Apple Love

Well, I love my apple products, but they have never really known to be that giving. If something breaks, you normally have to pay for it, unless you get applecare.

Last night, i bit the bullet and went to buy my 3rd iphone headset since i got it in june of 07. Not bad, since i use the headphones at work for close to the whole day, but still. The latest one was only 2 months old. One of the drivers in the right earbud died. Wasnt thrilled. At any rate, went into the apple store, grabbed a new one and went to the checkout guy. He asked me if this was a replacement set, which it was. He told me to give him the old ones, which i did. He then said that if your ipod or iphone headphones/headset ever dies, they will replace them for free.


What?


Yep. Free. Just take em in and ask for a retail exchange. Incredible.




So nice to have working headphones again.

Cliche!

Been busy getting realm firsts in WoW. Not much else going on other than having pneumonia and bronchitis at the same time. GOOD TIMES.




More info soon. Well, maybe not. Not alot of info other than www.stoicguild.org.

What?

So....all the talk about wall street favoring dem victories and policies? What?

This is the headline i just saw a few min ago.

Stocks Plunge as Investors Ponder Obama Presidency; Dow Falls Nearly 500- AP

If this is "our moment" or our "new day" or our "change", then i dont like where we are going. Saying this isnt a response to the obama election is a bold face lie. Theres no possible way to defend this.

:(

RIP Michael Crichton. I remember Jurassic Park totally sucking me in as a kid, wishing for a world where that could happen.

Michael Crichton, who helped create the TV show “ER” and wrote the best-sellers “Jurassic Park,” “The Andromeda Strain,” “Sphere” and “Rising Sun,” died in Los Angeles on Tuesday, his public relations firm said in a news release.

He “died unexpectedly,” the release said, “after a courageous and private battle against cancer.”

He was 66.

Why Today Is OK.

Its back. It wipes away all the angst from last night.

A Warning

If i hear any words/phrases from any of my friends in the near future, you are asking to get smacked.


Change
Hope
Mandate
Landslide
Recession
History-making
Yes we can
Main street vs wall street



Oh yeah, and the Dow is down 200 at opening. So much for wall street loving Obama.

I wish we could impose a 2 month ban on any political discussions. I think that would do wonders for the country. Way more than anything else right now.

LOL

Vote for Change.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Nobama.

Hes Back :)

Welcome back, Jack. I've missed you.

http://www.fox.com/24/trailer/

WoW Update

Since im sick of the election, I'm going to focus on some cool WoW news.

Since we beat the game by downing KJ, the final guild rankings on Wowjutsu have come in. We achieved the following ranks.

Realm Rank: 1
US Rank: 179
World Rank: 474

Not bad :D Im really proud of what we were able to do, especially since I joined this guild in a strange time. When i finally made the move to Anvilmar Realm off of Dalaran, it was a big step. I didn't know anyone, the person i transferred with stopped playing, so i was on my own. I made tons of friends there and as things with the guild started to deteriorate, i helped create the guild we are now back in february. Stoic was formed and we have flourished since then, taking the top spot in server progression.

Asros - 70 Holy Paladin

It is very interesting to see how far ive come since moving to anvilmar and even since i went back to my paladin as my main. Here are some screenshots of him as he has progressed over time.


Here is my Paladin when he first hit 60 back on Dalaran.


Here is my Paladin when he initially hit level 70.



My Paladin when we first started working through Hyjal/Black Temple and i had hit 5/5 Tier 5.



My Paladin as of last night, with full t6/sunwell gear(and his sweet new haircut)




Its amazing to see the changes in his gear over the time. Hes become the top geared paladin on the server and ive created a pretty good reputation for myself. I do everything i can do to help teach some up and coming holy paladins the theory that i work with and give them tips and tricks that i know. If you are interested in his gearing/gemming/enchanting/talents, armory links are on the right.

Tyyrol - 70 Enhancement Shaman

In the alt world, my shaman has become pretty legit. I wanted to play enhance, but never in my life thought he would have seen as much content and get as geared as he would. With the 3.0 raid nerfs, hes seen full BT and Hyjal clears, amassed tons of badges and is now sitting at a crazy 3/5 tier 6. Insane. I have to send a shoutout to purifiedtart, one of the players in our guild that runs a great pick up raiding group that helped my shaman get geared up pre 3.0 with 5/5 t4 and the gems to get his 2 badge fist weapons.

