Sunday, June 15, 2008
Ski: Do. (Edited 6/15/08)
A few months ago, I had no idea I would be sitting in the hot tub of a hotel in Southern Colorado in late February, planning a weekend trip back through Denver, and then on to Steamboat Springs for a day of skiing and taking some time to meet with the director of the Nordic/Jumping program. Looking back to my February 20, 2006 entry in this-here weblog it's written:
In the Next 5 Years
Ok, this is a declaration of things I'll do within the next 5 years. For a long time, I've had the desire to do these things, but since I've been either an irresponsible youth or a broke-ass student, I've just never managed to do everything I wanted. From today I have less than 1825 days to get my hind-end in gear. The list goes as follows:
1) Private Pilot's License. [...]
2) Boston Marathon. [Will likely forego or delay, depending on whether or not I ever find a good impact-absorbing brace for knees]
3) Ski in a downhill race and also learn to ski jump. This may sound kinda "bandwagon-esque" since the winter olympics are now in full-force, but nevertheless I am a skiier. Concerning downhill - ask anyone who's skiied with me...I love the speed of skiing. I also jump at every opportunity. ...pun intended. I'd love to do some big-air jumps and stuff, but I'm more taken by ski jumping than the freestyle skiing. [...]
Photo: One of my first few jumps from the 10 Meter jump at Park City, Utah's Olympic Park training facility. Biggest hill jumped to-date is the 20 Meter (K20). 6/13/08
4) Scuba dive. I've been snorkeling here in Cyprus, and it's amazing to see the world that exists underwater. While snorkeling here, (amongst other things) I swam right through a huge school of small fish. I couldn't tell you how many, but it was like flying through a cloud, but for about 30 seconds. [...]
Now back to modern-day. Here I am 2 years later, and I am gearing up to make happen the things I declared in number 3 above. These things won't just happen and be done with, though. Ahh, a plan there is...
First things first, I'm going to get all of the jumping equipment (which as you're probably aware requires specialty skis). These skis are only made once a year by the manufacturers and an advance order must be placed in order to get them. For now I'm going to see about picking up some gear that is already on-hand in Steamboat, and order my skis if my exact length aren't on-hand. Based on my height, my ski size is 255cm (which is about 100 inches or 8.37 feet). Once I have the equipment, then I'll begin learning the technique.
One of the problems with getting started now is that the jumping season is ending in 2 weeks. At Steamboat they have a K68 (68 meter) jump that's covered in synthetic material for summer use. Being that I'm going to have to work up to the K68, the only option for summer training is in Park City, UT. Luckily I found round-trip airline tickets between Denver and Salt Lake City to be reasonable at around $150 give-or-take. I'll be working out the details soon as to what kind of summer training I'll do, but I want to be able to jump the K68 at Steamboat by the time the next ski season starts.
The other part of 3 above concerns a downhill race. This also requires that I have certain equipment. I think I'm gonna pass on the tight body suit, but what I'm talking about are skis and boots. Believe it or not, there are many types of skis that work best in certain conditions and even vary according to body weight. While I could buy racing skis and boots, I'd like to have something more versatile. For this reason I'm looking at getting all-mountain skis and boots, but I'll try to get ones that perform well in racing-like conditions. I have an idea of what I want, but I'm going to try some out before I buy anything. And we'll see how it goes from there.
If I had to sum up the purpose of this entry, I'd say it has to do with this: Everyone has hopes, wishes, dreams, goals, plans, etc. To sit on these and just keep hoping or wishing... Maybe you'll be able to mentally escape and feel good about what you want to do, but there's really something amazing about making the decisions and putting yourself out there to make these changes happen. And not just amazing, but satisfying.
On that note, it's getting close to check-out time and I need to get my stuff together and head back to Denver. I'll follow up after my trip to Steamboat. Until next time. T
8:03 PM
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Air Time (On Track)
If you read the series of two Ski: Do(ing) entries from the past few months, then this entry is the follow-up to those. As mentioned in the latter of the two entries, I did make it to Breckenridge one last time before they closed for the season. That turned out to be a day for some of the most intense skiing I've ever done. Double black-diamonds, narrow steep chutes through trees, and overall an amazing day of skiing. The whole resort was my playground.
Now for the really good stuff - I'm now a registered competitor and a USSA member in the sport of ski jumping for the 2008-09 season. From this point on, I'll be working to attain the skill and experience that'll allow me to advance to an awards-level of competition. First things first, and that's training: I'll be in Park City, Utah at the Olympic Park Ski Jumping Arena on June 12-13th, heading back home on the 14th. The 12th will be a familiarization day, and the 13th is training day. From now through October 4 (which is the last day of the summer jumping season), I will train as much as I possibly can considering Park City is an 8-hour drive (or 1.5 hour flight) and considering the costs involved with making these trips. If only there was a facility closer, I could train as much as 3 times a week. All things considered, I estimate I'll make it out there an additional 3 or 4 times before winter.
Until next time - T
11:59 AM
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Ski: Do-ing (Edited 6/7/08)
Since my last entry, I made it up to Steamboat and met with the director of the jumping program. I got a good introduction to the equipment and got to watch a few guys jump the 90m jump (K90). With the season ending so soon after my visit (not to mention the end-of-season championships), there didn't end up being another time the director and I could coordinate our schedules. Fortunately there's Park City, and things are taking shape for summer ski jumping there. I made all of the necessary pre-arrangements and now I'm just waiting for dates. After joining the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) mid-April I'll be cleared for joining the Park City Nordic Ski Club, after which I'll be able to use the facilities and coaches. I'll be attending a training camp on June 19-21, but I may see if I can't spend a few days there in May to work on skill development. Update: The training camp previously mentioned is a rookie camp reserved for only for US Olympic Ski Team selectees, so I will not be attending this camp after all. Instead, I will have access to jump training throughout the summer, which I will attend as I am able. See June 7, 2008 entry "Air Time (On Track)" for details.
Park City is really my only option for progressive summer jumping. Once the season is underway in November I'll have the option of jumping in Aspen or Steamboat. Either place is a 2-3 hours drive from the Vail area (depending on traffic/weather), but Aspen may be a better drive (and worse-case there's a $90 one-way shuttle I can take).
As for recreational skiing, I've managed to hit the slopes 3 times so far this year. I skied Steamboat Springs, Breckenridge, and most recently Keystone. I'm going to try to make it back to Breck on their last weekend open (the 18-20th), and when I have free time I'll ski Arapahoe Basin and Loveland until they close. ...I heard that one year Arapahoe stayed open until July. ...that'd be sweet. If you're interested in seeing a bit of Colorado (including views from the resorts), check out the shaky videos I have posted. They're short and done with my digital camera, so forgive the movement. ...it's just to give you and idea (and take me back).
Starting Monday the 14th, I'll be working out of Colorado Springs. While I've enjoyed working in the South Central part of Colorado, it'll be nice to be only an hour or so away from Denver. The Colorado Rockies just started their season, some great concerts are coming in to town, and it'll allow me to get a jump start on my trips to Park City (no pun intended...seriously). Anyway, that's the news. Until next time, Tony
12:40 AM
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Notes - TR61 (not public, sorry)
This is probably not going to be something anyone but me will want to ever read. It's just a way for me to keep track with progress and rethink sessions I have with my workstation. It might give you a headache if you're not careful.
5/31 - I got more familiarized with the sequencer and recorded a funky but very repetitive groove. I went through and set each track individually, using the house kit and some bass that sounded good. Using the menu button under the arrow keys, I looped the drums from measure 1-4 and after recording the bass I looped measures 1-6. Though I usually stick to sets of 4, the 4 and 6 seemed to work out alright together. Playing those loops back, I tried a few different lead sounds to play over the groove, but grew tired of that. I'd like to figure out how to loop the whole 64 measure song, since it'd either quit, or I'd have to press locate to send it back to square one when I regrouped after a bad note or whatever. I'm learning menu nagivation better using the arrow keys primarily, the scroll wheel to change most values, and the increase/decrease buttons to change the sounds. Tempo's still kinda weird since the knob setting will send the beat to 240 if it's lightly moved from the far right position. I'm gonna see if I can find a way to change it's manner of adjustment, but due to fact that it's a knob, I may have to use the scroll wheel.
I did a hard reset to clear that first song out - there's probably an easier way without deleting each track separately. ...gotta find that out. I decided to practice by playing the lead part of Royksopp's Only this Moment and loaded a template song. Using the utility button to open that menu, I checked the box for copy pattern to track too? to load the preset drum pattern. It was the Techno/Euro Beat template, which wasn't quite Royksopp, but it did the trick. For the lead I used D042 Thin AnaLead. I adjusted the preset tempo down from 130 to 120 to make it easier to play the notes.
I need to get a memory card to store songs on. I think it'll take a 1GB SD card. Looking forward to the Sampling card's arrival. Then I'll have to find a way to really start saving and storing songs and data.
5/30 - Yesterday. I tried the sequencer mode after playing with various patterns and combis. It went alright, but I couldn't get the drum beat completed (kick+snare on track 1, and ride on track 2). I didn't realize that I was changing track parameters, but not actually changing the track I was recording on. ...which is done by highlighting the track number at the bottom of nearly any page. I need to see if there's a panic button: I was tweaking knobs and had an eternal release on a sound that no matter what I did wouldn't go away. After a minute it finally did, but if that ever happened live it'd suck.
I miss my echoplex and the touch screen from my Studio workstation. Man those sure made things easier.
1:05 AM
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Concerts - A Work In Progress
I figure it's time to list out all of the bands I've seen, mostly so that I can get the dates right. For now, it's gonna be a huge mess but it'll get sorted out in time. On we go:
21 May 08 - The Cure - Denver/Morrison - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
30 Apr 08 - Roger Waters - Denver - Pepsi Center
17 Jun 07 - The White Stripes - Bonnaroo '07
17 Jun 07 - Salvador Santana Band - Bonnaroo '07
17 Jun 07 - Wilco - Bonnaroo '07
17 Jun 07 - Wolfmother - Bonnaroo '07
16 Jun 07 - The Police - Bonnaroo '07
16 Jun 07 - Ween - Bonnaroo '07
15 Jun 07 - Tool - Bonnaroo '07
15 Jun 07 - Hot Chip - Bonnaroo '07
15 Jun 07 - Kings of Leon - Bonnaroo '07
18 Jun 06 - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Bonnaroo '06
18 Jun 06 - Death Cab for Cutie - Bonnaroo '06
12 Jun 05 - Widespread Panic - Bonnaroo '05
16 Oct 04 - Southern Culture on the Skids - Del Rio, TN - Hotoberfest
28 Jun 04 - Reamonn - Moscow, RU - Olimpiskii - Maxidrom 2004
28 Jun 04 - Hooverphonic - Moscow, RU - Olimpiskii - Maxidrom 2004
28 Jun 04 - Placebo - Moscow, RU - Olimpiskii - Maxidrom 2004
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGWKOO1b6sc
28 Jun 04 - Mumiy Troll, Zimfira, Nochnie Snaiperi, Splin, Bi-2, & more...
- Olimpiskii- Maxidrom '04
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6cj06Sh0F8
3 Jun 04 - Zveri - Tver, RU - Regional Circus Arena
3 Aug 03 - Audioslave - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys (Lollapalooza)
3 Aug 03 - Jane's Addiction - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys (Lollapalooza)
3 Aug 03 - Jurassic 5 - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys (Lollapalooza)
3 Aug 03 - Queens of the Stone Age - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys (Lollapalooza)
3 Aug 03 - The Donnas - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys (Lollapalooza)
20 July 02 - Moby - Knoxville - Civic Coliseum
20 July 02 - Dirty Vegas - Knoxville - Civic Coliseum
00-05 - Gin Blossoms - Knoxville - Blue Cats
00-05 - Southern Culture on the Skids - Knoxville - Sundown in the City
9 Nov 03 - Andrew W.K. - Knoxville - Blue Cats
30 Apr 03 - Ween - Knoxville - Historic Tennessee Theatre
10 Feb 03 - Sound Tribe Sector 9 - Knoxville - Blue Cats
16 Aug 03 - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Nashville - AmSouth Amp.
22 Nov 02 - Medeski, Martin, and Wood - Knoxville - Historic Tenn. Theatre
30 Jul 2002 - Weezer - Nashville - Hi Fi Buys Amp.
Jun 02 - Bonnie Raitt - Knoxville - Historic Tennessee Theatre
18 May 02 - Green Day - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys Amp.
18 May 02 - Blink 182 - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys Amp.
5 May 02 - Incubus - Nashville - River Stages
25 July 01 - Dave Matthews Band - Nashville (Antioch) - Starwood Amp
25 July 01 - Junior Brown (w/ Bo Diddley) - Nashville (Antioch) - Starwood Amp
28 Sept 00 - Flaming Lips - Knoxville - Moose's
23 May 00 - The Cure - New Orleans - Saenger Theatre
22 May 00 - The Cure - New Orleans - Saenger Theatre
18 May 00 - The Cure - Atlanta - Lakewood Amphitheatre
10 Mar 00 - 311 - Pensacola - Bayfront Arena
31 Oct 99 - Primus - Biloxi - Miss. Coast Coliseum (Family Values Tour)
31 Oct 99 - Limp Bizkit - Biloxi - Miss. Coast Coliseum (Family Values Tour)
31 Oct 99 - Staind - Biloxi - Miss. Coast Coliseum (Family Values Tour)
31 Oct 99 - Filter - Biloxi - Miss. Coast Coliseum (Family Values Tour)
21 Sept 99 - The Wailers - Knoxville - Moose's
28 Apr 99 - Widespread Panic - Pensacola
29-31 Dec 98 - Phish - New York - Madison Square Gardens (New Year '99)
7 Aug 98 - Phish - Raleigh
6 Aug 98 - Phish - Atlanta - Lakewood Amph.
23 Jul 97 - Phish - Atlanta - Lakewood Amph.
97-00 - HUM - New Orleans - House of Blues
97-00 - Green Day - Panama City Beach - Club Spinnaker
97-00 - Sister Hazel - Panama City Beach - Club Spinnaker/LaVela
97-00 - The Lemonheads - Panama City Beach - Club Spinnaker
27 Sept 97 - Widespread Panic - Knoxville - Smoky Mountain Jam
27 Sept 97 - Violent Femmes - Knoxville - Smoky Mtn. Jam
27 Nov 96 - Smashing Pumpkins - Biloxi - Miss Coast Coliseum
27 Nov 96 - Garbage - Biloxi - Miss Coast Coliseum
8 Nov 95 - REM - Knoxville - Thompson Boling Arena
8 Nov 95 - Luscious Jackson - Knoxville - Thompson Boling Arena
5 Apr 96 - No Doubt - Knoxville - Civic Coliseum
5 Apr 96 - Bush - Knoxville
5 Apr 96 - Goo Goo Dolls - Knoxville
1 Oct 95 - Dave Matthews Band - Louisville - Farm Aid
Recently, Ants Marching, Drive In Drive Out, What Would You Say
1 Oct 95 - Neil Young - Louisville - Farm Aid
1 Oct 95 - Willie Nelson - Louisville - Farm Aid
1 Oct 95 - Hootie and the Blowfish - Louisville - Farm Aid
26 Jul 95 - Weezer - Knoxville - World's Fair Park
Mpeg Video file:
No One Else - Knoxville '95
RealPlayer file:
No One Else - Knoxville '95
26 Jul 95 - Teenage Fanclub - Knoxville - World's Fair Park
9:58 AM
Monday, May 12, 2008
When only minutes remain
Today was one of those landmark days. The kind of day that you're likely to always remember, if not in it's entirety then by one or two key events. It's the sort of day where you want to face it all and come out looking good, all the while aware that this may not be possible. Some landmarks after all, are assigned to serve as reminders of the most traumatic and spirit-shaking lessons and experiences we've ever endured.
And so we live and learn and move along, dealing with what we cannot change and working to shape that which we can. Making the best decisions we're capable of, it's abundantly clear that if we aren't true to ourself then we can never be true to another. As cliche as all that sounds, there are times when these often-heard and simple yet profound statements really do fit the situation perfectly.
As the last minute of this day passes, I look forward to the next.
Until next time - T
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Dream girl
She leaned over with her hair falling to her left, looked in my eyes, and sang to me,
"I had a good time
With you in my atmosphere
Come back around again."
Then I woke up.
Monday, August 20, 2007
That's one spicy doorway!!
As I was leaving my apartment yesterday, I noticed a line of those small ants coming out of the grass, marching across the concrete, and making their way under the door frame. And I don't mean one little line of them, I mean I-40 for ants. Since I don't want them exploring my apartment looking for water or crumbs, I grabbed my caluking gun and proceeded to seal off their entryway, with the exception of a small hole. I thought I'd go ahead and allow them a viable passageway to exit, so that they wouldn't emerge from a less-desireable place, perhaps an outlet or some other byway. Smoothing out some of the caulk (which is more out of habit), I noticed one little guy got stuck in the caulking and wasn't moving. I used the sharp tip of a stray nail to lift out a small amount of material to which he was attached. Careful not to separate his body segments or to rip off a leg, I slowly worked him free with the help of a blade of grass. He assisted me a bit by using his pincers to grasp the blade while I gently pulled to free him from the sticky matter. After implementing a few rescue techniques, I finally I freed him and set him on the ground. He might have lost a small segment of one leg in this ordeal, but he quickly oriented himself and was on his way. So back to the task at-hand...
I ran across an article the other day that had suggested some natural household products that you could place in the path of ants, and that they hated this stuff so much they wouldn't cross it. I'm not big on chemical insecticides (a.k.a. neurotoxins), and I really didn't see any reason the ants should die. I found a remedy recently for plant pests, so I thought I'd give the natural ant remedies a try. After the caulking, I decided to look for this article again and take care of this on my way out the door. Among the items I found suggested "pepper", "vinegar", and "cayenne pepper". The vinegar is supposed to render ineffective their sense of smell, according to what I read. I decided to give the cayenne pepper a shot first, and wondered if regular pepper was even up to the task. It seemed awfully weak when compared side-by-side with the POWER of cayenne!
I took my cayenne pepper to the door, grabbed a pinch, and BAM! ...right in their path! After that, BAM!, smack-dab on their entryway! I noticed this caused a little ant-excitement, as they are known to do when their normal routine is shaken up. After a minute though, I wasn't noticing any blatant avoidance of the peppered areas. "Vinegar", I thought. I went to my pantry and looked, but had no regular ol' White Vinegar. ...which is nasty, by the way. I did have some Italian Balsamic Vinegar. "Hmm, it's still vinegar...I'll try it.", I thought.
