General Hospital

Amusing little tidbit. We're at the hospital last night for a class from 7-9pm and afterwards everyone is shuffling about, asking questions, gathering papers, hitting the bathroom, etc and I go out into the hallway and wait for Steph. It's dark and quiet. After I accidentally caused a minor ruckus by opening the huge doors to the critical care unit (don't ask), I walked the other way and around the corner to a small waiting area, where lo and behold, there's a group of nurses transfixed on........Grey's Anatomy. Hah! We have a few friends who work in the medical world and they tell us (as expected) that Grey's is nothing like working in a hospital. No surprise there. But it's good TV. Not really a surprise to see them, but it was kinda funny.

This site will be undergoing some major construction over the next few days. If everything goes as planned, I'll be transferring this entire platform off of Blogger and onto Wordpress. If there's a meltdown, there won't be any changes, but so far things are progressing. So if things look weird for a couple of days, that's why. If you subscribe to this site in RSS, you may need to re-subscribe at some point. I'll let you know.

The Envelope, Please

During my first year at Kent State (90-91), the rule was you had to live in the dorms. This was fine with me, despite my preference for apartment living. Why? Well, I didn't know anybody in Ohio, so I thought there was no better way to meet some people and make some friends. It didn't take long.

My roommate was a guy named Charles Elkins, a tall dude from southern Ohio. For those of you who don't know Ohio (and why should you?), the difference between northern Ohio and southern Ohio is rather significant. Northern Ohio wasn't all that much different than New England, with exception to some minor cultural differences and cheaper beer! Southern Ohio was more like Kentucky. Anyway, Charles had a small accent and it didn't take long before he called my bed "the envelope."

You see, apparently back then when I fell asleep, that was it - I wouldn't move, turn, jostle or anything. I'd wake up in the same position I fell asleep in, making it look like the bed was made, even when I was in it. When I woke up, I'd rise and simply fold the sheets back over in one quick motion and presto - the bed was made in under five seconds. He was amazed by this. I was indifferent. But word got around about the amazing envelope bed and I became known for it. Kinda funny. That said, I'd rather be known for my amazing sleep simplicity than for being lightweight - and Charles was a lightweight who, and I don't think this is revisionist history, always seemed to throw up after two beers.

Then there was John Horton, whom I ended up rooming with a year or two later - and whom I remain friends with today. When I first met John, I couldn't stop laughing because he had this television in his dorm room which appeared to be straight from the dark ages. He loved it, though, because a) it had one of the first remote controls on the market, the Zenith Space Commander, which looked something like this and b) because for some odd reason, John has always seemed to embrace the fact that he's about 25-30 years behind in technology. It's not a slight at all - John's a really good natured guy and he'd be the first to admit it. Anyway, he's a writer for the big Cleveland daily newspaper these days and chasing around three kids. Every other year on average in March, we still type up our predictions for the MLB regular season and playoffs and mail them to each other - then we don't open them until after the World Series. That's always good for a laugh.

Hmmm.....

Check out this dream I had last night. From what I can remember, I was involved in some kind of game where each player was assigned an animal. The goal of the game was for you and your assigned animal to complete six tasks. The first team to complete the six tasks was the winner. The six tasks all involved going into people's houses and accomplishing some kind of goal. In addition to that, the game also had a video game component where in each household I had to play a game and we couldn't move to the next house until I completed the video game.

All of the houses were childhood houses that I was familiar with: family friends, relatives, etc. My assigned animal was a white baby tiger that looked exactly like this. Cute! The tiger and I got along very well - it was a very friendly baby tiger, except I do remember it would playfully bite me like a kitten or puppy do.

That's all I can remember. What does it mean?

Pocket Lint

• Celebrity sighting last week in NYC: We all went out for dinner at a tasty little joint called Five Ninth in the meatpacking district (um, get the steak) and as I was waiting for some other folks to arrive, in walks Russell Simmons - maybe not a household name to your ears, but a legend nonetheless. Simmons was, with Rick Rubin, co-creator of the Def Jam record label, which brought rap to the mainstream in mid-to-late 1980's when they released a string of landmark rap albums such as Run-DMC's "Raising Hell" and The Beastie Boys "Licenced to Ill." He's also the brother of Run from Run-DMC. Cool!

• The house is really starting to fill up with baby stuff now. Whew!
  

