I'm staying with my dad and brother at the Cambria Suites in Appleton before going to the Packer game tomorrow. This place is incredible.
Two flatscreen LCD TV's, two beds plus a fold out couch, spacious and
well decorated. Makes me glad dad travels as much as he does so he
gets so many free nights from points.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Driving into the unknown
could still travel at regular highway speeds, but it was a not of a
surprise when you came up on a car that was going a few mph slower.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
submission to evil
for those of you who read this and care, i signed up for facebook. I shall control the beast, however.
Greece, pt. II
The ride to Mykonos was turbulent, to put it mildly. Steady 40mph winds out of the north made for pretty choppy seas, and in the small jet boat ferry we were on, most everybody didn't fair so well. Mykonos was quite nice, though not as nice as Santorini. We didn't have any accomodations lined up when we got there, so we took up one of the ladies trying to pawn off rooms on people just like us. The fridge didn't work, and the tv remote didn't either (it was kind of fun watching greek tv, though they did have a channel that carried programming from the USA network), but overall not a bad place, and in the center of all the goings on. At least we think it was the center...
Mykonos' streets were intentionally made confusing to foil pirates that kept ravaging the port town. It worked. On the way to dinner one night, we saw a smoothie shop we wanted to go to for dessert. After dinner, it took 45 minutes to find it again. Went to a beach here as well, which had an abundance of naked men. The sand was pretty large grain though - almost rocky - as there was a large limestone "reef" about 90 feet offshore, so most of the waves broke at that point, rather than crashing on the beach. Other than that we spent a lot of time wandering the streets. Mykonos is the main touristy island, as well as the home of a thriving gay community, both native and tourist. We also spent part of a day on Delos, an abandoned city on a small island just off of Mykonos, and as it was abandoned, it is in great archaeological shape, since the pirates left it alone, as ther were populated places with actual wealth to raid. Some quite incredible sites at this place, beautiful mosaics from the Roman period, and lots of other various culture history, as it was a major destination and trading point in the Greek Isles long ago.
Pop cutlture nugget - the scene at the end of "The Bourne Identity" in the scooter shop was on Mykonos. Or at least the shot before and after the interior of the shop were.
We then went back to the mainland by slow ferry. Took most all of the day, but I liked it, as I was able to sit outside on the back of the ship and just watch the water and occasional island go by. We then managed to get passage by train to Korinthos, where we only stayed the night on the way to Nafplio, a bautiful "Italian inspired" city, influenced this way as it was under Venetian control for some time. And the Turks. Then the Greeks again, then it changed hands another half dozen times before becoming the first capitol of modern Greece, before moving to Athens (much like York, PA in the USA before DC). We walked around a lot before finding a place to stay, but it was easily the nicest place we were in the whole trip. And in conjucntion, the most expensive.
The first day there we went to the old fortress (left from a period of Turkish rule, I think) on top of a hill overlooking the town. Something like 972 steps, each way. Neither Jess or myself has been able to find an exact number, but I think 972 was a number I saw, and it seems damn close. There were multiple stops on the way up, and even a couple on the way down. The fortress was quite nice though, with gorgeous views of the surrounding area.
We used Nafplio as a base for a couple half-day trips - which together made one day - to Mycenae and Epidauros. Mycenae was home to king Agamemnon, famous from Homer's epics, and while much of the ruins were tougher than other places to get a sense of where buildings used to be, the Lion Gate, and some of the sites lower down the mountain from the palace were in fairly good shape. You couldn't ask for much more of strategic point for a fortress/castle. Nestled in the mountains, really only approachable from one side.
After returning we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and made our way to Epidauros, a great healing and cultural center of ancient Greece, and still a famous cultural center. Each summer they perform plays from anceint Greek playwrights in the amphitheatre, which is in immaculate shape, and so well constructed you can hear a match strike at the keystone in the center. When we arrived there was a young lady singing Ave Maria whilst on the keystone, and it sounded incredible. The rest of the ruins are in wonderful shape as well. Especially interesting was the method of healing people. They would take them in the middle of the night, and place them in a labyrinth under the temple to Asklepios and let them basically "face their illness". I don't know what their success rate was, but it's quite an interesting practice.
The next day we returned to Athens, did some shopping and wandering around town, before picking up a small bottle of Absinthe and heading back to the hotel room. We didn't have the spoon, sugar cube, and water drip, as is part of the ritual of absinthe, and while it would've been nice, we were more interested in seeing what this anise based drink was like. It's like jet fuel. At 140 proof, you could sterilize wounds with this stuff. We each did a shot, and while I'd gladly try it with the whole ritural involved, I don't think I'll be putting it down the hatch straight out the bottle ever again. It'll sure keep you warm on a winter night though.
