Hot, merging action!

I'd like to send out an extra-special Happy Birthday to everyone's favorite actor, Joe Don Baker, star of the classic films Walking Tall, Mitchell, Final Justice, and Mars Attacks!


You think you can take me? Go ahead on, it's your move.
Dave

The fire in my britches is not the issue here!

Apparently, having a Mr. Potato Head on my desk makes me cool, and warrants a piece of chocolate. Far be it from me to argue with such logic.

That's all.


Throw baby!
Dave

Last Update: 04 Feb 2005

Is it possible to lose your train of thought before you've even started thinking? I don't really think that's fair. Monday, yes, but that's as may be.

Anyways.

I had a shoot for the Journal yesterday morning at one of those non-denominational-type choiches for a story running on choiches using 'nontraditional' methods to attract persons. There wasn't anything terrible revolutionary about the proceedins, save for a couple luckey fellas going up on stage to help the...pastor/speaker/guy/thing prove a point. Otherwise, it was set up a lot like the old days of TFC, but minus the snipers. And, to be honest, it wasn't all that exciting. Granted, I was in Photographer Mode, but I didn't feel terribly compelled one way or the other. I do much prefer your everyday Mass (mine too). It didn't help matters that, save for a couple banners, there was nothing even vaguely church-y to be seen. It could have just as well as been a small theatre.

J and I hit the Galleria Friday night before bowling. We were wandering around Famous and/or Barr because someone wanted to drool over the kitchen appliances before we left. I won't say who, but I hear he make a mean cracker. Anyways, as we were heading up, we passed the girl-type clothing area. My eyes happened across a pink t-shirt with the cover from Mind Over Matter: the Images of Pink Floyd embroidered on it. This upsets me, because some 12-13 year old girl is probably going to buy it because it "looks neat" or some such nonsense, and not have any idea who that band is. It could only get worse if she went up to someone who knew the band, and asked "which one's Pink?" Ick.

Friday night I signed up for a band scramble. Confused? Yes, well you should be. I'd be lying if I said it had something to do with egss and/or cooking, so I won't say that. I will say that it may or may not involve people signing up, being selected at random, and then being placed in a band with other random persons. Said persons than may or may not have 3 weeks to develop 3 original songs and then perform them. Maybe. For all you know, I might be lying again. But if I'm not, it should be fun, unless I get stuck with a group of death-metal types. Or Yanni.


I don't like short posts, but this is going to be a short post, because....

........because.

M.C. Hammer?

Horse laxative?

Boston Public?



Not tonight he doesn't... come... in the night... Trogdor.
Dave

Don't ask me why, pumpernickel and rye.

Which HomestarRunner.com Character Are You?

I could have guessed as much. This isn't that bad of a result, really. Better than being the King of Town (even though I like the KOT).


Bread is a good time for everybody!
Dave

wot's...uh the deal

Have I mentioned my website works properly now?

No?

Oh. Well, it does, so you should all go there and look at everything before doing anything else with your lives, save breathing and pumping blood. No, it's not going to change your life, but it's bound to be more interesting than the rest of my post.

Anyways.

So, before I go any further, I offer this bit of news on how not to treat your fans. You might visit here for more info. It's all kinda sad, and makes me wonder what I'm going to do this fall. We'll see.

I've resigned myself to the fact that owning a house comes with its fair share of ups and downs. I'm not sure what the ups are, save for financial reasons, but I can come up with a few downs. For some reason, they tend to be quite dramatic, and, well, expensive. Everyone remembers the Leaf Dam Incident and its sequel, the Glacier Escapade of last year. This year, I offer Gone With the Wind, or We're Not in Kansas Anymore. Last Saturday was freakishly windy. Like, windy enough to wake me up at 6 a.m. I think it topped out at 40 mph or so. So, maybe not tornado-esque, but still pretty strong. Like, strong enough to rip nearly 20 shingles from my roof because they weren't nailed properly. Yeah, we don't like that here at 210 Derhake. It's an unneeded hassle, and I don't like the way it sounds. Scratch that. The sound itself is fine, but the idea of hearing pieces of my house being ripped off is unsettling. Plus, it made my house look like it had male pattern baldness. Thankfully, Janice's uncle, in his uber-coolness came over and fixed it for free. I approve.

I approve of Hodak's chicken.

I approve of American Idiot.

