Ann and Dan's News

Winter is coming

2011-10-19T18:09:00.001-04:00

Lyrics Sites That Don't Suck

2011-02-03T15:22:00.004-05:00

Google is great for a lot of things, but searching for lyrics isn't one of them. The first few pages of a lyric search generally give you a bunch of ad-filled pages that would probably try to install malware if I were on a PC. Over the years I have tried to collect a few bookmarks of lyric pages that aren't crap. Here they are:

Phish: Phish.net (has extensive notes on every song as well)
Pavement: relight the burnt match
Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan.com (also lets you listen to every version of each song he has released - every band should do this)
Wilco: bemydemon.org
Silver Jews: The Corduroy Suit
Belle and Sebastian: belleandsebastian.com
The Decemberists: thedecemberists.com
Arcade Fire: Us Kids Know
Grateful Dead: dead.net (bonus: Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics)

New Blog Location

2010-02-16T13:45:00.002-05:00

As you may have noticed, this blog has moved to http://mielcarz.blogspot.com/, since netspace.org is shutting down next year (and blogger is getting rid of ftp support, I think). Note that this move doesn't mean I'll be posting anything more frequently than I am now, most stuff I once blogged about ends up on twitter or facebook these days.

Cable Cleanup 2009

2009-09-27T18:26:00.002-04:00

I was going through two boxes of old cables and this is what I found:

9 phone cords, various lengths
1 phone line splitter
2 DSL phone line filters
1 USB 1.0 cable, in packaging
1 100ft ethernet cord (for pre-wireless mobility around the house)
1 6ft crossover ethernet cable (pre-wireless networking of two computers)
1 USB Smart Media reader (does anything even use this anymore?)
2 Handspring Visor USB cradles
1 Handspring Visor USB cable
1 PS2 to RCA A/V cable
2 old cell phone AC adapters
1 grounded to ungrounded plug adapter
1 stereo RCA audio to mono RCA audio adapter
2 RCA audio to RCA audio cables
4 headphone to RCA audio cables (I can't believe I have 4 of these)
1 headphone to headphone (male/male) cable
2 headphone splitters
1 RCA A/V to RCA A/V cable
1 RCA video to RCA video (male/male)
1 3 foot coaxial cable
1 3 foot S-video cable
1 DVI to HDMI cable
1 Discman with AC and cigarette lighter adapters
1 Sports Walkman with belt clip and hand strap

Some of this I have already trashed, but I can't bring myself to get rid of all of it. I guess I'm kind of an A/V packrat.

"We choose to go to the moon..."

2009-07-20T21:19:00.005-04:00

"...we choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." - JFK

Here is my 40th anniversary of the moon landing playlist I whipped up this morning. My iTunes library is sadly lacking "Rocket Man" or it would definitely be on there.


#	*Name*	*Artist*
1.	Space Oddity	David Bowie
2.	Mars Needs Women: Space Is A Lonely Place	Béla Fleck & The Flecktones
3.	Space Travel Is Boring	Modest Mouse
4.	Harvest Moon	Neil Young
5.	I Wish I Was The Moon	Neko Case
6.	Pink Moon	Nick Drake
7.	The Killing Moon	Pavement
8.	Waiting for the Moon to Rise	Belle & Sebastian
9.	Bad Moon Rising	Creedence Clearwater Revival
10.	No Moon	Brad Mehldau Trio
11.	Moonshiner	Uncle Tupelo
12.	Little Moon	Ryan Adams
13.	Sail To The Moon (Brush The Cobwebs Of The Sky)	Radiohead
14.	White Moon	The White Stripes
15.	More Like the Moon	Wilco
16.	Moonrock Mambo	Yo La Tengo
17.	Surfing On A Rocket	Air
18.	Silver Rocket	Sonic Youth
19.	Porch Song	Widespread Panic
20.	Puttin' People On the Moon	Drive-By Truckers
21.	Brain Damage - Eclipse	Pink Floyd

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Snakes on Basic Cable

2009-04-27T15:31:00.000-04:00

Echoes

2009-04-09T15:16:00.002-04:00

This is pretty cool...the last part of 2001 synchronized with Pink Floyd's masterpiece "Echoes."

Who throws a shoe?

2008-12-14T21:16:00.000-05:00

Honestly?

Yes we can!

2008-11-04T23:52:00.004-05:00

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi - from every mountainside.

Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring - when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children - black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

-MLK

Thank you America. And thank you New Hampshire!

Vote!

2008-11-04T12:28:00.003-05:00

I voted for Obama today because, among other reasons, he is the first politician in my life who has excited me and made me feel like progressive change in this country is a real possibility.

No matter who you support, I urge you to vote.

Mini Debate Live Blog

2008-10-15T22:28:00.002-04:00

Does John McCain not know the difference between autism and Down's syndrome? I think even Joe the plumber knows that.

This is genius...

2008-10-08T10:19:00.000-04:00

Good Cop, Baby Cop

2008-08-06T15:07:00.002-04:00

See more Will Ferrell videos at Funny or Die

Go Celtics!

2008-06-17T11:07:00.002-04:00

It is foolish and childish, on the face of it, to affiliate ourselves with anything so insignificant and patently contrived and commercially exploitive as a professional sports team, and the amused superiority and icy scorn that the non-fan directs at the sports nut (I know this look -- I know it by heart) is understandable and almost unanswerable. Almost. What is left out of this calculation, it seems to me, is the business of caring -- caring deeply and passionately, really caring -- which is a capacity or an emotion that has almost gone out of our lives. And so it seems possible that we have come to a time when it no longer matters so much what the caring is about, how frail or foolish is the object of that concern, as long as the feeling itself can be saved. Naivete -- the infantile and ignoble joy that sends a grown man or woman to dancing and shouting with joy in the middle of the night over the haphazardous flight of a distant ball -- seems a small price to pay for such a gift.

