blog.noetech.com

Playing Darts

I got myself a dart board last week and have been playing whenever I'm home, which has been more than usual the last week or so.

So tonight I'm throwing around a couple darts, trying to get my form down, when I threw the darts you see pictured. I'm pretty impressed myself. Right on top of each other, just like Robin Hood, or something.

St. Nick's Day

Yesterday was St. Nick's Day. Hope you put out your shoes and got lots of markers and chocolate. That's what we always got. Oh, and maybe a Matchbox Car.

Birthdays

It's getting pretty close to my 27th birthday, and from the way I talk, you would would think it's tomorrow.

After your 21st birthday, there isn't much to look forward to until 65, that artificial retirement age. You have 16, 18, and 21, then nothing. It doesn't seem fair. There should be something you can't do until you're 30. I don't have any suggestions, but it would give you something to look forward to other than just getting older.

Coming to Terms

There's nothing harder then coming to terms with how people perceive you and how you perceive yourself.

Scissor Sisters

The Scissor Sisters are coming to the Avalon at the end of September and I don't have tickets. A little sad.

Temps are rising

Damn is it hot.

Everywhere else I've lived, not that many places really, August has been the *hottest month of the year. Not in LA. Apparently that's reserved for September.

Now I hate air-conditioning in my home. When we were growing up we didn't have it in our house** and our mother would not let us use it in the car. She would always say that people complain all winter long about how cold it was, then as soon as summer hit they would turn on the air-conditioning. So, according to my mother, you are only allowed to complain about one season a year, and that's winter. So...normally i don't use it, but I've been cracking. I turn it on for no longer than 15 minutes or so, just to take the edge off, but I still feel like I'm breaking a rule.

Here's hoping for a cooler week.

*Why do you double the T?

**To qualify this I should mention that we did have a couple of window units, but we could only use them when it was over 100 or so.

Holidays

Two of my favorite holidays of the year are Labor day and Memorial day. A holiday isn't really a holiday if it doesn't include a BBQ and afternoon drinking. Unfortunately no one I know (a pretty small lot I'll admit) is having a one tomorrow. I would throw one myself of course, but I don't think I could fit that many people on my balcony.

I'm going to miss my brats tomorrow.

Continuing the Healing

The tattoo is healing up nicely now, after some rough days. It's securely in the inching like crazy stage.

Now that a lot of the scab is off, it looks a little more pink that I would have wanted.

A New Hobby

For the last few weeks I've been spending at least half an hour a day at wikipedia.org. It's really addicting. I especially like the sections on the Constitutional amendments.

Triumph TR3

When I was a little boy, before I could come anywhere close to seeing the big picture, my Dad had a Triumph TR-3. A little red one, much like the one pictured to the right except his had a roll bar and a lot more rust.

We all loved that car, but not nearly as much as my sister. When my Dad sold it to buy a very cool, but not working at all, Jaguar (pictured at left), she cried. I don't think it's going too far to say that that experience ruined cars for her forever. Somewhere there's a really great photography of her as the car is being taken away (I must admit that I could be making this part up).

I don't remember much, the rust holes, standing in the back holding onto the roll bar, and most of all, the smell. A mixture of gas and, well I guess, age. It was a beautiful thing.

I mention it because I'm seriously looking for a new car, though I haven't even begun to think about paying for it. A TR-3 is in the running along with a mid 60s Porsche 912, and another Bug. Surprisingly, they're all in the same cost range.

I'm sorta partial to this one. He's cute with the racing stripes. and so far not too badly priced. I could get it shipped from Texas right :-)

Yeah right, just like I'm going to have my Bug shipped from Chicago. Any day now, I promise.

Merit Can Be Bought. Passion Can't.

Human beings have this thing I call the "Pissed Off Gene". It's a bit of genetic programming that makes us utterly dissatisfied with our lot, no matter how kindly fortune smiles upon us.

[gapingvoid]

This seems especially relevant right now.

Themes

I realized tonight that I hate themes. I don't mean a something as general as simplicity or even a specific decade, but rather a motorcycle built with a fire truck theme.

I think it goes all the way back to junior high with those dances. Yuck. They were also so god awful. Then there was prom, with some awful under the sea theme. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Now there's cars, motorcycles, and houses with themes. There's just something horribly wrong with designing something to look like something else. Design should be unique and stand on it's own, embracing itself. Why on earth do you want your house to look like a movie theater or a stadium?

