Friday, February 27, 2004
Bill Gates came to CMU this week. I don't particularly like the guy, but he either has a good sense of humor or a support staff that is really good and the wisdom to listen to them. I especially like his spam jokes. And it sounds like he's smart enough to take Linux seriously without attacking its supporters or taking them personally.
Luck isn't on Terrell Owens's side these days. First of all, this year's draft is strong with receivers, so NFL teams are more likely to try to draft one rather than pay heavily for a free agent, especially one that has the "locker room problem" tag on him. Now this. Maybe Owens can take his sharpie and sign himself a new agent.
Now that the "Sex and the City" hype is over, "The Sopranos" hype is starting. This is the first season that has premiered since I've seen all the previous episodes.
Last year, the promotional art had all the family in a bar. In a interview later in the season, one of the actresses explained secrets hidden in the picture. For example, she pointed out that Ralphie showed no reflection in the mirror, which was a clue that he was going to die during the season.
This year's art has the family standing on or around a boat sitting on the shore of the river. Now, I imagine that who is in the boat and who is standing outside the boat probably has some significance, but I can't tell you what. I can tell you the theory about the dead bodies lying in front of the boat. Three of the bodies are of recognizable characters who were killed in previoius seasons. They are Ralphie (whose corpse has remarkably came back together), Gloria Trillo, and Big Pussy. There are also three dead bodies with their faces turned away so they can't be recognized. The middle one, though, I think looks like Adriana. Interesting enough, Adriana is also sitting in the boat. Now if one of the bodies is a name character, then the other ones probably are too. The one on the left could be Meadow. The one to the right looks like a older gentleman. It could be Carmine, Uncle Junior, or even Paulie. Since Adriana and Meadow are also alive in the picture, I'd eliminate Carmine because he isn't in the picture. So it's my theory that Adriana, Meadow, and either Uncle Junior or Paulie is going to die this year. It's not that big of a stretch. Adriana is being forced to work for the feds. Uncle Junior has almost died in the past from both medical problems and disagreements with Tony. Paulie has been drifting away from Tony, giving inside info to Johnny Sack. So, it's easy to see all of them dead. Meadow would be a shock, but she could easily be killed as a innocent bystander.
By the way, Steve Buscemi, who directed a couple of episodes in the past, is going to be on the screen this year. I just hope he doesn't get killed off too quickly. I can't wait to see what type of character he is. The only thing that has been let known about his character is that he's a family guy who just gets released from prison.
Last year, the promotional art had all the family in a bar. In a interview later in the season, one of the actresses explained secrets hidden in the picture. For example, she pointed out that Ralphie showed no reflection in the mirror, which was a clue that he was going to die during the season.
This year's art has the family standing on or around a boat sitting on the shore of the river. Now, I imagine that who is in the boat and who is standing outside the boat probably has some significance, but I can't tell you what. I can tell you the theory about the dead bodies lying in front of the boat. Three of the bodies are of recognizable characters who were killed in previoius seasons. They are Ralphie (whose corpse has remarkably came back together), Gloria Trillo, and Big Pussy. There are also three dead bodies with their faces turned away so they can't be recognized. The middle one, though, I think looks like Adriana. Interesting enough, Adriana is also sitting in the boat. Now if one of the bodies is a name character, then the other ones probably are too. The one on the left could be Meadow. The one to the right looks like a older gentleman. It could be Carmine, Uncle Junior, or even Paulie. Since Adriana and Meadow are also alive in the picture, I'd eliminate Carmine because he isn't in the picture. So it's my theory that Adriana, Meadow, and either Uncle Junior or Paulie is going to die this year. It's not that big of a stretch. Adriana is being forced to work for the feds. Uncle Junior has almost died in the past from both medical problems and disagreements with Tony. Paulie has been drifting away from Tony, giving inside info to Johnny Sack. So, it's easy to see all of them dead. Meadow would be a shock, but she could easily be killed as a innocent bystander.
By the way, Steve Buscemi, who directed a couple of episodes in the past, is going to be on the screen this year. I just hope he doesn't get killed off too quickly. I can't wait to see what type of character he is. The only thing that has been let known about his character is that he's a family guy who just gets released from prison.
There was a discussion on Joe's blog after the all-star game about the Star-Spangled Banner. Well, here is a great column about the national anthem from SI's Dr. Z that deals pretty much with just the length.
John Kerry walks into a bar. The bartender asks "Why the long face?"
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
The guy who runs my church's email newsletter sent these around. Rather than bothering people by forwarding through email, I'm posting them here.
----------------------------------------
The Pretty Lady
Once upon a time a big monk and a little monk were traveling
together. They came to the bank of a river and found the bridge
was damaged. They had to wade across the river. There was a pretty lady who was stuck at the damaged bridge and couldn't cross the river. The big monk offered to carry the pretty lady across the river on his back. The lady accepted.
