T-Blog.

PMART - THE COMING

2011-10-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Man somehow survived the double earthquakes today and caught some of the pens game. Really great to see the pens put out a dominating performance, you guys. DJ is a personal fav, great to see him back, and of course free candy.

Listen man, I was super pumped about adding Paul Martin a year ago. This guy, with Coach Z, were gonna introduce a golden age of Pens D. Obvi, last year got pretty rough with the offense going to the guillotine. But the D was still spectacular. A lot of this was focused on Brooks, Z and Tanger who shut it down. P-Mart, even though strong, was supposed to flourish under Danny Balls' high tempo game where his puck handling skills, ever present in American defensemen, would explode into a puck handling fiesta. This didn't happen too much as the most he touched the puck was sometimes working the point on the PP.

Tonight this dude was awesome. He was pinching and flying through the habs zone. He must've had 5 incredible keeps on the blue line. Z struggled and took some penalties, so P-Mart had to re-up on the PK, but played high energy the whole game. I was super impressed, and hope that the incredible P Mart will show up on a regular basis.

Man. Go Pens.

J Cole - Cole's World

2011-10-05T17:12:00.001-07:00

Well, after all the years and years of hype... It's really good. I was pretty skeptical, but man he mixed it up with some different stuff, but still focused on the mellow, relaxed beats that really go well with his voice and rhyme style. Highly recommended.

Ideas for Mary's Fantasy Football Team Name

2011-09-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Katnappers

Toms Toms Club

Sandman Cometh

Adele's Heartbreak

Hot Curry

Beat-your-ass Boutique

So You Think You Can Spin-move?

Please add ideas below!

I Am the Goddamn Coolest

2011-07-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Beats, Rhymes and Life

2011-07-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

So I got to see the ATCQ documentary finally last night. It opened in SF last weekend, but didn't make it out for one reason or another until last night. It was pretty good, definitely worth seeing if you like tribe, native tongues, or any of that biz. Michael Rapaport does a sweet job in the interviews I think... and pretty much captures live the meltdown of Phife and Q-Tip's relationship. I had no idea Phife's health was such a huge part of it, but you don't come away blaming either (they both are super stubborn dudes), just feeling bad for Ali. It was about 65% about their relationship as a group and 35% about how the music was made and developed. I would of liked a little more about the music, but that's ok, the relationship is probably more interesting for most people.

Some really great surprises:

Learning about Jarobi's role with the group. He's a good guy.
Pharrell's interviews were really passionate, I always really liked him and this makes him cooler.
Madlib does the soundtrack! Dropped some shades of blue in there with the ATCQ mixing.
J Dilla got a bunch of shoutouts somehow.
De La Soul was super cool.
Mos Def made some appearances.
The title screen intro was really great.

Looks like they cut out a bunch of interviews that might have been cool: Ludacris, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Hieroglyphics. They also give a bunch of hype for Q-Tip's 2nd solo album, which sounds pretty much like his first album that wasn't that great.

Mary's Slippers

2011-07-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

When Mary leaves town, I wear her slippers a lot. It's like someone turned two pomeranian puppies into stylish slippers. They are also way too small.

Shitstorm of Awful

2011-07-01T10:36:00.000-07:00

Out of body experience right now where I am watching myself with a bowl of popcorn and laughing.

Here's what I envision: Pens, Flyers in playoffs. Jagr gets on ice for first shift, then sits on bench after the change. He glances up at the scoreboard and somehow locks eyes with #66. All of a sudden he can't look away. His heart is racing. He clutches it, and can feel it straining. The trainer tries to get his attention. It's no use. He collapses in a spasm.

Good God what just happened.

New Album Fallout

2011-06-30T10:16:00.001-07:00

Kid Cudi 2 came out a while ago, but is anyone else feeling pretty bummed that both that album and Lupe's new stuff are not very good?

This sucks wtf.

House of Air

2011-05-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

Made it out to the house of air last night! Got to fill in for KB's dodgeball squad. The dodgeball was ok. There was rampant, rampant cheating as the ref couldn't see too much. Not sure what man can be obviously hit 3 times and pretend not to notice.

The sweet thing was the big trampoline zone where you could bounce forever doing sweet stuff. Thought I would be immediately pulling double corks, but that proved to be impossible. The jump challenge, where you only get 1 jump per section, was really hard. I made it up to 4.5 or something before I teetered out.

Flight on Simpsons

2011-04-15T08:58:00.001-07:00

Did you guys know about this? I'm about to watch. Yes, the office is empty.

EDIT: Holy crap when did the Simpsons give up on any semblance of a plot??

EDIT: That link is totally wrong, sorry.

EDIT: Fixed.

EDIT: Not that funny. Highly recommended to fast forward just to Flight stuff.

The Guch

2011-04-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

This dude was in That's It That's All for a little, and here's a really sweet vid about his story if you are into documentary snowboarding biz.

New Experiment

2011-03-31T21:12:00.000-07:00

Sleepy Time Chamomile Hot Toddy:
Sleepy Time Time Chamomile
Hot Water
Rye Whiskey
Blue Agave Nectar

I'll let you know how it goes in 40 minutes or tomorrow morning.

EDIT: A delicious victory!

The Bugs Part III

2011-03-31T07:33:00.001-07:00

THEY ARE IN THE TOASTER!! LINING THE WALLS FOR HEAT!

Does anyone know of a good toaster oven that does great melted cheese on english muffins?

Pusha Ton

2011-03-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

Pusha T put out his mixtape today, it's really good.

The Bugs Part II

2011-02-26T00:13:00.000-08:00

I think they might be back? Turned on the lights after hanging with Steveo, Dave, and Pepe, and found 1 or 2 chilling by the microwave... but overturning and examination of the microwave did not prove effective. This is scary/non-motivational.

Also, have you ever really struggled to get a drink at a bar... then some unattractive chick gets served before you and then (IN YOUR FACE) says "do you need me to get you served" yeah, ok, maybe... after I THROW ALL THESE LEMONS IN YOUR EYES.

The Bugs

2011-02-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

For a couple of months we have been on and off bothered by these tiny flying cockroach things. They would disappear when we tried a new bug killing method, but would return soon after. Today I found their home.

I went to fill up the coffee pot, and right when I pulled it out there was like five roaches plus some baby roaches. God damn. Then they scurried under the coffee machine... through the little holes, where I took a close look and promptly barfed. Goodbye Mr. Coffee. I wish it had been the salad machine.

Classic

2011-02-16T12:23:00.001-08:00

Beware

2011-02-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

Hockey Hellscape

2011-02-10T14:57:00.001-08:00

Reminder.

2011-02-05T19:03:00.001-08:00

Hopefully Unrelated

2011-02-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

Hmm.

Greatest Pro Bowl Moment Commemoration

2011-01-29T17:00:00.000-08:00

Since the pro bowl is tomorrow, I'd like to take this moment to remind everyone of the greatest god damn play that crappy game has ever seen. Boom.

RIP buddy, you were the best.

Today

2011-01-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

In class, a girl was drinking (throughout an hour of class) room temperature milk out of a nalgene. This was very gross to me for tons of reasons.

- Sipping milk at such a temperature over a long period of time would give you awful breath.
- That nalgene is going to need many washes to get the smell out, and this girl is just gonna rinse it. I know it.
- That shit is gross!

Awful. Gagging a little bit replaying it in my mind, thinking about this milk going into MY MOUTH!

Chappelle Sighting??

2011-01-19T20:44:00.001-08:00

Did anyone see the end of Tosh.0 the other night? I think that was def Chappelle running on the stage to dance around at the end.

Good Times

2010-12-29T06:37:00.000-08:00

Went to the game last night, watched one man dominate, then woke up to this:

Twitter Revolution

2010-12-28T19:29:00.000-08:00

@misterjamo

T-BLOG BREAKING NEWS!