• How cool is this - on Wednesday I got an email from Anders Parker and I find out that he's on a mini-tour with another musician named Jeffrey Foucoult and they're playing in Cambridge at a place called Atwood Tavern. Here's the kicker, though: it's a FREE show and it's at 7pm! Now, a few years ago I vowed to not be swayed by late shows. I made a pact with myself that if I love the band, I need to see them regardless of the set time. I've broken that pact more than once. Not on this night! I went in with Leo and we had a seat 10 feet from the tiny stage, had a couple of beers and watched Parker do a terrific set, as usual. I was home by 9:30! Whoooooo! My favorite song of the night: Under Wide Unbroken Skies.
  

• I was washing some dishes yesterday and thought about little things that make me happy. You know, little stuff like that moment when ALL of your laundry is done, how good that feels because you know it'll be a while before you have to do it again. Full drawers, baby! Saturday Steph had her baby shower, so all the ladies were at the in-laws. My dad drove down and dropped my mom and sister off at the shower, then came to my house for a while. We didn't do much, really. I put some ribs on the grill and we had a little bit of beer and just sat and chatted. It was great. We don't get to do that much since we live a couple of hours apart, but that might change soon. All the better....

Quick Fix

A couple of quick notes, as I wrap up a business trip here in NYC.

Our new headquarters in NYC is quite the palace. It sure does stick out like a sore thumb directly across from the Chelsea Piers, but neighborhood seems to be emerging - lots of construction going on in the area. Inside is all fresh, modern and new. The 9th floor has a nice view of the Hudson River, a nice big screen TV with a Wii (!!!!) and free snacks for the employees. Nice touch! In the lobby there's a very large screen that shows various stats for IAC businesses (how many "connections" occured on Match.com, etc etc...). Beautiful place. I'll post some pics soon.

I can't help but think that the whole Keith Richards thing is a total ruse. I mean, come on. If it's true, though, it's hilarious!

Random

• Saw The Departed over the weekend. A must see! Great cat-and-mouse storyline and despite it's length (2.5 hours), it keeps you invested every minute. It doesn't feel like a 2.5 hour movie. The whole cast was great. Probably a smart move casting Damon and Wahlberg, they got the accents pretty good. Others did their best, but I've yet to see a movie where everyone gets the accent right. I guess it's impossible.

• I think I'm going through a down period with Son Volt. Their new album hasn't hit me yet. It probably will at some point soon, but right now I'm not feeling it.

• Went to my first Bruins game of the season on Saturday afternoon, against the New York Rangers. I think half the building was Ranger fans! I could swear the roar for the Rangers goal late in the third period was louder than the Bruins crowd after their goal. I tell you what, for those of us who grew up with the Neely-Bourque-Moog era Bruins when they were making the playoffs automatically each season, these last ten years have been difficult to stomach. I suspect if you grew up in the Orr-Espo-Sanderson era, it hurts even worse. To see them only filling half the building most nights is sad, but deserved. A nice scoreboard ain't selling tickets.
  

• Went to a friend's house yesterday and saw Apple TV. Three words: I'm getting one. I also got to the play the Nintendo Wii for the first time - what a trip! It takes time to get used to those controllers, but they are a stroke of genius. I wish you could have witnessed my friend's girlfriend laughing hysterically at us as we sat on the coach, boxing each other. My arms got tired!

• We recently bought a new bedroom set and upgraded from a queen to a king. What a difference! I feel like I'm sleeping in one of those crazy-awesome hotel beds now. Sweet. It was a gift to ourselves since we're on the cusp of not being allowed to sleep in it much (see: twins).
  

I'm almost 36 years old now and I still have never found a toaster that works correctly. A few here and there work ok for the first few months, but inevitably it ends up on the fritz. Uneven toasting, multiple toasting cycles, etc etc. Where is the toaster that can automatically sense when the bread or muffin is evenly toasted?

Don't Waste My Time, I Won't Waste Yours

I've made reference a few times to how disruptive the rise of the internet has been, both on a positive and negative level. If you're an auto salesman, for example, the internet probably isn't your favorite invention of all time, as the leverage has shifted from the dealer to the consumer. Granted, the consumer has to do some extra work, but it's not painful and can save you significantly.