Here he is early in his lifetime at lvl 70 in most t4 and one badge fist.



And here he is as of yesterday, sporting his hot new tier 6 level gear and dual badge fists...which just look incredible.




Mavrixx - 70 Shadow Priest

Mavrixx has really taken a back seat. Due to some bad raiding experiences with him at the start of BC, I used him for some daily farming, herbs, etc. he hasnt changed much, gear wise, in the past year, but i thought it would be interesting to see what hes looked like since lvl 60 to raid geared at lvl 70.

Here is Mavrixx as he first ventured into outlands at lvl 60.



Here he is in his raid gear at lvl 70.



And here he is, feeling somewhat festive.




Cant wait for lich king to drop. Im so excited for it. Going to take some time off to level and relax and get ready to start rocking naxx :)

Change.

Love the Guy

I love Charles Krauthammer. While i know im not crazy about McCain, this editorial hits the nail on the head.

Charles Krauthammer - McCain for President: "Charles Krauthammer"

Beat The Game

More info to come soon once i can eloquently put it together. Funny to see how much things have changed in my WoW career since it began a few years ago. From not raiding and dealing with casual guild drama to being the top geared paladin on my server with 2 server first Sunwell kills including KJ. My, how far we've come.

BEST HOLIDAY EVER

http://theridiculant.metro.co.uk/2008/10/today-is-intern.html

Officially Meh.

While ive never contemplated voting for Obama, i never really felt compelled to vote for Mccain. I think hes someone who does what the polls tell him to do. That being said, I finally decided on voting for him because the socialist policies of Obama that have come out lately are just too ridiculous to let go. Wealth redistribution? Tax "rebates" for people who dont pay taxes? Sorry. No thanks. Dont penalize people who work hard to strengthen the economy while rewarding those who suck welfare from the system.


Out of control.


Win or lose, i just want this election to be over. Its giving me too much anxiety. I havent blogged lately cause im tired of politics and tired of WoW complainers, so i have nothing really to say. Nothing that big and exciting going on.

Happy hump day.

*STRESS*

From Forbes.com list of "Top 10 Most Stressful US Cities"

No. 1 Chicago, Ill.
With 7.3% unemployment and a gallon of gas going for just under four bucks, the Windy City has some economic headwinds that result in a perfect storm for stress. Chi-town’s pollution problems (it ranked No. 7 in terms poor air quality) and lack of breathing room (it's No. 2 in terms of population density) couple to create a Midwestern Molotov cocktail of stress.

Explains alot about my mood lately...

Games

With the info today that the WoW Xpack is launching 11/13, this is what the fall games calendar looks like for me.

And i thought LAST years was bad...

Rock Band 2 - Out Yesterday
Star Wars: Force Unleashed: 9/16
Red Alert 3 - 10/28 (PC)
Fallout 3 - 10/28
James Bond: Quantum Of Solace 11/4
Gears of War 2 - 11/7
Call Of Duty: World At War - 11/11
Mirrors Edge - 11/13
Wrath Of The Lich King - 11/13
Prince Of Persia - 11/19



YIKES.

/swoon

I'm In Love.

TV

Yes, i know i havent blogged in forever. Ill fix that soon. Been a wild month.


However, Ive had a few people as me for some fall TV premiere dates. This isnt all of them, just ones i watch and my friends watch. So do some super sleuthing if you dont see your favorite stories listed.


Bones (Fox) Sept. 3
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox) Sept. 8
Fringe (Fox) Sept. 9
House (Fox) Sept. 16
Heroes (NBC) Sept. 22
CSI Miami (CBS) Sept. 22
Law & Order (NBC) Sept. 23
NCIS (CBS) Sept. 23
Without A Trace (CBS) Sept. 23
Criminal Minds (CBS) Sept. 24
CSI: NY (CBS) Sept. 24
Knight Rider (NBC) Sept. 24
Office (NBC) Sept. 25
Chuck (NBC) Sept. 29
Life (NBC) Sept. 29
Pushing Daisies (ABC) Oct. 1
Numb3rs (CBS) Oct. 3
Clone Wars (Cartoon Network) Oct 3
CSI (CBS) Oct. 9

Busy

No posty. Been packing to move.


Pics/info/stories after i move. Things are too nuts.


When im not packing or working, im wowin. Check stoicguild.org for updates since im site admin.

Heartbreaking

I remember hearing about this when he did this back last year, but never saw the lecture. When i heard he died today, i took the time to listen to all 2 hours of it and its one of the most touching things ive ever heard.

