Post of the Day

Game of the day... The Sparty's pulled off a big win yesterday. That was nice after the way we've struggled a little so far. Don't worry Wolfpack fans, NC State's a good team... we were just "on" last night, and besides, the Breslin Center is a tough place to play :-) You'll have a chance for revenge next week when the Red Wings play the Carolina Hurricanes, but that's at "The Joe", so we just might pull off the two sport sweep ;-)

Complaint of the day... Sage Software has the worst support web site EVER! I know it's for pretty specialized software, so it doesn't affect the general public... but do I really need to select the program I'm working with FOUR TIMES before I get to the right screen?!?!?!

Article of the day... I found a news report on Yahoo about a guy in South Carolina who tried to open a bank account and make a deposit with a $1,000,000 bill. Brilliant. Does this fall into the redneck category, or the complete idiot category? I bet those bank employees had an entertaining day at his expense. He did make the bill look kinda realistic at least.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071129/ap_on_fe_st/odd_million_dollar_bill;_ylt=Au3GBL8LSffivvGKsFTfaqrtiBIF

I'm a Redneck

Every year my sister buys the Jeff Foxworthy "You Might Be A Redneck" desktop calendar for my parents as a Christmas gift. Then they go through it and pick out all of the ones that they think apply to me for some reason. It almost seems like it is the highlight of their holiday. On Thanksgiving they gave me a few that they had saved up during the year.

Here's a few of their little gems:

You Might Be A Redneck If...

• You have more televisions than rooms in your house
• You secretly get your firewood from your neighbor's yard
• You consider your softball uniform "dressy-casual"
• You inherited a stolen road sign (or have one to pass along)
• The police have had to talk to you about your bonfires

I have no idea what they are talking about... ummm, well, ok, maybe a few of these vaguely apply ;-) It's funny how all the ones that apply to them were mysteriously missing though.

The Grind

Ahhhh... back to work. Nothing better than being met at the door with the old "My computer says it has a virus so I need you to come look at this." At least let me get to my office first and put my stuff down, people. I'm thinking the extended weekend wasn't extended long enough. I wish I could have stayed in bed where it was cozy.

Now, to play a little catch up...

Lions

Ugh... same old Lions. I must be a masochist. I hope they can keep it interesting for the rest of the season. I'm not asking for much, just to stay competitive. Give us a glimmer of hope for the playoffs, thats all. Three more wins would do it, but I know that's gonna be tough, especially with the schedule they have left. I'm not gonna give up hope though.

Black Friday

You wouldn't catch me out in that crazy mob. I guess I'll just miss out on all those great deals. This year everyone had the added bonus of getting up early to go shopping in 11 degree weather (at least that's what it was when I woke up at 8:00). I even heard that people had started lining up at Best Buy on Thursday at 3:00 in the afternoon... Wow. One thing that really bothers me are the stores that think they have to run sales on Thanksgiving day. I won't name any names (although Meijer's is one that comes to mind), but you really can wait for Black Friday like everyone else. It's bad enough your employees have to deal with the misery of Friday, so don't make them work on Thanksgiving too. These people have families they want to be with, so cut them some slack. I understand that some people have to work on holidays, but this seems obnoxious to me.

Midland High School

Congrats to Midland High School. They had a great season, but unfortunately they lost the championship game to Detroit MLK. Midland had the lead at half time and made it an exciting game, but they just couldn't hold on. Still, those kids will have great memories of their season and getting to play at Ford Field.

Very Cool

A brand new Futurama comes out on DVD tomorrow... "Bender's Big Score." I'll be gettin' it :-)

Attack of the 8 Foot Scorpion

There's a news report about the fossil of an 8 foot scorpion that I thought was kinda interesting (I know I'm a dork, but imagine how cool an 8 foot scorpion would be)...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071121/ap_on_sc/biggest_bug_ever


Other Stuff...

