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

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

Rolling My Eyes at Daley

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.

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?

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

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

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!

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

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*

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

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

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?

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

Seriously, these people are just fucking dumb.

I’m hot. No really, I am.

The weather probably isn’t the first thing I would want to talk about when taking up the blog again but whadda ya gonna do? Spring has been dry this year but the temps have been cool until the past weekend. We hit 88 today (or 31 for you metric people) it wiped me out. It is by no means a hot day but when the temps climb from the low to mid 60’s to the high 80’s all of the sudden, I do not react well. I’m feeling sticky and nasty. Ugh.

I’m fighting tooth and nail trying to stay in the area and finding a place to live. If I don’t find a place by July 1st, the plan is to head to Florida. A friend of a friend has kindly offered me a place to crash. There may be some hope, though, as a higher position has opened up in the company that I work for. This is good news, as I like the company. So wish me luck!

V had its season finale not too long ago. I’m glad that ABC has decided to renew it for another season. I do not have a great opinion of the alphabet networks as they continuously disappoint me by axing some of my favorite shows. Southland and Eli Stone come immediately to mind. I have found some other V-heads to talk about the series with. It’s like being in the good company of Star Trek nerds again! I didn’t quite get the cliffhanger. Particularly, I’m wondering why are they bringing back Joshua? Not that I mind of course.

I Hope

I've got to stop blogging for a while. Things have occurred and I don't think I can deal with this right now. I would share but it's humiliating and I don't feel like sharing it with the world. I hope to be back. Maybe with my next update I'll be writing from a better place.

David.

It couldn't have hurt

This YouTube channel is awesome!

h/t to HISHEdotcom

Walking up to the Interstate

I went up to the family farm today. I haven’t gone since mid-fall because I’m paranoid about overtaxing my car. Really, it’s almost 90 minutes worth of driving. When I got there I could see that it was still too wet to drive up so I parked at the entrance. After I was done with my business, I looked off to the interstate and it seemed to me that it was a little more open than I last remembered.

A long time ago--shoot I was still in elementary—a lady from the gov’t stopped by and showed my grandparents a map. When I asked, I was told that the state was buying up some of their land up next to the interstate. According to my grandpa, it didn’t really change anything. I’m not sure if we are farming land that is officially the state’s or we were never farming the land they bought in the first place. What I did notice was that there was a free access point where there had been shrub and a barbed wire fence. Aside from the highway railing, there was nothing preventing me from walking onto the road.

It’s a good thing it wasn’t this open when I was living here. I know I would have snuck out for a visit.

Love ko ‘to

I forgot to pack my lunch today. Okay, I didn’t. I was running late and didn’t have time to make one so I knew I would have to hit up one of the fast food joints down the road. By the time lunch was rolling around, I had a craving for some chicken nuggets from McDonalds. I only had five bucks so the pan was to get a 10 piece which is 3-something and a coke. When I got there, I got a pleasant surprise. There was a 1-day special. Six piece for $1. So I got 12 pieces for $2 plus my drink. As I was being handed my order, I was told that I was the 25th customer and I would be getting a certificate for a free value meal. (Apparently that day every 25th customer got one.) Lovely. I got more for less and I got a free meal in the future. I love it.

Overthinking Yoda

Raise your hand if you thought Yoda was a “human.”

I don’t know about the rest of you but I raised my hand.

When I was young I was too smart for Star Wars. So smart I was dumb. I won’t get into why humans were in a galaxy far far away, existing in the past but seemingly living in the future. Nor will I discuss how measuring time using units of distance was wrong. Let me just talk about Yoda.

First I knew that some species that looked “human” were infesting the Star Wars galaxy. I mean they were everywhere. They couldn’t be real humans because real humans are here, in our galaxy, in our time. So if they weren’t humans than their condition must be different. I seriously thought that these humans had long life spans like 1,000 years. It’s just that at the end of their lives they ended up all short and pruney like Yoda. What sold me on that idea was when Yoda says to look “When nine hundred years you reach, look as good you will not.” Surely that means that in 900 years, Luke was going to end up looking like Yoda only uglier. Sounded reasonable to me at the time.

*Shrugs shoulders*

I Seriously Need to Catch Up

I got a lot to cover but I’m going to try to keep it to short bites.

I’ve been stressing out over work. Someone quit and I have been picking up some of the slack which involves me doing additional work. Not that I want to pat myself on the shoulder but I already sit on my ass and read, type, and think all day. This is stuff that I can see and manipulate. However, add in some more analytical stuff in order to locate missing things and I want to go bonkers. I come home and all I can do is veg out even though I should be studying or forging ahead with my job search.

I haven’t seen my friend Erin in months so we got together over the weekend. My intention was to find a new Chinese takeaway place since the one that I liked came under new management and their food is horrible. We weren’t terribly successful but we did find a sit-down and dine restaurant. You know, the kind that existed before buffets. They had excellent dishes but their prices were very high. So the search continues.

I’ve been following the news about the Greece fiasco. Some of the right pundits here point to that country and say that will be the US in a couple of years. While I do not argue that America is creating a mountain of debt by digging a hole to China, Greece and America are not exactly the best subjects to compare. After all, we can always manipulate our money such as devaluing it. Greece can’t since it uses the euro.

Normally, I’m the kinda guy that likes to see big time companies fall but I have to say, I feel bad for Toyota. While I think that they need to pay up and make these car owners whole and safe, I think that there are people who want to take this company down and bleed it for all it’s worth. I don’t think that it deserves that. I’m still willing to buy a Toyota.

East coast babies are still complaining about the winter snow and weather. Gimme a break.

I’m pretty much done with the Olympics. I did enjoy watching curling. Imagine that. BTW, what is it with the Scots inventing the most expensive sports possible—gold and curling? Will be watching the hockey game coming up.

I don’t want to get my hopes up but I’m looking at a position that may be opening up at a courthouse around these parts.