What’s one-third of the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything?

Nevermind.  I trusted teh Internets and got bad information.

 

Now the title of the post makes no sense at all.  Me = noob.

Backburner’s new favorite album – ever!

The 100 top TV theme songs are now available in ONE collection!

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/27/tv.themes/index.html

Satellite vs. cable – the TV debate in my head

At my previous residence, I had Comcast Digital Cable with OnDemand (!) and HBO (for a while) and several channels of digital music to which I never listened.  Comcast is evil and has crap customer service, but the HD channels looked awesome and I only ever had one or maybe two service interruptions over a 3+ year period.

In the new house, we went with DISH Network satellite television provider.  HBO, Showtime, couple o’ HD channels …and they all suck.  The HD stuff looks like shit.  I never watch the premium stuff.  If you turn off the TV but leave the box on for a while, it goes into sleep mode and takes a minute for the disc to spin up again.  It’s really not a great picture and I haven’t used the DVR yet.  All this for $50 a month (or so).

Here’s the dilemma: I’m in a one-year contract with DISH, and it’s not over until July 2006.  It’s more than $200 to bail out.  However, if I get out now, I can pick up Comcast Digital – plus high-speed internet access – for $55/mo for the first 6 months and $75/mo after that.  That includes 6 months of HBO and all the HD channels I used to have.

Man, that’s a $200 lesson.  So, my friends …what would you do?  Eat the $200 and go to cable, or sit and live with what you have until the contract expires – in 9+ months?  (Keep in mind the fact that DSL is not available in my area, so I have dial up right now.  Getting cable internet by itself is something like $50/mo.)

Another reason to hate Europe

Artists known collectively as Gelitin have constructed a 200-foot-long toy bunny rabbit on the side of Colletto Fava in Italy.  It (the bunny, not the mountain) is pink.

http://www.gelitin.net/mambo/index.php?set_albumName=rabbit&id=airview&option=com_gallery&Itemid=28&include=view_photo.php

I would say how much I hate Italians, but the artists are actually from Vienna, Oesterreich.  Officially, ich hasse dieser Oesterreichwohners.  Or something.

Growing old gracefully

That is one thing I am not doing – aging gracefully.  Here I sit, at the wonderful age of 28 (plus one day) and I find that I’m not pleased with just about everything.  It’s sad, really …

I’m in school for my Master’s degree.  I’m almost done, but this semester is kicking my ass already.

I drive 90+ miles a day for my commute to work.  The mp3 player I installed yesterday doesn’t work.  At all.  It tested fine and after I loaded songs onto the drive, it crapped out.

I need to put more effort into my relationship with my lovely wife.  Between school and commuting, I’m only home long enough to eat dinner and sleep.  That’s no way to live.

Our dog drives me nuts.  She jumps and bites, but only me.  She’s great with the neighbor-kid.  She’s pretty good with other family members.  She just morphs into a fluffy, cuddly ninja when no one else is around.

I’m bored at work.  I even interviewed for a different position at another company, but after my wife told me I answered most of the questions incorrectly, I got my official notification (via USPS) that other candidates were more qualified than myself and I was no longer under consideration for the job.

When I look into it, these are mostly minute things, but they’re piling up and the stress is getting to me.  Unfortunately, there’s not really anything I can do about any of these items.  That is – hands down – the most frustrating thing of all.  I can’t do anything to fix this stuff. 

Goddamn, I’m just frustrated right now.

Agent 86 – R.I.P.

Don Adams passed away.  I’m going to go find some old reruns of “Get Smart” in the cable mish-mash and have a good laugh.  I liked that show when I was growing up …

Don Adams

Unconfirmed report …

I’ve received news from a friend that the only Chicago radio station that I listen to on a regular basis (94.7 The Zone – Chicago’s New Rock Station) has switched formats in the middle of the day.  It’s now an oldies station.  (Chicago already has at least three oldies stations.)

More on this as events warrant.

Events of the weekend

Friday – Had some wonderful Thai food.  Thai Garden (Schaumburg, IL; on Golf Road, just west of Roselle) gets my vote for best Thai food in a 100 miles radius.  I can’t claim to have eaten at every Thai place in that area, but none of the ones I’ve visited come close.

Visited with my dad a bit.  He was in town for a tax thing and stayed with us through the weekend.  We uncorked a bottle of J Pinot Noir and watched some TV.