It's about 42 degrees, overcast and rainy... but it's still just not right. I shouldn't be able to go out in short sleeves at this time of year. I remember when we'd have snow on Thanksgiving. A lot of snow. One year when I was a kid we got stranded in a snow storm driving home from Detroit on Thanksgiving night. That's how it should be. Hopefully winter will be here soon.


The iPod I had access to pretty much has been confiscated, so I went out and bought a 4GB thumbdrive. Not quite the same, but a lot cheaper, and I can just plug it into my computer at work. Someday I should post my playlist to show how screwed up I really am ;-) Yes, I'll even admit that while I was watching Don't Forget The Lyrics last week I got the lyrics right to Delta Dawn... god that's embarrassing ;-) I've got songs from the 40's through today... There are a couple from the 80's that are my favorites which I listen to a lot though.

Here's the last few songs that have played:

Sugar Sugar - The Archies
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - The Andrew Sisters
Fire and Rain - James Taylor
99 Red Balloons - Nina
Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money
Superman - Five for Fighting
Penny Lane - The Beatles
You're the Inspiration - Chicago
King of the Road - Roger Miller
Dont Stop Believin' - Journey
Three is a Magic Number - Schoolhouse Rock
All Night Long - AC/DC

I know... pretty random. I'm a dork.

This blog will be quiet for a while... Here's hoping that everyone has a nice Thanksgiving...

Quotable Quotes

I watched a few movies over the weekend. Here's a few quotes from a good one that I watched for the first time:

• Chip, I'm all jacked up on Mountain Dew!
• How 'bout we go get kicked out of Applebee's?
• If we wanted two wussies, we would have named them Dr. Quinn and Medicine Woman!
• I wake up in the morning and I piss excellence.
• This sticker is dangerous and inconvenient, but I do love Fig Newtons.
• Remember that time in tenth grade when we got kicked out of class for playing with Matchbox cars? Who's the retard now? (something me and Randall would have done)
• In the words of the late great Colonel Sanders: I'm too drunk to taste this chicken
• Here, we'll use this knife to pry the other one out! (again, something me and Randall would have done)
• That's what I'm sayin'! My head's all tied up...like a pretzel! I got a pretzel in my head!

Good movie ;-)

I also had a Tarantino mini-marathon Saturday night... I guess I was just in that type of mood :-( Not many lines that can be quoted from these movies without cursing though, and I try to keep it clean here. Besides, comedies are more fun to quote.

Christmas Overkill

I love Christmas as much as anyone (maybe even more), but there is a pet peeve* of mine that has been bothering me. We have a radio station that started playing Christmas music 24/7... the day after HALLOWEEN!!! There are several people in my neighborhood that set up decorations a couple of weeks ago as well. To me, the Christmas season starts the day after Thanksgiving, and not a moment before that. No decorations, no music, no TV shows... nuthin'. Christmas is special... and fun... but it gets cheapened and diluted when the season starts so early. One month of Christmas is just fine.


A few other thoughts...

I survived the weekend, and I'm OK. I did way to much housework though. I also replaced a window and re-caulked a shower, so I'm not completely useless.

Yay Spartans!!!... Looks like we are going to a bowl :-). And what a shame... the team from Ann Arbor just couldn't pull this one out... that's too bad (sorry, my sarcasm is overflowing a bit here). My other college teams didn't do so good this weekend though :-(. Neither did the Lions. They are looking more and more like the same old Lions. Well, before the season I said I'd be thrilled with 8-8 and I'll stick to that, but it will be a painful way to get to 8-8 (at this rate they might not even make it).

