That's right, nationwide there have been 10 home sales this year. Which brings me to this interesting fact:
According to recent figures, there are currently 18.7 million vacant homes in the United States. If you assume four people per household, that's enough empty houses to accommodate the entire populations of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and Norway.
A more personal fact for you though: not a single condo sold in my complex in June. I haven't seen the July numbers yet, but in the 4 years I've lived here I've never seen a month go buy without a single sale. It's not for a lack of available units, there were 20 on the market in June. And yet owners are still too stubborn to drop their prices.
I know that home sales, and unemployment for that matter, are lagging indicators and don't start to rise until after the economy turns around, so this is not necessarily indicative of the state of the economy, but it certainly isn't good news. The stock market seems to be slowly but steadily rebounding, but I still think that we've got a long road ahead of us. If an $8k tax credit isn't spurring home buyers, then I think it's still going to get worse before it gets better. I think it could be over a year before home sales start coming back. And I don't have any evidence to support this, but I feel that the run up in prices in this area really overvalued property to such an extent that even as much as it has dropped, it still is too high in comparison with median income. All that being said though, I'd still like to take advantage of the tax credit and buy a place before the year is up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the right deal will present itself.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Who Goes First
Today's question is a simple, yet complex one. Which crazed, ruthless dictator will die first, Fidel Castro or Al Davis. Castro has a bit of a head start at nearly 83 years old but 80 year old Al Davis has been oppressing Raider Nation since 1972. Both are looking pretty decrepit now, but I have to say Davis looks worse for the wear. Sure Castro's health may be failing and being first to relinquish control isn't a good sign, but Al's increasing resemblance to David Lo Pan (from Big Trouble In Little China) makes him the odds on favorite for the devil to come collect on his deal in my book. If I could find a more recent photo of Davis I might submit it to Totally Looks Like. Anyway, discuss it amongst yourselves and don't let my decision influence you.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Error In Judgement
I saw this sign outside a market while walking around at lunchtime today. I chose to dine elsewhere.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sweet Merciful Crap, It's Hot
....just in case you hadn't noticed. I can tolerate the heat during the day, but when it really bothers me is at night. My place builds up a lot of heat and doesn't cool down quickly, so these stretches of hot weather make it difficult for me to sleep. And with the forecast predicting 99° on Wednesday it is looking like a week with not much sleep for me, resulting in a grumpy Scott making everyone around me unhappy. Last night I left all the windows open all night with fans running and it still had only cooled off to 77° by this morning. What's worse is that outside noise kept waking me up throughout the night too.
I lived in Florida for 3 years growing up, and all summer long it was 95° and humid, and in 3 years I never got used to the heat. Going from our normal weather to this oppressive heat is just that much more difficult. It is shaping up to be a long week, so if anyone with air conditioning wants to invite me over for a few days, I'll be right there. And I can't make any promises, but I'll try to make this the last complaining I do. At least it's not snowing.
I lived in Florida for 3 years growing up, and all summer long it was 95° and humid, and in 3 years I never got used to the heat. Going from our normal weather to this oppressive heat is just that much more difficult. It is shaping up to be a long week, so if anyone with air conditioning wants to invite me over for a few days, I'll be right there. And I can't make any promises, but I'll try to make this the last complaining I do. At least it's not snowing.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Near Misses In The Genius Department
Shamelessly copied from the Smithsonian magazine, here is a brief look at some of the people who missed out on the annual MacArthur genius grant. Or at least here are some of the more entertaining ones:
Neill Goldberger
Historian
Upending the academic establishment with the revolutionary premise that history cannot be understood as a linear narrative or a recurring loop, but rather as a large, multicolored rhombus. Best known for his controversial theory that Eleanor Roosevelt and Charles de Gaulle were in fact the same person.
Victor Bladinovsky
Composer
Defying conventions of classical music by sacrificing traditional notions of structure and lyricism for ever-increasing volume. Best known for the 12-minute air horn chorale at the end of his NASCAR Sonata and the exquisite but rarely performed Fantasie for Strings and Industrial Wood Chipper (Op. 433).
Ophelia Schmidt
Asexologist
Widely known as the "Alfred Kinsey of prokaryotes," Schmidt has applied the accumulated wisdom of three decades in traditional sex therapy to the widespread but largely unexplored reproductive dysfunctions of single- celled organisms. With little more than an electron microscope and rigorous Jungian technique, she has diagnosed over 400 previously unknown asexual disorders from "flagella envy" to "premature cytokinesis." Her self-published manifesto, The Chromo Sutra, has sold three copies.
And my personal favorite:
Arthur Grexby
Geologist
Transforming the field of seismology with a reconfigured Richter scale that awards points not just for magnitude but also for artistic merit. A fiercely independent thinker, he is believed to be the first major geologist to refute the existence of the Himalayas—a claim later retracted when he realized that two pages of his atlas were stuck together.
Neill Goldberger
Historian
Upending the academic establishment with the revolutionary premise that history cannot be understood as a linear narrative or a recurring loop, but rather as a large, multicolored rhombus. Best known for his controversial theory that Eleanor Roosevelt and Charles de Gaulle were in fact the same person.
Victor Bladinovsky
Composer
Defying conventions of classical music by sacrificing traditional notions of structure and lyricism for ever-increasing volume. Best known for the 12-minute air horn chorale at the end of his NASCAR Sonata and the exquisite but rarely performed Fantasie for Strings and Industrial Wood Chipper (Op. 433).
Ophelia Schmidt
Asexologist
Widely known as the "Alfred Kinsey of prokaryotes," Schmidt has applied the accumulated wisdom of three decades in traditional sex therapy to the widespread but largely unexplored reproductive dysfunctions of single- celled organisms. With little more than an electron microscope and rigorous Jungian technique, she has diagnosed over 400 previously unknown asexual disorders from "flagella envy" to "premature cytokinesis." Her self-published manifesto, The Chromo Sutra, has sold three copies.
