Nice job, Jinx.

Uhhh.... Looks like Jinx finally put Max into space.

C8H10N4O2 equals C8H10N4O2

I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live decaffeinated, nor ask another man to live decaffeinated for me.

Best. Warning. Ever!

Conveyor belt or medieval torture device... You decide.

Frisco

Here's to my good pal Frisco who had to be put to sleep last night. I want to pay a blog tribute to him, but I really don't know what to say about a cat. This will probably be a bit awkward and random, so bear with me here.

Here's the Wiki data on Frisco:

• Don't pet his belly, even though he's rolling around on his back practically begging you to do so. He'll scratch the crap out of your arms.


• Frisco never really meowed; he made a crazy pigeon coo or a weird "accchhhk acccchk" noise.


• His shiny black and white coat and somewhat portly stature made him look sort of penguinesque.


• Frisco was more like a dog than a cat. He was not aloof and demanded the attention of a good lap dog. He was trained to jump into my lap the second he heard my La-Z-Boy start to recline.


• Frisco took on the personality of his namesake from Atlas Shrugged: playful when he wanted to be, stubborn when he wanted to be, strong when he needed to be, but loyal and affectionate to those that were closest to him.

Frisco wasn't even 10 years old yet; this took us all by surprise. His heavy, labored breathing came on suddenly, but I reacted just as fast and rushed him to the animal hospital. The vet said it was either cancer or heart failure that caused the fluid to pool up around his lungs, and the pain and uncertainty of treatment made euthanasia the most humane decision. He didn't suffer.

Our other cat, Slug, is already wandering the house a bit confused. I'm sure he'll miss Frisco's authoritative thwaps on the head when Slug had pushed the wrong button and bit his ear one too many times. They were close pals, though.

My baby girl had only a few good months of true interaction with Frisco. I'm proud of his tolerance and patience with her. He took a good amount of ear pulling, head slaps, eye pokes, and tail pulls but never once retaliated. They would have been good friends.

I'm taking this a lot harder than I thought I would. It's probably the unexpected nature of this loss that's really upsetting... or it's probably the fact that I got really close to this cat and I'm going to miss my bud.

...And the 2007 Album of the Year Goes To....

HONORABLE MENTION:

Planet Earth, Prince: This album rocks and the supporting 7.7.7 show was outta sight. Prince has once again found his stride and is hitting it out of the park. For some reason, though, this album faded from my in-car play list relatively quickly; maybe it was just because I've been in a metal mood lately. "Chelsea Rodgers" and "Guitar" are instant classics, though, and will be in the majority of my upcoming mixes. RATING: ****** outta 8.

United Abominations, Megadeth: Dave Mustaine and I had a falling out after he released the sub-mediocre pile of garbage, Countdown to Exinction (1992). 2004's The System Has Failed won be back as a fan with its back-to-the-good-ol'-days approach of classic Mustaine sneer and Megadeth guitar heroics. United Abominations ups the ante a bit and provides a more constant offering of that good ol' speed metal that I grew up on. Now, the inclusion of the stinky, skippable "A Tout le Monde" is mind-boggling and sets the album back quite a bit. Subtract 2 stars for that piece of garbage. Good job overall, though, for Mr. Mustaine. RATING ***** outta 8.

Lyden Na, Blood Duster: The awesome thing about Blood Duster has always been their ability to change gears from grindcore to groove metal, to southern rock, to AC/DC party metal, and back to grindcore while maintaining a deathmetal foundation. Each album of Blood Duster's ranks at the top of my BEST EVER lists, and Lyden Na is right up there... except... Blood Duster decided to split their album in two. The first set is a collection of fun party metal which is a blast, if not a bit predictable. Right when the first set gets a bit old and you start to call their shots, the second set erupts. It's a rewarding set of classic Blood Duster grindcore: short songs, insane tempo, crazy stops and breaks. This decision to split the album in halves actually hurts the overall Blood Duster experience, though. Their versatility and creativity isn't as apparent when each style is served seperately. It's like eating your plate of donuts only to wait before drinking your coffee. No. You have to complement your donuts with sips of coffee between bites. Blood Duster songs are best served with grindcore sips in between rather than saving them for dessert. RATING: ****** outta 8.

RUNNER UP:

Anonymous, Tomahawk: Mike Patton is a genius. When I rushed out on my lunch break to get the new Tomahawk CD, I was a bit miffed when I read on the CD cover that this was not Tomahawk's original music but adaptations of Native American songs and chants instead. Wha? Leave it to Patton to produce some really heavy, moody, melodic music out of the 100+ year-old "Indian Songs." Some songs rock in the classic heavy metal sense while others simmer on brood mode while others kick in a nifty dance beat. Each song offers a unique experience, but it's still approachable (especially for Patton) and accessible. I love this CD. RATING: ******* outta 8.

...And the Album of the Year Goes To....

SNAKES AND ARROWS, Rush: Yeah, they are my all-time favorite band, but I'll be the first to admit that Rush is much better at writing songs than compiling albums (speaking of anything after Signals). 1983 - 2006 Rush is 1/2 masterpiece and 1/2 filler. Thankfully, Snakes and Arrows is the most consistent offering since Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves, and it's consistently solid stuff. "Far Cry" opens the CD with typical Rush bah... bah... bah-bah-bah... bah-bah-bah syncopated/goofed up time signatured brilliance (ending neatly on Alex Lifeson's signature F# chord ala Hemispheres). Surprisingly, though, the strong songs keep on coming until the CD hits repeat. With "The Way The Wind Blows" being the CD's strongest offering, challenging songs like "Spindrift" and "We Hold On" are enough to keep any prog-rocker satisfied. To add to the fun, there are three well-crafted instrumentals on Snakes and Arrows, so the Geddy haters can listen in without plugging ears. The stinkers of the crop, "Good News First," "The Larger Bowl," and "Faithless" had enough merit to grow on me over time and I no longer skip them when they pop up. This is a first for me and Rush filler... and it was nice to hear.

