Nothing Important Here

Cost of ordering 2 Flags off of ebay (one Canadian, one US) including shipping: $11.50! It's costin' ya NOT to get them! What am I going to do with these flags you ask? Hang them in my office!! What else?!?!? My "multi-cultural" office will be the highlight of the site!

I received my iPod shuffle yesterday - the new and very tiny one! It's pretty sweet and a huge improvement over the old one for a variety of reasons. Now I need new headphones since the rubber on my current ones is wearing off. Dang things!

We got another "dusting" last night for snow. Good thing too since we're to get more snow tonight through Thursday! Just in time for my rehearsals in La Crosse!

Speaking of "just in time" - gas shot up again yesterday and is now $2.45 in Rochester. Remember, the peak season doesn't even start till Memorial Day Weekend - so whatever it's at now, expect it to go up.... and up.... and up....

And for any of you that need a "pick me up" like I do today: 10 Minutes of "The Very Best of Peter Griffin"!! References to Pirates of Penzance, Deliverence, The Muppets, A-Team,

Finally - my apologies and sincere thanks to Patrick who picked me up from the airport Friday night. He was a little miffed that I didn't mention how he risked his entire self to drive through adverse conditions from his house to the airport (all 7 minutes of it) in Rochester through the snow, sleet, thunder... UP HILL BOTH WAYS... to come pick me up. Don't worry about the fact that I told him 10:40 and by 10:50 I was standing in front of the airport and he still hadn't left his house yet. But publicly, I thank you Pat for coming to get me. You were cheaper than a cab ride home!

Haiku of the Day -
More Snow on the Way
Glad I have a good Shovel
I bought it myself

Entertainment of the Day- Some weird movies again to pass on. First is A Scanner Darklywhich is with Keanu, Robert Downey Jr, and Winona Rider. It's the one that has the weird animation that reminds me of all those stupid Investment commercials on TV. What a strange and bizarre movie that I still don't totally understand. I think you have to be high to fully appreciate it. It's typical Sci-Fi movie without any action unfortunately:(

Weblink of the Day - An amazing clip of an 8 year old playing Chopin. Very nice!

Quick Random Thoughts

I'm home safely after a little bit scary ride home Friday night. I had many doubters (including myself) as to getting home that night while it was icing and snowing in Rochester. Once home, there was no need to think about going anywhere else this weekend! We got somewhere around 14 inches of snow (with a sheet of ice from Friday underneath). It may be the end of February, but it looks as if Winter is just starting!!

I was supposed to join my Church this weekend and was going to be singing and playing at the services... but it was cancelled. Not sure if I'll do it all this upcoming weekend now or what. Details to figure out today I'm sure!

I did have to run to HyVee yesterday as my kitchen was very low. I didn't keep a lot since I was gone for 2 weeks and Saturday was a very Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich day around the house. I ran out of Jelly Saturday night so had to run to the store for at least more jelly!

Oscars were on last night. I'm always curious, but not enthralled with the Oscars. Mainly because of my refusal to see movies in the theatre so when I counted, I had only seen 3 movies on the ENTIRE list of nominees (one of them being Cars). Plus I had a 3 hour meeting last night so I watched the Oscars on mute (with closed captioning)... not nearly as enjoyable in that mode.

I caught up on American Idol - more comments coming soon on that. The ladies are WAY better than the guys at this point. I don't think it's right to settle on 6 guys/6 girls. I would put 9 girls and 3 guys at least at this point in the competition. I think the beatboxer guy will be the last guy standing with 4 girls around him. Just my early prediction!

Caught up on The Apprentice as well - fun times and much more enjoyable this year! I think there are some really good contestants this year... and still some idiots!

Kensith was good yesterday at California.... but #24 was right behind him (along with about 30 Chevys). In the race between #8, #17, #99 ("I like him cause he's cute".... nice Jill!), and #24 - I'm winning for the season so far!

Gotta go - I'm WAY BEHIND!!!

Weblink of the Day - Here's a "Man Quiz" that is for everyone;) I got an 80 for comparison. I was pretty proud but I missed a few of the tool identifications and did HORRIBLY on identifying the meat locations on a cow. Missed all but 2 - Eddie won't be too happy with me. I will start to study and here's a chart to view afterwards for those that are curious!

Our Friendly Neighbors to the North

Where did you eat dinner last night? Me? Oh yeah - I was on top of the "revolving 360 Restaurant" on top of the CN Tower. It was pretty sweet to see Toronto at night. This place is really cool! Typical big city atmosphere (which I of course love) with a diverse group of people. After a great fancy dinner, we made it to the observation deck that has glass floors so you can see the incredible drop to the ground. Per their provided information, we were as high up at that point as the observation deck on the John Hancock Tower in Chicago. There is another observation deck above us that is one of the highest in the world!

I drove up on the east side of Lake Ontario from Endicott yesterday morning. Took me around 5.5 hours but it was a very pretty drive. I was hoping to see more of the massive snowfall that they had in that area but I agree - there was more snow than is typical around the interstate, but I was still a little ways away from the stuff that would have shocked me. It did snow for my final hour drive into Toronto and traffic slowed down way too much. But I got to the IBM site (which is incredibly nice) just fine.

We headed downtown for dinner reservations. The CN Tower is right next to the SkyDome which is where the Blue Jays play baseball and it was one of the revolutionary new stadiums of our "modern era" that has the retractable roof, etc. Also has a hotel as part of the stadium, Hard Rock Cafe, and other things you wouldn't normally associate with baseball stadiums. The ACC is on the other side which is where the Maple Leafs play hockey. They love their hockey up here.

It was also a coincidence that the Bare Naked Ladies were on Letterman last night. They're touring again and are well known in the Toronto area (their home town). Anyone interested in going to their concert with me? I do not have their newest album yet but will work on that when I get home. I think I'm actually 2 behind for them unfortunately:(

My goal is to get home tonight. I have a 6:00 flight out of Buffalo to Chicago (which I'm not worried about making and it being on time), but then I have a 9:30 flight to Rochester which with the hazardous weather that is on its way, I am worried about getting all the way home. So I just pack an extra pair of boxers and deodorant in my carry on and hope for the best. I'm used to the challenges of flying so bring it on! I just wouldn't mind sleeping in my own bed tonight after 2 weeks;)

Have a good weekend! GO CLONES!!!