And my personal favorite:
Arthur Grexby
Geologist
Transforming the field of seismology with a reconfigured Richter scale that awards points not just for magnitude but also for artistic merit. A fiercely independent thinker, he is believed to be the first major geologist to refute the existence of the Himalayas—a claim later retracted when he realized that two pages of his atlas were stuck together.
We Are The Champions
...of the world. Or at least of the Underdog summer co-ed league in Bellevue.
We took the field on a sweltering July day - a day so hot that every pitch looked like a knuckle ball because of the heat waves rising from the field. A day so hot that the experts said only mad men and Englishmen would be out doors in this weather. A day so hot that, well, you get the idea. We put our 7-0 record on the line in the first game of the playoffs and crushed an unsuspecting Dunder Mifflin team by a score of something to something less. In all actuality, it wasn't that much of a blowout, I think the score was something in the neighborhood of 14-4. The real point is that we'd been running around in the sun for an hour and a half by the time the championship game rolled around and we had to line up against a formidable Hit It & Quit It team that had played earlier in the day and then gone off to sit and rest somewhere cool.
Hit It is genuinely a good team and we had handed them their only loss about a month ago in a close 9-4 game. But this time we had to contend not only with the weather and fatigue, but also the fact that our star power hitter's whereabouts are still unknown as he continues to evade police on drug charges. No, wait, he's on vacation, sorry about the mix up. We dodged a bullet in the first inning when they loaded the bases with nobody out, but taking a page out of the Mariner's playbook, they popped up and then hit into a double play - a double play in which I picked up a ball hit to short and tried to swipe my foot across second before throwing the runner out at first but will admit that I missed second. It was close enough that the ump called it out though. That set the pace for what was to be a low scoring affair. Fast forward to the bottom of the 7th when after trailing all game, we had closed the gap to 7-6. Sparing you the play by play, let me just say that with 2 outs, playoff MVP Ted (top middle) stepped to the plate with 2 outs and 2 on and hit a pop up foul that was just out of reach of the 3rd baseman. Unhappy with that he decided to take his second chance at glory and hit a hard line drive into the gap to bring in the winning run, giving us an 8-7 victory and some fancy championship shirts. The shirts were long overdue and it feels pretty good to finally get one. Good job team.
We took the field on a sweltering July day - a day so hot that every pitch looked like a knuckle ball because of the heat waves rising from the field. A day so hot that the experts said only mad men and Englishmen would be out doors in this weather. A day so hot that, well, you get the idea. We put our 7-0 record on the line in the first game of the playoffs and crushed an unsuspecting Dunder Mifflin team by a score of something to something less. In all actuality, it wasn't that much of a blowout, I think the score was something in the neighborhood of 14-4. The real point is that we'd been running around in the sun for an hour and a half by the time the championship game rolled around and we had to line up against a formidable Hit It & Quit It team that had played earlier in the day and then gone off to sit and rest somewhere cool.
Hit It is genuinely a good team and we had handed them their only loss about a month ago in a close 9-4 game. But this time we had to contend not only with the weather and fatigue, but also the fact that our star power hitter's whereabouts are still unknown as he continues to evade police on drug charges. No, wait, he's on vacation, sorry about the mix up. We dodged a bullet in the first inning when they loaded the bases with nobody out, but taking a page out of the Mariner's playbook, they popped up and then hit into a double play - a double play in which I picked up a ball hit to short and tried to swipe my foot across second before throwing the runner out at first but will admit that I missed second. It was close enough that the ump called it out though. That set the pace for what was to be a low scoring affair. Fast forward to the bottom of the 7th when after trailing all game, we had closed the gap to 7-6. Sparing you the play by play, let me just say that with 2 outs, playoff MVP Ted (top middle) stepped to the plate with 2 outs and 2 on and hit a pop up foul that was just out of reach of the 3rd baseman. Unhappy with that he decided to take his second chance at glory and hit a hard line drive into the gap to bring in the winning run, giving us an 8-7 victory and some fancy championship shirts. The shirts were long overdue and it feels pretty good to finally get one. Good job team.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
This Week In Pictures
This is a picture I took after a volleyball game at Alki of the sun setting over the Olympics. Not much explanation necessary, simply sit back and enjoy. 
I saw this walking by Pike Place Market on Friday. For those of you whom caramel apples are too healthy, one shop has created this concoction: caramel marshmallows covered with mini m&m's. I don't know if the marshmallows are toasted prior to dipping them in caramel, but if you have a sweet tooth, this will most assuredly rot it out of your mouth. 
Finally, this one is a little difficult to see, but if you squint enough you can see a child size shoe dangling from the front bumper of this taxi. It would seem that the crazy/unsafe reputation that cabbies have is justified. P.S. Posting multiple images continues to cause me problems. I can't for the life of me figure out how to post a picture with the text to the right and have a new paragraph start below with the next picture. I have played around with both the div tag and the p tag and can't seem to keep the images from cascading using either. Help!!!
Interesting
Recently something triggered my memory, reminding me of an interesting co-worker I had years ago. Not interesting in the sense that the world's most interesting man is interesting, but rather in the sense that Phineas Gage is interesting.
This man, whom I will refer to as Todd to protect his anonymity and because I can't remember his name, I met while working at Sears many years ago. Todd worked in the paint department and other than being on the nerdy side, seemed pretty unnoteworthy. That was until he told me about the time that he had been attacked on the street by a man wielding a knife and after being slashed on the arm, punched his assailant in the throat, crushing his larynx and killing him. He told me that he had trained for years in ninjitsu and that he had reacted without even thinking about it. I thought that this was a pretty traumatic experience and easily trumped any story I had.