The next morning we woke very early, and caught a bus to Delphi. A three hour ride worth every minute. Santorini is still the most beautiful place I've been to, but Delphi is a close second. Sitting under the shadow of Mt. Parnassas, Delphi was believed to be the center of the world in ancient Greece. and they weren't too far off, at least given the current geography of the country it's pretty close to the center of things. But being what it was in ancient times, it was a major religious site, and of course home to the famous Oracle of Apollo. not much is left of the Temple of Apollo but the outline of the base and a spattering of columns, but it is still quite majestic as in the distance the tops of surrounding mountains are shrouded in late morning clouds. What neither of us realized was at Delphi was a stadium atop the ruins. Always famed more for the mysteries of the Oracle, and the religious rites that took place there, the fact that there were competitions at the site was somewhat surprising. Of all the archaeological sites we visited, Delphi was easlily the most picturesque, in my opinion.
We went back to Athens after this, did some more shopping, then returned to the hotel for our last night. The next morning we made our way to the airport, and made our way back home. A wonderful trip, and I will definitely look forward to traveling abroad in the future.
Mykonos' streets were intentionally made confusing to foil pirates that kept ravaging the port town. It worked. On the way to dinner one night, we saw a smoothie shop we wanted to go to for dessert. After dinner, it took 45 minutes to find it again. Went to a beach here as well, which had an abundance of naked men. The sand was pretty large grain though - almost rocky - as there was a large limestone "reef" about 90 feet offshore, so most of the waves broke at that point, rather than crashing on the beach. Other than that we spent a lot of time wandering the streets. Mykonos is the main touristy island, as well as the home of a thriving gay community, both native and tourist. We also spent part of a day on Delos, an abandoned city on a small island just off of Mykonos, and as it was abandoned, it is in great archaeological shape, since the pirates left it alone, as ther were populated places with actual wealth to raid. Some quite incredible sites at this place, beautiful mosaics from the Roman period, and lots of other various culture history, as it was a major destination and trading point in the Greek Isles long ago.
Pop cutlture nugget - the scene at the end of "The Bourne Identity" in the scooter shop was on Mykonos. Or at least the shot before and after the interior of the shop were.
We then went back to the mainland by slow ferry. Took most all of the day, but I liked it, as I was able to sit outside on the back of the ship and just watch the water and occasional island go by. We then managed to get passage by train to Korinthos, where we only stayed the night on the way to Nafplio, a bautiful "Italian inspired" city, influenced this way as it was under Venetian control for some time. And the Turks. Then the Greeks again, then it changed hands another half dozen times before becoming the first capitol of modern Greece, before moving to Athens (much like York, PA in the USA before DC). We walked around a lot before finding a place to stay, but it was easily the nicest place we were in the whole trip. And in conjucntion, the most expensive.
The first day there we went to the old fortress (left from a period of Turkish rule, I think) on top of a hill overlooking the town. Something like 972 steps, each way. Neither Jess or myself has been able to find an exact number, but I think 972 was a number I saw, and it seems damn close. There were multiple stops on the way up, and even a couple on the way down. The fortress was quite nice though, with gorgeous views of the surrounding area.
We used Nafplio as a base for a couple half-day trips - which together made one day - to Mycenae and Epidauros. Mycenae was home to king Agamemnon, famous from Homer's epics, and while much of the ruins were tougher than other places to get a sense of where buildings used to be, the Lion Gate, and some of the sites lower down the mountain from the palace were in fairly good shape. You couldn't ask for much more of strategic point for a fortress/castle. Nestled in the mountains, really only approachable from one side.
After returning we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and made our way to Epidauros, a great healing and cultural center of ancient Greece, and still a famous cultural center. Each summer they perform plays from anceint Greek playwrights in the amphitheatre, which is in immaculate shape, and so well constructed you can hear a match strike at the keystone in the center. When we arrived there was a young lady singing Ave Maria whilst on the keystone, and it sounded incredible. The rest of the ruins are in wonderful shape as well. Especially interesting was the method of healing people. They would take them in the middle of the night, and place them in a labyrinth under the temple to Asklepios and let them basically "face their illness". I don't know what their success rate was, but it's quite an interesting practice.
The next day we returned to Athens, did some shopping and wandering around town, before picking up a small bottle of Absinthe and heading back to the hotel room. We didn't have the spoon, sugar cube, and water drip, as is part of the ritual of absinthe, and while it would've been nice, we were more interested in seeing what this anise based drink was like. It's like jet fuel. At 140 proof, you could sterilize wounds with this stuff. We each did a shot, and while I'd gladly try it with the whole ritural involved, I don't think I'll be putting it down the hatch straight out the bottle ever again. It'll sure keep you warm on a winter night though.
The next morning we woke very early, and caught a bus to Delphi. A three hour ride worth every minute. Santorini is still the most beautiful place I've been to, but Delphi is a close second. Sitting under the shadow of Mt. Parnassas, Delphi was believed to be the center of the world in ancient Greece. and they weren't too far off, at least given the current geography of the country it's pretty close to the center of things. But being what it was in ancient times, it was a major religious site, and of course home to the famous Oracle of Apollo. not much is left of the Temple of Apollo but the outline of the base and a spattering of columns, but it is still quite majestic as in the distance the tops of surrounding mountains are shrouded in late morning clouds. What neither of us realized was at Delphi was a stadium atop the ruins. Always famed more for the mysteries of the Oracle, and the religious rites that took place there, the fact that there were competitions at the site was somewhat surprising. Of all the archaeological sites we visited, Delphi was easlily the most picturesque, in my opinion.