-Roger Angell, The Sporting Scene, "AGINCOURT AND AFTER," The New Yorker, November 17, 1975, p. 146

Dr. Seuss Contributes to The Onion

2008-04-02T12:57:00.002-04:00

On the fourteenth of March, in towns nationwide,
In every cinema, multiplex, on every barnside,
Gleamed another adapting of one of my books,
CGI-ed and digitized by another sly crook.

The rest is here: Stop Making Movies About My Books.

Shrimp!

2008-03-18T19:53:00.001-04:00

I made Dan stop the car so I could capture this sign.

Mmmm. Shrimp.

It's funny because it's true...

2008-03-04T13:50:00.000-05:00

Stuff White People Like.

The Pats...

2008-02-04T17:06:00.000-05:00

...drove me to drink:

The State of the Union

2008-01-28T20:04:00.000-05:00

Get psyched people!

Free Rice

2007-11-12T15:22:00.001-05:00

Test your vocabulary and donate to the hungry at the same time at FreeRice.com.

Malkmus Sings "Maggie's Farm"

2007-11-02T12:09:00.000-04:00

With an assist from John Medeski on organ.

From the "I'm Not There" soundtrack.

Thank You Jacoby Ellsbury!

2007-10-30T17:39:00.001-04:00

The Rockies Playoff Run...

2007-10-30T09:58:00.000-04:00

...Super Mario Style:

Woohoo!

2007-10-29T12:51:00.000-04:00

Go Red Sox! Bob Ryan put it best - 2004 was an exorcism, 2007 was an exclamation point. Never in my life did I ever think I would see the Red Sox lead the AL East for basically the whole season then go on to win the World Series in a sweep. Just amazing stuff. And I don't think they are done either - they might have the best young talent in the majors. What a great time to be a Boston sports fan.

My only regret is that I didn't buy any furniture from Jordan's last Spring.

Widespread Panic

2007-10-21T21:11:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else find it weird that Fox is sometimes using a short clip from "Ain't Life Grand" by Widespread Panic when they cut to commercial during the ALCS? It's a pretty good song, but kind of a random choice.

Oh yeah, go Sox!

Only in New Hampshire...

2007-10-21T21:04:00.000-04:00

We went to Riverview Farm in Plainfield this morning to pick up some pumpkins. We got some good ones - don't worry, we will have the annual Jack-o-lantern post as soon as they are carved. But Ann overheard a very funny conversation:

Mom (to worker): I want you to know your cat just scratched my daughter!

Worker: Well, your kid shouldn't have touched the cat. We don't call him Mr. Bitey for nothing!

Mom: (walks off in a huff)

Only in New Hampshire.

Award Winning Beer

2007-08-21T19:12:00.000-04:00

My Belgian-Style Strong Pale Ale was the overall winner at the annual Lebanon Health Food Store homebrew contest! Granted, there were only 9 other entries, but I still got a $75 gift certificate out of the deal. Anyone reading this who wants a bottle should let me know, I'll put one aside. Although at around 9% alcohol, I'm not drinking them that quickly.

Beer Business

2007-07-30T16:04:00.000-04:00

Here is an interesting article (from the always entertaining Lew Bryson) comparing the beer business of today to the wine business of yesterday. It would be really amazing if, when Sadie is legal, the #1 selling type of beer in the US isn't light lager but pale ale, or even something else. Although, I would put money on Anheuser-Busch brewing it, whatever it is - they seem to be catching on to the craft thing in a big way (Michelob makes a great Hefeweizen), and the amount of money they can throw at it would be unbelievable. The only thing stopping them might be the inability to swallow their pride and have Bud no longer be their flagship beer.

Blue Steel

2007-07-30T13:00:00.000-04:00

...is what I like to call this look:

This is what happens when people take your picture without telling you as you stare into the sun. It is from our lab retreat on Squam Lake, and was taken by Franck Mennechet, a member of my lab.

More France Pics

2007-06-28T08:33:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but here are a few more pics I took while in France:

The Institut Pasteur. Louis Pasteur is actually interred in a tomb below this building. The tomb is very elaborate; the entire ceiling is a tile mosaic depicting Pasteur's achievements - studies on the fermentation of beer, the spoilage of wine, the rabies vaccine, an anthrax vaccine. Also in his tomb is his plaster death mask...that's got to be my favorite 19th century tradition.

A sculpture on the grounds depicting the boy that was the first person successfully vaccinated for Rabies.

This is the Tour Montparnasse, which is the tallest building in Paris. (The Eiffel Tower counts as a structure, technically).

It is a little known fact that there is a small branch of the casino in Paris.

Château de Chenonceau in the Loire Valley. This was a summer home for French Royalty. Now it is a tourist trap (but a pretty nice one).

The gardens on the grounds of the Château.

Well, that's it, I'll try to get back to posting on a more regular basis, because I know you are all dying to hear from me.

Je suis désolé...

2007-05-16T14:10:00.000-04:00

...or "I'm sorry" that I haven't posted in a while. I've been working a lot and have had a little less time for interesting activities to write about. I did get to go to the Musée Picasso last weekend where I snapped a picture of this sculpture (taking pictures of the paintings was interdit):

It's called "The woman with an orange or the woman with an apple." I guess Pablo couldn't make up his mind. It was an excellent museum, and after the overwhelming vastness of the Louvre, it felt much more manageable. On Sunday I was invited to lunch by a woman in the lab - this turned out to be a 5 course (not including the aperitif) meal that took about 3 hours. We drank quite a lot of wine and discussed politics, child rearing (they have 3 daughters and 1 son, the son being about 6 months older than Sadie) and basically any topic that came to mind. They wanted my opinion on who would be the next president of the US (I told them I had no idea) - and my reassurances that Bush couldn't run again. I was happy to tell them that he can't, and that you even see bumper stickers printed with his last day in office. It was a great time.

