Weekend Summary

in

While waiting for my hot "code generation tool":http://www.llblgen.com/ to finish getting all my updated DB tables, I'll give you the rundown from the weekend. Friday night I went to the Worst. Party. Ever. It was a co-worker of the SLF(Special Lady Friend), and it was just a big dumb bad college party. I think there should be a rule that when you hit 35 or so, you're not allowed to play "beer pong":http://www.nbpl.net/ anymore. There were just so many bad things happening at this party, I don't even know where to begin. First of all, if you're pushing 40, chances are you can't pull off the Britney Spears thing. But someone was trying her best, darnit! Tanned-to-leather, low-slung jeans with the thong "peeking up the back":http://megnut.com/new_york/007439.asp, and a pink belly shirt with waaaaaay too much belly. The breaking point for me was when, within a 60 second span, I had 2 people step on my toes, 4 people spill drinks on me, and some yahoo shot me in the face with a water pistol. I broke for the exit, and thankfully the SLF(Special Lady Friend) was also really ready to leave, her friend obligation fulfilled.

Saturday was much better, with me going in to work for a few hours to make up for "taking off":http://feralboy.com/log/archives/000505/ Thursday. Let me just say, I LOVE working on weekends. It's very quiet, and I can just crank "the music":http://feralboy.com/musicarchive/?d=2003-09-27 and howl along. I might need to do some more of that.

Saturday night there was a little "make yr own sushi" party at Dave and Casey's. All the "prep":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030927_sushi/P1010002.jpg "tools":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030927_sushi/P1010003.jpg were there, just bring your own fish and go nuts. It took a little longer to get everything made than people thought, and we didn't start eating until 10 or so, but it was all very tasty. The night sort of degraded into a "how big is your "wasabi(Death by Wasabi by Lynne LeMay)":http://www.lne.com/lemay/essays/wasabi.html dick?" contest between myself and "Lauren":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030927_sushi/P1010006.jpg, and I believe I came out the victor. (She cried more)

Sunday the plan was for a few of the guys from the gym to head to the "Cleveland Rock Gym":http://www.clevelandrockgym.com/, just for a change of pace. The weather was supposed to be horrible, so it was a chance to see some new problems, and work on the on-sighting ability. When we all convened, the weather was looking beautiful, so we changed our minds and headed down to Coopers again. We got about 45 minutes down, and the skies turned black and rain started falling. Damnit, damnit, _damnit_! The only good thing at all about the drive down was we passed some cheezy guy in a "Fast'n'Furious":http://www.riceboypage.com/ "Eclipse":http://www.riceboypage.com/shame/hall_of_shame_5/hallofshame5.html getting a "plo-job":http://www.gawker.com/archives/008157.html from his girlfriend. Busted!

On the way back home, we thought maybe about going to the "bad, bad gym":http://www.jewarts.com/climbnorth/ that's sort of near the 'burgh, but nobody was answering at the number, so I was going through all my phone numbers to try and find someone who a) would be home, and b) would have teh intranet already all fired up to look up the gym's hours for me. All my friends suck, because they either weren't home, or weren't wired enough (Just kidding, I love all my friends). Finally got hold of someone, figured out the gym was closed Sundays, and we all went to the co-op instead, and had a very good workout... it just took us 2 hours of driving to get 5 minutes away.

Yummy dinner at Sharp Edge afterwords, plus a lapful of ketchup courtesy of the very harried waiter (apparently someone else called off, and he was all alone).

Fair and Balanced

in

While reading a very funny story about how Tucker Carlson gave out Fox News Channel's number instead of his own while on CNN, and FNC "returned the favor by posting his HOME number":http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34789 (Can't these ultra-conservative wags get along?), I wanted to check out the FNC site to see if I could find the story in question. I got distracted when I saw this headline and photo on the "homepage":http://www.foxnews.com/:

h4. "GOP Adds Muscle to Arnold's Campaign":http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98369,00.html

!http://feralboy.com/images/fnc_arnie.jpg!

