links for 2007-07-25
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This lady (who’s been teaching less time than me) is crazy organized. I’m hoping some of it will rub off.
Jul 25
2007
Jul 21
2007
links for 2007-07-21
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I’m sure this has been out for a while, but, seriously, it’s funny. And I’m a complete nerd. It’s cool.
Jun 25
2007
The Generation’s Best Books - Scathing Reviews for __________ People
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The Generation’s Best Books - Scathing Reviews for People
Had to post this the old-fashioned way because del.icio.us is acting out of sorts
Yes, there is a real post coming, in fact, I hope a whole slew of them. Just need to suck it up and deliver for YOU!
Jun 12
2007
links for 2007-06-12
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Dear God… I thought I was doing alright until I saw this. She does everything. EVERYTHING.
Jun 11
2007
links for 2007-06-11
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new site to help me get stuff done…
May 30
2007
links for 2007-05-30
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For Marc and Rich– I’m sure you know about this site, but it looks good for someone who needs to tune their bike up after a long winter’s nap, like me!
May 25
2007
links for 2007-05-25
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I think I only know about 16.7 percent of the songs here, but I like the take on them (via Deadspin)
May 17
2007
links for 2007-05-17
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Good fodder in the comments for books I need to add to my list.
May 01
2007
links for 2007-05-01
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We’re studying the rainforest in class… and it’s really depressing when I hear stories like this. I hope I can help convince some kid to take up the cause for our planet… Lord knows I’m too lazy
Apr 25
2007
links for 2007-04-25
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Both Deadspin and NPR had nice features about the Vietnam-era journalist turned sports legend. On the recommendation of Minneapolis Red Sox, I read Summer of ‘49. Fascinating stuff.. .he will be missed.
Apr 22
2007
links for 2007-04-22
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More justification for a new thermostat. Number three points out why I’m neurotic about the toaster… stupid vampire appliances…6 & 7 are the hardest for me…
Apr 15
2007
Now You’ve Done It…
| Category: General, All about me | 1 Comment
It started as a passing fancy. A lark, from Markalark, to be exact. A casual reference to it on The Colbert Report, an attempt to understand the generations after us. Really, it’s an investigation into social networking, social literacy, Web2.0 at its best/worst.
I never meant for it to go even this far.
After a poker game during spring break, I was too amped to go to bed, so I started taking a serious (albeit bourbon-tinted) look at the wonderful world of MySpace. Yes, I created a profile. Yes, I started looking for friends. After my high school reunion, I keep wondering about what happened to the people I used to hang out with and talk to throughout my formative years. So little by little, they’re coming back into my lives. It’s quite stalkery, really, what with the ability to hop, skip, and jump from person to person, as I have little dawns of recognition at peoples’ names. For me, the journey of remembering what I’ve long forgotten seems to be the most interesting part.
My MySpace Goals started out like this:
1) See who was around from high school
2) See if I could track anyone down from college.
3) Observe to ascertain any correlation between age, intelligence and devotion to MySpace layouts. (Working theory; the younger/dumber you are [not necessarily younger AND dumber, it’s an and/or proposition], the more unreadable your MySpace page becomes. Remember, there are always exceptions to the rule)
4) Try to remain neutral, unafflicted, and “too cool” (translation: too old) to get sucked in.
And for a few weeks couple days, it worked.
But now? I’m on MySpace for about an hour a day, just looking around to see who’s out there. Suddenly, I spent a Saturday evening with my good friend Jim B., TLEMK, and Dev, cruising the vapid wasteland that is MySpace.
I hate it. I can’t stand the crappy layouts, the “hollas” at everyone and that STUPID SPARKLE GLITTER crap that every insane person on that site seems to have.
I can’t stay away from it. It’s so awful that I am irresistibly drawn towards it (Insert cliches #1 and #2: Like a moth drawn to the flame. Like a car crash that you can’t look away from. /end cliches).
I even went so far as to put a layout on it last night. And then reason took over and said:
NO.
You cannot do this. You cannot spend time judging people for using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS WHEN THEY LEAVE A COMMENT SO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE BEING SHOUTED AT THE ENTIRE TIME. It’s unfair, because these people you know are decent human beings. It’s just so easy to have a visceral reaction to grammatical errors, lack of coherence, and the inability for people to understand that they shouldn’t use background images that don’t scroll well or integrate with your type makes it almost impossible to read. In the immortal words of Stuck’s reminders on his phone, I need to “Be a better person.”
I am clinging to the hope that these pages are not representations of the entire mind, body, and soul of the people on them. That they’re just the way that people let loose and have fun. Because, at the risk of sounding old and curmudgeon-y, I think the next generation is screwed if this is the best they can do. I will remain the optimist and try to see the benefits of MySpace, and believe that everyone is just having fun, and it is no way indicative of future performance in the real world. (For the record, I do have a Facebook account too, but it’s not nearly the guilty pleasure of MySpace.)
Besides, blogs are so passe and passive, right?
Gotta go and see if I have any new friend requests.
Apr 10
2007
links for 2007-04-10
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Everyone told me I was comma happy. Turns out, I was using them correctly. I think I’m going to print this out and send it to ALL FOUR of my thesis advisors.
Apr 08
2007
links for 2007-04-08
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Maybe Kenny can become CU’s sexiest librarian… shoot, CU already HAS an underground libarry (corrrrrrnuh!)
