Nerds can only transform so far...

Brush your teeth

I want to thank Scott Heisel for the link.

The day promises newness for tomorrow

Tonight I'll take the 4:31 p.m. purple line express train to State/Van Buren and walk 0.1 mile to 1 E Jackson Blvd. The trip will be crowded, and I'll probably be without a seat and a change of clothes as I thought to myself, this morning, if I show up looking professional, it's more likely the head of admissions will see that I'm serious about going to and graduating from DePaul. At least, that's what I'm thinking. Yet, the rain stopped about an hour ago and the sidewalks will still slosh with small, medium, and large puddles from here to the train station, from the station to DePaul and back again, so it makes me rethink changing. Especially since these pants, technically, are a size or two too big, and bundle on the sides and back. All this and Lost at nine.

Expect more thoughts as the day slowly progresses and the sun is exposed and then quickly hidden again, spontaneously; with fists cursing the clouds.

"Old Jewish men play Chelsea Guitars"

Now that's an old Blues man at work.

Now with less sleep!

For the last few days I've found myself needing to sleep later both at night and in the morning. An example, I jumped on the exercise bike last night at ten thirty and didn't stop until quarter past eleven, then absolutely had to read until about...one. Then, I wake up at six thirty - well, I mean, that's when my alarm goes off; I actually don't get up until about seven - to start my morning routine.

The absolutely sad part is that I don't even remember hitting the snooze alarm the first two, possibly three times. Oi!

Posts will probably be a bit spacey today.

Through the looking glass...

A few months ago, I wrote about my love of riding the train and my longing to be among the masses of riders every morning and evening. Yet, despite my coming to a time when that will become a reality (back to school), the 'el' situation has, as I'm not privy to such things yet, become a black mark on the cities "spotless veneer" (shakes head, obviously). So much so that an article in the New York Times is talking about issues the CTA and it's riders are having with closures, a lack of communication about closures, an out of date rail system and cars, overcrowded trains (I've noticed this, and it's getting a really bad), decreasing funds, and a tardiness that is about as annoying as commercials for Fred Claus (seriously, why was this movie made?).

Thanks to Sara for pointing the article out to me.

Mercy

US vs Ecuador [a bloody nose, stretcher, and two quick goals in the first (US) and eleventh minutes (Ecuador)]
Chile vs Brazil (nil - nil in the thirteenth minute)

Oh my!

Update: Ronaldinho penalty kick in the fifteenth minute! Goalie almost had it.

Something borrowed, something chrome

There was an article in the New York Times today about a innovative subway car that was created in 1949 sitting in the Transit Museum that would have sped its way along the, long planned, Second Avenue line. Problem is, they never actually created a Second Avenue line due to . Each car was a piece of time's technological ingenuity; with a stainless steal shine, "high-tech air purification systems", "round porthole windows", et al. Turns out, the New York Board of Transportation is finally planning on digging the tunnels for such a line between 96th and 63rd Streets in Manhattan. Just a few years late.

How fascinating would it be to unearth a long buried line that had been dug out quite a while ago but never used? Possibly infested with ghosts...or Native American ghosts...or....you know, rats. Sounds like a story to me! Probably worthy of Warren Ellis. ...yeah, I'm still kickin' on his stuff around.

A tad lax in today's posting: A Summary

So, I've realized that it's the weekend...interestingly enough. But this weekend is the real kind. Not the mid-week kind that we had earlier that was distracting, confusing, and oddly made Tuesday a Friday and Thursday a Monday, but an actual, real to life weekend. So, I slept. Slept, drafted my fantasy baseball team (we look good, team!), stayed up reading and generally being lazy, watched the first half of the Discovery Channel's "The Lost Tomb of Jesus", slept, ate, and was even more lazy.

Highlight for the day: our landlord came out and I was quite rude to him. Not on purpose, but generally because he was two hours late and he very rarely actually comes out to fix what we request for him to fix and that he's agreed to fix. ...if that makes sense. As it stands I'm sore that I was so rude and really should work on trying not to skip the "firm yet still kind" gear of my personality.

