*PING*

Overhead the albatros hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves
In labyrinths of coral caves
The echo of a distant tide
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine
And no one showed us to the land
And no one knows the wheres or whys
And something stirs and something tries
And starts to climb towards the light

Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me
And do I take you by the hand
and lead you through the land
And help me understand the best I can
And no one calls us to move on
and no one forces down our eyes
and no one speaks
And no one tries and no one flies around the sun

Cloudless everyday you fall upon my waking eyes
Inviting and inciting me to rise
And through the window in the wall
Comes streaming in on sunlight wings
A million bright ambassadors of morning
And no one sings me lullabies
And no one makes me close my eyes
So I throw the windows wide
And call to you across the skies

words/music by Pink Floyd

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hey pig

hey pig piggy pig pig pig

yeah you

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it's always laundry day...

that's what i did this morning and for the first time since moving here, i actually had to wait for the big washers. usually, if i get there by 830am, i'll have the pick of them but today, they were all taken. most distressing. and to add to that, it seems as tho 1/2 of the normal top load washers were out of service, so i had to search for one. but i found 3 in a row i could use, so dropped my basket in queue and loaded the 3 top loads w/sheets, towells and part of my normal laundry. then i was able to shove the rest into the jumbo washer, but it certainly threw my normal laundry routine off. oh well. at least it's all done and i'm back home.

while there, i saw a guy who reminded me of someone i went to college with. only older. phyically, he really did have a very striking resemblance to RH. similar body structure, hair, poor eyesight. talk about random. he apparently just moved to the area as he told someone on the phone that he his phone line will be installed on tuesday.

i also ran into DA at the supermarket (right around the corner from the laundromat). i kidded him about being there in the morning. when we talked a while ago and found out that we live in the same town, he said that he usually went shopping sunday afternoons, so we chatted for a few mins while we paid for stuff.

then when i got back, i chatted with my landlord about the windows and some of the construction he has planned. things for the windows should be finalized monday night, but it's around the 20th that things will start. no more than a day or two he figures. he's also going to take out the concrete stoop that me and crazy neighbor lady use to get in and out. replace them with wood and i asked about the possibility of extending it either back or out to the driveway. after giving it some thought, he realized that bringing it out to the driveway might be a good idea. bringing it back brings it close to their bedroom, so that wasn't such a good idea. but i may need to use the back stairs to get in and out for a few days while he works on the side. he figures he can get it ripped out in 2 days, i'm gonna guess it will take a little longer than that.

some time ago, M & i discussed how it would be really nice to have a small deck off my kitchen. put in some sliding doors, a small deck, we loved the idea. turns out my landlords loved the idea too. only problem is the way the house is situated on the lot. crooked. apparently, he can't put anything on the front of the house as it is within 20' of the street. he can't put anything on the side of the house because it's within 15'. and these are the stupid town rules. so i can't have a deck because the corner of the deck would be 12' away from the street, and keeping it the required 15' away from the street would apparently make it an awkward shape and not really worth doing. HOWEVER, there is some light. the other idea that he had is to put a small deck on the driveway side of the house, which would be very cool. the only problem with it is that it would be a little too much to take on right now.

taking the concrete stoops out (both front of the house and side) and replacing every window in the house is a bit much. the biggest hold up has been the town. much of what he's wanted to do has been caught up in making sure that everything fits within the town rules.

fucking town rules. i can sympathsize as my rens dealt with similar things when they were doing some work on their house. you can do this. you can't do that. don't even think about doing this. you are fucking nuts if you want to do that.

note to self, when buying a house, make sure that i know where the property lines are and how far i can extend things if i want to.

oh well.

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HA!

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every once in a while

i'll run across something in the paper that i look at and think to myself "that's how i would have answered the question"

from sunday's globe (automotive section):

Q. Due to chronic back problems, I purchased a Buick Century four years ago for its expansive and comfy bench driver's seat. I was able to drive cross-country both ways in complete comfort. They're not selling the Century anymore. What can I do?

A. Justing by my e-mail, lots of readres long for the days of the bench. I can come up with three vehicles (pickup truckes excluded), all in 2005 or 2006 models: Buick LaCrosse, Ford Crown Victoria, and Mercury Marquis. Me, I'd go for the Crown Vic. Get it in black. Put on custom baby moon hubcaps. Add a whip antenna. Then watch the sea of highway traffic part before me as though I were Officer Moses on highway patrol.

