Feeling better today

Got up early this morning, started it off right with a good cup of coffee and started doing research on both the apartment situation and the job search. I think I got some positive stuff done and hopefully will be seeing results soon. Stay tuned!

Waiting for that boot to drop...

I'm miserable at work. I'm miserable at home... Where do I go? What do I do?

"N is for name of your crush"

If you recall my post "The ABCs of Joe" dated August 17th I stated that I don't have any crushes, but that from time to time I obsess over a celebrity in the media. Last month it was clearly Sarah Palin (and I think I was in good company with thousands of other men). This month it is the best-selling author of The Late Bloomer’s Revolution, Amy Cohen.

I would say that I don't exactly know what the appeal is... But that would be a lie. The appeal is that she's a babe. Now, if I wanted to seem deep, philosophical, and sensitive, I would say that it's because she is an attractive young go-getter with the initiative to write a best selling book about a tough period in her life, setting aside the fear of being judged and ridiculed... But, no, it's just that she's a babe.

I realise that most of my blogger friends are female, and so I always hesitate to post things like this (after all, I don't care to read about cute guys, or "Michael Phelp's rocking body"), but I was just tired of being angry at my apartment management company, and I thought I'd post something new.

F-ing mad!

This will be a quick vent... I'm mad, and sometimes it helps just to let others know that I’m mad. That way I don’t feel isolated in my anger.

Ever since I moved in to my new apartment this past summer it has been one big inconvenience after another. They constantly turn the water off, sometimes for 9 hours a day (right in the middle of my Monday/Tuesday weekends). For the past month there have been construction workers in my apartment (again, on my days off), and the parking lot out front is all blocked off making it difficult to find a parking spot, invite friends over, or even get to the dumpster.

Last night I got home at 7:20pm and my door was open, with a property management pass key in the lock. There were supposed to have been inspectors walking through reviewing the recent construction, and they were to be out by 5:00pm. That means that by the time I got home my apartment had been sitting open (not just unlocked, but the door open) for at least 2 hours and 20 minutes!

I could have been robbed blind. I was furious. I hardly knew how to react, so I just got angry. Today I made a call to a renters’ advocacy group here in Phoenix, but they said that all they could suggest was a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. It is Saturday, so the BBB is closed. But I will be calling them first thing Monday morning to make my complaint, and if I knew a lawyer I would ask him/her about any other action I could take. I might seek one out.

I have the keys, and I am not giving them to anybody but the elusive property manager once he discovers they are missing.

I hate being argumentative and confrontational, but dammit I am mad!

Waters and Gilmour and Wright! Oh my!

If you haven’t heard, there is this urban myth that says Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side of The Moon syncs up with the MGM film The Wizard of Oz. Supposedly if you start the album (disc) right at the third roar of the lion in the beginning it will sync up and actually appear to be a live action soundtrack. I heard about this for the first time about 12 years ago. A friend in Virginia gave me a newspaper article that described it. I’m a big Pink Floyd fan, but for some reason I never did get around to trying it myself.

Every now and then you’ll hear it come up in pop culture conversation. If you Google it there are tons of web pages about it (here’s one http://www.everwonder.com/david/wizardofoz/). There’s an episode of Family Guy where Peter and Luke Perry are chatting, and Peter says, “Oh, I’m telling you, Dark Side of The Moon totally syncs up with The Wizard of Oz.” To which Luke Perry responds, “Really? Shannon Doherty told me that once but I thought she was just being a bitch!”

I mentioned it in passing to a friend a few weeks back, and she said that she had tried it and that it actually works. Her comments were “It actually works! It's really creepy.” I thought it was time to give it a try.

I was actually kind of excited to see this phenomenon for myself. I asked the guy at the video store if he had ever tried it, and he enthusiastically said that he had and that it works. I asked, “Does it just sort of sync up, or is it dead on?” He said it was dead on. So I was expecting this total music video experience… I was disappointed.

I invited my friend over, and we started the movie and the album (disc). There is a scene in the beginning where Dorothy is balancing on a fence post and falls. At that point in the album Gilmour sings “…and balanced on the biggest wave, you race towards an early grave.” But for the most part I sat there staring at the screen waiting for something to happen that never really did.

