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this is what you shall do:: 02/01/2003 - 03/01/2003

Friday, February 28, 2003

Job Interview?

Indeed! Monday morning, 9:30 I will interview for a position with Finali Corporation. The job is "eSpecialist" doing online customer service support for Western Union customers and their dealer base. Wish me luck. After 8 and a half months on long, long unemployment, this brilliant hard working soul needs a job.

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Friday Fives

  • 1. What is your most prized material possession?
  • Probably my dad's rings that were left to me when he died. I can keep him with my all the time, that way.
  • 2. What item, that you currently own, have you had the longest?
  • I have very little stuff left from my childhood. I did a terrible job as a teen and in early adulthood keeping track of stuff. But I have all my boy scout stuff, some of it I have had since I was ten years old. I also have a book I bought in second grade from scholastic books. That is probably the thing I have kept the longest.
  • 3. Are you a packrat?
  • Yes. Every three or four months I must tear apart my bedroom and files and just jettison cargo. I seem to hold on to every scrap of paper for far too long and I hate to get rid of a book. Ever.
  • 4. Do you prefer a spic-and-span clean house? Or is some clutter necessary to avoid the appearance of a museum?
  • Clutter isn't only good, at our house it is a fact of life. A house was meant to be lived in, not looked at. I hate folks who have to keep a house so clean and tidy they are forced to live in a tent in the backyard to keep from enjoying it.
  • 5. Do the rooms in your house have a theme? Or is it a mixture of knick-knacks here and there?
  • My bathroom has a fishing theme that for some reason or another has evolved over the years. The rest of the house has no set theme. I wouldn't say knick knacks, persay - that evokes images of a granny's house, but there are photos and things on the mantle and other shelves.

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    Wasn't Christopher Walken In That?

    This is nifty. A six degrees of Kevin Bacon-esque search engine, using the Internet Movie Database. Just plug in any two actors and select TV, Movies or Both.

  • Star Links
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    Thursday, February 27, 2003

    Neighbors

    About five minutes into this episode of This American Life is a nice piece about a writer's life long relationship with Fred Rogers, which began as a child. It is fitting on this, the day that Fred Rogers died of Cancer. This file is in Real Audio format and requires a free real audio player to listen. The Mr. Rogers part begins about five minutes in, but give the whole show a listen. Ira Glass is an American treasure.

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    I Have Been Correct All Along!

    This study published in Nature proves my using the dishwasher is better for the environment then washing by hand. Hahahaha to all you naynayers who have taunted me in the past for washing everything but the cast iron in the dishwasher. I am saving trees.

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    Wednesday, February 26, 2003

    Poem du Jour

    Elvis Costello wailing away on the Bose Chelsea songs, crafted rhyming prose Puttering around the afternoon waiting For springtime and the season's rebirth Knowing it isn't the weather's pattern painting Making me anxious, but scourched Earth Intense boredom replacing my life's work.

    I hunt and peck the pages of ads Contemplate the hacks and macks Soulessly offering positions for my wallet. Truck driver, reciptionist, nurse, taxi hacks A wage earning conduit

    The resumes sent, faxed, stamped and wired Making relevant the paper shuffle Ways to meet the goal, avoiding the drunken stumble At the traffic intersection before I tumble.

    Will Work to End the Internal Mumble!

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    Mmmmmm, Bacon

    How can you not celebrate this article from today's Denver Post food section! Just a few quotes: "Bacon is the chocolate of the new millennium," and "Bacon has it all. It has crunch; it has bite; it's chewy and savory and slightly sweet in one little package."or"It may have been politically incorrect, but nobody really stopped lovin' bacon." and "We have a saying, If it tastes bad, just add bacon." Be sure and check out the recipes including a bacon topped cheesecake.

  • Bacon of the month club

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    Tuesday, February 25, 2003

    Always A Point Of Contention. Always

    An interesting point counter point on Wal Mart. I believe this was first posted at Metafilter, but I forget where I dug this up. But it is a nice discussion concerning the opinions on the world of Wal-Mart. First by Fortune magazine which praises the business behemoth for reinventing the business model. Then by populist politician and columnist Jim Hightower who lambasts Wal-Mart, the media and buying public for so gullibly taking it all in. Both are long-ish reads but present something to think about before hefting that next bag of Ol' Roy dog food into your basket at the supercenter.

