I very rarely, if ever, claim the role of victim. I'm sure I have at some prior point, but I don't recall. Today's different, though. Gina went out to do some errands, and came back a few minutes later reporting that her car was broken into the night before. Her Sirius stereo, cds, etc, were missing.
My first question was "broke in, or opened the door?". The answer was "opened the door". For years, I've been saying that was going to happen, and its unfortunate that it finally did. Then I checked my car, and my GPS was missing. Apparently I too failed to lock my doors. Or, they forced it open, though I see no signs of that. For me, it was a fluke, unless I'm more careless than I realize. My intent is to always lock the car doors, and I usually do so several times as I walk away from it.
So, my TomTom 910 is gone along with some of my negligible CDs.
I sent the HOA an email to let them know that I'm disheartedned that this is the kind of community we live in. He responded that a lot of people were hit last night, and he too is disheartened.
People are disgraceful. Now I want to leave the state, though you can't run from the depravity.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Patriots 2008: Good job, but just a hair short
Oh well. The patriots are out despite an 11-5 record. What's one to do? Who do I root for now?
I've put some thought into the "who to root for" thing, and have come up with a plan. At the top of the list are THE GIANTS and THE COLTS. Should they both go to the superbowl, then the patriots loss will be overpowered by the manning bowl: perhaps the most legendary game ever. So, Go Colts, Go Giants.
But, if either blow it, then I'll change temporary loyalties to Miami. I really have no interest in Miami even though I live in West Palm Beach. I'll only root for them by geographical default.
Other than that, I have no preference.
Matt Cassell probably won't be around for the patriots next year, so lets hope Brady is fully recovered and ready to win.
I've put some thought into the "who to root for" thing, and have come up with a plan. At the top of the list are THE GIANTS and THE COLTS. Should they both go to the superbowl, then the patriots loss will be overpowered by the manning bowl: perhaps the most legendary game ever. So, Go Colts, Go Giants.
But, if either blow it, then I'll change temporary loyalties to Miami. I really have no interest in Miami even though I live in West Palm Beach. I'll only root for them by geographical default.
Other than that, I have no preference.
Matt Cassell probably won't be around for the patriots next year, so lets hope Brady is fully recovered and ready to win.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Annapolis - Super Cringe
I recently read that Tyrese Gibson was joining the cast of Fast and Furious (the fourth movie of the series). Having a few minutes to spare, I jumped on to IMDB and did some browsing. Primarily, I was curious if Lucas Black (from part 3) would make an appearance. Then I noticed that the director is the same for parts 3 and 4. Interesting. So I clicked the link. (Before I go off, let me answer the mental question you probably didn't ask: Lucas Black is not in F&F4)
It turns out that Justin Lin directed Annapolis. As soon as I saw that, my complete spontaneous reflect reaction was to groan and cringe. I'm not being theatrical. I really felt as if I was punched in the stomach, a very common reaction to all things related to annapolis.
Annapolis is a massive achievement in crappy movie making. There are a lot of bad movies out there. Take, for example, The Guardian; its arguably in the same family of movies, and its pretty bad, but I don't cringe when I hear its name. Annapolis makes me ill. What's the difference?
The difference is that Annapolis is offensively bad. It has the "have the guy hit on the girl, then find out that the girl is the teacher" gag. God. If I didn't have so much respect for my own personal property, a brick definitely would've gone through the tv. Thankfully, we didn't watch it at a friend's house.
Tyrese Gibson was about 28 years old at the time of the movie, yet he plays a seasoned war vet. Certainly you can have plenty of experience by 28 years, but not as much as he attempted to portray. You can't act like you have 30 years of experience when you've only been in the service for a maximum of 10 years.
Then there's Jordana Brewster... Always a pleasure. I most recently enjoyed her work on "Chuck". But, the same thing here. She was 26 years old with the same type of role as Tyrese.
Its bad, bad, bad. Its not the negligible bad. Its the kind of bad that demands that you stand up and inform everyone else that its bad. Its bad cliche after bad cliche. There's so much to hate that I can't even remember; I've mentally blocked most of it.
While I'm exicited to see Fast and Furious, I'm now less excited. Damn the day that I decided to poke around on Imdb. Damn the day. I can't think of any other movie that induces bile and anger as this one does; and I've seen a lot of bad movies. Movies shouldn't make you angry, and most don't... but there's just something about this thing that really pushes my buttons.
I quite enjoyed F&F3, so hopefully he approaches F&F4 more like 3 than annapolis. As-is, I'm going to have a hard time justifying a viewing of another film by this so-called "director".
Original non-review: DvdFriend non-Review of Annapolis
It turns out that Justin Lin directed Annapolis. As soon as I saw that, my complete spontaneous reflect reaction was to groan and cringe. I'm not being theatrical. I really felt as if I was punched in the stomach, a very common reaction to all things related to annapolis.
Annapolis is a massive achievement in crappy movie making. There are a lot of bad movies out there. Take, for example, The Guardian; its arguably in the same family of movies, and its pretty bad, but I don't cringe when I hear its name. Annapolis makes me ill. What's the difference?
The difference is that Annapolis is offensively bad. It has the "have the guy hit on the girl, then find out that the girl is the teacher" gag. God. If I didn't have so much respect for my own personal property, a brick definitely would've gone through the tv. Thankfully, we didn't watch it at a friend's house.
Tyrese Gibson was about 28 years old at the time of the movie, yet he plays a seasoned war vet. Certainly you can have plenty of experience by 28 years, but not as much as he attempted to portray. You can't act like you have 30 years of experience when you've only been in the service for a maximum of 10 years.
Then there's Jordana Brewster... Always a pleasure. I most recently enjoyed her work on "Chuck". But, the same thing here. She was 26 years old with the same type of role as Tyrese.
Its bad, bad, bad. Its not the negligible bad. Its the kind of bad that demands that you stand up and inform everyone else that its bad. Its bad cliche after bad cliche. There's so much to hate that I can't even remember; I've mentally blocked most of it.
While I'm exicited to see Fast and Furious, I'm now less excited. Damn the day that I decided to poke around on Imdb. Damn the day. I can't think of any other movie that induces bile and anger as this one does; and I've seen a lot of bad movies. Movies shouldn't make you angry, and most don't... but there's just something about this thing that really pushes my buttons.