Other than that, I have been settling in. My French has not improved, but I can get my daily baguette with no problem which serves as dinner (sandwhich) and breakfast (jam). I even branched out a bit and grabbed a slice of Quiche Lorraine the other night, which was by far the fluffiest, most delicious piece of Quiche I have ever had (apologies to my mom and Ann of course). Here is the view down the street from my front door (and yes, that is the Eiffel Tower in the distance):

I'll try to post a little more often, I'm going to see a Castle tomorrow so I will definitely have some pictures.

Les souris

2007-05-11T15:35:00.000-04:00

I got to meet les souris (the mice) today. Any doubt I had that my research could have been done in New Hampshire was erased when I saw the gigantic isolation unit the mice live in to keep them germ-free. The Institut Pasteur is an impressive facility - it's packed into a place much smaller than Dartmouth, but they have every piece of equipment one could want.

After work I went to the Louvre, which is open late on Fridays. Of course I had to continue in my series of bad pictures of famous art, so here is the Venus de Milo:

I was told at the lab that I had to check out the Napoleon III Apartment. I was glad that I did - it was probably the closest I'll ever come to walking through a palace. Here's the dining room:

But overall, I probably spent the most time checking out the Egyptian artifacts. I never knew, but the Louvre puts the British Museum to shame as far as Egyptian stuff goes (with the exception of the Rosetta stone which is probably the coolest archaeological find ever). The had a great display of a mummy taken out of his sarcophagus:

And his organ jars below him:

I don't think I'd ever seen a mummy in such a state, it was really interesting, and I didn't see Brendan Fraser around so I figured I was safe. There was also a cool exhibit of the old Louvre deep in the basement of the new Louvre - it's amazing they built around it the way they did:

On the way home, I got off the metro a couple stops before mine to check out the area around the big station. I saw a place called Cafe Leffe, so I decided to give it a try for dinner. Now this place goes against everything I believe in as a beer lover - it is a chain restaurant owned by the biggest beer conglomerate (InBev) in Europe (and second in the world to A-B). But damn if it wasn't good - the Leffe 9 was pretty tasty (nowhere near as good as a real Triple, of course, but not bad) and the Moules Marnier Frites (mussels with fries) were amazing. The waiter brought a 3 quart pot filled to the brim with mussels with a ton of white wine/onion broth, a huge plate of fries and, of course, bread. There was absolutely no way I could finish it - at 11 euros, it was a great value. I may have to go back.

Aujourd'hui

2007-05-09T15:10:00.000-04:00

I think the title means "today" and it's a perfect example why learning Spanish is useless if you want to know French - in Spanish today is "hoy" and pronounced with a silent h. Easy. I don't even know where to begin with "aujourd'hui."

Anyway, today was my first day at work (mostly administrative stuff, if you think beuracracy is bad in the US, come to France), but I didn't have a full day, so I left mid-afternoon to do some sightseeing. I popped over to the Museé d'Orsay, which is only a couple stops on the metro from where I am. For those of you who may not know, this museum has nearly every impressionist painting you have ever seen reproduced (well, not really, but it sure seems like it). It's kind of weird seeing paintings that you have seen pictures of over and over. And then taking your own pictures of them.

Afterward, I grabbed an Affligem blonde at a cafe and watched a guy on a bike get hit by a car. Hard. It even shocked the Parisians. He's still alive, but I think he had a broken leg, probably some ribs too - I didn't stick around to watch him get loaded into the ambulance. It was his fault though (riding in the crosswalk against the light), and of course he wasn't wearing a helmet.

Funniest sight today: You know how when cops in the US are together, invariably one of them grabs a bunch of doughnuts? Well, it's the same in France, except one of the cops brings a bunch of yogurt.

Bonjour!

2007-05-08T15:07:00.000-04:00

Well, I successfully made it to Paris. I'm getting settled in and trying to learn French as fast as I can so I don't starve. I was able to get my first dinner all by myself yesterday. Here it is:

The wine in the picture was less than 2 euros, and is as good as anything I have had in the US under $20. The baguette was amazing, still warm when I bought it and maybe the best bread I have ever tasted. The cheese was dirt cheap supermarket cheese, and damn good, but I found a fromagerie today that surely has even better cheese.

Funniest sight so far: when I turned on the TV in my apartment, the first thing that came on was Beverly Hills 90210. In French.

Tomorrow I get to work. Wish me luck!

This American Life

2007-04-20T14:53:00.000-04:00

I love This American Life, but this Onion article is hilarious:

In what cultural anthropologists are calling a "colossal achievement" in the study of white-collar professionals, the popular radio show has successfully isolated all 7,442 known characteristics of college graduates who earn between $62,500 and $125,000 per year and feel strongly that something should be done about global warming.

I love Jerry Remy

2007-04-17T10:32:00.000-04:00

This video is why I never turn off the TV during a Red Sox game, even if it is a blowout. Because you never know when the Rem Dawg is going to go off on one of his crazy tangents:

While we are on the topic of baseball, this Sportscenter video cracked me up.

[One of these days I'll have to post something that isn't about baseball.]

Red Sox

2007-04-05T11:19:00.000-04:00

Even though it looks like a Winter wonderland here in Lebanon, I am officially psyched for the real baseball season (as opposed to my fantasy one). If Matsuzaka is a good as they say, because if so, I think the Sox will win the division. If not, well, what's $100,000,000 among friends?

Check out this new Japanese Nike ad featuring Dice-K. I think it's pretty damn good.

Fantasy Baseball '07

2007-03-28T21:25:00.000-04:00

We had our Fantasy Baseball draft Monday night. I had the added pressure of the first pick this year. Although everyone in the world would have done what I did - take Albert Pujols without thinking twice. Here's my starting lineup, which will definitely change as the season goes on:

1B: Albert Pujols
2B: Dan Uggla
SS: Michael Young
3B: Mark Teahen
C: Josh Bard
OF: Magglio Ordonez
OF: Nick Markakis
OF: Aubrey Huff
DH: Gregg Zaun (ugh - DH is so thin this year)
U: Gary Matthews (hope he isn't arrested for HGH)
SP: Chris Carpenter
SP: Ervin Santana
SP: Derek Lowe
RP: J.J. Putz
RP: Octavio Dotel

I'm pretty happy with my team, aside from my relievers and my awful DH. I also have some decent reserves, including Jon Lester and Dustin Pedroia for my token Red Sox.

