Backside 180

The end.

2006-11-15T17:02:00.000-08:00

At this point it's been nearly five weeks since I've posted. I simply don't have the time or the desire to really keep backside 180 active anymore. In fact it's pretty much served it's purpose in my life and the place where I was when I started it.

Now, I'm going to abandon it. I might post very sporatically (as has been the case for months) in the future but I won't keep any regular tabs on what's happening here. It's sad that is has come to this, but it has so that's that.

Goodbye.

Edit: It should be noted that I'm not done as a blogger, just here at backside 180. I'm just somewhere else blogging. Somewhere more transparent and writing in a way that is a little more tempered.

There was even a hookup.

2006-10-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

I've been back from Copenhagen for about a week now and I'm finially getting adjusted to life back stateside. Even though we weren't in Copenhagen proper, I still had a fantastic time while I was on my trip. The ten hours of class and wearing a suit every day was a bit of a drag but the nights spend with my new friends from 45 countries were a blast.

There was even a hookup with a fantastic girl from South America. It was truly incredible.

Life these days is much faster paced than it was back in Auburn. Hopefully things will slow down a bit now that I'm almost done unpacking and getting settled from being gone in Denmark.

For your sake, I'll try to do better.

"That's hot."

2006-09-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Well, how about that. J2 got undeployed on Wednesday and was home by Friday. Now he's talking about trying to transfer off the ship for a landlocked assignment doing security at a Navy base in Bahrain. Maybe if the Navy would ever let him fire a Tomahawk, he would think about staying around instead of counting down the days till his commitments up.

Four days til Europe. As Paris would say, "That's hot."

I've been peer pressured into entering the Kiawah Island Marathon. It happens just twenty eight short days after Richmond. It maybe a mistake. I'll likely hurt myself but that's cool, I can deal with it.

I put in twenty miles on Sunday. It took me two hours, thirty two minutes and fifty one seconds. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I feel much more confident about running the actual marathon now.

At least I did my job and it won't be mine.

2006-09-06T18:49:00.000-07:00

Today was a strange day at work. I work in dispatch. I dispatch containers to truckers. They pick the export loads of containers at one of four rail yards that I am in charge of and dray them to the proper terminal. One would think this is a pretty simple task. I'll break it down in a few easy steps:

1. Containers arrive at rail yard.
2. I dispatch containers to truckers telling them when they have to be at the terminal (port).
3. Truckers pick up containers, drive them to the correct terminal.
4. Containers load vessel for export, everyone is happy. We pat ourselves on the back.

It's amazing how many things go wron between steps one and four. Sometimes I'm to blame, most of the time I'm not.

Today, the person who dispatches the containers to the owner-operator trukers (she hands out the pieces of paper I EDI to her) was out of the office due to vacation. She deserved a day off.

In her absence, nothing got done. No one took care of her stuff. I did my work. My end was done, I made many efforts in writing to get containers moving. Not much happened. My boss was pretty upset.

Tomorrow this particular trucker who is a daughter company of ours isn't getting any export loads from me. They are all going to third party truckers. All their service failures (some were for Strategic, top level customers) are going on the service failure spreadsheet.

It's possible that heads will roll. At least I did my job and it won't be mine.

----

That's a lot of technical shipping jargon, let me know if you want any clarification on terms or concepts.

Living out of the suitcase.

2006-09-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

I finally broke down and went out and bought myself a MacBook. Rumor has it that there will be an Apple media event on Sept 12, probably introducing some new products. Maybe they will even announce the much anticipated iTunes Movie Store. I know the MacBooks will be updated before the Christmas shopping season hits, heck they might even get Core 2 Duo processors but I just couldn't wait any longer.

So, I now have regular non work access to the internet and Blogger so content should start picking back up here on Backside 180. Suprisingly enough although it seems regular visits to Backside 180 have dropped off, other visitors are still finding there way here. At any rate, I'm back and other than my two week business trip to Copenhagen the last half of this month.

I'm definitely looking forward to gettting settled into my house and to stop living out of the suitcase. That won't be happening until October though.

I've been battling a strained groin from flag football back on August twenty third. I finally got in a good quality run yesterday so I'm hopeful that I can get back on my plan and be ready in time for the marathon.

J2 has been redeployed out of South America to the Med for the next few months until Christmas. He's not real happy about it as they found out a week before the were to come home that they were to be sent to the Med. It sucks because he was going to make it up here some time this fall. I guess that visit will have to wait until spring.

Pretty cheap at 2500/month.

2006-08-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

The job is good. My two weeks of training have flown by and Monday morning, it's time to sink or swim. I hope I'm going to swim. For some reason I've been very anxious about work Monday. The past two nights I haven't slept well and have had dreams about work.

Friday was a busy day and I didn't finish my major tasks of the day until right at five. I should have been done much earlier but it didn't happen. It's pretty high pressure trying to get all the containers dispatched and onto the vessel in time. The trucking company that I mainly use has a lot of issues with getting things done but they are an owned subsidiary and have garaunteed business from us so I think they don't try as hard.

My three roommates and I signed a lease Friday for a really great house. It was built in 1890 and refurbished in 2004. It's really pretty nice and also pretty cheap at 2500/month. It's incredible how expensive it is to find a decent place to rent at a resonable price here. I'm just glad I don't live in Manhattan, I definitely couldn't afford it.

That's it for now. My car comes next week and I'll have my things delivered to me on Sept 15 when we move in. I'll be out of the country for the last half of September in Copenhagen for a buisness trip so it's doubtful that regular updates will return until into October. But I'll try to do what I can until then.

No, I haven't died.

2006-08-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't died. No, I haven't fallen off a chimney. No, I haven't incapacitated my typing fingers. I've just been terribly busy with my new job and almost complete lack of internet access has really hampered my blogging. Believe me I miss it. It's a good outlet.

I'm here in Jersey and will be for the forseable future. My stuff should come up in the next month. Then I'll get my computer and things will return to more of a normal schedule. Until then, consider this a hiatus.

A family of univited guests raising their noisy brood in your chimney.

2006-07-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

My parents have birds in the chimney. You can hear them. You can hear when the parents come home. The babies go nuts, yelling, "feed me, feed me first!"

It's quite annoying. I don't spend a whole lot of time upstairs. In fact, I've got my Tivo set up downstairs so if I'm watching TV, it is away from the chimney in question.

It's still quite annoying to have a family of univited guests raising their noisy brood in your chimney. They were there last summer but this summer there must be more because the noise and the annoyance is much greater.

After watching Syriana with my folks and hearing the birds go off and irregular intervals throughout the movie, I decided to look up the chimney and see exactly what we were dealing with. With me looking up holding a flashlight, Dad opened the flue.

Just what I expected. The babies in the nest went nuts and low and behold there is a starling or some other bird clinging to the wall staring at me with a wild look in it's eye. It's a wonder one didn't fall down into the fireplace and then take off into the house. Somehow we avoided it.

Does anyone have any suggestions for getting rid of these things save lighting a massive fire and smoking the bastards out while killing the chicks?

I'm back from the wilderness.

2006-07-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

I'm back from the wilderness. The six days that I spent deep in a remote portion of the Smoky Mountians were awesome. I met some neat people, worked hard and learned a lot. Just like last summer, I kept a journal while I was on the trail and I'll probably be posting those entries later in the week.

I'm off this week, hanging out at the parents house and trying to relax before 'real life' kicks me in the ass next week. N is coming to visit on Friday. Sunday, I'll be flying to New Jersey to start my job. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.

I went out for a run this evening after being off for a week due to my time on the trail. I felt pretty good but could definitely I hadn't had a quality workout in a week. I think I'm shooting for a November marathon. If things work out, I'll meet up with some friends and run it with them. I need to start my training next weekend but that's going to be fairly tough with all the moving/new job turmoil going on in my life. I hope I can keep my running on track, it will be a priority for me so I think I'll be able to.

That's what I've been up to, how about you?

Brush Busters

2006-07-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I’m off on a grand adventure. I’ll be spending the next week on the Appalachian Trail vollunteering with the Brush Busters Trail Crew. I’m pretty excited. It’s going to a bit different than my experience on the trail last summer when I was solo hiking but I know it’s going to be fun.

The days sound as if they are going to be long with lots of work but I know it will be satisfying. The handbook states that the mission of the crew is (in order of priority):

1. Cutting back woody growth on the uphill side of the A.T. that is forcing hikers to the outside of the trail tread. This basic maintenance will help prevent larger problems from developing in the future.

2. Cleaning out clogged drainage structures (e.g. waterbars, drainage ditches, ect.) and muddy sections of trail.

3. Re-digging failing sidehill sections of trail.

I don’t feel nearly as orgainized going into this as I typically would. I think that’s because I know that most of it is being planned by someone else and I’m just the labor that they are hauling along and also that I have hiked on the trail a few times and now know more of what to expect.

I’ll be off the trail next Saturday and probably back to civilization that evening or Sunday morning. I doubt I’ll get much running in the next week. I wonder if I can count hiking as part of my 1200 miel club mileage.

The hike is long, my pack is heavy, but I hit the trail knowing I’m ready.

Maybe I'm chickenshit

2006-07-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

I finally got out of the apartment and out of town. It was a laborious task. My roommate was a procrasitinator so the task of cleaning the apartment fell to me, mostly. He did help out on move out morning but I did a lot to get us to the point we were at.

Running friend came over to help me clean the carpets Thursday night. She is so hot, it's incredible. I think we could work well together, we seem to have lots in common. I just have to convince her of that. I wanted to kiss her but the moment just didn't seem right.

We met up early Friday morning to run. I got a good 'goodbye' hug before we started and got all sweaty. Still it didn't feel right. After the run, I went to Kroger to get her some flowers to say goodbye with and thanks for helping me the previous night. She seemed suprised and said she loved flowers and no one ever sends them but her sister. Another hug. Maybe I'm chickenshit, we've had this discussion before, but it still just didn't seem right.

Maybe/probably she just sees me as a friend. Maybe/probably I'm falling into that trap by not being aggressive and making a move. Maybe/probably I should have gone for it anyway even if it 'didn't feel right' because there wasn't anything to lose.

Point is, I didn't and now I've moved from town. The good news is that she might be in New York later this month when I'm in Jersey. If she is there will be a meetup and maybe I'll try it then. Of course I'll still be a weenie and more than likely it still won't 'feel right'.

An email and a summary of events:

2006-06-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

An email and a summary of events:

Busy day. Today was the last day of work. I'm running around the house now getting things ready for the movers tomorrow morning. I have my final Summer Series 5K tonight. The Frog is going down again. It will be seven or eight in a row after tonight.

Tomorrow is movers, then clean the apartment then Friday I'm off to Charlotte. Saturday is rest day then Sunday I head to the Smokies for Brush Busters.

Busy time.

I got an invite in.

2006-06-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

I had what I considered a date this evening. A running friend with home I've grown close in recent weeks told me she wanted to take me out to dinner. She's hot and basically great so I quickly agreed that it would be a fantastic idea.

Somehow The Frog got wind of the dinner date. I'm not sure if she told him and invited him or rather just mentioned it and he said he'd come along. At any rate we went to a small local place with fantastic turkey wraps.

I picked her up and we drove across town. We got to dinner first and had a few minutes to chat while we waited on The Frog and a new running friend, Cublove. Dinner was fun, conversation was light, food was good and there were plenty of laughs throughout.

We left and headed back across town. I took the long way. We got back to her house and I got out of the car to walk her to the door. I got an invite in. We went in and sat down and chatted for a while. Then I needed to leave because I have to be at work in five hours.

I got a great hug on the way out. She has so many guy friends that I'm pretty sure that's just what it was. Dinner with a friend who is moving out of town. But I would have loved it if it were more.

I'd of tried to kiss her but it didn't seem right and I'm no good at moves like that. I left with a good hug and the promise of running with her again, at least once.

Sweet hotness.

Over and over and over.

2006-06-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

Crunch time.

My student loans came due on June 19th. I didn't make the payment. But before you tell me how bad that was, just listen. Yesterday I started the consolidation process and today I got a forebareance postponing my payments. Yes interest is accruing every day but at least I have a bit more time to get my stuff together. Seventeen thousand in the hole already, damn school is expensive.

Schmims said it was going to be bad and except for some fleeting moments of brilliance, it was. The US team floundered like Lindsey Jacobellis off that last jump. It was still fun to watch them while it lasted and to say Gooch over and over and over. He's a Clemson grad you know.

Tonight starts the weekend of going away parties for me. There is a combo going away/birthday party with a bunch of folks from work tonight, then tomorrow The Orater has offered up his brothers timeshare lakehouse for a Saturday get away with all the running folks. I have to meet them at six thrity tomorrow so I won't be partying so hard tonight at my own going away party. A shame because the last one was so good that I missed work the next day.

The countdown is in full effect. Wednesday is the last day at the big box, with the last summer 5K that evening. Thrusday morning, the movers are coming to move me and pack up all my stuffs. Friday, it's checkout day of the apartment and head to North Carolina where I will have a day to prepare for the big trip on the Appalachain Trail. Brush Busters is only a week and a half away. I need to get prepared.

The total is now up to seven. I've beaten The Frog seven times in a row now. He's going to be gunning for me next Wednesday but I will stave off all his advances. I've gotten The Orator twice now and I fully intend to extend it to a threepeat but he will put up more of a threat than The Frog.

I've been running fast but not PR fast. Two weeks ago, I went 18:32. This week I improved slightly to 18:30. Last summer's PR is 18:16. I would break that if I could make it over to the same course but I didn't make that race due to my trip to see J2.

Life is full of sacrifices.

We disposed of the remaining evidence in the river

2006-06-19T05:15:00.000-07:00

When J2 and I get together you can pretty well bet that we are going to have a good time. Whether it's drinking to excess, hurtling ourselves off twenty foot limestone bluffs, getting his Mazda 3 up to one hundred and ten miles an hour or just driving his sister nuts, we are going to make a good time.

This weekend was no exception. I was off Friday and got my schedule rearranged for Monday allowing me to leave town early Friday and stay until early this morning. Friday I needed to be here before eleven so taht we could watch the motherland in the World Cup. The Dutch didn't dissappoint.

We sipped on the sweet necter of life known simply as Carolina Blonde for most of the day. We went off for a ride and drove out into the county. Barreling down a narrow country road J2 got his three upto one hundred and ten. The rest of the way, he didn't drop below eighty, even on some curves which he probably should have. We burned and eighth of a tank of gas way too quickly.

Saturday afternoon we found a sign in town that we decided deserved to be ours. Going back during the cover of darkness, we were able to efficently extricate it from it's prison of a street pole. We disposed of the remaining evidence in the river yesterday afternoon.

When we went to the river to jump off the bluffs, I also took along a driver and a few golf balls. We had a driving match to see who could hit it across the river. I didn't succeed coming up five yards short. J2 was much more successful than me.

We hid the Producers cigarrettes from her this weekend and she went nuts. Last night after realizing that we had put her Camels into her Parliment box, she came into the living room, turned off the TV, turned to us and called us 'shitbags' for the fifteenth time of the weekend.

Ah, good times.

Approximately three and one half years.

2006-06-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Much like the Olympics, I look forward to the World Cup for approximately three and one half years. The wait is over and today was spent on the couch watching all three matches. The earliest experience that I can recall with the world cup is back in 1994 when it was here. I clearly remember being in Cincinnati and watching team USA beat Columbia. What a great game. I've been a fan since. It also helps that I have played the world's game since I was knee high to a grasshopper.

I remember lazy summer mornings and watching matches with J2. I think we watched most of the 1998 world cup together that summer.

When time came around for World Cup 2002, I'd just started dating N. I remember not getting to watch as much of the tournament as I'd of liked to but I did see the semi final and title games. I remember getting up at five in the morning to watch Brazil beat Germany.

The tournament starts for us tomorrow and we have drawn a tough Czech team. I think we are good enough to win but that remains to be seen. I've got to work tomorrow, but as soon as I get home I'll be turning on the Tivo to watch it in replay. I just hope I can avoid the news of how it turns out until I can get home to watch it for myself.

Until Sunday.

2006-06-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

I got my hands on a DS lite today. We have them locked up in my stockroom waiting to be checked into inventory on the morning of the eleventh. It seems as though some stores jumped the gun and broke street date on them but I won't be. So, don't come to my store looking for one until Sunday. I stole a few moments this morning to take on out and take a look at it.

It's much smaller and sleeker than the original DS. As far as I'm concerned it's a huge improvement over the older version. The game library is getting built up now with some interesting titles such as Super Mario Brothers and a few others. I might talk myself into getting one one day. As for now though I'm satisfied just playing with it for a few minutes.

The first hits free.

2006-06-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

Rarely do you come home to find good news in the mail. Mostly it's just bills.

At work they know I'm leaving. The day that I actually leave is bearing down on me. I'm starting to enter coast mode. I'm not quite there but I can feel it getting close. It's like senioritis but it's my job.

I've gotten raises in my life. Most of them have been fairly meaningless. In fact I'd dare say that the effect on my paycheck has been fairly negligable. A quarter raise at a minimum wage summer job doesn't exactly push me into millionaire territory.

I got an email Friday from my logistics job saying to be on the lookout for an imporant letter with information and an application for a corporate credit card. I figured it would come today. As I rolled in from work, I checked the mailbox and sure enough I recognized the seven pointed star right off.