Its terrible to see such a life taken by cancer. Rest in peace Randy, from someone who never met you, you touched me with your incredible way with words.


Randy Pausch dies -- chicagotribune.com

I love dilbert

So true, so true.

iPhone 2.0 Firmware

Installed. Messing with apps. The ability to take screenshots is pretty cool.(hold home button and press power switch until the screen flashes. It saves it in your camera roll).


More thought soon.

Out With The Old, In With The New

Well .mac, we had a good run. You werent the cheapest, you werent the most feature laden, but you were damn reliable and im glad i signed up for it on the first day.

FYI, .mac users...

MobileMe Launch
7/9/2008, 6pm-12am PT

As part of the MobileMe launch, www.mac.com will be taken offline at 6pm PT on Wednesday, July 9th.

Members will be unable to access www.mac.com or any .Mac services during this time with the exception of .Mac Mail accessed via a desktop application, iPhone, or iPod touch.

MobileMe will be available as soon as possible during this maintenance window.

Cant wait to play with it, even though most of the changes have been in use with .mac for a while. The "exchange" system will sure be nice, though.

RIP .mac
Long Live Mobileme.

Apple .Mac Welcome

More Dumb Polls

For the record, you ignorant idiots...

"Recession - A period of general economic decline; specifically, a decline in GDP for two or more consecutive quarters."

We havent even had ONE QUARTER OF ECONOMIC DECLINE. Every quarter has been growth, maybe small growth, but still growth.

Im so sick of this recession bullshit.

The CNN Wire: Latest updates on top stories Blog Archive - 3/4 of Americans see recession � - Blogs from CNN.com

NOMNOMNOM....your letter is now open!

DIE.

ARGH.

Starting Tuesday, shoppers in Cook County will notice an additional bite at the cash register. Chicago shoppers will pay a 10.25 percent tax on some items -- higher than in any other major city in the United States.

ARGH.

Wall•E Thoughts

I was going to type up a review of wall-e, but my dad beat me to it and summed it up perfectly.

Wall•E - not my favorite film � The Old Gray Cat Speaks - Version 2.0

Reading Comprehension Is Good.

While i know this case was about how guns are handled in DC, which is under a different oversight than the rest of the country, this case could have had SERIOUS impact against the rest of the country if it went one vote the other way.

While sure, im against criminals having guns as much as the next guy, i hate the idea of legislation of things like this because a small minority of the country cant handle themselves. Also, if guns were to be outlawed, criminals would find other way to kill or find other ways to get guns. Making things illegal is not the answer. Just look at prohibition.

Assault weapons is the same way. Do i see a reason for someone to have an AK47 of M16 in their house to defend themselves? Not really, however, if it is something the country feels strongly about, the constitution should be amended, not a new law made. However, i dont think that the government has the right to judge what kind of weapons someone keeps in their home.

Its a sticky situation, but just like most issues, it becomes INCREDIBLY polarized. The left screams bloody murder and makes anyone who wants to own a weapon to look like Rambo, and the right responds by coming across as haughty and hypocritical by saying things like "the government should keep their laws off my guns", which makes their arguments against abortion somewhat ironic.

Court rules in favor of Second Amendment gun right - Yahoo! News

Im finding myself to become more and more moderate lately, not because i dont agree with the ideals of the conservative movement anymore, but just because for the most part, conservatives do such a HORRIBLE job of getting their message out. Almost as bad as most of the liberal think tanks.

Politics is driving me nuts. Talked to my dad about it last night, not sure what to do in november. Ill have to pay a bit closer attention to Mccain...cause i know the past few times ive read up on him, i havent liked alot of what ive heard/read. What i do know is that Obama scares me. Not cause hes black, not cause hes a true leftist, but because hes been able to charm his way into so many people, but with some really scary policy ideas.

He hasnt really gotten most people to know what his "change we can believe in" motto actually means...just that he isnt Bush. For some, thats enough. Then again, im pretty sure thats the same situation that got us Jimmy Carter. That worked out superbly.

Eh, ill stop my rant...I just never thought that much change in the government could really impact whats going on just because of the incredible bureaucracy...but man, im not looking forward to november, and the following january.

How to Baaaa

OH GOD THE HUMANITY

OMGOMGOGMOGMOGMGOMGOMG BIRD ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Male blackbirds intent on protecting turf -- chicagotribune.com

Hmmm

Not sure how i feel about this list, but hey, i guess thats why they are the experts, right?