But I do watch all those shows.

Bobby Fischer

Poor Bobby Fischer, detained in Japan for playing a game in Yugoslavia in '92. His story keeps getting weirder and weirder.

Black Card

This afternoon I was at the Apple Store in the Grove picking up some eMacs (Apple is have a hard time getting inventory to our normal supplier) when the women in front of me pulled out her credit card. Now this wasn't you typical card, it was an American Express Black card. If you're not familiar with it, it's invitation only, don't bother applying, and is only given out to the uber-wealthy who charge at least $150k per year. To add to the whole experience, she was beautiful. Nothing like seeing a beautiful and uber-wealthy women to kill your day, I can't even pick up someone at the bar.

Some Links to Fill Up Your Day

Possibly my most visited lunch place gets a visit from the Mayor, sort of.

How do I get invited to these things :-) More here.

Why you should bring your camera everywhere.

The Faint's new album is still far from complete, but their site is using some interface elements from Mac OS 7.

Because I need on more.

Five Things to Work on in the Next Month

1. Making work more enjoyable and getting out of the rut that I'm in.

2. How to make more of my LA experience. How to turn it into a good story to tell in ten years.

3. How can I dress up my studio apartment to make it seem more permanent and comfortable.

4. Getting rid of the car I have and into something I would prefer.

5. Plan a long weekend to Chicago (must work on fear of flying).

Why Live in LA

It seems most everyone living in LA, with the possible exception of people from LA, hate it. At the same time, no one ever leaves. They just stay here all the while talking about how much better ______ * is.

From my amateur observations there seems to be two reasons for this.

1. The weather. Who wants to go back to the New York or Chicago winters? Not me, though this June Gloom thing is getting really old.

2. Money. Wealth is everywhere you turn. At any moment you can become rich, or at least that's what it feels like. You can almost reach out and grab it. The air is just thick with money.

3. I know I said two, but I'm just not good at sticking to numbers. You just feel more important here then you do other places. Now this one is more personal, I can't say if anyone else feels it but I bet they do.

*This is usually New York, but on occasion you get the true answer, Chicago.

Friendster

Two things about Friendster.

One: I have a friend on my friendster list who, for the life of me, I can't remember. I have no idea who this person is. She lives in a town where another friend of mine is from, but I don't think they are connected. How did she end up on my list? She's cute though.

Ok I'll admit it, I only had one thing.

RC Cola

I'm in the middle of reading Bill Clinton's My Life. In chapter eight, he mentions how much he liked RC cola and how he was disappointed when they stopped making it. This was in 1964. They still make it now, and it's the best soda by the way, but did they stop and bring it back more recently?

Apparently, RC owns 7up and Dr. Pepper now.

Congratulations

Congrats go out my friend Josh back in Chicago for his new promotion to Chef de Cuisine at Cooba. Where's my duck?

Peanut Butter

There are not many joys as simple and as pure as the first cut into a new container of peanut butter.

Changing a Car Battery

I hate modern cars. Everything has to be so difficult. Starting a few weeks ago, something went wrong with the 2000 Jetta I have. One morning it wouldn't start, the battery was dead. Got the car jumped and off I went. A couple of days later it wouldn't start again. Hoping it was a bad battery, and not something electrical that was draining the it, I went out and bought a new one.

Here's the fun part, changing the fucking thing. In any old car, the process would take ten minutes, maybe a few minutes longer in a Bug, but nothing significant. Today I spent two fucking hours trying to get the damn thing switched out. Part of this was my fault, I don't have a full set of tools anymore, haven't since I left Fond du Lac, so that always makes it harder. But still, two hours?

I had to take off the cables. There's not just two anymore either. There's a whole box of wires sitting on top of the batter with fuses and other crap. Then I had to take off a shell that wraps the battery. It was non to obvious exactly how to do that either. There appeared to be two screws way down that needed to be removed. Of course I don't have a socket extension that long, so most of my time was spent trying to figure out a way to either get one or do without.

This was the part that took most of my time. Finally I realized how to take the shell off with out removing those bolts. So with that out of the way, now all I had to do was remove the clamp at the base. The problem here was that there was no way I was going to get a socket to fit in the little tiny crevice they gave it. In order to get the socket in there I had to remove the back of the headlight housing.

