Covered

Graphic design junkies should find this interesting. I did, and I'm not that much of a graphic design junky.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: The Kinks: "You Really Got Me"

Payback

Sick of telemarketers? You too might be able to find a way to make them pay.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Led Zeppelin: "In My Time of Dying"

Prank

Any prank you might have pulled in college will pale in comparison to these, that is unless you were involved with one of these. If you weren't, I bet you wish you were.

Mood: Amused
Music: Electric Light Orchestra: "Tightrope"

Shopping

I found this list of ten shopping tricks that stores hate. It's a good list.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Queen: "Son & Daughter"

False Alarms

If there's a conviction in this case, then there's little hope left for our legal system.

Mood: Disappointed
Music: The Eagels: "Victim of Love"

Food for Thought

Anthony Bourdain opines on the current state of Food Network.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: U2: "Where the Streets Have No Name"

I think...

I found this list of the eleven most important philosophical questions, at least according to this website. Bonus material includes the correct way to pronounce Nietsche, and it's not "nee chee."

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: ZZ Top: "Waitin' For the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago"

Analysis

Maryanne and I met with our realtor, Kari, recently to go over the market analysis she had prepared for us. She was very thorough, and while our house's value probably isn't as high as we'd like, I was still fairly optimistic. Our next step will be to talk with our mortgage broker again to see how our house's sale price will affect how much new house we can afford.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Cream: "White Room"

Spread the News

Maryanne commented to me the other night about my earlier post regarding Caly's pregnancy. She felt it was a rather long way of saying congratulations.

The post wasn't just to congratulate Caly, but to help spread the news.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Moody Blues: "Vintage Wine"

Barred

So, for some reason, when I logged in to Blogger this morning, trying to create some posts, I was forced to upgrade to the new Blogger. I had been trying to avoid this, as I was pretty certain it would end up adding the Blogger toolbar you see above. And it most certainly did. I've resigned myself to the fact that unless I buy a domain name and publish to my own site, that the toolbar will now be a part of the main page. It is faster, though, which is good.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Beatles: "Back In the U.S.S.R."

Children

I've had to keep the news under wraps for a while to give her time to tell everyone, but I feel I can finally post here my sister's exciting news: she's pregnant.

She shared the news when she came for Sarah's first birthday earlier this month. I thought it might make decent fodder for the website, but knew I'd have to give Caly ample time to make all the phone calls necessary. Now that more than three weeks have passed, I can offer another congratulatory method in a very public way.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Jefferson Airplane: "It's No Secret"

Little House

Of all the bugs to have bitten Maryanne lately, the "new house" bug is the most recent and the most persistent. I think she's finally become fed up with all the frustrations of our current hourse: no garage, small kitchen, one bathroom, high traffic. She arranged a meeting with our mortage broker, and we met with him and found out we can afford a lot more house than we have now.

Clearly excited by all this, she was all gung-ho to look at house listings on realtor websites. She even made arrangements to meet with a realtor to discuss preparations to put our house on the market. In the process she became quite enamored with a very nice house for sale in Stoughton.

She found out, though, that the house in question now has an offer on it that is likely to be accepted. She was cleary disappointed, though still open minded about other houses on the market.

Within the last couple of days, though, pessimism finally struck. Even following the discussions with Kari, our realtor, on what we can do in our house to spruce things up and make it more attractive to buyers, Maryanne has been plagued by doubts. She's been questioning if anyone will buy our house without it looking brand new. Our friend Pauline has even caused Maryanne to question if our house will even sell for more than what we bought it for.

Never mind the fact that we've been in our house almost three years and the values of houses and properties almost always appreciate and not depreciate. Never mind the fact that while it's no longer a seller's market it isn't exactly a buyer's market, either. Never mind the fact that a lot of the cosmetic issues with the house can be fixed with materials we already have. And never mind the fact that while it's no longer the house for us it might be the house for someone else.

It's the simple fact that we can make any offer we make on a new house contingent on the sale of our own house. End of story. If we have to wait a while to get an acceptable offer on our house, so be it, and in that time we will continue to build equity in our house, and will continue to make improvements on the house to make it more attractive for sale.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Jethro Tull: "Nothing Is Easy"

Drive

Here's another list of unusual USB drives from Fosfor Gadgets.

