Ahoy lubbers!

Words you may find handy today

Addled -- Mad, insane, or just stupid. An "addlepate" is a fool.

Avast! -- "Hey!" Could be used as "Stop that!" or "Who goes there?"

Begad! -- By God!

Belay -- Stop that. "Belay that talk!" would mean "Shut up!"

Blimey! -- An exclamation of surprise.

Booty -- Loot.

Cap'n -- Short for "captain."

Cat o'nine tails, or just "cat" -- a whip with many lashes, used for flogging. "A taste of the cat" might refer to a full flogging, or just a single blow to "smarten up" a recalcitrant hand.

Fair winds! -- Goodbye, good luck!.

Grog -- Generically, any alcoholic drink. Specifically, rum diluted with water to make it go farther.

Grub -- Food.

Handsomely -- Quickly. "Handsomely now, men!" = "Hurry up!"

Matey -- A piratical way to address someone in a cheerful, if not necessarily friendly, fashion.

No quarter! -- Surrender will not be accepted.

On the Account -- The piratical life. A man who went "on the account" was turning pirate.

Rum (noun) -- Traditional pirate drink.

Rum (adjective) -- Strange or odd. A "rum fellow" is a peculiar person, the sort who won't say "Arrrr!" on Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Wench -- An individual of the female persuasion. "Saucy" is a good adjective to add to this, and if ye can get away with "Me proud beauty!," more power to ye.

Yo-ho-ho -- A very piratical thing to say, whether it actually means anything or not.

Welfare Queens II: The Golden Parachutes

Richard S. Fuld (Lehman Brothers) - Severance: 65mil

Chuck Prince (Citigroup) - Severance: 40 Mil Pension: 1.78mil

Stan O'neal (Merril Lynch) - Severance: 160 million

Jimmy Cayne (Bear Stearns) - Severance: 30 million

Welfare Queens

This unfortunate term was used by Ronald Reagan, the great communicator, as part of the conservative class/culture warfare. Images and stories were woven about people living like royalty off the government checks and cheese given to them. With that a whole segment of the American population, mostly single black women, were labeled as lazy thieving sneaks living off the hard work of regular Americans.

The term "welfare queen" conjures up a totally different image for me. I take a look at what goes on in corporate America and I see the real "welfare queen." The wall street players love to talk about their ideal of laissez faire capitalism. Corporations live happily off the the backs of the American workers and consumers while they evade taxes. They bust unions and exploit workers here and oversees; their profits kept offshore and they only give back the community to get a write-off.

Corporations and traders alike complain about taxes. These are the same taxes that built the roads, waterways, schools, etc. that they exploit every day. Without the rights extended to them arbitrated by judges and secured by the police their businesses would not exist. These fat cats sit in their boardrooms or private jets finding ways to screw ordinary Americans and fill their coffers.

What happens when something goes wrong?

It's happened several times in the American economy: first in the 30s then the 80s and now. The conservative policy of under-regulated, unfettered capitalism has brought us to where we are today. Companies who have been making money hand over fist for many years are now looking for handouts. In short they are privatizing the profits and socializing the losses.

The taxes that companies evade are now being used to save them. The American people are going into deeper debt to save businesses that are "too large to fail." So much like the welfare queens of old, these guys are collecting welfare (bailouts) through fraud and manipulation while living large off their golden parachutes.

The Ravioli Experiment

The recipe advised that i build a well of flour and fill the center with egg. I quickly found out that eggs do not like to be trapped inside impenetrable flour walls. In fact, they just run right through. I did not get a chance to take a picture of this debacle as I was too busy sequestering the egg back to the well.

My new non-stick board and rolling pin in action, sorta.


Hot Italian sausage from Farmers Market = $$$$.
Pasta sauce thyme oregano garlic = $ Parmesan cheese = $
Homemade filling = delicious

Sometimes a milk can is more than a milk can.

Wow that is awful round and flat!


All that work for so few?


The mostly finished product.

The rest is pretty obvious. I found that pictures of water boiling are kinda boring.

I tried the experiment today and it was delicious.

Who cares about politics?

I've been inspired by KoolRedd to write a some about US politics. My interest in politics and government did not start yesterday, but I was inspired to let loose my thoughts by his first posting. My earliest recollection of politics was from my father. He espoused many views from the corrupt government and entrenched power found in the islands to the corruption and entrenched US power structure.

My own coming of age occurred on one September morning. All the lessons of the past came in direct contact with my present. When I went to class that morning I was just another college kid trying to get by. When I got back to the apartment I was greeted by the stunned look on my roommates faces and the images on the TV.

That fateful morning was an awakening for me, not a redefinition of me. I say this to be clear that I am not a person who sees the entire world through the lens of that day. Rudy Giuliani used that day to redefine himself; that day he decided to use one of his greatest failures as a launching point. What sort of person claims any know-how when their principal decision put cops and firefighters at risk during a disaster?

First I will attempt to describe the basics of US politics and politics in general. Perhaps I will then tackle the word "change" and how we can really get change. If we are looking for "change" then what are we changing to? KoolRedd has laid down the challenge; I plan on answering.

Ceramic Goodness

The eXperience

I went to see Dark Knight in IMAX yesterday; It was my first IMAX viewing of a major motion picture. I think I've seen a couple of shows at the Museum of Natural History concerning solar systems or dragons or dinosaurs or some other fable.

The 39 story curved screen is kind of intimidating for someone new to the game. The worker at the door barked out instructions to get high and to the middle for the best viewing. I could do high but only arriving 45 minutes before showtime meant that the middle was gone. I was geniunely concerned that my eyes would not be able to compensate for the enormous screen. There was also some concern that without optimal arrangements the curvature of the screen would warp the image.

I was thrilled to find that everything was all good when the movie started. I was thrilled to be taken away by the movie without another thought about IMAX. There was too much to take in to compare how well this would fair on a regular screen. The joker was licking his lips, blowing things up and causing a ruckus all about the place.

Firebreathing Dragon

From Japan with Love

Yesterday, I finally received one of the knives I purchased from Japan three weeks ago. It was Christmas in August as I tracked my packed over the last week. I watched it creep closer and closer to me as I awaited the day of delivery. The Fedex guy didn't even have a chance to find the doorbell as I ambushed him before he could get to the door. This probably wasn't the first of time he's seen someone exhibit kind of behavior.


O my. It's lighter than air and razor sharp. I immediately became that chef dude from the infomercials; slicing cleanly through things I would later regret using as props. This ninja in training setup an obstacle course (tomatoes on toothpicks) and diced through the gauntlet. Before long, I was also lightly tossing cherry tomatoes at the knife and watching in complete awe as they were split in two.






