tour de France
With 90% of sports talk radio devoted to talking of trades and draft choices it's nice to see some actual sport taking place. OLN (Outdoor Life Network) is showing the Tour de France daily. Yesterday I saw Lance Armstrong battling his way to second place through the Pyrenees. It's incredible watching the cyclists make those steep climbs.
Today was a short segment on the tour into the city of Nimes so not as exciting as yesterday. The race resumes on tuesday when they head to the alps.
It's been pleasantly mild this July with relatively low humidty and temperatures in the low 80's.
Sunday, July 18, 2004
Thursday, July 08, 2004
my car sucks
For the forth time in 9 months my car has broken down
there are the occasions of ailment
# Oct 15: battery dies
# May 1: serpentine belt snaps
# May 15: tensioner assembly collapses
# tonight: I have no idea what happened but the car died in the parking lot at Fountain Square. I waited 2 hours for the tow truck to show up. Ironically, I was planning on attending a Buddhist meditation class at Fountain Square. Going south on College the car was making all sorts of weird sounds and having a hard time getting acceleration from a stop. Well, while the rest of the class was learing about samsara, I was experiencing the real thing. Thankfully I was able to accumulate merit and practice patience and put the results into the path.
For the forth time in 9 months my car has broken down
there are the occasions of ailment
# Oct 15: battery dies
# May 1: serpentine belt snaps
# May 15: tensioner assembly collapses
# tonight: I have no idea what happened but the car died in the parking lot at Fountain Square. I waited 2 hours for the tow truck to show up. Ironically, I was planning on attending a Buddhist meditation class at Fountain Square. Going south on College the car was making all sorts of weird sounds and having a hard time getting acceleration from a stop. Well, while the rest of the class was learing about samsara, I was experiencing the real thing. Thankfully I was able to accumulate merit and practice patience and put the results into the path.
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
reading an old Article in the Atlantic Monthly about Robert Moses, the man who was the driving force between many of the bridges, tunnels, parks and parkways in the New York area. When I was growing up in Niagara Falls, NY we lived right off of the Robert Moses Parkway and that was the first limited access highway I became aquainted with.
Ironically Robert Moses never drove a car, I don't believe he ever had a drivers license.
The man who designed all these highways never himself drove down them.
I'd like to list these improbable occupations I've run across in my life:
I had a roofer once who lived on the first floor of a 5 story apartment building.
A mortage broker who rented an apartment.
I tried to think of some hypothetical ones:
A dentist with no teeth
A teetotaler that runs a bar
..list to be continued...
Ironically Robert Moses never drove a car, I don't believe he ever had a drivers license.
The man who designed all these highways never himself drove down them.
I'd like to list these improbable occupations I've run across in my life:
I had a roofer once who lived on the first floor of a 5 story apartment building.
A mortage broker who rented an apartment.
I tried to think of some hypothetical ones:
A dentist with no teeth
A teetotaler that runs a bar
..list to be continued...
Monday, July 05, 2004
Ta gai lem holle dai!
nice long weekend, mostly spent in leisure
I've finished reading "Amnesia Nights" by Quinton Skinner. It's a good book that kept me guessing up to the end as to what the outcome would be.
The amazon link is here below.
Amnesia Nights
I've started reading "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote and am about 1/3 of the way through. Not much suspense in this one as I've read it before and am aware of the fate of the Clutter family. Still a fascinating read and the book that kicked off the "true crime" genre.
I saw two DVDs also, "Spellbound" and "The Basketball Diaries". The later has the infamous classroom shootout, with Leonardo DiCaprio wearing a trench coat and laying waste to his classmates. At one point I turned on the subtitles and had a revealing moment in regards to song lyrics. In one scene a basketball game is under way to the tune of the Doors: "Riders on the Storm". The lyrics came through on the subtitles and when I saw the line "Take a long holiday" I was taken aback. I don't know why but somehow I thought that Jim Morrison was chanting some Native American prayer or eastern phrase ala "Jai Guru Deva Om" in the Beatles "Across the Universe". To me the Doors lyrics always sounded "Ta gai lem holle dai -- Let your children play". Weird
I also went to a cookout at my friends Richard and Vickie's house and ended up manning the grill. Richard kept asking me how to barbeque chicken and then asked me to prepare and cook the food. I was more than happy to assist him soaking the poultry in the bbq sauce and tending to it on the charcoal grill.
Sunday, June 27, 2004
sunday around 5 pm
We just had our 2nd annual 56th street ice cream social sponsored by my wife the neighborhood block captain. Both young and old were in attendance. The youngest was Brian and Lynn's son Henry who is 13 months old, the oldest being Martha who exact age we are unaware of but she told us once that she got married in 1945.
It was a very pleasant day for the event, warm and sunny but not humid. The past week the weather has almost been like fall. The event ran from 1-3 pm but most people showed up around 2 and we were out in the driveway until about 4.
Watching Henry the 13 month old was interesting. I have no children nor any nieces or nephews so being around kids is a rarity. There are few youngsters on the street, aside from Henry the only other children are two elementary school aged kids whose names escape me at the moment. My mother once told me that I did not learn to walk until I was 18 months old. I watch Henry amble about confidently albeit with support from outdoor furniture and chairs and wonder what I was doing at 13 months. Was I that clumsy or did I just love powercrawling around the house.