We went back to Athens after this, did some more shopping, then returned to the hotel for our last night. The next morning we made our way to the airport, and made our way back home. A wonderful trip, and I will definitely look forward to traveling abroad in the future.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Greece, pt. I
I finally got back on here, and relized I never really did the Greece trip posts. I'll aim to remedy that now.
The trip startd off in Athens...sleepily...at the Athens Backpackers Hostel. This place was dead in the center of town, three blocks from the Acropolis, and complete with a rooftop bar with some of what we were told was the cheapest drinking in Athens. I'd believe it. We got the complementary ouzo shot, and after that the local brew was only a couple euro for a decent size serving. We crashed for the night, then in the morning went to the Acropolis (which was free that day woo!), and then on a walking tour of the center of the city, which was put on by the hostel. Michael that did the tour grew up in the area, and really does some research on the history of the city and its landmarks and monuments. Then we came back, took a brief siesta, then went out in the evening to the Plaka (shopping district) and strolled around whilst being accosted by shop owners (by the end of the trip, the phrase "come in, you like" was a running joke between Jess and I).
After those first two days, we hopped on a high speed ferry to Santorini, and even at high speed, the ride was still 5-6 hours, but well worth it. Santorini is easily the most beautiful place I've been to. We spent that evening checking into our very quaint hotel, then going out for dinner and ice cream, which was probably actually gellato. The next day was beach day, going to Red Beach first - an amazing little cove with red sand, carved off of the sheer cliff face at the back of the beach - and Perissa second, a black sand beach, sand from the ground up volcanic rock of the island. Jess had her leg groped by an octopus at Red Beach. I didn't believe there would be one so close to shore, but sure enough it was hanging out right in the shallows. She saw a stingray at Perrisa, which I wasn't able to confirm, but I believe her. The last full day we had on Santorini we did the boat tour to the volcano, swam in the hot springs, visited the fishing/non-commercial island for lunch, then returned to the port and disembarked in time to get back to the top of the calderra for sunset. The next day we were off to Mykonos, and that will be covered in the next post!
The trip startd off in Athens...sleepily...at the Athens Backpackers Hostel. This place was dead in the center of town, three blocks from the Acropolis, and complete with a rooftop bar with some of what we were told was the cheapest drinking in Athens. I'd believe it. We got the complementary ouzo shot, and after that the local brew was only a couple euro for a decent size serving. We crashed for the night, then in the morning went to the Acropolis (which was free that day woo!), and then on a walking tour of the center of the city, which was put on by the hostel. Michael that did the tour grew up in the area, and really does some research on the history of the city and its landmarks and monuments. Then we came back, took a brief siesta, then went out in the evening to the Plaka (shopping district) and strolled around whilst being accosted by shop owners (by the end of the trip, the phrase "come in, you like" was a running joke between Jess and I).
After those first two days, we hopped on a high speed ferry to Santorini, and even at high speed, the ride was still 5-6 hours, but well worth it. Santorini is easily the most beautiful place I've been to. We spent that evening checking into our very quaint hotel, then going out for dinner and ice cream, which was probably actually gellato. The next day was beach day, going to Red Beach first - an amazing little cove with red sand, carved off of the sheer cliff face at the back of the beach - and Perissa second, a black sand beach, sand from the ground up volcanic rock of the island. Jess had her leg groped by an octopus at Red Beach. I didn't believe there would be one so close to shore, but sure enough it was hanging out right in the shallows. She saw a stingray at Perrisa, which I wasn't able to confirm, but I believe her. The last full day we had on Santorini we did the boat tour to the volcano, swam in the hot springs, visited the fishing/non-commercial island for lunch, then returned to the port and disembarked in time to get back to the top of the calderra for sunset. The next day we were off to Mykonos, and that will be covered in the next post!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Great Animation
Yes, I'm back from Greece, and a full report will make it's way on here over the next few days, but for now, this link
http://alanbecker.deviantart.com/art/Animator-vs-Animation-34244097
http://alanbecker.deviantart.com/art/Animator-vs-Animation-34244097
Friday, September 14, 2007
newest member of the family...
...so to speak :)
For our four year anniversary, Jess got me some new ink. I love her so much! Went to Capital City Tattoo, which I highly reccomend to anyone in the Madison area, or anyone passing through with an itch to go under the gun. Very clean, very friendly, and decor that was second to none - they have old theatre seats in the waiting area, and a mirror in back that would make Narcissus jealous beyond belief. Not too complicated, but I might do some work around it later on. Oh yeah, it's on the left inner forearm, since it's kind of tough to tell from the pic.
The image - in all of my math/science geekiness - is the "golden rectangle", a way of illustrating the golden ratio, famous since Ancient Greece for it's beauty, and for how often it shows up in nature. The rectangles can be broken down to infinity, and the inscribed spiral represents patterns seen in things such as a nautilus shell.