When it was finally time to get to cooking I found it difficult to prepare food. Unaccustomed with such a sharp knife I found myself going deep into the cutting board. Cutting with this knife is like a papercut; so light and clean you barely know any work has been done till everything falls apart.







(Proof reading is for losers)

Addiction

I have a problem. I have a serious addiction. It all started off as innocent experimenting. I heard others talk and my interest was piqued. I can't recall the first time I tried, or even how. It was probably my brother though; he was in the navy and experimented with lots of stuff.

I can't help buying organic foods and strolling around farmer's markets. I know the days and and hours of each one and try to buy from as many stands as possible. Sometimes I don't even need some of the stuff they are pushing, but they look at me with the "I'm a farmer" face and I can't help myself.

It's not that I don't enjoy my trips to the market, I do, it's just that I feel compelled to. It's a fresh produce and other goods O.C.D. I get to talk directly to the person who produces my food. For instance I learned one farm likes to name their animals and print their life story on the ordering sheet for their meat.

It feels good to know that Chris was born on a sunny day in May and lived a pampered life with all the grass he could eat. He especially liked the end of the field with the yellow flowers and would lay there for hours at end soaking in the sunlight. It makes the rare bit of sirloin so much better.

There are markets and organic foods all over the place. Enjoy

(Not edited. Deal with it)

Addendum

Apparently Global Warming has jumped the shark. I read in the metro that we are actually in a period of global cooling. Forget the whole "New Deal" "Energy Plan" thing. This was all actually a mistake; I didn't calculate the natural cycle of the sun and sun spots or something. I stand corrected. It's time to hunker down with several winter jackets and blankets. Looks like we are going to need to drill for more oil 'cause home heating bills are about to go through the roof.

New Plan:

1. Donuts and bacon wrapped butter for everyone: You're gonna need to fatten up
2. No more shaving. Bears don't shave. Why should we?
3. Replace your spray bottles with the older better CFC kind cause we really need the green house effect now.
4. Last but not least is the huge bonfire initiative.

See you at the debates....http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/64ad536a6d

LunchTalk

I sat down today to have lunch with my coworkers as I do every day; fighting off the bees, spiders and ants that frequent the bench under the trees. At our last lunch the bees seemed to be more interested in my meal than normal. They are usually good for one pass before deciding that flowers are far more interesting. I had the unfortunate luck of finding an all natural brown sugar , they probably thought it was honey, mustard. Every bite of my sandwich was fraught with danger; a mouthful of bee is the last thing I wanted.

So I sat down with my coworkers and we began discussing matters of the world. We began with the deeper meaning of China being given the Olympics and moved on to America's meddling in every one's business. One guy says that we should take care of our business over here first and was quickly interrupted by another person who said that was not possible. He felt that we can't ever be perfect; while we are busy perfecting America external forces would be at play needing some sort of attention. To that the first guy answers "RMS."

The domestic policy discussion went quickly to what is probably the most pressing thing on every one's mind at this time, energy. This is where the discussion took a turn for the worse as well. We were all able to agree that we have a petroleum based economy, but that's about it. Well meaning individuals have some crazy ideas about what we should do about our energy policy. I learned that oil is an infinitely replenishing resource and that we need to look into nuclear power.

If Paris Hilton can publish an energy policy...
No I am not a possible VP pick.

HD's Energy Policy: A NEW DEAL

What America needs is a robust energy/economic policy that takes advantage of good old American ingenuity. A New Deal needs to be struck; a works program towards energy independence.

1. Greater investment in education:
1. Increased teacher pay
2. Increase number of teachers
3. Build new schools
4. Increase subsidy for student
2. Subsidize green projects: (Only naming a few)
1. Solar panel efficiency needs to be improved
2. Fuel Cell technology and other ways to store solar energy
3. Wind Farms
4. Electric/Hydrogen Cars
3. Rethink how we build our cities and homes
1. Solar panel for water heaters?
2. Design to take advantage of the natural cycle
3. Geothermal into all designs
4. Mass Transit
4. Conservation and Recycling

It is true that spending on all of these programs will cost a lot of money upfront. It is also true that we would be borrowing money that many generations would have to pay off. This is no different than an individual who takes a loan out for college in the hope of being in a better position later. A nation mobilized will undoubtedly come up with many great ideas that will make us a leader in the world which we could then reap the benefits of from within and out.

The Projects

T-Mobile blows but I might still switch

I headed right to T-Mobile the Wednesday after my last post and purchased $10 worth of minutes. Of course I can't use T-Mobile minutes before first paying an activation fee of $10. I was then informed that I could not actually use the minutes without a sim card. Given the going rate of these magical pieces of plastic, they must be made of gold bars or barrels of crude oil . I realize that this might be factually correct, but there is really no reason a sim card should set me back $30. All said and done I was set back almost 60 dollars after taxes and other make-believe fees.

It worked. In fact it worked quite well. I was running around the apartment during conversations attempting to find a dead spot. With that out of the way it was time to switch, or was it?

I didn't switch.

To be continued...

Land of the Lost

Brooklyn!!!

Of course that probably rings a little hollow now that I reside in the vast wasteland known as New Jersey. Dreams can take us to very strange places. My dream of a slice of Brooklyn took me to little Russia. My dream of being an engineer crash landed in New Jersey, the Garden State. We all know where my dreams of the Knicks winning the championship have gone. (The entire world is upside down. The Nets in Brooklyn?)

"If HD resides in Jersey and all his friends are in New York (or Amherst), does he still have any friends?" I find myself in the midst of a black hole, literally and figuratively. My charming one bedroom in Jersey City has a wonderful park nearby, an ice cream parlor and no cell service. It seems the special charm of this place is the fact that 97% of it is shielded from cell towers. While this may be good news for my chances of brain cancer 25 years from now- presently, this means that I am unable to keep in contact with the outside world.

Parsippany is a town in Jersey where people speak in weird clicks and winks; it also happens to be where I work 8+ hours a day. This of course means that I can no longer drop by to see people during lunchtime or after work. While my early schedule means that I am out early it's fairly useless when most people get out at 6pm at the earliest and I need to be up at 5:30am.

I'm an engineer. I know this because my nametag and business cards say so. Good engineers solve problems. I know this because I just wrote it. I intend to solve this problem; I will become reachable again by switching to T-Mobile and reaching out on a daily basis. This does not bring me back to Brooklyn but will serve as an important life-line back to my peoples.

(To be continued/edited)

Stand up!

