I got a cold.
Yes, it's my own damn fault, but I blame Yolie and Jimmy. They suprise me Christmas eve and I go walking outside (in 40 degree temps) wearing nothing more than sandals and a t-shirt and shorts.
After all, thats what I was wearing to bed when I was woken up by Yolie.
I need to hit the stores now that the after holiday rush is over. I need a new leather jacket. My old one was a little too short on the sleeves and would bunch up around the elbow whenever I extended my arm for any reason. Im sure the sales will still be in effect.
I also want to buy a garlic roaster. Those things are friggin' fun.
Anywho. Blogger's new method of logging in disrupts my normal update pattern. Normally I was able to log in at the alarm company, but now that the changes are made away from the BETA system, I might actually be able to log in now.
That remains to be seen.
For now, I am off to go blow my nose into some pillowy soft tissue paper. I thought about blowing my nose in a soft pillow, but... eeeeeeeeeew.
Where's my tea cup? I needs myself some green tea --
AW CRAP!
I just realized I left a newly brewed cup of tea sitting on the talk set.
An hour ago.
Hold on a moment...
(walks to talk set)
It's cold. I just checked it.
Oh well, at least I will brew a fresh cup.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Friday, December 15, 2006
DEAR GOD NO
DEAR FUCKING GOD NO!!!
Ford is actually considering BASTARDIZING the Ford Mustang into... Oh God, I can't wrap my mouth around the words...
A STATION WAGON.
Whoever thought this idea NEEDS TO BE DRAGGED OUT INTO THE STREET, SHOT AND RAN OVER BY EVERY MUSTANG OWNER/ LOVER IN NORTH AMERICA.
THIS IS NOT THE INTENDED PURPOSE OF THE ORIGINAL MUSTANG. THE SPIRIT IS GONE IF YOU ADD 2 MORE DOORS, LET ALONE A FUCKING WAGON TO IT!!!
The hate mail to Ford has begun with me. If it takes me creating new email addresses every week, I am going to deluge them with negative email in hopes they do not EMBARRASS themselves releasing this abomination into the automotive world.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Nasty Habits
I am a techno-whore. I like technology and everything attached to it. The prestige, the glamor, the sort of snobbish behavior that comes with fine electronics. I also like the attention I get with them.
I'm shallow, I know.
But all joking aside, there's a nasty little habit that I am starting to pick up and I know its seemingly benin & innocent.
I chew on my stylus.
What the frag are these things made of? I think its made of delicious titanium. They don't seem to break easily and are pretty damn light weight.
I digress. The Treo is an awesome little PDA/ phone/ entertainment center all wrapped up in a touch screen & BLUETOOTH bundle of fun. I will sit and stare at the screen for hours it seems and whenever I need the stylus its always in its little notch in back of the unit. Then I got into this habit of just leaving it in my mouth so its easier to get to.
Why I figured something would be easier to get to in my mouth than its intended location is beyond me.
What? Why are you looking at me like that?
Monday, December 11, 2006
Why does it happen when the weather gets cold?
Sorry guys, been busy last week.
I wanted to update the blog, but due to Blogger Beta's inability to cooperate with some other computers I use, this is the first chance I have had to update several things.
With that said.
Last Friday was cold. Nothing like you see in Chicago, Hanover, NH or Alaska, but cold enough to make your hands go numb after a few minutes, and your ears red and painful. The day warmed up, but not when I needed it to.
On my way to work at 5am, I got a flat tire.
The nail just punctured it, but the tire held air long enough for me to get to work and park. It was more than halfway flat when I parked and 3 hours later, at 7am when I checked on it, it was completely flat.
Thankfully, the jack worked better than any other jack I have used on any other vehicle I have owned.
That was definitely not the way I wanted to change a tire. Thankfully, I wasn't anywhere on the freeway when that happened, so I guess beggars can be choosers.
The car looks hideous with that "donut" spare tire.
I digress.
More to come.
I wanted to update the blog, but due to Blogger Beta's inability to cooperate with some other computers I use, this is the first chance I have had to update several things.
With that said.
Last Friday was cold. Nothing like you see in Chicago, Hanover, NH or Alaska, but cold enough to make your hands go numb after a few minutes, and your ears red and painful. The day warmed up, but not when I needed it to.
On my way to work at 5am, I got a flat tire.
The nail just punctured it, but the tire held air long enough for me to get to work and park. It was more than halfway flat when I parked and 3 hours later, at 7am when I checked on it, it was completely flat.
Thankfully, the jack worked better than any other jack I have used on any other vehicle I have owned.
That was definitely not the way I wanted to change a tire. Thankfully, I wasn't anywhere on the freeway when that happened, so I guess beggars can be choosers.
The car looks hideous with that "donut" spare tire.
I digress.
More to come.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
...ERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS, WE WISH YOU A M...
WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS (aw, how nice) WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS (ok, stop it) WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY (I said stop it) CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS (WHY wont you STOP IT?) WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS (Oh, come on!) WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS...
GAAAAAAH!!! MAKE IT STOP, FOR THE LOVE OF CAKE!
Are you starting to feel like this?
Not yet?
Have you started to listen to your favorite radio station, only to find they have switched COMPLETELY to Christmas?
You don't mind, you say?
Wow.
I'd love to hear from you a week from now when you openly complain to a passenger in your car "Oh, I forgot, they're playing Christmas music until the 1st of the year".
I didn't used to be like this. I loved Christmas music, and the holidays. It just gets to you after a week of listening to the same music again and again. It has to do with where you work. Here at the radio station, we have our AC station playing Christmas tunes until the end of the year. This is nice if you are the person who really loves Christmas music during the holidays. For the rest of us who's attention span is fewer than 6 songs, or the iPod generation who's constant shuffle presents them with a definite change every song, this is a problem.
Everyone here at the radio station is already sick of the Christmas crap.
YES IT IS CRAP.
We are all sick and tired of hearing it.
But we are doing it for the listeners.
We are doing it for the people who love the music and play it all day.
We are doing it for the ones who can't get enough of the Christmas spirit.
We are doing it...
Hmmm. That's all I got.
Yeah. We are doing it.
Jeez.
...
No, really, make it stop.
GAAAAAAH!!! MAKE IT STOP, FOR THE LOVE OF CAKE!
Are you starting to feel like this?
Not yet?
Have you started to listen to your favorite radio station, only to find they have switched COMPLETELY to Christmas?
You don't mind, you say?
Wow.
I'd love to hear from you a week from now when you openly complain to a passenger in your car "Oh, I forgot, they're playing Christmas music until the 1st of the year".
I didn't used to be like this. I loved Christmas music, and the holidays. It just gets to you after a week of listening to the same music again and again. It has to do with where you work. Here at the radio station, we have our AC station playing Christmas tunes until the end of the year. This is nice if you are the person who really loves Christmas music during the holidays. For the rest of us who's attention span is fewer than 6 songs, or the iPod generation who's constant shuffle presents them with a definite change every song, this is a problem.
Everyone here at the radio station is already sick of the Christmas crap.
YES IT IS CRAP.
We are all sick and tired of hearing it.
But we are doing it for the listeners.
We are doing it for the people who love the music and play it all day.
We are doing it for the ones who can't get enough of the Christmas spirit.
We are doing it...
Hmmm. That's all I got.
Yeah. We are doing it.
Jeez.
...
No, really, make it stop.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
The Industry from an insider
I've worked in radio for now some 11 years. That's a pretty long ass time. With the work, come moments in your job that you look back on and either cringe, shake your head and laugh, or try really hard to remember because you blocked out several years due to poor management.
Remind me to tell you that story one of these days.
I guess what made me write this entry was something that really made my day that I had totally forgotten about.
It was more than likely 2001 or 2002. It was close to the holiday season and all of the commercials everyone groans and complains about hearing every commercial break were playing with regular rotation. I myself found it irritating to hear Christmas jingles playing on the commercials while down the hall, more commericals were being produced with more homogenized music of the holidays being unceremoniously slapped together with glazed hams and car dealerships. It's the sort of thing in radio and TV that makes you tire of (any) holiday fast.