The little monk was shocked by the move of the big monk. "How can big disciple brother carry a lady when we are supposed to avoid all
intimacy with females?" thought the little monk. But he kept quiet.
The big monk carried the lady across the river and the small monk
followed unhappily.When they crossed the river, the big monk let the lady down and they parted ways with her.
All along the way for several miles, the little monk was making up
all kinds of accusations about the big monk in his head. This got him madder and madder. But he still kept quiet. And the big monk had no inclination to explain his situation.
Finally, at a rest point many hours later, the little monk could not stand it any further, he burst out angrily at the big monk. "How can you claim yourself a devout monk, when you seize the
first opportunity to touch a female, especially when she is very pretty?
All your teachings to me make you a big hypocrite." The big monk
looked surprised and said, "I had put down the pretty lady at the
river bank many hours ago, how come you are still carrying her
along?"
[This very old story reflects the thinking of many people today.
We encounter many unpleasant things in our life, they irritate
us and they make us angry. Sometimes, they cause us a lot of hurt,
sometimes they cause us to be bitter or jealous. But like the little monk, we are not willing to let them go away. We keep on carrying the baggage of the "pretty lady" with us. We let them keep on coming back to hurt us, make us angry, make us bitter and cause us a lot of agony. Why? Simply because we are not willing to put down or let go of the baggage of the "pretty lady". We should let go of the pretty lady immediately after crossing the river, immediately after the unpleasant event is over. This will immediately remove all our agonies. There is no need to be further hurt by the unpleasant event after it is over. It is just that simple.]
The Frogs
A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he
could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and
asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer
replied, "There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs ---
millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!"
So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the
farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a timefor the next several weeks.
The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, "Well...where are all the frogs?" The farmer said, "I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!"
[Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you,
remember,it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember
that problems always seem bigger in the dark. Have you ever laid in
your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost
overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.]
The Turtles
A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. Turtles, being naturally
slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing.
Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place for their outing. During the second year of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last! For about six months they cleaned up the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements.
Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without
salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy
discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell.
He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he
returned. The family consented and the little turtle left. Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years... six years... then on the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he
was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich.
At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a
tree shouting, "SEE! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt."
[Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our
expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we don't do anything ourselves.]
The human heart, at whatever age, opens only to the heart that opens in return.
----------------------------------------
The Pretty Lady
Once upon a time a big monk and a little monk were traveling
together. They came to the bank of a river and found the bridge
was damaged. They had to wade across the river. There was a pretty lady who was stuck at the damaged bridge and couldn't cross the river. The big monk offered to carry the pretty lady across the river on his back. The lady accepted.
The little monk was shocked by the move of the big monk. "How can big disciple brother carry a lady when we are supposed to avoid all
intimacy with females?" thought the little monk. But he kept quiet.
The big monk carried the lady across the river and the small monk
followed unhappily.When they crossed the river, the big monk let the lady down and they parted ways with her.
All along the way for several miles, the little monk was making up
all kinds of accusations about the big monk in his head. This got him madder and madder. But he still kept quiet. And the big monk had no inclination to explain his situation.
Finally, at a rest point many hours later, the little monk could not stand it any further, he burst out angrily at the big monk. "How can you claim yourself a devout monk, when you seize the
first opportunity to touch a female, especially when she is very pretty?
All your teachings to me make you a big hypocrite." The big monk
looked surprised and said, "I had put down the pretty lady at the
river bank many hours ago, how come you are still carrying her
along?"
[This very old story reflects the thinking of many people today.
We encounter many unpleasant things in our life, they irritate
us and they make us angry. Sometimes, they cause us a lot of hurt,
sometimes they cause us to be bitter or jealous. But like the little monk, we are not willing to let them go away. We keep on carrying the baggage of the "pretty lady" with us. We let them keep on coming back to hurt us, make us angry, make us bitter and cause us a lot of agony. Why? Simply because we are not willing to put down or let go of the baggage of the "pretty lady". We should let go of the pretty lady immediately after crossing the river, immediately after the unpleasant event is over. This will immediately remove all our agonies. There is no need to be further hurt by the unpleasant event after it is over. It is just that simple.]
The Frogs
A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he
could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and
asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer
replied, "There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs ---
millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!"
So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the
farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a timefor the next several weeks.
The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, "Well...where are all the frogs?" The farmer said, "I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!"
[Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you,
remember,it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember
that problems always seem bigger in the dark. Have you ever laid in
your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost
overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.]
The Turtles
A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. Turtles, being naturally
slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing.
Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place for their outing. During the second year of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last! For about six months they cleaned up the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements.
Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without
salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy
discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell.
He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he
returned. The family consented and the little turtle left. Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years... six years... then on the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he
was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich.
At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a
tree shouting, "SEE! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt."
[Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our
expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we don't do anything ourselves.]
The human heart, at whatever age, opens only to the heart that opens in return.
By the way, I just realized that for the sports talk show I do, I probably won't be on the show next week unless I call-in because I have tickets to the Pittsburgh Penguins game.
I'm currently watching Roswell season 1 on DVD. You gotta love Science Fiction. In no other genre does the geek so regularly get the girl. Of course, the geek also often dies. Sure Colin Hanks' character eventually dies (I don't remember if it's season or next), but he was dating Katherine Heigl's character at the time. There are definitely worse ways to go.
I saw Eurotrip this week. I went to see a matinee showing. I was the only one in the theatre. It was only the second time that has happened. The movie itself was pretty funny, although I'm not sure I'd want to pay full price to see it. The one thing that kept running through my mind as I watched the movie was "The guys who made this movie have never been to Europe". I've never been to Europe and even I could recognize broad stereo-types. Imagine a high-school sex comedy version of National Lampoon's European Vacation. But the biggest fault is that it didn't go far enough. If you're going to do a sex comedy, you almost have to cross every line, like the Farrelly Brothers. For example, if you're going to have a brother and sister get drunk and make out, have them take it to the limit, not just five seconds of kissing and then realization hits. The guy on the train came closest to not pulling punches. And there were some originality in the whole "Pope" sequence. The funniest moment, though, deals with Matt Damon's cameo and the running gag of a song he sings. I also have to give notice to the fact that this is the first time I've seen Michelle Trachtenberg in a role where she wasn't absolutely annoying. Overall, the movie just barely rates a "Pay Full Price" on the Tom Movie Rating scale.
I also saw Chasing Liberty at the cheap theatre. Let's just say that there wasn't much in the movie that I didn't see coming. The whole Six-Million-Dollar Man sticker thing was the only really original thing in the movie. But the movie wasn't painful to watch and Mandy Moore might be the best singer-turned-actress in recent years. It ranks a "Watch on Cable" on the Tom Movie Scale.
They shut off Chasing Liberty at the very beginning of the credits. I thought about complaining but the most that would happen would be to get my money back and it wasn't worth the trouble for a buck. I did ask the ticket taker on the way out about it and he said that the projectionist had to get new trailers on the reel before the next showing. If he didn't get the new trailers on before the next showing and the theatre chain trailer checker happen to come around for that showing, they could get in trouble. I decided not to point out that not showing credits could also get them in trouble.
I saw Eurotrip this week. I went to see a matinee showing. I was the only one in the theatre. It was only the second time that has happened. The movie itself was pretty funny, although I'm not sure I'd want to pay full price to see it. The one thing that kept running through my mind as I watched the movie was "The guys who made this movie have never been to Europe". I've never been to Europe and even I could recognize broad stereo-types. Imagine a high-school sex comedy version of National Lampoon's European Vacation. But the biggest fault is that it didn't go far enough. If you're going to do a sex comedy, you almost have to cross every line, like the Farrelly Brothers. For example, if you're going to have a brother and sister get drunk and make out, have them take it to the limit, not just five seconds of kissing and then realization hits. The guy on the train came closest to not pulling punches. And there were some originality in the whole "Pope" sequence. The funniest moment, though, deals with Matt Damon's cameo and the running gag of a song he sings. I also have to give notice to the fact that this is the first time I've seen Michelle Trachtenberg in a role where she wasn't absolutely annoying. Overall, the movie just barely rates a "Pay Full Price" on the Tom Movie Rating scale.
I also saw Chasing Liberty at the cheap theatre. Let's just say that there wasn't much in the movie that I didn't see coming. The whole Six-Million-Dollar Man sticker thing was the only really original thing in the movie. But the movie wasn't painful to watch and Mandy Moore might be the best singer-turned-actress in recent years. It ranks a "Watch on Cable" on the Tom Movie Scale.
They shut off Chasing Liberty at the very beginning of the credits. I thought about complaining but the most that would happen would be to get my money back and it wasn't worth the trouble for a buck. I did ask the ticket taker on the way out about it and he said that the projectionist had to get new trailers on the reel before the next showing. If he didn't get the new trailers on before the next showing and the theatre chain trailer checker happen to come around for that showing, they could get in trouble. I decided not to point out that not showing credits could also get them in trouble.
