Where's the Sun?

This is what an O'Hare gate/terminal looks like at 5:15 in the
morning. In another hour and a half the flood gates will open and
it'll be standing room only. As much as I HATE getting up at 4 in the
morning I love being able to sit in relative silence with my coffee,
rather than jockey with wayward tourists for gate side seating.

Truckers and Ice

If your heard the words Female and Trucker... what are the first thoughts that come to your mind? I tell you my first thought: Rosanne Barr. Sterotypical? Absolutely. But you thought it too. Now why in the world would I be thinking about female truckers? Well I was watching Ice Road Truckers this morning and their happens to be a female trucker this year, Lisa. And needless to say she does not look like Rosanne. Beth and I thought for sure this was a trick, she was a host or something, not an "actual" trucker, I mean one toothless man is nicknamed Polar Bear and rumor has it he hasn't bathed since the Carter administration. So we continued to watch to see what type of a rouse we were witnessing, because I mean she was not trucking across the plains of Kansas, she's trucking in Alaska on the ice roads, which for those who have ever watched the show knows it's no messing around. Below is a picture of Lisa.

Apparently I'm a Fat Loser

So I play video games. A lot of video games, I'd say on average I hit the 8-10+ hours a week mark. On my off days I've been known to be "on the sticks" for 6+ hours in a sitting. I think that qualifies me as a gamer. According to the CDC the average "gamer" is 35, Fat, and lacks social skills. They came to this sweeping and generalized assessment by conducting a survey of 552 adults in the Seattle area.

I'm sorry, but I have a problem with a Federal Agency basing and publishing it's assessment of "gamers" on a survey of 552 people, what were there parameters? and honestly can you really extrapolate the results from 552 people over the entire population? The United States has 304 million people, so they surveyed 0.0002% of the population, from one single geographical area, and from that they decided that was sufficient to publicly call out that gamers are Fat, Social Outcasts. Ya know what... I could survey 552 adults in Clay Center, KS; but extrapolating the results of any survey conducted there across the entire United States would be inaccurate and would require the largest jump to conclusions mat ever created. I mean who's to say that the average Seattle resident isn't 35, overweight, and lacks social skills? Maybe the problem is Seattle? I mean it is very close to Canada.

I understand that the Federal Government and adults in general over the age of 40 have a large, Paul Bunyan size ax to grind against video games, but seriously....

A link to the insanity:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32463904/ns/technology_and_science-games

Live Long and Prosper

Finally saw Star Trek on the plane this morning. If you have not seen it, stop reading and go rent it NOW, fantastic movie. I was blown away it was WAY more than I expected. I plan on renting it immediately when I get home because I couldn't see it very well on the plan so I feel like I missed the full effect. But my excitement for the movie (which was moderately high) was increased exponentially.

***UPDATE Star Trek doesn't come out on video for purchase/rental til Nov

Tractor Beam

Once again Mountain Dew suckered me in with that magical phrase... NEW! This time it was "Ultra Violet" a new diet form of Mountain Dew.

**UPDATE Mt. Dew Ultra Violet was "good" nothing too special, just a grape soda.

Word of the Week: Man Crush

My initial thoughts on this post was to craft and weave a long explanation about the "man crush" however, Urban Dictionary, did a pretty darn good job of it and I really don't know that I could get it any better. Urban Dictionary defines a Man Crush as:

When a straight man has a "crush" on another man, not sexual but kind of idolizing him.

Video of the Week

Can't wait for this movie, looks weird but I am curious. For those who were unaware, this was Heath Ledger's last movie, he was working on it when he died. Colin Ferrell, Jude Law, and Johnny Depp finished it up.

Video of the Week

Are you smarter than a monkey.... I'm wasn't and yes I did buy some bananas this method works way easier.

Morning Excitement

Big goings on this morning in the neighborhood. A propane tank exploded on the roof of an apartment building just across the alley setting it on fire. According to the news, the building was undamaged (for the most part). Fire Dept. got there super quick. Below are a couple pictures, the bottom one someone took from a neighboring high rise. The top one is the one I took from outside our alley.