Sunstroke

Sat 5/10 was our annual gamble-off in honor of one DJ-san's birthday. It should perhaps more accurately be described as: "First watch grown men duke/choke/bloody it out, then gamble your government check till you are broke and it's 3am check-in at bummy motel-off."

As long time High School friends birthdays usually consisted of lasagna or spending a day at the park. Since coming back from college it's become somewhat of an elaborate full-day celebrate-athons. Over the past year things have seemed different. We all now have busy lives and jobs that take up our time. Hanging out feels a little less organic and someone is always missing from our group.

This is something you expect, you know it's coming, but can never truly prepare for. Losing what little contact I had with J$ was somewhat expected; his move to Amherst was the canary in the coal mine.

My thoughts started off in one direction; but I've of course lost my original, likely trivial, point. What does occur to me is that the aforementioned celebrate-athons are an attempt to replace spending after-school with each other, or long do-nothing summer days together. Long gone are the days where we would play ball till there wasn't enough light to make out the backboard from fence. Evenings filled with the insane ramblings of "worms" over pizza are also things of the past.

The thing about these special days that we now do is that by definition they are singular occurrences; to be cherished at the moment and held onto till the next event, the next time, the next year.

I kinda hoped to get to a nice and neat closing point where all my thoughts eventually made sense, but this obviously is not gonna happened anytime soon. The nice and neat closing may be that there really isn't one.

To be continued?

Simple Things for Simple People

Brooklyn's Cherry Blossoms are starting to bloom so that of course means it must be... HD's Birthday!!!

First things first...
The wild and woolly Birthday fun will begin by giving back to the communities we all live in. I am looking for a specific event that we all can attend.

Picnic in the park...
Bring some food, drinks and sporting equipment. We will all chill/play games in the park on a budget.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day. Once again Lbo already beat me to it.

Jersey??

All the rumors you have heard are true. Due to circumstances far out of my control I've moved to the dark side of the Hudson. I made a rushed/quick decision to accept a place in Hamilton Park Jersey. People over here like to fancy it Park Slope-like or Carrol Gardens-like. Neither of these work. It's more like a desolate land that has been finally been settled upon and tilled by the newcomers.

The settlers have brought fertile ground in the form of cafe's, bars and fancy little restaurants. Factories are being turned into condos with homage being paid to their roots as makers of chocolate or pencils. Brownstones are being refinished, buildings are being erected and parks are being renovated.

Now I make my home in a tiny slice of Jersey City. In this tiny slice of Jersey I have been able to find an official cookie place and a place for great burgers; a man does not need much more in his life.

I'd write about the misadventures of moving to Jersey but Lbo already beat me to it.

A day in the life

Every morning I hear the familiar sound of my alarm clock. It's way before the crack of dawn as I crack open one eye hoping that for once that know it all tone had lied. Each day the know it all is proven correct. I peel my other eye open and take a deep breath quietly slipping out of bed. I grab hold of my towel and phone. The first step is a bit of a labor as the mechanics of walking seem to be a learning experience every morning. As I wind up the stairs, my senses come back online and I am reminded that my knee still hasn't fully healed. It's my fault.

The next alarm lets me know that I need to get out of the shower; I don't argue this time. The stairs are more forgiving on the way down but now i am chilled to the core. Any survival guide will tell you that it is your interest to dry off asap to reduce the risk of hypothermia. The jungle of 1580 is no different. Shoes almost on, I hear the third alarm. If I don't leave in five minutes I have to run.

It's still quite dark outside; most are still deep in slumber. A few cars pass by as I make my way to the train station. I see even fewer people on the streets. As I round the last corner to the train station the fourth tone goes off in the background, completely drowned by the music blasting through my eardrums. I eventually take notice of the subtle vibration and turn off the alarm.
With my free paper in had I make my way to the end of the platform. It's an above ground station and it always seems that a particularly cold wind is blowing at this time of the morning.

It starts of as a distant spark and soon becomes a flicker in the distance. Those people who had wisely kept themselves sheltered from the cold start to come onto the platform. Not too long after, the headlights of the train become apparent and so do the faces of the usual suspects. I haven't had occasion to say a word to any of them but we all recognize each other. There will be a nod here or there of acknowledgment as everyone heads to the de facto assigned seating.

People trickle in at the local stops. After the first express stop it's every person for themselves as the seats are now few and far between. There is also more chatter at this time; not that I can hear a word over the music I am listening to. I see smiles on some people's faces as they engage in conversations with their train buddies. Others are content to get out the last ounce of sleep cozied up between two other people they barely know but by know are completely comfortable with.

Other people are in their own world much like I am; body present but mind elsewhere. A regular dressed in her blue uniform does her version of the hip-hop shuffle. Her head bobs to the beat and her feet bring her back and forth as if there isn't another soul in the car. By this time my eyes are also closed; I am in a form of deep meditation. Barely aware of the rumblings of the train as it journeys across the bridge.

Every morning I hear the familiar sound of my alarm clock. I crack open one eye hoping that for once that know it all tone had lied. She's still dancing, this is not a dream.

Oh yeah. Happy New Year!!!

What do you get when you mix Rock Band, Lots of Absolut Vodka, dominoes and an awesome group of people? The best New Years party ever. Heck I think there are still a Vanilla Josh being passed around.

THANKS to all who came. The scandalous pictures will be up soon.

Few and Far Between

My life has been sort of a world wind since November and I've been itching to write about it but haven't had the time to update. Here is the short list of what has change in my life in the last 2 1/2 months:

• Changed jobs
• Changed professions
• Learned unofficial subway/path schedules
  
• Resident of Jersey (soon)
  
• Become even more handsome
• Lost my Cell phone
• Beat HALO 3 CO-OP
  

The realizing of my dream that I've worked so hard to accomplish is what has cause my world to turn topsy-turvy. I went from the IT/Help desk support world to the Engineering role that has been much coveted by me.

What would you do for a Engineering position?

To keep this role I've been waking and 4am to truck my behind to Jersey using public transportation for the most part (This is a saga unto itself and deserves a separate posting). I'm at my desk and working most days by 7am and usually leave by 4pm. The first few weeks of this I was awful grouchy but have since learned to channel the Dynamo needed to operate on 4-5 hours sleep.

In the process I've lost the one to one communication and teaching that I loved so much; I'm still seeking an outlet for that part of me. This loss cannot compare to the joy I've gained from the workout my brain has been getting at this time. I've been itching to put my problem solving and analytical skills to the test and I'm loving it. Some days I feel like a second round pick; I know if I keep plugging away and dedicating myself I will reach all-star status. It's been an adjustment though because I am used to things feeling and being so much easier.