The New Classics: TV | EW 1000: TV | TV | The EW 1000 | Entertainment Weekly

Irony

Flight of the Conchords songs are normally parody songs...but this one hits pretty hard for me right now.

Man, I Needed This

A snoring duck. Enjoy.

Ive Got...

Its kinda true?

[15:39] Tim: weather is a perfect 75 degrees outside
[15:39] Tim: gorgeous
[15:39] Tim: saw a chick eating outside at chevys just now dude
[15:39] Tim: just your type
[15:39] Tim: white
[15:39] Tim: and breathing
[15:39] Tim: perfect

Updating Contacts

So ive been updating my contacts in outlook on my work computer to keep them updated on my iphone. Now, heres the situation i have.


Outlook @ work - exchange, has work contacts/calendar synced to phone through itunes(when i think to do it).
Mac at home - apple address book(where most of my personal contacts are added)
iPhone - merged data nightmare of doom


So today, i was merging the 2, and all the ones i input in outlook display like ass garbage on the iPhone. Took me 5 times going through and changing the format to figure out why. The issue was that it would display the name in outlook like this

Full Name: First Last
File As: Last, First

However, in my contacts on my iPhone, it was showing up as

Last First - but was sorting all names by FIRST name, thinking it was the last name.

Confused yet?

So, in order to fix it, you actually have to go into the name editor, not the name field where you import it...and change it manually. For whatever reason, outlook imported all the names i was adding manually...backwards.


*sigh*


Hate outlook.

Regrets

Already kinda regretting transferring off my server with my paladin.

27

Old.

Ive got toh mah toe on my sleeeev

Love this show.

LFG

Anyone need a t6 geared paladin(alliance)? Im on the market.

Yep

Sums up my feelings on most things in life right now.

Dad makes me Lol

From an email from him today:

From Obama's Memorial Day speech in New Mexico:

"On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today -- our sense of patriotism is particularly strong."

So either he doesn't know what a fallen hero is or he has the sixth sense. If you believe the latter, why in the world would the military dead be attending an Obama rally? That's like a wookie living on Endor.

Nice one, dad. Nice.

Why I Dont Post

Id say "People have been asking me why i haven't posted lately..." but the truth is that no one asks. I'm guessing this blog has fallen off the radar of most of my college/crowe chizek friends, and I cant say I blame anyone.

Why don't I post anymore? Honestly speaking, its because life is lame. While this post may come across as whiny or emo, this is literally what is going on.

MY DAILY ROUTINE:

6:45 Alarm goes off.
7:00 Get ass out of bed
7:40 Leave apartment to train station
7:57 Catch Train
8:30ish Get in office
8:50 Start checking IM to see if Tim is awake yet and online
9:14 Tim leaves his home for his work
9:15-10:00 Try to find work to occupy myself
10:00ish Tim gets to work and gets online
11:15 Start contemplating lunch options
11:30 Execute lunch option
2:30ish Tim takes lunch so i find myself talking to myself
4:00 Start contemplating train options
4:15 Realize id be a total slack ass for taking the 4:35 train
4:50 Pack up and leave
5:10 Train leaves for home
5:50 Get home - change - make some dinner
7:00 Log on to WoW to do a daily or 2
7:30 Raid invites go out
8:00 Raid starts
11:00 Raid Ends and i spend too much time updating our DKP site
11:30-12:00am Crash


Thats it. Nothing exciting. Some days, just to be saucy, ill get lunch at 1. Talk about spicing up my life.

Woah....long time no posty

A month between posts. Wow. SO much for trying to top out my post count from last year. However, with this, i guess its quanity over quality. Ive had this blog for years now, and it has gone through many iterations of usage. I originally used it as a "dear diary" of sorts, recapping what i did during the day in college. However, realizing that reading that was about as boring as watching dry paint get drier, i started doing less frequent posts about more important aspects of my life. Who am i? What do i do? What is important to me? What do i think about. Lately...i just havent felt like writing about this. Ive slipped back into a more introspective/introverted funk. What is the root cause? I honestly dont know.

