MeetNewSchool

Bigger and better things

2010-09-27T13:58:00.004-04:00

Ever since the blogger update I haven't had much time to really update this page. So, instead of feigning interest in blogger I have decided to move on to Tumblr.

New name, new look, same grab bagging and general bullshit (also happens to be my moto for the 2010 ND Football season, ZINGER!)

Update your sidebars, RSS feeds, etc. I doubt NewSchool gets much more play time, but ya never know....

J-Ged Ruff Ryder

Onward...

2010-09-27T11:18:00.001-04:00

Are you gonna live your life wonderin' standing in the back lookin' around?
Are you gonna waste your time thinkin' how you've grown up or how you missed out?

White Boy Fresh

2010-08-19T03:36:00.004-04:00

A roommate and I have a new blog in the works, relating to hip-hop and Mrs. Harding-esque explications. Been done before (and probably better than we will do) but like all drunken plans, they sound great until you wake up in the morning. So blogga's (esp those on the far east coast *cough *SNEEEZZEEE*... summer allergies...quite the bitch) stick me to this.

P.S.

If you haven't listened to Sockcast yet then subscribe and please don't report us.

Moved in

2010-08-08T12:59:00.002-04:00

Well.... half way.

Picture tour in the works. I gotta wait for the decorations to come up though so it may be a bit.

HOLDONkbye

2010-08-05T23:55:00.000-04:00

the empties are hiding the clock
so fuck it
lets ride this thing out

What I'm Not

2010-07-19T22:54:00.005-04:00

I'm not as blog-dedicated as this guy.

Not as creative/original/talented with the typed-word as this girl.

Not as outlandish, outgoing, or brutally honest as this rad dude (can't say I haven't tried though)

My blog isn't as fun to look at as this one.

I don't keep a running bucket-list for the whole world to see. Not because I'm against the idea. I love the idea and I do have one buried deep in a sock drawer, or a backpack, or.... fuck where is my bucket list? I don't post it because I know myself well enough to know I have trouble sticking to things, whether it be spoken, written, or signed in blood. As the months remaining draw thin I'm proving myself correct again. Kudos to this guy. And the frosh.

I'm also not using my blog to persue a specific topic, as the kraze does so consistently well. And in a totally different but equally compelling way, the aprodite.

In the end, my little home-away-from-home on the interwebz reflects my real dwelling place pretty well. Jack of all trades. Master of Nothing. I never seem to be here as much as I want and when I am here more often than not it is for a fleeting moment. A post-it note on the door reminding me to turn the air conditioning down or check the cat's litter box before I go to __________. Lot's of poop/pee/dick jokes. Not enough substance. As the greatest English teacher I will ever have would say to me without fail," Too much telling, not enough showing."

[This is usually the paragraph where I promise to "do better" and post more often with more quality. Maybe the school year will bring a renewed passion for my telling of all things mundane/nonsensical, but for now I'm pretty meh. In the mean time, do what I do and read these blogs. They are what I am not.

Good

Before shit gets too depressing....

I bare thee farewell with one last parting gift:

2010-06-30T23:01:00.002-04:00

Confession: some girl I talked to on AIM a few times back in high school would always call me Joey Ramone. She was a friend of a friend and we never actually met in person, but I grew pretty fond of the nickname. It had a certain hip, edgey, five-years-past-pop-culture-relevance-but-still-powerful type of je nous se qua to it. I still like it and any time I see a picture of Joey or hear the Ramones for one quick second I flash back to her.

Moral: If you don't want me to remember you, don't give me a good nickname.

I'm still alive

2010-06-28T21:05:00.014-04:00

Livin life hardcore. If pictures are worth 1000 words, consider this the longest fucking post I have ever (and probably ever will) "write."

In semi-chronological order

The Lake:

ARGHHH MATEY

The nephew and I. He just learned to crawl in this picture so I would call him over to me (rather enthusiastically) then he would climb up, and we would have an awkward stare for a second. He would then continue on his way.

My brother-in-law and I sitting outside the wonderful trailer-by-the-lake meeting people as they walked by. A nice group of cougars drove by on a golf cart and threw us candy, parade-style.

On the boat with my boat hat. Also pictured: Sister.

Father and Son

Dayton:

Country party up in Dayton. I'm now in the market for a nice cowboy hat... because I make it look DAMN good. (^Exhibit A^)

The Great Outdoors:

A few pictures from a spur of the moment Sunday hike through some woods. I'm still dying to get out backpacking again. I really need to find some time for this (it's kind of hard/pointless to fit it in a small weekend trip).

Hike part 2

Empire State of Mind:

Four of the greatest (semi) eligible bachelors on this side of the Atlantic. This particular picture is taken outside of 30 Rock during a weekend trip up to NYC.

Last but far from least, one image of one of the most memorable weekends of the summer, and probably one of the most memorable of my life. Inside the original Coyote Ugly. Yes, THAT Coyote Ugly

Worry not, I still intend on blogging. This summer is just particularly crazy what with working 2 jobs and trying to get out and about a little too. So far so good.

LOST: Final Thoughts (spoilers, obvs.)

2010-05-27T18:03:00.003-04:00

As time has gone on I have come to appreciate the ending more and more. This post by (apparently) a former intern at Bad Robot, the production company for Lost, makes all well in my book. They weren't dead all along. The side-universe was neat, though I still wonder how it is that if they all "died" at different times, they all met within a week. Desmond gets Penny, Jack gets Kate (lucky dog), and Sawyer gets Juliet.

After about a week of reflection, this show has been cemented as my favorite television series of all time. Though it may not have the rewatchability of Seinfeld, or the feelgoodness of The Office (I'm still lookin for a Pam), it is superb storytelling. If you think differently, suck my fist.

Without further adieu, the explanation to explain all:

Good stuff on here! I can finally throw in my two cents! I've had to bite my tongue for far too long. Also, hopefully I can answer some of John's questions about Dharma and the "pointless breadcrumbs" that really, weren't so pointless ...

First ...
The Island:

It was real. Everything that happened on the island that we saw throughout the 6 seasons was real. Forget the final image of the plane crash, it was put in purposely to f*&k with people's heads and show how far the show had come. They really crashed. They really survived. They really discovered Dharma and the Others. The Island keeps the balance of good and evil in the world. It always has and always will perform that role. And the Island will always need a "Protector". Jacob wasn't the first, Hurley won't be the last. However, Jacob had to deal with a malevolent force (MIB) that his mother, nor Hurley had to deal with. He created the devil and had to find a way to kill him -- even though the rules prevented him from actually doing so.

Thus began Jacob's plan to bring candidates to the Island to do the one thing he couldn't do. Kill the MIB. He had a huge list of candidates that spanned generations. Yet everytime he brought people there, the MIB corrupted them and caused them to kill one another. That was until Richard came along and helped Jacob understand that if he didn't take a more active role, then his plan would never work.

Enter Dharma -- which I'm not sure why John is having such a hard time grasping. Dharma, like the countless scores of people that were brought to the island before, were brought there by Jacob as part of his plan to kill the MIB. However, the MIB was aware of this plan and interferred by "corrupting" Ben. Making Ben believe he was doing the work of Jacob when in reality he was doing the work of the MIB. This carried over into all of Ben's "off-island" activities. He was the leader. He spoke for Jacob as far as they were concerned. So the "Others" killed Dharma and later were actively trying to kill Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and all the candidates because that's what the MIB wanted. And what he couldn't do for himself.

Dharma was originally brought in to be good. But was turned bad by MIB's corruption and eventually destroyed by his pawn Ben. Now, was Dharma only brought there to help Jack and the other Canditates on their overall quest to kill Smokey? Or did Jacob have another list of Canidates from the Dharma group that we were never aware of? That's a question that is purposley not answered because whatever answer the writers came up with would be worse than the one you come up with for yourself. Still ... Dharma's purpose is not "pointless" or even vague. Hell, it's pretty blantent.

Still, despite his grand plan, Jacob wanted to give his "candidates" (our Lostaways) the one thing he, nor his brother, were ever afforded: free will. Hence him bringing a host of "candidates" through the decades and letting them "choose" which one would actually do the job in the end. Maybe he knew Jack would be the one to kill Flocke and that Hurley would be the protector in the end. Maybe he didn't. But that was always the key question of the show: Fate vs Free-will. Science vs Faith. Personally I think Jacob knew from the beginning what was going to happen and that everyone played a part over 6 seasons in helping Jack get to the point where he needed to be to kill Smokey and make Hurley the protector -- I know that's how a lot of the writers viewed it. But again, they won't answer that (nor should they) because that ruins the fun.

In the end, Jack got to do what he always wanted to do from the very first episode of the show: Save his fellow Lostaways. He got Kate and Sawyer off the island and he gave Hurley the purpose in life he'd always been missing. And, in Sideways world (which we'll get to next) he in fact saved everyone by helping them all move on ...

Now...

Sideways World:

Sideways world is where it gets really cool in terms of theology and metaphysical discussion (for me at least -- because I love history/religion theories and loved all the talks in the writer's room about it). Basically what the show is proposing is that we're all linked to certain people during our lives. Call them soulmates (though it's not exactly the best word). But these people we're linked to are with us duing "the most important moments of our lives" as Christian said. These are the people we move through the universe with from lifetime to lifetime. It's loosely based in Hinduisim with large doses of western religion thrown into the mix.

The conceit that the writers created, basing it off these religious philosophies, was that as a group, the Lostaways subconsciously created this "sideways" world where they exist in purgatory until they are "awakened" and find one another. Once they all find one another, they can then move on and move forward. In essence, this is the show's concept of the afterlife. According to the show, everyone creates their own "Sideways" purgatory with their "soulmates" throughout their lives and exist there until they all move on together. That's a beautiful notion. Even if you aren't religious or even spirtual, the idea that we live AND die together is deeply profound and moving.

It's a really cool and spirtual concept that fits the whole tone and subtext the show has had from the beginning. These people were SUPPOSED to be together on that plane. They were supposed to live through these events -- not JUST because of Jacob. But because that's what the universe or God (depending on how religious you wish to get) wanted to happen. The show was always about science vs faith -- and it ultimately came down on the side of faith. It answered THE core question of the series. The one question that has been at the root of every island mystery, every character backstory, every plot twist. That, by itself, is quite an accomplishment.

How much you want to extrapolate from that is up to you as the viewer. Think about season 1 when we first found the Hatch. Everyone thought that's THE answer! Whatever is down there is the answer! Then, as we discovered it was just one station of many. One link in a very long chain that kept revealing more, and more of a larger mosiac.

But the writer's took it even further this season by contrasting this Sideways "purgatory" with the Island itself. Remember when Michael appeared to Hurley, he said he was not allowed to leave the Island. Just like the MIB. He wasn't allowed into this sideways world and thus, was not afforded the opportunity to move on. Why? Because he had proven himself to be unworthy with his actions on the Island. He failed the test. The others, passed. They made it into Sideways world when they died -- some before Jack, some years later. In Hurley's case, maybe centuries later. They exist in this sideways world until they are "awakened" and they can only move on TOGETHER because they are linked. They are destined to be together for eternity. That was their destiny.

They were NOT linked to Anna Lucia, Daniel, Roussou, Alex, Miles, Lupidis, (and all the rest who weren't in the chuch -- basically everyone who wasn't in season 1). Yet those people exist in Sideways world. Why? Well again, here's where they leave it up to you to decide. The way I like to think about it, is that those people who were left behind in Sideways world have to find their own soulmates before they can wake up. It's possible that those links aren't people from the island but from their other life (Anna's parnter, the guy she shot --- Roussou's husband, etc etc).

A lot of people have been talking about Ben and why he didn't go into the Church. And if you think of Sideways world in this way, then it gives you the answer to that very question. Ben can't move on yet because he hasn't connected with the people he needs to. It's going to be his job to awaken Roussou, Alex, Anna Lucia (maybe), Ethan, Goodspeed, his father and the rest. He has to attone for his sins more than he did by being Hurley's number two. He has to do what Hurley and Desmond did for our Lostaways with his own people. He has to help them connect. And he can only move on when all the links in his chain are ready to. Same can be said for Faraday, Charlotte, Whidmore, Hawkins etc. It's really a neat, and cool concept. At least to me.

