Tuesday, January 06, 2009
I just blue myself.
- Tobias played by the hilarious David Cross from Arrested Developement
I rode to work in the rain again. J and I might be moving to Portland, so I figure I better get used to it. It's not so bad except for steep downhills where your speed propels stinging water droplets onto your face.
We "borrowed" (and returned) a neighbor's bike the other day for a J&S bike ride. [edit: I guess some back story is involved here and also a tip to number dial bike chain users. The bike I bought had a dial chain with it but it seemed pretty crappy and flimsy so I upgraded to a 6 footer with a key. But I did remember Subaru saying that it was only one number away from the right number, so when I ran across our neighbor's nice bike with a dial chain, I tried out that trick to see if it was common. Yep!] It was a lot of fun and can't wait to get J's bike from Orlando. She also has some furniture there which would be cool to bring up here. Getting it here is the only problem.
The other bike was very nice. I wasn't super crazy about the twist gear changes. The brakes were very nice, basically they're a step up from the old school inverted V brakes, but just below the hardcore radial brakes. The seat had springs in it which made it a tad wobbly in turns but otherwise was nice. It had a nice relaxed handlebar position, which I'm looking into a bit. The thing that really blew me away was the tires. They were not as thick as mountain bike (MTB) tires but weren't as super thin as road bike tires. They really cut down on the rolling resistance. I'm thinking those would make an awesome birthday present.
The local bike shop quoted me $125 for a tune-up. That would replace the chain, rear cassette (back gears), brake pads, true the wheels, replace the cables and the crankarm (what the pedal sits in) that is bent and loosens periodically. Sounds like a pretty good deal considering I could do all that myself but I'm a tad busy with writing. He said it would be almost as good as new and since it's an older bike, it is less likely to get stolen. Honestly I'm not super worried about it being stolen. I have a super beefy bike chain that I generally run through the frame and my basket and sometimes through the rear wheel, and around the bike rack of course. I figure if anyone really super wants my dirty old front wheel, they can have and give me an excuse to get new tires and wheels!
Group meeting went well yesterday. Our new group member seems to be working out but it's only her second "official" day.
Oh, I almost made it to school with pictures, but I changed into my waterproof pants for the ride here and left the memory card in my comfy pants at home. Doh! Clean shaven Seth pics coming either tonight or tomorrow. Promise.
I rode to work in the rain again. J and I might be moving to Portland, so I figure I better get used to it. It's not so bad except for steep downhills where your speed propels stinging water droplets onto your face.
We "borrowed" (and returned) a neighbor's bike the other day for a J&S bike ride. [edit: I guess some back story is involved here and also a tip to number dial bike chain users. The bike I bought had a dial chain with it but it seemed pretty crappy and flimsy so I upgraded to a 6 footer with a key. But I did remember Subaru saying that it was only one number away from the right number, so when I ran across our neighbor's nice bike with a dial chain, I tried out that trick to see if it was common. Yep!] It was a lot of fun and can't wait to get J's bike from Orlando. She also has some furniture there which would be cool to bring up here. Getting it here is the only problem.
The other bike was very nice. I wasn't super crazy about the twist gear changes. The brakes were very nice, basically they're a step up from the old school inverted V brakes, but just below the hardcore radial brakes. The seat had springs in it which made it a tad wobbly in turns but otherwise was nice. It had a nice relaxed handlebar position, which I'm looking into a bit. The thing that really blew me away was the tires. They were not as thick as mountain bike (MTB) tires but weren't as super thin as road bike tires. They really cut down on the rolling resistance. I'm thinking those would make an awesome birthday present.
The local bike shop quoted me $125 for a tune-up. That would replace the chain, rear cassette (back gears), brake pads, true the wheels, replace the cables and the crankarm (what the pedal sits in) that is bent and loosens periodically. Sounds like a pretty good deal considering I could do all that myself but I'm a tad busy with writing. He said it would be almost as good as new and since it's an older bike, it is less likely to get stolen. Honestly I'm not super worried about it being stolen. I have a super beefy bike chain that I generally run through the frame and my basket and sometimes through the rear wheel, and around the bike rack of course. I figure if anyone really super wants my dirty old front wheel, they can have and give me an excuse to get new tires and wheels!