Honestly, there are only three events worth mentioning, but they are pretty cool.

The most impressive one… During the song Us And Them Gilmour sings “Black and blue, and who knows which is which, and who is who?” At the exact moment that he sings the word “black” the wicked witch of the east appears in a puff of orange smoke all decked out in her long flowing black robe, cape, and pointy hat to top it all off. Then, as he sings the word “blue” the camera immediately goes to Dorothy in her blue dress. Then (in the same scene) when Gilmour sings “which is which?” the camera goes nicely back and forth between Glenda the Good Witch, and the aforementioned wicked witch of the east as if to suggest that the actual lyrics are “witch is witch?” That was actually pretty cool, and my friend and I both dropped our jaws and stared at each other on that one!

Other than that, there are two moments where the music starts right at a scene change. All of the clocks chime in (for the song “Time”) loudly and abruptly just as Mrs. Whatshername (the mean one who’s trying to take Toto) rides in on her bike. Also, the cash registers on "Money" start just as Dorothy pushes open the door of the house to the first color scene in the film. I don’t know exactly what (if any) the significance of “Time” and “Money” are to those particular scenes in the film, but they do sync up nicely.

I thought someone told me once that “The lunatic is on the grass” was supposed to sync up nicely with the Scarecrow dancing on the grass… But it doesn't. By the time those lyrics are being sung the Scarecrow has moved off the grass and onto the yellow brick road. You could make the argument that the whole introduction with the scarecrow (who, ironically, doesn’t have a brain) happens during the song “Brain Damage,” but that’s all.

The only other thing worth mentioning (which is actually kind of cool) is that if you put the disc on repeat play, and let it play through to the third time, the lyrics “home, home again” are sung exactly when Dorothy wakes up back in Kansas.

Admittedly there are some neat correlations, but I think it’s just a coincidence. But if you’re looking for an excuse to have a couple of friends over for an evening you could do a lot worse. Have fun!

ass = kicked

If a picture is worth a thousand words then I'd like to present this "essay" describing my climb to the top of Camelback mountain earlier this morning.

...Nancy, my hat's off to you. You are a true athlete!

Had to add this one, too...

Rick Wright (1943 - 2008)

Where to begin.

Two down, three left. Rick Wright of Pink Floyd (pictured front and center above) died on Monday due to complications with cancer. Last year Syd Barret died (the band's founder). That leaves Roger Waters, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour (who joined the band later) left to carry on the legacy.

This apparently happened Monday, but I just found out yesterday, so my apologies to any die-hard Floyd fans who read this late.

Last night I went home and dug up some old Floyd albums I hadn't listened to in a long time. This morning, on my way in to work, I had Money blaring out of my truck speakers.

I'm in the high-fidelity first class travelling set and I think I need a Leer Jet!

Rick was the piano player/keyboardist for the 4 man band (5 members because David Gilmour took over lead guitar from Syd Barrett in 1969). Rick was one of the 4 original founders, and after a brief respite in the early 80s he returned to write and tour with them for another 25 years.

The band had a history of stormy weather from it's creation in 1967 through to present day. In 1969 Syd Barret (the band's founder) began to lose his mind in what many attribute to years of drug abuse. At that point David Gilmour took lead guitar and the band produced several more albums before making it huge with 1973's dark Side of The Moon (still one of Billboard Magazine's top 10 best selling albums of all times).

In the mid 70s they put out an album about every two years. Roger Waters began to steer the group at that point, and even said in a 1988 interview "By that time it was my band." In 1979 they realeased one of their better known albums, The Wall, which became a hit MGM movie the following year. It was after that album that Wright took a break from the group. It was said in interviews that Wright was going through a nervous breakdown of his own in those years, and tried to find relief in excessive cocaine use. Waters states that the lyrics he wrote for the song Nobody Home reflected his images of Wright at the time...

I've got nicotine stains on my fingers,
I've got a silver spoon on a chain,
Got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains

Three years later Waters left the band, and in 1987 Wright returned and was a full participant again under the leadership of David Gilmour. They had two very successful albums in the late 80s and early 90s (A Momentary Lapse of Reason, and The Division Bell).

