Friday, October 31, 2003

Too bad my turntable's so old that it warbles when it plays, otherwise I'd be digging up my old vinyl for the trick-or-treaters tonight.

Chaostrophy in the house this morning. It must be Halloween. Overslept...Bumbling around the apartment. And it wouldn't be the spooky holiday without a scare, or should I say a treat. No more than 30 seconds had passed after Alyssa left the house and Simone decided to throw up in her current favorite spot. Don't worry, there are no photos of the aftermath (because that's just too *gross*...even for Halloween). But here's her favorite spot:

Thursday, October 30, 2003

I'm fairly certain this house is haunted.

Taking a quick break from the job search to surf the web can be dangerous. With endless webpages out there dedicated to the music I enjoy, I could spend months just learning about, downloading and streaming one simple genre, like microhouse. Maybe I'll just subscribe to the list and be done with it.

Tuesday, October 28, 2003

Leaf peeping around the neighborhood.

Monday, October 27, 2003

If you have a cat, and you want him/her to like you, I strongly recommend picking up a Zoom Groom. It's a rubber-toothed brush and your cat will thank you for it! Simone can't live without the zoom grooming.

Sunday, October 26, 2003

I just received a call from a dispatcher at AT&T Relay Services. I'd never heard of this great service until now, so she caught me by surprise. The conversation went a little something like this:

Martha: Hi. This is Martha, a dispatcher for AT&T Relay Services. I have a caller trying to reach you via TTY. She will type her side of the phone call and I will read to you what she writes. You will then respond to me, and I will type your side of the phone call to her. Ready?

Me: Sure.

Martha: (with a vague southern dialect) David, it's me Michelle. Did you call me earlier tonight?

Me: Say what?

Martha: (again, with a vague southern dialect) David, it's me Michelle. Did you call me earlier tonight?

Me: I think you have the wrong number.

Martha: OK. Let me respond to the caller...(a few seconds elapse)...Here's the response "Whoops! Sorry. OK, good night. Bye."

Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Thank you to Alex and Sarah who graciously gave me a copy of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode of the film. For a plot summary, you can find one here. Basically we're talking about two sub-par short movies embedded in the framework of a story told to a boy by his grandfather, played by Ernest Borgnine. I originally started watching the movie about a year ago when Alex and Sarah first gave me the tape. I made it about halfway through at the time -- to the point when the clapping toy monkey started causing mysterious accidents. I'm happy to say, I finally finished the movie and I'm relieved that Merlin found his evil toy monkey and Ernest Borgnine's "story" had a happy ending. Alex and Sarah, let me know if you ever want this gem back!

Saturday, October 25, 2003

WIN: Discovered a great Chinese takeout place down the street called New Asia.

LOSS: Got the worst fortune ever -- "There is no mistake so great as that of being always right."

Nothing like waiting until the end of the season to use our Six Flags season passes for the first time. I wish I brought my camera into the park; I could've had my photo taken with Daffy Duck. The rollercoasters were, as always, amazing. Still feeling a little dizzy from the 220+ ft/75 mph drop on Superman.

We also went to a Halloween party last night in Wallingford. Is it generally a good idea to meet people for the first time while wearing a grass skirt?

Thursday, October 23, 2003

It may not be the eclectic powerhouse of Boston College's radio station WZBC, but WNHU is the most promising non-commercial radio station in the area. I've already heard some great music after tuning in for just an hour here and there. University of New Haven's station reaches about 30 miles broadcasting at 1700 watts. That's a strong signal if you compare it to my only radio DJ experience at WRBC, broadcasting at 120 watts covering a 10 mile radius on a clear day.

Wednesday, October 22, 2003

It's taco night! The final tally Sean     9 Alyssa   3 Simone .001

Many people know we moved to Connecticut. But not a lot of people seem to know where exactly our new home is located. To make things a little easier, the blue star marks the spot.

Tuesday, October 21, 2003

The CD stores in this area can't compare with what Boston has to offer. But that's OK. For every few Warrant, Yanni, and Bell Biv DeVoe CDs you thumb through, you unearth a rarity like the original 1991 WaxTrax pressing of Coil's Love's Secret Domain for $7.99.

Monday, October 20, 2003

Chris, any relation?

Sunday, October 19, 2003

A dizzying day with lots of work on the computer. Alyssa spent the entire day studying; Simone, sleeping. I stare at my computer book titles and I wonder when we'll run out of technology-related acronyms and we'll need to start re-using them. I guess you can already make that argument for ASP and ASP. I suppose there'll never be another meaning for TWAIN, my favorite, "Technology Without An Interesting Name."