I was still trying to stomach everything when on my business phone, a caller who was listening to a radio commercial earlier in the previous evening asked about some product being sold for the holidays. Judging by her voice, she was easily in her late 60's to early 70's. Kind, sweet and sincere, her voice echoed with the sense of deep, wishful thinking that she could hopefully find this commercial she had no time to write down. I can't remember what the commercial was about, it's been so long, but all I remember was the sound in her voice when she asked if I could find the commercial we played.
I kindly got her telephone number and told her I would call her back whenever I found it.
I searched the log*. I couldn't find anything that remotely matched her commercial. Then I started to think it wasn't one of ours, but one of the national spots** that airs. So I went onto each radio shows website and reviewed their holiday commercials. I found the one she was asking for (not in the right time slot she said) and called her back. The sound of relief in her voice that I was able to find the commercial, product name and a phone number made her day. She thanked me untold times and asked for my name. I didn't think too much of it, thanked her for listening and hung up.
One week later, I go out to my mailbox at the radio station and find a holiday card and a small, simple box of chocolates. I opened the card up and found that the nice lady who I had given the information to, ordered exactly what she wanted for the holiday and had sent me a thank you card and the candies to thank me for helping her send the exact gift she needed. My supervisor had seen the chocolates on the table and had asked who they were from, so I showed him the card and explained what happened.
My whole point of the story is this. If you call up a radio station, just remember that the people who answer the phones, take your call, take your requests and put up with your stupid questions on a daily basis are human. We have emotions, thoughts and opinions just like you. We strive to be as personable and like-able as possible so you keep listening and be entertained by us. We also (probably like you) like to get some sort of token of appreciation for the things we do.
If we look up a phone number for you on a commercial we played that you didn't have enough common sense to try and listen for again, thank us -- don't just say "uh huh, 'kay" and hang up. If you hear the radio station is "off air", for the love of God do not call us and ask us the question "Do you guys know you're off air?".
We know.
For the love of Pete, we know.
With that said, do us one simple favor. Call us up and say thank you every once in a while. You'd be surprised how shocked and thankful we are for the compliment and acknowledgement for a seemingly thankless job well done.
*Radio stations have what are called commercial logs that tell us the name of the commercial advertiser, the time they should play, the total length of the commercial, and how long the total commercial break should be, as well as any other information such as Legal ID's, Promos, Tags, Liners etc.
**National Spots are commercials that are found nationwide. A perfect example would be a commercial for Ruby Tuesday's, Applebees or Kohl's department stores.
Remind me to tell you that story one of these days.
I guess what made me write this entry was something that really made my day that I had totally forgotten about.
It was more than likely 2001 or 2002. It was close to the holiday season and all of the commercials everyone groans and complains about hearing every commercial break were playing with regular rotation. I myself found it irritating to hear Christmas jingles playing on the commercials while down the hall, more commericals were being produced with more homogenized music of the holidays being unceremoniously slapped together with glazed hams and car dealerships. It's the sort of thing in radio and TV that makes you tire of (any) holiday fast.
I was still trying to stomach everything when on my business phone, a caller who was listening to a radio commercial earlier in the previous evening asked about some product being sold for the holidays. Judging by her voice, she was easily in her late 60's to early 70's. Kind, sweet and sincere, her voice echoed with the sense of deep, wishful thinking that she could hopefully find this commercial she had no time to write down. I can't remember what the commercial was about, it's been so long, but all I remember was the sound in her voice when she asked if I could find the commercial we played.
I kindly got her telephone number and told her I would call her back whenever I found it.
I searched the log*. I couldn't find anything that remotely matched her commercial. Then I started to think it wasn't one of ours, but one of the national spots** that airs. So I went onto each radio shows website and reviewed their holiday commercials. I found the one she was asking for (not in the right time slot she said) and called her back. The sound of relief in her voice that I was able to find the commercial, product name and a phone number made her day. She thanked me untold times and asked for my name. I didn't think too much of it, thanked her for listening and hung up.
One week later, I go out to my mailbox at the radio station and find a holiday card and a small, simple box of chocolates. I opened the card up and found that the nice lady who I had given the information to, ordered exactly what she wanted for the holiday and had sent me a thank you card and the candies to thank me for helping her send the exact gift she needed. My supervisor had seen the chocolates on the table and had asked who they were from, so I showed him the card and explained what happened.
My whole point of the story is this. If you call up a radio station, just remember that the people who answer the phones, take your call, take your requests and put up with your stupid questions on a daily basis are human. We have emotions, thoughts and opinions just like you. We strive to be as personable and like-able as possible so you keep listening and be entertained by us. We also (probably like you) like to get some sort of token of appreciation for the things we do.
If we look up a phone number for you on a commercial we played that you didn't have enough common sense to try and listen for again, thank us -- don't just say "uh huh, 'kay" and hang up. If you hear the radio station is "off air", for the love of God do not call us and ask us the question "Do you guys know you're off air?".
We know.
For the love of Pete, we know.
With that said, do us one simple favor. Call us up and say thank you every once in a while. You'd be surprised how shocked and thankful we are for the compliment and acknowledgement for a seemingly thankless job well done.
*Radio stations have what are called commercial logs that tell us the name of the commercial advertiser, the time they should play, the total length of the commercial, and how long the total commercial break should be, as well as any other information such as Legal ID's, Promos, Tags, Liners etc.
**National Spots are commercials that are found nationwide. A perfect example would be a commercial for Ruby Tuesday's, Applebees or Kohl's department stores.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Unhealthy Spending Addictions
I'm paid every Wednesday.
All bills are paid up.
I sneak off to a guilty pleasure.
Its out of the way.
The pleasures are really expensive for what they are.
What should take 10 minutes usually takes an hour.
I mean really, $140 for sheets?
Yeah. Sheets.
Don't ask me why Bed Bath & Beyond has become a personal favorite place of mine. It just has. Within the last 3 weeks, I have spent around $500 in bedding and housewares alone. It's like I figure, spend money on yourself and make sure you enjoy what you buy.
I have bought everything from a down mattress top for my bed, new $140 sheets (1,000 thread count cotton sheets!) new contour shaped pillows, duvet covers and body pillows. I am so comfortable in bed its actually harder to get out of bed than normal, and whenever I am warm, especially on cool mornings, forget it. I ain't getting out of bed.
I urge everyone to head out there and take a look at what they have. You might see me there.
All bills are paid up.
I sneak off to a guilty pleasure.
Its out of the way.
The pleasures are really expensive for what they are.
What should take 10 minutes usually takes an hour.
I mean really, $140 for sheets?
Yeah. Sheets.
Don't ask me why Bed Bath & Beyond has become a personal favorite place of mine. It just has. Within the last 3 weeks, I have spent around $500 in bedding and housewares alone. It's like I figure, spend money on yourself and make sure you enjoy what you buy.
I have bought everything from a down mattress top for my bed, new $140 sheets (1,000 thread count cotton sheets!) new contour shaped pillows, duvet covers and body pillows. I am so comfortable in bed its actually harder to get out of bed than normal, and whenever I am warm, especially on cool mornings, forget it. I ain't getting out of bed.
I urge everyone to head out there and take a look at what they have. You might see me there.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Holes in the wall that don't involve getting tested later...
So I haven't been updating my blog the past few days. These things happen. You see, I've been doing some research into some projects that don't involve the unlawful act of breaking & entering. That part is behind me. For now anyways.
I get off work at 11am. Prime time to grab some good lunch. Problem is, once you are sick and tired of all the cookie-cutter type restaurants, what is left?
Hole-in-the-walls.
They're fucking awesome.
This sign is definitely vintage. Fuck, the building itself is pretty damn vintage. It's all business. 1950's meets 1960's retro glass & modern brick styling where you drive thro the fucking building and watch as the servers actually COOK the burgers from fresh ground meat.
