Bah...

I cant count. Fine...heres post 186.



Whatever. Im off to party...by myself? Weeeee...

Happy New Year!

Oh yep. 1 more post than my previous high. Next year gotta top 200 :)




Have a happy new year, all. Im off to florida until the 6th!

New Car!

Well, 4 years have come and gone with the Equinox....barely. It would have been up on good friday, but i got a notice in the mail that GMAC would waive 2 of my last payments if i turned it in now...so on friday, i went to look and see what the new Equinoxes are like....and i walked out with a new one!

Here are pictures :D


Navy Blue Metallic!



Dashboard



Passenger Side - with sunroof :D



Back Seats



Console - including built in XM!




More info once i get to drive it a bit more :) Nice to have a car without a window crack, doesnt smell oddly like smoke and where all windows function correctly!

Kickin Ass and Taking Names

30

Looking for payday loans?

Stick a fork in me...

Yep...90 minutes and im out of here. No more work until 1/7/08. Cant wait.


Next week, doing the christmas thang with the family, then spending the rest of the week having some SIGNIFICANT "me" time and relaxing the work stress away. New Years Day, Mom, Dad and I are flying to Florida for a nice relaxing week at the timeshare. Pool, maybe some sea world, some disney....just going to let the stress ooze out of me.


I have to say, though...having nieces makes christmas fun. I had such a blast shopping for them and finding toys i thought they would dig. I cant wait till the 2 of them are a little older so i can spoil them rotten :D


Oh, yeah...and im back playing WoW again. The hell is wrong with me?

Pro Bowl? More like Bowl of Sh....

So, i know the bears were a flop this year, but good lord, the pro bowl selections are pretty bad.


Hester is a gimme. Brendan Ayanbadejo is a gimme. Tommie Harris....meh. Decent. But Briggs over Urlacher? I dunno. Maybe i need to look at numbers, but no Urlacher. Thats some rough shit.


Also...11 Players from Dallas? Man...get over them. I even think GB were under represented.


Lofa Tatupu? What? Other than being my new nickname for my cat...that guy doesn't deserve to be in the pro bowl. URLACH GOT ROBBED.

Lazy Friday

Tim: i'm browsing the blu ray release list
Tim: checking out reviews
Tim: planning future purchases
Me: im flipping my pen at my cube wall
Me: and they say the american work ethic isnt what it used to be.
Tim: i know right

Whats worse than having nothing to post about?

Having something to post about, but not being allowed to. Some interesting(good) things going on at work, but im not going to post about it until they are official. Could be a while, so well see.


Otherwise, nothing much new. COOOOLD. ICCEEE. SNOWWWW. Winter is here, 10 days till christmas.


2 weeks of vaca coming up, including 1 in florida. Cant wait.


Have a good weekend.

Ha. HAHAHAHA>...

Slashdot sez:

Microsoft has made available the release candidate for Vista SP1, after a limited beta begun last September. Informationweek points out white papers telling business users that if they were waiting for SP1 to solve application compatibility issues, they needn't bother waiting: SP1 won't solve them, and in fact might cause applications to break that were running under Vista. Techworld outlines the hoops users will have to jump through to get SP1 installed.

BWAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!

WEEPING ME.

I kinda want to cry.


Orton to start next Monday night in Minnesota - Chicago Bears

So Much Win....

Cant wait.

ARRRRRRRRGH!

FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME!


REPLY IS NOT THE SAME AS REPLY TO ALL!


IT HAS REPLY IN THE TITLE, BUT IT IS MUCH DIFFERENT!


CUT THAT SHIT OUT!

Mid 20's Dating for the Non Barfly - Part 2: The Inevitable End

So...one of the touchiest subjects when participating in internet dating is exclusivity. Most people who use internet dating never had huge success in the bar or club scene, so the availability of a large potential dating pool has people with poor self control foaming at the mouth. Take this example.

Mid 20s female. Moderately attractive, smart, successful, socially awkward. Probably never had a lot of luck with men in high school or college because most guys looking for women were going for the slutty hotter women or they couldnt find someone that matched what they were looking for in the crowds they were limited to with their schooling.

Bring on match.com or eharmony. Suddenly, these girls rise above and are exposed to hundred if not thousands more potential men. I hate to use crappy analogies, but it becomes essentially a buffet. Since in these kinds of situations, the women have more of a choice over the men, it becomes a suitor situation. Next thing they know, they are balancing multiple men without really having the know how or skill to do it. Suddenly they get mixed up in a wave of emotion and cant control whats going on. It can only go downhill at that point.

Im not saying that men dont do that. I have worked pretty hard to be careful when dating to always respect the person i am "dating" to not make them feel like they have to compete with other people. If i decided to date someone, i make them the priority. Does this mean initial choices? Yes. However, life is full of choices. Some people are afraid of choice and how it affects people, even if its better to make those choices earlier than longer down the road.

One of the other MAJOR issues with this is how a person lies or "excludes truths". As someone who has been burned by dating habitual liars in the past, i possibly could just be extremely oversensitive to this issue. Some people think that lying isnt bad if they think it is justified. I guess i have no tolerance for it. Even if its hard to hear or tough to say, id like to know the truth of what is going on at all times. I hate feeling like i have been duped or that i had been looking like a total fool.

Honesty. Key ingredient. Have i gotten burned? Yeah. Am i trying to turn this into a learning experience? Of course.

Is it disappointing? Of course. Im sick of this sort of stuff happening.

*relaxing*

Call me a dork or whatever, but listening to Harry Connick, JR at work makes crappy stuff more bearable.

Less unbearable?


Makes things better.

Redonkulous.

Kid is amazing.

Frigging amazing to watch.

Contender for Quote of the Year

Coming in with just a month to go...



[09:45] Jason Likert: doing 35 Mb/s at our production site
[09:45] waggoner98: psh
[09:45] waggoner98: i do that at home
[09:45] waggoner98: crank that shit up
[09:45] Jason Likert: it would be faster but i'm torrenting the golden girls

Ghostbusters Gameplay

Actual gameplay video from the upcoming Ghostbusters game.

Holy crap this looks awesome.

G4 - The Pile

Soap Is Dumb

Man i love these nivea for men commercials on the radio.

Mid 20's Dating for the Non Barfly

So, since my relationship meltdown of a few years ago, i've had some seriously interesting experiences in dating. Dating as a single, professional who isnt into the bar/party scene can be kind of rough. I did the whole bar/party thing in college, especially during my more rebellious, "single" times and had my share of good times. There is alot of risk there, but id have to say that 9 times out of 10, most women that you meet in college arent even thinking past that year...let alone long term. Some guys are cool with that. Some arent looking for relationships or looking for committment. However, if you are...post-college, the game changes a ton.

For me, i cant say im a huge socialite. I have a small, tightknit group of friends that are spread all around the country. Omaha, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, LA, North Carolina to name a few. Notice...none of those are here in Chicago. When i lived in columbus(for the 3-4 months i was "single" before i moved back to Chicago, it was a bit better. I had friends there from college, from work, etc. Had mutual group activities where i could meet people and the company i worked for seemed to have a younger, hipper workforce. Alot of that changed when i moved to Chicago. Sounds the opposite of what you would think.

Chicago is so big and so diverse, it can almost be threatening. Where do you start? Do i try to date people i work with? Do i do the internet thing? Do i join outside clubs and activities for the sole reason of finding someone to date? All of these are tough questions. I decided not to date anyone i work with, despite finding one incredible person. I dated people i worked with in college...it tends to go nowhere good. While i like to think that i am significantly more mature than i was in college, i think the dangers far outweigh the benefits of that kind of relationship. Additionally, my company isnt a real hotbed of young professionals, especially female. That decision being made, lets move on to some more decisions.

Clubs? Professional organizations? Sure, there are a ton of them in a large metropolitan area. However, id have to say im in a good comfort zone with what i do in my spare time. I dont feel like joining something like that as my only intention to find women. Seems real sleazy to me. Also, organizations/clubs like that function alot like work. Lets say i found someone, dated for a while and it ended ugly. What do we do now? We are part of this club, gossip will spread and we will have to face each other in some kind of semi professional environment. Echos alot of the issues about dating at work, except im not getting paid. Verdict? No thanks.