A few months passed without any more tales, but eventually Todd dropped this bombshell on me: he had either purchased or constructed (I can't remember which anymore) a powerful laser and used it to write his name on the moon. If I had a high powered telescope and new where to look, I would be able to see it. After hearing this, I began to form the opinion that he just liked to make up stories for his own entertainment and started questioning his ninja story.
Again, more time passed without giving it too much thought when Todd told me with a completely straight face that he was planning on colonizing Mars. That he and a brilliant engineer friend had purchased a small island at an undisclosed location and some materials to begin construction on a rocket. Todd explained that they had figured out an economically feasible way accomplish all of this, but that the government was trying to stop them and that's why the location of the island had to remain confidential. The one missing piece of the puzzle was the crew. He had picked me as one of his security officers. He attempted to recruit a few other fellow co-workers too but I don't know what jobs he had in mind for any of them. It was at this point that I began to question his sanity and avoid him. I never saw anything on the news about a successful mission to Mars, so I assume that he has still been unable to recruit colonists.
To date, he remains the most unusual and interesting co-worker I have had, although at the same job I did work with a seasonal employee who would have gotten along just fine with Todd. This guy, whose name I also don't remember, told me that a friend of his had invented a perpetual motion machine that would have been adapted to make cars so efficient that they would require virtually no fuel. Sadly, the oil industry found out about it and, as they are known to do, had him killed. As a result we are now saddled with inefficient vehicles and soaring gas prices. This was truly a loss for mankind.
This man, whom I will refer to as Todd to protect his anonymity and because I can't remember his name, I met while working at Sears many years ago. Todd worked in the paint department and other than being on the nerdy side, seemed pretty unnoteworthy. That was until he told me about the time that he had been attacked on the street by a man wielding a knife and after being slashed on the arm, punched his assailant in the throat, crushing his larynx and killing him. He told me that he had trained for years in ninjitsu and that he had reacted without even thinking about it. I thought that this was a pretty traumatic experience and easily trumped any story I had.
A few months passed without any more tales, but eventually Todd dropped this bombshell on me: he had either purchased or constructed (I can't remember which anymore) a powerful laser and used it to write his name on the moon. If I had a high powered telescope and new where to look, I would be able to see it. After hearing this, I began to form the opinion that he just liked to make up stories for his own entertainment and started questioning his ninja story.
Again, more time passed without giving it too much thought when Todd told me with a completely straight face that he was planning on colonizing Mars. That he and a brilliant engineer friend had purchased a small island at an undisclosed location and some materials to begin construction on a rocket. Todd explained that they had figured out an economically feasible way accomplish all of this, but that the government was trying to stop them and that's why the location of the island had to remain confidential. The one missing piece of the puzzle was the crew. He had picked me as one of his security officers. He attempted to recruit a few other fellow co-workers too but I don't know what jobs he had in mind for any of them. It was at this point that I began to question his sanity and avoid him. I never saw anything on the news about a successful mission to Mars, so I assume that he has still been unable to recruit colonists.
To date, he remains the most unusual and interesting co-worker I have had, although at the same job I did work with a seasonal employee who would have gotten along just fine with Todd. This guy, whose name I also don't remember, told me that a friend of his had invented a perpetual motion machine that would have been adapted to make cars so efficient that they would require virtually no fuel. Sadly, the oil industry found out about it and, as they are known to do, had him killed. As a result we are now saddled with inefficient vehicles and soaring gas prices. This was truly a loss for mankind.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Dreams
I had a dream last night that once again requires interpretation. Since I woke up, the details are a bit sketchy, but what I remember doesn't make a lot of sense. It started with me meeting a friendly, attractive woman that I was quite interested in until I got to chatting with her and found out that she graduated from Ohio State. At that point I lost all respect for her and all interest in her as all I could think about from that moment forward was how much I hate OSU.
Following this news, I wandered through the house she lived in with several roommates and for some reason I don't remember, one of them challenged me to a duel - with bow & arrow. I accepted the challenge on the condition that, since I have very little experience with a bow & arrow, that I could use one with a sight mounted on it. As luck would have it, the other guy fired first and missed so that provided me with plenty of time to take good aim. I lined him up in my sights and fired at him and missed, but ended up shooting his boyfriend, who was standing nearby watching, right through the heart, killing him instantly. That ended the duel and also the dream. And I remember that at some point Scarlet Johanson made an appearance but I don't remember when in the timeline of the dream or what exactly she was doing. I just remember chatting with her briefly.
So there you have it, what does it all mean? I'm not one for interpreting dreams, at least not with any accuracy. I assume that this one was prophetic - telling me that at some point I am going to date Scarlet Johanson, but I don't know what the rest of it means.
Following this news, I wandered through the house she lived in with several roommates and for some reason I don't remember, one of them challenged me to a duel - with bow & arrow. I accepted the challenge on the condition that, since I have very little experience with a bow & arrow, that I could use one with a sight mounted on it. As luck would have it, the other guy fired first and missed so that provided me with plenty of time to take good aim. I lined him up in my sights and fired at him and missed, but ended up shooting his boyfriend, who was standing nearby watching, right through the heart, killing him instantly. That ended the duel and also the dream. And I remember that at some point Scarlet Johanson made an appearance but I don't remember when in the timeline of the dream or what exactly she was doing. I just remember chatting with her briefly.
So there you have it, what does it all mean? I'm not one for interpreting dreams, at least not with any accuracy. I assume that this one was prophetic - telling me that at some point I am going to date Scarlet Johanson, but I don't know what the rest of it means.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
A Reasonable Proposal
With the world going virtual and brick & mortar businesses struggling to compete, I ask you this: when will public libraries go virtual? After driving down to the Kirkland library yesterday to pick up a book I had on hold, only to find it fenced off and closed for, well, I don't know why, probably remodeling of some sort, I got to thinking how much more convenient it would be to just download the book from the web site than the traditional method. Libraries could then have much larger catalogues in a much smaller space making them more utilitarian while reducing overhead. I'm not particularly thrilled at the prospect of carrying my laptop with me on the bus, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. And I would never buy one of those stupid Kindles, but they do seem to be proliferating anyway, making an e-library even more viable.
