend money to get it cut either. I decided that long hair isn’t for me. Honestly, it feels gross to have so much hair. It’s like having your finger nails too long.

I’m sure someone would say that I should have it styled. Nah. Doing more than washing and combing it is a little too much for me.

Memories fade.

Way back in the days, there was a song called Tubthumping by the group Chumbawamba. This was back before I found out about Napster. Actually, I think it was before I even had the internet. So the only way I could listen to this awesome song was to record it on cassette. Remember those? I’d listen to it over and over again, belting out the wrong lyrics. What? I had no idea was a lager or cider drink was. And I thought that “pissing the night away” was literally needing to take a piss after drinking so much. Ah, ignorance!

It was a popular song and obviously I wasn’t the only one who was movin’ to it. One of my classmates liked the song very much. She died. They played her favorite songs at her viewing. Tubthumping and I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing by Aerosmith. I couldn’t listen to either song. It brought up some very sad emotions that I’d sooner just forget. I avoided those two songs even though I still had a copies of them.

The other day my computer was playing randomly through my entire music collection when Tubthumping came on. And although it still evokes a memory, for the first time in a long time, I enjoyed it as I once did.

Better than nothing.

I forgot that I did take two pictures at Erin’s new house.

Here’s the color of the bathroom. *ahem* It was my suggestion.

The new owner.

LSAT is coming up.

I’ve been neglectful on my studying for the LSAT. Crap. I’ve got to step it up if I want to do well in June! Argh! My mantra: One hour minimum per day for study.

Work—enjoyable?

Hey everyone, I am employed once again! So now you won’t have to support this bum for much longer. My first paycheck is in two weeks but it’s going to be sucked up immediately by my next car payment, Erin’s birthday gift, as well as some payments towards some other debts I’ve accumulated. I can’t wait to get out of this hold that I’ve dug myself into.

Right now, my training is much like a regular sales associate. Most of my time there, I’ll be indistinguishable from one but I’ve got a few more added responsibilities some of which I’ve tried out already. I’m not sure if I can field company to company communications but I’m sure Tracee will make me do it as soon as it comes up.

I’ve been told that I should be ready to get kicked out of the nest sometime by the end of the month. That’s when I’ll get another visit by the regional manager and officially become an assistant manager. I’m really looking forward to traveling. I just hope that I’ll be able to adapt to the other stores.

Should I care?

I'm so glad that I don't do brackets.

So... who should I hope for? Florida or UCLA? I don't care for either team. Eh, I'll go with Florida for the retarded reason: I lived there. *shrugs* Actually, the only reason I'm watching is because there is nothing else on TV.

"Out the door just in time..."

I start my new job today. Well, actually, it's the probationary period. Hopefully, it won't last more than a week and then I can be hired in fully. Some more details to follow.

Check your clocks

Don't forget to "spring forward" tonight. EDT begins tomorrow.

Warm welcomes too our neighbors to the south who will be joining us. All you Hoosiers might want to double check which side of the time zone you will be in. So Starke and Pulaski residents, keep cool. You will be joining with CDT so your clocks won't change.

Article here.

This Way!

I like my tea green and my cars on the right (read: correct) side of the road.

You may find yourself driving on the left side of the road soon enough. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT?) is going to put in a new type of highway interchange at I-435 and Front St. in Kansas City. Now, it may not be as bad as the Magic Roundabout, but why do we have to confuse drivers even more than they are now? If I came across this during my travels and didn’t know about it, I would be thinking, “What the fuck?!” Don’t get me wrong, I like a little innovation so I am glad that Missourians are going to be the guinea pigs and not the Michianers around here.

Just when I thought State’s traffic circles were the worst I’d ever have to encounter…

Oh that reminds me, my new plate came in today. Temp plate is in the can and is waiting to be burned!


Seriously, I can’t let my dad buy tea ever again. Really, how hard is it to buy the same tea? I buy the same types every time. I don’t care about the price because it’s reasonable and I like a familiar tastes. My dad, however, likes to buy whatever is on sale or whatever catches his eye. Today, I had about ten bags left so I asked him to go buy some more. (Hint: “Buy more of this.” [pointing to bag]) What does he do? He comes in with two huge boxes of this British Blend tea. What the hell is British Blend? 160 frakin’ bags of it! It’ll take me through summer to finish that off. If it tastes like crap, I may have to adopt the use-one-toss-two method that I did when he bought that Salada brand.