Internet dating. Thank the internet for bring people together. While in theory, it sounds like a good thing, you cant treat internet dating like conventional matchmaking. Its something that can be pretty difficult. Take match.com. That is the equivilant of going to a bar online. Search for people, go after people you find attractive(physicaly or mentally based on their profile). Sure, you can sit back and let them come to you...but like i said, its essentially a bar without the smoke and loud cover bands. There are services like eharmony that do the matching for you, tell you important bits about them that you might find interesting and lead you through a guided process before there is some kind of open communication. I particularly liked this route. It basically weeded out the initial impulsion of "HOT OR NOT" and it was easy for me to tell if they were willing to put the work in or not. Trying to actually GET TO KNOW someone rather than gut reactions to their profile picture shows alot. Dont get me wrong. Initial attraction based off appearance does matter, im no dipshit. But as with transformers, there is more than meets the eye.

So sure. Ive balanced a few matches at once. Have i ever "dated" more than one woman at a time? I wouldnt say so. Maybe its mincing words, but i wont go out on more than 1 date with someone if im seeing someone else casually. I tend to let the women make the rules since there is such a bad association with internet dating. I want to make them feel as comfortable as possible. Some may see that as me not being in charge enough, but if thats the case, im ok with that. When dating through internet means, its important to realize that for the most part, the general dating pool is NOT THE SAME as it would be if you were dating at parties or clubs in college. These are not socialites you are matched up with. For the most part, people using internet dating sites are using it for a reason. They have some issue with meeting people on their own. Im sure on both sides of the coin, men and women, there are tons of withdrawn nutjobs out there that make this particular kind of dating a serious minefield of sorts. Here is a fun rundown of some dating mishaps ive had.

1. A woman who invited me over to her place for our first date. Talk about obvious. (no, i didnt go)
2. Someone who was too absorbed in the Cubs to ever meet up on anything other than her terms or schedule.
3. A woman who told me she wanted to talk on the phone to get to know me better, yet would always put me to voicemail.
4. A woman who dated me for weeks who eventually(after almost 2 months) told me she isnt going to date anyone who doesnt have the same VD that she has. I politely moved on.
5. Women(multiple) who have become 1 date wives as i call them. One date and then begin to try to weave themselves into your life without you even know it. Taking little time to get to know you, just looking for a 1 stop husband. Not good.
6. A woman who showed up at my apartment not knowing when i was coming home to confront me about why i wouldnt date them anymore.
7. A woman who quietly required a daily phone call, yet never wanted to get together for some reason or another. The entire relationship was spent on the phone or instant messenger, but when it came to getting together, it was never possible.
8. Assorted women from other countries who were obviously looking for easy green cards.
9. Dated a girl who i mistakenly invited out to meet my parents. She spent the whole time knocking me and making jokes at my expense in front of my parents. While i dont really give a shit about that stuff...not a good way to win parental support. Especially when afterwards she said "Man, i think they really liked me!" Poor perception for the lose.
10. Being "dumped" by getting blind copied in an email to all of the guys the girl was currently dating, citing the fact that her friend is having a hard time at work and its too stressful for her to be able to balance dating multiple men. Classic.


As of right now, ive muddled through alot of bad matches and found a really good one. Been a month and things seem to be going pretty smoothly. Who knows, i could jinx it.

More on this topic later.

Ok, now im SERIOUSLY pissed.

Can we seriously end this strike already? I dont think they understand how much money they are going to lose if this SERIOUSLY impacts already tired TV viewers.

James Hibberd - Fox Shuffles Schedule, Postpones ‘24’ - TVWeek - Blogs

Argh.

I hate not knowing. Especially not knowing what someone else is thinking.


Drives me berserk.




/berserk

Love it

Adam Baldwin was one of the best parts of Firefly/Serenity. He is on a new show called Chuck, playing an NSA agent who is real hardcore...but has some pretty funny quips.



This week, there is a part where the characters are on the Stanford campus and there is someone asking him if he wants to donate money to plant a tree. His response?

"Oh, you want to help the environment?


THEN TAKE A SHOWER, YOU HIPPIE."


Love it. Would be my same response?

BAHHHHHHHHSDL:GKHS:DLKGHSD:LKGHSD:LKGH

DAMMIT TO HELL. MAH TEEVEE BETTAH NOT BE MESSED UP CUZ OF DIS. Who cares if they have fair contracts and wages....

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood writers will strike after last-ditch talks called by a federal mediator failed.

Writers and studios broke off talks late Sunday after East Coast members of the writers union declared they were officially on strike, the group representing producers said.

Last-ditch negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers ended after about 11 hours.

The Associated Press: Hollywood Writers Announce Strike

Suck CIty, Il

This is what you get for sucking alot now.


LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The NFL on Monday changed the starting time for the Bears' Nov. 18 road game against the Seattle Seahawks from 7:15 p.m. (CT) to 3:15 p.m. (CT) on FOX.

Wet Cat

Cats in tubs are funny.

I suck.

New gaming blog starting with a friend of mine.

If it ends up taking off....maybe a podcast?


http://i-sag.blogspot.com


This isnt news. Its not gaming strategy. Its our take on games and the industry.


Also, dont expect anything about WoW. If anything, itll be more like GCO in text format. Hopefully funnier.

Ace Combat 6

Beat this game last night for Xbox. Not only the first game i ever finished on the Xbox, but one of the most fun console games i ever played. The story is interesting, the graphics are incredible and the sound/music is amazing. The only downside is the dialogue sounds like a 10 year old wrote it. If i had to hear the phrase "dance with the angels" 1 more time, i was going to stab a kitten.

If you like combat flight sims and dont mind them being a bit "arcade-ish" (aka having over 400 missiles on your plane) give it a shot. This game should be a required test for any HDTV running at 1080p. Its beautiful.

Comedy gold.

If you arent watching Pushing Daisies, the new comedy on ABC...you are missing out on the best show of the season.





"Think of it as in escrow....between my thighs."

"I love you, shovel."

Pot, I'd Like You To Meet The Kettle...

News writes itself sometimes. See this story after the one i posted about him yesterday.

Kucinich questions Bush's mental health - Yahoo! News

Still no cure for cancer, btw....

http://www.baconsalt.com/



What?

Moron.

Cause this will definitely help you get elected president.



UFOs and Alien Life - The Fix

Happy Halloween, Thrillers

Big Cat. Wit Spotz.

Leopard installed. Photobooth cool. More to come.

Good night, sweet Classic.

Well, with the release of OS 10.5 today from Apple, all classic support/classic emulation in OS X is gone.


Goodnight, sweet OS 9. You served us well.

It's So True...

Click to embiggen.

News thats fit to print.

I thought i was reading the onion for a second. Then realized i wasnt. Wow.

Crowder learns he won't need translator in London | Inside the Dolphins

NICE.

The 24 reboot after last years slack in quality is looking to be TOP NOTCH.





Wow. Cant wait.

I'm Addicted

Dolphin Olympics 2


Been playing for a while. Current top score, 12,463,647.


Yep.

Record Year?

Its amazing, i never really have a posting schedule anymore, i just post when i have time and/or when something pops up that i think warrants it. Occasionally, ill have some long, meaningful post(at least to me) of which i have one in the pipeline.

However, its looking like this could be a record breaking year in terms of post counts at the wags blog.


2007 - 147 so far
2006 - 139
2005 - 185
2004 - 24(could you tell that this was the year i traveled alot?)
2003 - 147 (tied today!)


So i think i can crank out about 40 more posts this year of quality material. Who knows. At least i think its quality material. if i could hit 200 posts this year, that would be a milestone. I think, however, if one was to do a rating based on word count, this years would be in first place.

Attention

To: My Department
From: Wags
Subj: Candy Thievery


Group -

I would like to bring to your attention a grave issue. While i have no issue supplying candy, specifically original flavor jolly ranchers in my USG Building Mug, i am disappointed in the antics that ensued while i was out of the office at training.

