A lot's happened since Oct. 11th (last post). I started my new job on the 15th (love it). It's mostly been spent shaking my head back and forth going "eeb-adee-eeb-adee-eeb-adee" like that one robot (Lost in Space?). Bit that's normal.
I've been traveling back and forth to Charlotte about once a week. Charlotte's a decent town, unless you're craving some takeout hibachi, in which case you have to settle for mediocre kung pao chicken. I did get to have the best burger-and-fries I've ever had though, at a chain joint called Five Guys. Holy sh'pocky. Good burgers and they literally give you a bag of fries. Remember the large size brown paper bags used for lunches - not the small ones, the larger ones - now fill that about 2/3rds the way to the top with awesome tasting fries. O' Snap.
We found a house in Gastonia, here are some pictures. We close on the house Wednesday and move Friday. Going to be a craaaazy week next week. But we are very much looking forward to getting moved and settled and to have this all behind us.
That's about it for this week. The hypnotic din of the heating unit here at the Marriott Courtyard is putting me to sleep.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Fall TV
Quick post on what we are watching:
First off, my favorite new show is Reaper, hands down. This show is very funny and what I like about it is that unlike in most shows where one character is there for comedy, in Reaper pretty much all of them are. And I guess it's just one of my guilty pleasures that I'm always drawn to slacker shows. Could it be...oh...maybe...because I'm a slacker?
Honorable mention goes to Big Bang Theory. I guess it's another truth that I am drawn to nerds. Could it be...oh...maybe...because I'm a nerd? But I do find myself laughing out loud at some of the lines in this show.
Chuck is a good show, not great. We still have a season pass for it and so long as we have the time to keep watching it, we'll keep recording it. But if we ever run low on TV time then I could see this getting cut.
The only other new show we added is Pushing Daisies, which we haven't watched yet. But the only reason I added it was because I couldn't remember which show about death was the funny one, when I was setting up the season passes. Turns out the show I wanted was Reaper, so I don't expect we'll keep this one. I haven't heard good things about it anyway.
Other than that, a lot of our favorite shows returned: Office, It's Always Sunny, How I Met Your Mother, and Biggest Loser to name a few. Yes, I like to watch Biggest Loser. I can't explain it. There is something innately impressive about what they accomplish. The guy that got voted off this week lost something like 130 pounds. On the contrary, I can't stand shows like Extreme Makeover, where not only do the people do very little themselves, but then they end up all looking the same (same nose, same teeth, same hairstyle, same boobs...).
Other than that, two of our other favorites are just finished up - Psych and Eureka. Look forward to those coming back.
I'm probably forgetting a few shows without the TV in front of me.
First off, my favorite new show is Reaper, hands down. This show is very funny and what I like about it is that unlike in most shows where one character is there for comedy, in Reaper pretty much all of them are. And I guess it's just one of my guilty pleasures that I'm always drawn to slacker shows. Could it be...oh...maybe...because I'm a slacker?
Honorable mention goes to Big Bang Theory. I guess it's another truth that I am drawn to nerds. Could it be...oh...maybe...because I'm a nerd?
Chuck is a good show, not great. We still have a season pass for it and so long as we have the time to keep watching it, we'll keep recording it. But if we ever run low on TV time then I could see this getting cut.
The only other new show we added is Pushing Daisies, which we haven't watched yet. But the only reason I added it was because I couldn't remember which show about death was the funny one, when I was setting up the season passes. Turns out the show I wanted was Reaper, so I don't expect we'll keep this one. I haven't heard good things about it anyway.
Other than that, a lot of our favorite shows returned: Office, It's Always Sunny, How I Met Your Mother, and Biggest Loser to name a few. Yes, I like to watch Biggest Loser. I can't explain it. There is something innately impressive about what they accomplish. The guy that got voted off this week lost something like 130 pounds. On the contrary, I can't stand shows like Extreme Makeover, where not only do the people do very little themselves, but then they end up all looking the same (same nose, same teeth, same hairstyle, same boobs...).
Other than that, two of our other favorites are just finished up - Psych and Eureka. Look forward to those coming back.
I'm probably forgetting a few shows without the TV in front of me.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Sudoku-Masochism
I heart Sudoku. I got hooked on it back in 2004, and I bought book after book of sudoku and would do about 2 hours a day as Ash and I watched TV. After a while I started doing harder and harder puzzles.
When I moved to Columbus I often found myself bored at work, so I would take a 3x5 index card and draw lines on it to make a sudoku grid, then go to websudoku.com, pull up an Evil puzzle, and copy the starting numbers onto the index card. I would hunker over the index card on my desk and as someone would come up behind me, I would just slide it under my keyboard. The index card was folded in half so I could do two puzzles on one card, and also so I could put it in my pocket and take it with me places (yes, I took them to meetings and also the bathroom). Those evil puzzles would take somewhere between :30 and 1:00 to do, every now and then I could do one without pencil marks.
This latest book I bought is called The Ultimate Sudoku Challenge, subtitled "Warning: This book contains 200 of the toughest puzzles!" Riiiigghhhtt. Easy. But anyway at the end of the book are 10 "megasudokus", 25 by 25 grids with numbers. I started one and quickly realized I was in way over my head. Holy crap are they hard. Not only are they 25x25, but I think they are also a very hard level to boot.
The one on the left above (you should be able to click on it for a larger image), I have been working on for over a month, generally about an hour or so a day. They don't give you very much room on the page, so it's almost impossible to do pencil marks (especially since more than half of the numbers are two digits). Instead I look at possible numbers in each column, row, and box. Possible columns go at the top, rows to the right, boxes at the bottom of the page.
This is my fifth one and I was only able to finish the fourth. The first three I messed up so badly that I scrapped them. I since learned to look in the back before I place a number just to make sure it is right. I don't consider that cheating because the puzzles are just too hard not to. It saves me from screwing up the puzzle. I don't look at any other numbers and if I do, I don't place a number until I figured out why it goes there. I only look at the solution to make sure I'm right. Doesn't do any good if you screw up a number then 10 hours later realize it; it's not like you can just erase everything and start over.
I have gone 2-3 hour sessions without placing a single number. But I love it. I love a good challenge. Ash thinks I'm bonkers. I can't disagree.
If anyone wants to try their hand, let me know; I can try and scan in a grid and send you the image. But good frigging luck.
When I moved to Columbus I often found myself bored at work, so I would take a 3x5 index card and draw lines on it to make a sudoku grid, then go to websudoku.com, pull up an Evil puzzle, and copy the starting numbers onto the index card. I would hunker over the index card on my desk and as someone would come up behind me, I would just slide it under my keyboard. The index card was folded in half so I could do two puzzles on one card, and also so I could put it in my pocket and take it with me places (yes, I took them to meetings and also the bathroom). Those evil puzzles would take somewhere between :30 and 1:00 to do, every now and then I could do one without pencil marks.
This latest book I bought is called The Ultimate Sudoku Challenge, subtitled "Warning: This book contains 200 of the toughest puzzles!" Riiiigghhhtt. Easy. But anyway at the end of the book are 10 "megasudokus", 25 by 25 grids with numbers. I started one and quickly realized I was in way over my head. Holy crap are they hard. Not only are they 25x25, but I think they are also a very hard level to boot.
The one on the left above (you should be able to click on it for a larger image), I have been working on for over a month, generally about an hour or so a day. They don't give you very much room on the page, so it's almost impossible to do pencil marks (especially since more than half of the numbers are two digits). Instead I look at possible numbers in each column, row, and box. Possible columns go at the top, rows to the right, boxes at the bottom of the page.
This is my fifth one and I was only able to finish the fourth. The first three I messed up so badly that I scrapped them. I since learned to look in the back before I place a number just to make sure it is right. I don't consider that cheating because the puzzles are just too hard not to. It saves me from screwing up the puzzle. I don't look at any other numbers and if I do, I don't place a number until I figured out why it goes there. I only look at the solution to make sure I'm right. Doesn't do any good if you screw up a number then 10 hours later realize it; it's not like you can just erase everything and start over.
I have gone 2-3 hour sessions without placing a single number. But I love it. I love a good challenge. Ash thinks I'm bonkers. I can't disagree.
