I'll explain it when you are older.

Repeating

2008-03-27T00:27:00.002-05:00

A few things have happened recently that have modestly increased my faith in humanity and general goodness.

Completely unrelated, anyone who likes good hip-hop should watch this video. I hope they do a full album. Note the video (as far as I can tell) is fan made, but I'd say almost well done enough to be the real thing.

I like this one too. It's just plain good and sexy. It's the kind of song I wish they'd play at bars and clubs instead of that silly song about the Apple Bottom jeans and boots with the fur.

Euthanasia

2008-03-19T00:06:00.001-05:00

Please someone, find evidence this is a joke.

Reasons

2008-02-14T19:25:00.003-06:00

As you may have noticed, I'm not posting much at all these days. There are two reasons for this.

First, most of my life revolves around my job. My job is extremely interesting and every day brings stuff to write about, however I can't write about any of it.

A frequent questions is, "why can't you write about it but leave out details that might identify a client?" I have two answers to that. The first is it's simply not worth the risk. The second is the site I supervise in the only one like it in the nation and therefore would lead into privacy issues should anyone become so interested in a story I told.

The second reason why I have not been blogging is that I am rarely inspired by anything outside of work. Also, many days I simply do not feel like typing outside of the office. I am behind a few posts over at GWAAA! also.

Speaking of food, I think Thom Pham might be getting a little desperate. I'm sure other people are thinking the same thing, to my knowledge I'm the first to put it out there. Thom Pham's response probably is that this experience promotes "the lifestyle" and offers a uniquely sensual experience that he feels should be available in Minneapolis and that he has always tried to promote. I would respond to that by saying naked sushi is to a sensual dining experience what burlesque is to ballet.

Temple took over the space of what used to be one of my favorite restaurants (Tiburon) so I am a bit bitter about this place anyhow. Temple has not been doing so well due to reportedly mixed reviews and high pricing. I have mixed feelings about this because I do not wish to see another Minnesota restauranteur go the way of David Fhima, but bad business is bad business.

All of that said, I have never been there before and after this move probably won't ever go there. I appreciate a restaurant with a nice atmosphere, but I have always felt that atmosphere should be a perk after food and service. If a restaurant has good food and good service, it is going to fee like a nice atmosphere. If a restaurant is clearly more about the space than the food or the service it is just going to feel snotty and overreaching.

More updates coming over at GWAAA!

Pictures

2007-12-05T00:22:00.001-06:00

It took me quite a long time to find a new facebook profile photo. Much of the reason for this is because I don't own a camera. Add that to the fact that I am not terribly excited to be photographed, and not many pictures of me exist.

The photos that do exist are often not so flattering and/or have other people in them. I am not one to have a profile picture with other people in them (for the most part).

Therefore, finding a profile picture is a somewhat difficult task.

There are many types of profile pictures on facebook, here are a few:

1. Halloween

This category is seasonal, but can still be found on many profiles. From my observations, the majority of the the participants in this category are female. Many of them are under-clothed females, given the trend in Halloween attire among young females.

2. Party/Bar

This is a very broad category with many sub-categories:

2.a. I'm holding a drink(s)!

'nuff said

2.b. We're buddies!

This one being of course a group photo taken at a party or bar

2.c. I/we are bi-curious!

Those who choose this option are largely female. This may involve two or more females kissing, touching/dancing with each other suggestively, removing or implying removing each other's clothing, etc.

2.d. I/we are doing something stupid!

'nuff said

2.e. We look good!

The picture taken before a night on the town.

3. Significant others

This category has two sub-categories:

3.a. We're pretty!

This of course being the wonderfully cute photos that people take with their significant other.

3.b. We're married!

This of course being the wonderfully cute photos that people take with their spouses.

4. Solo Pictures

4.a.i. This is me, taking a picture of myself!

This one typically involves a person with their arm outstretched because they are turning a camera towards themselves and taking a picture.

4.a.ii. This is me, taking a picture of myself using the camera on my computer!

This one is usually a bust or head shot. Mac users will also sometimes have the picture touched a bit using their wonderful idiot-proof photo editing software.

4.b. This is me, a picture that someone else took that happened to turn out well!

A rare breed indeed, the one that I typically rely on.