The biggest surprise of the draft was Daisuke Matsuzaka going in the first round. If you've never played fantasy baseball, it is very rare for any pitcher to go in the first round. Basically only a proven strikeout pitcher who will almost definitely win 20 games will make the cut - like Johan Santana - or I'm sure Clemens back in the day. This is because of they way scoring works - a slugger who plays every day is just worth more to your team. I hope Matsuzaka is great, but it definitely was a big risk.

Ted Leo

2007-03-15T15:52:00.000-04:00

Ted Leo has a new song that is probably the best war protest song since Masters of War. Check it out here: Bomb.Repeat.Bomb. Just a great song to crank up and piss off any neoconservatives in earshot.

Looks like I have to add Living with the Living to the long list of new and not-so-new albums I need to buy (Arcade Fire, Grandaddy, Loose Fur, Beck, Sonic Youth). I did pick up Built to Spill's latest and the new Shins recently. The Built to Spill is great, I mean, it isn't anything earth-shattering, but if you like their previous stuff, it is good. The Shins took a few listens to get into, but now I am really digging it. A bit more complicated musically than their earlier stuff (not that it is Amnesiac or anything).

Radiation is dangerous...

2007-02-23T07:03:00.000-05:00

In case you didn't know what the old radiation symbol meant, the International Atomic Energy Commission has designed a new one that makes things a bit more explicit:

Manny being Manny

2007-02-22T10:18:00.000-05:00

Ah, The Onion:

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC-While watching a live spring-training report from the Boston Red Sox training facility in Fort Myers, FL on SportsCenter Wednesday, outfielder Manny Ramirez reportedly told his family that he "had the weirdest feeling [he] should be somewhere else right now." "I don't know what it is... Am I usually someplace else at this time of year?" Ramirez asked his wife, adding that the people on television looked vaguely familiar and that he felt "the strangest urge" to be in Florida. "Wait, is that guy there on the TV... is that Big Papi? But why would he be in Florida now?" According to Ramirez's wife, her husband then looked at the calendar on the wall, frowned, and continued to watch television while idly popping an old ball into his baseball glove.

Presidents' or President's or Presidents Day

2007-02-17T08:23:00.000-05:00

I was reading the New Yorker this week and I came across an amazing article. I turns out that there is no Federal law declaring Monday to be Presidents' day. The law still on the books refers to it as Washington's Birthday. Presidents' day started when some advertiser called it that, and found that sales were better than when they called it Washington's Birthday, maybe because it was easier to say.

This article from the same issue, about the conservative creator of 24 and how the show is causing young recruits in the military to think that torture works great, was a pretty good read too. Although I'm still going to watch 24 since I don't see myself in the position to torture anyone soon. Those of you who love 24 like me but also find it to be ridiculous at times should check out Dave Barry's 24 blog. His live-blogs of the episodes have me laughing out loud.

It is my destiny...

2007-02-04T15:29:00.000-05:00

I have wondered for a long time what the name "Mielcarz" means in Polish. A polish guy I worked with said he thought it meant "miller." But it turns out, according to this page, that Mielcarz is an archaic noun meaning "maltster or brewer." I don't care if the page is accurate or not - I love it!

Just in case...

2007-01-29T10:51:00.000-05:00

...you needed another reason to root against the Colts: Tony Dungy supports an anti-gay rights organization.

Ouch.

2007-01-24T16:28:00.000-05:00

This looks like it hurt.

Good Bye, Lenin!

2007-01-03T16:19:00.000-05:00

Last night, Ann and I watched Good Bye, Lenin!. It was an absolutely great movie. The perfect combination of humor and sentiment, along with a setting in probably one of the most interesting times in recent history.

For those of you who haven't seen it, the basic outline of the plot is that a woman in East Germany falls into a coma. She was a devoted patriot/communist, very involved in educating East German children in the ways of socialism. While she is in a coma, the Berlin wall comes down. When she wakes up, her doctor warns her son that any physical of psychological shocks could have dire health consequences. So the son decides to maintain the charade that East German communism is a strong as ever. This provides a great window into what life was like for East Germans during that first rush of capitalism, good and bad.

I vividly remember watching the Berlin wall come down, and the people partying on top of it, but I never really got a sense that this event was affecting individual people. I had a rudimentary understanding of the geopolitical implications (i.e. communism bad; freedom good), but the fact that a whole new world opened up for East Germans (particularly East Berliners) virtually overnight never occurred to me. Good Bye, Lenin! gets my highest recommendation.

Strange Dream

2006-12-20T07:12:00.000-05:00

I had a really strange dream last night. I was at my house and I realized that Sadie was gone. But I knew where she was. So I got in my car and raced over to Dan & Whit's. I saw a shadowy figure duck into the Christmas trees (I'm not even sure if they sell Christmas trees, but they were there in my dream). Thinking I needed protection, I grabbed the air hose for filling up cars.

I snuck in between the trees like a cop on a TV show, swinging the air hose around corners. Then I saw who had Sadie - it was Dick Cheney! I blasted him with the air hose and grabbed Sadie. I put down the air hose and we walked out of the trees. Cheney followed us, and I saw that he had a snub-nosed revolver pointed at me. "You fucking prick," I said to him. "I know you could kill us if you wanted but we are leaving now." I put Sadie in her car seat and drove off.

And then I woke up to the dulcet tones of some NPR personality on my clock radio. There's a chance it had been on for a bit and they were talking about Cheney, but I don't know. I'll take dream interpretations in the comments.

Spam of the day...

2006-12-14T16:08:00.000-05:00

"Obtain degrees from Prestigious non-accredited Universities"

Hey, at least they are honest.

The Flickr Song

2006-12-11T19:41:00.000-05:00

The Flickr Song. Funny stuff.

