Something/Anything?

One Vision

2010-03-20T02:06:00.000-07:00

So what would the world be like if it was run by a small, green-feathered former assassin? I was discussing this with Nemo the other day, since Nemo happens to be a small, green-feathered former assassin. Yes, he was once a killer-for-hire in a parallel space-time continuum before his fearsome reputation and unfailing completion of his hits forced him to seek refuge here in our universe. Being paranoid doesn't necessarily mean that everyone isn't out to get you. Now, to all outward appearances, he's just a regular old quaker parrot--but some of us know better. Nemo thinks he wouldn't necessarily be the right person to be in charge. He sees himself as more of an enforcer, the behind the scenes guy who takes care of the people who are too stupid to live, kind of the emcee of an ongoing Darwin Awards show.

Nemo: "Knock knock..."
Person lacking in intelligence or common sense: "Oh look, it's a cute little birdie!"
Nemo: Chomp, nom nom nom.

Okay, it's not pretty but it's what he's good at.

Superbeast

2010-03-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a very little doggy. This doggy was very little but had some big dreams, the kind of big dreams only a very little doggy can have. "I may be very little, but I have big dreams," he thought. Every night, the very little doggy would dream those big dreams and imagine how life would be when those big dreams came true.
One day as the very little doggy was out roaming the badlands in search of something to eat, scurrying from shadow to shadow to avoid becoming another's something to eat, the very little doggy saw a new thing. This new thing looked very like something the very little doggy had seen before, and yet unlike anything the very little doggy had ever seen. He circled the new thing very carefully, sniffing and trying to figure out what the new thing could be.
"What is this new thing?" the very little doggy said.
"I am the Angry Chair," said the new thing.
"What is an Angry Chair?" said the very little doggy.
"Sit on me and find out," said the Angry Chair.
The very little doggy wasn't sure whether that seemed like a good idea or a bad idea, and so pondered the options. I could sit on the Angry Chair, thought the very little doggy, or I could run away as fast as my very little legs can carry me.
But this very little doggy had big dreams, and knew that very little doggies with big dreams can't run away from everything forever and besides, maybe this was a friendly Angry Chair. Summoning up all the courage a very little doggy can muster, the very little doggy jumped up on the Angry Chair and sat. "What now?" the very little doggy asked.
"Well," said the Angry Chair, "I can't help but notice that you're a very little doggy, and in my experience very little doggies are worthless."
"That's a very mean thing to say, Angry Chair," said the very little doggy. "I'll have you know that I have big dreams."
"A very little doggy with big dreams!" exclaimed the Angry Chair. "You make me laugh and laugh, very little doggy." The Angry Chair laughed and laughed.
The very little doggy could feel a burning in a very little tummy, and blood pounding in a very little head. "Don't you laugh at me!" the very little doggy shouted.
"Does that make you Angry?" asked the Angry Chair.
"Yes, it does," said the very little doggy. "It makes me very Angry." Suddenly, a strange sensation rippled through the very little doggy's body, and the very little doggy began to grow and grow until he was very big. "Rooooaaaarrrr," said the now very big doggy, the sound rolling out across the land.
The Angry Chair laughed again. "Were your big dreams this big?" asked the Angry Chair. "Now you are the Superbeast. I like you when you're Angry."
The Superbeast looked out across the badlands, his badlands. "So do I."

Green Book

2010-03-16T23:15:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that I haven't been reading many green books lately. I mean, I suppose that pretty much all the books I read are green in the sense of being biodegradable, but not many of them actually have green, like, covers. I've read green books in the past and many of them have been very good. I like blue books as well, except the test answer kind of blue books. Those I don't like, but maybe that's because I have to write them rather than read them. I do have quite lovely penmanship, so aesthetically speaking my blue books were very pleasant to look at and easy on the eyes. And the grades I got on them were pretty good as well. I just didn't like writing them. I might have liked writing them more if they had been green books instead of blue books, but I can't say that for sure since I've never written a green book. I'm gonna have to think about this.

Ride

2010-03-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

I found out on of the reasons my car was so inexpensive today--the safety features have turned out to be not quite what I expected. I slid on some ice and hit a telephone pole and suddenly, from the center of my steering wheel, out pops some fat old guy spouting political rhetoric. Turns out my car was equipped with a windbag. After that accident, though, I've been thinking of equipping my car with reactive bumpers. They're similar to the reactive armor on tanks. If something hits my bumper, the bumper explodes. I'm not sure how safe that will keep me, but it would sure be exciting.