And I know that the primary argument against this is that publishers and retailers would no longer be able to make money selling books if you could just download them for free, however movie studios have shown that money can be made renting downloadable media. I'm not sure how they do it, but itunes and Amazon.com are able to put some code in downloadable movies which only allows you to view it for a limited time, and I don't see why they couldn't do the same with books. And since there would be nothing to return, there would be no late fees, and no waiting for someone else to return the book before you can check it out. I really don't see a down side to this. Now if only I knew a librarian, someone working on the inside who could get this implemented and then take credit for the whole thing and be lauded for his brilliant and innovative thinking, subsequently being promoted and given a raise.......
And I know that the primary argument against this is that publishers and retailers would no longer be able to make money selling books if you could just download them for free, however movie studios have shown that money can be made renting downloadable media. I'm not sure how they do it, but itunes and Amazon.com are able to put some code in downloadable movies which only allows you to view it for a limited time, and I don't see why they couldn't do the same with books. And since there would be nothing to return, there would be no late fees, and no waiting for someone else to return the book before you can check it out. I really don't see a down side to this. Now if only I knew a librarian, someone working on the inside who could get this implemented and then take credit for the whole thing and be lauded for his brilliant and innovative thinking, subsequently being promoted and given a raise.......
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Lame List
Or what's weak this week. Brought to you by Seattle's heavy metal community.
After something triggered a memory of local band Gruntruck today, I looked them up on youtube and found a video of them on Almost Live. I seem to remember this bit being funnier, but it's still good times. Ah, remember the good old days when Seattle still had a heavy metal community? Prepare to step into the wayback machine.
There we go, the episode featuring Kim Thayill, guitarist for legendary band Soundgarden it much better. Unfortunately embedding is disabled for this one, so here you go.
After something triggered a memory of local band Gruntruck today, I looked them up on youtube and found a video of them on Almost Live. I seem to remember this bit being funnier, but it's still good times. Ah, remember the good old days when Seattle still had a heavy metal community? Prepare to step into the wayback machine.
There we go, the episode featuring Kim Thayill, guitarist for legendary band Soundgarden it much better. Unfortunately embedding is disabled for this one, so here you go.
Things That Make Me Grumpy
I've been a little grumpier than normal this week because, well, I'm not really sure why. I just have been, so get off my back. And getting off on a bit of a tangent that some of you may have heard before: I await the day when I'm old enough that my grumpiness will be accepted by society. Anyway, what has me out of sorts today is that I just got back from the gym where I encountered two of my big pet peeves, irritations that on some days almost keep me home because I know it's going to piss me off if I see it.
First was getting there and finding weights all over the floor. I've seen a few high school age kids down there in the past and suspect they are to blame. If I actually catch them it will take every ounce of will power I have not to hurt them but will do my best to just find out their names and get them banned. If you are so lazy, slovenly, disrespectful of others, and refuse to take proper care of the equipment, you have no business using it.
Which brings me to irritation #2. Let me preface this by saying that in my gym there are normally 3 treadmills, an elliptical trainer, a stair machine, and an exercise bike. The elliptical trainer has been broken for a while and disappeared about 3 weeks ago - I thought taken away to be repaired but it's been long enough that I'm beginning to wonder if it's coming back. I hate jogging, particularly on a treadmill where I can feel like I've been running forever and look at the timer to find that it's been 3 minutes. In addition I'm currently suffering from plantar fasciitis which makes running not simply unenjoyable but painful too. I also hate stair machines which pretty much leaves me with just the exercise bike which I can tolerate for my cardio work right now.
With all of that back story finally out of the way, I walked into the gym to find something that absolutely enrages me: a lazy slob of a woman sitting on the exercise bike reading a book and pedaling so slowly that she neither worked up a sweat or even started breathing hard. She would get a better cardiovascular workout by watching a particularly suspenseful movie or television show, and again it took restraint not to tell her that. This particular woman and other offensive humans like her serve absolutely no purpose in this world other than inconveniencing others, most notably me. And were that not bad enough she had the radio tuned to KUBE which if you are not familiar plays shitty top 40/hip hop - which according to me can only be considered music in the most liberal sense of the word.
Being intent on getting into better shape though, I focused my rage on the hated treadmill and after what seemed like about an hour but in actuality was 7:50 I finished up a mile and slowed things down a bit. I continued on to a mile and a half which is about the limit of what I can tolerate on a treadmill. I was actually surprised that I could pull off a sub 8 minute mile in my current condition - 5'8" and 193 pounds which according to the BMI calculator I found online puts me at the high end of overweight and just barely below obese. I think it said I need to lose 30 pounds to get down to normal weight for my height and I can tell you now that's never going to happen.
So the moral of the story is that I hate the world but was able to successfully channel said hatred (this time anyway) into something constructive and no people were harmed in the making of this post. Not even the Starbucks employee who, when I went in to collect my free pastry on free pastry day had the audacity to tell me they were all out, very nearly resulting in a savage beating. Keep an eye on the local news, you may see my punching spree yet.
First was getting there and finding weights all over the floor. I've seen a few high school age kids down there in the past and suspect they are to blame. If I actually catch them it will take every ounce of will power I have not to hurt them but will do my best to just find out their names and get them banned. If you are so lazy, slovenly, disrespectful of others, and refuse to take proper care of the equipment, you have no business using it.