Yes, you can clearly see you must order by numbers. If you don't know what the fuck you're ordering by the time you get to the only working speaker box, you're hosed. Short order cooks (who themselves are short tempered) ask you with no other tone of voice but that of business what you want, and how you want it. Then, when you pull one car length forward, you are welcomed with the sweet smell of actual grilled burger smell as white smoke billows out the top of the kitchen air vent, filling your car with the most delicious aroma of real burgers.
Then you stop and think to yourself "I can get this same burger, maybe a little larger from the Burger King down the road".
Well, sure you can. You can also pay more for the same burger that comes wrapped in a simple bag with a simple logo that needs no multimillion dollar ad campaign that keeps them in business. You can go somewhere else where you have no earthly idea where they get their meat, their cheese, their onions for their honest-to-god real onion rings hand battered and fried.
Sure you don't have to wait in an ungodly line for the food. You can clearly see that I am still like 3 car lengths behind the main window, and still like 5 from the end of the line. Shit, there are days you can't get into this place because the line goes out onto Mesa street.
But its a good burger at a good price.
Oh, and the owner of the joint still works the cash register and greets you with a hello and a thank you.
If you want to try an amazing, yet somewhat familiar tasting hamburger without all that marketing voodoo and support a long time El Paso establishment, you may visit the only remaining Charcoaler at:
5837 N. Mesa
PS -- Study the menu really good and know what you want to order. No matter what you order, you will enjoy it.
I get off work at 11am. Prime time to grab some good lunch. Problem is, once you are sick and tired of all the cookie-cutter type restaurants, what is left?
Hole-in-the-walls.
They're fucking awesome.
This sign is definitely vintage. Fuck, the building itself is pretty damn vintage. It's all business. 1950's meets 1960's retro glass & modern brick styling where you drive thro the fucking building and watch as the servers actually COOK the burgers from fresh ground meat.
Yes, you can clearly see you must order by numbers. If you don't know what the fuck you're ordering by the time you get to the only working speaker box, you're hosed. Short order cooks (who themselves are short tempered) ask you with no other tone of voice but that of business what you want, and how you want it. Then, when you pull one car length forward, you are welcomed with the sweet smell of actual grilled burger smell as white smoke billows out the top of the kitchen air vent, filling your car with the most delicious aroma of real burgers.
Then you stop and think to yourself "I can get this same burger, maybe a little larger from the Burger King down the road".
Well, sure you can. You can also pay more for the same burger that comes wrapped in a simple bag with a simple logo that needs no multimillion dollar ad campaign that keeps them in business. You can go somewhere else where you have no earthly idea where they get their meat, their cheese, their onions for their honest-to-god real onion rings hand battered and fried.
Sure you don't have to wait in an ungodly line for the food. You can clearly see that I am still like 3 car lengths behind the main window, and still like 5 from the end of the line. Shit, there are days you can't get into this place because the line goes out onto Mesa street.
But its a good burger at a good price.
Oh, and the owner of the joint still works the cash register and greets you with a hello and a thank you.
If you want to try an amazing, yet somewhat familiar tasting hamburger without all that marketing voodoo and support a long time El Paso establishment, you may visit the only remaining Charcoaler at:
5837 N. Mesa
PS -- Study the menu really good and know what you want to order. No matter what you order, you will enjoy it.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
From the studios
Just thought it was pretty cool. Im not a political person, but I am damn glad that there is a change in power in the House. This means a definite change in 2008.
Now, if we can only get Kerry to shut the fuck up.
Head on over to Clauds' site for her exhuberant take on the elections.
Be warned, she might be reeeally buzzed when she writes it.
Now, if we can only get Kerry to shut the fuck up.
Head on over to Clauds' site for her exhuberant take on the elections.
Be warned, she might be reeeally buzzed when she writes it.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Happy Halloween!
I had been staring at the picture from a previous post and had thought what a perfect time to share the video of how hotdogs are made than on Halloween! The picture (above) looks tantalizingly delicious. Where else are you going to find reconstituted pig parts that were packed tightly, yet satisfyingly in 40 square feet of pig intestines, pre-cooked then wrapped in yet another complex layer of pig meat, then grilled and served with tangy yellow mustard? So I wandered around to YouTube and found it.
I think IM going to go cry in a corner somewhere...
Monday, October 30, 2006
Vintage Schlock
A few weeks ago I had typed a little short essay about the naiveness of America. Maybe not naive, but wholesome, something we seem to have forgotten about.
I digress. While searching thro all of the vintage stock photos, I found some rather hilarious images that seem out of their original intent given today's attitudes.
Here we see a young Hannibal Lecter as a child. While it isn't his choice of bean, we can see he had that twinkle in his eye that the neighborhood stray would be first on his list of -- experiments.
Here's Hannibal's sister, Harriet. Looks like she got hold of the neighborhood stray and created spreadable puppy brains innocently disguised as a fruity jam.
The horror!
Sadly, no one ever understood why Little Debbie brand snack cakes never changed their trademark girl on the box. Here we see little Debbie, blinded by the sugar intake in the first batch of cakes cooked up by plant managers. Here, along with family for Christmas dressed in the outfit that launched a thousand delivery trucks, she stares vacantly thro the plate of food being passed to her elderly granmama smiling with the hope of one day being able to see again, but for now, enjoying the sounds from the table and family members clanging their dinnerwear and trying to make a show for her remaining senses, all the while fighting back the tears and angst of what happened to her so many nights ago...
Is that a pair of honey-brasied duck lungs slathered on the plate?
Wow, I can really get into these. Lets move on.
Meet Bob. Ever since his first acting role, he has had the stride and confidence that comes along with a healthy diet and exercise and the first time he was used as a test subject for Enzyte. This ad was photographed days after the initial dose took effect and its clear that there's something else long green and poking out of the water he's showing to his friends. Isn't it funny that even the name of the outboard motor is called Johnson?
Patsy Cline was in a horrible traffic accident. Doctors at the time were able to reconstruct her cranium by utilizing fragments of Dr. Frankenstein's monster's skull. Though, it looks more like they used hull armor from the U.S.S. Lexington...
"DICYCLOPENTADIENE!!!!"
This I think goes along with the other swim wear/ adult diapers from a few photos above, it looks like one of the happy-go-lucky men found this lil' lady and is either dragging her out of the pool due to too many chemical cocktails, or its the artists rendition of a joyous kidnapping.
Given it's probably the 1960's, this has got to be the most funnest toy I have ever seen come out of this decade. Dear God, look at the knobs, levers and buttons this 60 lb. hunk of metal has to play with! You know some dickhead gouged his eye out and had his parents get this toy banned forever, along with lawn darts. IF YOU'RE THE BASTARD, YOU DESERVE TO BE EYELESS! This looked like a fucking kick-ass toy that you could easily have up-staged that snotty neighbor kid who always gets the cool toys before you did. I would have just aimed right for the fucker's eye and...
Whoa! I think that parents used to buy this toy for the kids so some kinky wife swapping, toy utilizing parents would use this little gem on the others wife or husband if they were daring...
I digress. While searching thro all of the vintage stock photos, I found some rather hilarious images that seem out of their original intent given today's attitudes.
Here we see a young Hannibal Lecter as a child. While it isn't his choice of bean, we can see he had that twinkle in his eye that the neighborhood stray would be first on his list of -- experiments.
Here's Hannibal's sister, Harriet. Looks like she got hold of the neighborhood stray and created spreadable puppy brains innocently disguised as a fruity jam.
The horror!
Sadly, no one ever understood why Little Debbie brand snack cakes never changed their trademark girl on the box. Here we see little Debbie, blinded by the sugar intake in the first batch of cakes cooked up by plant managers. Here, along with family for Christmas dressed in the outfit that launched a thousand delivery trucks, she stares vacantly thro the plate of food being passed to her elderly granmama smiling with the hope of one day being able to see again, but for now, enjoying the sounds from the table and family members clanging their dinnerwear and trying to make a show for her remaining senses, all the while fighting back the tears and angst of what happened to her so many nights ago...