Word Vomit ... Apology

I just realized that the reference to Word Vomit that I used in an earlier post, which I thought a clever way to describe my free-flow of thoughts of a non-homogeneous content. However, I realized that that was not in fact an original idea. It struck me last night like a big awkward slap in the face... (apologize mom for the language but)...Oh Shit... (I literally said that out loud) the phrase Word Vomit came from Mean Girls... I just quoted Mean Girls, What the hell? I was instantly embarrassed. I immediately left the Call of Duty game I was in the middle of and drafted this apology. I was embarrassed for several reasons, mainly though because by using said phrase, which shall not be uttered from my lips or typed by my fingers hence forth, I was in fact admitting publicly for friends and family to read that I had viewed the abomination of a movie that was Mean Girls. And if the aforementioned action was not egregious enough, I was giving it "street cred" worthy of only quality motion pictures and anything that is uttered from Will Ferrell's lips by quoting it. I truly do apologize to anyone who was offended and I will make better choices in the future by not watching every terrible move the TBS throws at me just because it is on (which sadly in my case is easier said than done).

Farming Update

Below is a picture of my 1 lonely tomato plant. She's getting bigger and so far has one little guy turning red. Got several green ones that will hopefully hurry up and turn. I want to make some salsa. Pry the only idiot out there that would choose to utilize his space by growing a veggie for a single solitary purpose on his tiny 3'x5' porch in the middle of Chicago ( I HATE with a capital H tomatoes).

Side Note: got some red chili peppers from my father-in-law last weekend which means operation spicy pickle can commence. My plan is head down to the farmer's market and procure some cucumbers and attempt to turn those nasty little suckers (don't like cucumbers either) into some deliciously spicy pickle slices.

Yep growing tomatoes and making pickles... I'm a ball of thrills on the weekend people.

Things That Make You Look Like a Doofus

Below are a couple excerpts from an ESPN Page 2 article... hilarious, link to the full top 20 is below. If you've ever heard me rant about the run/bike path on Lake Shore Drive you know why #6 made me nearly spill Gatorade out my nose.

6. Wearing a sponsor-festooned jersey while riding your bike

Dubious behavior: Pedaling around town in a skintight, pro-style bicycle jersey plastered with the names of major European corporations.

Doofus factor: Very high. That steep hill by your house isn't the Pyrenees; the guy in the nearby car doesn't want to hand you a water bottle; riding an extra mile won't strike a decisive blow against cancer; no one is paying you a dime to be out here; no one is about to knock on your door and request a urine sample. Why? Because you are not Lance. Know those silly-looking flame-retardant jackets worn by NASCAR drivers? Imagine wearing the same thing to the grocery store.

Suggested solution: Wear a T-shirt or a plain-colored jersey. You even can wear yellow.

Mitigating circumstances: You are actually the Lance.

Related behaviors: Wearing NBA jerseys to play pickup basketball.

10. Wearing baseball pants to play slo-pitch softball

Dubious behavior: Self-explanatory. Often comes accessorized with the sort of wraparound sunglasses typically seen on American troops in Iraq.

Doofus factor: A mind-erasing supernova of doofusdom. Just as a shaved head and orange robes are the signs of a Shaolin monk, baseball pants in slo-pitch mark someone who takes softball waaaaay too seriously. Think someone who knows his on-base percentage. Someone who swings a bat that costs more than his couch. Someone whose uncontrollable, indiscriminate competitive fire would be better suited on a driving and/or firing range. Someone sports radio host Jim Rome has immortalized with a deceivingly innocuous nickname -- "Softball Guy" -- and someone you don't want to be.

Suggested solution: Wear shorts, drink a few beers, play co-ed.

Mitigating circumstances: You're a member of the U.S. national slo-pitch softball team. Which is, in fact, real.

Related behaviors: Showing up to a softball game with a dozen bats of varying weights. Again: Just play golf, already.

15. Leaving stickers and tags on your caps

Dubious behavior: Self-evident. Really self-evident. Like, you can't miss it.

Doofus factor: Moderate. Hey, sharing your head size with the world isn't the same as sharing your Social Security number or anything. It's more like wearing an underwear tag on your forehead. In addition, a San Francisco Chronicle article speculates that former "Hee Haw" star Minnie Pearl was the first person to wear a price tag dangling from her hat. And if anyone embodies urban cool, it's former "Hee Haw" star Minnie Pearl.