Which brings me to irritation #2. Let me preface this by saying that in my gym there are normally 3 treadmills, an elliptical trainer, a stair machine, and an exercise bike. The elliptical trainer has been broken for a while and disappeared about 3 weeks ago - I thought taken away to be repaired but it's been long enough that I'm beginning to wonder if it's coming back. I hate jogging, particularly on a treadmill where I can feel like I've been running forever and look at the timer to find that it's been 3 minutes. In addition I'm currently suffering from plantar fasciitis which makes running not simply unenjoyable but painful too. I also hate stair machines which pretty much leaves me with just the exercise bike which I can tolerate for my cardio work right now.
With all of that back story finally out of the way, I walked into the gym to find something that absolutely enrages me: a lazy slob of a woman sitting on the exercise bike reading a book and pedaling so slowly that she neither worked up a sweat or even started breathing hard. She would get a better cardiovascular workout by watching a particularly suspenseful movie or television show, and again it took restraint not to tell her that. This particular woman and other offensive humans like her serve absolutely no purpose in this world other than inconveniencing others, most notably me. And were that not bad enough she had the radio tuned to KUBE which if you are not familiar plays shitty top 40/hip hop - which according to me can only be considered music in the most liberal sense of the word.
Being intent on getting into better shape though, I focused my rage on the hated treadmill and after what seemed like about an hour but in actuality was 7:50 I finished up a mile and slowed things down a bit. I continued on to a mile and a half which is about the limit of what I can tolerate on a treadmill. I was actually surprised that I could pull off a sub 8 minute mile in my current condition - 5'8" and 193 pounds which according to the BMI calculator I found online puts me at the high end of overweight and just barely below obese. I think it said I need to lose 30 pounds to get down to normal weight for my height and I can tell you now that's never going to happen.
So the moral of the story is that I hate the world but was able to successfully channel said hatred (this time anyway) into something constructive and no people were harmed in the making of this post. Not even the Starbucks employee who, when I went in to collect my free pastry on free pastry day had the audacity to tell me they were all out, very nearly resulting in a savage beating. Keep an eye on the local news, you may see my punching spree yet.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Great Weekend
Ahh, what a great weekend. Despite the fact that it has been hot enough that I've been having trouble sleeping, I still love the warm weather and sunshine and have to soak it up while I can. Saturday was my relaxation day but just so I could feel a little industrious I took a trip to the dump and got rid of a few things that have been cluttering up my place for too long, not the least of which is my old mattress which has spent the last several months in front of the sliding glass door keeping the morning sun out. Now I have to adjust to the brightness in the mornings. I finished up the weekend by sitting out on the deck, put my feet up, and smoked a Macanudo.
Sunday my goal was to get rid of my farmer's tan. Not that I have anything against farmers, but they aren't known for their tans. Anyway, I put on my tank top and headed out to play tennis for about an hour and a half, then followed that up with a softball double header. I ended up getting pretty nicely burned, but did have an attractive blond rub me down with some sun tan lotion and no money even changed hands! After winning both games I'm now trying to convince myself to head down to the gym to lift some weights and spend half an hour on the exercise bike but I'm not sure I'm going to make it. The forecast for tomorrow is for more sunshine for some beach volleyball down at Alki. If only work didn't get in the way tomorrow. I've decided that I love summer.
Sunday my goal was to get rid of my farmer's tan. Not that I have anything against farmers, but they aren't known for their tans. Anyway, I put on my tank top and headed out to play tennis for about an hour and a half, then followed that up with a softball double header. I ended up getting pretty nicely burned, but did have an attractive blond rub me down with some sun tan lotion and no money even changed hands! After winning both games I'm now trying to convince myself to head down to the gym to lift some weights and spend half an hour on the exercise bike but I'm not sure I'm going to make it. The forecast for tomorrow is for more sunshine for some beach volleyball down at Alki. If only work didn't get in the way tomorrow. I've decided that I love summer.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Weekly Roundup
I'm feeling a little verbose and opinionated today so that means it's time for some overdue house cleaning. I have some much awaited topics to cover along with some that nobody but me gives a damn about and I'll try to hit them all and see what I forgot later.
Leading off is my review of the "new" Spinal Tap album: Back From the Dead. As some of you may already know, it comes with some unique packaging. The case folds out into a diorama of a stage, and while this is kind of novel it presents 2 problems. First, I don't really want that taking up space on my desk, shelf, or anywhere else so it is a little pointless for me. Second, I believe that turning it into a stage leaves you without a place to store your discs, and when you leave it folded up, the discs are difficult to get in and out, particularly without scratching them or covering them with fingerprints.
As for the actual content, it features mostly 'reimagined' versions of their existing catalog and 5 new songs. Some of the retakes are better than others - (Funky) Sex Farm is amusing, but I think the world could probably have done without the reggae version of (Listen To The) Flower People. Not all of the new songs are new either, just available for the first time on CD. I downloaded Back From The Dead years ago from the short lived http://www.tapster.com/ (along with a Soundgarden cover of Big Bottom - there were some gems on that site), and I know I've heard Short and Sweet before (which for the record is neither short nor sweet). I do like Celtic Blues though, and Warmer Than Hell offers a rare bit of social commentary from Tap as they try to tackle global warming.
The real hook for me in this package though was the DVD with an hour of new material from Tap. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I found it a little flat. There were a few laughs, but the entire video consisted of them sitting on a couch discussing the album. Completely unscripted and for the most part uninspired. I had expected some live footage or music videos on the DVD too, but no luck. All in all, I'm a little down on this release, but for only $10 it's still worth it.
Next is my review of the new Dream Theater album: Black Clouds & Silver Linings. I splurged and went for the 3 disc special edition which includes a disc with instrumental version of all of the new songs and a disc featuring covers of not very well known songs. The 2 additional discs are a nice bonus but I'm going to focus on the primary disc. The new songs are new and different, but at the same time as familiar as old friends. Like their last several releases, most of the songs are quite long and self indulgent - only 2 of the 6 are under 10 minutes long. After a few listens though, I think it's their best work since 1999's epic Scenes From A Memory.