Exits

2007-11-15T14:39:00.000-06:00

By now, most of you know I'm not good at small talk. I have never been much for the cocktail party type situations, but I am improving. Some things can really not be improved upon though.

Seeing old friends is a wonderful thing, assuming that the people were actually friends. Last night I was able to catch up with two friends, one who I had not had any contact with in years (A), and the other for a few months (B). We enjoyed light fare and good conversation. We happened to be in our old area and ran into a few people from our high school.

The first one was a nice guy who I had not really had a ton of contact with in high school. "A" was able to converse with him quite freely since they shared common pursuits and had regular, if infrequent contact. This was just fine, it didn't feel awkward for "B" or I at all.

The second time was two women. One of them I simply knew by name, had not spoken to at all in high school (before you roll your eyes, there were nearly 800 students in the WBLAHS 2003 graduating class). The other I had a few courses with and always seemed pleasant.

The conversation was painful, the typical "so what have you been up to? Oh, that's interesting, I'm doing this, it's ok. I'm living _____, it's ok. My life is pretty boring I guess. (insert slight giggling/chuckling and forced jokes here)".

Fact is, my life is pretty interesting, I have a great job that I love and manage to mix in some fun here and there. The problem is I can't go into details about what I do. The other fact is I rarely find what other people are doing interesting unless I am interested in the person and/or what they do is making a unique contribution to society.

Luckily "B" facilitated a quick, if not abrupt exit.

This is probably just me. I am rather bad at these sort of conversations, mainly because I hate them. Some of my other friends ran into these ladies some nights ago and apparently had a lovely time, although they may have been in an altered state of mind for whatever reason.

Planning

2007-11-05T21:22:00.000-06:00

Observe enough cars, and one will see people driving Jettas around rather quickly. I blame this on The Fast and The Furious. Then, I resent that movie and everything it did to the automobile industry. Moving on, the Jetta is one of the easiest cars to do an inexpensive, real performance tune on due to the simplicity of simply swapping out a chip and getting a bump in horsepower and (more importantly) torque.

Alfa Romeo will be coming back to the US soon. Car and Driver has a first look at their gorgeous 2009 model.

Appearance

2007-10-26T04:36:00.000-05:00

I've restored some of the sidebar links. If you weren't added and wish to be, just add a comment or contact me some other way. I don't really read that many blogs any more, that dropped off when my own blogging slowed down. Also, it seems as though many of my friends' blogging slowed down as well. I've also decided not to add the old list of sites on the sidebar.

Commons

2007-10-26T04:22:00.000-05:00

I sit here at my desk early in the morning, reflecting on how it is I came to be here. Tempering the notion of human free will with a belief in Providence is something that better man than I have struggled with through history. My solution to the argument has been to simply stop caring.

That is, I will not concern myself with whether my decisions are being made due to free will or Providence, I will simply make them in my Utilitarian fashion. This will serve me for a while, and then I'll start thinking about this again. I think Voltaire would approve of my current notion.

Orbit

2007-10-15T00:12:00.000-05:00

Today was a fantastic example of what my life has become. I started the day by going to work. This was a lovely time. After that I spent time with one of my best friends. Next I went home and spent some time with my housemates. We made plans and almost executed them (were about to pull onto the street the restaurant was on) when I was called by my staff to come back to work. I went back, handled what I could, and then my housemates and a good friend executed alternate plans. This was followed by some Mario Kart, and now me wasting time on the internet until I become tired enough to sleep.

In short, it was a lovely birthday.

Streamlining

2007-10-14T03:21:00.000-05:00

Blogger ate everything. When I get the urge, I'll try and restore stuff. Sancho and Rah Digga may very well be gone forever. It was time for them to move on anyways.

Interest

2007-10-08T12:05:00.000-05:00

As you have likely noticed, I haven't been posting much lately. Much of the reason for that is because my life is focused around my job, which I can't realy talk about.

Gunslinger has put together a food blog on which we will be doing reviews of foods, wines and liqours from the perspectives of members of The Shelter. I think this will be nice for those of you who live in the area since most of our reviews will have to do with local offerings. Also, our reviews will be based on our budgets, which is more realistic than what many of the local major publications write on.

