tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164095032011-08-10T06:48:49.400-04:00Losing Faith in Humanity- One Person at a Time.Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.comBlogger2501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-2298712422569133382009-04-18T20:30:00.000-04:002009-04-18T20:31:38.422-04:00

FYI, this is what Space Mountain looks like when you wait in line for 90 minutes, then they shut it down for maintenance when you're about 20 people from getting on the ride.This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.Note: To play

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-16844157796253852972009-03-01T19:02:00.004-05:002009-03-04T17:44:17.570-05:00

Yesterday I discovered another gem on the interwebs. A while back I developed a soft spot for the now infamous LOLcat blog, ICanHasCheezeburger. For the record, my all time favorite LOLcat was the original FAIL (although this one was pretty good, too).I guess the fail theme was so popular that it ended up deserving it's own site, and voilà! I spent a good chunk of last night clicking through

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-15755156787507963852009-02-12T19:50:00.000-05:002009-02-13T08:41:38.189-05:00

I've been saying for a long time that Facebook has some of the shoddiest, most poorly made ads on the internet. I don't know if they're tailor made for stupid people, farmed out to a non-english speaking country, or the creator just doesn't know how to use spell check, but they're the worst.Usually it's some poorly worded statement like "Singles Gorgeous Girls Over 30" or "1 Flat Stomach Rule:

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-846157203784797782009-01-28T20:32:00.000-05:002009-01-28T21:03:04.061-05:00

Inauguration Day was special for a number of reasons, but one that I pointed out was that it had to be the most porta-potties ever assembled in one place. Seriously- they were everywhere. They stretched on into the horizon. But now we have confirmation from an authority.This article states that:Among other things, the inauguration of President Barack Obama was "the largest temporary toilet event

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-51936531919068460712009-01-23T16:51:00.000-05:002009-01-23T18:52:39.869-05:00

The concert was fun. I was dreading it because of the cold and the crowds, but I'm definitely glad we went. You can tell from the mobile post Sunday that we were some distance from the stage- I think the official concert area was everything from the Lincoln Memorial to the World War II memorial, and we were beyond that. The word was that they physically couldn't pack any more people into the

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-70269372455322831752009-01-18T14:54:00.001-05:002009-01-19T16:19:56.244-05:00

Here we are at the inaugural concert. It's crowded, but not as cold as everyone feared. So far we've seen the President-elect, Denzel, Bruce Springsteen and Mary J. Blige. Worth the trip so far. Oh! Here's Jamie Foxx and Steve Carrell! This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless! To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-5688829112300221022009-01-13T21:34:00.000-05:002009-01-13T21:54:17.679-05:00

Yes- it has been over a month since I wrote a new post, and over two months since I wrote a real post. In my defense, I've had a lot of stuff to do. Plus I got Guitar Hero: World Tour for Christmas and you have no idea how much willpower it's taking to do something other than play that game in my free time.So I'm going to ease my way back into this, and simply describe something that happened on

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-12693179485683741302008-12-08T19:56:00.001-05:002008-12-09T11:25:36.365-05:00

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives AreI don't care which way you voted- this is hilarious. Maybe it's because I live in dangerous proximity to the DC area, but for the last year I've been forced to listen to more Obama support than anyone should ever have to.The best line in the video was "The worst case scenario is that someone with evil intent seizes control

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-41278687556577497512008-11-08T10:25:00.002-05:002008-11-08T10:45:52.148-05:00

Okay, now we're a solid week past Halloween, it's time for me to blog about it! Sorry about the tardiness- I had to go to the UK this week and internet access there is always spotty. Especially at the Hilton Manchester Airport. We do have a toll-free UK number we can use for internet, but the hotel charges 50 pence (roughly 6.34 galleons) a minute for toll-free calls. How do they sleep at night?

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-79239899261253168732008-10-23T21:26:00.002-04:002008-10-23T22:13:20.000-04:00

Is this how every woman wants to be proposed to? On a billboard outside LAX next to an ad for "Chocolate News?"

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-5178015387462689062008-10-12T15:41:00.001-04:002008-10-23T22:12:38.618-04:00

Okay, here goes- guess where I am! This really shouldn't be too hard for people I've been talking to. FYI, this building isn't as big as it looks in pictures. More later! This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless! To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture. To play video

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-84575451552237057082008-10-08T20:50:00.004-04:002008-10-09T15:14:35.701-04:00

At my job we all work on many different things. Moreso in my particular little group, because we're kind of the catch-all for all of the aircraft components that don't fit nicely into one of the other categories. Which is to say not only do I work on several different utility actuation components, I am also the Navy's expert on Emergency Egress Lighting Systems (or EELS, if you like acronyms). Go

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-8365871068667031542008-10-07T18:57:00.003-04:002008-10-08T09:06:05.996-04:00

I have to believe that this is a hoax. But nonetheless, check out this article from TheBay.net:Casting Call to be Held in St. Mary's CountyThe producer of NBC's The Biggest Loser and Beauty and the Geek director are coming to Southern Maryland to cast 18- to 25-year-olds for a "Laguna Beach" type series that will be shot in St. Mary's County. The casting call is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11,

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-41263108709642366942008-09-26T18:14:00.001-04:002008-10-23T22:12:20.470-04:00