If anyone wants to try their hand, let me know; I can try and scan in a grid and send you the image. But good frigging luck.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Amazon Offering Non-Protected MP3 Downloads
I'm not exactly mp3-savvy, but my forays into the music download space have been frustrating; ever since the heyday of Napster's (albeit illegal) peer-to-peer application, in fact, digital music has quite gone to shite. Yahoo's music player = teh suck! MTV's Urge (now Rhapsody) = slow. Napster = slow. iTunes = don't know because I don't have an iPod, nor am I interested in downloading a media player when I already have one on my machine. It's one thing to have users install a plug-in for a media player that they already have on their machine, but to have people install your own player is ballsy...that player better be really freaking amazing (yeah...I'm looking at you Yahoo and MusicMatch). So I'm always on the lookout for better alternatives or open to suggestions.
Amazon is now offering non-DRM MP3 downloads at or below the industry standard .99/9.99 price point. I like this for several reasons. 1) First off, I've always been a fan of their website...fast and easy to use, and I'm already a member with one-click payments on file and everything. I even go to their website and listen to their 30 second song snippets to sample new music, instead of whatever WMP plug-in I happen to be using at the moment; searching for music is generally faster than within WMP. 2) I like the burnable & transferrable non-DRM format that doesn't come with any usage restrictions (e.g. 3 burns or 3 sync devices). But 3) (and this is my favorite) I like that it doesn't come with their own p.o.s. Windows Media plug-in. They do have a download manager applet that sits outside of WMP, but it's a small download and un-intrusive program.
Obviously my ultimate, ideal, perfect-world dream would be if there were an affordable subscription service with non-DRM downloads, but since that is not realistic, I'll take what I can get. I canceled my Urge membership a few weeks ago because I was never actually using it. I don't have the time, patience, or interest to just sit and listen to new music and sync up my mp3 player all day. Once in a blue moon I want to listen to an album before paying for it, so I thought the subscription route would be cool. Instead I just ended up paying $15 a month for music I never listened to.
I just bought a mess of songs by The Decemberists, mostly singles and compilation tracks. Now, I don't normally shop for or buy CD singles, but the ability to d/l a non-DRM mp3 of songs of a band that I already know I like, is pretty damn awesome. From what I've read, Amazon's library is not the most extensive, but they had several tracks that either were not on Urge or were not easily find-able on Urge; either way gives Amazon the edge.
Ultimately I guess what I'm doing is getting away from subscription-based DRM files, to just buying music that I hope I will like in a burnable format that is cheaper than, say, going to Best Buy. If you actually want to possess an actual retail CD, then I still highly recommend LaLa, especially if you were like me and had a library full of embarrassing CDs that I never listened to anymore, that I could then "trade-up" for just $1.79. When I first started using LaLa, I had several hundred CDs, but over 100 of which I never listened to anymore (and I could always rip them to my computer if I wanted to keep them anyway); now I have several hundred CDs that I actually like. Then to help in discovering new music, I have been a subscriber of Yahoo's Launchcast for a couple of years now and I'll keep that going for like $4 a month, I think it is. I was disappointed when Yahoo's music purchase system turned out to suck, because I was already a member and I like their radio station functionality, the way it recommends new music. But they made you download a whole new player, not just some WMP plug-in, and it ended up being quite painful and it had very basic functionality at that. I remember I submitted a bug on it through their website, never got a good response nor did they ever fix it; so I lost interest in it.
I've gone on quite long, but as you can tell, I like me some music. I just don't know how to really manage it all. I'm fixing to go uninstall Urge. The fact that it scans my library constantly to come up with Auto Playlists while hogging my CPU the whole time, with no easy means to disable said functionality, irritates me to no end. Shame on you MTV, didn't you learn that lesson from Sony? I want digital music, not a virus.
Amazon is now offering non-DRM MP3 downloads at or below the industry standard .99/9.99 price point. I like this for several reasons. 1) First off, I've always been a fan of their website...fast and easy to use, and I'm already a member with one-click payments on file and everything. I even go to their website and listen to their 30 second song snippets to sample new music, instead of whatever WMP plug-in I happen to be using at the moment; searching for music is generally faster than within WMP. 2) I like the burnable & transferrable non-DRM format that doesn't come with any usage restrictions (e.g. 3 burns or 3 sync devices). But 3) (and this is my favorite) I like that it doesn't come with their own p.o.s. Windows Media plug-in. They do have a download manager applet that sits outside of WMP, but it's a small download and un-intrusive program.
Obviously my ultimate, ideal, perfect-world dream would be if there were an affordable subscription service with non-DRM downloads, but since that is not realistic, I'll take what I can get. I canceled my Urge membership a few weeks ago because I was never actually using it. I don't have the time, patience, or interest to just sit and listen to new music and sync up my mp3 player all day. Once in a blue moon I want to listen to an album before paying for it, so I thought the subscription route would be cool. Instead I just ended up paying $15 a month for music I never listened to.
I just bought a mess of songs by The Decemberists, mostly singles and compilation tracks. Now, I don't normally shop for or buy CD singles, but the ability to d/l a non-DRM mp3 of songs of a band that I already know I like, is pretty damn awesome. From what I've read, Amazon's library is not the most extensive, but they had several tracks that either were not on Urge or were not easily find-able on Urge; either way gives Amazon the edge.
Ultimately I guess what I'm doing is getting away from subscription-based DRM files, to just buying music that I hope I will like in a burnable format that is cheaper than, say, going to Best Buy. If you actually want to possess an actual retail CD, then I still highly recommend LaLa, especially if you were like me and had a library full of embarrassing CDs that I never listened to anymore, that I could then "trade-up" for just $1.79. When I first started using LaLa, I had several hundred CDs, but over 100 of which I never listened to anymore (and I could always rip them to my computer if I wanted to keep them anyway); now I have several hundred CDs that I actually like. Then to help in discovering new music, I have been a subscriber of Yahoo's Launchcast for a couple of years now and I'll keep that going for like $4 a month, I think it is. I was disappointed when Yahoo's music purchase system turned out to suck, because I was already a member and I like their radio station functionality, the way it recommends new music. But they made you download a whole new player, not just some WMP plug-in, and it ended up being quite painful and it had very basic functionality at that. I remember I submitted a bug on it through their website, never got a good response nor did they ever fix it; so I lost interest in it.
I've gone on quite long, but as you can tell, I like me some music. I just don't know how to really manage it all. I'm fixing to go uninstall Urge. The fact that it scans my library constantly to come up with Auto Playlists while hogging my CPU the whole time, with no easy means to disable said functionality, irritates me to no end. Shame on you MTV, didn't you learn that lesson from Sony? I want digital music, not a virus.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Knock Knock Who's There Trick or Treat...Sex
If you don't know what that refers to...then you must see this:
LOLz. That's just funny, I don't care who you are. I know.
In other comedy news, we saw the movie Superbad on Sunday. Pretty damn funny. It's along the same vein as American Pie, filled with the raunchy antics of sex-crazed drunken teens, but in my humble opinion I think it does in a way that is more respectable. I can't think of a better word, but that is close. The movie isn't about sex and getting drunk. I mean yes, the funny bits of the movie are about sex and drinking, but the movie does have a deeper meaning, and it doesn't make fun of it like others in the genre. It's hard to explain. I just walked away thinking I liked it more and brought across to teens a better message than the American Pies. I recommend it.
In gaming news, Halo 3 came out last night. I went to the midnight launch at the local game store, and after waiting for an hour and putting up with high school kids yelling and throwing things, it was totally worth it when I got to take the game home. Played it all night, and went to bed about 5:30am this morning. Woke up at 10am and finished the campaign, what a riot. I don't know if Halo 3 will quite have the life-changing effect that Halo 2 had, which basically put online console gaming on the map. Halo 3 fixed a lot of the online bugs and such of Halo 2, but since it's still such a similar game I don't know as it'll have the "wow" effect for as long as Halo 2 dominated the Xbox Live charts. Nonetheless, I'll be playing it every night until I get sick of it; hopefully, they'll release maps, playlists, and tweaks enough to keep it fresh for years.
LOLz. That's just funny, I don't care who you are. I know.
