Friday, June 01, 2007
Concerts
Other than that, caught up on some TV (Boston Legal Finale), introduced my roommate and gf to Settlers of Catan on the XBOX360 and started some new books.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Breasts...
I am currently getting myself ready for a number of races/athletic activities. Right now of course I am getting ready for my APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) that I need to pass in order to go to Phase III of OCS..... I am so being careful at most points, lots of running, real close monitoring of my diet (excluding last weekend I am doing a pretty good job, though my pantry looks really bare since I have removed most temptations, going to the grocery story (or commissary in my case) is kind of boring since I have to ignore most of the options), and lots of push-ups and sit-ups.
Then after that is done the next items come up, the Army Ten Miler followed a couple of weeks later by the Marine Corps Marathon (my first and only marathon.....).
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Oh Happy Day!
So I logged onto VCU's site (as I have been compulsively doing for the past week or so) and lo and behold this is what appears!
- Unofficial Graduate School Academic Record
- Degrees Awarded:
- Master of Science May 19, 2007
- School of Engineering
- Major: Computer Science
- Cum GPA: 3.000
http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/cphd/planning/data_maps/CPHDPlanningDataandMapsProfile.aspx
So is it wrong that the first 2 things I did were to print out the transcript request form (hello raise) and a duplicate diploma form (so going up in my cube at work)?
5 years, 15 classes, 2 schools (thank god that VCU allowed me to transfer some classes)....
Now to go sign up for the next class for my next Masters Degree....
Memorial Day
For most of us this is just another nice 3 day weekend, But this day probably means more to me now that I serve in the military (and odds are that a number of the people that I have gone through training with have already been to Iraq or Afganistan, a few have probably been injured or even killed).
I definately made time in the busy schedule of a holiday weekend to take a few moments to remember those brave souls that gave their lives to protect this, the greatest of all countries. I hope everyone does this (though I suspect that most will never even take a few seconds to think about this sort of stuff.... heck, some of them can't even bring themselves to take the few seconds it takes to remove their hat at sporting event (yeah, I am talking to you, Mr. Mid-50's guy next to me at the DC United game... don't think that some of us don't notice and keep a little mental list)). So for all of you that have served, thanks from my heart (I still don't consider what I do as service, I get embarassed when people have come up to me in uniform and thanked me... 2 years in and all I have done is train....).
God Bless all of the people who have served and paid the ultimate price and God Bless America!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Go DC!!!
Lost!!!
So the big question, where do they go from here? And I have to wait another 7 months to see what they are thinking?!? Argh!
Oh, and grenades so don't blow up like they showed..... for one thing, there is some delay when you release the spool.... that and the Other who deployed the grenade is sooo dead....
But that wasn't the worst use of military hardware, the worst can be found in the second to last episode of Jericho, where they use a mortar shell in the barrel of a M1 Abrams tank.... I was so yelling at the screen (that and I was so over when the Marines were wearing the funky flags.... and on that note, who the heck, after a nuclear incident, decides to focus precious resources on flags for the military? Can no one do the military right on TV?
So love long weekends!!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Go LOST!
Love this show.
And on other matters, whats wrong with college students today?
This article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/23/AR2007052301635.html) was just too much.....
- One glance at the words "Baltimore Zionist District" on Lazarus's "I Stand for Israel" T-shirt, and the cashier at the Maryland Food Collective, a crunchy grocery and sandwich shop in the student union on the University of Maryland's College Park campus, blurted: "Your shirt offends me. I won't ring you up." The cashier told Lazarus she could go to the back of the store to find another clerk. ...
- The cashier who refused to serve Lazarus will not talk about the incident because "she would be misrepresented," one co-op worker told me. The workers who would talk to me -- most would not because "the collective speaks collectively," as one member put it -- said no one should have to have contact with people whose views they find hurtful"They can't see that this is discrimination," she told me. "They're more committed to their righteousness than they are to the rights of other people. The fact is, you have to serve everyone.".
I feel so sorry for the poor manager of the student union there.... dealing with these children.... This article was worth a dozen laughs, it was so wrong ..... such great quotes such as "... come off as haters".... LOL... must. resist. making. fun. of. UMD...... eh, whats the point, they are pretty much a joke anyway.
And I am officially scared, this guy is referencing comics that I read and wandering off on odd topics just like me.... http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/05/25/tv-101-why-i-cant-stand-the-rgx-body-spray-girl-videos/
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Catching up
And as further proof of my TV obsession, I finished NCIS (a well put together procedural drama with the requisite dose of comedy) and Brothers & Sisters (LOVE this show.... was definately howling at a few parts of it). Now my big push is to finish Lost, I just finished last weeks and now I need to find the time to watch last nights before the girl I am dating, R, drops too many hints on what happened...