So Far Away

2010-03-09T22:12:00.000-08:00

So, I spent a couple of months on Marlagg last weekend. It's a planet orbiting Teegarden's star, an M-type red dwarf star about 12 light years from earth. Strangely enough, it's inhabited by a race of red dwarves. I'm thinking of writing a novel about my adventures there, but right now it's a short story at best. They're not much for fashion there, mostly plate and scale mail accessorized with hammers and axes, but those little guys can quaff some ale. And tell elf jokes.

Crazy Dream

2010-03-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

I had the craziest dream last night. I wanted to write it down so I could write all about it today, but it turns out that I slept through the entire thing. Weird.

Speaking of weird, I put on the wrong shoes this morning. I've been working on this miniaturized antigravity device built into a pair of shoes and, wouldn't you know it, I accidentally wore those to work today. I wasn't as happy as everyone thought I was, but I suppose that technically I actually was walking on air. The silly thing only works in fits and starts so I had my ups and downs, but I'll keep working on it. I'm also looking forward to my trip to Paris next week. I love fashion, and I just can't wait to see the latest in protective aluminum foil headgear and therapeutic lingerie.

Our Truth

2010-03-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, I've been doing a half-assed blog for a while now. Well, maybe quarter-assed at best. Quarter-assed is a lot harder to measure, when you think about it, because half-assed has a natural dividing line built in. Anyway, up to now I've confined my blog entries to the most yawn-inducing parts of my life. I did that on purpose, believing that if I wrote about the things that really happened to me I would immediately be subject government scrutiny and very possibly alien abduction. However, I've decided that it's time the public knows the truth. Maybe Jack Nicholson is correct and you can't handle the truth, but as far as I'm concerned that's between you and your therapist.

So, a little background. First of all, time passes differently for me. My days are actually 29 hours and 17 minutes long for the most part, although there are times when I live in dog years. I do this as a courtesy to Emily and Peaches and they do appreciate it. If you've kept up on the boring stuff I've written previously, then you'll know that Peaches is ostensibly the most recent canine addition to our family. In actuality, Peaches is exiled alien royalty as are all of our "pets" (except for Nemo, who is a retired assassin who's wanted in twelve systems). Peaches is, in reality, the legal heir to a kingdom that exists inside a ceramic thimble in a collection owned by an elderly retired muleskinner in New Brunswick. I'd tell you more about her but she'd rather I didn't because the memories of her overthrow are still too fresh. I still have to spend a great deal of time every day reassuring her that the plot was the work of a few evil individuals and that the majority of her subjects are still loyal and long for her return.

That's probably enough for one day. I don't want to overwhelm you with such a tsunami of heretofore hidden information that it becomes unbelievable. Don't worry though, there's more on the way soon.

What the Hell Have I?

2009-11-15T21:45:00.000-08:00

I read a line in a novel today that said words mean things, and that got me to thinking. Words don't really mean anything, except by mutual agreement. I'm sure I'm not the first person to mention this, not by a longshot, but it's the first time I can remember really thinking about it. Words don't mean anything unless people agree that they do. Otherwise, they're just sounds or squiggly marks. I mean, if you meet someone who doesn't speak the same language that you do and you convey to them that the sound "carrot" means a vehicle with an internal combustion engine that you drive around, how are they to know different? To take it a step further, let's look at two words that don't seem to have anything in common--A chair is something you sit in, right? And a head is something that sits on top of a neck and contains a brain. These two words don't seem to have anything to do with one another. And yet, isn't the chair of a committee the head of that committee? Yeah, it's weird. Maybe I just have too much time on my hands. Anyway, maybe it's all the seed of a story that I'll never write.

Joyride

2009-10-24T04:07:00.000-07:00

Farewell little jester, I bid you adieu
In your comical cap and your bell-bearing shoes
With your stick and your ribbon and your flashing tight smile
With your words wiped with whimsy and your backbiting guile
Maybe one day I'll look back and see you behind
But if that ever happens you won't catch me blind
Because I know your tactics and motives and pain
The things from your dreams that creep out of your brain
To snap at the heels of all good men and true
And make them into villains, rather than you.

Don't ask, I have no idea. Definitely subject to further editing or deletion.

