That's what gettting an inch of snow is like - according to Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes - the greatest comic strip of all time) and I've often quoted that line over the years. It applies once again to the results of our "winter storm" from the other night. For those not familiar with the reaction of Kentuckians to the possibility of snow, it goes something like this:
A day or two before the "winter weather" is predicted to arrive, people flock to grocery stores and clean out the bread, milk, and egg shelves. Mind you - this is the case for ALL degrees of winter storms - from a major 8-12 inch snow storm, to an ice storm, and even (as in this case) a 1-3 inch mild snowfall. News reporters will be stationed along main roads, parking lots, and gas stations giving live updates of the treacherous conditions. Citizens will be warned to stock up on supplies and stay off the roads (unless of course, you go to my school, in which case you will be expected to arrive on time despite the 12 inches of snow, 6 inches of ice, roaming packs of zombies, and 300 foot tall alien robots wreaking havoc). As the threat of the inch or two of snow looms closer, the grocery and hardware stores will be flooded with wild-eyed folks desperately picking through what's left of the foodstuffs, ice scrapers, and shovels. All talk will be of the impending doom and catastrophic calamity that will surely keep everyone trapped in their homes for weeks to come. This occurs even when the "storm" will surely be nothing more than an inch or two of snow...just as it was the other night. And yet - all schools closed, businesses - even doctor's offices! Normally I'm a major proponent of shutting down society for the sake of snow and having a Utopia-like celebration...but yesterday even I would have felt no need to call of classes and shut down the region. (And if I'm the one saying that, then that's really significant!)
You know what I long for? I would really like to hear the weather-people talk positively about snow for once. Like -- not get so upbeat and happy when the snow misses us or less falls than is expected. I want to hear things like "well, darn, it doesn't look like we're going to get all that much snow after all. But hey - we tried our best! There's still plenty of winter left, so we have more opportunities to get that solid 10 inch storm!"
Switching gears...I finally got around to picking up the Them Crooked Vultures album. For those who don't know - this is a side project featuring Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. And yes, it sounds just like a blend of all three. Really really REALLY cool stuff! One can almost literally pinpoint certain strains of each members' style running through the songs. The song "Mind Eraser No Chaser" is one that gets lodged in your head for the entire day - be careful not to burn yourself out. I was a little cautious about what to expect at first, but was pleasantly blown away upon giving it a full listen.
That's all for today....2 blogs in 3 days...I'm spoiling you guys....
Friday, January 8, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Hello, 2010...just yesterday you seemed infinitely far away
Hey 2010...you see your buddy 2009 over there? Yeah....he doesn't look so hot, does it? Nope. That's uh...that's gonna be you in a year if you don't watch your step. I'm not one to be trifled with. Do you know what the motto for last year was? No? It was "2009 - The Year of Vengeance." Yeah. Let that sink in. Haven't come up with a motto for you yet, though...
Oh, hello readers...didn't see you there....if you don't put a new year in its place right away it can become headstrong and disrespectful.
So I know I took a few weeks off from this thing. Seems like I took a couple weeks off of everything. And that's probably a good thing. I'm supposed to be working on a project for a professor before the new semester begins (in about 5 days), but ever since Christmas I've plateaued and not much has been accomplished. I figured I would make a lot of headway this week...however, I keep getting caught up running errands and wallowing in the mire of unmotivation. And, of course, there is the condition many of us know all too well - Procrastination. Why do we do it? I suppose it has to do with what one infamous professor always asks us - "are you a carrot or a stick person?" And unless I'm truly interested in something, I need a giant stick swinging down to crush my bones.
What hasn't helped this week is that I went online and looked at the course webpages for some of this semester's classes. (Cue ominous 1950s horror movie music) Looks like there's going to be lots of horrific computer programming.....I absolutely HATE that stuff....why on earth do they insist on making things harder than they need to be -- more complicated and confusing? Why not try to simplify things? OH NO! Let's make computers so that you need to know a dozen asinine, complex, and unnecessarily obtuse computer languages so that you can physically type in outrageously long, complicated, and tedious commands for each tiny little thing you want the computer to do! Here's a shocking idea -- how about making it so that you just tell the computer in plain English what you want it to do? Or maybe have voice-recognition software so that you simply TELL the computer what you want? "Hey, stupid computer -- I want you to use the Bernoulli equation to solve for stupid velocity with the following stupid variables! Can you stupid handle that??!?!?!"