I made it to the radio show last night. The sports talk show has gone a little smoother this year. The guy who did most of the hosting the past couple of years can't be on the radio due to political reasons. Tristan would be the next in line to host, but Chuck has taken over the hosting duties in honor of Black History month. He has mentioned staying on as main host. I'd be for it. He keeps better control of the show than Tristan, although Tristan has gotten better since his freshman year. Anyway, anyone interest in listening to the show, it airs 10pm on Tuesdays on 88.3FM in pittsburgh or WRCT online. I'll likely be participating most weeks until I get a job.
I stayed on the CMU campus after the show last night surfing the net, mostly reading up on the Pitt basketball game and fixing something in my resume that a friend pointed out. I didn't get back to my apartment complex until after 1am. I believe I've mentioned here before that there's no parking near my actual place. I have to walk past as many as ten other apartments to get to mine. I was walking past one of them when I heard a sound. It only took a second for me to realize what it was. It was a woman voice loudly saying "oh yes oh yes...". That apartment had a light on downstairs. All the apartments have vertical blinds. The blinds were closed but I could see light coming between two of the slats. I had already walked past the windows when I stopped because I heard the noise. I'm proud to say I successly suppressed the urge to walk back and see if I could see through the blinds. Of course, it could just have well have been someone playing a porno tape really loud, but where's the fun in that.
One thing about my apartment is that the walls are pretty sound-tight. I hardly ever hear noises from the apartments I share a wall with, even the one with multiple hyperactive dogs. The only other time I heard sex noises from a neighbor's apartment was last summer and that apartment's windows were open. In last night's case, I didn't hear the sound until I was walking past the door. I don't think the doors are as solid as the walls.
I stayed on the CMU campus after the show last night surfing the net, mostly reading up on the Pitt basketball game and fixing something in my resume that a friend pointed out. I didn't get back to my apartment complex until after 1am. I believe I've mentioned here before that there's no parking near my actual place. I have to walk past as many as ten other apartments to get to mine. I was walking past one of them when I heard a sound. It only took a second for me to realize what it was. It was a woman voice loudly saying "oh yes oh yes...". That apartment had a light on downstairs. All the apartments have vertical blinds. The blinds were closed but I could see light coming between two of the slats. I had already walked past the windows when I stopped because I heard the noise. I'm proud to say I successly suppressed the urge to walk back and see if I could see through the blinds. Of course, it could just have well have been someone playing a porno tape really loud, but where's the fun in that.
One thing about my apartment is that the walls are pretty sound-tight. I hardly ever hear noises from the apartments I share a wall with, even the one with multiple hyperactive dogs. The only other time I heard sex noises from a neighbor's apartment was last summer and that apartment's windows were open. In last night's case, I didn't hear the sound until I was walking past the door. I don't think the doors are as solid as the walls.
It's late and I just wanted to do a quick update on my life the last two weeks. I'll probably log in tomorrow for some more blogging. They're fixing a water main break at my apartment complex tomorrow, so I'll be without water from 8:30am til around 2pm. I'm going to try and be up to shower before then, but if not, I might not get moving until after.
I had a job interview last week. It was for a company that does contracting for another company that works for the government, so I had to interview with both companies for the job. They rented me a car to drive down in. I picked it up on Tuesday afternoon. Since the type they reserved for me wasn't available, I got a free upgrade to a Cadillac Seville sedan with XM radio and Onstar. I didn't use the latter, but I really started to like the former. I especially like the Comedy channel. I listened to as much stand-up comedy as music on the way down and up.
I drove down to DC Wednesday morning for the interview on wednesday afternoon. I had to change into a suit in a restroom stall, but I didn't get lost at all and the interview went well. After the interview, I checked into the hotel and changed and went out to dinner with the guys from the company I interviewed with. Afterwards, I met up with Feldy, a old college buddy of mine. He is also in the computer field. We had a few drinks and talked about old times. Also, he let me know that the job market for computer guys with security clearance is better there than in Pittsburgh, so I start getting use to the idea of moving to the MD/VA area.
The next day, I drive up closer to Baltimore for the interview with the company that does the contracting. The interview also went well, although I came to realize I wasn't exactly what he wanted. Sure enough, on Friday, I get the call that my single-digit years of C experience and the fact I hadn't done any C work in my last job made them decide not to hire me. Oh well. The trip went well and the interview was good experience.
On Friday evening I picked up Bill and Ray from their jobs and we headed down to Maryland to help Robin (a former co-worker of Bill, Ray and I) move back to this area. I was never really that close to Robin, but she always seemed nice and I basicly saw it as a road trip. It's just nice to get out of the area. I had agreed to go before the interview popped up, but I saw it as two consecutive road trip.
Saturday morning, we showed up at Robin's to help load the truck. All things went considerably well. There were seven people total there, with one having to look after Robin's daughter. We weren't too badly off scheduled when we left. On the way home, I drove the car and Ray and Bill drove the truck. I decided since I would probably stop to eat the same time as they did and I had no idea where to go when we got to PA, I'd stick close to the truck. I got the pleasure of watching the whole entire truck act like a weeble-wobble everytime it hit a bump.