  • Bullying people from your town to China
  • One Nation under Wal-Mart
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    Let That Newspaper Subscription Lapse

    With online news, weather and sports sources galore and the ease of shopping with Ebay and cars.com and other sources, about the only thing missing from a total online experience is reading the comics. While perusing the Tech TV Download of the day I stumbled upon this: The Web Comics Reader. It is pretty self explanatory but in a nutshell. Download the .exe, install and then set up which comics you want to read. Then run the reader program and a web page comes up with all your favorite comics. Slicker than snot.

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    Fire Up Yer Rivets

    This is specifically for my friends Sage and Jenny. But kinda cool for everyone else:

  • Powers of Persuasion - WWII poster art
  • Ad Access - Vintage Advertising Art
  • Thanks to Blog-Fu

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    Always Tweaking Something

    Spinning around the web I stumbled upon Pixeldecor which features a cool 1950s and 60s themed art for desktop themes and wall papers. Her most popular bit is a monthly calendar desktop. March's isn't available. I will try to clue you in when it is. A neat site nonetheless. It is part of Very Big Design a lovefest by Jen Segrest, "another girl running rampant on the web." I like her style.

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    Monday, February 24, 2003

    Amusing Post Grammy Analysis

    This was posted on a Yahoo Group Springsteen discussion board this morning. Made me giggle a bit: "Sure, it'd been nice for BS to win album of the year, but the awards are the equivalent to a junior high student council race for treasurer. Dont sweat it."

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    Crime Alert

    Holy crap. Someone, and I assume it was meddling kids, stole my almost-famous-by-now Got Beer door mat from my front door sometime last night. It was there when Julie walked the dog last night but has since disappeared.

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    Mother Alert

    Mom and Jim are coming through town as part of their month long vacation/honeymoon. We expect them around Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on the weather. Right now they are sitting out a storm and some icy roads just west of Wichita, Kansas before hitting the road in the motorhome with station wagon in tow. So my day is now about Mother-izing the house. Clean, clean, polish, dust, fold and fluff the laundry and tackle the floor with a mop. Ohh the humanity. To top it off, my sister and room mate, is sick and moving at about half speed after taking the day off work. So I am trying to spear head the assault without pissing her off. A delicate balance on par with anything Colin Powell has been doing for the last few months. Wish me well as I begin the mop up operation.

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    Weekend In Review

    A low key lifestyle. We scuttled the zoo plans on Saturday after a weekend long snow and cold fit that kept us locked up indoors. We went for some good old fashioned pub visiting on Saturday afternoon. The stalwart trio of Roy, Ed and Julie first ate a late breakfast at Pete's Greek Town Cafe. Not nearly as greasy , but also not nearly as fresh and tasty as Pete's other fine establishments. After a brunch and some beers we travelled over to The Bull and Bush over in historic and meteoric Glendale. A neat little tavern. Quiet, good service, good micro brewed beer and you don't come out of the joint smelling like an ashtray. From there we journeyed over to Choppers in Cherry Creek. A nice bar and not as crowded as we expected for a late Saturday afternoon. A pizza and a few Denver Pale Ales and that folks wrapped up the Saturday hijinx. It is a nice little rhythm of late as the trio visits some new haunts and reconnects with some older ones during my favorite time of the day, mid-afternoon. Sunday we attempted to save the breakfast affair from Saturday, eating a good, greasy-spoon inspired meal at Pete's Gyros kitchen. A meal that met the expectations. From there, Julie and I took Ed to Sam's Club. This was fun as Ed came into contact with a whole new element in the world - mass produced shoppers happy to buy by the gross. Ed's final assessment. "Not bad prices, but they carry none of my brands." That made me smile. Only our little minor celebrity would insist on Pellegrino at bulk shopping prices, or nothing at all.

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    Anyone up for a game?

    Kevin and I have started an email chess game. If you are up for a game go here and start up a game. I'll play ya. I am not good, just curious and learning.

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    Nora Jones over Bruce?

    I feel slighted. Well, not really. I am not much of a Grammys fan and usually could care less about the over blown awards show. Hell, with all the categories offered, I am bit upset that I didn't get one. But I do have a soft spot in my heart for Bruce Springsteen. And the Rising is a great, great album. I don't put it on par with Born to Run or Born in the USA but it does have the maturity and the passion of Tunnel of Love and that is nothing to sneeze at. I also enjoy Nora Jones and have her album. And I guess the Grammy award for album of the year will mean she will have some career longevity - Sony will keep her around for a few more albums. But only time will tell if she has any depth or maturity make for a long lasting career.