I returned to the front door and thought I'd give a little spill in the peppered area. Was a cayenne/balsamic synergy about to solve my ant problems?? Nope. After a splash here and there, I looked to the original site of pouring and noticed the ants actually had halted at the shore of the balsamic sea and were doing what I can only describe as drinking. "What the hell?", I thought.
I returned to the computer, looked up ant control with balsamic vinegar and found a forum posting by a sweet young housewife where she said (essentially) "Don't use balsamic vinegar, they love the stuff! lol!".
"Well, crap." I thought. Would I rinse it? No. I just went on my way, deciding to leave it for later. I worked late last night, so I paid it no attention as I got back home. To my surprise, when I stepped out the door this morning, the two small cayenne pepper fields had a large number of dead ants on it. "Damnit.", I thought. Metaphorically speaking, the color of the pepper and vinegar now represented the blood of those lost in this battle; their little bodies lying about as soldiers slaughtered on the plains of their homefront. Casualties of their natural inner drive to provide and sustain, all for the greater good of their kind.
A few steps away from the door down a concrete path, my attention was drawn to several massive gatherings of ants on the pathway. They seemed to be running around with that same agitated energy previoiusly mentioned, but with no clear purpose or instigator. There was no fat green caterpillar at their center, nor was their a greasy salted potato chip. The only thing any of them were bothering with was a semi-dry wilted flower that had fallen from a nearby bush. Nothing to get excited about, from what I'm aware.
Having left that site puzzled, I'm curious to return and see what the status of this whole situation is. I'm going to cleanse the "treated areas" free of the balsamic vinegar and cayenne concoction, since that did noone any good. In the meantime, I'll see what I might think of next to discourage them from habitating so close to my entryway and encourage them to relocate elsewhere.
This whole fiasco could have been avoided if I somehow could've just spoken to their leader. Anyone know how to send the Queen a message?
Until next time - T
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Edited: Laaazerr-Beem (spoken as would Dr. Evil)
I read an article about some moron who was arrested by the FBI for shining a Class IIIB laser at aircraft.
I'm familiar with Class 1 lasers, but what about class IIIB?, I thought to myself. Wanting to know more about these beastie lasers, I though I'd read up on them. What I found was that these devices are far beyond that which any man should have the power to possess. Unless of course, that man be none other than Dr. Evil. What I mean is this...
The following is an actual quote from a retailer's website:
"The Pulsar Series laser is...a burning, slicing machine. With the cap set intact, the Pulsar is guaranteed to cut through trash bags, pop balloons, and even light matches!"
Folks, did you ever think we'd live the to see the day technology would be able to do so much to enhance our lives? I'm beside myself.
In the meantime, if you decide to invest in one of these (for under $200) or one of the more powerful lasers ($1600 and up), please handle your new power responsibly!
Until next time - T
Saturday, July 21, 2007
WARNING: Your ass may be rocked off if you watch the following...
Seriously, unless you're prepared, don't watch this:
http://stage6.divx.com/user/DeliriumTremensSL/video/1375788/Las-Rayas-Blancas---Live-Under-The-Blackpool-Lights-DVDRIP
I think this may be some of the best straight-up rock-and-roll that's being performed this day-in-age. Believe me, I could use a helluva-lot more hyphens to describe this, so if this is what does it for you, spare yourself the details and get on with watching the performance. Oh yeah, and it's the White Stripes.
Has anyone ever seen just two people rock like this? Seriously.
Enjoy.
-T
Monday, July 02, 2007
chill time
Have you ever had those times when it's just you, it's late, and the outside hustle-and-bustle has all but ceased? When the night is no longer young and the outside air has reached a point of peak freshness.
On this particular night, the candlelit room has a soothingly warm glow about it. I can't say how long this will last - the tapers have worked their way down and all that remains of each is an enduring pool of transparent melted wax and a gently swaying flame that encapsules a peculiarly curled coal-black wick. Shifting senses, the smooth steady hum of a fan motor drones while the subtle white noise of the air it moves exhales resembling a creekside campsite, waves of wind through the trees, or the gentle static of low-volume off-air networks. Gravity insists and cushions encourage. Relaxing nearly every voluntary muscle, yet still aware, there now exists a state of ecstatic comfort. As slowly light begins to fade away, a new light fades in. It did seem this time would not last forever, though rest well and rest assured: this time will come again.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Trashing one of today's aspiring future business leaders (an inspired e-vent)
The following 'rant', if you will, is somewhat in the spirit of my previous entry, which was titled Future Engineers and Short Change-ed. This time, however, I'm not going to hold back as much with direct insult, should I feel the need. It should be noted that this is directly related to a business plan that I just had the unfortunate displeasure of reading. The author of this 'plan' is a male student in a senior-level Business class who undoubtedly will end up completing his MBA before long, after which time, he'll be entering the lower tier of corporate America, starting his first of many future small-business failures, or perhaps fitting nicely in an already-established business as a run-of-the-mill Joe Schmo, devoted to a lifetime of keeping up with the Joneses and being not a leader, but simply being the first. Without further ado, let me begin...
So you want to be a busnessman? You think you've got the drive? You think you've got the ego? It's gonna take either a great deal of courage to jump in there with the sharks, or it's going to take a great deal of blind stupidity and straight-up foolishness. Let's take a look at your business plan, Mr. X.
Ok, great, it already looks like you're going to have a problem with consistency. You use big words, but your plan is visually wretched. It's always nice to see "Page#" on the table of contents. I'm sure noone would have figured out those were page numbers if you hadn't included the pound symbol. I'm glad to see that you've included a series of 5 appendices at the tail end of the report.
As I read your report, it seems like your plans are for global domination of this market, however you then weenie out and expect the local market to kick-off your enterprise. Already I'm seeing problems with trademark and copyright infringement, while you seem to think that it'll be ok to produce 'similar and customized' versions. Additionally, the demand for your product is expected to be driven primarily by a seasonal marketplace that has already swallowed numerous franchise and independently-owned businesses. My question to you is can you keep up during the boom and keep afloat during the drought? For how many years will you be willing to take a loss, in hopes of eventually coming out in the black?
It looks like your research is narrowly focused and lacking in validity. I don't expect you'll ever be CEO of a company through your vision alone, even if the product name is the same as your own.
It's interesting to note that your products will be created by imiginary machines that don't yet exist; and those machines run by software that doesn't exist. Are so keen that you will design these that are the base components of your business yourself? How long is it until you plan to start funneling American Dollars into China's economy by outsourcing your design, manufacturing, materials, and labor? Are you to be the next to start another gimmick trend; to pump it into the mainstream like many other pollutants we so-allow, standing not to serve and support our neighbors, but instead line your pockets, turn your back, and let byegones be byegones?
Back to your report. Your marketing strategy sucks. Don't like that word? Try one of these: Your marketing strategy is dull, unrealistic, shallow, weak, brittle, frayed, tender, flacid, fallible, and ridiculous.
Your promotion strategy is nothing but fantasy in black and white.
Why your product plan even includes the word philosophy, I don't know.
Management plan - (This is where sound effects come into play, however I won't attempt to phoneticize those here.)
Again, the use of big words isn't helping.
***
I'd keep on, but at this point, I'm not going to even waste my time critiquing the remainder of the 30 page business failure plan. I'm sorry I even wasted this much time writing about it. The reason for all of this in the first place is that over the past number of years, I've had occasion to run into people who are studying business. The University of Tennessee is in the top 25 in Executive Business Schools, and you can find groups of these people everywhere. They're the post-high school university edition of cliques. Their egos are abrasive, and are best represented by the metaphor of a skunk, but one that walks with an air of pride and in its mind, imagines it is commanding respect and envy from the rest of the animal kingdom, all the while not knowing just how repulsive and foul it is.
Note: This does not go to say that every business student, graduate, or professional fits into this stereotype. Those 'in the business' are just as aware of these skunks as I am, but unfortunately, the skunks themselves have a lack of vision and cannot see things for what they are. ...the ego-factor is likely the culprit for this inability to distinguish their actions from those which are more nobler in character.
For anyone who has made it this far, you most likely know that I am fully aware that confidence and ego are completely different, as are spirit/confidence and arrogance, greed versus desire for attainment, lust versus love, and a number of other polar words and concepts. ...and now that I'm making an attempt to rationalize and disclaim that which may be misunderstood, I'll leave it at this and be on my way. Until next time. -T
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Not Fast, Not Furious
Here is an awesome site that I hadn't seen in a while. This stuff always makes me laugh. I'm glad to know that someone out there finds some of these 'customizations' as funny as I do. Check out all of the pages/pictures sometime and enjoy!
http://www.jimmy540i.com/bmwnightmare.htm
Friday, March 16, 2007
Charitable search engines and helping fight the sex trade
Did you know that instead of using Google to search for everything, you can use a website called GoodSearch:
www.goodsearch.com
...and they donate one cent per search to that charity. Granted, it's not much, but if you add that up over the course of a year, it could add up to the equivalent of a $10 donation from you. ...just make sure you're doing real searches and not trying to inflate the numbers by doing frivolous searches. Anyway, once you're there, you'll see a search window and below it a blank that asks "What do you GoodSearch for?" Here you can type in any charity you wish. So if you want to help a charity that helps combat the sex trade, type in any of these:
Polaris Project
Fair Fund
Equality Now
CATW (Coalition Against Trafficking of Women)
You can use GoodSearch for any legitimate charity or school that's out there. It's a good thing!
.........................................................................
Here's a link to a video from CNN about the sex trade in Indonesia. This stuff is never nice to watch, because of the reality of the situation. This video is good at making the point, but not forcing you to see some of the gut-wrenching details that some of the informative videos communicate.
CNN VIDEO - Sex Trade in Indonesia
As I always say, please take a stance so that you will be as intolerant of these practices as I am. If you should ever hear of anyone supporting prostitution of any kind anywhere, or even joking about it in a way that is making light of it, please take a moment to jar them from that state of mind and let them know it's nothing to take lightly. In addition to this, if you're ever visiting a city in the US or abroad, and you hear about or suspect that a club or bar you're at may be a business that's helping to solicit sex, PLEASE leave and spend your money somewhere else! ...ignoring it and staying there will only support their business of exploiting girls and women.
Thanks once again for hearing me out on this.
p.s. Gangsta rap=Uncool http://www.fradical.com/Spike_Lee_slams_pimp_rap.htm
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Old white dog poop; questions Radio Shack doesn't have an answer for.
First things first. If you type "old white dog poop" in Google, a guy's myspace weblog entry comes up. Now... He asks a very important question:
Where has all the white dog poop gone?!
So really, when I was a kid my friends and I would play in yards of vacant condos and if the prior tenants had a dog...a long time before then...there would be the ghostly remains of that formerly dark stinkin' poo. However, in it's white (and pure?) form, there was no stink. We'd pick it up and throw it at wooden fences and each other. The entertainment value when throwing it at fences was the white cloud puff that ensued after impact. Throwing it at each other was just good mean fun.
So how does the phenomenon of white dog poop come to be? It's not easy to find an answer on the web. I searched (to no avail) for confirmation, but my guess is that it's either climatic (humidity/sun-induced changes) or it had something to do with the food itself. I could see this transformation being possible if the food contained a high percentage of artificial ingredients and was possibly colored by dyes that may break down in UV light. Apparently spotting white dog poop this day and age is as rare a phenomenon as would be seeing bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster.
So on to another question... Why was I able to pull up this guy's weblog entry when typing "old white dog poop"? I tried searching Google for lines out of my weblog entries, but nothing came up. Frankly, I'm glad you can't Google stuff and pull up my entries. I just don't know why one person's does and mine doesn't.
So who's got my answers? Until next time – T
Friday, October 27, 2006
Terrible
My top 16 is not so much a list devoted to favoritism. The first letter of the names of those on my top 16 spells out "time is balancable", although balanceable is the correct way to spell that word. There's not an option for a top 17, so I had to sacrifice the letter E somewhere and that seemed like a good place. Balanceabl just doesn't quite do it. I had a top 24, but after "Time is balancable", it would have to have been followed by "Bart JJ M K?"...which just would not suffice.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Vehicles
It looks like the BMW is going to sit for a while. It was, in fact, a broken timing belt...the valves are damaged, and my latest estimate was $3500. I'm thinking that's a bit high, since the previous estimates from that shop were from $2-2500. Nevertheless, it's going to be a pricey job. I'm looking into a multitude of options, and I'll go with what fits my budget and gets me back in shape again.
In the meantime I've got the VW Bus back on the road. Interestingly enough, I put it in the shop today to have some routine maintanence done, as well as a good mechanic's-eye inspection done. He's gonna adjust the valves (typical VW maintanence) and tweak my carb. I ordered a muffler today, which I'll install sometime after I get it 4-10 days from now. ...at least I don't have to mess with any fuel-system parts...I hate smelling like gasoline for 3 days straight. In the coming months (despite the chill of winter), I'll be progressively restoring the VW. This will include interior work, exterior work, shocks, bearings, seals, and whatever else I so choose to do.
...still thinkin' about that motorcycle, but now I'm favoring the 650 version (as opposed to the 1200). The 1200 is a little big, not to mention it's $5K more. ...I could almost get 2-650's for the price of the 1200.
Oh yeah, the female ban is over. Until next time. -T
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Future Engineers, Short change-ed
Future Engineers
Ok, I'm sitting here at work in the Engineering building's computer lab, and some guys are printing out their projects. One guy uses a heavy duty stapler for a small stack of papers, which causes the staple to come back through the top side of the paper. He asks for a staple remover, as if that's his only hope at getting this rogue stable out of his paper. I mention that I usually use my fingers, but he proceeds to grab some keys (the keys to the lab's storage cabinet), as if they'll help. I commandingly advise him not to use the keys (afraid he was going to bend it), so he says he was using the key-ring. ...you know, the circular thing that holds the keys together. Okay man, if you say so. I, myself, could use a key-ring to remove a staple, but that's a rather pain-in-the-ass way of removing a heavy-duty staple, and certainly that wouldn't be my first choice.
A couple minutes later one of his course-mates attempts to use the small stapler, and says "it's jammed." As if all hope is lost, he was going to go without stapling his papers instead of looking at the stapler to see why it was jammed. I grabbed it, removed a few troublesome staples, and wa-la!...it worked. I don't mean to be an ass...I mean, he thanked me, but really... Are these guys really tomorrow's engineers?!
Short Change-ed
Let me start with this...I recently had several dollars worth of quarters in my backpack, which I put there after my last laundry day. After a couple days in my backpack, I took them out, leaving not one remaining. Today after getting dressed, I took the change from my dresser to carry with me...just in case. It just so happens that at this moment, I want an msg-laden bag of generic nacho-cheese corn chips (Tom's version of Doritos), and I only have 36 cents on me. No dollars, no nothing..just the change from the dresser. I checked my bag twice, and did such a good job the other day of removing all of the quarters, I now can't even have the simple pleasure of eating my junk-food o' choice. 'Sucks.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Today's Special
I don't know what the subject line means, really. I passed a resturant earlier and they had a few specials up for today. And, for the record, "Today's Special" was a mannequin-esque-themed Nickeloden show from back in the day.
Onto another subject... In the Thompson Twins song on my profile "Lay Your Hands On Me", I think they'd have been better off using another title. This version starts off with "Feel the Magic". That would've been a better title, since the song is more than what "Lay Your Hands on Me" implies. Much more importantly (in my humble opinion) are the following lyrics (p.s. It helps to be listening to the song at the point the following lyrics are sung. It's just better that way.):
- "I was feeling cold and tired...kinda sad and uninspired."
- "Back and forth across the sea I have chased so many dreams. But I have never felt the grace...that I have felt in your embrace."
- "I was tired and I was cold...with a hunger in my soul...when it almost seemed too much...I see your face and sense the grace and feel the magic of your touch."
So call me a cheeseball or whatever, I don't mind, but if you've ever lived these words, you'd have a crystal clear understanding that there's not one [expletive] thing cheesy about them. That may have sounded a bit aggressive, but I felt it needed to be said. As for the music itself, it has a chill-kinda essence to it. ...that is, after the characteristically 80's intro and excluding the chorus. One of my favorite features of this song is that single echoing piano note that first sounds around the 47 second mark, but also at 1:24 (faint), 1:43, 2:18, and 2:36. This solitary resonating note fades back into the haze. I love how effective that small detail is at standing out so powerfully.
No car news to speak of yet. Until next time, don't forget to feel the magic... T
Sunday, October 01, 2006
My poor car
Driving back from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park today, a woeful thing happened. ...I'm not quite sure yet, but I think the timing belt in my car broke.
Here's a quote from Europeancarweb.com about my engine and what I may be facing:
"The BMW M20 six-cylinder engine is known as a "crasher engine," meaning that if the timing belt breaks the valves hit the pistons. The best case scenario is bent valves, meaning a complete valve job or salvaged cylinder head. At worst, the valves can destroy the pistons, as well."
Great....a "crasher engine". Why couldn't my engine be called the "it's cool engine"? I hope I can find someone that can do a good repair at a reasonable cost. I'd prefer to get it done at Grayson, but their service shop knows they're good and charge like they know it as well.
Well hell, I'll update this when I know more.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
The ultimate riding machine...
Often on my way to class or work on campus I walk past an area where there's parking for motorcycles. Most of the bikes are pretty standard...big new street bikes, older Hondas, maybe a Harley, and even the occasional Vespa. One day I was walking past these bikes and noticed a very unique bike which I soon learned was none other than the BMW R1200GS. ...see the picture on my profile page if you haven't already noticed it. My-oh-my is she sweet. The one on campus isn't exactly the color I want, however the one on my page IS. Mmm-Hmmm. If my point wasn't already clear: I want this bike.
This motorcycle is everything I want in a motorcycle. First (and foremost), it's an Enduro (i.e. street and trail). My first motorcycle was a '76 Yamaha Enduro 125. I loved that thing, and an 83 year-old man in a Buick Century took it away from me. Anyway, back to the BMW.... This bike really is just immaculate (especially with the optional pods for carrying stuff.). Second positive feature: it's NOT a crotch rocket. I'm the kind of guy that thinks if you own something then you need to use it for it's intended purpose. For example, if you own a truck - you should haul stuff from time to time. If you own a Hummer, you should live in a remodled missile silo in Montana ready for Armageddon. ...and it'd also be wise to own a fuel storage tank to feed that monster. If you own a sports car, you should drive it how it's meant to be driven and at the very least get a speeding ticket from time to time. So my viewpoint with motorcycles is somewhat parallel...If you have a crotch rocket, then you need to race it on a track, not just get a cool-looking outfit to wear when riding it and pop wheelies and hang out at gas stations with other crotch-rocketeers trying to boost each other's egos. I say race that mo'fo'!