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random picture of the moment (3): for TK-8103

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random picture of the moment (2): i was looking thru "One Last LIttle Peak" when i ran across this one.

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random picture of the moment (1): the true definition of Ice Coffee. shameful me put it in the freezer before taking a shower sunday morning. i removed it monday evening.

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kinda nice

woke up this morning to find that my a/c wasn't cooling things. i've discovered that if my bedroom is cooler than the temperature i've set, it actually shuts itself off. not completely as if it warms up, it kicks on, but i thought that was kinda neat. the first time i discovered it i thought something was broken but quickly realized what happened. very cool. litterally.

and right now outside, i'm hearing this sound i haven't heard in what seems like a long time - rain. i've managed to miss (BOO! HISS!) most of the thunderstorms so i haven't heard the sound of rain recently. it's kinda nice and relaxing. i'm hopeful i can keep this feeling thru at least the morning.

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coward!

normally i wouldn't say anything about the dumbass monkey who is the "leader of the free world" but last night on my way home, i was listening to NPR and i couldn't help but laugh at his cowardice.

as many of us are aware, the G8 are meeting (starting today if i recall) and when dumbass monkey was asked what he wasn't looking forward to doing while in scotland, he apparently indicated 2 things.

1) haggis - he wants no part of it.

2) wearing a kilt - he wants no part of it.

my reaction: COWARD!

let's think about this for a moment. the idea of haggis doesn't particularly agree with me, but if i'm someone who is supposedly so powerful, wouldn't you think that whoever they get to make the haggis for me just might use the best possible bits and pieces of whatever? even i would be willing to try it. esp if some gourmet chef is cooking it for me. i may not go for a lot of it, but i certainly would be willing to try it. as my grandmother used to call it, a 'no thank you' portion. basically a small serving, no more than a few bites, but enuff to say that i did indeed try it.

now, if i was asked to wear a kilt, my only reaction would be the following: make sure it belongs to my clan. technically, my grandfather was the last of my family who could wear our tartan, but that's the one i'd want to wear. and i'd wear it with pride. i've never worn a kilt, but i'd certainly be willing to wear one if i was going to some important meeting and was asked if i'd like to. hell, if i had a kilt and an opportunity to wear one for some reason, i'd be willing to. i'll just be sure to wear a pair of boxers. (sorry, i'll wear it, i won't wear it in the traditional manner, so brand me a coward if you must, but at least i'll wear it and try haggis)

now, this morning i've got the fox25 morning news on, and they just did a little story on how OJ Simpson is in the news (he and a friend were helping his ex when she went nuts. friend called cops as she "was on drugs" and attacked them) and when the story was over, Gene Lavanchy quipped "and the search for the real killer continues"

ouch...

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hahahaha

for those who want their dog to compete in a different breed class

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jesus. fucking. christ.

please god or whoever the hell is up there, don't let this be a one time thing.

Speak To Me
Breathe ->
Breathe (reprise)
Money
Wish You Were Here
Comfortably Numb

i've heard a fair number of Comfy Numbs in my life. it's the song that really hooked me into Pink Floyd, and what i just watched was incredible.

best.

version.

ever.

i never in my wildest dreams thought i'd get a chance to see Pink Floyd as a 4 piece. and today, prayers were answered.

and it wasn't good.

it was fucking phenomenal.

and to top it off, Roger was having fun. plus a quick shout out to Syd. i couldn't help but chuckle at that.

all i know is two thing:

1) if Roger and Dave can really bury the hatchet, whatever potential Pink Floyd album or tour (or both) would be fucking incredible.

2) if Dave decides that Pink Floyd is truly over, it really did end on a very high note, and for that i am thankful.

Thank You.

