Sunday, February 25, 2007

The Past Three Days...


  • Drove to Lincoln
  • Saw family-n-friends
  • Went to Amigo's, had "large meat nachos"
  • Had delicious homemade pickles (my gramma's recipe. the secret ingredient? well water.)
  • Saw my brother Andy and my uncle Pete at their work
  • Had Valentino's pizza courtesy of aforementioned uncle
  • Replaced thermostat in car with my dad
  • Sat at dining room table, did crossword puzzle
  • Saw more family-n-friends, including super cute 9 month old niece
  • Went to Taco Inn, had "nacho platter"
  • Played my brother Tom's copy of Steel Batallion
  • Saw even more family-n-friends
  • Went to Amigo's, had "large meat nachos" and soft taco
  • Was a guest on Inside The Console
  • Played Pitch, Up and Down the River, dominos, Galaxian, Kirby's Dreamland, Super Mario 64, and solved a 196-piece Wii Photo Channel puzzle in 90 minutes (with the help of three friends)
  • Ate ice cream, chips, salsa, popcorn, candy, and had "stomache ache"
  • Drove back to the Cities


it's aaaallll gooood.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Piranhageddon




(What happens when you combine one of the world's best video games with one of the world's worst movies)

Monday, February 19, 2007

Acting My Age

As I got out of my car and approached the auto parts store this afternoon I saw an older gentleman going to the same destination few feet behind me. I opened the door for him and as he entered with a surprised look, he said "Thanks, kiddo!"

I turn 27 in March and a dude just called me "Kiddo." Somewhere someone is paying a lot of money to look younger, and all I have to do is go to work and drink plenty of Mountain Dew. Sweet.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Winning Rabbids

Ok, so my wife and I really like playing our Nintendo Wii. Though our game collection remains rather sparse (Wii Sports, if you count it, along with Rayman Raving Rabbids and the original Sonic the Hedgehog) we do, on a fairly regular basis, enjoy the distractions it offers, be they games, photo viewing, or even vote tallying. And tonight, after a few weeks of waving and flipping the controllers around, we finally beat Rayman. Sweet!

I am also working my way through Sonic, and rediscovering how difficult the older games can be. As my brother Tom pointed out to me a week ago, I used to scorn those crazy Sega fans because their system, I reasoned, was soooo laaaame. But after sitting down and playing it for some time now, I can (and must) say that it is a pretty enjoyable game. It's no Mario World, but hey, what is?

Time to finish my can of Dew and go read some more. Enjoy the day off tomorrow, all you who work in education, banks, or the government. :)

Friday, February 16, 2007

Timeline

I read Jurassic Park when I was in high school and, for the most part, enjoyed it very much. I appreciated the mix of science and contemporary fiction (not to be confused with the often-generalized genre of science fiction) as well as the intense action and interesting characters. A few years later my friend Ben told me about another book by the same author, Michael Crichton, called Sphere, which he read in one sitting. I picked it up about two years ago and gave it a read, along with another Crichton book called The Andromeda Strain. Both were very good, though I preferred the latter with its plot that nearly drowned in scientific plausibility. It answered, in a very real fashion, the very ancient question of "What if?" And in this case, the subject of the question was that of alien contact or, more precisely, contact with an alien virus. It was very cool.

So I decided to read yet another Crichton book my friend Raleigh told me about several years ago, called Timeline. Having finished it not ten minutes before beginning this post, I must say that I was rather disappointed. It was like reading a book based on a fairly cheesy medieval action movie. The characters were boring and the plot was convoluted and largely uninteresting. But I'm glad to have read it, and look forward to reading other books by the same author such as the gross-sounding Eaters of the Dead which, I'm told, is all about language and...uh...science and stuff. :)

And now, to brufsh my teef and get to reading the book my wife recently purchased for me, A Meaningful World. Oh, and for the record, tomorrow is Saturday and that rules. Helloooooo sleeping in!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Dentist

I don't like going to the dentist. I even spoke as much to the dentist whom I visited today. However, upon leaving the sterile calculated blandness of Sandpiper Dental, I can say without equivocation, that I fully appreciate what the dentist does for my pearly implements of mastication.