Fantasy Hockey Heats Up

2010-12-20T05:24:00.000-08:00

Ho boy. Hopefully there is a mid-season-3-way-deathmatch on the schedule.

Duders on Reader

2010-12-17T08:12:00.001-08:00

Definitely getting eliminated from the "Duders" category on reader:

China (Bird)
davehora.com
Confessions of a Jagoff (Kwiatfartski)
Where in the World (Lucy and Tubs, ended their year trip)
Sideline Reporting (learn about the struggles of an American in the Puerto Rican bball leagues)
Sweet Pea (D Hurd)
Mike Tomlin is Omar Epps (Jamo confessed to never posting again)

Close to getting eliminated:

Mostly Here (Deuce what happened??)
Figma Cau
culinary calisthenics. (obnoxious period in title not helping)
The Record Record

Making a recent comeback:

Next to CNN
I lubb me some books

Staying strong:

I'd Rather Die (killing it)
General Tso's Kangaroo
Mental Drippings
Egege
LouisaHodge - Twitter (also killing it)

Forever in the hall of fame:

Pong Night Diaries

LEED SO DUMB

2010-12-05T09:40:00.000-08:00

Knew this was coming eventually. In my inbox:

Dear LEED Credentialed Professional, In June 2009, with the arrival of LEED version 3, the USGBC introduced a Credential Maintenance Program for LEED Accredited Professionals & Green Associates. As a result your LEED Credential may need attention if you enrolled for GBCI prescriptive maintenance. We know how hard it was to get your accreditation and we want to offer you some options to maintain your AP credentials and remain current and viable. With this objective in mind, The Green Building Research Institute (GBRI) will be offering a series of webinars throughout 2011 to meet the 15-30 Hour LEED CMP requirement. Our first course will focus on sustainability around the world and provide an in-depth examination of the new requirements and CMP enrollment options available to LEED APs.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

The Last Airbender: Live Blog

2010-12-03T16:32:00.000-08:00

What's up everyone! This will probably be one of the last times in my career where I can be unemployed and liveblogging a viewing of M. Night Shyamalan's masterpiece: "The Last Airbender."

1:00 - Ooooo snazzy plot! Telekinesis matched with a captain planet theme! This has hope!

2:00 - I am pretty sure this is going to be awful.

18:00 - Just realized it is the dude who was the main character in Slumdog Millionaire.

21:00 - Uh oh, all the airbender's family is dead. Might have to fastforward through drawn out tears.

21:30 - I am pretty sure this was made for 7 year olds. I have made this mistake before.

22:30 - I am pretty sure the airbender is too young for the ice chick, but we'll see.

23:00 - I think I messed up my VLC a little.

29:00 - This has some "Free Tibet" undertones.

31:00 - This was probably really funny to film cause everyone does really stupid movements without the effects. Also, this movie is really terrible.

33:00 - Now catholic undertones. The avatar cannot have a family, which I assume is sex too. Tough break. There must be a history of avatar-child relation coverups.

38:00 - I just awkwardly learned the history of the exiled prince. It's kinda like the story of killer from Half Baked. There is only one beer left...

40:00 - Oh wow they sleep in sleep sacks, like they give you in hostels. I am guessing they bend the rain if they get rained on, or the spirit world dries them if they get wet and cold.

43:20 - Avatar high priest sells him out! Avatar captured! I am thinking about inviting the dude from NewJackCity over to join the live blog. Def a chill bro.

43:38 - Gonna need more than 2 guards to hold down the Avatar! Child grunting ensues. Bad fight scene. They should just splice in DBZ fight scenes, probably would work out and not confuse the audience.

57:30 - Dave says this movie is definitely way better in 3D. Mary called and is hanging out on Valencia, which sounds way better than this. I definitely will not start up this live blog again, and will probably watch the end some other time when I am pinned with either this movie or burning myself with a hot iron.

Kaua'i

2010-11-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

Had a rocking time in the far west/far east this past week. I think we planned a million hikes and activities and life just became a series of beaches. Our fav was definitely Hanalei Bay, which had a huuuuge long beach, warm waters, but not really good snorkeling. Poi'pu had the best snorkeling, but was the most crowded beach. Checked out a fish that looked like a neon sign. Mary's iPad really dominated the vacation, and made my kindle look dumb. Heard Chris Brown a million times out there, thought the second verse belonged to Drake but was wrong... guess that is the song of the vacay. Not sure if that is unfortunate or not.

Next up is the great Oregon adventure with Dave, then to Tacoma for Thanksgiving, then Pittsburgh/Boston/DC/Pittsburgh.

Halloween Biz

2010-11-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

Oh man didn't see this till just now, but Mary wins at Giardano's and now is featured in YLDS! Check the 8:40 for the start.

Snow Vidz

2010-11-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

Well hole E shit. Gigantes son increibles. I am covered in champagne. But wanted to show you bros my fav part from Absinthe's Nowhere.

The street stuff is also actually killer, and I'm usually not very entertained by that stuff.

Boyz II Mendenhall WINNER!

2010-10-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

Listen everybody. I said to fire him 3 years ago. This guy has done nothing but ride the coattails of mike and dick.

Anyways, let's take some positives away in the form of an incredible Steelers costume:

Someday Bruce will be gone, and we can yell at someone else. But until then, focus your hate on Bruce. And referees.

Nickname Question

2010-10-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

So I noticed in the latest Yinz Luv Da Stillers episode that he had given Emmanuel "Crazy 88" Sanders the nickname "DeMANuel". I am a big fan of Jim and wish he would post a new Guins episode, but I am wondering if this DeMANuel is better than my "Oh come oh come" sung everytime #88 makes something happen. Acadia heard me do my thing last Sunday, so you can ask her for a rendition. Wutchu think bros?

If it's me... It's gotta be Chase Utley

2010-10-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Been having a great watching duders make it happen. Been great. Like baseball matters again. Also been making fun of Chase Utley a lot, thought I should make sure people know what to reference when I do this.

Freddy's Alright

2010-10-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

And that's why he has a fan club.

A Good One

2010-10-14T12:48:00.001-07:00

Painful throughout the whole thing.

For time:

50 thursters (20 lbs)

5 pull ups

5 push ups

5 leg raises

40 thrusters (20 lbs)

10 pull ups

10 push ups

10 leg raises

30 thrusters (20 lbs)

15 pull ups

15 push ups

15 leg raises

20 thrusters (20 lbs)

20 pull ups

20 push ups

20 leg raises

10 thrusters (20 lbs)

25 pull ups

25 push ups

25 leg raises

The Greatest of All Time

2010-10-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

7:51 AM Joe: i think i left the best comment of my life last night

The comment in question:

Joseph - what do you teach, lame-th grade music?

What say you? A comment.... TO BE REMEMBERED???

Trinity Alps!

2010-10-11T08:18:00.000-07:00

Shablammo! Pretty sore, had just a week of biking/rowing/plyos after being in the boot before this stuff. 30 miles, 3 days. Totally rockin.

Mark Your Calendars!

2010-09-29T10:28:00.001-07:00

Boot Last Stand

2010-09-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

So about 3.2 days to go (I get it off early Friday morning). I've been cutting back on wearing it and walking around a little without it. Had a few couple mile walks with Mary on Saturday, that went fine. The foot seems to be going more naturally by itself... maybe because I am more confident on it or maybe it's the body doing it. Can't tell.

Since I'm gonna scale back on the vibrams/barefoot to a couple of short runs a week, I got some new running shoes to put on next week, and hopefully wear through whatever marathon I pick out. Tried to identify some thin soled shoes with a low heel drop (vertical distance between heel and ball of foot), and was about to get the minzuno wave 3's, but went with the adidas rocket because a bro at work wears something similar and likes them, and it looks like less of a heel drop. Anyways, I'm psyched to get out running, crossfitting, biking, and thrashing again.