In other comedy news, we saw the movie Superbad on Sunday. Pretty damn funny. It's along the same vein as American Pie, filled with the raunchy antics of sex-crazed drunken teens, but in my humble opinion I think it does in a way that is more respectable. I can't think of a better word, but that is close. The movie isn't about sex and getting drunk. I mean yes, the funny bits of the movie are about sex and drinking, but the movie does have a deeper meaning, and it doesn't make fun of it like others in the genre. It's hard to explain. I just walked away thinking I liked it more and brought across to teens a better message than the American Pies. I recommend it.
In gaming news, Halo 3 came out last night. I went to the midnight launch at the local game store, and after waiting for an hour and putting up with high school kids yelling and throwing things, it was totally worth it when I got to take the game home. Played it all night, and went to bed about 5:30am this morning. Woke up at 10am and finished the campaign, what a riot. I don't know if Halo 3 will quite have the life-changing effect that Halo 2 had, which basically put online console gaming on the map. Halo 3 fixed a lot of the online bugs and such of Halo 2, but since it's still such a similar game I don't know as it'll have the "wow" effect for as long as Halo 2 dominated the Xbox Live charts. Nonetheless, I'll be playing it every night until I get sick of it; hopefully, they'll release maps, playlists, and tweaks enough to keep it fresh for years.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Offer...Accepted
Huge news in the PalmerRaineyan house. I got an offer Friday on my way to Charlotte for my 2nd interview with Hewitt. Yesterday I got the offer from them, and I immediately accepted. Not much to debate about or re-negotiate. Hmmm....great pay, bonus, benefits, work anywhere I want or they will pay to move me to Charlotte. Gee...let me think. OK. So yesterday within a span of an hour, I got an offer, accepted it, quit my job, and turned down the other offer. So it was a day full of rejoicing and rejection all around. A little bit bitter, a lot sweet. I will start my new job 10/15, more than likely working from the farm for a couple months until we find someplace permanent.
I celebrated by taking the wife out for calzones. Because that's how we do it. Ash and I have this running argument about the merits of pizza. She seems to think that you can have (brace yourself) too much pizza. WTH is that? And also I have never been able to take her to an actual pizza place for dinner, probably because she just doesn't loooove pizza like she, clearly, should. I had been wanting to go to Mellow Mushroom for years when we were in Athens and then Columbus, and I could never get her excited about it, so last night was a bit of a small victory. Baby steps.
I celebrated by taking the wife out for calzones. Because that's how we do it. Ash and I have this running argument about the merits of pizza. She seems to think that you can have (brace yourself) too much pizza. WTH is that? And also I have never been able to take her to an actual pizza place for dinner, probably because she just doesn't loooove pizza like she, clearly, should. I had been wanting to go to Mellow Mushroom for years when we were in Athens and then Columbus, and I could never get her excited about it, so last night was a bit of a small victory. Baby steps.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
A Page from Dung
I'm going to take a page from my pal Jeff's blog, which probably has the best...title...ever. Dung!
What I'm listening to: I have a 64-cd case in my car but usually only about 3 or 4 of those ever make it to the show. New stuff by The Starting Line (emo), Silverstein (screamo), and my new favorite band Placebo (sort of rhymes with emo), are all in the rotation. I generally alternate music with audiobooks, currently I'm on book 6 of the Wheel of Time, Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan. I haven't done much LaLa lately since all my CDs are in storage, but before I moved up to the farm, the last two LaLa CDs I got were by Led Zepellin. I can't really explain it, it was just something I wanted to hear. I canceled my Urge membership because I wasn't using it, and I have been passing over Launchcast at work in favor of podcasts.
What I'm reading: The second Halo novel (The Flood) which is the companion to the original xbox game. Oh, after Harry Potter #7 of course. That book, once it got going, was impossible to put down. I think I read the last 200 pages in one day, which is pretty much unheard of for me. I'm going to keep it rolling with the Halo novels, since there are four of them with a fifth to release in October, basically because I'm so jacked for Halo 3 to come out Sep. 25th.
What I'm watching: the last two weeks, it's been mostly US Open. Ash and I haven't seen any movies lately except Harry Potter #5 at the theater, but I want to see Superbad and Brothers Solomon. I keep trying to watch Shaun of the Dead; I've started it once, got about 45 minutes in and was laughing my ass off so I stopped because I wanted Ash to see it. We tried watching it one night, but it really is a movie you have to watch and catch all the funniest bits and she just couldn't make that kind of commitment at the time. Oh we did watch Fantastic Four the other day (well it actually two several attempts to finish it). The 2007 WSOP main event is also running right now, which is still addicting to watch as it ever was, and I even know who won. Well, not personally, just his name. I learned a lesson about Tivo last night - if you move and switch cable companies, check your season passes.
What I'm playing: Mostly Two Worlds with a hint of Call of Duty 4 beta. Two Worlds is a good game after the first few hours of slogging through it and getting used to the menus and shtuff. Halo 3: 12 days and counting. Still really looking forward to Rock Band. They keep announcing new tracks for it and Guitar Hero III both, looks to be a good winter for gaming. Not to mention the Wii we just bought.
I have a 2nd interview tomorrow for a job I really want to get. The interview is in Charlotte, NC, so I'll be on the road pretty much all day tomorrow. Hoping to get one offer in today or tomorrow, and hope to hear something from this job maybe early next week. That would be sweet and I can have both in-hand at the same time.
What I'm listening to: I have a 64-cd case in my car but usually only about 3 or 4 of those ever make it to the show. New stuff by The Starting Line (emo), Silverstein (screamo), and my new favorite band Placebo (sort of rhymes with emo), are all in the rotation. I generally alternate music with audiobooks, currently I'm on book 6 of the Wheel of Time, Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan. I haven't done much LaLa lately since all my CDs are in storage, but before I moved up to the farm, the last two LaLa CDs I got were by Led Zepellin. I can't really explain it, it was just something I wanted to hear. I canceled my Urge membership because I wasn't using it, and I have been passing over Launchcast at work in favor of podcasts.
What I'm reading: The second Halo novel (The Flood) which is the companion to the original xbox game. Oh, after Harry Potter #7 of course. That book, once it got going, was impossible to put down. I think I read the last 200 pages in one day, which is pretty much unheard of for me. I'm going to keep it rolling with the Halo novels, since there are four of them with a fifth to release in October, basically because I'm so jacked for Halo 3 to come out Sep. 25th.
What I'm watching: the last two weeks, it's been mostly US Open. Ash and I haven't seen any movies lately except Harry Potter #5 at the theater, but I want to see Superbad and Brothers Solomon. I keep trying to watch Shaun of the Dead; I've started it once, got about 45 minutes in and was laughing my ass off so I stopped because I wanted Ash to see it. We tried watching it one night, but it really is a movie you have to watch and catch all the funniest bits and she just couldn't make that kind of commitment at the time. Oh we did watch Fantastic Four the other day (well it actually two several attempts to finish it). The 2007 WSOP main event is also running right now, which is still addicting to watch as it ever was, and I even know who won. Well, not personally, just his name. I learned a lesson about Tivo last night - if you move and switch cable companies, check your season passes.
What I'm playing: Mostly Two Worlds with a hint of Call of Duty 4 beta. Two Worlds is a good game after the first few hours of slogging through it and getting used to the menus and shtuff. Halo 3: 12 days and counting. Still really looking forward to Rock Band. They keep announcing new tracks for it and Guitar Hero III both, looks to be a good winter for gaming. Not to mention the Wii we just bought.
I have a 2nd interview tomorrow for a job I really want to get. The interview is in Charlotte, NC, so I'll be on the road pretty much all day tomorrow. Hoping to get one offer in today or tomorrow, and hope to hear something from this job maybe early next week. That would be sweet and I can have both in-hand at the same time.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Our Baby has a Wii-Wii
Camera One (6/29):
Camera Two (9/6):
Camera one, camera two... Here are a few more pics. It's been a few days, and Ash is still recovering and coping with the fact that it is now a he, but at least there's still only one in there, right?. Still nothing better than a baby's heartbeat during an ultrasound. Well that and the fact that there will be a higher likelihood of having someone to play co-op with and to increase my gamerscore for me while I'm at work. I can now unabashedly rent and/or buy kids games (for the achievements, of course, but he won't know that). I don't know what I'd do if my child didn't play some sort of games, I'll take jigsaw puzzles, but give me something to work with. I'm in deep sh'pocky if he wants to play baseball or basketball or something. Ash is going to do her best to get him into horses, but if he's anything like me as a child, he'll be interested for about a month and then move on to the next thing.