I still approve of Pink Floyd.

Mom, as it turns out, has been a closet PC gamer for the past few years. I went down tonight to a.)upgrade my cell phone, b.)prep dinner for tomorrow, and c.)um, do...something...else. Anyways, I was helping her on the computer, and I find a copy of The Sims. Unopened, yes, but I think she's using it as a decoy. I bet she has HL2, Doom 3, and...Myst tucked away from when she's not around. Probably prepping to take Steve on in Death Match some day.

I should go practice, too.

Or, go work on Janice's birthday present.

I win!


the gold it's in the...
Dave

The Dough Also Rises

UPDATE: If you visit the site, and get to an all gray page, you have to manually pull the frame bar down from the top of the page. For some reason, the site is rendered differently based on your browser configuration. I'm going to try and fix it this weekend.

Good news, kids. The website is finally up and going. I still have a few tweaks to do, but you can shuffle on over and see what's there (i.e., everything that will be, just not perfected yet). Please to be letting me know what you think, so I can make it at least 14% better.

Woot.

Yes, dough rises. I should know, as I made myself some homemade pizza dough Wednesday night. It's a bit of work, but in the end, it's a lot of fun, and very satisfying knowing I did it all myself. And taste-wise, it blows any frozen pizza out of the water. It's also a lot cheaper (in the long run) than buying frozen or delivery. It's pretty adaptable stuff, too. I made it fairly thick, but it would easily stretch out for a thinner crust. Next week: homemade Wheat-Thins, yum.

See, father dear got me Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for More Food for Christmas, and I finally got around to trying the recipes (applications, as he calls them). It's quite a book, too. Part cookbook, part science book, and written like an episode of Good Eats. In short, good stuff.

I even have my copy signed by AB. Seem's he's on a book tour at the moment and decided to stop at Left Bank Books last night for a presentation and book signing. JK and I missed the speech, as well over 200 people showed up (163 and 164 for us), and the store's capacity is only 120 or so. That said, the 2 hour or so wait wasn't all that bad. Once we got inside we ran into Kara and Karl, who I haven't seen in a few months, so we got to talk for a bit. And, much to my delight, Alton was as nice as I could have hoped for. He shook everyone's hand, introduced himself ("Hi, I'm Alton"), posed for many pictures, and was good-natured and pleasant the whole time. I shared my revelations about pizza with him. Our exchange, as best I can remember it:

Me: "I tried the pizza dough last night. Great stuff."
AB: "You know, I really like pizza."
Me: "Blows the forzen stuff away."
AB: "Oh yeah."
Me: "And it's cheaper, too."
AB: ""Oh yeah."

He sorta said it in a way that seemed to imply "I know. Isn't it cool?". He thanked us for coming out, and then gave me a pat on the back as we were leaving. So, good stuff.

I finally got cable installed, so I can get back in the habit of watching silly infomercials I've seen no fewer than 45 times each. Maybe some other stuff, too. For some reason, though, my VCR and TV don't want to work together, preventing me from taping anything above channel 12 (i.e. Good Eats). I should, um, fix that. The two guys from Charter were quite nice, and avid PC gamers. We had a brief chat about Diablo II (crack for the PC, really), and the way game boxes tend to pile up after awhile.

I've also decided that, while puking is very icky, at least it tends to be over after one night. It's a cruddy night, yes, but compared to, say, this cold, which is just lingering, I'd rather be done after one night. A few hours of nausea is, at least right now, far prefferable to an entire day of sitting around sniffing and blowing my nose. Bleah.

Right. I'm done.


"Good news, folks! I've made it up to #10!"
Dave

Fog on the Barrow Downs

Yeah, yeah, I know there was snow. I'll get to that in a minute. Did you catch the fog this week? Even The Fog didn't have as much fog as we had earlier this week. Tuesday night was particularly bad. At least rain and snow give you the chance to use your headlights. Of course, many people have yet to catch on to the fact that high beams in the fog are not good. Weren't they paying attention in driver's ed?

Anyways, snow.