Mood: Amused
Music: Quicksilver Messenger Service: "Fresh Air"

Marvelous

Come May not only will we be treated to Spider-Man 3 which will add the Venom and Sandman storylines, but about a month later we get a new Fantastic Four movie featuring the Silver Surfer. Hot damn!

Mood: Excited
Music: Bad Company: "Wildfire Woman"

Sweaty Uncle Teddy

One of my surprises at Christmas was a book that Maryanne and gotten for me, God, Guns & Rock 'n' Roll by Ted Nugent. It was an interesting surprise, and it turned out to be an interesting read as well. A lot of people might find it a bit over the top, but I think that's because Ted is so passionate about everything he does. A lot of people don't like him because he's passionate about hunting and shooting. It turns out he's also passionate about responsible wildlife conservation, responsible firearm ownership, and one's right to defend oneself, especially against criminals who shouldn't even be walking the streets.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Collective Soul: "Generate"

Shred!

Guitar aficionados will find this interesting: a list of the 100 greatest guitar solos, as determined by the staff at Guitar World.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Supertramp: "Rudy"

A Year Ago

Sarah turned a year old on Friday, and we held a small birthday party for her on Saturday. It was a small affair, though my sister Caly did fly out from Colorado.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Boston: "Rock and Roll Band"

If the shoe fits...

PETA is in the news again, but this time for a lack of shenanigans in Colorado following the blizzards there. Colorado Governor Bill Owens called them what they are not once, but twice, calling them "a bunch of losers."

Mood: Amused
Music: Steely Dan: "Peg"

Animated

Do you find the animated female form attractive? You're not alone.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Matthew Sweet: "Sick of Myself"

New Year

So here it is, 2007 already. The last year went pretty quickly, and I'm sure a big part of that was Sarah. Having a child really changes your life, and though Maryanne and I have had to make a lot of adjustments and had a lot of frustrations, I can't think of many other things I've done that have been as rewarding.

We spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home, watching the Packers demolish the Bears on national television in what could have been Brett Favre's last ever game. It was a good performance, proving the Favre can still play. He may no longer be the best currently in the game, but he's better than most, and that showed, as this season was much better than last. I could understand if he'd want to retire, but I hope he comes back for another season. The remaining records he can break are easily attainable with one more season. Even if he breaks the all-time interception record in the process, no one will remember him for that. It will be all the other things he's accomplished that he will be remembered for.

If Favre does indeed come back for one more season, then I think the NFL owes it to the fans to make sure that the last game of the regular season, and what could be his final game ever, is played at Lambeau Field.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Humble Pie: "I'm Ready"

Is it a bird?

Installation art has always puzzled me. This one will likely puzzle you, as well.

Mood: Amused
Music: Jethro Tull: "Aqualung"

Home?

Got some spare refrigerator boxes? Who doesn't! Now you can use them to build a castle.

Mood: Amused
Music: The Beatles: "Hey Bulldog"

Almost White Christmas

Maryanne and I tried to drive up to Door County on Friday (Dec. 22) night. I use "try" because what started as rain in the Madison area switched over to snow somewhere around Rosendale, to the point where we decided to pull off and stay at a hotel in Green Bay over night.

The weather the rest of the holiday weekend was clear and mild, and it at least made for good traveling, though it didn't do much for the holiday spirit. I was happy to see my family and friends, though, despite wishing I had had more time with them.

On our drive back on Sunday it was evident that the worst of the snow had been between Green Bay and Oshkosh. Perhaps if we had kept going things would have improved. I'm glad we didn't take the chance, though.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Cars: "Let's Go"

Peripheral Visions

Looking for some unusual peripherals for that free USB port? Check these out.

Mood: Amused
Music: Aerosmith: Dream On

Canticles 2:6

Maybe this is what prudish Christians need to loosen up.

Mood: Amused
Music: The Beatles: "Two of Us"

Brown Christmas

We had a pretty good snow storm a while back, but some unseasonably warm weather recently melted all but the most persistent of sheltered snow banks. While I appreciate the clear weather and good driving conditions, I find it difficult to get into the holiday spirit without the accompaniment of good snow cover. I know there are plenty of people out there who would prefer it to be like this all winter, but I'm used to having a good chance of snow at Thanksgiving besides having a white Christmas. I can remember plenty of years where we ended up staying home Christmas Eve because the weather was too bad to go to church.