When we got to the destination, we had plenty of help waiting to unload the truck. Add in the fact that we were moving into a ground floor apartment with no hard-to-negotiate-turns, the truck was empty in record time. After which, we tried to get the cable to work, gave up on that, listen to the Pitt game on the radio and tried to avoid putting the computer desk back together. (Okay, the last part was just me.)
I had gotten so use to the XM radio displaying the song title and artist that on the way home from the second trip, I kept looking down at the radio everytime a new song came on.
Anyway, that's a brief update on last week. I do have news on upcoming events (like a California and Las Vegas trip for me) as well as opinions on current events (Don't blame Nader, blame the people who vote for him. Although I wouldn't even do that.)
I had a job interview last week. It was for a company that does contracting for another company that works for the government, so I had to interview with both companies for the job. They rented me a car to drive down in. I picked it up on Tuesday afternoon. Since the type they reserved for me wasn't available, I got a free upgrade to a Cadillac Seville sedan with XM radio and Onstar. I didn't use the latter, but I really started to like the former. I especially like the Comedy channel. I listened to as much stand-up comedy as music on the way down and up.
I drove down to DC Wednesday morning for the interview on wednesday afternoon. I had to change into a suit in a restroom stall, but I didn't get lost at all and the interview went well. After the interview, I checked into the hotel and changed and went out to dinner with the guys from the company I interviewed with. Afterwards, I met up with Feldy, a old college buddy of mine. He is also in the computer field. We had a few drinks and talked about old times. Also, he let me know that the job market for computer guys with security clearance is better there than in Pittsburgh, so I start getting use to the idea of moving to the MD/VA area.
The next day, I drive up closer to Baltimore for the interview with the company that does the contracting. The interview also went well, although I came to realize I wasn't exactly what he wanted. Sure enough, on Friday, I get the call that my single-digit years of C experience and the fact I hadn't done any C work in my last job made them decide not to hire me. Oh well. The trip went well and the interview was good experience.
On Friday evening I picked up Bill and Ray from their jobs and we headed down to Maryland to help Robin (a former co-worker of Bill, Ray and I) move back to this area. I was never really that close to Robin, but she always seemed nice and I basicly saw it as a road trip. It's just nice to get out of the area. I had agreed to go before the interview popped up, but I saw it as two consecutive road trip.
Saturday morning, we showed up at Robin's to help load the truck. All things went considerably well. There were seven people total there, with one having to look after Robin's daughter. We weren't too badly off scheduled when we left. On the way home, I drove the car and Ray and Bill drove the truck. I decided since I would probably stop to eat the same time as they did and I had no idea where to go when we got to PA, I'd stick close to the truck. I got the pleasure of watching the whole entire truck act like a weeble-wobble everytime it hit a bump.
When we got to the destination, we had plenty of help waiting to unload the truck. Add in the fact that we were moving into a ground floor apartment with no hard-to-negotiate-turns, the truck was empty in record time. After which, we tried to get the cable to work, gave up on that, listen to the Pitt game on the radio and tried to avoid putting the computer desk back together. (Okay, the last part was just me.)
I had gotten so use to the XM radio displaying the song title and artist that on the way home from the second trip, I kept looking down at the radio everytime a new song came on.
Anyway, that's a brief update on last week. I do have news on upcoming events (like a California and Las Vegas trip for me) as well as opinions on current events (Don't blame Nader, blame the people who vote for him. Although I wouldn't even do that.)
Saturday, February 14, 2004
By the way, I got my taxes done yesterday. I questioned whether or not it was a good idea to get taxes done on Friday the thirteenth, but everything turned out okay. Of course, if I remember right, one of the taglines used in this movie was something to the effect "Friday the 13th is bad, but Saturday the 14th is worse." I say that this month, it's more true than most.
Got good news on the job front. I have a interview next week down in Maryland. Although, my first choice would not be to relocate, if I have to relocate, Maryland is a nice place to go and it's less than a days drive from home. And the fact that I have government security clearance gives me chances for a number of jobs in the MD/DC/VA area. I have as many possibility job wise in that area as around here.
I don't want to talk too much about the position, but the only other negative about the position, besides relocating, is I'd have to wear a shirt and tie to work everyday. But, as a few members of my family have already pointed out, that might be good for me. Anyway, the shirt and tie thing is definitely not a deal breaker. I just hope they don't mind the "Dogs playing poker" tie.
I don't want to talk too much about the position, but the only other negative about the position, besides relocating, is I'd have to wear a shirt and tie to work everyday. But, as a few members of my family have already pointed out, that might be good for me. Anyway, the shirt and tie thing is definitely not a deal breaker. I just hope they don't mind the "Dogs playing poker" tie.