Whither, to me, is one of the most unusual songs, it is closest to a ballad and gives me the impression of listening to a hymn. It is the biggest departure from their usual. On the other end of the spectrum is The Shattered Fortress which I can only describe as a remix of their album Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence: it takes the musical themes from that album and distills them down to about 13 minutes and alters they lyrics. It was a little off putting at first but has really grown on me. The Best of Times is probably the most accessible song with a more traditional song structure and catchy chorus but it is edged out by A Rite of Passage as the best song on the album.
DREAM THEATER - A Rite Of Passage
A Rite of Passage also marks their first foray into music videos in several years. Most, make that all, of their previous videos have been pretty dismal, and since Pull Me Under is the only one to get any airplay I've often wondered why they ever made any. This video, however is surprisingly good despite the fact that it is edited down about 3 minutes, a practice I disapprove of. It seems to be about secret societies, but I haven't quite nailed down all down. It makes mentions of laying the cornerstone and being 'beneath the watchful eye' which would lead me to believe it is about the Freemasons, however it also mentions the 'rose and cross', a reference to the Rosecrucians. So I'm not sure if it is about a particular secret society or more of a generalization of secret societies. Regardless, it is 100% awesome and I love this new album.
Next, while in one of my classical moods, I found this wonderful video of Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D Minor.
While most people commented about Bach, or the beauty of this particular piece, or this particular rendition, FuocoID cut right to the heart of the video and left a comment that could only be found on youtube, "Now, that's one big motherfucking organ." I can't begin to tell you how funny this is to me. I suppose because it ignores all of the other pretentious discussion and says something inappropriate, and yet at the same time completely true - that's the biggest damn organ I've ever seen. Nice work there and thanks for the laugh.
Finally, I believe I may have inadvertenly discovered the plot of Transformers 3. I stumbled upon it after my friend, whose code name will be the hummingbird to protect her identity, emailed me links regarding the new military robot, code named EATR, which is powered by EATING CORPSES!!! As pointed out by the good folks at Wired, the scientists who developed EATR have apparently never seen a science fiction film. Inevitably the robot will run out of dead bodies to power itself and decide it's time to 'make' some more.
Anyway, I got to thinking that I too am in favor of alternative fuel vehicles and wouldn't mind too much running down a few pedestrians to avoid paying the current gas prices. That's when I put two and two together and realized the super secret plot of Transformers 3. The military will develop these 'alternative fuel' vehicles which will transform into killer robots in order to refuel and it will be up to the Autobots and Shia LeBeouf to stop them. And it will be up to the super sexy Megan Fox to distract the male population (and the lesbian/curious female population) from the terror and carnage. It turns out she's a tool of the government to distract the populace from the real issues.
That's all I've got for now. Have a good night.
Leading off is my review of the "new" Spinal Tap album: Back From the Dead. As some of you may already know, it comes with some unique packaging. The case folds out into a diorama of a stage, and while this is kind of novel it presents 2 problems. First, I don't really want that taking up space on my desk, shelf, or anywhere else so it is a little pointless for me. Second, I believe that turning it into a stage leaves you without a place to store your discs, and when you leave it folded up, the discs are difficult to get in and out, particularly without scratching them or covering them with fingerprints.As for the actual content, it features mostly 'reimagined' versions of their existing catalog and 5 new songs. Some of the retakes are better than others - (Funky) Sex Farm is amusing, but I think the world could probably have done without the reggae version of (Listen To The) Flower People. Not all of the new songs are new either, just available for the first time on CD. I downloaded Back From The Dead years ago from the short lived http://www.tapster.com/ (along with a Soundgarden cover of Big Bottom - there were some gems on that site), and I know I've heard Short and Sweet before (which for the record is neither short nor sweet). I do like Celtic Blues though, and Warmer Than Hell offers a rare bit of social commentary from Tap as they try to tackle global warming.
The real hook for me in this package though was the DVD with an hour of new material from Tap. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I found it a little flat. There were a few laughs, but the entire video consisted of them sitting on a couch discussing the album. Completely unscripted and for the most part uninspired. I had expected some live footage or music videos on the DVD too, but no luck. All in all, I'm a little down on this release, but for only $10 it's still worth it.
Next is my review of the new Dream Theater album: Black Clouds & Silver Linings. I splurged and went for the 3 disc special edition which includes a disc with instrumental version of all of the new songs and a disc featuring covers of not very well known songs. The 2 additional discs are a nice bonus but I'm going to focus on the primary disc. The new songs are new and different, but at the same time as familiar as old friends. Like their last several releases, most of the songs are quite long and self indulgent - only 2 of the 6 are under 10 minutes long. After a few listens though, I think it's their best work since 1999's epic Scenes From A Memory.
Whither, to me, is one of the most unusual songs, it is closest to a ballad and gives me the impression of listening to a hymn. It is the biggest departure from their usual. On the other end of the spectrum is The Shattered Fortress which I can only describe as a remix of their album Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence: it takes the musical themes from that album and distills them down to about 13 minutes and alters they lyrics. It was a little off putting at first but has really grown on me. The Best of Times is probably the most accessible song with a more traditional song structure and catchy chorus but it is edged out by A Rite of Passage as the best song on the album.
DREAM THEATER - A Rite Of Passage
A Rite of Passage also marks their first foray into music videos in several years. Most, make that all, of their previous videos have been pretty dismal, and since Pull Me Under is the only one to get any airplay I've often wondered why they ever made any. This video, however is surprisingly good despite the fact that it is edited down about 3 minutes, a practice I disapprove of. It seems to be about secret societies, but I haven't quite nailed down all down. It makes mentions of laying the cornerstone and being 'beneath the watchful eye' which would lead me to believe it is about the Freemasons, however it also mentions the 'rose and cross', a reference to the Rosecrucians. So I'm not sure if it is about a particular secret society or more of a generalization of secret societies. Regardless, it is 100% awesome and I love this new album.