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    Saturday, February 22, 2003

    Zoo Fest

    I believe a trip to the zoo is being hatched today or tomorrow. I haven't been to the zoo in years. So, depending on the weather, (snow is forecast later this afternoon.) I think some good old fashioned time with the animal kingdom is in order.

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    An 80s Look Back

    Revisited the adventures of Lloyd Dobler last night. I had two things running through my head all day. The speech Lloyd gives to John Mahoney and the song about Joe that Lili Taylor sings at the party. So after a great dinner at a tiny little Vietnamese Seafood place that my sister and I stumbled onto, I settled down to watch a VideoTape recording. It is a fun lil ol' film that although was put out seven years after I got out of high school, still does justice to an 80s high school and college experience.

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    Friday, February 21, 2003

    Flash Friday Fun

    Thanks to the good people of Metafilter, I bring you paper plane flying school. Now quit working and go play. It's Friday.

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    GoogObits

    This is very cool. Combining my fascination with Google and a perhaps unhealthy fascination with obituaries and the dead. I have hosted the Phyllis Diller Is Not Dead celebrity dead pool for a few years and as part of that effort I send out topical obits to friends and subscribers. But this stalwart obit fan has taken it to a new level. I especially appreciate the obit poetry, the liberal use of dead folks photographs and the obituary related links on the left hand side. Do take some time and lurk around here. It has some shear gold. My hat goes off to the author.

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    Notorious R.O.Y.

    Watched the newest Margaret Cho DVD last night. I was told that the show was just filthy and almost uncomfortable, but I disagree. With her frankness and filthy mouth and ability to go to the jugular for a punch line, she would fit in nicely with our crowd. Put it on your to rent list if you haven't already. Unless, you are a grown up, then stay away, it makes Buddy Hacket look like a choir boy.

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    And Finally A Decent Steak

    Cooked up a doozy of a steak last night. Following the Food Network's advice, I pan seared a couple of rib eyes. Mmmmm, finally a restaurant quality steak at home. Growing up as a kid, my parents tended to ruin a broiled steak. And sometimes the grill isn't handy. Its nice to have a way to cook a good steak quickly. I highly recommend it. And since we are on the topic, Jamie Oliver crafted a curry dish the other day that was very reminiscent of that served at Denver's beloved Streets of London pub. Just leave out the potatoes and serve with fries. It features a curry sauce made from scratch. I think I may try it this weekend. I really must stop watching the Food Network late night between Letterman and Conan. I wake up hungry.

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    What you looking at, Frodo

    In younger days, the weekend was about drinking. Beer, parties, chasing tail. And so to salute the weekend upon us, I present the Lord of the Rings drinking game. Simple rules, which is paramount to any drinking game. And yet the ability have a few is also easily had. Enjoy.

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    Thursday, February 20, 2003

    Great Bylined Thinkers of America, I bid you: Shut up!

    It may not seem like it of late, but this is very much where my head is at right now. Neil Pollack has captured the sentiment of the post 9/11 world fairly accurately. Too much info*Can't retain details*Information overload has caused disinterest* Added bonus: A great line about Dan Savage. hahaha. Dan Savage humor is always welcome.

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    Everything I needed to know I learned by listening to They Might Be Giants

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    More Cool Relic Foto Sites

    See earlier in the week for more along these lines. This is the kind of stuff that brings this here Inter-Web alive for me. Modern ruins and Archaeological Collage

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    A Letter To The Editor In Today's Rocky Mountain News

    The John Birch society is alive and well in Lakewood. This is more of the xenophobic attitude that has been percolating lately. This "head-in-the-sand" attitude troubles me. Get us out of the U.N. and U.N. out of U.S. I would like us to get out of the United Nations, and get the United Nations out of the U.S. Move it to France, Germany or Italy. Every time France gets in trouble we have to help them - World Wars I and II and French Indochina. We have had our military in South Korea for more than 50 years from Truman's police action. What has that cost the taxpayer? Now the U.N. wants us to do something about North Korea. I say let China, Japan and South Korea take care of North Korea. We need to bring all our military home. Let Germany and France take care of Europe and Africa and the oil countries. They think they can do a better job; let them try. We can use our military to keep the Western Hemisphere safe. Those people who need French wine and cheese can just go to France. I can drink wine from Mesa County and eat fruit from Texas. We can heat our homes and run our cars with natural gas from Colorado and use wind power. Too bad we can't use all the hot air from Washington and the media - we wouldn't have to pump oil for 50 years. Pat Allen Lakewood I can only imagine this is some grouchy old guy in a lawn chair in front of a manual typewriter, but that would be a sweeping generalization. But regardless, it is disconcerting to hear these 1950s-era phobic statements still so strongly held.