So "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know."

Mood: Pensive
Music: Blackfoot: "Wishing Well"

Map of the Stars

Have you ever wished you had a map of the United Federation of Planets? Well, wish no more. Trekkies rejoice.

Mood: Amused
Music: The Honeydrippers: "Young Boy Blues"

Wussy

In what I hope will be my last visit to AOL, I found this list of the 111 Wussiest Songs.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Animals: "House of the Rising Sun"

Fact or Fiction?

Here's an interesting article on the medieval epic Beowulf.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Pink Floyd: "The Great Gig In the Sky"

Travelin' Man

Create your own personalized map of the USA

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band: "Travelin' Man/Beautiful Loser"

Ginormous Hugantic Distance!

Have you ever wanted to see golf balls destroy breakable objects? I never would have thought so either until I saw this.

Mood: Amused
Music: Bo Diddley: "Roadrunner"

Canstruction

Andy Warhol may have made art of cans, but here is some art made from cans.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Derek & The Dominoes: "Keep on Growing"

What It's Worth

I would argue that some people understand, but not nearly enough.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Supertramp: "Ain't Nobody But Me"

What's New

Popular Science creates their own list of the best inventions of 2006.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: The Rolling Stones: "Sympathy For the Devil"

X Is For Christ

This is truly mind-boggling. Chicago is holding a German Christmas festival, a festival in honor of a Christian holiday, but don't want to offend non-Christians by allowing the new film The Nativity Story to be a sponsor.

One gentleman said that would be a lot like celebrating Abe Lincoln's birthday without talking about Abe Lincoln.

The mayor's office claims they don't want to endorse one religion over another.

It's a Christian holiday! You're already endorsing a religion!

Mood: Baffled
Music: Bad Company: "Youngblood"

Secret Weapon

Chuck Norris was here.

Mood: Amused
Music: Queen: "Hammer To Fall"

Roughing

It's been said that in the NFL good teams find a way to win, and bad teams find a way to lose. The Packers certainly didn't do much in last night's game to find themselves a way to win. There were a lot of questionable calls by the officials in last night's game, not the least of which was a roughing the passer call that was complete bullshit.

There are many sports writers out there who call the Packers a bad team because they seem to keep finding ways to loose. I'm a unwilling to use that word. I would call them young, perhaps mediocre, but not bad. As the rest of the season plays out, though, they have a chance to prove that they're not bad.

Mood: Frustrated
Music: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: "I Wanna Be Just Like You"

Vocabulary

Your Vocabulary Score: A

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

Mood: Pleased
Music: Alice Cooper: "Poison"

But Are They Chaste?

The news is a little old now, but whatever comes of this could have great influence on the future of the Roman Catholic church.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Steve Miller Band: "Jet Airliner"

City Mice

Now see, if you live in the country, you don't have to put up with this kind of shit.

Mood: Irritated
Music: Joe Walsh: "Rocky Mountain Way"

A Deaf Ear

The earbuds for my MP3 player finally died. I think there's a short somewhere in the wire for the left channel. It cuts in occasionally, but it's more out than in, making for a rather lopsided listening experience.

However, I guess I can't complain about cheap earbuds that came with the player. After all, they lasted over 18 months of some rather abusive use.

I've had my eye on some earbuds from Koss and Sony on Amazon. I shall have to order soon.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Jefferson Airplane: "Somebody To Love"

Venom

I know what I want for my birthday.

Mood: Excited
Music: The Beatles: "Here Comes the Sun"

Spoilers Ahead

Saturday night Maryanne and I watched Clerks. It was the 10th anniversary version, uncut, and was different from what I remember from seeing it previously (spoilers ahead - you've been warned!). It was mostly the same, though at the very end Dante is shot. I don't remember that happening before.

Maryanne was a little surprised by the movie. I don't know what she was expecting, but it must have been different than the actual movie. I think she kept looking for a plot. I guess there isn't really much of one, not in the strict sense of having rising action, a climax, and so forth.