I could have easily awarded BAOTY to Tomahawk this year, but Snakes and Arrows gets the nod for sheer replayability. This CD was in my car all year long and actually in the CD player at least twice a week. That's pretty dang good for me, so kudos to Mr. Peart, Lifeson, and Lee. Not only is Snakes and Arrows the Best Album of the Year, but it's also Rush's best since Moving Pictures. RATING: ******* outta 8.

What Gives?

(I'll get back to my best of 2007 list after this minor breakdown)

What is the deal with my shiny head? I'm balding; I get it, so leave me alone, shiny head! My hairline is sliding waaayyyy back as I'm getting older. (Which I don't care about since my devilishly good looks and snappy personality more than compensate for my lack of hairline.) Why is head skin so friggin' shiny?

Honestly, I can see my head reflecting off of a window from across the street on a cloudy day. It's almost blinding.

It's not like it's overly greasy or anything; I wiped down my forehead with a napkin just to make sure.

I performed this experiment: I held various hairless parts of my body up to a flashlight. Nothing. No luminescence at all. Why, then, is my head skin so shiny? Do I really need the reminder from a window across a room that I'm balding?

Someone Wiki this and get back to me.

...And the Concert of the Year Goes To....

Here begins my 2007 best-of list. Today's episode is: CONCERT OF THE YEAR.

------------

RUNNER UP: PRINCE 7/7/07: His name is Prince and he is funky indeed. This was my first time seeing The Artist and my goodness, what a show. Roasting for an hour in a packed skyway outside of Target Center with my wife and uber-pregnant sister while his highness dawdled backstage was a drag, but once we were seated (ROW X in UPPER DECK!) and Prince started playing, we soon forgot about the inconvience.

I've always been curious to see Prince live where he has the freedom to extend his guitar solos and work the crowd. I knew he was quite the showman, but I didn't expect him to be this good. He played most of his hits and some rarities, some medleys, and he even had a cute little Minneapolis dance party (Play that Funky Music White Boy) on stage while ripping out an impressive bass solo ("Awwww, now I'm just showin' off").

Prince played a lonnnngggg time ("call your babysitters, we're gonna be here all night") and his energy was unrelenting. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, his showmanship, and most importantly, his musicianship. Well done, Prince, my $77.77 nose bleeds were worth it!

-------------

Runner Up: RUSH: SNAKES AND ARROWS TOUR: My wife is going to be surprised reading that Rush didn't win by mere default. I am a self-confessed Rush nerd. I own all 73 of their CDs and I've seen them every time they've played Minneapolis since the Presto tour back in 1989 (at the Civic Center, now a Mall of America parking lot). I've camped out for tickets back when camping out for tickets was cool. I read Neil Peart's books. I check for Rush news on websites. I'm pathetic and nerdy, but RUSH IS AWESOME!

With that said, I've seen Rush so many times that I knew exactly what to expect. They are so talented and professional that each show is consistently perfect. I expected great musicianship, tight performances, cool light shows, within a 3-hour show. That's what I got and I loved it. I did regret taking a peek at the set list before the concert, since they played some deeeeep tracks (Circumstances, Entre Nous) that I wouldn't have expected.

The night was awesome and they met all my expectations. It was exactly what I wanted for my Rush night.

-------------------

... And the Concert of the Year Goes To:

FINN TROLL!!! I didn't know what to expect when I bought my ticket to Finn Troll. For the unfamiliar, Finn Troll is a band from Finland (but they sing in Swedish since it sounds more "trollish") that combines death metal with "Humppa," a traditional Finnish folk-polka. It's wild stuff that really stands out in the been-there-done-that monotony that drudges through the death metal genre.

So out comes Finn Troll. They pulled out all the go-to moves: black squiggly face paint, head twirling and hair whipping, tight guitars, and neat intro music. Finn Troll is definitely one of the most professional non-arena metal bands I've seen live in that their performance was dead-on perfect. Amazing guitars, tight drums, and an entertaining front-man that seemed sincere in his fist-pumping.

Between songs, I was thoroughly amused by vocalist, Vreth's song introductions. "Here is one that is faster. You will like this one, eh?" or "Here is one that is slower. We hopes you enjoy this one." or "This is an older song. You wills remember this one, eh?" Awesome.

I soaked in the entire performance and noticed midway that I'd been smiling through the whole show. These guys were so fun, so good natured (they even had the crowd singing along... at a death metal show!), and so... what's the word... foreign?... in their delivery that I just couldn't help loving the guys. I keep thinking back to this show and how it was so fun and how it blew any expectations away and how it forces me to make run-on sentences in describing it since it was so friggin' metally kewl that FinnTroll has to be the Best Concert of 2007.

McWhatever....

Vacuum Cleaners... Mosquitoes... Straws... Eagan McDonalds...

There's a McDonalds in Eagan that s-u-c-k sucks sucks sucks! I've been there a few times out of convenience as it's only a few blocks away from my work. After noticing the alarming trend of incorrect orders and horrible fries, I decided to cut my losses and avoid that McJoke of a restaurant.

My pal Josh happened to bring up this McDonalds in conversation today, but he absolutely loves this particular location. He has even gone as far as sending them rave emails about their service and their wonderful fries! What gives?!

Let's start from the beginning.

Scene 1:

Me: I'll have 2 Chipotle BBQ Snackwraps, a small Diet Coke and a small fry
Guy: Crispy or Grilled?
Me: Crispy, please.
Guy: So that's 2 snack wraps...
Me: Yup.
Guy: anything else?
Me: a small Diet Coke and a Small Fry
Guy: small.... Diet... Cooooooke.....
Me: Yes! And a Small Fry.
Guy: Anything Else?
Me: Nope! That'll do it!
Guy: Pull ahead.