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    Wednesday, February 19, 2003

    Hip To Be An Anti-Francophile?

    It is really getting out of hand. Are we so desperate a people that war is the absolute only answer to solving our problems. And those against us are to be condemned? Chastised? Embargoed like Cuba? Harper's Week in Review recently reported "J. Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House of Representatives, was considering legislation to ban French wine and bottled water ? for "health reasons," he said. Hastert claimed that some French wine is clarified using cow blood." It is getting ridiculous. I was going to write a huge diatribe on why focusing on France's wishes for peace and not war is missing the whole point about what the U.N. is about. I was going to write a whole tantrum on the ability for this country to get behind the hatred of the enemy of the day - but the good folks at Democratic Underground have already done it and have done a deeper and more thoughtful job than I was doing. But please, can we stop the hate and work on something real.

    I still need a job.

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    Chipotle Virgin?

    Cousin Drew, formerly of the fast food McDonalds fame, had never been to a Chipotle before today. We went there for lunch after he experienced some of the fine burrito football sized meals while at work the other day. I found it odd, but shouldn't have, I guess. I am sure there are other folks who haven't been there before. Drew was familiar with the concept, having had some of the immensely crafted burritos at Baja Fresh(a wholly owned subsidiary of Wendy's) but had never gone to the queen mother of all fast food burrito palaces yet. He hasn't made it to Qdoba yet either, although they also are in the running to become the leader of the rice, bean and burrito crowd after Jack in the Box bought them last year.

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    Comments Field

    Sage wanted to add a few comments to this page, so I tinkered around and came up with the shoutbox feature on the right hand side. I ain't hip enough on tables yet to change the template enough to add it to the entire right column but it seems to work where it is, as long as I am judicious in my archive thingys. It has a 1,000 character limit and will only show the last six comments on the page, but all of them are archived at my account at shoutbox. It could be fun. We will see. Leave a note and let me know what you think.

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    Clumsy Alert

    We have had this odd thing going on in our freezer for the last month or so. Somehow, a plastic bag has worked itself into the ice maker. As ice gets knocked out and the machine refills, the bag gets worked farther and farther into the mechanism. So last night I decided to take determined action and fix the thing. For God's sake, there have been bits of plastic in the ice cubes. When the quality of my chilled beverages becomes affected, it is time to act. So as I attacked the plastic mess with a small Ginsu vegetable knife (chosen for its delicate shape), I accidentally placed my finger under the machine and got a shock/burn that ruined the rest of my day. I am a big fat baby when it comes to burns anyway. I can't take the pain of any kind of burned flesh. But last night, after fixing the ice machine (that part of the operation was successful) I ended up with a pea-sized blister on my pinky and soaked it on ice all night while watching my stories on television. Ugh! It throbbed until about 1 a.m. For those keeping score at home, I am fine today and have wrapped the burn up to keep from bumping it. But leave it to me to find the only heat source in a freezer - in an ice maker at that! - and actually burn myself.

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    Tyson Is Bat Shit Crazy

    The headline is from Kevin, paraphrasing a Hunter Thompson term. But has anyone been following this wack job's latest pre fight crap? He actually hasn't showed up for his next fight and took time off because of the "Flu" but it may very well be that he took the time off to get a tatto, on his face! What a nut. I genuinely believe he misses being the thug in prison.

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    Tuesday, February 18, 2003

    Expletive Inserted

    I like cussing, so this game is fun. A recreation of the childhood game Simon but the sounds are replaced with cuss words. Perty funny. Requires shockwave, just so you know.

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    Now, it is always funny to talk about your favorite celebrities. But it helps to actually have something to say.

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    A Cause I Can Support

    Steven is in trouble and I think we should all do what we can to help. But turns out the whole issue has been settled amicably. Steven copped a plea after copping the weed and will get a suspended sentence.

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    Pinhead

    Dr. Phil was on Letterman last night. He was pretty charming and held his own against Dave. In fact he brought a list of all the names that Dave has called him for the past few months. Under instructions from my sister I recorded it. And I forgot until rewatching this morning the joy of the show - Sarah Vowells, one of the funniest voices writing and performing today. She was worth the videotape, even if the rest of Letterman was hype.

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    Monday, February 17, 2003

    Happy President's Day

    It has been a theme of the late so I add this duct tape update. President Bush stocks up.