But enough history. Read the wiki link in the last paragraph if you want more, I just think it looks great. Thank you Jess!
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
disturbing sight
I was driving to meet some friends from work for drinks tonight, when out of the corner of my eye I saw the poor remains of a small animal. Or so I thought. Morbid curiosity abound in me, after looking for other traffic I took a closer look as I went by. It turned out not to be a small animal, but someone's weave, left knottty and abandoned on the median of a right turn lane, laying there like a hubcap no one cared about going back to pick up. I'm not sure if I'm more disturbed by the fact that people actually wear those things, or that eventually some bird will make the base of it's nest out of the discarded piece laying on the side of the road.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Just an update
Lots of exciting things for me in this post, not so much anything profound though.
Jess and I found an apartment downtown together, and will be moving in at the end of August. Now I just need to pack some things and get rid of some others.
My passport came. HOORAY!!! I was hoping I wouldn't have to be freaking out with the trip to Greece coming up in about 7 weeks. It's here, and I did a little dance to celebrate its arrival.
This weekend might bring about two great parts of summer: small town festivals, and movies. Possible happenings for Friday are going to Riverfest in Watertown to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, which would be quite a bit of fun/nostalgia. Saturday could include going to the drive in theatre in Jefferson to see the double feature of The Simpsons Movie and the new Die Hard flick.
I'll also probably do some packing and disc golfing while I'm at it. In the meantime, I'm just waiting for laundry to get done while watching some baseball.
Jess and I found an apartment downtown together, and will be moving in at the end of August. Now I just need to pack some things and get rid of some others.
My passport came. HOORAY!!! I was hoping I wouldn't have to be freaking out with the trip to Greece coming up in about 7 weeks. It's here, and I did a little dance to celebrate its arrival.
This weekend might bring about two great parts of summer: small town festivals, and movies. Possible happenings for Friday are going to Riverfest in Watertown to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, which would be quite a bit of fun/nostalgia. Saturday could include going to the drive in theatre in Jefferson to see the double feature of The Simpsons Movie and the new Die Hard flick.
I'll also probably do some packing and disc golfing while I'm at it. In the meantime, I'm just waiting for laundry to get done while watching some baseball.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
music music omg music
So I finally remembered to get on to emusic before my month ran out this time.
New music =
camper van beethoven, (self titled)
the twilight singers, "blackberry belle"
radio 4, "gotham!"
my robot friend, "dial 0"
someone still loves you boris yeltzin. "broom"
In addition to that, I got on isohunt and picked up battles "mirrored", and black rebel motorcycle club "baby 81". So I'll be busy listening to new things for a while. And it might take a long while, because I can't stop listening to the Battles album. They're amazing. And I know I picked up this record after it's been out a while, I've just been lazy about grabbing music the last few months.
In other news - seeing as it's been a while since my last pst - jess and I are looking for apartments together. Pretty sure we'll head in the downtown region, but there are a few other possibilities. While I'm slightly irked being as far away from work as we might be, I'd much rather be able to do things downtown without always looking for parking. And I think it'll get me on the bike a lot more. I ride it a fair amount now, but all the trails meet downtown, which is a huge spur to get out and go.
Work has been going well, and soon I'll no longer be the new kid on the block in project management. One of the other guys is moving over to marketing, so we're pulling in someone to replace him, plus another PM position was approved, so there'll be two new people coming in the next month or so. We're also going to be regionalizing. Actual regionalization, unlike the pseudo-regionalization we have right now for some of the PM's who've been there a while. Last I heard I'll probably be one of two in the northeast. things should be more set in stone tomorrow after our meeting.
New music =
camper van beethoven, (self titled)
the twilight singers, "blackberry belle"
radio 4, "gotham!"
my robot friend, "dial 0"
someone still loves you boris yeltzin. "broom"
In addition to that, I got on isohunt and picked up battles "mirrored", and black rebel motorcycle club "baby 81". So I'll be busy listening to new things for a while. And it might take a long while, because I can't stop listening to the Battles album. They're amazing. And I know I picked up this record after it's been out a while, I've just been lazy about grabbing music the last few months.
In other news - seeing as it's been a while since my last pst - jess and I are looking for apartments together. Pretty sure we'll head in the downtown region, but there are a few other possibilities. While I'm slightly irked being as far away from work as we might be, I'd much rather be able to do things downtown without always looking for parking. And I think it'll get me on the bike a lot more. I ride it a fair amount now, but all the trails meet downtown, which is a huge spur to get out and go.
Work has been going well, and soon I'll no longer be the new kid on the block in project management. One of the other guys is moving over to marketing, so we're pulling in someone to replace him, plus another PM position was approved, so there'll be two new people coming in the next month or so. We're also going to be regionalizing. Actual regionalization, unlike the pseudo-regionalization we have right now for some of the PM's who've been there a while. Last I heard I'll probably be one of two in the northeast. things should be more set in stone tomorrow after our meeting.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
wheels and wishes
It's been a bit too long since I threw something up for the masses to read about my life.