I quite enjoyed F&F3, so hopefully he approaches F&F4 more like 3 than annapolis. As-is, I'm going to have a hard time justifying a viewing of another film by this so-called "director".
Original non-review: DvdFriend non-Review of Annapolis
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
John McCain, Closing Thoughts
McCain's concession speech was excellent. He seemed really sincere, and I choose to believe that he was sincere and not just a good actor. I have nothing but respect for that guy. I have always said that if a republican is to win, I'm glad its John McCain. Its just that when you elect John McCain, you're electing the entire party and all of the baggage that comes with it. Clearly, we don't need any of that baggage.
My only real objection to McCain's policies was his desire for offshore drilling. That's not solving the problem, that's just delaying the solution. We need to stop using oil. Creating another source of it doesn't push us towards reducing our dependence on it. If there was any chance of me voting for him to begin with, I don't know if that was big enough to dissuade me. Fortunately, I don't have to figure it out.
Obama's speech was historical, as is the entire event. I'm so happy that I got out and voted, and that my county (and ultimately the state) voted blue. In elections past, I wasn't very interested. This time is different though, and it feels good to be part of the process. At least in the heat of this moment, I intend to take a more active interest in certain things. I don't know if this motivation will last more than a few hours, but we'll see.
Let the change begin.
My only real objection to McCain's policies was his desire for offshore drilling. That's not solving the problem, that's just delaying the solution. We need to stop using oil. Creating another source of it doesn't push us towards reducing our dependence on it. If there was any chance of me voting for him to begin with, I don't know if that was big enough to dissuade me. Fortunately, I don't have to figure it out.
Obama's speech was historical, as is the entire event. I'm so happy that I got out and voted, and that my county (and ultimately the state) voted blue. In elections past, I wasn't very interested. This time is different though, and it feels good to be part of the process. At least in the heat of this moment, I intend to take a more active interest in certain things. I don't know if this motivation will last more than a few hours, but we'll see.
Let the change begin.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Election Good News and Bad News
CNN projects that Obama will be president, so people apparently have voted against ending the world. That's good news. Exciting stuff.
Unfortunately, I am embarassed to be a resident of the state of Florida where, as of this writing, 62% of the people have voted to ban gay marriage. Its ridiculous and, as I already said, embarassing.
Unfortunately, I am embarassed to be a resident of the state of Florida where, as of this writing, 62% of the people have voted to ban gay marriage. Its ridiculous and, as I already said, embarassing.
Just voted... woo hoo!
We left the house a few minutes after 3pm. We got to the polls, voted, and got home by 3:50. Excellent!
The ballot could've been more clear:
Do you want the world to end?
YES - REP
NO - DEM
Let the CNN coverage begin!
The ballot could've been more clear:
Do you want the world to end?
YES - REP
NO - DEM
Let the CNN coverage begin!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
To Music: "Let's go to outback tonight...
...and physically threaten Jay, but end up just humiliating your self and your family, get verbally slapped repeatedly, then leave the restaraunt with your tail between your legs... at the outback tonight!"
I'm not sure if the Outback theme music is perfectly suited for my new lyrics, but that's the best I can do. The song is sung, of course, from the perspective of the older fat gentleman at table 17.
So here's the story. I'm sure I will embellish some stuff for entertaining affect, but I won't at all embellish the core of the story. An embellishment has already occurred, actually. You see, I don't know that he was sitting at table 17. I don't know what table number it was, so I just made one up. That in no way compromises the integrity of the story, though, for he was sitting at a table and "Table 17" sounds better than "Some table".
The following is a true story.
Gina and I were at the Outback. Our conversation alternated between Jack, work, and maybe some other occasional foolishness. We just sat there, minding our own business. And, when I say "minding our own business", I don't mean it the sarcastic way in which I say one thing but imply something else altogether. We were, actually, sitting there minding our own business. Then this big (as in fat) older dude (60?) comes walking up to the table out of nowhere. I was a little puzzled about that... I didn't even see him walk over, I just saw him arrive. Did I know him? Did he think us to be a swell couple and wanted to buy our dinner? I really had no idea. I said "Hello", or "How are you", or something to that affect. He then started with "You've been sitting there staring at me, and I want to know why." Gina thought he was kidding, but I knew otherwise. He was facing me, not her, and I could see he was pissed about something.
"I wasn't staring." I responded, quite surprised.
He repeated himself, more or less, so I repeated myself more or less. I was perfectly reasonable to that point, then he said it again, getting more aggressive. It was really going nowhere. Being rational wasn't working. After his next iteration of "Why are you staring at me?"
I collected myself, looked him straight in the eye and responded "I find you very attractive."
There were a few moments of silence there. Gina laughed, but at that point she came to realize the guy wasn't goofing around. He took a step closer to me trying to achieve a dominant stance and stared down at me. (Inside tip #1: That doesn't work on me.) I mentally calculated what could actually happen at this juncture. The worse case scenario, really, is that he would start swinging at me in a room full of witnesses. Plus, he had to be at least 60 and was very clearly out of shape. He'd probably break a hip before he landed the first punch. Also, the odds of him actually wanting to do that were slim to done. He thought he was going to walk over, put me in my place, then go back to Table 17 victorious. Not today.
Anyway, that was my inner monologue. When we last left the narration, we were within a few moments of silence after I told him that I find him very attractive. Finally, he got his wits about him, and he started a new series of repeating himself.
"You're a wise guy, hey?" Something like that. That sounds like a movie quote, but that's actually what he said (or similar).
I responded simply, "Yes", and he asked a couple more times, and I said "Yes" a couple more times. And when I said it, I said it seriously as if answering a ligitimate question. At that point, his mental gears (both of them) were spinning trying to figure out what to do. So that's when he made mistake #2. "If you stare at me one more time, we'll see what happens. Don't even look over at me."
Inside Tip #2: Don't threaten me.
Again, this is an older guy, and I'd like to think we live in a civil society. The absolute last thing I would ever do would be to get up and respond in any physically threatening fashion, or yell, or do anything equally as stupid as what he was doing. It was really pretty silly... what did he really think he was going to accomplish? He should've licked his wounds and went home at that point.
While in some respects I agree with the boy scouts, Inside Tip #2 prevails. He went back to his table, sat down and looked over at me, and there I was staring at him.
Now, the poor guy is just lost.
