| Find our your band name and debut album! |
[Jul. 4th, 2008|09:48 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  curious | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Abracadabra", Steve Miller Band | ] |
I yoinked this from EN World (and, the guy who posted it there had swiped it from somewhere else):
1 - Go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to Random Quotations: www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
If you want to do this again, you'll hit to hit refresh to generate new quotes, because clicking the quotes link again will just give you the same quotes over and over again.
3 - Go to flickr's "explore the last seven days" http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
Put it all together, that's your debut album.
Here's mine:
My band: St. Peters Church, Bishopsworth
Our debut album: Running Around Doing Exercises
And, our awesome album cover:
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| Checking back in (or, "where the hell have *you* been?) |
[Jul. 3rd, 2008|12:12 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  tired | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Blame It On Your Heart", Patty Loveless | ] |
Yes, I know, I've been quiet for several months. Well, the past few months haven't been quiet.
Back in May, the stepmother of my Lovely Bride passed away, after a multi-year battle with cancer. She had not been doing well for some time, and so it wasn't a surprise, but it was still a crushing blow.
At about the same time, my own mother learned that her breast cancer, which had been in remission for over a decade, had recurred. She had surgery, and is now on a short chemo course, but the doctors are confident that they caught it early, and her prognosis is good.
Then, just a couple of weeks ago, the wife of one of the players in our Friday night D&D group passed away. She'd been sick for a couple of months, and we knew that it was serious, but it was still quite sudden.
And, the Client From Hell continues to make my life interesting here at the office. My boss has promised that they're going to get me moved off of this account, but it hasn't happened yet. Waiting with bated breath...
In more upbeat news...
I went to Origins last weekend. It's the annual chance for our online gaming group to get together face-to-face, to visit and play together. I mostly played Living Arcanis (my poor Beltinian empathic healer is really messed up in the head after the weekend's events), and Witch Hunter (a new game, by the folks who do Arcanis, set in 17th-century Colonial America, and sort of like Living Death in theme). Between Origins, and the Last Weekend in Verbobonc Livign Greyhawk convention the previous weekend, I think I played in 17 games, and DMed 6, over the course of 21 days.
The Lovely Bride and I went to a concert last night -- Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and Steve Winwood. I like both of them quite a bit, though I'd never been a huge fan of either...but the concert was great. Powerful energy, they played almost all of the songs I really wanted to hear, and they both sounded great.
Our office closes any minute now, for the long weekend, but I've got two more projects to finish, so I may be stuck here for a little while. :-( |
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| Taxman, Mr. Mistele... |
[Mar. 28th, 2008|12:53 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  cranky | ] |
| [ | music |
| | News radio | ] |
Under normal circumstances, I think about taxes about as often as I think about, oh, I don't know, maybe marionnettes. In other words, not very often.
But, this year....grrrr.
I have the distinct pleasure* of living in Cook County, Illinois, proud home of the highest sales tax rate in the country, due to a recent raise in the sales tax, to cover a gaping hole in the county budget (because, apparently, raising the sales tax made more sense than laying off some of the County Commissioner's family members and friends who are making six-figure salaries). And, they cranked up the property tax last year (though, apparently, not as much as they had wanted to).
Then, I was doing the income taxes last weekend. Normally, we get a nice little refund; this year, for whatever reason (I'm guessing the school where the Lovely Bride works didn't withhold enough, but I'm not sure), we owe some. :-P
I was at Taco Bell yesterday, buying lunch, when I happened to look at my receipt, and I realized I was paying more than 10% in sales tax (10.4%, when I did the math). Since I have breakfast and lunch at the office most days, I starterd doing some number crunching:
- Assuming 45 weeks in the office a year (accounting for vacation and being out of the office on business trips)
- Assuming about $11 spent a day, between breakfast and lunch
...it works out that I'm paying about $250 a year, just in sales tax on my breakfast and lunch!
