SuperSatellite ||

It has been a busy week for me, and I apologize that I haven’t found time to get any thoughts added to the ol’ blog recently.  I did accomplish a lot this week, however.  And I’ll also be gone a chunk of next week, so you can safely predict it’ll be a few days until a new post after this one (unless I get ambitious and inspired tomorrow.  Don’t bet on it).  Luckily, there’s always Twitter!

I started and completed the little task of adding a set of stairs to the side of my porch finally, so that we don’t have to jump up and down it (yes, we have front steps, but we never go that way).  Basically did a task each day (I was going to say a “step each day,” but I think the double meaning would have been too confusing.  For me, not you).  I used my grandparents’ front steps as inspiration, though theirs are done in a half moon shape.  I didn’t want to dig up that much brick to do that.  Click the image to see photos through the process.  All the brick came from around the house.  I think I’ll eventually use some to make a path down to the sidewalk.  I also think I’ll start all the porch railing this month as well, which should finish the porch out nicely.

The bad part is how very much it hurt.  There’s no good reason for that.  When I moved to Pittsburg, I helped dad do construction all over the place, and even found myself doing whole sidewalks of brick without a complaint from my back.  It never mattered.  Finishing that top step all at once today just broke me down though.  I had been subscribing to the “work through the pain, you’re just out of shape” mantra lately.  After this, I’m starting to kind of question that.  It’s not even that what I did was so hard.  Dig up a few brick, wash them, and mix a few buckets of concrete and mortar.  I think more it was the frequent up and down.  A good hot shower seems to have loosened things up, but I still feel like I was in a car wreck.

Random fact I just learned: Stephen Lynch starred in the lead role in The Wedding Singer on Broadway.

I shall be out of town again this week.  I’m headed back to Miami Mon-Wed for some developer boot camp with the folks who created dotCMS (partly in preparation for our user training on campus at the end of this week).  Sadly, I won’t be there long enough to enjoy the Miami scenery, but hey, hooray for company condos.  Also, I get to eat at that good sushi place near CocoWalk, who’s name I now can’t remember.  And why aren’t there any nonstop flights to MIA from MCI?  Joplin also needs to run more shuttles to MCI through the day, that’d be a much more convenient drive.  I really hate the drive to MCI by myself whenever I have to fly somewhere.  Anyway, I’ll try to follow up after the training by sharing some of what I learn (or at least what I understand, heh).

I finally sucked it up and upgraded to a Flickr Pro account.  Having done so, I readily admit I should have done it sooner, and it is well worth the $25 a year, and I’ve only had it about four days.  I have already uploaded what I am pretty sure is my whole photo collection, got them sorted and tagged and everything.  Sorry Picasa.  Not sure what pushed me over the edge, other than scrounging up twenty-five bucks and having enough curiosity to make it worth blowing.  The interface is simple but flexible enough that it really seems like it will serve me well.

My neighbor caught me outside today while I was working.  Apparently he works at Pitt Plastic.  For whatever random reason, he hooked me up with a few rolls of trash bags.  Not complaining, it was just a little out of nowhere (when was the last time your neighbor went out of his way to supply you with trash bags?).  However, now I don’t need to buy more trash bags until I’m 38.

You know, I really think that I should have my own theme song done by Rockapella. In fact, they should follow me around, singing it on cue. It’d be great. I’d just pop in people’s doors from time to time so they could “announce” my entrance.

Anyway, I know some people have been curious as to my AWOLedness on various fronts, so why not discuss life’s little happenings. First off, Sunday, all I can say is football. And let me tell you, yesterday was more painful than I ever could have anticipated. Stephen King I think had a hand in the Chief’s opener. Man. I won’t dwell though. I have won 2 out of 3 fantasy games, with the third one currently mine by one point. But we each have a player in tonight’s game, so it will be interesting. And this is the one I really want to win, too. Go me!