First We Take Manhattan

2009-07-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

First off, I should preface this post by saying that I'm a fan of the music and lyrics of Leonard Cohen. Especially his lyrics. Particularly and emphatically his lyrics. The vast majority of song lyrics aspire to doggerel. Occasionally they rise to honest, or thoughtful, or even inspiring. Only rarely, and by rarely I mean almost never, can a songwriter be truly called a poet. Leonard Cohen manages that in spades, but again that is a most subjective ideal to which I happen to subscribe.
Anyway, on to the point. Yes, it's strange but true that I actually have a point in this post. I just watched a movie called "I'm Your Man," a kind of combination documentary and tribute concert movie of Leonard Cohen's music, and my point is that it's very much worth watching. I'm not sure if you need to be familiar with the music to enjoy it--many of the performances are very different from Cohen's own versions of his songs. I myself was familiar with much, though not all, of the songs in the movie. Also, other than Nick Cave and U2, I was not familiar with the artists performing in the movie. Nevertheless, most of the performances were very good or better, and the final song in the film--Cohen himself performing "Tower of Song" backed by U2--was worth the time all by itself.
I strongly recommend that anyone unfamiliar with Leonard Cohen's music check it out, both his albums and this film. His "I'm Your Man" album is a good place to start. He's a fascinating person--a Jew, a Zen monk, a father, a "Lady's Man." It's great stuff.

Did You Miss Me

2009-07-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Woohoo, Shauna is back in Reno to stay. She'll be going to community college in the Fall. She'll be looking for a part time job over the next couple of weeks and we'll be working on getting used to living together again. It's been a year and a half since she went to Utah, and we're both very excited that she's back.
It's going to be an adjustment for Emily as well, now that Peaches will be here permanently. They get along really well so far, playing together and sharing the attention. They've both been used to getting all the attention so I imagine that will be the biggest change for each of them, no longer being the single dog in the house.
I"m really looking forward to the rest of the summer now. It's nice to have someone to share my days with again.

Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family

2009-07-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

I've often heard it said that life is a Journey. Personally, I'm not a Journey fan. Oh sure, they have a couple of good songs but overall I think I like their album covers more than their music. I think life is more of a Bowie--you know, ch-ch-ch-changes, turn and face the strain.
I've certainly had a number of different personae over the course of my life. I spent a few years as a space cadet, though maybe not quite as flamboyant as Ziggy Stardust. I can't say I ever really did the androgynous thing, but some things are a little too weird even for me. I would say that the term "misspent youth" would not be far wrong in my case, but I did have some fun. I'd say I also did the Thin White Duke thing, being all angsty and existential. I spent some serious time always crashing in the same car.
All that stuff, though, just contributed to me becoming the person I am today. Regrets, I've had a few; but then again, too few to mention. All in all, the changes I've been through have made me into a skin I'm pretty happy to walk around on the inside of, looking out.

Ramblin' Man

2009-07-07T22:42:00.000-07:00

Shauna and I just enjoyed a terrific weekend together, her last visit from Utah. It was her last visit because weekend after next she'll be back in Reno permanently. She took the train this time, instead of driving, and it seemed like she enjoyed this alternate means of getting here. We had no idea that the train was so inexpensive--her round trip ticket between Reno and Salt Lake City was just over $100. It costs that in gas to drive. Unfortunately, it meant that she couldn't bring Peaches so Emily was quite disappointed.
So next week I'll be taking the train to SLC for a visit and to attend my father-in-law's retirement party. He's officially retired from the military this week, so he's having a big barbecue weekend after next to celebrate. He's retired from the Army as a Command Sergeant Major I believe, the highest noncom rank aside from Sergeant Major of the Army (of which there is only one.) He's a great guy and I'm looking forward to seeing him.
So at the end of my visit to Utah, I'll be driving back to Reno with Shauna and this time she'll be staying. She's stressing out about finding a job here when she gets back--we can't afford for her to be out of work for very long. She has a real problem with job interviews because of her size. I've been trying to encourage her, to help her feel positive about the job hunt. Any employer would be fortunate to get her. Also, we'll be getting her registered for classes for her Fall semester at the local community college. We're both excited about her going back to school.
After my days off with Shauna, I was of course very busy at work today. My days off came right after our annual inventory, so there's lots to do to get ready for our busiest time of the year. These are the times that I'm thankful for the awesome student employees we have working for us--they do a terrific job of allowing me to delegate a lot of what I need done, and do the work so well that I don't have to worry about it.
Speaking of student employees, a couple of my former student workers have invited me to the inaugural meeting of the Book Club of Awesomeness. They're planning it as a discussion and social book club centered around graphic novels. I've only read a couple of graphic novels, so I'm thinking it could be a lot of fun. Given my general lack of recognizable social skills and tendency to become passionately eloquent to the exclusion of other's opinions when it comes to certain types of discussions, we'll see how that all goes.