Note: Exhaust: Exhaust on many crotch-rockets (as well as on those "customized" imports) are all the same to me: Annoying as shit. It sounds like many of those bikes/cars have kazoos for tailpipes. Since I'm on the subject, I can also do without overly-loud Harley/street bike exhaust. Many of those pipes aren't accentuating the sound of the engine - it's straight-up noise pollution, no doubt about it. To me there's a difference between good-sounding exhaust and bullshit exhaust. For example: those throaty boat-sounding exhausts that have that solid churning sound as opposed to exhausts that emit bursts and pops or hi-freq buzzing vibrations. Buy hey, to each their own...it's all my opinion.
Getting back to my preference of Enduro over other bikes, guys and gals, hear me...if someone claims that a street bike,dirt bike, or whatever doesn't quite stand up to a crotch-rocket either speed or accelleration-wise, well, let me say this: Most riders never fully appreciate what those sportbikes are designed for, and if they do it's not wise to a bunch of that stuff off-track. Watch this to see what I mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDc-XgguEn4
As far as sportbikes go, I do have a thing for Ducatis. I discussed Ducati vs. Hondas, etc. with a friend recently, and true, there may be some bikes that edge out Ducati in numbers or performance. I see it like this: Lamborghinis and Ferraris don't always win car races, but those cars have class. A Honda may edge out a Ducati in performance, but to me most Hondas are a dime-a-dozen. A Ducati, however, has the speed AND the class.
The way I see it, every type of bike has its purpose. People will do what they do, but if you go from NC to CA on a sportbike, say goodbye to those huevos. Here's the breakdown:
Street bike - Your standard for Hell's Angels membership. These are for cruisin on the roads of this grand planet. If you so feel the need, get some big-ol' sissy bars to prop them boots up on, point those heels towards the horizon, and find you a little lady to throw on the back (vise-versa for female readers/riders). Hit up all those hole-in-the-wall "Double Deuces", braid that beard, and retire with your very own tattoo parlor.
Touring bikes - These are for taking long trips or having a Cadillac-style bike to ride in-town. Perfect for retirees who want a smooth ride, a stereo, and all that defines the GoldWing lifestyle. Good luck picking it up if you dump it.
Sportbikes (i.e. crotch-rockets) - Made for racing and making your balls hurt.
Dirt bikes - For tearin' through the trails and all that airborne stunty jazz.
Enduros - These beauties, namely BMW's version is what I'd consider to be the gem of the motorcycle world. If you have an enduro, you have the best of all worlds. It'll cruise, it'll jump, it'll tour, it'll take you to work. It'll fly off the line and make you glad you had a good grip on the handlebars. Oh, it's bad! ...well, that's my pitch!
Anyone know where I can get $14,000 for one? ha! Hey, financed for 60 months at 9% interest it's only $261/mo. That's do-able. For now I'll be content just dreaming about it and sportin' a pic of it on my MySpace page. What's that they say?....patience is a virtue, right? Until next time. -T
Friday, August 11, 2006
I wonder...
...about alot of things.
Over the past couple of days, I've been checking out a website that has some Scandanavian gifts and things. As I browse through this stuff, I'm noticing little nuances of these pages that...I don't know, they remind me of how enriching it is to go abroad and meet all kinds of interesting people.
I often find that it's when there's a great spatial distance between those you've crossed paths with, coupled with memories of some great times, it's then that you begin to understand how awesome some people really are. Be it their views on life, their rock-solid relationship with their significant other, the way they choose their words, their goals, hopes, and dreams, their style, or just the things that give them joy, sometimes getting a new perspective can revolutionize the mind. The key is being able to take this new perspective, remembering how grand it is to view life through it, and on occasion, allow it to run freely and enlighten yourself and others with it.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Female Bass Players; The Subways; Lollapalooza
So last night I happened to catch the musical guest on Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show. They are a band called the Subways and they seriously rocked. They have a female bass player, by the way. I don't know what it is about female bass players, but I want one of my own!
The girl in the Subways is attractive not to mention the fact that she moves very well. I've always been fond of skinny girls that can tackle the job of bass guitar. First in my heart must have been D'Arcy from the Pumpkins. The Donnas bassist (I met her)...and drummer! (talk about a girl with moves, shoo!)..., Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, the Talking Heads bassist-she's cool, the girl with A Perfect Circle/Zwan (she's fo' sho' a favorite of mine), Southern Culture on the Skids' thumper, and a few that I've seen from other random bands. Hell, I like alt-rocker girls period (methinks). Woe-is-woe-is-me.
You know, I used to have a girlfriend who expressed an interest in playing bass guitar. I remember a time sitting in the floor of my apartment watching her hold it for [maybe even for] the very first time, playing a few notes.... She's a small girl and it looked good on her. She was a cool girl, and I've missed her being around for a good while now (I think she actively hates me now). That's all I'm disclosing about that, but needless to say there were lessons learned.
Ok, so I was talking about the Subways. I don't know how old they are, but I'm thinking that they're gonna be pretty big before too long. Their performance on Mr. Ferguson's show was really good and they seemed to capture the essence of what attracted me to alternative music in the first place. Good on 'em, and to hell with all that Corp-rock bullshit. The Subways seem to be the real deal, so I'm giving them my props and official recommendation.
Lollapalooza - Wish I'd have gone. Seems like this year's 3-day, 1 city show was reminiscent of the Lollapaloozas of yesteryear. I didn't make it to my first Lollapalooza until 2003 or 2004 (Jane's Addiction, Audioslave). I'm not sure exactly if the originals were 1-city deals (like the Woodstocks), or if they were multi-city destinations. ...guess I could look it up,but I'll do it later. Alright, I'm gonna go. Until next time. -T
Friday, July 07, 2006
Fellow GreeneVillains (intentional) + 1 ambassador (Shakin' up the top 8)
Ok, the ambassador is Yuri Gagarin, if you couldn't tell.
Other than that my top 8 consists of my cohorts, counterparts, comrades, colleagues, companions, crutches, crushes, cousins, cracka's, cooperatives, co-hosts, conversationalists, culinary artists, college advocates, copper metallists, creedence clearwater revivalists, crown jewelists, crazy ways-ists, cash procurists, counterintuitivists, competition finalists, calendar datists, cranky tourists, connisuers, and coo-coo-cooers.
Actually, cousins was a lie. My bad. Until next time -T
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Malish
This entry has to do with the Russian text that's on my profile page (below the absinthe, and on past the flags).
So...is it simply curiosity or do you think that wild arrangement of characters might actually say something you'd find interesting? Regardless of why you want to know, I'll tell you it's no secret. In fact, it's the lyrics of a song by a Russkii Rock group Kino (or more specifically a Russian rock icon named Victor Tsoi) and covered very well by a modern group called Mumiy Troll. The song is called Malish, which means something similar to sweetheart, sweet little thing, or babe. I'm going to translate the song more to convey how I interpret it rather than a word for word translation (which might make it more dry sounding). Here it is:
The warm warm sea
And the blazing hot sun
Waves of the lightest blue
And the desolate beach
Music - right beside me
And you right beside me
This entire coast
Is ours!
When I see just how you dance,
Baby, you drive me crazy
And when you look at me oh-so serious,
Babe, I love you
When you so kiss me oh-so timidly
Sweetheart, you stir and excite me
But I just can't, I just can't
I'm sorry
I just can't.
A song flies over the waves
Speed-like-tsunami
And a ship out on the horizon
Just floats
Something has happened between us.
Just what happened between us?
For me, this question does not give
Peace of mind.
When I see just how you dance,
Baby, you drive me crazy
And when you look at me oh-so serious,
Babe, I love you
When you so kiss me oh-so timidly
Sweetheart, you stir and excite me
But I just can't, I just can't
I'm sorry, I just can't...
But I just cant, I just cant,
Forgive me, I just can't...
But I just can't, I just can't,
Leave you.
******************
I tried to keep true to the writer's words and structure, but also convey what I think a native Russian listener would get out of this song.
In the song he seems to be looking back on the situation, and the memories are vivid and inspiring. Reflecting back on that time, he can't figure out what did or didn't happen and by asking that question, it leaves him with nothing more than a heavy heart.
That's my take anyway.
I'm interested to hear your comments, whatever they may be.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Bonnaroo music festival
Hi everyone. I got back yesterday night from my 24-hour stint at the one-and-only Bonnaroo music festival. I got to see Oysterhead, Death Cab for Cutie, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. ...bits and pieces of a couple more, but I was there only a short time.
I went with a friend...on a whim and with a limited budget. My freind and I knew someone that could get us in, so we decided it'd be worth it to head down there for a day. I gotta say, though, that if I'm able to go next year, I'm gonna get a ticket, get there early to camp, and stay the whole 4 days! The main reason my friend and I had to get back was because of work/previous obligations and budget.
...I'm gonna try and squeeze in a trip to Russia for August, although it may be somewhat impossible to pull off. We'll see.
Anyway, if we would've been able to stay, we could've seen Radiohead, Beck, Elvis Costello, Moe, Bela Fleck, Les Claypool, Bonnie Raitt (who I've met before, by the way), and many many more. For the full lineup, check out www.bonnaroo.com
Ok, I'll finish this and maybe add more to it later if I so feel the need. Until next time. -T
Thursday, June 15, 2006
...and it took me, like, ages...
It's 'bout dang time. The song "Too Young" by Phoenix is one I've been waiting for for quite a while. Somone finally put it up, so viola! Sorry I don't have much else better to talk about.
�ÃивеÃ!...и пока! -- Тони
Saturday, June 10, 2006
...
I still want my angel.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Send Me An Angel
Seriously. ...right now.
If Real Life's version is too dancey or techno for you then try these other versions.
Fans of hardcore/shock rock kinda stuff, check out Deadstar Assembly's version. It's a good cover,
There's also a version by a group called Thrice, but they seem to be promoting a new album, and it's not up for myspace users to add to their profiles currently. You can hear it here:
http://webjay.org/iteminfo/8994254/526599d18ad6c549260fe87878b66581
...it's a more West Coast punk-sounding version.
So I'm waiting...
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Chess on MacIntosh computers
For anyone who thinks they're relatively good at chess, try this.
- Find a MacIntosh computer
- Go to: Finder-->Applications-->Chess
- Play a game on the easiest setting
Now I'm not bad at chess, but I have to say that I have not won a single game versus the computer. I have won twice, but I cheated by asking it for hints for every move. ...so I really haven't won at all.
It's kinda frustrating to lose every single time, but I'm gonna keep trying. Good luck if you so dare attempt this feat yourself! - T
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Ban Lifted, New [World] "Order"
Ok, I'm over banning females from my top 8. I would like to give special thanks to John for the enduring and selfless act of looking after those two women beside him while the ban was in force. He persevered and even when there was no light at the end of the tunnel, he smiled and took two for the team. ...so to speak. John, you set a standard that raises the bar. Cheers to that!
So now those on my top 8 are people who have a name other than their own as their profile name, or have a variant of their name in it's place. ...it just so happens there are only 8 people who have it like this. There's no particular ordering, it was just random. FYI. Until next time. -T
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Archive: Feb-May 2006
Friday, May 19, 2006
Is there no chance at redemption in this life?
Current mood: confused
Ok, here's a current CNN story:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/05/19/space.museum.nazi.ap/index.html
Now in a nutshell, a former Nazi who worked in and for the US after WWII made some important contributions to the space program, as he was inducted into the Space Hall of Fame for some spacesuit and capsule work he did. Obviously this guy did whatever he needed to do after WWII to send his life in a new direction and do something useful and apparently-enough, honorable. He was honored in 1978, died in 1987, but just recently was stripped of his honors because of his past.
Now I don't know his whole story, but from the information I gathered from this article, it sounds like there's nothing this man could've done for redemption. I say to hell with that.
On a side note:
I recently was in Russia and visited a graveyard for Nazi soldiers killed there. I was there with a group of Germans and we all listened to a speaker talk about the purpose of the graveyard. Now everyone knows Hitler was wrong, but understand that in Nazi Germany, even many of the citizens didn't know exactly what was going on. They wanted this graveyard not to give respect to Nazis, but to give respect to the lives of young German men (and maybe women) who were serving their country and their families. When it's war, you may not really know if your side is right or not, but you're fighting for your side. It's very likely that what drove these soldiers to fight their last battle was their loved ones back home, and not wickedness or hate.
So back to the former hall of famer... This guy may have been into some bad stuff, I don't know. He was the director of medical research for aviation. I'd guess that if he had done anything that he should have been tried for, and we had the evidence, then he'd have been tried, right? Instead, he ws allowed to come here and work on some pretty serious projects. He worked and lived over 30 years in the US after WWII ended. So back to the original question... Because of someone's past, can they not work to make up for their mistakes? Is there no chance of redemption in this life?
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Why be, (L) eye, are tea
What we have here, is failure to communicate...oh wait, that's a Guns-n-Roses song. What I meant is... What we have here, is failure to communicate. ...damnit, I did it again. What we have here, is something I wrote yesterday after a bit of inspiration from reading something someone else had written. You know, it's like when you hear a song, and it's not one of those that fits perfectly, but there's some aspect or aspects of the song that just drives something home. As I read this artist's work, I got the idea of the depth from which that piece was written, and in an instant a couple of words triggered a memory in me, about which I also had some depth of experience. Anyway, I just wanted to give credit, albeit an anonymous shout-out, to the person who inspired the moment of creativity. As for the little heartbreaker who is responsible for the experience itself, all I can say is: I probably deserved it for the selfishness I've exhibited in affecting the lives of others. Ok, I'm gonna quit reflecting and post what it is I wrote yesterday. I don't know why, but I just am.
Side by side it started right,
Another buzzing, busy night,
The subterra walls stand echoing voices,
Under white-bright sodium light.
Perfect mood despite the tension,
She inspires mood asecension,
Continuously seeking her stake to claim;
The fool who'll share what I won't mention.
Prepared to play this fool myself,
I stayed with her till time would tell,
Unjealous domain with enough attention,
Was lost in a moment, lines crossed, trust fell.
Away from this madness, this torture, this game,
Just give me my peace, in my silence, 'till day,
And I will recover, if only forgetting,
The sick-hearted patterns of animals at play.
So that's it. I did edit one small part, and there are more fixes necessary, but I'll do that at some other point. Ok, I'm done here. Until next time. -T
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
UPDATED: Females are banned from my top 8 until further notice
UPDATE (5/20/06): I'm making an exception to my ban on females on my top 8 (the exception being family). Now don't go thinkin' I've gotten all soft, and that soon the ban will be lifted. ...ok, it's likely to happen eventually, but for now the gates to Wonka's factory are again closed!
As of now there's a boycott on females on my top 8. They're banned, they've been deported, they're exiled, and they've been banished. As of now the border will remain closed and until an undisclosed and undetermined point in time, there will remain a lack of female presence on the list. ...the exception will be profiles like John's, where females are only permitted with male supervision.
...strange, what the hell would anyone do this for? What does top 8 really mean? If someone's number one, is that for a reason? ...and if this same person should be relinquished of their position, is this indicative of anything underlying or transient? Now, if there's a female number one and say numbers 3 5 7 and 8 are also female, is there a reason to worry or feel any threat from these lower in ranking? Surely not, but then again it certainly depends on the intentions of the person making the selections, just as well as the perception of those on the list. Should number one delight in their position as the sole individual that reigns on the throne, and in turn, should the subsequent position-holders unselfishly yet proudly hold their positions in the heriarchy, all the while understanding the order of ranking holds them in their respective ordinate and subordinate positions?
Should changes to this list be whimsical, on-the-fly, and/or hastily made, or should one take great consideration in placement of those on this list that may be indicative of greater things of grave importance? These questions and more remain to be further pondered upon and until the time a profound revelation, enlightenment, or transcendance is bestowed upon mine-self, I must say that females most certainly cannot grace their presence upon the top 8 of those I have to choose from in this thriving kingdom known as MySpace.
Hark! Send not your beloved charms and pleas for entrance into mine heart and soul. Show me not your flighty passions that so drown your rationality, lending only a river of heartache to flow and push me downstream from the source of these selfishly scattered rains of love and lure. With your fire-encompassed gaze and your intentions of self-satisfaction and lust, do not shower me with ornately disguised hints of intimate fulfillment and reciprocal comforts of shared presence. Flash not your eyes in a frozen moment, to reveal a spring which, supressed, longs to upwell and wash over me in one refreshing surge.
And in the moments we share,
together or apart,
and the instant I cared,
for the pangs in your heart,
Be it voice of reason,
or the echos of ideals,
Find renewal in the season,
And in my arms be healed.
Friday, May 05, 2006
New Top 8 Criteria, patents vs. lottery, Montana got a big ol' butte
Well, I used a very complex mathematical formula to randomly choose 8 profiles...ok, that's bs. I just picked a few new people that weren't on it before (those who aren't on it anymore, don't despair) and used the following patented method for arranging them:
Girl, Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl, Girl.
It's that last slick changeup that's patented. ...just when you'd expect it to be "boy", I go and make it girl. As of now, I'm not enforcing any copyrights, so if you'd like to use this yourself, I won't take any legal action against you. If, however, I notice that you start driving Ferraris, move to Beverly Hills, and partaking in other elitist behavior, I'm gonna have to have my people contact you. I think we could reach a settlement, though, so if you can profit from my method, I might be able to negotiate a little allowance for some kickbacks, if you know what I mean. And you know what I mean, mm-hmm.
Speaking of living like a king, I won $4 from a powerball ticket. I'm gonna go cash that puppy in tomorrow! ...and maybe get another so that soon, I'll be rolling around in my millions, and you'll be skeezin' along bringin' in your own loot from my slick patent. Then we'll both be drivin' Hybrid Hummers gettin 30 MPG down the Pacific Coast Highway on the way to the boatyard to board the party yacht and head down to Rio via the Panama Canal. Hell yeah!
Actually I saw a shirt online a while back that's for Math lovers and it says: "Lottery is a tax for those who can't do math." For you computer nerds out there, there's one that says: "There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those who don't." ...that's my favorite. Actually if you want to see some funny-ass shirts, check out www.vintagevantage.com. If you check out the site, you'll see the Montana reference that appeared in the Subject line. My personal favorite: "Who loves Burritos?" ...think I'm gonna get that one.
Alright, I'm gonna call it a write. Until next time. -T
Thursday, May 04, 2006
I didn't even have to use my AK...