It was really pretty bizarre. Gina asked what that was all about, and I really didn't know. I was on one side of the table, gina was on the other. 45 degrees to the right was the booth wall. 45 degrees to the left was that guy's table. If ever I wasn't looking at Gina, then really that's the only other place my gaze could've naturally gone, though it certainly wouldn't have gone to that guy of all people. There was no eye contact, and if he walked by in another circumstance, I probably wouldn't even have recognized him from that table. Now, though, I took notes.
Older cranky dude was there with his wife, a younger couple, and the younger couple's two kids. So, I'm thinking Grand Parents, Parents, Grand Children. They looked like a nice family. I still think 5/6ths of them probably were, but #6 didn't take his meds or something. I made a point of looking over to the guy several times, and staring whenever appropriate. When a waiter walked by, I asked him to get the manager. The guy yelled something over at that point, but I don't remember what it was. I responded "Don't worry, I'm getting the manager."
Now, the guy tried to get witty and it didn't work. He flagged down a waitress and asked her to send the manager to my table. She knew something was amiss and stopped by first. "You need a manager?", "Yes, we already let someone know." So, I called over to the guy to thank him for his help.
Somewhere along the way, he started giving me that italian flick under the chin. I mock laughed at it enthusiastically and made like he finally landed a shot. Its hard to describe what I did, but some combination of the words "sarcastic" and "mocking" applies. Then he shook his fist, which was pretty pathetic. I think I heard a bone crack.
The manager made his way over, and I told him quite simply. "That guy just came over and threatened me. I just want you to be aware of it incase it escalates." The manager didn't know what to do. He asked if wanted to change seats. Of course not. Even Gina said no to that, and she's the more level headed of the two of us in these types of situations. The manager didn't really know what to do then. He started to apologize. He was more anxious than us... word must've been going around. I told him "don't apologize, you don't have to do anything, I just want you to be aware of what's happening."
Somewhere during that conversation, Cranky (that my new nickname for him) came over to tell the manager I was staring at him. He said something like "He was leaning foward staring at me like a... well, I won't even say like what".
That's the most confusing part. I've been trying to fill in the blank for 6 hours, and I have nothing. I have no idea what he could've possibly ended that sentence with. The fact that he didn't say it suggests it would've been something offensive to someone. I considered giving him a point for that (more on scores, later), but he probably didn't know what he was going to say either, so he doesn't deserve a point. (Its my scoring system. I can do it any way I like!)
Now for a family update. He started raising his voice to his wife. His wife was probably telling him to stop being an idiot or something. The son (or son-in-law) didn't turn around once. He wanted nothing to do with it. The daughter (or daughter-in-law) took her daughter and left the restaraunt. By the time it was all done, he left alone.
I'm not really keeping track of the score, but if I had to guess, I'd say:
Jay: 18
Cranky: 0
Then he just couldn't shut up. He tried threatening another ultimatum, so of course I kept occasionaly staring at him at that point. I wasn't real obnoxious about it, but whenever I looked over and he was looking at me, I didn't turn away (See Insider Tip #2). When he got up to leave, I waved to him and told him to have a good night. He did that chin flicking thing again, so I laughed again and told gina about it. He didn't like that at all. His threats and flicks and fist shaking were nothing more than the amusing antics of a cranky older guy who just didn't have a chance.
I'm still puzzled by the whole thing. It was the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me in a restaraunt. Honestly, we were just sitting there talking.
Gina was a little paranoid at that point. She thought the guy was going to be outside with a gun, or run us over. Once again, I mentally played the odds and determined that to be highly unlikely. (Sooner or later, the odds will catch up with me.) Even if he had that type of intent, he was with his family. Surely they would talk him out of it. (Other scenarios played out in my head, which I didn't share.) As we left the restaraunt, I took precautionary measures to be safe, but it was unnecessary.
As I said, Gina is the more level headed. After the guy left the first time, she would've been content to just leave it at that. She's a better boy scout than me. If I let him walk over, threaten me, then walk away, he would've won. You could argue "that would make you the better person", but I don't buy that because he wouldn't be able to appreciate it. He'd just think he won, not "I'm an idiot and he let me win".
One of my other inner monologues somewhere along the way was "I have to learn how to back down". I wondered how it would play out differently if Jack was there. I would like to think that it wouldn't have happened at all because maybe Cranky would be human enough to say "Hey, there's an infant, maybe I'll just sit here and eat my oatmeal in peace.", but who knows. I'm way too stubborn in confrontations, which is why I avoid them as often as possible. I really think that Cranky thought he would come over, put me in my place (for no reason whatsoever), and be done with it. As soon as he made that first threat, there was absolutely no way that was going to happen. Gina and I don't see eye to eye on these types of things. She's the more riteous.
After he left, the waitress stopped by and said "The people at my other tables want you to stop staring at them." That was pretty funny. The manager stopped by, still a little revved up but making light of it. I tried to assure him that we really were just sitting there, but he already knew that. He suggested that I go into the Witness Protecton Program, referring to the tv show "In Plain Sight". I laughed outwardly to be polite, but internally the very suggestion made me ill.
After reading this a couple times, I have come up with some additional analysis. I bet that Generation #2 was the daughter and son-in-law. Even though they were embarrassed, and Cranky was clearly wrong, the 2nd generation guy probably would've stepped up to defend Cranky if Cranky was his father. As it was, Cranky was probably just his embarrassing father-in-law, whom he will never go to a restaraunt with again.
The situation reminds me of the Great Lucille's incident of 2005 (year is approximated). That was a good one, though I wasn't as riteous in that tale. I wasn't the procrastinator, but I let it go to far. But that, my friends, is another story for another day.
In the interest of defending myself before you start thinking I'm a bad person to eat with:
My total count of negative restaraunt experiences is 2; they just happen to be within a few years of each other. I suspect that's just an anamoly and don't expect to have anymore. The first one was due to a bunch of unfortunate things coming to a head at the same time. The second time (outback tonight) was completely out of left field; It had nothing to do with me, I just happened to be there and I don't play well with others when they threaten me. Statistically, that shouldn't happen again.
Lunch, anyone?
I'm not sure if the Outback theme music is perfectly suited for my new lyrics, but that's the best I can do. The song is sung, of course, from the perspective of the older fat gentleman at table 17.