But, from a more "behind the scenes" note: the reason Ben's not in the church, and the reason no one is in the church but for Season 1 people is because they wrote the ending to the show after writing the pilot. And never changed it. The writers always said (and many didn't believe them) that they knew their ending from the very first episode. I applaud them for that. It's pretty fantastic. Originally Ben was supposed to have a 3 episode arc and be done. But he became a big part of the show. They could have easily changed their ending and put him in the church -- but instead they problem solved it. Gave him a BRILLIANT moment with Locke outside the church ... and then that was it. I loved that. For those that wonder -- the original ending started the moment Jack walked into the church and touches the casket to Jack closing his eyes as the other plane flies away. That was always JJ's ending. And they kept it.

For me the ending of this show means a lot. Not only because I worked on it, but because as a writer it inspired me in a way the medium had never done before. I've been inspired to write by great films. Maybe too many to count. And there have been amazing TV shows that I've loved (X-Files, 24, Sopranos, countless 1/2 hour shows). But none did what LOST did for me. None showed me that you could take huge risks (writing a show about faith for network TV) and stick to your creative guns and STILL please the audience. I learned a lot from the show as a writer. I learned even more from being around the incredible writers, producers, PAs, interns and everyone else who slaved on the show for 6 years.

In the end, for me, LOST was a touchstone show that dealt with faith, the afterlife, and all these big, spirtual questions that most shows don't touch. And to me, they never once waivered from their core story -- even with all the sci-fi elements they mixed in. To walk that long and daunting of a creative tightrope and survive is simply astounding.

I caved

2010-05-16T13:56:00.004-04:00

to the king of proprietary-everything Apple, and am now the owner of an iPod touch (of the 8 gig variety).

It is nice. I feel hip and new-age. It also makes me (*gasp*) kind of want to get an iPhone.

Then I remember the doushebaggery that comes with the stereotypical iPhone owner and I sway away from it.

But damn it's nice to have something that just works

Home Already

2010-05-03T00:48:00.004-04:00

Bored already.

I'll just leave this here:

^^ The street next year

^^ Plywood over a folding table for a beer pong table = genius. While it was initially an outdoor bar (lasted approx. 2 nights) what came of it worked out well\

Good times were had this year.
Seeing the seniors leave sucked.
Knowing I will be a senior next year sucks more.
Dear frosh,
Fail, withdraw from, or retake classes. The more the merrier
Prolonging the process, while outrageously expensive, isn't a terrible idea.
(A job helps)

Oh well, in the timeless words of Kevin Meyers, here's to the next step. A good goal would be to make it as fun as the last one.

Powerpoint sucks

2010-04-30T11:57:00.002-04:00

The U.S. military agrees.

Not only is it a source of time consuming busy-work for 50% of the nation's engineering co-ops. I have made more than my fair share of ppt presentations, both for my use in presentations and (far more often) for distributions to higher-ups for information sharing purposes with nothing more to accompany it than the rest of the cc list in the email I attached it to. Not only does this result in times where there are 10 questions from 10 different people, it also contributes to a severe lack of the "why" through focusing on the "what."

High schools, colleges, and apparently now military branches are to blame. I don't think I have given one presentation since my freshman year of high school (outside of IB English, shout out to my girl Harding) that wasn't in some way accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation.

Next time I'm making a tri-fold, elementary school science fair style. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

lalalalallalalalalalalalla

2010-04-26T00:54:00.003-04:00

easiest final of the week will start in approx 9 hours.

i have a strong suspicion the prof literally gave us the final in the form of a "study guide"

this is making "studying" (aka memorizing answers) very hard.

#justsaying

2010-04-20T01:45:00.001-04:00

"You have four years to be irresponsible here. Relax. Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So, stay out late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. Drink 'til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does..."

Nearly three years down, one to go.

1.5 if I'm lucky...

Top 5 Must-See TV

2010-04-19T20:29:00.004-04:00

As promised, short posts on the reg. Final papers/projects/homeworks suck.

1.) Lost - And it's not close. OT: This is one of the most badass episode previews to come out in the past 10 years, maybe ever:

2.) South Park - This season may be the best yet.

3.) Entourage - though it has been gone for too long. Once it comes back Lost will be gone and this will go up to #1.

4.) 60 Minutes

5.) Deadliest Catch

To be completely honest, I could take or leave both of the final two. Thanks to modern technology though (the internet) I am able to watch the shows on my time, commercial free. This has allowed me to increase my "TV" viewing tenfold. You just have to know where to look...

What's yours? If any....

Ben Folds

2010-04-19T01:38:00.006-04:00

Tonight Ben Folds was in concert in Dayton (sponsored by the Charity Committee). A few thoughts:

- No beer, no standing area, assigned seating; and people wonder why we can't get bigger bands to come near campus. I think a lot of this was because of the fact that he was paid to come in by a school organization that is funded in part at least by SGA and the Campus Activities Board. In CAB's "rules" of sponsorship I'm pretty sure there is a no-alcohol clause. Still, when the event is allowing the general public to come in through Ticketmaster ticket sales, etc., something should be done to allow this. Putting it in the Arena was an interesting choice, but instead of allowing people to stand on where the court would be and get a more lively atmosphere that Ben Folds could feed off of, we were assigned a specific seat on a first-come, first-served basis. Understandable to some point, but that, combined with the general level of sobriety for a college-focused concert was awkward at times. Still did nothing to ruin the night.

- Folds makes it nearly impossible to tell that he is 43 and with a few kids of his own. Everything, from the energy to the lyrics and song selection ("Bitches Ain't Shit" cover, anyone?) scream 20-something still finding his way in the world. I take comfort in the fact that growing up - in the becoming a fat cranky stiff context - really is optional, as proven by him.

- As good as Ben Folds was, his opening act was equally entertaining. The Australian-born Kate Miller-Heidke showcased her vocal talents with one guitarist, making for an interesting combo of Folk/Opera/insanity. Her songs were playful at times, thought-provoking and emotional at others. A few personal favorites, the hilarious and all-too-true "Facebook Song," and the more serious "Caught in the Crowd":

Oh yea, and she's right up my alley in the looks front:

The killer accent is just bonus points.

Seriously, give her a listen. While you're at it - or if you have been living under a rock for the past few years - throw some Ben Folds in.

P.S. Good news! It's pre-finals week and finals week. You know what this means, lots of "study time." For the blog, this means an excessive amount of short/insane posts with the "procrastination" label. Hollaaaaa

Perfect

2010-04-07T11:20:00.007-04:00

Figured out where I will be working this summer today (I'll be in Cinci and expect at least a few quiz nights at the Pub). Dress code is business caj. In honor of this fact:

Pretty much describes 80% of khaki's I've ever bought. Just lucky I guess...

Also, it's April. If there is one thing that this blog has made me realize about myself it is that April 1 - May 1 is the time of the year when my body revolts and tries in every way possibly to close my breathing passages and make me rub my eyes out of their sockets. Allergy season. This year I'm prepared a little better than in the past, but still anticipate a battle. Wish me luck.

Back in the nati

2010-03-31T22:29:00.004-04:00

for Easter break. It seems like I was just here for spring break. Sure enough, the weather turns beautiful as we are all kicked out. Hopefully it sticks for the return on Tuesday.

In the mean time, I'll be looking to catch up with old friends for the next few days. Given that I'm assuming none of said friends (well, very few) read this blog, I'll probably have to contact people in other ways. BUT, if I'm terribly wrong, give me a call and let's make some plans.

Home sweet home....Ameristop, classic Sharonville

That's Life

2010-03-29T01:25:00.005-04:00

Watched the first half of From Here to Eternity today. Plan on finishing it tomorrow. I'm a sucker for the classics; blame it on my mom.

One thing it made me realize was how much of a fan I am of good ole Frankie S. Words can't really describe how much of a fan I am of his style. It seems like a big word today is "swagger" defined by urbandictionary as How one presents him or her self to the world. Swagger is shown from how the person handles a situation. It can also be shown in the person's walk. Frank Sinatra may not have been the first guy to have swagger, but he was probably the first to make a living off of it and in my opinion he still ranks near the top. Not bad for a scrawny kid.

Another observation: it's pretty hard to find any videos of Frank actually performing on the 'tube.

Sinatra in a PSA about tolerance. Filmed 1945:

A few of my favorites:

Finally, there are many great songs about NYC, but this one will ALWAYS be on the top (sorry Jigga):

Thursdays are not made for the library

2010-03-25T22:48:00.003-04:00

But it is nearing the end of the year and it looks like that is where I will be all night tonight. Or at least until it stops raining(/snowing?!!? seriously??? it was 60 and sunny YESTERDAY. Spring in Cinci/Dayton never ceases to amaze me).

One thing I am working on for Wednesday is leading a little discussion in my modern social problems class over a New York Times article (the teacher has the 2nd biggest hard-on for the NYT that I have ever seen out of a person, not that that's a bad thing, because I have the 3rd biggest hard-on for it i have ever seen). Since I have been uber-busy with jet engine/school stuff through the months of February and March I haven't gotten my NYT on in a while.

So I ask your help, especially the help on one reader (or at least former reader) in particular. Actually, just to make sure I get his attention, hold on...

Speech bubble fail...

I'm looking for a NYT article that is fairly recent (within the past week or two) that pertains to something socially relevant in America today. We have talked about poverty to death, so while that is an option I'm trying to avoid it (the Kristof article is a candidate though) Health care makes me pukey and I doubt many other college kids are going to jump at discussing it also, so I am trying to avoid it also. The current topic is racism, so I'm focusing on that area. If you have read anything lately on the topic I would be eternally grateful and let you buy me a beer the next time you are in America (or the next time I see you for anyone else willing to help). For the record, I'm also going to be looking so save the stop being lazy LOL K BYE posts in the comments.

I have been in the library since 9 and successfully procrastinated for about the past hour and a half. I have however, listened to two mixtapes (Asher Roth - Seared Foie Gras (With Quince And Cranberry) and Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa - How Fly (The Mixtape), both solid for the record), and the new MGMT record (thanks lakes... damn this is like your own personal shout out post). Those three things still make this a productive night at the 'brary.

That is all. I promise I will post something more than random thoughts of the moment in the future. Well, maybe.

P.S. It is now officially snowing. I repeat, spring in Dayton/Cinci: completely fucking random.

Fun fact:

2010-03-11T22:07:00.003-05:00

The concept of the semicolon is probably my favorite concept in all of the English language; if you want to end a sentence with flair (or just hate capital letters) - have no worries, the semicolon is here!

Also great for run-on sentence addicts like yours truly.

Disclaimer: I am no English teacher; I really have no clue if I am allowed to use the semicolon as flagrantly as I do; frankly though, I don't care. Ignorance is bliss!

Only two periods were harmed in the making of this blog post; Steve Martin would be proud!

On a suggestion

2010-03-11T13:02:00.002-05:00

My breakfast/lunch today consisted of chorizo and eggs.

Very impressed with how it turned out. Not that there was any real cooking talent needed to make it; just chorizo on a skillet and two eggs over easy. Very tastey combo.

I now feel ready to dominate the day.

...Probably also the bathroom in an hour or two.

Observation

2010-03-09T23:19:00.005-05:00

Top 3 best spots for spotting hot chicks on campus:
1.) Business building
2.) Rec
3.) Library

Top 3 worst spots for spotting hot chicks on campus:

1.) Engineering building, 1st floor
2.) Engineering building, 2nd floor
3.) Engineering building, 3rd floor

Can't mess with the facts...

I have been using internet explorer a lot more lately

2010-03-05T03:28:00.004-05:00

Mainly because Firefox's most recent edition has been blowing donkeys (numerous crashes, lockups, lack of ability to run ChatRoulette (NSFW) and any other website simultaneously, etc.).

A few observations:

1) I need the spellcheck that Firefox had. My spelling almost blows as much donkey as the latest Firefox does.