Speaking of video games, Ash and I went over to a friend-slash-co-worker-slash-my-idol Oosik's house last weekend, where for the first time we got to play a Nintendo Wii. Ash totally got hooked and after a couple of hours later as I was dragging her away, she was just raving about how much fun it was. So, to make up for the fact that our baby has a peepee instead of a feefee, I looked all over the interwebs until I found one. It'll be shipped this week. Isn't it great when I can buy my wife a new game console to make amends? That's...
wait for it...
awesome.
Camera Two (9/6):
Camera one, camera two... Here are a few more pics. It's been a few days, and Ash is still recovering and coping with the fact that it is now a he, but at least there's still only one in there, right?. Still nothing better than a baby's heartbeat during an ultrasound. Well that and the fact that there will be a higher likelihood of having someone to play co-op with and to increase my gamerscore for me while I'm at work. I can now unabashedly rent and/or buy kids games (for the achievements, of course, but he won't know that). I don't know what I'd do if my child didn't play some sort of games, I'll take jigsaw puzzles, but give me something to work with. I'm in deep sh'pocky if he wants to play baseball or basketball or something. Ash is going to do her best to get him into horses, but if he's anything like me as a child, he'll be interested for about a month and then move on to the next thing.
Speaking of video games, Ash and I went over to a friend-slash-co-worker-slash-my-idol Oosik's house last weekend, where for the first time we got to play a Nintendo Wii. Ash totally got hooked and after a couple of hours later as I was dragging her away, she was just raving about how much fun it was. So, to make up for the fact that our baby has a peepee instead of a feefee, I looked all over the interwebs until I found one. It'll be shipped this week. Isn't it great when I can buy my wife a new game console to make amends? That's...
wait for it...
awesome.
Monday, August 27, 2007
On Diapers
Oh, poop. This is sort of an interesting conversation we've had in our house lately. Cloth vs. Disposable? Is there such a thing as an eco-friendly diaper?
There are a lot of different options out there. Cloth. 7th Generation and Tushies diapers are chlorine-free. gDiapers are flushable. Or we could just start potty training at 7 months.
We're not really leaning one way or the other, just weighing our options. They all look crappy. Ba-dum-bum. There's no secret that Ash and I try and do our part for the environment and all. Nothing too outrageous. I don't drive a Crisco car or anything. I can't even affort a hybrid, but I'd like to get one someday. We just do little things like recycle what we can, and take canvas bags to the sto'. It's fun watching the dipshit teens fumble with the canvas bags and go all 12 Monkeys Brad Pitt trying to fill them.
I am leaning towards regular Pampers or Huggies or whatever works best. Neat-and-tidy is more of a priority to me than environment when it comes to cleaning up yellow stanky diarrhea. Ash is leaning more towards cloth, or maybe a mix of cloth and disposable, whatever makes sense at the time. Curious to hear if any of my dear readers have some experience with anything out of the ordinary.
There are a lot of different options out there. Cloth. 7th Generation and Tushies diapers are chlorine-free. gDiapers are flushable. Or we could just start potty training at 7 months.
We're not really leaning one way or the other, just weighing our options. They all look crappy. Ba-dum-bum. There's no secret that Ash and I try and do our part for the environment and all. Nothing too outrageous. I don't drive a Crisco car or anything. I can't even affort a hybrid, but I'd like to get one someday. We just do little things like recycle what we can, and take canvas bags to the sto'. It's fun watching the dipshit teens fumble with the canvas bags and go all 12 Monkeys Brad Pitt trying to fill them.
I am leaning towards regular Pampers or Huggies or whatever works best. Neat-and-tidy is more of a priority to me than environment when it comes to cleaning up yellow stanky diarrhea. Ash is leaning more towards cloth, or maybe a mix of cloth and disposable, whatever makes sense at the time. Curious to hear if any of my dear readers have some experience with anything out of the ordinary.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Doubleshot of the blog tonight. Some updates on the job & home front this week. Had a phone call with someone from GE this week, a job I was hoping would work out. But they wouldn't pursue it further unless I agreed to move to Schenectady, NY. No way. Then the recruiter tries to sell me on Schenectady by saying "well, we don't get near as much snow as you did in Michigan, but it does get pretty cold." OK, first off it's not the snow I don't like, it's the cold that goes with it. Going through a winter of teen-degree cold for four months and having it only snow like 3 times sounds absolutely depressing. At least if it's going to be cold, yeah, it better frigging snow.
A couple of other job things are in the works. I have been extremely interested in a company called Hewitt Associates, and I finally got a call from them last week. I hope that works out, or something else in their company. They do HR outsourcing (mainly benefits, although apparently some payroll, both of which are my specialty), but more important than that a lot of their employees work from home. That'd be awesome. For this particular gig, I might have to travel one week out of every month, but I can cope with that.
Ash spent the week packing and getting us ready to "move" up to the farm this weekend. Our plan is to sell the house in Columbus, but because we have three dogs, that would be a pain to try and sell the house, what with all the loose hair and general stank. So we're staying up at "the farm", my FIL's place where we got married. I got back from ATL Thursday night, did some packing, moved our stuff into storage all day Friday and Saturday, and then packed our essentials up and convoyed up to the farm Sunday. I spent much of the day getting the Tivo up and running, and hooking up our computers. I finally got some consistent internet here now that I brought up my own router.
Hopefully this move was temporary. Best case scenario, we'll be here until I find a job hopefully in the next month or two. Worst case, we have to stay here until the baby is born. Absolutely awful case, I don't find a job and we get evicted because technically the farm is up for sale. Knock on wood that it doesn't sell anytime soon, no offense to my father-in-law but I hope nobody likes the place. We love it though. I just don't want anyone else to.
A couple of other job things are in the works. I have been extremely interested in a company called Hewitt Associates, and I finally got a call from them last week. I hope that works out, or something else in their company. They do HR outsourcing (mainly benefits, although apparently some payroll, both of which are my specialty), but more important than that a lot of their employees work from home. That'd be awesome. For this particular gig, I might have to travel one week out of every month, but I can cope with that.
Ash spent the week packing and getting us ready to "move" up to the farm this weekend. Our plan is to sell the house in Columbus, but because we have three dogs, that would be a pain to try and sell the house, what with all the loose hair and general stank. So we're staying up at "the farm", my FIL's place where we got married. I got back from ATL Thursday night, did some packing, moved our stuff into storage all day Friday and Saturday, and then packed our essentials up and convoyed up to the farm Sunday. I spent much of the day getting the Tivo up and running, and hooking up our computers. I finally got some consistent internet here now that I brought up my own router.
Hopefully this move was temporary. Best case scenario, we'll be here until I find a job hopefully in the next month or two. Worst case, we have to stay here until the baby is born. Absolutely awful case, I don't find a job and we get evicted because technically the farm is up for sale. Knock on wood that it doesn't sell anytime soon, no offense to my father-in-law but I hope nobody likes the place. We love it though. I just don't want anyone else to.
On Vacation
We've been back a week now, so this blog is a little late, but I did want to go ahead and at least post some pics. Here's a link to the pics I took, mostly at the cottage with Eric a.k.a. Sniper and his family. Most of them have captions so you can just peruse and get the scoop over there. We had fantastic weather at the cottage this year, which was doubly awesome since every time Ash has come up to the cottage the weather has been craptastic.
Tuesday, Eric and I went up to the casino and within about 2 hours I was up over $700 playing poker. Yeah, I'm that good.
I brought up my Guitar Hero controller so we played some co-op. If you didn't check out the album link above, you at least have to check out my nephew Cam jamming out behind his back. The funniest thing was he was actually doing pretty good, I think he did a whole song like that.
Thursday we went to mom's and opened up our first baby gifts. Thursday night was when Jackson died, so that was messed up. But Friday we bucked-up and went to Frankenmuth - Zehnder's for lunch and Bronner's after. Ash loves Christmas time, so I thought she'd like Bronner's, which is a huge year-round Christmas store. Then we flew back Saturday.
More later on the move and stuff.
Tuesday, Eric and I went up to the casino and within about 2 hours I was up over $700 playing poker. Yeah, I'm that good.