Sure, i was back in the hospital again. Easter sunday, i felt another kidney stone passing. Not fun. It hurt, dont get me wrong, but i knew it was coming, since the doctor told me i had a 90% chance of getting another stone in 6-8 months after i had my first one. Spent a few days in pain and finally thought it passed. The thursday evening after easter, i started feeling really sick. Finally after sleeping all day friday, saturday morning i was feeling horrible, fluish. Called my dad, took me to the emergency room...and low and behold, it was another kidney infection/UTI. Fevers spiking almost to 104 and crap. I was in the hospital from saturday through tuesday. Not fun. I guess i havent really felt about writing about it cause its just BS. Not looking for pity or sympatny, it just sucked.

Things at work havent been real pretty either. Just went through a round of layoffs and i lost some good friends, including by best friend here at work. Joe is a good dude, and im sure hell find a new gig, but good lord did he get screwed. Seems all the good guys get screwed or leave, starting to wear on me. Im not big on bitching about work on her, mainly cause i dont know who does and doesnt read this, but its just a depressing time.

Yeah, still play too much WoW. Its my social outlet. Got good friends who play, especially some friends from college who play too. Its good to keep in touch with them. Do i sacrifice RL opportunities to do stuff in WoW? Probably. Do i care? No. Friends are friends. Putting labels on them as "not real life friends" just because we dont go to a bar in person doesnt mean shit. Im getting a bit tired of that. Maury, a friend of mine from college. I havent seen him since we were both in school, but we both play WoW together. I dont see him...does that make him less of a friend? Man. Sorry, had to rant about that.

Been dating on and off...and i dont know what to do. Either im looking for something that doesnt exist(someone who matches all my expectations), im having terrible luck or im just not date-able anymore. I know that sounds real emo and depressing, but if thats the case, im ok with it. Lately, ive dated women who have been great, but other than ONE GLARING THING that just drives me berserk, they would be great. NOw, i know im no great catch, but still. I cant seem to get over these things that just drive me nuts. I cant help but think that i might just have become jaded and bitter after the string of bad relationships ive had...i sure hope its just a phase, cause it seems like every time i date, something dumb as hell gets in the way. Oh well, i guess ill just keep looking.

Dont feel like rambling on anymore. Will try to post more soon.

My Paladin. Then and now.

Then. Lvl 60, last june.



Now. Lvl 70 Raid Geared.



Ive been kind of busy.

(Yes, thats 5/5 Tier 5 and Hyjal Mace/shield.)

Idiocy.

Found this quote on my google start page today. It is terribly appropriate due to some idiocy im dealing with at work right now.


Nothing can be so amusingly arrogant as a young man who has just discovered an old idea and thinks it is his own.
- Sidney J. Harris

ROFL

Leotheras The Blind - Deaths Embrace

My first stab at a WoW Kill Movie. This is done from my perspective on one of our cleaner kills of Leotheras The Blind.

Music is "I Love You" - by BT...seeing as how it was our first kill with our Warlock tank surviving, and he professed his undying love to us :)

Lack of Posting

Been a while since i made a significant post. I guess thats par for the course with me, since its really been a while since i have done anything of real significance. Ive been pretty sick with a nasty sinus infection/flu thing that knocked me out of commission for a while. Other than that, been doing some family gathering type things on the weekend for various birthdays and working during the week. Trying to wrap up our first review of the year while dealing with a department thats having some serious transitions happen. Not everything is real fun right now with it. But that is neither here nor there.

Saw Jumper this weekend, the movie about people who can teleport. Stars none other than Hayden Christiansen, which....i guess is ok. The story was ok, the acting was ok and the effects were OK. Nothing really exciting. Was just ok.

Still playing alot of WoW. The initial honeymoon with the new guild has worn off. As time goes on, politics start making themselves more known and affect you more and more. Its amazing how people think just because its an online game, they can treat others like garbage. I know ive had my moments, but man. Some people have total bitch attitudes, not good. I guess if you are a shithead outside of WoW, its going to really come out when you are in a place where you dont have to even face the people you berate.

At any rate, back to work. Blah.

Sad Monday

A sci fi icon has passed. I remember seeing him first in the first 2 seasons of Seaquest before even seeing Jaws or 2010. He was an amazing actor.

Rest In Peace Roy Scheider -- Aint It Cool News

My Dad is The Man

Somehow he wrangled an invite to this service and hooked me up.

And let me tell you, its friggin sweet.

FlyTunes - Now The iPhone Is Complete

Get Over Yourself

Talk about sore losers. Sheesh.

Brady, Moss to miss Pro Bowl

Im dying of laughter...