With that done, I switched out the battery and hooked it up. I went to start the car and....nothing. All kinds of weird clicks coming from the dash while the digital readouts went crazy, but the car didn't turn over. Turns out I just needed to let the car sit for awhile and "charge". Charge what I don't know, but twenty minutes later the car started right up.

God, I just want my 1965 Porsche 912.

Here's hoping it's not something with the electrical that's draining the battery. I don't think it is. There was a lot of the battery acid corrode powder stuff (is there a word for that) all around.

My Bag

Ray Charles

How sad. Ray Charles dies at 73.

Max Raabe

I'm absolutely in love with Max Raabe. Hear a clip or two at the WOW Report.

I could Use One

More at my Moblog

Tropicana Lemonade

I just bought a single serving bottle of Tropicana Lemonade. On the bottle it says:

Made With Not From Concentrate

That's an awkward sentence, isn't it?

P.S. Is that really how you spell awkward? That's a little awkward.

Hipster Bingo

Print it out and take it the next show. I would win in five minutes just hanging out at the 6 way in Wicker Park. You know, if I still lived in Chicago.

Phone Booth

Last weekend I was walking with my visiting friends up Highland Ave, coming back from lunch, when we passed a ringing pay-phone. Of course I had to answer it. On the other end was a man who told me he had the money he owed me.

He asked me about how much I would need, see he just got paid and had all that I could need. We settled on two hundred. Then we proceeded to pick a day, time and place to meet for the transaction. Anyway, I couldn't take it anymore and had to hang up. It was way too funny.

Question is, was it a prank, scam or wrong number? Did he think I was someone else? I'm leaning towards scam, but it was pretty funny.

I almost felt like I was in some weird version of Phone Booth.

Living Without

I can't believe they didn't figure it out on their own. I mean, really, it just comes naturally. I'm talking about the couple who didn't know what sex was of course.

Puma.com

The Puma online store has to be the worst online shopping experience I've had, and I've been doing this for a while now. There is no list of categories, or styles of shoes. Instead on the bottom of the screen four random styles show up, out of Puma's hundreds. As far as I can tell there is now way to just get a list so I can pick which ones I want. I don't want one of the four the are pushing. I swear this has changed since the last time I bought shoes from them a few months ago.

Puma lost a sale tonight. If I can't find the style I want I can't buy 'em.

Oh yeah, and when you first go to puma.com, they resize your window to take up the full screen. I hate that, I hate that, I hate it! I should control my windows, not some site.

UPDATE
---
Take it back, the list just doesn't show up on Safari, works on Internet Explorer. Yuk.

But in Internet Explorer, on the first page of puma.com, the entire bottom of the page is missing. It just happens to be where all the links to the rest of the site are located. Nice.

Lindsay Lohan

I think I'm over Lindsay Lohan. Just a day ago I was convinced of her ultimate hotness, but my mind was being warped by her age and particularly large breasts. She's cute for sure, and even hot, but the whole thing is getting out of hand. She's no Olsen.

I did see her in some magazine today that was really hot, I can't remember the name, but I'm still sticking to my overrated stance. She has her moments, but all and all, she's just another young hot actress.

Kissing

Because I have nothing witty, smart, or sexy to say, I'm giving you pigeons.

Want some tubes?

Weather

I wasn't kidding when I said that our office was 98 degrees today. In fact I think that's lowballing it. It peaked at 102 in LA today, and our office was hotter than outside. I'm a big pile of sweat, I must just stink like... well something gross anyway.

Our server room with 5 servers, 6 terabytes of storage, and all the power conditioners, not to mention all the switches and other accessories, was the hottest of them all. Until today, there wasn't even an air-conditioning vent in the room at all. So even if it was working, it still wasn't cooling the most important room in the building. So, finally today, they cut a vent into the duct work and got the system to pump cool air into there. Hopefully the rest of the floor will be fixed tomorrow, just in time for it to cool down.

QotD: High School

Erik asks: If you could date your high school sweetheart again, would you?

Like Erik, mine has a kid now, in fact she has two the last time I checked, still I think I probably would. Of course I haven't seen or talked to her in six years, so things are surely different now.

Misunderstanding

I'm not sure what's going on with my Overhaulin' entry, but a couple of people have left comments asking to be apart of the show. Can't help you there, but I might be able to hook you up with Showbiz Moms & Dads :-)

One use of the web I wouldn't have thought of

Hands down, the most disgusting site on the web that I've ever visited. Still, I can't seem to stop looking at it. It's like a horrible car accident, you can't stop gawking.