Cheap Toy Roundup

2006-12-05T16:11:00.000-05:00

Every year I read The Onion's Cheap Toy Roundup, and every year it cracks me up. This year is no exception.

Old School Ann

2006-11-30T22:50:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken when Ann was about 8.5 months pregnant at 5 Olde Nugget Alley in Hanover. It's funny to think that we used to just be able to go out any time we wanted - I really don't even remember what life was like then. On the other hand, it seems impossible to me that Sadie is turning 2 on Saturday. Memory is weird that way, I guess.
That's one reason I'm glad I have this blog. I can click on the archives and find out that I saw "Punch Drunk Love" with Doug and Kristin on Oct. 19, 2002. That's something I never would have remembered otherwise. Anyway, it's been fun posting every day in November, but it was a bit of a grind. I'll try to keep the posting schedule semi-regular, though - I had really been slacking for a while there.

Jack Black's Celebrity Playlist

2006-11-29T20:57:00.000-05:00

Rolling Stone has Jack Black's celebrity playlist. What bums me out is that when you click to listen, you need to install some player, and then you don't even get to hear the World Saxophone Quartet. I was really looking forward to it!

The Tenacious D movie looks pretty damn funny (the website is great, too). If it is anything like "Butt Baby" (not safe for work) you know it will be good.

Intensity

2006-11-28T21:06:00.000-05:00

Men on a mission. Ann thinks we look kind of dumb. But I call it intensity.

Word of the year

2006-11-27T22:39:00.000-05:00

So what is your pick for word of the year? You can vote at Merriam-Webster online. I highly recommend "macaca", since it pretty much singlehandedly swung the Senate to the Democrats. What other word can lay claim to such influence?

To keep up with the recent trend in my posts, my beer word of the year is "Simcoe." It seems like more and more beers are using this crazy hop. I'm still not completely sold on it, but it does have an amazingly unique taste.

Pats vs. Bears

2006-11-26T21:05:00.000-05:00

Good win by the Pats today. Ugly, but good. I think they are finally starting to settle in. I guess that says something about me as a fan that my team is 8-3 and I'm only now starting to think that they are pretty good. We Pats fans have been pretty spoiled the past few years. If you had told me in 2000 that they would win three Super Bowls in the next 4 years, that they would come to be seen as one of the dominant franchises in the NFL, with their 3rd string backup quaterback drafted in he 6th round as one of the top five players in the league, I would have thought you were crazy. I'm feeling pretty good about the rest of the season.

Bigfoot.

2006-11-25T23:21:00.000-05:00

Ann and I had a chance to go out to David Copperfield's last night, a bar near her parents' apartment in NYC that has a pretty extensive beer list. They had just tapped a keg of Bigfoot, and I am assuming it is one of this year's, although I can't be sure. It sure tasted fresh, and it reminded me just what an amazing beer it is on draught. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye is really tasty too, but Arcadia Hopmouth Double IPA is kinda bad. I was glad our waitress let me have a sample of that one before I ordered an entire pint.

Anyway, I don't have a whole lot else to say, since I haven't had time to surf the net and collect my usual entertaining links. I should have some for you tomorrow, since I know you are all eagerly awaiting them.

Borat

2006-11-24T09:04:00.000-05:00

Ann and I went to see Borat on Wednesday. Oh my god. I haven't laughed that hard in a long, long time - I almost died during the wrestling scene. Highly recommended. His website is pretty great, too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T21:08:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Hope you all had some great food and fun!

Dartmouth Mascot Controversy

2006-11-22T17:20:00.000-05:00

The Native Americans at Dartmouth are angry about the fact that the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux are coming to play in the annual New Years hockey tournament. The athletic director wrote a letter of apology to the student nespaper about this. Normally, something like this would end there, but imagine my surprise when my favorite sports blog, Deadspin has a post about the controversy. Of course, they didn't take the complaints very seriously.

One interesting bit of trivia about UND Hockey is that a wealthy alum gave several million dollars for the contruction of a new arena - however, he stipulated that the Fighting Sioux symbol be placed all over the arena, so that if the university decided to change there mascot, it would cost thousands of dollars to remove them all. I think there are literally thousands of the symbols. Crazy, huh?

Keith Olbermann Goes Off

2006-11-21T16:28:00.000-05:00

Wow...here's a great video of Keith Olbermann going off on President Bush for his misguided comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam.

The greatest beers in the world...

2006-11-20T20:45:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, Ann picked up a book for me at the used book store: The 50 Greatest Beers in the World by Stuart Kallen. It was published in 1997. Here are his top 20 beers (BeerAdvocate score in parenthesis):

Delerium Tremens (88)
Kulmbacher Reichelbraü Eisbock (89)
Rogue Shakespeare Stout (91)
Duvel (91)
Caledonian Golden Pale (83)
Chapeau Gueuze Lambic (not enough reviews, but so far, not good)
Sam Smith Taddy Porter (88)
Aventinus (91)
Lindemans Kriek (87)
Murphy's Irish Stout (85)
Chimay Cinq Cents (88)
Grant's Scottish Ale (retired)
Corsendonk Monk's Pale Ale (86)
Erdinger Pinkantus Weizenbock (86)
Guinness Stout (83)
Orval (89)
Sam Smith Imperial Stout (91)
Saison Dupont (90)
Pinkus Ur-Pils Organic (85)
Grant's Imperial Stout (retired)

Overall it is a decent list - you can't go wrong with any of those beers, although that gueuze seems a little suspect. Having Murphy's and Guinness is probably unnecessary, as well as having Duvel and Delirium Tremens. There are better tripels than the Chimay, too, and Corsendonk is good but not great. I haven't had the Kulmbacher or the Erdinger, but I am sure that they are good, although the Aventinus Eisbock is pretty amazing, and it would be tough in my book for any Eisbock to beat it. Give me Cantillon Kriek over Lindemans Kriek any day; I guess there is a place for the Lindemans, but it wouldn't be in my top 20. Here is a quick list of my top 10 beers that I have rated on BeerAdvocate: Bigfoot, Celebration, Stone Imperial Stout, Leifman's Goudenband, Westvleteren 12, Rochefort 6, Trois Pistoles, Allagash Interlude, La Terrible, McNeills Imperial Stout. Of course, if I were writing a book, I would probably include a bigger variety of styles in my top ten, and I probably wouldn't include beers that one can only buy at the brewery (i.e. Westvleteren 12). All in all, the book is pretty interesting from a historical point of view.