So, let's see. Tuesday: upper 40s. Wednesday: 73 degrees and stormy all night. Thursday, 30-something and 5-6 inches of snow with an arctic chill right behind it. Only in Missouri, I think. Winter seems to be a pretty unpredictable season around here. Summers are reliably hot and muggy, spring and fall are usually a dependable mix of just enough cool and just enough mild as they segue into whatever follows, but you just can't seem to trust winter around here. Is it gonna be kinda mild and sunny? Or is it going to be frigid and snowy? Or will you get both? Last winter was pretty cold throughout. But this winter...first it was cold (damn cold), then it got mild, got normalish, got warm for ONE day, then comes the cold again. And yesterday's mildness was more or less outta nowhere. Tuesday was above normal, but it was still in the 40s somewhere. These things usually build up then stick around for a week or so. This one was one day and gone. Weeeeeeird.

But I like the snow. And cold. I'm hoping for a clear night this weekend so I can freeze my butt of to get a picture of the moon and stars lighting a field.

Yes, I am that nuts.

I'll have to remember to buy film for the camera......

Han-e-say and I hit the Jim Tuesday night for some up-buffing. I lasted a total of 35 minutes on two different bike-type machines and then spent another 45 minutes or so on various muscle enhancers. It's kinda fun, actually, although the last 4 minutes on those bikes can really drag on. Still, I'm looking forward to next week's trip. As long as my limbs stay attached, we should keep going.

That would imply then that Janice could lose her arms and I wouldn't really care.

I'm not sure I meant it that way.

Try these facts on for size:

-a bald eagle larger than George weighs half what he does (7 lbs)
-it has a wingspan of almost 6 feet
-diving speed of nearly 150 mph
-it doesn't sweat: it pants!

Yes, this bald eagle spent the whole night with his tongue out. It was pretty weird, but pretty cool, too. I'd like to hit Eagle Days this weekend, but time may not allow, what with Godzillathon 2005, Cardinals Winter Warm-Up, Ice Skating, website design, photo shoots, Calculus, Bus Chucker Club, etc.

We'll see.

And, really, I'm reaching for content at this point. Enjoy your three-day weekend, kids, and I'll catch you on Tuesday.


I'm not gonna lie to ya, that's a healthy piece of real estate.
Dave

Bagel? Mmm, yeah, alright.

With Steve's successive viewing of The Princess Bride, I think that leaves me as one of the few people on earth who have yet to watch it. It's just as well, though, as watching it would loer my standing in the club I started with Matt over at JB. I don't think we ever officially named it, but it went along the lines of Guys Who Haven't Seen Movies They "Should" Have Seen. My list, as best I can remember:

-The Princess Bride
-It's a Wonderful Life
-Titanic
-Casblanca

Others, I'm sure. It should be noted I have seen Gone With the Wind, which should count for something, since the movie runs just under 3 weeks (not counting the intermission). To my surprise, I kinda like it, even though Ms. O'Hara had the ability to make me want to reach into the movie and slap her for five minutes steady. But that Clark Gable sure is easy on the eyes, eh?

I'm also reminded of another fine group we started at JB. That, of course, is the...covert-spy-something-or-other faction S.C.Y.T.H.E. For those not in the know, that stands for Special Consulting Youths that Have Energy. You may not be surprised, but we built the acronym around the name, because scythe is a cool word, and sounds sinster if used properly. Alas, we never got anywhere with it. Not even ID cards. I think we only had 4, maybe 5 members. Our arch-rivals were...um...W.H.E.A.T.--Women Have Empathic Abilities Today. A group consisting of one person, I think, and named soley because....well, I'm sure you can figure out why.

Yes, we were silly. But we had fun!

So there.

I put in my notice, such as it was, at lessons last night. This shall be my last month. After 5+ years, I think I've reached a point where there's not much more I can get out of lessons. Certainly there's more to learn, but it seems like most of our time is spent working on songs. From a technical standpoint, I suppose it's fine, but it gets old after a bit. Another big factor is the fact I don't have as much time to just sit and play as I'd like. I blame work mostly. Finding two hours or so to just sit and work on songs and such is pretty hard these days. Sigh. I'm not crazy about quitting. It's always a nice break, and my teacher's a great guy, but I think the time has come. Maybe someday I'll pick them up again. We'll see.

I've also backed down on my plan to wait until Spring Training to get cable again. I will admit to missing it a little bit these days, especially when I just need to have something on in the background. I miss watching my man Alton Brown, too. It also turns out I miss infomercials, but I'd prefer to keep that secret.

Whoops.

Well, at least they have a 3-month special for $29.99, so that'll be nice.