What makes it worse is that the other fellows at school LOVE this stuff. They eat it up like Oreo cookies first thing in the morning (I could eat a box of those things upon waking). "Oh boy, FORTRAN and Visual Basic! Integrating codes between Excel and POLYMATH! This is fun and easy and helpful! C'mon Rick, you know how to do this! What's that? Telling the computer what you want? HAHAHA - that's just silly! Typing in inhumanly long and ridiculous codes is way better!"
Soooo.....in other news....we might be getting our first touch of snow for the season tonight and tomorrow. Only a couple of inches at best....but better than the nothing we've gotten thus far along with watching such places as New Mexico and Dallas get hit with winter weather while we alternate between 45 and torrential downpours for days on end OR 20 degrees and windy with blue skies. Of course, there's always the local weather station's Anti-Snow Machine to contend with. The Anti-Snow Machine (as you all know) creates a magical bubble of clear air, above-freezing temps, or otherwise removes the presence of snow from an area as large as the viewing area or as small as my personal location. So while all the area outside the magical bubble ceases the misery of their daily grind and runs out to frolic in a harmonious Utopia of snow and Christmas songs and talking snowmen and animated rabbits and smiles and hot chocolate and sledding (and not to mention everyone suddenly lives in a forest preserve like in Calvin and Hobbes...in fact, most of my idyllic visions of life are somehow related to that comic strip...) and peace on Earth and blah blah blah blah blah --- meanwhile, I'm standing at the window watching rain come down as the tv turns itself on and the weatherman or weatherwoman or weathermonster or weatherbear or weathercoffeemaker or weatherwoodchuck appears on the screen taunting me by name and using foul language to demean me as he/she/it has the camera follow them outside to roll around in the snow and then write "Eat it, Rick" in the snow itself. Of course, later on follows the pretentious pandering to the audience during the regular broadcast,"oh, gee, it was just so strange, we got lucky and the snow just dissipated over our area! We never could have predicted that! Who knew?"
Hmm....perhaps I should go eat something....like many people, I have a medical tendency to have low blood sugar if I don't eat regularly...many other people completely dismiss this and do not take it seriously when I say "I can't skip a meal." They think it's just me being dramatic or something. But no - you don't understand...I....can't....skip...a meal. From a health standpoint, I HAVE to keep myself fed regularly. No food = no glucose getting to the brain = inability to function like a normal human being. So when my class schedule comes out and two days a week we have a 6 hour block of nonstop classes from 11-5 with no lunch break and people laugh when I say that this is a serious problem - I can get a little annoyed. "Oh, just go eat some computer programming - that'll make you feel better - who needs food when you can stare at idiotic computer languages?"
Alright, well....looks like I started off the new year of blogging with a low-blood-sugar induced diatribe about various annoyances. I'm sure you all totally enjoyed that and don't want your money back. Oh...I mean...no....your credit cards are so NOT being charged automatically each time you view my page....that's just a ridiculous idea...like low blood sugar...or computer programming...or an Anti-Snow Machine...
Oh, hello readers...didn't see you there....if you don't put a new year in its place right away it can become headstrong and disrespectful.
So I know I took a few weeks off from this thing. Seems like I took a couple weeks off of everything. And that's probably a good thing. I'm supposed to be working on a project for a professor before the new semester begins (in about 5 days), but ever since Christmas I've plateaued and not much has been accomplished. I figured I would make a lot of headway this week...however, I keep getting caught up running errands and wallowing in the mire of unmotivation. And, of course, there is the condition many of us know all too well - Procrastination. Why do we do it? I suppose it has to do with what one infamous professor always asks us - "are you a carrot or a stick person?" And unless I'm truly interested in something, I need a giant stick swinging down to crush my bones.
What hasn't helped this week is that I went online and looked at the course webpages for some of this semester's classes. (Cue ominous 1950s horror movie music) Looks like there's going to be lots of horrific computer programming.....I absolutely HATE that stuff....why on earth do they insist on making things harder than they need to be -- more complicated and confusing? Why not try to simplify things? OH NO! Let's make computers so that you need to know a dozen asinine, complex, and unnecessarily obtuse computer languages so that you can physically type in outrageously long, complicated, and tedious commands for each tiny little thing you want the computer to do! Here's a shocking idea -- how about making it so that you just tell the computer in plain English what you want it to do? Or maybe have voice-recognition software so that you simply TELL the computer what you want? "Hey, stupid computer -- I want you to use the Bernoulli equation to solve for stupid velocity with the following stupid variables! Can you stupid handle that??!?!?!"