So here's the story. I'm sure I will embellish some stuff for entertaining affect, but I won't at all embellish the core of the story. An embellishment has already occurred, actually. You see, I don't know that he was sitting at table 17. I don't know what table number it was, so I just made one up. That in no way compromises the integrity of the story, though, for he was sitting at a table and "Table 17" sounds better than "Some table".
The following is a true story.
Gina and I were at the Outback. Our conversation alternated between Jack, work, and maybe some other occasional foolishness. We just sat there, minding our own business. And, when I say "minding our own business", I don't mean it the sarcastic way in which I say one thing but imply something else altogether. We were, actually, sitting there minding our own business. Then this big (as in fat) older dude (60?) comes walking up to the table out of nowhere. I was a little puzzled about that... I didn't even see him walk over, I just saw him arrive. Did I know him? Did he think us to be a swell couple and wanted to buy our dinner? I really had no idea. I said "Hello", or "How are you", or something to that affect. He then started with "You've been sitting there staring at me, and I want to know why." Gina thought he was kidding, but I knew otherwise. He was facing me, not her, and I could see he was pissed about something.
"I wasn't staring." I responded, quite surprised.
He repeated himself, more or less, so I repeated myself more or less. I was perfectly reasonable to that point, then he said it again, getting more aggressive. It was really going nowhere. Being rational wasn't working. After his next iteration of "Why are you staring at me?"
I collected myself, looked him straight in the eye and responded "I find you very attractive."
There were a few moments of silence there. Gina laughed, but at that point she came to realize the guy wasn't goofing around. He took a step closer to me trying to achieve a dominant stance and stared down at me. (Inside tip #1: That doesn't work on me.) I mentally calculated what could actually happen at this juncture. The worse case scenario, really, is that he would start swinging at me in a room full of witnesses. Plus, he had to be at least 60 and was very clearly out of shape. He'd probably break a hip before he landed the first punch. Also, the odds of him actually wanting to do that were slim to done. He thought he was going to walk over, put me in my place, then go back to Table 17 victorious. Not today.
Anyway, that was my inner monologue. When we last left the narration, we were within a few moments of silence after I told him that I find him very attractive. Finally, he got his wits about him, and he started a new series of repeating himself.
"You're a wise guy, hey?" Something like that. That sounds like a movie quote, but that's actually what he said (or similar).
I responded simply, "Yes", and he asked a couple more times, and I said "Yes" a couple more times. And when I said it, I said it seriously as if answering a ligitimate question. At that point, his mental gears (both of them) were spinning trying to figure out what to do. So that's when he made mistake #2. "If you stare at me one more time, we'll see what happens. Don't even look over at me."
Inside Tip #2: Don't threaten me.
Again, this is an older guy, and I'd like to think we live in a civil society. The absolute last thing I would ever do would be to get up and respond in any physically threatening fashion, or yell, or do anything equally as stupid as what he was doing. It was really pretty silly... what did he really think he was going to accomplish? He should've licked his wounds and went home at that point.
While in some respects I agree with the boy scouts, Inside Tip #2 prevails. He went back to his table, sat down and looked over at me, and there I was staring at him.
Now, the poor guy is just lost.
It was really pretty bizarre. Gina asked what that was all about, and I really didn't know. I was on one side of the table, gina was on the other. 45 degrees to the right was the booth wall. 45 degrees to the left was that guy's table. If ever I wasn't looking at Gina, then really that's the only other place my gaze could've naturally gone, though it certainly wouldn't have gone to that guy of all people. There was no eye contact, and if he walked by in another circumstance, I probably wouldn't even have recognized him from that table. Now, though, I took notes.
Older cranky dude was there with his wife, a younger couple, and the younger couple's two kids. So, I'm thinking Grand Parents, Parents, Grand Children. They looked like a nice family. I still think 5/6ths of them probably were, but #6 didn't take his meds or something. I made a point of looking over to the guy several times, and staring whenever appropriate. When a waiter walked by, I asked him to get the manager. The guy yelled something over at that point, but I don't remember what it was. I responded "Don't worry, I'm getting the manager."
Now, the guy tried to get witty and it didn't work. He flagged down a waitress and asked her to send the manager to my table. She knew something was amiss and stopped by first. "You need a manager?", "Yes, we already let someone know." So, I called over to the guy to thank him for his help.
Somewhere along the way, he started giving me that italian flick under the chin. I mock laughed at it enthusiastically and made like he finally landed a shot. Its hard to describe what I did, but some combination of the words "sarcastic" and "mocking" applies. Then he shook his fist, which was pretty pathetic. I think I heard a bone crack.
The manager made his way over, and I told him quite simply. "That guy just came over and threatened me. I just want you to be aware of it incase it escalates." The manager didn't know what to do. He asked if wanted to change seats. Of course not. Even Gina said no to that, and she's the more level headed of the two of us in these types of situations. The manager didn't really know what to do then. He started to apologize. He was more anxious than us... word must've been going around. I told him "don't apologize, you don't have to do anything, I just want you to be aware of what's happening."
Somewhere during that conversation, Cranky (that my new nickname for him) came over to tell the manager I was staring at him. He said something like "He was leaning foward staring at me like a... well, I won't even say like what".
That's the most confusing part. I've been trying to fill in the blank for 6 hours, and I have nothing. I have no idea what he could've possibly ended that sentence with. The fact that he didn't say it suggests it would've been something offensive to someone. I considered giving him a point for that (more on scores, later), but he probably didn't know what he was going to say either, so he doesn't deserve a point. (Its my scoring system. I can do it any way I like!)
Now for a family update. He started raising his voice to his wife. His wife was probably telling him to stop being an idiot or something. The son (or son-in-law) didn't turn around once. He wanted nothing to do with it. The daughter (or daughter-in-law) took her daughter and left the restaraunt. By the time it was all done, he left alone.
I'm not really keeping track of the score, but if I had to guess, I'd say:
Jay: 18
Cranky: 0
Then he just couldn't shut up. He tried threatening another ultimatum, so of course I kept occasionaly staring at him at that point. I wasn't real obnoxious about it, but whenever I looked over and he was looking at me, I didn't turn away (See Insider Tip #2). When he got up to leave, I waved to him and told him to have a good night. He did that chin flicking thing again, so I laughed again and told gina about it. He didn't like that at all. His threats and flicks and fist shaking were nothing more than the amusing antics of a cranky older guy who just didn't have a chance.