2) IE8 may actually be faster than the latest Firefox. Task manager says it uses less memory also. While it is pretty commonly understood that Firefox is a resource hog sometimes, lately that sometimes has turned into constantly and hog has turned into Chris Farley at a buffet after a week of fasting.

3) Maybe I should go back to Opera. On second thought... why did I ever leave Opera?

"We have to go back!"

2010-03-02T02:30:00.002-05:00

Title means two things

1.) I have been watching an honest to god unhealthy amount of Lost lately in order to try to catch up before the series end this spring.

2.) I'm already officially completely fucking done with spring break and ready to get back to Dayton.

If you go on a week long vacation

2010-02-26T02:20:00.004-05:00

to some exotic tropical resort, you start packing a few days in advance (at the latest)

I'm leaving essentially my home - the place where all my belongings reside - for a week starting probably tomorrow, and I have yet to even think about packing.

Woops. That's what happens when spring break comes too early.

And just because the blog has been getting a little bland lately:

I shopped this a while back. From Commerce by Bukowski. Something about it (probably give or take the whole "shit on the world" part) gets me ready for the day, no matter how tired, how hungover, how apathetic...

but that's why they call it "good" poetry... right?

Three classes between me and Spring Break

2010-02-25T13:17:00.002-05:00

Technically it's four, but I've already resigned to opting out of my evening class tonight. Instead I'm helping out with a Haiti benefit concert so I feel pretty solid about skipping in this case - no guilty conscience issues or anything. Well that and it's at "The Pub," the on-campus bar that is slowly being killed by the politically correct stresses of modern society.

Gotta do my part to defend tradition, right?

Long story short, I'm still alive.

Lost has literally taken up every second of free time for me. I started two and a half weeks ago and I'm currently on season 3 episode 2. By my rough esimation this means I have watched well over 24 hours of television in the past three weeks. This is an insanely high number for me. Goal for spring break: finish season 4.

Peace up, a town.

It's Friday

2010-02-19T16:37:00.002-05:00

A nice part of junior year: almost promised to have a 21st birthday party every weekend.

To do list: Laundry > Lost > Birthday Party > [who knows what] > wake up > birthday party #2 (assuming gas money can be scrounged up)

I feel dirty for putting this next part on my blog, but screw it. I'm feelin saucy

Apparently I'm the only one

2010-02-15T14:18:00.001-05:00

in the world who hasn't seen this video yet. 45,000,000+ views on youtube.

At first I was like wtf then I was like lol.

If you had to describe yourself

2010-02-14T23:35:00.002-05:00

as a combination of five fictional characters, who would they be?

Me:
Rob Gordon (High Fidelity)
Eric Murphy (sad but true, at least I get Sloan)
Slim Shady
Will Smith in the Pursuit of Happyness
Remy from Ratatouille

If you want to show someone you care

2010-02-14T17:00:00.000-05:00

make everyday Valentines Day for them.

"Nothing is original

2010-02-13T19:14:00.001-05:00

Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: 'It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.'"

— Jim Jarmusch

The woes of engineering

2010-02-11T15:19:00.001-05:00

Just took a test that was 20% of the total grade. On a problem that was 32 of the 100 points, I had the theory completely right, but instead of multiplying my gear ratios to get the right reduction, I decided to add them.

So, instead of a reduction of 50, I decided to give a reduction of 12*12*12*12*2 = 41,472.

I realized this literally immediately following me walking out and the door to the classroom closing.

Lesson: multiplying and adding are vastly different. And I'm a cotton headed ninny muggins.

College is great

2010-02-01T23:54:00.003-05:00

Minus the whole going to classes thing. That part is really kind of a drag.

8 AM labs are the worst. Being up past midnight because of homework, projects, being the president of a fairly big engineering competition, 24, and Always Sunny in Philadelphia make it even worse.

/moaning

When I Grow Up

2010-01-24T21:04:00.003-05:00

And have a semi-steady income (or any income at all):

I vow to never give Maruchan Raman another cent of my money.

Ever Again.

This shit is the bane of society. The center of all evil. The source of the death of my tastebuds, the egregious amount of sodium intake I must endure, and the general reason I get so pissed off about not having enough time/money to make myself a good meal once a week.

Take a stab at what's for dinner tonight?

For those feeling the same pain (or the masochists out there who want to have a college frugality themed dinner night), I present you with a few options to try to slow the bleeding, or risk of stroke from the seriously awe-inspiring amount of salt you are eating.

Ramenlicious - Probably the only reason I haven't committed seppuku in a passionate fit of anger from my dining options. This site makes it bearable. I recommend the Doritos Ramen salad and Beef Pie.

Finally, my own personal recipe. I don't have a name for it because it really isn't worthy of a name. It's just a cheap method of trying to cover both the basic - nay - essential food groups and the horrid taste of Ramen. How about I just call it

Tuna Patty Ramen Cheese Melt

2 Bags Ramen Noodles
2 Cans Chunk Light Tuna in Water
~ 2 Tblsp bread crumbs (or cornmeal)
1 or 2 large eggs (2 makes it more "eggy")
Any seasonings you like (I'm partial to crushed red pepper, or anything spicy)

Boil water and put in the noodles. Once they are soft drain them but do not put in whatever God awful seasoning they gave you!!!! SAVE YOURSELF! Drain tuna then mix that, egg(s), and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Once a relatively solid (no liquid should be showing) consistency is created, cook into patties on a skillet until golden brown.

Place noodles on plate, then patty, then COVER in shredded cheese and Franks Red Hot. If done right, you should have successfully masked the taste of the Ramen while at the same time consumed a meal that is pretty filling and contains your grains and proteins. That's about all there is to it.

Now that you are armed with this information, go forth and fight hunger and Ramen - a necessary evil.

Laundry Day Today

2010-01-21T01:35:00.005-05:00

I found 11 dollars in my jeans I wore this weekend.

Baller.

However, this 11 dollars was separated into 6 various stashes of money, insinuating that these now small bills (6 singles and a 5) were at one point in their life, larger, more expensive bills.

Not so baller.

Being 21 has it's drawbacks. It's expensive.

Not even laundry day could clean this shirt.

Best idea of the weekend: Mud wrestling.
Worst idea of the weekend: Mud wrestling....

God I love Snatch.

2010-01-15T16:49:00.002-05:00

The movie isn't bad either.

ZING!!!!

No, but seriously.... the movie... Brad Pitt is the shit.

Happy Friday all. Do something crazy

How to keep your sanity: Lesson 1

2010-01-15T01:50:00.002-05:00

No matter how busy you are, spend at least one hour everyday doing something you enjoy.

If this enjoyment resides in the reason you are busy, you're doing it right. That's not to say that you're doing it wrong if that isn't the case day after day, but in general, hopefully that's the trend.

P.S. I met an astronaut today. In the history of human existence, only 58 people can claim to have done this. Call me a romantic, but there should really be a single word for "fuck-what-they-say-I-can-do-anything-if-I-put-my-mind-to-it-she-went-to-space-and-seems-just-as-normal/downtoearth-as-me!!" because that's about how I felt walking out of the room.

I feel like it would go a little something like Arigoldian

Photo posts are easy

2010-01-13T00:36:00.003-05:00

maybe ill just make this a photo blog from here on out. my phone takes decent pictures now, i use it fairly regularly, and uploading them here is pretty painless.

after all, a picture says a thousand words, right?

a little background here. one of the guys here at school moved this semester (from one corner of an intersection in the Ghetto to another... no moving trucks required) so we felt obligated to break in the living room a little bit. with there being minimal furniture and only one desk lamp in the living room at the time, we had a nice game of "ghost pong" going on right next to our "real living human being pong" game. kind of distracting, especially after a few hard fought battles, but pretty cool nonetheless.

It's Friday

2010-01-08T19:27:00.002-05:00

Bar's open.

EDIT: By the time of this posting, the bar has been destroyed, presumably by people who are jealous of fun. Shame.

One thing is for certain

2010-01-02T02:23:00.003-05:00

a) I have consumed more alcohol than any break in the history of my life during this break of most assuredly legal alcohol consumption, and b) I am still breathing.

These two facts alone make for a decent winter break, but what takes the cake is spending a great deal of time with the nephew and finally getting the intestinal fortitude to hold the kid for an extended period of time (he can finally hold his head up under his own power, that's kind of the Maginot Line of me holding babies).

There is so much more to talk about on what happened this break, but I'm not sure that I can even fully comprehend it yet. Long story short:

- I got home, and got to hang with the 'phew (which continued all the way to the current time)

- I got to hang with some old friends, a lot

- I didn't hang with some old friends, but I'm starting to realize this is how things are going to trend until the point in which we "grow up". Tweet fact: you only "grow up" when you stop making contact with the people that made you smile when you were "not grown up"

- Referencing the previous bullet point, I came up with a new term: "tweet fact." This refers to any B.S. thought that I and/or any of the friends come up with at the spur of the moment that at the time seems epically gloriously wise, but upon further review seems trite and dumb. For those that are curious, twitter.com/JGed07 has most of your answers.

- Some of the old friends and I made a return trip to Gatlinburg, Pt. 2. While this may not have reached the glory of the first trip it was still just as memorable. Like they say, the first time is always the best. More on this later... maybe.... You know what they say, What happens in __________, stays in _________

- In a moment of Divine Intervention (capital D capital I), I made one of the greatest mix tapes of my entire life, which I am currently listening to.

- Finally, for the grand wrap-up, I had a grand 'ole time.

What did you do in the past month that was awesome? Hit me with it.

Holla back, peace up A town down.

The day after your last final

2009-12-17T14:12:00.003-05:00

THESE days, my fellow readers, are the types of days that keep humans chuggin along. No responsibilities, no deadlines, nothing but man and free will. It is these types of days that separate America from the Commies. My options are limitless, I could:

- Sit around and play PS3 for 24 hours straight
- Learn how to make a new extravagant meal
- Go to a crummy dive bar all day and make some townie-friends (not that there's anything wrong with that!)
- Join a cult
- Go to church (check that, Mass was at 12, my first choice of sleeping in until 2 PM crossed that one off the list by default, oh shucks....)
- Start my own religion (kind of hard to do in 1 day, but it only took the Christians 7, right?!?)
- Catch up on Dexter
- Catch up on Californication
- Get the summary of said shows off wikipedia, get caught up, and still have 23 hours and 50 minutes left in my day
- Work out (gasp!!)

Point proven. The possibilities are endless really. In the end, I'll probably sit around all day trying to figure out what to do. That sounds about right.

I lied

2009-12-15T00:40:00.004-05:00

I can't take it anymore. Apathy has set in. As a result, I've been perusing the Netflix Instant Watch pretty hard lately.

Which brings me to my next point.

Scarface, while admittedly pretty badass with some nice Shakespearean tragedy tones to boot, really just isn't worth all of the hype it gets in my opinion. After another viewing of it recently, I've finally figured out what it is about it that makes it so meh for me.

I can't stand the 80s. All the disco/synth transition music and creepy fashions - that I'm sure will probably be back in style by my completion of this post - and big hair really just doesn't do it for me. Probably all the Blondie Mom had be listen to as a kid (Moment of honesty: My mom didn't make me listen to that much Blondie, but IMO any Blondie is too much Blondie, so that's that). Any time I hear, see, or smell (I'm looking at you, Jellies) anything reminiscent of the 80s, I feel like I've just been hit right on the tip of where it counts, and as any guy will tell you, the tip is where it hurts the worst.

So in conclusion, I'm blaming you, 1980-1989, for my disdain of the otherwise good film Scarface.

Glad I got that off my chest.

It's like they intentionally wanted to ruin this shot with 80s grossness.

Finals suck

2009-12-14T14:02:00.004-05:00

Top 5 other things that suck
5.) The Steelers
4.) My fluids grade (assuming said exam went as wonderfully as it felt)
3.) The fact that I've spent essentially all of my money on things that I shouldn't have spent that much money on, and it is now Christmas time. Sorry guys...
2.) The fact that I caved and spent the little money I have left on food for this week. The good news is, I don't need to taste Ramen for another few weeks. The bad news is, food just isn't that fun.
1.) Your mom.

Back to increased regularity following Wednesday...