I've eased back into this "working" thing better than I thought I might. I considered only working one day this week so I could better slip back into the routine. After all, coming back and working 5 full days after nearly two weeks off could have been a big shock to my system. I ended up deciding I should just jump right in. So far, so good. Still have today and tomorrow left, so we'll see what happens.

Speaking of, working would probably be a good idea.


I'll call it the super question machine!
Dave

The Battle for Middle-Earth

Let it be known that Nerd-Dom comes in varying levels.

1.) Mild Enjoyment: Going to see a movie, enjoying it, and buying it, even if you only watch it once.

2.) Thorough Enjoyment: Seeing the movie, and then reading all the books. Wait until the "Special Edition" of said movie comes out and buying it, and buying said "Special Edition" for a copy of the movie you already have.

3.) Mild Obsessiveness: Watching the movies quite often. Watching documentaries on bonus discs and laughing along with silly anecdotes, even though you weren't there. Point out book-to-movie discrepincies to anyone and everyone, even if they don't care.

4.) Unhealthy Obsession: Buying not one, but two computer games based on said movie/novel/breakfast cereal. Think that having an army of the dead, even just a couple guys, would be pretty damn cool.

5.) Full-blown Nerdiness: Honestly think that lighting fixtures in the Cheesecake Factory look a lot like the Eye of Sauron.


That said, it's not all I've been doing. I've been doing a lot of crossword puzzles lately, and...oh, crap, I mean, I played Half-Life 2 again, and, shit...um, well, I.....

How about Christmas, eh? Yes, World Peace was maintained, due to either the neutral territory, or my many threats of bloody death to anyone stepping out of line. Maybe it was a blessing from the Papal States. Or the ham. It was pretty pretty good, you know. We have plenty, if anyone's hungry. I s'pose I wouldn't mind hosting again, but man, the pre-holiday cleaning is just God-awful. Bleah. Many thanks to the States for swinging by and helping. We couldn't have done it without you. Really, it was quite nice having the family together and, pretty much, getting along. Perhaps there's hope still for all of us.

I'm smack-dab in the middle of a week off from work, and I must say it's a wonderful experience. Apart from a few piddly house chores, I haven't really done much of anything. I availed myself of the warmer weather today and took some pictures, but that's about it. Watched a lot of movie, played some computer, even took up mall walking. Oh, and I've eaten. Lots. Like, way too much. I'm actually giving strong thought to using the gym at the civic center once I get my resident card renewed. It's certainly not a case of being totally un-buff, I just want to be more buff. More...buff. Yeah.

I also feel somewhat obligated to do some end-of-the-year wrap-up, because it's the hip thing to do. So let's try.

Best Album: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2
Runner-Up: Is There Love in Space?, Joe Satriani

Best Concert: Cowboy Mouth, Mississippi Nights, February 6
Runner-Up: Joe Satriani, The Pageant, October 24

Best Movie: The Incredibles
Runner-Up: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
*It should be noted I only saw 3 movies in the theatres all year.

Best Reason to Stay Up Later than I Should: New York Times Crossword Puzzle collections

Best Photo Shoot: Telegraphers club (wire tappers, morse code, etc.)
Runner-Up: tie: Relay for Life and Vietnam Memorial Wall

Most Superficial, Vapid Event: Shandi Finnessy Day. Please.

Best New Appliance: My new toaster.
Runner-Up: The stand-up mixer.

Best Athlete: Tony Womack

Best Sport: Baseball
Runner-Up: Football

Best Thing to Be Told at Work: "I'll tell you what. I give you permission to goof off for the next two hours."



I think I'll go goof off for a couple hours now.

Nobody's gonna take my car, gonna break the speed of sound, yeah.
Dave

I've got the music in me!

As I'm sure you've all been doing lately, I found myself somewhat down knowing the 'Tones won't be touring next year. Then I heard myself say:

"You know, you've got a wonderful recording of their last show to last you, and an entire Archive.org of shows to peruse."

And I say:

"Yeah, but it's just not the same."

So myself says:

"So what are you going to do next year? Sit around and mope?"

And I say:

"No, I'm going to do a few things: see U2 support HTDAAB, see the Mouth support [new album name here], catch Vic on his solo tour, see Steve Vai on April 10 at the Pageant, and see the Jeff Coffin Mu'Tet February 12 at the Broadway Street Oyster Bar."