I ensured to see that the mug was full when i left the previous friday while i was out for a week at training, and yet i come back to the office this morning to see that all jolly ranchers have been taken....except the grape ones. Is this any way to thank someone for providing a service? Leaving him the disgusting ones? This would equate to having a container of Runts and leaving only the banana ones for he who offered them. Simply rude.

I ask nothing in return for the services of my candy mug, however, i am disappointed in the candy that is left over.


Sincerely,
BW

Select a Candidate 2008

While its a cute little tool, everyone who thinks they know what the candidates stand for should use this and answer truthfully. Find out who you should vote for based on values instead of what the media says.

Select a Candidate 2008


Also, no surprise...mine picked:
Fred Thompson
Score: 45

Uh.....what?

What?


Weapons: Robot Cannon Goes Berserk, Kills 9

FFS

Work. What a pain in the ass right now.

Been working lots of 12-14+ hour days the past 2 weeks, hence the lack of posts. Im taking a quick break right now from it before diving back in. Yeah, its almost 11pm.

The reason for the tons of work is because we are wrapping up a big project...where the scope keeps balooning because of more and more issues we are finding. Not fun. Random deadlines created. Random deadlines missed. New random deadlines made. Etc, rinse repeat. It has been a HUGE lesson to me in project management. Especially with managing a project that has over 20 different contacts in over 10 different departments.

To top it all off, im also in a training class this week. Audit and Security of Unix systems. Its about as fun and exciting as it sounds. Its also being taught by the kind of guy you would expect would teach a Unix audit class. The kind of guy who thinks that the "Bourne Again Shell" is a funny Unix/Linux joke. Shoot me now.


I did manage to get Transformers in HDDVD and Top Gun in HDDVD. Since getting this drive late this summer, oddly enough, these were the first 2 HDDVDS i bought. The rest i have just rented. Transformers was on while working tonite...the picture is pristine for the most part. Some of the darker scenes get a bit grainy. The audio mix is very center channel heavy, and a bit low on the surrounds. That could be the xbox audio hardware, though. Not sure. Top Gun....pristine sound, pristine picture. Benchmark disc for any HDDVD owners.

Not much gaming going on. Beat portal and HL2 episode 2. Both games are spectacular. Orange Box for GOTY. Also...im pretty sure portal was a prequel to HL 1, and that its going to play a HUGE part in HL2 episode 3. Cant wait to see whats going to happen. Its nice to see it is FINALLY tying together with HL1 and the black mesa happenings. Also....Team Fortress 2....so awesome. So. Freaking. Fun.


Ok, back to work. Writing about this work stuff is making me want to eat my own face.

Toonz

[10:05] waggoner98: transformers score
[10:05] waggoner98: helps me work better
[10:05] waggoner98: im like
[10:05] Jason Likert: amen dude
[10:05] Jason Likert: i get all pumped
[10:05] waggoner98: I MUST FINISH THIS AUDIT
[10:05] waggoner98: OTHERWISE MEGATRON GETS THE ALLSPARK
[10:05] Jason Likert: YES!
[10:05] waggoner98: AND HUMANITY IS DOOMED

Contest over, I win

I have the cutest nieces ever.

I Love Band Of Brothers Part 2

Is everybody happy? Cried the Sergeant looking up
Our hero feebly answered yes, and then they stood him up
He leaped right out into the blast, his static line unhooked
He ain't gonna jump no more!

Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die!
Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die!
Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die!
He ain't gonna jump no more!

The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome
The lines were snarled and tied in knots around his skinny bones
The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground
He ain't gonna jump no more!

Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die!
Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die!
Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die!
He ain't gonna jump no more!

He hit the ground, the sound was SPLAT, his blood went spurting high
His comrades were then heard to say, A HELL OF A WAY TO DIE!
He lay there rolling round in the welther of his gore
He ain't gonna jump no more!

I love Band Of Brothers

We pull upon the risers,
We fall upon the grass.
We never land upon our feet,
We always hit our ass!
Highty tighty, Christ almighty!
Who the hell are we?
Zim-Zam god damn! We're Airborne Infantry!

Out Of My Element - The BWags High School Story

So, im posting this after seeing it on Myspace. I normally think most of these survey things are kind of pointless...but this one actually made me think back to high school and realize how long ago that was. Here we go.



1. Who was your best friend?
This is a tough one. If i had to pick one person, it would be Martha Finkley. I dont know that i had ONE best friend, but a good tightknit group of good friends. Jim Pace, Stefan Kyselica, Brandon Lewis, Alison Daigle, etc.

2. What sports did you play?
NA.

3. What kind of car did you drive?
My parents Green Lumina(which i eventually got my soph year in college) and their green van.

4. On a Friday night what were you doing?
In the fall, Marching Band @ football games or prepping for a competition. Winter/spring - out on a date with my girlfriend.

5. Were you a party animal?
Not in the traditional sense. Our group of friends hung out alot, but it wasnt a "party"

6. Were you considered a flirt?
Not that i know of.


7.Were u in the band, choir or orchestra?
Marching band, concert band, jazz band, pep band and symphonic orchestra.


8. Were you a nerd?
I wasnt A nerd. I was THE nerd.

9.. Did you get suspended/expelled?
Ha. No way.

10. Can you still sing the fight song?
Sing? No. I think the only people at my High School who can do that are the football team. And by sing, i mean shout the words. I can still hum it since i played it over 400 million times in 4 years.

11. Who was your favorite teacher?
I would be lying if i didnt say my Dad. I spent 2 periods a day with him, 3 in the fall and loved every minute of it. However, if i had to pick another teacher non family related...I would pick Kathy Gabric. She was the best science teacher and a great mentor.

12. Where did you sit during lunch?
Either the band room or with our group of friends in the cafeteria.

13. Name the school's full name?
Hinsdale High School Township Central.

or Hinsdale Central High School.

14. School mascot?
Red Devil - Rawr.

15. School colors?
Red and White...however, Red and Black were used alot as well.

16. Rival high school?
Hinsdale South.

17. Did you go to Prom?
I did. I took my girlfriend, Alison Daigle. Was a great time.

18. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
Hmm. Senior year, probably. Alot of good times going on then. Frosh - Junior? Ill pass. Too much work and teenage angst.

19. What do you remember most about graduation?
Seeing my dad get choked up. While for me it was a culmination of 4 years of work, for him it was the signal to the end of an era, of 8 continuous years of having his kids there to help him do things he loved and he knew that it would be a huge change starting in the fall of 1999.

20. Where did you go senior skip day?
Funny story, and im pretty sure the statute of limitations is gone now. My dad and i made a deal. I didnt do anything stupid or try to ditch on senior ditch day, and he and i would both mysteriously get ill on the Wednesday that Star Wars: Episode 1 came out in late may right before the end of the year. Was one of the coolest things. I saw the movie 4 times on opening day. Midnight, then 3 times during the day. Was awesome.

21. Favorite memory?
Definitely performing at a Bands of America regional competition in St Louis. It was pretty much the culmination of all the work my dad and i had done for the competitive marching band program. Was amazing...and the best moment of my senior year.

22. Were you in any clubs?
I think all the music stuff i did qualified for that :P

23. Where did you go most often for lunch?
Cafeteria. Couldnt leave the school.

24. Have you gained some weight since then?
Ha. Im sure of it.

25. Who was your Senior prom date?
Alison Daigle..my girlfriend during senior year.

26. Are you planning on going to your 10-year reunion?
Probably not.

27. Who was your home room teacher?
We didnt have homeroom in highschool.

28. Who will repost this after you?
NA..since this isnt on ghetto myspace, but thanks to Diana showing me this.

29. Who was your high school sweetheart?
Alison Daigle.

30. Do you still talk to people from high school?
Not really. I burned alot of bridges because my dad was a teacher. I dont regret it, but it put me in alot of difficult situations. I still talk to Martha Finkley from time to time, not as much as i should...but in general, no, i dont.

