The Mortal Blog

Addon Hell

2008-07-23T09:51:00.000-05:00

Going off on a geek-tangent here, so stick with me.

With the demise of the much loved Wowaceupdater, (much loved by me at least) I gave the Curse updater a try and found out what a mind blowing, wicked abortionality it is.

My addons were soooo messed up, I decided to just start over and build my UI back up from scratch. And this is turning out to be a good thing, because I am trimming the fat and getting rid of a lot of crap I hardly (or never) use.

Altoholic is awesome. Never use it.
All those raid addons? Never raid. (Will revisit those if I ever start raiding I suppose).

The new UI will probably end up looking an awful lot like the old one, but hopefully leaner and meaner. No sense screwing with basic things like keyboard shortcuts and macros that are pretty much hardwired into my brain by now. :)

Project Runway

2008-07-17T07:46:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I watch Project Runway. Big whoop, wanna fight about it?

Season 5 of Project Runway started last night, and my early favorite has to be the dreamy Bettie Page look-a-like, Kenley. /swoon

Although I am also rooting for Kelli, who has a shoppe right here in Columbus.

Level 70!

2008-07-05T20:06:00.005-05:00

Well, I made it.

My first level 70 in World Of Warcraft with my Hunter. Wheeeeee . . .

Below is a screenshot showing that I spent a total of:

14 Days, 17 Hours, 33 Minutes and 31 Seconds to get there.

Wow indeed.

Geeking Out

2008-07-02T13:01:00.003-05:00

Been geeking out pretty bad lately. These damn podcasts about videogames (read that: PC Games, NOT console games! Although there IS some inevitable console talk . . .) are addictive! Well, I also do my weekly Car Talk podcasts, which is also geeky, but in a different geeky way.

A few of the ones I like are:

1up Yours - lots of general gaming shit, usually quite funny too.

GFW Radio - Almost completely about PC gaming, also funny.

Legendary Thread - All about World of Warcraft and MMO's. Still funny.

PC Gamer Podcast - Just PC Games, "cleaner" than the other, and still good.

The Instance - All World Of Warcraft, all the time.

Retronauts - "A podcast for old people", but really a podcast for people that like to hear about older games.

Car Talk - A wonderful call-in show about car problems. Much funnier than it sounds!

Check out some of these podcasts and let your geek flag fly!

Clicky Keyboards

2008-07-01T08:11:00.001-05:00

If you are old enough to remember learning to type on an actual typewriter, you may fondly remember the venerable IBM Selectric II. What a beast that thing was! You could actually feel the thing huuummmmmm when you turned it on, it was ready and willing to take years of abuse.

I actually saw one at a garage sale a few weeks ago, and am still wondering why I didn't pick it up!

Other aged folks may remember the wondereful "clicky" keyboards of yore, such as those that came with the old IBM (again!) computers. A few companies still make sweet clicky keyboards like that, and one still makes the actual "Model M" that came with the old IBM's.

Check the links for clicky goodness!

Unicomp Customizer (original clicky IBM keyboards).

daskeyboard.com (a new-fangled take on the clicky keyboard).

China Girl

2008-06-30T12:54:00.000-05:00

On a bit of a Bowie kick today, and was really digging on China Girl. Aside from the obvious (short but sweet) Stevie Ray Vaughan solo at 3:29, I was loving the almost Bolero-esque feel Stevie brings all the way until the "shhhhhh" part when the solo begins.

He is really working it in the background, bringing it a little louder, a little more forceful each time he comes around, finally reaching that signature dirty Stevie tone right after Bowie sings "Its in the white of my eyes" around 2:22.

Check it out, it is quite a piece of work!

Almost Over . . .

2008-06-11T07:09:00.003-05:00

So this morning on NPR I hear 'ol Georgie is ready to talk with Iran about its supposed nuclear weapons program.

Wow. After eight years of "sticking to his guns" and thumbing his nose at anyone who doesn't agree with him, all of a sudden al options are on the table.

Unfuckingbelievable.

This probably his way of deflecting some of the good press Obama gets because he says he will talk with anyone. Then when it comes to debates and meetings, McCain can say, "well the republicans are willing to talk to anyone too!"

Fucking idiots.

'da whistles go Woooooooo!

If you don't know what that is, type 'bubb rubb' into youtube . . .

2008-04-10T08:04:00.000-05:00

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?

2007-12-27T07:31:00.000-05:00

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

2007-09-25T12:52:00.000-05:00

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

I am an "Artiste"

2007-08-26T14:58:00.000-05:00

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 !

