Cute tidbit on NPR this morning: Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez banned The Simpsons from the airwaves in his country because it is a bad influence on children. The Simpsons was replaced with a far less detrimental show - Baywatch Hawaii. Boom!

Whatever happened to Peas, Luv and Understandishing?

I read and participate in a lot of forums related to computer games (Oh my god, I am part of a "community"!), and I have learned quite a bit about the games I play. I also have learned quite a bit about the people that post on computer game forums. Aside from having to parse: "amg u luzr go back 2 carebear server and QQ their or i am going 2 wtfpwn u!!!!!ONE!11!elevensies!!11" I find certain things particularly annoying. Grammar, spelling and punctuation. Now, I am not perfect, but it can't be said that I don't make an effort. Here is an example from a poster over on the Asheron's Call Official Forums: yes i know i have a chest.. its full yes i have mules as well... 11 total to support 5 characters one of those 5 characters only has 3 weapons (still low only need a few) the problem lays within the ammount of stuff i need muled really i have a mule just for imbue salvage which will get used fairly quickly when i get around to leveling my noob as i will need more weapons and such another mule just for armor tink things (steel,cov salvage,imbues ect...) which will aslo go fairly quick once that noob gets a major suit... oh yeah i have 2 mules just for majors as well i have to they simply arent strong enough to hold it all and no i dont need all of them but who knows what ill need in the future ? rather have it now than need it later Now, content aside, this poster (name witheld to prevent ridicule) may be trying to have a "style" by using no punctuation. Maybe his shift key(s) do not work . . . but oh, wait . . . he CAN use punctuation. There are some periods... and parentheses and even a question mark! Pretty fucking lazy and pretty fucking hard to read with no capital letters too. Thankfully, most forums make it easy to ignore or block messages from people and I make liberal use of that feature. The sad part is the poster in the example has some decent ideas sometimes. I just cannot bear to read it. And what about people that cannot (or will not) use paragraphs? Bah. That is another story for another time. Anyhoo, welcome to "Teh Innerweb"! Read at your own risk!

Happy Birthday

Sending out a special Happy Birthday wish to Brad Thompson, wherever you are.

I am an "Artiste"

Well it was going to happen sooner or later. There is now an "Artiste" page on MySpace Music for the band (me) The Mortal Groove! Check out The Mortal Groove MySpace Artiste page! Three songs posted there for your enjoyment, or your torture. You decide.

Mortalgroove.com !

Well the mortalgroove.com website got an overhaul! What that really means is that it no longer points to this blog here on blogger. Awhile back I had set up a nice little template with some CSS and a few tabs. I think it works well, but it is a work in progress, so head on over to mortalgroove.com and check it out! You can also check me out on MySpace!

So it continues

Well, I had that conversation with my supervisor about the criminal abuse of the sign-in sheet. And she promised that she (and the other supervisors) would keep a better eye on it. Fine. Now, the offenders of the redline just sign in under the redline and "forget" to put down what time they actually came in. Then, at the end of the day, they "remember" to put down a time. A big fat fucking lie of a time. Unfuckingbelieveable.

My ethical dilemma:

My ethical dilemma: I work for the state government and we sign in every morning on a sign-in sheet that is broken up into the different times that the various positions come in (6:30am, 7am, 8am). At the designated time, a supervisor will come and use a red pen to underline the last name that signed in at that time, so that anyone that signs in after that is "Late." We call is being "redlined!" Now, my direct supervisor is off on Mondays (works a 4 day week), and one other supervisor does not come in until 8am, and another is often absent due to illness. There are a few people that take such advantage of this situation that it is criminal. If there is no redline, they sign in as normal, even if they came in 85 minutes late. If there is a redline, they will sign in and write down some fictional time that they pretend they came in at. These people are stealing from the state, sure as someone who steals transparent tape at christmastime. My problem is: 1. Hard to prove - my word against theirs. 2. The NARQ! tag - everyone hates a tattle tale, especially supervisors. 3. Retaliation - There is no anonymous way to complain about this. 4. I think my direct supervisor knows about some of this and turns a blind eye. What should I do?

House Hunter

Closing in on the kill. I hope. A word of caution if you ever intend to buy a house that is a bank short-sale: Be patient! My paper work was done over a month ago, and I am still waiting for the bank that started foreclosure proceedings to approve everything. Insane.