I'll post something from the injury sketchbook soon, per Dave. We will see what the doc says friday but if I have my way the boot is getting sold at Margot's garage sale.

Survey

2010-09-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

So Weezer is doing back to back shows at the masonic:

1st night: Blue Album + Greatest Hits
2nd night: Pinkerton + Greatest Hits

Which one would you go to? I am not doing both that is just plain crazy. I am leaning blue, but kind of think Pinkerton will be less crowded?

Coming soon: Boot update week 3... 1 week to go!

Getting Deep

2010-09-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

Just came back from the premier of this guy (it was in Tahoe first, but they did one in SF too). Really, really good. Completely different than the other biz, gets even dudes stuck in giant plastic boots psyched. Now trying to decide on the length of my board. Gonna be a tough decision cause I've been riding short, and need to go either 157 or 159. Leaning 157.

Boot Week 1 report

2010-09-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

Positives: Filling up the sketchbook, watched football, no pain in my foot ever, got in 4 workouts this week, hung out with some bros and developed positive relationships (no doubt bro). Wrote a post and read-up on stress fractures at the Minimalist Runner group. Very helpful dudes wrote back that had stress fractures, said coming back should be fine and not to fret. Can't find my specific post but Vanessa can vouch for me.

Negatives: This boot sucks. Couldn't go out last night cause I was so sick of walking in it, and my foot and leg just gets really tired after a full day of activities. Ripping out my leg hairs somehow (thermos action??). Foot already feeling atrophy I think, squatted last night without the boot to plug something in and my foot almost gave out. I stare longingly when I see skateboarders or runners go by.

One More Positive: Less than 3 weeks!

One More Negative: Pretty much 3 more weeks.

Denny D gon be throwing mad bombs to El today. WHABAM!

Cationary Word

2010-09-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

Sup dudes.

So I found out Friday I have a stress fracture in my right foot which has left me in a boot for the next 4 weeks. After discussing this with my doctor this is probably from going pretty hard with the vibrams, barefoot running, and forefoot stride. This type of working out was great for my ankles, knees, glutes, hips, back, core... I was really digging it. Vanessa had told me before from Barefoot Ted's workshop that he had warned about "too much too soon", which makes sense as you are working muscles in a way you have never done in your life before. I thought this was mostly for major long distance runners, but just from the sprinting workouts I did combined with some longer runs and crossfit stuff, it was enough to develop the fracture. The doc told me this occurs over the course of 6-12 months, and I switched to forefoot about 9 months ago. Huge bummer. I know I've told a ton of people how much I liked this style of running, and I do hope to go back to it eventually, but taking it a little slower. So I hope everyone I recommended it to sticks with it but be careful, and don't overdo anything. I was blindsided by this injury, and I hope it doesn't happen to anyone else.

Since I can't really do cardio right now (no access to a pool) I'm gonna start a injury sketchbook, and try and sketch it up as a little replacement hobby for the next 4 weeks.

:-(

Cornrows

2010-09-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

Bingo!

C'mon Gaga. You Look Crazy With That Shit.

2010-08-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

C'mon son. Gaga what are you thinking with this video. You know I am a big fan. And this song is kickin', and hopefully sneaks under the radar at upcoming weddings??? Anyways, you don't always have to be batshit crazy.

You know what Mariah would've done with this video? White sandy beaches, maybe some playful spy action storyline, lacy white sheets, fancy undergarments. She keeps it relevant and hot. Case in point.

Gaga let me just point you in the right direction. Even you can shred, and you don't even know it.

A Book for Middle Schoolers - Review

2010-08-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

I accidentally bought this book on Kindle after Carmina recommended a book called Heat. This was not that book, which I figured out 10 chapters into it, as it was super corny. Highly recommended for some 6th grader who likes sports and sportsmanship. Not good for kids who are actually major league prospects, cause those motherfuckers need to forget about books and get back to do doing pushups in the sauna room.

One thing amazing about this book is that he is able to fit the entire usual story book ending stuff in like 5 pages. It's like been suffocated with warm kittens, it's too much too soon. Also, I cannot believe I finished this book. I hope this was helpful to you.

2010-07-06T10:35:00.001-07:00

WHAT IS THIS PLACE??? WHY AREN'T THERE A MILLION PROTESTERS!!!

Saw this with Carmina Friday, general consensus "How did that slip by the haters?" Next with Steveo, "Maybe it's ok because they are from SF?" Saw it Monday with Mary got tagged up by haters, and painted over by employees, looked like crafty-design place... harmless, seemed in-line with general broness of the mish. Early this morning they had hired a night security guard to stop the haters out front (which goes against broness), security guard explained to some dude that they were only renting it for TWO MONTHS??

WHAT IS GOING ON??

Retrying Albums

2010-06-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna try and insert a theme into this never-used blog called "Retrying Albums". This is where I try albums over again that I initially was like "WTF" but the album was well received by other dicks. The first in this series is: 8 Diagrams - Wu Tang.

This album had all sorts of weird hype, mostly centering around the fact that RZA had gone super indie with the beats and Ghost and Rae were not feeling it. I remember I listened to it like twice when I first got it fall of senior year ('07), and me and Joe agreed it sucked. Gone forever, despite how much I anticipated everything else Wu Tang did. Not to mention pitchfork was snooty about it.

Well, today I listened to it a few times in a row at work, and it's definitely an enjoyable album. Although the beats aren't something you are gonna be blasting at P-Days, you can pick out some really nice stuff here. The two all-stars on this album to me were GZA and Inspectah Deck, with Raekwon and Ghostface right up there. I think my fav track is windmill, which sounds like the intro to Kill Bill (also produced by RZA).

Other things that are interesting is that I definitely shared this song before anyone else on reader, but no one noticed it. Pots for my kitchen!

Playoff Beard: Round One Recap!

2010-04-27T19:15:00.001-07:00

Alright! Sick win! What an awesome, awesome win. So awesome, that I think my beard decided to grow 1 cm in celebration!

In other news, I need a vacation badly, and Yosemite is just on the horizon. Hopefully weather will be solid and we can make it up half dome, and super awesome luck if we get to see the el capitan falls. Very rare indeed. Before that includes tryouts, and Texas Shootout with revolver. The Yosemite trip will start a waterfall of awesomeness that leads to poultry days and hopefully another deep playoff run.

To wrap this brief post up, I give you the obligatory Tommy Blog in geocities form. Not that great. Needs more blink.

Playoff Beard 2010: The Beginning

2010-04-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

God help us.

Pens in 3.

Search Story!

2010-04-09T13:21:00.001-07:00

Have you ever...

2010-04-08T09:45:00.001-07:00

Tried watching a hockey game this time of year and then switching to baseball?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5066650&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

it feels like you've drank 5 red bulls then been told to sit through a lecture on statistical analysis of demographics or something. OR SOMETHING!

Prius Gettin' Fiesty

2010-04-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

On my bike to work from the San Mateo station this morning, some bro honks at myself and Tsama to get out of his way so he can get in the 5-minute left turn line to turn onto 101. First of all, we are pretty far over and you can definitely get around unless you are a garbage truck, second of all, get a life dick.

Then I turn around and see it's a PRIUS!!! C'mon jerk! Obvi we are both trying to save the environment, I am just doing a better job than you (pending confirmation caltrain = better than cars). I am not sure whether you are honking out out jealousy or because you only bought that for the tax credit!

Poni

2010-03-28T18:19:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone!

2010-03-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

Kilowatt has center ice! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

"Also a honey hitter"

2010-03-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

Overheard at...

2010-03-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

22nd and Valencia-ish...

T: Look! It's your favorite shop, the one you wish you worked at! The, uh, homemade shit shop.