Group meeting went well yesterday. Our new group member seems to be working out but it's only her second "official" day.
Oh, I almost made it to school with pictures, but I changed into my waterproof pants for the ride here and left the memory card in my comfy pants at home. Doh! Clean shaven Seth pics coming either tonight or tomorrow. Promise.
Labels: Arrested Development, bicycle, mustache
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sometimes you just have to grab on to that brownish area by its points and you don't let go no matter what your mom says!
- Buster as portrayed by the wonderful Tony Hale, and no I'm not just saying that because we graduated from the same university, from the first season of Arrested Development.
Back at work today. We came home from Alabama late Saturday. Drove down Thurs. morning with shockingly little traffic and some wicked fast speeders (seriously, at time I was going 80 getting passed very quickly, there was a red dealer plate Corvette in ATL doing triple digits easy), had lunch and presents with Mom's family, then drove to Dad's mom to spend a couple days. It was very relaxing and a great time was had by all.
On the way home, we purposely went the long way from Northish Alabama through Marietta to stop at the infamous Marietta Diner from Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives". The wait wasn't bad at 20 minutes on a busy Sat. night at around 8 pm. The interior was very warm, both aesthetically and temp-wise. The menu is massive with pretty much anything you can thing of from breakfasts to homemade Greek entrees. J went with the Greek platter and I stuck with the pastichio. Everything was outstanding and as we were waiting, we even saw the owner (who I recognized from the show) help out and bus a table. That is always a good sign of someone who cares. Huge portions and everything made from scratch and delicious! If you're ever outside the perimeter of ATL on the northwest side, I would definitely recommend stopping by.
We got home and unwrapped our Christmas presents to each other. The fenders for my bicycle should come in handy and now I can at least entertain the option of riding to school in the rain or wet. No I didn't ride in today. Just didn't feel like it and plus Parking Services won't be back until Jan. 5th, so it's a parking free-for-all on campus!
Do you have any plans for New Year's?
Back at work today. We came home from Alabama late Saturday. Drove down Thurs. morning with shockingly little traffic and some wicked fast speeders (seriously, at time I was going 80 getting passed very quickly, there was a red dealer plate Corvette in ATL doing triple digits easy), had lunch and presents with Mom's family, then drove to Dad's mom to spend a couple days. It was very relaxing and a great time was had by all.
On the way home, we purposely went the long way from Northish Alabama through Marietta to stop at the infamous Marietta Diner from Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives". The wait wasn't bad at 20 minutes on a busy Sat. night at around 8 pm. The interior was very warm, both aesthetically and temp-wise. The menu is massive with pretty much anything you can thing of from breakfasts to homemade Greek entrees. J went with the Greek platter and I stuck with the pastichio. Everything was outstanding and as we were waiting, we even saw the owner (who I recognized from the show) help out and bus a table. That is always a good sign of someone who cares. Huge portions and everything made from scratch and delicious! If you're ever outside the perimeter of ATL on the northwest side, I would definitely recommend stopping by.
We got home and unwrapped our Christmas presents to each other. The fenders for my bicycle should come in handy and now I can at least entertain the option of riding to school in the rain or wet. No I didn't ride in today. Just didn't feel like it and plus Parking Services won't be back until Jan. 5th, so it's a parking free-for-all on campus!
Do you have any plans for New Year's?
Labels: Arrested Development, bicycle, family vacation, restaurant reviews
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
There's a recession?
Remember 6 months ago when the government was trying to assure us this wasn't an economic slowdown? That would've been pretty funny if it hadn't have been so sad and shocking.
I saw on CNN that Micheal Cera is one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood. Way to go George Michael! I knew that kid had potential. Also kudos to Canada for producing another hilarious leading man who has a great career ahead of him. The socially awkward George Michael Bluth was a great stepping stone for Michael on the excellent but cancelled "Arrested Development".
Writing is coming along. Another friend who is writing just set her defense date for Nov. 11, and with the dissertation due 2 weeks before that date, she will be extremely busy in the near future. I'm busy writing but not THAT busy. Maybe I should be?
