Crazy Lawsuit Game

Coretta Scott King passes at the age of 78.

After an assassin's bullet killed her husband in Memphis in 1968, Coretta Scott King turned her grief into the nurturing of her husband's legacy. She founded the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, a memorial to her husband's work and dream.

She spoke out "on behalf of racial and economic justice, women's and children's rights, gay and lesbian dignity, religious freedom, the needs of the poor and homeless, full-employment, health care, educational opportunities, nuclear disarmament and ecological sanity," her biography on The King Center's Web site said.

Quoted from this CNN.com article

And yet another postal employee rampage.
Seven dead in California postal shooting

Sorry for all the bad news.

To help put your mind at ease and back into a state of ignorant bliss, please check out
Cute Overload
Cats in Sinks
Stuff on my Cat

I was watching the Simpsons last night and came across 2 words that I didn't know. Thanks to Tivo, I was able to pause and jot them down.

First let me set up the scene. Bart got in trouble. But this time it's really the last straw. They try to fly him to Oregon where the "Tough Hate" camp is but Bart is on the "No Fly" list because of something I forgot. So Homer has to drive Bart to Oregon from Springfield. Bart is complaining and wants to know where "Fun Homer" is; (Cut to interior shot of Homer's mind) Serious Homer has Fun Homer trapped in an energy field. Fun Homer's tempting offer is "Let me go and we'll get a monkey drunk and push it down the stairs!" Serious Homer says I'll kill you like I did Intellectual Homer and they cut over to Intellectual Homer lying on the ground and written in his own blood underneath him is this statement: Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.

And I've noticed if you need to fill about 20-30 seconds of an animated series, it is now perfectly acceptable to repeat the same joke for those 20-30 seconds. Thanks Family Guy and Seth MacFarlane, look what you did.

But I still love the Simpsons, and to a lesser extent Family Guy and American Dad, but I do recognize that it isn't as good as previous seasons. I'll still watch. It's the one show on Fox that they recognize as a good idea. All the others were somehow disguised as "bad ideas". Futurama and Arrested Development and I rest my case.

Hopefully some of you saw The Boondocks episode that aired the Sunday before MLK Jr. Day.

This is quoted directly from Aaron McGruder, creator of The Boondocks, from an interview with the News Tribune.

It starts with his [Martin Luther King Jr.] assassination. And what we learn is that he doesn't die that day. He goes into a coma. He comes out of that coma in 2000. King mania starts to sweep the nation around 2001. He's got the book deal. He's got the movie coming out. Everything is going real good, and then September 11 happens. He goes on "Politically Correct" with Bill Maher, and Bill Maher asks him about what our response should be. And Martin Luther King says "Turn the other cheek and love thy enemy." And at that point he's deemed a traitor to the nation. No one goes to see his movie. He loses his book deal. And we fast forward to the present day where his book has finally come out on a tiny little independent publisher. And he's doing a signing in Woodcrest, and nobody shows up but Huey and Granddad to see him. And Granddad and MLK know each other from the movement. And it's a story where Huey and MLK kind of try to figure out where MLK fits in in the modern day.

Then Huey and MLK Jr. decide to start a new political party. Unknowingly, Dr. King hires an urban PR firm who decides to hold a party, which brings out a different crowd than what they were expecting. So Dr. King gets up and delivers an excellent speech that is very critical of the current black culture. Soul Plane, BET are both targets. (I don't want to paraphrase but I have the episode Tivoed, so I'll have to make a transcript and post it.) But his speech gets replayed over and over again on TV. Then apparently everyone listens and a revolution starts in Black America. NBA players strike until troops are withdrawn from Iraq. Bob Johnson, founder of BET, apologizes for his channel. They take to the streets and go to the White House and express their disapproval at current affairs. The show ends with a newspaper from 2008 that has Oprah sworn in as the new President.

Very powerful and I'm sure all things that could happen with enough support. Just imagine all the people that would vote for Oprah. I know I'd give her a shot to run the country. Can't be any worse than the current one.

Don't really know any Marias, so haven't had too many problems with them. But I hear they're trouble-makers.

Our dishwasher overflowed yesterday. Hopefully the drain is just clogged somehow and I can fix it. We haven't really told our landlord that we have cats and so we haven't been paying an extra $25/month for a pet fee. They're cats, no serious messes but they don't see any difference. So currently our plans are
Plan A: See if I can somehow fix it.

Plan B: Hide the cats and their stuff in a bedroom (and hope they don't scratch at the door when someone enters) and call the landlord and have them fix it.

Another busy week. Please do not be alarmed by a daily post absence. I'm not going anywhere. I have a stranglehold on my corner of the interweb.

And race results from yesterday are up. 11/59 overall, 2nd in class, but I consider it 3rd. A lower classed Honda beat me. Great factory suspension design + great driver = me getting beaten. And it was wet and nasty. Hopefully I can move up a few spots in the dry.