Have a closer look at that picture. Notice what a horrible "Photoshop":http://64.81.51.213/fpm/ hack job that is? Clearly those three men never actually stood on a stage together. However, I don't doubt that Ah-nold was probably getting a "plo-job":http://www.gawker.com/archives/008157.html at the time.

This is not nearly as bad as suggesting visual links with story graphics like "CNN might do":http://www.wattfarm.com/blog/archives/000042.html. This isn't even nearly as bad as the LA Times photographer that was fired for "subtly":http://faculty.cua.edu/johnsong/hsct102/pages/alteredphoto.html "altering a photo":http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=28082. This is using a visual image that simply "did not happen":http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2842.htm in order to "further your own agenda":http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/2003c.html#t20030708.

"Fair and balanced"? Fuck you.

Coopers

in

"Ben(Ben getting ready for his one climb at Coopers)":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030925_coopers_rock/P1010025.jpg, a friend of "Brian(Father and son. How cute, right?)":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030925_coopers_rock/P1010028.jpg and "Jen(Jen loves having her picture taken)":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030925_coopers_rock/P1010027.jpg was coming through town on his way to see his wife down at Quantico, so I did some creative schedule juggling at work and took yesterday off to go down and climb at Coopers Rock with them. Only problem is that we no sooner got down there and got through one "warmup climb(Brian readjusts)":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030925_coopers_rock/P1010026.jpg when the heavens opened, and we got washed out. Undaunted, we headed back to the 'burgh, and then went to the Co-op for a few hours so we could at least say we "pulled down":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030925_coopers_rock/P1010032.jpg a "little bit":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030925_coopers_rock/P1010033.jpg. Ben was a machine and climbed for like 4 hours straight, and then we all had some delicious "homemade pizza":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030925_coopers_rock/P1010038.jpg, and I had a bit too much wine. I would say I can't drink like I used to, but I never really used to drink, so 4 glasses was a bit over the top, and a slight headache today is my reward.

"All pictures from yesterday":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/?folder=20030925_coopers_rock

The root of all Middle East problems?

in

"!http://feralboy.com/images/saruman1.jpg! ":http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030924/pl_nm/mideast_bush_hamas_dc_1 !http://feralboy.com/images/saruman2.jpg! "Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin emerged from hiding and denounced President Bush's speech to the United Nations as a declaration of war on Islam. Yassin also said that if he gets his hands on The One Ring, Israel is really gonna get it."

Animal Planet

in

I did not have a very good animal day yesterday. First of all, my one cat, Sidney, is sick. He's been sneezing for the last few days, so I call the vet to see if I should bring him in, or if it's just one of those "low-grade things":http://www.mauihumane.org/pam118.htm that will pass. The woman who answers the phone tells me that as long as he's eating and drinking, and any discharge from his eyes or nose is clear, it's really nothing to worry about.

After I get home from work, I want to make sure that Sidney eats. So I grab a handful of "treats":http://www.permutator-reviews.com/petco/cat-treats-catnip/cats/Whiskas-824607.html to give to him. Of course, the sound of crunching make the "other two":http://feralboy.com/chez/brunch/11_party_pooped.jpg come running, so I give each of them their own little handful so they won't muscle in to Sidney's food.

Now, I probably haven't talked about it here, but my cats are very playful. They love to wrestle with each other, and Sidney and Manson even like to play fetch. The two brothers decided to make up their own new game last night, called "Let's see how many times we can throw up in a 5 minute span." I'm assuming it was because of the treats, because they both were sick almost immediately. Poe starts heaving, and looses most of what he just ate. I just get done cleaning that up, and Manson does the same thing. Lather, rinse, repeat. Then Manson again. Then Manson _again_. At this point I'm convinced that all of my cats are going to be dead from either a Upper Resperatory Infection or choking on their own vomit, "John Bonham-style":http://drum_gods.tripod.com/drumgods/id10.html.