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-11-30T00:19:00.001-05:00

Dear Self,

For far too long you have long for this day. That's right, it's November 30, 2009.
1 year ago Today, not much happened. It’s actually kind of weird. I don’t remember a thing about a year ago Today. I’m sure you probably got some cards or something, but your mind was probably more focused on being only a year away from Today than anything.

3 years ago Today, you probably went out and bought a big stogie and lit that muh'fucka up. Actually, it probably wasn't big at all, since you didn't enter your stogie-smoking prime until more recently. It was probably a modestly sized cigar that was as mild as you could find. Which, by "could find" you mean the mildest the nice worker at Tinder Box showed you.

5 years ago Today you realized you could officially get your driver's license. However, not aware/caring enough of the amazing adventures that having a car could bring, you decided to wait until February to actually go through with the test. Oh by the way, nice job, Self, for passing on the first time. You'll always have that goin' for ya.

11 years ago Today you got your most kick-ass birthday present ever. That's right, Transformers. Wrapped up in the most recent Sunday comics, you opened them surrounded by your family and now-deceased dog (RIP Ladie).

I'm sure you get the drift by now Self, but 21 years ago Today, you were born. To be more precise, in about an hour and a half from this post you were born. This probably wouldn't mean much if you were born in Europe, Asia, or... pretty much anywhere but the U.S. of A. However Self, you are an American which makes Today a momentous day.

Cheers, Self. This one’s for you.

gimmie da hooch bitches

I got to thinking tonight

2009-11-26T01:23:00.000-05:00

And I honestly believe that the last time the whole family sat down at the SAME table occurred exactly one year ago.

The times this happens just get more and more rare as the years go on. It definitely makes me appreciate this fact a little more than when I was 5 and this happened daily (if Mom had her way at least).

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Waiting for 4:15 tomorrow

2009-11-23T23:00:00.001-05:00

Not that I have any plans in particular once I get back to the 'Nati, but what I'm currently doing (sitting in McGinnis doing laundry and finishing up work that stupid professors assigned for over break) sure as hell has to be worse than what lies ahead.

While I wait for the dryer to buzz:

- Charlie is gone; Saturday sealed it for him, and he knows it. It's sad to see him go, he definitely cared a lot more than the last coach (as shown by his relative recruiting rankings, and embracing the "intangibles" that come with being the Notre Dame coach) and - linked article notwithstanding - whined and complained a lot less than the guy before Ty. In the end though, the thought of having essentially the only sports team I even more than half a shit about anymore not being a laughingstock for the first time in my life outweighs any sympathy I have for the guy. Sorry Charlie, head coach at ND is a tough gig, you know it more than anyone.

In the mean time, my Christmas wishlist is as follows (in order):

1.) Urban Meyer (scumbag aside, the guy can coach. This one isn't happening though)
2.) Bob Stoops (With OU's lackluster season and a large number of upperclassman leaving in Norman, if there was ever a year I could see Stoops trying to get another gig, this would be it. The stars may have aligned here. I'm not holding my breath though).
3.) Brian Kelly (Personality of a wet rock, but has been doing alright at UC. I'm worried about his ability to recruit and questionable defenses, but he is today what Urban Meyer was in '04. We all know how that's turned out.
4.) Gruden (Loves Notre Dame and has the personality to bring in nearly any player he wants. I would not be sad about him coming.)
5.) Anyone else out there? Shanahan? Cowher? Didn't think so....

Anyone outside of that top 4 (barring a lottery ticket like Saban or Tressel) will probably at best be on the same level as what Weis has been able to do. I feel like Meyer, Stoops, Kelly, Gruden could get Notre Dame to consistent BCS/top-10 talk, which is right about where the program should be next year, regardless of who is on the sidelines.

- In my extreme state of boredom and procrastination the past few days, I've taken my annual venture off into poetry land. It's the one time of year that I try to act like a hipster coffee shop kid and snap my fingers (no Lil Jon, not like that) to some ole' Billy S. and such. This year, I've taken very fondly to Charles Bukowski. The guy is raw, direct, and just about exactly what I'm looking for at this point in my life (whatever the hell that means...).

A few favorites:

beer

I don't know how many bottles of beer
I have consumed while waiting for things
to get better
I dont know how much wine and whisky
and beer
mostly beer
I have consumed after
splits with women-
waiting for the phone to ring
waiting for the sound of footsteps,
and the phone to ring
waiting for the sounds of footsteps,
and the phone never rings
until much later
and the footsteps never arrive
until much later
when my stomach is coming up
out of my mouth
they arrive as fresh as spring flowers:
"what the hell have you done to yourself?
it will be 3 days before you can fuck me!"

the female is durable
she lives seven and one half years longer
than the male, and she drinks very little beer
because she knows its bad for the figure.

while we are going mad
they are out
dancing and laughing
with horney cowboys.

well, there's beer
sacks and sacks of empty beer bottles
and when you pick one up
the bottle fall through the wet bottom
of the paper sack
rolling
clanking
spilling gray wet ash
and stale beer,
or the sacks fall over at 4 a.m.
in the morning
making the only sound in your life.

beer
rivers and seas of beer
the radio singing love songs
as the phone remains silent
and the walls stand
straight up and down
and beer is all there is.

bluebird

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see
you.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pur whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he's
in there.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep.
I say, I know that you're there,
so don't be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he's singing a little
in there, I haven't quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it's nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don't
weep, do
you?

Top 5 Artists of 1st Semester of Junior Year

2009-11-19T02:58:00.001-05:00

It's weird how it works when you think about it. Certain songs take me right back to an exact moment in time. Most ironic in my lifetime thus far has been the Three's Company theme song during a "first kiss" moment. May have ruined the gushy romance of all of it at the time, but given how I have rarely taken much of the gushy romance seriously anyways, I wouldn't have it any other way.

A few other songs that have exact moments tied to them for me:

"What Hurts the Most"

"Crush" - Specifically the Live at Radio City version

"Elanor Rigby" - actually, this one is a dual memory: freshman year sitting in my dorm with nothing but the UD lights on above me, and driving up to the stop sign at Creek and Eljay - and I have no idea why the second one exists)

"Shipping up to Boston" - St. Patricks Day, Junior year in high school; aka green vomit)

"Kashmir" - The song that was on when I got in my car wreck, that song will never be the same

"You Got It Bad" - I think I heard this on the bus ride to high school every morning in junior high. Therefore, I smell the dust/pre-pubescent B.O./overloaded Ax every time it comes on. Still, great song.

The list goes on, but onto the top 5 artists for here and now:

5.) Paramore - Hayley is hot, and has a hell of a voice to go with it. If things don't work out with Chad, I'm here baby girl.
4.) Mike Posner - This one is more because this semester was the first, and will probably be the only time, I listen to him.
3.) Drake - Called this one
2.) Third Eye Blind - Gonna have to thank Saturday's at the stoop for this one.
1.) Miley - For better or for worse, this song will always be attached to the past four months.

If anyone out there has any big flashback songs, lemme hear em.

Engineering is

2009-11-18T02:47:00.000-05:00

Taken from a fellow blogger. I like the list and think it does a very good job of describing the field. Especially 3, 4, and 7. 7 being the most frustrating/important one

1.) The science of making the most of the resources available.
2.) The science of making the most of the resources available, with time being the scarcest resource. For the more sincere and "start as soon as you're told to" people, this line means slacking off till the deadline is staring you in the face.
3.) Looking like a nerd (if you're lucky, a genius) to the 'non-engineers', when you try to explain in layman's terms, what your work is.
4.) Failing to find layman's terms for your work. I've had this problem quite a few times.
5.) Failing to make people understand that engineering is actually fun.
6.) Working for people who don't ever seem to understand technical aspects of the job, but absolutely believe that their suggestions (is that commands?) be obeyed. This one is a conclusion I've drawn from Dilbert , so you gotta trust Scott Adams on this one. Fortunately, I have worked under an engineer,and his suggestions sure are worth following.
7.) Constantly thinking up better and/or more economical and/or easier and/or faster ways to do everything. And in the process ending up doing more work than the straight forward approach (but it's a one-time investment if you get it right at first shot).
8.) Coming up with a list of laws/ rules/ conclusions about anything and everything. Does this list come under that category?...I wonder.

PRPS has a pretty cool website

2009-11-17T22:07:00.000-05:00

It gets cluttered fairly fast, but I like the flair.

Now being criminal with your prices, and I may grab a few.

Fact:

2009-11-17T01:48:00.001-05:00

About 5% of my blog posts are written, in their entirety, while pooping.

This post is one of those 5%

Damn it's nice to finally have a laptop again

Call me cliche

2009-11-15T03:50:00.000-05:00

But Levi's has a great thing going for them right now.

"Go Forth" just may be the best ad campaign of all time.

New Webcomic

2009-11-12T15:53:00.001-05:00

And this one doesn't even involve stick figures!!

Click the picture for a bigger image

Subnormality... very solid choice.

Just one of those days

2009-11-12T01:02:00.000-05:00

when you don't wanna wake up
everything is fucked
everybody sucks

^^ From Mr. Durst's pen to my blog. Not that it's been a terrible day or anything, just one of those days. The good news is that I can definitively pinpoint quite a few things I learned today. Let's go chronologically:

8:37 AM - University of Dayton will come into your apartment when they damn well please. I was awoken at this hour by a middle aged bald guy unlocking and busting through our back door (which, incidentally, opens to my bedroom) to make sure the furnace wasn't going to burn the place down once it went on. I think he was probably the more shocked of the two of us, since three times already this year I have been awoken by the cable/AC/repair guys in the same fashion. Good thing I haven't been sleeping naked any of these times. This time I just said "Cool" and went back to sleep. He can figure out where the fuck the furnace is himself, then he can look at the thermostat and realize we've had the heat on already this year. Pwn'd.

11:30 AM - Fluid Mechanics is probably something that I should learn. Something about, oh I don't know, every field of engineering I'm interested in using it as the basis for pretty much everything. The good news is that I think this is possible.

4:20 PM - Phone interviews are pretty awkward. Given the choice between the two, I would definitely take face-to-face interviews from here on out if possible. I'm glad I got to experience one though, and even more glad that I think it went well. Not that I'm particularly antsy with my current situation, but options are always great to have. Especially if it means going out and seeing something new while I'm basically the most un-tied-down I'll ever be (.....I hope).

8:00 PM - I love decorating for Christmas. Early you say? It's never too early I respond. I'm still in the planning stages this year but I'm thinking a wrapping-paper wallpaper job would be classy. I also need to go get my mini-tree (aptly dubbed by my dad the Charlie Brown Tree) because that's all the apartment will hold. I kicked it off today though with a packet of those scented pine cones; it serves the dual purpose of being festive and getting the bacon smell out of our living room.

1:14 AM - I procrastinate like it's my job, but it's cool because IB English prepped me for this. Also, the keys on my new laptop (the old one died a couple weeks ago) squeak if not pressed perfectly straight down. This could be massively annoying in the coming years. Hopefully it's just a little bit of new car smell.

Wow, I'm not even mad

2009-11-08T02:45:00.002-05:00

I actually didn't mean to post that last, well, post with nothing but a title; however, I like the artiness of it all, so I'll keep it.

But the point stands.

I don't really have anything to say. But it's been a few days since I've posted and I did have that whole "be the change you want to see in the world" shpiel less than a fortnight ago, so I feel kind of shitty not following up.

So what's going on in my life, you ask? How about a top 5 I respond. In reverse order, because I love the suspense.

5.) I bought my first ever full length video game digitally recently. Yes, I know the previous sentence will probably exclude me from any contact with the opposite sex for +/- a month, but how would that be different from the past +/- 20 years of my life, so screw it. It feels really really weird buying essentially nothing physically (meaning something that has mass) with nothing physically (meaning my credit card, the whole concept of which still blows my mind, but that's a post for another night). All in all though I'm liking the concept. Rumors have it the PS4 will have primarily a digital download means of distribution so I should probably get used to it either way.