So myself says:

"Why the big deal, then?"

And I say:

"I dunno, I just like complaining."

At that point, my inner self said a few things I can't repeat in mixed company, and locked itself in my room. The point is, I think, is that I have some good shows to see next year. That's it, really. I just wanted an excuse to do a really lame spin on Steve's inner dialogue about pizza. It really wasn't very good, and I apologize.

But hey: Steve Vai!


Basses on Mars?
Dave

I like the sound of my own voice.

Mmm...the sweet smell of a survey. I'm trying to horn in on Steve's territory here.

----------------- THE BASICS--------------------
--Name: Dav(id)
-- Birthday: 12 September 1981
-- Nicknames: Mooooooooooooore!!!! and....Fish Boy
-- Favorite band: psh.

-----------------YOU PREFER--------------------
--Pepsi or Coke: Co'Cola
-- McDonald's or Burger King: I decided BK takes itself way too seriously tonight, so McDon's.
-- Adidas or Nike: Either one works. They both fit.
-- Chocolate or vanilla: If I go to Steak 'n Shake, I can get both at once, so why bother choosing?
-- Cappuccino or coffee: Mountain Dew. Thank you.
-----------------DO YOU--------------------
--Smoke: No, I can get my own beek jerky, thank you.
-- Cuss: Wednesdays, every other Friday, and odd numbered Thursdays.
-- Take a shower everyday: When necessary.
-- Have a crush(es): No, but I do have an (es), thank you.
-- Who are they?: She's over there. Watch out! She'll get ya when you least expect it!
-- Do you think you've been in love?: I wasn't. Then I was. Now am. Will be for at least another 2 terabytes worth of hours or so.
--Want to go to college: Why? Are you paying?
-- Want to get married: Sure. Sounds like fun.
-- Type w/ your fingers on the right keys: Mario and I didn't get along. Wario taught me the evil ways of....non-proper typing methods.
-- Believe in yourself: Except when I'm trying to curl my tongue, yes.
-- Get motion sickness: No, but I have been to a place called Vertigo. It's everything I wish I didn't know.
-- Think you're attractive: Are you kidding? I've got to use giant tremor-inducing machines to keep the ant lions at bay. Wait. That's Gordon Freeman. Yes. Yes I'm very attractive. Can't you tell?
-- Like thunderstorms: I like the rain falling down on me.
-- Play an instrument: Is mayonnaise an instrument?

------------IN THE PAST MONTH HAVE YOU----------------
--Smoke(d): Yes. I lit my eyelashes on fire "just to see what it felt like."
-- Done a drug: I only get one? What a bummer...
-- Gone to the mall: Yes, but not to shop.
-- Eaten sushi: The Beatles!
-- Been on stage: Yes. Really!
-- Gone skating: Only along the slippery road of life. Next, please.
-- Made homemade cookies: Yes. Twice, even!
-- Been in love: Four sure, yo.
-- Dyed your hair: Nyet.
-- Stolen anything: Three lame jokes and some air from a guy in Clayton. He wasn't using it, as far as I could tell.
-----------------HAVE YOU EVER--------------------
--Flown on a plane: I refues to believe being taped to the wings is the "economy class."
-- Missed school because it was raining?: What?
-- Told a guy/girl that you liked them?: Guy divided by girl=cos45. So, yes. I think.
-- Cried during a movie?: Sigh, when Mothra was beating up on Godzilla, I just couldn't help myself.
-- Ever thought an animated character was hot?: Aeon Flux? Psh. It's all about Daria.
-- Had an imaginary friend: I had to get rid of him. He kept eating my Crispix.
-- Been on stage?: Look up!
-- Cut your hair: Yes. With a spoon.
-- Had crush on a teacher?: Marie Osmond. I mean, wait. No.
-- Gotten beaten up: I wasn't all that good at that old Nintendo boxing game.
-- Been in a fight: But I rule at any Mortal Kombat before they went 3-D.
-----------------THE FUTURE--------------------
--Age you hope to be married: Somewhere between my age now and 87.
-- Numbers and Names of Children: I'm going to have Ron children and name them 8, 14, and 63.
-- How do you want to die?: Happy and peacefully.
-- What do you want to be when you grow up?: Paul Sanchez and/or news photographer.
-- What country would you most like to visit?: That little one in Europe.