I brought up my Guitar Hero controller so we played some co-op. If you didn't check out the album link above, you at least have to check out my nephew Cam jamming out behind his back. The funniest thing was he was actually doing pretty good, I think he did a whole song like that.
Thursday we went to mom's and opened up our first baby gifts. Thursday night was when Jackson died, so that was messed up. But Friday we bucked-up and went to Frankenmuth - Zehnder's for lunch and Bronner's after. Ash loves Christmas time, so I thought she'd like Bronner's, which is a huge year-round Christmas store. Then we flew back Saturday.
More later on the move and stuff.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
In Memory of Jackson
 |
| Jackson |
It is a sad time right now for the PalmerRaineyan Pack, as we lost Jackson early last Friday morning. We had a house-sitter staying at the house while we were in Michigan, and she had called us Thursday afternoon to tell us that Jackson didn't finish his breakfast, which is odd for a 100-pound dog like big Jack. By the evening he was very lethargic, and by sundown he was throwing up. She took him to an emergency vet and while they were drawing blood, he had a seizure (no history of epilepsy) and then went into cardiac arrest. They revived him, but he went into a second cardiac arrest shortly after and they were unable to bring him back.
We don't really know for sure what took him; his white blood cell count was through the roof, which more than likely meant he had cancer, and because dogs are fairly stoic it would have been nearly impossible to know. Jackson was just shy of 10 years old and had a very good life, but he is leaving a big hole in our hearts and at home. Here's 10 things we loved about Jacksonville, one for every year of his life:
- He ate the most food but was always the first done. I don't think he knew how to chew. Of course he did have a few teeth knocked out by a horse when he was a puppy, so maybe chewing wasn't really an option.
- He was so big he could steal food off the counter without craning his neck. On separate occasions, I lost two buttered slices of bread, a slice of pizza, and a McDonald's cheeseburger (for which he was briefly nicknamed Cheeseburgler).
- He would play with himself by flinging a ball or toy in the air and lunging after it.
- He was hilarious to watch playing and wrestling with Xander, our 20-pound terrier mutt, throwing him around like a rag-doll.
- He had big ole' floppy ears and looked like Alf. We turned him into a bobble-head Alf on grooming day.
- Speaking of grooming day, it was hilarious how he would literally wrap his front legs around Ash's leg when she took him to the groomer. "Don't leave me here!"
- He was the biggest freaking dog, but he was the biggest wuss when it came to thunder storms.
- He'd get so excited at dinner time, he'd back into the water bowl, spilling water all over the place. And it never gets old watching a big dog scramble for the traction on the hardwood floor as the dogs get excited to go outside. Graceful, he was not.
- That dude hated remote control cars. Hated. We have these trashy neighbors across the street that have this big loud whining remote control car. He'd sit in front of the window barking and growling at it for hours.
- His tail was like the spawn of a baseball bat and a feather duster. And he was such a happy dog he would thump his tail on the hardwood floors if you just said anything nonsensical in a completely different room. It always cracked us up, hearing the thump-thump-thump; he wouldn't get up or do anything, just lay there and wag his tail against the floor, thumping.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
On...Bay-Bay!
Sorry I just can't say "baby" without doing Fat Bastard.Well, I'd hoped it would take longer to work (wink...wink), but alas my virility has betrayed me. Bam! First month. Well, we didn't know we were successful the first month that we tried but that's a longer story...read on.
I came home June 15th from my first week contracting in Atlanta, and she woke me up at 4 am to gleefully wave the little digital readout on a pee-stick in front of me (kind of gross now that I think about it). Exactly how excessively technological is a digital readout on a pregnancy test? So very excessive. But I love it. So anyway, needless to say I didn't get any more sleep that day. I had to go into my former place of employment (quack) and wrap up some things, as it was technically my last day there. I skipped out of work at about 3pm and we went to the movie Knocked Up (how appropriate), and then to Barnes and Noble to buy the stereotypical small arsenal of baby books. I did have to put my foot down on the $20 baby name book. I ordered the same thing on half.com for like four bucks. $20 for a list of names...seriously.
So, we thought two weeks later when we went to the first ultrasound, that we were just about 5-6 weeks pregnant, tops.
It was pretty amazing to start to see her outline the blob on the machine as some sort of potential-human. But when she flipped on the audio, my jaw dropped. Ash and I looked at each other and we told the nice little nurse lady that we didn't think you could hear a heartbeat until much later (which we knew, of course, because we had already studied our new baby textbooks - and by "we" I mean "Ash"). She said something to the effect of "oh, no, I put you at about 9-10 weeks pregnant." Holy sh'pocky.Until that point, I hadn't been stressed at all about looking for a job and wanting to move to Florida. I was then. But it was overshadowed by our excitement about what's to come. Ash is now about 14 weeks, give or take a few days, and our due date is 1/24/08.
Just don't call us "breeders" yet. We're still shooting for just one, but I guess a lot can change. Who knows, I could actually become responsible and shit.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
On 1 Huge Reason To Have 2 Kids
OK so I've always said I just want to have just one kid. Here is an awesome reason to have two. It's a new video game due out this Christmas called Rock Band, where 4 people can play co-operatively. Two guitars, a drumkit, and a mic = 4 people. Four.
Since the dogs can't sing for crap (although we have so many they could form a band by themselves), that leaves our only other option. Either we have twins...or two, and in a hurry because I can't wait to play this game.
For the unawares among you, they are playing guitar-shaped controllers. The plastic guitars have five different colored buttons, and a plastic strum-bar that they have to push down as the notes appear on the screen. They are showing three columns of scrolling notes, one rhythm guitar , one bass guitar, and one for the drums (in the middle). The vocals are streaming across the top. The game does keep score based on timing, rhythm, and in the case of the vocals, tone (you have to sing on-key to score the word).
Sources say that the Welcome to the Jungle song posted in the video may not be in the final game (I hope it won't!...GnR sux).
Here are a few songs that will be included:
* "In Bloom" - Nirvana
* "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
* "Say It Ain't So" - Weezer
* "Won't Get Fooled Again" - The Who
Since the dogs can't sing for crap (although we have so many they could form a band by themselves), that leaves our only other option. Either we have twins...or two, and in a hurry because I can't wait to play this game.
For the unawares among you, they are playing guitar-shaped controllers. The plastic guitars have five different colored buttons, and a plastic strum-bar that they have to push down as the notes appear on the screen. They are showing three columns of scrolling notes, one rhythm guitar , one bass guitar, and one for the drums (in the middle). The vocals are streaming across the top. The game does keep score based on timing, rhythm, and in the case of the vocals, tone (you have to sing on-key to score the word).
Sources say that the Welcome to the Jungle song posted in the video may not be in the final game (I hope it won't!...GnR sux).
Here are a few songs that will be included:
* "In Bloom" - Nirvana
* "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath
* "Say It Ain't So" - Weezer
* "Won't Get Fooled Again" - The Who
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
On my new job
It's been a couple months I see... The biggest thing happening in my world is I finally had enough of the duck and I quit. I lined up a contract job in Atlanta while I look for a permanent position (in Orlando!). I would say it's a little scary but I'll be honest, I don't really think about it enough to be scared. I'm happiest in my most oblivious, apathetic state.
So, Monday through Thursdays I drive up to Atlanta and stay at my FIL's farm. It's very quiet up here and only a half-hour drive to work (w/o traffic). I couldn't live in Atlanta all the time, but the farm is nice and quiet at night, quieter than Columbus. Except for when it storms and Jackson, our 100-pound retriever mutt, needs comforting so he jumps up in the bed (a single bed, mind). I didn't get much sleep the first few nights this week because of some storms.
I thought I would do more blogging when I was away from home during the weeks, but I've found that working 10+ hours a day staring at the computer just doesn't make me want to go back to the farm at night and blog. I'm pretty much forcing myself to do this tonight. It's 8pm and I just got home not an hour ago and I'll be asleep in another two and then all over again. The nice thing about my schedule is it's only Monday through Thursday.
When I went home last week, I had to work at my old job on Friday and then Ash and I went to see Knocked Up in the afternoon. Pretty funny movie, and I'd recommend it. Not as LOL funny as I was hoping for, but we liked it.