Haiku of the Day
Toronto - Kick Ass!
Could be a new fav city
Take off YA HOSER!

Entertainment of the Day - unfortunately when I think of Canada, I think of Strange Brew and Bare Naked Ladies. I did listen to BNL during my work out this morning so there's your Entertainment thought for today!

Weblink of the Day - Speaking of "bored with too much time"... you thought I was bad for my post on donkeys yesterday, how about building all of these art sculptures using FRUIT!! Seriously!

A Donkey - or Just Being an Ass?

So today's blog is an example of what happens when you give a guy like me a camera and way too much free time. Not that I ever dwell on anything to the point of great lengths... but I am so [insert one of the following words here: (a) intrigued (b) amused (c) stupefied (d) befuddled] by this picture of two donkeys in the elevator that I just HAD to share it with you all. Make sure you click on the picture to get the FULL effect in a larger size.



And from the inside of the elevator, it looks like this:



So my goal for today is to try and figure out what the advertisers were really thinking when they put together this advertising (poster? campaign?). Yes, I was in the elevator for a while trying to get "the perfect shot" of the donkeys and I'm sure the people that entered the elevator (with me not getting off on that floor) and rode with me (with me not getting off on the new floor either) had no idea what I was truly after here. Remember that I'm at a Hampton Inn and Suites - so I'll try to bridge the gap between "donkeys" and "hotel".

1. The first (and somewhat obvious) thing that comes to mind is a religious symbol. When Christ entered this world, according to the Gospels there "was no room at the Hampton Inn and Suites of Bethlehem" so Jesus was actually born in the stable with two donkeys on a paved road watching the birth of our Savior. As for the "Road Warriors" part of the slogan? Hmmmm.... doesn't work so much. Next one:
2. Donkeys are known as being an animal that can ride for a long time and never have to stop. So they're in the middle of the desert as "Road Warriors" on a road trip to the International Star Trek for Donkeys Convention in Vegas - but even Donkeys need a place to sleep. So they stay at the Hampton Inn and Troughs built especially for two donkeys.
3. Donkeys are the "ugly step child" when compared to the princely horse... so maybe they are implying that the Hampton Inn is perfectly acceptable for all of us that feel like an "ugly step child" no matter when in our lives.
4. Donkeys have large ears that help them hear distant calls of fellow donkeys (I seriously didn't make that one up though) - so when you go see your fellow donkeys, stay at the Hampton Inn.
5. The ass was a symbol of the Greek god Dionysus, particularly in relationship to his companion, Silenus. So by offering the pair of donkeys, the creators of this campaign want everyone to think of their ancient Greek history and bring their "companions" to Hampton Inns. If you do ever get in an elevator and see this picture of the donkeys, please please PLEASE strike up conversation with the person in the elevator with you and say "this picture reminds me of the ancient symbol of the Greek god Dionysus and Silenus". See if that gets the girls to stop by your hotel room later!
6. Again, another religious reference - donkey ownership is often shown as a sign of God's blessing. It was a status to ride a donkey like today's Cadillac Escalade - especially if you were of wealth. So Hampton Inn considers themselves "twice blessed" with the two donkeys in the middle of nowhere. Too bad the beds are still too small to fit two people in, let alone two donkeys. Although the donkeys in the same room might make the 10:00 news!
7. European folklore claims that the tail of a donkey can be used to combat whooping cough or scorpion stings! I think this is the real one! If you're in the desert and you get stung by a scorpion (happens more than you think) - you can either look for two donkeys, cut off their tail, and figure out what that buys you.... or find the closest Hampton Inn and Suites and ask for medical ASSistance... and a bed. Look into the complementary breakfast as well.
8. BTW - did you realize that there are no actual donkeys in the video game "Donkey Kong"? Now my head really hurts trying to figure all these things out!
9. My last submission for now: I believe the road is outside of Bakersfield, CA implying that anyone that moves to Bakersfield from Iowa is a sucker and an ASS! Just a hunch!

Any other suggestions are always welcome. I'm driving to Toronto this morning - thinking of taking the "scenic" route on the East side of Lake Huron just to see all the areas with 100 inches of snow. If I get on the road by 7am I should be able to make that happen.

Haiku of the Day BY SPECIAL REQUEST:
She may be Psycho
but wants to look just like me
Oh Britney............. CALL ME!!!!


Entertainment of the Day - I'm so behind in watching movies from this trip. My list is growing and growing. I usually have ESPN on the TV while I'm working from the room (I get that from my Dad who is an ESPN ADDICT!! You should look into rehab like the Hollywood folks do for their problems!) and there's a basketball commercial that plays the Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem Mass. I enjoy the attempt at cross culturizing the hip-hop world of Basketball and the Classical World, but I don't like how edited the song is to make it fit in 30 seconds. So I listened to the unedited version tonight and feel much more satisfied.

Weblink of the Day - The only movie you need to worry about seeing in 2007! This might be the single greatest moment in the history of the evolution of the human race!!!! Rumor has it that EVERY SINGLE person who has ever been on the show will be in the movie in some regard!

Pancakes for Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. It means 40 days till Easter but the Easter candy has filled the shelves of the stores since February 15 - sometimes even earlier!

For Lent this year, I'm giving up beer and pop. I've actually cut back on those two things anyway with the diet so it's not a huge stretch this year. Plus the Mexico wedding is AFTER Easter so I'm safe.

Today is my last official day in New York. I leave tomorrow morning for Toronto (about a 5 hour drive) and there are slight chances of snow tomorrow. I'm not going near the 100+ inches of snow regions though. Everyone says Toronto is a nightmare to drive in with many many traffic problems. I'll have to see for myself!