I have been hired to do a website for a local politician too, which is fun. Hopefully I can finish it tonight, I think that’s possible given a night of non-stop work on it. I started this weekend, came in to help out with some techie stuff, ended up getting the whole banana. That’s okay though, nice side money. But the great part is that the site was already mentioned in the paper, so really, it needs to be done like a week ago. Hehe. Good thing I work fast. Now, I just need no little problems to crop up, hehe.

Once that’s done, it’s off to help Dan with sets for Wait Until Dark, the PSU play for next month.

And after that, apparently judging debate in Indy this weekend.

Somewhere in between I have some stuff I really want to write. Hopefully before I forget it all, or lose the interest.

I can talk again though! My throat thingy all healed up, no more soreness, voice all back. That is one hell of a relief too.

There’s been other stuff too, but of a far more mundane nature. But, I just wanted some of you to know I hadn’t totally vanished. Because I know you all care and love me…hey, why are you laughing? Meanie.

Another week. Back to normal. The musical is over and went off well for the most part. I can finally return to a life of fun and leisure in the evenings. This amounts to lots of Madden 2006 (at least till preseason starts in a couple weeks), and lots of napping through movies. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a lesson in what I like to call “priorities.” Heh. Really though, my brain does feel like it needs time to unwind in a big way.

I should also buy some rabbit ears for my TV. The Chiefs’ preseason games are mostly on CBS, which isn’t the one channel I can pick up right now. Willie Roaf is considering retiring, which is sad. I know you probably don’t care, but you can be sad with me since I assure you, you should be. If he does, it’s not just a good player leaving, but the end of an era. It’s like before Derrick Thomas died *tear* and Neil Smith turned traitor. That was an era too. Our defense has never been the same since.

I’m getting glasses in a couple weeks. I go in the 7th for my exam. I think he’ll tell me I’m blind. This will not surprise me. Even though I see okay, I feel blind sometimes. And my eyes are frequently tired. I think they want to escape the tyranny of the body. But I don’t know what kind of frames to get. I haven’t been able to decide between something like some Buddy Holly type 50’s style frames, or like the more refined “frameless” frames. Really it’s been about 6 or 7 years since I’ve seen an eye doctor. I blame you. I found a really old pair of glasses a while back in my desk. They make everything look funny. This includes me.

I wish I had more interesting things to write about for you right now, but I really don’t, and I apologize. But don’t lose faith, if I have to shake someone down myself, I’ll find something amusing in the next couple days to go on and on about.

“All such notions as causation, succession, atoms, primary elements…are all figments of the imagination and manifestations of the mind.” ~Buddha

Okay, so you remember when I mentioned how the pop machine at work was flirting with me? Yeah well, apparently it really wants to get in to my pants or something, as yesterday not only did it give me a free pop, but also a dime! Damn right. I think it just likes me pushing its buttons. That dirty machine. Mmmmmm….inanimate object sexing. Sorry, went to a bad place there.

I hit a raccoon last night. I’m sorry. I don’t understand animals fascination with running under cars at night, or rather their inability to keep from doing so. Once I ran in to traffic for fun, played a little dodge car, but the first time one clips you, spins you into another car, flips you over the hood and in to the windshield, then drops you about five feet on to the pavement, it really loses its fun. But at least I can predict that happening. I just choose to ignore it. Animals seem to lack that predicting ability. What’s funnier is how we react. “Oops, just a raccoon.” “Look at that squirrel pancake!” “Holy shit! That was the biggest fucking beaver I’ve ever seen! Oh well, dead now. Shithead.” But if it’s a kitten or a puppy….totally different. I saw a squished kitten on the way to rehearsal the other night, it was terrible. You might as well throw a baby out there and back over it a couple times (How many babies does it take to pave a road? Depends on how flat you crush them.). It’s a whole different league though. As Denis Leary put it: Cow -”I’m an animal, I have rights!” Man-”No you don’t, you’re a fucking baseball glove now get on the truck!”

Okay, so fair enough, that was pretty horrible huh? What can I say? I’m a horrible person. Who loves dead baby jokes and roadkill sammiches.