While I'm speaking of action... they weren't especially pretty, but the Badgers and Packers both won this weekend. In fact the Badgers jumped up several spots in the polls, and the Packers are now tied for second place in the NFC north, albeit with a losing record. It made for a rather satisfying weekend after the snow that came Friday.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Queen: "Dead On Time"

Annoying

Here's a list of 248 ways to annoy people, in case you need any help.

It reminds me of some of those lists I'd get in my e-mail when I was in college.

Mood: Amused
Music: The Doors: "Hello, I Love You"

Barometer

We have had some gorgeous weather the past couple of days. Yesterday it reached almost 70, and today we hit 60. Tomorrow, though, we'll be lucky to reach 40 as rain turns to snow in the afternoon.

As they say in Wisconsin, if you don't like the weather, just wait for it to change.

I'm sure there's people out there wondering how I put up with it. Just think: in spring we could have a day of snow turning to rain, then highs in the sixties the following day.

I like having four distinct seasons, and part of me feels sorry for those that don't get that experience.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Dave Edmunds: "The Race Is On"

Off the Map

I like maps. They're fascinating things that come in a wide variety of styles, and some don't even depict real places. If you like maps, you might want to check this out.

Mood: Fascinated
Music: The Marshall Tucker Band: "Heard It In a Love Song"

Necessity?

Time magazine profiles the best inventions of 2006. Some may surprise you.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts: "I Love Rock & Roll"

Oh, Baby, Baby

The Baby Animal Alphabet is an interesting compendium of (ugly ass) baby animals.

Mood: Amused
Music: Ten Years After: "Choo Choo Mama"

Does Not Compute

Long before the casualties in the computing wars left us with only two major platforms, there were a large number of companies looking for your computing money, using TV ads like these.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Led Zeppelin: "Heartbreaker"

Romance Is Dead

The London Review of Books is compiling a collection of unusual personal ads.

Mood: Amused
Music: The Beatles: "Searchin'"

Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris doesn't read op/ed columns. He writes them.

Mood: Amused
Music: Peter Gabriel: "Solsbury Hill"

FIBs

You can't see the license plate, but I'd be willing to bet that the driver of the car depicted in this cartoon is from Illinois.

Mood: Amused
Music: Bachman-Turner Overdrive: "Let It Ride"

National Mom?

James Lileks offers a preview of the first 100 days of a Democrat-majority government.

Wisconsin voters: vote "No" on the state constitutional amendment.

Mood: Amused
Music: Foreigner: "Headknocker"

Lost in Translation

Would you like to see how badly the English language can be mangled? Check this out.

Mood: Amused
Music: The Rolling Stones: "Jumpin' Jack Flash"

Plasma Display

Did you know you could make plasma in your microwave? No, not that plasma, the fourth state of matter plasma. I think this definitely falls in the "do not try this at home" category.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Cheap Trick: "Ain't That a Shame"

State Smarts

A research company in Kansas recently published the results of a study on the intelligence of each state. Wisconsin fared pretty well on the list, ranking far ahead most other states, especially Illinois and California, but it has a long way to go to catch up to the top three.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Collective Soul: "Listen"

Weather

Apparently we got snow sometime Saturday night. Maryanne and I didn't even know about it until Sunday morning when we went to church. Much of it had melted even by then, but it was a fairly significant amount, and a new record for October 21: 2.3 inches of snow fell.

It was a fairly good weekend for Wisconsin sports fans: the Badgers won Saturday, and the Packers won Sunday. Both were away games, so it's doubtful that weather was a factor.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Wilson Pickett: "Mustang Sally"

Priceless

Last Saturday Maryanne and I took Sarah and braved the state of Illinois. There was a purpose to our mad journey, though: my great-grandmother was going to be celebrating her 100th birthday. Now I know there are a number of people out there that are able to claim that they met their great-grandmother, but Sarah will be among the few that will be able to say they met their great-great-grandmother.

I think that despite all the hassles of driving through Illinois, including the construction, the tools, and the stupid drivers, it was worth it, just to be able to get that five-generation photograph.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Marshall Tucker Band: "Can't You See"

Checked Out

In Canada they're called supermarket trolleys, but old shopping carts make good material for interesting sculptures.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Chicago: "Beginnings"

Influential

USA Today created this list of the most influential people who never lived. It's quite interesting, though they're not all exactly "people."