I'm generally not opposed to taxes; I understand that they're a necessary evil to keep society functioning. I guess I'd feel a little less cranky about this if I didn't feel like so much of the taxes I'm paying is going for:
- Patronage jobs
- Sweet contracts for connected people
- A fool's errand that's become a quagmire in Iraq
* - and yes, this is a non-standard use of the word "pleasure" |
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| The curse continues |
[Jan. 24th, 2008|10:11 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Tie Your Mother Down", Queen | ] |
I had to fly out to Phoenix on Tuesday, to attend a focus group for one of my clients. When I made the travel arrangements, I made sure to give myself plenty of time between landing in Phoenix, and getting to the group, just in case.
Well, I needed it. Flight delayed two hours going out there.
Flew home yesterday. Flight delayed an hour.
::bangs head on desk:: |
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| How 'bout dem Packers, eh? |
[Jan. 15th, 2008|09:57 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  excited | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Life's Been Good", Joe Walsh | ] |
So, this Sunday evening, the Pack hosts the Giants at the Frozen Tundra of Lambeauuuuu Field, for the NFC Championship. The season's been a pleasant surprise from start to finish (well, except for the pair of eggs the Pack laid against the Bears), and having Dallas lose to New York last week (thus leaving the Pack as the highest remaining seed) was the Lucky Strike extra.
I have to say, this season's success has snuck up on me. The Packers had a nice finish last year, but I was skeptical about Favre at age 38 (the age at which so many quarterbacks really seem to lose their touch), and I was skeptical about the team's youth. I contrast this to the '96 season (when they won the Super Bowl)...after getting progressively closer in '94 and '95, it really felt like '96 was their anointed year, and everything came together.
This year, they just keep winning, far more than I thought they would. When it became clear that they'd get a first-round bye, I figured that they'd probably win that first playoff game, then lose at Dallas. Now, they're 7-point favorites to beat New York, and go to the Super Bowl, for the priviledge of getting spanked by the Patriots. ;-)
Oh, and my father and I (as season-ticket holders) had tickets to the game this Sunday. But, when my dad called the ticket agency Monday morning, and learned that they'd pay $525 for each of the tickets ($150 face value), it was an offer he couldn't refuse. As neat as it would have been to go to the game, it's going to be brutally cold, so at least I'll be comfortable in front of my TV. :-D |
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| The Romance (cough cough) of Air Travel |
[Jan. 8th, 2008|04:39 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Dont' Fear the Reaper", Blue Oyster Cult | ] |
So, the trip to Florida was good. Actually, let me rephrase that: being in Florida was good. Getting the chance to see the Lovely Bride's father and stepmother was good. They were thrilled to see us, and I really got the sense that it did Diane good.
Getting to and from Florida: another story entirely. |
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| Back on the chain gang |
[Jan. 2nd, 2008|04:41 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sick | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "That Was Yesterday", Foreigner | ] |
Back in the office today, after 12 days off. Spent the morning in fire-fighting mode, then things quieted down in the afternoon.
I came down with a cold on Monday, which doesn't surprise me, given how many cold-infested people I'd been around for the prior week-and-a-half. As colds go, it hasn't been too obnoxious so far; I've been taking zinc tablets, which may be helping, though, lawd, they're nasty.
I'll only be in the office for a half-day tomorrow; the Lovely Bride and I fly down to Florida tomorrow evening to see her father and stepmother. The Lovely Bride's stepsister called yesterday, to give us the heads-up on the stepmother's condition (mostly, how her personality has changed). Hoping it'll be a good visit regardless.
It's frickin' cold here today...it was single-digits this morning (with a lovely wind), and tonight it should get down below zero (though, at least, with no wind). So, I was wearing all these new Christmas-present clothes -- the parka from my Lovely Bride, the courderoys from my parents (I don't think I've owned cords since the '80s), the heavy gloves from my niece. The 70s they're predicting for Florida this weekend are sounding better all the time -- though, by the time we get home Sunday night, it's supposed to be in the 50s here. Psycho weather. :-P |
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| Last day in the office! |
[Dec. 20th, 2007|10:47 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | excited | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Head Games", Foreigner | ] |
Well, to be perfectly honest, *yesterday* was supposed to be my last day in the office, but there was a couple of projects that weren't quite done. (And, for that matter, they may not be quite done today, either, but tough t-bones.)