Okay, this is something I've been wanting to try for a while. This post is shooting directly from my phone to the blog. We're living in the future now, huh? I'm finally doing this now due to a perfect storm of reasons:1. I just got a new phone with a QWERTY keyboard, so typing this out is only a minor pain.2. I get a lot of blog ideas in airports, where I have lots of down time but no means to

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-77586447462137620702008-09-16T19:03:00.000-04:002008-09-16T20:04:39.233-04:00

Let's get this out of the way: I am not an Apple guy. I have always preferred PCs. I feel the main difference is that PC's are eminently flexible, which means you can really screw them up. A Mac will always work fine, as long as you are doing exactly what Steve Jobs wants you to do with it. If you want to do something or use a program they didn't intend for you to, you are out of luck- end of

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-54684530957110735342008-08-15T19:54:00.000-04:002008-08-15T23:19:37.253-04:00

I think by now we've established that I love it when I write about something, and then later a "real" news outlet does a story about the same thing. Well, here's the latest:Today The Slate (hence I say "real"...and for that matter, "news") is running a column about the worst commercials on TV. They detail that awful The Ladders commercial that I complained about back in April, and they have

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-27567686537407057562008-08-13T18:46:00.003-04:002008-08-13T18:46:00.897-04:00

I read American Way a lot. Not because I want to know where Doris Roberts likes to eat in Memphis, but because when you fly American Airlines it's just kind of there. Either way, the July issue was all about the Earth, recycling, and general up-my-alleyness so I dove right in. This magazine is always surface level fluff about hard-hitting issues (kind of like if the makers of US Weekly tried to

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-36962746940458334012008-07-29T19:21:00.002-04:002008-08-01T09:06:16.447-04:00

This is really getting out of hand. Here's a little backstory, to set the scene:About 4 years ago I took my company's college recruiter training. This was so I could go on trips to various universities (hopefully Purdue) and stand around at a kiosk and do first pass interviews of prospective employees. I figure, I went through enough job fairs, why not see it from the other side? Anyway, during

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-50638294842860133102008-07-27T19:55:00.002-04:002008-07-28T08:30:31.584-04:00

It's that time of year again! That magical day when we celebrate the summer by getting unlimited picnic food and the afternoon off for the bargain basement price of $6. Really, you can't beat that.The formula was really the same as every previous picnic- I ate too much food, we threw around the frisbee and I kind of felt like I was going to barf, etc. There were a few key differences though, like

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-63120569955568135742008-07-16T20:11:00.004-04:002008-10-07T14:42:50.100-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I was able to experience my first Indian wedding (and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it). Ramya's childhood BFF/former roommate Padmini got married in Miami, so we made a mini-vacation out of it. That's right- Miami on the 4th of July weekend. It was not chilly.As weddings go, the only thing that was different from "us-people" weddings was the actual ceremony

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-5264967558444530432008-07-15T20:53:00.000-04:002008-07-15T23:45:39.980-04:00

That's right. Check out what Ramya got me for our anniversary- my very own bobblehead! It's actually frighteningly accurate- they even got the smile creases in my cheeks, the goatee that's lighter than my hair, and the (ahem) bald spot.But you know what might be my favorite part? Ramya's choice of outfit. Clearly inspired by my traditional game-day ensem, she went a step further and made the

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-85765493659404207772008-07-02T19:28:00.003-04:002008-07-02T19:28:00.448-04:00

Something recently reminded me of XKCD, a poorly drawn yet brilliant web comic. It might not have mass appeal, because he makes extensive use of sci-fi, engineering, and other generally geeky references, but I think a lot of them really hit home. For instance, this one:I kid you not- I once actually figured out how to play "Ode to Joy" on a handrail at my dad's house. And for further

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-40511582592282191062008-06-25T19:12:00.001-04:002008-06-25T19:12:00.571-04:00

Take a minute to read this story about a boy who got stuck in one of those arcade prize machines in England. I'll wait.In summary: A boy who couldn't win the Pooh bear he wanted from a claw machine squeezed up inside to get it, only to then realize he couldn't get out.Now you may see a charming tale about a precocious youth, but I see everything that's wrong with civilization here. Why? Let's

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-16473913737412553402008-06-19T19:21:00.001-04:002008-06-19T19:21:02.201-04:00

Here's your fair warning: This is going to be a dorky post. But, since I've had this conversation twice in the last two days (once with Ramya, and she was a trooper about it) I figured it deserves a little exploration.Okay people born after 1980, this is Soundwave.One of the original bad guys of the Transformers universe, Megatron's right hand man, and general badass. Sure, most transformers turn

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-72307203603747284322008-06-12T17:32:00.000-04:002008-06-12T17:32:00.624-04:00

See? I mentioned the incredible shrinking ice cream package here, but now it's getting national attention. I knew the public wouldn't take this lightly, even if they do have solid rationale.