More Idiocy

Good thing i took the 5:10 train, which got me to my station about 2 minutes before this crap happened. Why do all then idiots pull this kind of crap on my train line?

Man pulled to safety before train hits car; Metra's Aurora line commuters delayed -- chicagotribune.com: "The car of an Aurora man, who police said was driving drunk Monday, was struck by two Metra trains in Hinsdale after passersby pulled him to safety.

Commuters on Metra's Burlington Northern Santa Fe line to Aurora experienced delays of as long as 21/2 hours Monday night, and four outbound trains from Union Station to Aurora were canceled, Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said."

Yep.

0 degrees actual when i left for work this morning. Wind chill of -20ish.

It kinda feels like death?

More Wintery Death

Man....seems worse this year.

... Winter Storm Warning remains in effect from noon today to
12 PM CST Wednesday...

A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect from noon today to 12 PM
CST Wednesday.

A strong winter storm is developing over the Central Plains. A
strong cold front associated with the storm will move into
northern Illinois this afternoon. Ahead of the front... rain
showers will develop this morning. As the front sweeps across the
region... winds will quickly strengthen to 25 to 35 mph with gusts
to 45 mph this afternoon into this evening. With the frontal
passage this afternoon temperatures will drop sharply and rain
will quickly change over to snow. The change over to snow will
occur by early afternoon across areas west of Interstate 39... and
toward mid to late afternoon across the remainder of northeast
Illinois. A brief period of sleet is also possible as the rain
changes to snow. Travel conditions will rapidly deteriorate and
become extremely hazardous across the Chicago Metro area toward
rush hour. Any residual ponding of water and slushy snow will
freeze in place... creating treacherous driving conditions. The
strong winds combined with new snowfall this afternoon and evening
will cause occasional brief whiteout conditions at
times across open areas... particularly during evening hours. Snowfall
accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are expected before the snow tapers
off after midnight tonight.

Although the snow will diminish late this evening... the concern
will transition over to dangerously low wind chills and continued
blowing snow and reduced visibilities. Low temperatures tonight
will drop to the single digits below zero across far north central
Illinois... to the single digits above zero across the remainder of
the area. Combined with continued strong winds... wind chill
readings will drop to around 20 below zero late tonight and early
Wednesday morning... with the coldest readings north of Interstate
80 where wind chills may drop as cold as 25 below zero. Blowing
and drifting snow will also affect the area into Wednesday
morning.

A Winter Storm Warning means significant amounts of snow... strong
winds and dangerously low wind chills are likely. This will make
travel very hazardous or impossible.

Cloverfield Viral - Love it.

Nice one, Blizz

Damn.

Top Selling PC Games of 2007
1. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack--Vivendi Games--2.25 million
2. World of Warcraft--Vivendi Games--914,000
3. The Sims 2: Seasons Expansion Pack--Electronic Arts--433,000
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare--Activision--383,000
5. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars--Electronic Arts--343,000

More Wintery Death

...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT CST /1 AM EST/ TONIGHT TO 12 PM CST /1 PM EST/ THURSDAY...

WIND CHILLS WILL DIP TO BELOW ZERO BY THIS EVENING...AND GO AS LOW AS 20 BELOW TO 30 BELOW ZERO OVERNIGHT TONIGHT INTO EARLY THURSDAY MORNING.



......yikes.

Idiots.

Never fails. Someone on my line has to be a complete retarded moron.

DOWNERS GROVE - A motorist was killed and trains along Metra's Burlington Northern Santa Fe line to Aurora were delayed Tuesday afternoon after a train struck a vehicle that was being driven on the tracks in Downers Grove, authorities said.

The train, scheduled to arrive in Aurora at 4:56 p.m., struck a car head-on near the Maple Avenue crossing at about 4:30 p.m., Metra spokesman Patrick Waldron said.

Downers Grove Police Deputy Chief Jim Black said a man was behind the wheel of a newer-model Toyota, which was on the tracks for unknown reasons, when it slammed into the train, pinning the driver inside.


The driver, 29, was extricated and taken to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, where he was pronounced dead Tuesday night.

Meh

Seriously considering not voting now.

Fred Thompson Quits Presidential Race

Weekend

Well, the weekend was interesting. Was a nice, relaxing weekend, but good lord it was cold.

I spent all of it holed up in the apartment with the heat cranked up to ~75 because that is the only setting that would keep my apartment above 68. Add on fleece pants, fleece socks and a fleece jacket all weekend, i did everything i could to stay warm.