-----------------OPPOSITE SEX--------------------
--Best eye/hair color: Anything natural, save for magenta.
-- Short or long hair: Are you asking my preferences in cats all of a sudden?
-- Best height: Tall enough to change lightbulbs.

-----------------NUMBER OF-------------------
Number of people I could trust with my life: Are you trying to kill me?
number of people who have actually saved it: 38.
-- Number of CDs that I own: I have some CDs, thank you, I don't want to join your music club.
-- Number of piercings: Q.
-- Number of tattoos: Ha.
-- Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper?: Quite often (really!).

------------Favorites---------------------
--Shampoo: On sale.
-- Fav Color: Green.
-- Day/Night: Cider!
-- Summer/Winter: Very small rocks!
-- Lace or Satin: Churches!
-- Fave Food: A duck!
-- Fave sports stars: Womack. Duh, really people, come on.

----------------RIGHT NOW--------------------
--Wearing: Your pants and my uncle's green t-shirt.
-- Thinking about: "Man this is long."
-- Listening to: Squeaky chair.
---------------IN THE LAST 24 HRS--------------------
--Cried: Nosir.
-- Worn jeans: Only once.
-- Met someone new online: We're Sorry, AIM is being a butt right now.
-- Done laundry: Thrice.
-- Drove a car: I know these fast cars won't do me no good.
-- Talked on the phone: Not to you, sorry.

----------------DO YOU BELIEVE IN----------------
--Your friends: Yah.
-- Santa Claus: I believe in...um...crap. The funny went away.
-- Tooth Fairy: Just the Root Canal Imp.
-- Destiny/Fate: Why all the long division tonight?
-- Angels: Shore.
-- Ghosts: Not yet. Lens flare does not count as a ghost, sorry.
-- UFOs: <--Unnecessary apostrophe removed
-- God: Indubitably.
--------FRIENDS AND LIFE--------------------
--Do you ever wish you had another name?: I've always been partial to Sugar Magnolia.
-- Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend?: I've got Janice. That's even better!
-- Which one of your friends acts the most like you?: My clone. I love him dearly.
-- Who have you known the longest of your friends?: What's it to you, fish lips?
-- Are you close to any family member?: Well, my grandma lives about 10-12 minutes away, and...huh? Oh. You meant it like that. Yes. They all rock.
-- Who do you hang around the most?: George and Chip.
-- What's the best feeling in the world?: A good one. I'll get you an exact word for it later.
-- Worst Feeling?: Regret.
-- What time is it now?: 2:57. So much for bed before 3. That's the third time this week!


There. That was silly, eh? I wonder if my answers reflect my general sleepiness? Probably. Sleep! Yes, good idea, me.

Why thank you.

Good night!


Davjkhgljkhgjkzzzzzzzzzz

I get the joke, so I'm gonna keep on laughin'

I saw Cowboy Mouth last night. It was weird, because amongst all the other stuff going on lately, the show was sort of pushed to the side. Plus, I wasn't as psyched about the show as much as usual going in. Again, probably just too much other stuff going on. Of course, it took about 10 seconds of show for that feeling to wear off, and I was back in good 'ol Mouth Land, where "hopes and dreams never die." They played the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah's, which was essentially a glorified bar with a stage over the bar itself. Kinda weird looking up the whole time, but it was pretty cool, and the sound wasn't as bad as I was thinking originally. The set wasn't anything mind-blowing, but it was solid. They played 'Laughable,' which is always a treat, along with 'Cab't Stay Here' and 'Here Comes Troublw,' neither of which I'd heard in awhile. Ms. Mary was unable to attend due to family business, so they had a very good stand-in, Sonya Somethingorother. She had, as Tom put it, a lot of spunk. Very good job for only her second show. Two points of note:

One.) 'Light it on Fire' was not played. Anywhere. That is, I think, a first.
b.) Fred did not mention the name of the band or where they were from. Another first.

I chatted with Griff for a bit after the show. Again, he was as nice as could be, and seemed happier to have Tom and I come see the LT show tomorrow then we are he and Paul are staying an extra night to play for us. We talked about his old band, the Red Rockers, touring with U2 back in '85 on the Unforgettable Fire tour, and how they were great guys, etc., and how Bono even rememberd him a couple years later and asked how he was doing.

It's nice to enjoy bands with quality people making the music.