Oh, and poison ivy sucks.... actually camping period sucks...... I sooooo am going to hate my AT this year down in Alabama... probably 10 of the 14 days will be out in the woods doing the lanes training.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Ghosts in the Machine..
Additionally they are more available to the people that they have touched, it brings them closer because it no longer requires a physical visit to a gravesite to remember the person, it can be achieved through the simple click of a mouse.... Interestingly it also marks a form a shift to a more Eastern view of religion, where the departed are remembered in shrines that are often located inside the home as opposed to the more Christian approach of holing them off in a graveyard.
One thing it does make you ponder though is that the impact of your work (actually I should say life, so many of us live so much through electronic means nowadays) here on the electronic frontier and also makes you consider what the people in the future will see of you when this remains one of your most visible marks.
I think another thing that needs to be addressed is some form of allowing family members access to this content (I remember a lawsuit that was brought not too long ago when the family wanted to gain access to a recently dead service members account and that Yahoo wasn't granting it based on the terms of service that we all agree to when signing up). I know that god forbid anything were to happen to any of my family I would want to preserve their content (though I personally have the biggest electronic footprint for the family) in some way shape or form. I am glad that Facebook made the exception for the VT Students and I also really hope that they develop a standard for dealing with this in the future..
The dangers of Tivo....
And so now I explain the title. So I finally saw the series finale of Gilmore Girls... Thats the biggest problem for me, that because I know that I have the episodes sitting on the Tivo there really is no rush to watch them, so I must be all paranoid about spoilers and such.... Like for tonight with Lost, I really need to get caught up before the the girl I am dating, "TV Girl", accidentally drops a spoiler on me.... she already came really close.
And also related, what am I going to do about the last 2 episodes of Jericho.... Its going to be hard to watch them knowing that I will never get resolution on this series.....
And boy am I excited, Entourage seasons are running back to back this summer.... one week off for the Soprano's and then more Entourage fun...
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Heroes!!!! Love me some Hiro!
Loved the Heroes ending..... So looking forward to next season. Didn't really see what happened coming, and normally I am almost freakishly good at predicting things (to the point where my roommate has claimed I have prewatched things).
So I am so ready for the weekend (its a bad sign when its Tuesday and you are saying that, but I have an excuse since unlike most people my weekend was probably more stressful than my normal week). Get a Little BBQ in, go to a DC United Game and get in some chill time... I may even go to my pool for a little bit.
So now its time to head home and continue the herculean task of cleaning off the Tivo's.....
Monday, May 21, 2007
Ah! The weekend is over! - Also Upfronts IV - Fricking CW
Okay, so now onto my personal gripe list....
WTF are you doing to me CW? Last year you canned Everwood, and now you Veronica Mars slip through your fingers........ You are now down to like 3 shows that I will watch.. not good.... not good at all....
And Fox! More SF goodness? Please stop breaking my heart since I know that the way that you have been lately I will see an episode and then you will tragically kill it........
Heroes ending tonight! Love this show.... will be VERY pysched to see it and annoyed that I will have to wait for new content.
I guess I can finally start watching my Netflix disks again now that the prime time TV series are disappearing until fall...
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Upfronts III - CW
At least you let some other good shows to continue:
- Supernatural
- Smallville
- and god help me, a rebooted One Tree Hill
And you have at least 2 new shows that I will probably watch
- Gossip Girl - hey its from the OC Creator.... it has a good chance
- Reaper - yah! more supernatural goodness....
- and maybe Aliens in America..... probably not though...
Upfronts II - CBS & ABC
Upfronts are killing me....
So now I will never know who set off the bombs in Jericho? I hate getting sucked into a show and it then gets cancelled.... I think that was the reason I stayed away from Friday Night Lights, so now me and the roomie have to catch up on it.
So now the Breakdown:
CBS:
- See above.... ya killing me....
- Other than the above you are doing a good job... though your selection of new shows leave something to be desired.... Moonlight I will watch (since I am a supernatural sucker...) And probably Big Bang... other than that I am out.
- Amazing Race! Renewing How I Met Your Mother (does the finale mean no more Robin? Damn........ LOVED that girl). 2 & 1/2 Men, the CSI's, NCIS, the Unit,Ghost Whisper (really? I know why I watch it....
.... that and as noted I am a supernatural sucker) and Numbers...
- woot! More Boston Legal........ show is like crack....
- October Road, Men in Trees, Desperate Housewives, Greys, Brothers and Sisters, (and though I shouldn't admit this, the only one of this list I don't watch) Ugly Betty.... heck, even Notes from the Underbelly... Very much becoming the Estrogen Channel....