And the best part? Still no cavities! *does Bill and Ted air guitar*

Monday, February 12, 2007

Muggo Chocho

I went on a tour of the KTIS radio station last Spring and returned with a free promotional thermal mug. It has been on the top shelf of the cupboard ever since. But tonight I was searching for a vessel which could keep some hot chocolate warm for more than five or ten minutes, and came across said mug. Touch-down! It's been at least 20 minutes and my drink is still living up to its name. Thank you, KTIS!

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Family Times

So, check it out...

Last Friday my wife asked me if I had talked to my brother Tom that day. I had not, since I was at work for most of the day and did not have my cell phone on. I asked her if it was anything urgent or important, and she replied in the affirmative, though with a grin indicating something other than what I had probably expected. She said that he was on his way up to the Cities for a visit! I was thrilled, and could hardly wait (though of course I had no choice) to see him later on that evening.

He got to our home about 11pm and the three of us had a fantastic time chatting and drinking soda while, of course, watching Star Trek. :) Yesterday we did nothing particularly noteworthy save for running some errands to a couple different stores, but it was great to just hang out with him. We watch a two-part episode of Star Trek called "Chain of Command," which is based on, among other sources, George Orwell's 1984 and is, in my humble opinion, one of the best episodes in the series. We finished the day with a trip to Applebee's for some half-priced appetizers which consisted of cheese sticks and wings. Most excellent.

Today was church, some delicious leftovers from last night's dinner of homemade tacos, and a few more errands, the minutia of which I will not post here because it's time to end this entry. Suffice it to say this weekend has been awesome, and will continue to be especially when we sit down for some Papa Murphy's and Ocean's 11 in a little while.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Don't Cross the Streams

The intro to my brother's latest episode of his "Inside the Console" podcast inspired me to create this track using GarageBand:

Something Important.mp3

It's some audio cribbed from Ghostbusters mixed into the most awesomest techno grooves you've heard all month. I gah-rown-tee it. Yess!

Sunday, February 04, 2007

The Verdict

I must say, that chili was some mighty fine eatin'. And plenty of leftovers, too. If any of you need some warming up in the coming weeks, I highly suggest Andy's recipe.

Last night we had some friends over and, though nothing super eventful happened, it was a nice evening spent watching a movie, playing some Wii Sports, and plain ol' talking. I would, in most situations, prefer that type of interaction as opposed to a loud party or other such craziness. We made some very delicious spaghetti (Thanks Jon for bringing the meatballs and garlic bread!) of which there are also many leftovers, which will come in handy during the next week at work.

I remember one episode of Reading Rainbow when LeVar burton tried working as a short-order cook. He was messing up orders left and right until he got the hang of things, and after telling me and my siblings about some good books (but making it perfectly clear that we did not have to take his word for it), tried to order his own dinner using short-order cook lingo. He ended up with a spaghetti sandwich and some odd side dishes, which was not what he ordered at all. And somehow through a Douglas Adams-esque chain of logic I have now arrived at spaghetti sandwich from starting with my brother's chili recipe.

"Weird," Bill Murray would say (though not as weird as a hairless cat).

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Japanese Western Food

The other day my wife and I were thinking about something nice to cook this weekend when it was supposed to be pretty cold. She suggested chili. I suggested Kikioé chili. She gave me a puzzled look.

"What kind of chili?" she asked.

Wondering why she was confused, I simply replied "Kikioé".

We sort of looked at each other, wondering ever so slightly if the spouse was off his or her rocker. Then we both burst out laughing and, after several minutes of attempting to collect ourselves, we agreed that it would, indeed, be a great idea to make my brother Andy's chili recipe he sent us about a month ago.

Any why would this weekend be so nice for chili? Well, as I type this it is almost 10:30 on Saturday morning and the current temp is -12°, with a predicted high of -7°. Now if that doesn't call for a huge vat of chili followed by a draught of hot chocolate, I don't know what does.

Here's to the crock pot, I say!