Delicate

So why'd you fill my sorrow With the words you've borrowed From the only place that you've known And why'd ya sing Hallelujah If it means nothing to ya Why'd you sing with me at all? Yeah, yeah, it's more Damien Rice, but he's fucking brilliant. Just enjoy it.

Damien Rice

Damien Rice has been featured before on this page, but his new album is out, and I thought I would give you a heads up. It is pretty darn fantastic. I really love "Coconut Skins" and "Dogs." Here is the bridge section of "Dogs." (You should, of course, buy the album and listen to the whole damn thing!) "Dogs" (Bridge) Oh and she's always dressed in white She's like an angel, man She burns my eyes Oh and she turns She pulls a smile We drive her round And she drives us wild Oh and she moves like a little girl I become a child, man She moves my world And she gets splashed in rain And turns away and leaves me standing

Heed The Call

My favorite MMORPG of all time is Asheron's Call. (MMORPG means Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.) You get to play with real people from all over the world! Asheron's Call is unique among other games because it offers a constantly evolving world, with new content added every month! In celebration of their 7th anniversary, they are offering a FREE 14 day trail! So please go to http://trial.ac.turbine.com/ and give it a try!

Little Bonnie

I've been really digging this new song by Drive-By Truckers called "Little Bonnie." Track it down and give it a spin! LITTLE BONNIE On the day that she was buried Her Daddy stood out by the cemetery fence And prayed to God for forgiveness As if this was punishment sins Laid her in the family garden Said you could hear his heart breaking miles away All the men pitched in and bought a marble angel To mark the piece of land where little Bonnie lay Grandma said she would keep her in the morning So her Mama could sleep a bit and do the chores and such She'd read her stories about little girls and magic powers That would never ever let a pretty angel hurt Mama's always been a beauty She's still beautiful to this very day But they say Bonnie's crystal eyes put the stars to shame Maybe heaven needed Bonnie's face Grandma said she would keep her in the morning A swollen angel who never would complain She'd read her stories about little girls and princesses Whose Daddy's don't feel punished for what heaven takes away Little Bonnie never married Little Bonnie never even made it four But I grew up in her presence Even though she was gone before I'z born Even though she was gone before I'z born

Make A Pledge

You may know by now that I am a big fan of NPR. You may not know that most public radio stations run on very tight budgets. I make a donation every year to my local NPR station, WCBE, and I encourage you to do the same. Please make a pledge to WCBE or your local station and support National Public Radio.

The Redemption of Christopher Columbus

Since today is Columbus Day in the US, I offer you an excellent reading recommendation: Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus Orson Scott Card created an amazing blend of science fiction and history in this novel, and I still pick it up and reread it every couple of years. Kick back and enjoy it!

Cannonball

Stones taught me to fly Love taught me to lie Life taught me to die So it's not hard to fall When you float like a cannonball

Roll With The Changes

While having lunch at our favorite restaurant, The Knotty Pine (must have the Mini Cheesburgers, and the Fish Sandwich is fantastic), the radio was on some station that was playing something like "Hits of the 70's and 80's!" This is good for me since I am old enough to have grown up on those songs. :) Anyhoo, "Roll With The Changes" by REO Speedwagon comes on, and while I was sitting there listening to it, I realized this is one of the best songs ever recorded. It is a ripping tour-de-force of soaring guitar lines and amazing vocals. So if youre tired of the Same old story Turn some pages Ill be here when you are ready To roll with the changes If you haven't heard it, or not heard it in awhile, give it a listen. It still blows me away.

Barenaked Ladies Are Me

The new album (yes, I am old enough to still call them albums!) from the Barenaked Ladies, Barenaked Ladies Are Me was released last week, and I have to say, it is really, really good. It took me a couple of listens but it grew on me really fast. They have always had what I think were sophisticated, strong, and often funny songs, and these songs continue in that tradition, but they just seem more mature, and maybe a bit more consistent. Take It Back is my favorite so far, and I think TJ will find a few things to read into the lyrics as well :) Take it Back It's hard enough to notice Harder still to react Just a stone's throw from the centre of our attention We all fade to black Save me from a villainous imagination Deliver me from my friends If I said something to make you mad I will take it back It's hard enough to stomach But try to look away Is this a news report or a trailer for a motion picture? It all fades to grey Save me from a villainous imagination Deliver me from my friends If I said something to make you mad I will take it back Long lines and warning signs Think of all the lives saved by plastic knives It's naive, but make-believe We will never lose if we remove our shoes It's hard to keep your mouth shut Harder still to make noise But we can't have the perfect 20/20 hindsight That our fate enjoys So save me from a villainous imagination Deliver me from my friends And if I said something to make you mad I will take it back I will take it back