In 2006, during the St. Petersburg G8 Summit, Bob Geldof organised Live 8 and had several popular bands come together for days of concerts all to benefit African poverty. Waters and Gilmour had been at odds for years, and had not performed together for nearly 17 years. Geldof used his friendship with the band members to convince the four to get together once more for the sake of charity. I remember watching the Floyd set on TV that year, and it was moving to see all 4 of them up there together, putting aside their differences for the greater good. I don't think I'll ever forget that image of them standing there arm in arm waving to the ecstatic crowd after their set. The sense of togetherness was emotional and moving.

This is by no means supposed to be an epitaph or official obituary for Rick... Just some personal feelings that I had and wanted to share. Bye, Rick! You'll be missed, buddy!

Would you like to say something before you leave?

Perhaps you'd care to state exactly how you feel?

We said goodbye before we said hello...

What color is your parachute?

Had an awful night last night. Kept waking up from working dreams. Went in today and had a bad customer service survey. Pretty bad, actually. I've also had two bad phone evaluations from my boss in the last two weeks. I feel like I'm getting lined up to be fired.

Applied for a new job (very similar... same stuff, different place) at the competition where a bunch of my buddies have already run off to. Finished a 45 minute on line evaluation and set up an interview for Wednesday morning.

Don't wanna quit... But don't wanna get fired even more! Thought it was time I strapped on a parachute.

"Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day"

Here are some interesting words to plug in to a Google image search:

1) voip

2) canoe

3) misfraction (and, no, I did not mean malfunction)

4) cirus

5) allocation

6) snowshoe

7) discombobulation

8) can

9) fail

10) receiver

...enjoy!

17 years ago....

Back in the summer of 1991 I met the cutest little creature who ever walked the face of the earth... My little cousin, Eliza. This photo has so much meaning for me. This was the first time that I met her. She was 10 months old, and we (the family) were at Duck, NC for a week at the beach renting a beach house. The house was crowded with my mom's sisters, their spouses, cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles... You name it. I was 23 at the time, and had just finished my first year of college. I had also just discovered that I was an alcoholic, and this was the first summer that I tried to go "dry." I walked around all the time with a glass of Kingsbury (non-alcohol beer) and lime in my hand, and was smoking, too. This was 2 years out of the Army, and as you can see from the photo I was experimenting with hair again... Wow, somebody should have really sat down and had a talk with me! LOL

Anyway, it was a tough, transitional summer, and the highlight was meeting Eliza. She was cuter than a room full of puppies. The problem was- she hated me! I couldn't get near her without her crying. I tried everything... Entering the room slowly. Inching up to her... Crawling up to her low on the ground. Nothing worked. As soon as she spotted me she would go into this awful crying spell, as if to say "Get this monster away from me!" It was heart-breaking.

One afternoon I was holding her and trying to get her to like me, but she wouldn't have any of it! She hated being in my arms and was putting up a fuss. My dad snuck in from the side and caught her attention briefly with his camera. For a split second she turned away from me and gave him this curious look, and he snapped the picture. I love this picture! It looks like a sweet little girl having fun with her big cousin Joe... But the truth is, she was not "happy" at all, she was just distracted! It goes to show how the right moment caught exactly how you want it can convey a different message than the truth! LOL

By the way, over the years she decided to give me a chance and I eventually grew on her. She loves me now... awwww

Anyway, Liza turned 18 last weekend, and she just started her freshman year at college. I love her, and I miss her. I will be seeing her this Thanksgiving when I go home to Virginia for the first time in 22 months, and I'm really looking forward to catching up with her and hearing how college is going. She's my little sweetie-pie, and I'm very proud of her.

And there's your "blast from the past" for today!

Another bad one...

Did I mention that for the last two "weekends" I have had construction workers in my apartment from 8:00am - 5:00pm doing work that I don't even want done, and will probably have my rent raised for, too? What a bummer (to say the least).

I'm a real fan of the Alien movies, and a huge fan of the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger classic Predator. When AVP (Alien vs Predator) came out in 2004 I eagerly rushed to the theater to see it. It was cheezy, but good. I liked it so much that I bought the disc.