What makes it worse is that the other fellows at school LOVE this stuff. They eat it up like Oreo cookies first thing in the morning (I could eat a box of those things upon waking). "Oh boy, FORTRAN and Visual Basic! Integrating codes between Excel and POLYMATH! This is fun and easy and helpful! C'mon Rick, you know how to do this! What's that? Telling the computer what you want? HAHAHA - that's just silly! Typing in inhumanly long and ridiculous codes is way better!"
Soooo.....in other news....we might be getting our first touch of snow for the season tonight and tomorrow. Only a couple of inches at best....but better than the nothing we've gotten thus far along with watching such places as New Mexico and Dallas get hit with winter weather while we alternate between 45 and torrential downpours for days on end OR 20 degrees and windy with blue skies. Of course, there's always the local weather station's Anti-Snow Machine to contend with. The Anti-Snow Machine (as you all know) creates a magical bubble of clear air, above-freezing temps, or otherwise removes the presence of snow from an area as large as the viewing area or as small as my personal location. So while all the area outside the magical bubble ceases the misery of their daily grind and runs out to frolic in a harmonious Utopia of snow and Christmas songs and talking snowmen and animated rabbits and smiles and hot chocolate and sledding (and not to mention everyone suddenly lives in a forest preserve like in Calvin and Hobbes...in fact, most of my idyllic visions of life are somehow related to that comic strip...) and peace on Earth and blah blah blah blah blah --- meanwhile, I'm standing at the window watching rain come down as the tv turns itself on and the weatherman or weatherwoman or weathermonster or weatherbear or weathercoffeemaker or weatherwoodchuck appears on the screen taunting me by name and using foul language to demean me as he/she/it has the camera follow them outside to roll around in the snow and then write "Eat it, Rick" in the snow itself. Of course, later on follows the pretentious pandering to the audience during the regular broadcast,"oh, gee, it was just so strange, we got lucky and the snow just dissipated over our area! We never could have predicted that! Who knew?"
Hmm....perhaps I should go eat something....like many people, I have a medical tendency to have low blood sugar if I don't eat regularly...many other people completely dismiss this and do not take it seriously when I say "I can't skip a meal." They think it's just me being dramatic or something. But no - you don't understand...I....can't....skip...a meal. From a health standpoint, I HAVE to keep myself fed regularly. No food = no glucose getting to the brain = inability to function like a normal human being. So when my class schedule comes out and two days a week we have a 6 hour block of nonstop classes from 11-5 with no lunch break and people laugh when I say that this is a serious problem - I can get a little annoyed. "Oh, just go eat some computer programming - that'll make you feel better - who needs food when you can stare at idiotic computer languages?"
Alright, well....looks like I started off the new year of blogging with a low-blood-sugar induced diatribe about various annoyances. I'm sure you all totally enjoyed that and don't want your money back. Oh...I mean...no....your credit cards are so NOT being charged automatically each time you view my page....that's just a ridiculous idea...like low blood sugar...or computer programming...or an Anti-Snow Machine...
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Pre-Christmas Thoughts
Why do "they" make it sound like getting alternate student loans for college is easy and simple? It's not. In fact, it seems much more likely that the whole thing is a scheme to get people to spend time and money going to school for 3 years and then make it impossible for them to get the necessary funds to complete their degree. Then they sit back and laugh. "They" should be rounded up and fed to pteradactyls. (I think I just misspelled pteradactyls...but I'm too lazy to go look up the correct spelling)
Is anyone else disturbed by these Gap commercials with the little girls dancing around doing a cheer about how their clothes are "officially retired?" There's just something...wrong about it. And the cheer gets stuck in my head. "I love my comfy sweater - I love my comfy sweater - how cute are these boots? how cute are these boots?" Consequently the ad has taught me the "talk to the moose" thing where you stick your hands against your head like moose-antlers (this is as opposed to simply saying "talk to the hand" and extending one's hand palm outwards.). Hey, student loan people - talk to the moose! ....and my fist....
Did anyone else hear about the octopus that carries coconut shells across the seafloor and uses them as shelter? It's the first documented instance of an invertebrate, such as an octopus, using tools. Pretty cool stuff....wish I had an octopus....I bet he could get a student loan....(grumble grumble grumble)....
Did they really come out with more stupid reality singing shows recently? I see society's IQ continues to drop at an alarming rate. Maybe an evil one-world government is just what some of this world needs. Let the rest of us go colonize Mars first, though. And we're taking the octopi with us! (That's plural for octopus)
I heard we have a chance for a tiny amount of snow on Saturday. Less than an inch. You know what this means? All the grocery stores will be cleaned out of milk and bread in the next 48 hours. All generators in the tri-state area will be sold out. Salt trucks will be running non-stop beginning at noon today. Gas lines. Gas line brawls. Shoving matches in church parking lots. 3 weeks without power. College football mascots flying F-14s and doing barrel-rolls while Van Halen blasts from gigantic hidden speakers which can somehow be heard but not seen by everyone within a 100 mile radius. ........I know I can't wait!