M: Well, I respect your hobby, your hobby of running around and throwing discs... with a bunch of... bros!

Bro with laundry: Harsh! Well, I hate that shit too... but, that's tough bro.

Buenos

2010-03-11T20:10:00.000-08:00

Sup dudes -

Lots of updates, I've been screwin' around and haven't posted in a little. Just finished a bacon sando oven-cooked style (via Mary). Let's just get right to it.

NEW BIKE! Got the surly (in black) cross check about a month or two ago, been crushing with it. It's great. Such an upgrade, it's quite a thing to get really excited to ride your bike. Got some toe clip pedals (on the one side, flat on the other), so things are REALLY great while riding. Super, super fast. Beefy tires to avoid the flats, fenders (poorly installed... don't install in the wee hours of the morning) to keep out the rain.

I'm writing this up while watching Gettysburg as I just finished Killer Angels for like the 95th time in my life (could you take Jeff Daniels seriously as your colonel?). Had to reread two super awesome books after the suckiness of the end of the Alvin Maker saga. First, Lord of Light, which is a really, really great book that just went back into paperback print. Highly recommended. Crazy futuristic Hindu/Buddhist religion stuff. The second was Killer Angels, which is the book of books. This bro at dirty thieves last week recommended Shogun to me, have any of you fools checked that out? Now reading Foundation and Earth, which is pretty slow so far with some jerk arguing with some robot chick the whole time. I will give Asimov the benefit of the doubt and hold out.

RANDLE EL! Holy shit!!!!!! How many times has this ever happened? 1. Griffey 2. Michael Jordan (which doesn't really count) 3..... Pee Wee Herman? Anyways, bros are psyched, and I am ready to rock my new surprise (supplies!) away jersey!

Unreal. But with the mega-awesome comes the terrible. WTF. Don't worry, the guy packing my bag up at the IGA, who saw my beanie told me it's gonna be alright.

Buford is killing it! Beautiful ground!

Spy Bro

2010-03-04T08:29:00.000-08:00

So on bike from home to the train station today, I went my usual secret passage route inbetween the best buy and the home of trout. Right around there are usually, well I don't want to say "bum", but there are some raggedy bros hanging out here, hoping that Sports Basement throws away a snowboard or something. Anyways this one dude today is crouched on the corner, cig in one hand, and BINOCULARS in the other held up his eyes! In a total sneak attack pose. I thought he was scoping me hard but realized he was completely fixated on the best buy entrance. This dude meant business. So if you hear it go down at the best buy today, just know you heard it here first.

Re: Definition

2010-03-02T06:36:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been struggling to wrap my head around the new coming of bro and what it means to my vocabulary. I find myself using bro as a criticism and positive reinforcement, solely based on the context of which it is used it in. True, brolores is overrun by bros posting up, but at the end of the day I'm relying on my bros. Therefore, I urge you to seek the bro-ness in your life, and how you can better bro it up day in and day out.

Curling Drinking Game

2010-02-20T10:57:00.001-08:00

As invented by Tommy and Steveo:

Thingies hit each other = social.
Guess level of ring before shot (1=bullseye), winner awards a drink.
Pick a team before round, leader at end of round starts waterfall.
Ass camera shot = drink.
Timeout = waterfall.

Me and You and Pikachu

2010-02-18T08:46:00.000-08:00

Behind in the posts, gotta update about insane-o almost breaking of wrist and spanking new bike. In the meantime, Parry Gripp brings a whole new level of auth:

Overheard at...

2010-01-27T21:21:00.001-08:00

Hillsdale Caltrain:

(to Julian, getting on train)
Balloon Kid: Hey! Need a balloon animal?
Julian: No, but you should make that guy (looks at Tommy) another Stanley Cup.
Balloon Kid (to Tommy): Hey! Go Pens!

Frank at work.

2010-01-18T20:04:00.001-08:00

Frank: "Did you know that right now if you start dedicating your life entirely to making a time machine at some point your future self will travel back in time and tell you how to do make it?"

Three Nu Onez

2010-01-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

Downloaded a few new albums recently, a nice little new rap bundle. Kid Cudi, which I got right after Christmas, then Clipse and Wale recently. I'd say Cudi is winning the race right now with Clipse making a strong run for the top and Wale back in third. Listened to Cudi a lot (note: a whole lot) at new years while Lucy, Vanessa, and Jenna provided strong mario feedback. This review is for you, brohams, since Pitchfork is a bunch of snobs who couldn't high five a bro's album if it was superglued to their open palm.

The Cudi album rocks, and I felt dumb in Pittsburgh for not even having it yet. I like-a the singer-rapper dealie coming out with Drake and Cudi, and I like that Cudi opted out of autotune, which Jay-Z told us is dead anyways, so we couldn't even use it if a gun was pointed to our head by an autotune loving serial killer. I keep finding new tracks that I like more on somedays than the big hitters, and gives me hope that Kanye will keep finding sweet bros for the GOOD label.

Clipse is sounding like Lord Willin' again, which is both great and not great, because Hell Hath No Fury was so epic. Still, the bitterness is there a little, which lends to some sweet versus seen on the Freedom track, which also channels Russell Crowe quotes from Gladiator. I think the Popeye's track is my favorite, although I am confused, as Killa can be seen eating fried chicken in the video, which according to him, would immediately lead to terrible stomach pains and diarrhea. The "All Eyes on Me" is a banger as well, Andy is psyched to fist pump for sure. When Clipse said they weren't going to be going with the Neptunes for this album, I thought that meant NO Neptunes. All it meant not 100% Neptunes, more like 89% Neptunes. Yeah, these dudes rule.

Wale is a little disappointing... so many songs here sound so dry. Especially after Mixtape about Nothing and his other junk, this is not what I expected. Some tracks are alright, as linked above, so maybe it will grow on me. I still would love to see him live, I bet it's kicking, and Pusha T gives him props all the time so maybe he can just merge with Clipse in a human merger tank and make a super rapper. That sounds like a good way to salvage the album. Write it down. 1. Human merger. 2. PROFIT!

12:00 AM 1/1/2010

2010-01-05T21:38:00.000-08:00

And from another angle:

I hate Bruce Arians open thread

2009-11-30T15:03:00.000-08:00

Since a lot of Bruce Arians hate has been floating around the G-status today, I thought we could pool our efforts here for posterity reasons. I'll go first:

Bruce Arians borrowed your car and gave it back with the gas light on.

Bruce Arians promised to bring the tap for the keg, then came late to the party and told you he forgot it.

Bruce Arians ate your leftover lo mein, the one that you were so psyched to eat late night.

God I hate you Bruce Arians.

NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! NEWS!

2009-10-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

Yo dudes!

Been a while. Some stuff has happened since the Jeff Reed photoshop (paintshop):

Jam makes nationals.
Drew (Madcow) makes nationals.
Steelers look kind of better.
Penguins rock losers.
Mary dogsits.
Trout barks and stuff.

Definitely a lot of work to do after regionals, gotta throw up some solid W's! Still, if I had to break down the seeding it would probably go something like this:

1-something: Some dudes who think they run the show
#semi-high: JAM bros
#middle-something: mediocre blah
#underanked: Madcow and Drewpa!

I think this seeding is a highly accurate reflection of what the teams to watch are. In other non-ultimate related news, I got to check out fleet week in SF at a roof top party. The show was cancelled due to fog, but the rooftop was great, although it seemed like everyone was about a decade older than me. So, t-minus one decade til I get a rooftop of my own.

I got some new music for the first time in a while. New albums include Jay-Z, Mos Def, and Raekwon. Probably after listening to each album 9 times at work, Mos Def is probably my favorite, just cause I am a sucker for his rapping and madlib-like beats (it's also really really good work music). Favorite tracks are the auditorium and quiet dog bites hard. It's softer and less catchy than black on both sides, but more put together than the new danger.