Now, don't get me wrong, it was not academy award material or anything like that. It's just a good action flick with monsters and stuff. In my book, if you don't expect too much from those types of movies they can be fun to watch. Every now and then when I'm bored and want to watch something "light" I'll throw it in.

So I'm at Wal Mart last night and I see that the sequel, AVPR (Aliens vs Predator "Requim") is available on disc for $13.00... What a bargain! One of my friends loaned me her place for the "weekend" so I could do some laundry and avoid the construction workers, and I'm gonna be up most of the night doing laundry anyway... So why not treat myself to this cool movie!

Not so much. Pretty bad. Worse that Jaws 4 the Revenge, probably right there with Tron (although I know that contradicts what I've written before about Tron). Anyway, to be avoided.

OMG! Too funny!

Okay, so I'm perusing through the funny images on http://ihasahotdog.com/ and came across this one. At first I laughed because it was a white dog in a black afro- just like my blog member "photo." But then I read the caption and realised they were making fun of the TV painter Bob Ross. That made it even funnier.

I am a huge Bob Ross fan! I have two 8-hour VHS tapes of him that I watch all the time... Okay, honestly, I don't watch them, I listen to them. I put them in the TV at night and listen to him talk and paint as I fall asleep. He's got these great quotes, like "Everyone needs a friend" and "let's put a happy little tree right there." He also talks about living in Alaska, and ends each show with "God bless, my friends."

Here's to you, Bob! Hope everyone's got a smile on their face now. I know I do.

Season Premiere

I have been an SNL fan since the 1970s. I honestly can't remember if it was the first season or not, but as a little kid I (me and my two step-siblings) would stay up and watch it each Saturday night. One night we had a babysitter who wouldn't let us watch it and we were furious. The next time we had a babysitter on a Saturday night we stood there and made our parents tell the babysitter in front of all three of us, "Yes, they are allowed to stay up and watch Saturday Night Live." I'm a very big fan, and have been for decades.

Tonight is the season premiere. Michael Phelps (the Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer who won 8 Golds) is hosting. I remember back in 1994 when Nancy Kerrigan hosted... She was awful. Same scenario, a popular olympic athlete hot in the pop culture of the day hosting the show. I wanted her to be good, I eagerly anticipated the show. But she was really bad. She was a cue-card reader who put no emotion at all into her characters. I was very disappointed.

I assumed Peyton Manning was going to be bad when he hosted last year, but I was wrong... He was very funny! From his opening monologue through pretty much the entire show he was making me laugh constantly. I was pleasantly surprised.

How will Michael Phelps do tonight? I guess we'll see.

Is there anything the British can't do?

Okay, feel free to call this "I want to build an igloo part II." Here's another way cool video on building a snow shelter. I couldn't embed the video, so you'll have to click on the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOJQPz1s-1c&feature=related

Enjoy!

Books that I'm reading.

I see that a lot of people are blogging about the books that they’re reading lately, so I thought I’d do the same thing. I’m not really a reader. I’ve got books on my bookshelf that were given to me as gifts years ago that I still haven’t read. My dad is the kind of guy who sits in bed at night reading technical books and magazines… And each day that passes I realize I am more and more like him.

For the past year (10 months) I have been reading technical computer books. It all started with a career change back in October of last year. I left HR and decided to pursue IT. I know a lot about computers, but last year I did not know enough to actually be employed in an IT department. So I decided to start studying for an exam called the CompTIA A+ Exam. CompTIA is the Computing Technology Industry Association, and they are a set of standards for IT professionals to certify themselves as knowledgeable techs. So I studied and studied and studied… For 6 weeks. Then I went and took the first test, and failed it. After several weeks of moping around and feeling defeated I decided to start reading a textbook on the subject. After several months I went and re-took the first test (in March) and finally passed it. Then I read the second half of the textbook and went and took the second test in June… and passed.

I received my official documentation in the mail last month, so now I am a certified computer technician. The next test I want to take is my networking exam. With those two certifications, plus the 10 months on the job experience I’ve had here as a computer tech, I should be able to impress somebody somewhere into giving me a job in their corporate IT department.