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-23921717840321191452008-06-05T20:48:00.003-04:002008-06-05T21:04:00.188-04:00

Take a look at this picture I snapped on the Metro last weekend. And don't worry, I was super sneaky when I took it.Seems cute, right? A mother on the train sharing her iPod with her toddler son? Well, let me augment the picture for you with some details from the real-life experience: The music wasa) Absolutely blasting. I couldn't make out all the lyrics, but it was definitelyb) Rap. The

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-68493601105359996322008-06-01T21:02:00.001-04:002008-06-03T10:21:36.635-04:00

I just returned home from Los Angeles, where I went for a one-day meeting. That's right- I flew from DC to LA Tuesday, had a meeting Wednesday, then flew back Thursday. This may sound incredibly wasteful, and it is, but this was a Test Readiness Review and it was necessary to see the actual equipment. Believe you me, I make use of netmeetings and telecons whenever possible. And in this case,

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-28711609783080070452008-05-22T21:39:00.000-04:002008-05-22T22:25:23.862-04:00

Today I bring you another list of local humor from Facebook. These things are always a little shaky, and the fact that it's actual name is "You know your are from Indiana when....." doesn't help it's credability. So, I've decided to come up with a simple color-coding system to give my interpretation of the various anecdotes. It is as follows:Blue = Totally truePurple = Occasionally/Sort ofGreen

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-9491596893640827472008-05-21T19:45:00.004-04:002008-05-21T19:59:10.725-04:00

What you see here are two tubs of delicious Edy's frozen treat. I guess they don't call it ice cream or even frozen yogurt anymore- probably due to some high amount of chemicals. But it if it lowers the fat, then I'm cool with it. In any case: The tub on the right was purchased a few months ago and has been sitting out in my garage freezer- contents, 1.75 Qts. I bought the one on the left last

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-2554772597065228932008-05-07T20:17:00.001-04:002008-05-07T21:08:26.792-04:00

Monday I had a second MRI done on my knee, and I maintained my perfect streak of falling asleep in the process. I can see how someone with claustrophobia issues would find the experience terrifying, but I find the electronic buzzes and clicks oddly hypnotic. But reason I write is that I totally forgot about the appointment until I got to work, at which point I had to turn right around and leave

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-62764645601082683992008-04-27T13:47:00.002-04:002008-04-27T13:52:14.358-04:00

These last two days I have been doing something that I think I've only once in the last 5 years: I have been working over the weekend. I know, I know- you're all like "But wait, you work for the government!" Believe it or not, we have been super busy lately. I'm making overtime for it, but still- it's weird. Friday hit and I was all "Woo-hoo! The weekend...oh, right." It sort of takes the thrill

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-10611118126267086232008-04-11T11:27:00.003-04:002008-04-11T11:40:17.132-04:00

It would seem that I hopped an American Airlines MD-80 to Dallas just in time to get caught in the massive grounding that's all over the news. Of course, it might be more all over the news here than elsewhere, because at one point they stated that there were over 100,000 travelers stranded at DFW airport. As of yesterday that was down to a scant 10,000, but hopefully by this afternoon I won't be

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-83956817988644864982008-04-07T11:31:00.000-04:002008-04-07T12:33:16.134-04:00

I'm entering week three of my three weeks away from home, pulling out the final stretch in Ft. Worth, Texas. This week of meetings starts after lunch on Monday, which is something companies do to allow people to fly in Monday morning. This does nothing for those of us who live two hours from the airport- not to mention that Monday morning is the worst time to fly- but we appreciate the effort. In

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-65279845837237734642008-03-27T20:42:00.003-04:002008-03-27T20:46:54.955-04:00

I've had a pretty busy couple of weeks, so I'm going to resort to the cop-out "bullet point" method of blog posting to get people up to speed on the world of Marc.The coolest thing I've done in the last few weeks would have to be going to watch the Boilermakers play in the NCAA tournament. I will state for the record that while basketball is clearly inferior to football, I do enjoy watching

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-50025167582323660912008-03-23T20:21:00.002-04:002008-03-24T19:54:58.374-04:00

While driving home tonight I saw that one of the many, many homes for sale in my neighborhood is now looking for renters. The weird thing is that there's a big old sign out front that says "For Rent By Owner." Now, I'm familiar with "For Sale By Owner," the alternative being that a realtor is selling it. But who would be renting out a property besides the owner? Maybe that's a normal term. Anyway

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-6998036595040594662008-03-14T13:59:00.001-04:002008-03-14T16:07:46.506-04:00

We can all thank my friend Shelley for this gem, which caused our group to cease all productive work for about 20 minutes yesterday. This site, the National Badge Company, is a legitimate business that makes badges for all sorts of different groups, agencies, service organizations, what have you. But here's the thing- you can preview any badge you want before ordering it! This has endless

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-85277795082081324362008-03-12T17:40:00.001-04:002008-03-12T17:38:26.058-04:00

Okay, I know that puns are the lowest form of humor, but my boss had this hanging on his door and I literally laughed out loud when I saw it.I mean, tell me that's not hilarious. I dare you.

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-55867590696819755572008-03-10T20:24:00.002-04:002008-03-10T20:34:40.325-04:00

It's been pretty cold here as of late. It seemed like we were on our way to spring, and then bam! Below freezing for a week. So today was a nice surprise- it warmed up quite a bit and was sunny. Still, I was a little surprised to see kids in my neighborhood outside hanging around and skateboarding in shorts and t-shirts. I checked the temperature outside: 48 degrees. I mean, yes, it's 28

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-90127711127770906312008-02-23T13:39:00.000-05:002008-02-24T10:12:00.213-05:00

Here's a post that I meant to do quite a while ago. My mom sent me one of those "you might be a redneck if" e-mails, littered with pictures that could all have been taken here in St. Mary's county. In any case, I uploaded the pictures and promptly forgot about it. Then, the same e-mail made the rounds at work, and I was like "Oh yeah." I now present to you what I feel were the three funniest