Well crap, I've started this thing, now I've gotta write something. I haven't written in a while. I'm in need of some serious focusing to compile a bunch of random schoolwork into a series of projects, short essays, and maybe even a presentation. It's nice to be back in Knoxville. There was a short time when those little wicked pollen spores were raging, covering everythning in a yellow dust, and making everyone sick...or experiencing every symptom of sickness.
I'm up here on the 6th floor of the library with a window looking north. I need to go flying around the city sometime in a Cessna or something. I like altitude and would like to get a bird's eye view of the city.
There's more I want to say, but I'm dealing with a headache and think I'll get out of here. I'm not getting much studying done, and have to find an advil soon.
The subject line might be an obscure reference as to how I viewed yesterday, by the way. -T
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Exodus, Lug-gage, On the Road Again
3/27/06...
Ok, for some reason I can't edit my profile...otherwise I'd not have the song and lyrics out of synch. I'm rested up from my trip, although I woke up at 5:30am. By the way, here's a rundown of my adventure back to the US:
I had planned on returning Wednesday the 22nd. Well, although I stayed up the entire night packing, I realized that there were several things I didn't do that I really wanted to. Nothing super-urgent, but still I would have felt like I left some things undone. Anyway, I threw the last of my stuff together and as my friend and I left for the airport I had another realization...Rush-hour traffic. I wasn't sure if I'd make it to the airport in time to get my boarding pass, check my luggage, clear immigration, clear security, and make it to my plane. I called my travel agent and after speaking with them decided to rebook my flight for the next available, which was on Friday the 24th. That gave me 2 days to tie up all of those loose ends, which I did. I also repacked my bags more strategically and rid myself of quite a bit of weight taken up by papers and notebooks.
Doing it all again Friday, I had the following to lug around with me..and when I say lug, I mean lug: Big suitcase, carry on suitcase, backpack, guitar, balilaika, and a plastic bag. My backpack and small carry on were loaded down with books and paper, and were kinda heavy.
The flight from Larnaca to Athens was fine. Short layover in Athens, then boarded the flight for JFK. There was plenty of room on the flight, so most people had extra room...I had the seat next to me open, which is always nice. Here's where the story gets interesting...
I arrive at JFK (having never been to that airport before) and make my way to the "Air Train" to go from the terminal I was in to one that had several domestic carriers. ...I still needed to find a way to Knoxville, since I hadn't booked a ticket before. Here was my logic: Airlines want their planes full, and if a flight isn't fully booked, then as departure time nears, they should offer tickets at good prices in case someone wants to "jump on". Well, maybe it used to be this way, but nowadays, it doesn't work like that. After I lugged my bags to the Delta terminal and called them, I thought a flight might not be the best way to get back to Tennessee unless I wanted to dump alot of money on it. Delta wanted close to $600 for a flight the next day. ...more than I wanted to pay, to say the least. I called to see what a rental car would cost. One company said it'd be a $70 rental, plus a $230 fee for not returning the car to NY, and I'd have to drop it off in Nashville. Ok, no. I lugged my bags to another terminal. That airline wanted $400 for it's flight the next day. The only available hotel was a Ramada Plaza, which was $140/night. By this time I'm wondering if I should put my bags in storage and call my friend. By doing this, at least I could check stuff out online and figure out my best option...and do so without lugging my bags around JFK, which isn't the most connected/integrated airport I've ever been to. I check Hertz rent-a-car and they said I could get a car for a reasonable price...that night...and drop it off in K-town. Deal! I had driven to New York once before, and it was a 12-hour each way journey. I was up for it. I got my new Chevy Malibu (which I was kinda impressed with) and hit the road. Funny, though, I didn't get any maps or anything, I just thought I'd "wing it".
I left JFK, and started randomly choosing the roads I'd take. That probably wasn't the best thing to do, so I eventually stopped and got a state map (with only a mediocre detailing of the New York City area). It wasn't difficult to re-orient myself with driving "on the right side of the road", after my 6 months of driving in Cyprus. I had a decent time navigating New York City with little guidance. I found 4th Avenue and took it into Manhattan, took the Holland Tunnel out of there, and in time was on the toll roads through New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I left NYC around 7-8pm, and stopped a few times to get coffee. Just past Philadelphia, I decided it was dangerous to keep driving so I took an exit, and found a parking lot to sleep for a few hours. Oddly enough, the parking lot turned out to be Halliburton's. Boo. Anyway, I woke up at 4:30am and got back on my way.
Since I was in Cyprus all winter, I guess Old Man Winter wanted to treat me with a little "welcome back hospitality", so he gave me a little snowfall from Virginia onward. In the Northern part it was sticking, and was a nice sight to see. As I got closer to Tennessee, it'd still snow on and off. Even in the Bristol/Kingsport area there was a bit of sleet and snow.
You know, the radio stations "up North" sure are better than those in the South. Even the NPR stations had much more interesting stuff being discussed. Ok, granted, I didn't do a study for months and all that, but in general, my impression of the stations was such that there's a significant difference in the quality of the programming. From New York through Pennsylvania, I also heard of quite a few awesome shows that were upcoming. I think I could go for living up there for a while.
Well, I made it to my destination, met up with my friends, and dropped the rental car off. Got my car up-and-running yesterday (battery was dead, but with a jump, it fired right up). It's still a bit cold to put the top down, but soon!
Ok, I'm gonna wrap this up. Until next time. -T
3/25/06...
I'm back, and am tired. I'll write more soon. -T
Thursday, March 23, 2006
The Final Countdown, Define overweight, Soon-to-be airborne
Well, it's that time....the final countdown, if you will. In 1.5 hours my computer will be packed along with most of my other things....again. I'll be up bright and early tomorrow morning and will spend a little over 12 hours in various aircraft until touching down in the New York area. As some of you know, my exodus from Cyprus was supposed to take place on Wednesday. I had too much I still wanted to get done before my departure, so I called the airline and rebooked my flight for Friday. Cross your fingers for me that I won't have to pay anything for excess baggage, because I've got just under a ton of stuff I'm lugging back with me.
I'm gonna vent a bit about the airline industry, so if you don't wanna hear any complainin', skip to the next paragraph. Ok, last summer I'm flying back to the US from Russia via Frankfurt on Lufthansa (the German Airline). Well, I have a ton of stuff on this trip, as well, and I have it all conveniently packed so that the most fragile things are in my "carry-on" bag...which is one of those rolling things with the telescoping handle. I get off the plane in Frankfurt, with the Moscow to Frankfurt part of the trip uneventful. In the Frankfurt airport I go to my gate, and I'm waiting. I get a free abbreviated version of a USA Today and am waiting for my departure time.
As it gets close to time, someone comes over the gate's PA and says that everyone needs to leave the waiting area and have the tickets processed at a service counter that's outside of the "roped-off" waiting area. Ok, that's cool. I get in line, and I notice a lady lifting everyone's carry-on to see how heavy it was. My bag was "regulation size", so I was hoping that if I rolled it alongside me, opposite of where she was, that I might get by her. ...not a chance. She was checking everyone's and being quite the bitch about telling people it had to be checked there at the counter to go in the plane's belly. When she lifted mine to see, she nearly broke her back, and told me that I had to check it. I said I couldn't because everything inside was fragile (Vodka, music equip, etc...). She wouldn't hear me out, and said "no way". I then informed her of the fact that I'm not a very big person, and that I should be allowed to bring it with me because I bet that my weight is well under what the airlines estimate the "average" person to be. ...and in that case, I should be allowed a bit more than Jim Bob tourist behind me. I informed her that it would go under my seat and not in the overhead bin, and even told her that "the weight of my bag in the passenger area would not throw off the weight and balance of the plane"...that didn't convince her either. I emptied out half my bag into my coat pockets, sleeves, and socks even (I'm sure I "embarassed myself", and that if I would have had a traveling companion, I'd have been disowned.). Now my bag was under the weight limit, but the lady told me I couldn't do that. I didn't see why not. There's no rules against people carrying things on their person, but she said I'd still have to check it. What a hotch! So I repacked it, checked it, and eventually made it back. There was a casualty though...
I was at a place called "Peterhof", which is an awesome palace of Peter the Great (the Czar who had St Petersburg built), and spoke with a sweet Russian girl there that was selling souvenirs along a stretch of vendors. I finished talking with her and caught up with my friends. That girl gave me a small picture of Peterhof that was in a frame with a glass front. It was very simple, and I really appreciated it because I'm sure she didn't make much money working at the souvenir stand. For her to decide to leave me with something to remember her by meant alot, and regardless of how much it cost, I'm sure she can't afford to be giving things away all the time. So on the flight from Frankfurt to the US, the glass was broken. The picture itself is ok, so I just removed the broken pieces and it's all ok now. So what was the point of all this? That dang woman at Lufthansa (just doing her job and looking after the safety of everyone) should've let me carry my bag on the plane. ...that's all.
Ok, gotta run, but when I get back to the States and get back in the groove, I'll write some more. Hopefully I'll make it this time! It's gonna be nice to see the Atlantic again from 30K feet. Well, until next time... T
Saturday, March 18, 2006
(view more) (view more) (view more) (view more) (view more)
...there was no real reason for that except for visual effect.
Sittin' here drinkin' some bean water (coffee), getting distracted by MySpace. Had a party here last night in the basement of the ol' residence hall. 'Twas fun. ...never noticed it before, but the word 'twas in written form doesn't really save anyone alot of writing. Ok, you get to emit the "stick part" of the letter "I" and smash the word together, but I guess the short form of that phrase is most useful when spoken. 'Twas. Nevertheless, I like it.
Ok that's all the time I'm gonna waste. Back to work.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Top 8 Criteria
Ok, this top 8 thing I decided to change today just to mix it up a bit. I wish there was a "random top 8 generator", but since I haven't found one, here's how I chose who's on it.
Those on my Top 8 are there because they/you have (most) recently sent me a personal message or posted a comment of one type or another. After getting my top 8 of most recent contacts, I then put everyone in alphabetical order according to the "screenname" associated with their profile. ...naturally, if anyone changes their "screenname", it'll appear not in alphabetical order, although it was this way after my initial rearrangement.
I don't know how I'll go about it next time...I think I'll still probably include those who contacted me most recently, but maybe I'll arrange them according to first initial, last initial, or in ascending/descending order of how many letters are in the "screenname". I'll let you know at that time.
If you're not up there, it doesn't mean anything bad. Well, that's about it. Until next time. -T
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Chronology and a little more chronology
Departure: 6:15am
Speed on Motorway: 1XX km/h
Route: A1 from Nicosia through Larnaca to Limassol; A6 to Pafos.
Arrival: Birthplace of Aphrodite at 8:30 to pick up my number...wrong place (my number was at my starting point (duh.)).
Arrival: Pafos castle at 9:00 (my starting point). Get ready and make my way to starting line.
Race Details: 9:30 start time.
-I run for 1.5 km before I convince myself that I'll end up riding in an ambulance (unable to walk) if I attempt to run the full 10k.
-Attempt several types of "jogs" and the like, with no success at avoiding what I'd describe as a pain during cartilage compression.
-Begin walking and get passed by the majority.
-Feel cheated, but had already decided I'd finish regardless.
-See group I was originally "in pace with" at my 3-4k mark while they're at their 6-7k mark (turnaround point at 5k).
-Wish I could run.
-Reach 5k point and wonder why I'm being photographed.
-See man in wheelchair at my 6-7k point at his 3-4k point. Not only do I admire his decision/effort, but I'm reminded of the fact that sometimes you have to step out of your own point of view and see things from different perspectives.
-Told by some British man that I should run the last 100m, and find it difficult to communicate to him the fact that I'd be running if I was able to.
-Wonder why I'm being photographed as I walk towards finish line.
-Finish the race in 92 minutes (~30 minutes greater than my average 51-54 minute 10K time I've ran the past month).
Departure: From Pafos to Aphrodite's birthplace. It's a stone beach (ranging in size from 1 inch to fist size and even larger. Most of the rocks were hand/cell phone size. There are some large rock outcrops at the edge of the beach and on into the water. Waves were crashing up against the rocks, and it was really very nice. I could've and would've climbed up one of the biggest outcrops, had it not been for the fact that my injury disallows me to climb/descend easily.
Departure: Have to stop for 30 minutes on motorway due to a 4-door pickup truck overturned. On my way back to Nicosia, I stop off at a few ancient sites....specifically Kalavassas and Idalion. Historic in the sense of 13th century BC and 5th century BC respectively. (p.s. If anyone likes archaeology, they'd probably love it here. I'm sure that there are many many many undiscovered sites here on this island. FYI)
Arrival in Nicosia sometime around 3pm, and now I'm on with my day.
Well that's about all. I don't think I'm gonna run in the Knoxville Marathon this year, but may wait 'till next year. Bummer, but I'm not gonna screw up my knee beyond repair when it'd be stupid to do so. Until next time. -T
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Over Hyphenation? and Train Drain
I can't even begin to explain the awesome time I've been having here since I last wrote. Great food, great company, and all-in-all a far cry from the "down times" I was having in the not-too-distant past.
I'll do my best to provide some details soon, though. I have a ton of stuff to do today, so I'll keep this short.
Some potentially bad news... Neither my schedule or the weather was allowing me to run as much this past week-and-a-half, so I ran Thursday (9th) and my time was close to norm. Well, I decided I'd run each day before the race that's tomorrow, so I ran yesterday also (10th). I was also planning on running today, in preparation for the race tomrrow. After I got back from yesterday's run, I noticed one of my knees was "acting up". Aside from occasionally feeling the pressure changes when the weather would drastically change, I haven't had any real problems with it in a couple years and and could tell that it had healed over time. Well, I tried to take care of it after yesterday's run, but I think running hard two days in a row "overstressed" it. I'm not running today, in hopes that it'll feel better tomorrow. Hopefully by some miracle it'll be ok to run on tomorrow. If I begin the race and can feel that it's not right, unfortunately I'm going to have to finish the race walking. What I'm not gonna do is cause further damage to it, which I'll regret for years to come. So after a relatively successful period of training, I go and injure myself 2 days before the race. What kinda crap is that? As far as the half-marathon in Knoxville...TBD. In both cases, I'll keep you posted.
Ok, that's it for now. All the best and take care. Until next time. -AB
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Crazy eyes and a curly tail, and More than your fill
Spring is virtually here. Nights are still chilly, but I'm beginning to see more signs of spring every day. Walking in a park the other day, I saw a chamelion walking across the sidewalk. Today I saw a lizard running along a wall, and there are more flowers in bloom. Wintertime is the rainy season, but I hear that this season rainfall was well below normal. This in turn is gonna result in water rationing once summer is in full-force.
Speaking of water, anyone ever remember water fountain experiences from when they were in grade school? I always got a kick out of the high-powered ones that would overshoot the drain area and would arc to the floor. Then there were the ones that had really low pressure and you'd be lucky if the water went high enough to get a drink. Sometimes getting water from those took a bit of a pucker combined with a noisy inhalation method of drinking; and you'd have to be careful or you'd end up inhaling water and coughing for a minute. I'm sure you know what I mean. I remember that sometimes the water was really really good, though. I went to school in New Mexico and Oklahoma for most of elementary school, but I'm sure there are some stories unique to where you went to elementary school. I remember some kids would put their mouths on the actual faucet-thing; most of us thought that was weird and gross. There were always the kids who would take a drink for an exceptionally long time. They'd get heckled (by me) with phrases like "There goes the Atlantic." and "There goes the Pacific!". (You get the idea.) ...and of course other kids would have their various comments, too. I think some of these kids must have delighted in this attention only to end up with a waterlogged belly (how comfortable is that?). Then again, I remember some times that I just couldn't get enough water no matter how my stomach felt. ...like a "water horse" break during football practice, for one. Those times, it was like "ok, if I drink more I'm bound to end up either losing it, or I'll be running like a waterbed (if waterbeds ran, that is). ...but also I remember some specific times like this during my elementary days.
I found a cool website today that shows a "map" of orbiting satellites around the Earth. For anyone interested, here's the link:
http://science.nasa.gov/Realtime/JTrack/Spacecraft.html
Maybe I'm a geek, but I think it's pretty cool to see what's out there in orbit. ...if I could just get myself up there, now that'd be cool.
Well, that's all for now. Until next time. -T
Monday, February 27, 2006
Time and place
I just posted a new pic, but it may be short-lived on here. Why? Well when looking at the large version, it looks as if something's up with my right eye, but somehow that's just a result of the angle, I guess. I was sick of my other picture, so this one is a welcome replacement for the meantime. This was taken in a shop that specializes in timepieces and cameras here in Nicosia, Cyprus. There's a story about this picture and this shop, which I may talk about sometime, but I'll save that story for another time.
I mentioned the other day about the cabarets here, and the more I think about it the more I am bothered by this shit. I was looking on Cyprus' government website and they said that people coming here as cabaret "artists" were required to have an HIV, Hepatitis, and Syphillis test. Coincidentally, international students are also required to have an HIV, hepatitis, and syphillis test. I guess this is a case of "correlation is not causation", right? Although I came here with documentation from a recent HIV and hepatitis test from the US (being that Russia requires it for extended stay), but they said I had to get one done here. (I think they just wanted my money.)
Ok, alot of negativity about the quirks of this place. Don't judge Cyprus solely by my account, because the info I've been providing is heavily biased for a few specific and non-specific reasons. I guess I've yet to mention Kave-Greco (or have I), which is a beautiful cove with light sand and clear-blue water surrounded by steep terrain. You can even take a 5 minute hike up the hillside and take in a great view of the scenery. ...I'll have to get a picture and post it or something.
...continued in next entry...
Currently watching:
Brother 2/ Brat 2
Monday, February 20, 2006
Hiatus, Cinco anos, Styckin' it to ya
I have no idea what to write about today. Being that I've wanted to write something for the past 3 days, I guess I haven't had much to say. This past week was full of surprises that I could have never guessed would come about. Maybe I'll talk about it sometime, but for now, I'm just gonna have to leave it at that.
If you're easily bored, let me go ahead and warn you to stop reading now, drink a Red Bull (for the sake of recovery), and forget you ever started reading this crap.
Two words: Rainy; Cold. In other words, no running last week. Today, however I ran. I'll start being short and sweet, as not to be dull. 5K-25:45, 1K walk/cool down, 4K 26:51. Dang that week off; still no progress. By friday though, look out.