I just realized this morning that we don't have a Christmas tree up in the house. Wow. Just...wow. I'd also like to take this moment to metaphorically get in everyone's face and say that they are CHRISTMAS TREES not "Holiday trees." Political correctness is a disease. It's way worse than swine flu. But not as profitable as global warming....(wink)
How come it's so much easier for me to write blogs on days when I really need to be studying, writing papers, or working on important Christmas break projects for professors?
Is anyone else disturbed by these Gap commercials with the little girls dancing around doing a cheer about how their clothes are "officially retired?" There's just something...wrong about it. And the cheer gets stuck in my head. "I love my comfy sweater - I love my comfy sweater - how cute are these boots? how cute are these boots?" Consequently the ad has taught me the "talk to the moose" thing where you stick your hands against your head like moose-antlers (this is as opposed to simply saying "talk to the hand" and extending one's hand palm outwards.). Hey, student loan people - talk to the moose! ....and my fist....
Did anyone else hear about the octopus that carries coconut shells across the seafloor and uses them as shelter? It's the first documented instance of an invertebrate, such as an octopus, using tools. Pretty cool stuff....wish I had an octopus....I bet he could get a student loan....(grumble grumble grumble)....
Did they really come out with more stupid reality singing shows recently? I see society's IQ continues to drop at an alarming rate. Maybe an evil one-world government is just what some of this world needs. Let the rest of us go colonize Mars first, though. And we're taking the octopi with us! (That's plural for octopus)
I heard we have a chance for a tiny amount of snow on Saturday. Less than an inch. You know what this means? All the grocery stores will be cleaned out of milk and bread in the next 48 hours. All generators in the tri-state area will be sold out. Salt trucks will be running non-stop beginning at noon today. Gas lines. Gas line brawls. Shoving matches in church parking lots. 3 weeks without power. College football mascots flying F-14s and doing barrel-rolls while Van Halen blasts from gigantic hidden speakers which can somehow be heard but not seen by everyone within a 100 mile radius. ........I know I can't wait!
I just realized this morning that we don't have a Christmas tree up in the house. Wow. Just...wow. I'd also like to take this moment to metaphorically get in everyone's face and say that they are CHRISTMAS TREES not "Holiday trees." Political correctness is a disease. It's way worse than swine flu. But not as profitable as global warming....(wink)
How come it's so much easier for me to write blogs on days when I really need to be studying, writing papers, or working on important Christmas break projects for professors?
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Abe Lincoln or Layne Staley?
If you had the power to not only go back in time, but to ensure that certain people would not be able to die untimely (early) deaths - and you had to choose between someone like an Abe Lincoln or JFK and a Layne Staley/Kurt Cobain/John Lennon type -- who would you choose?
Between Lincoln and Staley - I'm going with Staley. Lincoln had pretty much peaked. What more was he going to do with his life? Staley, on the other hand, if he were unable to die an untimely deaht - no overdosing, no suicide, no fatal grizzly bear attacks - he would have several more decades of creating music. That's infinitely more beneficial to the world than an ex-president going around the speaking circuit and campaigning for other politicians.
Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just the miserably dreary 40 degrees, rain, and wind (perfect Alice In Chains weather) while the rest of the country experiences winter wonderlands with peace and harmony and no work or school and hot chocolate for everyone and cats and dogs riding sleds together as Christmas songs rain down from the heavens and everyone is happy and smiling and life is one big Christmas commercial as families lob snowballs at each other and laugh amongst the pine trees with more precious snow fluttering down around them in a very picturesque and timeless scene and all is good....all is good......
Between Lincoln and Staley - I'm going with Staley. Lincoln had pretty much peaked. What more was he going to do with his life? Staley, on the other hand, if he were unable to die an untimely deaht - no overdosing, no suicide, no fatal grizzly bear attacks - he would have several more decades of creating music. That's infinitely more beneficial to the world than an ex-president going around the speaking circuit and campaigning for other politicians.
Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just the miserably dreary 40 degrees, rain, and wind (perfect Alice In Chains weather) while the rest of the country experiences winter wonderlands with peace and harmony and no work or school and hot chocolate for everyone and cats and dogs riding sleds together as Christmas songs rain down from the heavens and everyone is happy and smiling and life is one big Christmas commercial as families lob snowballs at each other and laugh amongst the pine trees with more precious snow fluttering down around them in a very picturesque and timeless scene and all is good....all is good......