- Homer J. Simpson

Still don't feel like doing the Sea World post, but it is a great amusement park. And since it's in Orlando, a few of the traditional amusement park rednecks are replaced by international tourists; a welcome change any day of the week. Great rides(even a good steel roller coaster), great shows, turkey legs, great animal exhibits. And free beer! Since it's an Anheuser-Busch theme park, they have the Hospitality Center, where for park guests 21 and over can sample some wonderful Anheuser-Busch products. And since I tried their gross stout when I was at Busch Gardens, I felt no need to go back.

But it's a great park and I highly recommend going to either the San Diego, San Antonio, or Orlando Sea World Adventure Park.

Now for a few complaints:

The terms "briefs, boxers, and boxer briefs" all imply men's underwear. Men, as is common knowledge, have penises for waste expungement duties. This "penis" extends from the body about 8-10 inches below the belly button. The penis is usually covered by underwear and jeans. Jeans traditionally have a zipper or button "fly" to seal the jeans and keep them snug against your person. The zipper is usually positioned directy in front of the penis. So peeing occurs when the zipper is lowered, the penis extracted, pointed at the desired pee target, etc..

But what about the underwear? Good point. The underwear exists as a buffer between the tough rugged jeans and the soft silky penis. Modern advances in underwear technology has produced a means to facilitate peeing. The peehole. Remember the peeing equation? This adds another variable to that problem, however the peehole is used to combat the complexity added. Genius. Groundbreaking.

So why did I purchase underwear, clearly labeled as boxer briefs, with no peehole? Is this modern technology? Is this fashion? Why? Why must I lower my drawers like a 1st grader who has yet to master the peehole?

Oh, just remembered the other one.

J told me yesterday that her school (she's student teaching at a semi-local high school) doesn't have water fountains. WTF! They don't have water fountains? Then what the hell do the students drink? Of course there is a soda machine that sells water, but who wants to buy $1/20 oz. of water everyday? I realize that South Carolina is poor and that the US is a capitalist empire, but no water fountains? I went to the water fountains at school roughly 3 times a day. And what are the student athletes supposed to do? Coach, I didn't bring any water. Well keep doing wind sprints and I'll get the ambulance on the way so when you drop from heat exhaustion and dehydration they can run you to the hospital.

Water fountains. So simple. How about we take our cut of that vending machine blood money and install some water fountains? Nope, that money is earmarked for me to embezzle.

That really blew me away. AND we're going to their wrestling match tonight. I'm getting thirsty just thinking about it. I'm gonna go get some water while I have the chance.

- Marge

Work is kinda nuts and I'm auditing a class and teaching 3 labs that start next Tues. so I don't foresee a break.

I might have to start blogging from home.

Autocross this Sunday! Yay!

The Sea World post is coming, I promise. Work keeps getting in the way.



That's the big daddy Orca at Sea World Orlando. He tips the scales at 5 tons, 10,000 pounds. That's 4500 kilograms for our metric friends. Gorgeous creature.

Yes, we did sell concessions to hungry attendees of the Duke/Clemson ACC men's basketball game on Saturday. It was close and surprisingly, we weren't blown out of the water. A win would've been nice, but a close loss is still a loss.

They finally published the autocross schedule, so I can plan camping trips and other weekend festivities.

I hope everyone enjoyed the tale of the thieved hat. It was tragic and eBay didn't have the hat, which definitely lends to the uniqueness and lore of the hat.

And I know everyone is getting geared up for the big international sports events this year: The 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy and the 2006 World Cup in Deutschland
but first we have to make it through the divisional NFL playoffs and Super Bowl XL (40 for non-Romans).

The Steelers tried their best to lose to the Colts, but Big Ben saved the Bus' ass by grabbing Harper's ankle.

So the Steelers-Seahawks game is going to be a battle as is the Broncos-Panthers game.

Hmmm, Sea World or cars?

I uploaded all my Sea World pics, so I think I'll give you a preview of the Sea World tale and let you look at the pics (ignore the puking pumpkin, that wasn't at Sea World) and then give you the story tomorrow.

Sneak peak at tomorrow's post

And now onto cars.

Basically, right now the only cars I really really want are:
Mini Cooper S


Mitsubishi Evolution


Subaru WRX STI or WRX


And honestly, that's about it. And if I got a WRX, I might get the wagon. I like the storage room of a hatchback/wagon and I really really like the idea of smoking people off the line in a station wagon.

Yes, both the Acura RSX-S and new Civic SI are sick, sick cars, but I'm partial to the Mini. But if there was a good price on either one, it would be tough to pass up. And I decided that if I get another FWD car, that it is going to be a Mini. Or maybe a Honda.