In short, I will be blogging more actively, just over here.

Compromise

2007-07-11T18:11:00.000-05:00

YAY!

Market

2007-06-28T11:38:00.000-05:00

This is worth getting excited about. Finally an entry level BMW that will be worthy of the badge.

The iPhone details have made the phone become slightly more desirable, but still not worth the hype, price, or a second thought.

Maybe I'll start blogging more regularly again.

Formatting

2007-05-29T00:12:00.001-05:00

Let me know if anything shows up funny when you view this blog or any posts. I use Firefox 1.xx. I know in IE 6.xx the sidebar sometimes ends up on the bottom. This is a known issue and pretty much your fault for using IE 6.xx.

Anything else, let me know and I will reply with either a thank you or a "known issue" and some dry insult. Be sure to note which browser you use.

Doubt and Peace

2007-05-28T02:35:00.000-05:00

Your results:
You are Iron Man
Inventor. Businessman. Genius.

Iron Man

70%
Spider-Man

65%
The Flash

60%
Catwoman

60%
Green Lantern

60%
Hulk

60%
Batman

55%
Wonder Woman

50%
Supergirl

50%
Superman

50%
Robin

32%

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

Your results:
You are The Joker

The Clown Prince of Crime. You are a brilliant mastermind but are criminally insane. You love to joke around while accomplishing the task at hand.

The Joker

79%
Dr. Doom

77%
Lex Luthor

74%
Apocalypse

72%
Kingpin

69%
Magneto

67%
Juggernaut

67%
Green Goblin

63%
Mr. Freeze

62%
Catwoman

61%
Riddler

59%
Mystique

59%
Venom

57%
Poison Ivy

56%
Dark Phoenix

50%
Two-Face

47%

Click here to take the "Which Super Villain are you?" quiz...

Information

2007-05-16T22:20:00.000-05:00

In case you didn't know, I have been and am increasingly frustrated with Governor Pawlenty.

Also, I have no faith in democracy.

Transitions

2007-05-12T22:33:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the class of 2007, Morris specifically.

What took you so long?

Addendum and Part D

2007-05-11T23:36:00.000-05:00

From early this morning:

(Chemical and accessory sales)

Customer: You are one smooth talker you, I spent way more than I planned on. Now I won't be able to afford my medications.

Dust and Chemicals

2007-05-08T22:55:00.000-05:00

Today marked the beginning of summer for me. That is, today was the first day on my other job that I do during the summer. Yep, I said other job. Those of us that work for non-profits sometimes have to moonlight. No, we are not forced to, it just makes having expensive habits easier.

For those of you who do not know, my other job is for The Scotts Company. This will be my fourth year with them. The work is nice, doesn't require a tremendous amount of thinking, and provides good exercise. I go around do different Home Depots and make sure our stuff is well-stocked and looks pretty, sell to customers, and share a bit of product knowledge with employees.

Here are some highlights from the first night:

Customer: I'd like the lazy man's way to kill dandelions and crabgrass.

JMJanssen: Well, here's the best I can do for you. It's a pull and spray mechanism, meaning you pull this plunger and the trigger shoots a stream that is the equivalent of 25 regular trigger pulls.

C: You don't have anything I can just attach to a hose and spray my whole yard with?

J: Not currently in that particular chemical combination, besides, the weather is nice, and you'll find that the pull and spray mechanism is quite good.

C: Are you saying I'm fat?

C's Wife: Oh please say yes, maybe he'll listen to you if you tell him he is.

J: Sir, all I'm saying is that you'll find the mechanism isn't that bad and exercise is good.

C: I'm getting this, but I hate all of you skinny little punks.

Then there's the Home Depot employees:

J: I forgot how dusty this place is.

HD Employee: Yep and you're tossing chemicals around, you're probably going to die soon.

J: I dunno man, you work with heavy equipment, and you're here a whole lot more than I am.

HDE: I built up a tolerance to this stuff a long time ago (spins lift truck around, stirring up dust, stops spinning and inhales deeply)

Futility and Strawberries

2007-05-02T21:19:00.000-05:00

Summer seems to finally be here in Minnesota. It took long enough. That really is one of the reasons I don't like spring. That is, it brings false hope. In the fall, if it gets cold and then a warm day pops in there, one is pleasantly surprised. Spring on the other hand gives warm days and then just upsets us when it gets cold or dumps more snow.