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-60109792787208642432008-02-13T21:14:00.001-05:002008-02-13T21:15:14.061-05:00

Who wants to hear about my trip from three weeks ago? Okay, good!I guess there's a little left to tell. Saturday we took a day cruise to the Bahamas. Since the boat left at 7:00 am, we had to be there at 5:30, which means we again had to get up at 4:00. Anyway, when I was in high school the marching band took a trip to Miami to march in the Orange Bowl parade, and at some point during that week

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-40078614215443348622008-02-10T15:43:00.000-05:002008-02-10T15:43:28.848-05:00

I know, I still have part 2 of "Meet the Prakasams" to finish, but I was in LA all week and then I had a really busy weekend. In lieu of that, here are some things worth mentioning from the weekend:I keep seeing this commercial for the Diners Club Card. The slogan is: "The world is open. This is the key." Does that make sense to anyone? If it's open, why do you need a key? Did anyone run that by

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-62129494969191526992008-01-30T21:42:00.000-05:002008-01-30T21:43:11.471-05:00

What we originally meant to do last weekend was fly down to Ft. Lauderdale so that Ramya could run the Miami marathon, figuring that it would be a good time for me to meet the parents while we were there. Unfortunately, with Ramya's combination of Achilles Tendonitis and Runner's knee, her doctor advised her to not be foolish and skip it. Luckily, she was able to defer her enrollment until next

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-60577773459929532292008-01-22T19:19:00.000-05:002008-01-22T21:21:43.519-05:00

So some NBC affiliate did a list of the worst songs of the 1990's. I clicked through to see which ones they had chosen. Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart? True. Master P - Make 'Em Say Uhhh! Yes, that song was garbage. Then they name some like Guns 'N Roses - November Rain, which I always liked and Ugly Kid Joe - Cats in the Cradle which was a darn fine cover. I saw Wilson Phillips - Hold On

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-49443167706201099332008-01-17T21:25:00.000-05:002008-01-18T09:40:29.948-05:00

Somewhere in the neighborhood of three years ago, I remember seeing the preliminary plans for Nintendo's next generation video game console (at that time it was called the "Revolution"). They announced that instead of trying to keep up with the Sonys and the Microsofts they were going in a totally different direction: they were developing a box that had less processing power, but would have a

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-85044459749465762322008-01-14T19:25:00.000-05:002008-01-14T20:01:43.584-05:00

That was an awful game- I never expected the Colts to lose. And while I have to give credit to San Diego's defense, that was mostly a crappy effort by the Colts all around. All the bizarre tipped passes that went right into the Charger's hands didn't help matters, either. That one-handed catch by the Charger's lineman was pretty sweet, though.The thing that stunned me this morning while watching

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-12037544283531245452008-01-10T17:53:00.000-05:002008-01-10T17:06:36.845-05:00

I dislike the Jacksonville Jaguars, for no particular reason. I also dislike the New England Patriots, but that's because of the totally unsportsmanlike way they crushed and ran the score up and crappy teams this year. I won't even get into the fact that Tom Brady broke Peyton Manning's touchdown record by throwing on fourth down when they were up by 30 points in the fourth quarter. Anyway, in

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-65281232771899566662008-01-03T20:17:00.000-05:002008-01-03T20:17:39.031-05:00

Today I had my court date stemming from my speeding incident a couple months ago. My summons told me to show up at 8:45 a.m. today at the St. Mary's County Courthouse in Leonardtown, so you better believe I was there ready to go at 8:15. Here's the thing- courtroom #1 (my hearing location) had a sign that says it opens at 9:00. I sat down on the bench next to a polite-looking women and offered up

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-57495906245059527362007-12-22T18:51:00.000-05:002007-12-22T18:48:39.885-05:00

I'm blogging from Lansing, Michigan today as we enter the last few days before Christmas. Oddly enough, it's actually warmer here than it was in Southern Maryland. But there is one key difference: snow. There's probably about 5 inches on the ground, and with a little luck it'll still be there when Ramya gets here Sunday night. But that's not the only thing I've noticed that's different. To name a

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-71561943399202811392007-12-21T17:35:00.000-05:002007-12-21T17:42:23.320-05:00

Favorite moment of Christmas shopping today- a guy was standing there on his cell phone trying to determine which version of Nintendogs to buy. Apparently his daughter wanted the Dalmatian version, but they didn't have it. So, he was in a very animated discussion about which one to buy, and he says "Well, they have the Dachshund one." The key here is that he pronounced it "datch-shunned" which I

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-57818688113530336112007-12-21T12:25:00.000-05:002007-12-21T12:51:40.375-05:00

A friend sent me a link to this website: The Presidential Candidate Match Game. It asks you questions about key issues, lets you weigh their relative importance, then spits out the top three candidates that it thinks you should vote for. I think the ability to weigh the questions is key, because when it asks how the federal government should get more people covered by health insurance, I have

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-80315212519895151422007-12-11T21:08:00.000-05:002007-12-14T15:23:38.914-05:00

Tonight at the drill hall there was a guy playing basketball with a bluetooth headset on. This astounds me for two reasons: First, what- like he's going to be dribbling down the court, get a call, hit the answer button, and then continue to play while talking? If I was on his team I would be pretty ticked off. But second, if I turn my head too quickly my earpiece goes flying off. Here he was