Two videos to watch (NSFW (not safe for work)):
Bud Light "Swear Jar" commercial
Will Ferrell "Landlord"
And a couple of funny websites a fellow geezer posted up today:
LOLCats
SnorgTees
Bonus points for nested parentheses. Booyah!
So, Monday through Thursdays I drive up to Atlanta and stay at my FIL's farm. It's very quiet up here and only a half-hour drive to work (w/o traffic). I couldn't live in Atlanta all the time, but the farm is nice and quiet at night, quieter than Columbus. Except for when it storms and Jackson, our 100-pound retriever mutt, needs comforting so he jumps up in the bed (a single bed, mind). I didn't get much sleep the first few nights this week because of some storms.
I thought I would do more blogging when I was away from home during the weeks, but I've found that working 10+ hours a day staring at the computer just doesn't make me want to go back to the farm at night and blog. I'm pretty much forcing myself to do this tonight. It's 8pm and I just got home not an hour ago and I'll be asleep in another two and then all over again. The nice thing about my schedule is it's only Monday through Thursday.
When I went home last week, I had to work at my old job on Friday and then Ash and I went to see Knocked Up in the afternoon. Pretty funny movie, and I'd recommend it. Not as LOL funny as I was hoping for, but we liked it.
Two videos to watch (NSFW (not safe for work)):
Bud Light "Swear Jar" commercial
Will Ferrell "Landlord"
And a couple of funny websites a fellow geezer posted up today:
LOLCats
SnorgTees
Bonus points for nested parentheses. Booyah!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
On a Whole New Level of Sore
So, I've been driving my wife nuts the last three nights...by going to bed at the same time she does. Boy she hates that. Normally I stay up a couple hours later than she does playing xbox, but Friday I had a breakfast meeting and then an all-day charity tennis event sponsored by ... ahem ... my employer, so I thought I'd crash early Thursday night. Friday night I was so dead tired after the tennis thing that I crashed. Saturday morning I had a tennis match, mowed the lawn, then Ash and I went to the ATL for dinner with her family. We got back late Saturday night, so for the 3rd night in a row, I was asleep by 11:00pm.
I have never been so all-over-sore as I have the last 2 days. My quads, ass, back, neck, arms, abs, you name it. Sore as anything. I could barely get up off the couch yesterday, or in and out of my car. I guess there's a downside to having a big ole' SUV. Well, that and $3 a gallon.
Saw the movie Stranger Than Fiction last Friday. Ash and I liked it; I'll pretty much watch anything with Maggie Gyllenhaal or Emma Thompson, let alone both in one movie. It was like Nerd Heaven!
I have never been so all-over-sore as I have the last 2 days. My quads, ass, back, neck, arms, abs, you name it. Sore as anything. I could barely get up off the couch yesterday, or in and out of my car. I guess there's a downside to having a big ole' SUV. Well, that and $3 a gallon.
Saw the movie Stranger Than Fiction last Friday. Ash and I liked it; I'll pretty much watch anything with Maggie Gyllenhaal or Emma Thompson, let alone both in one movie. It was like Nerd Heaven!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
On Vegas, Baby!...and 300
Last week, on Saturday I left for Vegas. I got there about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and I got my first business card for a stripper by 2:30. Bree...$49 Special. I don't know what "special" means, but for $49 I have a good guess. It became normal after a while, seeing all the Mexicans snap the cards as you pass by and pushing them towards you, but the next day I had to do a double-take when I saw a couple of Mexican women snapping the cards.
I was there until eeeeearly Thursday morning. I played a lot of poker with my brother who crashed in my room at the Venetian (rough living, let me tell you).
Last night, I went and saw the movie 300 with SayBN, a fellow geezer. It was actually a pretty good movie. Obviously more of a "guy movie". It was sort of like a chronological prequel to Braveheart. Lots of fighting sequences where the lead characters are nigh-indestructible, long monologues with fist-raising endings, and even the part where the local aristocrat tries to have sex with the protagonist's wife...yeah that was in this one too. But the cinematography and the effects were pretty sweet.
Oh and by the way SayBN, the guy who played Dilios (David Wenham) was Faramir in the LotR The Two Towers.
I was there until eeeeearly Thursday morning. I played a lot of poker with my brother who crashed in my room at the Venetian (rough living, let me tell you).
Last night, I went and saw the movie 300 with SayBN, a fellow geezer. It was actually a pretty good movie. Obviously more of a "guy movie". It was sort of like a chronological prequel to Braveheart. Lots of fighting sequences where the lead characters are nigh-indestructible, long monologues with fist-raising endings, and even the part where the local aristocrat tries to have sex with the protagonist's wife...yeah that was in this one too. But the cinematography and the effects were pretty sweet.
Oh and by the way SayBN, the guy who played Dilios (David Wenham) was Faramir in the LotR The Two Towers.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
On The Last Kiss...
...or as I like to call it - The Last Movie Written By A Man Named Gabriele Muccino That I'll Ever Watch.
Sunday night. The wife and I just finished watching The Last Kiss. I saw it in Blockbuster and it had Zach Braff so I thought "wow, this must be really good." My wife watches literally about one movie a month, so the pressure to always pick a good movie for the both of us to watch together is hunormous. We both like Scrubs, and really liked Garden State. Garden State, this was not.
The movie wasn't awful until you actually got to know the characters. Then you stopped liking them and it wasn't so good anymore. It's about Braff's character being scared of committing to his beautiful pregnant fiancee, so he gets infatuated with an immature Fatal Attraction-esque college student instead. Good move Zach, let me know how that works out!
It was poorly written; at one point I picked up the box just to make sure Braff didn't write it or have any hand in the movie's overhead, so to speak (he didn't, thankfully, which led into an IMDB search on the real writer, the aforementioned Muccino). The special features just raved how this was a movie for people in their 30s. Yet the lead characters all act like they're in high school. Brilliant! There was a vignette on the special features entitled "last thoughts", where all the actors and maybe the director and whatnot got all serious in front of the camera and tried to sum up the movie in one sentence or less using dramatic words and sincere tones. At which point I turned to Ash and said "you know, you can spray a pile of dog shit with perfume, but it's still dog shit."
Sunday night. The wife and I just finished watching The Last Kiss. I saw it in Blockbuster and it had Zach Braff so I thought "wow, this must be really good." My wife watches literally about one movie a month, so the pressure to always pick a good movie for the both of us to watch together is hunormous. We both like Scrubs, and really liked Garden State. Garden State, this was not.
The movie wasn't awful until you actually got to know the characters. Then you stopped liking them and it wasn't so good anymore. It's about Braff's character being scared of committing to his beautiful pregnant fiancee, so he gets infatuated with an immature Fatal Attraction-esque college student instead. Good move Zach, let me know how that works out!
It was poorly written; at one point I picked up the box just to make sure Braff didn't write it or have any hand in the movie's overhead, so to speak (he didn't, thankfully, which led into an IMDB search on the real writer, the aforementioned Muccino). The special features just raved how this was a movie for people in their 30s. Yet the lead characters all act like they're in high school. Brilliant! There was a vignette on the special features entitled "last thoughts", where all the actors and maybe the director and whatnot got all serious in front of the camera and tried to sum up the movie in one sentence or less using dramatic words and sincere tones. At which point I turned to Ash and said "you know, you can spray a pile of dog shit with perfume, but it's still dog shit."
Saturday, February 24, 2007
On This Week
OK, I'm back. Miss me? I was in Dallas for training this week. Good class. But that still doesn't quite make up for the fact that I had to travel.
Traveling for work is like kissing your sister. If I have to fly somewhere, I'd much prefer it not be for work. Don't get me started on flying though, humans have no business being 35k feet in the air in a fiberglass tube. I don't believe in God, but if I did I'm pretty sure He would say " dammit you stupid humans, I made gravity for a reason. Stay...Down...There!"
My wife had to listen to me rant about the men and their baggage. In the airport, all the men have a rolling bag that is literally 2 inches on either side from being called a large suitcase, and a laptop bag that is literally 2 inches on either side from being called a large suitcase. And then they get pissed when it takes a half an hour extra to board the plane. Well, you focktard, let me explain it. You and all your cohorts took up all the overhead space with all your oversized carry-ons. Now the other half of the plane have to play peek-a-boo with all the overhead bins until the flight attendants get red-in-the-face-pissed and make them gate-check their oversized carry-ons. And now we're late. Well, we would have been but God was very mindful of this and he invented the tailwind.