Opening up the letter I read that upon further review of the compensation package, my new salary had been bumped three thousand dollars or roughly eight percent. Now, that's a raise. And I didn't have to do a thing. I didn't earn it, I didn't have to sit through a performance review and plead for a raise, I didn't have to politick to get it. Just one and done. Not too bad.

As all good drug dealers will tell you, the first hits free. You have to pay for the next after you get a taste of what you like.

The creepy crawlies moving about.

2006-06-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day in many ways, but like most other days, it had it's heartbreaking moments too.

I had to be at work at five which wasn't any fun, but I was out of there by ten thirty so it was really only a half day. I like half days even when they start at five. I came home and grilled out by myself. I made killer hamburgers. Too bad I didn't have anyone to enjoy them with.

After grilling, I laid down on the couch and watched a bit of tv. When I started to doze off, I headed for the pool. Why sleep on the couch when I could sleep at the pool.

When I got to the pool there were plenty of bikinis but all the lay down chairs were taken. I settled for a standard chair and waited until someone left. It was about thirty minutes until I got a lay down chair. I enjoyed hanging out at the pool. The views were nice and the water wasn't too cool. I'm now slightly burnt. But it's the nice kind of crispy. Just enough to know I got some sun but not too painful.

After a few hours lounging around the house Beagle and I decided to take a hike. There is a powerline that leads roughly north from my apartment complex. There is a nice hill that Beagle and I walk up every now and then. I'd never walked too far down the powerline and decided today was the day.

We loaded up and headed out. The walk was nice. We followed the powerline north for a mile and a half to two miles until it ran into the US highway north of the city. Then we turned around and headed home. All in all it was not much more than an hours hike. It was good to get out with nature and be in the woods some. I jumped two deer and had some other animals rustle off from the sides of the powerline.

Often, I hear packs of coyotes early in the morning and as I walked the powerline their tracks were everywhere. There weren't any human tracks since last rain but plenty signs of deer and coyotes. I came across several clumps of hair that probably used to be hares. There was also a good deal of scat.

When we got home I knew we would probably have tick issues. Last time we walked out there, several months ago, I got one tick of the Beagles snout. On the way back, I found one on her back leg. When we got in, we immediately hit the showers. After washing Beagle and myself, I got out and found a tick burrowing into my shin. I pulled him out and then squished him with the end of a toothbrush.

That's the first time I think I've gotten a tick that has burrowed into me. I checked Beagle throughly and found five or six more on her. Then I found one on my bed, then one on my hamper. I decided it was time to wash the clothes I wore out. I found another on my jeans just before I threw them in the wash.

Now all night, even though I've mirror checked my body several times, I can still feel the creepy crawlies moving about. I know I don't have any more on me but it sure feels like I do.

If you don't mind I have to go check myself and the Beagle once more and then the bed a final time before I get lost between sheets and dreams.

Night night, don't let the bedbugs bite.

Update: I was clean but after giving the Beagle a through inspection I did find one more stoaway. He looked pretty lifeless which may be due to the huge amount of Frontline that I sprayed her with. At any rate, with one quick pull of the Leatherman, he was toast. The head came out too!

A Sold tag and my name on it.

2006-06-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I was off by a few hours. I didn't actually sign the papers until more like fourteen hours after my last post. Close enough though right?

It really messed things up the day that kid hit me in the truck. Without a vehicle finding one became a top priority. Dad suggested I look around for another truck. I asked around to most of the people I know. Did they have a vehicle they were looking to get rid of or did they know someone. My search turned up nothing.

I check the classifieds but not knowing really what I was looking for or how much I could spend, I didn't find them very helpful. We kind of reached a dead end.

I didn't really want to purchase a car because I'll be moving out of the country in two years for two years. I don't want a vehicle to just sit for two years while I'm away, much less a vehicle that I'm paying a note on.

The next idea was trying to find an affordable two year lease. The duration would be just about right. I'd get a new vehicle so having to sink a bunch of money into it to keep it running wouldn't be a problem.

I've wanted a Jetta for a long time. I don't know what it is about them but I just like them. When the new body style came out, I wasn't too crazy about it but after riding in N's brother's new Passat, I was sold on a VW.

I looked around and found this lease special. After I got some initial approval from my Dad, I started looking into it more and doing some research. I researched the car. I read reviews. I read a ten part article on car salesmen and their tricks. I researched what makes a good lease. I emailed and emailed and emailed. I got insurance quotes.

I solicited quotes from two dealers in the area. I emailed more. I checked inventories. When it looked like this was a good deal and a car was available I had to sell my Dad on the idea. I did.

I emailed some more. Then the phone calls started. I called my folks, I called the dealer. Rinsed and repeated. Multiple times.

I put in a credit application. N took me to Montgomery. I test drove the car with a Sold tag and my name on it.

N and I got put in the glass cubed office to marinate while the numbers and credit were run. We marinated some more. Then he came back. I didn't qualify for the lease deal (as I suspected I wouldn't). Mom's credit as a cosigner didn't help me much either although I did qualify on my own.

We ran the numbers a few more times. Adjusting this, clarifying that.

The final talley was more than I was hoping for but still within reason. I plunked the 2300 in cash that Dad had wired me down. I signed the papers and I was ready to drive my first new car ever home.

I like my Jetta but it needs a name. I can't think of anything that rhymes with Jetta except for Gretta and that names taken.

It's becoming a trend.

2006-05-31T01:15:00.000-07:00

There is the distinct possibility that in twelve hours or so I'll be the owner of a new car. I'm pretty excited. Any guesses on what I might be getting?

It's becoming a trend. The Frog went down for the fourth time in a row last night. I'll check in later, hopefully with more great news.

It feels good.

2006-05-29T07:02:00.000-07:00

I have to work today which sucks because no one ever wants to work on a holiday, but it's not so bad because I'll be getting time and a half and I have an extra day off later in the week.

We went to the state capital go race this weekend. We had a great turnout from our local running club. I raced well. The course was fairly hilly and I didn't run it was very hot. I was slightly disappointed in my time but I did come in ninth of two hundred and seventy six so I was pleased with that result. I also beat the Frog by nine seconds. It's the third time in a row that I've beaten him. It feels good.

N is coming over this Memorial Day. We are planning to take some brews down to the pool and hit the sun for a while. After that, we'll come back up to the house and grill hamburgers. Something we haven't done in a while. It's been so long since I've grilled that I can't even remember the last time.

I'd rather not go to work tonight but it's just another day and another dollar.

For the first time in months.

2006-05-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

It felt like I spent the majority of my weekend on the interstate but it was well worth it. After work Friday brother graciously drove down to drop off a bunch of my stuff that had been sent home in the fall. It was already unloaded from the van when I got home. We made sandwiches and were off to the moutain house. It was a long hot ride without airconditioning and the Beagle was annoying and bouncing around most of the time.

We arrived at the mountain house just after eleven better time than I'd anticipated that we'd make. Saturday we pretty much a lazy day, Mom, brother, sister and I rode into town to pick up my race packet and hit the mall for a bit but after that, we just hung out enjoying the company of having the whole family at home for the first time in months.

We watched the Preakness and Barbaro's fall then got wrapped up in a Deadliest Catch marathon before heading to bed.

I was up at four thirty to be at the race by six thirty. I didn't really know what to expect because the website was very vague and didn't even include a course map. The only thing I knew was that the course was a loop style course and it included 'two challenging hills'. The first hill was fairly steep at the end after running from mile one to one and a half. Nothing too bad though. The second hill ran from just after mile three until well into mile four. I put it at about a mile and a half long. It wasn't as steep as the first, just a long gradual climb up towards the mansion.

I didn't run as fast as I wanted to. I was hoping to break an hour. I now realize that that was probably a bit of an ambitious goal. I came in at 1:02:03. I was fourteenth out of four hundred and ten and finished second in my age group. I was pleased. I felt pretty strong and ran the last few miles in just better than six minutes and ten seconds each. I know I can break an hour on a flat course. It'll happen.

We went back home on Sunday afternoon and Dad drove me home on Monday. It sure was nice of both he and brother to drive twelve hours to pick me up and drop me off. It was a long weekend with sixteen plus hours spent on the road for each of us but it was well worth it.

Now, it's back to the grind. As repayment for having the long weekend off, I'm staring down the barrel of a nine day in a row stretch. I'll get through it though. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, the end is getting near.

Any problems viewing Backside 180?

2006-05-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

I went in my roommates room to print some forms out this morning. Since I use Firefox, I don't really have any use for the Google Toolbar. He still runs Internet Explorer and has the Google Toolbar installed. I came to Backside 180 just to see what my PageRank is. A measly two.

Something I noticed though was that the page didn't render correctly. The sidebars were where they were supposed to be but the main body of text had ben dropped way down. I'm wondering if it's due to the changes I've instituted recently. You may or may not have noticed but I put my listening habits on the sidebar from Last.fm that shows in near real time the last ten songs I've listened to in iTunes. It's a pretty nifty little widget but I'm concerned it's affecting the speed at which the page loads and possibly the formatting.

So the big question is, Are you having any problems viewing Backside 180? It renders correctly in Firefox but not in IE as far as I can tell. I'd hate to get rid of my listening habits but I may have to.

Let me know. Your feedback is appreciated.

Off for the mountain house.

2006-05-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

I think I have transportation to North Carolina. Back in the fall, my folks took a bunch of my stuff home because it looked like I would be moving home for a while after school. I need that stuff back here so it will be packed with the rest of my things when the movers come.

It's the perfect opportunity to bring those things down this weekend as well as for me to send some things home that I don't want moved. It sounds like brother will drive down on Friday, we'll unload and reload the van and take off for the mountain house. We'll stay the weekend, I'll race Sunday morning and then Sunday afternoon, we'll head back to Charlotte. Sometime Monday someone will bring me back here so I can be at work at five on Tuesday.

I'm glad I'm getting to go.

Take a poop in his yard.

2006-05-17T14:32:00.000-07:00

I love my Dad but he is a pretty uptight, straight laced kind of character. I liken him to Pat Robertson a lot of the time. He's that conservative.

Last night we were trying to make plans on how I can get to the mountain house this weekend to race. We were commiserating on how that kids decision to change lanes without looking has royally fucked us and caused a lot of stress in many many ways.

This is a direct quote - 'I'm so upset at this that I wish I could go over to that boys house and take a poop in his yard.'

I never thought I'd hear my Dad say anything like that. All I could do was chuckle and agree. My sentiments exactly except I'd be more likely to poop in the kids yard and then take a bag full of Beagle poo, light it and toss it at the door.

That's why I'm a little more liberal than my Dad.

Based more on effort than mileage,

2006-05-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

Not having a vehicle is really becoming quite bothersome. I was supposed to go home and head to the Outer Banks with my family this weekend but without transportation to North Carolina, the trip had to be called off.

I still had Thursday through Saturday off. Being off was nice but it will cut into the next paycheck so I have to be more frugal this paycheck. It's cutting into my fun money.

N decided to go home for a week between semesters. I went down with her on Friday and came back on Saturday afternoon so I could be at work on Sunday at five. Although it was a quick trip and I certainly didn't want to come back it was nice to get out of town and see her family again. Her boyfriend is meeting her down there today through Wednesday, it will be interesting to see how the family reacts to him. I feel bad for any other guy (I take that back, I don't really feel bad) she brings home because they love me so much. Maybe one day she'll figure it out.

On Friday before we left, I headed down to Bartram's Trail with the Orater and another running friend. While certainly not as rugged at the AT, it's a nice trail with plenty of small hills and dips and turns. We did out nine mile out and back run in just over an hour and eighteen minutes. It was a very challenging nine miles. On the trail I discovered and used muscles I never use on the road. Although it was challenging and I ended up with raw nipples from not taping, it was certainly worth it. Based more on effort than mileage, I counted it as my long run of the week.

I'm supposed to be racing this weekend in Asheville, NC. N has to work and let me know last night that I wouldn't be able to borrow her car. I'm not sure how I'm getting there. The budget is tight and a rental seems to be out of the question. I'm trying to talk my folks into making the twelve hour round trip twice to pick me up. That'd be a lot to ask and require a lot of dedication on their part but I'm sure they are up to the challenge.

Review of the iHome iH5.

2006-05-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

Here we go. This is going to be the oft promised and slightly anticipated review of the iHome iH5.

To start, I got my first one at work. When I brought it home it was pretty good although there were some glaring problems. It makes you wonder if these things actually get tested and if the engineers take the prototypes home for a few nights.

As many others have noted. The display was really, really bright even on the lowest setting. The alarm also has a slow wake feature where the music will start out at a quiet level and slowly level up. I would have expected this process to take anywhere from thirty seconds to a minute to slowly rouse me out of deep slumber and back to life. SDI Technologies, the maker of the iHome had a different idea. The music went from quiet to too loud in the span of about eight seconds. The increase wasn't gradual enough and the non conrollable max level for the alarm was just too high.

Other than these things I considered annoyances more than deal breakers, the device was really quite nice. It's attractive and small enough to sit on my nightstand. There are also some other neat features that warrant it's hundred dollar price tag. Overall I was satisfied and would have graded it a B.

I discovered that there is a Rev B of the product that reportedly started appearing in the supply chain back in December. It sounded like many of the annoyances had been fixed and reworked to be a little less obtrusive. It was my intent to find one when I recieved more at my store and swap it out with the first one I purchased.

Then the display failed. It really wasn't too big a deal but it was strange. I came home one day to find about a third of the LCDs that form the numbers to be non functional. Nothing happened to the device while I was at work. I guess it was just a faulty unit. I boxed it up and took it to Mobile with N when we went down for Easter.

The revised version that I picked up earns an A in my gradebook. All the issues that I mentioned above have been fixed including the gentle wake feature as well as the super bright display light. I've been using it consistently for several weeks now and am very satisfied with the purchase.

For anyone who hates the beep of the alarm in the morning and who is looking for a change as I was, I would recommend the iHome. It's nice to wake up to whatever music I'd like. At this point, I don't really have any complaints about the device.

I know this wasn't so much a review as much as a description of my experience with the device. I'd like to point you to several full length, in depth reviews that I found helpful incase you want to learn more.

iLounge's review of the iHome iH5
Playlists review
Cnet's review
Amazon's user/buyer reviews

I might have but probably not.

2006-05-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

Fresh off my big win last Saturday, I was pretty stoked heading into this weekends races. Friday I was let off work early and dropped the rental truck off. I was able to rest and do a few things at home before having to go to the race site. After registering, I met up with the Frog and we ran the one mile fun run as a warmup. Then it was time to start out race, the 5k.

There were two high school guys in the field that I remember being pretty fast from last summer. In fact one of them is really fast, as in can compete on a regional level and kick ass fast. For now, we'll refer to him as the Mexican.

As we started, the Frog and I went out together much as we always do in races. The miles weren't marked but seven and a half minutes in I looked at my watch. The pace was quick and we had already hit several small hills even though the longer ones were yet to come, I was feeling good.

At the first big climb during mile two, I put some distance on the Frog. He'd gotten talked into running the night before, even though he wasn't planning on it. He was toast. I then concentrated on keeping the Mexican within striking distance. I didn't think I'd catch him but I wanted to at least stay close.

Just after the two mile mark, he made a mistake as I was gaining on him and I was able to slide by him. I put several meters of distance on him and felt pretty good about my finishing kick.

When I made the turn for the climb home, I knew I had it. I crossed in eighteen forty three. Not a PR, but definitely impressive.

I went to the race for the prizes and wasn't disappointed. For winning, I got a thirty dollar gift card to Red Lobster and a free month to a nice local gym. About a hundred dollars in prize value. Not bad I'd say. Plus my second victory ever and in a row!

I declined to go have pizza with the Frog and a few other runners. I wanted to eat a small meal and get a good nights rest for the race today. The 10.5K.

I didn't think I'd win the race this morning but my goal was forty two minutes. That is a forty minute 10k and then the same pace for the last half kilometer.

The Frog ran the 5k just before the 10.5k plus the race last night, I knew his legs would be toast.

The other friend we dragged up there was another problem though. I'd beath him for the first time last weekend and I knew he wasn't going down without a fight.

Sure enough, at the start, the Frog, the Orater, I and two others broke away to form the lead pack. The course started on a road, led into the stadium completing one lap of the track, then went cross country style to another road and was road the rest of the way.

They said the miles were marked but I never saw a mark for mile one. I did however see a mark for mile two. We crossed it in eleven forty. Way too fast if that was an accurate measure of two miles. That's my PR 5k pace.

Coming off the lake, the Orater started a break away and I went with. He later told me it was to 'separate the men from the boys'. We never looked back. The Frog held us for a bit but dropped off and we dropped the other two runners quickly into the breakaway.

The next few miles sailed by even though it seemed to me we were going awfully fast. There were several points where I felt the Orater was trying to drop me. Trying to test me to see if I had it.

I stayed with him and even put some distance on him up until mile five and a half. I really wish they had had the miles marked a little better, it sure would have helped me in knowing where we were and what pace we were running. I really need to invest in a Garmin.

About mile five and a half the pace got to me and I got a stitch in my side. I tried to work it out by varying my breathing and stretching but it remained. It was at the point that I became mentally defeated feeling I couldn't catch him.

