Monday, February 25, 2008
Kids say the darndest things...about Star Wars?
I don't care what you say, this is the cutest thing ever. Ok, maybe not ever, but it's right up there. If you have a minute and a half, it'll make you smile...unless you're a heartless, Star Wars hater.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
PMD
1) Overheard at work last week: Three of us went to lunch and it took about 45 minutes for all of us to be available at the same time. In the car, I complained about the delay when...
D: "Yeah, a lot of weird stuff has been going around lately."
Me: "What do you mean?"
D: "Today...today just sucks so much balls."
(laughter)
Me: "How are those related? Wait, don't answer that."
2) If you have five minutes to kill, watch this clip of a prank several Phillies players, coaches, and media members played on 2nd-year pitcher Kyle Kendrick. I'm not usually a fan of cruel pranks...but this one is pretty funny.
3) Laundry. Sucks. What sucks more is when machines in my apartment building are broken and I can't do it on the day I want/need to and that leads to me running out of clothes and having to do laundry another night when I should have hung out with friends.
Is it wrong to expect things to do what they're supposed to? I mean really: cars should always run, people should always be nice, and I should win the lottery without buying a ticket.
4) Here is an "optimistic" look at the Twins' as they enter spring training, written by. The graphic about our Santana-less pitching stats...is unsettling. Hopefully Livan Hernandez can win 30 games...ok, 10. Do I hear 10?
5) So my first eHarmony date is lined up for this weekend. I'm excited and honestly only a tiny bit nervous. I've been on blind dates before and this is pretty close to the same thing. Sure, we've jumped through the eHarmony hoops, emailed each other a bunch, and I know what she looks like, but the first meeting/date always answers a lot of the big questions you can't ask in an email. Is there any chemistry? What is her sense of humor like and do ours click? What about her general attitude and demeanor? You can only answer those questions after meeting someone in person and it will either work or not. (shrug)
The reason I bring this up is this (hopefully I don't sound like a complete ass here): now that I have a date lined up, how do I handle the other women I'm talking to through eHarmony? I've been dragging my feet with several others simply because I knew a date was imminent with the aforementioned person and I don't feel it's right to juggle several potential dates at the same time whether the people involved know it or not. I'd rather not continue stalling until I know how this date turns out...but if it does work, then I would feel bad for semi-stringing people along. I don't know. I guess the fact that everyone on the site is there for the same reason and might be doing exactly the same thing (I'm not so naive that I think I'm the only guy these women are talking to) means that it might not be so bad if I juggle a few at the same time. I guess I'm just not up on acceptable online dating etiquette.
Thoughts? Is it better to be the guy who doesn't respond for a week or the guy who suddenly breaks off contact after communicating back and forth a few times?
6) PMD goes international! Sitemeter showed that someone connected to my blog from Dubai, UAE. I thought it was my currently-deployed buddy who is in UAE, but a little digging showed that the anonymous person used the Icerocket blog search engine and followed a link here. So...apparently my "private" blog isn't private. Alrighty then!
(Update: Haha, I'm a dumbass. Apparently there is a Blogger setting called "
D: "Yeah, a lot of weird stuff has been going around lately."
Me: "What do you mean?"
D: "Today...today just sucks so much balls."
Me: "How are those related? Wait, don't answer that."
2) If you have five minutes to kill, watch this clip of a prank several Phillies players, coaches, and media members played on 2nd-year pitcher
3) Laundry. Sucks. What sucks more is when machines in my apartment building are broken and I can't do it on the day I want/need to and that leads to me running out of clothes and having to do laundry another night when I should have hung out with friends.
Is it wrong to expect things to do what they're supposed to? I mean really: cars should always run, people should always be nice, and I should win the lottery without buying a ticket.