Traveling for work is like kissing your sister. If I have to fly somewhere, I'd much prefer it not be for work. Don't get me started on flying though, humans have no business being 35k feet in the air in a fiberglass tube. I don't believe in God, but if I did I'm pretty sure He would say " dammit you stupid humans, I made gravity for a reason. Stay...Down...There!"
My wife had to listen to me rant about the men and their baggage. In the airport, all the men have a rolling bag that is literally 2 inches on either side from being called a large suitcase, and a laptop bag that is literally 2 inches on either side from being called a large suitcase. And then they get pissed when it takes a half an hour extra to board the plane. Well, you focktard, let me explain it. You and all your cohorts took up all the overhead space with all your oversized carry-ons. Now the other half of the plane have to play peek-a-boo with all the overhead bins until the flight attendants get red-in-the-face-pissed and make them gate-check their oversized carry-ons. And now we're late. Well, we would have been but God was very mindful of this and he invented the tailwind.
Monday, February 12, 2007
On Netflix vs. Blockbuster
I was a loyal, OK somewhat loyal (I took a couple breaks), subscriber to Netflix for 4 years. As time passed, it seemed like their turn-around time was getting worse and worse. I remember being in awe when I signed up, because I had three movies the very next day, I kid you not. In the first year or so, it was almost like a game, to see how many movies I could watch in a month. I had calculated that I needed to watch, on average, about 5 movies a month in order to just break even (as compared to typical new release fees from Blockbuster). I was squeezing them for quite a bit more than that.
After that though, I stopped being so anal about the turnaround time, and we just watched them when we had time and didn't think much of it. We got pretty good delivery time, but we just weren't watching a lot of movies. So, we coasted for a couple years. Then we moved to Columbus, which apparently confused and angered Netflix, because they were consistently forgetting to send us any movies. I would literally drop a movie off at the post office, and get its replacement in about 7-8 weekdays, pretty much just shy of 2 weeks. So my turnaround basically quadrupled. Awesome. Was I being throttled?
A couple months ago I decided to try Blockbuster, and I'm glad I did. They don't have the turnaround issues, they pretty much have the same selection, I get a free game rental each month, it's the same price, and you can take them back to the store and get a free movie in return. The only problem I've had with them so far - three discs have been shipped completely cracked in half. I still think it's amazing that neither of these places use plastic cases to ship DVDs. If anything, it's hard keeping track of all the flipping movies. Let's say you take 2 movies back, now you have one online movie, two in-store rentals. Two days later, the next 2 online movies get shipped, now you have 3 online + 2 in-store. Do we have the time to watch 5 movies? Can I always remember when the 2 in-store ones are due back? No, that's why I joined an online service in the first place, so I didn't have to pay late fees...!
Bottom line: both Netflix and Blockbuster shipped from Atlanta, yet somehow my Netflix turnaround time was 3-4 times longer than Blockbuster. Netflix couldn't either; I asked them once. I did appreciate Netflix's Friends feature, and not to mention the 4 years worth of ratings. But I'm just not that patient. When the wife gets hooked on a show and has to wait almost 2 weeks to watch the next episode...well, they have a saying in the South - "if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy".
After that though, I stopped being so anal about the turnaround time, and we just watched them when we had time and didn't think much of it. We got pretty good delivery time, but we just weren't watching a lot of movies. So, we coasted for a couple years. Then we moved to Columbus, which apparently confused and angered Netflix, because they were consistently forgetting to send us any movies. I would literally drop a movie off at the post office, and get its replacement in about 7-8 weekdays, pretty much just shy of 2 weeks. So my turnaround basically quadrupled. Awesome. Was I being throttled?
A couple months ago I decided to try Blockbuster, and I'm glad I did. They don't have the turnaround issues, they pretty much have the same selection, I get a free game rental each month, it's the same price, and you can take them back to the store and get a free movie in return. The only problem I've had with them so far - three discs have been shipped completely cracked in half. I still think it's amazing that neither of these places use plastic cases to ship DVDs. If anything, it's hard keeping track of all the flipping movies. Let's say you take 2 movies back, now you have one online movie, two in-store rentals. Two days later, the next 2 online movies get shipped, now you have 3 online + 2 in-store. Do we have the time to watch 5 movies? Can I always remember when the 2 in-store ones are due back? No, that's why I joined an online service in the first place, so I didn't have to pay late fees...!
Bottom line: both Netflix and Blockbuster shipped from Atlanta, yet somehow my Netflix turnaround time was 3-4 times longer than Blockbuster. Netflix couldn't either; I asked them once. I did appreciate Netflix's Friends feature, and not to mention the 4 years worth of ratings. But I'm just not that patient. When the wife gets hooked on a show and has to wait almost 2 weeks to watch the next episode...well, they have a saying in the South - "if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy".
Saturday, February 10, 2007
On an Excessive Amount of Electronics
Currently as I type this, I can look around this game room and see the following electronic devices:
On another single outlet in the living room we can find:
Oh and let's not even get started on all the websites we have to register for. Say what you will, but there's something to be said for Microsoft's Passport idea.
- computer
- speakers
- modem
- router
- printer
- phone
- Vonage router
- xbox
- xbox 360
- lcd tv
On another single outlet in the living room we can find:
- tv
- vcr (what a dinosaur)
- tivo
- wireless adapter
- dvd player
- receiver
- cd player
- and a lamp
Oh and let's not even get started on all the websites we have to register for. Say what you will, but there's something to be said for Microsoft's Passport idea.
Friday, February 09, 2007
On Indebtedness
This kind of goes along the same vein as my last post, about my philosophy on the work-life balance; similar, but different. But my epicurean tendencies do spill over into most other areas of my life. Here is another example: debt and the many faces of indebtedness. It's obvious that someone so selfish would be an impulsive shopper and have a complete lack of self-control when it comes to buying something s/he wants, rather than needs. Guilty!
But again, here's my justification, and I think this might clarify my self-image instead of being painted as a selfish, egotistical, epicurean. I think these words about sum it up: fatality, mortality, "death and taxes". Religious/spiritual beliefs aside, whether there is or is not an afterlife is irrelevant. To throw away your life on this earth because you believe there is an afterlife is stupendously idoitistical. That's like saying "you know what, I'm going to just beat the hell out of this car, because I'm getting a new one in 3 years anyway." Who says that?
So, now that we have proven the relevance of living this life, as opposed to hedging bets on some future one, we can begin to establish that it's important to do it right. Live it up! Here's an example: why wait and save up $50 every paycheck for that new iPod until you have $300 saved to go buy it. Just charge it, and pay it back $50 out of every paycheck, and you know what, you get to play with your new iPod for the next 6 paychecks instead of pining for it. If you're going to buy something anyway, what's the flipping difference? Yeah sure, you pay a little interest, but big deal. Obviously I'm not condoning going out and buying all sorts of stuff you don't need and carrying a lot of debt, but I don't see anything wrong with satisfying your immediate obsessions, in moderation.
So, I have a bit of debt. So what. I'm happy. I'm not going to go to bed at night and get all insomniac because I have so much debt. I'm not going to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day for lunch when I could go have the #8 at Taco Bell. I haven't done my time, worked my way up the ladder, working at crap jobs like this one, just to starve myself, or waste my time cutting coupons or waiting for sales, just so I can pay off a little more debt each month. I figure if you want that new laptop bad enough that you are willing to go into more debt to acquire it, and you can afford the additional payments, then I say go for it. You're going to get it anyway, why wait, why deprive yourself now? The only thing I don't like about this philosophy o' mine is keeping track of the payments I have to make to different lenders; I do have a bad tendency of being a few days late all the time. Luckily most have a 2-month period before they'll report you to the credit bureaus, or my 700 credit score would look more like a GPA.
But again, here's my justification, and I think this might clarify my self-image instead of being painted as a selfish, egotistical, epicurean. I think these words about sum it up: fatality, mortality, "death and taxes". Religious/spiritual beliefs aside, whether there is or is not an afterlife is irrelevant. To throw away your life on this earth because you believe there is an afterlife is stupendously idoitistical. That's like saying "you know what, I'm going to just beat the hell out of this car, because I'm getting a new one in 3 years anyway." Who says that?