I'm still puzzled by the whole thing. It was the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me in a restaraunt. Honestly, we were just sitting there talking.
Gina was a little paranoid at that point. She thought the guy was going to be outside with a gun, or run us over. Once again, I mentally played the odds and determined that to be highly unlikely. (Sooner or later, the odds will catch up with me.) Even if he had that type of intent, he was with his family. Surely they would talk him out of it. (Other scenarios played out in my head, which I didn't share.) As we left the restaraunt, I took precautionary measures to be safe, but it was unnecessary.
As I said, Gina is the more level headed. After the guy left the first time, she would've been content to just leave it at that. She's a better boy scout than me. If I let him walk over, threaten me, then walk away, he would've won. You could argue "that would make you the better person", but I don't buy that because he wouldn't be able to appreciate it. He'd just think he won, not "I'm an idiot and he let me win".
One of my other inner monologues somewhere along the way was "I have to learn how to back down". I wondered how it would play out differently if Jack was there. I would like to think that it wouldn't have happened at all because maybe Cranky would be human enough to say "Hey, there's an infant, maybe I'll just sit here and eat my oatmeal in peace.", but who knows. I'm way too stubborn in confrontations, which is why I avoid them as often as possible. I really think that Cranky thought he would come over, put me in my place (for no reason whatsoever), and be done with it. As soon as he made that first threat, there was absolutely no way that was going to happen. Gina and I don't see eye to eye on these types of things. She's the more riteous.
After he left, the waitress stopped by and said "The people at my other tables want you to stop staring at them." That was pretty funny. The manager stopped by, still a little revved up but making light of it. I tried to assure him that we really were just sitting there, but he already knew that. He suggested that I go into the Witness Protecton Program, referring to the tv show "In Plain Sight". I laughed outwardly to be polite, but internally the very suggestion made me ill.
After reading this a couple times, I have come up with some additional analysis. I bet that Generation #2 was the daughter and son-in-law. Even though they were embarrassed, and Cranky was clearly wrong, the 2nd generation guy probably would've stepped up to defend Cranky if Cranky was his father. As it was, Cranky was probably just his embarrassing father-in-law, whom he will never go to a restaraunt with again.
The situation reminds me of the Great Lucille's incident of 2005 (year is approximated). That was a good one, though I wasn't as riteous in that tale. I wasn't the procrastinator, but I let it go to far. But that, my friends, is another story for another day.
In the interest of defending myself before you start thinking I'm a bad person to eat with:
My total count of negative restaraunt experiences is 2; they just happen to be within a few years of each other. I suspect that's just an anamoly and don't expect to have anymore. The first one was due to a bunch of unfortunate things coming to a head at the same time. The second time (outback tonight) was completely out of left field; It had nothing to do with me, I just happened to be there and I don't play well with others when they threaten me. Statistically, that shouldn't happen again.
Lunch, anyone?
Friday, August 15, 2008
More Burnout Paradise
I was waiting for the CAGNEY update to burnout paradise for a long time. Then, when it was finally supposed to be released, it got delayed about 3 weeks. That's ok; I always think its better to delay and do it right rather than release something that's not ready to go. (The same goes for movies).
Its been out for at least a week, but after a long hiatus, I didn't immediately jump back into it. I've been doing a lot of other activities and didn't want to stop just because a new game update came out.
That hiatus came to an end last night. I played for at least 2 hours, and once again, I had an absolute blast. The online game is so much fun. They added 70 new events. I went through a few of them, and they're all fun. Its an excellent online experience.
I'm working on making Carlos an addict. We played at lunch time today, then for a little while after work. We'll see if he keeps coming back to more. I've been trying to emphasise, for months, how important the online play is, but I wasn't able to get through to him. Maybe that has now changed.
Now that I'm back into it, I expect to spend many more hours playing it. There's another update coming out later this month (supposedly. Lets see if it makes it), then another one in the fall. I don't know if the fall one is free or not... they make a big deal about saying FREE for all of the other updates, but I haven't seen the word FREE in association with the fall release. It doesn't matter. If its not free, I'll buy it. Its more an issue of curiousity than anything.
Online good times have resumed.
Its been out for at least a week, but after a long hiatus, I didn't immediately jump back into it. I've been doing a lot of other activities and didn't want to stop just because a new game update came out.
That hiatus came to an end last night. I played for at least 2 hours, and once again, I had an absolute blast. The online game is so much fun. They added 70 new events. I went through a few of them, and they're all fun. Its an excellent online experience.
I'm working on making Carlos an addict. We played at lunch time today, then for a little while after work. We'll see if he keeps coming back to more. I've been trying to emphasise, for months, how important the online play is, but I wasn't able to get through to him. Maybe that has now changed.
Now that I'm back into it, I expect to spend many more hours playing it. There's another update coming out later this month (supposedly. Lets see if it makes it), then another one in the fall. I don't know if the fall one is free or not... they make a big deal about saying FREE for all of the other updates, but I haven't seen the word FREE in association with the fall release. It doesn't matter. If its not free, I'll buy it. Its more an issue of curiousity than anything.
Online good times have resumed.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
More of Jay's internet foolishness
Greetings
I added a new feature to DvdFriend yesterday. Basically, it a NEWS section at the top of the main page. I'm going to use that as an outlet for my musing of upcoming movies and DVDs. If you want more Jay foolishness, then I urge you to got to http://www.dvdfriend.us and subscribe to the news feed and/or the movie review feed.
I added a new feature to DvdFriend yesterday. Basically, it a NEWS section at the top of the main page. I'm going to use that as an outlet for my musing of upcoming movies and DVDs. If you want more Jay foolishness, then I urge you to got to http://www.dvdfriend.us and subscribe to the news feed and/or the movie review feed.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Dark City, Director's Cut
I was browsing around that internet thing this morning, and came across word of DARK CITY: DIRECTOR'S cut.... and its coming out this week!
http://www.dvdfriend.us/p.aspx?pid=39e21fdf-875a-4c74-b63d-40e3dcd3a220
I don't want to say too much about it incase you haven't seen it. As you watch it, you may compare it to other movies possibly with disdain until you realize that Dark City came out before most of those other movies.