Fast forward to when I pull ahead, pay, pick up my food and notice that there's only one Snack Wrap in the bag...

Me: Hey. There's only one Snack Wrap in my bag.
Dude: Uh.... you ordered one.
Me: No. I ordered two.
Dude: You ordered one.
Me: Excuse me? I know what I ordered. I ordered two Snack Wraps!
Dude: You. Ordered. One.
Me: Whatever! (speeds off)

###

Scenes 2 and 3 are the same, but on different days. Amazingly, the first part of the mission was completed with little difficulty; the guy and dude got the order right. The problem was when I bit into the fries. There's a difference between not-quite-hot fries and slightly older fries and what I received: COLD fries. These fries were so cold that the grease had actually congealed on the bottom of the bag leaving a cold, wet, syrupy gel on each fry. I had to throw 'em away.

###

Scenes 5 and 6 were the last straws. Without going into too many details, they were the typical McCases when the dum dums forgot part of my order. Dum Dums!!

----------------

So there, I've boycotted that location. That is, until today after I heard Josh's gushing over this Eagan McDondalds. Could I be that unlucky? Is it me? Is it my tone when I order??

SCENE 7

Me: I'll have 2 Chipotle BBQ Crispy Snack Wraps, a small.....
Lady: 2 CHIPOTLE BBQ CRISPY SNACK WRAPS!!!!???
Me: ... yes.
Lady: ANYTHING ELSE???
Me: yes. A small Diet Coke and a sm...
Lady: SMALL DIET COKE!!!???
Me: yes.
Lady: ANYTHING ELSE???
Me: yes. I'll have a small french fry.
Lady: SMALL FRENCH FRY!!!???
Me: yes.
Lady: ...
Me: ...
Lady: ...
Me: ... That will be all.
Lady: PULL FORWARD!!

So then I pull forward and pay with my card. I get my card back and out of curiosity I look at the receipt. No foolin, the receipt was for a cheeseburger meal and a large Coke. Now I get to sit for seven minutes (I did look at the clock) while the panicked lady rushes to her manager to figure out what went wrong, credit my card, redo the transaction, and send me on the way. To my surprise, my order inside the bag was okay and the fries were relatively decent.

It must be me.

The Timberwolvezzzzzzzzzzz.....

It's been a while since I talked Wolfies due to my pumpkin-face hiatus (see previous post). In short, I love the KG trade because I love KG. (I refer you to 2006-7 posts begging McHale to trade the ticket). The Wolves will suck, but at least the season won't be the tragic "watch KG stagnate" season we've learned to expect. GO CELTICS!

With that said:

My pal Mike and I decided it would be a good idea to buy a 3-pack of Wolfies tickets for games against the Mavs, Suns, and the CELTICS! Being that this is one of the few ways to get the coveted tix to see my all-time favorite Mr. Garnett, Mike and I had no problem shelling out $50 for 3 games.

That Mavericks game was last Sunday. What happened to my favorite sports franchise?! I know "The Franchise" is in Boston now, but c'mon! I did fully expect a blow-out loss at the hands of one of the NBA's finer clubs, but still... WTF? Can we at least try to run a play or two?

Even when the Wolfies sucked in the past, at least they had an identity of being one of the league's few round-the-horn/make-the-extra-pass teams. This team is as clueless as Kevin Munster and his lackeys. Besides one pick and roll play late in the 3rd quarter, Mike and I could only distinguish two plays:

The first play is called, "Give it to Al Jefferson and stand around," (GAJSA). We liked GAJSA a lot since it gave the ball to the lone Timberwolf that can actually produce. Unfortunately, the acute mind of Mav's coach Avery Johnson was quick to adjust to this complicated play and soon sent triple-teams to Al whenever "coach" Whitman ran the GAJSA. Rather than pass the ball out to the inept players around him (I wouldn't either), Big Al tried to bust through the triple-team and either forced up a prayer or turned it over.

The second play is called, "Dribble for a bit and chuck up a prayer," (DB-CUP) and we didn't like this play at all. Don't confuse DB-CUP for DB-TIO, which is really not a separate play but an offshoot of the former. The resulting turn over is merely an ad-libbed variation to Whitman's plan.

The one defensive set I could recognize was called "OLAY," which is not a clever anagram, but the sound of a matador and my bad attempt at a joke.


Oh yeah! It was rookie day too. Apparently this means that the Wolves' rookies get to make funny movies to show during time-outs. Rookie Cory Brewer's line: 16:37 minutes, 1 pt, 1 reb, 1 to. His +/- was -11 (!). Chris Richard's line: 10:36 for 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, and 1 turnover. THE FUTURE IS SOOOO BRIGHT!

End result: Mav's 101, Wolfies 78. Blech.

The main gripe I have with this crew and their coach is not the lack of talent or the lack of wins. I expected a crappy season after KG left. What bothers me is the lack of purpose behind each play (and upwards: it seems there is no purpose in the substitutions, the draft picks, the trades, the free agent signings, the GM, etc). It's one thing to run a play and miss the shot. It's another to walk around the court and fire up a prayer. Yuck.

On a brighter note, I did finally see the "Quick Change" half time show. It exceeded mediocrity.

New Years!

Hey gang! Merry New Year!!

2008: I resolve to write on my blog.

Seriously, the last time I updated this blog was early March 2007. While this is shameful, it should be stated that my life changed forever late March with the birth of the World's most amazing little girl.

For security and safety and privacy and fear of the interweb's sake, I won't be writing too much about my little pumpkin face. but really, she's incredible and I try to devote every spare second to her. It's understandable how a blog that 3 or 4 people read would be pushed to the back burner.