So, now that we have proven the relevance of living this life, as opposed to hedging bets on some future one, we can begin to establish that it's important to do it right. Live it up! Here's an example: why wait and save up $50 every paycheck for that new iPod until you have $300 saved to go buy it. Just charge it, and pay it back $50 out of every paycheck, and you know what, you get to play with your new iPod for the next 6 paychecks instead of pining for it. If you're going to buy something anyway, what's the flipping difference? Yeah sure, you pay a little interest, but big deal. Obviously I'm not condoning going out and buying all sorts of stuff you don't need and carrying a lot of debt, but I don't see anything wrong with satisfying your immediate obsessions, in moderation.
So, I have a bit of debt. So what. I'm happy. I'm not going to go to bed at night and get all insomniac because I have so much debt. I'm not going to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day for lunch when I could go have the #8 at Taco Bell. I haven't done my time, worked my way up the ladder, working at crap jobs like this one, just to starve myself, or waste my time cutting coupons or waiting for sales, just so I can pay off a little more debt each month. I figure if you want that new laptop bad enough that you are willing to go into more debt to acquire it, and you can afford the additional payments, then I say go for it. You're going to get it anyway, why wait, why deprive yourself now? The only thing I don't like about this philosophy o' mine is keeping track of the payments I have to make to different lenders; I do have a bad tendency of being a few days late all the time. Luckily most have a 2-month period before they'll report you to the credit bureaus, or my 700 credit score would look more like a GPA.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
On Forty Hours
Usually about twice a day I feel guilty about being a slacker at work. Right at noon, and right at five because that's right about the time I cut out while everyone else is still fighting right on. What a bunch of troopers. I envy them. Their dedication. Their fortitude. I have more important priorities - two in particular: 1) getting the bloody 'ell away from there as fast as I can, and 2) doing it as quick as possible to maximize my free time.
Whatever I was working on at five will be there in the morning. But I'll never have another chance to relax and enjoy that particular evening my way in my entire life. You get to experience each evening one time. That's it. And I'll be damned if I'm going to ruin it staying late every night. It messes with my whole schedule - exercise, tennis, dinner, the dogs, entertainment, quality time with my wife, my Xbox, the whole nine. These are key ingredients to my evenings and quite frankly, work just doesn't fit on that itinerary.
It's selfish I know. Horribly selfish. But I'm an epicurean. It's what I do, it's who I am. It defines me. Pleasure before work. That's the rule I live by.
Don't get me wrong, if I'm needed at work, I'm there; and I won't complain about it. But I set that priority, no one else. That's another rule I live by. I don't like it when my time is managed by someone or something else. During this project I'm on right now, early on people would schedule meetings from 5-7pm at night, and you know what I would do?...accept the meeting invite (just in case it did turn out to be an important meeting), then leave at five anyway, or go for a few minutes and say "Look, y'all don't need me. I gotta go let the dogs out."
Now, let's say I enjoyed my job. Then it's a little different of a story. Because then the line between work and pleasure would blur and the actual office-departure becomes less of a priority. But, I don't (enjoy my job), so that line between work and pleasure is not so fine, in fact it's quite thick and blatant; it's the exact opposite of fine.
Whatever I was working on at five will be there in the morning. But I'll never have another chance to relax and enjoy that particular evening my way in my entire life. You get to experience each evening one time. That's it. And I'll be damned if I'm going to ruin it staying late every night. It messes with my whole schedule - exercise, tennis, dinner, the dogs, entertainment, quality time with my wife, my Xbox, the whole nine. These are key ingredients to my evenings and quite frankly, work just doesn't fit on that itinerary.
It's selfish I know. Horribly selfish. But I'm an epicurean. It's what I do, it's who I am. It defines me. Pleasure before work. That's the rule I live by.
Don't get me wrong, if I'm needed at work, I'm there; and I won't complain about it. But I set that priority, no one else. That's another rule I live by. I don't like it when my time is managed by someone or something else. During this project I'm on right now, early on people would schedule meetings from 5-7pm at night, and you know what I would do?...accept the meeting invite (just in case it did turn out to be an important meeting), then leave at five anyway, or go for a few minutes and say "Look, y'all don't need me. I gotta go let the dogs out."
Now, let's say I enjoyed my job. Then it's a little different of a story. Because then the line between work and pleasure would blur and the actual office-departure becomes less of a priority. But, I don't (enjoy my job), so that line between work and pleasure is not so fine, in fact it's quite thick and blatant; it's the exact opposite of fine.
Monday, February 05, 2007
On Decisions
How do two married introverts make decisions? One might think that they do so maturely and analytically, and talk it out. Some might revert to rock-paper-scissors in a pinch, in our house we play "pick a number". For example, Friday night we were debating where to go to dinner, and we had it narrowed down to three choices: Mikata (our favorite hibachi/sushi place), this new hibachi/sushi place that just opened, and the new Red Robin "gourmet" burger chain that just opened. So of course, being the mature 30-something couple that we are, I scrambled the three choices in my head and told my wife to pick a number between one and three. The order for the first go was New Hibachi-Mikata-Red Robin and my wife picks #2. When I told her Mikata, she said "wait, you know I always pick #2, use different numbers".
So I shook them up in my head again (which is hard for me being an analyst and not an abstract/spatial type of person, you know; heaven forbid had there been a fourth choice I would have screwed them all up in the time it took her to choose): Mikata-New Hibachi-Red Robin as 4-5-6. She picked #4. When I told her Mikata, she said, quite unenthusiastically, "oh OK". So, I said something to the effect of look, two of our restaurants on the list are new, one is old. So do you want to go try a new restaurant or an old one, that will narrow our choices down. She said new. OK, throw out Mikata. So then it became hibachi vs. burger joint, which ultimately made our decision for us because there is never a wait at a hibachi joint, and (contrary to popular theory) there will always be a looooong-ass wait at any new chain restaurant in Columbus Georgia. The natives here are nothing if not predictable. They like chain restaurants, Wal Mart, and running right through red lights and sitting there picking their nose when it turns green.
So ultimately, the "pick a number" thing was useless, but it at least gave us a starting point. It helped just to pick a place and then our gut reaction will tell us whether or not we really wanted that or if we had our heart set on something else. But often times it's just that first pick that is the hardest.
We were in the cereal aisle in Publix the other week and we were doing "pick a number" and an old lady walked by and said "you guys must be young". She said some other things too but I can't remember exactly, but in talking with her she was just flummoxed that we were as old as we were and playing "pick a number" to make decisions. OK so we wouldn't do that if we were, say, buying a house or deciding on where to live. But Frosted Flakes or Fruit Loops? Perfect. What movie to go see? Perfect. Tombstone pizza or leftover spaghetti? Perfect!
So I shook them up in my head again (which is hard for me being an analyst and not an abstract/spatial type of person, you know; heaven forbid had there been a fourth choice I would have screwed them all up in the time it took her to choose): Mikata-New Hibachi-Red Robin as 4-5-6. She picked #4. When I told her Mikata, she said, quite unenthusiastically, "oh OK". So, I said something to the effect of look, two of our restaurants on the list are new, one is old. So do you want to go try a new restaurant or an old one, that will narrow our choices down. She said new. OK, throw out Mikata. So then it became hibachi vs. burger joint, which ultimately made our decision for us because there is never a wait at a hibachi joint, and (contrary to popular theory) there will always be a looooong-ass wait at any new chain restaurant in Columbus Georgia. The natives here are nothing if not predictable. They like chain restaurants, Wal Mart, and running right through red lights and sitting there picking their nose when it turns green.
So ultimately, the "pick a number" thing was useless, but it at least gave us a starting point. It helped just to pick a place and then our gut reaction will tell us whether or not we really wanted that or if we had our heart set on something else. But often times it's just that first pick that is the hardest.
We were in the cereal aisle in Publix the other week and we were doing "pick a number" and an old lady walked by and said "you guys must be young". She said some other things too but I can't remember exactly, but in talking with her she was just flummoxed that we were as old as we were and playing "pick a number" to make decisions. OK so we wouldn't do that if we were, say, buying a house or deciding on where to live. But Frosted Flakes or Fruit Loops? Perfect. What movie to go see? Perfect. Tombstone pizza or leftover spaghetti? Perfect!
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