In the Next 5 YearsOk, this is a declaration of things I'll do within the next 5 years. For a long time, I've had the desire to do these things, but since I've been either a an irresponsible youth or a broke-ass student, I've just never managed to do everything I wanted. From today I have less than 1825 days to get my hind-end in gear. The list goes as follows: 1) Private Pilot's License. VFR for sure, maybe IFR. Depends on time, really. 2) Boston Marathon. 3) Ski in a downhill race and also learn to ski jump. This may sound kinda "bandwagon-esque" since the winter olympics are now in full-force, but nevertheless I am a skiier. Concerning downhill - ask anyone who's skiied with me...I love the speed of skiing. I also jump at every opportunity. ...pun intended. I'd love to do some big-air jumps and stuff, but I'm more taken by ski jumping than the freestyle skiing. On a side note, snowboarding doesn't interest me much, but snowboarder chicks have something about them that's just...well, very desirable. I think maybe it's because they all think they're badasses. I have no problem with that. Haven't yet met a ski jumper chick or freestyler, but they're probably just as cool. 4) Scuba dive. I've been snorkeling here in Cyprus, and it's amazing to see the world that exists underwater. While snorkeling here, (amongst other things) I swam right through a huge school of small fish. I couldn't tell you how many, but it was like flying through a cloud, but for about 30 seconds. I'll snorkel again before I leave. I'll write more then.
Ok, I'll wrap this up and do something productive. I had to get rid of my custom contact thing, since something in the coding no longer works with myspace. The Styx logo still remains. Who'd have doubted that one? I'll depart with some lyrics from Styx.
And so, my friends, we'll say goodnight, for time has claimed his prize, but tonight can always last, as long as we keep alive, the memories of Paradise -A.D. 1958
Currently listening:
Alive to Every Smile
By Trembling Blue Stars
Release date: 30 October, 2001
Friday, February 17, 2006
Frisky business, Misc., and Don't go there!
Today I went by the American Embassy here in Cyprus to see about getting a question answered. In actuality, I didn't need to go by the embassy at all, but for some reason I thought I could get some assistance, advice, or whatever. ...plus, it's the first time I've had an American Embassy abroad right down the street. I think maybe I was "in the neighborhood" at times in Moscow, but the one here is fathoms closer. (Can I use fathoms to measure horizontal distance? Anyone?) Ok, since I can't give out a bunch of details out about the specifics of the embassy on the web (in the interest of national security), I will say that it's buttoned down quite well. It's big, too. I've been through my fair share of security screenings of many different kinds, and I have to say that this one is thorough. I think the only way someone could wreak any havoc within the perimeter is to have a stomach full of everclear and light it as they projectile vomit. (Should I even have said that?) Well if the "powers that be" read this, maybe they'll start requiring a breathalyzer also in the security screening. ...a breathalyzer that detects all kinds of things, so that if the French guy that can stomach nearly anything (from the Guinness Book of World Records) were to maybe drink some gas and eat another Cessna, then he couldn't get inside and start taxiing or fly that shit around. (That'd be one hard to believe news story.) Maybe in the future we can start incorporating x-ray machines and MRI machines in security screenings. Good training experience for med students, right? ...but maybe that was part of my required screening here... Who really knows? Well me and a room full of other people that were all sitting around in a strange waiting room. I will say this. I walk in and am supposed to talk with someone in a specific window. Well, there's noone on either side of any of the windows, so I go to mine and wait. After a few minutes, I begin to feel like a moron with everyone (likely bored out of their minds) watching me standing at an unattended window. I see a bell (a "Yes, may I help you sir?" kinda bell (or ma'am for the female reader(s))). I ring it, and people in the office space behind the window come to life. Someone came to help me, and when I told her what I wanted, she made quick work of it and pawned me off on another intra-city agency. ...as I suspected! ...but not because they sucked, but just becasue I thought the Amercian Embassy people could pull some strings or give me some advice or something. No dice. It's ok though, the experience was fun.
I forgot about the "test keywords" thing I put in the other day. I'll update with any pertinent info as soon as I test it out. In the meantime, that random weblog will remain with that intellectual buffet of vocabulary (or intellectual intercourse, to put it another way). I have to give credit to "Dr. G" in UT's Geography Department for using that phrase enough that I can regurgitate it in what I write. ...p.s. I'll add Dr. G's full name when I get a chance, but for the record, she always referred to herself as "Dr. G" since people often mispronounce her name.
Excuse me in advance for my harsh tonality and vocabulary, but one thing I have to say that sucks about Cyprus is the fact that they have places called "Cabarets" which aren't nightclubs or bars, but places where you can pay the equivalent of $200 (or more even) and take a woman home from a bar at the end of the night. Of course I've never done this. I read some disturbing articles on the web of people who sleaze the world looking for these places, and then write "advice columns" for others who do this stuff. The information I read on their manner of operation is similar to an experience of a friend of mine, who stumbled upon one of these places by accident. There is a small "hole-in-the-wall" bar near where I live, and a friend from Sweden I talked about going there often. Well, we never got around to going, so he and another friend went once, and they said that a girl would come up to them and start talking. If you didn't want to talk to that girl, then she'd leave and another would come to talk to you. If you bought a drink for yourself, it would be the equivalent of $10 or so. If you bought one for the girl, it'd be $40. My friends were kinda uncomfortable, so they finished their drink and left. From what I read online, if you would buy 5 drinks at $40 each, then you talk with the bartender and say that you'd like to take her out after the bar closes, and that's how it would go about. The biggest problem with all of this is that most of these girls/women are from Eastern Europe, and they are tricked into becoming sex slaves by some f'ed up men (some of whom would bind them legally, by marraige or other means). Makes me sick. Well, I read something the other day that took the bulk of the blame off of those who do the soliciting, and balanced the blame with the individuals who patronize such places, and the society that supports this kind of place. ...to be honest, a lot of men here like to have foreign women as toys until they get with the "genetically acceptalbe" girl that their parents both want them to be with. From what I've heard (and can somewhat attest to considering the short time I've been here), the vast majority of Cypriot women don't date foreigners and just stick to Cypriot men. There ARE exceptions; this is not a blanket statement accusing everyone, and I don't mean to disrespect anyone who I know. I'll try to balance this out by saying that the Cypriot people as a whole have been very warm (figuratively) and hospitable, and make for good friends, colleagues, etc.. as anyone.
On a completely different subject, the Bonnaroo "cheap" tickets were sold out before I tried at 10:37am eastern, after starting at 10. The lineup' is rockin more and more as the days go by.
Ok, I had more to write, but I'm beat. I may do some editing later on, but for now I'm drawing this to a close. All the best to everyone. -T
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Test of keywords for search inquiry
This a test of words that I'm inputting in here to see if the search engine on myspace will "find" this listing in it's search.
Planet Hofmann
Greenpatch, TN
InterCollege
Sunny Day Real Estate
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Embarassment, Verbal abuse (Just the facts), Word of the day
Current mood: blank
I wonder if the word embarrassment (and all forms of the word's root(s)) had anything to do with someone's bare-ass? Ok, the verb empower means to give power, so does to embarrass mean to give a bare ass to (i.e. to make someone's ass bare)? I think that could be it, because if you're say on a public square in front of the whole kingdom in one of those public display things that lock your hands and head, and then they pull your pants down you'd be embarrassed, right? ...and bare-assed as well, so I think that makes sense.
Speaking of embarassing, I have to say that some of the music I write is crap. Some may disagree, and some would probably say all of it is crap. To each their own. I'm only about 1/3 musician, anyway, since I'm too lazy to dedicate alot of music theory to mind. As a matter of fact, I used to be hesitant to call myself a musician or an artist because I felt like I was a poseur if I did so. Well, what my music has amounted to is less than and nowhere close to what I wanted to do when I first became interested in music. Why am I calling myself out on this? ...because I'm kinda sick of it, for one. I always wanted to do more than half-ass whatever it was I was doing, and with music, half-assing it does noone any good. I guess we'll see what happens from here on out.
I said ass a lot in this posting, but it just seemed appropriate.
ass ass ass ass ass ass ass
...now those served no real purpose, and therefore weren't really appropriate. ...'tis a pity.
-T
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Dorm sweet dorm and 5
Currently I'm living in a place that's like a small residence hall. There are 3 floors ( basement),24 rooms, and I think there are around 26 people who live here. We're a mix of people from different places (Cyprus, Russia, Bulgaria, Spain, Sweden, Poland, Lithuania, Iran, and more) and almost everyone studies at the school I'm attending here. Yesterday I ran into a girl from Lithuania that lives in my building, and she invited me to her birthday party (in the basement area). Last night a TON of people showed up, and we all partied downstairs and had a good time. After the party began to wind down, several people were thinking to go to a club called Traffic, so I decided to go too. It's not really my type of place, but nevertheless I had a good time, got back late, and slept in today. ...so now I'm getting to my point...
Today I ran 5K in 25:06, but after last night I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it. I had planned on running 10 kilometers, but after the first 5 I walked for a couple then ran the rest of the way back.
Until next time. -T
Friday, February 10, 2006
Styx?
Current mood: lazy
I had some time to kill and was looking to see what kind of customization I could do to my pages and stuff. I ran across one that would change the icon for the "online now" indicator, so I thought I'd see what kind there was. I have no idea why there was one that would change the icon to a Styx logo, but since I got a kick of it, I said why not. ...and now I'm Rockin' the Paradise. It's likely to change whenever I so happen to feel like doing it, but in the meantime it'll remain.
I have to do some editing to past entries so that my info is accurate. For example, I can now use Firefox, whereas the first or 2nd entry I wasn't able to for some reason.
Well not much to say at the moment, so until next time. -T
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Roundabout's Fair Play, Thanks Berlin, and Give Me a Double
Current mood: tired
Cyprus. What can I say about Cyprus? It's a unique country, for one. Being a former British colony they drive on the wrong side of the road. As a result, the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. It took me a little while to get used to, but being a passenger for a couple weeks really helped acclimate me. I have a car here - a Peugeot 309. It's a French car, manual, 1.3 litre engine, 5 door, and I got it cheap but had to replace the clutch first. ...which was my first time replacing a clutch, by the way. I did alright, but had a hell of a time getting the transmission lined up and back on the engine. That's where a good clutch alignment tool and a buddy come in real handy. I had the tool, but my only buddy was a hudraulic floor jack. I managed.
Anyway, I arrived here September 3, 2005. I've been living in the capital city since then. The capital, Nicosia (nee-ko-SEE-uh) is the only divided capital in the world today. It's a long story, but Turkey invaded the island in 1974 and occupied the northern 1/3 of the island. ...this includes half of the capital city. There's a 2km UN buffer zone between the two sides, but for most people it's possible to pass from one side to the other. You just have to go through a checkpoint that's like a passport control and customs area.
The weather was great from the time I arrived 'till about mid-October. I made it to the beach every weekend except for one, I think. It's about a 45 minute drive to the closest beach. I'll talk more about it later, when I'm not just spouting information.
I ran 10K today (my 5K route, but to and fro). It took me 26:04 to my mark and I got back to my starting point at the 56:something minute mark. I think it may have been something like 56:45, but my watch battery decided to crap out as soon as I pressed the button on the stopwatch. I knew it was just a matter of time (no pun intended) until it'd be dead, since the indiglo didn't light anymore and when I'd press it, it'd dim the whole readout. Ok I'm boring myself, so I'll wrap this up. Until next time. - T
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Can't see the sailboat?, One big ol' party, Queso, and a side of misc.
Current mood: discontent
Anyone ever watched Mallrats and paused it on the "Magic Eye" poster to try and see the sailboat/schooner? Well if you never have, I'll tell you that it's not a sailboat. I'll let you watch it and see for yourself...for the sake of a challenge. If you're like the dude with the mustard stains and you just can't see it, ask me and I'll let you know. ...on a similar subject, did you know there's really a "MoviePoopShoot.com", and that on that site now they are talking about a Clerks 2?
Checked out the Bonnaroo site today: Radiohead, Beck, Tom Petty, and many others. Looking pretty good, if I do say so myself. ...tickets go on sale Sat. Feb 11th at 10am, starting at $169 or something like that...if you care... Don't bank on my word, though; it'd be best to check the site for accuracy.
I want to give a big high five to everyone on my friend list. Through all the good and all the bad, here we all are. All here right now walkin' around on the same planet, doin' the best we can, and just trying to live the best we can. Ok yeah, maybe that's kinda cheesy to say, but that doesn't change the fact that that's the way it is .
I don't want to complain, so I wont, but things sure can reach a point to where you can't help but believe and feel that everything has gone wrong. I vaguely remember that I've had overcast times in my life before, and that the rebound from these times has a way of exacting (or extracting) some positive from even the gloomiest of times. So what am I saying? Just that I've been better, that's all. Don't need no sympathy, don't need no consolation, just need a bit of time, that's all.
Ok, forget about that last bit. I might even delete it later. Speaking of deleting, I was wrong about the beers Keo and Leo. It's L-e-o-n, with an "N". Now my story from the other day has to be edited, but I'm too lazy now, so I'm just writing my update here in the meantime. My bad. It has a lion on the label, and being that Leo the zodiac sign is a lion, I related that to the name of the beer. Oh well.
Having high-fived all of my friends earlier, I have to say that I've been in Greeneville only a limited amount of time over the past 9 years. I'm guessing for those of you that have been there, you're probably used to the look of the new high school now. I took a self-guided tour, and was in absolute amazement, shock, and [state of being noun]. I think it would've been pretty bad-ass if it would have had that layout when we graced the halls of GHS. I think the only thing I actually recognized was the tiny section of Spanish/Algebra/Music hallway that remained as before. ...at least the cinder blocked wall is familiar. Wild.
That's it for now. I've been working today from 8am-9pm with a half-hour break. I'm kinda beat. Until next time. -T
Sunday, February 05, 2006
fun with banners, new elements, keep the pace, and new flavors
Current mood: moody
Alright! Today there's no sheisty banner on my entry page. Back on the homepage, there was another puzzling banner, though. What I'm wondering is this: "Is shooting bugs, swatting flies, punching "agents", and other things really an inviting-enough form of entertainment for people that they're compelled to try their hand at it?" I guess that urge, along with the desire to be a winner of any of various iPod models, is enough that they'll keep on using those banners and create more that are just as, ahem, "entertaining". Today's homepage banner ad had a group of maybe 6 or so tarantulas walking in a west-southwest direction (if you consider the top center of your screen as north). Amongst the rotating mob of black tarantulas, there was a red one, and you have to click the red one to win the video iPod. I could just imagine someone with a touch-pad or a really fast-tracking mouse trying to click it unsuccessfully for 10 minutes just staring at the red one and egging it on "come here, you little..."..."you can run but you can't hide"..."yeah, you better run"..."I'll squash your friends, and when I catch you and win my video iPod, you'll regret ever being born". By the way, I say it but is it really "egging something on"? If it's wrong, I may correct it when I find out. UPDATE: "to Egg" is a transative verb, meaning to intice. Anyone ever used to "intice" cars...or porches?! Mmmm, front porch omelettes! :-) Back to the tarantulas, I wonder: Where would a pack of tarantulas really be going? Hell, if I saw a pack heading somewhere, I'd follow them and see what was up, all the while wishing I had a video camera and a Canon 35mm to take pictures for National Geographic, because you know they'd pay for footage, prints, and information on that kind of event.
When I was in 3rd grade, I lived in Midwest City, Oklahoma, near my elementary school. I had a friend named Nicoma, who lived up the street towards the school, and he and I used to catch tarantulas. They were always non-aggressive, and we'd only play with them a while, then let them be. Around that same time is when the both of us also discovered the empty shells of cicadas attached to the bark of trees. We were really quite amazed at these. We didn't know what they were at first, so Nicoma named them "Deilly Boppers".
Another story about naming things has to do with a piece of metal I found on my playground in 6th grade. Somehow I came across a piece of silvery-white metal that was maybe the size of 2 regular marbles and a shooter marble; picture them to be side-by-side in the order of marble-shooter-marble. It looked as if it was either a melted blob or it was an ingot/nugget of metal from the Earth in it's natural state. Imagine a piece of pyrite/fool's gold the size I described, but instead of an irregular shaped mass of angular gold material, it was rounded, blobby, and silver.
I showed it to a good friend of mine. Strangely enough, he and I used to have our desks next to each other in the back of the room facing outside! (...what the heck?! I never thought about that before. Maybe we were less distracting to the other students that way! :-) ...crap, I don't know about that one.) Anyway, I showed him my new find and we discussed the possibilities of its origin. Our conlusions were as follows: It was either 1) Melted metal that fell from an airplane that was on fire (since there were always planes flying around from Tinker Air Force Base), or 2) It was a new mineral that noone had yet discovered. I recall that we concluded it was too heavy to be aluminum and too light to be steel, therefore it had great potential to be an undiscovered element.
We named this new metal after it's discoverers Anthony Burns and John Stoner. We called it Burnstonium. Damn, that has a nice ring to it! I took it home and at some point sawed it in half with a hacksaw to see if there was anything inside. It was solid, and revealed no new information except that the outside could have been alot shinier since it was so shiny inside. I think I have that piece of metal somewhere. I sure hope so. I don't know if I'll ever go public with my find, though, since I'm sure that if Burnstonium were added to the pereodic table of the elements, I'd only hear complaints from old chemistry professors and new students who have one more thing to memorize. I might agree to have it released posthumously along with a disclaimer that indicates I waited as long as I could to avoid inconveniencing students and professors. That way I would only have to deal with people talking about me, and wouldn't have to deal with all of the flack that I'd get from the press and chemistry radio talk shows and conventions and all that. Need I say more?
Running I ran another 5 kilometers yesterday and am pleased with my progress so far. My 2005 Knoxville Marathon time was 25:04, and yesterday's time was 25:49. The main difference being that I had to slow for many intersections, and stop at a few. This means I'm already running at or faster than last year's pace. Found out earlier that my little brother used to run a mile in under 5 minutes when he was a bit younger. That's amazing. I'm hoping to get my average mile time around 7 minutes. Had I been at the 7 minute/mile pace last year, I'd have at least been in the top 10. That's my goal for the upcoming race - top 10.
So the last entry I spoke a bit about beer. Today's alcohol topic: Whiskies (not to be confused with Whiskas, which is a cat food). Ok, first of all, everything in moderation. Now that the disclaimer's out of the way, I see there being two distinct types of whiskies: Scotch and "Other". Other I'd classify as being more Irish than Scottish. I think whiskies like Jack, Jim, Canadian Mist, etc. are based on Irish whiskey production methods. Scotch whisky seems to be a blend of Irish-type whisky and charcoal briquets. haha But I'm not kidding. Here's a recipe for Scotch if you only have Irish whiskey:
Ingredients - 1 bottle of Irish whiskey, charcoal briquets, something that agitates or provides shaking motion (arm, paint shaker (ask at Lowe's or Home Depot), old car engine, off-balance washing machine, etc...)