2007-08-17T19:38:00.001-05:00

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

2007-05-15T11:56:00.000-05:00

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:

2007-05-08T09:53:00.000-05:00

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

2007-05-07T09:20:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-01T13:28:00.000-05:00

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

2007-01-02T12:55:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-12T10:57:00.000-05:00

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

2006-10-20T12:27:00.001-05:00

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

2006-10-12T06:38:00.000-05:00

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

2006-10-09T14:14:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-29T12:53:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-26T10:47:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-23T13:21:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-21T18:56:00.000-05:00

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.

2006-09-21T08:39:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-17T15:41:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-14T17:57:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-12T18:16:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-09T21:39:00.000-05:00

It is my brithday today.

Whee, what fun.

More Songs I Wish I Wrote

2006-09-07T13:58:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-05T07:56:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-02T13:53:00.000-05:00

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?

2006-08-31T08:49:00.000-05:00

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!

2006-08-30T09:29:00.000-05:00

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

2006-08-30T07:07:00.000-05:00

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

2006-08-29T08:34:00.000-05:00

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

2006-08-28T20:05:00.000-05:00

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

How many guitarists . . .

2006-08-28T17:46:00.000-05:00

. . . 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

2006-08-28T08:16:00.000-05:00

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 !!

2006-08-27T19:02:00.000-05:00

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!

Vanguard - Saga of Heroes

2006-08-26T15:05:00.000-05:00

Woot! Just got an email that let me know I got into the Vanguard - Saga of Heroes beta test. Been downloading the damn client for hours now though . . . this better be good. :D

As a survivor of many MMORPG's (Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot and World of Warcraft), I am really hoping that Vanguard will offer something exciting.

Flickr Usr

2006-08-25T22:29:00.000-05:00

Well, if you look down on the lower left of the page, you can see I joined the masses and linked up a Flikr thingy.

Enjoy the few photos I decided to put on there, and be on the lookout for new additions!

Template Schmemplate

2006-08-25T12:20:00.000-05:00

I screwed around some and finally found a template that I liked. I did like the old one, but it just seemed a bit confining, a little tight, a bit of a squeeze, a might pinchy. You get the idea.

Off to dog sit for my dad this weekend - whee! I mean yawn. It used to be a lot of fun getting away from the old apartment and live at my dads house for a little while, but this new apartment is too nice, so it kinda sucks, lol.

I just made it to Legendary Egypt in Titan Quest with my Ranger. If you have no idea what that means, that's ok. It's good, trust me!

It's Official!

2006-08-24T14:51:00.000-05:00

Woohoo!

Well I finally got around to registering my domain name. I feel lucky that mortalgroove.com was still available, although I guess it is not a name that alot of people were going to fight about. Unless there were a lot of John Gorka fans . . .

Oh well. Here I am, and I got it set up so I will hopefully be a more regular poster. :)

Enjoy this photo of my recent handyman experience: Angry Plumber Geo!!

Elliott Smith, Ben Folds and "Randomness"

2006-02-06T17:35:00.000-05:00

So I was at work this morning, and just finished listening to Shinola Vol. 1 by Ween (Not too bad, a little uneven, but decent for an in between album release).

Anyhoo, I put my MP3 player on Random Play All, and it starts up with the fantastic "Memory Lane" by Elliott Smith.

So the spooky "random" part of this is that the next song that came on after "Memory Lane" is "Late" by Ben Folds. . . The song he wrote after he heard Elloitt Smith had died . . .

FREAKY!!!

Well, I tend to think that machines cannot do "real" randomness since they are basically following an algorithm, but it still freaked the hell out of me!

Some tribute songs are so gushy and stupid, but I really like "Late."

A snippet of lyric from "Late":

Elliott, man, you played a fine guitar
And some dirty basketball
The songs you wrote
Got me through a lot
Just wanna tell you that

But it's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
it's been too late
for a long time

Lost again

2005-09-22T20:59:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the long wait for an update!

Did y'all watch the new season of Lost?
Oh my god, it was so good!

I have a DVR here (kinda like TiVo) and I was watching the very beginning again, and I paused it at the point where the guy reaches for the drug to inject into his arm, and guess what I saw????

The "Number" of the drug on the bottle was . . .
yep, you guessed it! Hurleys infamous lottery numbers!!!

What fresh hell is this?!?!?!

Good golly what a show!

-MiG

P.S. Still not smoking!

Taking the plunge

2005-08-13T17:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I woke up this morning and decided it would be a good day to spend $15,000, so I went out and bought a brand new Honda Civic :D

Here's a photo of me and my new beauty:
http://tinypic.com/afafdv.jpg

Got a pretty darn good deal I think, the sticker price was $16,900, plus I got a decent amount for my 12 year old Nissan Sentra.

Anyhoo, thats the happy news for the day.

Oh, and today marks 30 days without a cigarette!