I conceded defeat saying, 'It's yours.' I later found out that at that point the Orater was feeling it and wasn't sure he could hold on. I should have never said anything. Turning down the home straight away he had put about ten seconds on me. I found a little something deep inside but since I'd already conceaded I didn't tap as deep as I probably could/should have.

Had I said nothing, I don't know if I'd caught him, I might have but probably not. He crossed in forty one fifty two and I crossed in forty two even.

My watch read forty two o six but I'll go by the official time of forty two even. For second overall and winning my age group I got a nice trophy. I ran my goal time. I had fun, the company was great and to me that's all that matters.

Bring back Brosnan.

2006-05-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

That's double O seven. I don't buy it. Bring back Brosnan.

I minimize my accomplishment

2006-05-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

I won my very first race this weekend. I met the group at six and ran the course with a few friends before the race. It was good to get an idea of the course because it was fairly hilly. Once I had an idea of what I was up against, I knew sub forty was out of the question. Especially after already putting six miles in before the race.

The race went well. I ran strong and am proud that I won. When it gets brought up, I minimize my accomplishment by saying, 'yeah but the frog wasn't there and it wasn't an elite field.' I don't know why I do that. I know if others who didn't show had I might/probably wouldn't have won but they didn't show and I did win. Why can't I just enjoy it rather than minimizing what I did.

I'm fairly proud of myself. Here's the photographic evidence:

I have two races this weekend. An in town 5k Friday night. I hear they have good prizes. The Frog and I are travelling to Georgia on Saturday morning for a ten and a half K. I'll write more about them in a bit.

The value in a sixteen year old Dodge

2006-04-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, lets try this again.

A lot has happened in the last ten days. It's been quite a busy time. Hence the reason why I haven't been hanging around with you all as much as I'd like.

Last weekend N and I went to see her Mom. The trip served a dual purpose. It was to be there for Greek Easter as well as be down for her Birthday. It was a great weekend much as I expected it to be. I put in eleven and a half miles on wide open country roads on Saturday morning. I almost ran to Mississippi.

Thursday before we went down, my new iHome that I was so excited about had some serious display issues. I came home from work to find that roughly a third of the lcd displays had quit for some mysterious reason. I had found out in the mean time that there was a revised version of the product. It was my plan to return it anyway to get the Rev B but now I had a reason. I returned it in Mobile and did indeed get the new version which is much improved over the one I had. I will still do a complete review but at this point it's safe to say that I'm very satisfied with my purchase.

The rest of the weekend was filled with good eats as you might expect. The post church Saturday brunch of grits, biscuits and fish was excellent as usual. N's grandmother and uncle make the best grits I have ever had, hands down.

Easter dinner was fantastic as it usually is. The lamb and twice baked potatoes stand out for me.

While we weren't eating or trying to recover from eating too much, we spend some time out of doors on the property. The turkeys were out in full force. There were many signs it was turkey breeding season. Most of the Jakes had broken feathers and battle wounds from battling it out over the females. I was also witness to at least two turkey gangbangs on two separate occasions. It was disturbing. There was also a plethora of turklets running around.

Working overnights starting Sunday after we got home from the weekend was pretty rough. I clocked sixty hours last week which on top of the overnights almost killed me. We didn't leave on time a single morning. Then when it was time to come home and try to get some sleep, I had to deal with phone calls and other matters rather than sleep. I think I functioned on half the amount of sleep that I normally do.

The thing that made it particularly difficult was the fact that the rest of the world was on their normal schedule but I was on an opposite schedule. This didn't bode well for my sleeping.

One night we were doing really well when we had a fire alarm go off. There's nothing like waiting in the parking lot at three in the morning waiting on the fire department to show up. This set us back almost an hour.

When we went away for the weekend, we left the Beagle and N's dogs at work. She washed them on Monday and asked me if I'd come pick them up and take them home for her. I said I would and hopped in the truck to trundle across town.

I think I got my Carma back because as I was passing a group of cars who were slowing to turn, a high school kid didn't look and merged into me, forcing me up over the curb and totalling my truck. Fucker.

What really sucks is that the truck only blue books out at roughly six hundred dollars. The suspension damage alone from hitting the curb is well over a thousand dollars. After it's totalled, the payout will not be near enough to buy another piece of reliable transportation. The value in a sixteen year old Dodge with one hundred eighty thousand miles isn't in it's cash value but in the reliable transportation it provides from point A to B. The value is continuing to drive the truck until I run it into the ground. Now, thanks to a careless high school kid I'm fucked transportation wise. I still have the scooter but it's an auxillary form of transport not my main form.

The thing that really miffs me off is that I just put thirty six dollars in gas into the tank and now the rental they gave me is a gas hog Ford F-150. Sure it's nice to drive since it's a new truck and the girls seem to look at me differently but it's still going to kill me in gas.

More stuff has happened too but that's mostly running related. I think I'll shut this one down now and come back with a more running oriented post shortly.

Forty minutes of wasted effort.

2006-04-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

Fuck. I had just completed a major post recapping my week to date when I clicked the 'Preview' button to see how Firefox would render the page. Firefox locked up and I lost it all. Fuck.

I guess I'll try again tomorrow after forty minutes of wasted effort. Do you see what I go through for you people?

Pretending to be Jackasses.

2006-04-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

As I leave for my hard earned three day weekend I thought I'd leave you with some more home movies. Enjoy.

We put this together over one Christmas break. We like blowing things up, making asses of ourselves and pretending to be Jackasses.

At one point several years ago N and I were really into Yellowcard. This was before they signed to Capitol Records and sold out hard core. I put this together and gave it to them when we met them at a show. I never heard anything back from them. Ryan, you are a douche.

Here is more footage of us entertaining ourselves by blowing stuff up.

Happy friday people. I may not be around too much next week since I'm working overnights but I'll see you around.

Four days and thirty two hours

2006-04-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

I'm going home with N this weekend for Greek Easter. It's a time I look forward to every year. I'll eat far too much this weekend. A side effect of my having a three day weekend and Easter last Sunday was that I was only scheduled four days and thirty two hours this week.

In an attempt to not be financially burdened by a three day weekend I've been staying over trying to work my way up to forty hours. A side effect of that is that ten hour days at the store have been severely cutting into me time. This I picked up my miles in an attempt to prepare for a possible marathon. That took more time out of my day. This week I got caught up watching the Matrix trilogy in completion for the first time. That took up a good bit of time.

Only today with the morning off was I able to catch up on my internet reading, well mostly. Due to a transition in my department, I will be working nights next week. I'm not looking forward to it.

That's where I stand now. I'll status with you again soon.

Child like trantrum.

2006-04-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

N kind of pissed me off tonight. This was the result.

I know that it was a pretty child like trantrum. But that's what the girl does to me, especially when she makes it clear that she'd rather spend time with her 'boyfriend' than me.

Tomorrow at work I'll be 130 dollars poorer than expected. Fuck.

It wasn't a paid holiday for me.

2006-04-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy/lazy weekend. How's that for a dichotomy!

I was at work until after midnight on Friday. No suprise there. I rose at six to head on out to the race. Unlike last weekend, this weekends conditions were perfect for a trail run. Aside from the fact that it was a bit on the warm side, I had no complaints. Since it was Easter weekend and we also had some fast reps going to Boston for Monday, the turnout at the race was good but not great like it was last weekend. I was confident that I would be able to reach my goal of a top five finish.

I knew I wouldn't win but I was confident that I could battle it out for second, third or fourth. I came in at twenty o three. Good enough to claim third place and a twenty dollar gift certificate. Looking back at some of last summers times, it was a pretty good time but still not where I want to be. It was actually only a second slower than the race I ran out at the airport. It was a tough race and I gave it pretty much all I had. I'm still a bit heavier than I was last year but I'm in better shape so it will be interesting to get back on the road and see how I stand on a road 5k.

I wish I could just shake off those 10 pounds I want to shed. Self control has a lot to do with it, of which it seems I have none right now with all the Easter candy and junk food around.

After the race, I went to work. I was there from two thirty until one forty six am when I clocked out. I hope my boss likes it hot... I had today off. The store is closed three days a year. Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas. It wasn't a paid holiday for me. Fifty billion in revenue and the bullseye can't pay me to take Easter off. Corporate got Friday off, no doubt paid.

They also fired my friend Pablo, one of the members of the cleaning/floor crew that works in the store overnight. He was the nicest one. We'd converse in my limited spanish every evening/morning.

I was pretty tired this morning and spend most of it uncharacteristically sleeping. Beagle and I went on a long walk. We crossed fence lines and no trespassing signs. That's just how we roll.

I watched the Matrix this evening. I'm going to buy Revelations tomorrow and finally watch Revolutions later in the week. I'm done. As Ben wood say, Goodnight internet.

Any song you own or have 'stolen'

2006-04-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

I got paid this morning. I'm flush. It feels nice after life as a student. While at work picking up my paycheck, I splurged on a new pillow. Having gotten the craving for an Xbox 360 out of my system (in time all things pass), I decided to spend my birthday money on something I've had my eye on for a while now.

The iHome iH5 is a cool product that has gotten good reviews everywhere I've looked. The beep/screech of the alarm is something that I really despise in the morning. N got a cool alarm clock a few years ago that would wake you to a cd, well, what's better than waking to a cd, waking to any song you own or have 'stolen' on your iPod. The iHome does just that for you. After a few days of testing it out, I'll probably write a review.

If you are really interested, you can check out what iLounge had to say about the iHome here. In a Slate roundup of the best alarm clocks on market, the iHome came in second.

I'm racing again in the morning. It should be fun. No real time goal since it's a trail race but I do hope to finish top five. Reading through one of my running magazines this week I found a race in the Asheville area that I'm going to run. It will give me an opportunity to meet the family in the mountains and to run a new distance, the 15k. It's the Biltmore/Kiwanis 15k Classic.

Here is my tentative late spring racing schedule:

April 15 - Forest Ecology Preserve 5k
April 29 - Trinity 10k (probable)
May 5 - Cary Woods 5k
May 6 - Valley 10.5k
May 21 - Biltmore 15k Classic

If I can keep from gettin injured and continue to build my base, it is becoming increasingly more likely that I will be attempting a marathon in June.

Having the symmetry

2006-04-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

N went and got her tattoo on Tuesday. I wanted to go with her but for various reasons didn't make it.

She's been eyeing this design out of one of her fairy books for many years. She just didn't know where she wanted to get it and hadn't worked up the courage to do it. I guess since I got mine it was kind of permission or at least a push for her getting hers.

The girl that did it did a really great job. It's so good that it kind of makes mine look a bit ameturish now. I dig it.

I'm going sometime next week to get my second ankle done. Then I'll be done. I'm looking forward to being finished and having the symmetry but I'm not looking forward to the pain and healing again.

Sex, drugs and rock and roll

2006-04-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

I turned twenty four last Sunday. I ran twelve of the hardest miles of my life. In my running log, I described the route as 'the hill run'.

I have some friends going to Boston this weekend for the marathon on Monday, Patriot's Day. Of the entire twenty six mile course, very little is flat. Most is up or downhill. They figured they needed a little hill work the weekend before in order to better prepare. The last mile I was spent, but it was a great way to spend my birthday.

N spend all her money on sex, drugs and rock and roll last week so she wasn't able to take me out for sushi as she had been promising. Instead I cooked enchilladas. They were great. I've been eating leftovers all week. We watched Narnia. All in all it was a good birthday. I just wish I wasn't a year closer to death because I'm enjoying life right now.

Run in the slop.

2006-04-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

I awoke this morning to the pitter patter of raindrops. It was five fifteen. Race time, eight. I wasn't planning on getting up until closer to six thirty but the sound of rain outside my window told me that things weren't going to go as planned.

I got up at the appointed time and turned on the Weather Channel. Sure enough, rain and thunderstorms had moved into the area about five. Even though we were currently in the thick of it, the system seemed to be moving quickly enough and in such a way that the race might go off as planned anyway.

I got out to the forest ecology preserve an hour early as I'd planned. I was supposed to meet a running friend and we were going to run the course once pre-race as a warm up. It was raining when I arrived and only slackened a little up until race time. It wasn't a bad storm from a thunder standpoint but there was lightining in the area so they didn't want to sanction the race in case someone were to get hurt.

About ten after eight, the race was called and rescheduled for next Saturday. They said we could run the course anyway and they would watch time us, but we were on our own from a liability standpoint.

I was fine with that. I was ready and willing to run in the slop. It'd rained at least and inch and a half in the three hours before we started running so as you can imagine, the trail was pretty water logged. Many portions were ankle deep puddles/lakes or gurgling streams.

I broke out with the lead pack and my friend. About a mile in, we dropped my friend and I forged on through the rain and wind with two other runners, about my age.

It was great fun running through the mud, water and rain. Even though I went out a bit fast and I'll have to adjust my strategy for the real race next weekend it was a blast. I got back to the interpretive center having just run my slowest 5k ever, coming in at 21:24, chilled to the bone, but happy as could be.

I'm looking forward to next weekend.

home video kinda Saturday.

2006-04-08T12:24:00.000-07:00

It's a home video kinda Saturday. Enjoy.

This is something my brother and I put together after spending Christmas evening on Mt. Hood. It was one of the better times I had on the mountain.

Thanksgiving snow in the mountains. It doesn't get much better than this. You may notice that I was still a fatass at this point in my life.

This is one of my favorite videos that I've ever done. Sister and I had a great time building snowmen for the majority of the day.

My five minute throw together.

2006-04-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

It's a lazy friday evening. I'm resting up for the morning. Digg pointed me to Createastrip.com. It's a pretty fun little way to waste some minutes. Here is my five minute throw together. I'm afraid that I didn't exactly follow Scott Adams explicit directions on being funny but I enjoyed myself. Go make your own comic, then come back here and link me/us to it.

Here is my comic. Sloppy, I know.

It's all in good fun.

2006-04-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

A while ago I mentioned that I had uploaded a good bit of video to Google Video. Some of it is interesting, some of it isn't. Some of it is old, well most of it's a few years old. A lot of it is embarassing, but I think it's come time to post it anyway.

I think I'll post a few of them a day until we get all the way through them. I hope you enjoy. Remember as you are laughing at me that it's all in good fun.

These first two are of my brother. There is a good bit of outdoor activity to take part in near his school. This is a prime example of what he and his friends do when the weather is warm.

This one is my sister's beagle. This was when we lived out in Washington and it was his first experience with snow. He can walk on water.

Tune in again tomorrow for more home movies. They get better.

I'm kind of waiting

2006-04-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

I got home last night and immediately crashed. I pulled out of the parking lot at work at one fifty. I was in bed by two oh four. It was a late night.

I was scheduled to be back in this afternoon at two thirty but since I'm a few hours ahead and they don't want to pay any overtime, I have been allowed to cut until five. How sweet of them.

With the majority of the day to myself, I was hoping to do some moving work for my old boss. I called her about nine this morning when I woke up and she said she'd give me a call back when she knew what needed to be done. It's now eleven thirty and I haven't heard anything from her which is a bit of a bummer because I have some things I'd like to do but I'm kind of waiting on her to call me back.

There was a contest a few weeks ago to see who could get the most people to sign up for our instore credit card. The prize was dinner on the store. One of my team members helped me out and we kind of fudged on the contest by putting all his credit apps under my name. That way we could win. Well, for working so hard and doing a good job I told him I'd take him out to lunch. Today was supposed to be the day but again, I'm waiting on my old boss to ring me back.

I'd like to put in some miles today before I go to work. I'm racing a 5k trail race on Saturday so I'd like to give my knees the least pounding that I can. I've been advised to see a running smith as well as stay off the pavement and concrete. The last part is great advice but the only gravel path running I can do it about fifteen minutes away. I'd like to go out to the park and put four or five miles in on the path but again I'm waiting on a phonecall.

I'm excited for the Saturday race for several reasons. I've never run a trail race so it will be a new experience. I also registered early enough so that I made some money on the deal. Registration for club members was thirteen. You get a fifteen dollar coupon to a local retailer for participating, plus a shirt. I'm coming out on top here and it feels good.

I don't think I'll be able to win the race, but a top five finish isn't out of the question. That's what I'm shooting for and to have a good time, which I think is a given. Here are last years results.

If you need me, I'll be waiting for a phone call.

That was nice.

2006-04-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

I got a pleasant suprise this morning. As I was sitting, not doing much of anything besides the mornings internetting, I got a call from a strange Oregon number. I almost didn't answer it, but I did and on the other side of the country, now connected by voice to me was an old high school classmate. One of the handful of high school friends I have run across/talked to in the last six years.

She's been in Maui for the last week and was catching up on news when she read about the outbreak of storms that we had here in the deep south last week. She called just to see that I was ok. That was nice. I'd actually just been thinking about her in the last few weeks as well. We had a nice conversation, she told me how she was going back to school, still working at Starbucks, had bought a house in southeast Portland, and had just gotten married.

That's good for her. Maybe I'll get the chance to see her in the next few years. Afterall, our ten year reunion is only four years away.

I'm off to work shortly after a nice lazy morning. Too bad I'll probably have to work until the wee hours of tomorrow morning. It seems no matter what I do or how hard I work, it's never good enough for my boss. Still, I trudge along.

Just be on the safe side.

2006-03-31T19:21:00.000-08:00

When I clocked out today, it put me at thrity nine and a half or forty hours. I'll probably put in a solid nine tomorrow. It's been another long week.