I'm going to eat you.

Farm season is set to begin.

Because I Want To

It was a rough time at church yesterday. The church isn’t known for it fire and brimstone services but it sure felt like one that morning. The end is coming, look to Jesus. That bit. After excommunicating myself, it was best that I got away from my parents for while. So I headed over to my friend Erin’s house.

I know very little about DIY but it was fun trying things for the first time such as wallpaper removal. We did that in her bathroom which feels like it is 5’ X 5’. It was easy enough until we got to her vanity. To get to the wallpaper behind it, we would have to take it down which also involved some electrical know-how which I had basically none. Yeah, it had to wait until her friend Kevin came by.

There was also a trip to Lowe’s where she had to pick up some more supplies. She got some swatches to see what kind of colors she would like to paint in her bathroom. I’m proud to say that I got some colors that were well received. At the moment, however, her foam colored paint had to go onto the hallway so I wrapped up my time with that.

Normally, I only spend time with Erin alone or with someone we both know. This time I got to meet some of her other friends who I knew only in passing. I never really talked to them before but they seem like a genuinely nice crowd but that shouldn’t surprise me. I don’t know if she’ll have another group out to help, but if she wants, I’m game.

Waiting By the Phone

I was standing by all day today hoping that the phone would ring. I’m desperately hoping for a second interview for an assistant manager position at candy shop in the mall. I heard that if I was going to be interviewed it would be either tomorrow or Wednesday. I’m biting my nails here. (Not literally… I don’t do that.) It may be retail, but hey—it’s managerial. That’s better than tacking on another associate level job on my resume.

The Immigration Issue

Now like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breath free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, temptest-tost to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

--The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

Immigration, for me, is a sticky subject. I’m probably a fence sitter on the subject as I can see the issues raised by both sides. So let me say this: I am a big supporter of immigration and I would advocate making it easier for people to get here legally. However, I detest illegal immigrants.

The issue was raised in one of my political science classes. I spoke up and said that I think the enforcement of our immigration laws was too lax and they need to find a way to deport illegals. I was blatantly called a racist by some white girl in the back. Whatever. But I get really emotional about it. I am the son of immigrant. I had my citizenship before my mother did solely because I was born here. My step-mother had to wait one year before she was even granted a visa to temporarily “visit” my father and then it took her seven years before she was earned citizenship. So I get highly agitated by illegals who jump the fence and then expect that the country allow them to stay. Amnesty? Guest worker programs? What makes these people so special that they can break the law and get a pass. My mother didn’t. My grandparents didn’t. My aunt didn’t. My cousin didn’t (In fact, she joined the military.) It frustrates me when I think about all the immigrants who got here legally and what they had to go through. It’s like it doesn’t really mean anything. Instead of the paper-work and the waiting (oh, the waiting!), they could have snuck in and waited for some government forgiveness program.

When I take the emotion out of it, I do have to acknowledge the reality of this issue. Illegal immigrants, right or wrong, do provide cheap labor and is arguably, a part of what drives this economy. As crappy as it sounds, they do fill gaps in jobs that won’t be taken by citizens who feel they are higher on the economic ladder. It sounds like we are exploiting their cheap labor (okay, let’s be real—we are), and to a certain extent, we are glad that they are available.

But let’s take a step back and think about the consequences of this new bill winding though Congress. Let’s say we can start deporting illegals, how are we going to deal with the thousands of messy cases that will be caused. What do we do about the businesses that have to close because they no longer have cheap workers? What about the citizen spouses who married illegals? What about their children? What about those people who aided an illegal? What about the masses of legal loopholes? I can hear it now: “Increase spending on border control, build more prisons, more courts.” Do this. Do that. Okay, this coming from people who won’t vote to increase their own taxes. *cough* NILES *cough*.