I saw UnBit Tuesday night. It was chaotic, in a way, but it was that way by design, so it was pretty cool. And the show was funny. I wasn't too out of the loop, so the jokes didn't go over my head. The lighting was very good. Ten points must go to Dan for his brilliant contribution to the show. Another ten points to Steeeeeeeve (The Musical!) for the Verizon skit and 3 1/2 points for the Monty Python reference. Charlie gets a gold star (ding!) for his Homestar Runner impression. I'd recommend the show to all of you, but it was a one-night run, so if you missed it, well, tough toenails. Go see it next year!

By the way, Gordon Freeman's clearance is indeed level 3.

A few other points of interest:

-I'm now the proud owner of a JS100 electric guitar. Got it for nearly $200 cheaper than originally planned, and I even got a case.

-Half Life 2 is as good the second time as it is the first.

-Fishy is more addictive than Snood and crack combined.

-I have no idea how addicitve crack is.

-I'm just streeeeetching this out as long as I can now.

-I was walking from the parking lot into the building at work on Tuesday, and saw one of our big garage doors slowly lowering after a delivery van went inside. There was a bell ringing to notify everyone it was in, and I had half a mind to roll under the door and start yelling about a warp core breach, but I didn't.

-Tony Womack is no longer a Cardinal. This saddens me to no end.

I'ma go light up my door now. Bye!

With my brains and your braun, we'll make an excellent team.
Dave

Peace on Earth, gimme presents!

I don't really think too highly of our radio options here in town. As I've mentioned before, KSHE is a shadow of what it once was (Creed in the same promo as Rush and Floyd?), and the other major stations are pretty hit-or-miss in terms of something I want to hear. 98% of the time it's 'miss,' although KHITS isn't too bad most of the time. My general disdain for a lot of current music doesn't help me too much, I suppose. I'm not big on talk radio, either, so the whole of the AM side is out. Again, NPR isn't too shabby, but I just can't get into sitting around listening to people talk, good or bad.

All that being said, there is one station I can almost always count on. I think it's KDHX, although I'm not too sure. It's 88.7, and it's nuttin' but jazz. Real jazz, too. Not that hokey "smooth jazz" that people seem to like these days (*cough* Kenny G *cough* dork *cough*), but honest-to-God jazz: guys on upright bass, wacky piano lines, hi-hats, etc. Not always guitar, but I don't mind in this case. It's great listening, and very low on commercials.

I was lucky enough to catch some Christmas music on that station the past couple days. I enjoy the jazz take on the old standards, although it can be hard to pick up what they're playing sometimes. I do believe, though, that anything I hear on the radio is going to be trumped by what may be the best Christmas album I've heard: the wonderfulygoodandfun Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack done by Mr. Vince Guiraldi. I think it even trumps Merry Axemas Vol. 1, but only slightly. Damn that's good stuff. And, as I was pondering it tonight, 'Linus and Lucy' could, in a sense, be considered a Christmas song, since it is on the album, and I think it might have been the first appearance of the song. I s'pose that's sort of pushing it a bit, though. I wonder if Mr. Guiraldi knew he had a hit on his hands when he was writing that, or if it was originally intended to just be filler music for the show. It's one fine piece of music, either way.

Another nice thing about no TV right now: no stupid Christmas commercials, or ho-ho-hum 'Holiday specicals.' Especially the stuff on ABD Family. Bleh bleh bleh. Someone (usually a guy) is being a clod, and through some magical happenstance, learns the True Meaning of the Season in time to....get the girl, or something. The end. Ignoring the fact none of these shows talk about the real meaning of the season, they just aren't much fun. Give me Pee Wee's Christmas Special anyday. Mmm...potatoe-y.

Or, even better, give me The Muppet Family Christmas. Now THAT is some funny stuff. You've got the regular Muppets, the Sesame Street gang, fraggles, and the best version of 'Jingle Bell Rock' all in one. Careful of the icey patch!

My Christmas shopping is coming along...um...good..ish. Yeah. I sat down the other night and made a list of everyone I'm gifting this year (13? sounds right), and then sat down and sifted through all my pictures. I'll have to assign pictures to people this week and then get them printed. It's no secret I do it for people, so I can safely type it here on the 'net. I'm also a bit of a rebel for the second straight year: I'm getting something for everyone, Dalette and her 'exchange list' be damned. Bring her on, I say! If she doesn't want what she gets, I'll give it to Janice, along with her other gift. For new readers, her present was made by the fine folks at ********.