Here's a sneak peak of my office

Merry Christmas

From out of the blue comes the most exciting Christmas gift of all. A posting from the one and only Human Dynamo after over a month hiatus. I realize that this is probably one of the longest stretches I have gone without putting my thoughts to internet. (Doesn't have the same ring as "putting my pen to paper")

Things have been kinda crazy in my little world. I got a job a Software Engineer in Jersey. It's a far out land I swore I would keep the world safe from as long as I lived and breathed. It obvious that some things trump my hate for all things Jersey. I've finally been given the chance that I've worked for all these years after college.

This new opportunity has brought up lots of wrinkles in my world. I am now looking, and have been for a while, to move out to Jersey or get a car. I've been visiting apartments in Jersey city the last two months with hopes of finding a place that would be livable at a reasonable price. My luxurious 240 square feet of bedroom cannot be touched by any of the places out there. Eco-friendly and beautiful bamboo flooring is not found elsewhere and nothing with such spectacular color.

What I have found very comforting is my new digs at my job. I've got an office, a 12foot by 12 foot room with a door all to myself. They've even recently given me a tag with my name on it to place on said door. I can't wait till they do an episode of "Cribs: New Jersey", I'll bring them to my office and say "and this is where the magic happens." I guess it doesn't really work if I can't somehow make it rain gold or diamond dust or some other equally baller thing.

More later...but pretty much all I really wanted to say was

Happy Holidays!!!!

Also, if you are reading this you probably got an invite to our New Years Party. If you haven't you should know you are invited anyway.

Repurpose

I needed actual shelves for my room. My first idea was to look at the big name stores for ideas for pretty shelving and brackets. I saw some things that looked pretty good but soon found out that they were not standard. I would essentially be locked into this purchase; If I needed anything I would need to go right back to them.

I have noticed in my travels (around NYC) things being used for a purpose that was not originally intended. I have seen doors used as tables, mason jars used as glasses and puppies used as handbags.

Nowadays its all about the vintage clothes and the rustic look. People pay a high premium for stuff that was owned by people a long time ago. I can see some of the joy that can be derived from owning something that has been on the earth and used by someone decades before. I plan on keeping all my clothes and passing them down to my grandkids in my will.

I love the planet and all so I know it is actually better in most cases to reduce and reuse than it is to recycle. In that spirit I decided to do some repurposing of my own. My first stab at repurposing was with the shelving in my room. Floors hold things and that's what I want shelves to do so why don't I used my floor as a shelf. I can't keep everything on my floor, so I thought to use excess flooring in my storage area for shelving.

Before I knew it the shelves were up and I was trying to figure out what else I could do with the extra flooring.

Shelving




Under bed storage

Order of Operations

I punch a bunch of numbers into my phone calculator the other day and got a rather weird result. Weird only because I totally forgot that my phone understood orders of operations and did not just calculate from left to right. This should not be ground breaking information as most devices are programmed in this manner. I only bring this up because I also forgot the order of operations as it applies to my life.

I recently accepted a job as a Software Engineer, my dream job. I however forgot that there were other parts of the equation that really needed to be considered. First of all I really liked where I was. The work was interesting and the people were totally awesome from the day I stepped in the door.

I've remarked to my people at home many a time that "this will all pass" and "they're being nice to the new guy." I figured that once the new guy shine wore off I would get the dirty looks and the sharp tongues. I waited and waited and waited to get down to the business as usual but it never came.

I dreaded the day I had to resign. For the first time in my short existence it was real difficult to leave a job. This was perhaps more difficult than when I left Kodak at the end of college when everyone around me was pink slipped. That time was more tragic because guys who were with the company over 20 years were being let go but it was expected given the hardships of the company.

The next problem is that my dream job is in New Jersey. As I understand it currently my choices are as follows:

1. Drive to Jersey 1.5 hours everyday with a possibility of a 2 plus hour drive in the winter

2. Take a 2.5 hour subway to path to bus ride to Jersey daily.

3. Move to Jersey

Choices 1 and 3 will cost about the same. Choice three would also mean that I would essentially have a weekday and weekend home.

It's all a bit much for me. As of today I now have 12 day to have all of this figured out. I've essentially wasted two days doing housework for a place I may not be officially in within 2 weeks.

Dreams

Since I was a little boy I wanted to be a scientist. I recall watching sci-fi shows with my pops before there was a channel dedicated to it. These shows all had some sort of evil genius putting their knowledge of "science" to do harm to others. Usually with the goal to conquer the world in some way. By the end, the evil person's dastardly plan would be thwarted by the do-gooder. The destructo-robot would be engineered and repurposed into a super building-bot.

After entering college I realized I had no desire to actually build a robot or a futuristic propulsion system. I do enjoy solving problems. I found my bit of the problem-solving pie in the puzzles posed by programming hardware and software. From the instant I got my hands on a microprocessor board I was hooked. Assembly language made so much more sense to me than Steinbeck or F Scott Fitzgerald.

Assembly was just a gateway into Hardware programming languages like VHDL and Verilog and soon I found myself chasing the dragon. Poor choice of words. Putting together an embedded project is like getting two siblings who are always at odds to get along. Whenever something odd happens they always point to each other.

I've finally arrived. I am now an engineer, actually I am between jobs right now. On the 26th of this month it will be super official; one of my dreams will come true. I will be an engineer. A software engineer to be specific.

Please do not pinch me.

Check Yourself

I finished a checkbook today. It was an extremely cathartic experience; signing my name on the page and then tearing the last check cleanly along the perforated edges. As I sat there reflecting on my great check writing achievement I noticed that this book still bore the address from my college apartment. Almost 7 years of check writing ends in a blink of an eye. Now I have to consider all that is ahead of me.

What kind of checks do I order? Glow in the dark so I can write them in the middle of the night. Perhaps I can choose ones sporting the image of master chief to show that I am all about Halo 3. Another option is the New York Knicks minus the sexual harassment. The possibilities are endless. I really need to choose carefully because I will be staring at these babies once a month for the next seven years.

Just call me the check writer.

Or Die Laughing...

Due to incredible lameness on my part I was unable to watch the Boondocks when the season premiere aired on Sunday night. If it wasn't for my digital recorder, which remembered to record this show for me, I would have been a sad individual all week. Troubled my forgetfulness and in great need to relieve myself, I got out of bed at 4:30am and proceeded to sync my Zen with my PC.

I'd been waiting for the second season of the animated adaptation of Aaron McGruder's syndicated cartoon column for over a year now and was overjoyed to be finally viewing this. It didn’t disappoint. Five seconds into the show I started cracking up; I must have looked like a crackpot to everybody else on the train.