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
In the movie The Paper, the main character, played by Michael Keaton, says "Sometimes you can just smell a really shitty day coming." or something to that effect. It's been that kind of week for me. At least Miracle was really really good.
For those who fly in/out of pittsburgh, the pittsburgh airport has it's own website (flypittsburgh.com) to get info about the airport as well as sign up for a email newsletter that tells about cheap rates. From what I can tell, it's basically a combining of all the pittsburgh entries on all the airlines' email newsletters. Of course, as long as long as USAir dominates the airport, the cheaper rates will be at Ohio airports.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Okay, once again I didn't write down want I wanted to blog about and end up not remembering most of it. Here are some of the things I can remember.
- A phrase that I could stand never to hear again is "I can't wait til you have kids." This is in context of being said by various members of my family in my reacting to my nephew. Basically, when I'm at my parents, I don't necessarily feel like playing with my nephew. Last sunday, there was times that, despite four other adults in the house, he wanted my attention. And, at that particular time, I just wanted to relax. Instead of helping me out and distracting him for ten minutes, I get criticized for ignoring my nephew as well as a few refrains of the annoying phrase. I heard it atleast ten times on sunday and a couple more on monday. Now, the reason I find this annoying is, when I do have kids, I will be ready for stuff like having no time to relax. I won't have kids until I'm ready to handle them. I understand they're hard work. When I have kids, I'll be ready for that, or atleast as ready as I can be. For now, I don't want to hear that phrase. The person I am now is not going to be the person I am when I have kids of my own. Also, they better be able to wait til I have kids. Right now, it's a long ways off. It's quite a possibility that my dad will be over eighty years old and my mom over seventy-five years old before I have a kid.
- And there's a big controversy about the new movie The Passion of the Christ. People will say it will cause people to do violence to Jewish people and don't want it shown. Anybody who will do harm to people because of something that happened 2000 years ago are dangerous and will find a reason to do harm, even if the movie isn't even made. Most people will realize that everyone involved back then is no longer alive and you can't blame their descendents for what happened. That's like blaming German and Japanese people for stuff that happen in WWII even those who weren't alive yet. Of course, that also happens, but, aslong as a movie is reasonably accurate, it's should be allowed to be shown. Besides, trying to stop something from being shown or aired is rarely the best way to go. Suppression is rarely the best way to go. What needs to be done on any controversial issue, is to educate. Suppressed information is almost always found by those who will use it to do harm. Air it in public and run a informative campaign along with it to give people the right information.
- I didn't get around to publishing this before hand, but I'm still a regular guest on the sports talk show Tuesday nights at 10pm. You can listen to it online at WRCT's website. The rest of the time, the station airs a ecletic array of music from heavy metal to jazz to techno to real alternative as well as an occasional public affairs talk show.
- A phrase that I could stand never to hear again is "I can't wait til you have kids." This is in context of being said by various members of my family in my reacting to my nephew. Basically, when I'm at my parents, I don't necessarily feel like playing with my nephew. Last sunday, there was times that, despite four other adults in the house, he wanted my attention. And, at that particular time, I just wanted to relax. Instead of helping me out and distracting him for ten minutes, I get criticized for ignoring my nephew as well as a few refrains of the annoying phrase. I heard it atleast ten times on sunday and a couple more on monday. Now, the reason I find this annoying is, when I do have kids, I will be ready for stuff like having no time to relax. I won't have kids until I'm ready to handle them. I understand they're hard work. When I have kids, I'll be ready for that, or atleast as ready as I can be. For now, I don't want to hear that phrase. The person I am now is not going to be the person I am when I have kids of my own. Also, they better be able to wait til I have kids. Right now, it's a long ways off. It's quite a possibility that my dad will be over eighty years old and my mom over seventy-five years old before I have a kid.
- And there's a big controversy about the new movie The Passion of the Christ. People will say it will cause people to do violence to Jewish people and don't want it shown. Anybody who will do harm to people because of something that happened 2000 years ago are dangerous and will find a reason to do harm, even if the movie isn't even made. Most people will realize that everyone involved back then is no longer alive and you can't blame their descendents for what happened. That's like blaming German and Japanese people for stuff that happen in WWII even those who weren't alive yet. Of course, that also happens, but, aslong as a movie is reasonably accurate, it's should be allowed to be shown. Besides, trying to stop something from being shown or aired is rarely the best way to go. Suppression is rarely the best way to go. What needs to be done on any controversial issue, is to educate. Suppressed information is almost always found by those who will use it to do harm. Air it in public and run a informative campaign along with it to give people the right information.