Song About Nuthin

2009-06-20T01:43:00.000-07:00

Friday night all alone. Beer and some David Bowie music help with the bored and the lonely, but not all that much. I really need to move the rest of my music to my new computer. It's really not that new anymore, I've had it almost a year. Sometimes I think it would be better to live in an isolated cabin in the woods somewhere, then at least there's the chance of being kidnapped by aliens or something. On second thought, maybe that wouldn't be so great, who'd feed Emily and the birds? I need to go buy a weedeater this weekend. Hmm, why does the spellchecker suggest that instead of "weedeater" I might have meant to type "beefeater?" That kind of scares me. Perhaps it's just suggesting that I'm doing a yeoman's job with my blog type thingie here. I could live with that, as unlikely as it is. Freeform blogging, I think I might be on to something here. This is much more entertaining than trying to organize my thoughts into a (marginally) linear format. Format--that's another word I think is kinda strange. I suppose it makes sense, eytmologically (oooh, now that's a good word), coming from a root verb that means "fashion." Maybe the reason it seems weird is due to its evolution in usage. "Format" has gone from something of a jargonistic (I'm on a roll here) word that existed mostly in the vocabularies of secretaries, writers, and printers to an everyday word common in popular culture. It's a theory, anyway. I'd call it a hypothesis but then I'd feel obliged to investigate it further in a pointless attempt to prove or disprove it and that would just be silly. If there's one thing I don't want to be, it's silly. Absurd, sure, but not silly. That just isn't dignified.
Okay, out of a lack of anything better to do I've looked up the origins of "silly" and "absurd" and found something interesting (to me.) "Absurd" comes from the latin "absurdus," which means discordant or unreasonable. Very straightforward. Very dull. On the other hand, "silly" originally meant blessed. I didn't know that. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the meaning of "silly" has progressed from "blessed" to "pious" to "innocent" to "harmless" to "weak" to "feebleminded or foolish." That's either really fascinating or just silly.

A Day In The Life

2009-05-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted in a while, so here's a mishmash of what's been going on lately. Emily is doing great--she seems to have gotten over her pancreatitis and she's back to the happy dog we know and love. The semester is over, with summer on the way. The busiest stretch of the year for me at work is now only a few weeks away and I can't say I'm looking forward to it. At least I'll have a good student staff this year. I had expected to lose my best student employee because he graduates on Saturday. He's enrolled in grad school and wanted to keep his job, but due to some silly changes in student employment requirements he wouldn't be eligible to do so unless he took summer classes (that's not a requirement for undergrad student employees, and until a month or two ago wasn't required for grad students either.) Today he decided that keeping his student job was worth what amounts to a waste of his time and money to take some summer classes (that he neither wants nor needs) so we get to keep him. Unless of course they change the requirements yet again.
Shauna will be here next week and we'll get to spend my birthday together. We're both looking forward to that. We're going to be trying to find her a job here in Reno during this visit, so wish us luck. We're very tired of having to live apart. Whether we find her a job at this time or not, it will be good to be with her again. I really miss her.
Speaking of Shauna, she's enrolled in the local community college and another thing she'll be doing this visit is having an advisement appointment and taking the placement test. I'm really excited that she's decided to go back to school, and I think she'll be very successful with it. I also think that she will enjoy it--I know I enjoyed returning to school when I went back after 17 years. I imagine that she's probably nervous about it, but she'll do great. She's a smart woman.
I went and saw the new Star Trek movie last weekend with some friends. It's great. I also saw a very funny video report from The Onion about how Trekkies hate the new movie because it disdains the traditions of past Star Trek movies by being exciting and fun to watch. LOL.
My favorite sports teams are doing great, too. The Penguins just put away the Capitols in game 7 of that series and have moved on to the conference championship in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Go Pens! The Dodgers are having a great season as well, best record in baseball as of this writing in spite of losing Manny for 50 games. They have a great team all around, in spite of some weakness in pitching, and their offense continues to rack up the runs even without Manny. Juan Pierre is showing the fans what he can do! I do love me some baseball.
Speaking of baseball, a professor that I know a little here at the University, Jennifer Ring, has written a book called "Stolen Bases: Why American Girls Don't Play Baseball." I've sold her a few computers over the years and helped her out with some computer problems, and I'm really looking forward to reading the book. I'll be back later with my review and you know it will be good--I do love me some baseball.
That's it for now and for the two people that I know actually read this blog on occasion: Shauna, I love you, and Inez, I miss you.