It’s funny, socially relevant (some may say irreverent), and beautifully drawn.

I hate it when I figure out a smart, interesting pithy response too late. It’s all you think about for a couple hours afterwards. It haunts you in your dreams if you don’t finally let that someone in on the joke. In that spirit I present: “I said this but, I really should have said…” (I am still working on the title)

Manager: I am off to purchase goods and services at a nearby establishment. You are a hardworking gentleman and I am a kind soul. Would you like to quench your parched throat with some precious liquid?

I Said this: I would like a spot of fine tea on ice.

I really should have said this: Scotch

It seemed a lot funnier in my head…

Over The Hill

I was introduced recently to a gentleman name Gucci Mane. I first heard his lyrical genius on 106 and Park last Thursday. Due to his single "Freaky Girl" I now respect Fifty Cent's lyrical fitness. The first clue that a song is going to be particularly crappy is if it starts with the hook. The second clue is if the hook is extremely crappy. So without further adieu:

She A Very Freaky Girl Dont Bring Her To Mamma
First You Get Her Name Then You Get Her Number
Then You Get Some Brain In The Front Seat Of
The Hummer Then You Get Some Brain In The Front
Seat Of The Hummer
[x2]

Terrible... His many talents include a completely garbage flow and a fundamental lack of understanding of how to rhyme. "Mamma" and "Number" don't actually rhyme but they can kinda sound alike of you mispronounce either, or both, really badly. While "Hummer" and "Hummer" do rhyme he only got that one right because he does not bother to come up with another line for his hook.

I could almost forgive the aforementioned sins; after all it's only a hook. His transgressions, however, do not stop here. His very first line was uttered by Rick James and with more flare and style by this pioneer of funk.

I believe the second line of his hook can be best dismissed with a famous biggie line. "Who they attractin with that line, 'What's your name what's your sign' ." By the way, that last quote from Biggie is better than any line Gucci Mane could dream of coming up with.

I will leave you with this gem:

Dont Be Conceded Girl I Know You Here Girl I
Know Ya Secret Girl But Im Gon Keep It Girl
Oh You's A College Girl Be A Gucci Girl Oh
You A Gucci Fan Let's Go To Gucci Land You
Diggin Gucci Man Cause Only Gucci Can Drop
A Stack Pop You Back Wit A Rubberband You
Diggin Gucci Gucci Let's Do The Cuchi Cuchi
Oh That's You Girlfriend Why Dont You Introduce Me

Going Back again

I remember?

I tend to forget: People, places, occasions and things. Time travel would remedy all of this. For instance I met a gentleman on the subway the other day who attended Hunter with me. He recognized me even though he said that I gained some weight since high school. I didn't say anything when he said that. Anyway, I could have gone back 8 or 9 years to figure out who in the world this dude was. I am sure I knew him at some point in time but I couldn't really make any useful connections. There was a slight glimmer of hope when he showed me his hunter ID but whatever was sparked faded rather quickly.

Times like this make me seriously question how I will manage as I get on in age. Am I a candidate for early onset Alzheimer's? Hopefully there is a cure for all of this sometime in the future. Too bad I haven't built a time machine as yet.

Paradox.

Sometimes you have to go backwards to leap forward. I have decided to go back to school again. This is my second try at it, my first was an attempt at Brooklyn College C.S. M.S. this summer. I am sure this go around will be much better as Computer Architechture is more my cup of tea.

Before long everyone will have to call me Master James.

Conan O'Brien

Yesterday was International Talk Like arrgh Pirate Day and thanks to LBO I was able to enjoy this special day as an audience member at the Conan O'Brien show. DJ, Pkilla, Lb0 and I were entertained by future Hollywood stars Joy Behar and Brad Garrett. Brad Garrett was actually funny and the show was filled with the usual low budget humor. The charm of toy cars being pulled along one of the NBC hallways by fishing line never gets old.

Some things about the show did surprise me though. The set is incredibly tiny; Max Weinberg actually sits on Conan's lap the entire show. Conan also looked a little like he was under the weather. He looked incredibly skinny and his face was sunken and a little more wrinkled than I thought it should be. The contrast between his face and the red hair is even greater in person; I think that's what actually makes him look washed out. I am sure the makeup didn't help.

I had tons of fun at the show but was definitely disappointed that there wasn't even one reference to I.T.L.P.D.

Nobody is Perfect.

Going Back

Happy I.T.L.P.D. !!!!

If I could go back in time that would make sense. I am sure the ridiculously long acronym doesn't help either. You see, it was International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19th and I failed to do my due diligence that day even though I was alerted very early about this very special celebration. Redd and Jwow were on point with Pirate trivia and pickup lines. I could not even muster a simple posting. This would not be a problem for a well versed time traveler.

It's even less of a problem for a savvy poster who know how to edit "Post Options."


Arrrgh!!!

I wrote this blog, a long time ago a really long time ago!!!

I figure that today is as good as any for looking back. This is like one of your favorite shows doing a quasi-recap episode. You know the one with all the flashbacks and about 5 minutes of new scenes???

New material later, this now...

It might seem a little late but I think it's perfectly timed. Some may have been brimming with excitement with the whole new year but I can say I wasn't one of them. That little changeover in a day brings so many things with it, the first and perhaps worst of all is the dreaded "Resolution." I didn't make one and haven't for the last 5 years.

Yes, I am a rebel. I think it's unreasonable to think that in the midst of the emotional roller coaster known as December that anyone can truly do the proper soul searching required to resolve to do or not do something. Moreover, the resolve rarely last longer than 4 weeks. After the tryptophan wears off, resolutions also go by the wayside. At this point it becomes a burden and usually the annoying thing your friends remind you about.

I'm usually "that guy" but there is nothing worse than being bugged by "that guy" with an "I told you so." It's not that I mind being wrong. The bigger issue is that I already know that I was properly advised previously. (A little bit of topic)

Resolutions I really useless; the only one I have been able to keep is to stop making them.

Things tend to happen

LBO and I went out to play ball yesterday but forgot the basketball. Normally this is not a problem. Most times there are not shortages of bballs or bballers on courts during the summer, however, my new neighborhood is a vast bball wasteland. We were forced to double back for the basketball; it was fairly sad.

On our way back we decided to do a little searching for some other basketball courts nearby. Total failure. When we returned to the court there were a few people there and we were able to play some a couple of 3 on 3s and a full court before it got too dark. I really love playing baskeball.

I've discovered that it now take me a while to get into the flow of the game. It's as if I am surprised that the playing I am playing against is putting forth effort. I basically play tentative/scared until something big happens... The play that did it for me yesterday is when some dude blocked me on a layup attempt. I knew that I hadn't gone to the hole strong and was really embarrassed. At that point I put on the swagger and began yucking it up with the guys on the court.