We recently bought a new car for Steph at a dealer in Acton, MA - about two miles from our house. Once we settled on the car she wanted (2007 Subaru Forrester), I hopped right online and did two things:

1) Found three additional dealers in the area and put out an email to all three, detailing exactly what car we wanted and I wrote to them, in no uncertain terms, that they have ONE shot on quoting me their best price via email. If they called me, haggled or didn't give me a specific quote on the car in their email response back to me, they were out of the running. CitySide Subaru in Belmont, MA was eliminated right away when the guy wrote me back and detailed what his cost for the car was, but said to contact him when I get the lowest offer from someone else. I'm not gonna play that game and I told him straight out to forget it. Two others, (Patrick North Subaru in Wilmington & MetroWest Subaru in Natick) emailed me back and thankfully followed instructions with two competitive price quotes.

2) I logged onto Consumer Reports and used their New Car Buying Kit, which is a must-use tool for buying cars. They have prepared reports for every car available which details what the dealer has paid for each car, down to every option, holdbacks, consumer cash back offers, etc. They give you a bottom line price that the dealer paid for the car. Each car's report, when printed, is about 14 pages of detail. Priceless.

So, armed with my Consumer Reports printout and printouts of the other offers from dealers, Steph and I went back to Village Subaru in Acton and I simply showed them the other offers and while I didn't quote or read anything from the Consumer Reports stack, I made sure I put it on the desk so they could see I'd done the work. Less than 10 minutes later, we had an agreement and the following day we picked up the car. We ended up paying $50 more than the lowest quote emailed to me, but I was glad to pay it, seeing as through the dealer is two miles from us, we use them for service and they were nice people and saved us a trip to a dealer further away.

So, props to all of the dealers for revealing their costs to me right up front - they almost have to these days because of the internet. All the cost numbers were the same and actually did match up to what the Consumer Reports info had reported. Props to 3 of the 4 dealers for not screwing around with us, too. All in all, pretty painless!

If anyone can tell me (without doing a web search) who sings that song in the title of this post, huge props.

His Clothes Are Loud, But Never Square

These days, I typically don't comb the internet or scroll through hundreds of message board postings on any particular topic. Back in the late '90s, I did have a devotion to a certain music message board, but my visits to that spot these days are limited to once every few weeks. I did some basic exploration when we found out my wife was pregnant, too. But for the most part, I try to avoid message boards like I avoid medical websites. No need to work myself into more of a lather until I see a doctor or an authority, you know?

Anyway, this morning I couldn't help but click on the message board I saw on Boston.com: The Worst Fashion Trends of All Time. The postings are just priceless and had me laughing rather hysterically, running the gamut from horrific misspelling, funny observations, spirited back-and-forth and looking back at some fashion chestnuts I remember from high school or previous. Definitely worth some time to read a bunch of these.

Extra credit to someone who can name the song I reference in the title of this post (without searching for it on the web).

Subterranean Snowsick Blues

You know what I hate most about winter? Not the snow. Not the ice. Not the cold temperatures. Not the treacherous driving. Not even shoveling, although that comes in a very close second. I hate clearing snow and ice off of cars. Hate it. I can't figure out why, because it's not that difficult of a task, but it just drives me nuts.

I'm nearing the expiration of my 2-year Verizon contract which means that a) I get to shop for a new phone and b) I doubt I'll do a 2-year contract again. Originally I was thinking that I would hold onto my current phone (Treo) for another couple of months and just get the Apple IPhone, but now I'm not so sure. First off, Cingular/AT&T is the only company offering the phone, which is not encouraging. I used that service previous to my current provider, Verizon, and I was not happy at all with the coverage or the service. Second, it's like $500-600. For a phone. We'll see if AT&T does any discounting, but those are two fairly big strikes.

Does anyone know why Will Ferrell is sportin' that kick-ass afro, by the way?

Start Spreading The News.....

Coming soon on Grey's Anatomy......

Dad, I promise I will never do this to you.

I can't wait to see the Keebler Elf on those commercials when he eats one of these.

My parents will appreciate this. Their dog has, in the past, eaten a corn cob (not the corn - the actual COB), socks, brillo pads and more....

It appears Chewbacca has fallen on hard times now that the Star Wars movies are over.