Currently my 3 cats, Bindi, Stanley and Sophie are circling the basement posting themselves by my chair as according to their estimation it is supper time. It's funny watching them all scramble down the basement stairs in unison, Stanley the most hyperactive one skipping through the air and landing ahead of another cat to get to his food bowl as they make the descent. Alas, Master Bart is not ready to feed the young beasts as the hour of 5 pm has not yet struck.
Our book club has chosen Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" for this month so I will get my copy from the library this week and read it over the fourth of July weekend.
We just had our 2nd annual 56th street ice cream social sponsored by my wife the neighborhood block captain. Both young and old were in attendance. The youngest was Brian and Lynn's son Henry who is 13 months old, the oldest being Martha who exact age we are unaware of but she told us once that she got married in 1945.
It was a very pleasant day for the event, warm and sunny but not humid. The past week the weather has almost been like fall. The event ran from 1-3 pm but most people showed up around 2 and we were out in the driveway until about 4.
Watching Henry the 13 month old was interesting. I have no children nor any nieces or nephews so being around kids is a rarity. There are few youngsters on the street, aside from Henry the only other children are two elementary school aged kids whose names escape me at the moment. My mother once told me that I did not learn to walk until I was 18 months old. I watch Henry amble about confidently albeit with support from outdoor furniture and chairs and wonder what I was doing at 13 months. Was I that clumsy or did I just love powercrawling around the house.
Currently my 3 cats, Bindi, Stanley and Sophie are circling the basement posting themselves by my chair as according to their estimation it is supper time. It's funny watching them all scramble down the basement stairs in unison, Stanley the most hyperactive one skipping through the air and landing ahead of another cat to get to his food bowl as they make the descent. Alas, Master Bart is not ready to feed the young beasts as the hour of 5 pm has not yet struck.
Our book club has chosen Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" for this month so I will get my copy from the library this week and read it over the fourth of July weekend.
Friday, June 18, 2004
My favorite Urban Legend
Is Clint Eastwood the son of Stan Laurel?
Most of the stuff I find on Snopes as the result of some e-mail that's been forwarded on to me about $50 Applebee's Gift Certificates, kidney thieves in Las Vegas or poisonous snakes at the children's playground at Burger King.
The legend claiming that Clint Eastwood is the son of Stan Laurel is one I discovered on my own and is a personal favorite. Snopes.com mentions that Clint Eastwood was born the same month that Stan Laurel's wife gave birth to a son who died 9 days after being born. The rumor has it that the baby didn't die, was given up for adoption and was taken into the Eastwood home. Who knows maybe it is true? Has Clint Eastwood ever come forward and proved that he's not the son of Stan Laurel? What is he trying to hide from us? I'm growing suspicious.
Sometimes when people send me the Urban Legend e-mail I'm inclined to write them back and introduce to them the wonders of Snopes and how they should check every e-mail against the Snopesbase to verify what they are reading. Some programmer out there should add that to e-mail filtering software. It would detect an Urban Legend and attach the Snopes reference to the message so that the user could get all the facts at once.
I enjoyed the Laurel and Hardy movies growing up. My Dad would check them out from the library in reel to reel format(no VCRs or DVDs in my childhood, sonny). On New Years Eve at church we would have a potluck and my Dad would show a Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin movie. Also there was a program called "Supes On" on Channel 43 WUAB in Cleveland and the first hour of the program usually featured a Stooges or Laurel and Hardy movie. Going to church to see an old comedy sure beats going to Sunday School.
Is Clint Eastwood the son of Stan Laurel?
Most of the stuff I find on Snopes as the result of some e-mail that's been forwarded on to me about $50 Applebee's Gift Certificates, kidney thieves in Las Vegas or poisonous snakes at the children's playground at Burger King.
The legend claiming that Clint Eastwood is the son of Stan Laurel is one I discovered on my own and is a personal favorite. Snopes.com mentions that Clint Eastwood was born the same month that Stan Laurel's wife gave birth to a son who died 9 days after being born. The rumor has it that the baby didn't die, was given up for adoption and was taken into the Eastwood home. Who knows maybe it is true? Has Clint Eastwood ever come forward and proved that he's not the son of Stan Laurel? What is he trying to hide from us? I'm growing suspicious.
Sometimes when people send me the Urban Legend e-mail I'm inclined to write them back and introduce to them the wonders of Snopes and how they should check every e-mail against the Snopesbase to verify what they are reading. Some programmer out there should add that to e-mail filtering software. It would detect an Urban Legend and attach the Snopes reference to the message so that the user could get all the facts at once.
I enjoyed the Laurel and Hardy movies growing up. My Dad would check them out from the library in reel to reel format(no VCRs or DVDs in my childhood, sonny). On New Years Eve at church we would have a potluck and my Dad would show a Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin movie. Also there was a program called "Supes On" on Channel 43 WUAB in Cleveland and the first hour of the program usually featured a Stooges or Laurel and Hardy movie. Going to church to see an old comedy sure beats going to Sunday School.
Monday, June 14, 2004
many thoughts crossing into my mind at the moment.
in the news I've heard of a terrorist plot to bomb malls in Columbus, Ohio. I found this news a bit alarming being a former resident of the city and having frequented its malls many times. For those not acquainted here's a rundown based on personal experience.