I hate losing. We lost the last game because I lost track of my man on defense a couple times and then when I was on him he was hitting it right over me. Getting scored on is it alright but losing your man is unforgivable. My ability to run through screens has definitely been diminished. I expected my lateral movement to be slow and i do get crossed more often now but my recovery speed (closing in on a cutting offensive player) has been the the hardest thing on me.

The beset thing was when I posted LBO up and hit a turn-around jumper on him yesterday.

You are a bear and she's a little bunny rabbit. Sometimes these things work themselves out.

****I put on swagger like you put on your underwear in the morning. Actually there was a study that Americans don't wear underwear. You get my point though****

I heard that you Posted Pictures!

http://picasaweb.google.com/BigdawgNYC/StLuciaTheSecond

http://picasaweb.google.com/BigdawgNYC

And it was good

I played basketball on Tuesday and it was good. It was the first time in almost 11 months. Two days have passed and I still feel the pain. The weird part is that my knee doesn't hurt. That last statement wasn't entirely accurate. My knee does hurt but it doesn't hurt any more than usual. Every muscle hurts now. Ones that I didn't even know could hurt now do; it feels like I haven't used most of them in years.

I was able to play in about 3 games in the 2 hours of sunlight left after my workday. None of the other players were of a high caliber or medium for that matter. Perhaps they were low caliber. They were also all in their mid teens. The competition isn't really my fault; I don't know the neighborhood well enough to know where the good games are. I am also unsure if I am still capable of playing in a good game. I definitely can't jump as high as a used to...

St. Lucia Day Seven

Pictures better than words

More to come...

St. Lucia Day Six

"Hurry to wait" was the motto for the first part of the day. The plan was to meet my mom and grandmother at the bus station in the city market. Since we'd previously kept my mom waiting for nearly an hour I was determined not to let hat happen that day. We arrived 15 minutes early just to end up waiting around for them. Things got even worse when the bus driver refused to leave until the bus was completely full. This amounted to another 2 hour wait before leaving, essentially making the early wake up and departure from the hotel null and void.

When we finally got on the road we all came to regret the choice to take the local route. This particular bus driver was determined to break all land speeds even if it meant flying off the side of a mountain while doing it. His insane actions included but certainly were not limited to:

1. passing a car into oncoming traffic
2. passing 2 cars into oncoming traffic
3. breaking the sound barrier around a hairpin turn
4. nudging another car out the way
5. defying the laws of physics and not crashing

Lbo determined that we would not ride the bus back from Soufriere no matter what. It was fairly difficult to argue the point so I did not even bother. Instead I turned my eye to finding a reasonable way back. I found that there were two viable ways back up north; the water taxi or the catamaran. Each would cost roughly the same amount but there was definitely potential to do much more on the latter. Reasonably convinced that we had a way back "home," we headed off the to the diamond falls and botanic gardens.

The Botanic Gardens were breathtaking, unfortunately we were on a time limit. I tried to soak up as much as I could with the time allotted. What I was struck by most was all the color from top to bottom. The grounds crew also setup some displays that were very informative. I was actually able to see the insides of a cocoa pod; there was also information on how everything in the garden is used to do everything from landscaping to making compose. After making quick work of the gardens I went over to the falls to take some pictures. It was pretty cool but would have been much better if they allowed people to bathe in it. The water from was a light grey color from the mineral deposits, it would have been like a spa treatment.

The sulfur springs stink, however, I eventually got used to the smell. I was really looking forward to the hot spring bath so as soon as the guide got to that point I jumped in. A few guys were already in the bath, from what I could tell they were some sort of springs gurus. They were quite "happy to see a black man on vacation." The hot springs were a very hot 98 degrees according to the gurus. It was absolutely delightful being in there. Everyone was so at ease that we were no longer concerned about rushing to meet the catamaran.

There were several boats docked at the pier when were arrived back at the port of Soufriere. As I walked along the pier I noticed that one of the ships with a familiar name. Before I left New York my cousin had given me the name of a ship and a person to talk to. The name wasn't exactly right but close enough. After a cryptic conversation with the gentleman on the boat and a short cell phone call we had passage on the catamaran.

The catamaran ride was an absolute blast. The view of the island from the sea was gorgeous, I feel lucky that I was able to get a view from so many different angles. Besides the views the actual ride was really great; it reminded of the batboat cruising just over the waves and spraying water everywhere. Awesome.

The ship stopped for snorkeling at a bay called Anse Concho. The waters were a light green/blue
and there were fish of all sorts of pretty colors everywhere. The only problem was that the bay is almost filled to the brim with snorkelers, this was apparently a big stop for the tours. I didn't really want to do many tourist-like things but snorkeling is just plain fun.

After Anse Concho we took a quick pass through Marigot Bay. The "tour guide" mentioned something important/unique about it but I don't recall/didn't pay attention. I also saw a fantastic pirate ship as we rode up the coastline. As the ship got closer to Rodney Bay the guide forced the lot of tourists to pretend that they had been dancing and having a good time the entire trip. I took a principled stand and refused to join the charade.

If they actually played charades I would have joined in...

St. Lucia Day Five

I got up and met my mom in the lobby of my hotel and started the trip to my grandfather's house. We were supposed to meet someone in town to take us to the country-side where my grandfather lives but we needed to kill some time cause our ride was late. The night before I ran out of contact lens solution and ended up gathering saliva as a replacement. I didn't see this as a permanent fix so I decided to search for some solution while I had the time. I quickly learned that St. Lucians don't really do contacts for the most part. I was instructed that the most likely place would be an optometrists office for such fancy fair. At that point I decided to do the breakfast thing instead of aimlessly seeking out a doctor's office.

It was only 6EC for breakfast for my mother and I; this included two drinks. When we were almost done with breakfast our ride showed up and we hopped on in. St. Lucia is mountainous. There's a huge difference between the coastal and inland areas around here. All journeys inland require climbing up some sort of hill or driving up the side of a mountain. This trip up felt longer and seemed to have more twists and turns than the one to the rain forest.

My grandfather had been working in the yard and looked like a bit of a mess. There was a brief sizing up and a hello when he saw me and then we didn't really speak much. Instead my mom gave me a tour of the house she used to live in while he chatted with the gentleman who took us up to his house. I was reminded that at one point my family owned most of the land around and we ended up selling it for ice cream, our only weakness. The cashew trees in the back attracted lots of beautiful birds. These birds, unlike the ones in the rain forest, seemed accustomed to the human presence and didn't fly away as quickly or as far when I approached.