I'm staying in a Hampton Inn here in the Endicott area.... decent hotel but when the elevator doors close, there's a picture of two donkeys on one door and I forget what it says on the other door. I'm just amazed that there's a picture of two donkeys. They're just in the middle of a road and acting as I would assume donkeys act - but still something I wasn't expecting. And they are stickers, not magnets. Otherwise I may have had to see about taking it as a souvenir for certain unnamed friends in California!

Nice Mediterranean Food last night for dinner with my team. Very good, very garlicky, and very filling. Still not hungry this morning after eating that much food last night. Endicott is the birthplace of IBM and they have a very nice historical museum set up here that we walked through yesterday. They still have the original building where Watson first started the business - plus his original desk is still there somewhere. Unfortunately this area was hit pretty hard with the changes of the 1990s going from some 22,000 employees to about 1500 today. Yeah, that's a sizable difference!

Interesting note: It's National Engineers Week (which is advertised at work and lots of engineers go to the schools for activities) but don't forget that it's also National Pancake Week! Coincidence? Plus next week begins National Eating Disorders Awareness week.... so eat those Pancakes while you still can!!

Haiku of the Day

Pancakes - so fluffy
Covered with Maple Syrup
Sausage on the Side


Entertainment of the Day - They have some good radio stations here in the Endicott area - including a Hard Rock station which gives 93X (out of the cities) a run for its money. STP, Ozzy, Tool so far have been played. Kahn is going to invest in a radio station in Rochester to play this music! Thanks Kahn!!

Weblink of the Day - An interesting forward that I received yesterday. The music doesn't really match the topic in my opinion which really bothered me... but this is a quick movie that tries to put into perspective the population and technology growth of the past few years. Goes along with a lot of the themes in The World is Flat. A "quick" 6 minutes of reading.

I'm a Prince of Rochester, King of Minnesota!!

I finished my book just now. The Cider House Rules by John Irving is another great novel by Irving. I really like how he writes, how easy it is to follow the story and how easy it is to fall in love with his characters. I've now read A Prayer for Owen Meany, A Widow for One Year, and now Cider House Rules - all of which I loved. Widow probably still my favorite.

Owen Meany was a very religious book that was made into the movie Simon Birch. Of course there was about 90% of that book that was missing from the movie, but that's normally the case. And Widow was made into A Door in the Floor which came out a couple of years ago. It was a good movie, but again it only touched the surface of what the book was really about. With that said, I have the movie Cider House Rules at the top of my Netflix list so I will let you know what I think. Compared to Owen Meany, the Cider House was much much much more liberal. Homer Wells grows up in an orphanage in Main during the 1940s. He has extremely bad luck trying to be adopted by different families and always returns to the orphanage. After a while, he finally "becomes useful" at the orphanage by working there and accepting his place there. The main doctor there functions officially as a deliverer of babies. But due to the nature of his job, he is unofficially known as the only doctor in Maine who will perform an abortion on a woman if she requests it (illegal at this time and he would do it for no charge).

So the concept of abortion is continual throughout this book that was written in 1985! I'm amazed how a lot of his concepts and arguments both for and against aborition are still being used today... some 20+ years later. If you are strongly opposed to abortion, you may not like this book. If you are of other opinion, you may like this book.

The only criticism I have for the book is the love triangle that develops in the book and I could see a mile away. I realize the situation that was created with the love triangle, but I really did not care for how it turned out. It's probably realistic in every way - but when that happens, I feel bad for the guy who works so hard only to have his heart crushed... and then he learns to move on in life and become an expert at something other than love. Yeah, there's probably some personal aspects of Homer's story that feel close to me, but that's about all I gots to say about that.

And if you've never read the book and have no idea what I"m talking about - that's ok. I actually own this book if anyone wants to borrow it. I actually bought it about 4 years ago in Arizona while visiting my Grams (yeah Grams - I bought this when I was at the Union while you and the ladies were driving in your parade:) ). Once you get past the "setup" part of the book, it really does become quite personal and touching. I have started it probably 4 times, only to put it down again and again. Don't worry, I've done that routine more than 4 times with Insomnia by Stephen King. Maybe someday I can get through it! Up next for me is actually Obama's book that I brought with me to NY!!!

I'm driving to Endicott this morning. Still in NY and a lot closer to the rediculous snow they received here in NY last week. I have two of my "peeps" there to visit with for a few days before heading to Toronto on Thursday.

Haiku of the Day
Finishing the Book
Was my main goal forTonight
I can sleep in Peace!!!

Entertainment of the Day - As I was "casually" shopping this weekend (not looking for anything in particular), I accidentally saw that Harry Connick Jr has a new CD out! Oh, My Nola came out at the end of January and is his dedication of the Jazz of his home area of New Orleans. He takes some songs that a music fan should recognize and adds a taste of Louisiana Jazz to them. These are all songs he feels has special meaning to the area that he grew up in and I see the album as a tribute to all that the area has gone through in the past 2 years. It's Big Band CD and yes, he has tour dates scheduled. I'm planning on going to see him in Minneapolis if anyone is interested in joining me!! Seriously!

Weblink of the Day - Not sure I can beat yesterday's flute playin Beat Boxin Mad man... but see if this holds up.... This is a pretty cool link that some guy created professional pictures after seeing a kid's drawing as his motivation. You have to go there to see what I'm talking about!

President's Day Sale!!!

It's Monday, President's Day - and I'm still in NY (till Friday evening). President's Day is one of the "lesser" holidays meaning the common folks still work, Hallmark doesn't sell as many cards, someone uses it as an advertising campaign, and most importantly - the banks are closed and no mail (but that doesn't take much).

Daytona was yesterday - what a weird finish. Several cars crossing the finish line either in mid-crash (one even flipped over). Harvick won so I wasn't too far off from my prediction. And when I say he "won"... I mean he had about a foot of his car stretched across the line more than Martin did.

The All Star game for the NBA was also this weekend from Vegas. I actually had more fun watching the Saturday night events than the game itself. Skills contest, Three point contest, and then the dunk contest were all on. I was able to drown out the party going on in the room above me with the loud music and the dragging of the cooler across the floor. I saw them bringing the beer up there on the elevator as I was doing laundry, plus saw them making multiple trips to the ice machine. I've done that enough times at hotels to know what's going on.