Anyway, I'm currently reading up on ancient Egyptian religions, having just finished reading some things about Nikola Tesla, his place in popular culture, and his problems with people believing what he said he could accomplish. Good stuff! Some posts to follow.

P.S. - I now, very much, love Wikipedia even more.

Channel 101 all growed up

Well, it's been a "slow day" of catching up... Wait...let's try that again. It's been a slow day, so I've been surfing around, reading articles instead of catching up on the work I haven't done this week when Shannon alerted me to an article.

When you get the chance, you should check out the actual site for Acceptable.tv. It's passable-rific!

A minor distraction...

My roommate hadn't seen the picture of Kari Byron with Wolverine claws. This has been corrected, and all is good.
Check out the artwork on her page though, pretty impressive sculptures. Did I mention she's from Mythbusters and extremely intelligent/sassy/attractive/obviously talented.

Destroy All Humans

This is a ray gun.
Sure it's crazy and neat, but is it mad scientist, destroy all life crazy, neat?

Six innings of shut out ball

So, Trachsel ended up not allowing a run in six innings. This is good as the last few times he's gone out there he's been pretty awful.

Nick Markakis went 4 for 4 with two homers, a triple, and a single with four RBIs. And so, part of the offense woke up. 'bout time.

Have I told you the story of the hippo and the watermelon?

This is a story I just told Lindsey over IM:

One summer a bird - you know, an African one - was landing near a God-made lake in the middle of a blank area. The bird landed near the water and was greeted by scores of other birds - also, African ones - who chirped and moved over to allow the first bird access to the water. The bird appreciatively started sipping slowly while others bathed, played, and splashed about in the calm water. One of the other birds - a short one, you know the kind with the blue feathers - hopped over and asked, "Hello! Where are you from? What watering hole do you frequent? I ask because none of us have seen you before." To which the bird responded, "Oh, I've been traveling for several miles, migrating, because my land's were taken over for farming. We tried sharing the land, but the machinery's smoke columns and noise became too much. So, I left."

"Wow," exclaimed the tiny bird, "that's a horrible story. I'm sorry to hear that you had to abandon your family. Well, we'll gladly accept you into our collective, if you'd like." "I'd like that very much," cried the bird. The two birds hugged as birds do - you know, they nestled up next to one another; don't get all gross about it, ya jerk - and began to drink the water together.

Later that day, a rhino came to the lake to rest and drink.
It's hardened, gray skin like armor reflected the sun's rays and provided shade for some of the younger birds. The bird saw the rhino and instantly recognized it. The bird quickly flew overly and greeted it's old friend the rhino - animals don't have names, they're animals; this isn't the Lion King, come on! - with wild chirping and elated flapping. To which the rhino began stomping about in happiness, disrupting the younger birds around the rhino - I can't tell if the rhino's a male or female, and I'm not going down there to check; that's gross - until the rhino stopped and quickly began conversation. After a lengthy conversation about how the rhino and bird's families were - they're short because of a meeting you have to go to; thanks - the bird noticed that the tip of the rhino's horn had been chipped off asked what had happened. The rhino sank into the folds of it's neck and bashfully said, "I don't want to talk about it" - which translates to, "thanks for reminding me, jerk." "Oh, come on. I hope nothing hurt you," said the bird dripping with care and concern. The rhino, reluctantly, explained that the other day, when walking by a lake similar to this a hippo splashed out from the water, surprising the rhino, and threw a coconut at the rhino's head.

The bird was stunned that such a thing would happen, looking around to notice that the story had produced an audience of over fifty birds from all around the lake, listening intently. "I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to make things better?" "Yes," said the rhino quietly, "you can all back away from the lake slowly. Act like there's nothing wrong. Just get about twenty feet from the edge." "Why?" asked the bird. "You want to help me or not?!" shouted the rhino, in a whisper.