31. Where did you work at in high school?
The Technology Internship and at Blockbuster Video.

32. What were your grades?
Decent. Overall B average, if i remember right.

33. How many people were in your graduating class?
Somewhere in the 400-500's.

34. Did you have a secret crush on anyone?
Naw. I was dating the person i had the crush on :)


There we go. Quite a different post!

"i cant stop it, nathan..."

You guys remember Peter Petrelli in the finale of Heroes, Season 1? When he absorbed Ted's nuclear power and couldnt control it? Thats me with sneezing lately. I get it under control with claritin or zyrtec, then it comes back and im like.....





OH NOES. THE SNEEZING....I CANT CONTROL IT.

Better have the tennis ball gun...

"BURBANK – October 3, 2007 – Wrestling legend and television icon Hulk Hogan (“Hogan Knows Best”) will flex his hosting muscle for NBC’s latest midseason primetime offering, the return of the competition series “American Gladiators.”




I cant handle it. Too exciting!

Death.

Im dying a slow, allergy riddled death.


*sneeze*



*wheeze*


*snuff*

Epic Update: Kay, maybe not so epic...

Yeah, as a personal note, i hate blog posts that start with "So i know its been a long time since i posted, but...(insert dumb excuse here)". So i wont be doing that, i will however mock those that do.

Consider yourselves appropriately mocked.

Work last week was insane. Big deadline that came and went and wasnt met, but its somewhat ok, it was a "soft deadline", whatever that buzzword means. On tuesday, i worked until 2, took a train home and changed(not at the same time) and then drove up to Wood Dale(about 45 min away) to do a Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Exercise. That was scheduled to go from 4pm-12am, but it didnt go the whole time, thankfully. Still, was a long ass day. Add on top of that 545am wake up times to get to work early, the week wore me out. Im glad its over, but ill be even more gladdeerrr(i just made that word up) when this project is in the bag. The imaginary "done project" bag.

Am i shocked there was a switch to griese? No. Was i happy to see him start on sunday? Meh...i dunno. Do i feel better about our offense now? No. Whats worse is that when you put an older veteran QB in that position, you take away 1 thing that keeps teams and fans going. Hope. Theres no future hope at QB right now. I realized that with Rex, i always had hope that he would get better, that he had time to mature and time to learn. Now with griese, all i have is hope that he will shake the rust off and become the QB this team needs. With detroit and green bay as good as they are, NFC north isnt the normal pushover they have been. However, the disappointment parade in Chicago takes a back seat to San diego and New Orleans. Talk about shockers there. Lots of suck coming from those 2 ball clubs.

New TV Season.

Heroes - Slow start to a potentially good season. Too many questions, not enough answers. B+
Chuck - Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? The Main female character is smokin hot? B
Journeyman - Love it. Great potential. Like quantum leap but with a spookier story. A-
House - Perfect start to the season. I forgot how much i missed this show. A
NCIS - Interesting start...but the show is so predictable now, im getting disinterested. C
Bionic Woman - Better get moving quick and not seem so stiff. C+
Life - Great cast, love the premise, not sure if it has the staying power. B+
CSI - Predictable season premiere. Cant wait until they get in the swing of things again. A-
The Office - Great premiere. Not ROFL funny, but still funny. Seeing Jim and Pam together finally...seems fitting. A+


Weekly happenings.

Notes - I need to start writing things down. I see or hear something and go, "Man, i need to BABAI(blog a blog about it), but then when i get in front of my computer, i forget.
iPhone Update - Its ok. WiFi music store is ok, but its not the mobile iChat i want.
Allergies - Suck. I sneezed so hard and often this weekend, i think i pulled a muscle in my abdomen.
Britney Spears - Still hot, i kind of like her new song. Maybe im brainwashed, but shes still hot. Hot hot hot.
DVD - 28 weeks later, Top Gun in HD, Transformers in HD all this month. Woot.


Gaming.

TF2 - Havent played this in a week or so, but last weekend i played a ton. Game is so fun. Its definitely my favorite MP FPS at the moment. Its just a blast to play.
COD 4 - Cant wait for this game. Beta was awesome, Fun military Shooter.
World In Conflict - Was king RTS for me for a while. Its RTS but not RTS. No base building and fast paced action makes for a very different game. Fun all around.
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts - Takes a kickass game and makes it more kickerasser. I played a 4 hour multiplayer match with a friend this weekend vs 2 computers. The AI is wicked smaaht and adapts. Its crazy.
Halo 3 - Played it for about an hour. Not overly impressed. Graphics not that great, it runs native in 640p(??WTF??) and the story is kind of blah. Ill eventually finish it, but so far not impressed for all the ridiculous hype it generated.


Thatll do it for now. I know im forgetting some things i wanted to blog about...other than women being crazy. Not a newsflash there.

Stress relief

Havent posted this week. Work has sucked my life away.

However, this picture is awesome.





nom nom nom dews nom nom


Will post later about week from hell...and why halo 3, as expected, doesnt meet the retarded hype it generated.

Wrecks Gross Man

I want to punch rex grossman in the face.




I can has griese taim nao?


Ive been a rex supporter....but for the love of all thats holy, i cant take it anymore.

Destruction Blues

My 2nd of 2 games im addicted to now. Since WoW is out of the picture...these 2 have picked up the slack. This game could be in my top 3 RTS games of all time.

"Well, dont that just beat off"

Loving Team Fortress 2. This game was WELL worth the....10 year development time, haha.


Also, the quote from the post title is one of the engineer emotes in game. His affirmative reply is "Well, dont that just beat off!". First time i heard it, i think i almost choked i laughed so hard.

Man, maybe not!

Stiff competition for quote of the year, sorry moose...you might not win with gems like this.


[15:24] Marrow: i think 1000 consecutive coin tosses would be more fun than watching short circuit 2

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Yarr indeed.

Watch out, flying kryptonite!

Has the makings of a superhero movie all over it.

Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits Peruvian village - Yahoo! News

It's True!

Quote of the year winner...already.


[16:53] Maury: god damn the internet is retarded

Gonna be a busy week....

September 24th
CSI:Miami (CBS)
CHUCK (NBC)
Heroes (NBC)
JOURNEYMAN (NBC)

September 25th
NCIS (CBS)
House (FOX)
CANE (CBS)

September 26th
CSI:NY (CBS)
BIONIC WOMAN (NBC)
LIFE (NBC)

September 27th
CSI (CBS)
The Office (NBC)

GET IN THE CLASSROOM!

I want to go to school...just for this class.

Georgetown Law - Courses (Online Curriculum Guide)

NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

Never Forget (Cliche Alert)

Its easy to fall into hopeless and unfeeling cliches when talking about the single worst event in our nations history. People with ribbons on their cars, flags at half staff, moments of silence, etc. However, i feel that this country has gone back to its pre-sept 11th mindset. I saw a poll on the tribune this morning saying that more than half(i think 56%) of those who polled said they think the nation is less safe than before sept 11th. I hate these click polls, because it lets every idiot who doesnt watch the news as well as every idiot who wears a tinfoil hat vote. All these people have views and opinions, but so very few are based in fact.

I think this bullshit cynical attitude that the majority of the US population has right now about our need to stop Islamic Extremism is something that will continue to plague us. Has Bush handled it well? Eh, i dunno. Approval ratings be damned, i dont know how this war is won. The problem is that the public is more divisive, more petty and more whiney. We lost touch of that feeling we had on september 12th. A feeling of unity and resolve behind the need to make sure this doesnt happen again. I hate to say it, but i dont think this would be an issue if we had the problems Israel has. People feel safe. When they feel safe, they dont have to face the realities.


Ramble ramble bitch bitch. I know. Im not wishing for us to get attacked, im just so sick and tired of media bullshit, leftist whining and extreme right wing bullshit. Its a good thing presidential election is coming up. I hope Fred can make himself be the candidate i know he can be.


I digress.

Things That Annoy Me: Part 3

People who walk around with Bluetooth Headsets in....ALL THE TIME.