Mood: Intrigued
Music: The Monkees: "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"

Time

Even in the world of timepieces, there are obviously those that want to be different just for the sake of being different. That's how we end up with these.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Deep Purple: "Mandrake Root"

Outrageous Costume!

Does your Halloween costume seem inadequate? It will once you see this.

Mood: Amused
Music: The James Gang: "Walk Away"

Clouds

Ever heard of lenticular clouds? Me neither. Check this out.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Humble Pie: "I Don't Need No Doctor"

Floppy

Here is an example of what happens when someone with too many floppy diskettes has too much time on their hands.

Sadly, while I probably have enough floppies, I don't have that kind of time.

Mood: Amused
Music: Susan Tedeschi: "It Hurt So Bad"

Pass

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

Mood: Pleased
Music: The BoDeans: "Still the Night"

Weem-o-weh!

Here's another example of someone with too much time on their hands.

Bonus: Fark clichés.

Mood: Amused
Music: The Electric Light Orchestra: "Fire On High"

ASCII

You'll have to work to see the badgers or the mushrooms, but the snake isn't too much of a stretch.

Mood: Amused
Music: Deep Purple: "Anyone's Daughter"

Limbo

I found this fairly interesting.

Maybe Pope Benedict XVI isn't so bad after all?

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Mountain: "Never In My Life"

Followup

Here's a followup to the previous post.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Styx: "Come Sail Away"

Blasphemy

Part of me doesn't want to post about this, because it's only giving more attention to a bunch of nutjobs that don't need more attention, but part of me felt it necessary to show another example of the group's lack of tact and respect.

Mood: Irritated
Music: Howlin' Wolf: "Shake for Me"

Ideas

Here's some more book-banning idiocy, this time courtesy of a whack-job mom in Georgia.

Honestly, I'm surprised she can say "indoctrinated."

Mood: Annoyed
Music: Supertramp: "Bloody Well Right"

"This book has pores."

I found an article covering a situation in Texas that's so full of irony and coincidences that it will make your head explode.

Go read a banned book. Especially Fahrenheit 451.



Mood: Irritated
Music: Big Brother & The Holding Company: "Piece of My Heart"

White and Nerdy

How White and Nerdy Are You?

I was kind of hoping for a higher number.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Rolling Stones: "19th Nervous Breakdown"

Revisited

Yesterday I finished re-reading The Belgariad by David (and Leigh) Eddings. It was nice to be able to read it as a more mature reader; the first time I had read it I think I was still in junior high. This time it was easier to see the amount of work that had gone into the books, the creation of cultures, religions, history, and so forth. The writing is better than many other fantasy authors I've read, though maybe not quite as complex as the writing of Robert Jordan. That said, though, the pacing was pretty good for an epic spanning five books. There were moments that seemed a little slow, and other moments that seemed a little quick, but for the most part Eddings was able to keep things moving, usually through dialog, making the series a real page turner.

Next on the list is another book I've read before, though again a long time ago. I'm revisiting The Once and Future King by T.H. White. I don't recall when I read it the first time, though I think it was probably around the same time I had read The Belgariad.

 

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Aerosmith: "Dream On"

Time

I thought that Thursday was going to be fairly pleasant. After all, it was a wedding anniversary for Maryanne and I. She had a meeting to go to, and I had band practice, and that would be that.

I didn't know that it would take me over an hour to get home because of an accident on the Interstate. I didn't know that I wouldn't even have a chance to get home, and that I'd have to go straight to band practice. I didn't expect the lack of communication between Maryanne and her mother that led to a mixup as to what water to use for mixing Sarah's formula, and that it would lead to a bit of a scare.

At the end of the day Thursday, I was glad to go to bed. I'd have a day off Friday, and our new furnace would get installed.

Our contractor wasn't able to show up until about 12:30, having been delayed by a slow building inspector elsewhere. Once he did show up, though, he worked very hard, and didn't leave for the night until around 7:30. He even came back on Saturday to finish what little was left. The new furnace works great, and is very quiet.