I'm taking tomorrow off, and then the agency's closed until January 2nd. As busy and stressful as this fall has been, having 12 straight days off is souning really good. |
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| Wild Kingdom in the backyard |
[Dec. 18th, 2007|10:53 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  cold | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Bungle in the Jungle", Jethro Tull | ] |
This morning, I was walking back to the garage, to drive to the train station, when I noticed a fairly large collection of what, at first, looked like dead leaves on the sidewalk. After a moment, I realized it was feathers...a whole lot of gray feathers. With a little bit of blood on the snow.
Some sort of predator (I'd have to guess a cat) got some sort of bird (based on the color, size, and number of feathers, I'm guessing a mourning dove) last night or this morning. It looked like the hunter just ate everything on the spot, or dragged it away, because I didn't see any body parts, just feathers and blood.
Still...eeew. Nice thing to see first thing in the morning. :-P |
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| Schadenfreude |
[Dec. 12th, 2007|04:16 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  silly | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Eye in the Sky", Alan Parsons Project | ] |
News item: Ike Turner passes away.
Somewhere, Tina Turner is saying, "Damn, that took long enough." |
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| Enough with the ice already |
[Dec. 11th, 2007|12:04 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | moody | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Fire On High", ELO | ] |
Hey, it's another grey damp day, with freezing rain and ice! How original!
And, that's it for the weather. In other news...
Last weekend, we had the annual Martha Stewart Invitational (MSI) holiday dinner with Karen and Frank, and Joe and Cyndi. J&C come back in from D.C. for this, but Cyndi had to back out at the last minute, due to a work party that she was going to blow off, until her boss told her she couldn't blow it off. Frank had decided that the guys should cook this year, which I was skeptical about, since my idea of cooking is "Preheat oven to 350 degrees / peel back film over tater tots / bake for 35 minutes". But, it turned out really well. We made butternut squash soup, and pot roast...I even successfully made a roux. :faints:
While we were over there, Karen gave us a small stack of photos that had somehow ended up at their house. They're from my old camera, and were taken (probably by me) over the fall and winter of '92. There's pictures of our old dog Max (best dog ever) and old cat Mercury, playing with the wind-up mouse we'd given him for Christmas that year. There's a lot of pictures of our niece, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) omgitzchloe, at 6 months of age, at her first Christmas. There's a couple from the wedding of my old roommate Mike (a.k.a. Mookie), including one of in_fieri and her not-yet-hubby-at-that-time Doug at the reception. And, there's a highly entertaining picture of my Lovely Bride, charityflint, along with her sister, and Karen, all of them with long hair. :-D
It looks like, after we spend a few days in Wisconsin over Christmas, charityflint and I are going to be heading down to Florida for a long weekend, to see her father and stepmother. Diane's been fighting cancer for 3 years (a recurrance from 16 years ago), and recent conversations with Duane indicate that things are not going well. The Lovely Bride decided that we need to go down there sooner rather than later, a decision I concur with (though getting flights over the weekend after New Year's was a pain in the keister).
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| Red Alert! Red Alert! Snow! |
[Dec. 4th, 2007|12:44 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  blah | ] |
| [ | music |
| | News radio | ] |
Even as a big-time weather geek, I get a little tired of the local media getting all wiggy about impending snowfall. "Snow Advisory in effect! 3 to 5 inches of snow in the forecast!"
OK, yeah, that's a bit of snow. And, it's apparently going to start this afternoon, just in time to make the evening commute messy (I feel for my Lovely Bride, who's got a haircut appointment tonight, and faces a long drive from school to get to the salon). But. Those 3-5" are going to fall between this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon. That's not particularly heavy at any one time, and, unless the forecast is completely wrong, it shouldn't be enough to really snarl things.
I feel like people have gotten wimpy about bad weather. Yes, it's true, you shouldn't be driving in a snowstorm -- nor should you be driving in an ice storm, like we had Saturday night. It's people overreacting to a couple inches of snow that gets to me.