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    By Your Command

    Good golly, it is like going back in time. Sci Fi channel began running all the Battlestar Galactica episodes in a mini marathon this morning. They remastered them with digital sound. A cable television heaven for this television junky. I used to love this show. It was on while I was in the seventh and eighth grades. As kids, we used to "play" Battlestar in the backyard, craft ships and act out space wars. I also used to watch the weekend-end long Star Trek marathons that would run. Mind you, this was before cable television hit the town. All we had was over the air TV. So when Channel Two in Denver would run its Star Trek-a-thons, we would try to watch them all. Now with cable, a marathon run of an old series happens so often that you come to expect it. Oh well.

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    Sunday, February 16, 2003

    All Right, It Just Might Work!

    Spent most of the day working on Roy's fancy online resume in hopes it will aid in getting a job. If nothing else it is pretty in its simplicity. I need to talk to my friend Sage, she of the always-ready-digital camera, to see if she can email me over a few pics to replace the one on the resume page. But otherwise, I kind of like it.

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    Say Cheese

    Shutterbug. I have this soft spot for"found"or discovered photography and pictures of odd, foreign images taken from every day things. Part of the passion started from Games magazine that I avidly read years ago. They used to take very, very close up pictures of everyday things and then crop them very tightly. The goal of the Eyeball Benders puzzle was to guess what the segment was from. Along the same lines, we have 2 .a.m. which features pictures taken late at night with no flash using only available lighting, and Midnight Exposure along the same lines. We can see what is going on via webcam anywhere in the world, or focus our attention on America's back roads. Lileks has also collected Americana on his deep content website with this collection of postcards from American motels of 1950s and 1960s. And the whole record of the decay of the industrial age has been detailed by Dark Passage, The Ruins of Detroit or Infiltration. So pour a cup of coffee and sit back and explore this odd art museum.

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    I just started this blog on Tuesday and by Saturday blogging had become such a big deal that Google has purchased Pyra labs, the company and owns Blogger and Blogspot. I doubt it was just because of me. But this move is all the talk of the web today, that is for sure.
    Metafilter The breaking story Confirmation from the Blogger founder.

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    Sunday Morning Sunrise

    As the slow hands of time advance, I am finding it harder and harder to go out on a Saturday night and drink a few beers. Not that a few beers aren't enjoyable. No sir. Rest assured that I am still a beloved beer drinker. However, as I get a bit older I find it nearly impossible to get a full night's sleep after having a few beers. I toss and turn and am generally miserable. Such was the case this morning as I lay in bed at 5:00 a.m., fully awake and bored. It is a bit early to get up and make coffee and breakfast. I'd wake up the rest of the house, which would probably not be appreciated. So I roll over, turn on the lamp and read - knowing that around 3:00 p.m. I will crash and need a nap to keep up with the day. It didn't used to be this way. I used to be the life of the party. In my 20s, I used to be the guy who organized a booze fest on a Friday night and with my beer drinking buddies I could hold forth with a three day bender most any time. My Army days, my college days, even my early newspaper days were punctuated with a love of the drink. But now, at 38 years-old, I find I dread the inevitable hangover, I dread the inability to sleep and I must accept that as friends gather at a pub for stories, lies and talk, I will no doubt be the first one to go home. No longer the king of the party but perhaps the wizened one who can sit in the wings and watch with a knowing smile and retire early knowing that perhaps I can still enjoy the day after.

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    Saturday, February 15, 2003

    Olestra Update!

    4:00 a.m. I had to run as fast as I could to the bathroom for some intestinal maintenance. But this doesn't give Ed permission to say "I told you so." I am blaming it on the Mexican dinner at Sams no3. on Havana. That is all.

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    One Of My Hard Drives Is Missing

    I spent the greater part of this morning trying to solve a rather pesky system glitch with my USB external drives. The Sony Spressa CDRW drive I use is installed with the wrong driver. Windows 2000 automatically installs a different version of the driver to my system and I think that is what is causing my system from time to time lock up and spit out my external hard drive and external cdrw drive. But getting a correct Win2K drive has seemed to be impossible. This isn't the end of the world and the hardware works 99 percent of the time, but on occasion, for no reason at all I will get this pesky error message that my hard drive and my CD drive were improperly unplugged. Since they work most of time, I am assuming it is a software issue not a hardware issue. And the best "first" place to go to fix the problem is to reinstall the drivers. But hours later I have made no major headway. But I will persevere.