As I think to that poem above, I can see the ugly truth and the beautiful lie. America is quite a place. Our immigration policies have been restrictive and even overtly exclusionary (Chinese Exclusion Act). We’ve also seen the need to bring in unskilled workers while officially preferring skilled workers. The United States is a country of immigrants but let’s make sure that the new ones arriving are starting off on the right foot. Can’t we afford to bow to our sense of justice and fair play instead of saving a buck?

Oh, and on a really personal note, I honestly believe that naturalized citizens have more claim to their status than those who were born with it. Most of us take it for granted but I haven't met one of them who did also.

Never Mind

I had a big long post in which I do nothing but bitch. It looked a little too hateful so I deleted it and left you with this one where I will say this: It’s been a bad day.

Holy Smokes!

I got the last of my paperwork done for the new car. Remember those vanity plate options in the previous post? Yeah, I decided not to go with that since my bill came to nearly $200. Honestly, I was thinking around half that much. So I didn’t get the vanity plate but I did get the Spartan S plate. It’s a cheaper compromise plus the yearly fees go to Michigan State. *chest puffs up* Yup, I’m doing my part as a good alumnus.

When I requested the Spartan S plate, the lady that was serving me said, “You should get a discount, ‘cause you are getting the best plate.” (Her son currently attends Michigan State.) Before I had a chance to say anything, she ran off to get some paperwork.

“Umm,” I said to the service lady at the next booth, “Who do I see about a discount?”

Yeah… I didn’t get a discount.

However, they were able to change my voter’s registration from my MSU address back to the Galien address. And they did it free of charge! Yay! Is it the only free service they do?

0 D VANITY

I'm putting up this post a week ahead because I need your help. Yes, you dear reader, can help me find the perfect vanity plate for my new (new for me) car!

Which one do you like?

Unfortunately S-QUIRE was taken but S-KUIRE is pretty obvious right? Of course, I don't have that yet, so it doesn't seem appropriate.

I like S-NARKY but there really isn't a set definition of what snarky really means. Generally, I take it to mean cynical or snide comments made with humor.

Opinions? Comments?
Suggestions! --If you have a cool idea, let me know. You have five spaces (S __,__,__,__,__) to use. Rules are that the characters must be A-Z, and 0-9. Spaces can be used as a place holder.

UPDATE 03/21/2006 @ 11:12am EST:
Oh, I am sorely disapointed! No responces. Tsk, tsk.

Based on discussions with Jason, Erin, and Season, I will be going with S-NARKY. Unless, I experience an extreme case of sticker shock...

Things that made me feel good.

James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” came on the radio last night while I was riding with Erin. She claims that she loves this song. In the summer, I burned her a CD with Coldplay’s X&Y album. I added “You’re Beautiful” to it. I’m sure she got to enjoy it months before it became popular here.

Later in the night we were drinking some Chai Tea at Starbucks. Instead of drinking it in the car, we sat down amongst some of the Notre Dame students. For a few moments, I felt like I was back at college.

Then there was something she said. I think I will remember it for the rest of my life. Am I going to share it here? No. I think I’ll keep it just for me.

Those French... tsk tsk

I was watching the riots in France a few hours ago on CNN and Fox. France’s Prime Minister and President are supporting a “New Jobs Contract” that is supposed to make their business more “flexible.” I haven’t seen an article that adequately describes what this “contract” does but apparently, it allows employers to fire newly-hired workers within two years with no reason. Here in America, it’s called probation. [sarcasm]Imagine that—an employer can now fire employees![/sarcasm]

It amazes to see the entitlement attitude of Europeans, particularly those from the more western states. They come off as being a people who feel that the world owes them a stable job and an excellent benefits package. I keep asking, “Where are they getting this money to support themselves?” American safety nets are laughable in comparison to the Europeans ones and yet those programs take up so much of our budget (which is F*cking gi-normous already.) If I remember correctly, Medicare and Medicaid alone used to eat up more money than our military. (I’m not sure if it does currently but it’s damn close.)

If Europe is going to increase their competitiveness in the global economy, they are going to have to make some hard choices. With their growth agonizingly slow, high unemployment rates, and a population bust, they are not doing any favors by purposefully stagnating. That combined with the ever decreasing cost of labor, and hot heads like China and India rising, they face becoming even more irrelevant in the global economy.