Housecleaning

• So, XM and Sirius, the only two satellite radio firms, have agreed to a merger. The news is already being tempered by analysts who say the powers-that-be will most likely strike it down as being monopolistic. I can't really agree there. While there will indeed be only one satellite company if it the merger goes through, there will still be regular radio (on life support, granted), HD Radio and the big monster - IPods/MP3 Players. You think that's enough competition? I sure do. Let the tree fall in the woods......er, I mean let them merge.

• One the best movies I've seen in this young year was SherryBaby, a gritty film about drug addicition, recovery, strength, weakness and parenting that was slightly depressing, but moving. Maggie Gyllenhall's performance was spectacular. I would have simply enjoyed movies like this prior to my wife's pregnancy and then moved onto the next movie. This one's got me thinking, though, about how many people I know whose childhoods weren't exactly normal. Certainly part of the psychological changes I've felt in the last 5-6 months.

• I never really realize how good we have it with NESN until I watch a hockey or baseball game on the other networks - Versus, TBS, etc. I studied TV & Radio Production in college and typically, these regional sports networks are breeding grounds for kids just out college who are learning how to twiddle knobs, direct, produce, etc. The broadcasters (especially on Versus) always seem to mangle names and the production values just aren't up to snuff. We're spolied here in New England.

• Jim Carrey was pretty funny on Letterman last night, doing impressions of David Caruso on CSI Miami. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just watch this hilarious video.

• I have 28 people subscribed to my website feed via RSS. Pretty small in the big picture, but more than I ever imagined would subscribe to little 'ol me.....hey, thanks.
  

Thank You For The Days

February 14th. A day that will forever be controversial in the battle of the sexes. Of course, most moralists would argue that the celebration of love should occur every day instead of once a year, but come on. This is the real world.

To me, there's a more important holiday around this time and that's February 10th - that's the date (in 2000) when my wife and I went on our first date. For the record, it was a fairly traditional journey to the movie theater in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA to see The Hurricane, the story of incarcerated boxer Ruben Carter (Denzel Washington), which both of us enjoyed. After the movie we went to a pizza joint in the square and each had a slice, then got on our respective subway trains and went home. I wore green painter-style pants and a beige long sleeved shirt. It might have been my best set of clothes at the time, though I can't recall for sure. So seven years later, here we are.

To celebrate our 7th year, we went and saw a movie, The Queen, which was surprisingly very good - Helen Mirren is very much deserving of all the accolades she's getting for it and it was a hell of an interesting story. Then we came home and I whipped up some dinner crepes and stuffed them with chicken, ricotta, jack cheese, red pepper and corn. Yummy! Given the circumstances (twins coming in June), Steph was in bed by 8:30!

My point? I was thinking that February 10th is as important as our wedding anniversary in some ways. Both days are pivotal, of course, but the latter doesn't happen if the former doesn't occur first, so to me they're of equal impact. Question for the married among us: do you still celebrate the anniversary of your first date and is it held in almost the same regard as your actual wedding anniversary?

Other: One of the nice things about digitizing your music library is that you can just type in a single keyword into ITunes and come up with a theme. I just typed in "Valentine" and got these two songs, both of which are awesome songs and deserve a listen. So give it a listen. Now. Right now! You can stream them by just clicking the little blue "play" button or you can save them by right-clicking and "saving as." My Valentine's Day gift for you. Enjoy:

Valentine - Bobby Bare, Jr.
This Is A Valentine - The Model Rockets

.....And The Water Is Piping Hot

So I'm standing there in the shower yesterday and I got to thinking about 7th grade. 1983-1984. I ran with a group of guys who were quite obnoxious, as many 7th grade boys tend to be. I was equally obnoxious, too. For example, one day our 7th grade English teacher Mrs. Moynihan handed out spelling tests to all of us. After about two minutes when all the paper shuffling and test instructions were finished, people settled in for the test and things quieted down. I then saw my chance - my hand shot up, she called on me and I asked: "does spelling count?" Yeah, that was me in a microcosm.

I'm proud to say I wasn't the most obnoxious, though. Guys like Tom Winant would have been most likely to take home the blue ribbon if "obnoxiousness awards" had been given. One day in gym class he took off his sweatshirt during a gym-class game to reveal a homemade shirt in which he had written on the front "Home of the Whopper" with an arrow pointing down to his nether regions. Then there was Mark Rico, who had actually gone to Burger King and gotten some kind of Happy Meal equivalent where the "prize" was a king's crown. He made some crafty adjustments to the crown and by the time he was finished with it, he was walking around the halls, proudly wearing a king's crown with several penis's as the points in the crown. In 7th grade!