Brew Day

2006-11-19T21:05:00.000-05:00

Brewed up a batch of beer today. I am aiming for a hoppy foreign extra stout - the starting gravity was 1.068 (yes, I finally bought a thief to check my gravity), which should give me an ABV of about 6.7% and the IBUs calculated out to be about 67. Hops were Northern Brewer/Bullion for bittering (why these two? Because the recipe I used as a starting point called for them), and Cascades for aroma/flavor. I'm probably going to dry hop with Cascades as well - but not the crappy locally grown Cascades I tried a few months ago. I'll let you know how it turns out, although chances are if you are reading this, you'll get a chance to try it.

If the weather turns cold, I think my next beer will be my first lager. My basement is usually about 55 degrees in the winter, which is just about perfect for fermenting a lager. I still haven't decided what kind of lager though - maybe a bock or a Schwarzbier. But I'm open to suggestions.

Our next place to live...

2006-11-18T22:19:00.000-05:00

Big news everyone! Ann and I have decided where we will live after I graduate. Check it out!

Box Elder

2006-11-17T11:42:00.000-05:00

For Malkmus lovers only:

There is a great video for "Baby C'mon" on YouTube as well, and of course check out the video for "Mama" (Real format) from the Matador web site, which Ann loves.

Farnum Hill Cider

2006-11-16T22:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight at Beer Club we went to Poverty Lane Orchards to have a private tour with the head cider maker from Farnum Hill Ciders. It was fascinating - I've been on so many beer tours that they really have become redundant, but this was a whole new ball game. They grow apples at this orchard that no one else in America grows, just for use in their hard cider. We got to taste unblended hard cider straight out of the barrel - so delicious. One of the most interesting tours I've been on - it isn't every day when the tour guide mouth-siphons product out of a fermenter and pours you a sample.

Tonight's Activity

2006-11-15T21:30:00.000-05:00

Ann is having a girls night out tonight with Laurie, Rachel and Laurence at the Tip Top Cafe in White River Jct. So my activity for the evening is burning a bunch of live shows I have downloaded in the past year that I've never got around to. Phish, Ryan Adams, Wilco, MMW, Built To Spill, Pavement, Uncle Tupelo, GRAB - in all it is around 10GB of losslessly compressed music that has been taking up space on my hard drive for a long time. Luckily I have a surplus 48x Firewire CD-RW drive that I took home from the help to help out - if only I had a faster computer to decompress the .shn and .flac files I'd be done in no time.

I know, sounds like a really exciting night, huh? At least I have a Sierra Nevada Celebration to help me through it. Once I finish, I can go here and fill up the hard drive again.

Are you autistic?

2006-11-14T19:53:00.000-05:00

Wired news has an autism quiz on their web site. I got a 21, which is above average, but way below 32 which is where most people with autism score.

I mainly took the test because Ann is always telling me I have autistic traits. Now I have proof that she is mostly wrong!

Macaca!

2006-11-13T19:44:00.000-05:00

I am Macaca! "Macaca" is definitely word of the year, although Ann is pushing for Brangelina. (Apologies for the lame post, I have a paper due tomorrow.)

Pic of the day...

2006-11-12T20:06:00.000-05:00

Here's one from way back in the archives. Ann and I at a Halloween party in 1999 in Somerville, MA.

Saturday Links Vol. 2

2006-11-11T21:56:00.000-05:00

Damn doctors trying to rename all of the cool genes - if I had a mutated sonic hedgehog gene, probably the only thing that would make me happy would be to know that the name of the gene was "sonic hedgehog"
Impressive New Honda Inspires John Mellencamp To Write Song About Japan - God I hate those commercials.

Albums of the year...so far...

2006-11-10T18:10:00.000-05:00

Here are my picks for albums of the year, so far, from someone who hasn't heard that much new music this year:

Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass: by far the best album title of the year, and damn good music as well. You know a band is pretty confident when the first song on their album ("Pass the hatchet, I think I'm goodkind" - another great title) is a 10 minute long jam with minimal lyrics. You can download the whole song here, if you like.
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America: not quite as strong as their previous effort, Separation Sunday, but still a great album. Bonus points for the Kerouac inspired title. Check out a live version of Stuck Between Stations, the first song on the album.
Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit: the first half of this album is really great, it sags a bit in the middle, but thats a minor quibble. Here is a great video for "White Collar Boy."
Honorable Mentions: The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics; Pavement - Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition (reissue, so it kinda doesn't count); Bruce Springsteen We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions; Neko Case Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

I'm actually kind of disappointed in myself for not checking out more music this year. There are a lot of albums that have come out that I've been meaning to get (Sonic Youth, The Decemberists, Willie Nelson w/ Ryan Adams, others), but I just haven't had a lot of time to wander around the record store. If any of you have any suggestions, let me know.

Scary

2006-11-09T11:15:00.000-05:00

Robot thinks human flesh tastes like bacon. Does this worry anyone else?

Spin in Action

2006-11-08T15:40:00.000-05:00

It's rare that one gets to see media spin in action, but here is how the AP changed their story on the reaction of the stock market to the Democratic victory yesterday:

The red text is how the paragraph initially read, and the green text is what it changed to as the market rebounded.

Maybe how it should really read is "the market is undergoing normal daily fluctuations, and we are desperately trying to attach political significance to it!" They are also choosing to ignore that fact that in the last 70 or so years, the market has done better under Democratic rule than Republican. But the conventional wisdom says Democrats are bad for business, so it must be so!