Northland Mall: otherside of town from where I grew up. It no longer exists, is used to be the main mall in CoCo town when I was a kid but the surrounding neighborhood decayed and the mall went down the tube with it. I only remember being there once, to see the movie "Teachers" with Nick Nolte, Judd Hirsch and yours truly. I was an extra in the film and was actually congratulated by Aaron Russo, the executive producer for my performance in a scene. This scene ended up on the cutting room floor much to my dismay and my I was aghast when I realized this as I kept telling my friends before we entered the cinema, "I'm in the film, I'm in the film". Alas, I think I ended up on the album cover for the soundtrack, I'm that large red speck seen heading up the stairs of John F. Kennedy High School(olde Central High school in reality). This was my 15 minutes of almost fame.
Southland Mall: does it still exist, did it ever exist. The south side of Columbus once claimed this mall. It had about 7 stores and a movie theater. I remember it because I saw a James Bond movie there. One scene in the movie involved a woman playing a violin in a concert hall in Bratislava, Czechloslovakia, I forget the rest. I always think of the mall when I hear the Lynrd Skyrnd song that goes "singing sounds about the Southland..." I have some image of the band playing in front of the store with no one around just some stray trash twirling around aimlessly right outside the entryway. If you've seen the movie "American Beauty" you'll understand what I'm talking about.
here's a sight/cite you might find interesting:
Northland Mall Today
Dead Malls web site
Westland Mall: home sweet home, actually I spent more time at Great Western but that was a strip mall and not the enclosed, climatically controlled SuperMall. I went to Westland many times but I honestly cannot remember why, nor do I recall spending a lot of money there. No, I was not a mall rat and did not hang out there with other disaffected teens, there were other places to do that which were far more interesting. I would go to WaldenBooks, a record store whose name I have forgotten and going to a pretzel outlet called "Hot Sams".
City Center Mall: this was just built about 15 years ago right in downtown. Circle City Mall in Indianapolis was built to model this mall. I'm really not sure if the downtown Columbus Mall is still in good shape. Circle City was not built until after I went away to college but I did visit a few times. I wonder how things stand today.
in the news I've heard of a terrorist plot to bomb malls in Columbus, Ohio. I found this news a bit alarming being a former resident of the city and having frequented its malls many times. For those not acquainted here's a rundown based on personal experience.
Northland Mall: otherside of town from where I grew up. It no longer exists, is used to be the main mall in CoCo town when I was a kid but the surrounding neighborhood decayed and the mall went down the tube with it. I only remember being there once, to see the movie "Teachers" with Nick Nolte, Judd Hirsch and yours truly. I was an extra in the film and was actually congratulated by Aaron Russo, the executive producer for my performance in a scene. This scene ended up on the cutting room floor much to my dismay and my I was aghast when I realized this as I kept telling my friends before we entered the cinema, "I'm in the film, I'm in the film". Alas, I think I ended up on the album cover for the soundtrack, I'm that large red speck seen heading up the stairs of John F. Kennedy High School(olde Central High school in reality). This was my 15 minutes of almost fame.
Southland Mall: does it still exist, did it ever exist. The south side of Columbus once claimed this mall. It had about 7 stores and a movie theater. I remember it because I saw a James Bond movie there. One scene in the movie involved a woman playing a violin in a concert hall in Bratislava, Czechloslovakia, I forget the rest. I always think of the mall when I hear the Lynrd Skyrnd song that goes "singing sounds about the Southland..." I have some image of the band playing in front of the store with no one around just some stray trash twirling around aimlessly right outside the entryway. If you've seen the movie "American Beauty" you'll understand what I'm talking about.
here's a sight/cite you might find interesting:
Northland Mall Today
Dead Malls web site
Westland Mall: home sweet home, actually I spent more time at Great Western but that was a strip mall and not the enclosed, climatically controlled SuperMall. I went to Westland many times but I honestly cannot remember why, nor do I recall spending a lot of money there. No, I was not a mall rat and did not hang out there with other disaffected teens, there were other places to do that which were far more interesting. I would go to WaldenBooks, a record store whose name I have forgotten and going to a pretzel outlet called "Hot Sams".
City Center Mall: this was just built about 15 years ago right in downtown. Circle City Mall in Indianapolis was built to model this mall. I'm really not sure if the downtown Columbus Mall is still in good shape. Circle City was not built until after I went away to college but I did visit a few times. I wonder how things stand today.
Friday, June 11, 2004
time to blog and blog again.
It's been an 80's kind of week with all Ronald Reagan tribute going on. It almost makes me want to go to Itunes and download Phil Collin's "No Jacket Required", head out to the nearest fern bar/comedy club for a few wine coolers before heading home to watch the latest episode of "Miami Vice" faithfully recorded on my Sony Betamax.
I did a little research on remaining living US Presidents and their ages: (ranked by age)
Gerald Ford: Born: July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska (90 years old)
George H.W. Bush: Born: June 12, 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts (79 years old) ; birthday is tomorrow
James Carter: Born: October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia (79 years old)
Bill Clinton: Born: August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas (57 years old)
I just wonder if all of these men will request state funerals when they pass. What will the coverage of the Gerald Ford funeral be like? Will the casket slip off the hearse?
My old Church
From 1969- 1975 my father was the minister of this church
Riverside Church in Niagara Falls
My father is mentioned in the church history found here
We left Niagara Falls shortly before my 8th birthday. I don't remember much but in the summer after church they'd have a coffee hour with lots of punch and cookies and running around in my Sunday best at such events. Looking at photos of the church on the website it looks like they put in addition right in the middle of the area where these receptions took place. As Dr Suess once said "Oh, the places you will go."