Its good solid sci-fi, but according to the director he had to make concessions to the studio at the time of the release. The director's cut is about 11 minutes longer, though I don't know if the rest of the movie has been juggled around at all.
If you haven't seen it, then I strongly recommend at least renting it if you're a sci fi fan.
http://www.dvdfriend.us/p.aspx?pid=39e21fdf-875a-4c74-b63d-40e3dcd3a220
I don't want to say too much about it incase you haven't seen it. As you watch it, you may compare it to other movies possibly with disdain until you realize that Dark City came out before most of those other movies.
Its good solid sci-fi, but according to the director he had to make concessions to the studio at the time of the release. The director's cut is about 11 minutes longer, though I don't know if the rest of the movie has been juggled around at all.
If you haven't seen it, then I strongly recommend at least renting it if you're a sci fi fan.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
The big 36
Wednesday was my 36th birthday. At least, I think I'm 36. I checked with my sister Amy, and she agrees. We had an incidident about 10 years ago where I thought I was 27 turning 28, and Amy corrected me. She told me I was actually about to turn 27. I argued at first; after all, its me. I know how old I am, right? Wrong. If I ever forget my age, I immediately consult Amy.
Gina's over 5 months pregnant. Usually she likes to make a big deal out of my birthday. I don't object much. I figured this year we could take it easy. So, rather than have a cookout over the weekend as she would usually do, she prepared a turkey dinner four about 20 people. Very relaxing for her.
The dinner was on Wednesday night. I really didn't expect friends from work to attend due to it being the middle of the week, but they did.
The first course was lasangna, courtesy of Gina's mother. The second course was the turkey; thanksgiving in July. Good stuff. That was followed up by chocolate cake, and Carvel ice cream cake. Heavenly.
Carlos brought his Wii, and Mike brought his controllers. We played 4-way Mario Cart for a while. The competition was fierce.
This year's theme was Kung Fu Panda. Gina is in serious denial about my age. I warned people in advance about the themes. Jack will be here next year. I can then attribute the themes to his presence; this year, though, all I can do is shrug and hope everyone enjoyed it.
Getting old.
Gina's over 5 months pregnant. Usually she likes to make a big deal out of my birthday. I don't object much. I figured this year we could take it easy. So, rather than have a cookout over the weekend as she would usually do, she prepared a turkey dinner four about 20 people. Very relaxing for her.
The dinner was on Wednesday night. I really didn't expect friends from work to attend due to it being the middle of the week, but they did.
The first course was lasangna, courtesy of Gina's mother. The second course was the turkey; thanksgiving in July. Good stuff. That was followed up by chocolate cake, and Carvel ice cream cake. Heavenly.
Carlos brought his Wii, and Mike brought his controllers. We played 4-way Mario Cart for a while. The competition was fierce.
This year's theme was Kung Fu Panda. Gina is in serious denial about my age. I warned people in advance about the themes. Jack will be here next year. I can then attribute the themes to his presence; this year, though, all I can do is shrug and hope everyone enjoyed it.
Getting old.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Everglades? What's that?
I spilled some orange juice this morning. The nearest things available to wipe it up included a roll of paper towels, a pile of napkins, a dry-vac, 3 dogs, a portable particle accelerator, and a map of Florida. Of course, I chose the map of Florida to wipe it up, and as I did so I accidentally took notice of the southern part of the state. I consulted Gina, and we were both surprised to learn that the state does extended further south than the fair city of Ft. Lauderdale. Oh sure. There's a lot more down there including a little thing called "the everglades".
We made a point of going to the everglades to explore this strange new land, and perhaps stake a flag to claim the land as our own. Unfortunately, some ohter civilization had found it before us, so territorial conquests are not forthcoming.
We went to a place called "The Shark Valley Loop". We didn't see any sharks, and "valley" is only accurate in the strictest definition of the term: lowland between two high lands. In this case, the highlands are still very low, but they are above sea level and they're above the lowland, so the term is technically appropriate... but barely.
Shark Valley consists of a 15 mile one lane road that you can travel on by foot, bike or tram. Gina's pregnant, and I'm lazy, so we went with the tram.
Unlike the "Diva Duck Non-Tour" that we participated in yesterday, this was actually educational. There weren't any duck puns, which was refreshing. The tour guide was named Jose. He spoke very good english, but with a strong accent. He kept pluralizing some words that are already pluralized. "Watch your childrens", etc. He had a bunch of jokes, most of which were mildly entertaining.
About 1/2 way through the loop, there's an observation tower. They say its 50 feet high, which didn't sound very impressive, but it actually is when you get there. Everything is so flat that 50 feet goes along way.
We saw a lot of alligators, all at a safe distance. On the ramp up to the observation tower, you can look down and see at least a dozen of them. Of all the alligators we saw, though, not a single one was moving. It was mid-day. They were all just chilling out. I wanted to poke them with a stick, but apparently that's ill-advised. Besides, I wouldn't have been able to pick up a stick without getting arrest for disrupting a national preserve or something. It wasn't worth the risk.
The weather was perfect for the outing. It was hot, but there was a great cool breeze.
Right outside the park, there's a restaraunt. God, it was awful. The next time we're in the neighborhood, I'm going to make a point of not going there again. In fact, I may plan a day trip back to the everglades that's built around not going to that restaraunt again. Just awful. I was afraid to get an iced-tree refill. The wetlands should definitely be allowed to reclaim that property.
We made a point of going to the everglades to explore this strange new land, and perhaps stake a flag to claim the land as our own. Unfortunately, some ohter civilization had found it before us, so territorial conquests are not forthcoming.
We went to a place called "The Shark Valley Loop". We didn't see any sharks, and "valley" is only accurate in the strictest definition of the term: lowland between two high lands. In this case, the highlands are still very low, but they are above sea level and they're above the lowland, so the term is technically appropriate... but barely.
Shark Valley consists of a 15 mile one lane road that you can travel on by foot, bike or tram. Gina's pregnant, and I'm lazy, so we went with the tram.
Unlike the "Diva Duck Non-Tour" that we participated in yesterday, this was actually educational. There weren't any duck puns, which was refreshing. The tour guide was named Jose. He spoke very good english, but with a strong accent. He kept pluralizing some words that are already pluralized. "Watch your childrens", etc. He had a bunch of jokes, most of which were mildly entertaining.