I think a bluetooth headset is a cool thing. Ive never owned one, but ive always thought they were neat. However, people who walk around with them in...acting like they are Secret Service agents. Is there really a situation where someone so important will call and there is no possible way they could use the handset feature of their phone? Or you know that EVERY call you have will require full motion of your hands while walking down the street or standing in line at subway?


No.

So stop it.

Ha.

Didnt get around to posting this yet...been kinda busy.


While my wow is alot more casual than it used to be(albiet with a new fancy epic flying mount), I do manage to get my licks in with some awesome gear and buffs.


From one of our latest raids.




1500 + Shadow Damage. Wow. Yay me!

New Show

New show coming to NBC. While im pissed at NBC over this whole idiotic iTunes thing, this show looks real fun.


http://www.nbc.com/Life/


Damian Lewis, also known as Dick Winters from Band of Brothers is the lead, and Adam Arkin plays an ex Felon who is his financial manager. Watch the trailers. Show looks great.

Kudos, Apple. Kudos.

Smart move, big time.

To all iPhone customers:

I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.

First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone 'tent'. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.

Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you'll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.

Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.

Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple's website next week. Stay tuned.

We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.

Steve Jobs
Apple CEO

Rewarding those people who made it such a big success. Classy move. After my bitching about all the service woes, this is a nice nice thing to do.

Madden Online

Any of you gamer kids out there played madden on XBL?

If so, lets play some games. IM tired of playing the CPU and want some multi player achievements unlocked!

Finally. A Candidate I Can Support 100%.

My friends, I come to you today to tell you that I intend to run for President. I feel deeply that I am doing it for the right reasons. I love my country and I am concerned about its future. Just within the next few years, some very serious challenges are moving towards us that will present a difficult and dangerous time in the life of our nation. There are grave issues affecting the safety and security of the American people and our economic well being. I’m going to do my level best in this campaign to address these problems. I’m going to give this campaign all that I have to give, and I hope that you will join me.

Dont be surprised if you see me working this campaign.

Apple Service Rant

So, most of you know im a die hard apple fanboy. Love all my mac/apple products, but this shit cannot go untold.

When i got my mac pro, i wanted to make sure i got the best they had to offer(that i could understandably afford). I sprung for the ATI x1900 upgrade kit, since for some asinine reason, it would take an extra 1-2 weeks to get it installed if i did build to order. I got the card, installed it myself(which is not hard, a moronic chimp could pull out a video card, install a new one and connect a power lead) and then went on my merry way.

Fast forward a few months to now, and the GPU in this card is slowly cooking itself. I first noticed it within WoW, graphical tearing and artifacting. I didnt know if this was WoW issue or a software thing, so i did my normal anal research, trying to find anything i could that could explain this. Was it a V-synch issue? Was it a refresh problem? Multisampling? Well, i found out that MANY Mac users with x1900s that play WoW have the same problem. The issue? Bad video card batch. I guess these x 1900s didnt have the correct cooling thresholds, so if you use them for a long period of time, they wont cool properly and melt down. Ok. No biggie. Hardware warranty, should get it easily replaced.

I call applecare. Explain the issue, explain what i did to troubleshoot, all the research i did, etc. Ironically, the phone technician had the SAME PROBLEM with his mac playing WoW, so it was a quick and dirty call. He gave me an applecare case number, but said i had to take the system into an apple store to have them verify the issue before they could replace it. I wasnt too thrilled about lugging that beast of a machine in to an apple store, but fine, whatever. I just want it fixed. I ask if i need to set up an appointment, he said that since i had an applecare case number, i could bring it in and they should test it, swap in a new board and i would be in and out lickity split. Ha.

Now its saturday. I get up, go in to the apple store around noon. Its a frigging zoo in there. I carry this machine, which probably weighs more than small children, and head to the genius bar. A very nice girl offered to help me, and i explained my issue. She was shocked to hear that the applecare person said i didnt need an appointment, and said i had to set one up to even talk to them...like they were the frigging pope or something. OK, fine. Next appointment was at 130. I didnt feel like staying at the mall, didnt feel like driving home again...but i figured id go home and play some madden. Drove home...played some madden for about 20 minutes, then drove back up. The geniuses were running a good 30-45 minutes late. so around 215-220 i get to speak to them, and tell them the case number and they take off the case and hook the system up to power. This is where it gets fun.

He boots the machine up, lets it run for about 90 seconds....THEN TOUCHES THE VIDEO CARD. Says "Yep, its running hot." At that point...im stunned out of my mind. I went through all of this for THE TOUCH TEST? The guy put his fingers on it, and apparently felt some supreme connection with the tech support gods, and was able to accurately tell that the video card was running at non-optimal temperatures. I asked what was next, and as would be expected by the kings of irony...they didnt have any replacement cards in stock. Since it was a holiday weekend, they would order the card on tuesday, and would call me to let me know when it was in. I made sure to verify that when i brought it in, it would be a quick swap in/swap out. The genius said it would be, and not to worry. Needless to say, i still worried.

Now it is wednesday. I got a call at work saying my video card was in. Hooray! This idiocy might be over! I set up ANOTHER appointment for 615 to meet with them to get it installed. I am now practically giddy to get this finished. I race home, change and unplug my system from everything and load it up into my car. Race to oak brook, get there at 610...and find out they are running 30 min behind...again. 645 rolls around, and i finally get to talk to someone. Put my system on the bench, said that they had a video card to install and was ready for them to crack the case open and go to town.

"When can you pick it up tomorrow", Said the unshaven and somewhat smelly genius.
"...what?" I replied in a somewhat stunned manner.

Apparently their ONLY nighttime tech guy was sent to the hospital an hour earlier, and noone...i repeat NOONE had the 5 minutes it would take to swap this video card in and out. This genius was already on my shit list.

"Well, at least i dont have to waste time troubleshooting it." He said.

I thought to myself, "Does this clown have ANY idea how prissy he sounds?" For petes sake, this is a customer service operation. Acting like working with someone to fix an issue is THEIR JOB. I didnt have the time or energy to deal with this guy, so i said fine, i would pick it up the next day after work.


I can only imagine today when i go in to pick it up, im SURE that there is going to be some other kind of mind boggling snag that will require more annoying BS.

Cmon apple. I bought this video card as an upgrade kit. I installed it myself. Let me install the replacement, and i wont feel the need to slaughter innocent women and children because of your "geniuses" lack of communication skills.

COME ON! YOUVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!

Wow. This is for real!

A B-52 bomber mistakenly loaded with five nuclear warheads flew from Minot Air Force Base, N.D, to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., on Aug. 30, resulting in an Air Force-wide investigation, according to three officers who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the incident.

The B-52 was loaded with Advanced Cruise Missiles, part of a Defense Department effort to decommission 400 of the ACMs. But the nuclear warheads should have been removed at Minot before being transported to Barksdale, the officers said. The missiles were mounted onto the pylons of the bomber’s wings.

Im going to repeat a part of this...cause it bears repeating.

The missiles were mounted onto the pylons of the bomber’s wings.

As in...ready to be fired/dropped/launched. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? There is no process in place to make sure....that something like NUCLEAR WEAPONS arent mounted on bombers unless the shit is gonna hit the fan? I mean, these things werent locked in cases...they were MOUNTED ON THE WINGS.


Oi yoy yoy.

Things that Annoy Me - Pt 2

Office Cliches/Buzzwords.

"10,000 Foot View"
"Take ownership"
"Win Win Opportunity"
"Link Up"
"Drive This One Home"
"Pound it Out"



The more i hear these ridiculous statements...the more i contemplate drinking paint thinner.

Weird.

So...ive been a dave matthews fan for a while, and as time has gone on, the videos have gotten weirder and weirder.

Today, none other than good ole DJM has released the video and single to his self produced and self performed track, Eh Hee, which has buried the needle on the weird meter.

Its a free video. Download it on itunes and check it out. At least just for the "wtf factor".

If youll excuse me, im off to sit in a barbers chair, get my face painted like a clown in a room with the floor covered in sawdust and having asexual dancers perform behind me.

Things that annoy me - Pt. 1

Typical office banter.


