Post dinner

Yeah, it's the cat and I. And that's how things usually go.

Okay, the above sentence is not really true - that cat rarely sits in that position during dinner - and we don't live in that apartment anymore.

But I'm glad I was digging through pictures.

This still cracks me up

I know that this isn't an entirely new song, but the live version is so kick-ass - I'd love to have a chance to play guitar for DVDA.
The back story about the whole thing is awesome too - seems that Brian appreciates the love. 

Google Reader is slow as hell?

I'm not sure how many of you (anyone?) who reads this fine blog and also uses Google Reader - but I for one sure do.

I really like the fact that it's browser based and conveniently tied to my google account, so it keeps current no matter which computer or browser I happen to be logged in from.

However, there's recently been an update to the google reader page. Visually, it's good - seems to be a little more refined and some nice features are there. But their servers seem to be getting pounded or something - service is SLOW. Where it had once been very snappy & responsive, it now takes ages to refresh & reload. 

I hope they get the bugs worked out...will I soon have to keep up on news by checking the main sites which I follow directly? (gasp) 

Yeah, this is probably one of those posts that goes up and no one cares...it's not the biggest problem in my life at present (by any means), but it does go to show how ingrained google stuff has become in my life.

disgusted

Compare the article summary here

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hBmrz7TnFWwf8qLht-vkvowu9DTQ

with this one here:

http://www.unbossed.com/index.php?itemid=2439

...amazing that the AP article cherry-picks the not so bad sounding stuff and puts up the puff-piece rhetoric that makes the president sound presentable. The quotes called out from the interview transcript are damning.

Lest you think that I am looking at stuff out of context, look at the BBC coverage of the issue - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7759908.stm - at least they keep it short.

productive-ish weekend

Ate turkey, hit the gym, got a few shopping deals, did some studying, and finished some games that I've been sitting on for quite a while.

Not too bad.

rainy sleepy friday

Settled in the new place and no rush to do anything tonight.

Having a few drinks, watching some TV, will probably play some games later.

mmm...chicken

Picked up some "Cajun Chicken" coldcut meat at a semi-upscale-ish grocery store near my place earlier in the week.

When sampling it, it tasted like someone had taken chicken-flavored cold-cuts and wiped taco powder all over them.

I told the salesperson that.

I also told her it was awesome.

Truly, the best sandwiches I've ever made in my life every day this week. :)

temper temper

Feeling a little embarassed of myself...

Was at the gym, where I'm paying for the "towel servicee"; where I understand I'm supposed to be getting a fresh towel whenever I'd like one at the gym while I'm there.

Of course, none there when I show up.

Laugh it off, lady behind the desk says "glad you're cool about it, some people have really lost it."

30 minutes later, after I've been running for a bit, and have noticed that the front desk received a delivery and should be flush with towels, I go back to get a towel...there's a line and the lady at the desk is giving towels to all the people just entering the gym.

She looks at me and asks what I want.

"2 towels please."

She looks apologetic, "sorry, we're out"

And for some reason, I lose it and then I'm that guy...

"I can't believe this shit! God, this is so fucked up!"

The lady looks at me in disbelief (as do some others waiting around), then turns around and looks at the two fresh towels sitting behind her and is suddenly, "Hey look, I do have some towels. Here you go."

I'm momentarily placated, then ashamed...so ashamed.

But I think I'll be over that soon enough.

new laptop battery = happy dan!

Man...if I actually posted for all the times I thought "man, I should post this" ...I'd have a lot more, better, posts.

As it is, you're getting shallow reflections of when I see something new & shiny.

Case in point:

Laptop battery (after 3+ years of service) was getting almost completely useless - not keeping a charge for more than 2 minutes or so.

Ordered a 3rd-party replacement via Amazon.com - and this one is already so much better (haven't even charged it yet)....

I'm mobile again!

Though, come on - truth be told, especially given life in the USA, the only mobile action this laptop sees is me occasionally bringing it from the living room to the bedroom.

Still - happy it's working.

The iBook G4 is still holding up fairly well since its production in (i assume) mid 2005; but one can certainly see the new white plastic of this battery and how it differs from the umm..."weathered?" plastic of the rest of the machine.

reunion?

so my 10-year high school reunion is coming up....this weekend. I'm pretty excited about it on the whole.

Should be good to see old friends & people who I haven't seen in 10 years or so.

peaceful

Despite a lot of big thoughts to go over in my head over the past 3 weeks + the near financial implosion of the US economy, I feel pretty good at the moment.

Then again, that might be the wine talking.

New music (at least for me) that I'm liking a lot at the moment:

 - Me First & the Gimme Gimmes - everything they've done...I had to wikipedia them to get the whole deal; I'm thrilled to know that they are a side project from members of several excellent rock/punk bands. They cover everything and are super fun.

 - Rancid "B sides & C sides" - although some of the B-sides aren't stellar, there's enough unique Rancid there to make me very happy...