4.) I had a little too much of the jungle joose last night and may or may not have yacked a little on the porch of the stoop. Actually, yea, I did. I tried to clean up my mess this morning, but given the ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL WEATHER today, it had caked very nicely on the already concrete-esque front dirt. So, any water splashing was in vein. I say all of that to say this: I don't know how bulemics do it (my throat kills), and I never want to drink again.

3.) Charlie needs to go. I understand the '07 team had the least talent of any ND team ever possibly, but seriously Charlie, again? This isn't the U.S. Delta Force Academy, it's the fucking Naval Academy. Start talking to your NFL connects about some openings for next year, because if there is a God, you won't be at ND.

2.) If you ain't first you're last.

1.) Nothing in life is big enough for me to give it a "#1" type of status right now, so I'm going to take the easy way out on this one, too. I mean that in the least emo way possible, I'm far from being a manic depressive about things, there just really isn't one thing I can point out as being major.

I did have a pretty prescient fortune cookie in my Chinese carry out this week though, so I guess I'll leave that both of you readers who actually got this far through my ramblings to read it:

"Stop searching forever. Happiness is just next to you."

Peace up, a town down.

I have nothing to say

2009-11-08T02:45:00.001-05:00

Fairly Substantial Layout Changes

2009-11-05T02:10:00.000-05:00

I've opted out of the "stretch to your resolution" look - which I will miss - for the rotating headers. A few reasons:

- I really did not like my header I've had for all this time. It was meant to be a placeholder more than anything, but just got forgotten about.
- I like messing in photoshop, but don't really have much of a medium (besides the occasional dedicated post) for sharing. This gives me a little space in the world for that.
- The randomness of it all keeps it looking fresh.

Now I just have to stay committed to adding new ones every now and then.

Just watched Primer for the first time

2009-11-02T17:16:00.001-05:00

....wtf...

Pretty solid, very original sci-fi movie. It's like Back to the Future, minus Hollywood + a former engineer as director. In other words, more scientific... but still wildly conjecture since we are talking about __________[at the sake of preventing any spoilers, mild though they may be, i'll leave the sentence at this].

Go watch it. If you have Netflix, it's one of their watch instantly options. If not, good luck.

If you've seen it, please enlighten me. Or just join me in the wtf-ness of it all.

My Halloween costume:

2009-10-27T12:54:00.000-04:00

This is pretty much dead on how I am feeling this week:

"Be the change you want to see in the world"

2009-10-27T00:57:00.001-04:00

- that Ghandi guy was quite the wordsmith.

What change do I want to see in the world? Gillyweed is up there. My superpower of choice in dreamland, if you were curious, is water breathing. Whenever I have those self-aware holy shit dude you are dreaming go nuts nights, if I ever find myself in the presence of water, the first thing I like to do is levitate into said water, then swim around. It's mind blowing. Probably as close of a feeling as I'll ever get to doing LSD, and even more probably the closest I'll ever get to breathing with my own lungs an no other assistance underwater.

But I digress.

The more manageable change I want to see in the world is more blog posting. For me, addictinggames has kind of run it's course. I feel like I've discovered/conquered every physics game the Internets has to offer, and youtube only goes so long before I truly feel like a waste of life.

So I turn to the blogosphere. Not a very big one in my world, but one that has just about everything I want.

That is, when there is new stuff to read. I'm done bitching and moaning about it though (well, following this, obviously). I know how I get when more important things take hold so who am I to judge? Instead, I'm going to be the change I want to see in the world. I'm going to subject you, the loyal readers, to whatever the heck I have been doing lately in my admittedly random-as-fuck (pardon the language...i was trying to keep this post clean) life.

Today, mid-procrastination, I found a few things of note.
1.) I really like this painting:

I wouldn't consider myself an art critic by any means, but once in a blue moon I see something that strikes my fancy. Funny thing is, I vividly remember seeing this in our AP Euro book back in sophomore year when we were talking about Renaissance art. Damn you photographic memory... The badassness in this particular piece of art lies in two facts. First, a quick wikipedia search shows that all the guys in the picture are ones you read about in the science/history books all through school. There is something about putting a face/body (fictional though it may be) to Ptolemy and Pythagoras that blows my mind a little. That's the nerd in me though.

Also, this little anecdote I came across adds a little pizazz to the piece:

Technically, this painting is titled "Philosophy," and it's merely the most famous of a series of four.

Raphael was painting that while Michelangelo was working on the Sistine Chapel ceiling (which is just down the hall, literally). On his breaks, Raphael used to sneak over and poke his head into the Sistine Chapel to see what Michelangelo was working on. If Michelangelo noticed him, he'd starting shrieking curses and throwing crap at him. (He hated Raphael. He was just about the only one.)

Even if it is completely false, the thought of Raphael running down the hall to give Michelangelo a big FUCK YOU MANE while the two are in the process of creating timeless masterpieces cracks me up.

I have two final thoughts; First, I love semi-colons and even though it was a stretch to use it here, I'm happy I did. Also, I doubt Raphael ever thought about the translatability of "The School of Athens" into a desktop background, but it still makes a pretty damn good one.

2.) This girl is pretty damn good, but has a little too much of a country twag for my regular-listening tastes. Quite the looker though:

3.) I love the idea of having a tattoo, but can't commit to any one idea. One minute I want this, the next I want something Latin. The latest is something literary. Maybe some Frost, a few select lines from Eliot, hell, even Hornby. Point: I have commitment issues.

Maybe that should be my tat. Right across the front of my chest:

I have commitment issues.

Worry not

2009-10-26T20:32:00.001-04:00

I did nothing drastic in the aftermath of the (admittedly, much closer than I thought it would be) loss on Oct 17th. All vital organs are in in tact, though the liver maybe slightly worse off than before.

In the mean time, I have been busy living my life, trying to not let homework interfere with said life (mission: success, so far...) and deciding upon a Halloween costume.

If I had an endless supply of fundage, I would probably buy the tuxedos for my roommate and I - tophat, cane and all. However, this is not the case. So, barring getting a Park Place or other Monopoly street that I have yet to own (no more Indiana or Connecticut Ave please, MickeyD's), this option is fading quickly.

Nightman would be pretty solid, barring the fact that only the lucky few who watch Always Sunny In Philadelphia as much as I would understand the gag.
Heres a start:

Lyrics linked. You have been warned. For the record, I also have a Dayman - fighter of the nightman, champion of the sun - lined up. This adds to the success of this option.

Then there is the classic Elf. Thanks to mama's extremely random, but wildly successful idea from senior week, I have in my possession a relatively dead-on and fairly free Elf costume. I say fairly, because I did have to purchase some pants (if you want to call it that) to wear in addition to the jacket and hat. This is a pretty good option for cheap and easy. Very tempting.

In the end, I look back on this post realizing I could have instead knocked out one of the four essays I need to get done and turnitin.com-ed by 10:30 AM tomorrow. Considering I rise and shine around 10:15 AM, that makes the deadline for these rapidly impending. Ruh roh.

Holla back.

The calm before the storm

2009-10-17T15:19:00.000-04:00

Lets get it.

Fuck southern cal

2009-10-16T23:26:00.000-04:00

Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal

This game is big.

It's happening

2009-10-14T12:37:00.000-04:00

This is the week I look forward to the other 51 out of the year. When fall is in full bloom, most of the trees are noticeably sporting their colors, and football season is fully under way.

Yes, it's Southern Cal week.

If it weren't for my team's end of the bargain not being held up for just about a decade now, it would still be considered the greatest rivalry in all of college football. Instead, I doubt many would let it crack the top 5. This is probably more because of their hate for Notre Dame and unwillingness to give them credit for anything than any true shittiness of the game, but so be it.

FWIW, my top 5, based on today's college football climate:

1.) Texas/Oklahoma - The Red River Rivalry has made and broken the National Championship dreams of these two teams every year since Vince Young was still in college. I'm far from a Big 12 fan, but this is as big as it gets anymore.

2.) OSU/Michigan - Personally, I think Big 10 games are a snoozefest. This game always gets hyped to shit by one side or the other, even though Michigan has been balled up and pooped since... I can't even remember how long. It's been a while though. Bold prediction: expect the pooping on to end this year. I'm not saying they are going to win, but OSU is just that bad offensively that they may let Michigan stay in this one.

3.) Alabama/LSU - Nick Saban. Combine that storyline with the fact that the SEC really is just more fun to watch than any of the integer conferences, and you have the #3 best rivalry.

4.) Florida/whoever-they-are-playing-this-week - Until Tim "Jesus" Tebow is gone, that school will be hyped to shit by the media, giving every team on their schedule plenty of reason to hate them come Saturday. In the end, Meyer is just too good and has had his pick of players since as long as he has been there. I don't see the domination going anywhere soon.

5.) ND/USC - If you didn't think I would have this in the top 5, you're insane. October 15, 2005 will be a date that will always be remembered in my heart. My junior homecoming. We ate at the now defunct Waston Bros. Good choice, considering we all temporarily ditched the dates to watch the last 5 minutes of one of the greatest games of the 21st century. Freakin' Reggie Bush....

I can't watch this much, but for anyone who wants to relive it, be my guest:

Not one of you

2009-10-13T02:34:00.001-04:00

Not a single freakin one of you has updated your blog in the past 24 hours. You should all be ashamed. I now have absolutely nothing to read at this ungodly hour of the morning in which I have finally finished homework/meetings/classes that have been going since 11:00 straight.

You all suck.

Just to show you how I felt upon seeing this disaster:

EDIT: Upon posting this, I look and whadda know, the kraze posted something new about 3 hours prior. My bad bra. I'm still leaving this up though, mainly to showcase The Office

Confession Sunday

2009-10-11T17:14:00.000-04:00

I'm in love:

The age difference is only like a month... so the potential is there.
Right??
Right???

Four

2009-10-08T15:54:00.000-04:00

That is the number of times I've been on facebook in the past two weeks.

That time-suck of a website will be expunged from my life before the end of the year. Or at least used in a controllable manner. Or I'll die... whichever comes first.

It is kind of nice to have a notification every time I get on at least....

It's been two massively life altering years

2009-09-29T00:36:00.000-04:00

...with more changes in my life than I'm sure I can ever recall since I first stepped foot on the campus of college. But one thing has remained the same; I'm still an ENTJ . Albiet a little more on the "E" side of things than I was back in the day (went from a 12/12/1/12 to a 22/12/1/22).

Does this sound like me? It sure as hell does to me, but then again I can't say I've exhaustively looked at the other options. I'm sure Momma would probably read this description and go "that's my boy," especially when it comes to the "strong sentimental streaks" that we "often hide from others as it is perceived as a weakness." She usually gets the brunt of those...

Should I be concerned or relieved that I have pretty much stayed the same - from a basic personality standpoint - "halfway" through college? Who knows. That's too big of a question for this post to answer.

Either way, I'm pretty surprised that I've stayed relatively the same. I have a good feeling that by the end of the year the "Extrovert" number will probably get even higher. Then again, my whole analysis of the ENTJ-ness of myself pretty much locks me even more into an ENTJ. Vicious cycle, it is.

As much as I blaze on psychology, it does have some pretty freakin' creepy/cool aspects. If anyone else knows what they are, or wants to take the quick version, post it.

I have no clue what the picture is supposed to mean... but it's pretty badass... so I'll take it!

Top 5 hard words to translate:

2009-09-28T18:03:00.000-04:00

1.) Mamihlapinatapai - a look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that both desire but which neither one wants to start.

2.) Schadenfreude - pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others

.... That's actually all I have... I've known about Schendenfraude for a while (as should any other person who roots against the Yankees), but Mamihlapinatapai is a new one. I digg it.

Plug/Short Review

2009-09-22T12:19:00.000-04:00

Very solid latest release by Brand New. While it may not go down as their best yet (it's going to be very hard to beat Devil and God), they yet again throw in a bit of a new flair, this time in the form of a harder sound. Should appeal to those who maybe thought they were a little too emo (a la Deja). The tradeoff is slightly worse lyrics, but I won't feel like a big pansy rocking to this one in the car.

Not that it ever stopped me from rocking to Deja really... just saying...

CD is out today, go grab it.

