Halloween Disappointment

During the time of the year when people like to bask in the world of the unknown, science rears it's sometimes annoying head to spoil our fun. I read an article today where a physicist "proves" that ghost cannot exist because it would violate Newton's law of action and reaction. Since science has proven that they know everything there is to know, there is no way expections could exist to their rules. Just because a few physics laws are violated doesn't mean squat. Sure these laws have held true in lab conditions and most observable conditions, but that doesn't mean that there are not exceptions. To buy that would mean that you could not believe in God or the afterlife or any other unexplained phenomenon. But more importantly I am a little tired of science strutting around like it knows everything that there is to know, when in reality they really don't know anything. I am not an overly spiritual person but I certainly do believe that there are things happening around us that we can neither perceive or understand and we should be content to leave it at that.

Canned Laughter

Last night upon turning on the TV I suddenly grewly greatly depressed. I turned to NBC to check out John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor's new show, '20 Good Years.' This is what have become of the post 'Arrested Development' star Tambor. Going from a show that was so clever to such a generic predictable sitcom is quite a fall. Then today I was watching the most recent episode of 'My Name is Earl" and I came to a realization. All the comedies that I have enjoyed in the past 3 or 4 years have all been lacking a laugh track. I never before realized exactly how demeaning a laugh track can be to an audience. It basically says, "You're too dumb to know when to laugh so we're just going to tell you." On the contrary, shows such as 'Arrested Development,' 'The Ofiice,' and 'My Name is Earl' actually respect the audience enough to leave out the laugh track. If you miss a joke it's your loss. It also adds a dimension of realism to the show that makes it that much more funny.

Dearest Apologies

Riding the train yesterday morning I began to take pity on the train operator. Specifically I was thinking about how many times they must apologize to the passengers on the train on a daily basis. The worst thing is that it really isn't the operator's fault that the train gets delayed. There are so many potential problems with mass transit that operator error is probably a rare occurrence. And then have to apologize to a train-load of people several times a day must get really annoying. But I guess one of the good things about being a train operator is if you don't feel like apologizing to the passengers then you can just press a button and a recording does it for you. But when a recording tells you it's sorry it's a little hard to believe. So on behalf of all of mankind, I say, 'We forgive you Mr. Train Operator, and we will patiently wait to move shortly."

Drunk Antics

After drinking the other night, I found some strange goings on in the morning. The most noticable was when I was standing in front of the space behind the bathroom mirror searching for what might have been lost forever. Apparently the night before after brushing my teeth I felt that it was necessary to hide my toothbrush somewhere in the bathroom. Although the true reasons for hiding my toothbrush will most likely forever be a mystery, I may have an idea. After my roommate found my toothbrush he said, "I found it and you hid my toothbrush." After a brief arguement on who was the true owner of the purple toothbrush, the thought occurred to me that I hid the toothbrush because I suspected my roommate was using it. This make the second time this year someone else has used my toothbrush. (See Why I Hate My Toothbrush - May 3, 2006).

All American Pastime

With one out the Cardinal's slugger came to the plate and slammed a solo homerun off of the second winningest pitcher in MLB playoff history. At this point the entire game changed as my hometown team moved to one win away from moving to the World Series. I was gripped by the important game for one reason... I was drinking. Normally I find baseball to be one of the most boring sports to watch. Unless the Cardinals are in the playoffs, I'll maybe catch a World Series game and that will be it. But for some reason any baseball can captivate me when I am drunk. Perhaps this is because baseball has a single focus, the ball, unlike many other sports such as football, rugby, basketball, hockey, and the likes. And focusing on one thing is about all you are cabable of when you are drunk. Take golf. Unless you are drunk golf is pretty painful to watch. But baseball and beer go so well together I can't really see baseball without beer (but certainly not vis versa).

Whim of the Universe

More and more I feel that I am at the mercy of the whim of the universe. Things can change so quickly and suddenly you have a completely new life. And on top of that there is nothing that you can do about it. Not that this is always a bad thing. Sometimes the whim of the universe changes in your favor and sometimes it changes against you. Sometimes it just changes and then life is just different. It's not always the universe that has these whims that change everything. Sometimes it's some jerks wearing overpriced suits stuffing their fat guts with money (I don't mean to be negative I just like the imagery). I guess the bottom line is we have to be nimble and roll with the punches and do our best in hopes that everything will turn out alright.

Gluttony Friday

Today, Friday the 13th, 2006, I christen to be Gluttony Friday. Today I stuffed my face with food and indend to do so for the rest of the day. Here is a recap. After a mild breakfast, I noticed that there was going to be free pizza in the office for lunch. After piling as much pizza on my plate and then subsequently into my gut, I came back to the desk and feasted on a piece of cake. Minutes later I was pressured into finishing the last piece. In a few minutes we are going out for a few drink to commemorate the last day of our departing co-worker. After that I plan to go grocery shopping as to prepare a nice (and large) dinner. Good thing that I have plans to get lots of exercise tomorrow.

Flu Shot

Shortly after I pulled up my sleeve I was injected with an infectious desease. Seems like a lot to go through to skip 15 minutes of work. But what can I say, I look for almost any excuse to get away from the desk. I don't think that I have ever gotten a flu shot before. I have never seen too much of a need. I am a health male in my physical prime and I probably not have too much of a problem handling it. The biggest pain of the shot is the pain that is still in my arm two days later. I usually an pretty good at taking these shots but this one stayed sore for some reason. After the fact I almost felt a little guilty taking the shot because seemingly every year there is a shortage after the flu season really gets going. So I probably took a shot away from some little kid or old woman to whom the flu could be fatal. Between this and my sore arm I think that I will forego the flu shot next year.