Niagara Falls is where is first heard of a TV show called "Star Trek". The show had been off the air for several years but was in syndication and on practically every night throughout the 1970's. I was a bit confused initially thinking that the show was called "Star Track" and imagined some tie in between cho-cho trains and outer space. The first episode I ever saw was when Kirk and Spock travel back through time to the 1930's United States and somehow Kirk hooks up with this woman who is anti-war and if she had lived would have led to a Nazi victory World War II or something like that. Here's the episode:
city on the edge of forever
It's been an 80's kind of week with all Ronald Reagan tribute going on. It almost makes me want to go to Itunes and download Phil Collin's "No Jacket Required", head out to the nearest fern bar/comedy club for a few wine coolers before heading home to watch the latest episode of "Miami Vice" faithfully recorded on my Sony Betamax.
I did a little research on remaining living US Presidents and their ages: (ranked by age)
Gerald Ford: Born: July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska (90 years old)
George H.W. Bush: Born: June 12, 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts (79 years old) ; birthday is tomorrow
James Carter: Born: October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia (79 years old)
Bill Clinton: Born: August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas (57 years old)
I just wonder if all of these men will request state funerals when they pass. What will the coverage of the Gerald Ford funeral be like? Will the casket slip off the hearse?
My old Church
From 1969- 1975 my father was the minister of this church
Riverside Church in Niagara Falls
My father is mentioned in the church history found here
We left Niagara Falls shortly before my 8th birthday. I don't remember much but in the summer after church they'd have a coffee hour with lots of punch and cookies and running around in my Sunday best at such events. Looking at photos of the church on the website it looks like they put in addition right in the middle of the area where these receptions took place. As Dr Suess once said "Oh, the places you will go."
Niagara Falls is where is first heard of a TV show called "Star Trek". The show had been off the air for several years but was in syndication and on practically every night throughout the 1970's. I was a bit confused initially thinking that the show was called "Star Track" and imagined some tie in between cho-cho trains and outer space. The first episode I ever saw was when Kirk and Spock travel back through time to the 1930's United States and somehow Kirk hooks up with this woman who is anti-war and if she had lived would have led to a Nazi victory World War II or something like that. Here's the episode:
city on the edge of forever
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
tues 5 pm: time for a new blog entry
I've just read that Ohio State fired their basketball coach and there is speculation that OSU might be looking to replace him with Mister Bob Knight who is an Ohio State alum. I'm not much of a college basketball fan but it would make the Ohio State - Indiana series interesting. Also I have a special karmic connection to Bob Knight as we both are from Orrville, Ohio. I left when I was 18 months old, actually I lived in nearby Dalton at the time but Orrville had the nearest hospital. Mr Bob Knight actually spent his entire pre-adult life so that makes him more of a native than myself.
The news media is full of tributes to the late President Reagan. It's interesting seeing the old clips of his appearances back when he was president. Although I was 13 when he was elected and remember him being president I have few specific recollections of the man. I recall I found out that he was shot right before I had to go to my piano lesson and wasn't sure if I should go, I did up having the lesson. I went home that night and Dan Rather was on TV with a mannequin-like object and a doctor from Columbia - Presbyterian explaining where the President had been shot. At the time I did not realize how good a public speaker he was, I only had Carter to compare with him and I was even younger during his reign. The only Gerald R. Ford recollections I have are of a large awkward man and his klutzy moments that were captured for the evening news on a regular basis.
I think one of the other aspects of the Reagan shooting was that it was not covered by Walter Cronkite who had retired a few years before it happened. All through the late 70's and early 80's dinner was always at 5:30 in the Medley home as we had to be done by 6:30 in order to get in front of the TV for "Uncle Walter". As the 80's progressed, Mom went back to work, Rather and CBS slid in the ratings and dinner was pushed back to 6. Eventually Mom went back to school and dinner came in the crock-pot and was consumed in front of the TV while "PM Magazine" or "M*A*S*H" re-runs blared away.
Another recollection of the Reagan years was my friend who said to me after Yuri Andropov died that Reagan must have commented "Oh my, the youngster is dead." I found this quite funny at the time and could not stop laughing. Also after the Robert Bork controversy he told me that he imagined a headline in the paper reading "Reagan Gorks!, nominates Bork to court."
The weirdest thing about all the Reagan history retrospective is that I was around for it. Unlike the endless JFK assassination anniversary coverage from last November, the LBJ tapes or old newsreel footage of FDR on a train somewhere, I lived the Reagan years.
In future blog entries I will try to tap the memory mines and tell tales of my days in the fast food industry in Columbus, Ohio in the mid 1980's. I think the time period can be compared with working on the railroad in the 1900s or being in silcon Valley in the late 1990s's.
I've just read that Ohio State fired their basketball coach and there is speculation that OSU might be looking to replace him with Mister Bob Knight who is an Ohio State alum. I'm not much of a college basketball fan but it would make the Ohio State - Indiana series interesting. Also I have a special karmic connection to Bob Knight as we both are from Orrville, Ohio. I left when I was 18 months old, actually I lived in nearby Dalton at the time but Orrville had the nearest hospital. Mr Bob Knight actually spent his entire pre-adult life so that makes him more of a native than myself.