4) Here is an "optimistic" look at the Twins' as they enter spring training, written by
5) So my first eHarmony date is lined up for this weekend. I'm excited and honestly only a tiny bit nervous. I've been on blind dates before and this is pretty close to the same thing. Sure, we've jumped through the eHarmony hoops, emailed each other a bunch, and I know what she looks like, but the first meeting/date always answers a lot of the big questions you can't ask in an email. Is there any chemistry? What is her sense of humor like and do ours click? What about her general attitude and demeanor? You can only answer those questions after meeting someone in person and it will either work or not. (shrug)
The reason I bring this up is this (hopefully I don't sound like a complete ass here): now that I have a date lined up, how do I handle the other women I'm talking to through eHarmony? I've been dragging my feet with several others simply because I knew a date was imminent with the aforementioned person and I don't feel it's right to juggle several potential dates at the same time whether the people involved know it or not. I'd rather not continue stalling until I know how this date turns out...but if it does work, then I would feel bad for semi-stringing people along. I don't know. I guess the fact that everyone on the site is there for the same reason and might be doing exactly the same thing (I'm not so naive that I think I'm the only guy these women are talking to) means that it might not be so bad if I juggle a few at the same time. I guess I'm just not up on acceptable online dating etiquette.
Thoughts? Is it better to be the guy who doesn't respond for a week or the guy who suddenly breaks off contact after communicating back and forth a few times?
6) PMD goes international! Sitemeter showed that someone connected to my blog from Dubai, UAE. I thought it was my currently-deployed buddy who is in UAE, but a little digging showed that the anonymous person used the Icerocket blog search engine and followed a link here. So...apparently my "private" blog isn't private. Alrighty then!
(Update: Haha, I'm a dumbass. Apparently there is a Blogger setting called "
Thursday, February 14, 2008
PMD
1) Happy VD everyone. ;) Big hearts all around. Make sure that today you do things you should do every other day, but with more candy and teddy bears. That's the point, right?
2) I laughed pretty hard this morning when, on the way to work, the first song that came up on my ipod was this. It's a heartwarming tale of loss...and repayment, just in time for Valentine's Day.
3) You know... this movie might not be too bad after all.
4) I was able to chat with my currently-deployed friend yesterday for about half an hour. It was really nice to catch up. He should be home in about a month, which is pretty sweet.
He made me search the googles for this video, which was made by two guys at his base a few rotations ago. This is why, this is why, this is why they made it.
5) For you geeks and movie geeks out there, check out this Popular Science article about a few movie scenes and the physics behind them. Needless to say, I'm shocked that Armageddon was fake. Shocked! #6 always bugs me too and it's refreshing when movies or tv shows get it right (note: Firefly got it right. I still need to post about that show...).
6) Here are the new spots featuring Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell, "Semi-Pro") for "the finest, street-legal anti-perspirant you can get outside of Mexico that's not poisonous." Solid. ("Number Two" is my favorite.)
2) I laughed pretty hard this morning when, on the way to work, the first song that came up on my ipod was this. It's a heartwarming tale of loss...and repayment, just in time for Valentine's Day.
3) You know... this movie might not be too bad after all.
4) I was able to chat with my currently-deployed friend yesterday for about half an hour. It was really nice to catch up. He should be home in about a month, which is pretty sweet.
He made me search the googles for this video, which was made by two guys at his base a few rotations ago. This is why, this is why, this is why they made it.
5) For you geeks and movie geeks out there, check out this Popular Science article about a few movie scenes and the physics behind them. Needless to say, I'm shocked that Armageddon was fake. Shocked! #6 always bugs me too and it's refreshing when movies or tv shows get it right (note: Firefly got it right. I still need to post about that show...).
6) Here are the new spots featuring Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell, "Semi-Pro") for "the finest, street-legal anti-perspirant you can get outside of Mexico that's not poisonous." Solid. ("Number Two" is my favorite.)
Monday, February 11, 2008
More cowbell
I had a fever last week and the only prescription was...well, you get the idea. So I've been a lil' sick. I started feeling sick Monday night before my friend and I finally flew back on Tuesday. I stayed home from work the rest of the week.