Raekwon put it down! The sequel is solid, and its chock full of crime storytelling. Black Mozart and the Raekwon-Ghost-Meth tracks are great. The best Wu stuff to come out in a while... I think the only one I didn't hear was Cappadonna, but he's not a super official member anyways. Another must download!

Jay-Z made it on to my Jam workout mix, and JS was the only one I could hear singing along. The album is solid, probably not as good as American Gangster... and whatever sound he has decided to make as his inbetween lines sound (most prominent on DOA and Reminder) wears off quick. Still, it's good.

Alright, that's the end. That was way too long for my attention span.

Maybe a little childish but...

2009-09-20T17:57:00.001-07:00

RRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Quickie

2009-08-17T07:25:00.001-07:00

No internet at the house yet, so gonna throw something up while I am at work here...

Pretty entertaining twitter from Jam's weekend at ECC where we played 3 days with anywhere between 11 and 14 guys. Usually 12.

http://twitter.com/sfjam

Summah

2009-07-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

Yo dudes!

I think it's like halfway through summer, but I think after Tahoe this weekend I might declare it officially over. Nationals, Middle-of-PA-cabin, Cal States, Poultry Days, Mike in Palo Alto, Find a House, Katica Cabin, Potlatch, House Boat, and JAM Tahoe next weekend and I am spent. Can't wait for a weekend where I sleep in something that isn't my sleeping bag. Somewhere in there I got LEED Accredited and started an internship.

LEED totally sucked, but glad I got it in before the upgrade to the super hard test. I think I have to do some renewal testy thing, but nothing as hard as the first. There's gotta be a better way, which I feel like is a common theme with all things LEED (check the archives bro!). Turns out I really didn't know that much about LEED when I was taking that class two years ago and trying to be super critical of it. Not that I have any more respect for it now, heard the nightmare jobs with miles of paperwork associated and very hard to deal with subs to get the odd work done. The internship has been hard work, but they are limiting my hours now. Not sure how employment is gonna shape up once this internship ends.

Finally finished the wire this past weekend and that was a relief. The last season is definitely draining, I felt like I just needed a season of closure for everything that happened, and it just seemed to get crazier. Highly recommended.

I think I was also going to post to discuss the poultry days vs. potlatch deal. I think I am very biased towards pdays cause it has kind of become my tournament to organize, but I will run some pro-cons.

PDays Pros - Much better nights, not too hot, the goddamn awesome chicken readily avaible, stellar campsite, fun townies, sweet east coast duders, ice sold at the fields, meals at the fields, carnie rides, giant crushed ice mt. dews (highly elusive the past two years), none of that after game crap, and no force fed parties that suck.

PDays Cons - Hard to get to (but thats kind of fun once you get there), and that creepy kid who took us to the pens game, lack of monorail taking me to carnival, have to drive to fields usually.

Potlatch Pros - Better competition, more teams (might not be a good thing), JAMBOX was highly organized, 3 days, GDGFK was very fun to play with, the Katica cabin, sweet breakfast place with great coffee, the creek next to the fields.

Potlatch Cons - desert like climate (super hot days super cold nights), mars-like sense of isolation, terrible (note: TERRRRRRRIBLE) party, 3 days, stealing my 4th of july cookouts.

And finally, to say my peace about Dave's recent career move. All I'm gonna say is that Heath Miller's seat at the Mission Steeler Nation was all ready to go. Sunday Ticket ordered. Pub fries, special guac dip, and dog with steeler cape. Have fun watching that shit in the mall bar next to the dude who uses his "steeler pride" to get chicks, the bandwagon jerkoffs and some chick who asks you "who's that korean guy on the steelers??"

Aw, D.C. is alright. Very good for bad hangovers, disc golf fun, and defending Jake from chicks who don't want to him to hook up with their friend. Hopefully I'll make it there for the next brodeo.

HAI! MAJIDE!!!

2009-06-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

Moving On...

2009-05-29T14:25:00.000-07:00

Well I was able to come out of nationals with only soul-crushing disappointment and a smashed up heel (just in time for tryouts). Anyways, AFTER nationals was great. Awesome cabin near Ohiopyle thanks to Jakey's negotiating skills, great bbq thanks to Dave's dad, and intense games of chess followed by a fishing session too intense for the fish. These fish, along with the fish lining the Japanese coast, obviously tore each other to shreds in a pheromone-induced frenzy from POWERBAIT's 100% garaunteed most advanced technology. This I believe was the main reason for our lack of hooked fish. Still, we crushed southern PA fishing in our own way. RIP trout of the Ohiopyle.

Dave is looking aggressively for jobs in DC (more like douchey craphole), and Andy is talking about moving to MD too. This is just plain dumb. Please refer to my self-help guide on choosing a new location outside of Pittsburgh:

Playoff Beard Finale!

2009-05-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

We won!

Time to follow up that playoff series extravaganza with a sweep of college nationals so I can make another collage with Mom. Anyways, graduation is coming, I somehow got a job despite economic apocalypse, and I have some pretty major presentations. One of these has $2k on the line and is in front of a panel of professional judges. Promised the group I'd shave... so here is the last gasp of the beard:

Getting better. Definitely a very annoying amount of facial hair. It's been over a month, and now it is annoying to drink and eat stuff as it gets all over the hair. Let's compare to last year:

Huh. Dunno. It feels a lot fuller. Mind you, this guy up top went into the end of the Eastern Conference Finals. Let's check the sides.

Ok, definitely some improvement there. I can't figure out why blogger won't let me do side by side photos. Oh well. Still the dent though. Let's make like Jesus and turn the other cheek.

Well hey! Very solid. Absolutely in the chin and goatee areas. Farewell 2009 playoff beard. And remember Pens, anything is possible, just like KG said in that disney movie... I mean, NBA finals.

Playoff Beard Update

2009-05-06T17:28:00.001-07:00

I totally forgot about the playoff beard update! Here it is, and I am eating a bacon sando to make it real hardcore and/or trendy.

Whoops! Wrong photo. Looks like someone got the swine flu! Ha! You can also see 5725 Phillips back there!

Awesome. I don't want to say anything about today's game as it is going on now and I don't wanna jinx nuthin. Go Pens!

Kickin Tires, Lightin Fires

2009-05-06T16:08:00.000-07:00

Showed up on the fields in Corvallis on friday morning for a day before practice. The last time I had done a practice at the tournament location was Worlds 2006... I like it, really gets everyone focused and familiar with the surroundings. Practice was solid, hip was shaky but better than practice earlier in the week. Highlights included throwing a bomb to Joel and putting my butt in Albert's face. Non-highlights included the longest and dumbest warm up jog ever. But then we got pizza buffet. Saw the wolverine movie (kind of sucked, also the place had no icees), and discussed the role of fluffers (still unclear). Then a group of four of us played 3-par golf and it half sucked and half ruled and not as easy as the driving range. The weather was awesome.

Saturday came and the weather was shit. This was good news, as we had all our weekday practices pretty much in the ocean. So we romped through victoria and utah, I got beat deep twice bad and was pretty pissed about that. Had a short break and then came UBC. We traded for a little, they were shredding our zone, and then we went ratched off a run, and then the wind picked up. After that they were toast, and we coasted into semis. At the end of the game a hard rain started with major winds. This was good.

We had looked at UW's final at Centex against Colorado and they struggled hard. I think at 2-2 in the semis was when we broke upwind, and got the downwinder a little later, then broke twice more before half... I think it was 8-5 or 8-4. We ran away with it in the second, and were totally psyched.

Had an icebath saturday night and did not realize how hard those things suck. Right before I got in I realized how hard it is to get into the cold ocean, but by that point my feet were in and I was already crying. It worked pretty well though. The Pens lost and turns out Dutchy is a caps fan, which only makes sense as he is a Patriots fan. Hmmm... sounds like he just likes douchey teams which goes well with his douche shake that he drinks every night.