After my bird watching my grandfather collected cashew fruits for me. The birds had already started feasting on the ones he picked but I didn't really have any intention on eating them. He also has a mango tree in his front yard with these flavorful small mangoes. I definitely appreciate the trees people grow in their yards here over huge swaths of useless grass.

On our way down the hill we went through the new tunnels built in St. Lucia. These are nothing more than long underpasses through big hillsides. Neither is more than a few hundred meters long. We were dropped off in the market in Castries with no particular destination in mind. After bit of quick thinking I thought that it would be good to see my aunt who has a stand in the middle of the city. She seemed quite excited to see me. According to her I am an exact copy of my father. I can't really argue with that.

After that brief visit we went around the market picking up a couple of things along the way. I was finally able to find contact lens solution in the oldest drug store on the island. I headed back to the hotel to put away the goods from the market and headed over the the beach. It was a very short visit because we had dinner plans for the evening.

We were picked up at the hotel then we were driven up by Mr. Weeks to his family's house. It was absolutely beautiful. As I stepped into the kitchen I smelled the food which was just as beautiful. Mr. Weeks brought us up to the balcony where we sipped on some Chairman's Reserve as my grandmother put down some whiskey. Mr Weeks made the mistake of cutting my grandmother's whiskey with water but got the point after she gulped down the first drink.

There was great food with great conversation all night long. We were being entertained by one of the best. He had true stories, jokes and did I mention rum? Since some of the jokes and part of the conversation was occasionally in patois I was forced to be the translator. Lbo picked up a patois phrase along the way. I will leave it up to him to tell you more about that.

St. Lucia Day Four

The trip to Babonneau was even more daring than any of the previous rides we have taken. Not only is it located in the country-side it's also about 600ft above sea level. I took pictures but don't have the means to download them at this point. I tried my best to capture the steep close quarters found over here. It's nearly impossible to navigate when combined with the break-neck speeds and the foot traffic. Thankfully we had someone from the village of Babonneau who really knew the terrain.

I cannot accurately describe the splendor of the rain forest. The plethora of plant and animal life is just too great and my knowledge far too little. Our guide was fantastic though. He had all the facts and figures to provide us as we traveled through the differing strata. I learned that most plants can double as aphrodisiac and baskets. Others are less useful and are used to tie hogs or cure the common cold.

Next up was a short trip to the beach where I realized that I was incredibly out of practice with swimming but fortunately did not come to that realization the hard way. In addition to this I also learned:
1. contacts do not like the water
2. while under water you should hold your breath
3. sugar cane is also tasty at the beach
4. walking barefoot not as hard as it looks

The last adventure for the night was dinner with some close friends of the family. We were treated like royalty with another full spread set up for us. No delicious good were spared in the making of the meal. At the end there were several island fruits and desserts for the taking.

St. Lucia Day Three

Day Three was see the old neighborhood day. I did, it was depressing.

Let's start at the beginning...

I was supposed to meet my mom down at the center of town at 10:30 but due to uncontrollable circumstances I was waiting for the bus outside my hotel at that time. The bus ride was kind of interesting with your usual collection of colorful folk taking public transportation. This bus did not have a television with the latest calypso like the first ride but was interesting nonetheless because I discovered it was actually a transformer. In terms of transformations it was more the Megatron than the Optimus prime of this but what can you expect for a small island. For those of you who do not understand the reference Megatron transforms from a robot to a gun or a cannon and then needs to be shot by someone. Well Optimus Prime is Optimus Prime.






In order to accommodate a large number of people in a small bus there were folding seats. If you do not know they exist it's likely that you will look at new people entering an already packed bus just wondering where they could fit. Perhaps they could secretly spider-man and plan on chilling on the underside of the roof. As the person reaches over you notices that annoying bar next to you is actually a super secret chair that not even Q could have devised.

The cell phone that was passed on to me was kinda busted so when I attempted to call my mom all I got was static. Actually all that phone did was make "static" noises rather than anything real or audible. Feeling a little bit worried that we had missed our window I decided to take a different less obvious route into the market. My guess was right and I saw my mom a few meters away(savvy metric reference).

Before long we were in the heart of the city on a bee-line to my grandfather's doctor. Only problem is that when we reached there he was nowhere in sight. He is apparently a very impatient man who felt the need to go about his business rather than wait on his daughter and grandson he hadn't seen in 19 years.

After an errand or 300 later that my mom had to get done it was time to eat. I feasted on local foods from a local vendor in the market. Lbo had a baked mac and cheese with chicken and I had some bake and salt fish and bake and herring as well as some fish cakes, all at the low low price of $11 EC about $4.

We were then off to see my old neighborhoods. I really don't want to go into it to much because I think I need a little bit more time for reflection. The short story is that the houses I grew up in look like hell holes. Whatever warped images left from my infancy are lies at this point.........

Our next stop was a close friend of my grandmother's who wanted to treat me to local food. She got the cook from the governor's house to whip up some ground provisions (roots and shit like potato), lobster deliciousness and mahimahi. Everything was so good and so beautiful over there. The view from the top of the hill was so impressive that it almost helped me forget about the state of my old hood. Mango trees growing taller than the second story balcony and the street lights hitting the avocado on exactly the right spot.

I smiled.

Then I closed my eyes on the car ride back to the hotel. There are few things scarier than driving at night in St. Lucia. The tiny country-side roads with the blind turns and big cars and people on the street. Did I mention the blinding headlights???

(Dang not enough time!!! I gotta go to the rain forest...)

So I did the rain forest thing today and I will write about that in the morning

St. Lucia Day Two

Because it's twice as exciting as the first day....

I'm doing this blogging thing a little later than expected today. Due to the heights of adventure reached yesterday I slept in a little. The day started with a 18 minute flip flop walk to the north of the island. As I walked down the road I started to appreciate sidewalks and avenues a little more. The roads are quite tiny over her and I felt that my life was in danger each and every time a car passed by no less than a foot from my shoulder. Though I did not get to go very far I found the walk brought me a little closer to the island and was a lot more authentic than the two plus hours spent in the resort celebrating my grandmother's 77th birthday.

I had no clue that the lunch was going to be held near Pigeon Island, which is now inaccurately named since they filled in the gap to make it an islet. From Pigeon Point/Sandals Resort to Pigeon Island was a blast. The foliage and the view of the west coast of the island is absolutely breathtaking. As I walked up I could imagine the battles waged at Fort Rodney, the vantage point meant that a surprise attack was all but ruled out.