Congratulations to Midland High School. They beat Lowell this weekend, and are going to play for a state championship at Ford Field against Detroit Martin Luther King. I went to Dow High, so Midland was the big rival. I have a lot of friends that went to Midland or have ties to the school, and it's exciting for the community, so good luck to the Chemics this week ;-)

Some of My Quirks

• I eat pie backwards, crust first... but not pizza
• I always try to sit with my back against a wall, or at least facing a door
• I don't like the number 13... my only superstition
• I have to fix the toilet paper if the roll is "backwards"
• I eat potato chips by the handful
• I wear long sleeves when I play softball, no matter how hot it gets
• I usually go through magazines backwards

I know... I'm still a dork

The Migration North

Today is an unofficial state holiday in Michigan. In fact, it's an official holiday in many areas... there are several school districts closed today. I may actually be the only guy at work in the entire state, because today is opening day of deer hunting season. Yesterday the highways were packed with hunters traveling north. Today the woods are packed with hunters sleeping in their deer blinds. Not really my thing... I guess I've never considered it a sport, but it doesn't bother me either. A lot of people really enjoy it, and that's fine with me. I'd rather be out in the woods enjoying nature, not killing it, but that's just me. Now if the deer also had guns, that would make it much more interesting...


Side note:
Last night while I was channel surfing I stumbled across a show on the G4 network that caught my eye, so I had to watch it for a few minutes. I think it was called American Ninja. I only watched a little of it, so I didn't get all of the details. It looked like a contest G4 held to find two people to send to Japan to compete on the Ninja Warrior game show. The first person they chose was Colin, a student going to school at Michigan State :-). The second person they chose was Brett from Greenville, South Carolina. Well of course at this point the show had my attention. It looks like MXC... Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, but they take it seriously. There are a bunch of physical challenges the contestants have to go through to see who the top "ninja" is. I didn't get to see the second half of the show, so I don't know how the two Americans did, but I thought it was pretty interesting anyways ;-)

Stuff...

Long Nights...
When I leave to go jogging after work it's light out, and by the time I get back it's completely dark... it's kinda depressing. At least I do get a nice view of the horizon at sunset, though.

I guess I'm lucky it was warm enough to even be able to go last night. I've only jogged three time in the past month... I'm such a slug, but I haven't had much ambition. I still felt like I could have finished my longer route though, which was kinda cool, but I had to cut it short anyways because I had to go grocery shopping. Yes, I do all of the grocery shopping. I cook and clean and do dishes and even laundry once in a while... and no, I'm not gay ("not that there's anything wrong with that" as George and Jerry would say). Anyways, I had to get myself some Froot Loop Cereal Straws... those are pretty good ;-)

Winning Ways...
Now that we have that powerhouse exhibition schedule out of the way (ahem), the Spartan basketball team is back in sync. It looks like they took out their frustration on Chicago State last night. YAY!!!

Weeeee...
There's a new Mario game coming out for the Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, and from the review it looks pretty good...

http://us.i1.yimg.com/videogames.yahoo.com/feature/super-mario-galaxy-review/1169565

It may be a good way to keep my mind occupied for a while. Being the monkey that I am, I have a hard time not always doing something, especially mentally. It's never a good thing for me to be alone with my thoughts, so I have to find something. Maybe I'll get this new game, but I don't know yet. Wii'll see.

I've been so busy today...

I haven't had time to come up with any type of inspiring or insightful blog entry. :-(

Tiger Rumors

It looks like the Tigers are gonna to trade for a new outfielder...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3106431

Jacque Jones... Hmmm. We'll see. I'll miss Omar though.

I hope it works out and I guess I'll have to dig out my old baseball cards now.

YAY Tigers!!!


PS: Thanks to my good friend Rod for the heads up on this story :-)

Random Thoughts of the Day...

Google

I'm losing my Google anonymity. There never used to be any matches to my name that went to me... now I have one, and it's the top match. It's a really old story, too. Even worse, there are three matches if I search using quotes :-( I'd rather stay anonymous, but I'm slowly losing that.

This blog is slowly losing its anonymous status too. If you google "callcash.com", this blog comes up on the first page... #6 on the unpaid results. Callcash.com seems to be out of business though... I'm sure because of my enlightening post... God I'm delusional... and a dork ;-)


Oh... Huey Lewis started off my play list today... One of my favorites...