Saturday, October 18, 2003

Walked along the boardwalk tonight.
Not a soul around except for a few fishermen on the jetties.

Friday, October 17, 2003

Unlike Tim, I watched it sail into the seats. But my TV was on the front lawn before Jeter's smirk made it onto the field. With the TV outdoors, I retired my Boston cap to psychoslaphead for another year, and immediately changed my desktop wallpaper to something unrelated to baseball, although I think it captures the mood.

If only this were true.

Thursday, October 16, 2003

My ritual before Game 7 will be to watch the 1963 film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World because that's exactly what the streets of Boston will become if they do to the Yankees what they did to the Blue Jays back on July 20th.

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

Giddy up. Some have their rally caps (I do). Others flash the TV with 1987 Topps baseball cards (I've done that too). Red Sox fans will do anything they can to bring good luck to a team who hasn't won the World Series since 1918. I enjoy celebrating the Sox success with some classy desktop wallpaper.

But if our luck runs out and we have to wait until April to get our good luck charms out again, check out the wallpaper found here especially if you're curious about what Tokyo may look like in the year 2509.

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Views of the sound from the boardwalk.

Monday, October 13, 2003

Acorn squash can be prepared a number of ways; I think soup is the most popular. My favorite way is to slice the squash in half so you split the stem (don't slice along the equator). Then microwave each half in about a 1/2 inch of water face down for about 5-6 min to soften it. Toss some butter, brown sugar and fresh ground pepper into each half, wrap them individually in tin foil, and bake them for about 45-60 min at 350 degrees. Boom. You've got yourself a great side dish to go along with just about anything, including tacos. Well, maybe not.

Anyway, I'm not making acorn squash tonight. I think I'll try spaghetti squash for the first time instead.

Sunday, October 12, 2003

Tim is being modest. His blog is better. The Listening Experiment was/is a great method to curb CD purchasing temporarily. New rules have been injected into the Experiment as time has passed; the newest manifestation, Tim's blog, is a spiffy way to track his progress.

Get it? "Track" his progress? Get it?? Huh? Like a CD track? Ah.. nevermind.

I am really looking forward to Arizona this March!

Saturday, October 11, 2003

Just unbelievable.

A beautiful autumn afternoon to tour Chamard Vineyards.
Their 2001 Merlot is wonderful.

Friday, October 10, 2003

Who knew? We recently moved to a city of many "firsts": The first hamburger (1900), the first player piano (1897), the first planetarium (1743), the first frisbee (1820), the first submarine (1775), and the first artificial ice (1849). And who could forget about the first mechanical brain (1905) and automated pin-making machine (1824)! No points, however, for first identifying Lyme Disease here in the mid-1970s.

Wearing my Kozmo.com t-shirt today. That takes me back. Whatever happened to Kozmo? Some dotcoms have transformed into new services over time -- EMusic being the newest to change its subscription model. But sadly Kozmo vanished into thin air. Sure, it's been over two years since their last bike delivery. But I'm still not quite over the majestic convenience of receiving Barbarella, Sports Illustrated, Rain Dogs and a pint of New York Super Fudge Chunk in a matter of minutes.

Thursday, October 09, 2003

Feline simulacra...mmm....simulacralicious:

Wednesday, October 08, 2003

We're winning 5-0, bottom of the 7th. A little breathing room, and time to take a stretch. Earlier tonight, made Mojito Chicken for dinner. Fantastic.

I wholeheartedly recommend products by Sauder. They make great furniture. I had two very positive experiences after recently purchasing and building their TV stand and computer desk.

Inexpensive, good quality, easy to build and clear instructions. OK, I'm done singing their praises. Just thought I'd pass it along in case you're in the market for some furniture.

Now back to our regularly scheduled Game 1.... Go Sox!

Tuesday, October 07, 2003

Cats sleep a lot. They also enjoy staring.

I figured I'd give Netflix a try. So I signed up and I immediately added about 50 movies to my queue. All well and good. But now that I have an active account, Netflix spits out recommendations to me on the homepage.

Should I be concerned that the first movie they recommend is Patrick Swayze's Roadhouse?

What's more unsettling is that the 2nd movie listed is Citizen Kane.

So I ask you, can you find any other two movies that are farther apart on the movie spectrum?

I submit that you cannot.