I have to work 5 of the next 10 days. I do believe I can hold out, despite the slowness of things at the office right now. How slow, you ask? Our boss was out of the office Monday, so one of our 'official' tasks was to make paper snow flakes for decoration. A few more weeks and the action should pick up, thankfully. For now, I'll enjoy the lull.

I think that's enough for now. I hope to regal you all with a first-hand account of Un-Bit Butter later this week. Stay warm, folks. It's cold enough out there to freeze your Winnebago!

How can he be all ears? Frogs don't even have ears.
Dave

At the Sign of the Prancing Pony

I figured I'd make my own post instead of living vicariously through other people's posts.

I was looking 'round my living room last night and realized, ofr the first time, that it's kinda smallish. This is normally no big deal, but for exactly one afternoon/evening, it might be. In my infinite wisdom, or my desire to quell any inter-family hostilities, I decided to host the family (mum's side) for Christmas this year. At current count, we have...myself, Steve, grandmummy, Mum, Mike, Diane, Mike, Mike, Maria, aaaaaand (drum roll) Dalette. So that's ten, and pretty much everyone I originally expected. No one left out, which wa the plan. But, my house isn't that big. It's far from tiny, but having ten persons in and around its premises should be interesting.

Of course, if certain members come to blows, we'll have some extra space to work with. Would that be a bad thing? Hmm...

One amusing occurence. Since The Lord of the Manor is off work, and will be coming for a visit, we will, as you might have noticed, have three (3) Mikes in one house. See Michael Js to boot. So, the fun thing will be for someone, out of the blue to ask for Mike. then we all have a hearty laugh as much confusion ensues.

Well, I might laugh.

There's something to be said for continuing education. Or common sense. Either one would have saved me a hassle in regards to the website, which is now on at least another week's hiatus because I can't spell photography. So you get to wait even longer. Sorry. I'll use the time to fix anything that needs fixing, and make it look better. I swear I'll have it up and running by January. Really.

I'd like to make a post compiling "The Best of Fr. Craig." E-mail me anything you've got (preferably quotes), and I'll get them up.

Awake! Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake!
Dave

I'm going nowhere, where I am it is a lot of fun.

There will come a day, mark my words, when, no matter how hard I try, I'm going to have to face the inevitable:

I'm going to be old.

It's a fact of life, and one I can't get around. This doesn't trouble me, though, as I plan to live to be at least 100, for reasons to nerdy to go into here. That being said, I'd like to think I could remain fairly spry. Actually, if I had my way, I'd like to be as mobile as the chaps in the Rolling Stones, who are all in their early 900s, except for Keith Richards who actually died in 1982. No one's had the heart to tell him, so he just keeps on going.

But he's damn good guitar player. I was listening to their new live album before buying HTDAAB last week, and they still sound good. How do they do that? A deal with the Evil One? Lots of practice? Lots of drugs? All three?

Anyways.

I beat Half Life 2 on Monday night. I'm quite pleased, although the somewhat vagueish ending is annoying, just as it was in the first game. I wanna know what happened, consarnit! Heaven help me if I have to wait another 6 years to find out the end. Sigh. Another pitfall of being a nerd.

I bought Janice her Christmas present and I've been having a blast teasing her about it (all in good fun, I promise). I'l give you all a hint, though. It was made by ********. Cool, huh? I think she'll like it.

Um, I haven't really considered what I'm buying for anyone else, save for mom. Sorry folks, but I will get on it. Soon. Really.

Speaking of being a nerd. Godzilla: Final Wars premiered on Monday. Depending on who you ask, it's either a whiz-bang all-out uber-fun movie, or it's an evil abomination, the worst thing ever made in terms of Godzilla, and a total disgrace to his 50th birthday. I'll have to wait until I asee it sometime next year, but the clips I've seen make it out to be fun. As some reviewers have pointed out, SPFX and such look much different on screen then they do on a PC monitor, so I have to keep that in mind. But, we'll see. I really want to like it, so I'm willing to work with the film, and not expect anything earth-shattering. All I want is to be entertained.

And, with that, I'm gonna go before your image of me slips another notch.


I know these fast cars won't do me no good.
Dave