Next, while in one of my classical moods, I found this wonderful video of Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D Minor.
While most people commented about Bach, or the beauty of this particular piece, or this particular rendition, FuocoID cut right to the heart of the video and left a comment that could only be found on youtube, "Now, that's one big motherfucking organ." I can't begin to tell you how funny this is to me. I suppose because it ignores all of the other pretentious discussion and says something inappropriate, and yet at the same time completely true - that's the biggest damn organ I've ever seen. Nice work there and thanks for the laugh.
Finally, I believe I may have inadvertenly discovered the plot of Transformers 3. I stumbled upon it after my friend, whose code name will be the hummingbird to protect her identity, emailed me links regarding the new military robot, code named EATR, which is powered by EATING CORPSES!!! As pointed out by the good folks at Wired, the scientists who developed EATR have apparently never seen a science fiction film. Inevitably the robot will run out of dead bodies to power itself and decide it's time to 'make' some more.
Anyway, I got to thinking that I too am in favor of alternative fuel vehicles and wouldn't mind too much running down a few pedestrians to avoid paying the current gas prices. That's when I put two and two together and realized the super secret plot of Transformers 3. The military will develop these 'alternative fuel' vehicles which will transform into killer robots in order to refuel and it will be up to the Autobots and Shia LeBeouf to stop them. And it will be up to the super sexy Megan Fox to distract the male population (and the lesbian/curious female population) from the terror and carnage. It turns out she's a tool of the government to distract the populace from the real issues.
That's all I've got for now. Have a good night.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Indifference
Nothing says I just don't give a damn what I look like anymore like walking through a bustling metropolis wearing shorts with dress shoes and mid-calf black socks. Those who have known me for a while will attest to the fact that I have made some questionable fashion choices over the years (I won't take the time to recount said instances at this time), however I hope I never digress to that level. If I lose enough brain cells that I decide that's an acceptable look, someone please stop me.
How Evil Is Disney?
I'm proud to say that I scored 100% in the evil Disney quiz. I'd say top that, but you can't, the best you can hope for is a tie. But if you think you can match the Disney film to the drugs, sex, or racism reference, click on the link below.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Berlin Sex Academy
According to this story, the Amora Sex Academy recently opened in Berlin offering hands on displays with somewhat interactive manequins which provide some feedback to touch. If you are able to find the G-spot on one manequin it will shout, "that's it!" And were this not intriguing enough, it also provides many useful facts, for example that the "Italian chandelier" position burns 920 calories an hour. It does not mention, however, how many individuals are able to last an hour. And though the article does not give the specifics of this position, the academy does.
I bring this up because it is a blatant rip off of an idea I had years ago, although there are some minor differences including my much more catchy name - F*^% U. The other primary difference being that my version featured real live prostitutes instead of manequins, with the occasional guest lecture by porn stars. I still think my idea would have been more profitable.
I bring this up because it is a blatant rip off of an idea I had years ago, although there are some minor differences including my much more catchy name - F*^% U. The other primary difference being that my version featured real live prostitutes instead of manequins, with the occasional guest lecture by porn stars. I still think my idea would have been more profitable.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
In The News
In an effort to prove that the print media is still relevant, the front page of the USA Today featured a hard hitting investigative piece of journalism sure to win them a Pulitzer. It turns out that banks are making a lot of money on overdraft fees and other hidden fees. Shocking! When did this start, and did the USA Today have some inside men in the banking industry digging up this information?
Not to be outdone, Reuters is reporting that the French are rude and arrogant. Who would have guessed? I believe these stories, however, are just a conspiracy to try to distract the nation from the real news story - the crippling Slim Jim shortage plaguing the land. Special thanks to the anonymous source who tipped me off to this.
Not to be outdone, Reuters is reporting that the French are rude and arrogant. Who would have guessed? I believe these stories, however, are just a conspiracy to try to distract the nation from the real news story - the crippling Slim Jim shortage plaguing the land. Special thanks to the anonymous source who tipped me off to this.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
There, I Fixed It
I've just found a delightful new web site titled ther
e, I fixed it. There you will find such clever and innovative repairs and improvisations as this spa
re tire.
Or if you prefer, this spoon made from a zip tie and some duct tape. Whatever your fancy, this site comes with the Craw Fu seal of approval guaranteeing minutes of entertainment.
e, I fixed it. There you will find such clever and innovative repairs and improvisations as this spare tire.Or if you prefer, this spoon made from a zip tie and some duct tape. Whatever your fancy, this site comes with the Craw Fu seal of approval guaranteeing minutes of entertainment.
Well, after resisting nearly constant prodding from several people, my will was finally broken and I'm now part of the cult of Facebook. Note that I did not say I signed up for Facebook. One "friend" finally got tired of harassing me and decided to put an end to it all by just creating a profile for me and telling me about it later.
I had been reticent for several reasons, including but not limited to:
After being coerced to sign up for myspace and thinking that was a waste of time, I wasn't interested in any more social networking.
I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon and am more naturally repelled by cultish things (like the iPhone).
I don't really see the point. Anybody I want to talk to I will just email.
I'm antisocial and hate people.
With a lot of people, it seems more of a contest to see who has the most friends than anything else. I really couldn't care less about that.
It's too late to turn back at this point though, and maybe I'll be able to find out what some old friends that I haven't seen in years are up to now. Particularly my old college roommate Dr. Ridgeway. I have a couple of friends from high school - Jesse and Juanito - that I'd like to find out what they are doing now too. Not to mention that since Grande Pescadoes seems to be dead again after a brief Lazarus-like revival, I need to get my daily dose of the big fish somewhere. And I think the Chuckman might even share some his wisdom with the world via Facebook and I don't want to miss out on that. But until some good starts to come of it, I'm bored with it already.