Food for Thought

2009-09-22T01:43:00.000-04:00

The American character since early in its history has been pulled in two directions and has been unable to commit itself to either. The first direction is toward the dream of the American sublime, to a virgin land and a life of peace, serenity and community. The second direction is the Faustian and rapacious, the desire for power, wealth, productivity and universal knowledge, the urge to dominate nature and remake the world. In many ways the American tragedy is that we want both these things and never seem to respect the contradiction between them.

Heavy stuff there. Very prescient though given the current state of society and that this was written about 40 years ago, before something was labeled as "green" even if it did not have a similar hue to a frog. Also interesting considering how the "duality" pops up even in my own interests, what with me wanting to enter a well-paying industry that pops out more pollution in a year than you could with your car in your lifetime, but at the same time not so much as taking a shit in a secluded forest without being concerned with where I'm going to put the TP.

It's a mad mad mad mad world we live in folks....

3 Day Weekends will be the death of me

2009-09-09T00:57:00.001-04:00

Well... more like 4.5 day weekends, but who's counting?

Labor Day weekend was the perfect storm: light homework on Thursday and Friday, football all day Saturday, and a trip to "Lex Vegas" on Sunday.

While this made for a very sticky situation driving back on Monday (took a pit stop in the nati to let my back, which had slept on the floor the night previous, recover), and a slight swine flu scare today, after a few Tylonol Rapid Release I'm feeling like a new man, ready to face the challenges ahead.

For those interested, a few of the guys from school have started a blog: the quite aptly named UD Stoop. This one is very , as ChemGuy would say, so be forewarned. It is however hilarious and has surprisingly good writing quality/video. Just a heads up for those curious.

A few tweets:

2009-09-01T16:38:00.001-04:00

1.) I'm starting to realize why saying I am in engineering is usually greeted with an "OOoooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh......." A.k.a the hdub is off the charts.

2.) This Saturday is one of the greatest days of the near, the start of college football season.

3.) I'm finally starting to get excited to see the blue and gold on the field again.

4.) My goal for the year is not to make the games make/break my mood for (and thus quality of) the entire weekend.

Keep livin' the dream everyone. A small wave of schools are still moving in so I want to give a big best of luck to everyone on the new year.

Except for the OSU and USC football teams. You all suck.

Blatent Digg Steal #1332432533

2009-09-01T12:59:00.000-04:00

Let's just agree on this one thing:

Let's also agree that Hitler has the best 'tasche growing abilities of the three.

He may even give Obama a run for his money when it comes to a rousing speech for the masses...

Too soon?

Bathroom Feng Shui

2009-08-25T22:34:00.000-04:00

This is a phrase I need to add to my lexicon. This letter to Starbucks is priceless:

In other news, this is my 250th post and classes start tomorrow. Never thought a)I would get this far! and II) be excited about starting classes. Getting back into a routine is going to be nice. My guess is this attitude will change around the first time I hear the word "assignment" or "integral." Given that my first class is Fluid Dynamics... that shouldn't take long at all!

I'm on a boat

2009-08-21T15:18:00.001-04:00

Got the mail today only to find a letter to me from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Clear the waters, guy is now a licensed boater! Awwwwright.

The boat:

P.S.: Damn the new phone can take a quality picture...

Let's try this again

2009-08-05T17:12:00.000-04:00

New Boots acquired:

Maybe a little more hiking and not as much backpacking than what I wanted/should get, but they have to be some of the lightest, comfiest shoes I have ever worn, let alone being a boot. Gortex bottom (waterproof for some shallow shallow creeks and more importantly morning dew) with a mesh top (for once the doggies get burning) make this a pretty happy purchase for me.

Now I have basically no excuse, it's gonna happen again. This time I'm going to finish what I started (cue Rocky/Rambo theme songs).

update:

2009-08-02T22:02:00.001-04:00

- gatlinburg was in.fucking.sane. the stories are long, amazing, and not getting posted up here, to protect the innocent. if anyone wants any more details, ill be glad to talk about it... not on the blogosphere though.

- im alive. see point #1 as far as more details go, but this is always good news! before anyone freaks out, nothing serious happened, but there were some moments that got a little hairy.

- Super Nintendo is the greatest game console of all time. Followed by NES, PS2, then N64. The rest will most likely be forgotten, for one reason or another.

This has completely nothing to do with anything, I understand. However, it is pertinent to my interests. So dig it.

Peace up, a town.

The good news is

2009-07-29T15:56:00.000-04:00

that lifting two days ago, I realized my foot felt fine. So that's a plus. Now to buy hiking boots and break them in this weekend in G-burg.

Yea, there was a slight change of plans for those in the know. At the last minute there was some unavoidable circumstances that eliminated Cumberland. In the end, everything worked out though. I got together with another guy I know for a few hours, we did our best Ari Gold impressions, and closed the deal less than 12 hours after the news came up.

Not a bad deal, going from a condo that sleeps four (max, apparently) to a 6-person place with a hot tub, pool table, amazing view, and lower price than what we had planned on.

Next week is my last week of work, then back to being a full time college student... a.k.a. the best job in the world. Except this time, with money!

Well, for a month or two at least.

Gettin back on that horse....

2009-07-26T23:28:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's me again. I'm sure the RSS feeds did a double take before they posted me back up. To be honest, it's been a hectic month for me with plenty to talk about but not much of it being anything most anyone here would probably care to hear.

The sparknotes? Sure, I am now an uncle (congrats Sis), have been working 40-50 hours/week (but getting paid for 40), have had packed weekends (for the first time in my entire life I may label myself as a nap-taker....scary), and have done a ton of catching up with "myself." Call it what you want, I've settled with the term "Quarter-life crisis" to describe the past month.

In the end I have come out of it realizing most that in the routine of life I have not taken any time to just sit back for even an hour and reflect on me as a person. Who am I? What am I really doing with my life? Am I really going to be happy with the choices I need to make now, five, ten, even twenty years down the road? While I'm sure this may sound like some Zen bullshit, I can't recommend just getting away from everything enough. No phones, no facebook (gasp!), no internet, no PS3 (double gasp!), no friends. You'll be surprised how much you can learn about yourself in just a short time of doing this.

My "get-away" consisted of literally getting away from my comfort zone and going somewhere completely new where I would be a stranger to everyone. After looking at the prices for plane tickets (holy crap.... no wonder GE can pay me what they do....) I quickly realized that getting to LA or NYC was just not possible. So I looked closer, maybe a few nights somewhere within driving distance would be do-able. The problem with that however, is that I wasn't truly leaving any comfort zones at all. If there is anything I have gotten a lot of experience in this past year, it has been long-distance driving. I have even come to enjoy it quite a bit. While my goal wasn't to do something completely miserable, it was to push myself out of the comfort zone. That wasn't going to happen in my 2 door Escort.

After a little inspiration, I became dead set on a few nights of wilderness camping. Bare essentials, no outside contact, me and nature: perfect. I also (ignorantly) figured that this would be a low-cost venture; no plane tickets needed. In the end, the bill stacked well over $700. I left Monday, July 13 for Shawnee State Forest, with a ~45 lb backpack with enough in it to last three nights (four if needed) without any human contact.

The sparknotes:
- I'm amazed (and overwhelmingly appreciative) that my parents not only bought into the idea, but even supported me throughout it. Backpacking is tough. Solo backpacking is dangerous. Solo backpacking with zero backpacking experience, is about a dumb as you can get. I don't think I can thank them enough for the support.

- Maybe the only reason they didn't object too hard is because they have some weird sense of foresight beyond my wildest imaginations. After getting three miles in (of a 26 mile loop) on my first day, I stop at a creek side for lunch. After eating I take off my shoes only to find 6 blisters already formed, and popped, on both of my feet. At this point I knew that I could either trudge onward, and risk some serious - potentially long term - medical issues, or do the only smart move and turn around. After amount 10 minutes of sitting in disbelief and a fair amount of cussing, I begrudgingly started walking back the way I came.

So, mission accomplished? no. I did however, catch the "bug" and fully intend on "getting back on the horse" as soon as possible. Back to the Zen bullshit though: even in the few hours I was alone ("in the wild" as I say), I feel like I took monumental steps in discovering who I really am. I would be fooling myself to say that going on essentially a day-hike with a toddler strapped to my back solved all the craziness in my life - it did make it seem a lot more manageable.

So, that about wraps up the first 10 days of my absence. Obviously I have a lot of catching up to do, and I intend on doing it. I was not-so-subtlety reminded by someone recently why I first started this blog. It was not so much for the video game reviews (though I love talkin some polygons for a few minutes), or the youtube videos (Fuck yea!), but a way for me to stay connected to people that I don't want to lose contact with. Whether posts are monsterous (see: this), or tweet-esque (see: what I always intend on doing, but never actually do), it is still a helluva lot better than lately!

With that, I bid you adieu. Until next time - peace up, a-town down.

Happy 4th

2009-07-04T12:37:00.000-04:00

NASCAR, Damage

2009-06-09T15:46:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has ever played any of the Gran Turismo games knows that, if nothing else, it is realistic as fuck.

Well, minus there being no damage system

Wait, nevermind.

Yea, thats good and all, but what is a racing game without NASCAR?

BAM! NASCAR sponsorship in the most realistic driving simulator of all time.

This seriously may be my favorite game of all time. I say that more than I mean it, but this time I really mean it.

Watch the trailer:

Top 5

2009-05-30T11:40:00.000-04:00

Holy crap!!! Semi-regular posting?! It can't be.... Well, if the cop-out that is a top five even counts.

Anywho, onward and upward:

Top 5 books read while at Princeton City Schools
1st-12th

5.) Out of the Silent Planet - Being a sci-fi nerd and a C.S. Lewis fan, I was pretty stoked to read this. However, in doing so I learned one life lesson: trilogies weren't meant to be read one at a time. Every time I think about reading the other two books, I remember I have very little recollection of what actually happened in the first. Maybe someday...

4.) Night - I still have this book tucked away in some dark corner of my room. I remember reading it in 8th grade with Mr. Pogue, the guy who, if nothing else, taught me that books are printed on paper so they can be written in, torn up, and generally made your own. To this day a good indicator of books I've actually read is to look for the one's that have seemingly gone through the washer, twice. Anywho, a powerful book that everyone should be forced to read in school.

3.) Lord of the Flies - Another Mr. Pogue read that I probably wouldn't have even opened if it weren't for two undeniable facts:
3-1.) The edition of the book I bought had cover that was about 6 standard deviations MORE badass than anyone elses book.
3-2.) Pogue sold this book as being a case study in anarchy, which is pretty much what a 13 year old boy strives for Monday-Friday anyways.

2.) Notes From Underground - I think I was the only person in the class of '07 to like this book. Dostoevsky is a hell of a writer and anyone who thinks any different can suck my thumb. It's not easy to write what is essentially stream of consciousness for half of a novel and make ANYTHING of it, let alone something that would be taught in high schools nearly 150 years later. It also makes for a hell of a book on tape.

1.) The Great Gatsby - I didn't like it much then. The book absolutely emits the feeling, taste, and smell of summer (“It was dawn now on Long Island and we went about opening the rest of the windows down-stairs, filling the house with gray-turning, gold-turning light. The shadow of a tree fell abruptly across the dew and ghostly birds began to sing among the blue leaves. There was a slow, pleasant movement in the air, scarcely a wind, promising a cool, lovely day.”) and has one of the most profound last pages of all time. It seemed like we talked about this book for a month and I'm still not completely sure I "get" it. I'm also not sure if I'm supposed to.

The best part of all of this? I still have every single one of my projects from sophomore year of high school on. I want to personally thank every teacher that realized computers weren't the devil and in doing so let me have an amazing archive of stuff that, barring something terrible, I will be able to have forever.

Yes, even the bio coloring!!

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

I finally did it

2009-05-28T16:22:00.000-04:00

And I didn't even go blind!!!
/crickets

No but seriously, I HAVE finally done something that I have been contemplating for the past couple years, but never had the courage/cash to really hunker down and do it.

Two weekends ago, on a semi-whim (more on this in a second), I went out to Micro Center and bought a computer.