So anyway, 7th grade boys (at least us) were content to be total idiots. That said, we would take jokes or actions and just repeat them endlessly. No matter how often we did or said it, we'd laugh uproarously, while the rest of the people would have heard it or seen it 500 times and be totally sick of it. One of these action was arm farts. Let me tell you something about arm farts - we perfected the art. I mean, we were the Mozarts of arm farts. I knew where exactly to shift my hand to produce different kinds of farts - and there were many, as you might imagine. It was priceless. And it NEVER failed to make us laugh incredibly hard. One story comes to mind:

There was a group of us who sat in the back of social studies class in the 7th grade, taught by an aging farmer named Mr. Graves. The guy was nice enough, but put an aging teacher and a group of 7th grade boys together and you're just asking for trouble. Arm farts were the weapon of choice. We'd sit back there and a lot of the time, he wouldn't even hear them, but we would and the best ones would generate five minutes of laughter that we'd desperately try to control. One day one of the guys cracked one a little too loud - loud enough for the old guy to hear it. He snapped his head up and croaked "don't think I don't know what you boys are doing back there because I can smell it!" Well, that really got us roaring because, as we all knew, they were arm farts. I have no idea what he was smelling.

There are many more of these kind of stories, of course. But back to the shower. So I'm standing there yesterday and I'm thinking about arm farts and I'm like "what the hell?" and I decide to give it a try. And you know what? It's like riding a bike! Right on the first try I ripped one and it was a classic! So there I stood in the shower, an almost 36 year old man, nobody else around, and I'm just cranking out these things for about two minutes straight and just laughing my ass off. I mean really cracking up.

It was a combination of a lot of things - remembering innocent old days, shaking off some of the anxiety a pregnancy brings and the fact that a shower lends itself to some of the very best sounding arm farts. After all, that's the best thing about them - the warmer and wetter the armpit, the better, sharper and more accurate the fart. The only thing I could think after I had stopped was "I can't wait to do this in front of the twins! They're gonna love it!"

It will truly be a beautiful thing. Now, back to my regularly scheduled life.

I Need A Dumptruck Mama To Unload My Head

• A few quick words on the Super Bowl: when the opening kickoff is run back for a touchdown, you might as well turn off the game, because it won't get any more exciting than that. What a total snoozefest that game was. As I turned it on, I was thinking "finally, a Super Bowl with bad weather!" Anyway, as I watched the game, I thought to myself how great it would be if they just rotated the Super Bowl in each NFL city from year-to-year. That way the game isn't always played in some sunny locale or in a dome. I mean, I realize all the money involved and how weather can affect that, but come on. They can play NFC/AFC Championship games in the snow, but not the Super Bowl? Football is meant to be played in whatever weather conditions pop up that day. So if it's Green Bay's turn to host the Super Bowl and it's snowing and 20 below zero, so be it. They'll get more viewers!

• Super Bowl commercials: horrible. Game: terrible.
  

• A couple of easy recipes for you. On Saturday I went over to the fish market in Concord, MA and bought myself a nice cut of salmon. Here's what you do: turn on your grill and leave all settings on high for about 15 minutes. In other words, get that damn thing as hot as possible. Take some vegetable oil and pour a little bit onto a paper towel, then take the paper towel and rub the oil onto the grill grate where you plan to grill the fish. Drop that pink sweetness onto the grill, skin side down and grill it about 4 minutes, or until the skin blackens and shrivels. Flip it and grill for another 4 minutes. Done. In the meantime, take about a half-inch of melted butter and a clove of garlic and pour some tarragon into the butter-garlic sauce. Pour onto fish. KICK ASS! Best piece of salmon I've had in years!
  

• Super Bowl Sunday dinner: a hearty, rustic bowl of Potato-Leek Soup. Buy 6 medium-sized red potatoes and 2 pounds of leeks. Cut off the dark green parts of the leeks and also the roots. Wash thoroughly. Cut in half-lengthwise and then cut into 3/4 inch slices. Take a half-stick of butter and melt it in a soup pan, then add the leeks and cook for about 7 minutes. While the leeks are cooking, peel the potatoes and slice them into 3/4 inch cubes. Add a tablespoon of flour to the leeks and then add 5 cups of chicken broth, one cup at a time. Then add a bay leaf and the potatoes and bring to a boil, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 15 mins. Add salt and pepper, bake up some bread and eat up.
  

