Thought
If there's one thing I hate, it's puffing up Boomer arrogance. But I'm becoming more and more convinced that if the Internets/Twitter/etc. had existed in the '60s, none of the important shit that happened then would have gotten done.

Back on the horse

...in more ways than one.

I was wary of blogging much while looking for work. I thought about making it invitee-only, and may have deleted a post or two, I honestly can't remember. But that's all done with. I'm back earning my keep, and so far things are going quite well. One perk is a 35-hr. work week; while I now have a commute, I'm still home earlier than I was when I had a 4-block walk.

Re-employment gift to myself: new iPod.

Curling season's almost over. Although my dues were paid up before I got laid off, I cut back in the second half anyway. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and overscheduled.

...and an engine never needs to write its name
Listening to Drive-By Truckers when conducting a job search? ILL-ADVISED.

Monroe & Canal: Outplacement Epicenter

The outplacement service I went to today is directly across the street from the outplacement service I went to nearly 8 years ago.

So I go to this 24-hour bad movie marathon at NU each year in late January. As it's run by a student organization, competence fluctuates depending on which kids are in charge. Usually we hear something about lineups and ticket availability some time in late December. This year...nada. Until yesterday, when they sent an email saying tickets would go on sale this morning.

Okay, no problem. I'm local; it's not like I have meetings to go to today. It's become an annual ritual to go up to Norris and wait several hours for the box office to open; chat with the die-hards I only ever see in that line every year about what they're showing or should show, etc. So I go over to get ducats for me and friends. Only the ticket limit they sent the public differed from what they sent the ticket office. Fortunately the short onsale notice caught many of the usual line-waiters unawares, so it was not a hassle, other than the stupidity of it all, to go back to the end of the queue and get the rest of what we needed.

Still no idea what they're showing. Today's debacle doesn't bode well for the event. To say nothing of the potential Amateur Night in the projection booth.

I've been toying with a new iPod. My current one is a 10GB, 4-button model, and was at least a generation behind when I picked it up.

The iPod design has changed such that the iTrip transmitter I use in the car wouldn't work with a new one. What's my best upgrade option?

New iPod; new peripheral transmitter
New iPod + upgrade the car stereo to one with a line-in jack
New iPod; use the old as the one for the car; shuttle music around as I like.
Suck it up old man! You should be listening to your wax cylinders!

I'm leaning towards C. This is all a ways away, as clearly I have more important things to focus on right now, but I suppose it's good to have a plan.

"Nobody could see this coming"

Maybe you would have, Mediabistro, if your worldview wasn't publishing = trade and only trade.

sports/pol analogy

Rahm Emanuel = Pierzynski.

Have I been watching too much Rome?
The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company was recently purchased by (Berkshire Hathaway and) the Mars candy company.

I think what should happen as soon as possible is the Chicago Cubs' baseball venue should be renamed The Field of Mars.

Kirsti points out that, as noted in Robert Harris' Imperium, epileptics were not allowed on the field during elections, as seizures were ill omens. I think that could led to an ADA violation or two.

Prediction
I had predicted privately that the Twins would force the Sox to play that makeup game against Detroit, but then would not advance. I'm sticking with that; Slowey's hurt, Blackburn's not the answer, and Morneau is slumping. Which is too bad, because that late-season split vs. Tampa gave me some confidence about the Twins advancing in a 5-game series.

In these one-game playoffs, someone's going to end up the goat. My money's on Carlos Gomez or Boof Bonser.

Stay Positive
I got home from a movie tonight and threw on the radio. Twins losing 6-4 after seven. Then I hear some bumper music on The Score. I think, hey, that was "Party Pit."

By The Hold Steady. And that's where things started to turn around. Thank you, Mr. Finn:

U.S. Roombotics
I successfully dismantled and repaired the Roomba. +/- 2 years of crud sure can accumulate. Thank you, can of compressed air!

Sports Notes
(try saying it 10 times fast)

Couture noted the passing of Jack Falla, one of the better professors he and I had at BU. It does take quite a teacher to get college kids to waitlist for an 8 a.m. class. Particularly when said kids were most likely up 'til 3 a.m. putting the paper to bed. I recently read Falla's novel, Saved, and enjoyed it. I'll most likely get it for the elder nephew, he being a goalie himself.