HowWasShe.com

Missing Milk

I miss my Oberweis chocolate milk. Nothing I've tried in LA matches their quality.

The Rock

I love my digital camera, but boy does it take crappy night time pictures. That's The Rock watching over my apartment. It's nice to know I'm safe.

Our Own Little Alley

The entrance to our building at work is sort of like a little dark alley. Or at least that's how people use it. It is not uncommon to come to work in the morning and find that someone has urinated on our door. I've hear that there has been times where human feces could be seen.

Tonight as I left there was a nice gentleman getting high.

Rumor has it that someone was actually getting blown in our actual alley this morning. Nothing like getting a good start on your day. But I wonder, why not our entrance?

Target, Again

Well I made it to that new Target. I bought myself a desk chair and a folding table which will make a decent temporary desk. I'm slowing getting close to a normal apartment.

The Target is just as you expect, except it's hard to park.

Target

A new Target opened a few blocks from me this weekend and these guys have been driving around the area since. They're kinda cute on their little Vespas.

I was going to go there this afternoon, but when I drove by, the line for the parking lot was half way around the block. I can't believe people are willing to wait in line like that. It would probably be just as fast to drive to the one in Burbank.

I'm also surprised the city let them build it there. Combined with the new Best Buy and Borders (may be a B&N), it's going to be crazy traffic. Lucky for me, I can walk there.

Cal. License

Make your own license.

License plates were so much better back then.

[via In Apprehension...]

Random Honesty

When I was at the corner store tonight buying my cigarettes the clerk gave me the wrong change. When I pointed out that he have me a 10 instead of a 5, he looked at me like I was crazy. Is that surprising someone would be honest? I mean really it's only 5 bucks. If it was a hundred or something, ok, but 5?

It reminded me of this commercial I saw years ago, where this man is buying groceries and the the counter girl gives him too much change. When he starts to point it out to her, she gets all huffy, until she realizes he's not complaining, just returning. Bad commercial, well really a PSA.

Police

Twice this weekend I came home from going out to find my cross street blocked off by police. Not just a couple cars either. I counted over 10 last night. I'm not sure what it is about my corner, but something keeps happening there.

Barbie and Ken

After 43 years Barbie and Ken are making a split. Who would have thought?

After 43 years as one of the world's prettiest pairs, the perfect plastic couple is breaking up. The couple's "business manager," Russell Arons, vice president of marketing at Mattel, said that Barbie and Ken "feel it's time to spend some quality time -- apart."

Mundane

What's happened to The West Wing? It used to be exciting, invigorating, and funny. Now it's just, well, mundane. Oh how I miss you Aaron Sorkin.

A Mattress

Well I cracked. No more sleeping on the floor for me. I bought an air mattress. It's no bed, but it is an improvement. I actually wanted an AeroBed, but Target didn't have one in the size I wanted. In a couple more months I may just buy a real mattress. Maybe I'll even get a desk so I can stop using my computer from the floor.

Random Quote

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"

Quotations Page

It seems appropriate for me. I'm a constant contradiction.

Journey

I've had Journey's Don't Stop Believin' stuck in my head all day. So much so that the first thing I did when I got home was download it from iTunes.

I need to find some other Journey songs. I image that I would like them.

The Meaning of Life

I have been having an on going conversation with someone at work about the meaning of life, souls, being connected to, I don't know, the greater universe. I'm still solidly in the "there is no greater purpose" camp, but I'm starting to understand why people may believe in such things. Without it, life can seem pretty depressing.

I'm listening to Kylie Minogue in an atempt to reverse my current mood, caused in no small part to said conversation. You would think that Kylie Minogue would work, with the upbeat tempo and all. If this doesn't work there's always embracing it and listening to the teen angst songs in my collection.

Smoking Up

Garfunkel, 62 and still kickin' it.

Garfunkel, 62, had a small amount of marijuana in his jacket pocket when a state trooper stopped the limo Saturday afternoon in Hurley, 55 miles southwest of Albany, the Daily Freeman of Kingston reported.

Saturday Night

I was warned not to buy this song:

Another saturday night and I ain’t got nobody
I’ve got some money ’cause I just got paid
Now how I wish I had someone to talk to
I’m in an awful way.