And now on to the rally monsters. AWD, diffs everywhere, turbos, 4 cylinders, gorgeous, TONS of aftermarket parts, stupid stupid fast right out of the box.

I still can't decide betw. the Evo and the STI. I think I need to drive them and see which one I like. That is really what it's going to come down to. They're both amazingly capable and very dependable. There are horror stories of having to replace 3 clutches in 6 months on the Evos, but you just can't light up all 4 wheels at every light. That wears down clutches.

And then the WRX. I could get a wagon "family car". Much cheaper and I could use the money saved to buy lots of parts and then have the pleasure of installing them and making my car faster with my own two hands. Very fulfilling. Expensive but fulfilling.

And if I was going to get a real family car, it would be an Acura or an Audi. Both awesome and fast. And immensely enjoyable in stock form. And comfy.

The only saving grace from making this monumental decision is that Joan is going to help me and influence the decision somewhat and that we aren't really looking for a car right now.

And used Evos and STIs are around 20-25k, which is about what the used Cooper S's will be once they hit the used market.

Please berate my decisions and talk up your favorite car that I inevitably left out in the comment box. Or request another car post in which I break it down into price ranges. Then I could talk about the Acuras, Audis and BMWs (of which I would only get the M cars).

Back in 1994, there was a World Cup in the USA. I did not go to any of the games as I was living in the DR at the time. I had been playing soccer for around 5 years now and was quite enamored with the sport and culture of soccer(football). Both the US and Mexico made it in that year, and I was a big fan of both teams. The US for obvious reasons and Mexico because of this man, Jorge Campos

He wore flashy clothes and threw his whole body into his saves, and would occasionally make an attacking run upfield, highly entertaining player.

So my parents purchased some World Cup paraphernalia. A shirt or two, but most importantly, 2 hats. One was red with black stitching with USA 1994 on it and the other was alternating red, green, and yellow and had Mexico 1994 on it. I wore these two hats pretty much constantly. I never was a huge hat person, but I liked these alot and wore them accordingly.

Being a semi-normal 16 year old from a modest family, I rode my bike everywhere. Mostly to friends' houses cuz I didn't really go anywhere else. Maybe the store with the family, or the movies, but I digress. So one inconsequential weekday, I am returning from my friend's house. I was riding my bike and wearing some shorts (I want to say red for some reason, early 90's, don't blame me) my blue and white Samford shirt (they got to me early) and my Mexico hat.

I have a theory. If you'll go back to the colors on my Mexico hat, it looks very similar to the Cross Colours clothing line that was hugely popular in the early 90s.


So I'm riding my bike and am 2 blocks from home. I hear a motorcycle approaching from behind me. There are motorcycles and mopeds literally everywhere in the DR, so I thought nothing of it, other than "approaching traffic".

Next thing I know, a hand has reached up to the top of my head and plucked one of my favorite hats right off my noggin. Infidels! They hit the gas and I take off pedaling as fast as my well toned ;) legs would carry me. I screamed at the top of my lungs "Para!" meaning stop. They ignored my cries. I chased them at top speed down another block and then they were gone.

Tears were already welling up, but I had to put on a normal face, enough to make it home. I was in no mood to try and explain what happened. I did see a couple neighborhood kids who my brother and I hung out with a little and told them what happened. I think the moto was red. License plate? Beats me. 2 guys, average looking.

I finally trudge my way home and go to my room and immediately start bawling. Serious tears. My folks come in and console me. At least you're okay. I'm so sorry this happened to you. Very gentle and calming. We'll try and replace the hat. How? I howled. I've never ever seen another hat like that. (And to this day, I've never seen that hat anywhere.) I know, but we'll try.

Awful, heart broken. Yes big picture, pretty insignificant and much much worse could have happened, but I didn't care. Those mean men took my hat.

Name that cartoon for a cookie.

I joined Facebook today. Don't really know what will come of that.

Downloaded my holiday pics yesterday. Now I just need to sort through them and upload some good ones and then post them here. I might put them up on my website but that probably won't happen.

I'm still not telling people about this blog. Not even friends or anything. Not sure why. But it can't hurt not telling people. There are no horror stories about what happened because they didn't tell their friends and family about their blog.

The Job Buzz link over there is a company that we bought some stock in. I've heard their plans are to get huge and compete with Monster.com. That would be nice, but I think just conquering Central Florida's job market would be a first great step.

We worked the Clemson/Wake Forest game last night. And we somehow won. In OT. It was amazing. And hopefully we can keep this win streak alive against #1 Duke this Saturday. Right.

We sold around $2400 worth of overpriced food, of which our 10% cut is quite nice. We should sell more than that on Saturday. It's gonna be nuts. I remember looking up when I heard the halftime buzzer and just seeing a torrent of people filing out of the stands. Of course they were headed for concessions. So I focused on the first person in line and not about the 25 people standing behind him. Almost shorted a guy $10, but caught it in time.