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Spartans! Prepare for Glory!.....and Final Exams!
I'm writing to you from the threshold of Finals Week. All the tidal-wave-esque papers, projects, presentations, and assignments have been completed, vanquished, suffered through, and annihilated. Just a few more exams and then a few weeks of decompressing....
So the Bears managed to win today. And Cutler didn't throw any interceptions! I'm not on the Cutler-Hating bandwagon - in fact, I've started my own bandwagon as a Bears fan -- the Our-Offensive-Line-and-Coaching-Staff-Are-Pretty-Darn-Crappy bandwagon. Feel free to jump aboard - we have honey roasted peanuts (from Publix - not Planters brand...is there anything Publix can't produce that doesn't turn out amazing? Oh, that's right...most of you have never heard of Publix...well, it's the greatest grocery store chain that I know of...) 5-7....that's just the kind of record that leaves a team out of the playoffs but also out of the higher picks in the draft. Oh, but wait...we traded away our draft picks for Cutler...soooooo....
Tonight is the college football BCS Bowl selection. Where will my Canes end up? There's a chance they could be in the Music City Bowl playing against UK. More likely they'll be playing somewhere in central Florida. Speaking of Florida....it was so utterly satisfying to see the Gators lose last night. But I discovered that I do not hate Tim Tebow....just the hype he gets. In fact, I felt a little bad for Tebow...he seemed genuinely upset at the end. As for Urban Meyer...he can go play in traffic.
Have I vented about how this season of The Office has been very disappointing? What's that? "Every single day" you say? Really? I didn't think I brought it up THAT much. Well, not to ram a point into the rock-hard and wind-swept ground, but it HAS been quite disappointing. I want more hilarity and random goofiness! I want Dwight setting the office on fire! I want Michael kidnapping pizza delivery guys! I want grizzly bears with anti-aircraft guns! I want furniture being kicked around! I want Cheez-its!
hmmm...I just remembered a time when I was going to try to make this blog more serious and thoughtful. Or at least in between the random nonsense and musings, make some deep comments on life that my readers could perhaps find inspiring, poignant, or otherwise appreciate. But no...instead, I just go on about football and complain about The Office. (which, by the way, is the funniest show on tv...and Dwight Schrute is now my favorite tv character of all-time)
Thanksgiving went by in a blur. Quite literally. I was working on my kidney project the whole time. On Thanksgiving day I greeted family as they arrived by asking them if they happened to know the flow rate of solutes out of the proximal tubule. I took a 4 hour break to socialize and eat dinner...and then was back at it. I miss the years when we had tons of extended family in for the holiday. Extra tables had to be brought in and pushed together. 2 or 3 turkeys had to be cooked. I had to be picked up from the airport, as in most of my memories of such times - I was in college (the first time). Board games were played. Movies were watched. Guitars appeared and songs were played and sung. Life seemed like an endless ocean spread out before me, filled with countless opportunities and chances to make memories - to live out all the dreams I had. That sense of urgency had not yet taken hold...that full, soul-shaking realization that an end not only existed - but was just within sight on the horizon. It was much easier to be tripped up by, as well as take for granted, the little things. Now all hands are on deck....life spins past ever faster and faster (an engineer might say it moves exponentially). Soon Christmas will be upon us...and then a new year....I still remember a friend and I always saying that whenever 2010 rolled around it would mean that we were officially old. That and whenever Sean Connery passes away. (May the one true Bond live a thousand more years!)
So folks, as we progress through this holiday season - if you catch yourself in a lull or moment of doubt...remember that life moves too fast to try and catch or keep restrained, you just have to appreciate the little moments that you have the opportunity to savor. Put a little evil grin on that face and create a memory - something you CAN hold onto. Take it all in - let it roll around your soul - and then do whatever you can to make that moment stand out and be special for those around you. Smiles. It's always better to have a memory full of smiles and laughter than one of boredom, tragedy, and regret. If we're all going to end up going over the waterfall no matter what - then we might as well enjoy the ride while we can.
So the Bears managed to win today. And Cutler didn't throw any interceptions! I'm not on the Cutler-Hating bandwagon - in fact, I've started my own bandwagon as a Bears fan -- the Our-Offensive-Line-and-Coaching-Staff-Are-Pretty-Darn-Crappy bandwagon. Feel free to jump aboard - we have honey roasted peanuts (from Publix - not Planters brand...is there anything Publix can't produce that doesn't turn out amazing? Oh, that's right...most of you have never heard of Publix...well, it's the greatest grocery store chain that I know of...) 5-7....that's just the kind of record that leaves a team out of the playoffs but also out of the higher picks in the draft. Oh, but wait...we traded away our draft picks for Cutler...soooooo....