- I like this plan for Lost... I like that they have a plan and roadmap... and Damn! Last weeks was exciting.
- So the Greys spinoff could be interesting (I think the way that they did it was a mistake.... interspersing a significantly different show the way they did it was awkward....), Big Shots and Cashmere Mafia may be interesting.
- Pushing Daisies is the most interesting of the new batch... And do we need ANOTHER person who sees visions????? (yeah, I am talking to you, Eli Stone)
- Cavemen..... I just can't see how this is going to work...
- Some of the sitcoms look fun, Miss/Guided, Carpoolers, and Sam I Am (love Christina Applegate)
Monday, May 14, 2007
Upfronts I - NBC
Though the formal TV season is coming to a close this is "upfronts" time....
Now let me say it.... based on NBC....
- Woot! Scrubs is coming back.
- Friday Night Lights is coming back... I suppose I should start watching the show.
- This new show, "The IT Crowd" looks like it could be fun
- Heroes of course (the Origins bit could be interesting.... love the idea of new content during the summer)
- 30 Rock... The Office.... My Name is Earl... too easy decisions, though I am glad they are sticking with 30 rock.
- "Lipstick Jungle" looks like it could be fun.....
- "Bionic Woman" - Really?
- "Journeyman" - hmmm..... where have I seen this plot before... a person wandering around in time against his control.....
- "Chuck" - ..... omg.... this is basically Jake 2.o all over again.....
- Studio 60.... so smart.... so doomed.
- Crossing Jordan - first to be deleted for space.... though the main character still looks cute they sadly did not qualify for the last category.
And the saddest category: "That show is still on?"
- Medium, Las Vegas, ER
Celebrity Sightings and NYC
But now that I am free (and assuming the grade works out well I will be receiving my diploma from VCU in the next month or so) it feels good. Of course now I have my periodic depression that comes right before heading off to drill.
So I went up to NYC this weekend, me and my brothers (3 out of my 4 brothers, thats a big chunk of my family). Lots of walking, lots of eating (I swear, even now I still feel stuffed), lots of drinking. We had our requisite celebrity sighting (Colm Meaney). Yep, out of all the people in NYC I of course run into Chief O'Brian of Star Trek:TNG fame (and also Stargate..... ). We were so looking him up on my blackberry while we were in the job and of course I actually went and talked to him for a minute after having a few beers (my brothers gave me a hard time on it but they also were probably expecting it).
Lots of fun. We also got back home in time for us to go out to dinner with Mom.
The it was on to IT ninja stuff. Adding a eSATA drive to my Series 3 Tivo (typically they turn it on now that the TV season is just about over), setting my brother and my mom's Tivo's at home to control the Verizon FIOS boxes that were just installed, and moving my other brothers Tivo over to his place (finally).
Monday, April 30, 2007
Go TV!
Didn't mention last week but I am so happy that Heroes is back.
Drive got killed, which surprised me.
The BQ's survived another round in the AR.
Lost continues to hold my interest.
I am now up to 2 episodes of 24 that I am behind... yet again, real bad news for that show...
All told, some highs, some lows. Definately need the summer to come soon to allow me to catch up. Too bad Uncle Sam is going to steal 2 weeks of my off season so that I can sweat my ass off down in Alabama (assuming I get a good enough score to even be sent down there).
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
24 ill-portents...
Oh and Drive is fun(they seem to be doing a good job at expanding the mythology), the boys from Entourage are entertaining me, and now I am late on working on a project for class. Between military obligations and class sometimes I wonder what the heck I was thinking when I signed up for both... It seriously cuts into fun time.
Thank god the TV season is almost over... poor Tivo is almost to the bursting point...
Really hate Talking Heads.....
- The Pro-Gun people (as much as I support the second admendment)
- The Anti-Gun people
- The "why didn't anyone man up and take this sucker out" crowd
- And the "Sinners had it coming list" ..... yeah, the same "the soldiers had it coming" and the "911 people had it coming" group that are already on my other list.
The media is coming close. They need to decamp from VT and let every Hokie start the healing process.
All of this from some loser.... News flash humanity, if any one of you get to the point where you think its a good idea to shoot unarmed people in cold blood do your duty in improving the gene pool by placing that muzzle loaded with hollow-points, place it in your mouth at a 45 degree up angle and pull the damn trigger....
Monday, April 16, 2007
Frack! Not My School!!!!!!
Frack............ WTF............ Words cannot describe my reaction to todays events...32 dead as I write? (though I would refuse to count the scum who performed this evil deed, so in my mind its only 31... you lose the right to be counted among the human dead after you commit something like this...).
This is not supposed to happen to my school (from which I graduated 9 years ago. But I could tell you where every picture that was taken of this tragedy was taken..).