However, my idiot cat...she has a heated pad. Did she sleep on it? No. She slept in her unheated bed on my desk in my office, where i spent most of the weekend playing WoW. While i appreciate her desire to be near me, sometimes youd hope her animal instincts kick in and shed go, "Damn, its cold in here" and would go get on her heated pad. I have never said Callie is the smartest cat in the world, but she is loyal, so ill give her that.

Speaking of playing WoW...I have been playing on my Paladin as my new main for the past few weeks. I am playing in an end game raiding guild as a healer and i am having a blast. After running guilds horde side, i attempted to do it alliance side after coming back from some time off from wow. I realized i dont want that much responsibility and work, i have enough at my job. When i come home, i just want to play and have as little stress as possible. I ran the guild for about 2 mos, then handed it off to a husband/wife pair who were more than happy to help foster it. I did alot of looking for a good guild that is community based, but focused on end game progression and found one. I joined up after moving servers and am having a blast. It is a PST server, so the raid times are later, so i dont have to worry about rushing home right away to make a raid time. I dont have to be ready to go until about 8, and they only go until 11 local time. Perfect for me. This week, i have seen my first vashj, kael'thas kills and helped the guild down their first boss in Hyjal Summit. Its awesome playing with this guild, great folks, fun and funny.

Screenshot of our first kill of Rage Winterchill. Im the paladin with his wings :D






Back to work though, hope all are doing well.


Oh, also?


LAWL GREEN BAY. Favre, just retire. This was your last shot and ya blew it.

Kinda Wanna Die

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A WIND CHILL ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT CST /1 AM EST/ FRIDAY NIGHT TO 12 PM CST /1 PM EST/ SUNDAY.

A VERY COLD ARCTIC AIRMASS WITH TEMPERATURES DROPPING AS LOW AS 10 BELOW ZERO COMBINED WITH STRONG... GUSTY WINDS WILL CAUSE WIDESPREAD WIND CHILLS LESS THAN 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO.






Blah.

Im running for public office

Cause apparently, shedding some tears saying how hard it is to run for president will garner you lame ass east coast votes. I can get some big ole crocodile tears too.


*puss in boots eyes from shrek*


Irony of the situation? The person who asked the question to hillary that made her well up voted for Obama. Lol.

Alzheimers

So, lunch options around where i work can sometimes get kinda old. I dont feel like going far from my building, but so far, it consisted of(within 2 blocks)

Subway
Quiznos
Panda Express(gack)
Potbellies
Corner Deli(sandwiches)
Venice Cafe(italian)
Mcdonalds


So, i was excited when i saw a new restaurant opening across the street. Next door to Quiznos, across the street from subway. What is it?

A jimmy johns.


So, answer me this. What person in their right mind, standing in a vacant storefront, next door to a quiznos, looking at a subway, thought...

"well, there is a deli on the corner, a potbellies a block away, these 2 sub shops right here...but goddammit, we need another sub shop".


Morons.

BLOGGERS IRRITATE ME

Jesus, do some fact checking.


"Tuesday January 08, 2008 08:44 AM EST; Category: Xserve, Mac Pro
Written by arn
Apple today revised the Mac Pro and Xserve with a new architecture and the recently released Penryn Processors. The Mac Pro combines two 45-nm Quad-Core Xeon processors running up to 3.2GHz and up to 4TB of internal storage. The standard 8-core configuration starts at $2799."



Thanks macrumors.com. Too bad they are based off the harpertown desktop architecture, penryn is a mobile chip.

Ha

Man, if O"bomb"a wins tonite, im gonna laugh my ass off.

This guy is so outmatched on the repub side its not even funny. Let the dems get sucked into their hype, hell get CRUSHED in november.



HYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPE

Nice Attitude for First Post Of The Year

Why I Hate CES, By Brian J Waggoner.



Is it because of the show itself? Nay. Is it because of the vendors showcasing all their shiny toys? Nay.

Its because every frigging tech blog or news site in the world reports on the same shit as every other tech blog out there. I browse through my RSS feeds of 5-10 different sites during this week just hoping for the love of god that the amount of duplicate stories is lower than before. Guess what, guys, as much as you may hope, your little rinky dink blog isnt the only one in town. Tons of other news sites will report on the same shit you do...and probably do it better.


Man. Not a good start of the year for me. Expect more ranting to come.

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