Well, I bought a new bike a couple weeks back. Done a few long rides so far, todays was about 13 miles. I'm planning on starting to ride to work at least a few days a week, and I want to start tomorrow, but I think that's going to depend on how bad the weather looks, as there's a possibility of rain. But with gas steadily climbing, and wanting to get into a bit better shape, a 12 mile one way ride to work sound like a pretty good way to do both.
I can't understand why Wii's still can't be kept on the shelves. I've been trying for 6 weeks to try and get one to no avail. Why six months after console release they can't produce them is completely beyond me. I'm glad its popular, but get with it Nintendo.
In much more fun news, Jess and I are going to Greece! After we stock up on some vacation time over the summer we're heading out for 2 weeks of ancient civilization goodness. Anyone with thoughts on where to go visit, I'm all ears.
And this weekend was great. Friday night Jess and I went up to Baraboo to hang out with Val and the long lost and now found Nate Anderson, who had secured a campsite up there for a few days. Had some drinks, played some guitar, sang loudly and somewhat off key, and then played Scattergories before heading home. Saturday morning spent some time at the farmers market downtown, then met up with Chris and Tori to enact an ingenious plan: they bought salsa at the market, we went to Frida's, sat outside (while some very loud mexican musicians played to the outdoor seating) ate the free chips with the great salsa and split a couple pitchers of margaritas. Nothing like being buzzed before noon on a Saturday.
Well, I bought a new bike a couple weeks back. Done a few long rides so far, todays was about 13 miles. I'm planning on starting to ride to work at least a few days a week, and I want to start tomorrow, but I think that's going to depend on how bad the weather looks, as there's a possibility of rain. But with gas steadily climbing, and wanting to get into a bit better shape, a 12 mile one way ride to work sound like a pretty good way to do both.
I can't understand why Wii's still can't be kept on the shelves. I've been trying for 6 weeks to try and get one to no avail. Why six months after console release they can't produce them is completely beyond me. I'm glad its popular, but get with it Nintendo.
In much more fun news, Jess and I are going to Greece! After we stock up on some vacation time over the summer we're heading out for 2 weeks of ancient civilization goodness. Anyone with thoughts on where to go visit, I'm all ears.
And this weekend was great. Friday night Jess and I went up to Baraboo to hang out with Val and the long lost and now found Nate Anderson, who had secured a campsite up there for a few days. Had some drinks, played some guitar, sang loudly and somewhat off key, and then played Scattergories before heading home. Saturday morning spent some time at the farmers market downtown, then met up with Chris and Tori to enact an ingenious plan: they bought salsa at the market, we went to Frida's, sat outside (while some very loud mexican musicians played to the outdoor seating) ate the free chips with the great salsa and split a couple pitchers of margaritas. Nothing like being buzzed before noon on a Saturday.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
golf and pics
The baskets went up at Heistand Park this weekend, and I've been out twice already. I really want to make a point of going out a lot this summer, maybe even get into a league. Also, now that it's warmed up, I thought I'd post a link to those icy pictures of Tenney Park from a couple weeks back. Enjoy.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
searching
I'm aware this may come off badly, but I'm not in the least bit shocked by what happened at Virginia Tech earlier this week. Saddened, yes, but not shocked. I've seen this too many times already to be surprised when it happens.
What I feel is awe, puzzlement, questions. Why does this continue to happen, and in what seems to be an increasing trend? I'm relieved that for once tv/movies/music/video games haven't been the first things out of the collective publics mouth. While some people may base what they do from these pop culture stimuli, if they were the real cause of this kind of violence, would it not happen much more often? Of course, even having something like this happen once it one time too many.
But so I want to know: why? Why would someone have that kind of disregard for the life of another individual? Why do lay their blame on certain groups of people? At Columbine, the shooters cursed the jocks and preps for the miserable high school experience. In this case I saw many times that the wealthy were mentioned in reasons for Cho Seung-Hui's state of distress. Perhaps the package sent to NBC will shed some light on that, but likely not much.
And why never talk to anyone? Did he feel alone? Was it depression? Anxiety? A language barrier? Or was he really just so angry with the world that he couldn't communicate pleasantries? And what was the breaking point? People said in interviews that when they heard the news they immediately had a thought of who it might be. If someone appears this way to people but manages to keep in in check for so long (the suicide counseling occurred in late 2005), what suddenly causes the rampage?
I can't imagine what people at Virginia Tech are going through and feeling right now. I work with someone who has a relative attending VT, and seeing the concern wash over her when the news of the shootings broke was an odd feeling, the concern that is absorbed by people surrounding those dealing with a tragedy. I will probably never meet this other person's relative, but I'm sitting there hoping that they're alright.
But I feel that with the frequency of this kind of violence that rather than looking where to place the blame, we should concentrate more on preventing these tragedies in the future.