Apr 01
2007
Gambling, Rambling, and Fambling: Return of the Ebjournal (Now with Improved Witticisms!)
| Category: General, Sports and Wine, School Daze, Entertainment Tonight, All about me, Home Improvement | 1 Comment
So.
Well, I finally made it back, 2.857142857142857 readers. The following post contains ramblings and a catch all for my life over the past three months. Suffice to say, it’s been busy. Without further ado, I give you possibly the most disconnected post written by a contributor to this site ever.
SO…Taguchi.
Baseball starts tonight. My fantasy team is drafted, Frank the Tank and Siberian Baseball have made their predictions, and it’s almost time to mow the lawn. My glove is in the trunk, screaming to be let out. Maybe now that we’ve settled into the house, I can think about playing for beer league or something. It would be a lot of fun to get involved on a softball team. For the record, I predict the Cubs will finish third in the NL Central behind the Brewers (1st) and then the Cardinals (2nd) and the Sox will finish second behind the Indians in the AL central. My fantasy team, is again, young, but filled with potential. Pitching will be a problem, but I have enough young outfielders that I’ll be able to make some good trades later in the year.
Sew…A wedding dress.
Two Fridays ago, I attended my brother-in-law’s bachelor party. Two important things were learned by yours truly that evening:
1) I can still bring it. I was up for twenty-five hours and still managed to drive myself home. (Pay no attention to the fact that I confined myself to the bed/couch for the rest of the afternoon/evening…)
2) Traveling with cops gets you a lot. (My bro and his best man are both newly-minted agents of good.) We did not pay a cover charge at any establishment we attended. That saved a lot of money that I was then able to funnel into Lou’s mouth in the form of shots. Good times.
A good portion of spring break was spent discussing gambling and partaking in small bits of it. Wednesday night I had the boys over for a poker game, since I’m apparently the only one able to organize these things, and I got my money back after getting lazy and not paying attention to Marc and his pocket bullets. C’est la vie.
I also did some gambling at Elgin’s finest boating establishment. It took 90 minutes, but I finally managed to lose only $40. It looks like the casino is not going to have $5 craps tables anymore, and since I’m not getting any richer, I had to adjust my strategy for the $10 tables. (Playing only the point, and placing the six/eight seems to be the way to slowly bleed my money instead of instantly losing it.)
This past Friday was the wedding. We now have one more member of our family. She seems like she’ll keep my brother-in-law focused, so that’s a good thing. Congrats to both of them. Seeing all of TLEMK’s family was also enjoyable. Her mother’s side is predictably fun and kooky, and her dad’s side is predictably Greek. You may interpret how you will– feel free to ask TLEMK and Dev to their re-enactment of V’s grandpa and friends having a discussion…
Sow…I reap what I sow.
As you know, we’re in month seven of the House Reclamation Project Which We Will NOT Call a Money Pit Just Yet Project. So far we’ve repainted the exterior (as in, hired someone) and have slowly redecorated it to match our tastes. It’s going slowly, but now that I’m done with grad school (see below) I have a little window in which I can learn to be a real man/homeowner/Mr. Fix It type. There’s a honey-do list about mile long on the fridge that we need to have done in time for the 67th annual McIntosh Family Reunion (appearing in mid-to-late July) which in a moment of insanity, we agreed to host.
Apparently, one thing that’s not on the list that will be added is this wonderful discovery we made over Spring Break:
We need a new roof.
We’ve got curling shingles, pitted shingles, shingles missing, and a lovely collection of pieces of asphalt sprinkling our back patio. We’re getting estimates this week, all the while I keep hoping and praying that it doesn’t rain too much, and that the wind will calm down. (Yeah, I know it’s spring… I just was hoping for a calmer spring.) I know it’s an investment, and I probably won’t have to get a new roof for another 15-20 years, but I was hoping to establish an emergency fund BEFORE we had to start using it.
So…that happened.
I am DONE with my master’s thesis and my classes. I’ve decided not to walk in the graduation ceremony because I don’t think I would be able to keep my mouth shut and would start spewing invectives directed and the entire University. I don’t think they would appreciate that. The last few weeks of my grad school experience was filled with a lot of nights of staring at the computer and going, “Where does this comma go? Should I write that? Should I use italics here? CRAP!” I am happy it’s over, and sadly, already thinking about my next stage of professional development. For those of you that had “ELL endorsement” you are the winner. We’ll see when that starts.
So… there you go.
I’ve had many different topics to write about, but they’re all half-formed ideas, so you got this rambling, gambling, and fambling post. It’s good to be back writing, but I expect the rust to continue for a few more weeks. Topics I didn’t even touch:
My STINKY brackets
Which is ballooning faster? My waistline or my self-defense mechanism? (’You don’t look that bad. Yet. Keep sucking it in.”)
Planning for Greece, planning for the reunion, planning for everything.
Why I allow television to rule my life. (If you don’t watch Friday Night Lights, please do so. NBC.com has all the episodes to watch for free, and Frank the Tank and the Chicago Tribune made an impassioned plea to bring it back next year. End commercial.)
More house crap.
Anyway, I’ll talk to you soon, Internet.
No, you say bye first.
No, you say bye.
Okay, I’m hanging up right now.
You didn’t hang up!
Bye.
(image courtesy of the Associated Press.)
Mar 30
2007
links for 2007-03-30
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Yeah, it’s coming. The only reason we have HBO. Also, do you love the cover song? Cuz I do. APRIL 8TH.