Procedure - Pour one glass of whiskey for yourself in the usual preferred method (on the rocks, with Coke, with 7up, etc...). Enjoy while you still can. Take 2 briquets of charcoal (not Match light or any generic kind with lighter fluid added), and crush into pieces that'll fit into the bottle. Add these pieces into the bottle, and shake using your preferred/available method. Allow contents to settle and serve.
Ok, noone do that. If you did, however, I think the flavor would be pretty similar. To put it simply, it tastes liked burned wood. An equivalent comparison to the "enhanced flavor" that scotch offers would be the following method of preparing a specialty blend of chocolate: Take the finest cocoa, milk, and sugar. Blend well, and throw in something that sucks. Let it sit for a while and sell it as a premium product.
Really, though, how did Scotch come about? (I know I could Google it, but I'd rather speculate.) In a Scottish accent: "This the Killarney News Agency reporting...overnight, the country's only whiskey distillery caught on fire, and there were millions of litres of whiskey inside. Luckily the barrels held up, and although they were all seriously charred, the contents were not destroyed. I urge you all to remain calm. Although, the state distribution houses have sold out of their current stock, sources tell us that the facility is bottling the next batch, and delivery is expected later this afternoon. This latest batch, I'm told, carries what may become a trademark of the Scottish Pride distillery, which has a less-than subtle smoke taste. The company's spokesperson is quoted as saying "It's up there with smoked salmon, open pit BBQ, and smoked almonds." We have a report coming in that there's a line of people outside every liquor store where folks are waiting for this new product, but to everyone at home, there's no need to worry...there's enough for everyone. Sources advise that if you find the taste strange or unappealing, you better get used to it. It'll be another 12 years before an uncharred batch would be available. Since the barrel makers have been on strike since last month, no new barrels are expected to be ready before next quarter. Stay tuned for further details..."
Ok, that was long-winded. If I write more, I may start a new entry. For now, I'll close with the fact that my family's decendants are likely Scotch-Irish, so it's all in good fun, mind you. On that note, I'll draw this to a close. Until next time! Take care. -T
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Winter, coincidences, and T-minus 38 days
Current mood: relaxed
On the top of this weblog entry page is a banner ad that says "Shoot the bug" and it's got a bunch of roaches running around. Whoever thought that was a cool idea should have their hide tanned. "Ok guys, check this out...Let's tell people that if they shoot the bug crawling around on the ad, they can get a new iPod Nano...how's that sound? I think everyone and their mother would love to kill bugs ang get an iPod for it. If that's all it took for an iPod Nano, everyone would be exterminators, and the world would either run out of bugs or run out of iPods. Hey, maybe I should start an exterminating business..."
That above "bit" was my idea of the kind of logic the creator of that particular banner ad possesses. I may be off, but who's to say?
Man, it's a nice evening. Actually it's 1:30am, but I had a long nap earlier so it doesn't feel so late. So after that explanation, let me start again...
Man, it's a nice evening. The wind is blowing hard outside, and I can hear it gusting and whistling past the windows. I wanted to say gush; does wind gush? It's not like a whistle, but it's like the sound of a deep exhale, and parts of it are finding their way into spaces that stirs it and increases the pitch a bit. Nevertheless, it's a nice sound. Aside from a dimmed monitor and a couple random LEDs, the only other light source in the room is a warm orange light coming from a halogen heater. I've always been a fan of the electric oil-filled radiator-type of heater, primarily due to their safety. As far as other types go, I think this Halogen is a favorite of mine. It has this metal honeycomb in front of the bulbs that even out the light coming from them and really give it a warm fireplace kinda glow. It reminds me of these wall-mounted natural/LP gas powered heaters that were in my grandma's home. There were 3 sections and there'd be this blue light from the natural gas, and the ceramic peices would be an orangish color. Either way, the gas or this halogen type are definitely the the types of things that help create a better mood during the cold dark winter days (when a warm crackling fireplace isn't available). Back to the halogen, I actually sleep with it on, and although I generally prefer it to be dark when I'm sleeping, the heater lights the room. Nevertheless, it's still soft and warm-colored enough that it doesn't bother me much - if at all. I like the shadows and the general smooth dark orangeness of the light reflecting off the walls.
Ahh, I just opened a big-ol' bottle of Carlsberg Beer. It's a Danish beer that I first had when in England, but it was called Carlsberg Lager in England. It's brewed here in Cyprus, and of all the beers I've had that are brewed here, I like it the best. The Cypriot beers Leo and KEO are sometimes ok, but their quality is inconsistent. Wild...I've never noticed the closeness of the names of their beers. Both end in EO and K is next to L in the alphabet. Strange. Different companies, but maybe this is out of my jurisdiction to look any further into. Better call up the X-Files team. Update: I made a mistake when first posting this entry; it's not Leo, it's Leon...with an "N". I must have been associating the lion on their label with the zodiac sign Leo or something like that. Anwyay, tell Mulder and Scully they can go back to bed; false alarm. Back to the beer, it's a 630 mL bottle. A good size, I think, except for those people who nurse their beer.
I'm preparing now for a 10K race that's gonna be here on March 12th. I started preparing 5 days ago by taking a short run around the block. It didn't take much to tire me, but felt pretty good afterwards. Honestly, the best thing about exercising is when you finish, you feel a kind-of euphoria for having done it. ...and not only do you feel good about having done it, but relaxing is so much more satisfying.
A couple days later I ran for just under 15 minutes. It wasn't much, but it was progress. I measured out a 5K mark from where I live, so yesterday my goal was to run 5K, and I did. Next time I run, I don't know if I'm gonna try and increase my pace with the 5K and move up to the 10K later, or if I'll try to run round-trip and work on my time from there. I'll try to post sooner than this last stint I had away from MySpace.
On that note, I'll draw this to a close. Until next time. AB
Is there no chance at redemption in this life?
Current mood: confused
Ok, here's a current CNN story:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/05/19/space.museum.nazi.ap/index.html
Now in a nutshell, a former Nazi who worked in and for the US after WWII made some important contributions to the space program, as he was inducted into the Space Hall of Fame for some spacesuit and capsule work he did. Obviously this guy did whatever he needed to do after WWII to send his life in a new direction and do something useful and apparently-enough, honorable. He was honored in 1978, died in 1987, but just recently was stripped of his honors because of his past.
Now I don't know his whole story, but from the information I gathered from this article, it sounds like there's nothing this man could've done for redemption. I say to hell with that.
On a side note:
I recently was in Russia and visited a graveyard for Nazi soldiers killed there. I was there with a group of Germans and we all listened to a speaker talk about the purpose of the graveyard. Now everyone knows Hitler was wrong, but understand that in Nazi Germany, even many of the citizens didn't know exactly what was going on. They wanted this graveyard not to give respect to Nazis, but to give respect to the lives of young German men (and maybe women) who were serving their country and their families. When it's war, you may not really know if your side is right or not, but you're fighting for your side. It's very likely that what drove these soldiers to fight their last battle was their loved ones back home, and not wickedness or hate.
So back to the former hall of famer... This guy may have been into some bad stuff, I don't know. He was the director of medical research for aviation. I'd guess that if he had done anything that he should have been tried for, and we had the evidence, then he'd have been tried, right? Instead, he ws allowed to come here and work on some pretty serious projects. He worked and lived over 30 years in the US after WWII ended. So back to the original question... Because of someone's past, can they not work to make up for their mistakes? Is there no chance of redemption in this life?
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Why be, (L) eye, are tea
What we have here, is failure to communicate...oh wait, that's a Guns-n-Roses song. What I meant is... What we have here, is failure to communicate. ...damnit, I did it again. What we have here, is something I wrote yesterday after a bit of inspiration from reading something someone else had written. You know, it's like when you hear a song, and it's not one of those that fits perfectly, but there's some aspect or aspects of the song that just drives something home. As I read this artist's work, I got the idea of the depth from which that piece was written, and in an instant a couple of words triggered a memory in me, about which I also had some depth of experience. Anyway, I just wanted to give credit, albeit an anonymous shout-out, to the person who inspired the moment of creativity. As for the little heartbreaker who is responsible for the experience itself, all I can say is: I probably deserved it for the selfishness I've exhibited in affecting the lives of others. Ok, I'm gonna quit reflecting and post what it is I wrote yesterday. I don't know why, but I just am.
Side by side it started right,
Another buzzing, busy night,
The subterra walls stand echoing voices,
Under white-bright sodium light.
Perfect mood despite the tension,
She inspires mood asecension,
Continuously seeking her stake to claim;
The fool who'll share what I won't mention.
Prepared to play this fool myself,
I stayed with her till time would tell,
Unjealous domain with enough attention,
Was lost in a moment, lines crossed, trust fell.
Away from this madness, this torture, this game,
Just give me my peace, in my silence, 'till day,
And I will recover, if only forgetting,
The sick-hearted patterns of animals at play.
So that's it. I did edit one small part, and there are more fixes necessary, but I'll do that at some other point. Ok, I'm done here. Until next time. -T
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
UPDATED: Females are banned from my top 8 until further notice
UPDATE (5/20/06): I'm making an exception to my ban on females on my top 8 (the exception being family). Now don't go thinkin' I've gotten all soft, and that soon the ban will be lifted. ...ok, it's likely to happen eventually, but for now the gates to Wonka's factory are again closed!
As of now there's a boycott on females on my top 8. They're banned, they've been deported, they're exiled, and they've been banished. As of now the border will remain closed and until an undisclosed and undetermined point in time, there will remain a lack of female presence on the list. ...the exception will be profiles like John's, where females are only permitted with male supervision.
...strange, what the hell would anyone do this for? What does top 8 really mean? If someone's number one, is that for a reason? ...and if this same person should be relinquished of their position, is this indicative of anything underlying or transient? Now, if there's a female number one and say numbers 3 5 7 and 8 are also female, is there a reason to worry or feel any threat from these lower in ranking? Surely not, but then again it certainly depends on the intentions of the person making the selections, just as well as the perception of those on the list. Should number one delight in their position as the sole individual that reigns on the throne, and in turn, should the subsequent position-holders unselfishly yet proudly hold their positions in the heriarchy, all the while understanding the order of ranking holds them in their respective ordinate and subordinate positions?
Should changes to this list be whimsical, on-the-fly, and/or hastily made, or should one take great consideration in placement of those on this list that may be indicative of greater things of grave importance? These questions and more remain to be further pondered upon and until the time a profound revelation, enlightenment, or transcendance is bestowed upon mine-self, I must say that females most certainly cannot grace their presence upon the top 8 of those I have to choose from in this thriving kingdom known as MySpace.
Hark! Send not your beloved charms and pleas for entrance into mine heart and soul. Show me not your flighty passions that so drown your rationality, lending only a river of heartache to flow and push me downstream from the source of these selfishly scattered rains of love and lure. With your fire-encompassed gaze and your intentions of self-satisfaction and lust, do not shower me with ornately disguised hints of intimate fulfillment and reciprocal comforts of shared presence. Flash not your eyes in a frozen moment, to reveal a spring which, supressed, longs to upwell and wash over me in one refreshing surge.
And in the moments we share,
together or apart,
and the instant I cared,
for the pangs in your heart,
Be it voice of reason,
or the echos of ideals,
Find renewal in the season,
And in my arms be healed.
Friday, May 05, 2006
New Top 8 Criteria, patents vs. lottery, Montana got a big ol' butte
Well, I used a very complex mathematical formula to randomly choose 8 profiles...ok, that's bs. I just picked a few new people that weren't on it before (those who aren't on it anymore, don't despair) and used the following patented method for arranging them:
Girl, Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl, Girl.
It's that last slick changeup that's patented. ...just when you'd expect it to be "boy", I go and make it girl. As of now, I'm not enforcing any copyrights, so if you'd like to use this yourself, I won't take any legal action against you. If, however, I notice that you start driving Ferraris, move to Beverly Hills, and partaking in other elitist behavior, I'm gonna have to have my people contact you. I think we could reach a settlement, though, so if you can profit from my method, I might be able to negotiate a little allowance for some kickbacks, if you know what I mean. And you know what I mean, mm-hmm.
Speaking of living like a king, I won $4 from a powerball ticket. I'm gonna go cash that puppy in tomorrow! ...and maybe get another so that soon, I'll be rolling around in my millions, and you'll be skeezin' along bringin' in your own loot from my slick patent. Then we'll both be drivin' Hybrid Hummers gettin 30 MPG down the Pacific Coast Highway on the way to the boatyard to board the party yacht and head down to Rio via the Panama Canal. Hell yeah!
Actually I saw a shirt online a while back that's for Math lovers and it says: "Lottery is a tax for those who can't do math." For you computer nerds out there, there's one that says: "There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those who don't." ...that's my favorite. Actually if you want to see some funny-ass shirts, check out www.vintagevantage.com. If you check out the site, you'll see the Montana reference that appeared in the Subject line. My personal favorite: "Who loves Burritos?" ...think I'm gonna get that one.
Alright, I'm gonna call it a write. Until next time. -T
Thursday, May 04, 2006
I didn't even have to use my AK...
Well crap, I've started this thing, now I've gotta write something. I haven't written in a while. I'm in need of some serious focusing to compile a bunch of random schoolwork into a series of projects, short essays, and maybe even a presentation. It's nice to be back in Knoxville. There was a short time when those little wicked pollen spores were raging, covering everythning in a yellow dust, and making everyone sick...or experiencing every symptom of sickness.
I'm up here on the 6th floor of the library with a window looking north. I need to go flying around the city sometime in a Cessna or something. I like altitude and would like to get a bird's eye view of the city.
There's more I want to say, but I'm dealing with a headache and think I'll get out of here. I'm not getting much studying done, and have to find an advil soon.
The subject line might be an obscure reference as to how I viewed yesterday, by the way. -T
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Exodus, Lug-gage, On the Road Again
3/27/06...
Ok, for some reason I can't edit my profile...otherwise I'd not have the song and lyrics out of synch. I'm rested up from my trip, although I woke up at 5:30am. By the way, here's a rundown of my adventure back to the US:
I had planned on returning Wednesday the 22nd. Well, although I stayed up the entire night packing, I realized that there were several things I didn't do that I really wanted to. Nothing super-urgent, but still I would have felt like I left some things undone. Anyway, I threw the last of my stuff together and as my friend and I left for the airport I had another realization...Rush-hour traffic. I wasn't sure if I'd make it to the airport in time to get my boarding pass, check my luggage, clear immigration, clear security, and make it to my plane. I called my travel agent and after speaking with them decided to rebook my flight for the next available, which was on Friday the 24th. That gave me 2 days to tie up all of those loose ends, which I did. I also repacked my bags more strategically and rid myself of quite a bit of weight taken up by papers and notebooks.
Doing it all again Friday, I had the following to lug around with me..and when I say lug, I mean lug: Big suitcase, carry on suitcase, backpack, guitar, balilaika, and a plastic bag. My backpack and small carry on were loaded down with books and paper, and were kinda heavy.
The flight from Larnaca to Athens was fine. Short layover in Athens, then boarded the flight for JFK. There was plenty of room on the flight, so most people had extra room...I had the seat next to me open, which is always nice. Here's where the story gets interesting...
I arrive at JFK (having never been to that airport before) and make my way to the "Air Train" to go from the terminal I was in to one that had several domestic carriers. ...I still needed to find a way to Knoxville, since I hadn't booked a ticket before. Here was my logic: Airlines want their planes full, and if a flight isn't fully booked, then as departure time nears, they should offer tickets at good prices in case someone wants to "jump on". Well, maybe it used to be this way, but nowadays, it doesn't work like that. After I lugged my bags to the Delta terminal and called them, I thought a flight might not be the best way to get back to Tennessee unless I wanted to dump alot of money on it. Delta wanted close to $600 for a flight the next day. ...more than I wanted to pay, to say the least. I called to see what a rental car would cost. One company said it'd be a $70 rental, plus a $230 fee for not returning the car to NY, and I'd have to drop it off in Nashville. Ok, no. I lugged my bags to another terminal. That airline wanted $400 for it's flight the next day. The only available hotel was a Ramada Plaza, which was $140/night. By this time I'm wondering if I should put my bags in storage and call my friend. By doing this, at least I could check stuff out online and figure out my best option...and do so without lugging my bags around JFK, which isn't the most connected/integrated airport I've ever been to. I check Hertz rent-a-car and they said I could get a car for a reasonable price...that night...and drop it off in K-town. Deal! I had driven to New York once before, and it was a 12-hour each way journey. I was up for it. I got my new Chevy Malibu (which I was kinda impressed with) and hit the road. Funny, though, I didn't get any maps or anything, I just thought I'd "wing it".
I left JFK, and started randomly choosing the roads I'd take. That probably wasn't the best thing to do, so I eventually stopped and got a state map (with only a mediocre detailing of the New York City area). It wasn't difficult to re-orient myself with driving "on the right side of the road", after my 6 months of driving in Cyprus. I had a decent time navigating New York City with little guidance. I found 4th Avenue and took it into Manhattan, took the Holland Tunnel out of there, and in time was on the toll roads through New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I left NYC around 7-8pm, and stopped a few times to get coffee. Just past Philadelphia, I decided it was dangerous to keep driving so I took an exit, and found a parking lot to sleep for a few hours. Oddly enough, the parking lot turned out to be Halliburton's. Boo. Anyway, I woke up at 4:30am and got back on my way.
Since I was in Cyprus all winter, I guess Old Man Winter wanted to treat me with a little "welcome back hospitality", so he gave me a little snowfall from Virginia onward. In the Northern part it was sticking, and was a nice sight to see. As I got closer to Tennessee, it'd still snow on and off. Even in the Bristol/Kingsport area there was a bit of sleet and snow.
You know, the radio stations "up North" sure are better than those in the South. Even the NPR stations had much more interesting stuff being discussed. Ok, granted, I didn't do a study for months and all that, but in general, my impression of the stations was such that there's a significant difference in the quality of the programming. From New York through Pennsylvania, I also heard of quite a few awesome shows that were upcoming. I think I could go for living up there for a while.
Well, I made it to my destination, met up with my friends, and dropped the rental car off. Got my car up-and-running yesterday (battery was dead, but with a jump, it fired right up). It's still a bit cold to put the top down, but soon!
Ok, I'm gonna wrap this up. Until next time. -T
3/25/06...
I'm back, and am tired. I'll write more soon. -T
Thursday, March 23, 2006
The Final Countdown, Define overweight, Soon-to-be airborne
Well, it's that time....the final countdown, if you will. In 1.5 hours my computer will be packed along with most of my other things....again. I'll be up bright and early tomorrow morning and will spend a little over 12 hours in various aircraft until touching down in the New York area. As some of you know, my exodus from Cyprus was supposed to take place on Wednesday. I had too much I still wanted to get done before my departure, so I called the airline and rebooked my flight for Friday. Cross your fingers for me that I won't have to pay anything for excess baggage, because I've got just under a ton of stuff I'm lugging back with me.
