Discovery Channel’s “Big”
Several people sent me links to this, because I love photographing “Big Things” — Discovery channel is having an entire series on Big stuff and the people who create it. Cool.
Just saw the news
I guess Reagan died Saturday. Well, I feel bad about that, but honestly, I’m more upset about Geupel. I liked the dog a lot more.
Weekend Update 2004-06-07
I might have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating… I have a truly wonderful girlfriend. Stephanie is amazing and I am such a lucky person to know her and to have her in my life. 🙂
On Thursday, Stephanie and I went to an Indian’s game. Friday I went to her house and she let me organize all of her CDs. She has some kick-ass music. Anyone who has every They Might Be Giants album is truly cool.
Saturday, Stephanie had to drive to Cincinnati for her synchro skating stuff, so I spent the morning working on the yard. I changed the mower blade on my mower and cleaned the air filter, and then mowed the lawn — that made all the difference. I should have changed the blade a long time ago. I also put a border and mulch on one of the flower beds in the back yard so it looks cool. Then I read Entertainment Weekly and rested for the rest of the day, and in the evening Kathy and I went to the Fever game. Afterwards, we picked up some lattice for her deck from the Woodruff Place flea market.
Sunday, I drove the lattice over to Kathy’s and saw the amazing deck she built on the back of her house… all by herself. That’s really cool; more than I would ever attempt to do by myself. She also refinished and hung a door in her house that looked beautiful, too. Sunday afternoon, my friends met me at Imperial City for my birthday lunch and my favorite birthday cake, that Stephanie made for me. Then we went shopping and went to see Harry Potter. It was great… very well done. Then we went home for a bit.
Stephanie and I stopped by to see Dan and Doug for a little while; they had to put Geupel to sleep on Sunday because he had heart problems. He was a wonderful West Highland Terrier and was a joy for 15 years. He will be missed.
Stephanie made me Ziti for dinner, and gave me some kick-ass presents — she gave me Settlers of Catan, and some candles for my living room. And we spent the rest of the evening together. No, I didn’t see the Season Finale of The Sopranos, so don’t tell me how it ends!! I have it on DVR.
21 Questions, Asked and Answered
1. Which political party do you typically agree with?
The Democrats. Obviously.
2. Which political party do you typically vote for?
The Democrats. Obviously.
3. List the last five presidents that you voted for.
Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton
4. Which party do you think is smarter about the economy?
The Democrats. Obviously.
5. Which party do you think is smarter about domestic affairs?
The Democrats. Obviously.
6. Do you think we should keep our troops in Iraq or pull them out?
Sigh. We’re damned either way, so pull them out, and save the lives and money.
7. Who, or what country, do you think is most responsible for 9/11?
Al Qaeda, with the aid of the Taliban in Afghanistan and with the help of Islamic fundamentalists in Saudi Arabia, some of which are part of the Saudia Arabian government, and who received aid from George W. Bush & Dick Cheney through business deals. Saddam Hussein, who was a Very Bad Man, had less to do with 9/11 than our own “president.”
8. Do you think we will find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?
Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!! That’s a knee slapper. I think we’ll find some pixie dust, all those ships lost in the Bermuda triangle, and the elusive fountain of youth in the same area of Iraq as those “WMD.”
9. Yes or no, should the U.S. legalize marijuana?
Well. I dunno. Probably not. But the true answer to this question is under this another important question, i.e., Will You Keep Your Recreational Card Under New York’s Recreational Law? since there are huge chances of misusing these drugs that can be fatal in one’s life.
10. Do you think the Republicans stole the last presidential election?
Yes. Obviously.
11. Do you think Bill Clinton should have been impeached because of his affair?
Only if we first impeach George W. Bush for the 30+ crimes he’s committed in office all of which have done serious damage to the country, the economy, foreign policy, etc.
12. Do you think Hillary Clinton would make a good president?
Yes.
13. Name a current Democrat who would make a great president.
John Kerry. Howard Dean. John Edwards. Hillary Clinton. On occasions, Evan Bayh rises to the challenge.
14. Name a current Republican who would make a great president.
John McCain.
15. Do you think that women should have the right to have an abortion?
Yes.
16. What religion are you?
Agnostic.