I did some driving around Poughkeepsie area. No, I did not make it into NYC like I wanted to. Mainly because I was working most of Saturday morning and was in the mood to relax (and read most of my book... hoping to finish it tonight) all of Sunday.

The other big news from the weekend is the switch from Anna Nicole dominating the headlines, to the emergence of "Britney Shears". What the hell has gotten into her? I admit that she still looks pretty cute with the shaved head (I know she did it to be more like me.... her soul mate), but it's still a little bizarre. Not something you'd expect from a mother of two.

ISU lost to the Pedophiles, and Kansas THUMPED Nebraska, 92-39. That's close to a high school score! I'm paying more attention now that March Madness is almost upon us! Need to start focusing now in order to win yet another trophy for my picks!

And this is Mardi Gras time meaning that tomorrow is Fat Tuesday (or Phat Tuesday for some) and Lent begins on Wednesday (the 21st) - have you begun to think about giving something up for Lent? I know my good Catholic friends won't forget this year!!!! If so, I'm here to remind them they have 2 days! Don't think I'm going to be as aggressive as in years past, but since I'm dieting anyway, we'll see.

Haiku of the Day -
Britney has no hair
New Tat says "I Love Adam"
I swear that it does!!

Entertainment of the Day - With HBO in my hotel room, I casually saw about 5 different showings of The Empire Strikes Back over the weekend. It's easily still the best of the Star Wars movies.... especially with Han replying to Leah right before he's frozen in Carbonite:

Leah: I love you!
Han Solo : I know

What a stud!! Only thing better is he would have handed her a shovel right before being frozen!

Weblink of the Day: Tell me this skill wouldn't get you to pick up all the chicks!! Flute playing and beatboxing the Super Mario Theme!!! Seriously... you have to watch to believe!! Something for me to figure out when I get home.

Quick Sunday Thoughts

Happy Birthday to my nephew Elliott who turns the big "6" today!!
Happy Birthday to my friend Claire who turns the big "21....ish" today!!! haha!

Daytona 500 predictions..... I'm curious how well the Toyotas will do - lots of folks hoping they fail but I'm actually hoping they do ok. I have no issues with foreign cars.

To win it all today? Hmmm.... Stewart might be the easy pick, but I'll go with a not-so-common pick... Kyle Bush!

To win the championship? I'd love to see Gordon win it all, but I think you'll see a new winner in Kevin Harvick this year.

Coolest Car? I do like the 24 car when it's in the Pepsi colors! But I think some of my favorites from the past couple of years are a lot of the one time promotions for movies. I do like the Jack Daniels paint job even though I hate Jack. They need a major sponsorship from Captain Morgan!!! I'm hoping it'll be a good race to watch... luckily it's the Fox crew calling the race - plus appearances by KELLY CLARKSON!!!

Boogity Boogity Boogity

NASCAR kick off this Sunday. They might not have steroid issues as the other sports do, but drivers of cars still have cheating issues as was seen this week. It's pretty pathetic when the sports world is dominated by cheating..... and Anna Nicole. I'll be watching the race from a Sports Bar here somewhere in NY.

Last day (or at least half day) of class today. It's been an enlightening week and a good overall experience. I have networked very well and have made some new IBM friends that I plan on continuing our interaction. There is a lot of benefit in knowing resources from other sides of the company. Never know when you'll need a favor or two.

This afternoon I pick up my rental car and drive to Poughkeepsie which is about an hour up the road. There is some good food in Poughkeepsie so my will power will be tested yet again. After weigh in yesterday, I was down a pound which is a miracle considering the "all inclusive" atmosphere here at the Learning Center.

More snow on the way here in NY. I'll take some pictures this weekend to share as soon as I charge my camera.

Have a great weekend!!!

Haiku of the Day
Snow so cold so wet
But never enough for me
Where is the 6 feet?

Entertainment of the Day - I don't think I discussed how I finished (listening) to the book that is widely discussed in the Technical Business World.... The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman is subtitled "A Brief History of the 21st Century". In this book, Friedman wonderfully captures the changing world in terms of the business strategies that include Asia and India. How cost and competition has driven the world to become flat - but a powerful insight as to the benefits of becoming global companies with a world wide climate. All of these are discussions I have been having all week here in class and it makes me proud to work for a company that is involved at the world level. The people that are scared and resist the ideas of global sourcing decisions.... they're only going to be left behind.

Weblink of the Day - Polar Drifting.... Use the arrow keys to navigate on the slippery surface! Good luck

Random Thoughts

• How sick is everyone already with the continued (and seemingly never ending) news coverage on Anna Nicole? You know it's a slow news day/week/month when she's still dominating the headlines. Only Princess Di news lingered longer - and that was much more justified in my opinion.
• We finally got the snow they were expecting - yesterday during class. Funny to watch the varying reactions from the folks here. Those of us from the North didn't even flinch.... the peers that are from the south began to worry and wondered how they were going to get home. One girl was terrified to walk home because she's never walked on snow before.
• American Idol is down to 24 now. I did watch last night and honestly, the middle round is the one that bores me the most. Oh what happened to Chicken Lady and Red?????
• Obama is officially running but hasn't taken charge of the Democratic race yet. I'm sure I'll have a comment or two more as the next year moves on. I still think it's too early to be doing this election crap again but whatever.

Gotta run - but wanted to check in this morning and see how everyone ended up for Valumtime's Day!!! Anyone get a shovel?

Have a great Day! Tomorrow's Friday! Daytona 500 this weekend... who's your favorite?

Yeah For Being Single (and Saving Money)!!

Ahhhh... Valentine's Day. The dumbest holiday of the year. We waste 13.7 BILLION DOLLARS every Valentine's day in the US. What the hell? If everyone just waited to celebrate a week afterwards when all the flowers go on sale, it'd only be 6.8 BILLION DOLLARS!! And how many people resort to the cliche flowers and chocolate when you can buy your loved one a snow shovel? Half price at Home Depot if it's the same as last year! You can splurge that way and get the really nice one and not feel guilty.