I'd planned on doing fifteen miels tomorrow morning with the group but I don't think it's going to happen. After racing Saturday, I came home Sunday and should have rested. Instead I ran five point two miles.

I've done twenty three this week, including tonights run with the Frog. We went pretty slow this evening but my knees still felt a bit funny, like they were starting to hurt again. I'm going to take tomorrow off and probably Sunday too just be on the safe side.

My next race is next Satruday morning. It's a 5k out at the Forest Ecology Preserve. It will be my first race on a trail. I don't think it's particularly hilly or fast but I'm sure it's going to be a blast.

My friends that are going to Boston for the Boston Marathon have fifteen scheduled for that day so, we will probably do another twelve after the race -- if my knees can take it. At this point I'm going to treat them a little gingerly. Another stab at a marathon is in the works and this time I'm going to try to train smarter and not as hard.

I need to listen to my body and do what it tells me rather than running it into the ground as I did in the fall.

Edit:
I turned in my mileage for the twelve hundred mile club. I ran one hundred thirty seven miles and seven tenths this month. After the low mileage of January, I think I'm now up to an average of one hundred a month for the first quarter of the year. Only nine hundred more to go for the goal...

Fifty dollars an hour.

2006-03-31T19:09:00.000-08:00

Wednesday before work, I helped my boss begin the process of moving by helping her clean out the basement. We went through sorting things into three piles. Stuff that stays with the house, stuff that goes to the new house, and trash. We took several truckloads of stuff down to the new house before I had to leave for my job at the big box retailer.

I was under the impression that I would get paid ten bucks an hour for the help. I didn't mind it for it was fairly easy if manual work. I ended up working for two hours. She insisted as I was leaving that she pay me. I told her it wasn't nesicary because they do a lot for me. They let the Beagle board at the store for free while I'm out of town and I can count on them if I need anything.
I only told her she didn't have to pay me because I knew she would insist. Of course she did. When she handed me a hundred dollar bill, I did that dance where I insisted it was too much even though I was happy to keep it. She insisted I take it, saying I do a lot for them.

I walked away having made fifty dollars an hour.

When N informed me tonight that they had more stuff to move, I jumped at the chance. I gave her a call letting her know that I'm free tomorrow morning as well as some during the week.

I'm off Friday, Saturday and Sunday of next week. Even though they are my days off, I think I'm going to put in some time moving boxes.

If the pay scale is anything like Wednesday, by next week I might have enough to buy a 360 or even a Macbook Pro (probably not but at least I'll be closer than I am today).

In all my racing glory.

2006-03-31T15:56:00.000-08:00

The pictures from the Azalea Trail Run were finally posted online. Here I am in all my racing glory.

The Top 87 Bad Predictions

2006-03-30T15:07:00.000-08:00

I was reading an article on The Top 87 Bad Predictions for the future when I came across this gem.

The multitude of books is a great evil. There is no limit to this fever for writing; every one must be an author; some out of vanity, to acquire celebrity and raise up a name, others for the sake of mere gain.»
Martin Luther, German Reformation leader, Table Talk, 1530s(?).

After reading blogs all day. It somehow seemed appropriate. Blogger, Wordpress I'm looking at you.

The ass rape by Ticketmaster

2006-03-29T06:05:00.000-08:00

I came this (--) close to buying an Xbox 360 yesterday. We got in six, which is unprecedented. Maybe they are actually trying to get some more into the supply chain as they have been saying for a month now. I ended up not buying it, which is the right decision. But damn, I could almost taste it.

N's brother, N and I are planning on going to see the Alkaline Trio in a few weeks. I should be a good show. I've got a race that morning and then we are doing twelve extra miles after the race. That afternoon, we will go to Atlanta to the show and probably spend the night. That Sunday is my birthday, so get your presents ready to mail.

Speaking of shows, the Alkaline Trio show is seventeen bucks. Once Ticketmaster rapes me with the five dollar and fifty cent surcharge, it's twenty three. I'd wait until the day of the show but I've gotten to Atlanta before only to be told the show has sold out.

I saw on an Atlanta calendar that HIM will be there at the end of the month or sometime in May. I got excited because I've been waiting a while for them to travel from Finland to the Deep South for a show. Then I found out it's twenty seven bucks. On top of that the ass rape by Ticketmaster and we are entering thirty five dollar territory. By the time you throw in gas and possibly a hotel room, your dropping over a hundred bucks. Fuck that. I can get into the Warped Tour for less than that. I think I'll pass.

I talked to J2 about it hoping to get some conformation that twenty seven was outrageous for this type of band. He informed me that that rate is a steal and he paid forty five to see Velvet Revolver. Hmm. I stick to my guns on that one and say it's still a ripoff.

Success and failure, but mostly success.

2006-03-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

I'm back from my weekend travels. I have been since last night. It was a good weekend. It was charactarized by success and failure, but mostly success.

We got away about five thrity and have an uneventful drive down. We got to N's Mom's house and got settled in. I did a few chores for her that she wasn't able to do and then was ready to go to bed. Even though I've probably been up and down her stairs at least a hundred times, for some reason I misjudged a step, kicking the aptly named kick plate with my bare toe. I ended up sprawled on the atop the stairs muttering curses. Once I'd walked off the pain, I realized that I'd peeled back almost a quarter of my large toenail.

As I laid down to sleep, I pretty much assumed that it was going to negativly affect my performance the next morning. It throbbed and even the pressure of the quilt made it hurt worse.

As a runner, you are supposed to set three goals for yourself headed into a race. The first goal is your ultimate goal that you don't say outloud for fear of looking like a fool if you don't reach it. The second goal is your more realistic goal and the third is your goal if things don't go exactly right on race day -- a time you'd settle for.

My ultimate goal and goal at the begining of the year was to break forty minutes in the 10k. My realistic, 'i'd be satisfied' goal was sub forty one minutes. I figured I'd probably come in between forty and forty one. I didn't know if I was in good enough shape to break forty.

As I've said before, the Azalea Trail Run is one of the premier 10k's in the country, attracting a very elite field.

The course is flat and extremely fast. In ATR 2001, Joseph Kimani of Kenya came within two seconds of setting a new world record in the men's open division in 27:41, and then in ATR '01 Abraham Chebii and Thomas Nyariki ran the 3rd and 4th fastest times ever in a 10K, finishing in 27:26 and 27:30, respectively! In ATR '94, the current world record for men masters (28:56) was set by Martin Mondragon of Mexico and in ATR '99 John Campbell of New Zealand established a world's best time for male grandmasters (over 50) of 31:02. So if you're aiming for a world record or merely a personal best, or if you just want to treat yourself to the visual pleasures along the course and throughout the city, come run with us.

Here is this mornings news story about the race.

The morning of the race, the Frog and I got up at five thirty to get ready and drive across town to the race site. We got there in plenty of time and found the location of our packet pick up. We pre-registered online three weeks ago and one of the critical portions of the entry form is Tshirt size. I'm a Medium. I always request a medium shirt. A medium will fit me. A small will not. A large will not.

When we got there, they informed us that they didn't recieve any smalls and had already given all the mediums away. It was a large or XL. Fuck that. I paid for a medium, I want a medium. This event is in it's twenty ninth year. It regularly attracts three thousand entrants. People follow a bell curve. Follow the trends from the pre-registered runners. Have the right fucking shirt when I show up.

I walked away with a large. I was pissed. Yeah I know it's a tshirt but with lots of Kenyans there I was unlikely to win an award, the fucking tshirt was my award. I wanted a medium just as I'd requested. It wasn't like I was late showing up. It wasn't like I registered late.

Moving on.

We warmed up for a mile and a half and then headed to the start. The frog and I wound away through the throng to near the front. Positioning in a race like that is critical, you can't start too far back or all the traffic will affect your time. You don't want to start too far forward so you can get the advantage of passing all the slower runners. We started about five deep.

The Frog was sick all week. He even took two days off work. I didn't know how well he was going to run. To hit forty minutes, I needed six twenty seven miles. I wanted to run pretty flat on that for the six mile duration.

Things felt good the first half to three quarters mile. I was a little concerned that my breathing was becoming rapid too soon, but still felt good. I tried to compare my breathing to those around me to gauge my fitness to theirs.

As we raced down oak lined Governement Street, we crossed the first mile in six twelve. I felt strong but was concerned that it was a little fast. I slowed a bit but didn't want to give up too much ground.

I dropped the Frog about a mile and a half. Being sick all week and not running since Sunday had taken it's toll. He was spent.

I hooked up with two runners who passed me on the left. I sat in just behind them and wanted to pace off them. We crossed mile two in a slower yet managable pace. By mile three the throng was getting thin and I was settled into a groove, feeling good we crossed mile three in six twenty six.

Mile four dropped in six twenty four. Pace was steady and under target. I felt good and was suprising myself. The runner I was with seemed to be continuing on strongly. We crossed mile five still under pace.

I knew then that I could bring it home under forty. I still felt good but didn't want to flare out. I picked it up just a step. Mile six flew by and I headed home. I entered the Male open shoot trailing another fellow by twenty yards. I wanted to reel him in. He spotted me behind and picked it up. I sprinted home, almost catching him. I crossed the tape in thrity nine twenty one.

I suprised the hell out of myself. I really didn't know if I would break forty, but I did. One of my other goals was top ten in my age group. I figured I could do it by looking at past results. Even though I perfomed so well, I came in eleventh in my age group. My time would have given me an award in 2005, 2004, 2003. There is some satisfaction in that but the fact that tenth place finished just a few seconds ahead of me irks me. Still, even though I failed at that goal, I feel I accomplished a lot. I'm satisfied.

I finished eleventh of eighty three in my age group. I finished ninety second of two thousand seven hundred and ninety three. I'd say that's pretty damn good.

It was a great race. I had a blast. If at all possible, I'll be back next year and I'll get the right tshirt.

A girl from Chicago and nakedness.

2006-03-24T06:26:00.000-08:00

Another long week comes to a close. We didn't get out of work until one thirty last night. I'm headed back now. I asked my boss when he wanted me back. He said eight hours after we leave. That means nine thirty. A whole extra hour of sleep than I had planned to get until he kept us so late. Thanks buddy!

As soon as I can walk out of my two thirty meeting, I'm off to the race. I've been looking forward to this one for some time. I think mostly because it's an out of town race and there are a lot of great runners among the 2800 registered. My finish goal is top ten in my age group. With the time goal that I'm hoping to run, I think it will put me in good position for a top ten finish. I ran a 10k here in town a few weeks ago coming in at 41:42. It was hillier than this one will be and I felt like I still had some to give as I crossed the finish line. The ultimate goal is sub 40:00 but I think a more realistic goal is sub 41:00. That's 6:27 and 6:37 respectivly. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

J2 has been engaging in some lewd spring breakish debauchery lately. It involves a girl from Chicago and nakedness. I'll write about that sometime as well. Oh, the life of a sailor boy!

Powerbook Hard Drive Swap

2006-03-22T07:44:00.000-08:00

Despite what this asshole says, it is entirely possible to pull a laptop off of a table by tripping on the cord. N found this out the hard way a while back when one of her dogs tripped on the power cord. The Powerbook was pulled to the ground and received a sizeable dent in the corner. If only she'd had a MagSafe.

It was a pretty good shock to the Powerbooks innards as you might expect. Several weeks after the incident, the hard drive started acting up. Serious crunching sounds as well as never ending Spinning Beach Balls of Death. I sent the Powerbook to Apple hoping to have it covered under the Apple Care that I bought. I pretty much figured they would trace the hard drive failure to the massive dent in the case and not want to cover it as accidental damage not covered under the extended warranty. Sure enough, that's what happened. The would however fix it for a mere four hundred and thirty dollars. No thanks, I'll do it myself.

N was left with essentially a bricked Powerbook with no way to replace it. (She's waiting on the inevitable announcement of a widescreen iBook aka MacBook or a twelve inch MacBook Pro.) Looking for hard drive replacement guides for the 12 inch 867 Powerbook, I found this one. It looked like something I could accomplish.

I looked into getting a replacement Hitatchi Travelstar to replace the broken hard drive. The campus computer store couldn't order me the Hitatchi for some reason so I settled for a 60 GB Western Digital Scorpio drive. Any 2.5 inch ATA drive that is less than 9.5 mm or .37 inches tall will work. Formatting takes place as you install the OS so most drives will be Mac compatible.

The smallest phillips screw driver that I could find was still way too big for the tiny case screws and internal screws of the Powerbook. I shopped around until I found a set that would work at Radio Shack. The included 1.4 mm screw driver in this set worked perfect for most screws. Some on the hard drive itself were a bit bigger and required a larger screw driver but this set worked perfectly and was fairly cheap.

Note: The pictures further down are pretty graphic Powerbook pr0n. Some are downright disturbing. Marit, you might want to shield your eyes.

The article that I used as a guide in replacing N's hard drive in her Powerbook G4 867 mhz rev A did a pretty good job in outlining the process. There were a few things that I found that he skipped and a few tips that I wanted to point out. This description of the process should be viewed as a supplement to Stefan Horns article entitled PowerBook G4 12in Hard Drive Swap.

Difficulty: This really was a pretty difficult repair and should only be attempted by those who have extensive computer repair experience. I was a bit nervous going in but I have done a lot of computer work and understand the innards of computers and how to not damage them. This will void your Apple warranty. It will void your Apple Care extended warranty.

One tip before we get started. You will be dealing with a large number of very small screws. I find it helps me keep organized if I label a sheet of paper with the location of each screw or set of screws as I remove them. For the logic board screws, I drew a schematic with their relative locations. Do it, it helps and will save you lots of trouble later.

Start by removing the battery. Then remove the four screws on each corner of the memory access plate on the bottom of the Powerbook. Remove the RAM Chip by unclipping the silver clips on each side. It will pop up then you can pull it out easily.

On one side of the RAM chip, you will see a fairly large black screw. Unscrew it and set it aside, labeling it on a sheet of paper. Next up are the three screws on the wall of the battery bay. These are tiny screws, so make sure not to lose them.

Next, remove the F1, F2, F11, and F12 keys by gently prying them up and unclipping them from the board with a small flat screw driver. One side hooks on a clip while the other side has two small knobs that clip into holders. Underneath these keys you will find two more small screws.
The screw under N's F11 key was hidden by a sticker, but it is there. Next, remove the Hex screws found at the top left and right corner of the Powerbooks casing. Using the screw driver, remove the four screws on the rear of the case and the two on each side. The small screws from one side are longer than the other, make a note of their position.

Once you have removed all of the case screws described above, you are ready to remove the keyboard. It flips forward towards you. Be careful because there is a ribbon connected to a pin connector on the logic board. A piece of foil covers the connection. Carefully remove the foil and set it aside. I used the small screw driver to help me pry the connector off the pins.

Once you have the keyboard removed, set it aside

You will notice two more pieces of foil tape that live just under the keyboard Carefully remove these and set them aside. Underneath you will see three more ribbon cables/wires. Pull them out carefully. If you mess this part up, you've bricked your Powerbook or created a costly repair. These steps are a bit like playing Operation. The connectors and pins are set pretty deep and you need a decent pair of needlenose pliers to get to them. Remember as you try to remove these, don't rock back and forth too much and pull by the connector, not the wires/ribbons.

Now you are ready to remove the only obstruction between you and the real guts of the machine, the aluminum plate. There are roughly ten screws which vary in length. Make sure you label which is which.

After removing them, you are ready to pull the plate off. There are plastic clips that keep it in place all around the edges of the machine. I undid them by sliding my fingernail in between the plastic trim and the metal case all the way around. Be careful, it would be easy to break these clips. Now the metal plate is free. Set it aside.

Now, unplug the ribbon cable connecting the hard drive to the logic board. I had a bit of trouble but just work it and rock it a bit. It will slowly dislodge. Now you can remove the two screws labeled here and free the defective/old hard drive from it's home.

Remove the rubber bumpers and the metal bracket along with the ribbon cable from your old hard drive and replace them all on the new hard drive.

Install the hard drive in the reverse way of that which you removed it. The hard part is over and now all you have to do is reassemble the Powerbook in the reverse order from how you disassembled it. Easy!

When you get the Powerbook reassembled you are ready for the moment of truth. Turn it on to find out if you have been successful. I immediately installed 10.4 Tiger. Initially the computer won't recognize the new drive but in the installer the menu bar up top is active and you can get to disk utilities to format the drive in the Mac journaled file system. Then install Tiger or whatever cat you may be working with at this point and enjoy your newly repaired/upgraded Powerbook.

--

For the Googlebot: Powerbook G4 hard drive swap 12 inch 867 mhz rev A

I'm a blanket people.

2006-03-21T19:56:00.000-08:00

The other day N went through an exercise on her blog where she took all the good parts from guys she's gotten 'complicated' with and put them together to form her perfect guy.

She talked about how one of her guys it courteous and opens doors and always makes sure shes comfortable. Another guy she likes for the way they sleep together and his cuddlyness. Another guy has just the sense of humor that she likes. Still another she likes for his intellect and the way he's really smart but not over the top or condesending. Another guy she likes because he is a good lover and very sexy. She would put her perfect guy into this guys body.

I got security. Apparently that's the best part of me. In her words there are no secrets, we get along, and I'm familar. Also, she thinks that I'll do anything for her to help her.

All that about me is true. I'd do anything for her. When I first read that post, I came away a bit sad. You know what it makes me sound like? A blanket. I'm a blanket people. I don't know how I feel about that.