Tonight is the college football BCS Bowl selection. Where will my Canes end up? There's a chance they could be in the Music City Bowl playing against UK. More likely they'll be playing somewhere in central Florida. Speaking of Florida....it was so utterly satisfying to see the Gators lose last night. But I discovered that I do not hate Tim Tebow....just the hype he gets. In fact, I felt a little bad for Tebow...he seemed genuinely upset at the end. As for Urban Meyer...he can go play in traffic.
Have I vented about how this season of The Office has been very disappointing? What's that? "Every single day" you say? Really? I didn't think I brought it up THAT much. Well, not to ram a point into the rock-hard and wind-swept ground, but it HAS been quite disappointing. I want more hilarity and random goofiness! I want Dwight setting the office on fire! I want Michael kidnapping pizza delivery guys! I want grizzly bears with anti-aircraft guns! I want furniture being kicked around! I want Cheez-its!
hmmm...I just remembered a time when I was going to try to make this blog more serious and thoughtful. Or at least in between the random nonsense and musings, make some deep comments on life that my readers could perhaps find inspiring, poignant, or otherwise appreciate. But no...instead, I just go on about football and complain about The Office. (which, by the way, is the funniest show on tv...and Dwight Schrute is now my favorite tv character of all-time)
Thanksgiving went by in a blur. Quite literally. I was working on my kidney project the whole time. On Thanksgiving day I greeted family as they arrived by asking them if they happened to know the flow rate of solutes out of the proximal tubule. I took a 4 hour break to socialize and eat dinner...and then was back at it. I miss the years when we had tons of extended family in for the holiday. Extra tables had to be brought in and pushed together. 2 or 3 turkeys had to be cooked. I had to be picked up from the airport, as in most of my memories of such times - I was in college (the first time). Board games were played. Movies were watched. Guitars appeared and songs were played and sung. Life seemed like an endless ocean spread out before me, filled with countless opportunities and chances to make memories - to live out all the dreams I had. That sense of urgency had not yet taken hold...that full, soul-shaking realization that an end not only existed - but was just within sight on the horizon. It was much easier to be tripped up by, as well as take for granted, the little things. Now all hands are on deck....life spins past ever faster and faster (an engineer might say it moves exponentially). Soon Christmas will be upon us...and then a new year....I still remember a friend and I always saying that whenever 2010 rolled around it would mean that we were officially old. That and whenever Sean Connery passes away. (May the one true Bond live a thousand more years!)
So folks, as we progress through this holiday season - if you catch yourself in a lull or moment of doubt...remember that life moves too fast to try and catch or keep restrained, you just have to appreciate the little moments that you have the opportunity to savor. Put a little evil grin on that face and create a memory - something you CAN hold onto. Take it all in - let it roll around your soul - and then do whatever you can to make that moment stand out and be special for those around you. Smiles. It's always better to have a memory full of smiles and laughter than one of boredom, tragedy, and regret. If we're all going to end up going over the waterfall no matter what - then we might as well enjoy the ride while we can.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Just Nodding My Head to Prove I'm Alive
Yes, I've been neglecting this blog for a while now. The reasons? First -- school. There just hasn't been time for much else outside of engineering related stuff. Second -- I think I fell into that natural tendency of mine to over-think what I was writing about and got to a point where I was hearing the criticisms of others before even writing anything. So, here's a nice, easy step back into entertaining all 3 of you who read these things....
Thanksgiving is fast approaching...my favorite holiday. Some folks prefer ham over turkey, which to me is simply outrageous. Even outside of a holiday meal - a full-sized turkey vs a full baked ham -- the turkey always wins in my book. And there's no such thing as too much turkey. It's meant to be consumed for a week after the actual holiday in sandwiches, reheated plates of leftovers, and even turkey-a-la-king. In fact, in this spirit of complete government control of all aspects of our lives and mandating every minute detail -- why don't they just make it a rule that sufficient turkey must be prepared such that all immediate family members and hangers-on can indulge in turkey eating until at least the end of the weekend? Turkey Czars? Why not! We have czars for everything else....
College football is nearing the end of its regular season and the NFL only has a couple more months. Meanwhile the dreadful NBA is already back in action. Just like John Mayer (though, admittedly not as awful and detrimental to society) the NBA should be abolished....or at least forced to only last for the few paltry months that the football season is limited to. This 9 months out of the year stuff is a crime against humanity!
