I don't think it's a stretch to say that I've spent a month of my life playing Windows Games (Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, Free Cell, etc.). I've been know to sit down after getting home from work and playing for upwards of six or seven hours, especially if Katie is out of town. It's kind of embarrassing.
I would argue that the five or six people at Microsoft that developed those games are responsible for millions, if not billions, of dollars in lost productivity.
If you have played Minesweeper for any extended period of time, I think you'll appreciate this trailer for an upcoming movie that describes what I see in my mind every time I play:
So I've tried to keep my marathon training on the DL until I get to a point that I have something interesting to share. Well I have finally found something worth sharing:
The most amazing workout mix of all time.
1. "Existentialism On Prom Night" (4:01) by Straylight Run. A great stretch and warm up song. It begins with a simple piano hook and picks up quickly, including a powerful vocal by lead singer John Nolan. Don't make the mistake of buying the whole album, just download this song. And check out the music video: it's not perfectly executed, but the concept is pretty sweet.
2. "Bodysnatchers" (4:02) by Radiohead. By this point I've started to run, and my left foot is getting those same early-jog cramps and I need a pick me up. The song is brash and edgy and just what I need. Radiohead is in my top three favorite bands right now (the others are Muse, who rocked ACL this year; and Sigur Ros). There's been a lot of hype around Radiohead's newest album, In Rainbows, and I think it lives up to the hype.
3. "All I Need" (3:49) by Radiohead. The cramp is gone and the beat on this song is a perfect match to my stride. It's very chill and there's a piano solo with 1 minute to go on the song that makes me lean my head back and really pick up my pace. Another great song from In Rainbows, and if you're feeling especially mellow after the run, I recommend "Videotape" as well.
4. "Showbiz" (5:17) by Muse. I've reached the downhill portion of my jog and the song matches my mood: a dull roar that grows into an adrenalin rush. An earlier song from a fantastic band. I already liked Muse for songs like "Starlight" and "Time is Running Out," but after hearing them at ACL I got a brand new taste for heavy rock. I think it's because they blend the rockin' with a very smart, alternative sound...and now I think I'm a music critic.
6. "The Scientist" (5:11) by Coldplay. I've cleared the hill, crossed the street and am ready to cool down. Coldplay has come out with alotofgreatsongs, but I'd argue that this could be their best.
Katie and I have been really busy the last few months, her with nursing school and me with a new position at work. We couldn't remember the last time we'd gone on a solo date and decided last week that tonight would be the night. We picked Uchi as our restaurant of choice, and I made reservations well in advance to be sure we'd get a table at Austin's highest rated restaurant.
Katie freed up her schedule from a prior commitment so that we could have the evening to ourselves, and I left work early to be sure we wouldn't feel rushed. She looked beautiful, and I prepared as best I could for the "he-must-have-a-lot-of-money" looks I get whenever we go out. On our way out the door we both commented on how much we had been looking forward to the date, and it brought back memories of our first dates over five years ago. As my friends Flight of the Conchords say: "Conditions were perfect." (that video isn't for the faint of heart...or my parents)
I didn't think to worry about the few extra turns it took the car to start, nor the slight lag I felt between me pressing the gas and the engine responding. No, it wasn't until the motor completely gave out .5 miles from the house that I realized that, in all of the anticipation of tonight's events, I had completely forgot to stop and get gas.
Idiot.
Adding insult to injury, the car gave up the ghost on a busy road with a dozen or so commuters passing every minute; several of whom honked to remind me that I had, quiet foolishly, parked my car in the middle of a busy road. Quickly losing my patience with the world, I snapped at Katie to move to the drivers seat and steer while I got out and pushed, and in so doing drove a stake into any hope of a romantic date that the gas-less car didn't kill off already.
I wasn't really dressed for pushing a four-door sedan 200 yards up a slight incline, but I'd be darned if that was going to stop me. Waving to the honking passersby, I placed both hands firmly on the trunk of my car and started to push. I could feel the sweat spreading across my dress shirt, leaving a reminder for laundry day of my big mistake.
I was actually impressed with my progress as the car gained some momentum, but once the road sloped into me a little more, my legs gave out and we were stuck again, still in the middle of the road. As I tried to push once more, I noticed an increasingly bright set of headlights getting closer and closer to my rear. "Good," I thought, "someone to put me out of my misery."
When I realized they were stopped behind me, I turned back to wave them around and to give them the stink-eye for gawking at my sweat-covered dress shirt. The pickup driver stepped out of his cab and asked if we'd like a push. I gratefully accepted the offer and he pushed us up the rest of the hill, onto the next on off-road and away from the honking commuters.
With my sweat covered shirt clinging to every inch of my torso, and Katie holding my hand, I made the .4 mile walk of shame back to the house. She tried her best to comfort me, but I could tell she was really sad about the lost opportunity as well. I almost cried.