So what if these students loose their jobs in two years? If they had a booming economy with job creation—then they would get another one. Apparently that’s what this “contract” is trying to create. There’s a big world out there beyond France’s borders and people are getting fired and hired left and right. The lack of job security forces people to excel at their job (decrease their odds of being fired) and attain new skills (increase their odds of being hired.) If I knew that I wasn’t going to be fired, I sure as hell wouldn’t be as productive as I could be.

A thought on the NCAA tourney

I knew that MSU wouldn’t do well this year but I thought that we would at least win one!

Article here.

Cross the aisle?

I came across this shot a little while ago and it evoked the disgust that I am harboring for my party right now. The national debt at nine trillion dollars is approaching a year's worth of GDP. When I compare the agendas of Governor Bush (2000) and President Bush (2006), I begin to ask, "What the hell?" Sure, 9/11 changed his perspective as well as mine, but I still can not find an excuse as to why our government can not trim fat from the budget and live within that budget. The fiscal aspects which keeps me with the Republican Party is not being served and it frustrates the hell out of me.

"Beware the Ides of March"

*Groan*

What a week!

Oh, I tell you, this has been the week from hell. I’ve got some Sublime song playing as I type because I am feeling pretty destructive right now. After lying sick for most of the week, the first day I venture out, my POS car finally dies on me! F*cking crazy! After putting in more than $1,000 in repairs over 2005, they wanted another $2,000. And here, I thought my brakes only needed to be replaced. Hell no. That damn thing did not deserve to have two grand put into it. The car isn’t even worth $2,000.

So here’s the emergency replacement:


2000 Saturn LS-200

It was pretty much the only thing I can afford. Well wait—since I don’t have a job… I really can’t say that I can afford it. So no more holding out for the Michigan Works program, I’m going to have to find another shit job and I’m going to have to find it fast. (Oh God, I’m going to be a candyman.)

*chants* Find the positive. Find the positive.

Erin has closed on her house a few days ago and my first visit to her new home was really nice. I even helped her paint (go me.) Actually, it was only a little bit and I only did it because I felt guilty standing around while she was painting. It’s a cozy little house. I’m really glad that she decided to move back to this area after graduating.

Carrie has generously offered to let me use her place in order to establish residency in Indiana. Since MSU College of Law is a private school, I will be paying the same tuition as any out-of-state student. Indiana University is a state school, so if I establish residency in that state, I can pay the lower in-state tuition. I still have my heart set on MSU but if things change, I’m glad that I have that option.

I saw Dusty before he left for MSU. It looks like he is still doing well. I forgot to ask him if there was any news on that internship that he is applying to.

On the day my car died, I was supposed to do another LSAT practice test. Although, I’ve got to postpone it until sometime next weekend, I am feeling incredibly upbeat about it. If I can get my head around those games and perform a little better on the other sections, I’ll be golden.

The Noise!

I still think that I am in winter mode. Despite the string of warm days, I’m still expecting another Alberta Clipper to come by. It still could, it is Michigan after all. But yesterday, I woke up to the loud chirping of what seemed to be hundreds of birds. I actually have a small movie clip of it showing the flock perching on two of our trees. I don’t know how to post it though. (Note to self: don’t park under the tree anymore.) Later on in the night, the frogs started croaking in the pond across the street. It’s not loud, but if the warm weather continues like it has been, then it will be deafening in the next few weeks. We’re still two months away from the trees coming back. I hope that the buds don’t start too early.

Wal-mart is worried about this?

I'm not a supporter of Wal-mart, but I do admire them for their capitalistic success. While I may admire them for that, I still do my business at their competitors. My favorite being Meijer. I saw an article in which Wal-mart wants to keep a man from marketing t-shirts with logos such as the one above. Wal-mart claims trademark infringement. The man, Charles Smith, claims free speech.

I like the idea and would probably get one if they sold them in a store. Hey, I'm not comfortable ordering stuff over the internet. As for this going to court, I'm not sure. I can see it being a free speech issue. He does have a gripe against Wal-mart and the average reader would know what kind of message the t-shirt sends. The "logo" doesn't confuse a person to buy a product or shop at a different store. The smiley face isn't owned by Wal-mart. The font used for the "Wal [squigly]" is not the same one used by Wal-mart. My only question is, does the fact that the t-shirt makes a profit using the "Wal [squigly]" constitute infringement?