Is that a pair of honey-brasied duck lungs slathered on the plate?
Wow, I can really get into these. Lets move on.
Meet Bob. Ever since his first acting role, he has had the stride and confidence that comes along with a healthy diet and exercise and the first time he was used as a test subject for Enzyte. This ad was photographed days after the initial dose took effect and its clear that there's something else long green and poking out of the water he's showing to his friends. Isn't it funny that even the name of the outboard motor is called Johnson?
It was funny. I sat here and stared at these swim trunks and thought to myself:
- The guys have no basket.
- None of these people (now) can run
- None of these people remember this
- They're still wearing these, only they're diapers in festive colors
No, I don't want to comment on why I was looking at their baskets.
Moving on...
Patsy Cline was in a horrible traffic accident. Doctors at the time were able to reconstruct her cranium by utilizing fragments of Dr. Frankenstein's monster's skull. Though, it looks more like they used hull armor from the U.S.S. Lexington...
"DICYCLOPENTADIENE!!!!"
This I think goes along with the other swim wear/ adult diapers from a few photos above, it looks like one of the happy-go-lucky men found this lil' lady and is either dragging her out of the pool due to too many chemical cocktails, or its the artists rendition of a joyous kidnapping.
Given it's probably the 1960's, this has got to be the most funnest toy I have ever seen come out of this decade. Dear God, look at the knobs, levers and buttons this 60 lb. hunk of metal has to play with! You know some dickhead gouged his eye out and had his parents get this toy banned forever, along with lawn darts. IF YOU'RE THE BASTARD, YOU DESERVE TO BE EYELESS! This looked like a fucking kick-ass toy that you could easily have up-staged that snotty neighbor kid who always gets the cool toys before you did. I would have just aimed right for the fucker's eye and...
Whoa! I think that parents used to buy this toy for the kids so some kinky wife swapping, toy utilizing parents would use this little gem on the others wife or husband if they were daring...
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Hi
So, here's a question for you.
You are sitting on 2 months of the year left and 2 weeks of vacation that your boss has now thrown down the ultimatum "take your vacation time or loose it".
You are sitting looking at your bright orange Dodge Neon and saying to yourself "road trip".
You look at the tires on the aforementioned vehicle and say to yourself "blowout".
So what would any rational person do in a situation like this?
If you said "Let's spend that money on a TREO 700p" I'd give you a cigar!
(yes, I discovered the "quotation marks" thank you for noticing)
Sweet little phone, isn't it?
Ugh, yes, I bought this damn thing. Its a fucking kick ass phone, but whatever you do, DO NOT for the love of Gates buy the 700wx version. I had fewer bugs with Windows 95a (for those of you who know WTF IM talking about, you know).
I initially bought the 700wx thinking it would be the end-all of phones. It wasn't. Without going into details *cough-itsucked-cough* it wasn't user friendly. I've had pit bulls with better manners than that damned thing.
Anyways. Short of a blowout on the freeway, I am planning so many things with my new toy. Best toy for the phone (remember, this damn thing is also a great sounding phone) is the optional TomTom GPS unit I can install -- why say install, the fucking unit just plugs into the memory card reader!
Yeah, and I need the BLUETOOTH portable keyboard.
Ain't technology grand?
You are sitting on 2 months of the year left and 2 weeks of vacation that your boss has now thrown down the ultimatum "take your vacation time or loose it".
You are sitting looking at your bright orange Dodge Neon and saying to yourself "road trip".
You look at the tires on the aforementioned vehicle and say to yourself "blowout".
So what would any rational person do in a situation like this?
If you said "Let's spend that money on a TREO 700p" I'd give you a cigar!
(yes, I discovered the "quotation marks" thank you for noticing)
Sweet little phone, isn't it?
Ugh, yes, I bought this damn thing. Its a fucking kick ass phone, but whatever you do, DO NOT for the love of Gates buy the 700wx version. I had fewer bugs with Windows 95a (for those of you who know WTF IM talking about, you know).
I initially bought the 700wx thinking it would be the end-all of phones. It wasn't. Without going into details *cough-itsucked-cough* it wasn't user friendly. I've had pit bulls with better manners than that damned thing.
Anyways. Short of a blowout on the freeway, I am planning so many things with my new toy. Best toy for the phone (remember, this damn thing is also a great sounding phone) is the optional TomTom GPS unit I can install -- why say install, the fucking unit just plugs into the memory card reader!
Yeah, and I need the BLUETOOTH portable keyboard.
Ain't technology grand?
Friday, October 20, 2006
This looks disturbingly delicious
I have been sitting here crying with laughter. The commemorative tote filled with vegetarian chili was just icing on the taco.
WTF people? Really?
I drive an otherwise stock 2005 Neon. The only thing added to it was a K&N air filter. Not even a high input intake kit. Everything found on the car is stock Daimler Chrysler.
Even the fucking headlights.
So why is it whenever I am driving the car at night with the lights on the low beams I get every fucktard on the road flash their headlights at me? It happened to me 3 times today, all different drivers none of which were anywhere near each other and two of them were people I had passed.
So I slowed down and put my fog lights and combo low/high beams directly at their rear view mirrors.
Fuckers!
Seriously, I never had this problem with my Mustang, but I did have this problem with my Cavalier.
I don't have high powered plasma bulbs, I don't have projector headlamps. They're just normal stock headlights.
Really people, WTF?
Even the fucking headlights.
So why is it whenever I am driving the car at night with the lights on the low beams I get every fucktard on the road flash their headlights at me? It happened to me 3 times today, all different drivers none of which were anywhere near each other and two of them were people I had passed.
So I slowed down and put my fog lights and combo low/high beams directly at their rear view mirrors.
Fuckers!
Seriously, I never had this problem with my Mustang, but I did have this problem with my Cavalier.
I don't have high powered plasma bulbs, I don't have projector headlamps. They're just normal stock headlights.
Really people, WTF?
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Another reason I like my car.
This was taken from the Sydney Morning Herald.
An alleged female carjacker couldn't get into first gear when confronted with a manual vehicle in Sydney's south yesterday, police say.
The woman, 20, allegedly dragged a 49-year-old woman out of her Toyota near the intersection of Forest and Wyangala roads in Miranda, police said.
But the would-be carjacker found herself behind the wheel of a manual vehicle, which she didn't know how to drive, police said.
When she tried to run away, two men who had witnessed the incident stopped her and police arrived shortly after.
The driver was not hurt.
The alleged carjacker was arrested and taken to Sutherland Hospital, then Miranda police station, where she was charged with common assault and assault with intent to take or drive the car.
Bail was refused and the woman is due to appear at Sutherland Local Court today.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Simple Times
Were we ever pie-eyed and naive enough to believe the future would be filled with such wander and amazement that we would be traveling to the moon for vacations, watching huge extravagant machineries creating grandiose achievements in biomechanical homebuilding?
Did we have outlandishly huge block parties that left our neighbors passed out in lawn furniture, petunia beds and diving boards the next day?
Did we fall prey to the stylish marketing campaigns that told us we couldn't dare live our lives properly without cups of coffee, orange juice, batteries, the wonders of metallurgists and radioactive televisions?
Uncle Carl's secret sauce burgers
We did.
How do I know? We left relics of the past that is now gone forever.
You couldn't get away with that image without paying a couple of million dollars in restitution. Now, we lock our doors when we leave to go to the grocery store. We have car alarms that sometimes cost as much as a used car. We have security systems installed at home that equal the value of that used car with the alarm system.
I look back at these posters and placards from a long forgotten era and ask myself "did we really live life this way"? Naive, complacent, comfortable?
Yes. We did.
Judging by the Alice's Diner massacre-to-be waitress manning the cash register with Miss Audrey Hepburn Look-Alike 1961 buying the necessities, we were blissfully unaware of the world around us. As long as we had our beers, our cars & what looks like 2 gallon jug of apple juice, we couldn't have been happier with the way the world was forming.