About 1/2 way through the loop, there's an observation tower. They say its 50 feet high, which didn't sound very impressive, but it actually is when you get there. Everything is so flat that 50 feet goes along way.
We saw a lot of alligators, all at a safe distance. On the ramp up to the observation tower, you can look down and see at least a dozen of them. Of all the alligators we saw, though, not a single one was moving. It was mid-day. They were all just chilling out. I wanted to poke them with a stick, but apparently that's ill-advised. Besides, I wouldn't have been able to pick up a stick without getting arrest for disrupting a national preserve or something. It wasn't worth the risk.
The weather was perfect for the outing. It was hot, but there was a great cool breeze.
Right outside the park, there's a restaraunt. God, it was awful. The next time we're in the neighborhood, I'm going to make a point of not going there again. In fact, I may plan a day trip back to the everglades that's built around not going to that restaraunt again. Just awful. I was afraid to get an iced-tree refill. The wetlands should definitely be allowed to reclaim that property.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Diva Duck
Today, in an effort to get out of the house, Gina and I did the "Diva Duck" tour of West Palm Beach. The Diva Duck is a truck and a boat all in one. Boston has them too. So does Alaska.
The tour is based at City Place in West Palm Beach. We've seen it a bunch of times, but never did the tour before. It turns out that "tour" is a pretty inaccurate term. Its fun, but its really just a ride. They point out the houses of rich people and make up some numbers as they go. "5 or 10 years ago, they rebuilt that boat." Which was it? 5 years ago or 10 years ago?
The fact that they had no idea didn't really detract from the fun. There were a bunch of kids on board, most of which got a kick out of it. The non-tour guide was friendly enough. There were a lot of duck puns. The funniest part was the blaring war music as we went from land to sea.
As usual, I got a little motion sick on the boat. It wasn't too bad... just enough to remind me that I'm a big wuss when it comes to unstable motion.
I went on a whale watch with my company probably 10 years ago. I spent most of the time keeled over until my boss found some dramamine for me. I went sky diving twice. I didn't get phsyically sick either time, but boy... it was close (especially the first time). I can do roller coasters fine, but I keep away from most other rides.
Then, of course, there's the world famouse "Great Helicopter Hurl of 2002". That's actually a funny story, in my humble opinion. I shall elborate if demand requests it.
Anyway, we finsihed the Diva Duck Non-Tour, then went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Then we went home. Good times.
There were a bunch of "red had ladies" on the tour. I don't know if that's their actual name or not, but they are all female and they were all wearing distinct red hats. I've never seen that before, other than on the Simpsons. The simpsons had pink had ladies, I think. They turned out to be a bunch of thieves incognito. Now I see that they were probably basing that on the Red Hat Ladies, though I had no idea that such a thing existed when I saw the episode.
How terribly exciting.
The tour is based at City Place in West Palm Beach. We've seen it a bunch of times, but never did the tour before. It turns out that "tour" is a pretty inaccurate term. Its fun, but its really just a ride. They point out the houses of rich people and make up some numbers as they go. "5 or 10 years ago, they rebuilt that boat." Which was it? 5 years ago or 10 years ago?
The fact that they had no idea didn't really detract from the fun. There were a bunch of kids on board, most of which got a kick out of it. The non-tour guide was friendly enough. There were a lot of duck puns. The funniest part was the blaring war music as we went from land to sea.
As usual, I got a little motion sick on the boat. It wasn't too bad... just enough to remind me that I'm a big wuss when it comes to unstable motion.
I went on a whale watch with my company probably 10 years ago. I spent most of the time keeled over until my boss found some dramamine for me. I went sky diving twice. I didn't get phsyically sick either time, but boy... it was close (especially the first time). I can do roller coasters fine, but I keep away from most other rides.
Then, of course, there's the world famouse "Great Helicopter Hurl of 2002". That's actually a funny story, in my humble opinion. I shall elborate if demand requests it.
Anyway, we finsihed the Diva Duck Non-Tour, then went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Then we went home. Good times.
There were a bunch of "red had ladies" on the tour. I don't know if that's their actual name or not, but they are all female and they were all wearing distinct red hats. I've never seen that before, other than on the Simpsons. The simpsons had pink had ladies, I think. They turned out to be a bunch of thieves incognito. Now I see that they were probably basing that on the Red Hat Ladies, though I had no idea that such a thing existed when I saw the episode.
How terribly exciting.
It's a boy! - New blog
For those of you that know me personally, you probably already know that our baby is a boy. For baby related news, please jump over to: http://babyallard.blogspot.com
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Lots of 5s lately
RE: http://www.dvdfriend.us
I saw two movies this weekend: Speed Racer and RedBelt. I gave them both 5's.
I finished reading ENDER'S SHADOW this week, and I also gave that a 5.
That means that there's been a lot of consecutive excellence.
My original thought was to give Speed Racer a 4, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. With one exception, I can't really find anything wrong with it. Its a sensory blast. I don't see what people don't like.
And RedBelt is good solid story telling and character development.
The point is to express that I'm not tossing around the 5s as if I love everything I see. Its just been an unusally good week.
I saw two movies this weekend: Speed Racer and RedBelt. I gave them both 5's.
I finished reading ENDER'S SHADOW this week, and I also gave that a 5.
That means that there's been a lot of consecutive excellence.
My original thought was to give Speed Racer a 4, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. With one exception, I can't really find anything wrong with it. Its a sensory blast. I don't see what people don't like.
And RedBelt is good solid story telling and character development.
The point is to express that I'm not tossing around the 5s as if I love everything I see. Its just been an unusally good week.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Slingbox Videos
The website videos on http://www.slingbox.com are all pretty funny. We have a slingbox pro, and I was taking a look to see what's new. The videos have changed since the last time I went there.
When you first go to the site, it shows you a video. If you browse around a bit, then go back to the home page, it shows a different video.
Funny stuff. Cool site.
When you first go to the site, it shows you a video. If you browse around a bit, then go back to the home page, it shows a different video.
Funny stuff. Cool site.
Monday, April 28, 2008
An ode to Burnout Paradise
After many many hours of pure gaming joy, I have at last achieved 100% completion in the XBOX 360 version of burnout paradise.
Not since Burnout Revenge have I spent this ludicrous amount of time playing any one game. Its absurd, really, but I loved every second of it.