-MiG

12 days of Christmas

2005-07-26T17:11:00.000-05:00

Well not really, but 12 days without a cigarette!

I didn't even have any gum yesterday or today, so things must be going good inside my body, hehehe.

Thanks to everyone who posted their comments of support, it really means alot to me.

On another bright note, the space shuttle finally launched again today. I am very happy to see that monsterous, wonderful machine flying again. One of these days I hope to get down to Florida and see a launch.

Did you know that my grandfather worked on the first lunar capsule and the "Moon Buggy?" Unfortunately, I never knew him. He died when my mom was 16 or 17 I think :(

8 days a week . . .

2005-07-22T16:39:00.000-05:00

It's been 8 days without a cigarette, and today was by far the best day of the 8.

Didn't really have any cravings today, and only used 2 pieces of gum.

Check out this band:

Dr. Dog

They have two songs for free download on their site. Very cool stuff.

-MG

Kill the Pain

2005-07-18T17:48:00.000-05:00

Closing in on 97 hours without a cigarette!
I think I got this beat :)

Check out Lua by Bright Eyes.
Download it for free from Amazon HERE.

Sample verse from Lua:
I got a flask inside my pocket, we can share it on the train
And if you promise to stay conscious I will try and do the same
We may die from medication, but we sure killed all the pain
But what was normal in the evening by the morning seems insane.

Good stuff indeed.

-MG

Still Naked

2005-07-17T16:59:00.000-05:00

You must listen to Blame It On Me by the Barenaked Ladies.

Check out the harmonies in the second verse when they sing:
"Forgive me father, but I'm falling in love and thats all I have for confession today."

Still (not) Smokin'

2005-07-17T16:58:00.000-05:00

Woohoo! 72 hours without a puff.

Even took a nice bike ride today. Amazing.

I Quit!

2005-07-15T16:42:00.000-05:00

24 hours without a cigarette! Whee!

Got the Nicorette Gum, and it seems to be working pretty well.

-MG

Barenaked Joyride

2005-07-11T16:21:00.000-05:00

I've been listening to an awful lot of Barenaked Ladies recently, and I am really surprised that I didn't get into them a long time ago.

Some particular favorites:

Enid - Really fun song, great (and not too hard) to play on the guitar.

What A Good Boy - Umm, just listen to it, trust me.

Break Your Heart - A pretty sad song, but ultimately redeeming, and nothing beats Steves scream near the end :)

Conventioneers - Another good one to play on guitar, with another sad theme.

Testing 1, 2, 3 - Can anybody hear me? Great lyrics, fun song.

As a bonus for today, check out Banquet by Bloc Party.
You can download it for free from Amazon HERE.

-MG

Supersize Me

2005-03-14T23:09:00.000-05:00

I saw the documentary Supersize Me last night, and what got me most was not all the McDonalds he ate, but all the sugar they showed at the end of the movie. The guy ate a pound of sugar a day!

Anyhoo, I am trying to stop drinking so much soda, and have switched to just water in the afternoon and evening. I will keep you posted as to how it is treating me.

Well, that doesn't really matter because no one reads this damn blog!

-MG

Crossing Muddy Waters

2005-03-08T20:55:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard the song "Crossing Muddy Waters" by John Hiatt?

You should.

It's a good one.

Really.

Songs I Wish I Wrote, Vol. 1

2005-03-03T21:13:00.000-05:00

Hmm, let's see....
I'll start with a couple songs you probably don't know.

"Twilight" by Elliott Smith - The saddest, most beautiful song I have heard in a long time.
"Memory Lane" by Elliott Smith - The creepy underlying theme of this upbeat song makes it a winner!

(Elliott Smith died last year while making his most recent album 'From a Basement on the Hill)

"Places People" by Virginia Coalition - This is the most amazingly perfect song to start a show with, and I am curious if they actually do start their shows with it!

"A Summer Wind, A Cotton Dress" by Richard Shindell - Nothing like thinking back about the things that might have been.

Track these songs down to enhance your musical library!

-MG

New Guitar

2005-03-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

Here's some pics of my new guitar!
For the record, its a Schecter C1+, and it sounds and plays amazing!

Picture 1

Picture 2

Social Security

2005-03-03T18:22:00.000-05:00

So I am listening to NPR at work (as usual), and I hear about Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist backpedaling on remarks he made earlier this week suggesting that a Social Security bill might not come to the floor this year.

The reasoning behind this was it HAS to go through this year because none of the Senators will want to vote on anything even vaguely controversial NEXT year because it will be an election year for them.

I mean, what the fuck? So we get some half-assed, half-baked, half-thought out plan that was rushed to a vote because these assholes want to keep their job?

Jesus, if they can't think it through and give it some time for discussion, they don't deserve to be there anyway.

-MG