The Badgers lost Saturday, and then we went out to dinner with Maryanne's parents. The Packers won Sunday, though they seemed to want to give it away at times, and then we went to Bible study. Another day off Monday, and here it is Tuesday again.

I'd really love a day full of nothing.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Supertramp: "The Logical Song"

Anniversary

It was four years ago today that Maryanne and I got married.

Happy Anniversary!

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Ozark Mountain Daredevils: "If You Wanna Get to Heaven"

Pancakes

I discovered this bizarre gem a while ago.

A breakfast-food trifecta is now in play.

Mood: Amused
Music: Canned Heat: "Going Up the Country"

Bacon

I told Maryanne about this yesterday.

Clearly, some people have too much time on their hands.

Mood: Amused
Music: The Rolling Stones: "Sympathy for the Devil"

Doomed

I don't remember where I found this, but even though it's mostly a bunch of people pissing and moaning, it is fairly amusing.

Mood: Amused
Music: Jefferson Airplane: "White Rabbit"

Censorship

Broaden your mind and read a banned book.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: U2: "Where the Streets Have No Name"

Appetites

The weekend started off well enough. We went to the Maple Tree for fish Friday night, allowing me to get my lake perch fix. Saturday was subdued, getting a few chores done and watching a movie before heading out to Deerfield for a gathering with some friends. Sunday went downhill as I woke up feeling a bit ill: nausea throughout most of the day, then I developed chills for most of the afternoon that was accompanied with achiness that didn't subside until late last night. I guess it was fitting, in away, considering the debacle that was the Packers/Bears game.

I'm feeling somewhat better today, though my appetite has not completely recovered yet. This is probably just as well, considering I probably ate too much Friday night and Saturday night anyway.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: True Image: "I Need You"

Signs

I found this today and found it fairly amusing.

I often wished I could put up some kind of sign that said "violators will be persecuted."

Mood: Amused
Music: Heart: "Magic Man"

Judgment Day

It's about time somebody did something like this

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Guess Who: "Share the Land"

An Old Friend

Despite its length, August passed quickly, and here it is September already. A month of change, as students head back to school, and summer turns to autumn. It's a beautiful late-summer day, sunny and warm without being hot. The nice kind of sunshine, not the opressive kind of July and August. My brisk walk over my lunch break was quite pleasurable.

I decided to reread the Belgariad, and started on Pawn of Prophecy a few days ago. It's been like revisiting an old friend, in a way. I last read the series when I was in junior high. I suspect I'll pick up on some things I didn't before, being a more mature reader now.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Elton John: "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"

Go!

A while ago I posted that Dodge had created a concept vehicle for a new version of their classic Challenger.

It looks like all systems are go.

Mood: Excited
Music: Steely Dan: "Do It Again"

Incoming

Wondering what incoming college freshmen are like? Check out this list.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Supertramp: "Dreamer"

Real Life

Today I finished Blazac's Droll Stories.

I've come to the conclusion that if you really want to know what life was like in Medieval and Renaissance times, one should read not only this book, but Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Boccaccio's Decameron, and Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Boz Scaggs: "Lido Shuffle"

Spoon!

I discovered this today.

I can just about imagine Maryanne's reaction.

Mood: Excited
Music: The Stanley Brothers: "Orange Blossom Special"

A Few Cold Ones

I'm not sure if this is something to be proud of or ashamed of.

More on it here.

Mood: Perplexed
Music: Led Zeppelin: "The Rover"

Red

A German study suggests that it's redheads, and not blondes, that have more fun.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Beatles: "I'm Looking Through You"

Better Than One?

If you have children, and have one of those days where everything seems to go wrong, just remember, things could always be worse.

Mood: Thankful
Music: Jethro Tull: "Aqualung"

Country Mouse

I have no love for the prairie.

I came to that conclusion yesterday as we drove through central Wisconsin, away from said prairie.

Don't get me wrong. Madison's a nice enough city, and Stoughton's a nice enough town. But they sit on the prairies of southern Wisconsin, which for the most part strike me as boring, rarely-interrupted expanses of grassland. Indeed, the geography of this part of the state was once covered with prairie, oak savannahs, and the occasional marsh -- vastly different from the rolling hills, mature woods, and thick swamps of what I consider home.