Very quickly, all the birds who had been playing along the cusp of the lake receded well beyond the rhino. "Now," stated the rhino calmly, "BREAK YO'SELF!" shouted the rhino as it stood up on its hind legs, pulled a rocket launcher out from under it's left leg - dude, if I had looked back there I totally would have seen the thing, but that, still, would have been intrusive and gross - and fired it into the lake, blowing all of the water and a hippo up in the air.

The hippo, now very dead, landed about five feet from the rhino who had settled back on all fours and replaced the rocket launcher. The rhino, slowly pulled a watermelon out and began chomping down on it as it walked toward the corpse. "That's for stepping on my shoes," the rhino said quietly as it walked away. All the birds horrified, clumped together as the rhino walked passed.


So, I don't have a moral to this story. Give it a moral in comment form, or suggestions on how to make this story more ridiculous.

Trachsel will not fall apart...I hope

My O's are up 6-0 in the bottom of the 4th. Nick Markakis is 3 for 3 with two home runs, a triple, and four RBIs. Hit for the cycle, DAVID DEMANDS IT!

Join Hands Together!

National High Five Day
Thursday, April 19th, 2007

This has fulfilled all my dreams all at once. Well...some of them. I don't think they're willing to make a tasty, sugar-free chocolate or caramel pudding large enough for me to swim in. ...I will have taken a shower!

P.S. - Wonderful! "Bolly mustache, Thadeaus! Let us exchange five fingered hand slappings. Hoorah!" Send a high five, why not. Posted at 1:30, 03/22/2007

Looks like that pen thing has a light on the tip plugged into the base/holder. Please explain the clicker on the other end though.

The Droop

Every time I'm here I stare at this poster for longer than I should: "Understanding Allergies" by Schering. Descriptions of allergens and how the human body deals with them as well as images of those, reactions of, and the processes involved with those allergens. The poster is sticky taced to the slightly darker than robin's egg blue walls, continuing on until striking much darker blue cabinets and continuing on again. There's very little as far as instrumentation here save the blood pressure measurer, a "sharps collector" full of test strips and pink finger prickers, and a thick, pen-like device plugged into a green, then white base with a glowing green indicator on the front. Well, there are also the four boxes of differing sized Diamond Grip, powder-free latex examination gloves, but they don't seem like they count.

I write this inane and dull and pointless description in a vain attempt to stay awake. I was sitting in the lobby, watching Casino Royale with a group of people for over an hour, and have now been in this examination room for nearly another half hour. Words are slowed from my brain to page as my blood sugar continues to drop despite my lack of movement.

Then the doctor came in fro a moment, only to leave again...

The rain made me lethargic

This morning I woke up at eight. Stop! This morning I woke up at eight fifteen. Stop! This morning I woke up at eight thirty as I decided my snooze button had gotten enough abuse. I didn't exactly get up as rolled about for a few seconds until finally reaching for my laptop. A train from Noyes to Belmont, Belmont to Quincy seemed the best option at nine twenty-eight from my horizontal, non-bespectacled position. I sat up and began my now normalized surfing...only to head to the shower at ten 'til nine.
So far, so good!

Naw Ruz!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Do to the nature of the new year - people have concluded their Fasting, prepared for their reset button to be pushed to start a more spiritually based life, and partied to their heart's content - our office will be closed. So, I can sleep, right? Well, as you can see from this post, I've still not fallen asleep. As well, I have to wake up rather early tomorrow for a day off, eight a.m., to go to the doctor's office for a check up. This is both exciting (I really, enjoy riding the 'el' and writing) and irritating (I really should just sleep for...you know, the day) on a day like tomorrow. Where all the things we need to do during the week but are unable to, because of obvious obligations to stay in the office, become a reality. This opens doors for all kinds of errands and corpulence: post office excursions, a trip to the DMV, spending more than an hour wrapped up in a conversation sitting at a restaurant which has an ambiance that you can't quite put your finger on but adore. This is what I look forward to...but not really. My list doesn't necessitate leaving the house, save my trip to the doctor's on Wells and Congress, so I'll have to figure out a way to prop the windows up, open the shades, and admire the weather...kind of. This would all be much easier if it were eighty and sunny tomorrow.