What did I do? Oh I did tons of stuff. I slept, I napped, I dosed off on the couch watching tv, I...well, you get the idea. I coughed a lot too. A LOT. Lots of the whole body, deep chest coughs. So much fun. I had a 102 fever for a few days that went away on Wednesday or Thursday, then I just had the coughing to deal with. I barely ate anything all week. I drank a carton of OJ Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but didn't eat more than a bagel or a few pieces of toast each day. Good times. I also missed out on a friend's birthday bar crawl on Friday, which was a bummer.
I did get a lot of good tv/movie watching done. I watched:
1) The Godfather - I finally watched it in one sitting and it was great. #2 is up next.
2) Firefly - the entire series, commentaries and extras on the dvd set. This is hands down the best show that no one saw. Fox butchered this show so completely that...I'll post something about it later. Anyway, Joss Whedon is a genius and I'll watch anything he writes, creates, or directs.
3) The USA-Mexico friendly - we looked ok at best: terrible marking at times, but at least we got away with a tie
4) The England-Switzerland friendly - England looked their usual boring selves, which is surprising because they are so stacked. David Bentley did do a surprisingly good job taking over for another famous David. I would be shocked if he didn't get a few more caps in the coming international games.
5) Band of Brothers on the History channel - what a phenomenal miniseries. If you haven't seen it, see it.
6) Saving Private Ryan - Again, if you haven't seen it, see it.
What is weird about the whole thing is that I rarely get sick. Rarely. When I do, I rarely am out of commission for the better part of a week. Yet this time I was wrecked. Just wrecked. I guess I was just due for a big one.
Today will be interesting. My first day back at work after 10 fun-filled days off (including weekends). I still have next to no appetite and haven't had to speak much in the last week...but hey, I'm sure I won't have to speak at work. Hmm...ah nerts.
What did I do? Oh I did tons of stuff. I slept, I napped, I dosed off on the couch watching tv, I...well, you get the idea. I coughed a lot too. A LOT. Lots of the whole body, deep chest coughs. So much fun. I had a 102 fever for a few days that went away on Wednesday or Thursday, then I just had the coughing to deal with. I barely ate anything all week. I drank a carton of OJ Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but didn't eat more than a bagel or a few pieces of toast each day. Good times. I also missed out on a friend's birthday bar crawl on Friday, which was a bummer.
I did get a lot of good tv/movie watching done. I watched:
1) The Godfather - I finally watched it in one sitting and it was great. #2 is up next.
2) Firefly - the entire series, commentaries and extras on the dvd set. This is hands down the best show that no one saw. Fox butchered this show so completely that...I'll post something about it later. Anyway, Joss Whedon is a genius and I'll watch anything he writes, creates, or directs.
3) The USA-Mexico friendly - we looked ok at best: terrible marking at times, but at least we got away with a tie
4) The England-Switzerland friendly - England looked their usual boring selves, which is surprising because they are so stacked. David Bentley did do a surprisingly good job taking over for another famous David. I would be shocked if he didn't get a few more caps in the coming international games.
5) Band of Brothers on the History channel - what a phenomenal miniseries. If you haven't seen it, see it.
6) Saving Private Ryan - Again, if you haven't seen it, see it.
What is weird about the whole thing is that I rarely get sick. Rarely. When I do, I rarely am out of commission for the better part of a week. Yet this time I was wrecked. Just wrecked. I guess I was just due for a big one.
Today will be interesting. My first day back at work after 10 fun-filled days off (including weekends). I still have next to no appetite and haven't had to speak much in the last week...but hey, I'm sure I won't have to speak at work. Hmm...ah nerts.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Weekend travel recap
Friday
1) Well I already mentioned the fun with the flight cancellations and such on Friday so I won't rehash it. However, because of the cancellation, we had the pleasure of being thoroughly searched at airport security. Apparently they randomly select people who have changed flights in the last 24 hours. So...we got the pat down, the thorough bag search, and the dreaded "rear admiral"...ok, not the last part. Anyway, it was relatively painless. The people were very nice and just doing there job so we couldn't complain.