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-83335813824548583032007-12-03T21:06:00.000-05:002007-12-04T13:48:29.335-05:00

Last week my travel-oriented job once again expanded my horizons by sending me to an exotic city I had never visited before. This time I was flung far from home as I took in Philadelphia- the city of brotherly love. Now, I had been to Philly before, but only because that's where the layover is when you fly US Air to Manchester. As I've mentioned previously, I consider this a technicality- You

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-57769866267360970982007-11-21T16:31:00.000-05:002007-11-21T15:10:29.385-05:00

So last week I got pulled over and received a ticket for the first time in my life, right? Well, you'll never guess what happened Saturday. That's right, I got pulled over again, this time on base. Thankfully I didn't get a ticket.Picture: Lexington Park, Saturday morning. Ramya needed to do a 13-miler for her marathon training, so I dropped her off on base (the 13 mile loop there is awesome),

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-73717442096484356542007-11-18T20:47:00.000-05:002007-11-18T20:53:00.613-05:00

I had another fun weekend, this time on account of the fact that Ramya came down to the LP and Eric was in town for business, so he was able to stop by as well. We played Simpsons Clue (Ramya won 2 games, Eric 1), Trivial Pursuit '90s Edition (Eric won, but I had all my pie pieces), Skip-Bo (I crushed them)- oh yeah, we painted the town red. Saturday they even helped me get my Christmas lights up

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-38767248453083808742007-11-13T20:29:00.000-05:002007-11-14T14:18:58.307-05:00

We got home from Vegas late last night (Carly & Daniel to Connecticut, Ramya to DC, me to SoMD), where we had an excellent vacation. That's a story for another night, because I have a much shorter, and much more annoying tale to share with you now.Our flight landed at BWI at 10:15 last night, so by the time we got our bags, got to the car, dropped Ramya off in DC, and drove another 90 minutes it

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-52832530720970472012007-11-01T18:46:00.000-04:002007-11-01T20:47:33.285-04:00

We had a good amount of kids last night- probably not as many as last year overall, but only 4 or 5 that were sans costume. Plus, manners seemed to be making a comeback, with most kids remembering to say "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you." Of course, there was the obligatory handful of trick-or-treaters that were old enough to drive, but what are you going to do? At least none of them were smoking

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-1869965380990452522007-10-31T17:28:00.000-04:002007-10-31T16:53:01.377-04:00

If you don't understand my costume, check out Talladega Nights. In one of the best scenes, Cal explains that he likes to picture Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt, because it says "I want to be formal, but I'm here to party." So when I saw the shirt for $8 at Steve & Barry's, the costume practically made itself. However, I think that even though the package clearly says "Jesus Wig and Beard Set," it

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-39547551783481390812007-10-30T20:40:00.000-04:002007-10-30T20:43:28.075-04:00

Last weekend I once again subjected myself to the two days of physical punishment known as "Alumni Band." I used to think that they only brought the gang back together once every two years because it just isn't practical for everyone to make the trip any more than that. Now I'm starting to think that two years is the perfect interval for everyone to remember how much fun it is, yet forget how

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-61466440826036681712007-10-24T22:35:00.000-04:002007-10-26T22:09:30.461-04:00

My grandfather, Howard J. Burgess Sr., passed away on Sunday, October 14. It's never easy, and I'll miss Grandpa, but I can comfortably say that it was his time. We've been on watch for a while, but you're never quite ready, you know?I'm not very good at this sort of thing, so I'm going to borrow a few items from the words of remembrance that my Dad and aunt Karen said at his service. Karen noted

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-32270680582710882282007-10-23T21:24:00.000-04:002007-10-29T10:54:30.389-04:00

It was an all-around great football weekend, with Purdue thumping Iowa (which I was able to hear in the car, courtesy of XM), the Colts taking out the Jaguars (as Ramya said "Poor Jacksonville- they have so little else going for them"), and of course, Notre Dame's continuing humiliation.But earlier today at lunch, we were discussing how golden boy Tom Brady is on pace to shatter my boy Payton

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-61693387875363995662007-10-22T17:38:00.000-04:002007-10-22T17:04:22.336-04:00

I've been saying for years that the way we do cell phones in this country is ridiculous, but this column articulates it a little better than I do. Seriously- cell phone companies are awful, and the only reason they get away with it is that they're all bad, and they always have been so people don't seem to notice.Since we're on the topic, I'm going to warn everyone about a little something I like

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-27897479248421075802007-10-10T21:12:00.000-04:002007-10-10T21:15:01.678-04:00

Today I returned home from a business trip to Delaware, which means that after a solid 28 years without ever visiting the First State I have now been there twice in one month. Alas, there were no gay beaches to be visited this time- I was there to meet with ILC Dover about a pressure seal for one of my programs. Here's what I knew about the company before I got there this morning: they make

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-50294516634548726112007-10-08T19:51:00.000-04:002007-10-08T20:18:53.075-04:00

I don't know if I've ever been more proud of what this blog has accomplished. Do you remember a few months ago when I mentioned the Net Moral Authority? Well, you are now perusing offender #4754!That's right, this blog can now be mentioned alongside such esteemed company as MonkeyPedia, BarackObama.com, eatpoo, Discovery Kids, and Daily Kitten. You can find it nestled comfortably between other