Kyle Quit the Band

I just found out today that one of our team members is moving on the proverbial greener pastures, or at least another group in our company. Good for him I hope he enjoys the longer hours, more intensity, and lack of video games and movies. But at some point egotism sets in for me. It's not envy by any means, but rather a concern for what this subtraction means for the future of our team dynamic. Since our team that has been working together very well for over a year only has two members instead of three , everything will be different. Instead of playing it honest and upfront, the higher-ups have not even bothered to tell us that this was going to happen or what is next which of course leads to wild speculation. Will they bring someone new in? someone from inside the company? will we just do all the work from now on? will they bring a member of the opposite sex over? how would a female change an all male operation? will the new person work with our current staff? will they be willing to learn or just be a jerk? As far as we see it the two left behind will just have to assume the work of the third for the time being. (Like I said there is no honesty here.) Although it is fairly reasonable for us to do that our group needs a minimum of two to do our jobs. So what does that mean for the future of our group? In addition to two doing the work for three (more like two and a half), we be unable to take days off if our group is to still function. I'm not going to be able to go to the bathroom without my boss knowing so he'll be monitoring by bowels. Our lavish hour lunches will turn into rushed meals on the go. We'll have to do things that we have never done before or even know how to do. As these changes in routine come into effect there are bound to be some mistakes along the way. And probably worst of all, his departure will make me accountable for nearly all the group's work. But we go along after we have this wrench thrown in our gears and we will see what the future brings. Perhaps I am being too pessimistic. Maybe we will get a new guy who not only already knows everything but also knows how to do things better and he will make all our lives easier... now I know that I am dreaming.

October Snow

Apparently this fall is over on October 12th. Today the snow is coming down and the wind chill is a blistering 25 degrees. I think that this is the earliest I can ever remember snowfall. I remember some snow in mid-November my sophmore year of college, but definitely not mid-October. I also think that it is interesting that many are predicting that this will be a mild winter. So is this some sort of anomaly or a sign of things to come this winter? All I can say is that I'm not looking forward to going outside tonight.

All Hail Columbus!

Columbus Day is probably my most favorite holiday of them all. First and most importantly I get the day off, and there is no real reason for me to be off. Columbus 'discovered' an inhabited land. It's like me going into my neighbor's yard and claiming it for myself. I don't think that would fly. What is also great about Columbus Day is there is nothing to do. I don't have to go pay respect to someone, as in Memorial Day and Veteran's Day and I don't have to travel anywhere. I'm sure as hell not going to visit a Columbus statue. Instead I get to sit at home and do whatever I please without having to take an actual day off of work. It's kind of like a get out of jail free card (work being jail in this case).

Crash

On the way to rugby practice with one of our new kiwis in the driver's seat we were speeding along a busy street when the trffic light directly in front of us turned to yellow. "Just go," chirped the passenger seat. "Yeah gas it," blabbed the backseat driver. At least it was a group decision that led to the car being slammed into. The moments before an accedient are a bit surreal, I have been in more accidents than I would prefer and I have noticed a commonality about the seconds leading up to the collision. Each time I have had the thought, "This shouldn't be happening." Unfortuanetly I made the bad decision to sit in the back of the jeep instead of cramming in the middle seat thinking, "I'll be fine back here." If I had riden with the driver before I may have been more cautious. I think that we almost rear-ended the car in front of us three times. At least I saw it coming so I could brace. That didn't stop a piece of the car from jabbing me in the side of the ribs to create what would later be nice bruise. And moments after the crash we were sitting on the side of the road with no bumper and no driverside front tire when a teary eyed kid, it couldn't have been his 16th birthday, approached the side of the car. He was alright, a least physically. Withing a couple of minutes it became apparent, to me at least, that he did not have insurance and most likely didn't have a lisence either. Within minutes after the crash our fearless leader, our rubgy coach pulled over in front of us. He took charge of the situation abeit poorly. Here is the outline of his plan. Forget about the crash, let the kid go, and abandon the car in a nearby parking after removing all the identification from the car. It was probably the best idea that I have ever heard for making a bad situation worse. The kid got off easy. I hope his mom gave it to him for crashing her car. So we were walking the five minutes to the field when the actual owner of the crashed car offered to give us a ride the rest of the way. I told him about what happened and what the plan was and agreed that it was a great terrible plan. So he ended up getting the car fixed during our practice and no one involved learned any real lessons.

Flawless Blog

This blog recounts a phone conversation that I had today with one of my supervisors after he told me to recheck my work from the morning.

Me: I checked all (all my work) and it was flawless.
Not me: I'm sorry, can you repeat that.
Me: It was flawless.
Not me: What?
Me: Flawless, without flaw.
Not me: Oh, flawless. That's one of those fancy college words.
Me: Yeah, I'm trying to expand my vocabulary.
Not me: So everything is okay?
My thought: Sweet Jesus! YES!
Me: Yeah.

Work is Boring

No one warned me that working got more boring as you do it longer. I have been so bored this week that I actually started thinking about looking for jobs online, not to get a new one but just for something to do. I have analyzed my fantasy football team to all ends, as there are few stats unknow to me. All these thing I accomplish during the day do not at all relate to my job. Sure we have been slow this week, but even when we have some work to do I have gotten to the point that I cn do all my tasks with minimal metal effort so my mind drifts off elsewhere.