Article here.

Buy a t-shirt here.

Or go to Wal-mart here.

They creep the hell outta me.

"V" from V for Vendetta

"The King" of Burger King

They just do.

Not one dollar more.

This is touching on what I commented on John’s blog. Voters in Niles school district have voted down a millage* proposal. Read the story here. The proposal would have called for the building of a new high school. The current high school would have been converted into a junior high. The elementary schools would have been consolidated with renovations.

If I had been a Niles resident, I probably would have voted it down too. It is more for selfish reasons than anything else. Hey, I don’t have kids. What incentive is there for me to increase my taxes to aid kids I don’t even like? But there are other arguments as well. Niles Community Schools is one of the best schools in this area of Michigan. Sure, as with all schools, it could use some upgrades. But building a new high school? That’s over-kill. In my opinion, it would have been better to ask for renovations.

A few years ago, Galien passed a millage increase. The millage was used to renovate the high school. Shortly after the renovations, Galien Jr./Sr. High was closed. Now the residents are stuck with increased taxes over a building that has largely been vacated. What a waste.

*A mill is one tenth of one percent of the taxable value of your property. Let’s say you have a property valued at $75,000. If the 7-mill proposal had gone through, you would have to pay an additional $525 a year in taxes. If anyone cares to shed more light on what a mill does, please feel free.

A couple changes to the blog

It has been a while since I've adjusted the blogroll. Unfortunately I had to take a couple off. One that I particularly liked, National Guard Tanker in Iraq, has quit posting. It's not surprising since he has been back from Iraq for a few months now. In one of his emails to me, he said that he was thinking about going into politics and maybe even elected office. If I lived in his district in New York, I'd vote for him. Best wishes to him.

In Guard's place, I have put in Sean's Tour in Iraq. I came across it accidentally a few days ago and it looked like a good one. Sean is a JAG officer from Indy, but if you want the details, you're going to have to check out his blog.

I was trying to change the template of the blog but it horribly backfired. For now, it's going to stay the way it is but there may be some changes on the side bar with new links. Anyone who has suggestions (and instructions), I'll gladly read them.

BSG's "Downloaded" *Spoilers*

I finally got around to watching Friday’s Battlestar Galactica. Since I was out that night, I DVR’d it. I must say… that episode kicked ass! Now that’s what I’m talking about! After being sorely disappointed time and time again since the Pegasus arc, I breathed a sigh of relief as the show finally returned to what it should be. So much happened in this episode, I don’t know where to start. So let’s start with the most notable.

It turns out that the Six from the mini-series survived. But get this—she has a Baltar inside her head! Isn’t that wild? It answers a few of my questions: 1.) What happened to six on Caprica? 2.) Is the Six in Baltar’s head the same Six that he fell in love with on Caprica? 3.) Are the copies of one particular model independent (in other words, are they their own separate being?) However, it also poses some new ones… 1.) Why does Caprica Boomer have memories from Galactica Boomer? And, 2.) How did the mind versions of Six and Baltar manifest themselves?

Story B dealt with the birth of Hera, the child of Caprica Boomer and Helo. I thought that they would have made an episode solely devoted to this event so I was surprised to see it receive so little air time. I think it serves to extend another plot arc well into the future. It will be interesting to see how that slowly unravels. Along with Story B, I came to realize just what a monster President Roslin can be. She has been getting dirty these past couple episodes and treading dangerously close to tyrant status. I wouldn’t vote fore her at this point. This is just another reason why I’m beginning to sympathize more with the Cylons rather than those who pretend they’re humane.

The formation of a Cylon resistance (I don’t know what else to call it yet) is also another surprising twist, although I saw it coming as soon as Six met up with Galactica Boomer. (Hmmm, I wonder if I should switch the Boomer designations.) Seeing that the human resistance is alive and kicking is also a nice touch.

Finally, a short 15 second clip announces… [drum roll] that the new Doctor Who seasons will be showing on Sci-Fi in March. Yahoo!