Well, I reckon I can use a laptop and write some junk on my lunch breaks at work (which will also force me to stop and take a lunch) and get back in the groove. I have a bunch of thoughts to compile on 2007, which was the best year I've had in a lonnnnnngggg time, and I'll be sure to start posting soon.

Thanks for the time off!

Forbes, McHale, meet Ayn Rand...

Believe it or not, Forbes has ranked our favorite Munster, Kevin HcHale, the “BEST GENERAL MANAGER IN SPORTS.”

They used a formula weighing winning percentage and payroll, grading “each GM on two yardsticks. First, there's the performance (regular season winning percentage and postseason wins) during the GM's tenure versus the performance of his predecessor. Second, there's the GM's relative (to the league median) payroll compared with his predecessor's relative payroll.”

Forbes, McHale, allow me to quote my favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand:

“Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.”

Forbes, check your premises. Your formula is wrong. Kevin McHale CANNOT be the greatest general manager, therefore your formula needs to be retooled. The T-Wolves are amid a downward spiral and The Franchise has never looked so hopeless (By franchise, I mean both KG and the TWolves franchise itself) and it is an insult to hold the man responsible as the greatest at his profession.

Check it out here: http://www.forbes.com/home/business/2007/03/02/sports-greatest-gms-biz-cz_jg_0302gms.html

BOSTON!

My work sent me to Boston for a week-long training course. More accurately, I was staying in Andover, about a half-hour drive north of downtown Boston. While an all-expense-paid week-long trip to Beantown might sound pretty rad any other time, I wasn’t looking forward to it at all. Consider the facts that I was going alone and I was leaving my 7-months-pregnant wife at home and you can understand my reluctance. The classes had me booked until 5:00 each night, so taking a daytrip to Boston to check out the history was a no-go. Being alone, I didn’t care to get too adventurous at night either; even going to the Chili’s down the street seemed too intimidating (nothing lamer than dining alone). But, hey, I reckoned that I could make the best of it and I had a relatively positive attitude about my trip. While I’d be getting a very limited view of Massachusetts, I’d approach my week’s stay with wide eyes, trying to soak up as much as I could before locking myself into my hotel room at night, as if I were writing the lamest travel journal thinkable for a blog desperate for any new content. Lucky you.

SUNDAY—Getting There

I’m not scared of flying, but being trapped in a tiny seat for hours and hours with annoying strangers and their children with no wiggle room makes me concede that flying sucks. It’s worse when my travel savvy wife isn’t there to guide me through all the gates and rules (shoes off, keys in the bin, ID out, ticket out, laptop out, etc). With some wrong turns and a bit of luck I found my gate and a store to purchase some Nutter Butters and Corn Nuts. With my lunch prepared, I was able to pull out my phone and relax to some music. Thinking ahead, I had programmed my new cell phone with a mix of 50 mp-3’s so I’d have a good soundtrack to my lonely trip out east. As my headphones blared out a slightly psychotic variety from Deicide to Edie Brickell to Faith No More to Carcass to Chris Isaak, I shut myself out from the other travelers who were waiting around me. More importantly, I was able to shut out their annoying chit-chat, gum smacking, and snot snorting while I tried to read my book. Bringing this phone/mp-3 player was one of my best ideas yet! Fast-forward to when I am on the plane and the attendant reminds us to stow away all cell phones for the entire flight. CRAP! Oh well, at least I had a good soundtrack for waiting at the gate and baggage claim.

While I was blessed enough to win the aisle seat lottery, the other two men in my row seemed to hate the fact that the “little” guy got the lucky number. Granted, the guy in the center seat was 6’7” and could have been a bit more comfortable if he had an aisle. Window guy looked at me and sneered to center guy, “How did you get the center? That’s bad luck!” I interpreted that as a subtle hint for me to switch. I wasn’t budging, though. “I’m small. I’ll lean towards the aisle,” I promised. No way am I giving up my aisle seat, sucker.

My phone/mp-3 idea was a bummer, but I was able to sink into my book with little difficulty and few distractions. Every once in a while, I would catch some of the non-stop conversation between Window Guy and Center Guy and I would be so thankful that I wasn’t in their line of work. “Oh you have the X-19’s over there? Can they run a spreadsheet as efficiently as the P-187’s? You don’t say. Well, I remember that I could only run half as much on the P-199, so you should be fine. I sold at least 5 units of those last year. What kind of processor is that? Oh. That won’t work! Snort, snort chortle.” Ugh. Back to my book. (I brought Neil Peart’s newest travel book, Roadshow, with me, which could explain my sudden need to watch every event around me with a travel writer’s eye.)

We somehow landed safely on Logan’s frightening runway (way too close to the windy bay for my liking) and I found my way to baggage (with Descendents, Motorhead, Bjork, and Deee-Lite providing the accompaniment). With baggage in tow, I caught the Budget Rent-a-Car shuttle and acquired my wheels: a forgettable red sedan made by some American car company. In fact, I forgot what it was. Regardless, it had enough pickup for me to speed through the miles of tunnels from Logan to 95N. Scary stuff, that Big Dig. I’m not too fond of driving under water, especially with the recent stories of leaking tunnels and fatal falling bricks. Last time I was exiled to Boston, I watched a documentary on that Big Dig on my hotel’s TV. Seeing how it was done (and the mistakes that were made) did not make me feel better about traveling through it. Thankfully, I made it out of the tunnels safe and sound with downtown Boston in my rear-view mirror and 20 minutes worth of 95N ahead of me.

I made my exit in Andover, happy to see that the Chili’s that was under construction on my last visit was completed and fully operational. I hit the nearby McDonalds instead as I just wanted to check in and get settled in for my first night. With cheeseburgers in hand, I checked in to my Marriot Courtyard mini-suite and put my feet up for the night.