Election Junkie

2006-11-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

I'm a total election junkie. I'm reloading CNN incessantly, flipping back and forth between news channels, refreshing all of my political blogs on NetNewsWire. I'm hopeful that my choices win, but even if they don't, I think it is one of the great nights of the year.

When I was in high school, I was hired during the 1994 election by my Sociology teacher Mr. Makris to collect election results from my local ward, which were then passed on to the national media. I think it payed $20 for about 10 minutes of work. Ever since then, I've whenever I see election results I think of the thousands of high school kids hanging out at every precinct in America waiting to collect numbers. Just thought I would pass on a little bit of election trivia you may or may not know about.

Blast from the past...

2006-11-06T21:31:00.000-05:00

That's me on the right, if you can believe it. I found this picture in my saxophone case, of all places. What I can't remember is who took the picture...was it a timer? Jake, do you know?

(And yes, the main reason I am posting this picture is because I don't want to talk about this.)

Alex Gonzalez was Robbed!

2006-11-05T18:44:00.000-05:00

Seth Mnookin makes the obvious case for Alex Gonzalez being robbed of the Gold Glove by Derek Jeter. I fucking hate everything about Jeter. Sorry for the language, but there is no other way to put it.

Date Night

2006-11-05T17:27:00.000-05:00

Ann, Sadie and I were in Concord yesterday to visit with Nana and Bob-Bob and a whole bunch of cousins (you can read all about it on the baby blog). My parents were nice enough to babysit Sadie, so Ann and I had a rare date night. We wanted to see Borat, but unfortunately it was only playing in Hooksett at inconvenient times. Ann had read in the Ale Street News that Penuche's in Concord had refocused on beer and, more importantly, became no smoking. It still has a nondescript windowless door to get downstairs, and still smells like stale smoke, but at least there is no fresh smoke. They have the best beer list I've seen in NH, including a couple Belgians (Duvel, Affligem and Lindemans), and very cheap prices - a bottle of Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA was only $4, and Spaten Octoberfest was only $3. Pretty sweet jukebox too - lots of Phish, Dead and Widespread. A good place to hang out if you are in or around Concord - much better than the Barley House.

As we were getting ready to leave, this band Otherwise showed up. They had more equipment than any other bar band that I have ever seen - huge loudspeakers, a DJ with two turntables (no microphone), a keyboardist with a vintage Hammond Organ and 3 other keyboards. I asked the keyboardist what kind of music they played. He says "It's kind of reggae, electronic, some originals, kinda jammy." After hearing that, Ann and I really wanted to stay, but unfortunately, we had to leave.

Saturday Links

2006-11-04T07:40:00.000-05:00

Quien es mas macho? Brady o Manning?
The best denial of all time - yeah, I called a gay prostitute for a massage and bought some crystal meth from him, but we didn't have sex and I threw the meth away. Right...somehow I think there may be a bit more to this story

Politics

2006-11-03T15:31:00.000-05:00

Note: political message follows. Close your browser now if you don't want to read it...

So if polling is any indication, it seems like the American public is finally figuring out that the war in Iraq was a dumb idea by a bad president. Unfortunately, over 2800 Americans had to die for people to come to this conclusion. I'm not an ITMFA person, but I really hope the Democrats take the House and Senate, so that maybe Bush will only be able to take away half of our civil liberties in the next 2 years, and we can get people in the armed forces out of the quagmire the incompetent Republicans got them into.

A bit closer to home, I'm happy to see the recent polls showing Paul Hodes either ahead or just behind of Charlie Bass. I used to not really mind Bass - he seemed like a social libertarian/fiscal conservative in the traditional New Hampshire republican mold. But ever since Bush has been president, Bass has come down on the his side of every single vote that mattered. I encourage all of you who are reading this and who live in New Hampshire's 2nd District (all three of you?) to vote for Paul Hodes on Tuesday.

This year's pumpkin...

2006-11-02T19:34:00.000-05:00

So I decided to go with a sad/scared pumpkin this year. Sadie was pretty upset and worried about it and wouldn't go near it once I lit it. She also kept talking to her teacher at day care about "Daddy pumpkin sad." Another great moment in parenting...

Eric Wilbur is Great

2006-11-01T07:48:00.000-05:00

Horse of same color- Boston Sports Blog - Boston.com - NESN: "I can just imagine the Patriots coach watching game film of the Colts this week, cackling hysterically, smoke pluming from his lips like Max Cady in Cape Fear. No sooner had everyone finished removing their puckered lips from Manning's derriere after the Colts' win at Denver Sunday, than Tom Brady upped the ante with a four-touchdown evening at Minnesota. And just like that, the Colts are shivering in fearful anticipation.
Yes, after Sunday, Peyton Manning will fall to 3-11 vs. the Patriots and just 1-8 at Foxborough. Is there any doubt of that after what we witnessed last night? The Patriots defense was relentless against the Vikings, and while Brad Johnson certainly isn't comparable to the likes of an All-Pro like Manning, we've seen enough of this script to know what to expect. And that, my friends, will be multiple angles of the Peyton pout, unsnapping his helmet in disgust after another interception. After the game, he'll want to be a good teammate, but will inevitably throw somebody under the bus."

God, I love Eric Wilbur when he gets snarky (doesn't hurt that he throws a Phish reference into 1/2 his posts). Should be a great game next weekend. I see the pats going after the Colts with the exact opposite strategy they used against the Vikings - run, run, run instead of pass, pass, pass. The Colts are ranked last in the league against the run - Dillon and Maroney are going to run all over them, the Pats will eat the clock, and Manning will have no time to score.

I'm going to try to post every day this month like Ann is trying on Sadie's blog. So expect more boring posts about sports, music and beer until December!

Wow.

2006-10-26T20:17:00.000-04:00

Weird Al is a genius.

Beefside

2006-10-25T14:59:00.000-04:00

The Onion and Beefside - together at last!