- I didn't get around to publishing this before hand, but I'm still a regular guest on the sports talk show Tuesday nights at 10pm. You can listen to it online at WRCT's website. The rest of the time, the station airs a ecletic array of music from heavy metal to jazz to techno to real alternative as well as an occasional public affairs talk show.
You have just scored the game-winning basket. What are you going to do next?
I'm going to a wheelchair.
And the only thing that surprises me about this is that it doesn't happen more often.
I'm going to a wheelchair.
And the only thing that surprises me about this is that it doesn't happen more often.
Thursday, February 05, 2004
Nothing new on the job front. Alot more resumes going out this week and next. Let's hope I find something.
I was planning on writing more on the events of this weekend, but there isn't too much more to write. There's not really that much to write, now that it's been almost a week.
The super bowl party at Bill's on sunday was fun, but nothing out of the usual happened, except the stuff that happened on screen, which have pretty much have already been covered to death.
The lingerie bowl wasn't as exciting as we had thought it would be. I think it was mainly because the helmet, mouth guards and should pads took away any sexuality and even any gender away from the players from the shoulders up. Below that you had great bodies in bra and panties, but nothing you couldn't see in a underwear ad in the newspaper.
This left the football, which was pretty good considering it was 7-0n-7 with amateur players. But I don't think I saw a real pass completed. Alot of underhand tosses to the side for sweeps. I did see one player with the ball actually moving forward despite two or three opponents hanging on to her hair. That was pretty impressive. Overall, it was fun football, but not the soft-core event on the level of mud wrestling that it was advertised as.
Watching the first half, everyone was surprised how low scoring the game was. We would never have believed that new stories after the game would be saying how everyone expected a defensive battle and got the exact opposite. Everyone was talking about offensive records being broken and such. The coverage of the actual game seem to totally forget or ignore the first half. Maybe because of the all the coverage of the last seconds of the half time show, the news people didn't have time to talk about the whole game.
Before the game, Bill, Adam, and I work on the steps & sidewalk going up to his house. It was a good inch of ice. Not something easy to walk on if you don't have the right shoes and you're not experienced walking on ice. Luckily I grew up on a hill and have lived on a hill all my life, save for the year I spent in shadyside.
Saturday night, Bill, Terri, Terri's sister, Adam, and I all went to see Unbridled at a bar near where we grew up. We sat at the only table in the room where the band was playing, which was right by the speakers. Bill and I sat closest to the band and we sat enjoying the music. The other three seemed just seemed annoyed at the loudness of the country music because of the vicinity of the speaker and spent a good portion of the show was spent conversing by writing on a placemat. Being right next to the dance floor, I was convinced that I was eventually going to be hit by a line dancer who didn't realize how close to the end of the dancefloor she was, but that never happened. Anyway, the band is a really good country band, so I recommend that if you're in the western PA area and you have nothing planned, you should go see them.
The super bowl party at Bill's on sunday was fun, but nothing out of the usual happened, except the stuff that happened on screen, which have pretty much have already been covered to death.
The lingerie bowl wasn't as exciting as we had thought it would be. I think it was mainly because the helmet, mouth guards and should pads took away any sexuality and even any gender away from the players from the shoulders up. Below that you had great bodies in bra and panties, but nothing you couldn't see in a underwear ad in the newspaper.
This left the football, which was pretty good considering it was 7-0n-7 with amateur players. But I don't think I saw a real pass completed. Alot of underhand tosses to the side for sweeps. I did see one player with the ball actually moving forward despite two or three opponents hanging on to her hair. That was pretty impressive. Overall, it was fun football, but not the soft-core event on the level of mud wrestling that it was advertised as.
Watching the first half, everyone was surprised how low scoring the game was. We would never have believed that new stories after the game would be saying how everyone expected a defensive battle and got the exact opposite. Everyone was talking about offensive records being broken and such. The coverage of the actual game seem to totally forget or ignore the first half. Maybe because of the all the coverage of the last seconds of the half time show, the news people didn't have time to talk about the whole game.
Before the game, Bill, Adam, and I work on the steps & sidewalk going up to his house. It was a good inch of ice. Not something easy to walk on if you don't have the right shoes and you're not experienced walking on ice. Luckily I grew up on a hill and have lived on a hill all my life, save for the year I spent in shadyside.
Saturday night, Bill, Terri, Terri's sister, Adam, and I all went to see Unbridled at a bar near where we grew up. We sat at the only table in the room where the band was playing, which was right by the speakers. Bill and I sat closest to the band and we sat enjoying the music. The other three seemed just seemed annoyed at the loudness of the country music because of the vicinity of the speaker and spent a good portion of the show was spent conversing by writing on a placemat. Being right next to the dance floor, I was convinced that I was eventually going to be hit by a line dancer who didn't realize how close to the end of the dancefloor she was, but that never happened. Anyway, the band is a really good country band, so I recommend that if you're in the western PA area and you have nothing planned, you should go see them.
