Updates and a little gender discrimination

I laugh that I even post this, but I thought it was amusing. We have this chair that's looking kind of rough. Padding is worn in, cover is worn down. I decide that I'm going to recover the chair this week, so I stopped at JoAnn Fabrics to get materials. In the course of finding a good bolt of fabric, replacement chair padding, getting a couple yards cut, and checking out, I got called "sweetie" twice, "hon" once, and the register lady first asked me if she could check me out while I was waiting for the "woman I was with", and then once I convinced her I was on my own, and she rang me up, she explained to me that the receipt I had gotten could be used as a 10% coupon next time... but that I could give it to someone else. (Clearly, being male, I never shop at JoAnn Fabrics and would have no possible use for a 10% off coupon.)

I have to laugh. When I came home, Tiff said: "Yeah, so what? That's what it's like for me when I go to the hardware store, except I know more about tools than you do about sewing."

So true.

On another note, it looks like Tim Hortons is almost done on Peach Street....

When we were checking out the 26th Street Tim Hortons over the weekend, we decided to eat at the Chinese buffet restaurant whose parking lot we keep using to take pictures. Not half bad for $4.95 a person. It is not as good as the best chinese restaurant in Erie... The Golden Wok on 32nd and Pittsburgh... but it is a lot less expensive. Perhaps we will get some coffee to go and walk next door for some Sweet & Sour Chicken and Wonton Soup.

Finally - the pictures from my tubing misadventures are finally up.

Homemade pizza - an easy recipe

My wife and I make homemade pizza using the following ingredients:

1. Four 6" diameter plain flat breads
2. Mid's Pizza Sauce
3. Shredded Mozzarella (and sometimes Asiago) cheese.
4. Tiff puts sliced tomatoes, black olives, and garlic on hers. I put whatever I happen to have handy on mine, from the following items: pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ham, salami, green peppers, onions, chicken, spinach)
5. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Since we use leftover stuff most of the time, the price comes to about $7 total. I rarely eat both of my pizzas, so it's really 3 or 4 meals for $7. If your package of flatbread comes with five, you can probably squeeze out 5 pizzas worth of sauce and cheese from a single jar of Mid's, and a single pre-packaged shredded cheese bag.

We are not big fans of the Boboli pre-packaged stuff Their products are too sweet. I personally like Schwebel's flatbread for this- edges get nice and crispy, just like a thin crust pizza. There are others that we have tried that are just as good though. Mid's pizza sauce is a good, hearty tasting sauce without being too potent. It lets you enjoy the flavors of the toppings without being distracted by the sauce.

I would be enjoying my second pizza from last night for lunch today, except it's left in the fridge at home and I am in my office eating a travel bowl of Chunky Soup Chicken Noodle, which is only just passable. (I have microwave-ready soup in my office for when I am sick or I forget my lunch, and I don't feel like going out.)

I am an accessory to evil

No less than the vicar of Christ himself has claimed I'm an accessory to evil. Beware. (Funny - I thought I was celebrating love watching two female friends of mine get married... Didn't seem very evil to me.)

What does seems evil to me is pitting supporters of marriage (gay and straight) against each other instead of getting them to work together to grow a better society. It's particularly evil when that pitting is done for soulless political gain.

No matter. It's not like many people in this country listen to the pope anyway.

Note -- My last statement's sarcastic tone can be easily mistaken without visiting the links. I don't always agree with the pope, and I am not Catholic, but our current pope has been quite the pope - I must say, even as a conscientious objector to religion, I still have levels of respect for him. And he's Polish. We can't forget Poland.

Note-- The preceding sarcastic remark about Poland can easily be taken out of context as well. I am, in fact, one-quarter Polish, and I think that Poland is a cool country - one that I should like to visit before I die, perhaps while it's one of the few countries left that at least pretends to still like America.

Note.....

Link sarcasm is so much fun.

NHL season cancelled

I wanted to write about this yesterday, but I worked through lunch and almost did again today.

The NHL season was officially cancelled, to no one's surprise. I almost don't miss it, and that is a very bad thing for the NHL, because I own and often wear a replica Nicklas Lidstrom jersey and my dad and I once stalked Steve Yzerman in a Detroit-area shopping mall for a good fifteen minutes. (The Wings had just lost to the Avs in the playoffs, so we figured he didn't want to actually be bothered by autograph seekers, so we just trailed him excitedly for a short time.)