Fondue and Laughs

I had a great time last night at Fondue and the Funny Bone. Carrie and her friend Stacy decided to celebrate their birthdays together by going out to a dinner at Fondue with Fondue serving, of course, fondue. Also in the group was Erin, Carrie’s husband, Justin, Stacy’s boyfriend, Craig, and myself. I knew Craig from high school and it was great catching up with him on some of our old classmates. His brother was in my class while he was in the year behind but because our high school classes were so small, we knew each other’s class pretty well.

Eating fondue was a fun experience. I’ve never done it, and it looked like none of the others had either. It turned out to be a good dinner as well as great entertainment. Double dippin’, loosing pieces, fishing them out, finding out they weren’t cooked all the way. It was great and I recommend trying it if you never have done it before. One of the things that we discovered is that fondue eating is a multi-hour experience. We could have been there for over three hours and probably would have if we didn’t have to make it to the Funny Bone comedy club by 10.

Unfortunately, Craig had other plans with Stacy and they had to leave in the middle of our meal, thus they also weren’t going with us to the comedy club. Instead, we were joined by another couple—Justin (#2) and Kelly. I never heard of any of the comedians that performed. One was from Mad TV, I hear. In my opinion, he was the better one. But the featured performer was decent and I enjoyed his song parodies.

After my little downer moments these past few months, I feel refreshed.

Hold on just a bit longer.

I'm still alive, but there hasn't been much to write about. Actually there has but I haven't had the time or motivation to put it into words. Not that this blog taxes my brain all that much. Alright--I'm being lazy. There I said it. :)

Argh! (BSG)

In last night’s Battlestar Galactica, they opened with Apollo and Duala in an intimate situation. Why is this show going there? The sexual tension that is supposed to exist between Starbuck and Apollo, while still existent, takes on a whole new feeling. Instead of me cheering for them to get together, I just want to smack them upside the head for being so stupid. We’ve got Starbuck who can’t get over Anders—a guy who is practically dead anyways. Then you have Apollo visiting a prostitute and sleeping with NCO’s. Didn’t we cover the whole officer/enlisted issue with Tyrol and Boomer?

And as superstitious as naval folk are, I think there’s going to be a crew pool going as to how long the new Pegasus skipper is going to last. Maybe he won’t die, but I’m willing to bet it doesn’t last past the second episode of season IIIA.

I must say that I am liking how they are getting back into the politics. Although, I didn't think that they were going to bring up an issue like abortion head on like that.

The sun is setting on Europe.

No... I'm not trying to focus on Newsweek today but this time there is an article that I found interesting. Click here for the article, but I'm not sure if that link will be permanent. It's about "The Decline and Fall of Europe." Basically it just says that Europe will continue to fall behind in the world politically and economically.

What does all this add up to? Less European influence in the world. Europe's position in institutions like the World Bank and the IMF relates to its share of world GDP. Its dwindling defense spending weakens its ability to be a military partner of the U.S., or to project military power abroad even for peacekeeping purposes. Its cramped, increasingly protectionist outlook will further sap its vitality.

The decline of Europe means a world with a greater diffusion of power and a lessened ability to create international norms and rules of the road. It also means that America's superpower status will linger.

Sometimes we just need an article to life our spirits. With the rise of the Asian powers (China and India), we as Americans need something to feel good about. We can say, "Hey, at least we're not Europe." From what I've read, the U.S. has a good half century left of superpower status. I don't put too much stock in that assessment since a nation can gain and loose that status in a few years given the right circumstances. But for the moment, we can look at those smug Europeans who rail against Americans, and say, "Fuck You. You suck and your present condition proves it."

...Not that I hate Europeans or anything. :P

Close the Doors

In the February 20 issue of Newsweek, I saw an ad that I wanted to share. Please click on the image to read.

Are you reading the same thing I am reading?

Attention applicants. We need the White/Christian Europeans in Line A, all other Europeans and disaffected Americans in Line B. Everyone else-- try next door.

It's yellow, it's chalky, and it stinks...

According to this site, 100% of the American population has access to clean water.

I beg to differ.

They do suck!