I saw her that night when we cooked dinner. I asked her if she thought of me as a blanket. She said she didn't but asked if I was disappointed in what she wrote. Of course I was but would never admit it. She informed me that she thought I got the best writeup. I'm not sure if I believe that or if that's just what she wanted me to think.

Your thoughts?

the gravity of the situation.

2006-03-21T19:28:00.000-08:00

As is custom at my job, I needed to be in at five to get all the street dates (new movies and music) set before the store opens at eight. I usually try to get in a bit early just to get set up so we don't waste a bunch of time when my specialist gets there at five (or just after).

We also had a visit from the stupid field merchandiser bitch. She's an idiot and although she understands how things should be displayed and merchandised, she is clueless when it comes to technology. Hearing her speak of Blu Ray or HD DVDs makes me want to shoot myself. Moving on. Things needed to be kosher and in tip top shape for her arrival.

I set my alarm for three forty five so I could be at work by four thirty to prep for the street dating action. I got to bed in plenty of time to get a solid five and a half hours of sleep. Not enough but it's the best I could do.

The last thing I can remember from last night was waking up at one forty five to a hellatious storm. It was a big one, thunder, lightining, high winds, the works. Rolling back over I figured I had a few more hours to sleep.

The next thing I knew I woke up, opened my eyes to see light filling my room. I though, hmm, that's strange. I rolled over, still in a sleepy haze to look at the clock. When I saw that it registered seven fifty four, the gravity of the situation didn't exactly hit me. I thought, 'something's not right. hmm. Oh Holy Shit!'

I leapt out of bed. Literally. I was out the door in seven minutes flat. I arrived at work three hours and ten minutes late. I got several looks but no reprimand. I don't know if they even really cared. The street dates got done without me, and the visit was good, the sales floor was green.

Awesome. I stayed late and went without lunch today. It was a long day. I'm off tomorrow which is stellar. I have to go renew my license at the courthouse. I also need to pick the scooter up at the shop. I got the tire fixed and a new brake pad put on today. Mundane stuff in comparison.

Not near enough me time.

2006-03-19T10:46:00.000-08:00

Back to work for me. It seems all I've been doing lately is work, run, sleep, eat. Not near enough me time.

With that, I'll leave you with this little nugget from a dark corner of the internets. I laughed my ass off. I'm sure you will know which one I mean.

A surgical operation

2006-03-17T15:25:00.000-08:00

Work was killer again this week. Hence my absence. I got to work about two ten yesterday afternoon and didn't leave until two thirty this morning. As of this morning when I left, I had clocked forty three and a half hours. I have a full shift tomorrow afternoon/evening so it's pretty likely that I'm going to hit the fifty hour mark again this week. I think I'll buy myself something nice and possibly shiny for my efforts.

I picked up my paycheck today and got some payoff for my hard work. My paycheck was nearly a thousand dollars. Only forty five short. I've never gotten a paycheck that big so it was nice to be rewarded for all my efforts.

I don't think I'm racing in the morning. I'm just going to do the long run before the race then volunteer at the start/finish line and try to help out. I'm trying to save my legs for the 10k next weekend. With the 9.4 mile run scheduled for tomorrow, I'll hit forty for this week. Something I haven't done yet this year. I don't want to over do it and get hurt again.

I just finished working on N's Powerbook. I replaced the failing hard drive. It was a surgical operation that was executed with the precision and ease of a professional. Tiger (10.4) is installing now. I'm sure she'll be happy to get it back when I can get it all set up for her. I'm planning a write up about the hard drive removal/install procedure. Hopefully it will come in handy for someone one day. The guide I found online was good but didn't explain everything in the detail I would have liked going into the operation blind. Hopefully I can expand and improve on that guide a little bit.

Until I can get that done, I'm out.

Striking distance

2006-03-11T18:44:00.000-08:00

This morning was the 5k at the airport. I didn't go into it with many expectations. I generally place in the top ten or close to the top ten in most local races. That's what I was expecting in this race. This race was unique in that it wasn't in town but was out at the airport. It was neat getting to see the entire race course as I surveyed the vast expanse of open area around me. We raced down the (now completed, old satellite photo) 5,300 foot runway, turned onto the taxiway, looped back onto the runway and finished with a half mile straightaway down the taxiway.

My PR in a 5k is 18:16 set at a notoriously fast point to point course about forty minutes from here. I ran 19:05 in December and I was hoping to break the ninteen minute barrier this morning. I needed 6:07 per mile.

The Frog and I warmed up with the one mile kiddie race. We could have taken them all by a solid two minutes but we figured that wouldn't exactly be politically correct. Rather than run through the finish, we ran to a hanger near his car and then picked up my knee brace from my bag.

I didn't exactly eat well Friday night. N and I went to Sonic for Orange Creme Slush's. I ended up getting a foot long chili cheese coney and an order of chili cheese tots with a Coke. Not exactly healthy racing food. At the start, I felt alright but I just wasn't hyped up and ready to lay it on the line.

At the start it took me a few hundred yards to find my groove and ease into my pace. The Frog is a bit faster than me and I know I can't keep up with him. I've come to accept this and I dont' try to hang with him at the start anymore, it just isn't a good racing strategy for me. I let him slide away ahead of me as a guy in an orange shirt jumped way out ahead.

There are always a number of people who go out really fast that you know aren't in racing shape and will fade rather quickly. I knew I didn't have to pay too much attention to most of them, and it's fairly easy to tell who they are.

I decided to slide in behind some guys I was confident would pose a threat later in the race. It was my objective to sit in behind them, keeping them within striking distance until just after two miles.

About half a mile into the race I felt the tell tale loosening in my left shoe. Thinking back to our warmup, I'd told the Frog to make sure I double knotted my shoes when we got back to the start. He did but I suddenly realized that I'd only done the right shoe. In between shoes, I'd gotten distracted with talking and forgotten to double knot and tuck my left shoe. Now I was paying the price, again.

I veered to the left and looked behind me to know that I wasn't going to impede anyone. I reached down and tied my shoe. By the time I was back on my way, I'd lost a good fifteen to twenty seconds. I attempted to come out and make up a decent amount of time quickly.

I passed the one mile mark at 6:37. Roughly thirty seconds slower than I wanted. Ok, so breaking nineteen was now out of the question. I just needed to regain contact with the pair I was originally trailing. I spent the majority of the second mile pursuing and slowly trying to reel the pair back in.

I did a decent job. I was patient and bided my time, not wanting to exert too much effort to catch them only to bonk before the finish. I crossed mile two in 13:17. I was still in good position and feeling strong.

Right at the turn onto the taxiway I was able to make a move. I passed the two with ease. That put me in fifth, up from seventh. They didn't seem to make a move to press on me. I set my sites on the next man in line.

He knew I was on him. He kept looking back, checking on me. I should have taken it as a clue that he was almost spent but I didn't. My pace had quickend heading into the homestreach but I wasn't at a sprint yet.

When I caught him, I could tell he increased his stride rate to try and match me. I listened to his breathing and knew he was closer to the threashold than I was. His breathing was labored and quick.

Setting my sights now on third place with about third of a mile left, I asked him, 'Do you think we can reel him in?' Third place was a solid thirty yards ahead of us. My partner said sure. We quickened. Not ten seconds later when it became clear to me that I could and would catch third, I muttered, "Oh yeah, we've got him.' My partner said, 'You might.'

I knew he was cooked. I plowed on, digging deep. I passed third with just over a tenth left. It was as if he was standing still. He couldn't match me coming in. I finished super strong.

I ran a good race. One that builds. Not one that comes out strong and flames out at the end. It's something that's taken me a while to learn but it's definitely the most successful tactic for me. It's worked well two weeks in a row. Whether it be strategy, endurance or talent, I seem to have more to draw from at the end than most people.

I finished third of one hundred seven. My finishing time was 20:02 not what I was hoping but I'll take it. Considering the shoelace incident at the begining of the race. I did pick off four runners though in the last six tenths. I rose like a phoenix from seventh to third in a matter of minutes. I'm really proud of that accomplishment.

Next weekend I have the Kappa Delta Shamrock Run. Over two hundred co-eds running because they have to. That should be nice to watch.

The week after is the next real race, a world class race that has nearly seen world records recently. The Azalea Trail 10k in Mobile. The Frog and I are registered, hopefully more will be going with us.

As for now, I have to work off this drunkeness so I can run seventeen training miles tomorrow. Goodnight and good luck.

I have commited alcohol abuse.

2006-03-11T16:52:00.000-08:00

It is said that admitting that you have a problem is the first step to recovery. I'm sure you have all heard this anecdote. Well, it's time for me to admit that I have a problem. I have commited alcohol abuse.

This evening after haning out with N for the better part of the afternoon, I went to Kroger to pick up some brews. Since my finanacial standing hasn't allowed me to become a beer snob even though I am one at heart, I chose to make my purchase decision based on a price/ounce comparison of the different offerings of Coor's Light. As usual, I ended up purchasing the eighteen pack of sixteen ounce cans.

I got home, unloaded the truck and was ready to get my drink on. After shoving the case of beer into the fridge for a few minutes to get closer to optimal temperature, I was ready to dig in. Normally, I just rip the top open and dig in but my OCD kicked in and I decided to cut it neatly since I had a razorblade from work handy.

I keep a safety razor in my pocket at work to help with breaking down boxes over the course of the day. I cut three sides and was pleased with my progress. I went to the forth side and after sliding the blade about a quarter of the way through the cardboard, I heard a hiss and saw liquid gold flowing and frothing freely from a silver bullet can.

I thought to myself, 'this can't be happening.' It was. I quickly plugged the hole with my thumb, opened the top and began to guzzle. I downed that sixteen ouncer much quicker than I wanted to. After drying out my box o beer, I was ready to finish my cutting and get my brews back into the fridge for the remainder of the chilling process.

I initiated my final cut when I heard another hiss, 'Oh fuck no, this cant' be happening again.' It was. I did it again. I tried plugging the hole again. I guzzled the next beer quicker than I wanted to and much quicker than I wanted to have two in my system. After all, we have seventeen miles scheduled for tomorrow morning at eight am. I can't drink too much tonight.

By this point, I'd learned my lesson and aI directed the dangerous end of the blade away from my precious holdings. No more beer was harmed.

I've learned my lesson. Next time I'll rip with my blunt hand rather than trying to be cute an fancy with my razor. It's not worth the loss.

A new way to identify my corpse.

2006-03-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

After my Mom wakes up from passing out I think I'll tell her, 'At least you have a new way to identify my corpse if something bad happens to me.' That seems like a good plan.

I was waffling back and forth about whether I wanted to do it. I wanted to do it but I felt like I needed someones permission, someone to say 'this isn't a bad idea, it's ok'. I tried to get that from N but she didn't feel good yesterday and was pretty ill.

I finally decided to go and do it. I got in and we started the prep work. We got his drawing to an appropriate size (even though it still came out a bit bigger than I was wanting). He put it into the transfer machine and it came out.

After some more prep work and a cigarette for him we went back to the tattoo room. He shaved and cleaned my leg/ankle. Then he put the transfer on. I wasn't really happy with how he put it on so we tried it again, adjusting the placement and angle just a bit.

At that point, he got his ink and machines ready and there wasn't any turning back. I wouldn't say it hurt. I have definitely been through much more pain in my life. At first, it's a shock and I had to clench my jaw and squeeze the chair handle with all my might. I read where the first minute is the worst and after a period, you kind of become used to the pain and it isn't so bad. Much like you can walk into a kitchen full of baked goods and it smells great but five minutes later, you can't really smell the baked good anymore.

I found that anecdote to be somewhat true. After a while, it didn't hurt so bad, at least when he was on the meatier parts. When he got close to my ankle bone or the back of my calf where the skin isn't so thick, it really hurt quite a bit. After thirty five minutes or so, he was done with the outline.As I said before, it came out a little bigger than I was anticipating but I think it's still can be hidden with a sock when I need to. When he finished the outline, we took a break. I walked next door to the gas station to get a Mt. Dew and he talked with his family and little boy who'd dropped by for a minute

For the shading, he switched from one needle to a needle with seven tips. So I went from being stabbbed ten times a second to seventy. There were some portions that didn't hurt at all and there were portions where he was going for a deep rich color that hurt like a bitch because the needle was going in so deep. Before I knew it, it was all over and I walked out of there one hundred dollars poorer and bloodier. I'm pleased with it. It leaked juice and ink last night and a good deal this morning after I got up and got moving. I've applied triple antibiotic cream several times now and moved onto lotion. I hope it will heal nicely and quickly. It's kind of uncomfortable and still tender right now. I'm racing tomorrow out at the airport in a 5k. We get to run on the tarmac which should be a blast.
Only a couple of years ago, I was a sedentary fatass. Now I'm a competitive runner. Last weekend I ran a half marathon in about an hour and a half. Something I never thought I'd do or even be able to do. Now I have wings. Running wings. Something to remind me of how I changed my life for the better and became a happier and healthier person.

--

For the Googlebot: runners tattoo wings. runners tattoo. running wings.

Out of touch.

2006-03-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

Realizing that my account was going to overdraw if I didn't take quick and decisive action, I trundled into town in the truck to deposit some cash at the ATM. Being nine thirty on a Friday, downtown was starting to come alive with kids looking for a good time and good company.
I rode by campus and admired the buildings lit up in all their glory.

It occured to me just how out of touch I've become with campus and the college life in general. Putting in my time out at the store leaves me with not much more other than time for running, sleeping and a few other activities. It made me quite sad to realize that I live less than five miles and am less than three months out of school but pretty much already totally out of touch with campus. It almost brought a tear to my eye.

I know I'll look back on these days fondly with memories of house parties, fake IDs and general debauchery.

It is done.

2006-03-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

It is done, or at least half of it. One running/wing tattoo down. Next up, the left leg. You are only young once right? Full writeup forthcoming. I still haven't recieved all the pictures from this past weekends half marathon. That writeup is still forthcoming too. I promise.

Now, your thoughts on the new permanency? My parents are going to shit their pants.

Calling me Matisyahu.

2006-03-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

Some time ago, I think it was right after graduation or Christmas, I decided since I'd probably have to shave my beard when I report to New Jersey in July that I wasn't going to shave it until that point.

My beard is getting pretty impressive. The only problem I've had with my plan so far is that I haven't cut my hair yet either. There are several reasons why. I can do it by myself but the hair on my neck is tricky and I would never get a straight line doing it myself. N has refused to cut my hair for me as she usually does unless I trim my beard along with it. She says I'll look stupid with 1/8 inch hair and an inch and a half beard. She's probably right, but I dont' care.

I'm not trying to win any beauty contests and girls don't pay that much attention to me anyway. The beard is progressing greatly. One of the guys that works for me has even taken to calling me Matisyahu. I'll take it as a compliment even though I'm not a reggae rapping Orthodox Jew. By June, I might be ready to enter the World Beard Championships. The hair is a bit out of control. I needs a trimming.

I'm a low maintenance kind of guy. I haven't combed my hair in years because there has been no need with it as short as it is. Today, I got out of the shower and laid down on the couch to watch Saw II. Normally this isn't a problem.

My hair has reached a length though that if I lay down with wet hair as I did today, I end up with a flat mushed portion on that side of my skull. N wouldn't let me leave the house without a hat when we went to lunch.

I'm getting a haircut tomorrow. The beard is staying as is.

Foiled again.

2006-03-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

Even though I'm now making a decent living wage, I still haven't quite gotten caught up from when I was dead broke in the late fall. Consequently, I have a little disposable income with each paycheck, but most of the check is already spoken for by bills once it is deposited into my account.

I spend a lot of time at the store. Last week, I clocked fifty three hours. In some sense, you could easily equate that to fifty three hours of shopping. Our store is massive and being one of the nicer big box retailers, we have some nice stuff. It's pretty much impossible to go through a day without seeing something and saying, 'Damn, I could use that.'

In mid January, we put out a set in seasonal that featured cool home decor stuff from around the world. There was lots of neat stuff that I could have filled the apartment with if I had wished. I could have decorated an entire apartment from that mini Pier 1 section.

There was a particular lamp that I became enamored with. It would have been perfect to sit by my couch. The only light we have in the living room is the overhead light from the ceiling fan. I hate overhead lighting. I'm more of a lamp, accent lighting kind of guy. Anyway, this lamp would have been perfect.

It was eighty bucks and there wasn't anyway I could or would swing that much for it. All I could do was hope it stuck around until the set went on clearance. Sure enough, the set went to thrity percent off and we still had two. Two weeks later, it went to fifty percent off and we sold one. At fifty percent off it was only forty dollars and I came close to buying it but it was just out of my budget.

I told myself that if it went seventy five percent off, that lamp was mine. So what happens, I come in one morning to find the price change team putting it all to seventy five percent off! My lamp is gone. Fuckers. I found out after some investigation that the lady from recieving/chargeback had plucked it up the night before.

Foiled. And I wanted the lamp so bad. No amount of persuasion would have her give the lamp up.

I've been watching this windbreaker back in the mens clothing section. We actually have a rather nice selection of running gear/active wear by Champion. This windbreaker was no exception.

It was originally twenty five bucks and had gone on clearance to thrity off. Still out of my price range. Then it went to fifty, only twelve forty eight. It was getting close, but I figured, why not wait a few more days and see if it goes to seventy five. I had every intention to buy it.