I had been reticent for several reasons, including but not limited to:
After being coerced to sign up for myspace and thinking that was a waste of time, I wasn't interested in any more social networking.
I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon and am more naturally repelled by cultish things (like the iPhone).
I don't really see the point. Anybody I want to talk to I will just email.
I'm antisocial and hate people.
With a lot of people, it seems more of a contest to see who has the most friends than anything else. I really couldn't care less about that.
It's too late to turn back at this point though, and maybe I'll be able to find out what some old friends that I haven't seen in years are up to now. Particularly my old college roommate Dr. Ridgeway. I have a couple of friends from high school - Jesse and Juanito - that I'd like to find out what they are doing now too. Not to mention that since Grande Pescadoes seems to be dead again after a brief Lazarus-like revival, I need to get my daily dose of the big fish somewhere. And I think the Chuckman might even share some his wisdom with the world via Facebook and I don't want to miss out on that. But until some good starts to come of it, I'm bored with it already.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Windows 7
Does anyone know anything about Windows 7? I myself looked it up on the MS web site and didn't find any useful information regarding what new features it will have or why I should upgrade from the Vista I currently have on my PC (which for the record I don't really have a problem with other than a few annoyances). It turns out I'm too lazy to do any research beyond that.
Anyway, the reason I ask is because I recently received an email from Costco informing me that if I pre-order Windows 7 by July 11th, I can get it for $50 off the suggested retail price. Will this be a better OS, or is it simply some fixes that they could have done through a service release and they are simply try to appease all of the Vista haters and raise a little capital at the same time? If, as I said, I don't have any real problems with Vista, is there any real reason for me to upgrade?
Anyway, the reason I ask is because I recently received an email from Costco informing me that if I pre-order Windows 7 by July 11th, I can get it for $50 off the suggested retail price. Will this be a better OS, or is it simply some fixes that they could have done through a service release and they are simply try to appease all of the Vista haters and raise a little capital at the same time? If, as I said, I don't have any real problems with Vista, is there any real reason for me to upgrade?
Monster Sucks
I've had my resume up on Monster.com for several months now, and maybe other people have had luck with them, and maybe it's just the economy, but I have had no luck. I've been contacted for some low paying, repetitive jobs, but what really takes the cake is the emails I get from Monster. I have a search saved for Insurance jobs in the Redmond area and in the daily email I get from them, the job opportunities matching those criteria have included but are not limited to:
Bilingual video game tester (must speak French)
Light wheel vehicle mechanic
Chaplain (for the Army National Guard)
Physical Therapist
Veterinarian cardiologist
Dentist for the Navy in Tucson, AZ! What the hell is the Navy even doing in the desert?
Membership Sales (Women encouraged to apply!) at a dating service
Jurisdictional Inspector (I don't even know what the hell that is, but following the link it says, "This position is primarily responsible for conducting jurisdictional certificate inspections of boilers and pressure vessels.")
Expert C++ programmer in Alabama
This is why I'm still at the same job at this point. I'm just about at the point where I give up on Monster and start trying some other options. Either that or become a chaplain. But since it's a free service, I guess you get what you pay for. Good times.
Bilingual video game tester (must speak French)
Light wheel vehicle mechanic
Chaplain (for the Army National Guard)
Physical Therapist
Veterinarian cardiologist
Dentist for the Navy in Tucson, AZ! What the hell is the Navy even doing in the desert?
Membership Sales (Women encouraged to apply!) at a dating service
Jurisdictional Inspector (I don't even know what the hell that is, but following the link it says, "This position is primarily responsible for conducting jurisdictional certificate inspections of boilers and pressure vessels.")
Expert C++ programmer in Alabama
This is why I'm still at the same job at this point. I'm just about at the point where I give up on Monster and start trying some other options. Either that or become a chaplain. But since it's a free service, I guess you get what you pay for. Good times.
Community Property
Rarely does a song come along that really touches you. Well, today when I was on my home I heard a song that at first I thought was just another crappy power ballad, but just as I was about to change the station I heard something that gave me pause. With my finger hovering above the next preset station, I had to stop and ask myself, "did I really just hear him sing 'my heart belongs to you, but my dong is community property'?" As it turns out, I did hear that and more. No, the song isn't very good, but where else would you hear such touching lyrics as, "If you were a hooker, you'd know I'd be happy to pay If suddenly you were a guy I'd be suddenly gay." Enjoy.
And just so I don't risk getting my blog blocked as being not safe for work, I'll just link to the lyrics here. And just so you don't get your hopes up about the song actually being good, let me just tell you up front that Steel Panther also has song titles like 'Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)', 'Death To All But Metal', and 'Asian Hooker'. This goes squarly in the comedy pile.
And just so I don't risk getting my blog blocked as being not safe for work, I'll just link to the lyrics here. And just so you don't get your hopes up about the song actually being good, let me just tell you up front that Steel Panther also has song titles like 'Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)', 'Death To All But Metal', and 'Asian Hooker'. This goes squarly in the comedy pile.
Tale of the Runaways
I have been on a new music frenzy recently and this frenzy has led me to Maylene & The Sons of Disaster. Most of the songs I've heard aren't very good, but this one hooked me in. It's more melodic and mellow than their other songs. I can't help listening to it repeatedly.
Through the magic of google, I found a site called imeem.com that had an embeddable mp3 which seemed great except that I couldn't get it to work, and when I tried going back to the link it wanted me to sign up for something to listen to it again. So now I'm stuck with the only other version I can find, which unfortunately is set to the backdrop of a stupid cartoon, but what are you going to do? Anyway, the song is haunting and I love the harmony.
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