We lived in a world where the aspirin bottles didn't come with tamper proof lids. We lived in a world where our cars were considered "screaming metal death-traps" and paid to put extra shiny pieces of chrome-plated maim devices on the dashboard within easy reach. For fucks-sake we ate butter as if it were healthy for us.
What we didn't realize then was how we needed to prepare for what was going to turn our lifestyle from picture perfect to real world in no time. We couldn't fathom that we would one day have to turn our backs on everything that was right with the world and accept that there were people out there trying to undermine what we had fought so dearly for in the 1940s.
I see in all of these vintage stock pieces a world before corporations. You don't see anything here that was some major corporations drive to become the industry that causes the world to turn. You don't see conglomerates vying for your dollars.
You see their marketing campaigns to get you to buy their product by reaching for your heart strings and other emotional ties. They show you what your world would be like to buy their product. Looking at Thelma and Helouise above, you see that they're not trying to sell you a lifestyle you can't afford. They're not trying to tell you to charge their bilge on credit. They're trying to just get you to buy their gas.
Simpler times indeed.
Where do I find a time machine? I want to live one day in that utopia we forever lost.
Did we have outlandishly huge block parties that left our neighbors passed out in lawn furniture, petunia beds and diving boards the next day?
Did we fall prey to the stylish marketing campaigns that told us we couldn't dare live our lives properly without cups of coffee, orange juice, batteries, the wonders of metallurgists and radioactive televisions?
We did.
How do I know? We left relics of the past that is now gone forever.
You couldn't get away with that image without paying a couple of million dollars in restitution. Now, we lock our doors when we leave to go to the grocery store. We have car alarms that sometimes cost as much as a used car. We have security systems installed at home that equal the value of that used car with the alarm system.
I look back at these posters and placards from a long forgotten era and ask myself "did we really live life this way"? Naive, complacent, comfortable?
Yes. We did.
Judging by the Alice's Diner massacre-to-be waitress manning the cash register with Miss Audrey Hepburn Look-Alike 1961 buying the necessities, we were blissfully unaware of the world around us. As long as we had our beers, our cars & what looks like 2 gallon jug of apple juice, we couldn't have been happier with the way the world was forming.
We lived in a world where the aspirin bottles didn't come with tamper proof lids. We lived in a world where our cars were considered "screaming metal death-traps" and paid to put extra shiny pieces of chrome-plated maim devices on the dashboard within easy reach. For fucks-sake we ate butter as if it were healthy for us.
What we didn't realize then was how we needed to prepare for what was going to turn our lifestyle from picture perfect to real world in no time. We couldn't fathom that we would one day have to turn our backs on everything that was right with the world and accept that there were people out there trying to undermine what we had fought so dearly for in the 1940s.
I see in all of these vintage stock pieces a world before corporations. You don't see anything here that was some major corporations drive to become the industry that causes the world to turn. You don't see conglomerates vying for your dollars.
You see their marketing campaigns to get you to buy their product by reaching for your heart strings and other emotional ties. They show you what your world would be like to buy their product. Looking at Thelma and Helouise above, you see that they're not trying to sell you a lifestyle you can't afford. They're not trying to tell you to charge their bilge on credit. They're trying to just get you to buy their gas.
Simpler times indeed.
Where do I find a time machine? I want to live one day in that utopia we forever lost.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
It's a long way down, the Holiday Road
It's been a long standing theme within Blank Media that music is very much a part of my life and everyday activities. With that said, it was because of my previous post about Lindsey Buckingham that triggered a lot of reaction within my friends here at the radio station, alarm company and abroad.
National Lampoon's Vacation features Lindsey Buckingham as the singer for the opening credits to the movie. Arguably, this is the most recognized opening credit themes in comedic history and one of Lindsey's more noted, yet forgot-it's-him-because-it's-so-obscure song.
Its lyrics are basic, mostly consisting of the main chorus eating up most of the song. Its the whole song when listened to that will either make you stop and listen to it, or turn and make negative comment on it. The fact is, everyone recognizes it as the movie's opening song because everyone remembers that movie in their own way.
National Lampoon's Vacation features Lindsey Buckingham as the singer for the opening credits to the movie. Arguably, this is the most recognized opening credit themes in comedic history and one of Lindsey's more noted, yet forgot-it's-him-because-it's-so-obscure song.
Its lyrics are basic, mostly consisting of the main chorus eating up most of the song. Its the whole song when listened to that will either make you stop and listen to it, or turn and make negative comment on it. The fact is, everyone recognizes it as the movie's opening song because everyone remembers that movie in their own way.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Foods throughout the decades
Sitting here at Sonitrol at nights, I have time to stop and check out some of the funniest things on the internets. One of my favorite spots is Lileks.com, where James Lileks has done an awesome job reprinting old Knudsens recipe's and cook books from the 1950's and 60's. His website also boasts some other hilarious pages of clothing and decor of the era and many others.
For me, the food section of the website really makes me cringe and laugh.
Then dry heave.
The picture above is that of two separate types of gelatin, one being a somewhat disturbed vegetable cocktail of leftover opened cans of items leftover in the fridge and pink food dye for good measure, and the bottom is labeled as a corned beef gelatin loaf.
That's right kids, cold meat cake.
First thing is first. I am 27 years old. My concept of gelatin based foods is the Jell-o brand type where it is offered as a dessert, created with artificial fruit flavorings and is served at the end of a meal and is by no means gross. Some of the pictures and recipe's described as far back as the 1920's tout gelatin as a staple of food dishes served on the American table as early as the first commercially produced refridgerators came to market.
GELATIN SHOULDN'T BE USED AS A MEDIUM TO FLOAT VEGETABLES!
That image is just wrong on so many levels. I understand that at the heart of gelatin lies a morbid sinister secret. I accept it. Matter of fact, IM ok with that. I guess it was a generation thing.
Thanks to Bill Cosby's efforts to put a box of pudding in your cupboards, today's youth & generation aren't familiar with the use of gelatin as (barf) an actual ingredient/ preparatory method. We have pull tabs on our Jell-o brand pudding, we do Jell-o brand shots, but we do not under any circumstances put meat, vegetables or anything that isn't sugar laced in our gelatin!
Ah Cosby, you have probably freed us from the shackles of fucked up foods forever. With that, we owe you a heap of thanks.
For me, the food section of the website really makes me cringe and laugh.
Then dry heave.
The picture above is that of two separate types of gelatin, one being a somewhat disturbed vegetable cocktail of leftover opened cans of items leftover in the fridge and pink food dye for good measure, and the bottom is labeled as a corned beef gelatin loaf.
That's right kids, cold meat cake.
First thing is first. I am 27 years old. My concept of gelatin based foods is the Jell-o brand type where it is offered as a dessert, created with artificial fruit flavorings and is served at the end of a meal and is by no means gross. Some of the pictures and recipe's described as far back as the 1920's tout gelatin as a staple of food dishes served on the American table as early as the first commercially produced refridgerators came to market.
GELATIN SHOULDN'T BE USED AS A MEDIUM TO FLOAT VEGETABLES!
That image is just wrong on so many levels. I understand that at the heart of gelatin lies a morbid sinister secret. I accept it. Matter of fact, IM ok with that. I guess it was a generation thing.
Thanks to Bill Cosby's efforts to put a box of pudding in your cupboards, today's youth & generation aren't familiar with the use of gelatin as (barf) an actual ingredient/ preparatory method. We have pull tabs on our Jell-o brand pudding, we do Jell-o brand shots, but we do not under any circumstances put meat, vegetables or anything that isn't sugar laced in our gelatin!Ah Cosby, you have probably freed us from the shackles of fucked up foods forever. With that, we owe you a heap of thanks.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Music
So IM sitting in the studios of the KTSM AM control room listening to some music we have in inventory when my boss walks in with a brand new CD. It's the sampler CD that record companies issue to radio stations that let them know which songs are scheduled for release from the album. The cover shows a person who I hadn't seen as a solo artist in a really, really long time.