Finally, everyone settles down, and I go off to "the gym":http://www.theclimbingwall.com/ to climb and unwind. Coming back into my building, I see my next door neighbor. Nice guy. He's taking his dog, a large Doberman, out for a walk. We're in the lobby, and I go over and pet the dog, who usually strains at his leash like crazy whenever he sees new people. Very friendly. This time he stands almost completely still while I'm petting him, and I was just about to say something about it when I feel something warm on my foot. Yup, the dog was pissing all over my feet (and of course I was wearing sandals... it was that kind of day yesterday).

"I, uh, guess he got a little excited there", I say. My neighbor apologized profusely. "I'm so sorry... he just gets worked up, etc." "No problem" I say, and I mean it. Just run in my apt., and rinse my feet off in the tub, including sandals. Of course, while rinsing off the feet, I realize that one of my darling cats had puked one more time on the bath mat. Luckily, this was the old bath mat, as I hadn't gotten around to putting in the "new ones":http://feralboy.com/log/archives/000489/ yet.

I wouldn't say it was as bad a day as "Squirrel Cop":http://www.thisamericanlife.org/pages/descriptions/98/115.html from "This American Life":http://www.thisamericanlife.org/, but it was close.

(Oh, and the worst part of the whole dog pee thing? When I left my apartment an hour later, the puddle of dog pee was still there. Boo, neighbor! Booo!!!)

Shop 'till ya drop.

in

Whew! Being domestic is _hard_! I had a new recipie for sauted chicken and artichoke hearts I wanted to try out, so I was hoping to just pick up a slightly larger pan and some wooden spoons and be out of there. Oh, no. After getting a Calphalon pan, a new spatula, replacement heads for my razor, and "new bathmats":http://feralboy.com/log/archives/000161/, I managed to stagger out of "Target":http://target.com/ having "only" spent $100. Then it was over to the "grocery store":http://gianteagle.com/ to get my ingredients. Ok... first of all, good olive oil is _expensive_! And don't get me started about the organic chicken that I bought... $6 a pound instead of $4.

Everything went well after that. Pat made me a cd full o' Italian songs[1] to get in the mood for cooking (the cd was labeled "gravy music"), and I think the dish turned out pretty well. I'll know for sure today.

*Update:* It was very, very tasty. Heavy on the garlic, "which I like":http://feralboy.com/log/archives/000186/.

fn1. Basically "Mob Hits":http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000IGQI?v=glance with some extra "Frank":http://www.sinatrafamily.com/ thrown in.

Lunchtime conversation.

in

"Pat":http://gregcioffi.com/hammerheads/images/galleries/images/otg2_5.jpg told me while I was waiting in line for my "salad":http://www.wendys.com/food/Product.jsp?family=3&product=13 about the exchange he had with his lovely wife this weekend. "*Pat*":http://gregcioffi.com/hammerheads/images/galleries/images/otg2_5.jpg: What's that you're reading? *Lisa:* It's a cookbook. *Pat:* What's it called? *Lisa:* It's called "How To Cook Everything":http://www.epicurious.com/e_eating/e06_cookbook/bittman/bittman.html. *Pat:* But I'm not _that_ hungry.

Weekend Wrapup

in

A very nice weekend, with lovely post-hurricaine weather. Saturday was pretty low-key; just did some coding and got out for a short bike ride in the fresh air. Sunday went bouldering down at Coopers, which was a fun, although a bit more humid than I would have thought, seeing as how it was so crisp up in Pittsburgh. At the last minute, I decided that I wanted to bring my camera along, but all my batteries were flat. So today I'm going to do a quick "comparison shop":http://www.steves-digicams.com/nimh_batteries.html for some "NiMH batteries":http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/BATTS/BATTS.HTM. With all my electronic "gizmos":http://feralboy.com/matt/tivo/ and "remotes":http://search-desc.ebay.com/search/search.dll?srchdesc=y&query=RM-TP501E&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort, I don't seem to be able to keep my rechargables around. I figure picking up another 8 or so will be good. I already have a "rechargable pack":http://www.steves-digicams.com/maha_powerbank.html just for the camera, but it's somewhat clunky to carry around all the time, so a few extra sets of batteries will be good to have. *Update:* Got "a charger":http://www.thomas-distributing.com/mhc401fs.htm and 8 batteries for around $60. Not bad. I already have a NiCad/NiMH charger, but I don't know how good it is, seeing as how that technology seems to be "progressing":http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/maha_c401fs.html the same as the batteries themselves.