Interesting facts I found regarding Valentine's Day:

• Women purchase approximately 85% of all valentines
• Greeting Card Association (what do they do!?!?) estimates that 1 Billion Valentines are sent each year worldwide.
• Today is also "Singles Awareness Day" (SAD).... whatever that means. "A common greeting on this day is Happy SAD".
  
• Ancient Greeks celebrated between mid-January to mid-February in honor of the sacred marriage of Zues and Hera.
• The Pope declared in 496 that the feast of St. Valentine would be February 14. Don't think it was Pope Hallmark IV but I could be wrong.
• Chaucer (poet) wrote a poem referring to "Volantynys day" being a romantic occasion back in 1382. Again, Hallmark wasn't quite on board with the holiday yet.
• Earliest surviving valentine dates from 1415 - a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife. It read "Roses are read, Violets are blue, I'm the Duke of Orleans, Who the hell are you?".... or so I'm told. It also had "SWAK" on the back of the envelope.
• Japan and Korea now celebrate actively - mainly with women - who give candy, chocolate, or flowers to people they like.
• I also point out that Valentine's is probably the coldest holiday. You can explain that in more than one definition of the word "cold":)

I'd also like to note that Valentine's Day candy is by far my favorite. Jube Jells (cherry flavored gummy hearts) and Cherry Sours are what I long for... but not this year. It was hard to find them last year as Brachs Candy wasn't as easily found in stores. I didn't look too hard as candy is bad to have around.

Class in NY is going well. We spent a lot of time discussing "Coaching" yesterday. We split into groups of three that had the "Coaches" (like a manager), the "Observers" to the conversation, and the "Coachees" (like the employee). For some reason I was the only one that found the verbal use of the word "Coachees" way too similar to the Apache Chief "Chochise". Yes, I find humor in just about anything but that one was way too easy to confuse;)

And speaking of a day known for disappointment..... the anticipation of "up to a foot" of snow last night turned into a light dusting and now sleet/rain on top of it making it not pretty whatsoever. Not sure what happened with the dump we were supposed to get. I did witness the first snow flakes as I walked back to my room last night. Too bad that was the bulk of it right there!

Good luck with the holiday for those that are celebrating!

Haiku of the Day
V-Day? Bah Humbug!!
What a waste of a good day
Groundhog Day's better

Entertainment of the Day - gotta go with the favorite song for today.... Love Stinks (yeah, yeah). It's quite appropriate today in my mind. I couldn't find a song very easily about a shovel but I'll keep looking.

Weblink of the Day - Celebrating Valumtime's Day wouldn't be complete without a contribution from Homestarrunner and his friends TEEN GIRL SQUAD. Kahn's favorite, I know... I usually struggle with them, but this one is just random enough for me to find enjoyment out of it!

"Insert Song About New York Here"

I believe that "travelling" should be a skill that one can be proficient in, just like "typing" or "playing piano". If so, my ability to get to my final destination, despite what THE MAN does to try to prevent me from getting to NY - I'm a pro! When I arrived at the Rochester Airport at 5am, I was told that the flight from Chicago to Westchester Airport was cancelled. I could be on standby for the 12:30pm flight, or book on the 3pm flight. My class started at noon Central. So being the experienced NY traveler, I had them book me on a flight into Stewart Newburgh which is about an hour away. I rented a car once I got to Stewart, then arrived safely at my class, only an hour late! I had the mess of returning my rental car last night to the airport then cabbing back to the Learning Center, but it's all in the past now and today looks to be a normal day.

For the record, I also consider web-surfing to be a skill.... another one that I am extremely proficient in! There should be Google challenges. Like the movie in the early 90s about the Nintendo kid and how he and his older brother went to the Nintendo contest to play Super Mario Brothers 3 before it came out.... what was that movie called?

So this IBM Learning Center in Armonk, NY.... it's right next to Corporate Headquarters (my future office!) and you can tell because there is no money spared in the building of this place. We have a main building that has all of our classes, a nice bar, lounge, and the dining area (buffet style). Then there is a campus where you can walk to the different "dorms" that have hotel rooms for everyone to stay in. Each "dorm" has a work area, plus a play area with pool tables and PING PONG!!! I'm up for kickin' anyone's butt at Ping Pong but haven't seen anyone to talk smack to. And right next door is the Work out building which is pretty nice. I used it last night and again this morning and for a hotel-esque facility... I'm impressed.

In our first day of Management classes yesterday we received the feedback from our Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) which is just one of many many brain profile surveys. Of course I was not surprised when the results came back showing that I was extremely right brained (emotional, talkative, imaginative, risk taking, breaking rules). Most everyone else in the class is left brained (analytical, logical, number oriented, organized, cautious, planning in advance). IBM and most tech companies hire a plethora of left brained engineers in order to successfully do the technical work with numbers and details. I'm able to do the left brain stuff - but I'm always more comfortable and natural with the right brained stuff. I am also learning the difference between upper and lower brain which is somewhat new to me. I'm actually very balanced between upper and lower brain (upper being "intellectual" and lower being more safe guarding.... I think. More to come on that).

We're expecting up to a foot of snow up here the next few days! The 35 degrees from yesterday felt like a heat wave compared to the Minnesota cold. Tomorrow is the dumbest holiday known to mankind.... don't forget for those of you that actually need to remember. Go to Home Depot, I'm sure they have a sale on shovels!!!

Haiku of the Day
Riding down runways
Bumping and sliding around
Chains for plane's tires?

Entertainment of the Day - We have music in our class during breaks and now before class starts. So I'll be sharing the musical taste of someone else... and right now we're listening to Fear Factory's Cars. Flashback to the 80s here!!!

Weblink of the Day - It's the YEAR OF THE PIG!!!! (Chinese Calendar) So here is a list of History's Greatest Pigs. My cousin Jimmy's pet pig did not make the list unfortunately:(

I'm Leavin... On a Jet Plane that is way too small

I'm off to NY.... see you on the flip side!