Suggested solution: Peel. Clean. Repeat.

Mitigating circumstances: You compose and perform intricate rhymes to musical beats for a living; you've just won a championship and have been handed a brand-new commemorative hat to wear during the trophy presentation; the hologram on your cap is actually Princess Leia, and you're the rebellion's only hope.

Related behaviors: Naming your fantasy team after gangsta rap lyrics or quotes from "Borat."

For Full Article: 20 Things That Make You Look Like a Doofus

Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon

Yesterday was the first annual Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon here in Chicago. The course was pretty flat as promised and the weather couldn't have been better, the Rock and Roll however left a lot to be desired. They had bands playing along the route that were from what I could hear over my iPod, not very good. The 6:30AM start time was pretty rough, that meant a 4AM wakeup call which was no picnic, but a peanut butter and banana sandwhich and a 5 hour energy later I was good to roll.

I beat my goal of 1 hour 50 min, finishing just over 1 hour 48 min at 1:48:38. Overall I felt pretty good about the day. Learned some new "tricks" for running that I think will help going into the next race, whenever that is. I'm hoping to have gotten in a few pictures taken along the way and I'll throw them up when they put them on the web.

Running Playlist

One thing that I've found to be cumbersome and hard to come by is a running playlist, I searched the interwebs for hours trying to find some samples of playlists to draw from. Surprisingly the availability of such lists are slim and I was less than impressed with the few I was able to find. So in an effort to assist I thought I would share my playlist I used in Chicago. I think it's a pretty solid one. It's heavy in Disturbed and Korn, their music is pretty driving and hard to ignore. Hopefully if you're looking for a list you'll like this one. (The order is strategic as well)

Wake Up - Three Days Grace
Never Gonna Stop - Rob Zombie
Do What You Do - Mudvayne
The Night - Disturbed
Dragula - Rob Zombie
Crazy - Mushroomhead
Twisted Transistor - Korn
Time of Dying - Three Days Grace
Divide - Disturbed
Duality - Slipknot
Eaten Up Inside - Korn
Pain - Three Days Grace
Facade - Disturbed
Fall Into Sleep - Mudvayne
Falls Apart -Thousand Foot Krutch
Fully Alive - Flyleaf
The Game - Disturbed
I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphy's
Stricken - Disturbed
Hold On - Korn
Move - Thousand Foot Krutch
Indestructible - Disturbed
Psychosocial - Slipknot
Alone I Break - Korn
Haunted - Disturbed
Living Dead Girl - Rob Zombie
Happy? - Mudvayne
I Get It - Chevelle
Judith - A Perfect Circle
Criminal - Disturbed

Artist Appreciation

I was perusing the internet today, which I do everyday... but today I've hit a new level of bordem because I can't go out cause of the race tomorrow. Long story short, in Chicago you must walk nearly everywhere, walking miles and miles, not normally a big deal, unless you have to run 13.1 miles at 6:30AM, I digress... Anyway so I started looking at art, manily because I was exploring the prices and times for the Chicago Art Museum. M.C. Escher is probably my favorite artist, below is probably one of my favorites. In my opinion the guy was unreal. His pictures are confusing, and I think the below illustrates my point: it is a seemingly very simple picture, yet very complex all at the same time. They can really make you think if you want to.

Life Update: July in Review

Wow July went by in a hurry. Seems like I was just writing June's update.

Fourth of July was somewhat lackluster, it rained to which I was not at all shocked... this summer has been pretty disappointing as far as weather goes. Unseasonibly cool and it seems to rain anytime we try to do anything.

However... the bright spot of the month Float Trip V. Weather was great, sans a minor rain storm (see point above, you thought I was kidding). Good times with good friends, I wish I could go on float trip every weekend, however this would likely have a devistating toll on my back (sleeping on the ground), my liver (beer consumption), my waistline (point #2 coupled with hot dogs and S'mores).

July also brought "my" bank exam, which is in part the reason for the lack of posts last month. I've been working on that so that has kept me pretty busy. Hopefully it'll slow down a bit going forward.