NRG Weekend

in

Had a great time down in WV with my "sister":http://www.livejournal.com/users/fuzzyfruit/. We went to Summersville on Saturday, where I was "ropegun" for most of the day, and then to Bubba City on Sunday, where I've never been before. I got on "Michelin Man":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030914_new_river_gorge/IMG_0212.JPG, which was very cool, and had a piss-hard thin crux section. My sister also seemed to have a great time. She led almost everything, including "putting up":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030914_new_river_gorge/IMG_0153.JPG (and cleaning) a long 5.9. All of my friends were duly impressed by how strong she was. She didn't have quite as much stuff to get on on Sunday, but that just means she'll need to come back soon.

Sunday was also the day of near-misses. First just while in the parking lot, "Jason":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/20030914_new_river_gorge/IMG_0168.JPG backed his car into a small ditch, so some of us went behind his car to help push him out. As he was pulling free, a baseball-sized rock came whizzing out from under the tires, missing my head by about 6 inches. Oops. Later on while we all climbing, Jason (again!) was on a climb, and pulled out a chunk of rock about as big as his torso, nearly killing his belayer. Luckily, they were both alert and nobody got hurt, but we were all around a corner when it happened, heard Jason yell "Oh shit!", and then a huge smash, and thought for sure he had decked. He hadn't, and everyone was alright, albiet a little shaky.

All photos from the weekend "are here":http://feralboy.com/photoalbum/photos/?folder=20030914_new_river_gorge.

Get out of my head!!!!!

in

I already linked to it on the side, but here it is again: "The badger mushroom snake song":http://www.weebl.jolt.co.uk/misc/badger.swf

It reminds me of David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest":http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0316921173/. In that book, among all the tennis, recovering alcoholics and 200+ pages of endnotes, there is a plot thread about a mysterious videotape that as soon as someone starts watching it, they're unable to stop. They just keep watching it over and over again until they die with the VCR remote in their hands, dead of exhaustion or starvation.[1] That's what I imagine happens with this song... they're just going to find my skeleton in front of the computer.

"Pat":http://gregcioffi.com/hammerheads/images/galleries/images/otg2_5.jpg says, "It's the new "'Where'd the cheese go?'(FeralBlog - Ween does Pizza Hut jingle)":http://feralboy.com/log/archives/000005/".

badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger muuuuushroooom mushrooooooom!

*Update:* The Accordion Guy has "finally found the love":http://accordionguy.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2004/1/19/14520.html!

fn1. I don't actually know if you ever find out what's on the tape.... I got to about page 800 of 1100(!) and "threw up my hands":http://www.theonion.com/onion3906/girlfriend_stops_reading.html and quit.

Sequels

in

Pat and I were having a discussion on the way back from lunch today, trying to come up with movie sequels that were as good or better than the original. Here's what we've got so far: * "Empire Strikes Back":http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0080684/ * "Godfather II":http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0071562/ * "LOTR: Two Towers":http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0167261/ * "Terminator 2":http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0103064/ * "Star Trek II":http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/ ("Khaaaaaaan!")

What else?

*Update:* Thought of a couple more:

* "Toy Story 2":http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0120363/ * "Aliens":http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0090605/ I feel a little weird about this one, as it's very similar to T2, in that the first movie was a sci-fi movie, and the sequel was either an action movie (T2), or action/horror (Aliens).