MONDAY—Classes Start!

My alarm(s) got me up just in time to shower, brew some “coffee” and skim the sports of the complementary USA Today before having to be on my way to class. While I was dreading being torn away from my wife and home for a week, I was looking forward to these classes. As the digital machinery at my work is getting more and more complex, the technology covered in the classes are becoming more and more fascinating. Plus, I was looking forward to seeing what kind of classmates I’d get the pleasure of dealing with for a week. Luckily, we had a great group and I ended up enjoying the company of my classmates, rather than merely dealing with them. I never caught a single name (which is in my nature) but I remember them all by location. We had:

· California: an old-school pressman type of guy. He was our ice-breaker. With a constant supply of bad jokes and stories to tell, he made sure that there were no uncomfortable silences during our stay.

· Young Missouri: This guy was straight out of high school with a wonderful southern awww-shucks drawl. He was too young to have any reserve, so he had us constantly laughing with his say-first, think-later wisdom.

· Older Missouri: This guy was from the same business as Young Missouri, but he was the polar opposite. Being a long-haired musician in his little hillbilly town had driven him to be a quiet, thoughtful introvert. When he finally opened up (around Wednesday) he proved to be an intelligent, witty guy.

· Canada 1: Another surly old-schooler who’s been in the business for a lonnnng time. He had to remind me a couple times that Canada was a country, not just a state to the North. I think he was from Toronto, but who cares? Canada is Canada as far as I’m concerned.

· Canada 2: A younger version of Canada 1 and a great source for conversation and laughs. He was very interrogative and interested in everything.

· Atlanta: Another extrovert with lots to say, lots of questions to ask, and apparently comfortable enough to discuss the “Adult” movies he found on his hotel TV. (“They keep the names of the movies off the bill.”) This is probably Young Missouri in 15 years.

· New York: A little guy with a heavy New York accent, kinda like Brooklyn’s version of Michael J. Fox. Speaking of which, while the he rest of the class thought he was a drug addict (behind his back); I think he had the beginnings of Parkinson’s disease. Having read Lucky Man by Fox, I have learned how the frightened young actor tried to hide the uncontrollable movements in his arm. New York had the same moves. Or, he was a drug addict, like the rest of the class thought. I dunno. He seemed too bright for that, though.

So that’s the class. Our instructor was a quiet no-frills type of guy. Nerdy, bald and rolly-polly (and a thin goatee to compensate for all the above), he did a fine job providing us with a week’s worth of material but he didn’t really strive to get us excited about it, either. Finding out later that he played bass for a Boston Jazz band had me laughing for a bit, though. It would be the bass, too. When my boss at my old job was confronted on turning down too many job applicants, he explained to the H.R. lady, “You keep on sending me bass players. I need a lead guitarist.” Perfect analogy: some are the type to play lead. Others are happy playing bass. They may be perfect at what they do, and what they do is important, but it’s in the background and barely noticeable.

After the first class, I headed north to Salem, New Hampshire to find a clothing store. The classrooms were temperature and humidity controlled to keep the digital presses in their optimum working environments. Because of this, I found myself shivering under the mist of massive humidifiers and air conditioners. I found a typical American suburban mall with a Sears. I found a sweet Nike hoodie on clearance and a Dickies insulated flannel for $8.00. Sweat deals, ay?

I also hunted down a Target store and stocked up on snacks for my week’s stay. I grabbed some Pepsi, chips, breakfast bars, and a puzzle magazine. It was nice seeing a familiar face. I stayed a bit too long, roaming the aisles for nothing in particular.

Back at the hotel, I watched the local news report on the upcoming snow and road salt, filled up on chips and pop, and called it a night.

TUESDAY—more of the same

I knew my wife would be proud of me when it was I who broke the silence before class. “How does a Canadian spell Canada?” Canada 2 just looked back, a bit puzzled. “C, N, D.” I told him, “C, ay? N, ay?, D, ay?” Thankfully, both Canadians laughed. “Dat one is good. ‘Mind if I take it home and try it oot?” Finally, I received some appreciation for good humor.

After class I ordered from The Chateau, an Italian(!) restaurant down the street that I remembered from my last stay in Andover. I enjoyed the fried calamari appetizer and my authentic Italian pizza loaded with garlic, tomatoes, and more garlic. I felt my stomach churn a bit as I got my stuff ready for tomorrow’s big day: I had tickets to the Celtics/Lakers game. I’ve never been downtown Boston, but I hear that tourists should never, ever attempt to drive there. The locals, though, told me that the ‘Garden was on the edge of the downtown area and I shouldn’t have a problem getting there by car and getting out alive. With another stomach rumble (half nerves, half garlic) I remembered today’s class where California arrived a bit late and looked like death. “I tried to drive downtown last night. I got so lost. When I saw signs for Cape Cod, I knew it was time to panic!” Uh oh… I reexamined my map and reassured myself that being lost in a car was better than being lost in a subway. Right?

WEDNESDAY—the game!

I made it through another class, but my stomach often reminded me of the adventure to come tonight (as well as the overdose of garlic from last night). It’s one thing to drive to an unfamiliar city at night, but doing it alone seemed a bit much. After class, I bolted to the car and headed south on 95 toward Boston. To make my mind settle down, the news guy on the radio was wrapping up a story about strange devices being found all over the downtown area. The police had to shut down major bridges and highways as these devices were thought to be of the terrorist ilk. This turned out to be a prank/publicity stunt for some Cartoon Network cartoon, but still! C’mon! Did I really need a terrorism scare on the way to the ‘Garden??!!

Finding the ‘Garden was remarkably simple. A few nights earlier, a rep from the Boston Celtics called me to offer any help (read: to sell more tix). I told him I could only get to one game, but I would appreciate any help getting to that one game. His directions were perfect and I was able to call my wife with the “I’ve made it safe and sound” report earlier than I thought.