OTOH, this will be the first real snow we've gotten (we had a dusting on Thanksgiving, and a little bit before it turned to freezing rain on Saturday), and people always seem to forget how to drive in the snow.
At any rate, looks like I get to shovel tomorrow morning for the first time. :-) |
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| A random memory |
[Nov. 20th, 2007|09:57 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | sleepy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Summer Breeze", Seals & Crofts | ] |
Walking into the office from the train this morning, my iPod was playing "The Things We Do For Love", a mid-70s hit from 10cc.
There's a line in the song:
"You think you're gonna break up // then she says she wants to make up"
I was probably 11 or 12 when this song was originally on the radio. For whatever reason, I misheard that lyric at that time. I was positive it was:
"You think you're gonna break out // then she says she wants to make out"
Which would make it a more interesting, though sillier, song. :-) |
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| Reunion update |
[Nov. 12th, 2007|05:01 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | cold | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Sugar Mountain", Neil Young | ] |
My old high school classmate sent out an updated spreadsheet on our class. Of 71 of us:
- 23 are still living in Green Bay or De Pere
- 41 are still living in Wisconsin
- Only 12 are known to be outside of Wisconsin
- 3 are known to be deceased
- 15 are still in the "no one knows" pile
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| 24 years - where did the time go? |
[Nov. 6th, 2007|10:36 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | cold | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Middle of the Road"; The Pretenders | ] |
Last week, I got my high school alumni newsletter in the mail; there was a note in it about my class's 25th reunion next year. I e-mailed the two guys who are organizing it, with my contact info, and there's been a fairly steady stream of e-mails since, with people providing additional contact info for various misplaced alumni.
This morning, John (one of the organizers) sent out a spreadsheet, with the information that he's gotten so far; being the stat dude I am, I found it interesting to look at. We had a small class (only 72 or so guys, at a now-defunct Catholic high school); of those:
- 23 are still living in Green Bay or De Pere (and another 3 are living down in the Fox Valley)
- 6 are living in or around Madison
- Only 14 are living outside of Wisconsin
- 14 have no known address information
- 2 are known to be deceased |
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| Yay for Fall! |
[Oct. 11th, 2007|02:49 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  rushed | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "King Arthur" soundtrack | ] |
Until yesterday, fall here in Chicago has been more like summer, booked for an extended engagement. It was close to 90 degrees, and humid, on both Saturday and Sunday (really bad timing for the Chicago Marathon on Sunday).
Finally, on Monday, a cold front pushed through. Yesterday and today, it hasn't even reached 60, and there's been a nice brisk northerly breeze. Now *this* is my kind of weather. :-)
Work's been increasingly hectic the past few weeks, and looks to be more so the next few weeks. It's "planning season" for one of my accounts, which means lotsa hours on presentations, etc. |
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| Arr, mateys! |
[Sep. 19th, 2007|10:27 am] |
Shiver me timbers, I nearly forgot, 'tis Talk Like a Pirate Day today!
Yo ho ho and a bottle o' rum!!! |
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| The first day of fall |
[Sep. 4th, 2007|02:10 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Superstition", Stevie Wonder | ] |
Astronomically, the first day of fall is the Autumnal Equinox, which, this year, is on September 23rd. The weather guys will tell you that, from a meteorological standpoint, they consider fall to begin on September 1st.
For me, the Tuesday after Labor Day is really the first day of fall. It was always the first day of school when I was a kid, and, to me, that's the real signal that summer is over. Jerry Lewis was the traditional harbinger of fall. :-)
The Lovely Bride is teaching again this fall, and today is the first day of school at her school. She *hates* the first week or so of school, if for no other reason than it always seems to be dang hot that week, and her school doesn't have air-conditioning. And, in fact, the current Chicago temperature is 88 degrees, though, blessedly, the dewpoint's only in the 50s today.
Just came off of a four-day weekend, which was very nice (especially because Thursday featured a painful client meeting in Florida, followed by a delayed flight home). Got in some gaming on both Friday and yesterday, and was mostly a couch potato on Saturday and Sunday. But, getting up this morning was *hard*. But, we're back into it, and I've made it through most of the day without falling asleep at my desk... |
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