I'll have a story for you tomorrow. And I'll give voting a shot:
1) Car shopping
2) Sea World
3) The story of the stolen hat

Please vote on which you want to hear about tomorrow. Since my daily visitor total is around 12, chances are YOUR vote will be the decisive one. Voting starts now and ends when I post the results (tomorrow afternoon).

Being John Malkovich was on TV last night and I flipped to it right as he was going through the portal into his(John Malkovich) own head and everyone has his head and the only word is Malkovich. Awesome and very creepy.

Just found out that I'm teaching a full load this semester, which is 3 lab sections. Yippie. Last semester I taught one but apparently money is tight and my "productivity" is down, so I'm now teaching. And for those of you thinking how teaching 3 labs is going to help my productivity, I'm fairly certain the only way it helps is by punishing you and making you do whatever it takes not to teach again. So basically, this summer I have to get lots of great results and somehow demonstrate my productiveness.

I shouldn't feel too bad, lots of other senior grad students have to teach. Stupid money. But alas, it makes the world go round and the lack of it makes me teach. So this means I'm really going to have to work on my grading reducing skills this semester, lots of group reports basically. Cuts the amount of grading I have do to by a fourth.

And I'm still not over this cold yet. Woohoo.

This is my attempt to recreate my eaten post.

I've been sick ever since we got back. Nose, throat and coughing. It's the worst in the morning. Sucks.

I've recapped my holiday extravaganza for some friends and each time it gets shorter and shorter, so here is a day by day account of Seth's holidays:
22-drive to B'ham, shop at the outlet mall on the way, I am now a Nike shill, shopping at SuperTarget once in the Ham, family time
23-shopping, spend time with friends, don't get to see my policeman friend who's working, see my parents
24-little more shopping (mostly to get out of my grandparents house), Christmas with my mom's family, Christmas eve service, drive to A'ville to see my dad's mom
25-Christmas service, Christmas with most of my dad's family, relax, family time
26-drive to Orlando (or O'town if you enjoy my town abbreviations), takes 11.5 hours instead of the 8.5 it took to get back, stupid traffic
27-tailgate shopping, tailgating at the ChampSports Bowl - Clemson/Colorado, meet up with my neighbor who also went to the game and partake in a Cap'n and Pepsi, return to our "mild-mannered" tailgate in the handicapped parking area (thanks to J's passed grandmother) where J shares the Cap'n with her mom who thinks it's just diet, gametime, Clemson wins! Go Tigers!
28-sleep in, lunch with J's friends and their sister's babies, both between 1.5 and 2 (still don't want kids), and something else
29-shopping, play poker with J's friends and her neighbors who are moving to Seattle (nice guys)
30-Sea World! Shamu and friends (or at least a relative of Shamu), great rides and great shows, and can't beat $4.75 turkey legs, can beat the $60 ticket price
31-shopping, lunch, drive to Tampa (Plant City actually) and have dinner at Bonefish with friends and friends of friends, spend NYE at Splitsville (a bar/bowling alley and even had a small dance floor) which is in Channelside and I think I heard it's where the cruise ships leave port in Tampa Bay, get home at 3:30 am
1-wake up at 7:30 am to be back in Orlando in time for church (J wanted me to see the church where she wants us to get married, very pretty), lunch, dinner with J's family
2-car shopping, Mini and Subaru, wash clothes, start packing, dinner with friends, go to another friend's house to say bye
3-pack up the car, can still see out the rear window of Focus, I-4 East, I-95 North, I-26 West, I-385 North, I-85 South, SC-76 North, left, right, right, left, right at fork, right, right at fork, right, left, park, home.

This is by far the longest we've left the cats and they seem to be fine.

Many stories and odd occurences, but I'll save those for a later date.

One note about the friend's neighbors, really nice guys, have been together for 5 years I think, but one is a video game programmer for Microsoft. So that's like a bazillion cool points. He worked on NFL Blitz, NHL Hits (I think), and Rallisport Challenge (which are awesome if you like rally). But one thing that struck me was how normal they were. I guess it's the media that has brainwashed me into thinking that all gays are hot and flamboyant (and the guy wearing purple eye shadow at Sephora the same day didn't help either). But they were very sedate and average looking, still cute but not "striking". (I suppose that's a good word)

Of course there were double entendres (everyone's favorite), which I must say I set him up perfectly for. We were enjoying some Lindt filled chocolate balls
yep these guys

and I said "I love those balls." "I love balls too!" was the response. Very nice moment and I'm glad that I started it. And who doesn't love balls? besides lesbians and homophobes

I had this as a title that Firefox just ate. It now defines my current state.

I'll attempt to recreate that post tomorrow.

The holidays were great and now just a fuzzy memory. Lots of work to do. I'll have a real post in due time.