I got in town a month ago
I seen a lot of girls since then,
If I could meet ’em I could get ’em
But as yet I haven’t met ’em
Thats how I’m in the state I’m in.

Tis Funny

This picture is just funny. Really, really funny. For no good reason.

January WOW Report

This months WOW Report is out. It is the first annual WOW Report Awards. Check out the best frock, defrock and all the others. If you don't know what the WOW Report is, check it out. It's a monthly lesson in pop culture provided to you by my place of employment.

I'm now in the middle of redoing the template we use for the WOW Report. It's built all with images and is a huge pain to update each month. I'm going to try and replicate the layout with CSS and xhtml. I think I can do it.

Speaking of web stuff, I am working on a project at work where I'm building a site with tabs and sub-tabs using CSS. It's coming along, but I am have some problems with the sub-tabs part. If anyone has a good site with info on these techniques, let me know.

I love building websites. Learning all the things you can do with CSS is just too much fun. Now if only I had a design sense.

We're Not Gonna Take It

I once had this shirt. It was an orange t-shirt that said: We're Not Gonna Take It. It was the greatest shirt I've ever owned.

Owned isn't really the right word. The greatest shirt I've ever borrowed for a year. I thought I totally got away with keeping it too, but at the last possible moment, she laid claim. I actually ran into the girl who owned the shirt the last time I was in Fond du Lac. I should have asked her if she still had it.

Food on Christmas

I can't seem to find any delivery places open on Christmas. I would think that at least one thing would be open. I guess I'll just have to more PB&Js.

My First Earthquake

I have now experienced my first earthquake. I was sitting at my desk writing an email when it hit. I thought I was getting sick and losing my balance. But when I looked over the chair next to me was swaying a little bit. I went to find someone and everyone was running out of the building. No one seems to have faith that it will stand.

It wasn't very big here in LA, but it turns out it was a 6.5. It was a few hundred miles from here. That's crazy. I still feel a little wheezy and off balance.

You can get more info here.

Television Time

I still haven't gotten used to west coast television times. I have to do a little conversion in my head every time I want to know when something will be on. I know it's just adding an hour, but still, prime time starts at 8? What's that all about, really? I wonder how long it will take me to transition.

The WoW Report

Ahh...the WOW Report. The first concrete thing I was involved in at World of Wonder. I mostly just assembled it, but I did write one line: Caribbean Vacation. Not as witty as the others maybe, but still I'm proud :-)

The Burned House

Just a couple of pics from Erica.

Burning Down the House

A few months ago my friend Erica moved into a house in Oakland and one of the first things she did was replace the battery in the smoke detector. Good thing she did because early this morning she was woken up by it. Her room was filled with smoke and when she went down stairs the living room was thick with it. She woke up her roommate who was sleeping on the sofa with his friend and just a few seconds after they got up the wall behind the sofa burst into flames.

Instead of just running out of the house she ran back up stairs to wake her other roommate who didn't hear her screaming the first time. And because she has her priorities right, she grabbed her 12" Powerbook. Unfortunately the iPod and iSight didn't make it out.

Even thought the fire department only took 5 minutes to get there, the house is now just a shell. They let her back in after it was out and from her bedroom she can look out into the night sky. It turns out that the house heater started it. It was located under the sofa and must have been smoldering for a couple of hours. She awoke just in time. She's lucky to be alive, and I'm very glad she is.

Todays hero.

The Windowless Car

So I leave work and go to my car. I hit the power window button and start to drive away. And what happens? The window crashes down into the door and shatters.

I don't have a window any more! This is the worst luck. It not like I can drop the car off to be fixed. I need it to get to work. I would just have one of those window guys come to me, but I don't think it's as simple as replacing the glass. Something must be wrong with the mechanism for it to fall down like that.

Just wish I had my Bug.

Kramer

The guy I'm staying with really reminds me of Kramer. He has two very large cappuccino machines. Seriously, he could start a coffee shop. And today I came home to find that he has purchased a meat slicer.

Is it just me?

Is it just me or are they starting the Christmas push a little early this year? I guess it's only two weeks till Thanksgiving so it's not that early.

What happen to waiting until there was snow on the ground?

Two Important Things

Still not a whole lot going on with me besides work. Two things that deserve to be mentioned:

Lunch at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles and Tony Hawk's Underground.

Both are great.