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-53690344160103559822007-10-04T20:48:00.000-04:002007-10-04T21:07:00.166-04:00

Here's the paradox about blogging: When I have time to write, nothing's going on. When I'm doing fun stuff that people want to know about, I'm too busy to sit in front of the computer waxing poetic about football and GI Joes. It's a vicious cycle. That said, who wants to hear a story about Karaoke on Ramya's birthday from two weeks ago?Apparently, there are a couple of pretty choice Karaoke bars

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-24338819219964160732007-09-29T21:02:00.000-04:002007-09-29T21:03:31.803-04:00

Ramya and I were screwing around with the MyHeritage Celebrity Matcher again (see here and here), and just in case you were wondering what Daniel and Carly's kid would look like, check this out:Apparently they will spawn Hayden Panettiere somewhere between Remember the Titans and Heroes. You could do worse, right?

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-62206254169735798932007-09-29T09:17:00.000-04:002007-09-29T20:52:32.486-04:00

When our meetings in jolly old Wolverhampton (this is two Thursdays ago...9/20/07) finished up around 11:00 a.m., Shelley and I found ourselves in the West Midlands with several hours to kill. Throughout the duration of trip we had found ourselves nothing short of amazed at Shelley's new GPS (which really is a marvel), so when we got to the car we fired it up and said "Show me the points of

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-1043608520955049502007-09-28T20:48:00.000-04:002007-09-28T20:47:58.927-04:00

I'm working on a couple of posts right now, because a lot has happened recently- I had a trip to England, Ramya took me karaokeing for her birthday, I went to San Diego, etc. But, since I've now been on the road for three weeks straight free time has been hard to come by. I intend to get caught up this weekend.But do you know what's on my mind right now? The fact that I don't understand how I

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-64838327451145272692007-09-19T16:45:00.000-04:002007-09-29T08:42:46.096-04:00

For your weather update, it is currently "crappy" in the United Kingdom. It's been particularly bad today- doing that constant mist thing. As Colin (one of our contacts over here) put it "at least in the US it just rains and gets it over with. Here you have to deal with this all day." No doubt!We spent the first two nights in Preston, which was nice because the hotel has an awesome fitness center

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-84143614925406888222007-09-10T21:18:00.000-04:002007-09-10T21:18:19.664-04:00

First things first: Spectacular football weekend. The Colts absolutely took apart the Saints, Purdue had a convincing win over the Eastern Illinois School for Wayward Girls, and Notre Dame was humiliated by Penn State. The only game I was able to watch was Indy Thursday night, and though I always enjoy a Colts victory, I hate for it to come at the expense of my boy Drew Brees. What I did like was

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-44722544686859464902007-09-06T17:25:00.000-04:002007-09-06T17:07:46.143-04:00

Yeah, I haven't posted anything for awhile. It's been a combination of lots of travel, not much time, and not much that struck me as "blog worthy." But just in case you're wondering what the next few weeks hold for me, it's sort of an improving travel progression: Next week I'm in New Orleans (boo!), after that England (meh), then finally a week in San Diego (yeah!). The crazy part is that the

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-9241340947403218582007-08-27T20:54:00.000-04:002007-08-27T20:57:13.160-04:00

I'm blogging from Long Island (pronounced lawn-guy-lend) tonight, where I'm spending a few days while meeting with Northrop Grumman. The meetings were nice and productive, but the coolest part was when Jerome (my counterpart on the E-2) took me over to see the new simulator NGC is setting up to train pilots. And since no one was using it, they let us in to give it a shot.Now, you may have heard

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-44149191627274092962007-08-21T20:58:00.000-04:002007-08-21T21:00:24.339-04:00

We have to take a lot of training here at the Navy. We have a requirement to acquire at least 80 hours of it every two years- just like when I worked for Honeywell. Except with Honeywell, it was a department average (meaning the hours of training taken by a department divided by the number of employees had to exceed 80) leading us to speculate that we would be better off if each group hired a "

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-67121903248170726532007-08-17T20:07:00.000-04:002007-08-17T20:10:16.478-04:00

Ramya showed me this forever ago, and I'm finally getting around to posting it. We may think we have some fun prank shows, what with our Candid Camera and Totally Hidden Video, but it looks like the Japanese really go all out. Either you don't need people's permission to show them on TV in Japan, or these people were some really good sports!And if you liked that, check out this slightly more

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-52008867543249201292007-08-13T19:49:00.000-04:002007-08-15T14:16:29.411-04:00

This weekend Ramya and I decided to do something touristy, but we wanted to see something neither of us had seen before. After batting around several ideas, we realized that neither of us had ever been to Mt. Vernon, home of America's first president. I have to say, it was actually pretty sweet!Not only is it the house (partially restored, partially original) and surrounding gardens, but there

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-67489943039733876142007-08-09T19:11:00.000-04:002007-08-09T19:17:22.739-04:00

In case anyone was wondering, yes- it is beautiful in LA. It’s been in the low 70s, perfectly sunny, not humid at all, a nice breeze, the whole deal. Sometimes the great weather makes you realize why people put up with all the annoyances of California and mortgage their whole life to live here. I wouldn’t, but I can see the appeal. Also, this is the first time I’ve been here for work in the

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-63769732034249449952007-08-06T20:30:00.000-04:002007-08-07T00:02:49.445-04:00