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    Friday, February 14, 2003

    Attention Olestra Lovers

    On MSN chat this afternoon, the discussion turned to Olestra and specifically the Frito-Lay companies Olean branded fat-free chips. See, I kind of like them. And I am discovering that I am nearly all alone in that endeavor. I may be their entire consumer market. There was talk of seeing how many chips it takes for an entire colon blow. But that conversation passed (...) But come on! A handful of yummy fried tater crunchies for just 75 calories! How lucky can a guy get. Sure, it can be a gastrointestinal disaster if the entire bag is eaten in one sitting, but then if that happens, it serves a guy right.

    Weekend looms following tater event

    Speaking of blowing it all in one sitting - the weekend has crept upon us and with that comes plans. For most it is a three day weekend whereby we honor past presidents. Let's all pause for just a second and give a shout out to 93-year-old Ronald Reagan, who just had a birthday. And, as always, take some time to pour a 40 down for good old Richard Nixon, one of my favorite dudes. A despicable person with few morals and virtually no charisma who forced himself into the global spotlight. How that guy became president is something I will never understand. And for that I love him. It ain't easy to become an icon. Just ask Charro. Snow is forecast for Saturday, but otherwise the weekend looks like a fun warm one. I may propose to the posse a trip out of town somewhere. Perhaps up to Longmont to enjoy some microbrewery guzzling. And I think, in honor of Crabfest at Red Lobster, a sea food buffet somewhere may be in order.

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    Google Game du Jour

    This is fun. Type in a year into The Google Advanced Image Search. For instance 1957. Then go to the Google images tab. Voila, tons of vintage pics for wallpaper or the like. I am a bit addicted to the Google Image search engine anyway. But this is kinda fun. Don't know why you would ever need to do this. I have a few friends that collect old black and white group photos. Like of Army units from WWII or fireman. Lots of these kind of pictures come up as JPEGS. Not necessarily suitable for framing, but an homage to their collection.

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    Cute

    These Weapons of Mass Destruction Cannot Be Displayed.

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    Duct Tape To The Rescue?

    The tool of the average serial killer has now been given new life due to terror . Apparently Duct Tape is now the equivalent of aspirin and band aids in our society (AP). The media is reporting that it is selling off the shelf as fast as they can stock it in hopes of making our home terrorist attack proof. I don't know about that but I do know that while in the Army, the tape was sold in camo, green and black as well as the traditional gray and quite honestly held the entire military establishment together. Rare it was when a ranking sergeant in the field did not have a roll of duct tape in the cargo pocket of his pants in order to fix a truck, a tent, a computer. But really. Besides its incredible strength and useability, does anyone think that the tape will be able to prevent anything? I doubt it.

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    Dave's World

    Dave Berry has great little blog updated a couple of times a day. Two gems from yesterday include Attack Carrot Top and Advice on how to survive a code orange terror alert.

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    I'd buy it

    I have lost the link in a housekeeping frenzy, but recently I stumbled on a web log site whose life's mission was to find and taunt online auctions. Much like Disturbing Auctions but with snarky photos and the ability to comment on delicious finds. It was while on the that mysterious site that I happened upon this. Shop Goodwill. Wow. What kind of gold is this! An online thrift store auction. I doubt the site makes much money and I imagine the web site itself and the bandwidth are donated, but still . . . where else can you find such wonders as Clippo the Clown. Perhaps he would make a perfect companion to Ed's houseboy Pedro. If nothing else, the Goodwill store will now be a site to go to for odd pictures to brighten up any template. heh heh heh.

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    The Worthless Word of the Day is: volentine

    [obs, rare] collect. birds, fowls (alteration of OF volatile, perhaps influenced by volent) New England Dict. 1928 not to be confused with valentine :^) -tsuwm

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    Thursday, February 13, 2003

    Terry Tate to the rescue

    The story of Terry Tate is funny. You see, in many ways my old boss at Nextel was the original OLB - a former outside linebacker at USC, he had a game day intensity about him most times. They have updated the shorts, so if you dug the original, there is now more Terry fun. For best results, download to your hard drive and save as a Windows movie. The streaming media get hit pretty hard and the buffering will drive you crazy. Terry Tate, Office Linebacker

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    I am about nine months behind on movies, but anyway: Complete list of 75th annual Academy Award nominations I am happy that Queen Latifah got a nod. She is a pretty cool lady. Otherwise, no real surprises here. Some folks have talked about the obvious abscence of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." It did get a screenwriting nomination but nothing else. But really, people, just because a movie makes a truck load of cash doesn't automatically mean that it is worthy of best picture. With the Academy Awards comes the annual Oscar (tm) party. Hmmmm. I think this year's annual bash at the neighbors' needs a theme. I propose "Casablanca." A great movie and a great theme to work from. Just a suggestion to Mark and Robert, our annual hosts.