I went in last night to close and I saw our undercover security guy wearing a very familiar jacket. Fuck. He got to it before me.

Foiled again.

I went back and rummaged around to find another one. Too bad it's a large and I fucking swim in it.

See, being a cheap ass sometimes comes back to bite you in the ass. Is it possible to have too much Lovejoy? In these cases, yes.
--

A race report is upcoming, pending delivery of some pictures.

Six days wasted in shipping.

2006-03-02T16:30:00.000-08:00

Getting N's computer worked on by Apple has been such a hassle this time. I called to get a box dispatched on a Sunday. The box was delivered by DHL to the leasing office on Monday but no one elected to tell me until Thursday. Three days wasted.

I shipped the Powerbook off Thursday and Friday Apple let me know they wouldn't replace the hard drive under AppleCare because the computer was dropped. They wanted four hundred and thirty dollars to work on it. No thank you, that's a third of a new MacBook Pro or the eventual Macbook (aka iBook).

They shipped it back FedEx for some bizarre reason. Tuesday FedEx tries to deliver, no dice, I'm at work. Wednesday, they try again. This morning I put a note on the door to deliver to office. FedEx leaves me a note saying someone at my home address has to sign for it. I call FedEx they won't deliver it to the office until they get a release from Apple. I call Apple after ten minutes of explaining, she calls FedEx. Tomorrow, they are supposed to attempt delivery to me and then to the leasing office.

So far there have been six days wasted in shipping. I would go pick the package but but the pickup office is thirty five miles from here, no way I'm driving thrity five miles to pick up a broken Powerbook.

Once I get the computer back then I get to emark on the task of replacing/upgrading it's hard drive. That's going to be an adventure.

Get my legs under me

2006-03-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

Since I've been getting to bed early enough (between eight fifteen and eight thirty) going in at four this week hasn't been too bad. I've enjoyed working with my team that I've been assigned to. There has been plenty to entertain us and lots of laughter throughout the day. We are making an art out of making fun of our boss. In a teasing, 'but he's really a good guy' kind of way.

I've got the Auburn Classic Half Marathon on Saturday morning. I'm excited to get out and race a longer race. I'm not going to run too hard, just shooting for a time of an hour and forty minutes. I got in eighteen miles early in the week and am taking today and tomorrow off to try and get my legs under me before the race. N has promised to come and take pictures so I'll probably have some to post over the weekend.

When J2 was here last, we talked about my prospective tattoo. He says I shouldn't do it. Being a Navy Boy, he got one several years ago and even though he says he doesn't regret it, he does say he wouldn't do it again. He says I'll feel the same way or worse as well. That worries me a bit because I do have some part of me that thinks he is right. That's his Navy Boy tattoo on the left.

I've been by the tattoo parlor several times and have been working with an artist to get a design worked up. He finished it last week and I like it alot. I'm going to want it downscaled to eighty five or so percent of it's current size but overall I like what he came up with. N really seems to like it as well as P when I took him by to see it.

I get paid tomorrow but all that money is reserved for bills so, I'll have to wait another two weeks until I'll have enough cash to go by and get some work done on it. This might be the last chance for public comment on it so please let me know what you think. I know I'm not doing it for anyone else but myself but I still like input, so comment away.

Bequeath the winnings

2006-02-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

As you might have figured out by now, I'm a pretty big Lawrence Arms fan. Well, over at Punknews.org, they are running a contest where you can win original lyrics sheets from the new album Oh! Calcutta! I've already entered but as it stands I can't enter anymore. If any of you out there in internets land have a heart, you might consider going over to the contest entry page and entering on my behalf. If you win you could just bequeath the winnings to me since they probably wouldn't mean too much to you, unless by chance you are a fan too.

I've also become quite enamored with this whole idea of including Google Video in the blog. Well, it looks like I can't include this video in a post, but here is a Lawrence Arms video for your viewing pleasure.

Turkey Gobblin

2006-02-27T18:39:00.000-08:00

I'm working the semi graveyard shift again this week. Lucky me. They even decided to schedule me six days and forty eight hours this week. I'm so excited. I really wish they had at least asked before they just assumed I'd do it.

I'm going in at four tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. All before my big half marathon that I have on Saturday morning. I hope I'll have my legs under me by then.

I guess what I'm saying is that things might be a little quiet around here for the second week in a row. Sorry.

I'll leave you with this. This is from the last time I went home with N. It's quite embarassing but I figured you'd get a kick out of seeing my wierdness first hand and no I'm not actually that Southern. Turkey Gobblin for your viewing pleasure.

a punk rock show

2006-02-26T19:11:00.000-08:00

Working those weird early morning shifts last week pretty much wore me out. I went in at five Tuesday, four Wednesday, and three Thursday. Luckily, I've had the last three days off to recover. I'm just now feeling back to normal.

Friday was pretty much a recover from work day and get ready for the finale to the Week of Rock. N's brother, P, got into town and I had lunch with he and N. Then after coming back here and packing, we were ready to hit the road for the short trip up to Atlanta. We got to our destination and checked into the hotel we'd be sleeping in.

When choosing hotels our only criteria was that it needed to be within walking distance of the venue. There were several hotels that fit the bill. One was a Holiday Inn Express, one was The Stratford. There was a forty dollar difference in price. We chose price over comfort/safety/amenities. Twenty bucks each is a lot of beer to leave on the table if you have the option.

The reviews (1, 2) made it seem much worse than it actually was. Sure, it wasn't in a very good area but the rooms were behind security doors and there was an iron fence around the place. After checking in and seeing the sparse (it reminded P of his efficiency apartment from college), we headed down to The Varsity for a chili dog dinner. If you are ever in Atlanta and haven't been to the Varsity, shame on you. Do it, you won't regret it.

We drove back to the hotel and put P's new Passat in the safest looking parking space we could find and began to hoof it down to the venue. Passing a gas station, I remembered we wanted to take a chance at the two hundred and twelve dollar jackpot the Mega Millions game was promising. I put down two for the cash option to the teller behind the two inch thick glass who was studying the absorption rate of oxygen by the lungs per breath cycle. Yeah, I thought it strange too.

Realizing that this was probably our best chance to buy cheap beer before getting ass raped for beer at the venue, I procured a twenty two ounce Steel Reserve. Since we were headed to a punk rock show in it's truest sense, I thought it appropriate to go for a higher Oz/%/price quotient and leave taste out of my decision making process all together.

I thought my brew would run me at least two dollars but I was pleasantly surprised when the clerk only wanted a dollar twenty nine. I forked over the change and was issued a plastic bag. P, tending to stay on the legal side of the street on most occasions decided not to take part in the gas station beerfest. When we got outside, I decided the only appropriate thing to do was to chug as fast as I could. My goal of one minute wasn't met and with about half my can left we decided to walk on to the venue. As we rounded the corner, I was informed by a man in a lemon yellow suit accompanied by a lemon yellow Ford Thunderbird that I was violating the ordinance and needed to leave the premises if I wanted to continue consuming my beverage.

We did. We got in line with all the other punkers and wanna be punkers. We waited the half hour until the doors were scheduled to open, then we waited some more. In that time, I seriously contemplated walking back to the gas station to procure more liquid goodness but decided against it.

We got into the show and waited for the first band to come on. They pretty much sucked. The lead singer looked like a frat boy and was trying to be ironic but just came across and an untalented ass. They aren't even worth mentioning anymore.

The three bands that we were there to see were The Loved Ones, The Lawrence Arms, and NOFX. The Loved Ones are an up and coming band that coalesced out of a few defunct Philadelphia bands. They were pretty good Sunday in Birmingham and they were good in Atlanta. I can't say that their album is a must have, but it's pretty good and it will at least go in my rotation.

P is all about some Lawrence Arms. They are pretty much his favorite band, bred for their skills in songwriting and rocking. Since I've known we were going to this show, I've been giving them a lot of listening and they have slowly crept up the list to be among my favorite bands. They are that good. We have been eagerly anticipating their new album, and checking their myspace page every day to hear the newest tracks. Last Sunday they mentioned they had their album for sale upstairs, a full two weeks in advance. P jumped at it and has been rocking out to it all week. I've just been rocking to their older stuff.

When we saw them Sunday, we were able to introduce ourselves and say hi to each member of the band. It was pretty awesome. How often have you gotten to meet your favorite rock stars and actually have a conversation with them? Me, on numerous occasions. Ha!

We got to talk to Neil Hennesey at length. He's a damn cool guy and took time to answer all our fanboy questions about The Lawrence Arms and he and Brenden Kelly's side project The Falcon, which P and I are also enamored with. At the end of the show Sunday in Birmingham, I asked him for the setlist but unfortunately, someone had already swiped it.

We saw him hanging out at the merch booth on Friday and went over to say hi again. Amazingly, he recognized us. We talked some more and asked more questions about The Falcon's upcoming full length. Apparently it's all recorded and just needs to be mixed when they get back from tour. Neil said that at this point they don't have a label to put it out on but they were going to talk to Fat Mike and Fat Wreck Chords as well as Brett Gurewitz and Epitaph. If all goes well, he seems to think that it will be out by summer. I've got my fingers crossed. One other thing of note, since it's a side project they can pretty much do whatever they are feeling at the moment, he said they put some Ska on the new record. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but we'll see all in due time.

When I asked him what it was like touring with NOFX, he told me that it was pretty much what you would expect it to be and more. A nonstop party. "We were in Ft. Lauderdale the other night driving around at one thirty in the morning looking for a strip club because Fat Mike wanted to find two strippers to bang out."

I got down in the pit starting with The Loved Ones. It was a stellar time. Plenty of room to dance and jump around and rock out. The crowd was into them but since they are so new to the scene and their full length has only been out a week, I'm not sure if everyone was familiar with them.

Things started to get crazy when The Lawrence Arms came on. Brenden and Chris the singers both had shirts that said, 'He likes the cock' with hands pointing at the other guy. It was pretty funny. They put on a great show and it was much better than the show in Birmingham mostly because the crowd was so much more into it. P who is a much calmer and less outgoing guy than I even got into it. We stayed in the pit most of the time. I know I hit the ground several times. I even got him up on top for his first crowd surfing experience. I went up and over twice.

I left the pit during the last song so that I could go around to the side of the stage to try and get the set list that Neil had promised me. Sure enough, true to his word he brought it over. That meant a lot to me.

After the set, we went back to the bar too cool off. At this point, I was shirtless, drunk, bruised and fatigue was setting in. P tracked down Brenden and got to have a conversation with him which made his day. He even told P that he looked like the drummer's brother from the Broadway's a band he used to play in. It was my round to buy so I ordered, 'Two PBR's for us and a Jim Beam and water for the rock star.'

NOFX came on. They were good but they played a lot of stuff I wasn't familiar with. I was actually kind of disappointed. I recognized probably five out of the twenty or so that they played. I think this quote P overheard in the bathroom sums it up. "I'm not sure about seeing NOFX, I think they are passed their prime. The fucking band is older than I am." I heard they suck live and while I wouldn't say they sucked, I would say it could have been better.

Some hippie kid who looked a lot like Jesus lost his shoe near me. I helped him find it. When I gave it back to him he was super stoked. He kept thanking me. I just kept telling him 'Dude, it's cool, don't worry about it.'

Then I lost my watch. I told some kid during a songbreak. He found it shortly there after. The hippie kid with the shoe insisted it was good Karma. I think so too. I'm glad I found my watch, it was a highschool graduation present. All it needs is a new pin and it will be wearable again.

After the show, P and I walked back to the hotel where we passed out. When I woke up, I had a busted lip, a cut forehead, nine bruises and no hangover. What an awesome night. Week of Rock concluded. It rocked to it's fullest maximum potential. Success. Now, it's back to the grind of punching the timeclock.

Thought I'd share

2006-02-23T13:56:00.000-08:00

I'm spent and am going to try to recover before the big NOFX/The Lawrence Arms/ The Loved Ones show tomorrow in Atlanta. Here are a few pictures I found today and thought I'd share.

Wearing on me.

2006-02-22T17:28:00.000-08:00

The week of rock is continuing at full throttle. I've been working third shift this week and it is really wearing on me. That's why I haven't been coming around lately. I'll try to get caught up on Saturday.

I did however still have time to do this.

2006-02-20T18:51:00.000-08:00

I made it to the show last night and boy was it worth it, but more on that later.

I put in a full day today and have to be back at work tomorrow at five so I don't have a lot of time to write. I did however still have time to do this.

As it stands, I continue my personal campaign against Scoble and his idiocy. Robert, I know your reading...

Not Valid.

2006-02-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

J2, aka Navy Boy, dropped by on his way home Friday night. When I was home at Christmas, I picked up some of the nectar of life for him with the promise that he would come to visit and pick it up.

What I meant by that was that he would come and stay a weekend. Well, there must have been some miscommunication because he took it to mean, that he could drop by and pick it up and be on his way.

Sure enough, he dropped by, picked up his Carolina Blonde, ate some killer spaghetti that I cooked him and was out the door. At least he had a good excuse, it was his Mom's birthday and he wanted to see her. Ok, I can live with that.

N's brother and I are meeting in Birmingham this evening to see The Lawrence Arms and The Loved Ones. It should be a fun show and it's only seven bucks to get in the door. While J2 was here on Friday, and I found out he didn't have to be back at work till Tuesday, I had the brilliant idea that he could come over this afternoon, go to the show with us and head back to the ship tomorrow morning.

He sounded into the idea of going to the show but pulled out some lame excuse about not wanting to do that much driving. I tried to explain to him that it wasn't really any more because he practically had to come back this way on his way back to the ship anyway. He continued to sidestep actually commiting to coming back and going to the show.

So, I decided to hold one of his six packs for ransom. Basically I told him he could take what was left of the sixer we were working on but he couldn't have the other one until he came back Sunday to go to the show. He didn't like that too much.

When he was ready to leave we went round and round about whether he would come back with him begging for the beer so he could be on his way and me begging him to come back and go to the show.

I eventually caved, knowing he probably wouldn't come back. But I did make me promise that if he indeed didn't come back that he would have to have a real, valid excuse to not come.

This morning his excuse was that he wanted to see his Mom more and he had some stuff to do around his house and that he's a pussy and didn't want to drive anymore. Not valid. At this point I'm a little miffed that he didn't come back. I really wanted him to go to the show with me tonight. It's going to be a blast, but a lot less so since he won't be there.

Lindsey Jacobellis, what the fuck was that?

2006-02-17T19:49:00.000-08:00

Lindsey Jacobellis, what the fuck was that? Ok, so you have a commanding lead going into the last two straight air jumps and you are going to showboat by throwing a fucking tweaked out Method?

This is a prime example of what the rest of the world points at when they talk of 'typical American Arrogance'. Thanks Lindsey. The rest of the world was watching you come down that hill for a fucking Gold medal and you showboat your way to a silver. I'm not quite sure you deserve even that.

Kids, when your coach tells you never to give up, listen. That Swiss girl, Tanja Frieden, is living proof that some asshole will eventually embarrass themselves and you can ride to glory.

Great job Lindsey.

Update: I just listened to her post race interview. That is such fucking bullshit. Don't lie to the fucking camera and the rest of us. She claimed to be only grabbing to 'stabilize' herself. Bullshit. Her semi final grab was an Indy grab which is a traditional stabilizing grab. She was showboating and she got hers due to it. Fess up, be a woman, don't try to lie it off....

Here comes another interview... Recation forthcoming...

There is nothing like your performance being called, "one of the greatest sporting gaffes of all time" by none other than Jimmy Roberts and "there is not parallel in sports" by Bob Costas. She's gotta feel like such a piece of shit. I know I would.

Live blogging the interview:
Quit trying to deny it. Face up to it. Frustration isn't the feeling one would get upon that fall. I think 'oh fuck' is what she thought. She says she has no regrets. Let's ask her in twenty years when she is a nobody, She'll regret it...

I'm racing tomorrow so I need some sleep. I guarantee that I won't showboat it across the line tomorrow morning.

I find myself randomly yelling Yep! and Hard, Hard! occasionally.

2006-02-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

As it turns out, I'm not the only one who thinks that the US Women's Curling Team are a bunch of hotties. Looking at server logs and referrers (yes, again) it seems as though I'm the top result on Yahoo! for 'Johnson twins curling'. I've had serveral people stumble across my last post detailing my affection for the girls. Somebody out there even seems to think they have done some swimsuit modeling judging from the keywords they were using. A guy could only wish.

They have even gotten me so into the sport that I find myself randomly yelling Yep! and Hard, Hard! occasionally. Not really but it's a funny thought.

On NBC's Olympic site I saw a family album of the Johnsons and towards the end there are pictures of the twins with college age guys. How disappointing. But, I'm not sure I ever thought such catches would be single anyway. I Facebooked them and couldn't find them at their school, so I guess I'll just have to keep watching.

Off to work now. I'll be missing the primetime broadcast again tonight for the second night in a row. It's days like this that I wish the Tivo wasn't over at N's house. Damn.

Five days of hard labor trail maintaining.

2006-02-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

This morning I applied to be on the Brush Busters Trail Crew that will maintain some of the most remote portions of the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. The section that I applied for runs from July 3 to July 8. From what I understand, you meet up with a group and head out onto the trail for five days of hard labor trail maintaining.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy provides all of the gear you need, pretty much you just have to show up and be ready and willing to work. That I am.