The Writer's Almanac

My favorite time of day: Weekdays at 2:55pm, just before Fresh Air with Terry Gross, when Garrison Keillor (of Prairie Home Companion, and Lake Wobegone fame) does a little 5 minute show called The Writer's Almanac. He usually mentions famous (or infamous) people who were born on that day, goes a bit more in depth about one or two of them, then he ends each show with a poem. Today, he floored me with a reading of a poem called "Apology to the Wasps" by Sara Littlecrow-Russell: Apology to the Wasps Terrorized by your stings, I took out biochemical weapons And blasted your nest Like it was a third world country. I was the United States Air Force. It felt good to be so powerful Until I saw your family Trailing shredded wings, Staggering on disintegrating legs, Trying desperately to save the eggs You had stung to protect. Yeah, those are eleven pretty powerful lines, eh?

Touchdown. Welcome home.

I don't know about you, but I feel a huge sense of relief everytime the space shuttle comes back safely. It is still pretty amazing to me. So, to the crew of the shuttle, I am happy you are home safe. And I am happy you went too. :)

Google Suggest

I am a huge fan of Firefox and this sweet extension called Customizegoogle. The best feature of this extension is that it will suggest things as you type into the search box on Google. All of a sudden, this feature stopped working for me and I am going out of my mind trying to fix it. Google did introduce its own Google Suggest thing, but that doesn't work for me either! Please give it a try and let me know that it is not just me. Firefox just released an update, so I am thinking that the new version might have borked this sweet, sweet feature of customizegoogle. EDIT: All is right with the world - Google Suggest seems to be working again. We now continue with our regularly scheduled program.

The Songs In My Head

Just when I thought I had become totally bored of all the songs (800+) on my mp3 player, I came across this nugget today: "Maybe You Heard" by Kris Kristofferson. This particular version was sung by Todd Snider, and I guess it slipped through because I had just downloaded Todd's new album and saw a couple of oddballs from him that I hadn't heard. This song was done as part of the album The Pilgrim: A Celebration Of Kris Kristofferson. What a freaking fantastic song. Just wow. I knew Kris had written alot of wonderful songs through the years, but I guess I just missed this one. It is now in permanent rotation. :) Maybe you've heard, your ole buddy's gone crazy Searching for words, too deep, sweet reason and rhyme Living alone, more and more and he's prone to be lazy Turning to stone, blasted and blind. Chorus: Don't turn away there, hey, goddamn you, he was your brother Turn on your father, sister, mother, brother He was your friend. Don't you condemn him, leave it to strangers You ought to know him, give him a hand, if you can But at least for Jesus Christ's sake, understand him. Maybe you've heard that they say that the lady's been changing Day after day, more than her mind Learning to play, where the part has her turning to strangers Going too far, line after line. Chorus: Don't turn away there - hey - goddamn you, you used to love her Turn on your father, sister, mother, mister She was your friend. Don't you condemn her, leave it to strangers You ought to know her, give her a hand, if you can But at least for Jesus Christ's sake, understand her.

Dig It

My Mom and stepdad (Richard) came for a visit this past weekend and helped us update the tiny landscape plot in front of our apartment. Here they are posing with their hard work:

Happy Happy Joy Joy

It is my brithday today. Whee, what fun.