Lindsey Buckingham gained his fame and notoriety back in the 70's as the guitarist for, and one of the contributing song writers of the super group Fleetwood Mac. He also played as back up for many other 70's and 80's bands & artists throughout the years and has been known for both his unique arrangements and ear catching songs. Most notably, National Lampoon's classic Vacation wouldn't be the same without Lindsey's "Holiday Road" as the opening credits theme.
So, my boss drops the CD on the table and shares the same shocked expression I do upon seeing it.
"A new one from the Buckster?"
"Sure looks like it. Figured you'd want it."
"Yeah, thanks (this should go good between my Say You Will radio CD sampler handed to me years ago)."
I got up from the studio and decided to take a listen to his latest creation. Walking to the production room, I reminded myself how I got started listening to the likes of Lindsey & Fleetwood Mac. I had just started working the afternoon shift at the radio station. At that time, we were known as Newstalk 1380 AM and our station couldn't be better (HA!). The afternoon show I was producing at the time was a huge hit and efforts were made to keep the listeners happy with it. Some of those efforts involved a music machine.
A forerunner to today's modern music libraries featured in radio stations, the music machine (which was a hastily botched together HP desktop computer and several small hard drives (being 1998, we didn't have your fancy-schmancy 40 gig HDD's)) featured a wide variety of artists and songs that were available to play at the click of a button. I was amazed, sitting right behind me was this library of music just waiting to be perused and played! I thumbed thro each song on a daily basis and would sit back and listen to my favorites.
One song was Fleetwood Mac's Rhiannon. I was captivated by it. The song moved me like no other song did before, and subsequently since. I had to hear more. I found the CD at the local music store and took it home. I remember tearing open the CD and playing it in my convertible and was blown away by what I was hearing. The composition, arrangement and lyrics just blew my mind. Hearing the pain and anger in each note made each song even that much more incredible to listen to.
Then, I wanted more. I bought each one of their albums and listened to them from front to back (old LP saying) and back again. Each album was a chapter in each of their lives. Each song was what they were feeling and going through and each note was exactly how they felt. I wore out CDs that summer. I probably wore out my parents patience listening to them at full bore in the house, but they agreed that they also loved some of their songs.
My greatest moment was seeing them in concert back in 2003. Its a shame I wasn't around to have seen them in concert back in the 1970's cause I've seen video of Stevie [Nicks] belting out the songs like a mad woman.
Somehow, I also think that no one showered in the 1970's, everyone looked all sweaty and unclean.
I digress.
I sat down in the production room and started to listen to the music coming from Lindsey's website. It was at least two of the same songs offered on the radio sampler CD I had in hand. I listened to it, and thought to myself that this doesn't sound like typical Lindsey Buckingham, it sounded more like an effort made by him writing for Fleetwood Mac. I really like what I hear!
If you want to sample some of Lindsey's new album, go to http://www.lindseybuckingham.com
*The laptop is still down, pending repairs and XP updates*
Lindsey Buckingham gained his fame and notoriety back in the 70's as the guitarist for, and one of the contributing song writers of the super group Fleetwood Mac. He also played as back up for many other 70's and 80's bands & artists throughout the years and has been known for both his unique arrangements and ear catching songs. Most notably, National Lampoon's classic Vacation wouldn't be the same without Lindsey's "Holiday Road" as the opening credits theme.
So, my boss drops the CD on the table and shares the same shocked expression I do upon seeing it.
"A new one from the Buckster?"
"Sure looks like it. Figured you'd want it."
"Yeah, thanks (this should go good between my Say You Will radio CD sampler handed to me years ago)."
I got up from the studio and decided to take a listen to his latest creation. Walking to the production room, I reminded myself how I got started listening to the likes of Lindsey & Fleetwood Mac. I had just started working the afternoon shift at the radio station. At that time, we were known as Newstalk 1380 AM and our station couldn't be better (HA!). The afternoon show I was producing at the time was a huge hit and efforts were made to keep the listeners happy with it. Some of those efforts involved a music machine.
A forerunner to today's modern music libraries featured in radio stations, the music machine (which was a hastily botched together HP desktop computer and several small hard drives (being 1998, we didn't have your fancy-schmancy 40 gig HDD's)) featured a wide variety of artists and songs that were available to play at the click of a button. I was amazed, sitting right behind me was this library of music just waiting to be perused and played! I thumbed thro each song on a daily basis and would sit back and listen to my favorites.
One song was Fleetwood Mac's Rhiannon. I was captivated by it. The song moved me like no other song did before, and subsequently since. I had to hear more. I found the CD at the local music store and took it home. I remember tearing open the CD and playing it in my convertible and was blown away by what I was hearing. The composition, arrangement and lyrics just blew my mind. Hearing the pain and anger in each note made each song even that much more incredible to listen to.
Then, I wanted more. I bought each one of their albums and listened to them from front to back (old LP saying) and back again. Each album was a chapter in each of their lives. Each song was what they were feeling and going through and each note was exactly how they felt. I wore out CDs that summer. I probably wore out my parents patience listening to them at full bore in the house, but they agreed that they also loved some of their songs.
My greatest moment was seeing them in concert back in 2003. Its a shame I wasn't around to have seen them in concert back in the 1970's cause I've seen video of Stevie [Nicks] belting out the songs like a mad woman.
Somehow, I also think that no one showered in the 1970's, everyone looked all sweaty and unclean.
I digress.
I sat down in the production room and started to listen to the music coming from Lindsey's website. It was at least two of the same songs offered on the radio sampler CD I had in hand. I listened to it, and thought to myself that this doesn't sound like typical Lindsey Buckingham, it sounded more like an effort made by him writing for Fleetwood Mac. I really like what I hear!
If you want to sample some of Lindsey's new album, go to http://www.lindseybuckingham.com
*The laptop is still down, pending repairs and XP updates*
Friday, September 15, 2006
Completely random thought from left field
This thought came to myself and Amber while really, really bored.
What if you took a turkey to Carlsbad Caverns and tossed it into the bottomless pit? My question of that scenario would be: Would the turkey fall asleep because its so dark, or would it continue to flap thinking it would land?
Optional equipment for the turkey would be the addition of glow sticks to the turkeys feet.
Once Amber and I thought of this scenario, we started to logistically think out what this would entail.
- Catching a turkey and concealing it in a backpack
- Sneaking said turkey into the middle of the caves without drawing suspicion in backpack
- Attatching glow sticks to a rather (rightfully so) uncooperative turkey
- Avoiding the backlash of people (and eventually P.E.T.A.) after the experiment has begun
We get bored. Our minds wander and think of random, crazy shit. I blame society and the tuba.
PS - Hello to my good friend Mark Ross of Newschannel 9 fame. I saw him and the lovely Mrs. Ross at the bank today.
Hmmm...
I've been a little preoccupied with some things around the house and around town lately, so if I haven't been updating I don't apologize.
One of the things I can't figure out is my laptop. It's throwing a slight attitude and I can't figure it out. The DVD player refuses to work. Main problem is it happened less than a day after I reinstalled Windows XP. I loaded the drivers and software for the program and tried it with a valid DVD. It worked. So I continued to load more programs and when I tried to watch the same DVD, the computer started to hang and refused to read the DVD.
So.
I start asking friends to see if they have experienced the same thing. No one has. I go online and check forums and no one has heard of that happening to my model of laptop. Someone had suggested looking at the last few programs installed after checking that the DVD player last worked. Looking back, I loaded iTunes & my iPod, Windows Media Player 10 and Mozilla Firefox.
At first, I started to curse out iTunes. I've got something close to 1600 songs already loaded to the iPod and saved to the hard drive. They're backed up on a separate drive, but it takes a long time to reload them. Then I started to think that the problem isn't caused by the iPod. I downgraded the player back to factory settings and its working fine. Also, instead of using the CD to load, I downloaded the software for iTunes fresh from the Apple website. Its the latest and up to date software. So I know that's not the problem.