As my plans stand right now. I have to be out of my apartment on June 30. I plan to leave my job with the big box retailer a few days before. Ideally, the shipping company I'm going to work for will pick my stuff up on June 30 and put it into storage until I start with them. I don't have to report to New Jersey until July 17th, so I have almost two weeks to play and have some time off before my wear a suit - shave my beard - working for the man job starts. Some of that time I plan to spend on the trail. Hopefully with this trail maintaining group. If not with them, I may be attempting another solo section hike.

brrreeeport

2006-02-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

Scoble's a brrreeeport.

Our Women's Curling team is hot.

2006-02-14T15:42:00.000-08:00

Has anyone else noticed that a substantial portion of our Women's Curling team is hot. There are two twins, the Johnson sisters, on the team and they are pretty damn cute. I've never wanted to watch curling before in my life and in fact as I watch it right now, I don't even know how points are scored exactly. I do know though that those twins are gorgeous. The Japanese girls aren't too bad either.

I also went to the tattoo place today and got hooked up with an artist. He will be drawing something up and I'm going to go by Thursday and take a look at it.

I love the Olympics

2006-02-13T18:57:00.000-08:00

GodDamn (Been dropping that way too often lately) I love the Olympics. I'll be back when life settles down and their aren't so many demands on my time. Go US.

I'm kind of a big deal

2006-02-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

I don't know how to say this, but I'm kind of a big deal. Via the Malleable Truth.

A pretty big part of my life

2006-02-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

I've always considered getting a tattoo, I just haven't found anything that I've liked enough to want to permanently ink myself. Also the fact that I'm going to be a suit and work for the man pretty much precludes anything being anywhere that I can't hide it. It's not exactly possible to walk into a business meeting with a bunch of Danes and have 'Thug 4 Life' tattooed on your neck.

The end of next month will mark one year since I started running. Since that time, it's become a pretty big part of my life. I'm running at least five days a week, shooting for the twelve hundred mile club and I have a full racing schedule this spring.

In honor of my transformation from sedentary fatass to fit runner, I've been thinking of getting a running tattoo. How exactly I want to do this is still up for debabte and I'd like your input.

Both Google and Yahoo turn up suprisingly little when using keywords such as 'runners tattoo', 'running tattoo', 'marathon tattoo'. Here is what I've found though:

This is one that I've found. I like it but if I get a runner like this I'm not sure that I want him on my ankle. N and I have pretty much decided that tattoos like this look fratastic and are not for me. I'm thinking of this guy or some variation on the back of my calf.

I don't know that I really like this one but the idea of it is pretty cool. I think this is on the back of this guys calf. I don't know that I'd go with one this big and I don't think I'd put a date and or a time but as and example I think it has some merit.

I think this is the concept that I like the most. I've been searching for a shoe or shoes with wings but I can't seem to find anything I really like. I did come across this persons tattoo. I don't really think there could be anything to say 'I'm a Runner' more than wings tattooed to your ankles. The thing about this is that in order for it to look right, I'd need to get one on each ankle. I'm not sure that I like All the colors, but I think I could get the artist to design something that would be more agreeable for me.

I think the running theme is something that has become enough of a part of my life that I think I feel comfortable immortalizing it on my skin. I know it's easy to say this now but at this point other than injury, I don't know why I'd ever stop running. I know life happens and people quit the things they love all the time but right now it does mean a lot to me.

So, what do you think? What do you think of tattoos in general? Ultimatly it is a personal decision but your input does mean something to me so please comment. What do you think of these possibles? What other input or advice do you have? Thanks in advance for your input.

Get invited backstage

2006-02-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I like about my job so far has been the ability to essentially make my schedule. It seems like other than having to work five days a week, they are pretty flexible about when I actually need to be there.

For example, I've already requested off several weekends when I have travel schedule. I've already requested off several days when I know I'll be racing. All my requests have been approved no questions asked.

N's been planning to go home this weekend for some time. It just so happens that I ended up with the weekend off, so I'll be joining her. I'm excited because I haven't been home with her in a long time. Off the top of my head, I can't think of the last time I was home with her. It was sometime during the fall, I think August or September. It's always nice to get out of town for a weekend once a month or so, just so I don't get in a rut. I'm sure I'll end up eating way too much this weekend but such is the price you pay when you visit Greeks. The food is just oh so good.

I was pretty bummed when I didn't get to catch the Boys Night Out/Armor for Sleep show in Atlanta last week. N's brother and I have plans to see The Lawrence Arms and NOFX in Atlanta at the end of the month. It's going to be a boys weekend out. We are going to meet at the show on Friday, party our asses off, get beat up in the pit and sack out at a hotel before returning to our respective corners of Alabama on Saturday.

The Lawrence Arms and Brendan Kelly is N's brothers favorite band and they have a new album coming out soon. He is actually all about some Brendan Kelly all the way from The Broadways to The Falcon. Looking around their website, I found out that they are going to be in Birmingham on the 19th. They are playing at a small place that sounds pretty much like someones basement with a PA. We are going.

We are going to see them two times in a week. In all probibility, it should top out as the best week ever. The plan is to go to the show on the 19th, try to meet the band and tell them we are coming to Atlanta on the 24th to see them. Maybe if we aren't too big of dorks we could make friends and get invited backstage or get to party with them. I doubt it but stranger things have happened.

Now, what am I going to wear?

Massive vase overboard

2006-02-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

I'm not your typical college age person when it comes to keeping my home/apartment. I have a very grown up sensibility. I keep my room and the rest of the apartment very clean. Some say I'm anal rententive or OCD about it but I'm not. I just appreciate the value of a clean and organized home.

Roommate and I have been living in our current apartment for two and a half years. When we moved in, I was determined to make it nice and not the typical college guys apartment you with neon beer signs, a collection of beer bottles and posters of swimsuit models on the walls. My roommates had other ideas. They eventually overrulled me. Damn them.

As a house warming present, N bought me/us a huge arrangement of decorative bamboo and a really cool vase to keep it in. She spent over a hundred dollars on this for us.

For about a year, it stayed just where you see it in the above picture, on top of the entertainment center. At some point though, tensions between my slobbish roommates and I became strained to say the least. For what ever reason, my roommate started moving the bamboo over to the other side of the apartment on top of another piece of furniture.

I took exception to this for several reasons. Primarily, I didn't want him moving my shit and rearranging stuff without at least telling me. Secondly, I didn't want the bamboo on the other side of the apartment where it would get too little light.

We went back and forth for several days. I would come home to find the bamboo moved. I would move it back. It would happen again... Eventually, we got into a huge argument over it. Tempers flaired, voices were raised. Basically, we had a shouting match about all of the unspoken things we had been fuming over for months.

At some point during the conversation, N got up from the recliner where she was watching this event unfold and picked up the bamboo. She calmly walked out onto the balcony as roommate and I continued to shout. Suddenly, I heard an enormous shattering sound and I looked out on the deck to see that N had in fact tossed the bamboo along with the massive vase overboard and into the parking lot fifteen feet below. It was an amazing way to make a statement. I was flabbergasted and it took several minutes to get my jaw up off my chest.

She came in, told my roommate off in very specific terms only a sailor would use and promptly left. That pretty much ended the argument between my roommate and I.

I was able to salvage about half the bamboo from the original setup. I kept it as pieces slowly died. Today, a year and a half later, I threw out the last pieces. Of the three I still had, two died and started to rot. It didn't seem worthwhile to keep a single piece.

I really liked my bamboo. When I get settled somewhere, wherever that may be, I'll probably invest in some more.

Since it was on campus there was no alcohol involved.

2006-02-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

Auburn celebrated it's 150th Birthday yesterday evening with a big block party bash/fireworks. Since it was on campus there was no alcohol involved. Dissappointing I know... I sure was. Here is the photographic evidence to prove it was there. It was cold, I should have taken gloves.

Miller Lite Girls.

2006-02-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

I'm off tomorrow, so I've spent the evening drinking beer and watching football. My normal modus operandi is: football, football football: commercial= bathroom, new beer, email.

I tell you it's really hard to break the habit and sit during commercials. That means breaks during the game, which other than a passing interest, I don't care too much about.

My roommate has been dating a girl for a few months and he has been somewhat into her. You might recall, I had some concerns about him and his drinking/dating habits a while back. Lately, he's been going out without her a bit but still being true.

Last weekend he told me how he was at the bar with his buddy and pretty much could have gone home with one of the Miller Lite Girls. He didn't because he's been trying to be a good guy lately and tryinig to be true because as I said, he was into his girlfriend.

That all ended tonight. He left without a word and I'm sure he is on a bender and there is a good chance he will come home or go home with a strange girl in the next two nights.

What a good Guy.

Enough with the server logs already.

2006-02-02T20:05:00.000-08:00

I know what you are thinking, enough with the server logs already. I'm sorry, I can't help it. I'm a geek and I analyze these things.

Haley Center is the tallest building on campus and I'm pretty sure the tallest building in the county. I've often thought about how if you were the type of person who was thinking about killing themselves, jumping off the upper deck of the stadium or the ninth floor of Haley Center would be a spectacularly public way to go.

Well, it turns out that someone else out there might have had some of the same thoughts. Using the search terms 'jump "haley center"' someone found me via Google. I wonder about their motivation. Are they thinking of jumping from Haley Center and ending it all? Are they just wondering if anyone else has done it? A Google search is inconclusive. Their IP originated in Virginia so, I'm guessing they were just doing research. But you never know. I'll let you know if we have any jumpers in the next few weeks.

It's really interesting (at least to me) to analyze how and why people find Backside 180. Now, back to your regularly scheduled life.

In bullet form

2006-02-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

I know that I need to blog, you deserve it. It's quite shameless since I have in fact, had the entire afternoon to work up a post but have devised nothing. Maybe it's the burnout from working ten days straight. I'm pretty sure thats it actually. Tomorrow on the eleventh day, I might just explode. I think I'll do this post in bullet form:

I backed into my neighbors Land Rover. It didn't do much damage just take some paint off the bumper guard. It's a pretty shitty truck and has been parked in the same spot for months. I don't know where the neighbor lives or how to get in touch with him.
I've tried to clean up all the evidence so maybe I can get away with it if I can't contact him.
I need a day off.
I can't find anyone to go to Atlanta tomorrow with me.
Consequently, I don't get to go to the show that I was planning on
Good rock comes out of Finland. See Hanoi Rocks and HIM for examples.
I get my paycheck tomorrow and it's already spent.

That's pretty much all I can muster at the moment. Maybe I'll have some original content that's actually interesting in a few days.

Trending downwards once again.

2006-01-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

My visits are trending downwards once again. Ahh, a return to normalcy. Being lost in a corner of the internet is highly underrated.

Let me explain.

2006-01-29T08:25:00.000-08:00

I tried to do something really, really stupid this morning. Let me explain. Yesterday when I went into work, I looked at the ad which runs from today until next Saturday evening. On the front page, we a 32 inch Magnavox LCD (HDTV Ready) tv on sale for $898. It's normally $1299. Even better, they are throwing a free Tivo when you buy the tv.

I calculated it out and with my team member discount along with the ten percent you get for opening a credit card, I could have walked out the door for about $791. That's an absolute steal. The tv is really a nice tv and has gotten stellar reviews all across the web. I will be buying a Tivo at some point so I that only sweetened the deal.

I thought about it all evening trying to talk myself into it. When I did that, I spend the next while trying to talk myself out of it. By morning, I'd talked myself into it so I loaded up and headed to work to go pick up my new TV and Tivo.

I've been promising myself that this year would be spent paying down my debt, not increasing it. With an actual income this year, I figured I could pay off some of my stupid college debt. I promised myself I wouldn't make any major (i.e. TV, Laptop, Motorcycle) purchases this year in an attempt to get some of my debt paid down. With that in mind, I headed off to get myself eight hundred dollars deeper in debt.

When I got to work and put in my application, I was approved but only for a house card and not the Visa that I wanted. They gave me a five hundred dollar credit limit. That wasn't going to cut it so, I called trying to talk them into bumping my limit up a few hundred dollars. I wasn't successful so I immediately closed the account and walked out the door downtrodden.

I came home without a tv and without a free Tivo but I didn't come home any deeper in debt either. I wish I'd gotten the tv, but I know it's probably better that I didn't I mean I already have a functional tv and there is no real reason to replace it except for the fact that LCDs are so sexy and my current CRT isn't so sexy.

Oh well.

My Calendar

2006-01-28T11:44:00.000-08:00

Here are the races that I have on my calendar as of right now:

February 17 - Love Your Heart 10k, Auburn
March 4 - Auburn Classic Half Marathon, Auburn*
March 11 - Heros Take Flight 5k, Auburn
March 25 - Azalea Trail Run 10k, Mobile

*Indicates probable.

That's the races I'm planning on for the next few months. I don't know that I'll actually end up 'racing' them and going for PRs but I'll be entering them for the fun and tshirt. The Azalea Trail Run is a world class event drawing top runners from around the world. In fact, a Kenyan was only two seconds off a world record some years back. It should be a blast.

I guess I'm still immature

2006-01-27T19:52:00.000-08:00

This might be scattered and a little bit of everywhere. As my Dad would like to call it, in his corporate jargon, a 'brain dump'. I guess I'm still immature, I think of different things than he wants me to when he says brain dumb. It makes me chuckle.

My videos finally went live on Google Video. I had to resubmit them. For whatever reason, there was some sort of issue, maybe they got lost in the que. At anyrate, I resubmitted them and they all went live. I was worried that some might not conform to the terms and conditions and would be turned down but everythings fine. I'll probably muster up the courage to link to them soon for your viewing pleasure.

I'm still seeing the effects of the big Digg. The aftershocks are consequently smaller but I can still see my story traveling around the internet when I look at my logs.

Speaking of server logs, you might remember this story that I linked to, you know the one where Michael S. Rosenwald posits that America has to be fat. Well, I have the sneaking suspicision that ol Mike was checking out what the blogs were saying about him and he might have stumbled upon my writeup and link to Jeremy Zawodny. It might all be coincedence, but I like to have my theory, so follow me for a minute.

Take a look at this visitor and how they arrived at Backside 180, then the articles they viewed:

Note the area that the IP originates from. If you guessed that Silver Spring, Maryland was 'within the beltway', as they like to say on Sunday morning political shows, you'd be dead on. My guess is that either there is another person in the world who thinks that Mr. Rosenwald is an idiot and they just happen to live in the same city that the paper that published his article or it's him, checking up on himself and what the blogs are saying about him.

Well, if you happen to see this post Mr. Rosenwald. I still think you're an idiot, but it's nothing personal. I'm sure you can't help it.

Work went good this week although I feel as though I'm being thrown to the wolves a bit. I haven't gotten as much one on one time with my exec/boss as I'd want but it's still going ok. I've got some travel/racing plans for the spring and I've turned in requests off which have all been promptly approved. It just so happens that I'm off next Friday night and there is a show in Atlanta that I think I'll attend.

I missed Armor for Sleep at the Warped Tour this summer so I'm going to try to catch them next Friday. They are playing with Boys Night Out whom I did see at Warped Tour and they were mighty good, except for some assholes in the pit. Hopefully this show will be better, I'm already getting stoked and it's still a week out.

Running has gone well this week. I've taken it down a few notches and am trying to do it just for the enjoyment and not race myself everyday. That's how I got injured and now that I'm somewhat ok, (knock on wood) I don't want to reinjure myself by going out too hard. After tomorrow morning, I'll have put in ~25 miles which is on pace for my 1200 mile goal. I'll still be behind at the end of January but I can catch up over the next eleven months.

I'm ready to sleep now so, I'm done.

Michael Rosenwald is an idiot.

2006-01-23T14:28:00.000-08:00

Jeremy Zawodny of Yahoo! fame read an article that appeared in the Washington Post entitled, "Why America Has to be Fat." He does a good job of detailing why the writer and self admitted fatass Michael Rosenwald is an idiot.

I'm not going to say any more than go read what Jeremy says it's insightful and he does a better job than I would probably do. That article and Jeremy's analysis pretty much sums up why I have no sympathy for fat people any more, even though I like him used to be one.

Three posts inside of an hour and a half, that might be some sort of record for me.

There is just something about it.

2006-01-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

I got ahold of a George Winston album from my parents at Christmas. It's called December. They played it most days and I was so enthralled with most of it that I ripped it. For whatever reason Variations on the Kanon by Pachelbel is my favorite song right now. There is just something about it. I found some other versions of the song online and they are not near as enrapturing. Strange.

"How the hell did you go from my solo comments to 70?"

2006-01-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

Schmims' question was probably the most appropriate. "How the hell did you go from my solo comments to 70?"

Sitting in that hotel room, I obviously didn't have much to do. One night, I was thinking about how much I liked working on N's Powerbook and how I was ready to make the switch and leave Windows behind forever. I started writing and what you read is the end result. The article in and of itself wasn't what was responsible for the seventy some odd comments, Digg was. I submitted an older article to digg back in the spring but it didn't go anywhere. It only got nine diggs and never made it out of the mass of stories.

On a whim and because I thought my article was decent, I decided to submit this one to digg as well. I submitted it about six that evening and the diggs started to pour in. When I went to bed, it had eleven diggs, little did I know what I'd wake up to.