CNN also covered a guy in East Texas (I'm assuming near Austin) that is building a house out of straw, mud, sand and wood. It really sounds like a great idea. And not terribly expensive. You also wouldn't need to worry about getting your house LEED certified if it's made of natural materials. J and I both agree that if you use space efficiently, you don't really need 6,000 square feet of living space.
I'm not really sure how that would work though. Maybe get out of school, rent a place, buy some land, find an eco-contractor for an advisor, maybe an architect who loves sustainable design and then build a house? Not sure but I love the idea of combining these straw house ideas and using old out of work airplanes for new homes and structures. Hopefully I won't have to chopper the parts in and can build it for less than 2 million!?!?!?!
None of this will be possible without some steady income, so BACK TO WORK!
I saw on CNN that Micheal Cera is one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood. Way to go George Michael! I knew that kid had potential. Also kudos to Canada for producing another hilarious leading man who has a great career ahead of him. The socially awkward George Michael Bluth was a great stepping stone for Michael on the excellent but cancelled "Arrested Development".
Writing is coming along. Another friend who is writing just set her defense date for Nov. 11, and with the dissertation due 2 weeks before that date, she will be extremely busy in the near future. I'm busy writing but not THAT busy. Maybe I should be?
CNN also covered a guy in East Texas (I'm assuming near Austin) that is building a house out of straw, mud, sand and wood. It really sounds like a great idea. And not terribly expensive. You also wouldn't need to worry about getting your house LEED certified if it's made of natural materials. J and I both agree that if you use space efficiently, you don't really need 6,000 square feet of living space.
I'm not really sure how that would work though. Maybe get out of school, rent a place, buy some land, find an eco-contractor for an advisor, maybe an architect who loves sustainable design and then build a house? Not sure but I love the idea of combining these straw house ideas and using old out of work airplanes for new homes and structures. Hopefully I won't have to chopper the parts in and can build it for less than 2 million!?!?!?!
None of this will be possible without some steady income, so BACK TO WORK!
Labels: Arrested Development, environment
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
And I thought it was real like pro wrestling, but it's fixed like boxing.
-Fry expressing his disappointment that ultimate robot fighting was rigged, from the "Raging Bender" episode from Futurama's 2nd season.
I'm actually going into Arrested Development withdrawal. I heard someone quote the show and had no idea who said it or what show it was from. Yes it's possible that they misquoted, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
So Dr. Acura and Dr. Protege are both officially PhD holders. They're flying off to Houston to look at houses and Dr. Acura has an interview with one of her bosses.
J had a serious Office Space moment yesterday. She had trouble with one of her tests and 3 or 4 bosses came to her to talk about it. Yes, she received the memo and understands the policy and just forgot this one time to put a cover sheet on her TPS report.
Writing is coming along. I need to up my writing time on the weekends and once I'm done teaching lab (next week is the last day), I hope to up my writing time on the weekdays too.
Cleaning the apartment will happen this weekend. My folks are coming into the country and then into town next Thursday and they'll be here through the weekend. They'll hop the train to the 'Ham early Sun. morning. I think the train leaves here around 6 or 6:30 am.
If anyone is going to be in the area this Saturday, the Clemson Sports Car Club is having a car show on Saturday. It should be fun but obviously we would much rather have an autocross but the head parking Nazi took care of that plan. I'll get pics on Saturday and hopefully show you why we can't autocross in that lot anymore, or at least not a fun course.
I'm actually going into Arrested Development withdrawal. I heard someone quote the show and had no idea who said it or what show it was from. Yes it's possible that they misquoted, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
So Dr. Acura and Dr. Protege are both officially PhD holders. They're flying off to Houston to look at houses and Dr. Acura has an interview with one of her bosses.
J had a serious Office Space moment yesterday. She had trouble with one of her tests and 3 or 4 bosses came to her to talk about it. Yes, she received the memo and understands the policy and just forgot this one time to put a cover sheet on her TPS report.
Writing is coming along. I need to up my writing time on the weekends and once I'm done teaching lab (next week is the last day), I hope to up my writing time on the weekdays too.
Cleaning the apartment will happen this weekend. My folks are coming into the country and then into town next Thursday and they'll be here through the weekend. They'll hop the train to the 'Ham early Sun. morning. I think the train leaves here around 6 or 6:30 am.