See Emily Play

2009-04-07T00:19:00.000-07:00

My retriever, Emily, got sick last week. I woke up to find multiple regurgitations by the back door--she's a sweet girl, and she wanted to be sick outside but it was the middle of the night so I didn't know she wanted out. She was lethargic and didn't really want her morning treat, and after thinking about that all morning I took the afternoon off and came home to see how she was doing. She was not doing well. She hadn't eaten and was even more lethargic than she had been that morning, so Shauna made an appointment for her with the vet and I took her in the next day. They ran some tests and decided she had pancreatitis, and that she needed to stay the night at the vet's. They gave her pain meds (aparently it's a very painful condition) and gave her intravenous or subcutaneous fluids through the night--she needed to go at least 24 hours without taking any food or water by mouth. I picked her up the next afternoon, along with some no-fat dog food to give her for the next few days. She seemed to be feeling a little better, although she wasn't happy with the dog food. I've been feeding her small amounts at a time since then, and I'm thrilled to say she's just about back to normal. She was able to play with Peaches while Shauna was here for her (Shauna's) birthday, although with somewhat less than her usual vim and vigor. We couldn't take them to the dog park this time, since Emily wasn't supposed to get overheated, but they had a good time together. I didn't even mind the large vet bill too much--she's part of our family, after all.

Classic Hollywood Ending

2009-03-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't written anything here in quite a while, and Shauna's been giving me a hard time about it. "Just write anything," she says. Well, I kinda got stuck cuz there are some things I want to write about but I've been having a hard time getting started. So, I've decided that since I rented some movies this last week and they all surprised me in one way or another I would write a little bit about them.
First up is "Punisher War Zone." I am an unabashed fan of action movies, and I'm not particularly discriminating when it comes to them. I'm not really a big fan of comics, but I do tend to like movies made from comics. My favorite comic (or graphic novel) is "Watchmen," which I also saw this week, and it was phenomenally good. "Punisher War Zone" doesn't fit into that category by any stretch of the imagination. It was wonderfully violent although perhaps a little more graphic than necessary at times. The problem I had with it was the guy who played the Punisher--bland, bland, bland. He did fine with the action sequences, but that was it. Nothing in the script or perfomance gave me any stake in him or the things he did. Every other character in the movie was far more interesting than the hero. For example, this was the first time I can remember seeing Wayne Knight in a non-comedic role and he was actually pretty good. That I cared more about his sidekick character than the hero surprised me, as did the fact that this quite bloody and emotionally void mess was directed by a woman.
"My Name is Bruce" stars possibly the greatest actor of his generation, Bruce Campbell. This movie is terrible, embraces its terribleness, and rises below it. Total camp. Anyone who isn't a big fan of Bruce Campbell and bad movies will hate it, and they should. This is a movie that sets the bar low and still limbos under it. I loved it.
"Role Models" is the kind of movie that I almost never watch on purpose. I don't even know why I rented it. I'm not a fan of most comedies made nowadays, I just don't find them very funny. Generally speaking, if you've seen the preview you've seen all the funny bits. This week I rented two comedies and they were both hilarious. Paul Rudd is very good as a cynical guy whose life isn't turning out the way he wanted, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who's turn as McLovin in "Superbad" was by far the funniest thing about that movie, is once again very funny as the nerdy kid whose hobby is live action roleplaying. The whole live action roleplaying thing will certainly be a riot for a lot of the people I know (I'm thinking of my D&D friends). This movie had me cracking up all the way through, and I highly recommend it.
Okay, I saved the best for last--"Hamlet 2." Don't worry, you can enjoy it even if you haven't seen the first one. There really isn't that much to say about this one other than SEE IT. It turns every "inspirational teacher" movie ever made in its ear, and the tunes are quite catchy. Steve Coogan is one funny guy.

Alone Again, Naturally

2009-01-04T21:37:00.000-08:00

Well, the holidays are over and Shauna and Peaches are back in Utah. I'm not actually alone--Emily, Nemo, and Daisy are here with me and we're all missing Shauna. The last couple of days Peaches and Emily reached an understanding and started playing together a lot, and Peaches quit chasing Emily away from her food dish. I go back to work tomorrow (Monday, 1/5). It's been a nice week off. Shauna and I had a lot of fun, even though we didn't do too much. We went to Rum's a couple of nights, went out to eat a few times, and saw "The Strange Case of Benjamin Button." We've kind of rediscovered each other, so it was really nice just being together. Even when we just hung around the house and watched DVD's, being together was plenty. I'm gonna have to work hard to see if I can find something for Shauna here in Reno, so she can come home again for good. I'm sad now, but I have memories of a very good week to tide me over until next time.