Backside 180 doesn't get much traffic. I get ten or fifteen hits a day, not a whole lot. That's fine with me. I don't really do it for glory, more to entertain myself and to leave a written record of my life.

When I woke up the next morning, I got a text message from brother saying that I'd gone front page on digg. I was super stoked. I logged on to see that I'd already gotten over two hundred diggs and lots of comments on the blog as well as on digg. Go here to see my articles digg page and read the comments there. Far and away, the comments on digg are from haters. For one reason or another the mostly believed several things. 1) I'm a Mac zelot. 2) I'm an idiot and have no idea what I'm talking about. 3) Somehow I'm gay. 4) The story didn't belong on digg. 5) Some combination of the above. On Backside 180 though, most of the comments were positive. I attribute this to the diggers being trolls who mostly didn't read the article and the blog commenters to people who actually read/digested what I had to say.

I think this was my favorite comment:

I hope you got paid well for this advertisement -because in my eyes your integrity is shot!

Your use of the language..your word choice and sentence structure have definelty been through a marketing machine!

I like to think of it as some vindication of my education. All those Marketing classes sunk in and I learned something! People, I'm a Marketing Machine!

Most of the comments were pretty entertaining to read. It would have been fun to get on and fan the flames, but I stayed away. It wasn't worth the shouting match that would have ensued.

Here is what happened with my traffic levels. Here is a graph that tracks my hits for the last nine days.
Pretty crazy. I don't think I've had an over one hundred hit day and last Thursday, I just missed thirteen thousand. A Boy and A Powerbook eventually recieved seven hundred thrity two digs, one hundred nineteen comments on digg and seventy on Backside 180. Traffic is returning to normal. Hits have been high since going front page on digg, but they are mostly residual hits from Del.icio.us and other places that have linked to the post. I will say thanks to anyone who enjoyed it enough to link back to me. That was pretty fun. I doubt I picked up too many more readers, especially when they read the next several posts and see I'm more of a life blogger than a tech blogger.

I was disappointed in one aspect of the sitation though. I deliberately mentioned Scoble and threw phrases such as Microsoft Sucks, Vista slips and other incendiary phrases hoping to get his attention. I was looking for a link and a response from him. I even took a jab at his son who recieved a free iBook hoping to raise his hackels. It didn't seem to work. I don't even know if he saw the article.

So, that my friends is how you go from mostly no or solitary comments to over seventy. You get dugg.

The Switch. A Boy and a Powerbook.

2006-01-18T16:15:00.000-08:00

I remember it pretty clearly. N's windows HP box was having some serious issues. Even a low level reformat couldn't help that thing. She decided she wanted a new computer. She decided she wanted a notebook. We went to Best Buy, we checked out what they had. She liked some of the smaller Sony's. I speced out a few Dell notebooks. Then, after a trip to the bookstore, she decided she wanted a Mac. Why, mostly because she liked the design. She's a girl and she makes purchase decisions based on factors such as cuteness and design not technical specs.

I didn't want her to get a Mac. I didn't know much about them. I didn't want her to shell out that much for a Powerbook not even knowing if she would like it or learn it. She had her heart set on it and eventually ordered a 12 inch 867 Mhz Powerbook. We went to see my family in Washington and when we got back to school, it had arrived. She pretty much loved it immediately.

I did too. Once I figured things out and had some time to play around with it, I began to learn my way around the operating system and get out my my Windows centric paradigm. Months later, I would ask her why she loved her Pbook (our affectionate name) so. Her reply, "It makes sense. I hated my Windows computer, I was always screaming at it, the Pbook just makes sense to me." It was true, other than one incident when we deleted programs out of the dock and off the hard drive (a bug that's been fixed), she never screamed at it. She customized the theme the way she loves to do. We made iMovies, we used iPhoto to easily catalog and edit our digital pictures. No camera drivers needed! It's all so effortless. No searching for good spyware/virus free software. No downloading of crappy buggy software, no missing DLLs.

I've convinced her to upgrade each time to the next OSX. It keeps getting better and more refined from my point of view to her, it just works. When I had the chance, I'd borrow it to take to campus. The twelve inch Pbook is the ultimate portable for both she and I. It's lightweight and small enough to fit in out packs and seem almost as if it isn't there.

Then we got iPods. I was jealous of the seamless integration. iTunes for Windows and my Windows formatted iPod are great but it's not the Mac experience. I would get to borrow the Pbook from N for times here and there but never long enough to really get knee deep into OSX the way I wanted to. She complained when I installed software and I was never able to customize it the way I wanted. I didn't use it enough to warrant a separate user account but I loved each minute that I got to use it.

My motto was, 'I love the Powerbook and I love OSX. I would get one as a second computer or portable but I'm not ready to give up my Windows box. There are some things that I just can't to on a Mac.'

That has changed. I'm ready to dump my dull little box, dutifully performing its dull little tasks for something different, something powerful, something better.

I've spent the last two weeks exclusively on the Powerbook. I've been using it very heavily too since I have nothing else to do. In the last two weeks, there have been few things that I've wanted to do that I have not been able to do. For instance, Blogger's formatting tools aren't available in Safari but I could use Firefox to get to them if I wanted. I've done all the browsing I've wanted. Every website has worked. I've read all my RSS feeds every day, I've blogged. I've pirated music. I've streamed music from my iPod. I've watched videos. You name it, I've done it. I've done everything in the last two weeks that I normally do on my PC at home and never wished I was back on that Windows box. I haven't given a second thought to security, viruses or spyware. I know being on the Powerbook I'm not immune, I am still smart about what I do online, but I don't have to live in constant fear that some Active X control is going to surreptitiously install itself and brick my box.

I read Scoble, he's the Microsoft Blogger who has the title of Technical Evangelist. This is something he notedwhat in a recent post:

"But, go even further. I really don’t want religious customers. I want skeptical, educated, pragmatic customers. This is why I talk about my competitors so much and let you know what they are doing right (just last night I pointed out that the MacBook has a better power cord design than a PC, even if I did it in a snarky way). By the way, business schools teach that you should NEVER talk about your competitors cause your customers might like their products better and leave.

I’d rather have customers who go and seriously consider Linux and Macs first. If I lose them as customers, that’s OK. They weren’t mine to begin with (and they’ll stay my friends). Why? Cause it’s more important to me that they be happy.

But, if they come back and say “you know, that Tablet PC is more useful for me than anything I’ve seen on the other side of the fence” then that customer will be 100x more excited about the products I’m offering than if he or she felt “forced” to use them due to some marketing lockin or scheme or some cultish attitude."

Well Mr. Scoble. I can tell you, I'm a skeptic. I'm pretty damn educated, generally and technically and I like to think I'm pragmatic. When I have sufficient funds, I will be buying a Mac. I can't expect to be handed one from Winer, even on my birthday. I don't know which Mac it will be. It might be an iMac, it might be a 12 inch MacBook Pro but it WILL be a Mac. Call it the 'Halo Effect' call it switching, call it what you will. I believe that now, Apple provides a superior product and experience at a competitive price point and I will no longer support Microsoft when I believe they have been bested.

It hasn't always been this way but, it's the way it is now. I only stared using PCs because that is what was available. It's what was provided for me. OSX is better than Windows now and I believe it for the conceivable future. Go ahead Redmond, let Vista slip again. There will be more to follow me. Steve is on to something. Michael Dell wrote them off in the late nineties and that was a mistake. Steve and his team are proving with each Mac and iPod shipped that they are indeed back and ready to make a real run at market share. For your sake I hope you get your act together. But, I'm not convinced you will.

It wasn't some marketing lockin, scheme or even the RDF that has prompted my decision. It's a long line of frustration. It's late night support calls to India. It's spending hours of my own time 'consulting' for my friends who are less skilled in fixing spyware infestations. It's every new WMF exploit. It's every time Spybot and AdAware are ran and return with infections. It's all those annoying pop ups. It's the insecurity I feel when I have to use IE. It's everything. OSX isn't perfect, no software is. But it's a lot better and a lot further along in most every regard than Windows is.

I've never had to do any of those things on the Pbook, and I'm the maintainer of it. I've spend some time on the phone with AppleCare as you would expect to do with any computer but it's nothing like using a Windows box. Scoble said, "By the way, business schools teach that you should NEVER talk about your competitors cause your customers might like their products better and leave." Not true in my business school experience but you know what is true. The worst kind of advertising and the worst thing that can happen for a company is negative word of mouth.

I'm a leader and influencer in my circle of family and friends when it comes to technology. I'm the one they turn to when they have issues, problems or need advice. My opinion is highly valued. From this day on, I will not ever reccommend a Dell or any other Windows computer over a Mac. Apple has the breadth in their product offerings to satisfy most needs. In fact, my parents will probably be getting a Mac Mini for Christmas from me to replace their aged Dell. I'm not going to bash Microsoft and Windows, but like Mr. Scoble, I've become an evangelist and I'm the best kind, the unpaid kind.

"So, I guess you're my boss."

2006-01-17T17:28:00.000-08:00

My Mom flew into town for a library convention for the remainder of the week. Before her two hour drive north to the site of the convention, we decided to meet for dinner. She picked the joint. It was the Whistle Stop Cafe. Apparently, it was the inspiration for the book Fried Green Tomatos. The movie was based on the book. It was pretty good. It was cafeteria style food, something your grandma might make you. I had chicken and dumplings, black eyed peas, a yeast roll, mac and cheese and a slice of chocolate chip pecan pie. So much for the diet. I wish I had my scale with me so I could see what my weight status is. Truth be told, since I got some money from work the diet has slipped and I've been eating way too much candy.

My friend, who I was so excited to see while I was up here still hasn't returned my calls. At this point, it's doubtful that she actually will. Really disappointing since I was here for two weeks and she knew that. I guess I wasn't worth making time for, oh well. Maybe there is a good reason behind it but as of now, I'm just a little miffed at the cold shoulder action.

I downloaded the new Yellowcard album that comes out next week. It's ok, but it's nothing like their old stuff. They have truly sold out. I'm sure that the album will go platinum and that makes me sad. I remember going to their shows a few years ago when they were truly a punky band and there would be less than 500 kids in the crowd -- all true music fans -- and how the band would mill around pre and post show with the crowd. Those days are long gone. Ryan, call me if you get your soul back, fucker.

I'm stoked about going home soon. I'm ready to get into my store and really take ownership of the electronics department. Get it arranged and do things the way I want them done. I've never really been in a position of leadership/management in any of my jobs before. It's kind of strange actually. When I was in Auburn for the first few days, I met my MMB (Movies, Music, and Books) Specialist. He said, "So, I guess you're my boss." Damn straight. That was wierd to hear someone say that but I think I can handle it.

In all my previous jobs, I've tried to do a decent job and be a good hardworking employee but since I've graduated and this in a sense is my career (albiet temporary) now, I have a different outlook about the job. I'm glad I've responded this way so far, I was a bit concerned how I would handle the situation to be honest. At other jobs, I've always used the excuse that 'I'm not getting paid enough to do that' or 'For six bucks an hour, this is the quality work you are getting out of me.'

Earning closer to eleven dollars an hour is enough motivation to get a better work ethic out of me. Only three more days. And I actually get to sleep in for each of them.

As you may know, Tuesday is the day all new music and DVDs come out. The sales floor has to be set with all the new merchandise when the store opens at eight. That means that we needed to be in at five to prepare and get everything out. This was the third time that that I had to be in at an ungodly hour. But I got up and was there plenty early, just like a good worker bee. Arriving, punching the clock and droning on through the day.

Beware of geeky dissection and analysis of meaningless topic ahead:

The strange thing has been that there has been no hot water at three and four in the morning here in my room. I'm not sure exactly how the plumbing system is set up here in the hotel but at all normal hours hot water is never more than a few seconds away. The only conclusion that I can come to is that the water heater is set on a timer to click on around five or five fifteen. That way they don't have to have hot water all through the night when no one needs it. Seems like a reasonable plan to me but what about those of us who go to work earlier than five. When I turn the hot water on full blast it has been heating up in a few minutes. I guess they have some sort of commercial grade water heating system that senses a demand for hot water and clicks on. That is the only way I can explain it. Has anyone else had this experience at a Hampton Inn or other such hotel? Can you comment on their water heating and delivery capibilities?

Ok, enough of that.

That's kind of a bummer.

2006-01-16T12:53:00.000-08:00

It's a cool drizzly afternoon here in the deep south on this Martin Luther King Day. I'm off today. In truth, I'd rather be at work earning time and a half than confined to this hotel room. I slept in till eight this morning. That was nice. Since then I've just been internetting and reading. Between yesterday afternoon and this morning, I polished off Viva la Bam Seasons 4 and 5. Bonus footage, commentaries, the works. I'll probably hit up some Seinfeld later in the afternoon.

I haven't been exercising and I can feel it. As lame as it sounds, it's not really convenient here at the hotel. I rode the bike for half an hour the other day which was fun but the seat was so hard and uncomfortable, I ended up with bruises that are just now feeling less tender when I sit. My knee feels pretty good, but going up and down the stairs to my third floor room, I can tell something isn't right. I hope this knee thing isn't going to be a death blow to my running career. That would really suck. I'll pick it back up over the weekend and hopefully the time off will have been good for it.

J2 heads out to sea for three weeks starting today. That's kind of a bummer. I submitted some content to Google Video recently and less than half has gone live. We've been waiting patiently for it to go up but for some reason it hasn't. Even though some if it is pretty embarassing, I think I'm going to provide you all with a link once it all goes live because some of it is actually pretty entertaining.

I'm looking forward to returning home and getting back into the regular routine of things. I want to see N again, a week without seeing her is tough, it's like a part of me is missing. I hope she will have time for me and not be too into this new dude of hers.

I'd leave without even looking back.

2006-01-13T21:12:00.000-08:00

I had a nice first part of the day today. I internetted, I Seinfelded, I read, I ate, I napped. It really couldn't have been much better considering my circumstances. I went in to work at four. I ended up working until about ten fifty which wasn't too bad.

I had another bout of depression, or gloomyness at work today. I'm glad that working retail isn't going to be my career, I don't think I could do it. It's just so meaningless, so capitalist. I don't think the people at work like me too much. They are friendly to me but aren't exactly reaching out. I think they think I'm a bit strange/weird/off. I know that if I were in their shoes I would handle the situation differently. If I had someone I was training and they were from out of town, had no friends and were living in a hotel, I'd invite them over to have dinner, drink, or go out. I was hoping to hit it off better with them and maybe even become friends. It doesn't appear that's going to happen.

I was talking to N about it, telling her what was going on and how I was feeling. She agreed with me and we came to the conclusion that the world isnt' as thoughtful as we tend to be. Oh well. This time next week, I'll be in my bed at home. Sleeping with my beagle. I can make it.

The whole thing with N dating this guy and taking him home with her still gets to me. It probably always will. I read Postsecret (http://postsecret.blogspot.com) and if you don't you should start. It's good stuff. Last week, there was a postsecret that read something to this effect: I'm in my sixties. I have a wonderful family and a loving wife. I love them dearly but if the girl that I fell in love with at college walked through the door and asked me to leave with her, I'd leave without even looking back.

I don't want to be old, married and content yet still feel that way about N. At this point, I'm afraid that's how I'm going to turn out. It's been two years since our relationship ended and I still can't get over her. I still feel about her they way I've always felt. There are things about her that drive me nuts but if I had the chance, I'd probably marry her tomorrow. I don't know why I can't get past her and why my heart breaks every time she speaks of another guy. It is jelousy but it isn't really like that, it's more heartbreak than anything that she isn't with me.

All that has been leaving me in a funk. I hope I can get out of it soon. I'm not usually a down person and I hate being depressed, its leaves me so helpless feeling.

So, I robbed a bank.

2006-01-13T08:15:00.000-08:00

Things are better. Life feels a little less like a prison at this point in time. I went into work yesterday at four am. The good part about that was that we were done by noon thrity, so I had the entire afternoon to do whatever. I like that. Getting home to the hotel yesterday I was actually pretty depressed. N is dating someone new and things seem to be going well for that. That depresses me. I want her to be happy but I want it to be with me and not some other schmuck. I'm selfish like that.

That stuff combined with no money and living in a hotel room and lonliness was starting to get to me and I was pretty depressed for the bulk of the afternoon. N's brother and his wife drove down to meet me for dinner Wednesday. We had sushi. It was fun, the food was good and the company was nice to have. I spend more than I wanted. After the fifteen fifty five that I spent for dinner without leaving a tip left me with about two dollars and change until next Friday. That was also depressing. Even though a sizeable percent of the world's population survives on less than a dollar a day, I'm not sure that I could do it. Even with stealing from the continental.

I knew I had to do something. So I robbed a bank. I went in and told the teller to give me everything she had. I put my hand in my jacket pocket and pretended like I had a gun. She was really scared but forked over five hundred and twenty six dollars. I made what I thought was a clean getaway, but I've seen several patrol cars drive through the hotel parking lot. I think they are on to me.

I didn't really rob a bank, but I did come into some cash. I went back up to work later in the afternoon when I knew the HR guy would be there. I basically laid it out for him and told him I needed some help. He agreed to give me a thrity dollar a day perdium. I walked out two hundred and forty dollars richer. I actually got eat Subway for dinner. Yum.

I'm feeling much better about things now that I have some cash. I feel more flexible. In fact, I might even go shopping on my next off day.