Well, not exactly. More like I bought a collection of pieces that over the weekend I would cram together and teach to play nice with each other, only then to call it a computer. In the process I believe I also was award my geek diploma.

Overall, it was about what I had anticipated. It was largely "insert plug A into hole B then press the big on button." A lot of that fact could probably be attributed to having the Micro Center brain trust, and my preliminary research to fall back on. Don't get it twisted, I am not recommending walking in one day and laying down a lot of money on something like this with no googling/new-egging (for price comparisions) a priori. There are some tough questions you need to know answers to (i.e. video card amperage requirements, RAM support on your motherboard, your motherboard in general, Intel or AMD, etc.) to ensure the thing doesn't poop out in the first minute of life. I do recommend it to anyone who has ever had the slightest interest in Frankenstein-ing, well, anything. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than building a car, and anymore you will probably use it more.

On the semi-whim comment: I had two main reasons to start looking into a new computer:
1.) My desktop was starting to get pretty slow just from ~4 years of use and being the family's network hub while I have been at school.
2.) I visit digg regularly. In doing so, I have been hearing what I like to refer to as the iCrowd speak pretty highly of this new Windows 7.

Given that the Release Candidate (basically, barring a major FUBAR discovery, the version Microsoft will eventually burn to pretty DVDs and charge >$300 for) was released May 1 for a year long free trial, I figured now would be a good time to get a computer that would be ready for this slick new OS.

Granted, I figured I would be buying an HP or Dell, not parts. And in a year or so. Such is life though; I can't say I regret the decision at all.

I took pictures to show, but realized no card reader like before means needing to find a USB cable for my camera again.... consider it a slight delay...

On to the Windows 7 early impressions. Let me get it out of the way, for an operating system that isn't even "final" yet, 10/10

Pushing on 11/10.

It is functional and pushes Apple on aesthetics like Windows never has before. It is like a hybrid XP/Vista, minus the driver issues inherent with Vista.

Setting up a home network is almost too easy. The first time you start up '7, you are given a long "HomeGroup" number. All you do is type this number onto your other computers (with 7 also installed) and you are connected. However, since I am the only person with 7, I needed to connect with my other XP computers. No problem, just google search "Windows 7 on XP network" and you get millions of other people with the same problem, and easy fixes.

The new Windows Media Player convinced me to change my plans to switch over to iTunes. The album art actually loads this time around and, maybe just my imagination, but it handles my 30GB+ music collection a lot more smoothly.

The new taskbar takes a little getting used to but it really helps to keep your screen looking clean and uncluttered. Also, the start menu has the option of looking like the Vista or XP format. I went Vista, but its nice to know that Grandma has the option to go with what she's used to.

Oh, and it has a timer to switch desktop backgrounds hourly, daily, every 10 seconds, whatever.

And sticky notes. My monitor is saved from Post-It residue forever!!!

I could go on forever, but I'll just sum it up with two big thumbs up.

Top 5

2009-05-22T16:33:00.000-04:00

Let the debate begin:

Today's theme, hip-hop.

Top 5 to blow up in '09
If you have read my facebook/hung out with me at all, this one you prob know already, because I don't shut up about this....

5.) Eminem - Cop out? Yes. After a nearly four year hiatus, rap's #1 white boy is back on the map. The end of Relapse proves that his best may still be ahead. The key to the success of Relapse to is minimizing the "Slim Shady" persona and just being Marshall Mathers. Either way, when he is at his best no one else in the game (and possibly ever) can rhyme so effortlessly. He is one of the best ever.

4.) Saigon - Playing yourself as a regular on a show as big as Entourage for a season really helps getting your name out. Now that the woes with his label are long in the past, it is only up from here.

3.) Tyga - This is the biggest gamble, since he has been here and there since '07. He is just too good to be a career opening act in my mind.

2.) Kid Cudi - With backing from the likes of Kanye West and Common, it's hard not to blow up. Oh, he can hold his own too, which helps.

1.) Drake - It's already happening with Best I Ever Had. Successful is my favorite, Lust for Life really shows off his R&B versatility, which - combined with him getting a big paycheck soon - is the main reason he is my no brainer #1 to blow in '09.

Let the Beat Build

2009-05-03T10:48:00.000-04:00

Nyle "Let The Beat Build" from Nyle on Vimeo.

One continuous shot, live audio. Mad respek. Bo ya shaka.

A look back and a look forward

2009-04-29T17:16:00.000-04:00

If you remember, it was about a year ago to the day that I was wrapping up the decision making process on what was then called the ps360 fund. Back then I was wavering between the then mighty Xbox 360 and the adolescent PS3 who, while still had loads of potential, would have probably only gotten the job done then if you put a paper bag over her... er.. it.

Yadda yadda fast forward to now and things are looking pretty stellar on the PS3 front. Rather than moaning on and on about frame rates and streaming-this-and-that, I'll go the youtube vid way to demonstrate my point. Because everyone knows reading is a dying art:

Fat Princess - A PS3 exclusive capture the flag type PSN (Playstation Network) game that looks about as fun as it does cute. Nothing like a quick mindless game of capture the flag without all of the stress that comes with Killzone 2 or such.

One of my favorite things to do in the old NCAA series was create my own school, whether it be ole' PHS, Dayton, or even the Sharonville Eagles. There is just something that is neat about creating your own tradition from scratch, especially in a sport like college football. Create-a-School mysteriously disappeared in this generation of games, but it's back in NCAA 10.... oh is it ever back. This has potential to be my favorite game of all time if this works out well. In two parts:

More NCAA Football 10 Info

More NCAA Football 10 News & Previews

Slightly skeptical on how well this will work still, but a game from the creators of SOCOM with 256 players all playing on the same map (assuming it is the size of Rhode Island, at a minimum) intrigues me. Also a PS3 exclusive. Since pre-rendered vids are for sucks, find some in-game footage here.

Pixeljunks new game (currently titled 1-4). I know that means nothing to anyone reading this so let me just summarize by saying they are really really good at making sure 2D has a place on HD screens still. Their games are absolutely stunning to watch

That's good for now. Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked. Then there is also that whole Beatles Rock Band thing too.... which you know... is a must buy.

Beautiful Music my ass

2009-04-08T19:21:00.000-04:00

It's been a project a few months in the making and (combined with being in front of a computer about 8 hours a day at work already) a large reason of my dropoff in blog content, but I can finally say I have made some progress on the vinyl to digital conversion.

I can officially put Barry Manilow Live in the done pile and move on to something I actually enjoy. After two straight days of hearing him, I feel like I deserve it.

I remember casually talking to a certain chemistry teacher in high school about the possibility of doing something like this. Knowing that I dabbled in audio engineering at school, he asked me about how complicated it would be to transfer albums to CD. I believe at the time I said I couldn't imagine it being much harder than plugging the "out" of the record player into a line in and using something like Audacity (a wonderful free program, by the way) to record it digitally.

Well, I was half right. Turns out 99% of record players need to have a separate pre-amp to get any kind of clean sound out of them. After a quick google search I came across this bad boy and as of yet have absolutely no complaints. It works exactly as it should. /shameless plug

Moving onward. Once I was getting sound into the computer I dabbled within my slightly more complicated sound editing program to get a layout that would be best suited for this venture, as opposed to, you know, recording a band. After getting all my EQs and other plugins tuned, then it was a simple hit record type of process that I initially thought it would be.

So overall, more complicated than I first thought, but still not too terrible. And yes, I know that there are USB record players out there now that basically take away the need for all this fancy shmancy doo-hickie-ing and whatnot, but going about it the one-stop-shopping way has never really quite been my thing. And, once I get done with all the vinyl, this whole setup is just a switch of plugs away from working for cassette to digital. Talk about flexibility...

If anyone has (or still is) considering this - or wants to offer some monetary compensation in exchange for my best effort at a "digitally remastered" copy of your favs - leave a comment. That is if anyone even reads this anymore...

Helloooo out there.....

In the words of the Comedian

2009-03-19T21:29:00.000-04:00

God help us all....

Seriously... I'm running for Congress... fuck it.

Viewed the watchmen

2009-03-11T15:57:00.000-04:00

....Because I hate stupid puns.

Anywho, my opinion formed after reading the book stands:

Reproduced for your convenience:

The only thing that has me really worried about a movie adaptation is that you can't really take much out of it without really losing a solid chunk what makes this book great. The fact that it all fits together so well, almost like a good 1500 piece puzzle, is partly what is so rewarding. It's almost like Lord of the Rings in that a whole world was created. Who knows though. There's a reason they always say, "the book was better."

And that's that. Either way, $20 well spent. On that note, movies are way, way, way, way, way, [way]x10^999999999 too expensive. Call it bass-ackwards logic if you want, but the more expensive movies get, the more I'm going to visit piratebay. Arr matey.

Subtle brag

2009-03-06T15:05:00.000-05:00

So cool:

It's Not That Complicated

2009-03-01T22:58:00.000-05:00

README - I realize the regulars here won't care much about this, but (a) it's better than nothing, and (b) no offense - it isn't intended for you anyways, so take it or leave it. I don't blame ya.

On Notre Dame: A lot has been said lately about the need to focus on improving the running game drastically this offseason. Some have even said to the point of 200 yards per game and above. I don't necessarily think that's true. Let’s look at every season going back to 1995 (excluding 1998 because weirdly UND doesn’t have cumulative season stats for that year); a time spanning Weis, Ty, Davie, and the last two seasons of Lou. Four coaches, four coaching styles (for better or worse), and over a decade of football. By looking at yards per game, and a net win count (Wins-Losses, ties count for a half a loss), one number seems to arise as a Maginot Line of sorts for a successful season – at least offensively.

400 yards. It doesn’t necessarily matter how you get there, but reaching 400 yards or more per game has resulted in a significantly better net win count than under 400 yards. Admittedly, there are two clear exceptions to this rule in Ty’s “smoke and mirrors” first season in 2002 and Matt LoVecchio’s starting season in 2000.

Lou did it by rushing over 200 yards per game in ’95 and ’96. Ten years later, Weis passed significantly more, but still got around there this first two seasons (with, somewhat fittingly, a disappointing 2006 season coming in just under 400 ypg)

What does it all mean? Don’t expect 200 yards rushing per game. Weis doesn’t need to get 200 yards per game under his system and honestly it would be a crime to not utilize the talent in our starting 3 wide receivers – two potential All-Americans in Tate and Floyd and what will be a highly contested 3rd spot this season by talented but unproven players. At running back, simply a load of talented unproven players.
Do, however, hold Weis and this ’09 team to a standard of reaching at least 4.0 yards per carry. Taking last season’s stats and subbing the dismal 3.2 yards per carry out with a respectable but far from great 4 yards per carry puts the team at about 135 rushing yards per game and – more importantly – 380 total yards per game, or about two more screen passes per game from 400. 4 YPC is not some insurmountable number to achieve in one offseason, it is a baseline. Also, I fully expect the passing game to continue to improve as it’s players age.

The quick version: Based off previous years, a 400 YPG offense combined with even an average Notre Dame defense will generally result in 9-10 wins. This can be achieved simply by a marginal increase in passing productivity and – more significantly – averaging at least 4 YPC. While an historically bad schedule may allow some leniency in these numbers, that is counteracted by the generally held assumption (on NDN at least) that 9 wins just won’t cut it.

And the list gets longer...

2009-02-28T14:02:00.000-05:00

For the first time owning a PS3 I can honestly say that I have a bonafide game wishlist. Not my typical "on if I were to win a million dollars I would buy this this this and this," I always have one of those.

No no, this is a list of games that if you find me in a weak moment I just may go out and buy. And I'll definitely end up buying more than one. At $60 a pop, that is no small statement. The list is as follows (in a somewhat particular order):

1.) Killzone 2 - Holy shit. Granted, I don't have a 360 so I have actually never played Gears of War and my Halo 3 time is limited, but after playing just the demo for this, I'm thinking we may have a new best FPS for consoles. Unlike over 90% of games in this generation, the gameplay is on par with the graphics. And oh (again..) holy shit (/again...) is that saying something:

Picture this at a cool 60 fps. Try not to wet the bed. (Click for a higher res)

Video - The framerate isn't that bad in game:

2.) Little Big Planet - After getting the tease of a weekend long beta play, I'm really surprised this one isn't already on my shelf. Either way, still one of my favorite games out currently (with NO BLOOD OR GUTS OR FOOTBALLS EVEN!, how 'bout that ma!). I dig the creation capabilities and since release they have really embraced the download-able content (DLC) scene with weekly (usually free) releases of new goodies. A good game just gets better.