Take a look at this Travelocity ad. When I saw it, my first thought was "Wow, how did they get everyone to go down the slide at the same speed so they could snap the picture with everyone right at the bottom?" You know, they're all different sizes and weights. Now, Galileo taught us that weight doesn't affect how fast things fall, but the friction because of their size would wreak havoc on their

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-43769016855612586312007-08-03T16:46:00.000-04:002007-08-03T16:49:19.722-04:00

I'm back in the LP, if only for a few days. People have been asking me what I thought of New Orleans, and I've been finding it hard to stick the old adage about "If you can't say something nice..." It's really hard to give a fair evaluation, because the poor city has had a rough couple of years. And keep in mind that I was there for 3 days on a business trip, and I just wanted to get in, go to

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-84501908354802437952007-07-29T20:08:00.000-04:002007-07-29T20:05:09.335-04:00

Okay, hopefully everyone has seen Transfomers by now. If you haven't, and you don't want any spoilers/downers, don't read this post! The thing is, I really, really wanted to like this movie, but I thought it was awful. Before I saw it I was cautiously optimistic- I knew it was going to be a departure from the toys and the cartoons I loved so dearly as a kid, so I planned to enjoy it as a separate

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-34179549248103281042007-07-29T10:15:00.000-04:002007-07-29T10:15:00.584-04:00

I really have nothing to add. Except that I wonder how fierce the competition for the part of the girlfriend was.

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-10862532863048064252007-07-28T16:52:00.000-04:002007-07-28T16:51:11.825-04:00

I'm back in Maryland for the weekend. It looks like all the scheduled trips are going to happen as planned, which means New Orleans next week and LA the week after that. All went well in Texas this week, after the torrential downpour we had to drive through to get to the hotel. This keeps with the theme of horrible weather when I'm in Texas.My reason for posting today is that I think I finally

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-5365315515661147382007-07-22T15:12:00.000-04:002007-07-22T15:13:53.708-04:00

There are times in my life when I think I should stop buying Transformers. And then there are times when I see things that leave me absolutely no choice. Behold: a Target gift card that TRANSFORMS INTO OPTIMUS PRIME.I saw it in the store, tried to determine if anyone I knew had a birthday coming up, came up with a goose egg, and thought "screw, it- this one's for me." I did put $5 on it to avoid

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-9161880445220510352007-07-21T16:26:00.000-04:002007-07-22T15:02:44.405-04:00

It's Saturday afternoon, I'm about to skip town for 2 (or 3) weeks, and nothing all that interesting has happened has happened lately. You know what that means- internet links trump an actual post!Artist creates a "sculpture" in city's main intersection to celebrate Tour de France- consisting of multiple, conflicting road signs. What could go wrong?Virtual Bubblewrap! I like the assessment that

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-7656749768588255812007-07-18T20:18:00.000-04:002007-07-18T20:28:06.813-04:00

Okay, I totally stole this whole idea from Kate, but the website is pretty neat. It's a little more high-tech than the little map I have hanging at my desk, on which I color in each state with my highlighter as I visit them. Feel free to make your own!In any case, this sparked a discussion about what counts as "visiting" a state- I say that you clearly can't count ones that you only drove through

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-11363501925163985252007-07-16T21:56:00.000-04:002007-07-17T07:39:47.978-04:00

Annnnnnnnd, I'm home. Actually, I got home Friday afternoon, but I've been pretty busy up until right this moment so I hadn't had a chance to update the ole' blog. In any case, England was pretty much the same as everytime- just another business trip, only with massive jet lag. And there was a lot more driving since now the government contract flights are direct to Heathrow (London) instead of

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-47045856966373996692007-07-09T13:36:00.000-04:002007-07-09T13:38:10.370-04:00

I'm about to head out the door, but here's a quick Blogger note. You know how you have to do that word verification thing to leave a comment? Check out the one I got the other day:Seriously? I have now idea what that's supposed to be. Obviously I didn't get it right (I deleted the question mark) so the world may never know.I'm actually heading out toward Dulles early (my flight is at 9:47 pm),

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-26563593086982708882007-07-08T19:15:00.000-04:002007-07-08T19:09:11.164-04:00

I'm back in Maryland, and I made it without incident. This does not, however, indicate that I will ever fly Delta again. I think the next time I need to get back to South Bend I'll do what Mom and Jim have been suggesting for years, and fly to Chicago, then take one of the hourly trains or buses that run to the South Bend airport. I've had it with these connections that never leave on time!

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-1213264444698559682007-07-02T20:08:00.000-04:002007-07-02T20:11:35.723-04:00

So I got up at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, left for the airport right around 4:00, and got there in plenty of time for my 6:45 flight. I slept all the way through that bad boy and landed in Cincinnati at 8 something. I had 4 hours to kill, so I tried to sleep, but couldn’t because the CNN airport network was absolutely blaring at every gate. So I kind of sat there with my eyes closed, until about 11:

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-58876742249469951922007-06-29T11:59:00.000-04:002007-06-29T11:59:09.427-04:00

Long story short, yesterday reminded me why I hate air travel. I was booked on a 5:15 flight out of Baltimore that would get me to Cincinnati at 6:55, and then an 8:55 to South Bend. To me, this was perfect, because that's plenty of time to cover the approximately 5 linear miles from the regular terminal to the regional terminal and still stop for some Gold Star chili (it's not as good as