I'm gonna vent a bit about the airline industry, so if you don't wanna hear any complainin', skip to the next paragraph. Ok, last summer I'm flying back to the US from Russia via Frankfurt on Lufthansa (the German Airline). Well, I have a ton of stuff on this trip, as well, and I have it all conveniently packed so that the most fragile things are in my "carry-on" bag...which is one of those rolling things with the telescoping handle. I get off the plane in Frankfurt, with the Moscow to Frankfurt part of the trip uneventful. In the Frankfurt airport I go to my gate, and I'm waiting. I get a free abbreviated version of a USA Today and am waiting for my departure time.
As it gets close to time, someone comes over the gate's PA and says that everyone needs to leave the waiting area and have the tickets processed at a service counter that's outside of the "roped-off" waiting area. Ok, that's cool. I get in line, and I notice a lady lifting everyone's carry-on to see how heavy it was. My bag was "regulation size", so I was hoping that if I rolled it alongside me, opposite of where she was, that I might get by her. ...not a chance. She was checking everyone's and being quite the bitch about telling people it had to be checked there at the counter to go in the plane's belly. When she lifted mine to see, she nearly broke her back, and told me that I had to check it. I said I couldn't because everything inside was fragile (Vodka, music equip, etc...). She wouldn't hear me out, and said "no way". I then informed her of the fact that I'm not a very big person, and that I should be allowed to bring it with me because I bet that my weight is well under what the airlines estimate the "average" person to be. ...and in that case, I should be allowed a bit more than Jim Bob tourist behind me. I informed her that it would go under my seat and not in the overhead bin, and even told her that "the weight of my bag in the passenger area would not throw off the weight and balance of the plane"...that didn't convince her either. I emptied out half my bag into my coat pockets, sleeves, and socks even (I'm sure I "embarassed myself", and that if I would have had a traveling companion, I'd have been disowned.). Now my bag was under the weight limit, but the lady told me I couldn't do that. I didn't see why not. There's no rules against people carrying things on their person, but she said I'd still have to check it. What a hotch! So I repacked it, checked it, and eventually made it back. There was a casualty though...
I was at a place called "Peterhof", which is an awesome palace of Peter the Great (the Czar who had St Petersburg built), and spoke with a sweet Russian girl there that was selling souvenirs along a stretch of vendors. I finished talking with her and caught up with my friends. That girl gave me a small picture of Peterhof that was in a frame with a glass front. It was very simple, and I really appreciated it because I'm sure she didn't make much money working at the souvenir stand. For her to decide to leave me with something to remember her by meant alot, and regardless of how much it cost, I'm sure she can't afford to be giving things away all the time. So on the flight from Frankfurt to the US, the glass was broken. The picture itself is ok, so I just removed the broken pieces and it's all ok now. So what was the point of all this? That dang woman at Lufthansa (just doing her job and looking after the safety of everyone) should've let me carry my bag on the plane. ...that's all.
Ok, gotta run, but when I get back to the States and get back in the groove, I'll write some more. Hopefully I'll make it this time! It's gonna be nice to see the Atlantic again from 30K feet. Well, until next time... T
Saturday, March 18, 2006
(view more) (view more) (view more) (view more) (view more)
...there was no real reason for that except for visual effect.
Sittin' here drinkin' some bean water (coffee), getting distracted by MySpace. Had a party here last night in the basement of the ol' residence hall. 'Twas fun. ...never noticed it before, but the word 'twas in written form doesn't really save anyone alot of writing. Ok, you get to emit the "stick part" of the letter "I" and smash the word together, but I guess the short form of that phrase is most useful when spoken. 'Twas. Nevertheless, I like it.
Ok that's all the time I'm gonna waste. Back to work.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Top 8 Criteria
Ok, this top 8 thing I decided to change today just to mix it up a bit. I wish there was a "random top 8 generator", but since I haven't found one, here's how I chose who's on it.
Those on my Top 8 are there because they/you have (most) recently sent me a personal message or posted a comment of one type or another. After getting my top 8 of most recent contacts, I then put everyone in alphabetical order according to the "screenname" associated with their profile. ...naturally, if anyone changes their "screenname", it'll appear not in alphabetical order, although it was this way after my initial rearrangement.
I don't know how I'll go about it next time...I think I'll still probably include those who contacted me most recently, but maybe I'll arrange them according to first initial, last initial, or in ascending/descending order of how many letters are in the "screenname". I'll let you know at that time.
If you're not up there, it doesn't mean anything bad. Well, that's about it. Until next time. -T
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Chronology and a little more chronology
Departure: 6:15am
Speed on Motorway: 1XX km/h
Route: A1 from Nicosia through Larnaca to Limassol; A6 to Pafos.
Arrival: Birthplace of Aphrodite at 8:30 to pick up my number...wrong place (my number was at my starting point (duh.)).
Arrival: Pafos castle at 9:00 (my starting point). Get ready and make my way to starting line.
Race Details: 9:30 start time.
-I run for 1.5 km before I convince myself that I'll end up riding in an ambulance (unable to walk) if I attempt to run the full 10k.
-Attempt several types of "jogs" and the like, with no success at avoiding what I'd describe as a pain during cartilage compression.
-Begin walking and get passed by the majority.
-Feel cheated, but had already decided I'd finish regardless.
-See group I was originally "in pace with" at my 3-4k mark while they're at their 6-7k mark (turnaround point at 5k).
-Wish I could run.
-Reach 5k point and wonder why I'm being photographed.
-See man in wheelchair at my 6-7k point at his 3-4k point. Not only do I admire his decision/effort, but I'm reminded of the fact that sometimes you have to step out of your own point of view and see things from different perspectives.
-Told by some British man that I should run the last 100m, and find it difficult to communicate to him the fact that I'd be running if I was able to.
-Wonder why I'm being photographed as I walk towards finish line.
-Finish the race in 92 minutes (~30 minutes greater than my average 51-54 minute 10K time I've ran the past month).
Departure: From Pafos to Aphrodite's birthplace. It's a stone beach (ranging in size from 1 inch to fist size and even larger. Most of the rocks were hand/cell phone size. There are some large rock outcrops at the edge of the beach and on into the water. Waves were crashing up against the rocks, and it was really very nice. I could've and would've climbed up one of the biggest outcrops, had it not been for the fact that my injury disallows me to climb/descend easily.
Departure: Have to stop for 30 minutes on motorway due to a 4-door pickup truck overturned. On my way back to Nicosia, I stop off at a few ancient sites....specifically Kalavassas and Idalion. Historic in the sense of 13th century BC and 5th century BC respectively. (p.s. If anyone likes archaeology, they'd probably love it here. I'm sure that there are many many many undiscovered sites here on this island. FYI)
Arrival in Nicosia sometime around 3pm, and now I'm on with my day.
Well that's about all. I don't think I'm gonna run in the Knoxville Marathon this year, but may wait 'till next year. Bummer, but I'm not gonna screw up my knee beyond repair when it'd be stupid to do so. Until next time. -T
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Over Hyphenation? and Train Drain
I can't even begin to explain the awesome time I've been having here since I last wrote. Great food, great company, and all-in-all a far cry from the "down times" I was having in the not-too-distant past.
I'll do my best to provide some details soon, though. I have a ton of stuff to do today, so I'll keep this short.
Some potentially bad news... Neither my schedule or the weather was allowing me to run as much this past week-and-a-half, so I ran Thursday (9th) and my time was close to norm. Well, I decided I'd run each day before the race that's tomorrow, so I ran yesterday also (10th). I was also planning on running today, in preparation for the race tomrrow. After I got back from yesterday's run, I noticed one of my knees was "acting up". Aside from occasionally feeling the pressure changes when the weather would drastically change, I haven't had any real problems with it in a couple years and and could tell that it had healed over time. Well, I tried to take care of it after yesterday's run, but I think running hard two days in a row "overstressed" it. I'm not running today, in hopes that it'll feel better tomorrow. Hopefully by some miracle it'll be ok to run on tomorrow. If I begin the race and can feel that it's not right, unfortunately I'm going to have to finish the race walking. What I'm not gonna do is cause further damage to it, which I'll regret for years to come. So after a relatively successful period of training, I go and injure myself 2 days before the race. What kinda crap is that? As far as the half-marathon in Knoxville...TBD. In both cases, I'll keep you posted.
Ok, that's it for now. All the best and take care. Until next time. -AB
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Crazy eyes and a curly tail, and More than your fill
Spring is virtually here. Nights are still chilly, but I'm beginning to see more signs of spring every day. Walking in a park the other day, I saw a chamelion walking across the sidewalk. Today I saw a lizard running along a wall, and there are more flowers in bloom. Wintertime is the rainy season, but I hear that this season rainfall was well below normal. This in turn is gonna result in water rationing once summer is in full-force.
Speaking of water, anyone ever remember water fountain experiences from when they were in grade school? I always got a kick out of the high-powered ones that would overshoot the drain area and would arc to the floor. Then there were the ones that had really low pressure and you'd be lucky if the water went high enough to get a drink. Sometimes getting water from those took a bit of a pucker combined with a noisy inhalation method of drinking; and you'd have to be careful or you'd end up inhaling water and coughing for a minute. I'm sure you know what I mean. I remember that sometimes the water was really really good, though. I went to school in New Mexico and Oklahoma for most of elementary school, but I'm sure there are some stories unique to where you went to elementary school. I remember some kids would put their mouths on the actual faucet-thing; most of us thought that was weird and gross. There were always the kids who would take a drink for an exceptionally long time. They'd get heckled (by me) with phrases like "There goes the Atlantic." and "There goes the Pacific!". (You get the idea.) ...and of course other kids would have their various comments, too. I think some of these kids must have delighted in this attention only to end up with a waterlogged belly (how comfortable is that?). Then again, I remember some times that I just couldn't get enough water no matter how my stomach felt. ...like a "water horse" break during football practice, for one. Those times, it was like "ok, if I drink more I'm bound to end up either losing it, or I'll be running like a waterbed (if waterbeds ran, that is). ...but also I remember some specific times like this during my elementary days.
I found a cool website today that shows a "map" of orbiting satellites around the Earth. For anyone interested, here's the link:
http://science.nasa.gov/Re
Maybe I'm a geek, but I think it's pretty cool to see what's out there in orbit. ...if I could just get myself up there, now that'd be cool.
Well, that's all for now. Until next time. -T
Monday, February 27, 2006
Time and place
I just posted a new pic, but it may be short-lived on here. Why? Well when looking at the large version, it looks as if something's up with my right eye, but somehow that's just a result of the angle, I guess. I was sick of my other picture, so this one is a welcome replacement for the meantime. This was taken in a shop that specializes in timepieces and cameras here in Nicosia, Cyprus. There's a story about this picture and this shop, which I may talk about sometime, but I'll save that story for another time.
I mentioned the other day about the cabarets here, and the more I think about it the more I am bothered by this shit. I was looking on Cyprus' government website and they said that people coming here as cabaret "artists" were required to have an HIV, Hepatitis, and Syphillis test. Coincidentally, international students are also required to have an HIV, hepatitis, and syphillis test. I guess this is a case of "correlation is not causation", right? Although I came here with documentation from a recent HIV and hepatitis test from the US (being that Russia requires it for extended stay), but they said I had to get one done here. (I think they just wanted my money.)
Ok, alot of negativity about the quirks of this place. Don't judge Cyprus solely by my account, because the info I've been providing is heavily biased for a few specific and non-specific reasons. I guess I've yet to mention Kave-Greco (or have I), which is a beautiful cove with light sand and clear-blue water surrounded by steep terrain. You can even take a 5 minute hike up the hillside and take in a great view of the scenery. ...I'll have to get a picture and post it or something.
...continued in next entry...
Currently watching:
Brother 2/ Brat 2
Monday, February 20, 2006
Hiatus, Cinco anos, Styckin' it to ya
I have no idea what to write about today. Being that I've wanted to write something for the past 3 days, I guess I haven't had much to say. This past week was full of surprises that I could have never guessed would come about. Maybe I'll talk about it sometime, but for now, I'm just gonna have to leave it at that.
If you're easily bored, let me go ahead and warn you to stop reading now, drink a Red Bull (for the sake of recovery), and forget you ever started reading this crap.
Two words: Rainy; Cold. In other words, no running last week. Today, however I ran. I'll start being short and sweet, as not to be dull. 5K-25:45, 1K walk/cool down, 4K 26:51. Dang that week off; still no progress. By friday though, look out.
In the Next 5 YearsOk, this is a declaration of things I'll do within the next 5 years. For a long time, I've had the desire to do these things, but since I've been either a an irresponsible youth or a broke-ass student, I've just never managed to do everything I wanted. From today I have less than 1825 days to get my hind-end in gear. The list goes as follows: 1) Private Pilot's License. VFR for sure, maybe IFR. Depends on time, really. 2) Boston Marathon. 3) Ski in a downhill race and also learn to ski jump. This may sound kinda "bandwagon-esque" since the winter olympics are now in full-force, but nevertheless I am a skiier. Concerning downhill - ask anyone who's skiied with me...I love the speed of skiing. I also jump at every opportunity. ...pun intended. I'd love to do some big-air jumps and stuff, but I'm more taken by ski jumping than the freestyle skiing. On a side note, snowboarding doesn't interest me much, but snowboarder chicks have something about them that's just...well, very desirable. I think maybe it's because they all think they're badasses. I have no problem with that. Haven't yet met a ski jumper chick or freestyler, but they're probably just as cool. 4) Scuba dive. I've been snorkeling here in Cyprus, and it's amazing to see the world that exists underwater. While snorkeling here, (amongst other things) I swam right through a huge school of small fish. I couldn't tell you how many, but it was like flying through a cloud, but for about 30 seconds. I'll snorkel again before I leave. I'll write more then.
Ok, I'll wrap this up and do something productive. I had to get rid of my custom contact thing, since something in the coding no longer works with myspace. The Styx logo still remains. Who'd have doubted that one? I'll depart with some lyrics from Styx.
And so, my friends, we'll say goodnight, for time has claimed his prize, but tonight can always last, as long as we keep alive, the memories of Paradise -A.D. 1958
Currently listening:
Alive to Every Smile
By Trembling Blue Stars
Release date: 30 October, 2001
Friday, February 17, 2006
Frisky business, Misc., and Don't go there!
Today I went by the American Embassy here in Cyprus to see about getting a question answered. In actuality, I didn't need to go by the embassy at all, but for some reason I thought I could get some assistance, advice, or whatever. ...plus, it's the first time I've had an American Embassy abroad right down the street. I think maybe I was "in the neighborhood" at times in Moscow, but the one here is fathoms closer. (Can I use fathoms to measure horizontal distance? Anyone?) Ok, since I can't give out a bunch of details out about the specifics of the embassy on the web (in the interest of national security), I will say that it's buttoned down quite well. It's big, too. I've been through my fair share of security screenings of many different kinds, and I have to say that this one is thorough. I think the only way someone could wreak any havoc within the perimeter is to have a stomach full of everclear and light it as they projectile vomit. (Should I even have said that?) Well if the "powers that be" read this, maybe they'll start requiring a breathalyzer also in the security screening. ...a breathalyzer that detects all kinds of things, so that if the French guy that can stomach nearly anything (from the Guinness Book of World Records) were to maybe drink some gas and eat another Cessna, then he couldn't get inside and start taxiing or fly that shit around. (That'd be one hard to believe news story.) Maybe in the future we can start incorporating x-ray machines and MRI machines in security screenings. Good training experience for med students, right? ...but maybe that was part of my required screening here... Who really knows? Well me and a room full of other people that were all sitting around in a strange waiting room. I will say this. I walk in and am supposed to talk with someone in a specific window. Well, there's noone on either side of any of the windows, so I go to mine and wait. After a few minutes, I begin to feel like a moron with everyone (likely bored out of their minds) watching me standing at an unattended window. I see a bell (a "Yes, may I help you sir?" kinda bell (or ma'am for the female reader(s))). I ring it, and people in the office space behind the window come to life. Someone came to help me, and when I told her what I wanted, she made quick work of it and pawned me off on another intra-city agency. ...as I suspected! ...but not because they sucked, but just becasue I thought the Amercian Embassy people could pull some strings or give me some advice or something. No dice. It's ok though, the experience was fun.
I forgot about the "test keywords" thing I put in the other day. I'll update with any pertinent info as soon as I test it out. In the meantime, that random weblog will remain with that intellectual buffet of vocabulary (or intellectual intercourse, to put it another way). I have to give credit to "Dr. G" in UT's Geography Department for using that phrase enough that I can regurgitate it in what I write. ...p.s. I'll add Dr. G's full name when I get a chance, but for the record, she always referred to herself as "Dr. G" since people often mispronounce her name.
Excuse me in advance for my harsh tonality and vocabulary, but one thing I have to say that sucks about Cyprus is the fact that they have places called "Cabarets" which aren't nightclubs or bars, but places where you can pay the equivalent of $200 (or more even) and take a woman home from a bar at the end of the night. Of course I've never done this. I read some disturbing articles on the web of people who sleaze the world looking for these places, and then write "advice columns" for others who do this stuff. The information I read on their manner of operation is similar to an experience of a friend of mine, who stumbled upon one of these places by accident. There is a small "hole-in-the-wall" bar near where I live, and a friend from Sweden I talked about going there often. Well, we never got around to going, so he and another friend went once, and they said that a girl would come up to them and start talking. If you didn't want to talk to that girl, then she'd leave and another would come to talk to you. If you bought a drink for yourself, it would be the equivalent of $10 or so. If you bought one for the girl, it'd be $40. My friends were kinda uncomfortable, so they finished their drink and left. From what I read online, if you would buy 5 drinks at $40 each, then you talk with the bartender and say that you'd like to take her out after the bar closes, and that's how it would go about. The biggest problem with all of this is that most of these girls/women are from Eastern Europe, and they are tricked into becoming sex slaves by some f'ed up men (some of whom would bind them legally, by marraige or other means). Makes me sick. Well, I read something the other day that took the bulk of the blame off of those who do the soliciting, and balanced the blame with the individuals who patronize such places, and the society that supports this kind of place. ...to be honest, a lot of men here like to have foreign women as toys until they get with the "genetically acceptalbe" girl that their parents both want them to be with. From what I've heard (and can somewhat attest to considering the short time I've been here), the vast majority of Cypriot women don't date foreigners and just stick to Cypriot men. There ARE exceptions; this is not a blanket statement accusing everyone, and I don't mean to disrespect anyone who I know. I'll try to balance this out by saying that the Cypriot people as a whole have been very warm (figuratively) and hospitable, and make for good friends, colleagues, etc.. as anyone.