Stanford game. Blech. Offense wasn't there, dropped throws, crappy decisions... Got a lot of breaks, but so did they. They played very well and have a pretty conservative offense based on the handlers.

On to the other game! We had just lost on UP, it was much less windy, and UW was talking about how they are gonna take this one from us. We start out in zone, and they are dropping the disc, and we go up 5-0. After that we didn't really look back. Got two more breaks in the second half and they were done... something like two garbage breaks at the end after we dropped a couple and didn't play d. Pretty badass ending when I throw the huck for the goal to Dylan, it's called back on a pick, then just throw the same huck to Joel for the win. Wes breaks out the cigars.

Awesome. Definitely a long, and now very rewarding season... I think we can win some quality games and play with nothing to lose. Go duders.

A poor blog post title you say?

Think again!

YES!

2009-05-04T03:06:00.001-07:00

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Just for Jamo...

2009-04-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

Another picture of myself! Bam! Well Jamo, there's about 5 pictures from my entire playing career pre-Cal, so having Choon and others snapping photos rules. Sectionals is next week, and we will have some very tough games with Davis, Santa Cruz, Stanford, and LPC all there. Hopefully things will click and we can carry momentum into Regionals because the NW is slamming this year! Got to practice with Revolver yesterday, which has allowed me to get one step closer to learning all that I can about Joel's intimate life. Gonna try and make the Jam tryouts in a couple of weeks.

The job market seems to not be getting better at all, and the opportunity of working for a start up while starting on a PhD sounds like a pretty good deal right now. I am excited for the start up as I'll be able to get to do everything where I wouldn't be able to working for a large firm or as an entry level somewhere. Not exciting is the lack of money. I'm sure things will work out.

Nicely coinciding with the college series is the NHL playoffs! And well, well! Welcome back Scotty! The PA state championship is on, and the Flyers made sure to screw up just enough to give us home ice, which worked out very well for us last year when we had it. I think if Staal's line produces, and Sykora and Geno start clicking like last years postseason, things will go well and we can go very deep. This also marks the start of another playoff beard. Here are some ground rules:

I will shave in extraordinary circumstances (aka job interview, which isn't very likely anymore).
Alterations are ok, but I'm not really into them. Not really applicable, I just didn't want to only have one bullet cause I couldn't think of any other rules. In this way, this playoff beard contest is comparable to a no-rules wwf steel cage match with one rule.

Are any other duders down for it (don't puss out here Andy). Here is the initial shot:

Donezo. You can check out last year's results here. I will probs shave Wednesday before the first game begins. Hopefully soon I can coordinate with Jamo to drink it up and watch some playoff hockey.

In Remembram

2009-03-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

Right before his departure for a cruise to different countries prime for military coups, Joe left me with some directions for his legacy:

Joe: i just wanted to say it was a pleasure knowing you, if I get kidnapped in columbia
Joe: tell the others
Joe: tell my story

Well, I am going to preemptively get this done. A collage of all of our favorite Joe friendship moments:

We will miss you. You and your affinity for short, tight, golf shorts.

We will never forget your wacky on-field antics and groundbreaking ultimate methods.

I think k2 likes this photo a lot, so this one is more for him than actually remembering Joe.

This one is way awkward. Sometimes you really blow the photo.

Blogger won't let me get out of italics. So in other news, Centex and spring break were definitely good times. The team carried a bunch of momentum out of the last 4 games of the weekend after starting out a little poorly. As 5 of the top 13 teams in the UPA rankings are in the Northwest, regionals is going to be a battle. We have the ability to beat anyone for sure, stringing together 2-3 of those victories is going to be very tough.

Other news blurbs include signing up for LEED exam, actively going to my first PT sessions for my knee, and st. patrick's day being fun. Once again I apologize for the continued italics, but I blame Zhi and his division.

Fight the Drought

2009-03-03T12:49:00.000-08:00

So these past few weeks in the Bay has seen a solid amount of rain, more than I've seen since I moved here in July. Some kid in one of my groups from MIT and France said "So, is the drought over?" Sorry buddy, nice try. Up top is Lake Shasta, which was formed by Shasta Dam which was constructed in the 50s or 60s as part of the Bureau of Reclamation's massive efforts to irrigate the entire western United States with a congress that would approve any water project. That's the lake in 2006. Mary and I drove over it 2 days ago, and it looked like this:

So it is going to be a long time until we are out of this drought, which is pretty consistent with other things I've seen in CA. We played disc golf in December at some reservoir south of San Francisco, and the thing was about 1/8 full compared to what the people I was playing with said it had been about 2 years ago. Water conservation is constantly in your face out here, where it was pretty uncommon to hear about in Pittsburgh or the Pacific Northwest, where we were this past weekend. I just finished reading Cadillac Desert which is a pretty good read, and talked about how droughts ran in cycles of about every decade or so, with varying intensity. And then there is the ever looming 500 year catastrophic drought (think Dust Bowl).

When I was discussing how much water is used in the CA agriculture industry with another group, someone said "They'll keep finding more water." That water is going to be more and more expensive, energy intensive, and always an escalating environmental impact as we go to greater lengths to get it. Also, we don't have the money anymore in a trillion dollar national debt (much of it coming from previous water projects), with CA being in an "economic state of emergency."

Also, Mt. Shasta looks like the Earth's crust got a boner. It comes out of nowhere at an intense grade.

Either way, I think I am gonna start booking an emergency flight to Portland every month in case all of the southwest U.S. turns into quicksand suddenly. In other, lighter rain info:

Riding your bike, downhill, in the rain is awful. Much like running into a monsoon I think. Everything gets soaked. Comparable experiences are playing a tournament in lots of rain, and being on a ski lift in tons of rain. There is no escape from the wetness. Some essentials: wearing shorts under your pants provides a nice layer of comfort from the complete soakage... and gloves, probably gloves would be good. Putting your raincoat hood under your helmet is pretty solid as well.

Also, golf umbrellas are for golf courses, with like 50 people in 5 acres, not for tiny asian girls on the sidewalk. Even on the biggest sidewalk in Berkeley, two of you will be walking side by side with these and no one can get around you. And you walk slow, to avoid any rain blowing underneath your portable tent. And you cannot hear me say "excuse me" because you are too busy telling a bad story about the rain one time in a much too loud voice. GOD DAMMIT BE REASONABLE! And then there is the incredibly risky blow by, where if you bump the umbrella or said asian is startled, you are gonna get dumped on.

Yes, these size umbrellas keep you dry, but don't be an asshole and just get a little wet on the way to work/class just like everyone else. Don't be the jerk walking in 5 minutes late, shaking off your umbrella, commenting how everyone looks soaked. Done venting! Go Pens!

Dreamblog

2009-02-24T22:37:00.000-08:00

Ala k2, I had this dream on Friday night that was pretty rocking, so I think I will post it. I am pretty surprised I still remember it today, but not as much detail as a k2 summary.

I'm trying to negotiate a job offer with some construction contractor, and instead of being in a room we are in an indoor track facility. Dutchy is the boss, and he hands me this sheet with the offer. $70k. Sounds good to me. I am pretty excited and settle in for some work with Dutchy in some room. Eventually I'm back at the track with Ryo, who also works there, and we start getting prepped for a decathlon with a lady secretary taking notes.

The Funnies

2009-02-24T10:22:00.000-08:00

This show is definitely funny:

Pretty happy comedy central has something else for me to watch now besides southpark, scrubs reruns, and the occasional daily show/colbert. I was actually thinking the other day how when Colbert first came out ('04?) how I was annoyed by it, and couldn't take the straight 20 minutes of sarcasm, but I think I like it more than the daily show now. Either the show has let up a little or sarcasm ages like a fine wine. I don't know if that metaphor works in this case.