For my totally disorganized review and commentary, click below.
DvdFriend Review
Not since Burnout Revenge have I spent this ludicrous amount of time playing any one game. Its absurd, really, but I loved every second of it.
For my totally disorganized review and commentary, click below.
DvdFriend Review
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The trouble with feet
When I was a kid, maybe between 20 and 22, I wrote a documentary about my foot. I don't recall if it was my left foot or right foot, but it was definitely a foot. Clearly, a sequel is overdue. (I'll find the original and post it). But, since I don't have time to fully document today's experience, I'll keep it to blog length.
Today I decided to go out to get some lunch. While driving about, I realized I needed an oil change. I have to drive to work tomorrow, so I really should get it done today. I dropped the car off. I had to be back to the home office for a 1:15 meeting. The car wouldn't be done by 1:15, so I had to decide between walking back or participating in the call via phone only; no computer or live meeting, etc. Unfortunately, I was wearing sandals (otherwise known as flip-flops), which was a factor in the decision.
Being a responsible employee, I decided to walk home despite my inadequate footwear. By my calculations, it should have taken 30 minutes which would give me 15 minutes to not prep for the meeting. If I was wearing sneakers, then I probably could've knocked 10 or 15 minutes off by jogging parts of it. But, for now, the walk would have to do. But, before beginning the Trek, I stopped at 7-11 for a hotdog and Arizona.
The 7-11 is a nice clean store. The guy at the register was on a personal call, and I felt bad interrupting him in order to by products. I felt worse when I had to interrupt him again to ask for a plastic bag. Sometimes I'm too rude and inconsiderate. In retrospect, I should've waited until a more convenient time for him.
Then I began the journey. I was at least 75% along when I realized I didn't have my keys. Bogus. I knew they weren't at the car place because they removed the car key and gave me the rest of them. Damn you 7-11! I called them, fearing that I would interrupt again. It took a few tries to properly translate their 1/2 of the conversation, but once we leapt the communication divide, I learned that they did have them. (However, I do question their security policies. "Do your keys have a blue flashlight and a Mobile speedpass?")
Now what do I do? Do I continue the walk home and use the emergency key to get in the house, go to the meeting, and return later? (I locked myself out once before and had to kick in a window. Since then, there's an emergency key on stand by). If it wasn't the 7-11, then that would've been a reasonable option. But, my visit and subsequent call didn't instill an aire of confidence or reliability. The sooner I got the keys back, the better.
Once again, the flip-flops were a factor. The tops of my feet were starting to mildly blister due to the straps. So, off came the flip-flops. I walked most of the way back barefoot until my heels started to blister, then returned to the flip flops. I retrieved my keys, then called into the meeting remotely.
What can we learn from all this?
1 - Stop being lazy and put some shoes on
2 - Don't leave your keys at 7-11
3 - Never go get an oil change expecting that you're just getting an oil change. There's always something else to be done. (Alignment. New air filter. Fuel Injection Flush. Expensive oil change...)
Oh, one more thing. My cell phone ran out of juice about 15 minutes before the meeting ended. Perfect! (Cue the lightning.)
Today I decided to go out to get some lunch. While driving about, I realized I needed an oil change. I have to drive to work tomorrow, so I really should get it done today. I dropped the car off. I had to be back to the home office for a 1:15 meeting. The car wouldn't be done by 1:15, so I had to decide between walking back or participating in the call via phone only; no computer or live meeting, etc. Unfortunately, I was wearing sandals (otherwise known as flip-flops), which was a factor in the decision.
Being a responsible employee, I decided to walk home despite my inadequate footwear. By my calculations, it should have taken 30 minutes which would give me 15 minutes to not prep for the meeting. If I was wearing sneakers, then I probably could've knocked 10 or 15 minutes off by jogging parts of it. But, for now, the walk would have to do. But, before beginning the Trek, I stopped at 7-11 for a hotdog and Arizona.
The 7-11 is a nice clean store. The guy at the register was on a personal call, and I felt bad interrupting him in order to by products. I felt worse when I had to interrupt him again to ask for a plastic bag. Sometimes I'm too rude and inconsiderate. In retrospect, I should've waited until a more convenient time for him.
Then I began the journey. I was at least 75% along when I realized I didn't have my keys. Bogus. I knew they weren't at the car place because they removed the car key and gave me the rest of them. Damn you 7-11! I called them, fearing that I would interrupt again. It took a few tries to properly translate their 1/2 of the conversation, but once we leapt the communication divide, I learned that they did have them. (However, I do question their security policies. "Do your keys have a blue flashlight and a Mobile speedpass?")
Now what do I do? Do I continue the walk home and use the emergency key to get in the house, go to the meeting, and return later? (I locked myself out once before and had to kick in a window. Since then, there's an emergency key on stand by). If it wasn't the 7-11, then that would've been a reasonable option. But, my visit and subsequent call didn't instill an aire of confidence or reliability. The sooner I got the keys back, the better.
Once again, the flip-flops were a factor. The tops of my feet were starting to mildly blister due to the straps. So, off came the flip-flops. I walked most of the way back barefoot until my heels started to blister, then returned to the flip flops. I retrieved my keys, then called into the meeting remotely.
What can we learn from all this?
1 - Stop being lazy and put some shoes on
2 - Don't leave your keys at 7-11
3 - Never go get an oil change expecting that you're just getting an oil change. There's always something else to be done. (Alignment. New air filter. Fuel Injection Flush. Expensive oil change...)
Oh, one more thing. My cell phone ran out of juice about 15 minutes before the meeting ended. Perfect! (Cue the lightning.)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
A moment of silence for "Jericho"
Jericho is cancelled... again. Since writing the review linked to below, I've read some other articles that all thought Season 2 wasn't any good. For whatever reason, I have the opposite impression. It feels different from Season 1; it feels as if they knew they only had 8 episodes to do lots of stuff. By no coincidence, that was exactly the case, so it was paced different.
Maybe I'm the minority, but 2 sold me. 1 did not.
http://www.dvdfriend.us/Read.aspx?bid=d2bc2e33-05cf-42a9-b4cc-7a1d839c4aeb
Maybe I'm the minority, but 2 sold me. 1 did not.
http://www.dvdfriend.us/Read.aspx?bid=d2bc2e33-05cf-42a9-b4cc-7a1d839c4aeb
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