I'm dreading the upcoming elections. Truly, I am. Just watch some American Idol and tell me that doesn't make you at least begin to entertain thoughts of an oligarchy.

Moving on, this blog post brought to my attention by PineRoot brings up a few things. First, people need to become more aware of general mental health issues and the processes involved in therapy. Second, people seem more interested in picking up enough from the news to make offhand comments rather than truly educating themselves on a subject. Third, I'd just like to highlight a poorly written blog article.

We're going to be systematic and pick this article apart piece by piece. Statements made are assuming gun rights as dictated by current legislation. You can watch the original 60 Minutes piece here.

There was a story on 60 Minutes last night that talked about how many states in the union do not let the FBI or any other government agency know about someone’s health history even if they can be dangerous to themselves or society. The story talked about how easy it is for someone who has mental health issues to buy a gun, as in the case at Virginia Tech.

Well, I hate to burst any bubbles, but if a person wants to get their hands on a gun badly enough, they're going to do it. That said, no, we need not make it easier for dangerous people to acquire guns. However, if you're going to complain about something, complain about gun control in general, not just for people with mental health issues.

Further, the statement should be more specific to people with severe mental health issues who should not be allowed to buy a gun according to current legislation. That is, people who have been involuntarily committed and/or people who, due to mental illness have their firearm rights have been taken away by a court. Those are very specific parameters. Also, that wasn't all the 60 Minutes piece talked about, but we'll get more into that later.

The biggest issue was that if government agencies were allowed access to these people’s files that it would break patient client privilege and would make it more difficult for those people to blend in with society. Now, I am one that has sympathy for those who are, but these people should not be allowed to do certain things that those of us who are not handicapped can do. Namely, purchase a fire arm.

Huh. Well, Steve Kroft also talked about the lack of funding available to states for maintaining a database, and the loose language that the bill uses. Anyways, this blogger now appears to be simply writing off a very important part of a therapeutic relationship. "I am one that has sympathy for those who are..."? Please. This is a weak and poorly executed attempt at appealing to the opposition to increase persuasiveness. Cute, but ineffective.

This person clearly doesn't understand the repercussions of legally sanctioning a break in provider-client privacy. I'm not going to bother touching on that, people should just know better.

We saw what happened at Virginia Tech when someone who was mentally sick got a hold of firearms and he killed over 30 innocent people. But one of the worse things to hear about this was that Cho bought all of these guns and ammo legally. He was not on any list that said he could not buy a gun even though he was forced into a mental hospital.

We're not here for an English lesson. Just chuckle at the blogger silently and move on.

Sorry lindatooth79, the worst thing to hear was that people had lost their lives. He wasn't on any list due to ineffective, poorly written legislation.

People that have been forced into a mental institution should be on some kind of government list that says they cannot purchase firearms. I understand that it is a sensitive subject for those who want to make sure these people are not judged for something they cannot control, but for the safety of others, they cannot buy guns.

Hmmm....... we already established that there should be a list, and it should be specific to those people who have court-orders as stated above. At least the the blogger is finally being more specific in the requirements for this list. This feigned understanding still isn't working.

There is a sensitive way of doing this, you do not have to tell the government agency their personal health history, just tell them that because of their state of mind, they should not be allowed to buy firearms. There does not need to be any more information than that.

Ah, now this shows a glimmer of hope for our blogger. They are complaining and offering a solution! The bad news is they are complaining about the wrong thing and offering a bad solution for a problem that doesn't exist. We should be looking at ways to fund and enforce legislation such as the McCarthy Bill mentioned in the 60 Minutes piece.

Let's for a moment say that the issue really was with the provider-client privilege. In that case, the person's name would be on the list and there would be a court reference next to the person's name to justify it being there. That's what would happen.

This brings us back to the problem with the media and how the public receives it. lindatooth79 was probably watching 60 Minutes while cleaning up after dinner, or maybe playing Scrabble with a friend. Either way, they probably weren't paying close attention. They probably didn't bother trying to further educate themselves on the subject either.