Also, not to turn this thing into flightblog, but the flight of the conchords from 2 weeks ago was really, really good. Probably my favorite since Bowie. I didn't think they could do more with the Australian stuff... but boy that was not the case! Am I right?? Am I right?? Heyo!

The other night while watching the Oscars Mary signed up for Netflix. When you had to rank whatever shows and dvds to figure out what they would recommended for you Mary gave some awful rankings. She gave Futurama 2 stars (pushing for only 1) which is equivalent to "I don't like it" in Netflix lingo. This was predictable, as she doesn't like cartoons and poo-poos such things, which sucks for her. But the 2 star ranking of Chappelle's Show was pretty fucking offensive, if I do say so myself. The greatest show of our time? I'm sure, but no prob just slap on a 2-star-why-isn't-biggest-loser-on-this-thing ranking.

I am sure she has given both shows very little chances (probably a holdover of dorm-bitterness from freshman year or her constant "I don't think I will let my children watch much TV"). Netflix, sensing her hate of fun, spat her back recommendations that were restricted to romantic comedies and animal/kid sports movies (air-bud, angels in the outfield 2). Her post-oscars and Slumdog Millionaire viewing euphoria was also crushed the next night when she watched the first 5 minutes of No Country for Old Men.

The superbowl dvd comes out this week! Hopefully tomorrow so we can have a viewing party this week! Jamo's house! Leave your Ray Lewis jersey in the oven!

Number Ten Returns

2009-02-17T21:16:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Down from number 20 since the original number 10 on Cal quit. Number 5 is unattainable, and now that Santonio has made number 10 MVP cool, I'll go to my fall back number.

We went undefeated at Pres Day this past weekend, but haven't played anyone super famous yet. UNT were impressive, they ran quick movement from the front of a stack offense till they could hit one of the their big guys on a huck or get a run on the break side. Greg Moy spent the tournament showing off for his parents. Joel's mom made unimaginably big meals both Saturday and Sunday night that made some suspicious. Then things got silly.

Ha! Ha Ha! Well, what a weekend.

Stanford has a stellar list of teams this year, and will be a great opportunity for us to ball out. In other news, Jamo has a one track mind, and is completely inflexible about everything.

Flight Season 2

2009-02-09T14:36:00.000-08:00

I think the first two episodes were a little slow for me, but rewatching the second episode with Steveo reminded me how much better this show seems with other people. Episodes 3 and 4 have been pretty solid...

...That being said, in the last song of this new episode they are sitting at a bar, and you can totally see a Victory tap! I think it was Prima Pils.

Joe quits smoking, day 10

2009-02-07T09:54:00.001-08:00

Uhhh....

2009-02-06T10:48:00.001-08:00

Step 1: Sign Autographs.
Step 2: Eat tiny girls.

"Watch the hold! Watch the hold!"

2009-02-05T10:51:00.000-08:00

If any of you dudes have paid close attention to the Super Bowl XL DVD... there is this one dude in so many shots that is just like "WOOOOOO" or doing some dance, or famously "Watch the hold" which was his only actual words in the dvd. I called this dude the hype guy. He didn't have a headset, I am unsure what his role was. But look at him now:

Oh yeah, that's him on the far left. And he's got a head set. You and me, hype guy, we are moving up.

A Ring for the Thing

2009-02-04T21:32:00.000-08:00

Yessir! Minds were blown. Hands were high fived. Asian girls were tackled. Wings were delicious. And bathrooms were wrecked.

Harrison's interception was by far the most unfathomable punch in the kiester that has ever been administered in history. Even though there was a second half, that shit was nutso. Yes, there was a game winning drive with a mind bending grab... but a linebacker to make an filthy interception and have a whole defense block to take it 100 yards as time expires?? Yes! And that's why the Asians' beers went everywhere, all over everyones socks.

I really have no desire to complain about endzone offense, Ariands, the running game... what does it matter. It happened. I won the super bowl.

Number ten, it's been a long road of being mistaken for kordell, being told by mom that maybe I should invest in a new jersey, and getting caught with pot. But boy oh boy, what a postseason... I think definitely he showed absolutely more improvement than any other player in the playoffs, maybe the playoff MVP. Certainly deserving of the super bowl MVP.

Not to forget Ben, and Jamo and I had said many times that there's no one else we'd rather have. How sucky would it be to have a Kerry Collins? Could any other quarterback taken us this far with this offensive line? What a baller.

And let's not forget the party food MVP. Maybe? I didn't eat it, I think I just wanted to post this pic.

Suck it Coors Light Commercial

2009-01-27T23:00:00.000-08:00

SB's for all

2009-01-27T13:20:00.000-08:00

Well well. This friday I'll be heading to Pittsburgh to watch the game with some duders and drink in the steelergasm that will hopefully be going steady from the minute I touch down to the minute I leave. Cal also took home the Santa Barbara Invite title this weekend with some convincing wins.

Author's recreation of tournament events.

We struggled for two of our games, but when we were careful about our turnovers on the d-line, we really rolled. Our o-line played well enough. I thought we had a pretty solid use of the entire team, seeing a lot of freshman play in the semis and finals. Personally, I felt like I was feeling more comfortable as the tournament went on, and maybe the team is still figuring out how I can be helpful. It was nice to feel like I was contributing more. Also, I learned it's totally possible to be the only non-asain in a car! And they like the same kinds of things I do, all the way down to sour patch kids!

FYI, Hines Ward has a hurt knee but plans to play.

In other super bowl viewing news all signs point to Dave's house where we will be showered with golden bacon infused super drink.

Super bowl prediction: Andy goes o-fer in halftime beer pong and panics that his poor play will be a reflection of how the Steelers perform in the second half.

Immediate Ravens Fallout

2009-01-20T12:03:00.001-08:00

Not to say that Steelers don't have their fair share of idiots (scan for idiot steeler fans here). But here's some immediate reactions from ravens fans at the ESPN AFC North blogs:

Josh Williams from Owings Mills writes: I'm calling for Flaccos head. He played like junk this post season. His stats this season are comparable to Bollers his 1st two seasons, and boller didnt have a derrick mason or mark clayton at the time. Joe also had a more consistent rushing game during his rookie post season run. I'm scared Flacco is going to end up like Boller down the stretch, lets get rid of him now before its too late.

Where's your uni-support now you fair weathered dicks? Alright, I feel sick as death I'm going home where I'm gonna go snuggle with my Randle El jersey and sleep.

Crushing Break Right: A Photo Essay (Pt. 2)

2009-01-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

So the next morning we hit the road. Two bros on a quest.

We rocked our way up to Ktopia, and immediately had some teary eyed reunions. One with pabst light, the other with CKG.

Well CKG maintained my attention for a short period of time, cause it was time to build a fire. The chainsaw was rocking, Joey shows up, and we toasted Les Stroud as another successful fire was started. All precautions were made to make sure our outdoor attire was correct. Because out in the wild, if you sweat, you die.

The next thing I really remember after the bacon wrapped dates was the first power hour, where the power hour machine was once again turning heads. For details, you'll have to email me about it, cause that shit is copyrighted. Much like wine bag game. More on that below.

For some, it was far too much.

For other duders, it was time to rock.

Before I continue, a side note about wine bag game. I am thrilled that something I came up with received more play time than the wii I think. This, I did not realize, was a double edged sword for myself. I lost interest pretty quickly after one game. I've thought about this, and I think that maybe I am not ready to sit and drink wine at a place with so much to do for so long. If I was in a family reunion or something, I'd totally be down for 3 games in a row.