I am apologizing in advance for tonight. It’s been a few days since I’ve posted anything, and not for a lack of things to write about, I’ve just sort of been saving up the stuff. Now though, I’m afraid this will be quite long, so I’ll do what I can to keep it entertaining.

Of course, the real trick here is figuring out just where to start. Also trying to remember what all I had to say to begin with. Dammit. I’m worse than my own worst enemy sometimes. Well, let’s start with movie stuff, because that’s what I just finished with. Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was excellent. Great CG. I won’t spoil anything though. Just go see it. What I will discuss is the “pre-game.” The trailer for Snakes on a Plane played. They audience reaction was pretty damn worth it. A comical mix of “what the hell” and “what the fucking hell.” Frankly, and I say this with all seriousness, the damn movie is brilliant. The hype that has been built up around that movie is going to make it a fortune. You’re damned right I’m gonna go see it. And I’ll love it, because I know exactly what I’m getting. Snakes. On a plane. Samuel L. Jackson. I expect no more and no less, and know that’s what I will get.

Transformers. Man, you can’t imagine my hopes for this movie. In case you haven’t seen it, you have to go check out this demo footage of Optimus Prime transforming [youtube.com]. The trailer the movie had was just a teaser, but even it was cool. I cannot emphasize how much you have to go watch that sixteen seconds of happiness linked above though.

During the pre-light-dimming phase, the movie theater runs those silly little slides, you know? Well a bunch of them are quotes from EOnline.com. Now, I can’t remember any, and despite the fact that the slides claim you can visit the site for more celebrity quotes, I challenge you to do so. So you’ll have to take my word that these things are some of the dumbest and most pretentious sounding comments on the planet. Who picks that shit?

So I played mini golf last night. I had to succumb to a new level humility. Not like “oops, I tripped of my shoelace I hope no one saw” humility, like “oops, I forgot I’m supposed to wear clothes to my high school graduation” humility. It was bad. That was quite possibly the most masochistic $3.00 I’ve ever spent. And I really like Chinese finger guffs, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I shot a 17 over par, only a slight nine strokes worst than last time. I got one hole in one that I can only assume was fate fucking with me. Sorta like giving a kid a lollipop before stabbing him in the ass with a hypodermic needle. Maybe I’m just too mousey to play minigolf [re: inside joke, sorry folks].

You know, despite the fact that Nickelback is about as inspired a band as Nirvana (sorry, but let’s face it, their music is farking simple), I like them just the same. Sometimes the depth and creativity of a band isn’t as needed as just a decent rhythm (that’s a hard word to spell). Regardless, I found this link [thewebshite.net] that Rachel showed me quite humorous. And scary. Considerably more scary the second time I listened and really paid attention. Give it a try. It’s like a bizzaro world Pepsi challenge. With itself.

I want to know who hit the Pittsburg city officials with the brilliant stick. I don’t know how, or why, but someone realized that maybe, just maybe it might be a neat idea to make Locust not a one-way. And I think they are going to follow suit with Pine. I am dumbstruck at the practicalness of this decision. What’s next, left turns on Broadway uptown? God forbid! I am certainly not complaining, but if they keep doing shit like this, it’s going to make it increasingly difficult to pick on them. Granted, they are stripping and resurfacing a big chunk of Broadway south of Quincy, which was super convenient combined with the traffic jam it caused and having Joplin street closed off because of the stadium. So I will hold off on giving the gold star just yet.

Looks like my job is really fracking cool. Granted, I have found a great deal of enjoyment in what I do now. But to top it off, I get to go to New York in October for a conference. Yeah, that’s sort of work, but it’s kinda a vacation too. I’ve never been to New York, and while it’s Rochester, not NYC, I’ll take what I can get.

I regularly check out Break.com. Today they had a video posted [break.com] that I felt a compelling need to share. I hate sharing random internet video clips too much, especially since you need nothing to follow up that Transformers clip with, but this did make me laugh. I love the end when the one guy is heard saying “our skin is fucking gone.” My only hope now is that I can find a way to convince one of my friends to do that. Maybe while drunk…