What I feel is awe, puzzlement, questions. Why does this continue to happen, and in what seems to be an increasing trend? I'm relieved that for once tv/movies/music/video games haven't been the first things out of the collective publics mouth. While some people may base what they do from these pop culture stimuli, if they were the real cause of this kind of violence, would it not happen much more often? Of course, even having something like this happen once it one time too many.
But so I want to know: why? Why would someone have that kind of disregard for the life of another individual? Why do lay their blame on certain groups of people? At Columbine, the shooters cursed the jocks and preps for the miserable high school experience. In this case I saw many times that the wealthy were mentioned in reasons for Cho Seung-Hui's state of distress. Perhaps the package sent to NBC will shed some light on that, but likely not much.
And why never talk to anyone? Did he feel alone? Was it depression? Anxiety? A language barrier? Or was he really just so angry with the world that he couldn't communicate pleasantries? And what was the breaking point? People said in interviews that when they heard the news they immediately had a thought of who it might be. If someone appears this way to people but manages to keep in in check for so long (the suicide counseling occurred in late 2005), what suddenly causes the rampage?
I can't imagine what people at Virginia Tech are going through and feeling right now. I work with someone who has a relative attending VT, and seeing the concern wash over her when the news of the shootings broke was an odd feeling, the concern that is absorbed by people surrounding those dealing with a tragedy. I will probably never meet this other person's relative, but I'm sitting there hoping that they're alright.
But I feel that with the frequency of this kind of violence that rather than looking where to place the blame, we should concentrate more on preventing these tragedies in the future.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
pictures up soon?
I have to play around with my camera to get some pictures from it onto the computer, but I got some really cool shots of frozen trees on the shore of lake mendota on sunday. I also got a wet foot from slipping off a rock I was standing on and into the lake up to mid-calf. Better than all of me in the lake, but still unpleasant considering it was about 30 degrees outside. Anyway, I'll try to put something up once I get the transfer taken care of.
New job is going well, reaching the end of the major training, and will start picking up my own projects probably by the end of this week. I'm excited and nervous about it, but I'm sure the nervousness will pass pretty quickly once I start doing this stuff everyday.
Now for some food...
New job is going well, reaching the end of the major training, and will start picking up my own projects probably by the end of this week. I'm excited and nervous about it, but I'm sure the nervousness will pass pretty quickly once I start doing this stuff everyday.
Now for some food...
video
While not the actual music video for the song, this sure makes a strong case for itself.
Lateralus video
Lateralus video
Monday, March 12, 2007
A slight delay...
I just realized that I haven't posted to this in a while, and that I had news worth posting a while ago, so I better get to it. To anyone who reads this that I don't regularly talk to, I had applied within ETC for an opening at project manager back in late January. After a few weeks and two interviews, they offered me the position, which I'll begin my training for next Monday. I'm quite happy about it, as what I was doing before wasn't all that mentally stimulating. With the amount of time I had during the automated part of the test sequence, it was easy to find me doing puzzles from the morning paper while still maintaining the same output as if I weren't. So yay for more challenging ventures!
On another note, I've decided my car is committing suicide. With all the things that keep falling apart/breaking, and people trying to hit me on the road, I believe there is a universal calling for my car to come home to pasture. So I'm hoping to have some new wheels by fall, once I get some cash stashed away.
Also, for anyone in the Madison area - or those that would like to come to the madison area - J Davis Trio is playing here Friday night (the 16th of March) at the Union. They're amazing, and I'll be there, which should be the only reasons anyone needs to come out.
On another note, I've decided my car is committing suicide. With all the things that keep falling apart/breaking, and people trying to hit me on the road, I believe there is a universal calling for my car to come home to pasture. So I'm hoping to have some new wheels by fall, once I get some cash stashed away.
Also, for anyone in the Madison area - or those that would like to come to the madison area - J Davis Trio is playing here Friday night (the 16th of March) at the Union. They're amazing, and I'll be there, which should be the only reasons anyone needs to come out.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
as mom would say, "NO"
So if anyone's been listening to the news at all in the last few months, the USA has been requesting that Iran suspend uranium enrichment studies in order to begin talking about their nuclear program, and Iran's request is that the US also put it's nuclear program on hold, to put the discussions on even ground. Why, then, do I feel that this is not the best way to move toward those discussions? Almost looks as if we'r preparing for them not to suspsend their actions.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
ah, winter in the midwest
As the snow melted with temperatures in the mid 40's throughout the week, it was a nice feeling to head to work in the morning with the temperature above zero. And then just like that, we could be getting up to a possible 20 inches or so of snow by the end of the weekend. Driving around Friday night in the weather, I'm thankful I was stuck drving in that horrible blizzard that crippled Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, etc. a couple years back, becuase this is nothing compared to that. And this is the second thundersnow of the season, as I did see lightning and hear thunder behind the snow earlier tonight. I thnk Wisconsin is about to be destroyed. Just ask Lewis Black...
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Saturday, February 17, 2007
damn the sound man!