• The "Retailer Stuck in the 1990's Award" goes to Pottery Barn. I bought a bookshelf on PotteryBarn.com yesterday, fully expecting to use a gift certificate given to us a while back by a friend. I go to check out and then I enter the gift certificate number, but it doesn't accept it. Geezus. I call Pottery Barn and they tell me only gift cards, not gift certificates, can be used online. When I receive the bookcase, I have to physically mail the gift certificate to Pottery Barn and they will credit my card in 4-6 weeks. Are you even kidding me? Hey, Pottery Barn, it's two-thousand-fu@#$ing seven yo!
  

Housecleaning....

• I'm such a sucker for signing up and trying new internet sites. In the last month, I signed up for and use Twitter somewhat regularly. You wouldn't think a website where you simply tell people what you are doing would be so addictive, yet it is. I'm not sure why. The latest one I've been using is Geni, a new website where you can map out your family tree in a very Web 2.0, Ajaxy kind of way. It's painfully easy to use and if widely adopted, will be a fascinating website.

• I make no bones about the fact that I'm a fairweather football fan. I pretty much watch the Patriots if they make the playoffs. I might catch 1-2 regular season games. Last night's AFC Championship was a hell of a game, even though the locals lost. There wasn't one big play that decided the game, really, although Reche Caldwell had a HUGE drop in the 4th quarter that would have given the Patriots 38 points instead of 34 (he had another one in the 3rd quarter, but the Pats scored a TD anyway). Or, as my cousin Jenny just wrote me, "they definitely should have won. That dude with the bug-eyes couldn't catch crap if it slapped him in the forehead! Our defense sucked too!" Either way, it was just one of those wild, memorable shootouts that are so fun to watch.

• I opened the newspaper this morning to find out that President Bush will address global warming in his State of the Union address this week and that his initiatives will go slightly further than he has in the past. I'm curious to see where this goes, but my optimism is guarded at best. One thing to consider: when Bush speaks about weaning the U.S. off of foreign oil, alternative energy stocks usually see a nice bump. You may want to think about moving some money into some of those alt.energy companies if you have any to play with. I am NOT a skilled stock picker, so take it with a grain of salt. Just a hunch.

• It has become painfully obvious to me that there are little-to-no resources out there for fathers-to-be on how pregnancy changes the man psychologically. There are PLENTY of resources out there in regards to things like the physical changes you and your wife might be experiencing, supporting your wife, actual childcare and how to help out around the house and stuf, but there's nothing at all at any extensive level that explores what the father-to-be is feeling. Interesting.
  

Ten Years Gone

When you're a kid, ten years is an eternity. When you're 10 years old, 20 feels like it's two lifetimes away. When you're an adult, ten years is like snapping your fingers a couple of times. Bang. Gone. Just like that. Ten years ago I was working for Rounder Records, making something like $7.50 an hour and just getting Tar Hut Records off the ground. I lived with three other dudes at 107 Summer Street, just outside of Davis Square in Somerville, MA. I occasionally used to see the wonderful person who is now my wife walking near the square and I would think "I wonder what she's doing these days." Now we live and share everything together and have twins on the way - on a different Summer St. A different life.

Funny thing is, I have these pictures in my mind from those years like it was yesterday. One day I was standing at the ATM at Central Bank in Davis Square, undoubtedly hoping I even had $20 in my account to take out. And in walks Shannon Farrell, a girl I knew in high school who I probably hadn't seen since high school. We struck up a conversation and a week later she told me she was having a party at her house nearby and that I should come. I thought "why not" and I went. There were many old high school classmates there who must have looked at me and been like "what woodwork did this dude come from?" My wife was probably one of them (she was there)! None of them had really seen me since the spring of 1989 and I, um, looked a little different than they probably remembered. I will never forgot walking out of the party with Mary Lee York, another person I hadn't seen in forever. We both just happened to be leaving at the same time and after some quick small talk, she complimented me on my sideburns and went our seperate ways. That still makes me laugh today - the high school prom queen walking out of a party with a shaggy, boozed up, slightly shy, awkward kid in a flannel shirt.