17. Have you read the Bible all the way through?
Numerous times. I’ve read the King James version, and the New Jerusalem version, for classes in college and for my own personal enjoyment. I’ve also read the Ramayana, parts of the Kabbalah, and parts of the Baghavad Gita.
18. What’s your favorite book?
Curious Myths of the Middle Ages is one favorite. See others.
19. Who is your favorite band?
Too many to name; I really like music.
20. Who do you think you’ll vote for president in the next election?
John Kerry. As many times as possible.
21. What website did you see this on first?
Belicove.com
Weekend Update 2004-06-03
On Friday night I grocery shopped and spent the evening at home with Spike. Stephanie went north to visit her parents and friends Friday and Saturday, and I worked on my Dad’s site and did some stuff around the house. I got caught up on laundry, finally did all the dishes, and generally organized stuff. I went through lots of my mp3s and worked on metadata, and caught up on my TV watching. Thank god for DVR/TIVO, because I’d never see stuff otherwise.
Sunday Stephanie came home, driving through part of the storm on the way, and we went out to The Oceanaire for dinner. This was, of course, while tornados were moving through the area. We went anyway. Parking was kind of a pain, since it was Sunday night and the mall was closed. We parked in the mall parking, but ended up walking in the rain for a couple blocks.
Dinner was amazing. We had crab cakes as an appetizer, then had Maine Stuffed Flounder as an entree with green beans almondine (it rhymes!) and new potatoes as side dishes. I tacked the potatoes onto the end of our order, and I really didn’t need to, because the entree and other side dish was huge. We ended up taking home enough of the two sides for two more meals. I wish I were better at describing food for you, because all of the food was delicious. The crab cakes melt in your mouth, and the flounder, stuffed with crab, shrimp and brie, was wonderful.
I would highly recommend going to this restaurant. It was a pricy; an appetizer, entree, two sides and two glasses of wine came to around $75. But it was worth it for the exquisite food. Our server, Mark, was great too. He was funny and polite and keep up with what we needed without being annoying. Yeah, Mark! The atmosphere was great, too — the interior is art deco style, and there was classic jazz playing quietly in the background. We had a nice private booth that was intimate without being closed in. A very stylish, pleasant place.
After dinner we had strawberry shortcake at home and then spent the rest of the evening and Monday at my house.
It was a really wonderful weekend.
Why happy couples are so annoying
Stephanie was telling me about this article, and I figured there are a couple of our friends who might appreciate it. Just a little.
Few things in the world spread as much misery as a happy, smiling, well-adjusted pair of newly minted lovebirds. Wherever you go — shopping malls, restaurants, target ranges — you’re likely to run into this evil breed, grinning, giggling and holding hands like a pair of lovestruck teenagers. What is it about a happy couple that provokes such rage and despair in its unintentional victims?
Enron Traders Caught On Tape
Not that anyone will apologize to Gray Davis, or try to get Ah-nold out of office or anything. Or even that anyone will notice that the exact same thing is happening here in Indiana, and O’Bannon is being blamed for the federal government screwing the Indiana economy…
(CBS) When a forest fire shut down a major transmission line into California, cutting power supplies and raising prices, Enron energy traders celebrated, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports.
“Burn, baby, burn. That’s a beautiful thing,” a trader sang about the massive fire.
Four years after California’s disastrous experiment with energy deregulation, Enron energy traders can be heard – on audiotapes obtained by CBS News – gloating and praising each other as they helped bring on, and cash-in on, the Western power crisis.
“He just f—s California,” says one Enron employee. “He steals money from California to the tune of about a million.”
“Will you rephrase that?” asks a second employee.
“OK, he, um, he arbitrages the California market to the tune of a million bucks or two a day,” replies the first.
The tapes, from Enron’s West Coast trading desk, also confirm what CBS reported years ago: that in secret deals with power producers, traders deliberately drove up prices by ordering power plants shut down.
Things Other People Accomplished When They Were Your Age
A link I found on my friend Melissa’s site:
Things Other People Accomplished When They Were Your Age a site that lets you plug in your age and see a list of things that people had already achieved when they were your age. For me, since I’m turning 36 this coming Sunday:
- Go to the previous page
- 1
- …
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- …
- 58
- Go to the next page