Big Time

Finding a 15 year old projector at a yard sale... $30
A box of replacement bulbs... $20
Playing Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island on a 6 foot screen... Priceless

-- Oh, the Wii and PS2 are sweet too, but the old Atari 2600 doesn't work on it :-(


Mr. Mister and Wham just played back to back... I feel like I'm back in the 80's


Follow up

All the snow is gone :-( It only lasted a couple hours. To everyone here that was complaining about it yesterday... Shut up or move. You're in Michigan, what do you expect? I can't wait for some real snow!!!


Chicago just came on... You're The Inspiration... What a good song


Depressing

Gas prices yesterday - $3.15
Gas price today - $3.29

Is it this high everywhere? I usually try to not pay attention, because there is nothing I can do about it. It's gonna be $4 before long though :-(


Now Heart just came on... and mine sank a little


Tigers

Alex Rodriquez may end up embarrassed after being tossed around like a hot potato, especially after he realizes that no one can afford what he's asking for. He's still gonna end up with a few bucks in his pocket though ;-)... He would have looked pretty nice at third base for the Tigers, but Mike Lowell would be more affordable, and probably better for the clubhouse, too. I still love Inge at third defensively (he reminds me of myself... hehehe... he wishes he had my arm though) but Brandon just can't hit, as much as I hate to admit it.

How ironic... Bobby McFerrin just came on my play list as I'm finishing up this post... so try to follow his advice, even if you don't like the song... Be Happy :-)

Snow!!!

This cold, damp, dark dreary weather is finally doing something useful.

It's not accumulating, and it won't stay, because our ground isn't frozen yet. Besides, it's supposed to get back up to 50 degrees next week.

At least it's falling, though.

The empty cornfield behind work, now with just a light covering of snow.

A cool side effect of rain/snow out here in the middle of nowhere: The internet runs b...r...u...t...a...l...l...y slow. According to the phone company, it has something to do with the water weighing down the string connecting our tin cans. I shouldn't complain... we're lucky to have electricity and running water.

Juggling Act

Well, it's been a typical morning where I've had to do a little bit of everything. Here are the job titles that would apply to me so far today...

• Computer Programmer
• Receptionist
• Purchasing Agent
• PC Repairman
• Accounts Receivable Clerk
• Alarm System Technician
  
• Proofreader
• ERP Implementer
• Race Program Assistant
• Janitor
• Graphic Artist
• Computer Tech Support
• Web Commerce Consultant
• Phone System Support

Ahhh... working at a small company. At least it keeps me on my toes. It's a good thing I'm so schizophrenic, so this all comes pretty natural ;-)

I gotta cut this post short... I have to go integrate a new production workcenter into our ERP system... right after I take out the trash ;-)

Ugh... Monday

It's cold...
It's raining...
It's dreary...

I wanted to stay in bed...

My head hurts...
My stomach hurts...
My inside aches...

I didn't want to get up...

And the door prize for dragging myself to work...
I'm greeted this morning with "We have a major error, so you have to fix this for us"...
The internet is acting like it's running through a 14k modem...
The main printer wont run a job without jamming...
All of the clocks are screwed up...
The packaging department label printer forgot how to print labels...

I want to go back to bed...

Well... at least the thought of a good venomous duck brightens my morning

Oh, I gotta end this entry... there's another paper jam...


YAY Mondays!!!

Pet Peeves... and Anti-Peeves

A few pet peeves

• Idiot drivers... Homing missiles would be a nice little vehicle upgrade... not that I would use them... very often ;-)

• Big Gulp cups that leak

• Dreams that are right there... but you just can't remember them

• People who walk or jog on the road when there is a sidewalk they can be using

• Cliches that make no sense... If you look at it literally, what exactly does the term "Pet Peeve" refer to, anyways? Does anyone use the word "peeve" all by itself? Does adding the word "Pet" to the phrase make it more annoying, and does that imply there is something inherently wrong with pets?... Hmmm... Maybe this should be a topic on its own...

Anti-Peeves (or - things that help me make it through the day)

• Dr. Pepper

• Fark.com

• Bob & Tom

• Futurama, Family Guy and South Park

• Occasional pointless rambling (See my last pet peeve)

• Venomous ducks

• The horizon