So, these are the books that I’ve been reading. Again, I’m really not a reader, and I don’t particularly enjoy reading recreationally… But I have genuinely been enjoying these. I’m a third of my way through the networking book. Keep those fingers crossed for me as I prepare for this next exam!

Controversial Blog # 2: Don't wear seatbelts!

One of the biggest lies put out by the left wing liberal media is this crazy seatbelt thing. Seatbelts do not save lives. Seatbelts were first initiated into the Big 3 auto makers of Detroit (Sony, Quaker Oats, and Motorola) back in 1987. Before that year cars didn't even come with seatbelts. Prior to 1987 all vehicles built in the USA had special composite-sponge dashboards and hard rubber steering wheels that were harmless to head and upper body during a sudden stop.

After Jimmy Carter was re-elected in 1985 the Georgia-based string and twine conglomerate Zeetbelltz, LLC (a German / Suisse based company that had been US based for decades) declared bankruptcy citing the Democrats as the reason. In fear of retaliation the Carter administration decided to award the next big government contract to the Zeetbelltz Corporation in an attempt to get them back on their feet.

That year, the Air Force developed a hovercraft which was a hybrid between a Volkswagen beetle and a Hummer (Hummers were officially released the following year). During its initial test flight the hovercraft slid into water and crashed. The pilot was killed.

The pilot was Chuck Yaeger, an influential member of the socialist bourgeois movement out of Rhode Island. In the late 1980s Rhode Island had not yet undergone its famous reduction in size, yet. The state boundaries stretched out west to what is now Eastern Kansas. The US House of Representatives was dominated by Rhode Island congressmen who were furious at the Air Force for allowing one of their own to be killed in the line of duty. As commander in chief President Carter decided to avoid bad press and kill two birds with one stone...

1) He made it mandatory for all vehicles in the US (military or civilian) to be built with supplemental restraining systems.

2) He gave the government contract to Zeetbelltz, Inc. who promptly re-named the company to avoid bankruptcy repercussions. The new restraint devices were named after the new company: seatbelts.

The whole thing was a combination government bail-out / bad press reaction from a third-term, lame duck president who was already independently wealthy off of Billy Beer.

Since 1987 the number of highway traffic fatalities in the US has tripled, while the string and twine assembly workers union of Georgia has earned billions of dollars, and grown so large that last year they actually purchased CNN.

Think about it.

Controversial Blog # 1: Encourage babies to drink!

Babies should be encoraged to drink at an early age. Too often young people don't get introduced to alcohol until high school. This has got to stop. Alcohol is the solution to all of life's problems. The sooner children realise this the happier and more productive they will be. Imagine a baby who was too drunk to know that his diaper needed changing! He would never cry or complain, he would just crawl around in a peaceful, stinky bliss.

"But Joe, that's ridiculous!" I hear you say... "What about the smell?" Well, if the parents had been raised properly themselves they'd be drunk, too, and the smell would not bother them. Sure, they might stumble around the house accidentally stepping on and kicking the baby... But it's a drunk baby. He's not gonna feel pain.

See how easy this works? What if we required the United Nations Reps to be drunk whenever they were in session... Can anyone say "Peace on Earth? " Don't bother to thank me.

I'm confused??

Okay, my post to response ratio is not good lately. In fact, this week it’s been 6:3 (six posts, only three replied to). That’s not good, considering I started blogging in the first place to give myself some interesting things to read from people who had comments to make on things that I might have to say. Not enough of you are “commenting.” As a result, I sit here bored at work constantly checking my blog for responses, and being disappointed when I see none.

So what’s the solution? Maybe my blogs aren’t interesting enough to be commented on? Maybe I haven’t made enough blog friends yet? I try… I hop around to other people’s blogs and leave comments for them. But few reply. I know that I have a few friends out there who read, but do not post replies (Steve, Ginni, Vard, Suzanne, Ahmari… I’m looking your way!)

Maybe my posts aren’t exciting or controversial enough? I know that Melissa posted three large photos of her ass on her blog, but only got 2 comments (That’s not a very good ass-response ratio, by the way, Melissa. I’d be concerned if I were you.)

What should I do?