Being so early, I wandered the streets a little bit to try to kill some time. Being alone, I didn’t feel up to going into the local sports pubs, but I did some “window shopping” of the local spots instead. The dirty, narrow streets in their haphazard layout reminded me a little of St. Paul, but older and more convoluted. I suppose all old cities have the same problem: they weren’t built with cars in mind.

I wandered back to the ‘Garden and watched the rivers of people flow in and out of the trains of North Station. The flow would slow to a crawl until an announcement about Train X leaving for Destination Y would spark an immediate gush toward the gates. We have nothing like this in the Twin Cities, so I wondered how I’d ever live here. I can’t stand being trapped in the human masses of the State Fair, how could I cope with commuting within a sea of people? One must have to be raised in this environment, I reckon.

When the gates finally opened for the ‘Garden, I rushed to the turnstiles to wait in line. I was disappointed by all the Lakers jerseys around me. C’mon, Boston! This is CELTICS/LAKERS! Don’t you know the history here!??! Granted, the Celtics were in the middle of an 18-game losing streak, but I expected more support from the Bostonians. While waiting for security to let us by, a young Celtics fan started to trash talk an older Lakers fan. What followed was a creative exchange about whose team sucks, whose team has a rapist for a superstar, and whose team has more history. That’s more like it, Boston! Way to show up.

Before finding my seat, I bought an Italian sausage with peppers and onions and a Sam Adams Boston Lager (duh). This was (sadly?) my best meal in Boston. It was sooo perfect. The lager and the sausage and the sautéed peppers and onions were the perfect food for the occasion. My seats were decent for $40, 2^nd row of the upper bowl. Arriving so early, I took advantage of my chance to soak in the history around me. I found McHale’s retired number (right next to Bird’s) and I looked at all those championship banners for the Celtics and the Bruins. When the game finally started the Celtics (without superstar Paul Pierce) gave it their all, but Kobe Bryant made it seem so futile. In the end, the Celtics got crushed, but I was already running to my car to beat the traffic. I had a bad feeling about getting back to 95N and I didn’t want thousands of drunken fans around me as I tried to get out of downtown.

Armed with directions from the parking attendant (Right, Left, Left), I drove with confidence toward 95N. I followed signs to a long two-lane highway and headed north. I saw reminder signs every few blocks that I was indeed on my way to 95N, so things were looking good. Then it happened. Without warning, I suddenly found myself coming up to the weirdest intersection I’ve seen in my 15 years of driving. My nice, straight two-lane highway with its constant signs promising me that 95N was on its way morphed into a fan-shaped intersection of 8 corners. Ummmm??? Funny thing, all those signs for 95N disappeared. In fact, I couldn’t find a single street sign! I guessed and veered somewhat straight and left into the middle choice as it seemed to be sort-of north. Within a few miles, I knew I just got myself lost. I called my wife, “I made it out of the game, the Celtics lost, I am out of downtown, but I have no idea where I am. I’ll call you when I find 95N!”

Not quite at the panicked level, yet, I tried to go North and West (my internal map told me I needed to go northwest) with as little turning as possible in case I needed to turn around and retrace my route back to downtown. I saw a lot of Boston’s suburbs with tiny streets, brick buildings, a thousand Dunkin’ Donuts, and not a single mention of 95N or any major-looking road anywhere. Time to panic. The tall brick storefronts along my randomly chosen roads provided isolation from any hint of a freeway, city, anything. I couldn’t see Boston anymore. I was soooo lost now.

Coming up to a “T” in the road, I took a left towards Malden (why not?) since it seemed to be sort of west (?). A nondescript road took me into Malden, home of my savior: the 24-hour Walgreens. I ran into the Walgreens, bought a road map and asked the cashier how to get to 95N. “Go down that road past the church and you’ll hit the rounder. Go on the rounder up to 95.” Wha? Do you know how many friggin churches there are in the greater Boston metropolitan area??! “Do I go north or south out of here?” “I dunno. Go thataway.” (she points “thataway.”)

Remarkably, I went thataway, passed a church, and found a circular ramp (rounder?) to 95N. Midway through my victory dance, I grabbed my cell phone and checked in with home. “YES! YES! I FOUND 95N!!” Within 20 minutes, I was back at the hotel and in bed.

THURSDAY—more of the same

With the adventure behind me, I welcomed the routine of hotel—class—hotel and I was quite content to keep it simple for the rest of the week. California told me he could tell that I was from Minnesota by my accent. I never thought I had an accent, but my reply damned me into believing him. “Yaah? You think so?” Keeping with my safe routine, I made a bee-line to the hotel after class, ordered the calamari and the tomato/garlic pizza from The Chateau, and watched some NBA Basketball on TNT. I spent the rest of my night packing for trip back home Friday afternoon. After I made my nightly call home to my wife (when she’d read the nightly entry in the pregnancy journal), I was thankful that I’d be spending my last night in the hotel room bed.

FRIDAY—last class and homeward bound!

Our class had another series of informative take-it-apart/put-it-back-together drills, but we found ourselves chitchatting a lot more than usual. We knew the end was near and we were giddy. Plus, we made new friends over the past week and it was sort of sad knowing that we’d never see each other again. I connected the most with the two Missouri boys since they had job descriptions most similar to mine. We shared horror stories and amusing anecdotes throughout the week (which always ended in “I’ll grab more coffee, you turn the machine off and on and I’ll check back,” which was our preferred method of troubleshooting a problem). After getting our training certificates and shaking hands all around, we were free to go. While most of my classmates were content to hang back and chitchat some more, I was out the door immediately. I don’t know what my rush was; I still had to go back to the hotel room to wait a few hours before heading to the airport. Hurry up and wait, I guess.