There's also the problem with the piece itself. It used a few case studies to try and make a generalized argument for keeping guns from people who have been involuntarily admitted or court-ordered as defective. It appeared to be a thinly veiled argument for profiling. I propose this: keep the guns out of the hands of people who have been definitively shown to be a danger to themselves and/or others. If they happen to have a severe mental illness, so be it.

Living

2007-04-25T16:44:00.000-05:00

On the sidebar you'll notice a "badge". This badge is from sixdegrees.org, a charity networking site started by Kevin Bacon. I'm not sure how it works, but I do know if you click that button to donate NER, Inc. gets money. Also, if you want to put the badge on your site there's a link for that also.

Grass and Bewilderment

2007-04-24T21:09:00.000-05:00

I drove down to Nebraska this past weekend. The drive really wasn't that bad, and it was lovely to see my girlfriend. Driving by one's self gives one time to reflect on things. Gunslinger once said that he was "very pleased that car companies are going away from the "shoe shaped" cars that dominated the nineties."

I think GS spoke too soon. A Chrysler Pacifica looks an awful lot like a Sperry Boat Shoe. A Nissan Murano bears an uncanny resemblance to a Nike Air Jordan. The bad news is that crossover vehicle sales have been increasing. The good news is that overall light truck sales are down. I am so tired of seeing people in vehicles they don't need.

Cell phone use in vehicles puzzles me also. With Bluetooth headsets available for as little as US 9, why would anyone use a handset when in a vehicle? Further, why would anyone use a handset and then drive 5 mph below the speed limit in the left lane?

Of course I know why stupid people do stupid things. One of my talents is being able to think like other people. I was talking with my mentor today, trying to explain to her why someone would vandalize something just for the sake of vandalizing it. She couldn't understand it. I told her it was probably a good thing she couldn't understand that mindset.

The trick is being able to think like other people but not acting like them.

Persistence

2007-04-17T21:41:00.000-05:00

Verizon delivered the third Motorola Q I have owned since last June. The first one shut down randomly. The last one was working fine for a long time, then in the last few weeks it started resetting itself anytime I used the data connection.

I'm feeling good about this third one. It's shiny. The keys feel much crisper, they give nice feedback. Also, it has not reset itself or shut down yet.

Why, you ask, do I continue with this phone? First, Verizon Wireless is the most economical choice for me as a service provider. Most of my family and my girlfriend and many of my friends use Verizon, so the free in-network calling works out nicely. Sticking with Verizon narrows down my choices straight off.

Second, I like that it runs Windows Mobile, which in my opinion is the best current mobile OS given the open platform and ease of use as compared to RIM OS or Symbian.

Finally, it is small and pretty. The smallest and prettiest smartphone Verizon currently offers.

So, yes, it is buggy, but sometimes things are just that way. I think I may just be running into some bad chance here. Also, Verizon has been replacing these devices for free.

Acreage

2007-04-15T14:24:00.000-05:00

Behold, The Tiger Woods Dubai. Also known as the best golf course you will never ever have access to. Unless you happen to be the owner of one of the 20 palaces, 75 mansions, or 190 20k-30k square foot luxury villas.

There is a hotel, maybe if you save enough money you might be able to spend a night there.

Business

2007-04-11T21:02:00.000-05:00

It's snowin' in the Twin Cities metro right now. The pavement is warm enough where it's not accumulating on the roads, so it's kinda pretty looking except it being April, so I'm just confused and angry that I can't golf after work.

Anyways, I had never even heard of Don Imus until this week. Can't get away from him now. One wonders, is he the kind of person that enjoys any kind of attention or will be genuinely hurt by the negative press he is getting. He's come out as one of those "good 'ol boys" types, just an offhand comment. Problem is, as he knows offhand comments are dangerous when one is nationally broadcast. Really, Gunslinger and PineRoot say far more terrible things on an hourly basis, but they don't have nationally broadcast shows.

It's about impulse control. It's his show, and his sidekick escalated the conversation. One must not be upstaged by their sidekick. Had he been upstaged by his sidekick, his sidekick might have been awarded with his own, competing show. I have a hard time getting really upset with a member of the old guard making a stupid racist comment. I get more upset with the media outlets granting airtime and the public that provides a reason to give them a show.

He should still be fired.