So I went to see The J Davis Trio down in DeKalb last night, since they're awesome and I love them. Unfortunately, the fates conspired against me. Picked up Tori from the dorms and had Portillo's for dinner - eat your heart out Jake ;) - and hung out with some of the old Upstaging crew, which was all good, but then things took a turn.
We got to The House, and the show started 30 minutes late, which really isn't all that bad. The first band had a good keyboard player, and that's really all I can say there. The second band could at least play their instruments (same keys player in both bands...), but made a travesty of a mix of reggae and rap, the extremely white singer with complete fake carribean accent. All summed up in a pop culture statement, the two opening bands were like Dyson's, they never lost suc(k)tion.
So then JDT has everyting set up at a quarter after midnight, which was good since I was still driving back to Madison once the show was done. Unfortunately, the sound guy took another 35 minutes to set up mic's, putting their start time around 12:50. I only stayed for three songs, since it had been snowing and I didn't know what condition the roads would be in, not to mention it was pretty late with a two hour drive ahead.
So I was pretty pissed that I went down there to only see three songs from the band I wanted to see, but checking the band's website this afternoon found that they're playing here in a month at the Memorial Union, and I'll stay as late as I need to this time.
One more good thing, my Airport Express station showed up today! iTunes playing over the stereo wirelessly. Yes.
We got to The House, and the show started 30 minutes late, which really isn't all that bad. The first band had a good keyboard player, and that's really all I can say there. The second band could at least play their instruments (same keys player in both bands...), but made a travesty of a mix of reggae and rap, the extremely white singer with complete fake carribean accent. All summed up in a pop culture statement, the two opening bands were like Dyson's, they never lost suc(k)tion.
So then JDT has everyting set up at a quarter after midnight, which was good since I was still driving back to Madison once the show was done. Unfortunately, the sound guy took another 35 minutes to set up mic's, putting their start time around 12:50. I only stayed for three songs, since it had been snowing and I didn't know what condition the roads would be in, not to mention it was pretty late with a two hour drive ahead.
So I was pretty pissed that I went down there to only see three songs from the band I wanted to see, but checking the band's website this afternoon found that they're playing here in a month at the Memorial Union, and I'll stay as late as I need to this time.
One more good thing, my Airport Express station showed up today! iTunes playing over the stereo wirelessly. Yes.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Sunday, February 4, 2007
tournaments and taxes
So I'm watching the big game right now, and have to ask a question of the masses: does anyone else think that the ref is getting a little too into the signals for penalties? Maybe he's just excited to be there...
Anyway, on to what I came to post about. Yesterday I headed back down to Illinois to be in closer proximity to Sterling, where I participated in a sport shot bowling tournament with my buddy Matt, who found out about it being in much closer proximity to Sterling than I am. For those who don't really follow, bowling, which would be most anyone reading this, the "sport shot" is a very difficult oil pattern on the lane, which affects how the ball moves for higher averaging bowlers. While the field was small at this tounament - only 17 people total - I did well enough to make the cut to the top 8 after the four qualifying games, and wound up making 3rd place, and along with a couple side contests I'd put in for, made back $16 more than I paid to get in. Had a chance to take 2nd, but just barely missed a couple of spares which put me down a few pins. But I was quite pleased with my level of play, and look forward to finding more tournaments to enter.
I guess after a few years away from competitive bowling, I'm now itching to get back into it, though I do want to work on my game a bit more first.
In other news, I'm not looking forward to doing my taxes this year at all. Six months working two jobs in Illinois, six in Wisconsin, blech. I suppose I might pick up some software to deal with it all soon.
Anyway, on to what I came to post about. Yesterday I headed back down to Illinois to be in closer proximity to Sterling, where I participated in a sport shot bowling tournament with my buddy Matt, who found out about it being in much closer proximity to Sterling than I am. For those who don't really follow, bowling, which would be most anyone reading this, the "sport shot" is a very difficult oil pattern on the lane, which affects how the ball moves for higher averaging bowlers. While the field was small at this tounament - only 17 people total - I did well enough to make the cut to the top 8 after the four qualifying games, and wound up making 3rd place, and along with a couple side contests I'd put in for, made back $16 more than I paid to get in. Had a chance to take 2nd, but just barely missed a couple of spares which put me down a few pins. But I was quite pleased with my level of play, and look forward to finding more tournaments to enter.
I guess after a few years away from competitive bowling, I'm now itching to get back into it, though I do want to work on my game a bit more first.
In other news, I'm not looking forward to doing my taxes this year at all. Six months working two jobs in Illinois, six in Wisconsin, blech. I suppose I might pick up some software to deal with it all soon.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
A documentary to see next winter
If anything could help the push to the public eye and spread the joy of disc golf, it's a documentary. Check out the trailer.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Ineptitude?
Why is it that the majority of people trying to convey a message close to their heart don't have the decency to first run it through a grammar check before plastering it all over the web and through email? And why is it that the messages that get forwarded are the worst ones? Here's an example from a recent email received comparing the lives of President Ford, James Brown, and Saddam Hussein:
"There is only one choice and Gerald Ford's life exemplifies the nobility of choosing to walk in harmony with The Creator through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as his Redeemer.