Vodka

2006-09-27T10:26:00.000-04:00

Here is a fascinating blog post about Vodka from Eric Asimov, the NYT wine critic. Looks like I can go back to buying Smirnoff, and save my money for expensive Scotches, which actually taste different.

In addition, it's a pretty consistently great blog; here is the home page.

Peyton Manning

2006-09-08T11:16:00.000-04:00

This is one of the funniest things I've read in a while. I am so sick of Peyton Manning.

Celebrity Look-alike

2006-09-07T21:43:00.000-04:00

Today I was at the deli in the hospital getting my lunch (a chicken Ceasar, if you care). I pick up my salad, and see the manager writing something down. I didn't think anything of it, and paid for my lunch. My friend John who was in line behind me comes up to me laughing: "Did you see the manager writing?" he says.
"Yeah," I say.
"Well, he took the paper and showed it to the sandwich lady and whispered something. So I asked him what it said. He held it up and said did you see that guy who was just standing next to you? The paper said 'Vincent D'Onofrio'. You know, the guy from Full Metal Jacket who blows his head off."
"Wait - did he really think I was Vincent D'Onofrio?" I ask.
"I don't know. I don't think so, but maybe."

Here is where the story degenerates into "What is your major malfunction Private Pyle?" and "What do you get for ten dollars?" jokes. But I've heard that I look like Vincent D'Onofrio before from a couple different people. What do you think? (By the way, comments about him having more hair then me will not be appreciated.)

More importantly, what celebrities have people said you look like? Leave a comment!

Congratulations!

2006-09-04T18:42:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Beth and Jake on the birth of their son, Samuel Hiram!

Crikey!

2006-09-04T07:59:00.000-04:00

Crikey! RIP, Crocodile Hunter.

I passed!

2006-08-29T21:57:00.000-04:00

I passed my Qualifying Exam!

For those of you who don't know, the qualifier (at Dartmouth) is a 10 page written proposal and an oral exam in which three professors grill you for 3 hours until you feel like you have been hit by a truck. It was pretty much the most miserable experience of my life, but I survived.

I am celebrating by drinking a Thomas Hooker Imperial Porter (yes, that's my review at the top), which is a delicious 7.8% ABV porter that comes in a 1 liter bottle. And that won't be the last beer I have tonight.

Now I can await the birth of baby Morrill with no worries!

Survivor

2006-08-24T08:50:00.000-04:00

The new season of survivor decided to spice things up a bit. They've already divided things up by sex, so they couldn't do that again. The Apprentice did the whole street smarts/book smarts thing. So, they took it to the next illogical step: teams divided up by race. I'll let that sink in for a moment.

I know I'm not the only one that thinks this is a horrible idea. They say they eliminated any racists in casting, so we shouldn't expect the teams to be shouting racial slurs at one another. But what about the people at home? Obviously there are a lot of racists out there, and they'll be looking to the show to reinforce any stereotypes that they have. Already Rush Limbaugh is fanning the flames.

Now I know we don't live in a colorblind society, and race most definitely still matters. But the fact that CBS would exploit racism to up the ratings of a tired reality show is pretty sad.

Puns with cheese

2006-08-06T19:51:00.000-04:00

The French word tomme refers to a round cheese or a cheese in the shape of a wheel. Tomme de Savoie is probably the most well known variety avaiable in the US. Tonight, we saw two new cheeses with great names.

This one made us smile:
And this one's even better:

Wikipedia

2006-08-02T21:57:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been messing around with Wikipedia, putting in some small changes here and there. Well, tonight I wrote my first new article: M cells. While I'm pretty happy with that article, the contribution I'm most proud of is the addition I made to the Derek Jeter article. Scroll down to trivia, and check out the item that starts "Was voted the most..." That's all me.

Malkmus in an Elevator

2006-07-26T15:29:00.000-04:00

Here's a great movie of Stephen Malkmus singing a capella in a elevator. It won't stream, so you'll have to download the whole thing to watch it. But it's worth it, at the very least to find out that you've been pronouncing his name wrong since the first time you read it.

RIP Syd Barrett

2006-07-11T15:23:00.000-04:00

"And the sea isn't green. And I love the queen. And what exactly is a dream? And what exactly is a joke?" - Syd Barrett. RIP.

He's The Hoff

2006-07-06T15:34:00.000-04:00

He's The Hoff. I agree with the article - from now on, any time I don't get my way it's going to be: "Do you know who I am? I'm the Hoff!"

Also, Vladimir Putin kisses a boy like a kitten. Why don't our politicians ever do this?

What I Do

2006-06-20T09:59:00.000-04:00

For those of you wondering what it is I do, check out this article in the New York Times science section. It's a good overview of Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite I work with, and as an added bonus, my advisor is quoted in the fourth paragraph.

Of course, they neglect to note that our French collaborators were the first ones to determine that T. gondii was transported from the intestine within dendritic cells, but that is not important to your understanding of the organism.

Good story...

2006-06-15T22:08:00.000-04:00

He was a good guy. Loved his red sox.

Snack Food Winners

2006-05-27T20:23:00.000-04:00

Snack Food Awards Night

In the Tortilla Chips Category:
Winner: Red Hot Blues by Garden of Eatin'
Runner Up: Tortilla Strips by Green Mountain Gringo

In the "Poofs" Category:
Winner: Jalapeno Cheese Puffs by Barbara's Bakery
Runner Up: Veggie Booty by Robert's American Gourmet (Sadie's choice)

In the Chips Category:
Winner: Spicy Thai by Kettle Chips
Runner Up: Sea Salt and Vinegar by Cape Cod (Dan's choice) and Beachside Barbeque by Cape Cod (Ann's choice)
Honorable Mention: Cape Cod Reduced Fat Potato Chips, the only reduced fat chips that taste any good at all.

Recent Fun Stuff

2006-05-27T14:39:00.000-04:00

acetylene pastoral

Here's an picture of Jake and Beth building their bathroom last summer, and some recent funny stuff from the internets that you may not have seen:

Needless to say, some of these may not be safe for work.