I say, who cares if the NHL isn't popular in some places? Retrench, regroup, build up your base again where ice actually forms occasionally on non-refrigerated bodies of water. Let fans in Nashville and Atlanta go back to watching people drive around a race track - It's not like the NHL relies on the paltry TV money it ekes out these days. And right now, the Stanley Cup belongs to a city that has an average of one day of freezing temperatures a year. (Yes - I have been to the Ice Palace in St. Pete Florida. Yes - There are some snow birds down there who are rabid fans, including my very own parents. But I also had to sit behind some nutcase whose entire hockey experience consisted of yelling "shoot the puck" at his team every time they had possession, including, hilariously, when they were behind their own net. I kid you not. I ended up secretly rooting for the visiting Boston Bruins purely out of spite.) And some of these team names, Thrashers? Predators? Mighty Ducks?

In the Bush era, America is learning how to be a second-class country in a lot of areas. We may have to accept that fact in the hockey world too, at least temporarily, if we're going to save any North American hockey with any tradition at all. Otherwise, we'll have turned professional hockey into Major Indoor Lacrosse. Tradition is one of the few things the NHL has going for it these days.

Equal opportunity for all!

Just a periodic reminder that this site should under no circumstances be taken as anything more than a loose method of updating interested folks in what's going on in my life and random opinions I might have. Any opinions expressed on this site are the sole property of myself and do not reflect on my family, co-workers, friends, or place of employment, past or present. Heck, if the opinions are old enough, they might not even reflect on myself.

Though you might not guess it on this site either, I'm a big fan of "live and let live" which is why my opinions end up here on a page you have to come find for yourself. This big country of ours has lots of room for everyone. It certainly has room for little old me to vent a little.

And if you feel like venting, or just responding, either agreeing, disagreeing, or abstaining, leave a comment, anonymous or not. I reserve the right to delete anything I think is inapprorpriate, but if you feel like calling me on my s***, I don't mind a public dressing down (as long as it's a good one!) I'll probably leave it posted. (I've only ever deleted one comment, and that was an accident.)

Thank you and good day.

Addicted to Wikipedia

I am addicted to Wikipedia. It is an organic encyclopedia of everything. Writers are readers. Readers are editors. Entries are historied and change and grow. It's alive!!!! It's like the Borg.

Hillary thanks you for voting Bush 2004

There is a silver lining to the mediocre son of a mediocre president being elected twice in the United States:

It makes electing the intelligent, insightful wife of a highly successful president seem like a no-brainer.



NASCAR dad translation: Hillary is a bigger man than George W. Bush will ever be. She could totally take him.

Seriously - if you were in a foxhole, who would YOU rather have armed, at your side. Seriously. (And if you say Bush 2.0 - you're a liar.) Who do you think Osama Bin Laden would really be more afraid of? Seriously. Hillary is one bad-ass momma who loves this country and will do whatever it takes. Right now, we've got a guy who can't even testify to Congress without Papa Cheney holding his "hand".

Also, it's about freakin' time we had a female president. Just sayin' - shouldn't even be an issue in this day and age. Anyone seriously want to make it an issue? Bring it. 2007 will be a good year. (Insert Dean scream, repeat.)

Any WMD's here under the couch? Nope, none there... Keep looking junior.

Tubing, iPods, and Tim Hortons

Tubing hurts... My wife and I went tubing on Saturday down at Mountain View in Edinboro. We had a blast - I'm hoping to post some pictures here soon.

I think I bruised my rib though - it hurts a little to breathe, and I heard something pop on my third run down the slopes. Oh well - I'm not 16 anymore. Or 21. Or 24......... It's been until today that I could even raise my arms over my head without feeling pain.

When we were in Edinboro, I stopped at the car audio place. I'm going to get this and this for my car, so that I can connect my iPod to my car stereo. I'll post the results - the iPod adapter was on back order, so they told me they'd call me. Right now, I have my iPod run through a cassette adapter in my radio, which doesn't always work because the radio is dying. Since I have to get a new radio anyway, I figured why not spend a little more and go with what I've been salivating over since it came out in October.

Finally, I updated the Tim Hortons in Erie PA construction page again. The weekend weather has been cooperating when I've driven by - nice and bright out.

Okay.... done with lunch, back to work.

Bill Rehnquist is Deep Throat

Oh - and before I go home - this little tidbit forwarded to me at wonkette.com - Apparently Bob Woodward is on record as saying that "Deep Throat" of Watergate fame is close to death and that an obit is prepared.

My call, inspired by wonkette - Chief Justice William Rehnquist. There isn't a lot of web speculation about this, but his fingers are in a lot of Watergate pies without really getting him very messy. Interesting. (It would have been more interesting if Bush 1.0 was, but he looked pretty spry last night on the Super Bowl.)

And I keep thinking Nixon is dead... Nixon is America.

Super Bowl + Paul McCartney Ramblings

First - The Super Bowl

1. Didn't Bush and Clinton look like sports announcers from the late 70's in their matching blazers?

2. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Chris Collinsworth are mediocre announcers at best. The call improved over the Vikings-Packers game three weeks ago. After the first quarter, and a number of missed calls, they found their stride. And who was working out the camera angles? Ack.... FOX should go back to what it is good at, right-wing media hackery as news.