The news media is full of tributes to the late President Reagan. It's interesting seeing the old clips of his appearances back when he was president. Although I was 13 when he was elected and remember him being president I have few specific recollections of the man. I recall I found out that he was shot right before I had to go to my piano lesson and wasn't sure if I should go, I did up having the lesson. I went home that night and Dan Rather was on TV with a mannequin-like object and a doctor from Columbia - Presbyterian explaining where the President had been shot. At the time I did not realize how good a public speaker he was, I only had Carter to compare with him and I was even younger during his reign. The only Gerald R. Ford recollections I have are of a large awkward man and his klutzy moments that were captured for the evening news on a regular basis.
I think one of the other aspects of the Reagan shooting was that it was not covered by Walter Cronkite who had retired a few years before it happened. All through the late 70's and early 80's dinner was always at 5:30 in the Medley home as we had to be done by 6:30 in order to get in front of the TV for "Uncle Walter". As the 80's progressed, Mom went back to work, Rather and CBS slid in the ratings and dinner was pushed back to 6. Eventually Mom went back to school and dinner came in the crock-pot and was consumed in front of the TV while "PM Magazine" or "M*A*S*H" re-runs blared away.
Another recollection of the Reagan years was my friend who said to me after Yuri Andropov died that Reagan must have commented "Oh my, the youngster is dead." I found this quite funny at the time and could not stop laughing. Also after the Robert Bork controversy he told me that he imagined a headline in the paper reading "Reagan Gorks!, nominates Bork to court."
The weirdest thing about all the Reagan history retrospective is that I was around for it. Unlike the endless JFK assassination anniversary coverage from last November, the LBJ tapes or old newsreel footage of FDR on a train somewhere, I lived the Reagan years.
In future blog entries I will try to tap the memory mines and tell tales of my days in the fast food industry in Columbus, Ohio in the mid 1980's. I think the time period can be compared with working on the railroad in the 1900s or being in silcon Valley in the late 1990s's.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
wednesday night after 7 pm
Kids say the darndest things
A friend of ours from California sent us a report that a son of one of their friends wrote about Indiana.
here are some of the quotes:
"Indiana has a lot of unique things that California doesn't. For example Indiana has tornadoes and California doesn't. Indiana has a shore on the Great Lakes. Indiana is flat with 0-500 meters above sea level, it's in the Eastern Time zone, and is only 36,420 sq. miles. Indiana has a really good football team and had citizens that were the proud inventors of the first Raggedy Ann doll. They also have an energy reserve for coal. This makes Indiana such a nice place."
also he describes one of the larger venues in Indiana, the RCA dome formerly known as the Hoosier Dome.
"Come to the great RCA dome (formerly known as the Hoosier Dome) to see the Indianapolis Colts play. If you're a tourist you're probably wondering why you should come. Well, wouldn't it be great to have the camera at the game get a flash of you on TV sitting with 60,000 other fans? How could anyone resist getting a star's autograph? What if a famous game unraveled right before you're eyes? How can anyone resist coming to the RCA dome?"
I couldn't have put it better myself. I have been to the RCA Domo several times, I don't recall any famous games but I have seen the Colts defense unravel in front of my very eyes. I also recall a field goal kicking contest the Colts lost to the Buffalo Bills back around '97. That was back in the dot net go-go days of the 90's when free football tickets were easy to come by for us computer guys.
Kids say the darndest things
A friend of ours from California sent us a report that a son of one of their friends wrote about Indiana.
here are some of the quotes:
"Indiana has a lot of unique things that California doesn't. For example Indiana has tornadoes and California doesn't. Indiana has a shore on the Great Lakes. Indiana is flat with 0-500 meters above sea level, it's in the Eastern Time zone, and is only 36,420 sq. miles. Indiana has a really good football team and had citizens that were the proud inventors of the first Raggedy Ann doll. They also have an energy reserve for coal. This makes Indiana such a nice place."
also he describes one of the larger venues in Indiana, the RCA dome formerly known as the Hoosier Dome.
"Come to the great RCA dome (formerly known as the Hoosier Dome) to see the Indianapolis Colts play. If you're a tourist you're probably wondering why you should come. Well, wouldn't it be great to have the camera at the game get a flash of you on TV sitting with 60,000 other fans? How could anyone resist getting a star's autograph? What if a famous game unraveled right before you're eyes? How can anyone resist coming to the RCA dome?"
I couldn't have put it better myself. I have been to the RCA Domo several times, I don't recall any famous games but I have seen the Colts defense unravel in front of my very eyes. I also recall a field goal kicking contest the Colts lost to the Buffalo Bills back around '97. That was back in the dot net go-go days of the 90's when free football tickets were easy to come by for us computer guys.
Friday, May 28, 2004
friday night 10pm.
I have not blogged for a while. We got back from vacation in Arizona on Monday night. After a long trip we pulled into the driveway and discovered that the garage door would not open. As I entered the house through the front door I discovered that the power was out. A neighbor left a note informing us that our side of the street had been without power since 11:30 the night before. Last July 4h we endured a 36 hour outage. I'm not sure what's going on, I'm 37 and in all the other places I've lived I never remember the power being out longer than 2 hours and now two extensive outages in the last nine months.
Back in the realm of pizza delivery there was an article in the Indianapolis star about a disturbing incident that occured while I was away.