More Songs I Wish I Wrote

Today, we revisit a (semi) oldie, but a real goodie. Listened to “Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel a few times today, and after all these years, I am still completely dumbstruck by how good this song is. A lot of folks will hear biblical references in the song or cite how he wrote it as a “passage” from being in Genesis to becoming a solo act, and that is fine. Music is out there for people to interpret in their own way. I do hear/see parts of the above mentioned things in “Solsbury Hill” but it is more than those things to me. It is hard to say what makes it so special to me. I guess it just feels like the power of redemption. So I went from day to day Oh, my life was in a rut 'Til I thought of what I'd say Which connection I should cut I was feeling part of the scenery I'd walk right out of the machinery My heart going boom-boom-boom Hey, he said, grab your things I've come to take you home Eh, back home

Best Cell Phone Game

Without a doubt, the best cell phone game I have ever played is Yahtzee. Yes, good 'ol Yahtzee! It is the perfect combination: easy to learn, quick to play, tough to master. Plus lady luck has to be on your side if you want to do well. Unfortunately it is not available on my new phone "yet", but I have been playing Midnight Bowling, which is surprisingly deep. So go grab Yahtzee and try to beat my high score of 481!

Buckeye Fever

Yeah, I am sick. If you live in or near a college town with even a mediocre football team, you probably know that college football season is upon us. Whee. . . Personally, I don't mind watching the Buckeyes on TV, and I often do. What I can't stand is the Idiot Drunk People (IDP©) that call themselves fans. Since I live kind of near the OSU campus, it is probably worse for me. If it is a home game, I basically decide to stay home and not travel anywhere because of the IDP's©. Try to get the shopping done before the game, and try to shut out the IAD's. Oh well, Go Bucks. Go away IDP's©.

Iran is the new Iraq?

Interesting fellow on Fresh Air yesterday. And if you don't listen to it, you should check it out on your local NPR station sometime. Terry Gross is an excellent interviewer. And now back to our regularly scheduled program: This guy was talking about how there are some rumors floating around in high places that the US has pretty much already commited to using military action against Iran. Their thinking, this guy went on to say, is that since the current administration has already lost the American public on the Iraq war, they might as well just go ahead and "do the right thing" by using military force in Iran. Idoits.

When all else fails, use the Nazis!

Oh Donald Rumsfeld, you have no one to turn to. Except the Nazis! From USA Today today: In a toughly worded speech to the American Legion's national convention in Salt Lake City, Rumsfeld compared the current period to the 1930s, when the world failed to act against the growing menace of the Nazi movement. "Once again, we face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism," Rumsfeld said. "It seems that in some quarters, there is more of a focus on dividing our country than acting with unity against the gathering threats." I think that when you have to use the Nazis to defend your postion, you are probably grasping at straws, but almost certainly have no credibility.

Hang It Up

Or close it, end it, whatever. Just stop using your cell phone when you are driving. Please. I think the popular show Mythbusters did a show where they found that driving while talking on a cell phone was more dangerous than driving drunk. I can totally believe this! I encountered two choice talkers on my short drive to work this morning. One fool I was behind crossed the center line twice on a busy road, and another blatantly ran a red light. So, please stop talking on your phone when you are driving. It is very dangerous. And don't get me started on turn signals!

Star Fox Command

Got the new issue of Nintendo Power yesterday. Yeah, I know, I'm too old for such a magazine, but it is actually pretty good. The writers are quite funny, and the letters section is flat-out hilarious. It finally looks like I can buy a new DS game now that Star Fox Command is out. Nintendo Power gave it a 9.5/10, but I usually take their reviews with a grain of salt, since, well, you know, they ARE a mouthpiece for the company that makes the systems, and often the games themselves. Anyhoo, Star Fox Command looks promising and a good deal of fun for my disused DS.

Ween Review

This nice fella over on OutdoorsPro has a good Ween review and some cool videos of the Bend, Oregon show.

How many guitarists . . .

. . . does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Just one, but every other guitarist has to stand around him and say "pffft, I could do that." If you are a YouTube watcher, a New York Times Reader, or a NPR listener, you may have seen the following video: And yes, that guy is pretty damn good. But for my money, I like this guy much more: Spoon FTW!

Google

These ads are making me thirsty! I know we all hate ads, heck I use Firefox and Adblock to avoid most of them, but I was trying to generate a little happy dollars with my site here by using Google Adsense. They make it pretty idiot proof, but I am an idiot I guess. I left a tiny bit of code from a previous template in my current setup and it took me all day to figure out that that was the problem preventing the ads from showing up . . . Yeah, I suck, I know.

I R Winnar !!

I beat Titan Quest. Made it to Legendary Typhon, and he dropped easily, like the little bitch that he is. The run up through the caverns was much worse than the final boss. Those Dragonian Deathlancers (or whatever they hell they are called) should be the final encounter. Simply insane they are!