 - Fleet Foxes - Another great Seattle band! Very melodic...

 - Kasbian - good enough Brit-rock
 
 - The Verve - although I am listening to their new album, I also am revisiting "Urban Hymns", and like it a lot.

noteworthy weekend

2 major events & one comment:

Event #1 - On Saturday, we went to PAX (the Penny Arcade Expo). Was fun. Lots of cool new games that one could play with (but we didn't do much since the lines were huge). Nice people, among those we talked to. Got to see the people behind Mega64. They had some amusing clips & did an insightful yet humorous Q & A session. The location in downtown Seattle was great too, in that we could run over to the Pike Place Market for lunch.

Event #2 - On Sunday, we went to Bumbershoot, which is a big festival/concert/performance/art event in central Seattle (around the Space Needle). Lots of bands & other artists over 10 different stages. You can't see it all. But what we saw was good. Some jazz acts, some world music /fusion acts, some rock acts, & other stuff. My favorite act (& the whole reason why I wanted to go today) was the Saturday Knights. They did not disappoint; they did a fun show that involved the crowd. Marsha & I were in the front row and it was super cool; got to high-five members of the band!

Comment: While I disdain watching TV all the time, it is nice to have a connection...

happy for the internet!

Good to be able to connect to friends all over the world to chat with; especially after having a busy day.

Good to not have the TV on & just some silence in the house; save the chat indicators and the click of my fingers on the keyboard.

Although I've been in front of a computer much of the day for work, right now it doesn't feel like work at all - it's good to be here.

primaries!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/375506_primary19.html?source=rss



Not sure if you've heard (I don't know if this has made national

headlines or not); Washington state is having a "top two" primary

tomorrow...vote for your favorite two candiates to duke it out in

November, regardless of party.



I'm leaning towards democrats & independents.



Some interesting green candidates; also one Republican who has based

his entire platform/manifesto on his AIR POWERED CAR!!! (his stance on other issues was non-existent, however...)



We'll see how it goes.



Yay democracy!

a little hard to believe

So apparently everyone on the Chinese gymnastics team is 16 years old.

They all look super young to me; but I suppose that gymnasts do tend to be short in stature.

The commentators did not really do much to hide their suspicions..."the IOC says that all of the ages on the passports received were 16."

Tough to say, I guess...I mean, it's really up to each country that sends a delegation out to the olympics, right? If the country really wants to send out underaged atheletes, they ultimately will find a way to do it - it's not like a government issues documents that are forgeries...(they might just be "errors", right?)

It's not as if the IOC can go claiming shennanagins on the officially government issued documentation of each athlete that is competing.

liking the Olympics

Have been watching the latest round of the Olympics fairly closely....keep hoping that they'll be showing something of the Beijing that I knew - but no luck on that so far.

Some things that caught my attention:

1. Announcers on NBC can't pronounce "Chaoyang park" (朝阳公园)...they keep saying "Chaoyong park"...doesn't seem like that should be so hard to say.

2. There was some Budweiser(?) sponsored ad supposedly showing some popular 'local' bar in Beijing...but it sure looked like a generic blues bar that was sparsely filled - really wonder how they came to even know of that bar.

Although it is fair to say that I'm totally out of touch with the Beijing bar scene, however, I do know what a popular 'Chinese' bar tends to look like - this wasn't it.

broken record?

Is it just me, or was the music during the Beijing Olympic opening ceremonies about a 15-minute record that was on continuous loop? Sure heard A LOT of bagpipes.

Might just be me.

on being broken?

Does one have to be broken to fit into society?

I mean, at what point does conformity to socially acceptable norms break down to smothering one's inner self?

At what point is it worth it to have stability vs the excitement (and huge risks) of a constantly shifting existence?

No good answers here...but it does seem to support the notion that one should take risks while you are young, as when you get older the stakes get higher and the chances of full recovery lessen.

1 year

It's been 365 days since we moved back from China. My world feels smaller.

More comfortable in a lot of ways, I suppose. 

My ass is fatter.

My mandarin is probably in need of some practice.

I can cook more things than ever have before. I've read more than I have before. 

Have broader, fuller work experience.

Still feel like there's a lot left to do - as if things are just getting started for me here.

But miss China & my friends there, the past life, quite a bit. Would be happy to revisit even if just for a little while. 

(I'll probably have to wait until post-Olympics, however, given the visa situation there and everything...)

Flight of the conchords - fantastic!

Well, although their show is sort of old news - having aired in 2007 (?), I'm just getting into the show & the music, and I think it's fantastic.

One of the better things that I've heard in a while.

At first glance, one might think that they are a New Zealand version of Tenacious D.

While they are a comedy music duo, their style & humor is different; perhaps a bit more dry. Tenacious D's music was more of a metal band with accoustic guitars, the Conchords do many more musical styles (pretty much everything except metal).

Also, the D haven't been up to that much lately...

This video is pretty solid anyway:

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