2) We finally landed around 11:30 and were greeted by three lovely ladies who were willing to leave the fun and pick us up. We arrived at our destination around midnight, hugged everyone, grabbed a beer...and I was quickly recruited to play Rock Band. I must say...it's a very fun game. It's as good as Guitar Hero, but adds other elements (drums and vocals) that make it fun for more people. We played that for probably three hours and finally went to bed around 3:30 or 4.
Saturday
1) Needless to say, we slept in a bit. It took a few hours for everyone to wake up, clean up, and get ready to head out. We grabbed some brunch and played more Rock Band. At this point, a lot of us started playing on expert. Very fun. Some things were impossibly fast or difficult (at times it looked like someone had just vomited on the screen lol) but trying and failing was a good laugh too.
The thing that annoyed me the most was the drums. I play the drums and honestly, once you know the basics, you can play almost anything. What annoyed me about Rock Band was that the expert levels just added more "notes" that weren't necessarily in the actual song. Songs I know how to play suddenly had tons of extra bass drum "notes" or other parts. It was pretty frustrating because not only did you have to play those extra things, but the song being played back to you was the actual song so the parts didn't match up. That probably doesn't make much sense but trust me, it was very strange. :)
Sunday
1) More sleeping in, more Rock Band. Good times.
2) We watched the Super Bowl and the lame commercials (only one or two good ones). The game was pretty good because it was close. I was surprised the Patriots decided not to kick a field goal in the third quarter. You can always second guess things, but points on the board is points on the board.
Monday
1) If Friday wasn't enough of a hassle, our connecting flight home today was canceled. Chicago is still recovering from Friday and it's snowing in Minnesota. We could have flown to Chicago but the flights to Minnesota are either booked or canceled. Good times. The best they could do was put us on a direct flight from Knoxville to Minneapolis tomorrow morning. Oh well, at least I get the day off tomorrow lol. Hopefully the snow in Minnesota doesn't mess anything up...
2) One of my friends at work is a huge, HUGE reader. He reads a ton of books. I asked him for some recommendations and he lent me Killing Floor by Lee Child. I've blown through over 300 pages of it so far, which is fast for me...but then again I didn't expect to spend so much time in airports and on planes this weekend lol. I should finish it today.
Anyway, the book is fantastic so far. It's a detective-type story with a tough, calculating main character. If you aren't completely hooked after two chapters, give up. I will be shocked if it isn't made into a movie in the next 5 years. Shocked.
3) I didn't take any pictures, but others did. I'll probably have some to share later.
1) Well I already mentioned the fun with the flight cancellations and such on Friday so I won't rehash it. However, because of the cancellation, we had the pleasure of being thoroughly searched at airport security. Apparently they randomly select people who have changed flights in the last 24 hours. So...we got the pat down, the thorough bag search, and the dreaded "rear admiral"...ok, not the last part. Anyway, it was relatively painless. The people were very nice and just doing there job so we couldn't complain.
2) We finally landed around 11:30 and were greeted by three lovely ladies who were willing to leave the fun and pick us up. We arrived at our destination around midnight, hugged everyone, grabbed a beer...and I was quickly recruited to play Rock Band. I must say...it's a very fun game. It's as good as Guitar Hero, but adds other elements (drums and vocals) that make it fun for more people. We played that for probably three hours and finally went to bed around 3:30 or 4.
Saturday
1) Needless to say, we slept in a bit. It took a few hours for everyone to wake up, clean up, and get ready to head out. We grabbed some brunch and played more Rock Band. At this point, a lot of us started playing on expert. Very fun. Some things were impossibly fast or difficult (at times it looked like someone had just vomited on the screen lol) but trying and failing was a good laugh too.