I also downloaded Mozilla Firefox. Each time I reloaded XP, I loaded a new version of Firefox. This can't be either.
So, the culprit has to be Media Player 10. There have been no updates and each time I've reloaded XP, I've tried the DVD player before downloading this. Problem is, when I uninstalled it, it didn't solve my problem. This means I will have to wipe again and start over.
Ralph was able to come thro for me and found original newspaper articles from Magic Landing's accident. They're at the house, I just need to scan them and post them on the site. Expect that soon.
IM considering taking vacation soon. Haven't decided where yet.
One of the things I can't figure out is my laptop. It's throwing a slight attitude and I can't figure it out. The DVD player refuses to work. Main problem is it happened less than a day after I reinstalled Windows XP. I loaded the drivers and software for the program and tried it with a valid DVD. It worked. So I continued to load more programs and when I tried to watch the same DVD, the computer started to hang and refused to read the DVD.
So.
I start asking friends to see if they have experienced the same thing. No one has. I go online and check forums and no one has heard of that happening to my model of laptop. Someone had suggested looking at the last few programs installed after checking that the DVD player last worked. Looking back, I loaded iTunes & my iPod, Windows Media Player 10 and Mozilla Firefox.
At first, I started to curse out iTunes. I've got something close to 1600 songs already loaded to the iPod and saved to the hard drive. They're backed up on a separate drive, but it takes a long time to reload them. Then I started to think that the problem isn't caused by the iPod. I downgraded the player back to factory settings and its working fine. Also, instead of using the CD to load, I downloaded the software for iTunes fresh from the Apple website. Its the latest and up to date software. So I know that's not the problem.
I also downloaded Mozilla Firefox. Each time I reloaded XP, I loaded a new version of Firefox. This can't be either.
So, the culprit has to be Media Player 10. There have been no updates and each time I've reloaded XP, I've tried the DVD player before downloading this. Problem is, when I uninstalled it, it didn't solve my problem. This means I will have to wipe again and start over.
Ralph was able to come thro for me and found original newspaper articles from Magic Landing's accident. They're at the house, I just need to scan them and post them on the site. Expect that soon.
IM considering taking vacation soon. Haven't decided where yet.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Chow time
Nikki and Xena chew on some beef ribs. Ralph and I went to a bbq place and I bought some ribs to take home. After eating most of what was on them, we gave them to the dogs. They wasted no time rendering every ounce of meat off them.
Xena, started to break the bone apart.
Time to take away the bones.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Random thoughts from 2:53AM - 3:30AM
I fell asleep sometime around 10:30AM yesterday morning and didn't wake up till around 8pm. I've been awake since that time and I've been doing a lot of catching up. Not on the things I need to, like laundry or crap like that, but TiVo.
IM listening to the iPod right now. Linda Ronstadt is playing Blue Bayou, but earlier I had sat down and programmed a new playlist. 158 songs long! That was an average of 4 songs per CD I own. According to iPod, that's a lot of damn songs.
[cranks the volume up and looses track of time]
I took a moment or two to listen to some songs. Its 3am.
I've decided to go ahead and buy a motorcycle. The Mustang sadly isn't what I expected. It will take way too much time & money to get it the way I want. For the cost involved, it would work out to my advantage to find a slightly better conditioned vehicle and start from there. For the time being, its going to have to be a motorcycle.
Alison Krauss & Union Station are playing Everytime You Say Goodbye. How appropriate.
Haven't decided yet what I want. Judging by all of the advice given to me by other avid riders, its going to be a cruiser or a sports cruiser. No idea what that would be. IM looking forward to it, actually. I remember the fun times I had with each of my convertibles and how I loved that sense of freedom with the top down. Open air excitement, nearly at one with the environment. Pounding the pavement with the sort of reckless abandon used by Kerouac as he wrote about what he saw when he was on the road.
Pink Floyd is playing You Better Run. How appropriate. 3:07am.
I need to start planning my next vacation. I haven't had a good road trip in quite some time now, and the bug is starting to itch. Corpus Christi sounds good right about now, God knows IM used to the fucking humidity thanks to El Pasos monsoon season.
IM trying to decide whether or not another trip to Magic Landing is in order. With the recent rains, I don't think a trek out there is such a good idea. I would like to see if the rains affected anything, though. Speaking of which, I am in constant talks with some people who have enormous amounts of information about the amusement park and will be sharing all that crud with the public on the Magic Landing site.
[lowers volume, listens to next track]
I still need to hunker down and get some damn info into the Mountain Shadow Lakes site. That thing's just been sitting there (the lake and the site) and I haven't touched either.
I also need to start getting some things ready for other things I have planned. The more I get in order, the closer I will get to revealing what it will be. Lindsey Buckingham is playing I'll Tell You Now, but I don't think now is the right time to say.
This iPod is trying to tell the stories before I can do it. Strange what happens when you program it then set it on SHUFFLE.
Fucking chorus is just saying "TELL TELL TELL TELL".
[pushes forward button to next song: Elton John Rocket Man (I Think Its Going To Be A Long Time)]
There. That should stop now.
Bastard.
No one seems to believe what I want to do, though. The few I have told think its an awesome idea. I guess publishers will have to agree for me to continue.
3:21AM. Time doesn't fly when ideas don't.
I sit here and think about what the layout will look like. Start off with Magic Landing, then end with it. Mix in some movie theaters and some concert halls, some sporting arenas and some sad crying clowns in iron lungs and I think I might have a winner.
Yeah, the insanity is starting to kick in.
Well, I guess I better start getting ready for work. I do need to find my pants. I left them to wash, but I don't know where they ended up. I've been wearing the same one pair for a while now. Maybe I should start a search party for my pants.
[sniff]
I need to shower too.
More soon.
IM listening to the iPod right now. Linda Ronstadt is playing Blue Bayou, but earlier I had sat down and programmed a new playlist. 158 songs long! That was an average of 4 songs per CD I own. According to iPod, that's a lot of damn songs.
[cranks the volume up and looses track of time]
I took a moment or two to listen to some songs. Its 3am.
I've decided to go ahead and buy a motorcycle. The Mustang sadly isn't what I expected. It will take way too much time & money to get it the way I want. For the cost involved, it would work out to my advantage to find a slightly better conditioned vehicle and start from there. For the time being, its going to have to be a motorcycle.
Alison Krauss & Union Station are playing Everytime You Say Goodbye. How appropriate.
Haven't decided yet what I want. Judging by all of the advice given to me by other avid riders, its going to be a cruiser or a sports cruiser. No idea what that would be. IM looking forward to it, actually. I remember the fun times I had with each of my convertibles and how I loved that sense of freedom with the top down. Open air excitement, nearly at one with the environment. Pounding the pavement with the sort of reckless abandon used by Kerouac as he wrote about what he saw when he was on the road.
Pink Floyd is playing You Better Run. How appropriate. 3:07am.
I need to start planning my next vacation. I haven't had a good road trip in quite some time now, and the bug is starting to itch. Corpus Christi sounds good right about now, God knows IM used to the fucking humidity thanks to El Pasos monsoon season.
IM trying to decide whether or not another trip to Magic Landing is in order. With the recent rains, I don't think a trek out there is such a good idea. I would like to see if the rains affected anything, though. Speaking of which, I am in constant talks with some people who have enormous amounts of information about the amusement park and will be sharing all that crud with the public on the Magic Landing site.
[lowers volume, listens to next track]
I still need to hunker down and get some damn info into the Mountain Shadow Lakes site. That thing's just been sitting there (the lake and the site) and I haven't touched either.
I also need to start getting some things ready for other things I have planned. The more I get in order, the closer I will get to revealing what it will be. Lindsey Buckingham is playing I'll Tell You Now, but I don't think now is the right time to say.
This iPod is trying to tell the stories before I can do it. Strange what happens when you program it then set it on SHUFFLE.
Fucking chorus is just saying "TELL TELL TELL TELL".
[pushes forward button to next song: Elton John Rocket Man (I Think Its Going To Be A Long Time)]
There. That should stop now.