See also:-->Friday Observations

I was busy doing a little writing last night in the living room while my mom was watching the Grammy's. Now, I'm not into those types of shows. I think the Grammy's, Golden Globes, Emmys, Academy Awards, People's Choice Awards, SAG, etc. are just forums for the rich and famous to pat themselves on the back. I mean really, how many of these things do we really need? So I had no intention of watching last night. However, my ears perked up when I heard ColdPlay was going to be performing. So I watched. I listened. After five minutes I had half the nerve to track down my X&Y CD and burn the damn thing!

You know how there are artists who sound good on the album but suck in real life? Madonna is an excellent example of this. Well, Chris Martin is one of them. I wouldn't call what he did, "singing." It was halting, out of breath. He totally ruined "Talk" for me. And it's one of my favorites on the album. Damn him. Damn him! Also, what was with his movements, the crawling, and the foray into the audience? At first when he was on stage, he was squatting, bobbing, and crawling. He looked like he had to piddle. Was he trying to imitate his daughter, MacIntosh...or something?

I think I've joined the Coldplay haters! I'll just put the CD here in my nice, safe, holder...

Oh, I wish...

I was standing around the check-outs the other day at the mall. For some odd reason, everyone decided to check out at the same time. Unfortunately for all of us, the person at the head of the line had to have a price check because she was arguing that something was on sale. But as I was standing there, I was listening to these two middle aged women talking behind me. Well, I was actively eavesdropping but when something flags your ears, you pay attention.

"What? It's only twenty thousand dollars. That's nothing."

blah blah blah.

"You know, if you are going to embezzle something, make it big."

Who the hell were these women? From what I hear they shouldn't be shopping at a place like JCPenney. They should be visiting their jail-house family members.

Twenty thousand dollars? Nothing? Unless we go through some hyper inflation, those words are never going to leave my lips.

Just turn the page, will ya?

The crap that we get worked up about is simply amazing at times. These past couple of days two cartoons were published. The American infuriating the conservatives/Bush supporters. The other from Denmark, infuriating Muslims. Both tasteless and completely offensive. Neither deserves the reaction that is occurring.

When the whole U.S. cartoon came up, I was going to blog about it but this issue had been taken up before and I wasn't really interested in rehashing it. Basically my position is let these newspapers publish this crap. If it drives away some of their customers, so much the better for the competitors. If it attracts new ones, then that's fine too. Even though I still go through the liiiibbeerralll meedia for some of my news, perhaps a few more of these antics will push me completely over to Fox News and the like. Isn't it great that in this country, you can get what you want to hear?

Then there is this one from Denmark and being reprinted in other European newspapers. It has sparked outrage and protests all over the Muslim world and in Europe. If you don't know, it is.... "inappropriate" to make an image of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad. It's getting violent. There were signs at one protest with sayings such as, "Europe, You will pay. Your 9/11 is on its way" and "Exterminate those who slander Islam." In one protest, I heard "USA Go to Hell." The damn thing is from Denmark and they blame us? Everything traces back to the "Great Satan" I guess.

Free speech. This is about free speech isn't it? In some interviews, some Muslims were saying that free speech doesn't mean that you can insult other people's religion. Maybe not in their world, but here in America it does. You don't have the right to not be insulted. Now I am hearing that the U.S. Administration is taking sides with these outraged Muslims saying that it is "unacceptable." Excuse me, but why is our government getting involved with this? Probably to make us look better in the Middle East. It's not going to work, our capital of good will with them is shot. Not only that, but it is advocating a certain sensibility. That goes against having a diversity of opinion.

So to the squawking conservatives and Muslims out there: YOU ARE A BUNCH OF MORONS. They're fucking stupid cartoons! Oh, did I offend you? Good.

Home Improvement Update

So the flooring has been moved into the house and is currently a pile in the dining room. I thought that the wood was a little to light. I thought it would have been better if it was the same type as the hallway and dining room. Mom and Dad says that because the kitchen is a different room, it should have a different flooring. I'll feel better about it when it's done I'm sure.

More Home Improvement

Demolition of the kitchen floor started yesterday. Mom has been itching to redo the kitchen. She's already revarnished the cabinets and painted the wall. Now she wants to put down new flooring. If I remember right, it's some type of light colored wood. An oak maybe? I'm afraid I don't know my woods. [Sigh] It's going to be a long few weeks. Oh yeah, I've been "volunteered" to help. Go me!