I was able to nap for an hour, read a bit of my book, and make my last paranoid walk-through (looking in drawers despite never opening them before now) for forgotten items before finally checking out. I threw my bags in my nondescript rental car and zoomed to 95S toward Boston.

Finally at Logan, I was able to veg out to some Chinese Food (Panda Express, baby!) while reading more of my Neil Peart book and listening to my phone mix (Herbie Hancock, Basement Jaxx, Fugazi, and Shaquille O’Neal) until it was time to board. I did a little dance when I found that I once again won the aisle seat lotto, but it got better when window seat lady announced that her husband was unable to make the flight and the middle seat was to be empty! YES! We gave each other simultaneous “thumbs up” and I began my first ever in-flight conversation with a stranger (I tend to keep to myself. Duh.).

“I hate to think of this now, but I just saw a horrible movie,” she began.

“Oh, which movie?”

“Snakes on a Plane.”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t be thinking of that movie, on or off of a plane.”

(Chuckle chuckle)

“Have you seen it? Do you know what it’s about?”

“I haven’t seen it,” I replied, “But I could guess it’s about snakes… on a plane?”

“Yes! But there are so many of them!”

We had a couple more minutes of friendly conversation until I opened my book and she opened her laptop. I got in a lot of quality reading as the flight was remarkably quiet and comfortable. Ahhh….

…And then I saw my wife at baggage claim. Perfect ending. We gave each other a long, hard, I’ve-missed-seeing-you-for-the-past-week hug and smooched and hugged again. I said hello to my little bun in the oven and we were on our way home.

Sooooo…. Yeah, I hated going; I hated being there; I hated being away. But I learned a lot, met a few people, and even grew a little. I suppose I have to admit now that I am glad I had to take the trip. Plus, it filled up a much neglected Blog for a bit and that’s a bonus!

10-29-06

Today would have been my dad's 56th birthday.

Every year on this day, my sister and I make a point on eating brunch and making a trip up scenic highway 95 to visit Paw's grave. This year we took maw with us and my little nephew, Henry. It was a beautiful fall day and Henry had fun running around the woods next to the cemetery. After lunch we treated ourselves at the same DQ that dad used to take us to after fishing on South Center Lake. I had a hot fudge malt for 'em (the bananas were my addition, though).

It was a nice day to celebrate the time we had with my paw.

When I got home and checked my email, I received the horrible news that my friend's dad passed away last Thursday. This friend of mine is the same age as me so I can understand what he's going through now and what he'll be going through for the next few years. It sucks. It's unfair.

The most aggravating aspect of losing a parent so early is all the great stuff they'll miss seeing: weddings, houses, kids, plumbing projects. I like to send a mental postcard to my dad at the end of each week that pictures all the accomplishments, news, and happenings on which he's missing out. The only thing written on the back, though, would be: Wish You Were Here.

A date with my ex

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day I was watching Tom Hanks on SNL (The 5-Timers Club was the opening sketch). Midway through the episode, Mr. Hanks introduced some tall, shy, lanky lady with long curly hair and a huge mouth as the musical guest. This was the first time I saw Edie Brickell. More importantly, this was the first time I heard Edie Brickell.

At that time I was a metal head with a mullet to prove it. Folk-Rock had no place in my personal discography. Somehow with that SNL performance Edie fired a direct hit to my heart. I ran out to buy Ghost of A Dog and Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars the next afternoon. I made room in my CD collection between Black Sabbath and Carcass for Ms. Brickell. Edie was my new high school sweetheart.

(On a side note, part of the whole intoxicating nervous energy that she displayed on that night was caused by the backstage presence of Paul Simon (another member of SNL's 5-timers Club) who also hit it off with Miss Brickell. Ya da ya da ya da... they are married and have 3 kids blah blah blah.)

Throughout high school and college (the first time) Edie's songs would cause an instant smile on my face. The way the sweet softness of her voice and her lovey-dovey-la-la-la lyrics contrasted with my daily intake of Deicide and Descendents served as a sort of balancing force, I suppose. For whatever the reason, Edie Brickell was solidly my #1 favorite female recording artist.

Fast forward to 2006 and Edie is back with all the original New Bohemians. My sister and I made a date with my old high school sweetie, Edie, at the Fine Line in Minneapolis. This would be the first time I'd see her in person. When she took the stage a mere six feet in front of us, I pointed toward the stage, turned to my sister with a goofy smile and said, "It's Edie!" My sister gave me an understanding smile back to me, humoring me in my schoolboy crush moment.

Then Edie started to sing. Let me tell you. Her voice is still so perfect, so soft and pretty, so... never mind. I'm getting pathetic. Edie live sounds 100% just as good as Edie on the CD. Ahhh...

I spent the rest of the night in awe. I watched with a smile as Edie sang each verse while redirecting my attention to guitarist Kenny Withrow during all his leads. The Bohemians were outstanding.

It was a great first date with my ex.

Oh yeah, it was also nice to be one of the YOUNGER people in the crowd for a change!

AWWWWWWwwwwwwwww..... crap.

Oh well. It's hard to be too mad/sad at the Twins. They're all youngsters and they are sitting pretty for the next few years. Joey Joe Joe and Justin still have some growing to do; this is scary considering one has the batting crown and the other is a legit MVP candidate. Boof has proven himself to be a hard-nosed pitcher while Santana will still be an ace. If Liriano can get that arm in shape, LOOKOUT! Let's just call this year a preview of what's to come and some good experience for the youngsters. This one-and-done hurts a lot less than my Wolfies' multiple one-and-dones because the Twins' future is so bright.

Now it's time to start rooting for my Yanks. Go Derek Jeter!

Satan is alive on earth and he is in charge of the music buisness.