Me: Hey (insert random employee), how was your weekend?
Them: Good, too short!
Me: Heh.


Its like a standard greeting now. Even 3 day weekends for people are "too short". I dont know many people who like coming into work, but still. Saying that the weekend was "too short" is just old now.

Women.

Dont understand them at all.


Seriously, wtf?

WoWSpace

Havent shown a shot of my latest comp setup.


Figured since i got some new posters from some friends who went to blizzcon, id put a shot up.

OMG RAIN

OMG STORM OF THE CENTURY!!!


WEATHER.COM Issued a warning saying:

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE TORNADO LIKE WINDS. SEEK SHELTER IN A BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM OF A STURDY BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS!

Transformers 2 is back on

Looks like mouthy college kids and movie fan nerds arent the only ones to fall victim to having a war of words on internet message boards.

Michael Bay retracts his statement...just as i predicted.


So, what exactly is Michael Bay doing with TRANSFORMERS 2? -- Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.

Wow.

Its frightening that i know some people who have SERIOUS issues determining the difference between fantasy and reality.



Scary.

HD DVD Followup

So it seems that Michael Bay has said that because Paramount has gone HD DVD exclusive, he wont do transformers 2 out of protest.


Hmm. I think im calling bluff, but that would really suck, despite all the nerd haters out there saying "Bay ruined my childhood cause Megatron wasn't a gun!1!!!!!11eleven"

I guess we will wait and see.

The Format Wars Heat Up

Figures.....this happens right when i get my HD-DVD player. Sometimes, the technology gods do smile on me!

Paramount, Dreamworks dropping Blu-ray in favor of HD DVD exclusivity - Engadget

Vick Guilty

He pleads guilty to dogfighting charges.


Talk about a hit to my perception of sports heroes again. Its frightening how stupid some people are.

Pittsburgh Weekend: Part Deuxxxxxxxxxx

Yep, went back out to Pittsburgh to visit the newly formed Sloka family. Headed out thursday afternoon via Equinox and got there around 10ish on thursday night. Spent time chatting with them and generally catching up on their post-wedding activities.

The next morning we woke up(slooks made pancakes :o ) and then headed out to get ready for the Dave Matthews Band concert. We made a grocery store stop and then met up with the other sloka siblings and a friend of Jen Sloka.

From there we headed to the amphitheatre, did some classic tailgating, drank some beers, grilled some burgers(and smores!) and got a little wind/sunburned. Was nice to get out and get some sun after being cooped up inside for all the recovery crap i had. Concert was good. Sat with Scott, Slook's brother and had a good time. Seats werent as close as in chicago, but the crowd around us was better and we were straight back from the middle of the stage, a few rows behind the soundboard. Better sound balance and better view. Setlist was alot better too including some new songs as well as a song that hasnt been around since 2000...Sweet Up And Down. Was awesome to hear it again.

Next morning i hopped in my car and made the trek home. The drive from Chicago to Pittsburgh isnt bad, esp since ive driven that road about a million times when going to, coming from, or travelling around my college days. I could have flown, maybe even saved money but i hate just driving my car 2 miles each day...i like to take the chance to let it stretch its legs a bit so it can clean itself out a bit :)

Got home in time to see the bears play saturday night. While they were playing against the texans, Rex looked SHARP. Making good reads, quick decisions, not throwing into double or triple coverage like he used to. He ended up completing 8 of 10 passes for 50 yards with an 87.5 passer rating. Not terrible. Ill take that!

Sunday night i had a date :O. Met a new girl with a familiar name...will be neat to see how it pans out. Going out again on wednesday. Looks like i need to prepare to get my ass beat in bowling.


Till then -

*sniff*

Im wearing new deoderant today. I smell fantastic.

I'm outta here.

Somedays wont end ever and somedays pass on by,
Ill be working here forever, at least until I die.
Dammed if you do, dammed if you dont
Im supposed to get a raise week, you know damn well I wont.

Workin for a livin (workin)
Workin for a livin (workin)
Workin for a livin, livin and workin
Im taking what they giving cause Im working for a livin.

Hey Im not complaining cause I really need the work
Hitting up my buddys got me feeling like a jerk
Hundred dollar car note, two hundred rent.
I get a check on friday, but its all ready spent.

Workin for a livin (workin)
Workin for a livin (workin)
Workin for a livin, livin and workin
Im taking what they giving cause Im working for a livin.

Slow week

Well, not so much slow, but very busy at work. Boss out on vacation normally means its going to be a slow week, but i have tons of work to do this week.

My WoW Paladin will be 70 this weekend. Hard to believe that the first character i ever created in the game(besides the mage i deleted at level 3) is actually going to hit level 70 and start raiding. He has his epic charger mount, decent gear and is accumulating decent reputation with the key factions. Pretty amazing. After leveling a Shadow Priest and Warlock to 70...leveling a paladin was kinda rough. Lack of damage was kinda boring. However, i found that switching from a retribution build to a holy build actually made leveling go FASTER and EASIER. Who knew?

Blizzcon is this weekend. Im excited for a new expansion, but if there is a level cap increase...im going to be kind of disappointed. Its basically saying that raids are only for the top tier raiding guilds, and who cares if 90% of players cant see TK, SSC, BT or Hyjal. Disappointing.

Watched the new Babylon 5 Movie, The Lost Tales. I was happy and disappointed at the same time. While it was nice to see Boxlietner back playing sheridan and seeing the new CG work done that made the station look incredible...while not out of place.....It seemed very low budget. I liked Babylon 5 because of the interaction of the characters and the locations, especially the station and the White Star ships. This one was filmed all on green screen, and was mostly just closeups of 2 people talking. The starfury sequence in the 2nd episode was good...but i wanted to see more of the station again, see more of the old cast and see stories that actually had different story lines, rather than just one static one for 30 minutes.

This post was going to be a short excuse of a post saying why i hadnt said anything worthwhile all week. Guess it was more than that. One last thing. Im hooked on Huey Lewis and the News lately. Its all ive been listening to on my iPhone. So awesome!

Hmm?

"Troubled star Britney Spears is officially single again after her divorce from Kevin Federline is finally complete."

I can has britney taime nao?

This made me laugh...

From Digg:

Manson took over 150 hours of Scientology courses, rejected it as too crazy, and then went on to murder a whole bunch of people.

Too crazy? Wow.

Epic Battle

After much debate and thought, I have decided the following.


Indiana Jones Trilogy Soundtrack/Score as a whole is much better than the first or second Star Wars Trilogy Soundtracks/Scores.


While individually, certain themes/tracks may be better(Imperial March vs The Nazi Theme or Throne Room vs End Credits of the Last Crusade), I think its just a better score thats more fitting and evokes more emotion.


DISCUSS.

Sucking

[13:24] waggoner98: i just suck @ life
[13:25] Letters: Yeah seriously you do





Its funny cause its true?

Format War

Well, this solidified me to be an HD-DVD user until i can find a cheap dual-platform player.

SAN DIEGO, July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Today at Comic-Con International 2007, Microsoft Corp. announced it will lower the price of the popular Xbox 360(TM) HD DVD Player from $199 to $179 ERP (United States only) starting Aug. 1, 2007, and will add five free HD DVD movies for anyone purchasing an Xbox 360 HD DVD Player between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30. In addition, Microsoft further solidified the Xbox 360 as the ultimate high-definition (HD) entertainment platform, with key announcements around the HD DVD launches of “300″ from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and “Heroes: Season 1″ from Universal Studios.

Its a 20$ drop, basically covers tax...but 5 free movies is pretty nice. I want to get the HD DVD version of Heroes - Season 1 as well...so this will be good. August 1, im off to grab it.

Wow.

On one hand....this is hot. On the other hand....its scary they need M-16's to go get ice cream.

Israeli girls going out to get ice cream....

NO DISASSEMBLE!

Someone.. please buy for me?


Original full-size Johnny Five robot from Short Circuit - (item 230155438774 end time Aug-03-07 18:00:00 PDT)

Bah

Week blah.



Week needs to be over.

Baby Lions!