James Brown choose to walk in the flesh. His life's work glorified the flesh and his death magnified the flesh.
Sadam Hussein choose evil. He was a narcissistic megalomaniac. His life glorified evil and his death was gruesome."
Well, where to start? I think I'll start with the fact that the use of "choosing" in the first example obviously prompted the the incorrect use of "choose" in the next two. Next, I will not be one to disagree that James Brown lived a life of the flesh, but one must also take account of the fact that his break into music came with a gospel group, and gospel music in general being one of the cornerstones of his sound. I think the author is still just mad he played a pastor in The Blues Brothers, and probably hasn't ever shaken their groove thang.
The most glaring thing - to me at least - is that this person is writing about recent events, and CANNOT SPELL SADDAM CORRECTLY. Saddam Hussein has been a household name for the last five years, and well known since the 1980's. If you're going to be brazen enough to spout out your religious beliefs to the general public, please at least be able to correctly identify a name used almost daily in the news, even after his death.
In addition, while their reasoning for Saddam being evil walks the path of his deeds against others, the tone of the the entire email - as I'm sure many can pick up from the short excerpt above - is that people who don't follow the teachings of the Bible are not good people. I respect their right to hold this belief, but I don't feel that it will help our culture further itself toward acceptance of all those that reside within our borders.
Those that wave the flag that America was founded on Christian morals and beliefs must be forgetting the part of the tale where the settlers drove the Native Americans out of their land and further west, eventually designating certain areas where they can live and open casinos. So really America was founded on disrupting an established culture and implementing their own. Sounds like current events to me.
"There is only one choice and Gerald Ford's life exemplifies the nobility of choosing to walk in harmony with The Creator through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as his Redeemer.
James Brown choose to walk in the flesh. His life's work glorified the flesh and his death magnified the flesh.
Sadam Hussein choose evil. He was a narcissistic megalomaniac. His life glorified evil and his death was gruesome."
Well, where to start? I think I'll start with the fact that the use of "choosing" in the first example obviously prompted the the incorrect use of "choose" in the next two. Next, I will not be one to disagree that James Brown lived a life of the flesh, but one must also take account of the fact that his break into music came with a gospel group, and gospel music in general being one of the cornerstones of his sound. I think the author is still just mad he played a pastor in The Blues Brothers, and probably hasn't ever shaken their groove thang.
The most glaring thing - to me at least - is that this person is writing about recent events, and CANNOT SPELL SADDAM CORRECTLY. Saddam Hussein has been a household name for the last five years, and well known since the 1980's. If you're going to be brazen enough to spout out your religious beliefs to the general public, please at least be able to correctly identify a name used almost daily in the news, even after his death.
In addition, while their reasoning for Saddam being evil walks the path of his deeds against others, the tone of the the entire email - as I'm sure many can pick up from the short excerpt above - is that people who don't follow the teachings of the Bible are not good people. I respect their right to hold this belief, but I don't feel that it will help our culture further itself toward acceptance of all those that reside within our borders.
Those that wave the flag that America was founded on Christian morals and beliefs must be forgetting the part of the tale where the settlers drove the Native Americans out of their land and further west, eventually designating certain areas where they can live and open casinos. So really America was founded on disrupting an established culture and implementing their own. Sounds like current events to me.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Music Deals
I stopped at Vinyl Tap this afternoon to check it out. Not disappointed, but not what I though it would be. They seem to deal mostly in 12" singles for DJ's, which makes sense once you go into the sister store across the street (Audio Depot, soon to be closing) which has a lot of DJ quality turn tables, mixers, etc. They also have a few beginner guitars, which is why I stopped in, since anyplace that does anything with guitars will also carry strings, which is what I needed. And then I came upon something that made me very happy. A used Pro Co Rat distortion/overdrive pedal that I got for $65, a steal considering most of the models with the logo of the one I got go for at least 100 on ebay.
So today, I got a great pedal for cheap, met a couple cool people who were working the shops, and Matt came up to visit. Unfortunately my plan to take him downtown was cut down with the snow which melted before the streets were salted, so with the cold it all just turned to ice, which made driving on highly crowned roads incredibly difficult. So rather than continue to where the slant got even worse, I turned home and we hung out, watching football and playing darts.
I'm still pumped about that pedal.
So today, I got a great pedal for cheap, met a couple cool people who were working the shops, and Matt came up to visit. Unfortunately my plan to take him downtown was cut down with the snow which melted before the streets were salted, so with the cold it all just turned to ice, which made driving on highly crowned roads incredibly difficult. So rather than continue to where the slant got even worse, I turned home and we hung out, watching football and playing darts.
I'm still pumped about that pedal.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
A new start
While I know this is somewhat syndicated as well, I feel it's a bit more individualized than the LJ or Myspace blogs. That might be total bullshit, but it's my perspective on the issue. Plus while I'm on the kick of trying out the Google takeover, might as well dabble with this one too.
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