A Day of Mourning in Rememberance (not for Anna Nicole)

Anna Nicole Smith died.... no more reality shows about an overweight slug who has received too much fame for being lucky and who exposes all the potential negative aspects of the "American Way". That's all I have to say about that...

I'm off to do some heavy donation to the Salvation Army today. I finally cleaned out my storage area last night and have the car loaded up with a bunch of things to donate. A desk and VERY HIGH QUALITY LAMP that was left by my old roommate before he moved for destinations south. We are both having a hard time parting with this floor lamp (the touch kind) as every time the air conditioning would turn on, the lamp would turn on/off. Plus if you walked within about 3 feet, your body had enough electricity that it decided to turn on or off as well. It was by far the coolest part of my house for about a year. But now it's someone else's and for me all that is left is a tax write off!

I'm also parting with my Nintendo plus games. Half of my games don't work anymore, plus I'm hoping they will all be available on Virtual Wii soon enough and then they really don't have a use. But the games did bring back some awesome memories. These are my favorites that I'm parting with - wanted to share some with you:

• Contra - quite possibly the greatest video game ever made. I could beat this in about 15 min without ever dying. Don't need the 30 guys, but the cheat code became the language to decide if someone was a true Nintendo fan or not. Every day after coming home from school involved a quick run through Contra. After beating the game, it would just start over from the beginning and I think one time I went through 6 times in a row out of sheer boredom. Yes, I was a weird kid. Still am.
• Top Gun - I never did beat this game but I thought it was well done. Refueling in mid-flight was always the hard part. 80s graphics at its finest!
• Super Mario Trilogy - Funny, I never could get past World 8-2 (the dang super big jump always intimidated me) so Mario 1 is the only one I've never beat. I could get through Mario 3 very quickly via the warp whistles. Don't know that I ever went through every single world to try to beat it that way. Only nerdy kids with too much time on their hands would do that.
• Double Dragon - So this game wasn't nearly as cool as the arcade game. But it was still worth buying.
• Tecmo Bowl - (No, not Super Tecmo). The best football game in the pre-Madden era. Play with the Super Bowl Winning Bears... Walter Payton could run through any other team, and Singletary could pick off any pass. I usually would end up with scores like 56-6 on a regular basis. No, there wasn't a lot of skill involved in this game.
• Double Dribble - Basketball at its finest. The close up slow motion dunks made it "cutting edge"!
• Blades of Steel - A hockey game where you were REWARDED for winning a fight. The loser of the fight got a 2 minute penalty. The whole goal of the game was to try to get in as many fights as possible and see if you could create a 5-2 situation.
• Golf - Mario playing 18 holes (9 of which are the same exact holes for the Golf on Wii Sports). A good relaxing game.
• Excitebike - What kid didn't own this game?
• Legend of Zelda - I wasn't a Zelda freak, but it's available already for downloading to the Wii so I might try again. Plus there are all kinds of walk throughs and maps to get you where you need to go in this game.
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Another game I wish I would have beaten at least once. Claire was always playing this game with her sisters. Did you ever beat the game?
• RBI Baseball/Bases Loaded 2 - Fun baseball games, each for different reasons.
  
• Track and Field 2 - The primary reason I bought a NES Advantage (joystick controller with turbo goodness). Only way to win the speed races in the Olympics was to cheat. A valuable lesson to learn in life (apparently a lesson used by the real world "athletes" as well).
  

So goodbye Nintendo (and my old N64 with 3 games). It was a good 20 years but the aging and reliability testing done in the 80s didn't plan on you lasting this long.

I'm off to NY Monday morning.... HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

Haiku of the Day -
Nothing is better
Entertainment at its best
So Long Nintendo

Entertainment for the Day - I'm finally getting through listening to Katharine McPhee's new CD. Pretty good, nothing to win a Grammy for or anything. She'll sell a lot of records and probably have another CD to follow. She's cute enough though that I bet she'll stick around for a while.

Weblink of the Day - A newer fun webpage of Science experiments to use in the real world. Questions are answered such as "How to nail jello to the wall?" or "How to keep beer cold?" (I personally like the Rice Krispie Treat Coozy the best) or even "How many condoms can be worn at once?" (The answer will shock you). Consider it a Mythbusters type thing but for cool people.

The Art of Losing

That, kids, is how you lose 20 pounds in 4 weeks! I hit my 10% body mass lost since October goal this morning. Many more to go, but I'm halfway now to my 110 pound goal. No, "55 pounds" is not the 10% for you that are trying to do the math. 55 pounds lost is from my high weight which was right after I returned from Japan last year. Thanks for all of the support and complements as of late. The next 2 weeks will be a real trial on my progress as I travel to NY for work. I plan on sticking to my workout routine while I'm there, but it will involve eating out more often than I'm used to. Just have to stay smart and disciplined! I also have my heart set on winning the "I lost it at the RAC" contest going on at the gym where I work out. We had weigh-ins the week of Jan 8 and then again sometime Mid-March. I am determined to win the dang thing. Plus you get discount off of your monthly bill if you lose more than 10 pounds and yes, I am just that CHEAP!

Happy Birthday to my cousin Nikki. She's a HUGE Cyclone fan and would do anything for the Cardinal and Gold of ISU! She is a rare fan of the 'clones while living in Lincoln and actually going to the U of Nebraska. She made the right choice in backing the Cyclones!!!

Did you see this Bears fan that is changing his name to "Peyton Manning" after losing a bet? I have seen people have to get opposing team tattoos after losing bets... but this name changing thing is a new one. I'm pretty die hard - willing to do anything for money, or sometimes just for attention (yes, I can be an "attention whore" but not on purpose)... but changing my name. That's pretty gutsy. I do admire the guy for following up on his bet. Too many times I see people renege on their bets and it causes one to lose their street cred. Or people talk a big game about drinking a gallon of milk in 60 minutes but then never doing the deed!

And Britney is single YET AGAIN (call me!) - she was actually thinking of converting to Judaism for her model boyfriend. Well now that that's over... what trouble is she going to cause next?

I need to catch up on American Idol for this week, but it might not be till Saturday. Next week starts the "folks with real talent" session of the show. So no more Prince songs, no more Michael Jackson songs..... Both would make good theme weeks in my opinion for the finalists.