If you dont say "awww" at this, you arent human.


Extraordinary pictures that show the Pride and joy of a Lion King | the Daily Mail

This is why people irritate me...

There are too many people who think they know everything.

Case in point.

What happens when you turn the AC off in the server room? - Newlaunches.com

Some Pictures From the Sloka Wedding

Heres to your happiness :)

Some Cat Macros Of Callie :)

I just Cried.

I just wept happy man tears.

Epic has confirmed that the Xbox 360 mega-hit Gears of War as well as the highly anticipated Unreal Tournament 3 are both coming to the Mac.

I am a happy gamer.

Daddy Want.

Belkin : N1 Vision : Intro

A Monday List

Some things of note for this happy(ha!) monday morning.

1. Harry Potter is getting boring. Latest movie was a snore.
2. Transformers is even awesomer(new word i created) the second time.
3. Transformers: The Game is not great art. However, like the movie, the fun lies in seeing robots kick ass and see great CG. The game is beautiful, robot fights are kind of mindless, but a totally open, fully destructable environment lends itself to some fun times.
4. Time to slowly pull myself off the hydracodone.
5. Having a nightmare that you are getting stabbed in the back and waking up to a cat pressing into your back with her paws is kind of odd.
6. Breach is an ok movie.
7. The Good Shepherd is not an ok movie.
8. Watching the original Die Hard at 745am on a saturday is funny as hell.
9. If harry knowles can get married, why am i single?
10. On second thought, save the hydracodone for work.
11. It figures that when i dont go to the USG sponosored race that i turned tickets down for, my favorite driver, Tony Stewart, wins his first race at the USG Sheetrock 400.
12. Im addicted to jolly ranchers. Peach, Blue Raspberry and Green Apple.
13. Both of my hands still hurt like hell where i had my IV's when in the hospital.
14. My old video iPod hasnt been used once since i got my iPhone.
15. Is it nerdy to want to put a die cast Optimus Prime on my desk at work?



That will do it for today. Have a good monday and rest of the week.

Voicemail

I just got a voice mail from Matt Kenseth. For you non-nascar fans out there, he is the driver that my company sponsors.



Pretty cool. Too bad it was a broadcast message to everyone in the whole company telling them to watch the races we are sponsoring this weekend. I wont be able to attend this year like i did last year since i was out on medical leave when they were giving out the passes...plus, it will be better for me to finish recovering this weekend at home rather than sit in the hot sun for 2 days straight.


Still...a nice thing to come into this morning.

Narcotics

This is me at work now.




Not the sharp wit, incredible intellect or ability to save lives.


Just the foggyheaded ability to take narcotics at work.


These pain meds for my back make work kind of interesting. Cant wait till im off them. I was on 2 different kinds, now im just on 1. Hopefully i can get off this last kind soon...

Hmm....

So...Dan Patrick is leaving ESPN. He announced it on his radio show yesterday.


Part of me is surprised, part of me isn't. Dan has been an ESPN icon as long as ive watched(not near as long as alot of people i know) but at the same time, he has always kind of done his own thing. Not afraid to ruffle feathers, wont hold back in interviews, almost to the point of being an ass at times. He never was my favorite sports personality, but i enjoyed most of what he did(kind of like Jim Rome).

It will be interesting to see what ESPN 1000(our local ESPN radio station in chicago) will do once he goes off the air next month. Will it be some lame local show replacement like they did when they decided not to air Jim Rome's show? Maybe they can bring Rome back to chicago radio. Who knows. Will be a BIG gap, and an interesting opportunity for ESPN radio to make a new star...or at least give someone the opportunity to be a big star.

7/7/7

Happy 7/7/07


As Michael Scott on the office said....this only happens once in a billion years!

Sickness, Optimus and iPhone

Well, its been a while since i posted, aka...most of the week. Ive been off work most of the week because of all my health junk. I went into work yesterday only to be told to go home and take friday off. My boss is pretty cool, he could tell i didnt feel well. I wanted to go in cause i had stuff in the office i needed to pick up...but the cocktail of close to 10 different meds im taking wears me out something fierce. The antibiotics alone make me sweat like ive just ran a marathon, and that isnt too attractive. So here i am. Sitting at home on a friday, kind of stoned from my pain meds...posting away.


The morning of the 4th of july, my folks and i went to see Transformers. What a frigging fun movie. Im used to movies that get so hyped up that they dont meet the hype, or they dont meet my expectations. This movie, at least in my opinion, delivered on all accounts. I havent been in a movie where i actually clapped and cheered for characters DURING the film before. This was a geek ecstasy movie if i ever saw one. The robots were great, jokes were funny, battles were awesome, f-22s were incredible and the story was fun as hell. Id even contemplate going to see it again. Whichever HD format this dvd comes out...im pretty sure that will be the deciding factor for me on which format to get(HD or Blu Ray). It was a great ride.


iPhone. Im kind of suprised i havent posted much about this since i got it. Well, i shouldnt say that. Ive been so busy playing with it that i havent had much time to write about it. Also going in the category of things that totally live up to the hype, this phone is the cats ass. It is an incredible little piece of hardware. I was kind of hesitant in getting too excited seeing as how all the press and information seemed like it was going to be wayy too good to be true....but Apple seriously delivered with this thing. The ipod features are awesome, the sms messaging is great, email is easy as hell and using it as a phone is the easiest phone ive ever had. Web surfing on it is incredible. Full web pages, using multitouch to zoom in and out of pages to find what you want, it really is incredible. The only serious complaint i have is the edge network. While i havent used it THAT much since ive spent most of the past week in my home, when i have gone out, the critics have been right...its pretty slow. I realize Apple did what they normally do in partnerships like this and went with the biggest name in the industry, but it sure would have been nice if they used sprint's broadband network. Would have been much faster and have much more room to grow. Oh well. Not a huge crisis. Id really like to be able to change ringtones to something that i can hear when my radio is on in my car...most of the ringtones are pretty quiet and subtle. I like my blackberry because it rings like a loud annoying phone, so i can hear it rooms away. I also wish it had a bigger hard drive. 8gb isnt much when this thing is such an awesome video player. Im hoping down the line, someone will have some kind of upgrade service for it like iResq did with ipods before. Id totally put a 40 or 60gb drive in this thing. If i could totally get away from using my ipod because of space reasons...id be a happy camper. 1 less device to carry around.


Ill post some more thoughts on it once ive used it for more than a week...but right now, this thing is one of the coolest gadgets ive ever gotten.


Also....anyone like playing Company of Heroes multiplayer? Im trying to get some people together to play some regular vs or co-op matches vs the computer. Its fun as hell. Hit me up @ bjwaggoner@mac.com or on AIM at Waggoner98.

*blink*

Ugh.

So, i didnt post all last week, which some of you may or may not have noticed. Normally when i dont post for long periods of time, its because im in one or a few of the few things.

1. Depressive funk
2. Vacation
3. Nothing Pithy to Say
4. Busy with Family

Or some other things i cant think of. Now, note that not a single one of those things said "in the hospital for a week on my back dealing with Kidney stones, organ infection, pneumonia and a 104 Fever". That was my past week.


Sunday morning around 5am, i woke up with a sharp pain in my left mid back. The day before i spent playing with my 2 nieces, so i figured i just pulled something carrying those 2 sack of potatoes around. Took 2 aleve and tried going back to bed. Pain got worse and worse so that by 545, i couldnt take it anymore. I called my dad, who was surprised to hear my voice at that time of day, and told him to come get me, cause we were going to the hospital. We whisked off to Hinsdale hospital(ironically the same route he and i took when i drove him there for kidney stones about 10 years ago) By the time i was taken into the Emergency room, i could barely function. The pain from kidney stones is so terrible...i cant even put it into words.

From there it should have been simple. Get a feel for where the stone was(ultrasound and xray) and see if it was big enough to warrant going in and getting via surgery or letting me pass it on my own. Well...thats all well and good, but the stone started getting bored. Bouncing around inside my kidney, moving around, causing lots of issues. Somehow, it caused an internal infection...and my body temp started to skyrocket. all the way to consistent 104's. Doctors did everything they could to try to keep it down and keep the pain from making me see little pink dinosaurs. The pain medication got stronger and stronger and doses heavier and heavier. Thats when the real kicker set in.