We went to a local sandwich place and then on to Super Target to get supplies for Sophia's stay with us this weekend. We probably won't have another free evening like that until after December, and I still feel awful about how it. I guess we'll go to Uchi in January, and by then this will be a funny story.
I was iSerenaded on my flight to Dallas tonight with awful 80's pop music by the iPassenger sitting next to me. Amazingly, this iTard wasn't a hip, retro iTeen, or an iSenior citizen, too deaf to know any better. No, my seat-mate was a middle-aged iBusinessman who is clearly planning on iDeafness.
He must really hate his job, or his family or something, 'cause it was iBlasting way over the drone of the jet.
I've finally found something in all the noise about climate change that finally poses the questions I've been wondering about in this important debate: are humans to blame for climate change? and, can we do anything to stop it? Watch this and tell me what you think in the comments.
*Thanks to Ben for finding this clip
It's comforting to hear an opposing view point on this popular bandwagon issue.
...MicrosoftWord's spelling checker has the correct spelling of "Keanu" if you ever feel the need to write a paper on how much you love one of the most expresionless actors in Hollywood's greatest actors.
Even if his product could revolutionize my life, I don't care what this guy is selling cause he comes off like a total sleezeball. You don't even have to be techno-savvy to feel creeped out by this alleged "system architect."
What was your worse experience with a creepy salesman?
So we're in the middle of our "Fall Giving Campaign," and we have these big posters on every floor just outside the elevators where we can write the different causes we support. Most entries are pretty typical:
But I saw one charity that caught my attention, and promises to become a mainstay of my charitable giving.
Yes, that's right: "Pancakes for the Obese." If there's one thing I'm adamant about, it's making sure that obese individuals have the pancakes they deserve. And I'm not talking flapjacks or johnny cakes, I'm talking the good kind. Maybe with blueberries.
Just read an article from Wired's Epicenter blog that lists Austin as the blogging capital of the US. I'm glad that me and the esposa contribute to Austin's connectedness. In fact, we Austonians are trying to keep on the cutting edge of bloggery, and are throwing around a new name to replace "blog."
Yup, I love my "online journal" or "blournal" as I like to call it (you'll notice I've changed my title to reflect this trendy change).
You know that we're friends if I've shared the recipe for my mother's delicious spaghetti. It's my favorite meal by far, and if you try it, you'll never be able to eat another sauce again. I'm serious, it will set your expectations so high that any other sauce will disappoint.
That being said, I have found one spaghetti recipe that comes close. You can check it out here (trust me, it's worth the visit).
A good friend of mine at work's wife had quintuplets a few months ago, and Katie and I spent a few hours helping to take care of them last week. Now I know what you're thinking: "Todd's looking good in that picture." True? Yes. But seriously folks, let's stick to the important stuff right now!
Actually, what you're probably thinking is, "wow, I think I'd go crazy if I had quintuplets." But you know what? Jayson and Rochelle are doing an fantastic job at giving plenty of attention to their other two kids and taking care of all five newborns at the same time! Rochelle has received the "awesome person" rating from my wife, which means Rochelle is freakin' amazing (I don't think I even get that high a Katie-rating). And I am a huge Jayson fan, especially since he's a multimedia genius and very funny.
They go to my church, and the local congregation has set up a shift schedule where different people are at their house all the time helping out. Their new house is beautiful, with the front dining room and study dedicated to their five new babies and the friends, family and neighbors that help take care of them. You can read all about them in their blogs: wilkinsonquints and Quintuplet Dad.
I have no idea why I'm getting traffic from these diverse places, but I'm going to have to start modifying my content for an international audience! I think my next post will be in England-English! G'day mates!
In case you're not using the Google Reader to follow my blog, you'll notice I changed my layout. What do you think? Better than the black one? Too busy?
Todd you ready to join the fray and enter world of warcraft? We could all go on adventures together.
-JM
Where do I begin?
There are few things more perplexing to me than people's fascination with MMORPG. I'm referring to computer games like World of Warcraft that create virtual worlds where people sit down and pretend to be wizards or trolls or nymphs or whatever for HOURS and HOURS and HOURS at time.
Now don't get me wrong, I love computer games. I've been know to play Call of Duty, Halo, or Command and Conquer for hours at a time. But that's all in the name of family emergency preparedness. I mean, won't Katie be glad that I know how to defend our house against Nazis or aliens when one of those two groups decides to invade suburban Austin?
What bothers me the most about these fantasy games is just that: they're fantasy. I never really got in to the whole magic/fantasy thing as a kid. I never played Zelda on Nintendo, I never watched Dungeons and Dragons cartoons, I never wore a cape around school or pretended I could fly. In fact, I spent most of my time making fun of the kids that did that stuff. Even now I can't stand the Harry Potter craze, and really only got into Lord of the Rings because it's epic and an unparalleled piece of fimmaking.