On a completely different subject, the Bonnaroo "cheap" tickets were sold out before I tried at 10:37am eastern, after starting at 10. The lineup' is rockin more and more as the days go by.
Ok, I had more to write, but I'm beat. I may do some editing later on, but for now I'm drawing this to a close. All the best to everyone. -T
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Test of keywords for search inquiry
This a test of words that I'm inputting in here to see if the search engine on myspace will "find" this listing in it's search.
Planet Hofmann
Greenpatch, TN
InterCollege
Sunny Day Real Estate
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Embarassment, Verbal abuse (Just the facts), Word of the day
Current mood: blank
I wonder if the word embarrassment (and all forms of the word's root(s)) had anything to do with someone's bare-ass? Ok, the verb empower means to give power, so does to embarrass mean to give a bare ass to (i.e. to make someone's ass bare)? I think that could be it, because if you're say on a public square in front of the whole kingdom in one of those public display things that lock your hands and head, and then they pull your pants down you'd be embarrassed, right? ...and bare-assed as well, so I think that makes sense.
Speaking of embarassing, I have to say that some of the music I write is crap. Some may disagree, and some would probably say all of it is crap. To each their own. I'm only about 1/3 musician, anyway, since I'm too lazy to dedicate alot of music theory to mind. As a matter of fact, I used to be hesitant to call myself a musician or an artist because I felt like I was a poseur if I did so. Well, what my music has amounted to is less than and nowhere close to what I wanted to do when I first became interested in music. Why am I calling myself out on this? ...because I'm kinda sick of it, for one. I always wanted to do more than half-ass whatever it was I was doing, and with music, half-assing it does noone any good. I guess we'll see what happens from here on out.
I said ass a lot in this posting, but it just seemed appropriate.
ass ass ass ass ass ass ass
...now those served no real purpose, and therefore weren't really appropriate. ...'tis a pity.
-T
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Dorm sweet dorm and 5
Currently I'm living in a place that's like a small residence hall. There are 3 floors ( basement),24 rooms, and I think there are around 26 people who live here. We're a mix of people from different places (Cyprus, Russia, Bulgaria, Spain, Sweden, Poland, Lithuania, Iran, and more) and almost everyone studies at the school I'm attending here. Yesterday I ran into a girl from Lithuania that lives in my building, and she invited me to her birthday party (in the basement area). Last night a TON of people showed up, and we all partied downstairs and had a good time. After the party began to wind down, several people were thinking to go to a club called Traffic, so I decided to go too. It's not really my type of place, but nevertheless I had a good time, got back late, and slept in today. ...so now I'm getting to my point...
Today I ran 5K in 25:06, but after last night I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it. I had planned on running 10 kilometers, but after the first 5 I walked for a couple then ran the rest of the way back.
Until next time. -T
Friday, February 10, 2006
Styx?
Current mood: lazy
I had some time to kill and was looking to see what kind of customization I could do to my pages and stuff. I ran across one that would change the icon for the "online now" indicator, so I thought I'd see what kind there was. I have no idea why there was one that would change the icon to a Styx logo, but since I got a kick of it, I said why not. ...and now I'm Rockin' the Paradise. It's likely to change whenever I so happen to feel like doing it, but in the meantime it'll remain.
I have to do some editing to past entries so that my info is accurate. For example, I can now use Firefox, whereas the first or 2nd entry I wasn't able to for some reason.
Well not much to say at the moment, so until next time. -T
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Roundabout's Fair Play, Thanks Berlin, and Give Me a Double
Current mood: tired
Cyprus. What can I say about Cyprus? It's a unique country, for one. Being a former British colony they drive on the wrong side of the road. As a result, the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. It took me a little while to get used to, but being a passenger for a couple weeks really helped acclimate me. I have a car here - a Peugeot 309. It's a French car, manual, 1.3 litre engine, 5 door, and I got it cheap but had to replace the clutch first. ...which was my first time replacing a clutch, by the way. I did alright, but had a hell of a time getting the transmission lined up and back on the engine. That's where a good clutch alignment tool and a buddy come in real handy. I had the tool, but my only buddy was a hudraulic floor jack. I managed.
Anyway, I arrived here September 3, 2005. I've been living in the capital city since then. The capital, Nicosia (nee-ko-SEE-uh) is the only divided capital in the world today. It's a long story, but Turkey invaded the island in 1974 and occupied the northern 1/3 of the island. ...this includes half of the capital city. There's a 2km UN buffer zone between the two sides, but for most people it's possible to pass from one side to the other. You just have to go through a checkpoint that's like a passport control and customs area.
The weather was great from the time I arrived 'till about mid-October. I made it to the beach every weekend except for one, I think. It's about a 45 minute drive to the closest beach. I'll talk more about it later, when I'm not just spouting information.
I ran 10K today (my 5K route, but to and fro). It took me 26:04 to my mark and I got back to my starting point at the 56:something minute mark. I think it may have been something like 56:45, but my watch battery decided to crap out as soon as I pressed the button on the stopwatch. I knew it was just a matter of time (no pun intended) until it'd be dead, since the indiglo didn't light anymore and when I'd press it, it'd dim the whole readout. Ok I'm boring myself, so I'll wrap this up. Until next time. - T
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Can't see the sailboat?, One big ol' party, Queso, and a side of misc.
Current mood: discontent
Anyone ever watched Mallrats and paused it on the "Magic Eye" poster to try and see the sailboat/schooner? Well if you never have, I'll tell you that it's not a sailboat. I'll let you watch it and see for yourself...for the sake of a challenge. If you're like the dude with the mustard stains and you just can't see it, ask me and I'll let you know. ...on a similar subject, did you know there's really a "MoviePoopShoot.com", and that on that site now they are talking about a Clerks 2?
Checked out the Bonnaroo site today: Radiohead, Beck, Tom Petty, and many others. Looking pretty good, if I do say so myself. ...tickets go on sale Sat. Feb 11th at 10am, starting at $169 or something like that...if you care... Don't bank on my word, though; it'd be best to check the site for accuracy.
I want to give a big high five to everyone on my friend list. Through all the good and all the bad, here we all are. All here right now walkin' around on the same planet, doin' the best we can, and just trying to live the best we can. Ok yeah, maybe that's kinda cheesy to say, but that doesn't change the fact that that's the way it is .
I don't want to complain, so I wont, but things sure can reach a point to where you can't help but believe and feel that everything has gone wrong. I vaguely remember that I've had overcast times in my life before, and that the rebound from these times has a way of exacting (or extracting) some positive from even the gloomiest of times. So what am I saying? Just that I've been better, that's all. Don't need no sympathy, don't need no consolation, just need a bit of time, that's all.
Ok, forget about that last bit. I might even delete it later. Speaking of deleting, I was wrong about the beers Keo and Leo. It's L-e-o-n, with an "N". Now my story from the other day has to be edited, but I'm too lazy now, so I'm just writing my update here in the meantime. My bad. It has a lion on the label, and being that Leo the zodiac sign is a lion, I related that to the name of the beer. Oh well.
Having high-fived all of my friends earlier, I have to say that I've been in Greeneville only a limited amount of time over the past 9 years. I'm guessing for those of you that have been there, you're probably used to the look of the new high school now. I took a self-guided tour, and was in absolute amazement, shock, and [state of being noun]. I think it would've been pretty bad-ass if it would have had that layout when we graced the halls of GHS. I think the only thing I actually recognized was the tiny section of Spanish/Algebra/Music hallway that remained as before. ...at least the cinder blocked wall is familiar. Wild.
That's it for now. I've been working today from 8am-9pm with a half-hour break. I'm kinda beat. Until next time. -T
Sunday, February 05, 2006
fun with banners, new elements, keep the pace, and new flavors
Current mood: moody
Alright! Today there's no sheisty banner on my entry page. Back on the homepage, there was another puzzling banner, though. What I'm wondering is this: "Is shooting bugs, swatting flies, punching "agents", and other things really an inviting-enough form of entertainment for people that they're compelled to try their hand at it?" I guess that urge, along with the desire to be a winner of any of various iPod models, is enough that they'll keep on using those banners and create more that are just as, ahem, "entertaining". Today's homepage banner ad had a group of maybe 6 or so tarantulas walking in a west-southwest direction (if you consider the top center of your screen as north). Amongst the rotating mob of black tarantulas, there was a red one, and you have to click the red one to win the video iPod. I could just imagine someone with a touch-pad or a really fast-tracking mouse trying to click it unsuccessfully for 10 minutes just staring at the red one and egging it on "come here, you little..."..."you can run but you can't hide"..."yeah, you better run"..."I'll squash your friends, and when I catch you and win my video iPod, you'll regret ever being born". By the way, I say it but is it really "egging something on"? If it's wrong, I may correct it when I find out. UPDATE: "to Egg" is a transative verb, meaning to intice. Anyone ever used to "intice" cars...or porches?! Mmmm, front porch omelettes! :-) Back to the tarantulas, I wonder: Where would a pack of tarantulas really be going? Hell, if I saw a pack heading somewhere, I'd follow them and see what was up, all the while wishing I had a video camera and a Canon 35mm to take pictures for National Geographic, because you know they'd pay for footage, prints, and information on that kind of event.
When I was in 3rd grade, I lived in Midwest City, Oklahoma, near my elementary school. I had a friend named Nicoma, who lived up the street towards the school, and he and I used to catch tarantulas. They were always non-aggressive, and we'd only play with them a while, then let them be. Around that same time is when the both of us also discovered the empty shells of cicadas attached to the bark of trees. We were really quite amazed at these. We didn't know what they were at first, so Nicoma named them "Deilly Boppers".
Another story about naming things has to do with a piece of metal I found on my playground in 6th grade. Somehow I came across a piece of silvery-white metal that was maybe the size of 2 regular marbles and a shooter marble; picture them to be side-by-side in the order of marble-shooter-marble. It looked as if it was either a melted blob or it was an ingot/nugget of metal from the Earth in it's natural state. Imagine a piece of pyrite/fool's gold the size I described, but instead of an irregular shaped mass of angular gold material, it was rounded, blobby, and silver.
I showed it to a good friend of mine. Strangely enough, he and I used to have our desks next to each other in the back of the room facing outside! (...what the heck?! I never thought about that before. Maybe we were less distracting to the other students that way! :-) ...crap, I don't know about that one.) Anyway, I showed him my new find and we discussed the possibilities of its origin. Our conlusions were as follows: It was either 1) Melted metal that fell from an airplane that was on fire (since there were always planes flying around from Tinker Air Force Base), or 2) It was a new mineral that noone had yet discovered. I recall that we concluded it was too heavy to be aluminum and too light to be steel, therefore it had great potential to be an undiscovered element.
We named this new metal after it's discoverers Anthony Burns and John Stoner. We called it Burnstonium. Damn, that has a nice ring to it! I took it home and at some point sawed it in half with a hacksaw to see if there was anything inside. It was solid, and revealed no new information except that the outside could have been alot shinier since it was so shiny inside. I think I have that piece of metal somewhere. I sure hope so. I don't know if I'll ever go public with my find, though, since I'm sure that if Burnstonium were added to the pereodic table of the elements, I'd only hear complaints from old chemistry professors and new students who have one more thing to memorize. I might agree to have it released posthumously along with a disclaimer that indicates I waited as long as I could to avoid inconveniencing students and professors. That way I would only have to deal with people talking about me, and wouldn't have to deal with all of the flack that I'd get from the press and chemistry radio talk shows and conventions and all that. Need I say more?
Running I ran another 5 kilometers yesterday and am pleased with my progress so far. My 2005 Knoxville Marathon time was 25:04, and yesterday's time was 25:49. The main difference being that I had to slow for many intersections, and stop at a few. This means I'm already running at or faster than last year's pace. Found out earlier that my little brother used to run a mile in under 5 minutes when he was a bit younger. That's amazing. I'm hoping to get my average mile time around 7 minutes. Had I been at the 7 minute/mile pace last year, I'd have at least been in the top 10. That's my goal for the upcoming race - top 10.
So the last entry I spoke a bit about beer. Today's alcohol topic: Whiskies (not to be confused with Whiskas, which is a cat food). Ok, first of all, everything in moderation. Now that the disclaimer's out of the way, I see there being two distinct types of whiskies: Scotch and "Other". Other I'd classify as being more Irish than Scottish. I think whiskies like Jack, Jim, Canadian Mist, etc. are based on Irish whiskey production methods. Scotch whisky seems to be a blend of Irish-type whisky and charcoal briquets. haha But I'm not kidding. Here's a recipe for Scotch if you only have Irish whiskey:
Ingredients - 1 bottle of Irish whiskey, charcoal briquets, something that agitates or provides shaking motion (arm, paint shaker (ask at Lowe's or Home Depot), old car engine, off-balance washing machine, etc...)
Procedure - Pour one glass of whiskey for yourself in the usual preferred method (on the rocks, with Coke, with 7up, etc...). Enjoy while you still can. Take 2 briquets of charcoal (not Match light or any generic kind with lighter fluid added), and crush into pieces that'll fit into the bottle. Add these pieces into the bottle, and shake using your preferred/available method. Allow contents to settle and serve.
Ok, noone do that. If you did, however, I think the flavor would be pretty similar. To put it simply, it tastes liked burned wood. An equivalent comparison to the "enhanced flavor" that scotch offers would be the following method of preparing a specialty blend of chocolate: Take the finest cocoa, milk, and sugar. Blend well, and throw in something that sucks. Let it sit for a while and sell it as a premium product.
Really, though, how did Scotch come about? (I know I could Google it, but I'd rather speculate.) In a Scottish accent: "This the Killarney News Agency reporting...overnight, the country's only whiskey distillery caught on fire, and there were millions of litres of whiskey inside. Luckily the barrels held up, and although they were all seriously charred, the contents were not destroyed. I urge you all to remain calm. Although, the state distribution houses have sold out of their current stock, sources tell us that the facility is bottling the next batch, and delivery is expected later this afternoon. This latest batch, I'm told, carries what may become a trademark of the Scottish Pride distillery, which has a less-than subtle smoke taste. The company's spokesperson is quoted as saying "It's up there with smoked salmon, open pit BBQ, and smoked almonds." We have a report coming in that there's a line of people outside every liquor store where folks are waiting for this new product, but to everyone at home, there's no need to worry...there's enough for everyone. Sources advise that if you find the taste strange or unappealing, you better get used to it. It'll be another 12 years before an uncharred batch would be available. Since the barrel makers have been on strike since last month, no new barrels are expected to be ready before next quarter. Stay tuned for further details..."
Ok, that was long-winded. If I write more, I may start a new entry. For now, I'll close with the fact that my family's decendants are likely Scotch-Irish, so it's all in good fun, mind you. On that note, I'll draw this to a close. Until next time! Take care. -T
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Winter, coincidences, and T-minus 38 days
Current mood: relaxed
On the top of this weblog entry page is a banner ad that says "Shoot the bug" and it's got a bunch of roaches running around. Whoever thought that was a cool idea should have their hide tanned. "Ok guys, check this out...Let's tell people that if they shoot the bug crawling around on the ad, they can get a new iPod Nano...how's that sound? I think everyone and their mother would love to kill bugs ang get an iPod for it. If that's all it took for an iPod Nano, everyone would be exterminators, and the world would either run out of bugs or run out of iPods. Hey, maybe I should start an exterminating business..."
That above "bit" was my idea of the kind of logic the creator of that particular banner ad possesses. I may be off, but who's to say?
Man, it's a nice evening. Actually it's 1:30am, but I had a long nap earlier so it doesn't feel so late. So after that explanation, let me start again...
Man, it's a nice evening. The wind is blowing hard outside, and I can hear it gusting and whistling past the windows. I wanted to say gush; does wind gush? It's not like a whistle, but it's like the sound of a deep exhale, and parts of it are finding their way into spaces that stirs it and increases the pitch a bit. Nevertheless, it's a nice sound. Aside from a dimmed monitor and a couple random LEDs, the only other light source in the room is a warm orange light coming from a halogen heater. I've always been a fan of the electric oil-filled radiator-type of heater, primarily due to their safety. As far as other types go, I think this Halogen is a favorite of mine. It has this metal honeycomb in front of the bulbs that even out the light coming from them and really give it a warm fireplace kinda glow. It reminds me of these wall-mounted natural/LP gas powered heaters that were in my grandma's home. There were 3 sections and there'd be this blue light from the natural gas, and the ceramic peices would be an orangish color. Either way, the gas or this halogen type are definitely the the types of things that help create a better mood during the cold dark winter days (when a warm crackling fireplace isn't available). Back to the halogen, I actually sleep with it on, and although I generally prefer it to be dark when I'm sleeping, the heater lights the room. Nevertheless, it's still soft and warm-colored enough that it doesn't bother me much - if at all. I like the shadows and the general smooth dark orangeness of the light reflecting off the walls.
Ahh, I just opened a big-ol' bottle of Carlsberg Beer. It's a Danish beer that I first had when in England, but it was called Carlsberg Lager in England. It's brewed here in Cyprus, and of all the beers I've had that are brewed here, I like it the best. The Cypriot beers Leo and KEO are sometimes ok, but their quality is inconsistent. Wild...I've never noticed the closeness of the names of their beers. Both end in EO and K is next to L in the alphabet. Strange. Different companies, but maybe this is out of my jurisdiction to look any further into. Better call up the X-Files team. Update: I made a mistake when first posting this entry; it's not Leo, it's Leon...with an "N". I must have been associating the lion on their label with the zodiac sign Leo or something like that. Anwyay, tell Mulder and Scully they can go back to bed; false alarm. Back to the beer, it's a 630 mL bottle. A good size, I think, except for those people who nurse their beer.
I'm preparing now for a 10K race that's gonna be here on March 12th. I started preparing 5 days ago by taking a short run around the block. It didn't take much to tire me, but felt pretty good afterwards. Honestly, the best thing about exercising is when you finish, you feel a kind-of euphoria for having done it. ...and not only do you feel good about having done it, but relaxing is so much more satisfying.
A couple days later I ran for just under 15 minutes. It wasn't much, but it was progress. I measured out a 5K mark from where I live, so yesterday my goal was to run 5K, and I did. Next time I run, I don't know if I'm gonna try and increase my pace with the 5K and move up to the 10K later, or if I'll try to run round-trip and work on my time from there. I'll try to post sooner than this last stint I had away from MySpace.
On that note, I'll draw this to a close. Until next time. AB
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)