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    Listening to: The jazz bop king is a soundtrack of life. The Rising is a powerful album and helps with the year I have had His two newest albums are on par with his best stuff of the 1960s. Reading: Currently on volume two of this dark, violent, young adult fantasy series Kind of a "get to know your Muslim neighbors guide" by the Nobel Laureate

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    Google blasting

    I picked up an issue of Harper's on the coffee table the other day. From the October issue, in their Readings section that had a piece on Google. They typed in the phrase "People ask me all the time" into the Google search engine and then posted the results. Very amusing. Some of the gold: "People ask me all the time how I did it, but what they really want to know is how they can do it, too." "People ask me all the time, 'Bob just what is it exactly that you DO?'" "People ask me all the time, why I'm so weird." "People ask me all the time what goes on in the car." "People ask me all the time to explain the one technique to blow their partner's mind." Well, you get the point. It goes on and on. And yes, Google is amazing. I have given myself at least an associate's degree in basic computer programming and networking over the past few months just by typing in questions into Google and searching for the answers. But what is really available on Google. Today, that will be the challenge. I think a few choice cliche' phrase searches are in order. I think I will start with the phrase "Don't be so melodramatic" and see what comes up. "Cancer is bleak.". "You don't have cancer.". "Psychomelanoma. Untreatable.". "You are so melodramatic. It's tiresome."
    "Jesse, don't be so melodramatic. There's no way a small blip in the comings and goings in PC Lala-land compares to the risk of one human life much less a carload of them."
    "Don't be so melodramatic. I still love you, and I think I'll probably marry you some day and have your child. But right now I don't want to be tied down when there's so many possibilities to explore."
    "Don't be so melodramatic. You're not washed up, you're just bogged down.". "Oh, yes, thank you. It's all so clear to me now.
    "Really Pilar, don't be so melodramatic." Ivy crossed the room and put on her favorite perfume,
    " Don't be so melodramatic. The Ds occupy half the Senate. They can block any court nomination they want to. They won't. They're so darn polite"
    Hannah pulled the quilt over her legs again. "Oh don�t be so melodramatic. It�s just life, Kiley. That�s all. People fall in and out of love every day. It�s no big deal."
    "And, finally, don't be so melodramatic: Our relations with China are messy partly because we worry too much about them"

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    Wednesday, February 12, 2003

    Dog Nerd

    Okay, I have shared a severe bit of nerdiness already, so it isn't too much to go further. Besides chess, the Bee Gees and the very fact I have created a self-obsessive blog, I have spent the better part of the Tuesday and Wednesday watching the rebroadcast of the Westminster Dog Show.

    I dig the dog show. Always have. A few thoughts. Joe Garagiola used to host the show every year. He was replaced with Mark McEwan, the former CBS weatherman. Not bad, but in terms of pure geekiness, I thought that it would be hard to beat ol' Joe. But McEwan did a fine geeky job. His broadcast partner, David Frei, was a bit annoying, however. Standing there proudly displaying his Denver Broncos Super Bowl ring as he does the doggy-do play-by-play was a bit surreal. The former Football PR flack turned dog show competitor (the term he used all the time was "Breeder/ Owner/Handler" - as if it were a coveted role.) referred to the dogs as "fabulous" on more occassions than you might expect a world champion football dude would.
    I was cheering for the Pomeranian. I don't necessarily like them as a dog, but I figured their day had come and frankly, that dog, to use Frei's term, was "fabulous."
    But in the end the Kerry Blue Terrier won the show.

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    Oops. double post.

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    Tweaking

    Okay. Links are up.
    Changed the template to be easier to read
    Fiddled with the Title header.
    Now for an explanation of the title.
    It is from Walt Whitman. In the preface of Leaves of Grass.
    It needs a whole table of its own right here, but that is on the to do list.

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    Watching the Westminster Dog Show
    Knowing that the cat is in the know
    I change the channel quickly
    The dog's fur rises, thickly
    And brings a new bone for to throw.