Case in point:

Steve Irwin (1962-2006)

One of my favorite quotes that I’ve tried to live by comes from Aristotle: “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” I consider myself lucky as I found a job that I love; I wake up each morning excited to tackle the challenges that my workday presents to me.

For the last six years, my idol in this regard has been Mr. Steve Irwin. Steve was the embodiment of loving life and work, tackling each workday with full steam and enthusiasm, and being able to take pride in each accomplishment that results from all of the above. My thoughts go out to Bindy, Bob, and Terri. Thanks for sharing Steve’s love of life, work, and wildlife with us.

New essay on my Philosophy Site!

I added an epistemology essay on my philosophy site. This was one of my fav's at the U of MN and it won me a T-shirt with our Vice President saying "Go @!## Yourself" on it from my anti-Bush professor. Hmmmm. Anyway, you can tell by the preview paragraph below that it's gripping, controversial stuff, eh? I hope I don't crash the blogger server with the increased traffic. (more mainstream posts are coming, I promise)

Testimony and Knowledge:
Contrasting and Evaluating the Humean and Reidian Models

According to David Hume, "There is no species of reasoning more common, more useful, and even necessary to human life, than that which is derived from the testimony of men, and the reports of eye-witnesses and spectators." The majority of a person's knowledge is based on second-hand evidence (I read in a book that Mt. Fuji is in Japan) rather than first-hand experiences (I traveled to Japan and saw first-hand that Mt. Fuji exists). As we are now overly saturated in propositions in this internet-fueled age of information, it is increasingly imperative that we have a guideline to help decide when it is reasonable to believe a proposition based on testimony. If we are overly strict in what we allow ourselves to believe based on testimony, we risk shutting ourselves out of a world of valid information. If we are too loose in our standards, however, we risk gullibly accepting false propositions. Both David Hume and Thomas Reid have offered guidelines that could help us decide when we are justified in believing testimonial evidence. I will examine Hume's view on testimony in Part I, then I will set out the contrasting view of Reid in Part II. In Part III, I will critically assess both views before concluding in Part IV where I will give support for the better of the two views.

Got ya hooked, didn't I??? (are you picking up any sarcasm yet?)

To read the full article: http://myphilosophypapers.blogspot.com/2006/08/testimony-and-knowledge-contrasting.html

Just Call Me Betty Lou...

Prologue: The Soccer Shoe

The indoor soccer shoe is by far the most comfortable every-day shoe available. They are form-fitting, sleek, and extremely light. Most importantly, they are the one type of athletic shoe that won’t make you look like a doofis. I hate soccer, but I love their fashion. Try on a pair; you’ll be sold for life.

The History of the Samba

In 1998, I purchased a pair of soccer shoes: the Adidas Samba. They are a simplistically lovely shoe: black with white stripes and an extra long tongue to cover the first few laces. More importantly, they fit my feet nice and snug and I thought they looked pretty rad. For eight years, I have been buying the Sambas. Each year they wear out and each year I get a new pair. There were times when I’d even plan ahead and purchase 2 pair at the buy-one-get-one-half-off sale so I’d be stoked for 2 years straight.

THE SAMBA: Soft, supple full grain leather upper with Brushed nylon quarter lining, HF molded tongue, and full rubber shell outsole with functional indoor sole profile.

Ever since I had the financial responsibility to purchase my own footwear without the help of my maw, I’ve been an Adidas loyalist. They fit my goofy feet and they have good style. My basketball shoes, my running shoes, my Sambas… all Adidas. Back in Kindergarten we all new what A-D-I-D-A-S meant and I stayed true to the philosophy of the three stripes.

On Sunday my wife and I made the annual trek to Famous Footwear to get my replacement set of Sambas as they were looking pretty ragged. On a whim, I tried on a pair of Nike Air Tempo Rivals. I felt a bit ashamed so I made sure that I did this a few rows away from my Sambas. The Nikes looked pretty rad, plus they fit a bit… (gasp!) better. To seal the deal, they were $10 cheaper.

The Betrayal… or The Midlife Crisis?

I bought the Nikes.

I don’t know if my feet just perked up after 8 years of being in the same shoe or what, but they told me to do it. Maybe my arches are in a midlife crisis and they need to fulfill some sort of Indonesian Sweat Shop fantasy or something. My ankles seemed to have perked up as they look down upon a white shoosh.

Say goodbye to your rivals in this throwback with style and substance. The Nike Air Tempo Rival offers a comfortable fit, and provides the perfect touch on the soccer ball.

I felt guilty as I walked up to the Famous Footwear counter, leaving the 9.5 US Sambas behind. Karla gave me a pat on the back and told me that all would be okay. Oh well, most guys buy floppy hats and convertibles when a midlife crisis happens. I bought shoes. It could be worse, I suppose.

Requiem for a Samba

I would now like to take a moment to thank my many pairs of Sambas for the 8 years of happiness you’ve given to my feet. Yes, you had no arch and you had little cushion, but boy you were light, streamlined, and really cool looking. You are the true sneaker as I could imagine ninjas donning Sambas before infiltrating some secret dojo. Yeah, the extra long tongue flap would occasionally flap upwards and make me look dorky. Yeah, you gave me blisters when I forgot my basketball shoes one Wednesday night. Yeah, you wore out a bit faster than most shoes… but we’ve been through a lot together, Samba, and my feet miss you already.

King Kong reviewed...

Hey gang,

My review of King Kong (yes it's late, but I don't go to theaters) is up on Movie Patron, so give the site some love and check it out; it's been recently revamped and it's quite impressive.

The site: http://www.moviepatron.com

Direct link to my review: http://www.moviepatron.com/moviereviews/k/kingkong_revisited.html

Also, I have a lot of writing to do! I'll be doing more reviews shortly and some blogs about running and my recent trip to Vegas. Check back next week!