3.) Skate 2 - This one intriques me. Usually the skating genre is Tony Hawk's to lay claim to, but this new franchise is starting to make some serious ground and worry the Tony Hawkers. The motion-based controls seem somewhat gimmicky to me, but I'm not gonna knock it until I've tried it.

4.) Every Rock Band song available for download - God, I like this game. Consider me the next Ringo once MTV game's next rhythm game comes out (consider it number 3.5 on this list). It damn well better support Rock Band "instruments".

5.) Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising - I loved the first game in this uber-realistic "military strategy" (they don't like to be called shooters) series when I played it on Xbox, it just looked like something that was released before technology would fully allow it to achieve its objective. Maybe the power of the consoles in this generation will really make this shine. Sadly though, this is the type of game that is best bought on the PC so the mod scene can really get a hold of it and make it amazing. It seems like it could still fare well on the consoles though... we'll see.

6.) Watchmen: The End is Nigh - This would be a bit of a fanboy purchase more than anything. I can't imagine it being much more than a made for the movie release type game. Those types of games generally are the worst types of games. Save Goldeneye... ah sweet sweet Goldeneye. The price seems a bit steep for a "PSN" release too; they generally hover near $10.00, slightly more than a Blockbuster rental.

7.) NCAA Football '10 - Premature? Hell yes. I have high hopes (slash expectations) that EA will finally get it right on their third or fourth or whatever it is now year on this generation. '09 was right on the cusp of the greatness of the old PS2 games, but still no I-AA teams, playbook creator, etc. kept it from being perfect. Fix a few of these things and we could have a winner. Or create a Head Coach for college football. The differences between coaching in college and the pros are immense (ask Charlie) and it could make for one hell of a sports simulation.

The pig says, "My wife is a slut."

2009-02-18T18:09:00.000-05:00

When I see this:

This conversation is all that goes through my head:
Elaine: I don't remember , but it certainly wasn't this. Look at this cartoon in the New Yorker, I don't get this.
Jerry: I don't either.
Elaine: And you're on the fringe of the humor business.
George: Hey!
Elaine: Hey! George look at this.
George: That's cute.
Elaine: You got it?
George: No , never mind.
Elaine: Come on , We're two intelligent people here. We can figure this out. Now we got a dog and a cat in an office.
Jerry: It looks like my accountant's office but there's no pets working there.
Elaine: The cat is saying " I've enjoyed reading your E-mail".
George: Maybe it's got something to do with that 42 in the corner .
Elaine: It's a page number.
George: Well , I can't crack this one.
Elaine: Aahh! this has got to be a mistake.
George: try shaking it...(long pause) Well ,Janet should be here any minute.

Seriously, the New Yorker is really not funny. Or good at political cartoons... Just ineffective. To be completely honest, there were three reasons I posted this:
1.) Seinfeld references are always good.
2.) I want to see what everyone's favorite greek hero had to say about this. Free speech win out? How dare they blaze on Obama? This comic sucks? All of the above? My curiousity got the best of me.
3.) I really badly needed to post something.

So much for that 365 posts thing...

2009-02-10T18:47:00.001-05:00

Sorry about the uber-delay. Possibly the longest ever. Things have been fairly hectic (especially over the weekends when I usually mine the interwebz and Earth-in-general for exciting blog posts) what with work, and three trips out of town. Grandma is doing fine by the way...

In my delay I have decided a few things:

1.) Entourage is good. Really really good. I have been catching up on them from the library and Netflix (for the later seasons) and should be well into Season four by this weekend or so. Absolutely stellar script writing to keep what is essentially a repeated macro-storyline (guy gets movie, movie sells mass, guy celebrates with friends). Definitely recommend this one.

2.) This guy is hilarious. Basically, Chi City Mane is the realest dude from Chi town now livin' in the burbs. He chronicles his adventures with his personal Handycam (meaning you never really see his face). Yet another recommendation. As a matter of fact, I'll save you the trip:

And finally, if you don't watch any of the other one's cause they look stupid and you don't need any more ghetto slang in your life, please at least just watch this one. It'll warm your heart. A little Christmas love for the less fortunate:

3.) I'm out of shape. Trying to start working out is probably four times harder than trying to continue working out. I'm realizing this the hard way. Oh well.... onward.

4.) One of my cats now does not eat unless other people are in the room with her. I swear, this cat is quickly getting the nickname "Kevin McAlister" because I think she is afraid of the furnace, near which her main food bowl currently rests. Now we have another secondary food bowl in the living room, but that is just darn inconvenient when the Iams is down in the basement by said Main Food Bowl. The things we do for our pets...

5.) Speaking of pets, I'll be making friends (hopefully....) with three more this weekend. I'll be sure to take massive embarrassing and revealing photos chronic-(WHAT!?)-cling their living arrangements (jk doe....)

First day of work today!

2009-01-13T19:34:00.000-05:00

Seems like it'll be a good time. First day I walk into my plant and who do I see? the brother of the guy who I had been living with for the past 5 months. Pretty crazy if ya ask me.

But yea, that was the highlight of the day pretty much. A lot of paperwork and "getting me into the system." That's a lot of what this week is going to be.

Oh, and I'll have a daily starting time of 6 AM. That won't be fun. Oh well, that's what ya get for being the n00b. As a final thought, today made me think of this. And yes, having true life events make one recall an xkcd does make one a major nerdburger.

So does using the word "one" instead of "me".

I'm On a Roll Tonight

2009-01-11T23:02:00.000-05:00

Can you tell it's the first weekend with just me and the 'rents? Not that there's anything wrong with that....

If you follow the blog you know that I have a way out of character fondness for Brand New. I say out of character because usually I don't harp on a single band this much (Exhibit A: they have their own tag, with multiple entries). I was going through their website checking for when they planned on putting out some new music ('09 looks good) and looking at some of the old news posts they had.

This entry caught my eye. While every band harps on the "it isn't for the money" line, I think this may be one of the most poignant forms of saying that I have seen yet:

We would like to express our gratitude to anyone of you who has ever spent a nickel on this band, whether it was getting into a show, or buying a sticker, or a t shirt, or a record. It takes money to tour, and feed a band and its crew, or to record an album (after the label has spent all of yours). You all make these things possible, and in turn keep Brand New a band. But the bottom line is that we would rather this band didn't become something we felt like we were constantly selling to you guys. The only thing we as a band will ever claim authenticity on is our music. Just because all that other stuff comes from us, just because you bought a shirt on our website, or at a show, or got a lyric book in the mail, it doesn't mean it's any more unique or authentic then something you could do yourself. In fact it is less. It's just merchandise. The only "official" part of the band is what you hear on our records or at a show, the sounds we make. Write BRAND NEW on your knuckles or on a wall and it's just a good as some sticker that has an "interscope" logo on it. If you're feeling up to it, save the twenty bucks you were gonna spend on our merch site and write "The Devil and God are Raging Inside me" in marker on your dad's old t shirt. It will scare your parents, cost you nothing, and be about the most limited edition thing anyone will ever own... unless you make two.

What we are trying to say is that the important thing is that you are listening, and not so much buying. Spread it around. Share us with your friends. We thank you for supporting our band, and appreciate that you continue to do so, especially by playing our albums and coming to shows to watch us play. We hope everyone has a good holiday and a joyful new year. We're brushing up on our German and Gaelic.

This is why I don't mind waiting two years for them to release a new album. They do it for the right reasons, and if it doesn't sound right, throw it away and do it again. The candor - or honesty, or whatever you want to call it - is nice.

And now for something you have all seen before

2009-01-11T20:01:00.001-05:00

Two posts today, mainly so I don't fall further behind on my "365-post" rule this early in the game:

Five Things I'm Interested in Right Now that I Will Probably Burn Out On in a Month
(A derivative of my "Top 5")

1.) Cooking - Thanks to watching Top Chef marathons pretty much all of finals week, some Pavlovian shit has made this a major curiosity/hobby/interest of mine lately. To add to it, I got Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for the Food for Christmas, and I've realized I like reading about cooking when it's not in the form of a cookbook. It's like a chem lab that you get to eat at the end, which totally revs me up.

...Long distance...

2.) Converting vinyl to digital - It was a Christmas present/project to mom and dad and (like all good hobbies of mine) is turning out to be a lot more work than I had originally imagined. It helps feed into my visions of being Rick Ruben/Scott Storch. I've realized grown-ups still play pretend, it's usually just a lot more expensive than when "we" (I'm not a grown up.) were younger.
3.) Rock Band 2 - I've gotten up to being able to play aboutttt half the songs on Hard. It's those half-beat kick drum patterns that are causing me trouble right now, but I'm working through them, all the while giving myself more false hope of being musically talented. Nothing like this guy though:

3.) Meh, can't think of anything here. Put this as another long distance in between

4.) Reading good books - Finally having a shitload of time after a semester of not having much has its benefits. No more information to be divulged in this sector right now because it will make for good blog-fodder later.

5.) Dashboard Confessional - This one is taking the "right now" qualifier pretty literally. Haven't listened to Chris Carrabba in a while (like, since A Mark A Mission A Brand A Scar was released), and I must say I don't mind him.

A good family picture:

2009-01-11T19:49:00.001-05:00

In case you were curious, this would be a solid general description of my family:

Prior to watching Step Brothers (but obviously after dinner, which mainly consisted of a random collection of whatever sounded good at the time with no culinary rhyme or reason: nachos, mac and cheese, chili maybe, chili dip, or in my case just some dry noodles) my sister and I decide it is high time for a Funfetti cake. In my family, Funfetti is the sacred cake-mix of all cake-mixes. Like a top shelf liquor, it can't be drank on just any Saturday movie-night. To give sufficient reason for this 13x9 pan of glory we ran to the cabinet with the food coloring. Since the sister teaches elementary school kids she always has a solid grasp on those holidays that I, being a college student at a school that doesn't really let us out for anything, have since forgotten about.

We mixed red, then blue, then some green, then a little more red, heck throw some yellow in while were at it, and finally a little more red and that... right... there... maybe... yes!

Our very own Martin Luther King Jr. day African-American Funfetti cake. Off color? Probably. Should I have posted this on the interwebz for (potentially) all to see? Probably not. Either way, good, fun times for all. And the Funfetti was glorious.

Disclaimer: In reality, once the mix got baked, the color didn't really stick around much. It was more of an Italian-in-the-summer tan. Oh, and this was meant in no way to be derogatory to African Americans or Italians in the summer. Thank you and have a nice day.

How many roads must a man walk down?

2009-01-08T18:19:00.000-05:00

This week I finally got around to reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a book I've been interested in for years and avoided seeing the movie for reason of avoiding it ruining the book for me (both because of spoilers and the quality).

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is already on hold. Douglas Adams is probably one of the best character builders I have experienced. Whether it's Arthur Dent, your average Joe, Ford Prefect, the automobile-named alien who intended to be on Earth for a week only to be forgotten about for 15 years to finally have to escape to leave, or Marvin, the manic-depressive robot. They all have a sense of depth, personality, and even a unique voice of sorts (and sense of humor).

Writing a book based around a veritable encyclopedia of the universe can't be an easy task. Small pieces of the guide are mentioned throughout the novel, helping to build the reader's understanding of the history of the universe and provide more lighthearted comic relief.

Which is the reason I'm planning on reading the whole series now. Sure, the characters are wonderful and the ability any sci-fi writer worth his salt has to create a whole universe (and it's unique machines) astounds me, but Adams does all of it with a sort of lightheartedness that I really can't get enough of. I'm not a huge reader by any means. So when I actively want to read a book rather than turn on the PS3, it's a huge compliment to the abilities of the writer. This writer has me hooked.