Swine flue, swine flu, swine flu....did you get your shot? Not me. I got a regular flu shot as I've had them in recent years with no side effects. But I do not trust the hysteria or the rushed production of the swine flu vaccination. Rule of thumb -- never trust anything that has been politicized or overly hyped by the media. It's also a rule of thumb in chemical engineering to have the velocity of water through a pipe somewhere between 4 and 10 feet/second. (or is it 4 and 7......crap....)
I haven't been to the movies since August, so I have no reviews. in fact, other than a trip to Garden of the Gods with the family a few weeks ago and the school-trip to Nashville for our national conference, I haven't left the house at all on the weekends!
The Office....in the last few months it has become my official favorite show on tv. The wedding episode was fantastic, but all of the new episodes since (with the exception of this past week's) have been quite disappointing. And other Office fans that i know seem to feel the same way. Hopefully this most recent episode is a sign that they are getting their groove back. Dwight being Dwight, Jim playing pranks, Michael doing awkward and ridiculously stupid things...that's the magical formula that made the show so great. Michael at the shareholder's meeting was superb! "45 day plan....45 points....45 points in 45 days..."
Okay, I'm hitting the wall and there's much engineering stuff to be done today. If I don't write again before Thanksgiving - have a good one and send me your leftovers.
Thanksgiving is fast approaching...my favorite holiday. Some folks prefer ham over turkey, which to me is simply outrageous. Even outside of a holiday meal - a full-sized turkey vs a full baked ham -- the turkey always wins in my book. And there's no such thing as too much turkey. It's meant to be consumed for a week after the actual holiday in sandwiches, reheated plates of leftovers, and even turkey-a-la-king. In fact, in this spirit of complete government control of all aspects of our lives and mandating every minute detail -- why don't they just make it a rule that sufficient turkey must be prepared such that all immediate family members and hangers-on can indulge in turkey eating until at least the end of the weekend? Turkey Czars? Why not! We have czars for everything else....
College football is nearing the end of its regular season and the NFL only has a couple more months. Meanwhile the dreadful NBA is already back in action. Just like John Mayer (though, admittedly not as awful and detrimental to society) the NBA should be abolished....or at least forced to only last for the few paltry months that the football season is limited to. This 9 months out of the year stuff is a crime against humanity!
Swine flue, swine flu, swine flu....did you get your shot? Not me. I got a regular flu shot as I've had them in recent years with no side effects. But I do not trust the hysteria or the rushed production of the swine flu vaccination. Rule of thumb -- never trust anything that has been politicized or overly hyped by the media. It's also a rule of thumb in chemical engineering to have the velocity of water through a pipe somewhere between 4 and 10 feet/second. (or is it 4 and 7......crap....)
I haven't been to the movies since August, so I have no reviews. in fact, other than a trip to Garden of the Gods with the family a few weeks ago and the school-trip to Nashville for our national conference, I haven't left the house at all on the weekends!
The Office....in the last few months it has become my official favorite show on tv. The wedding episode was fantastic, but all of the new episodes since (with the exception of this past week's) have been quite disappointing. And other Office fans that i know seem to feel the same way. Hopefully this most recent episode is a sign that they are getting their groove back. Dwight being Dwight, Jim playing pranks, Michael doing awkward and ridiculously stupid things...that's the magical formula that made the show so great. Michael at the shareholder's meeting was superb! "45 day plan....45 points....45 points in 45 days..."
Okay, I'm hitting the wall and there's much engineering stuff to be done today. If I don't write again before Thanksgiving - have a good one and send me your leftovers.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Awards, Hype, Corporations, and Interstellar Zoos
Because it was suggested, I'm going to try to squeeze out a short blog this morning.
So our supreme leader has been given the Nobel Peace Prize? This is another farce in this train-wreck of a presidency -- but considering some of the past winners (and the state of society in general), I probably shouldn't be surprised at all. From my understanding the nominations were due by February 1st....show he managed to perform such wondrous works of peace-making prior to that date.
I really don't think there are many people in this world today deserving of a Peace award. Certainly not any political leaders. In fact, I think politicians should be excluded from the award completely. Maybe if there are still some Mother Theresas out there -- give it to them.
I'm ready for the aliens to come and "wipe this place clean" (to quote Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails song "The Warning"), just as long as they accept my volunteering to be in the human exhibit of the Interstellar Zoo. And I humbly request either Kate Beckinsale or Adriana Lima to share my cage with.
Hey - did anybody else catch that stuff about school-kids being made to sing pro-obama songs recently? Obviously, you wouldn't have heard about it on in the mainstream media. It was pretty sickening stuff.