The thing that annoyed me the most was the drums. I play the drums and honestly, once you know the basics, you can play almost anything. What annoyed me about Rock Band was that the expert levels just added more "notes" that weren't necessarily in the actual song. Songs I know how to play suddenly had tons of extra bass drum "notes" or other parts. It was pretty frustrating because not only did you have to play those extra things, but the song being played back to you was the actual song so the parts didn't match up. That probably doesn't make much sense but trust me, it was very strange. :)
Sunday
1) More sleeping in, more Rock Band. Good times.
2) We watched the Super Bowl and the lame commercials (only one or two good ones). The game was pretty good because it was close. I was surprised the Patriots decided not to kick a field goal in the third quarter. You can always second guess things, but points on the board is points on the board.
Monday
1) If Friday wasn't enough of a hassle, our connecting flight home today was canceled. Chicago is still recovering from Friday and it's snowing in Minnesota. We could have flown to Chicago but the flights to Minnesota are either booked or canceled. Good times. The best they could do was put us on a direct flight from Knoxville to Minneapolis tomorrow morning. Oh well, at least I get the day off tomorrow lol. Hopefully the snow in Minnesota doesn't mess anything up...
2) One of my friends at work is a huge, HUGE reader. He reads a ton of books. I asked him for some recommendations and he lent me Killing Floor by Lee Child. I've blown through over 300 pages of it so far, which is fast for me...but then again I didn't expect to spend so much time in airports and on planes this weekend lol. I should finish it today.
Anyway, the book is fantastic so far. It's a detective-type story with a tough, calculating main character. If you aren't completely hooked after two chapters, give up. I will be shocked if it isn't made into a movie in the next 5 years. Shocked.
3) I didn't take any pictures, but others did. I'll probably have some to share later.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Traveling PMD
1) A friend and I were supposed to leave on a flight to Knoxville (connect in Chicago) this morning at 11:30. However at about 7:45 I got an automated call saying the flight had been cancelled. Lovely! Chicago had a bunch of snow last night and this morning. The recording said they had placed us on a flight tomorrow that would arrive in Knoxville at 6:30 pm...um unacceptable! So I called United's super awesome hotline...which deserves it's own item lol.
2) I went through the automated crap at the beginning and after about 15 minutes on hold, I finally was able to speak to someone. I asked if there were any other flights leaving this afternoon or tonight because tomorrow really didn't work for us. (I didn't feel like spending over $300 for basically a day and a half trip lol) Holding...with totally awesome music. More on that later in #3.
Initially the person said that "everything was full" so she could only get us on the flight tomorrow they had suggested. I said "Really? Hmm...fine" and she put me on hold again to transfer the reservation. When she came back, I asked if there were any other airlines that could get us there today (Thanks to those of you gmail folk who suggested I ask that lol. I've never had a flight cancelled on me, ok? I didn't know what they could do) More holding.
She came back from hold and said that there was a US Airways flight with a connect in Charlotte, NC that would get us to Knoxville around 11:30 tonight. I said "that'll do pig." (ok I didn't, but funny, right?) She has to do some more work transferring the reservation to US Airways, but instead of putting me on hold, she goes to the "chit-chat" script and says "so how are you doing today Mr. Bow-skit?" Lol. Good times. I said, "I'm doing well now that we've found a better flight. Thanks for your help." Yadda, yadda, bullshit, bullshit. Gotta treat customer service/support people nicely! :) I said, "You must be getting a lot of calls with the bad weather in Chicago." She said, "yes, but none as sweet as you." Lol....allllrighty then. Time to hang up. Apparently I can mack on United customer service people without trying...does that skill transfer to something useful?
3) I must say that the hold music was terrible. (What hold music is good?) This was bad, though. It was the United Airlines theme song (Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin - if you don't recall it, go here and listen to the Fantasia clip. At 11:40, you'll recognize the part used in the commercials) but fuzzy and with what I think were airplane takeoff noises over the top of it. It was just horrible. It sounded more like airplanes crashing with a hint of classical music...probably not the direction they should go in.