Pet Sounds

2008-12-31T11:55:00.000-08:00

Due to the difficult economic times, my wife is currently living/working in a different state. She's staying with her mother so all the pets are with me--Nemo the feisty Quaker parrot, Daisy the incredibly noisy Sun Conure, and Emily, our Flat-Coat Retriever. Shauna, my wife, was suffering from a distinct lack of pet love so she decided to get a little dog to keep her company and give her that pet love she so desperately missed.

Enter Peaches, an 11-month old, 7 pound female chihuahua. She came with Shauna this week to spend New Year's with me and the crew. She's just adorable (Peaches, I mean, although Shauna certainly is as well). Emily outweighs Peaches by nearly fifty pounds, but Peaches has Emily pretty thoroughly cowed. Emily isn't the brightest dog I've ever known, but she is definitely the sweetest. They're starting to play together a little better after 2 days, but it's funny to watch. I had to feed Emily by hand yesterday because she was afraid to eat out of her food dish, which Peaches has claimed for her own. New member of the family, it's a process. Anyway, I'm enjoying all the critters and I'm thankful this holiday season that Shauna and her new addition could be here and we get to share some time together.

Hot Topic

2008-12-15T09:51:00.000-08:00

Global warming? My wife decided to give me a topic to write about for today, and that's what she came up with. What the heck do I know about global warming? I don't even like leftovers.

A long time ago I heard George Carlin talking about the people who want to "save the planet." He said the planet doesn't need saving, it doesn't care about us. They want to save the planet for themselves. I have to agree with him. Besides, all this stuff about global warming and all that, who's to say it's not just the normal cycle of the weather? Some scientists say one thing, some say another--statistics always tell the truth, but whose truth? Sure, I'm willing to recycle and I'd sure buy a hybrid vehicle if I could freaking afford one, but for the most part I think I'll leave saving the planet to those who can afford the time and money to worry about it. I have my own problems.

Days of Future Passed

2008-12-12T22:06:00.000-08:00

I had dinner tonight with an old high school buddy of mine, and I mean old in the sense that he's old and I'm old, lol. Strangely (or perhaps not so strangely), we didn't talk about old times or even much about people we used to know. We talked about the common interests we've developed over 35 years of knowing each other and connecting periodically--sometimes just for a week or two, sometimes for a year or two, and sometimes just for a dinner. There's a certain comfort in spending time with someone you've known for that long. The common history and cultural point of origin you share with someone you've known for that many years bleeds forward into every conversation, even if your lives have diverged significantly over the intervening time. I still see that teenager I used to hang out with, got in trouble with, misspent a goodly portion of my youth with. Maybe he sees me that way too, and even when we talk about getting old we have a chance to feel a little bit of our youth one more time.

Bleeding Blue

2008-12-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

The winter meetings are over and the Dodgers have only made minor moves thus far, at least quantity-wise. They've solidified 3rd base with the signing of Casey Blake, and Mark Loretta is an excellent pickup for infield utility. They still need pitching and a shortstop, but I'm glad they aren't going to trade away their youngsters to get it. Martin, Ethier, Loney, and Kemp are a fantastic core to build a team around and all of them will be huge stars as time goes by.

I'd love to see them get Manny back, but only if it's for 2-3, or maybe 4 years. A 6 year deal would be ridiculous--in 3 years he's gonna need to move to DH. If they could get him for those 3 years, though, he could be the piece they need to go all the way. That is, of course, provided they can line up some decent pitching. They have some kids with a lot of potential but they still need a veteran or two to steady the rotation. I'm really eager to see how things fall out over this offseason, so I can cheer my boys on into the fall.

A New Hope

2008-12-11T09:49:00.000-08:00

So the semester is winding down, textbook buyback is the current big event in the Bookstore, and we're dead slow in the Computer Den. It's time to think about winter rush, even though it's still a month away, but no one feels like doing anything. The only thing saving me right now is the thought of a week off. The week of New Year's will be my recharge time, get me ready for the full throttle of rush. Since it's winter rush, we don't have all the orientation events to deal with and the whole impact on us isn't nearly as frenetic as fall rush. Still, it can be unpredictable. The difference in our business over the last couple of Februarys was huge so who knows what this year will bring. Economic downturn and recession and all that, but students do need computers. Maybe they'll have Christmas money to spend, lol.

So that's all less than exciting. My life. Wow.