Lots of new music came out last month: Muse's "The Resistance" (amazing album -- and lyrically works as a soundtrack for those of us opposed to socialism and the movement to a one-world government), Pearl Jam's "Backspacer" (in case you missed it I was quite upset that they made an exclusive deal with Target and thus it was not available in a physical form here in our area where there are no Targets....in fact, let's get off track a little...Pearl Jam, being the liberals that they are, have always been very anti-corporation and about wanting the fans to hear their music without having to pay a lot of money. They always have done a good job of keeping concert ticket prices reasonable. But in this case, they completely and epically failed. Apparently all corporations are evil....except Target. But in so limiting the distribution of their album, people like me did not have access to it. True, it was available on ITunes, but some of us prefer having a tangible CD in our hands -- plus the CD has a higher sound quality. So, the band ended up limiting access to the music. Plus we all had to pay MORE than normal to get it. Best Buy is typically the cheapest place to get new CDs. Target is always more expensive. And if you do not have a Target within driving distance, you would have to either order from one online (thus incurring shipping costs) or from Pearl Jam's own website (at a higher price and again with shipping costs...it would cost about $20 actually). I would hope that after all this they would realize that not all corporations are evil and that most actually provide a service to people. By being gigantic distributors of products, these corporations make goods available to the masses at affordable prices. Does the corporate world itself suck? Yes, of course. Do I long to see mission statements, stuffy boardroom meetings, policies, procedures, HR departments, resumes, phoney handshakes, and the other rigid formalities of that world fall not just by the wayside but completely off the map and into the abyss? DEFINITELY YES PLEASE LORD MAKE IT SO!!!! But despite the detestability of the corporate world, I'm glad to have Wal-Marts and Best Buys around so I can buy the things I want/need and not have to spend more than I think I should have to.
Well, that was fun. Back to engineering stuff for me....
So our supreme leader has been given the Nobel Peace Prize? This is another farce in this train-wreck of a presidency -- but considering some of the past winners (and the state of society in general), I probably shouldn't be surprised at all. From my understanding the nominations were due by February 1st....show he managed to perform such wondrous works of peace-making prior to that date.
I really don't think there are many people in this world today deserving of a Peace award. Certainly not any political leaders. In fact, I think politicians should be excluded from the award completely. Maybe if there are still some Mother Theresas out there -- give it to them.
I'm ready for the aliens to come and "wipe this place clean" (to quote Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails song "The Warning"), just as long as they accept my volunteering to be in the human exhibit of the Interstellar Zoo. And I humbly request either Kate Beckinsale or Adriana Lima to share my cage with.
Hey - did anybody else catch that stuff about school-kids being made to sing pro-obama songs recently? Obviously, you wouldn't have heard about it on in the mainstream media. It was pretty sickening stuff.
Lots of new music came out last month: Muse's "The Resistance" (amazing album -- and lyrically works as a soundtrack for those of us opposed to socialism and the movement to a one-world government), Pearl Jam's "Backspacer" (in case you missed it I was quite upset that they made an exclusive deal with Target and thus it was not available in a physical form here in our area where there are no Targets....in fact, let's get off track a little...Pearl Jam, being the liberals that they are, have always been very anti-corporation and about wanting the fans to hear their music without having to pay a lot of money. They always have done a good job of keeping concert ticket prices reasonable. But in this case, they completely and epically failed. Apparently all corporations are evil....except Target. But in so limiting the distribution of their album, people like me did not have access to it. True, it was available on ITunes, but some of us prefer having a tangible CD in our hands -- plus the CD has a higher sound quality. So, the band ended up limiting access to the music. Plus we all had to pay MORE than normal to get it. Best Buy is typically the cheapest place to get new CDs. Target is always more expensive. And if you do not have a Target within driving distance, you would have to either order from one online (thus incurring shipping costs) or from Pearl Jam's own website (at a higher price and again with shipping costs...it would cost about $20 actually). I would hope that after all this they would realize that not all corporations are evil and that most actually provide a service to people. By being gigantic distributors of products, these corporations make goods available to the masses at affordable prices. Does the corporate world itself suck? Yes, of course. Do I long to see mission statements, stuffy boardroom meetings, policies, procedures, HR departments, resumes, phoney handshakes, and the other rigid formalities of that world fall not just by the wayside but completely off the map and into the abyss? DEFINITELY YES PLEASE LORD MAKE IT SO!!!! But despite the detestability of the corporate world, I'm glad to have Wal-Marts and Best Buys around so I can buy the things I want/need and not have to spend more than I think I should have to.
Well, that was fun. Back to engineering stuff for me....
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