I remember being thoroughly wierded out about the whole thing, suddenly being thrown into this different world. I attended a couple more of those parties and that feeling never waned. Fast forward ten years later - I still see Mary Lee and Shannon occasionally because Stephanie is friends with them. There are guys on our hockey team now who were also at these parties - I didn't even know them at the time. Just odd how ten years later it's all there. I would have never predicted it.

What were you doing 10 years ago?

IPodding:
Belle & Sebastian - You Don't Send Me
Chris Cornell - Seasons
Josh Ritter - In The Dark
Bread - Make It With You
Bob Dylan - To Be Alone With You
Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash - Good Old Mountain Dew
The Kinks - Hot Potatoes
Hem - The Cuckoo
The Byrds - Eight Miles High
Varnaline - Blackbird Fields

......Not On A Plane

Last night I had a dream that I woke up and there were three gigantic snakes. One was under the bed, but could be seen, two were just outside the bedroom door. Anyone want to take a stab at what it means?

The Extra Step

In addition to carrying things, you know what else bothers me? When I have to wash a pan in order to use it. This little personality trait makes no sense at all. Occasionally, Steph and I will just run out of pans. In other words, all of our nonstick's will be in the sink and the normal pans will be in the dishwasher. Then I want to cook something. So in order to accomplish that, I have to wash one to use one - an extra step. That totally sucks, because I know that a short time later, it will just be dirty again and need to be washed. Of course, the easy solution is to turn on the dishwasher, right? Oh no it isn't. Because the dishwasher might not be full yet, and Stephanie can tell you all about my aversion to running a dishwasher that isn't nearly overflowing with stuff.

So like I said, this makes no sense. What does it matter how much time passes between washing it and using it? Eventually you're going to use it. What does it matter if it's five minutes or five days after washing? I dunno. But it matters. I guess when I want to make some food, I don't want to have to go through the extra time and effort it takes to have to wash a pan. Of course, I don't get mad or anything, I just roll my eyes and mutter and whine. The whole thing is silly. Hey, I guess it's "stuff Jeff doesn't like week!"

So tonight Stephanie and I were watching the "7 News on Channel 56" (don't ask) and a story comes on about two "security scares " in Miami. One is about a suspicious package that was found as part of cargo on a cruise ship. That package was detonated and found to be some sprinkler parts. Then the news went on to explain yesterday's story about the 3 Middle Eastern men who were detained at a Miami port, only the guy reading the news had a total idiot-attack and said "....and three Middle Eastern men were detonated in the back of a truck...." Well, we just couldn't stop laughing at that one. Detonated. He probably won't hear the end of that one.

The Time To Rise Has Been Engaged

The name Ahmet Ertegun most likely means nothing to you, but I guarantee you this man has had an effect on your life. For some, it was an enormous effect and for most of us, it is minor. But it's there. Rest in peace. Read the obit to find out how he affected you.

This whole Daisuke Matsuzaka thing is really kind of embarrassing. I mean, an internet flight tracker on Boston.com? Are you f'ing kidding me? Throwing out a first pitch at Fenway in mid-December to the owner? Dropping a ceremonial first puck at a Bruins game? Come on. Is our city really dorking out that much about a damn baseball player? It's all well and good that we signed a good pitcher nicknamed "the monster," but the guy has never thrown a major league pitch. This is a combination of a master agent drumming up a hornets nest around his client and a group of type-A Red Sox owners whose PR and Marketing departments are totally and obnoxiously in overdrive. By the way, what do you think Matsuzaka was thinking when he walked out onto the ice at the Bruins game last night and came face-to-stomach with the real monster - Zdeno Chara?

Here's an idea. Seeing as though I keep reading about people getting lost (and some tragically) while hiking in national parks, why can't the damn wireless/cell phone companies start giving us close to 100% coverage in this country? Think about that for a second. Not only is wireless becoming the de facto method of communication, it can also be used a beacon for people who are in some kind of trouble. The wireless carriers could always use some good PR since I don't think of any of them as particularly caring or giving. Do something nice. Put up some cellphone towers. See how it might help? Yeah. That. UPDATE: I just saw this on CNet. Not encouraging, is it?

When I heard there was a new internet site where you can log in and just tell people what you're doing, I thought it was rather ridiculous, thinking the web had basically gone too far now. Kind of like how some people say we've run out of any more good ideas for rock songs. But damn, the site is actually addicting! Why do I keep signing up for this stuff!?!?