Pizza deliveryman could be charged in death
Apparently someone tried to rob a pizza deliveryman who was armed with a handgun. The assailant's weapon was not loaded but the pizza-man's gun was. The would be robber was fatally shot 10-15 times. The deliveryman was later fired from his job for carrying a firearm which is against Pizza Hut policy. The newspaper article provided one the stranger quotes I've seen in a while. The pizza man when interviewed said:
"I'm a pretty down-to-earth kind of person. With everything that's transpired since 9/11, killing these days almost seems a necessity if it means your life or theirs."
I had no idea there was a connection between delivering pizzas and the War on Terror.
I have not blogged for a while. We got back from vacation in Arizona on Monday night. After a long trip we pulled into the driveway and discovered that the garage door would not open. As I entered the house through the front door I discovered that the power was out. A neighbor left a note informing us that our side of the street had been without power since 11:30 the night before. Last July 4h we endured a 36 hour outage. I'm not sure what's going on, I'm 37 and in all the other places I've lived I never remember the power being out longer than 2 hours and now two extensive outages in the last nine months.
Back in the realm of pizza delivery there was an article in the Indianapolis star about a disturbing incident that occured while I was away.
Pizza deliveryman could be charged in death
Apparently someone tried to rob a pizza deliveryman who was armed with a handgun. The assailant's weapon was not loaded but the pizza-man's gun was. The would be robber was fatally shot 10-15 times. The deliveryman was later fired from his job for carrying a firearm which is against Pizza Hut policy. The newspaper article provided one the stranger quotes I've seen in a while. The pizza man when interviewed said:
"I'm a pretty down-to-earth kind of person. With everything that's transpired since 9/11, killing these days almost seems a necessity if it means your life or theirs."
I had no idea there was a connection between delivering pizzas and the War on Terror.
Sunday, May 16, 2004
sunday night 10pm.
I spent Friday and Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Friday was a work party, Saturday to run a gift shop for Canine Companions for Independence. On one trip to the restroom I saw some graphitti that read "In Wotan we trust." I thought it was fairly amusing coming from the track crowd. On Saturday we saw a fight break out in front of our shop. Two guys in jeans, no shirt and one with a bloody nose. About 20 law enforcement officers from 5 different departments descended on the scene. Both miscreants were hauled away in electric carts most likely ending up at the county jail.
I started reading "Middlesex", I think I'm going to enjoy this book. Part of it takes place in Asia Minor in 1922 as the forces of Kemal Ataturk are driving the Greeks out of modern day Turkey. I'd been to Izmir formerly Smyrna, back in 1988 but did not know much of its long history and nothing about the massacre that took place there in 1922. The book will soon move on to Detroit, a city I last visited in 1980.
I spent Friday and Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Friday was a work party, Saturday to run a gift shop for Canine Companions for Independence. On one trip to the restroom I saw some graphitti that read "In Wotan we trust." I thought it was fairly amusing coming from the track crowd. On Saturday we saw a fight break out in front of our shop. Two guys in jeans, no shirt and one with a bloody nose. About 20 law enforcement officers from 5 different departments descended on the scene. Both miscreants were hauled away in electric carts most likely ending up at the county jail.
I started reading "Middlesex", I think I'm going to enjoy this book. Part of it takes place in Asia Minor in 1922 as the forces of Kemal Ataturk are driving the Greeks out of modern day Turkey. I'd been to Izmir formerly Smyrna, back in 1988 but did not know much of its long history and nothing about the massacre that took place there in 1922. The book will soon move on to Detroit, a city I last visited in 1980.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
movie/book ideas.
Somehow I've got the idea in my head to do some sort of project revolving around pizza delivery. Just off the top of my head:
# quit your job and find work delivering pizzas. It could be one of those "embedded journalism" projects like when Ted Conover the writer became a prison guard at Sing-Sing to write "New Jack". I'd get a job delivering pizzas in Marin or Westchester counties so there'd be a social commentary about it. Low wage worker delivers pizzas to the rich. Along with the social economic aspect, I could research the history of delivery. How were things delivered in the mideaval ages? Who ordered the first delivery pizza?, who came up with the whole idea?
Why can't you order a pizza for delivery in Europe?
Also one could explore the science of delivery and the algorithms that are used to determine fastest delivery routes. Are two left turns and one right turn over 1 mile quicker than making 3 right turns in 1.2 miles. A "fantasy" table of contents would be
1. Delivery Daze: How I traded in my mousepad for the world of pizza delivery.
2. Using the method of least squares and Kalman filtering to approximate optimized delivery routes in suburban Atlanta.
3. John P. Domino, the man who launched 1000 pizzas.
I got other more fictional ideas as well but this is enough "outside of the box" thinking for now.
Somehow I've got the idea in my head to do some sort of project revolving around pizza delivery. Just off the top of my head:
# quit your job and find work delivering pizzas. It could be one of those "embedded journalism" projects like when Ted Conover the writer became a prison guard at Sing-Sing to write "New Jack". I'd get a job delivering pizzas in Marin or Westchester counties so there'd be a social commentary about it. Low wage worker delivers pizzas to the rich. Along with the social economic aspect, I could research the history of delivery. How were things delivered in the mideaval ages? Who ordered the first delivery pizza?, who came up with the whole idea?
Why can't you order a pizza for delivery in Europe?