From the top of the Fort I could see another even higher point on the same island/islet. I decided to see if I could find the path to it and get to that peak. The trail there was a little bit tougher, nothing impossible, but the view was even better. I found myself looking down on the Fort imagining ships coming from the north towards Martinique and canons at the Fort being guided by my signal where and when to fire.

After taking in the history and beauty of the Fort the battery from the camera was pretty much dead and I was only able to get a couple of shots of the sunset. There was also quite a long walk ahead along the roadside to the main intersection where the first bus stop was. A guard at the Sandals claimed it was a 5-10 minute walk but it was more like 30-40 minutes. It's an especially long 30 minutes when headlights are rushing by you in the dark.

Lbo and I discovered, much like columbus, an italian ice place with some delicious tamarind flavored ice. So now he wants tamarind with sugar cane at every turn.

I better get off my bum and start exploring. Today has been dubbed family day. With visits to family and the old neighborhood as well as a Lobster dinner.

But first we are off to the Market...

St. Lucia Day One

American Airlines blows. I don't mean that in a nice way either. I had to get to the airport no later than 4:30am just to take off at 8am. Due to "mechanical" error we chilled on the runway for over an hour. This wouldn't be nearly as bad if it wasn't for the fact that we had a connecting flight in San Juan. We were supposed to connect at 11 instead we were at the airport at 12:30pm. Hooray for totally sucking. Now don't get me wrong, it's a lot better to find out about mechanical problems on the ground but it's also their job to check themselves before people board.

I suggested exploring San Juan to Lbo but instead we ended up exploring the terminal; gate 12 was my favorite.

Rewinding for a bit. I was apparently stupid and brought water with my carry-on. It then became property of the United States Government. Also 6 Oz of toothpaste is way to much to carry on a plane. I offered to squeeze three out but the guard didn't think that was legit. He did inform me that "I didn't pass the bar but I know a little bit" and then referenced the old 80s brick instead of a VCR trick when i noted the bottle was unopened. There was a bit of a commotion after passing through the checkpoint with TSA and cops and some dude who apparently got tired of being checked or something.

anyway...

When we got to the island I declared nothing at customs and made my merry way to the outside where I found my long lost brother. He was far more interested in the stuff I was instructed to bring than the fact that he had never seen me in his life. After taking a close look at him I wasn't all that interested either.

The roads are crazy and we almost crashed. This is all explained by the fact that they decide to drive on the other side of the street. I am not sure which convention was decided up first but clearly one of us is wrong.

The hotel is small and friendly. It's also well air conditioned and clean. The food at the restaurant is the bomb. So far we've ordered: garlic shrimp, coconut shrimp, seafood Accra, plantain, duck something or the other wrapped in roti and chicken something else. All were delicious. There is also a great rum punch over here. Lots of rum.

It gets quite dark here once the sun goes down. I've been spoiled by the light pollution so prevalent in the city. The walk over to and on the beach was real nice except for the slippers. There were tiny crabs scampering about the shore and lots of of bigger ones just chilling as the sea washed up on them. The water was nice temperature as it rushed up on the shore and onto me feet. I wanted to jump in but realized the folly of that idea immediately.

Today I will be chillin' with some fam and then head over to the market to get some goods. O and I introduced Lbo to sugar cane and now he is nuts about it.

My Computer is Dead

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. It flat lined earlier this week. I was just about to hop into bed and then I heard a long piercing siren. I guess what I am saying is that my postings are going to be even less frequent that usual. Just a couple of things... I've started my second academic life at Brooklyn College, soon you will have to call me master. I forgot the other thing...

Time Travelin'

Mother's day was fairly awesome. I kicked it up a notch with an awesome late lunch for my mom and some of her friends. My brother also came through with some unparalleled deliciousness on the vegetarian side. I began the day by heading out to Stop and Shop bright and early to pick-up "fresh" ingredients. In other words I left my shopping till the last minute. After catching up on some TV I began prepping food: deveining shrimp, cooking rice and mixing up the mix.

Before long, but a bit later than planned, there was a smorgasbord of deliciousness. The lunch started with mini meatballs with a meat sauce which was followed up by a coconut shrimp appetizer. My main dish was a rice-avocado-mango-chicken salad which was perfect to compliment the spring weather. This incarnation of coconut shrimp was the best that I have done so far. One of the fresh ingredients I got from Stop and Shop was a coconut which I enlisted Lbo's gym going muscles to crack. I then grated the coconut and used that to coat the shrimp along with panko before frying them to a golden brown color. As usual I paired this with a peanut coconut sauce.

One day ago....

We went to a Mets game where I made sure to rock the freshest Mets gear out there. My newly purchased $5 cap was the talk of the town but mostly cause the Mets kinda stunk up the day. This led to a comatosed DJ and LBO, not even Corona ice broke them out of the funk. I imagine that I am the same way after a Knicks loss but I usually cry myself to sleep away from prying eyes. We met up a little later with Booty Shop D and other awesome people but we never really recovered from that low point.

Back to the future....

Lbo's actual birthday was the bomb. I started the after work festivities with 3 scoops of Alphabet Scoop ice cream; life is much more beautiful through the ice cream lens. Things were even better after having some black spaghetti at Max's. Not even the bitchiness of the host could put a damper on the day. Oh and then there was Big Buck Hunting. Pkilla was nice enough to take some embarrassing shots of us.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/priskiller/sets/72157600242394359/

Times they are a changin'

If you told me 2 or 3 years ago that I would be console gamer I would throwup some nerdy gang-like sign and yell "PC for life". Due to keeping tight control of my cheddar through my working years after college I haven't spent much time or money upgrading my PC as a result I have a slow beast with technology from what amounts to the middle ages. During that time I purchased a second-hand Xbox and have been playing it on and off over that last 2 years. I was first addicted to Fight Night Round 2, followed by Burnout and then Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Soon I became intrigued with the future of the new consoles but I never looked too long as it made me feel like a cheater. There I was with my PC looking at other machines, it was shameful.

I tried as I could to fight the yearning to get a "next gen" system and had almost resigned to saving up money till December to get a new computer, but then the unthinkable happened. X heard me pining over Xbox 360 and offered to hook me up with the elite version. How could I say no? He ordered it last Sunday and for once there was actually someone here when the delivery guy came by. It was lust at first sight. I put it together right away and tested out just about every game that I had purchased the previous day.

It was at this point that I decided that from now on I will refer to everything in terms of when Xbox 360 came into my life. Thursday of this week is an epochal event: every day before it shall be know as X day Before Xbox360 (BX) and every day from that point shall be reffered to as After Xbox 360 (AX).

1:40PM 3 AX