So when we drove away from all that yesterday, driving towards Baraboo and the Baraboo River, and the hills it flows between, it somehow felt more like Wisconsin. The weather was nice; it was a warm but not hot day with clear skies and plenty of sunshine.

It comes to no surprise, then, when people remark how Madison seems so different than the rest of the state. It's a nice place to visit, but I don't know that I could live there again. In fact, most of the "suburbs" have much of the same vibe. It seems that it's only once I get far enough away from Madison that I feel really comfortable. I don't know what it is. Maybe Madison really is different from the rest of the state. Or maybe it's that "country mouse in the city" thing that Maryanne keeps talking about.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Talking Heads: "Burning Down the House"

Veni, Vidi, Vici

So Maryanne and Jenni discovered this Italian name generator. Plug in your name and your gender and it gives you an Italian name.

The only problem is it's random. Each time you use the site it could give you a different name.

Poo poo to that.

Mood: Annoyed
Music: Bruce Springsteen: "Glory Days"

Changes

You may have noticed some changes to the layout of the website. I really wanted to try to eliminate a lot of the clutter on the page, and present a cleaner site. I think I'm on the right track.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Emerson, Lake & Palmer: "Hoedown"

The Future

The recent airline terrorism attempts and the resulting carry-on restrictions made me quite thoughtful.

Filibuster Cartoons just about nailed it.

I, for one, am becoming quite disappointed in the whole idea of flying.

I am also becoming quite cynical. If a terrorist isn't allowed to carry some kind of liquid chemical explosives on to the plane in his carry-on, what's going to prevent him from just putting it in his checked luggage with some kind of improvised cell phone detonator?

Benjamin Franklin, that great American, wrote, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Indeed, Franklin had a lot to say on the topic of liberty, and often it was a simple variation on this same theme.

I wish more people would take a cue from Franklin.

Mood: Pensive
Music: Wings: "Jet"

Telephone Line

One of the things we did over the weekend was stop at U.S. Cellular to renew our contract, which was soon to expire. Since we were renewing our contract, we were eligible to upgrade our phones at the reduced promotional prices. I liked a couple of the Motorola phones offered, but Maryanne preferred one of the phones by Samsung. Rather than go with my instinct, we both got Samsung phones. It's a flip phone, which is no big deal, and it has some nice features, like a camera and speakerphone, but I'm not sure how much I like the phone itself. I think I'm going to give it a week or so before I decide if I'm going to trade phones, though. It wouldn't be the first time one of us has traded one phone for another.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Styx: "The Grand Illusion"

Birthday Redux

Today would have been Grandpa A's 86th birthday.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Led Zeppelin: "Misty Mountain Hop"

Birthday

Today would have been Grandma A's 84th birthday.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Simon & Garfunkle: "The Boxer"

Home Improvement

This past week at home has been surprisingly productive considering the reason I've been home is to take care of Sarah. We've had a number of heating contractors come out and give us estimates on a new furnace. Our current furnace is around 20 years old, and is in need of replacement. So far four different companies have been out, and have given us quotes on three different brands of furnaces. I'd like to get the work done before September, as that seems to be time when all of these companies will start getting busy and scheduling will become more difficult.

I was also able to order some home improvement items and even get them delivered. We wanted some different blinds for Sarah's room to better block the light. I wanted to get cellular or honeycomb shades, lined so they would block light. Maryanne wasn't enthusiastic about the idea, but didn't really present any alternatives, so I ordered the honeycomb shades. Maryanne had to concede that I had been right about them.

We also ordered a pad for under the living room rug, to help keep it from moving so much as well as pad it. It works passably well so far; it sticks to the floor nicely, but the rug moves on it a little bit. We'll see how it holds up.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Zombies: "Time of the Season"

Heat Wave

Here it is August already. The summer has passed fairly quickly thus far, my time being occupied by various things for various reasons. Unfortunately it's been a warm summer, meaning I have not gotten much accomplished in our yard. There's much more I'd like to do, and it appears much of it will have to wait until autumn when things begin to cool off.

We are currently in the midst of a heat wave, one of the warmest in quite some time. Things are supposed to return closer to normal later in the week, though, and I'm looking forward to what respite it may bring.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Ray Charles: "What Would I Do Without You?"