If anyone is going to be in the area this Saturday, the Clemson Sports Car Club is having a car show on Saturday. It should be fun but obviously we would much rather have an autocross but the head parking Nazi took care of that plan. I'll get pics on Saturday and hopefully show you why we can't autocross in that lot anymore, or at least not a fun course.
Labels: Acura, Arrested Development, autocross, cars, Futurama, Mom and Dad, Protege
Thursday, April 05, 2007
You just grab that brownish area by its points and you don't let go no matter what your mom says!
- Buster Bluth played by the wonderful, hilarious and fellow Samford alumnus Tony Hale. He is also great in "Stranger Than Fiction" and in Andy Richter's new show "Andy Barker, P.I." Tony, if you're ever near South Carolina, drop me a line, we can hang out and talk Samford. I just googled "Tony Hale Samford" and I'm up to the third page! Woohoo! I'm sure Tony will find this and it'll be cool. Currently I'm listening to an interview from Nontourage with Tony Hale.
Tragic news to share unfortunately, director Robert Clark of "A Christmas Story" and "Porky's" fame passed away with his son yesterday. At 2:30 am a nonlicensed drunken driver, Hector Velazquez-Nava, 24 of LA, was driving on the wrong side of the road with a passenger and struck Bob's car head on. He was arrested on suspicion of DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter. Alcohol strikes again. Such senseless stupidity claims more lives.
J is enjoying her prescribed amphetamines. She was happy and very busy at work and loved it. And she went to sleep last night, which is what I was worried about. So we'll see how it goes. She might like it a bit too much but we'll be keeping an eye on that.
Ah, most people come up with nicknames for people you don't really know but encounter frequently. Freshman year at my undergrad, my friends and I came up with quite a few. Here is a list of ones that I can remember:
Spin
Grey (or Gray)
Most Underrated Girl at Samford
Just woke up and having the worst day of her life (self-explanatory and so horribly true)
High Pants Rider (he's who inspired me to remember these, I'll tell the story later)
Perfection
Fake Perfection
Perfect Human (six foot something, blond hair, blue eyes others called him Aryan)
FMILC (slight change from Tommy Boy's "Fat guy in a little coat", switch guy for man, also lots of fun to say)
Spanish Class
Playboy Playmate (she really looked like a Playmate)
Crap, there are so many others and I just can't remember them right now.
Tragic news to share unfortunately, director Robert Clark of "A Christmas Story" and "Porky's" fame passed away with his son yesterday. At 2:30 am a nonlicensed drunken driver, Hector Velazquez-Nava, 24 of LA, was driving on the wrong side of the road with a passenger and struck Bob's car head on. He was arrested on suspicion of DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter. Alcohol strikes again. Such senseless stupidity claims more lives.
J is enjoying her prescribed amphetamines. She was happy and very busy at work and loved it. And she went to sleep last night, which is what I was worried about. So we'll see how it goes. She might like it a bit too much but we'll be keeping an eye on that.
Ah, most people come up with nicknames for people you don't really know but encounter frequently. Freshman year at my undergrad, my friends and I came up with quite a few. Here is a list of ones that I can remember:
Spin
Grey (or Gray)
Most Underrated Girl at Samford
Just woke up and having the worst day of her life (self-explanatory and so horribly true)
High Pants Rider (he's who inspired me to remember these, I'll tell the story later)
Perfection
Fake Perfection
Perfect Human (six foot something, blond hair, blue eyes others called him Aryan)
FMILC (slight change from Tommy Boy's "Fat guy in a little coat", switch guy for man, also lots of fun to say)
Spanish Class
Playboy Playmate (she really looked like a Playmate)
Crap, there are so many others and I just can't remember them right now.
Labels: Arrested Development, obituary, Samford
Friday, March 16, 2007
What did you expect Mother? I'm half machine!
Buster, played by Samford alum (my alma mater also) Tony Hale, from Arrested Development
Yeah, I know I keep quoting 3 shows, but guess what I watch the most and which DVDs I would take with me to a deserted island? Yep, Arrested Development, Futurama, The Simspons and toss in some Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm and I could sit on the beach, drink coconuts, build a righteous treehouse and watch TV when it's raining.