Okay, I got this map from Craig via Joe. They used the rule that you have to eat in a state to count it. However, in the two drives down to florida, one drive across the country and a bustrip from NYC to Boston, I can't recall which states we stopped in. For example, I know my brother and I stopped long enough in Utah to take pictures at the great salt lake, but I don't believe we ate there. In the past, whenever I tried figuring out states I've visited, when the only visit(s) to a state are stopovers at airports and you don't leave the airport, it doesn't count. It becomes a factor for me with Texas, Minnesota, and Michigan. But driving through a state, once again, becomes a question, because I can't remember which states we stopped for rest breaks and/or gas.
So, my map is based on a more strict idea. The below map is of all the states where I've slept at least one night and sleeping in a moving vehicle doesn't count.
create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide
So, my map is based on a more strict idea. The below map is of all the states where I've slept at least one night and sleeping in a moving vehicle doesn't count.
create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide
This has left me to a interesting result. I've been to West Virginia a million times. We went through there when I was young going to Sea World in Ohio most summers. I've been there to gamble, to ski, and even to play rugby, but I've apparently never spent the night in West Virginia. And considering I just watched Wrong Turn on dvd, it might be a good thing. And although I've been to WV many times and can't count it, I've been to Missouri, Colorado, and Oregon for less than 24 hours each and I do count them.
As for the country counter map, I'm not even going to do that. I've been out of the country three times, with only one of those trips being for over 24 hours. When I was in middle school, my family vacationed in California and we took a short trip into Tijuana. When I was in high school, I took about a week long trip to Mexico City, Taxco, and Acapulco. And just after finishing college, I spent New Years Eve in Niagara Falls, Canada. So, I've never been outside of North America. I don't find this too much of a negative as I've done plenty of traveling in the U.S. and I'd love to do even more.
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Okay, I don't have too much time to talk right now, so I'm going to try to get on later tonight and write about the super bowl and Bill's party. For now, just let me say that this article is a good reflection on the lingerie bowl.
The thing that really annoys me about presidential elections, and I've probably mentioned it before, is that I won't have any say in the primary. I heard a political commentator talking on tv a couple weeks ago about how it could be until mid-March that the democratic Presidential nominee is decided. It was said in such a way that that scenario would be the most drawn out. So, in any conceivable case, the democratic nominee will be decided by mid-March. Pennsylvania's primary is in late April. So unless something unusual happens, my vote will not matter when I go to the polls in April.
At least this year isn't quite as bad as 2000. Then, both parties were trying to decide their nominees and the two guys I didn't like had beaten out the two guys I liked a full month before I could vote. In Pa, independents can't vote for party candidates in primaries, which is why I'm registered democrat, and you have to register something like two months in advance. So, if I had wanted to vote for McCain for the republican nominee, for example, I would have had to change my party affiliation just to find out that the nomination was tied up. This year, the difference is, I actually like the front runner, although I'm not completely sold on him. I also like what I've seen of Joe Lieberman as well as some of the other candidates. If more than one candidate is standing in mid-April, I'll do my research then and pick one.
To get back to the main topic of this entry, there is talk, including from Governor Rendell, to try and move the Pennsylvania primary to a earlier date. There's one problem with that, but it's a big one. All the other states will then move their primaries. Thus, we'll have the same result, only earlier. And the election season already starts too early, in my opinion. The only good results would be for the states to get together and plan a primary season that is arranged so every vote has a chance to count, but is not so compact that the candidates have to skip a significant amount of states.
At least this year isn't quite as bad as 2000. Then, both parties were trying to decide their nominees and the two guys I didn't like had beaten out the two guys I liked a full month before I could vote. In Pa, independents can't vote for party candidates in primaries, which is why I'm registered democrat, and you have to register something like two months in advance. So, if I had wanted to vote for McCain for the republican nominee, for example, I would have had to change my party affiliation just to find out that the nomination was tied up. This year, the difference is, I actually like the front runner, although I'm not completely sold on him. I also like what I've seen of Joe Lieberman as well as some of the other candidates. If more than one candidate is standing in mid-April, I'll do my research then and pick one.
To get back to the main topic of this entry, there is talk, including from Governor Rendell, to try and move the Pennsylvania primary to a earlier date. There's one problem with that, but it's a big one. All the other states will then move their primaries. Thus, we'll have the same result, only earlier. And the election season already starts too early, in my opinion. The only good results would be for the states to get together and plan a primary season that is arranged so every vote has a chance to count, but is not so compact that the candidates have to skip a significant amount of states.