Bastard.
No one seems to believe what I want to do, though. The few I have told think its an awesome idea. I guess publishers will have to agree for me to continue.
3:21AM. Time doesn't fly when ideas don't.
I sit here and think about what the layout will look like. Start off with Magic Landing, then end with it. Mix in some movie theaters and some concert halls, some sporting arenas and some sad crying clowns in iron lungs and I think I might have a winner.
Yeah, the insanity is starting to kick in.
Well, I guess I better start getting ready for work. I do need to find my pants. I left them to wash, but I don't know where they ended up. I've been wearing the same one pair for a while now. Maybe I should start a search party for my pants.
[sniff]
I need to shower too.
More soon.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Quelling Boredom
TV is bad for the populace. It has an influence of which acts can be imitated. Often shocking, often dumb, most of the time a waste of time. Others are way too much fun!
Take Amber & I. Itching for mayhem (and mosquito bites) we bought some Diet Coke liters and Mentos candy.
When you add 5 or 6 candies to a freshly opened bottle of coke you get the fountain featured above. I wasn't fast enough with the camera to capture the higher peak of the geyser, but you get the idea.
The aftermath is quite stunning, and really funny. More than half of the bottle was emptied out and the remnants were flatter than a Firestone tire.
If you're bored and got $3.58 in pocket ($2.49 for the 3 liter Diet Coke and $1.19 for the box of Mentos) and have some place to spill one and a half liters of soda all willy-nilly, then by all means, go nuts!
Take Amber & I. Itching for mayhem (and mosquito bites) we bought some Diet Coke liters and Mentos candy.
When you add 5 or 6 candies to a freshly opened bottle of coke you get the fountain featured above. I wasn't fast enough with the camera to capture the higher peak of the geyser, but you get the idea.
The aftermath is quite stunning, and really funny. More than half of the bottle was emptied out and the remnants were flatter than a Firestone tire.
If you're bored and got $3.58 in pocket ($2.49 for the 3 liter Diet Coke and $1.19 for the box of Mentos) and have some place to spill one and a half liters of soda all willy-nilly, then by all means, go nuts!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
TAGGED
GET OFF MY LAWN, YOU DAMN KIDS!
I was tagged by Torn Shorts and quite honestly, I love these damn things!
1. Four jobs I have held in my life:
Morning show producer, amusement park ride operator, TV assignments editor, media relations for a non-profit
2. Four movies I could watch over and over:
Office Space, Kill Bill 1&2, Tomorrow Never Dies, The Getaway
3. Four places I have lived:
El Paso. IM boring, sue me!
4. Four TV shows I love to watch:
Mythbusters, Ghost Hunters, The Venture Brothers, Countdown with Keith Olbermann
5. Four places I've been on vacation:
Las Vegas, San Antonio, Chicago, Corpus Christi
6. Four of my favorite websites:
fark.com, wilwheaton.net, thinkgeek.com, Metafilter.com
7. Four of my favorite foods:
Frisco/ Roscoe Burgers, Pizza, Lasagna, mom's tacos
8. Four friends I will tag:
Evelyn, Joe & Ivette, cause no one else will do it.
9. Right now I would rather be:
taking a long vacation!
I was tagged by Torn Shorts and quite honestly, I love these damn things!
1. Four jobs I have held in my life:
Morning show producer, amusement park ride operator, TV assignments editor, media relations for a non-profit
2. Four movies I could watch over and over:
Office Space, Kill Bill 1&2, Tomorrow Never Dies, The Getaway
3. Four places I have lived:
El Paso. IM boring, sue me!
4. Four TV shows I love to watch:
Mythbusters, Ghost Hunters, The Venture Brothers, Countdown with Keith Olbermann
5. Four places I've been on vacation:
Las Vegas, San Antonio, Chicago, Corpus Christi
6. Four of my favorite websites:
fark.com, wilwheaton.net, thinkgeek.com, Metafilter.com
7. Four of my favorite foods:
Frisco/ Roscoe Burgers, Pizza, Lasagna, mom's tacos
8. Four friends I will tag:
Evelyn, Joe & Ivette, cause no one else will do it.
9. Right now I would rather be:
taking a long vacation!
It feels like... BURNING...
You know, I would sit on my bed, laptop on the comforter and think to myself "What keeps this black rectangular hodgepodge of plastic and electronics cool enough not to catch fire while resting on a surface that doesn't conduct heat all that well?". Well, apparently Dell is suffering from some battery malfunctions. By malfunction, I mean short circuit. By short circuit I mean they fucking catch fire!
The upper photograph was at an electronics conference. The fucking Dell asploded on the Goddamned table! Look at the fireball, it looks like it was powered by fucking Chernobyl!
Thankfully, my Dell Inspiron 1000 was built using the last parts and pieces from a model line that was eliminated and replaced by the Inspiron 1100 and such forth. The design of the Dell laptop has a strange way of expelling heat from the case and cooling the processor. It draws air from the bottom of the laptop and expels it from the rear of the chassis. It overheats when you sit the laptop on anything other than a slightly raised surface for airflow, and placing it on the bed, carpet or lap is downright suicidal.
My friend John had clued me in to a great product made by Antec. Its a laptop cooling pad. It runs off of the USB port and does a remarkable job at cooling off the laptop and making it perform much better. When using the laptop on your lap, it keeps sensitive parts safe from heat (really, really bad).
Thankfully, my laptop was made around the time where my model was discontinued. My laptop battery is safe from the voluntary recall on certain Dell models. If you have a Dell that you need to have serviced, here's the link to the Dell Battery Return Program.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Fun & funny random crap
| American Cities That Best Fit You:: |
| 65% Chicago |
| 60% Los Angeles |
| 60% New York City |
| 55% Boston |
| 50% Philadelphia |
| You Christmas Stocking Will Be Filled with Money |
 You've either been really really good this year... Or Santa is trying to pay you off! |
| Your Deadly Sins |
| Sloth: 80% |
| Gluttony: 40% |
| Wrath: 40% |
| Envy: 20% |
| Greed: 20% |
| Lust: 20% |
| Pride: 0% |
| Chance You'll Go to Hell: 31% |
| You will die with your hand down your underwear, watching Star Trek. |
| Your Rising Sign is Aries |
 You're full of energy - and people look to you to get the party started. Confident and honest, you'll be the one to say what everyone is thinking. You are easily bored, and you always find unique ways to do things. You don't just dream it, you do it. And that's why you're so successful. Too intense for some, often times people are intimidated by you. But you're usually smart enough to charm them anyway! |
| You Are Jean Grey |
 Although your fate is often unknown, you always seem to survive (even after death). Your mind is your greatest weapon, literally! Powers: telepathy and telekinesis, the ability to project thoughts into the mind of others, communication with animals |
| You Are an Iced Coffee |
 At your best, you are: hyper, modern, and athletic At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you're out with friends Your caffeine addiction level: medium |
| Your Famous Last Words Will Be: |
 "I can pass this guy." |
| You Are The Hanging Man |
 You represent the seeking of enlightenment and spiritual clarity. You tend to confuse others, but your oddities seem deeply satisfying. Self sacrifice is easy for you, especially if it makes you a better person in the end. You are the type of person who is very in touch with your soul and inner spirit. Your fortune: Right now is a good time for reflection and meditation. You should stop resisting the problems in your life, and let yourself be vulnerable to them. You may need to sacrifice something important to you to move ahead in your life. Accept your destiny with courage, and learn to let go of what you think you need. |
| You Should Drive a Ford Shelby Mustang Cobra |
 You have an extreme need for speed, even when you're not in a hurry. And while your flying by, you don't want to look like every other car on the road! |
| Maroon 5 Shares Your Taste in Music |
 See their whole playlist here (iTunes required) |
30,000 MILES
I had just pulled into the garage at home when I saw that my car just turned 30,000 miles. I haven't seen a car odometer that low since I bought the Cavalier with 31,257 miles on it.
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