Haiku of the Day
Thirty-two pounds lost
Since I have become single
No more Chipotle

Entertainment of the Day - So I rented Employee of the Month thinking it has Jessica Simpson and how bad can a movie with a hot girl like her be? To my surprise, it was actually pretty funny and well done. It has Dax (originally from Punk'd) and Dane Cook who I thought was hilarious. A happy feel good movie that takes place in a Sam's Club type store. And not too much of Simpson trying to act.

Weblink of the Day - Interesting read of the "Top 40 Magazine Covers of the Last 40 Years". I recognize a lot of them, but definitely some I was too young (or non-existent) to remember.

Did You See This??

News from around the world wide web:

• New glass walkway that stretches out into the Grand Canyon opens next month! If you haven't seen pictures of this yet, it's pretty amazing and I would think pretty scary. I would probably have the same reaction as the folks in Japan had when I stepped onto a crowded elevator. They're not used to seeing someone of my size and the stability of elevators was being tested!
• A new desk that I should get for my office! Combines the sweet look of a Mini-Cooper with the necessity of a desk.
  
• Signs in China are being removed in time for the 2008 Olympics. Slideshow of some of the signs that are going away.
• Everyone needs one of these on their cars!!! We could by in bulk and maybe save buck or two, but it is still a good spend of $7!!
• Gummy Bear song that will make your head spin! Mmmmm... Gummy Bears! Actually, Gummy Worms are my ultimate driving snack food for staying awake! Too bad I haven't had any in a very long time.
• Some folks are complaining about Prince's Halftime Show. They go by the names of "Captain Obvious" and they are suggesting (how dare they!) that the shadowy reflection of Prince playing his guitar (with pointed tip) is somewhat phallic!! What the?!?!?! Where do they get these ideas?:)
• The next purchases for my Wii will be the following: WiiPlay which includes pool, darts, Duck Hunt, Ping Pong, among others. And Cooking Mama where you use the controllers to perform kitchen functions such as cutting vegetables, mixing your concoction, and putting cookies in and out of the oven. Calling in Chinese Take Out is not one of the functions in the game.

Haiku of the Day -
The Days are numbered
For el Bush to leave office
Seven-hundred Twelve!!!

Entertainment of the Day - I was able to finally finish watching Grid Iron Gang with THE ROCK (The Great One and his millions, AND MILLIONS of fans!!). I did not realize that it was a true story which of course makes the movie better somehow. I enjoyed the movie mainly because I think Rock is a better actor than most of your other action heros. He still has to work on his crying but he still has Arnold or Sly beat by a long shot. Plus he's ripped and I would not mess with the Rock!

Weblink of the Day - as if you need another one! But here are 25 lines from Star Wars that are more enjoyable if you use the word "pants" in place of the original.

Random Thoughts

• Adding insult to injury - it's snowing like mad and the temperature is still -3 outside. I really hate living in Minnesota sometimes.
• Super Bowl Shows that would kick ass just as much as Prince did
  

1. Green Day
2. Beastie Boys
3. Prince (encore)
4. U2.... again!

• Valentine's Day next week...... what a dumb holiday
• So far on my "to visit" list while in NYC in 2 weekends is the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Guggenheim (always my favorite) and the Metropolitan Museum. I get free admission into 2 of the 3 with my IBM badge... how cool is that?
  
• Cyclones at home vs Missouri tonight - MAKE ME PROUD BOYS!!!
• Found a neat Geography Quiz Page that proved I need to work on my world Geography. Funny how I can do so well with Western Europe, but so poor in Eastern Europe. I actually did fairly well in Central America as well. And I'm quickly learning SE Asia due to my new role at work. Still have a long ways to go!
• Speaking of useless knowledge - Teen Week on Jeopardy... it's the time when I feel like the smartest man alive because I can answer about 90% of the answers (including the final Jeopardy). Too bad the kids that are winning are half my age! Nerds!
• Red Wings played at the Rangers last night which means the dreaded matchup against Shannahan who now wears the blue jersey. Red Wings continued their dominance in the 3rd period by scoring 3 goals and winning by 1!! They are stepping it up at the right time of year again!
• New Strongbad Email!
  
• Um...... I'll spare you any more random thoughts for today!

Haiku of the Day -
StrongBad - funny guy
The highlight of every week
I hate Teen Girl Squad

Entertainment of the Day - Kahn asked for his favorite song to be mentioned today.... "Hollaback Girl" was one of the songs played in my step class last night and it was not quite the song to step in a continuous rhythm to. Sorry Kahn, but this song sucks. At least you'll never forget how to spell B-A-N-A-N-A-S!!

Weblink of the Day - Mixing two things that most enginerds spend way too much time talking about.... Star Trek and Monty Python! Now you can enjoy both in one.

Super Bowl Post-Game Thoughts

• Yes, Rex Grossman is just that bad. I might actually have cheered for the Bears if they would have had anyone else at quarterback. Only QB you ever see throw a pick and then march off the field like it's no big deal.
• The pregame stuff is getting really bad, almost to the levels of the Olympics and all the ceremonial crap that has no business being there. And pulling out people that were popular some 20 years ago.
  
• Billy Joel's National Anthem was pretty crappy.
• Budweiser came through yet again with a good lineup of commercials. The Crabs and Hitch hiker ones were really good. Also of good nature were the Auctioneer and Rock Paper Scissors.
  
• Sierra Mist and Coke commercials were not that good.
• GoDaddy was pretty good, but a bit of a let down after all of the hype. Here is this year's Banned GoDaddy.com commercial (they always make one that doesn't pass)..... much more impressive!!
  