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    How to make a great cup of coffee

    The following advice is probably the most important thing that I can impart to you.
    1. Use only filtered water. If you can remove the metals and the chlorine from the water, you have already taken a great step in making a better cup of coffee.
    2. Next step. Take some time, effort and money and purchase and gold coffee filter. Melitta and several others sell them. I bought mine at Cost Plus but I am sure they can be found nearly everywhere. Paper filters remove the oils and with it the flavor of a lot of the coffee. Plus you are throwing one less thing into the trash with each pot you make.
    3. Grind your own beans. Canned or pre-ground coffees lose their flavors very quickly. In the course of several hours your fresh coffee will be nearly flavor less. Buy fresh Arabica beans. Stay away from the name brand ground coffees, as they are a blend of Arabica (flavor) and Robusta (cheap) coffees.
    4. Use a decent coffee maker!. Don't skimp on the coffee maker. Make sure the water is heated to degrees and the warming pad won't cook the coffee after it sits for more than about 20 minutes. Braun and Black and Decker both make great coffee makers that are recommended by Cooks magazine and Consumer Reports.
    5. If you have gotten to this point, you are ready for the next step, roasting your own green beans. Unroasted coffee beans can last for a couple of years. They are half the price of roasted beans. And for the cost of an investment in a coffee maker (about $79.00 or so) you can have the absolutely freshest cup of coffee that you can imagine.
    Roast, grind, brew, enjoy.
    There are other tips for the more advanced. Store brewed coffee in a carafe or thermos to keep it from cooking on coffee maker burner.
    Try using a French press for an intense cup of Joe. (Their only draw back is that often they make only two or three cups at a time, are hard to keep it warm and if the boiling water is too hot you may have ruined the roast before you even get a chance to taste it.)
    For more:
    Sweet Marias
    I Need Coffee.com

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    Job Hunt

    So, the job hunt is looking up a bit. In the past few weeks, I have been able to send out more than a resume or two a week. There are actually job positings! Although in this market that means some fierce competition, but I think I can at least claw my way to the top of the pile. Sent off three resumes to Nextel this week for three supervisor positions. And several more similar positions were sent off last week. Not my dream job, but I am qualified, so might as well give it a shot. I have about three weeks of paid unemployment benefits left. Short of getting an extension (which I can't apply for until the money is gone) the first job that comes along will be my new career. So reach out to your favorite psychic and send me a note on what is in the future, for I can't fathom it.

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    Tuesday, February 11, 2003

    Let's Begin

    Okay, this is a sign of my mind. I was walking the dog this afternoon, like I do most every day - promptly at 4:10 or so. I checked the mail as part of that routine and received my bimonthly unemployment check - the hard gritty evidence that my plan "B" isn't working. Anyway. As I return home from walking the dog, I discover that aforementioned check is not in its assigned coat pocket. AAAck. A minor panic. I quickly deposited the dog and rushed outside to retrace my steps. There it was - right next to the dogs preferred. "poo" station. Ugh. It must have fallen out when I retrieved my doggy doo doo bag to scoop up the malicious mess. That disaster was barely averted. Nothing left to do today except deposit check, cook some dinner and settle down for some Buffy the Vampire Slayer action and a trip to Smallville.

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    Dirty secret

    I dig the Bee Gees and have spent a greater part of the last two days jamming. Jamming I say. Jamming to the hit makers. ------------ Last night I watched Compay Segundo on Ovation as well as a show on Afro/Cubano music. Enthrallling. He was 90 years-old when it was filmed about five years ago and he was singing, dancing, playing the guitar and actually ran out onto the stage for the encore. Boy, to have that kind of energy at that age. Wow. If you haven't had the chance to see the Buena Vista Social club from producer performer Ry Cooder, take some time to do that. Great music and gives some pause to what the world has missed out on during the Cuban embargo. There is much more to Cuba than cigars and Ricky Ricardo. ------------- This weekend I installed Mozilla on my system and replaced it for the Opera internet browser. I cruised around and found some nifty add ons, like mouse gestures and it has made the internet surfing that has beocme my time wasting past time even more fun and interesting. I tried messing around with some proxy servers and anonymizer software the make myself "invisible: while online,but it seemed a bit annoying so I uninstalled. ----------- Recently I have re-discovered Chess. Over a year ago, I purchased a chess software program (Chessmaster 8000 from Milton Bradley) for the computer but never really gave much thought to it. But with my time available, I started to take advanage of its feature-rich options and am learning chess. Which is great fun. For Christmas, Sage bought me a shot-glass chess set and we played a few weeks back. She is fairly good and that experience motivated me to study up on the game and develop some strategies and planning philosophies to take my game up a notch or two. But if you have ever played shot glass chess you know that it isn't really about strategy. It is about getting your opponent drunk, which often means playing give-away chess. It is perhaps a better use of my time to learn chess than sitting around playing some brain-numbing video game. However, it is a game that indeed will take a lifetime to get the hang of, that is for sure.

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