Maybe I'll spend today posting nothing but shocking, controversial stuff...

Are video games and girls diametrically opposed?

I work in a world of geeks- computer nerds- techno scum. What gets me is that many of them have girlfriends. Some of them I've even seen and they're pretty good looking for nerd girlfriends. (Have times changed that much? When I was younger it wasn't cool to be a nerd).

So, not only do these nerds have good looking girlfriends, but they talk about how much fun it is to play video games with them! These girls actually enjoy "gaming" with these nerds.

Now, aside from one amazing girl (thank you, Melissa) who used to come over and watch me play Duke Nukem for hours at a time, I have never encountered this. Where are these girls who enjoy gaming? Are there any out there?

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present...

...one of the worst movies ever. I mean, I think I'd rather watch Tron again. Not even Michael Caine could save this flick. TBA (to be avoided)

I feel good!

Yesterday afternoon my buddy, Brad, backed out on running with me. So all day I was in the mindset "I'm not running tonight." That means (for me anyway) that the laziness started to creep in and had a firm hold on me by the end of the day. Well, later toward the end of the day Brad said that he'd changed his mind and wanted to run. I was already decidedly lazy, and not going to run. When Brad left he said, "Call me if you change your mind."

So, after work I'm in Wal Mart getting a few things, and I'm exhausted from yet another 11 hour day at the office. I'm starting to think how good some junk food would taste... As I head through the check out line I'm looking at the candy bars, but I avoid buying any, thinking to myself, "Come on Joe, why pig out tonight? Just go home and eat some healthy food so you can lose another two pounds this week." It's like there was a battle in my head between wanting to pig out on the sofa, and wanting to have a good weigh-in on Saturday morning. I made it out of the Wal mart without purchasing any junk food. I was sitting in the truck, staring at my phone, and wondering if I should call Brad...

Once, several years ago, someone said to me "Most of our life can be defined by the decisions that we make." I always respected that, and as I sat there staring at my phone I made the decision to call Brad.

We went for a good run last night. And I didn't have any junk food. I went home, had some stew, watched Planet of The Apes, and went to bed. This morning I woke up with a great attitude. I made two good decisions last night, and today I feel good!

"If you lose me!"

My running buddy is backing out on me again tonight... So looks like it might be a good night to sit on the sofa and explore the Planet of The Apes!

Man, I have such an exciting lifestyle.

No more Sarah Palin!

Okay, this obsession I have with Sarah Palin has got to stop. So, instead of another pic of her, I have decided to post a picture of puppies (which are also cute).

I'm going to go ahead and say that I don't think she and McCain can pull it off, though. I think the youth/experience combo is working better for the Obama and Biden Combo than it is for the McCain and Palin Duo. First of all, Obama is a popularity freight train. I mean, he has Oprah behind him! Second, I didn't catch the first half of Sarah's speech last night where she discussed her own credentials, but I just don't think a first-term governor can beat out a senior senator like Biden. Overall I don't think the McCain Camp has the support behind it to beat an energized popularity powerhouse like the Obama Camp seems to be.

I mean, hey, Obama already beat a Clinton... And they don't go down easy.

I will say that the images last night of her on stage with her whole family, holding her baby, after the speech were powerful. It had an effect on me, and I think that it will speak to a lot of working class women (and other men), too. But I don't think it will be enough.

Personally I have issues with both Obama and McCain, so I am not going to vote for either one. It looks like I'll be writing in Ross Perot again this year (which I have done in the past). Or heck, maybe I'll just vote for the Green Party... Although I probably don't agree with a single part of their platform. I say, global warming? Bring it on! Heck, if it's a little warmer in the arctic maybe I could try my cardboard box experiment.

So, for the last time on this blog, “Sarah Palin is hot.” And now, in the immortal words of Forrest Gump, “That’s all I have to say about that.”

…no more on Sarah Palin. Probably.

"If she were the president she'd be Baberaham Lincoln!"

Nothing much to post today. It's my Monday. Had a pretty good weekend. Applied to a couple of jobs. Met with some friends. Got some rest.

I am obsessed with the whole Sarah Palin thing and might even watch her speech tonight. Anyone elese planning to?