Saturday – Went with dad, sis, brother-in-law and my wife to the Cubs game (hosting the Houston Astros).  Gave my brother-in-law the full Chicago experience – train ride to Milwaukee Ave stop, quick visit to the corner bar, bus ride to the park, official Cubs t-shirt (outside Wrigley), official Cubs beer ($5.50 for a 16oz PBR, Old Style or Bud – I believe he had one of each).  The seats on the train probably couldn’t be any smaller, so the hour in and hour back out weren’t so great, but it was all about the experience.

The game (or as Chris noted “was passes for a game on the north side”) was delayed by rain somewhere int he top of the 7th.  We sat around or a bit and then realized that we needed to catch a train before too long, so we left.  By the time we made it back to the station, the game had restarted and the Cubs were further in the hole that they were when we’d left.  After losing Saturday, I believe the Cubs officially and completely put themselves out of playoff contention.

That evening, we grabbed a pizza at Triple PPP’s and headed home.  My sister and my wife had never seen the Michael Caine/Christopher Reeve vehicle Deathtrap, so we popped in the DVD and …

I went to bed.  Not sure if it was the long day (up at 5.30am with the puppy) or the cheapo beer or what, but I felt like crap.  I was probably asleep before 10pm.  I know, I’m a loser.

Sunday – Leisurely morning.  Went to lunch in Kenosha.  (!)  Home for football.  Then took dad to the airport so he could get back to Colorado.

That’s all there is, there ain’t no more.

Well, my sister made fun of me again for having a ‘blog.  Like she’s so perfect?

Snickers – the candy that gets sci-fi trivia wrong

A coworker brought in a bunch of “fun size” Snickers to share with the office.  The just-barely-bite-sized candies feature Star Wars-related trivia printed on the wrappers …and the answers glow in the dark!  Being a fan of candy *and* Star Wars *and* glow-in-the-dark novelties, I grabbed a pair to take back to my desk.  As I walked, I read the questions …

Question the first: Who is R2-D2’s master?  As we are introduced to the rolling trash can in Ep I, he (it?) is in the service of Queen Padme.  He continues (mainly) in her service until her death at the end of Ep III.  So, I consider her to be his master.  The wrapper proclaims that it is, in fact, Princess Leia.  Maybe she inherits the clunker after mom bites it, but this candy wrapper has the official Ep III logo on it, so why wouldn’t the answer be representative of the events in that movie?  To harken back to a series that is 20 years old (as opposed to a movie that came out this year) is stupid.

Numero dos: Who’s home planet is Dagobah?  Aw hell …you know it’s gonna say Yoda.  That monkey-kung-fu S.O.B. didn’t COME from Dagobah, he went there to hide. 

I hate candy trivia.  Even worse was the question posed on the radio that ten listeners in a row couldn’t explain (because the DJ didn’t get it either).  Which garden has the most vegetables?  Flash Garden!

Say what?

Covert operations

It’s Friday.  I know so because eight different coworkers told me within minutes of their arrival this morning.  Also, I wore jeans to work today, so it must be Casual Friday at that.  (My wife saw me leaving the house in jeans and a sweatshirt and she blurted out, “You can wear a sweatshirt to work?”  Hell, it’s going to be in the 60’s today – a full 20 degrees cooler than yesterday.  Why can’t I wear a sweatshirt?

Anyway, it’s Friday.  The laziest day of the week.  My goal for today: do nothing.  There may be some who will be dismayed to hear me say this, but allow me to plead my case to the court!  I did all of my work for the MONTH already.  Actually, I’ve been done since the 21st.  Nothing else to do.  Nothing.  I’ve asked for more work (like a schmuck) and I’ve gotten no response.  (I know he heard me, because I was standing directly in front of him and we were making eye contact.)  No one else in the department is swamped, so I’ve got nothing work-related to do.  And that’s exactly what they’ll get out of me today.

This morning, I worked on homework.  I actually completed a short write-up of a mostly current example of middleware being used to solve a problem in Corporate America.  Don’t ask me to define middleware.  Despite the best attempts of geeks in at least two different cities, I’m still unable to clearly explain to anyone else what the hell it is.  All I say in reponse to any question about middleware is “Java” or maybe “Apache” if I’m talking to a real nerd. 

This afternoon, I may do some research for another homework project, or I may read all about the German-engineered VW Passat.  I haven’t decided yet.  Somewhere in there, I need to figure out lunch.  Mmmm, lunch.

If you care to toss in $0.02 regarding lunch, killing time, or my research projects (the revitalization of the Mazda brand of automobiles, your impressions of the marketing of Sony TVs, RFID and Jim Beam, though not necessarily in that order), please feel free to do so.  I am a blank slate.