• Any company that wastes money on a commercial that has already been aired should be banned from future Super Bowl. See all of the commercials here!
• It was neat to see a game in the rain - snow would have been better though!! It was disappointing though to see all of the empty seats in the lower levels since it was raining and I guess rich snobs don't sit in the rain at a Super Bowl. It's only $1500 a ticket or whatever.... probably a tax write off anyway.
• And the best part of the game was PRINCE!!! That kicked ass! How powerful is Prince though? When Prince comes up with an idea and says "I think it'd be cool to sing Purple Rain while it is actually raining". The folks of the Super Bowl say "but it's Florida, we can't make that happen"... then Prince says "I'm Prince, make it happen". And so then he gets his rain. Ashlee Simpson couldn't pull that one off!
• The game itself was alright. Better than a blowout (even though on paper it looked like a blowout). Congrats to the Colts who are now team #2 in a row to win after playing all 4 rounds of the post season... what does that say??
  
• Katie Couric is an idiot and has no business being involved with the Super Bowl.

On a separate note - IT IS DAMN COLD IN MINNESOTA!!! When you leave the house and watch the thermometer drop, it's like playing the stock market. Driving home from La Crosse on Saturday night I started at -6 and watched it slowly drop to -16. This morning I started at 15 degrees in my garage and it was at -18 by the time I got to the RAC. "Warmer Temperatures are on their way" say the useless Weather people. Duh.... can't get much colder.

New ideas for the end of my blogs... let me know what you think:

Haiku of the Day -
Indy won the game
Yet Bud still shows they are KING!
Whatcha Got Miller?

Entertainment Thought of the Day - A mix of movies and songs.... This weekend I FINALLY watched Beerfest. Bought it so I can watch it over and over again. What a great and hilarious movie! All the things that make movies great: Beer, Drinking Games, Guys passed out, frontal female nudity, and random jokes about farting or burping! Gotta love it!

Weblink of the Day - Anyone watch the "Puppy Bowl"? Sorry for the advertisement to proceed. And no, not my best find - but I'm in a hurry:)

Super Groundhog Day

Rise and shine, campers, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today!!
It's cold out there every day. What is this, Miami Beach?
Not hardly. So the big question on everybody's lips.
On their chapped lips
Their chapped lips is, does Phil feel lucky? Punksatawney Phil, thats right wood chuck chuckers its.....

GROUNDHOG DAY!!!!!

This morning Punxsutawney Phil did NOT see his shadow today so we can supposedly expect an early spring. I guess this morning is probably too soon as it was -8 degrees on my way in. The boogers are still freezing as Calvin put it. Let's hope Phil is correct!

Super Bowl is Sunday - so the anticipation of the best Bud Light commercials, or the surprise of the evening, increases! As for the game? Hmmm.... I am usually wrong for the Super Bowl so if I pick the Colts, it'll be the Bears. Colts win.

So after the terrorist scare in Boston this week, more and more people are hearing about Aqua Teen Hunger Force. This is a little known secret on the Cartoon Network that my old roommate Adam got me addicted to. Little Err and Ignignokt characters running around causing terror (just how they would really want it being from the Moon and all). ATHF is worth the 10 minutes every night so start setting your TiVos and DVRs. Err is one of my favorites!

Busy morning today so I'm cutting it short.... HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Super Thursday

Happy Groundhog's Eve!!! My favorite holiday of the year tomorrow so start refreshing your "Groundhogese" language lessons today!

Cold as crap today - one of those days where any moisture on your face is instantly frozen. Reminds me of one of my favorites:


Concerts in La Crosse this weekend. We're playing Hindemith which is always a challenge (for both the performers and the traditional classical audiences such as La Crosse) as well as some other modern stuff that will make your head hurt. There's even a concerto for 3 percussionists that includes some 35 different percussion instruments. Very unusual but that one is actually somewhat enjoyable. Plus we have a piece that includes about 80% of the orchestra shaking those Chinese balls that have the little bell on the inside. It's unusual.

The nice thing about being busy this week with practicing at home and rehearsals in La Crosse, is I've been able to avoid the much over hype of the Super Bowl. Yes, I love football as much as the usual male in the US, and I love the occasional analysis that happens on ESPN for football. But with only two teams left playing for the season, there are too many "experts" that are brought out of nowhere to offer their opinion on who's going to win this weekend. Best part is that it's 50/50 and of course there are going to be people picking either team. Just seems a little bit overkill for me. The only expert advice you need is to spin a dreidel - Nun or Gimel - Bears win.... Shin or Hei - Colts win.... in any case, when you play with a dreidel - WE ALL WIN!!!

And speaking of "experts" - everyone watching American Idol? The funny portion of the show is almost complete after a weird week in Birmingham and Los Angeles. I'm ready for good vocals though as it was almost 28 minutes into the 60 minute show last night till we saw a person that actually COULD sing. Last night had Olivia Newton-John who at age 58 - still looks attractive in my opinion. Too bad she was wearing a shirt with the words "It is what it is" on it which pretty much labels her as an idiot. And Paula continues to be good publicity for "this is your brain on drugs". I did come to the conclusion last night that I hope Ryan Seacrest is making more money than the three judges. Why? Because he seriously has the worst job on that show. Sure he doesn't have musical ability or knowledge some will say, but neither does Paula! Ryan gets to interact with the auditionees as soon as they come out of the room after all the banter they receive from the judges. Sometimes he has to comfort them, sometimes he has to just stay out of the way. I do feel bad for what he has to go through compared to the other three. But I also know he's probably pulling in enough money to make up for it. Seacrest out!

Anyone else as excited for the new GoDaddy.com commercial Sunday as I am? Rumor has it that Danica Patrick is in the commercial. Plus the possibility of lots of bubbles!!

Everybody pray for Punxsutawney Phil (or Unadilla Bill if that's your regional choice) to make this cold crap go away. Yes, I consider Phil just as qualified as any weatherman/woman on TV right now.

Song of the Day - you have to laugh and smile now whenever you hear "Aquarius" after watching The 40 Year Old Virgin. It came on at the RAC this morning and I couldn't help but laugh:)

Video of the Day - Some of the dumbest people you will watch all day! Wheel of Fortune brings out the best and the brightest people in America. (HINT: the word "vowel" means "A,E,I,O,U" - not a Y in Wheel of Fortune Land).

Webpage of the Day - Advice on how to Talk Your Way Out of a Speeding Ticket.... Good luck. I have tried most of these with extreme failure.