3. The FCC's priorities may be a little skewed, but this time there was a silver lining. Eliminating horse farts from commercial TV, if only for 3.5 hours, is a minor victory. And replacing Janet and Justin with Paul McCartney? I actually watched this year's half-time show, even if the song selections just reminded me of how the Beatles have become a whitewashed shadow of what they once were. It even makes me long for the glory days of Wings.

4. Ummm... Where were the "good" ads? The FedEx/Kinkos ad ruined everything when it skewered every other ad - all I kept thinking was... ''Dennis Rodman" - yep Celebrity endorser. Tabasco sauce? yep... Attractive female. But, I'm still using UPS and the printshop here at work.

Second - speaking of Paul McCartney...

Top Ten Underrated McCartney songs:
1. Getting Closer - Back To The Egg - 1979
A late seventies rocker, awesome radio song that you never hear on the radio.
2. Nineteen-Hundred And Eighty-Five - Band On The Run - 1973
Sci-fi squiggly sounds make this a great early-seventies "project" rock type song, but in typical McCartney fashion, it's got a great groove underneath. A perfect ending to Paul's best CD.
3. Momma Miss America - McCartney - 1969
This belongs in some art-house indie flick some day, ala Quentin Tarantino. Just a good reminder that Paul can really jam when he wants to.
4. Single Pigeon - Red Rose Speedway - 1973
A very simple song - a great song for walking or biking alone in the park. Sometimes I wish it was longer, but other times I like that it ends leaving you wanting more.
5. Letting Go - Venus And Mars - 1974
This song grooves hard and slow. I used to hate this song. It's not easy to get in to, it feels too slow at first. Give it a few listens, you'll be scrolling it back to the top on your iPod.
6. Girl's School - 1978
This is fun at higher decibels, preferrably right at the beginning of a long drive, even if it's a bit offensive at times. (But in typical McCartney fashion, he slurrs everything so that you're singing along for the 8th time until saying, "wait, what did I just say about that poor girl?")
7. Talk More Talk - Press To Play - 1986
See #2 - except insert "Phil Collins and 80's overproduction" - still a very good song if you remember when it was released.
8. Big Barn Bed - Red Rose Speedway - 1973
The best beginning to a song. (You can hear him working out the melody at the end of "Ram On" on Ram...) Not sure if he knew what to do with the rest of the song. I often turn it off before it's done, but the beginning is golden.
9. Backwards Traveller - London Town - 1978
This has got some typical McCartney weird-ass lyrics. It's just fun to listen to though. The melody is hard to ignore.
10. Temporary Secretary - McCartney II - 1980
Annoying? Yes. But, you have to give credit for a pop star having spent 20 years in the biz, practically inventing an entire genre of music, giving New Wave and Electronica a try and not making it half bad. (See Ou Est Le Soleil on Flowers In The Dirt - my #11 for a similar take on the beginnings of 90's dance music as well...)

A quick runner up list of rarer Macca songs worth listening to:
11. Ou Est Le Soleil - Flowers In The Dirt - 1989
12. Oh Woman Oh Why - 1969
13. Famous Groupies - London Town - 1978
14. Here Today - Tug Of War - 1982
15. That Would Be Something - McCartney - 1969
16. Dear Boy - Ram - 1971
17. Figure Of Eight - Flowers In The Dirt - 1989
18. London Town - London Town - 1978
19. Mull Of Kintyre - 1978 (Everyone but the US went bananas over this, so it barely counts.)
20. Mrs. Vanderbilt - Band On The Run - 1973

Keep in mind - I tried to list songs the casual Beatles fan would be unfamiliar with, skipping the obvious hits like "Live And Let Die", "Jet", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" or "Silly Love Songs".

5 WORST McCartney songs I can NOT figure out why people like:

1. My Love - Red Rose Speedway - 1973
2. Let 'Em In - Wings @ Speed of Sound - 1976
3. Coming Up - McCartney II - 1980
4. Ebony And Ivory - Tug Of War - 1982
5. Wild Life - 1972 - The entire album. (Okay, nobody likes this, I just thought I'd pile it on.)

Great Movie Endings

Sometimes the ending of a movie can make or break a movie. (A recent movie ending failure - Kissing Jessica Stein - Ack!) Here is an article highlighting the top 25 movie endings of all time, by the USA Today columnist Whitney Matheson. I normally hate lists like this, but this one nailed most of my great movie endings...

Which reminds me to plug "Dancer In The Dark" one more time. This is a movie that will absolutely destroy you. Without giving away the plot, and even telling you that you WILL cry, it will still destroy you. If you want to be moved by a movie, rent it, watch it. Just don't plan on doing anything else for the rest of the night.