Also one could explore the science of delivery and the algorithms that are used to determine fastest delivery routes. Are two left turns and one right turn over 1 mile quicker than making 3 right turns in 1.2 miles. A "fantasy" table of contents would be
1. Delivery Daze: How I traded in my mousepad for the world of pizza delivery.
2. Using the method of least squares and Kalman filtering to approximate optimized delivery routes in suburban Atlanta.
3. John P. Domino, the man who launched 1000 pizzas.
I got other more fictional ideas as well but this is enough "outside of the box" thinking for now.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
I was at work today listening to some Led Zeppelin songs. I had the sudden urge to play Risk, Monopoly or some other Milton Brothers board game. I remember growing up and my older brother and his friends would always play these board games and listen to Led Zeppelin on the record player. "Houses of the Holy" was an all time favorite and I can remember many times attacking Kamatchka or Irustuk while listening to the "Rain Song". I was only 10 or 11 at the time and didn't really like Led Zeppelin. These gaming sessions did pay off because when I entered the 8th grade four years later at a new school and hardly knew anyone I fell in with a crowd who were Zep fans. My familiarity with the tunes paid off as it helped me win some new friends and by this time I actually liked the music. It's just like classical, an aquired taste.
For some reason I referred to "Dazed & Confused" as "the Truck Driving song". Perhaps because it went on for so long that I found it had some relation to driving a truck cross country. Kids say the darndest things.
For some reason I referred to "Dazed & Confused" as "the Truck Driving song". Perhaps because it went on for so long that I found it had some relation to driving a truck cross country. Kids say the darndest things.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Monday morning almost 8 am
I had it all figured out last night. Arise at 6 am make a cup of tea, drink tea while watching C-Span, head downstairs meditate then take the dog for a long walk.
Contrary to these plans I arose at 7 to the sound of the "lawnmower man" cutting the neighbors yard across the street. Throughout the spring and summer months he'll show up every Monday morning with his riding lawnmower to cut grass. It's an indication of the start of spring the first Monday he shows up in April.
Yesterday we had a visitor from out of town. We went down to the canal walk, as we're heading down Meridian St, we get to 34th street and I pointed out Shortridge Middle School, Kurt Vonnegut's high school. Whenever I pass that building with someone from out of town, I'll point that out. It's been years since I've read any of his books but its one of those "Indy fun facts" that I never fail to mention.
I had it all figured out last night. Arise at 6 am make a cup of tea, drink tea while watching C-Span, head downstairs meditate then take the dog for a long walk.
Contrary to these plans I arose at 7 to the sound of the "lawnmower man" cutting the neighbors yard across the street. Throughout the spring and summer months he'll show up every Monday morning with his riding lawnmower to cut grass. It's an indication of the start of spring the first Monday he shows up in April.
Yesterday we had a visitor from out of town. We went down to the canal walk, as we're heading down Meridian St, we get to 34th street and I pointed out Shortridge Middle School, Kurt Vonnegut's high school. Whenever I pass that building with someone from out of town, I'll point that out. It's been years since I've read any of his books but its one of those "Indy fun facts" that I never fail to mention.
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Tuesday night, it's getting dark outside.
I have in front of me a copy of Die Pulfer von Rüeggisberg it's a family history of my paternal grandmother's lineage in Switzerland. It's a little over 110 pages long and goes back to about 1530 to trace the history of the Pulfers. My grandmother is mentioned in one sentence as is her marriage to my grandfather. That's the end of the line as they only cover paternal lines. It's in German and I have some trouble reading it but I did find that my great-great grandfather was a milker who had about 15 kids and whose grandfather was a wainwright who had 17 kids. I think his wife had 17 kids, her first when she was 17 the last at age 45, all but two surviving until adulthood. I'll need to go back and read the document a little more carefully. Today if you meet someone with 4 kids it's seems like a lot.
I've also been reading the Dante Club by Matthew Pearl for my book club at work. It's been a chore. The prose is wooden, the characters talking in "19th century talk". It's fiction but based on historical characters, Longfellow, Holmes, Lowell among others. It's a bit much, there's a brief encounter with Emerson, they employ the assistance of the famous geologist Aggasiz. I almost expect Napoleon III to come crashing into the plot in a hot air balloon errantly blown in from France. I've also been getting this bizarre imagery of the Monty Python cast playing the characters, Michael Palin as Longfellow, John Cleese as Oliver Wendell Holmes. I have trouble with the mixing of fact and fiction as someone might have trouble with mixing of foods on the dinner plate. Still, I like the idea of reading a novel a month as otherwise I would endlessly read news articles from Yahoo!News, New York Times and the Washington Post.
I have in front of me a copy of Die Pulfer von Rüeggisberg it's a family history of my paternal grandmother's lineage in Switzerland. It's a little over 110 pages long and goes back to about 1530 to trace the history of the Pulfers. My grandmother is mentioned in one sentence as is her marriage to my grandfather. That's the end of the line as they only cover paternal lines. It's in German and I have some trouble reading it but I did find that my great-great grandfather was a milker who had about 15 kids and whose grandfather was a wainwright who had 17 kids. I think his wife had 17 kids, her first when she was 17 the last at age 45, all but two surviving until adulthood. I'll need to go back and read the document a little more carefully. Today if you meet someone with 4 kids it's seems like a lot.
I've also been reading the Dante Club by Matthew Pearl for my book club at work. It's been a chore. The prose is wooden, the characters talking in "19th century talk". It's fiction but based on historical characters, Longfellow, Holmes, Lowell among others. It's a bit much, there's a brief encounter with Emerson, they employ the assistance of the famous geologist Aggasiz. I almost expect Napoleon III to come crashing into the plot in a hot air balloon errantly blown in from France. I've also been getting this bizarre imagery of the Monty Python cast playing the characters, Michael Palin as Longfellow, John Cleese as Oliver Wendell Holmes. I have trouble with the mixing of fact and fiction as someone might have trouble with mixing of foods on the dinner plate. Still, I like the idea of reading a novel a month as otherwise I would endlessly read news articles from Yahoo!News, New York Times and the Washington Post.