****

So the Twins' ballpark has a name. Meh...it's disappointing, but I can't say I'm surprised. Better than Best Buy. 3M Park would no doubt remind people of the 3Com Park debacle. Land O'Lakes Park would still be better.

I'd rather have had the rights go to a local company which I try to hit each time I'm in the Twin Cities; a quality music store whose name also personifies how the Minnesota Twins operate.

Wouldn't Cheapo Field have been perfect?

Things I just can't be bothered to care about:
Twitter

another X-files movie

Either of Joss Whedon's projects

MTV remaking Rocky Horror

I'm having a good time in Mark's Trio Trophy tournament, even though most of my favorites went down early and I'n now hanging my hopes on Police Squad (in color). When Mark was asking for recommendations, I forgot to mention the following shows I really enjoyed. But the fact that I forgot about them is no doubt indicative of their chances had they been included.

The Jackie Thomas Show - 1992-93 (18 episodes) - Tom Arnold, then married to Roseanne, starred in this show-in-a-show sitcom about a standup comic who demonstrates the Peter Principle when he gets a sitcom. On paper 15 years later, its demise would surprise few. After all, it costarred Dennis Boutskaris, Breckin Meyer, and the infamous Alison LaPlaca. But it had a good dark, sardonic tone that really appealed (the writing staff included David Fury, later of Buffy, Angel, 24, and Lost). People watched, but the dropoff from its leadin (Roseanne, then #2 in the nation behind 60 Minutes) was too high for ABC.

American High - 2000-01 (4 episodes on FOX, remainder on PBS) - That brief summary should tell you exactly what went wrong here. FOX viewers, watching a sensitive documentary about high-school students in Highland Park, IL? Riiight. Despite an Emmy, this was one-and-done.

Oh, that one...
I was confused to see Road House playing at the Siskel as part of a film noir series until I clicked through to the listing.

It May Look Like A Walnut!

Have you played much with Hulu yet? It's got some cool things, but I was sad to see only one season of The Dick Van Dyke show -- specifically, not the season that includes this, my favorite episode of that show and perhaps my favorite half-hour of sitcommery.

Part 1:


Part 2:


the thrilling conclusion!

We still don't have the official paperwork, but we did get a letter from the bank informing us that we had no balance remaining. Eight years. Cool!

It still hasn't fully sunk in yet. A bunch of stuff came due just after, so I haven't yet had a paycheck earmarked for pure frivolity. But I'm thinking more and more about dumb gadgets I don't need. That's not good.

Welcome to 2004!
How up-to-date am I? I'm just getting rolling on GTA: San Andreas, that's how much. Definitely worth $10, but that bargain could get wiped away if I continue to put kettles of water on the stove in real life, then forget about them while playing until they boil down and set off the smoke alarm. Like I did Tuesday. Hey, I needed to fix those graffiti tags. Gotta represent Grove Street, you heard?

BTW, I have CJ bulked up and running around in a gang doorag, joke glasses, sneakers and his tidy-whities. Cracks me up.

Area man's extended family finds blog

¡AY DIOS MIO, CHILLING EFFECT! I hope they don't find out about that one time with the balloon animals, horse tranquilizer, and jellied cranberries...

It was a terrific trip out to SD with a big passel of family. The touristy bits went much as I thought they would, from banal to breathtaking. The day up on the prairie was touching beyond all expectations. Short story: Grandma and a classmate were reunited after nearly 80 years.

Sharing close quarters with 16 of anyone, let alone kin, can have its problems, but that all went quite well. Actually it helped disavow me of a bit of recurring paranoia, which requires a bit of explanation. A big thing I'm indebted to my grandmother for is not anything she did for me, but how she treated my mom upon the coming-out. There is the way you'd expect someone of the old school to take such news, and the way you'd want a mother to take it. Meanwhile, the political and religious spectrum of my aunts and uncles is quite wide, and things were touchy there for a time. Whether she meant to or not, Grandma set the tone, that there are more important things than dogma. So my paranoia, popping in on occasion, was that the acceptance of mom & bonus mom was facile. I'm reminded of the Godfather movies, where Michael protects Fredo as long as Mama Corleone lives. But watching their interactions en masse and for a longer period than previously afforded, I'm convinced it's all genuine.


And finally, the quote of the week:
"Things were really bad when you got down to the shiny pages of the Sears catalog." --Grandma on the lack of modern...erm...niceties.