You may or may not know that the NCAA men's basketball tournament is going on. This is THE tournament for the top-tiered college basketball teams. 65 teams go in, 1 comes out victorious. And it lasts a solid month. That's why they call it "March Madness". And it is mad I tell you.
Duke was upset by Virginia Commonwealth yesterday. HUGE! Duke fans across the country are weeping and gnashing their teeth, but that's what you get being a Duke fan. You gotta take the ups with the crushing downs. I bet you all know who Eric Maynor is now huh? (He's the guy who carried his team and knocked down the a sweet jumpshot near the top of the key with 1.8 seconds left to give his team a 2 point advantage and the win.)
So far no other major upsets, but it's still early. It's only the second day.
I would rank March Madness just behind the World Cup and the Olympics. The Super Bowl, World Series, BCS bowl games, nor the NBA playoffs have anything on March Madness. They let the champ be decided on the court and may the team with the best players and most heart win.
To work! Oh and tune in for some weekend posts, I'll be around the computer all weekend.
Yeah, I know I keep quoting 3 shows, but guess what I watch the most and which DVDs I would take with me to a deserted island? Yep, Arrested Development, Futurama, The Simspons and toss in some Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm and I could sit on the beach, drink coconuts, build a righteous treehouse and watch TV when it's raining.
You may or may not know that the NCAA men's basketball tournament is going on. This is THE tournament for the top-tiered college basketball teams. 65 teams go in, 1 comes out victorious. And it lasts a solid month. That's why they call it "March Madness". And it is mad I tell you.
Duke was upset by Virginia Commonwealth yesterday. HUGE! Duke fans across the country are weeping and gnashing their teeth, but that's what you get being a Duke fan. You gotta take the ups with the crushing downs. I bet you all know who Eric Maynor is now huh? (He's the guy who carried his team and knocked down the a sweet jumpshot near the top of the key with 1.8 seconds left to give his team a 2 point advantage and the win.)
So far no other major upsets, but it's still early. It's only the second day.
I would rank March Madness just behind the World Cup and the Olympics. The Super Bowl, World Series, BCS bowl games, nor the NBA playoffs have anything on March Madness. They let the champ be decided on the court and may the team with the best players and most heart win.
To work! Oh and tune in for some weekend posts, I'll be around the computer all weekend.
Labels: Arrested Development, March Madness
Sunday, February 25, 2007
El Espinazo del Diablo
We just got done watching that. It's "The Devil's Backbone" and was directed by Guillermo del Toro. Did anyone see Mimic? I never did but he also directed that, Hellboy and Blade II. Not as good as Pan's Labyrinth, but still pretty good. Plus it's in Spanish, so it's good practice for my rapidly dwindling Spanish speaking skills.
We also watched the Departed. Scorsese making a comeback to the genre he helped define with Casino and Goodfellas. For the box-dwellers, he also made The Last Temptation of Jesus Chirst (which took my college roommates and I 4 different video stores to find), Raging Bull and Taxi Driver. Those last two I've never seen but I'm not proud of that and I'll see them very soon.
I'm currently doing laundry and watching Arrested Development, and if you've never seen it, go out and buy all 3 seasons in one convenient set. Next on the lazy Sunday agenda is cleaning the shower and bathroom sink.
Oh crap, I think I'm supposed to help Subaru with his transmission again. Doh, guess I'll be doing that too.
We also watched the Departed. Scorsese making a comeback to the genre he helped define with Casino and Goodfellas. For the box-dwellers, he also made The Last Temptation of Jesus Chirst (which took my college roommates and I 4 different video stores to find), Raging Bull and Taxi Driver. Those last two I've never seen but I'm not proud of that and I'll see them very soon.
I'm currently doing laundry and watching Arrested Development, and if you've never seen it, go out and buy all 3 seasons in one convenient set. Next on the lazy Sunday agenda is cleaning the shower and bathroom sink.
Oh crap, I think I'm supposed to help Subaru with his transmission again. Doh, guess I'll be doing that too.
Labels: Arrested Development, Guillermo del Toro, Martin Scorsese
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