A man is forced to dream of a junket to a state park instead of nondescript streets and people like trees.

Idol cleansing

Every August 7th, the Giant Buddha statue of the Tôdai-ji Temple in Japan is meticulously cleaned by a special group who climb all over the hands, arms, feet, and head of the great statue. However, to begin the process, a group in white prepare the statue by removing the spirit so as to allow trespass on it's sacred edifice.

What a fascinating ritual, no.

Making cellphones faxable

How brilliant would it be to create a cellphone which is created and used for singular messages alone? The articles are here and here, and here's what I'm thinking:

What if they're able to transmit a signal from one connection to another, a light pulse, that contained the blueprints for a receiver? So, there would be this printed out microchip processor, lines of electrodes, diodes, and the like. Just as you mass produce the insides of cellphones and calculators by the conveyor belt method of printing the electronics on a piece of plastic you could print out the insides to this phone using a type of plastic with a metallic ink to conduct electricity. You could print out the specific insides for a phone that are capable of conveying the specific message, attach the phone's face/buttons, and there's your disposable phone. One time use. One way calling.
This has probably been worked out or is exactly what the article that I'm pointing out is referring to, but whatever.

Thank you to Warren Ellis' blog for pointing out the articles.

Mandates from...

To the masses gathered here today

A self-imposed ban on my self-imposed lack of sleep has been issued. The sleepy rebels, whose homes near the back of the cranium, will be removed and relocated to a brighter, warmer, more accepting locality.

Secondly, an increase in prayerfulness will be address, evaluated, and put into effect as soon as proper language can be compiled and an aim assessed. At this stage in development, this governing body has decided that prayers for chastity, temperance, detachment, praise and thanksgiving, and the prayer for decisions will be uttered on a bi-daily schedule.

Next, surgery has been decided as the best course of action to remove “the body” from the sleep compartment that has gripped complacency. The pod will, from now on, only be used when horizontal or, more specifically, hips and shoulders stacked. An explanation as to why these measures are being taken center around the destruction of lethargy and sloth that seems to have layered, thick like a malaise.

Joy and happiness are required. It is a fundamental ingredient in a successfully satisfying and prosperous life. Therefore, this governing body has agreed upon, neigh, endorsed a bill to make it unlawful to not find joy in situations. As life is a mass of spidering experiences and emotions, it is paramount that we all refer ourselves to the “good times” that have existed, or, if this is difficult, a mandatory and insistent recognition of the “good” facets to situations must be stressed.

Lastly, a personal vacation would be requested sometime in the very near future. The purpose of which will be to reestablish bonds within this body, it’s spirit and emotional status. As well, to escape the impending, self-imposed stressors that have surrounded our society.

These are the edicts for the day, for the month, the year, possibly beyond. Thank you for your time.

Rethinking

Far too often I leave this blog for weeks, months even on end. It happens for some not so obvious reasons: depression, road/writer's blocks, sleeplessness, motivation, etc.

So, I've taken to re-recognizing the purpose of this blog. Taking a moment to evaluate what it is and what I'd like it to be. This has lead me to recognize that my personal thoughts, those posts that utterly expose the nature of my being shouldn't be presented in such an open-booked fashion. Instead, I'll be using a different page, where only I have access and viewing rights. Where I can divert my attention away from what people may think about what I've written, and focus on being as real and truthful to myself as I can possibly be. This page, on the other hand, will continue to exist. It will remain as it once was thought: a static representation of the thoughts, research, and fascinations I'm having at the time of me writing. Sure there will be shards of insight and personal prose but the majority of it will serve more to house thoughts, short-handed story lines, and half-formed fragments.

So, welcome to the new, rethought page. Enjoy!