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the great molius coke challenge (part 1)

well, i had been hoping to do this last weekend, but getting screwed by work postponed things. i would have liked to have done this sooner, but i've only just now been able to it.

the challengers:

• coke classic
  
• diet coke
  
• diet coke with splenda
  
• coke zero
  
• c2

in between tastings, i would eat a little pita to cleanse the taste buds.

coke classic: this is what i grew up on. i have no other way to describe it other than it's 'coke'. what i expected, and what i remember. the baseline for my taste test. i've always liked it, i probably always will.

diet coke: suprisingly, the intial taste in my mouth was the flavor of coke classic. i wasn't expecting that, but then it changed and that's when the aspertame kicks in and the taste changes, and gives you that aftertaste that we associate with many diet sodas.

diet coke with splenda: quite good. this tasted more like coke classic than diet coke. in the later tastings, the only real difference i found between diet coke w/splenda and coke classic, is that coke classic has a more sugary texture to it. no suprise there, that would be the corn syrup, but i can now say with confidence that diet coke w/splenda really does taste more like coke classic than diet coke.

coke zero: the new one. a wildcard as it just sorta appeared and i didn't know what to make of it. well, it's an interesting suprise. looking at it, one would expect it to be like diet coke, but the pleasant suprise it that while it uses aspertame as its sweetener, it doesn't leave that diet coke aftertaste. i also felt that the flavor was smoother than diet, which seems somewhat sharp. when i compared it to diet coke w/splenda, i thought the flavors were similar, but that coke zero was a drier flavor (reminded me of a dry white wine).

C2: a cross between coke classic and diet using splenda. to be fair, the drink by date on it was 7/11/05, so it was nearing the end of life. and it did remind me of coke that is past its prime. so it's hard to really compare it to the others, but before the past prime flavor kicks in, it does taste like a cross between coke classic and diet coke. when i tried it a while back, that was my reaction then as well. it didn't do anything for me.

so, where does that leave us? well, i still prefer coke classic over all, but with that cutting back on sugar thing i've been doing for some time, here are my results:

1. Coke Classic
   
2. Diet Coke w/Splenda
   
3. Coke Zero
   
4. Diet Coke
   
5. C2

looks like all in all, of the diet/lower sugar varieties of coke, Diet Coke w/Splenda is the clear victor. it tastes more like Coke Classic, has a full flavor, but isn't as sticky/sugary as Coke Classic. Coke Zero is a good alternative and i think this is what Diet Coke should have been way back when it was introduced. i like how it doesn't have the aftertaste of diet coke.

so, there you go. initial impressions. tomorrow i'll repeat the test, and with help from M, we may even do a blind taste test to see which we like the best. more results shortly.

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i wonder

i had a thought last saturday that had i not been embroiled in network issues at work, i would have posed to you kind souls, but this morning i remembered it so i'll pose it while i'm thinking about it.

i like watching The Batman (on WB) and it never starts exactly at 1030am because of Pokemon running over a minute or two. so i usually end up hearing a little bit of the wrap up as everyone walks away from the recent battle in happy bliss. i usually don't pay attention to it, mostly because i can't really stand Pokemon (and that ilk) but one of the characters said something that i happened to hear that made me wonder the following:

do people (parents mostly, kids see a cartoon) realize that shows like Pokemon are nothing more than dog fighting or cock fighting in cartoon form? followed by the happy moral of 'teamwork wins the day' or 'it's ok to not win everytie' type message.

i presume that no one ever dies, and everything is good in the end, but they fight each other, beating the crap out of each other until someone loses. however they determine a loss. but it really does seem like it's nothing more than cartoon animal fighting.

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random braindroppings

credit goes to george carlin for the word 'braindroppings'. i'm currently watching biography on A&E on george carlin and it's pretty interesting.

anyways, during a commercial break, sargento had a thing for their new deli slices, and i thought it was rather odd that you could buy a package of their sliced swiss cheese that contains 12 slices.

yet, their cheddar slices come in a package of 11 slices.

huh?

is it really that much of a price difference to only have 11 slices of cheddar? 11 doesn't divide particularly well. it's like hotdog rolls. they come in packages of 8. yet you buy 10 hotdog buns.

what if you are having a BBQ (or in the case of RB, a Draft BBQ) and there are 12 burgers, 12 people and they all want cheddar cheese on their burgers? and you only have 1 package of sargento's sliced deli cheddar cheese. and no one wants to say 'hey, i'll have swiss please'. what are you to do?

now, A&E just had a little trivia bit on wayne gretsky. they asked how many shots did he have during his career. stay tuned to find out. only when they tell you, they tell you how many goals (894 if i recall, not gonna look it up) and the total assists, but no mention of how many shots he took.

i'm sure it's recorded somewhere, but that didn't answer the question that they posed.

looking forward to seeing Pink Floyd tomorrow. going a little nuts trying to work out the whole time zone thing, but i think i've figured it out. so long as MTV doesn't fuck it up.

we'll see. at least the weather is changing for the better.

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