At this point, it was pretty certain id be there overnight. I was put in a room for observation in-between tests. Overnight, the pain meds they gave me apparently messed up my breathing enough that fluid started to form in my lungs. The next day i could barely breathe, was coughing like there was no tomorrow and there was no end in sight.


Off to the ICU.


Now it is wednesday. Spent time in the ER. Spent time in general observation. Had CT scans, Xrays, ultrasounds, dye tests, etc all taken. Now im in the ER, having more tests done, having a dedicated nurse, more monitoring done...and it seems to be getting worse. Enough headway was made with the fever and infection(aka pummeling my system with super high levels of antibiotics) I was able to get into surgery(where they finally took the stone out) and scope to make sure that everything else was ok. Getting that out was a big big thing. The rest of wed and thurs, and then friday around 1am or so i was moved into general observation again. Fever started going down, pneumonia started subsiding and after more tests, treatments and whatnot on friday and saturday, i was able to leave around saturday night at 5.


Now im home, recouping. Id probably say im at 40%. I have about 900 different medications to take right now Going to take the next 2 days off from work, then have the 4th, and will try to go back to work on the 5th. Let me just say that this is one of the worst things i have ever experienced in my life. Has been a HUGE shock to me, and while lifestyle had little impact on it, i know that i need to change a ton of lifestyle aspects. Now to get back healthy so i can do that. I dont ever want to deal with stuff like this again.

So...yeah. I kinda lied.

Took a few weeks off of WoW. Going to play kind of off and on. My stress level since i stopped raiding like it was a job is INCREDIBLY less. Its nice.

Although, big milestone. My first character i ever made hit level 60. Heres the shot of him.



On to 70....but not stressin out anymore. If im still havin fun playing by the time my account expires on the 5th of july, i might grab another month or 2. Well see how it goes.

Wedding pic!

Well Written iPhone Article

Apple's New Calling: The iPhone | TIME: "Apple's new iPhone could do to the cell phone market what the iPod did to the portable music player market: crush it pitilessly beneath the weight of its own superiority. This is unfortunate for anybody else who makes cell phones, but it's good news for those of us who use them."


Check it out. Good writeup.

This....made my day.

TO quote tim....Hes old as dirt...but its still Indy.

Gobble Gobble

He hasnt declared?

Date Thom. Giul. Romn. McCain
6/19 28% 27% 10% 10%


Source: Rasmussen Poll

Newsflash!

Life is full of disappointments! Apparently im just coming to this realization.

But you know me, I'm in too deep
And I'm waiting for another me
One that can change the pain of yesterday
Carry me through another day
And I'm waiting for another me
One in between the burn
And the lessons learned
'Cause being me ain't no way to be...

So beat...

Back from Sloka's wedding...was an INCREDIBLE weekend.


1054 miles roundtrip, but worth every one. More info later, im going to go pass out.

A Lesson In Publicity.

Nerds everywhere explode.

Ironic, isnt it? Her latest movie comes out tomorrow? Smells like free press to me :P


Either way, millions of geeks suddenly think they have a shot.

Followup

Forgot...well, didnt forget to post after WWDC keynote. I just didnt get to it till now.


Overall, keynote was kind of underwhelming. Steve showed 10/300 of Leopard changes, where more than half were things we already knew about. New desktop and new finder is pretty nice. Back to my Mac sounds pretty awesome, a good reason to pay for .mac again. Once i eventually get the macbook pro im lusting after, being able to access my home system over the internet = win.


Other than that, i wasnt really wowed. Safari for windows is ok...kind of a ram hog, but nothing i didnt already experience on my mac. Seeing the demos with WoW was kind of funny.


Other than that, im patiently waiting to get my iPhone on june 29th. I really hope its not a letdown. My dad, the goof he is, left me a paper cut out iPhone at my apartment this week. I did a double take when i saw it, then realized it was paper. How sad.

People are asking me to come back to WoW. Hmm.


Cicadas need to GTFO. I hate these damn bugs.


Thats it for now. Heading to slokas wedding tomorrow. Will hopefully have pictures to bring back.

RIP Mr Wizard

:(

Mr. Wizard, the man who taught science to millions of geeks when we were kids, died today of cancer.

Poor guy.

Apple Keynote Day

Apple Worldwide Developer Conference today. Keynote in 55 min. Expected to have OS X info, some more iPhone info and other rumored announcements.

Stock Status
AAPL 124.33 (-0.16) Mon 11:44am


Will post thoughts after the 10am PST keynote.

Birfday

The things you never did...

"To change the world,
Start with one step.
However small,
The first step is hardest of all.

Once you get your gate,
You will walk in tall.
You said you never did,
Cause you might die trying."



6/8/81 to today. Its time for a change.

Burfdae

On my 26th birthday, this is the dilbert comic....

My Experience with the Judicial System

Well, i had a somewhat interesting wednesday.


A few weeks ago, i went over to my parents house for dinner, and was given a jury summons that came to the house. My permanent residence is still listed as my folks house since i dont really want to change it until i actually buy a place that i will be at for long term. At any rate...i got this jury summons. Date was set for june 6th, and at first i wasnt too excited. Was going to have to let my boss know, tell him i need time off, it was around the time of sloka's wedding and my birthday where i had taken days off to do stuff, so i didnt know if id have to alter plans, etc etc etc.

Then i thought about it.


Seeing as how, if i could do my life over, i would have followed my gut instinct my senior year in college and go to school for political science/Law so i could work in government, the reality of this sunk in. This was my chance to see how things work in my local judicial system. So i thought about it, and figured, either way, it would be ok.


More time went by and i started getting excited of the prospect of doing it. I know my sister did it and said it was pretty boring, but im kind of nerdy about this...so i was looking forward to just seeing the process. Ive seen tv shows like law and order, and i guess thats my only real basis...but i was still excited.

Fast forward to yesterday.

I get to the JUDICIAL CENTER(!!!) and go through security. Sign in at the jury lounge...and wait.


And wait.


And wait more.


We find out that there are a total of 3 trials in need of juries. So i figure there is a good chance ill get called. Well, the first batch of jurors got called, and i wasnt on that list. SO i waited.


Now its noon. Lunch time. The jury pool manager said he would have more info after lunch. I ate lunch. Watched more reruns of the Adams Family on TV Land, and around 115, was told that another case was added with need for a jury, to bring it to a total of 4 cases. Now i KNEW i would get picked.

10 minutes later, the 2nd jury pool was pulled....and i wasnt on the list. Now i was starting to get bored, so i took a nap. Dozed off on the couch i was sitting on and woke up here and there, watched some more TV, then around 245, we were told that the last 2 trials decided that they didnt need us. 1 went with a bench trial, the other got spooked and postponed their trial date. So...i was told to head on out.


Boring? A bit. But at least i dont have to spend my birthday in a courtroom, when my boss gave me the day off.


I hope i get called again and can actually serve. Id like to see how it works. Otherwise, oh well. Such is life.


BTW, its birthday eve. Tomorrow is the big day.

Dorky

Since i have decided this week to turn my birthday into a weeklong celebration, my mother and i over lunch discussed what would be the distribution of birthdays across the days of the year. I figured that because of certain dates(valentines day)/old wives tales(blackouts) that some days would have higher numbers of conception, therefore peaking birthdays. Well, after much discussion over what sample size(10% of 6.6 billion would be a sample size of about 660 million people worldwide), how to obtain the data and other finer points, i found one of the most interesting papers ive ever read. Someone did research on the topic, however, the data is specific to college students, not a worldwide sample.

Strangely enough, the most popular birthday in america is oct 5th, exactly 9 mos after new years eve. The least popular is may 22nd.

Check out the paper here. Its pretty interesting.

Data Sample


Btw, only my mother and i would have a conversation over lunch about sample sizes, data manipulation and other forms of number dorkery.