4) I can't check in for the new flight yet, but I called US Airways and confirmed the reservation. I'm cautiously optimistic that this will all work out lol.
5) One item from earlier in the week: When I left for work Tuesday morning, the thermometer in my car had a reading of 19 degrees as I left my garage. By the time I went two blocks, it was -6 and by the time I got to work it was -14. Here's what made me laugh, though: when it's cold and there is ice on or near the thermometer, the gauge inside the car will flash the word "ICE" between temperature readings. I immediately thought it would be awesome if I looked over again and it said "GO HOME" or "TURN AROUND." Like that X-Files episode where that guy saw words in electronics urging him to kill people...ok, not EXACTLY like that... But it made me laugh on the way to work, which is a good thing.
6) First good thing to come of this: Thanks to MizStizzle, I was able to pick up some Mike Doughty tickets that my brother was unable to because they went on sale when he had class. He normally has no class, so this was a rarity...wakka wakka wakka.
7) More updates from the trip con pictures to come throughout the weekend if I feel like it. :) I know you'll all be anxiously awaiting them.
2) I went through the automated crap at the beginning and after about 15 minutes on hold, I finally was able to speak to someone. I asked if there were any other flights leaving this afternoon or tonight because tomorrow really didn't work for us. (I didn't feel like spending over $300 for basically a day and a half trip lol) Holding...with totally awesome music. More on that later in #3.
Initially the person said that "everything was full" so she could only get us on the flight tomorrow they had suggested. I said "Really? Hmm...fine" and she put me on hold again to transfer the reservation. When she came back, I asked if there were any other airlines that could get us there today (Thanks to those of you gmail folk who suggested I ask that lol. I've never had a flight cancelled on me, ok? I didn't know what they could do) More holding.
She came back from hold and said that there was a US Airways flight with a connect in Charlotte, NC that would get us to Knoxville around 11:30 tonight. I said "that'll do pig." (ok I didn't, but funny, right?) She has to do some more work transferring the reservation to US Airways, but instead of putting me on hold, she goes to the "chit-chat" script and says "so how are you doing today Mr. Bow-skit?" Lol. Good times. I said, "I'm doing well now that we've found a better flight. Thanks for your help." Yadda, yadda, bullshit, bullshit. Gotta treat customer service/support people nicely! :) I said, "You must be getting a lot of calls with the bad weather in Chicago." She said, "yes, but none as sweet as you." Lol....allllrighty then. Time to hang up. Apparently I can mack on United customer service people without trying...does that skill transfer to something useful?
3) I must say that the hold music was terrible. (What hold music is good?) This was bad, though. It was the United Airlines theme song (Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin - if you don't recall it, go here and listen to the Fantasia clip. At 11:40, you'll recognize the part used in the commercials) but fuzzy and with what I think were airplane takeoff noises over the top of it. It was just horrible. It sounded more like airplanes crashing with a hint of classical music...probably not the direction they should go in.
4) I can't check in for the new flight yet, but I called US Airways and confirmed the reservation. I'm cautiously optimistic that this will all work out lol.
5) One item from earlier in the week: When I left for work Tuesday morning, the thermometer in my car had a reading of 19 degrees as I left my garage. By the time I went two blocks, it was -6 and by the time I got to work it was -14. Here's what made me laugh, though: when it's cold and there is ice on or near the thermometer, the gauge inside the car will flash the word "ICE" between temperature readings. I immediately thought it would be awesome if I looked over again and it said "GO HOME" or "TURN AROUND." Like that X-Files episode where that guy saw words in electronics urging him to kill people...ok, not EXACTLY like that... But it made me laugh on the way to work, which is a good thing.
6) First good thing to come of this: Thanks to MizStizzle, I was able to pick up some Mike Doughty tickets that my brother was unable to because they went on sale when he had class. He normally has no class, so this was a rarity...wakka wakka wakka.
7) More updates from the trip con pictures to come throughout the weekend if I feel like it. :) I know you'll all be anxiously awaiting them.
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