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-37539150932727264292007-06-27T20:56:00.000-04:002007-06-28T08:58:26.341-04:00

Picture: 1997...Titanic is #1 at the box officeMichigan is the NCAA Football national championThe Hale-Bopp Comet prompts the Heaven's Gate cult to commit mass suicideThe Detroit Red Wings defeat Philadelphia to win the Stanley CupBrett Favre win his first and only Super BowlO.J. Simpson is found liable in a civil suitHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is released in the UK (it comes here a

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-67189207559759179912007-06-26T21:26:00.000-04:002007-06-26T21:28:08.515-04:00

I've had a few discussions about those God ads on billboards along the highway. You know what I'm talking about- these things:Yeah- don't care for 'em. It's not that I disagree with the sentiment, it's just that I have a hard time with some ad exec hired by a church who writes a little quip and signs it "God." Like, "What I wrote is so brilliant and pure that I can claim it came from God himself

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-70142665367919869792007-06-22T19:58:00.000-04:002007-06-22T20:03:33.394-04:00

It's Friday, so I'm going to do another one of those "Summary of interesting things I stumbled upon this week that don't deserve their own post" posts. So here are some more fun links for you to check out:Failure is not an Option. Schools are trying to lower their student failure rates with ridiculous measures like ignoring abscences and doing away with deadlines. This is something that really

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-71427587695235036002007-06-19T21:02:00.000-04:002007-06-19T21:02:34.734-04:00

I've been at this eHarmony thing for a while now, but I just had a match interaction like no other. I'll start off with her profile- I've copied in a handful of the sections that I thought stood out. See if you can tell why! This is probably bad eKarma, but I'm not trying to be mean. There isn't anything identifying in here, and I'm posting it for information only.The eHarmony questions/headers

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-12432612015500832982007-06-15T15:40:00.000-04:002007-06-15T15:40:54.577-04:00

I hope that we're in a "judgment-free" zone, and we can overlook what a giant band dork I am, and appreciate this little insight into the human mind. A few days ago I was talking to my good buddy Eric, and we were discussing making the pilgrimage back to Purdue for the Alumni Band. Last night I was sitting there drumming on my practice pad, trying to see if I remembered how to play the various

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-90053475544091380032007-06-14T20:38:00.000-04:002007-06-14T20:43:57.205-04:00

This year's company picnic was the opposite of last year, at least weather-wise. Whereas last year it was 100 degrees and sunny, this year was cloudy, windy and right about 60 degrees. I should've seen that coming when I was getting dressed this morning and thought "Oh! Picnic day! Better wear shorts and a t-shirt!" Or perhaps I could've checked the weather before getting dressed. Whatever.

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-75147377271664882322007-06-13T20:18:00.000-04:002007-06-13T20:19:47.306-04:00

This article got me riled up for 3 reasons:1. “It is a fundamental change,” Mr. Spinella said. “People are willing to buy small cars because they are more sophisticated." "They aren’t econoboxes, they’re just smaller cars,” Mr. Shapiro added.Thank you! This is something I've been waiting for Americans to realize for years: Small cars can still be nice. Europe has plenty of luxury cars that are

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-58098410740145447112007-06-10T21:16:00.000-04:002007-06-13T20:21:14.956-04:00

I arrived at the wedding right as dinner was wrapping up, which was actually just in time for cake. It must have been about 9:30 when Carly called to give me the OK, and I actually considered bailing on it. I haven't left for an activity at 9:30 pm since college! But I went over, and boy am I glad I did. I had a freakin' blast!I talked with a few folks for a while, heard about Carly and Daniel's

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-84427857134052098282007-06-09T19:25:00.000-04:002007-06-09T19:07:03.056-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while- after visiting Carly and Daniel in Connecticut, I flew straight to Jacksonville (FL) for our Navair national 4.3 (Air Vehicle Engineering- my division) Conference. That's right, three straight days of various presentations about all aspects of naval aircraft engineering. It's okay to be jealous- it's a pretty exclusive event. All jokes aside, I actually

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-15590788928178614962007-06-01T08:23:00.000-04:002007-06-12T08:25:14.323-04:00

Last night I was talking to Carly on the phone, and I was explaining that I have a three day weekend, and absolutely nothing to do with it. She commented that this is her last free weekend before going back to work, and before you knew it, I was buying a ticket to Connecticut. What are we going to do there? Who knows, but it should be better than sitting around here!So here's a bunch of thoughts/

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-68084835835372531702007-05-31T19:23:00.000-04:002007-05-31T21:58:51.529-04:00

You know what? So Miss America fell in the Miss Universe pageant. It happens to the best of us, and I'm not going to pile on her for it like every news outlet in the nation. Plus, she took it like a champ. If you haven't seen it, here's one of the eight million versions on YouTube.What I'm a little ticked about is that the audience ruthlessly booed her (before and after the fall) and even chanted

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16409503.post-47629445446165334832007-05-29T21:23:00.000-04:002007-05-29T21:23:06.430-04:00

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. I spent it doing the yard work that I've been putting off, so you know, good times there. Actually in the morning I went for my first long bike ride- something I've been meaning to get into as a running replacement. I set out intending to go about 10 miles (that seemed reasonable for a first try, right?) and ended up doing 13, and I wasn't

Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07632342066983386158noreply@blogger.com1