It also really concerns me that so many people spend so much time in the virtual world, that they're contribution to the real world disappears. I don't mean that in an ethical way, although that's true as well. I'm talking about economics. It's already scary enough that the Information Age relies so heavily on ones and zeros (think about it: YouTube sold for $1.65 Billion dollars. That much money just so we could watch funny video clips). Now you've got millions of people paying monthly subscription fees to effectively live in a world that outputs no goods or services (unless you consider sweatshops and child labor a good thing).
Now, if I were to play World of Warcraft, I'd infiltrate a group of players working together, and just as they finalize their plans to lauch a major mission, I'd pull a Leroy Jenkins (a few colorful words, but trust me, it's worth it):
This clip has been viewed millions of times and has spawned a few hillarious parodies:
I normally would just put this on my Google Readershared feed, but it's so amazing that I need everyone to watch this amazing video.
I found this video on the Best Week Ever blog, where they describe the clip as follows:
...the trumpeteer is a girl named Stacey Hedger, who appears on stage wearing the finest black unitard with silver sparkle-fringed sleeves the 1980’s had to offer. And just when you think you’re about to be blown away by her unbelievable horn skills… she proceeds to pump out the most cacophonous, ear-splitting rendition of the Star Wars theme imaginable. Thankfully, this doesn’t stop her from using her trumpet as a deadly blaster!
This is why I love the Internets:
The key takeaways from this video:
1. Never let any embarrassing videos leave your immediate possession, 'cause they are going to wind up on YouTube.
2. This girl obviously didn't have any friends, because no friend would have let her do that, even in the '80s.
3. If you set up your Google Reader account, you'll be able to catch sweet 'Net gems like this all the time. Shoot me an email or give me a call and I'll help you set it up.
Sunday was Katie's bday. And by "bday," I am not trying to abbreviate the name for the French undercarriage cleaner (perverts), I am referring to the fact that she celebrated the completion of 25 years of life.
While me sleeping most of Sunday afternoon cut into the weekend's festive mood, we were able to plant the herb garden (I refuse to leave the 'h' silent and hope you'll respect my pronunciation while on this blog) that Katie has wanted for a long time. You can read Katie's description of the event here, as well as see some pictures.
I do feel somewhat guilty for taking a jab at Katie by calling her "old," but it's only fair, since every time we talk about my age (27, thank you very much) she starts into the "wow-you're-almost-thirty" routine.
So what if I find more and more gray hairlings (they're small) every day? So what if I complain about being stiff the morning following a jog? So what if my lack of a daily abdominal workout is finally resulting in the gradual increase of my belly? I'm a man! (Great video link, it's worth the 30 seconds)
Sorry for not posting the last few days, I'm having the worst allergy attack I've had in 10 years. I'm told that Austin is one of the most allergy ridden cities in the country, and that after a few years you start to develop really bad allergies no matter what. That really sucks, and I thought I'd be lucky since I went through YEARS of allergyshots as a kid.
The only "fun" part about these allergies is that I took two Benadryl on Sunday afternoon and subsequently slept for 17 hours; 13 of which were consecutive. I haven't done that since college, and despite missing work on Monday and getting nothing done around the house, I was pretty proud of myself for sleeping that long.
At this point, I think the only way I'm going to make it through tonight is by shoving wads of toilet paper in my nose, which guarantees that I'll snore, which guarantees that Katie is not going to sleep, which guarantees that neither of us is going to happy tomorrow.
Reggie, the guy who's taking my job now that I'm moving to LabVIEW Marketing, got so sick of me sniffling and sneezing all day that he threatened to drill a hole in my face to facilitate the drainage. Needless to say I'm calling in sick any time he and I are on the same Habitat for Humanity volunteer team.
As I described in an earlier post, another Todd tends to exist right around the time my alarm goes off each morning. I prefer the Todd that exists when I'm going to bed, the Todd that tries to set unique, staggered alarm patterns to try to wake up the lazy Todd the following morning.
That Todd recognizes all the work that needs to be done the following day and sets goals on how to get it all done. Unfortunately, it takes a few hours for that one to emerge the following day.
I think the secret in life is switching the two Todds. That way the morning Todd sets goals and gets things done, and the evening Todd goofs off and has fun.
This weekend marked the end of my whirlwind college recruiting tour that took three weeks of my life and left me with a few more frequent flyer miles and a couple of extra pounds from all the restaurant food. I can't tell you how good it feels to sleep in my bed with my wife and my teacup chihuahua by my side.
That's right, this is our Chihuahua, Bella. Think of me what you will, but I love this little dog. She doesn't bark, she sleeps most of the time and all she wants to do is be near you. I hope my kids are this easy...