Saturday, May 01, 2004
It's Saturday night and a bit rainy outside.
I went and took the dog out for a walk. We usually head out after dark and "patrol" the dark, sidewalk free streets of my neighborhood. Tonight as we headed south we saw an uncommon site for my area. It was a kids birthday party just ending so there were about 15 kids bouncing around in the driveway as mini-vans and SUVs were pulling up to get their children. One kid was literally bouncing on the driveway as he jumped up and down on a pogo stick. Other kids were pushing each other down the drive on a cart. One bunch almost ran into me and the hound as we strolled by.
There aren't many children in my area so the sight of so many in one driveway at once was suprising. I live within the bounds of a large urban school district so most people with kids live in the 'burbs. On my street there are only two school age children and I believe they attend parochial schools. In four years of living here I don't think I've met one person in the neighborhood who send their kids to public schools.
To change themes, I'm a big train buff and was checking out some of my favorite rail sites.
Erik's rail news is a good source of up to date rail information. Where I live there are no passenger trains to speak of so I must get by train fix through cyberspace. Swiss Gotthard Project Details the new Gotthard tunnel being built in Switzerland. It will go beneath the existing Gotthard tunnel and speed up transit times between northern and southern Europe.
I went and took the dog out for a walk. We usually head out after dark and "patrol" the dark, sidewalk free streets of my neighborhood. Tonight as we headed south we saw an uncommon site for my area. It was a kids birthday party just ending so there were about 15 kids bouncing around in the driveway as mini-vans and SUVs were pulling up to get their children. One kid was literally bouncing on the driveway as he jumped up and down on a pogo stick. Other kids were pushing each other down the drive on a cart. One bunch almost ran into me and the hound as we strolled by.
There aren't many children in my area so the sight of so many in one driveway at once was suprising. I live within the bounds of a large urban school district so most people with kids live in the 'burbs. On my street there are only two school age children and I believe they attend parochial schools. In four years of living here I don't think I've met one person in the neighborhood who send their kids to public schools.
To change themes, I'm a big train buff and was checking out some of my favorite rail sites.
Erik's rail news is a good source of up to date rail information. Where I live there are no passenger trains to speak of so I must get by train fix through cyberspace. Swiss Gotthard Project Details the new Gotthard tunnel being built in Switzerland. It will go beneath the existing Gotthard tunnel and speed up transit times between northern and southern Europe.
Friday, April 30, 2004
11 pm
we went to a baseball game tonight and saw the Toledo Mud Hens play the Indianapolis Indians. The Indians won the game 8-6. Just as we were leaving it started to rain and we managed to get out of the park in time.
Today at lunch I went to Arby's with two of my co-workers and I mentioned that I used to work at
Rax Roast Beef back in the day. This led to a lenghty discussion of food jobs and some amusing stories about life in the greasepits. It was nice getting back to the office around 1:30 pm knowing that you weren't going to have to worry about tearing down the salad bar or a late night rush at the drive-thru that would mess up your pre-close.
Rax is no longer the large roast beef chain it once was. Most of the stores have closed over the past 10 years but some remain like the one I used to work at. Fred, who went to lunch with me tried to remember the name of a particularly tasty sandwich that he claimed had never been duplicated by any other fast food eatery.
"Do you mean the BBC?", I responded quickly.
"Yes, exactly the BBC, I loved those sandwiches."
To the uninitiated, the BBC stands for "Bacon, Beef and Cheddar", two long strips of bacon, lots of roast beef and some yummy hot cheddar cheese sauce spread on long toasted sub roll. Perhaps one day we shall journey to Anderson, IN which is the nearest Rax to us for a road trip.
It's interesting working a job now where all I do is sit at a desk all day where in my younger days I was always standing up.
we went to a baseball game tonight and saw the Toledo Mud Hens play the Indianapolis Indians. The Indians won the game 8-6. Just as we were leaving it started to rain and we managed to get out of the park in time.
Today at lunch I went to Arby's with two of my co-workers and I mentioned that I used to work at
Rax Roast Beef back in the day. This led to a lenghty discussion of food jobs and some amusing stories about life in the greasepits. It was nice getting back to the office around 1:30 pm knowing that you weren't going to have to worry about tearing down the salad bar or a late night rush at the drive-thru that would mess up your pre-close.
Rax is no longer the large roast beef chain it once was. Most of the stores have closed over the past 10 years but some remain like the one I used to work at. Fred, who went to lunch with me tried to remember the name of a particularly tasty sandwich that he claimed had never been duplicated by any other fast food eatery.
"Do you mean the BBC?", I responded quickly.
"Yes, exactly the BBC, I loved those sandwiches."
To the uninitiated, the BBC stands for "Bacon, Beef and Cheddar", two long strips of bacon, lots of roast beef and some yummy hot cheddar cheese sauce spread on long toasted sub roll. Perhaps one day we shall journey to Anderson, IN which is the nearest Rax to us for a road trip.
It's interesting working a job now where all I do is sit at a desk all day where in my younger days I was always standing up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)