I stopped taking photos around now, so I will throw in a few from other people that were there that I feel will accurately summarize the next day/night. I think after this point my small cold mixed with the dust and the activities and then my boogers turned to dust. No matter, I don't need good boogers to make a great fire. This time we got everyone to collect like 9,000 pounds of wood, so we were ready to rage.

Stucadia and Christo showed up, I rocked some losers in beer pong, and another power hour came and went. Night came, and I was definitely cooler than anyone else cause I had a head lamp.

Then some legendary stuff happened. I'll give you two nouns: quesidilla, buttcrack. I'm sure if you insert those into a madlib your story might be pretty accurate. Things became pretty fuzzy after that.

So that pretty much rounds up the highlights of another sweet Ktopia. I left sick, but stopping the holiday break rage was not an option. On to D.C. where it was time to get wild with an old flame: Jake the Snake. We met up with Danlee (yes?) and started drinking in a mall at an all old-people's dave n buster's. Yeah, there wasn't even the promise of beating up on little kids. Then we headed downtown, where Jake assured me things would be prime for action. Yup, sure was. Zero hookups for Jake and one close call with a latino ready to throwdown. But we did take some great pictures with their cameras! I should've facebooked them.

Next day I was pretty hungover and definitely still sick, as somehow I didn't magically get better. Went to the slowest kabob place on earth, and then met up with Jake again for disc golf. What started at first as a fun time with a swell disc golf guide (a dude randomly joined us) got annoying near the end as I everything I ever knew about disc golf was restated to me. Christ. Had a crappy meal at dave n busters and watched some football. The Cardinals were ballin, and Marmalard ended Dungy's career.

That night we headed out with some new people and went 3/3 on bars that were Irishy themed (dave n busters was actually called Baileys). Also we got in a cab with karaoke! I think I am on youtube somewhere! Search for "chinese guy cab karaoke", and I'm sure you will find me and joe and jake singing "livin on a prayer."

After a pretty lazy Sunday, I left Monday, and thus ended a totally awesome break. Minus getting sick. But that was worth it and bound to happen. Alright!

Crushing Break Right: A Photo Essay (Pt. 1)

2009-01-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

So here comes a summary of probably my last real holiday break. The photos are a mix of mine and others, as no one can match the professionalism brought by Vanessa and Andy's iTouch.

I came into town the night of the 22nd, and met up with Dave n Andy at their place. Much of the weeknights would be spent at their place, because let's face it, that is one bro-pad. And there was a lot of bacon. I think the bacon motivated all jokes, good times, and high fives during this time period. Rob and I made it to the Wu-Tang show on the 26th, which was a stellar time. Rob got super drunk and blacked out part of their set, as we got there at 8pm and they went on super late around 11:30. Did I say there was a bar there? There was a bar there, and that's why we were drunk. Some highlights were definitely seeing Ghostface really into their set, as he was kind of a background dude at their Rock the Bells show. Cappadonna came into the crowd, and everyone in the world was wearing Steelers gear. I forgot how great that aspect of Pittsburgh is. When the Steelers are rocking, the gear gets mega-rocked. This was reflected in my Christmas presents as 60% of them were Steeler related, including a steeler themed ice pack/heat pad. Anyways, seeing Wu in a club setting ruled. I paid for my ticket through Rob's drinks and cabs, and I had paid back the $60 in an hour I think.

Vanessa came in the night before the Steeler game (12/27), and I tried to make it to John and Joey's show but was commited to watching a movie with Mike Wolk. I met up with some Central dudes that night, and was able to get like 6 hours of sleep before the massive Steelers day. Now we can hit off this photo essay right.

Myself, Drew, K2, Peter, and Vanessa got there around 9:15 and the weather was a little rough, but we came prepared. I think for the first 1.5 hours it was just us till Dave and Andy showed up, and then Rob, Jay, Joey, and Jenna like 45 minutes before we left for the stadium. C. Watts showed up too, and it was truly a Steelers reunion.

Yessir, we were rockin for sure. Joey is sporting the age 12 T-Bone snowboarding gear.

The game was pretty fun, everyone was laidback and just hoping for a swift crushing of the brownies. It sort of went like that, as Ben went down hard. That sucked.

One million dollars were spent on beers, or possibly cups of liquid gold. Cause that's what they cost! Ha ha ha! Got into it a little with the dude in front of me who was convinced Leftwich and Mwelde were the future for this team's playoff run. In your face, ugly.

One day later Joe and I visited Dave and D at work, and thoroughly enjoyed my berry milkshake alcoholic drink. And the pot stickers. And the knowledgeable barkeep! After that Dave and I decided to wait till Tuesday morn to drive up to Ktopia, so we had a good bye night for Kyle at Silky's. We also sung christmas carols and lost 50 games of darts in a row. But M.I.A. came on the jukebox so really it was a victory for everyone.

Tensions were high.... TBC!!!

Survivorman Farewell, Reader Problems

2008-12-20T00:22:00.000-08:00

Watching some new Survivorman with a few Les Stroud virgins at Anand's and Joel's proved pretty good in the latest Papa New Guinea episode. Things were rough, Les couldn't find good ground, escape from the rain and flooding waters, and any food of any sort besides plants. Eventually, towards the end, some local tribesmen came and got him and told him they were having a festival in his honor as they had never seen anyone come to survive out there. Les said alright, as he usually puts it in his realistic manner ("well, I could stay out here and suffer, or enjoy a festival in my honor.") I also am pretty sure he got a new tat this season, and definitely a sponsorship from Columbia.

This is when he drops the bomb and says it's the last survivorman. Came back to my apartment and confirmed it:

"You can only do seven days surviving without food a certain number of times a year. I'm pleased with what I have done, I've been copied around the world, but 25 times I've not eaten anything for a week while sleeping on rocks. I need to move on," Stroud told Reuters in a Thursday report.

Well nuts. Just after this episode he kicked the Australian outback's ass by cooking up mad crustaceans, digging fat wormy things out of trees, and digging for water. A reminder, Bear Grylzzzs had to re-edit his Western Australian adventure when it was revealed he stayed in hotels each night as he neglected to metion in the original airings. God ol' Les makes sure you know the difference between someone you would actually want with you when in dire straits and a jackass who would jump in some ice lake and die 30 minutes later:

"It takes a lot out of me as I really do what I do for real, with no camera crew, no nights in hotels like others do, and it takes a toll on my body," Stroud told Reuters in an apparent not-so-subtle jab at Man vs. Wild, Discovery's other wilderness survival series.

Hmm... On a side note, Anand also told me about how gross one of my shares was in Google Reader this week. I had no idea he was able to see these things and was pretty confused. Anand and I are gchat buds, but I have many gchat buds that I just picked up through frequent emails. Like group members, and one or two professors. So apparently anyone in my chat list who uses reader can see these things. This is an urgent, urgent request to google. Please save reader for me before I get a boss who uses gmail and reader and ruins sharing forever. Did everyone realize this? Let me pick who I can share with for my posts... not for each individual posts, I am over the "reshare thing," I am way more concerned about mom someday seeing my shares.

Update: Nevermind, I'm an idiot. Check out "Share Settings". Thanks D.

Action Jackson

2008-12-18T13:46:00.000-08:00

All done with school, and it's pretty weird being on break when everyone has jobs now. Guess I could start playing Mario Galaxy again, I never got past flying Mario. Or I think school started... or we just started drinking more. Just gotta clean up the apartment, work out some, and watch the Steelers (sans Jamo?), play Pokemon.

Speaking of working out, swimming has got a little better. Upgraded to the 'medium' speed lane as I was too much for the 70 year old ladies, but they outlasted me in the end. Whatever, the pools closing in 5 minutes, big deal. You'll get yours, old ladies.

Got the new Common album, which is pretty different than his usual slap in the face with life lessons and focus on lyrics. Most of it is produced by Pharrell and the Neptunes, so it's already in Andy's trashcan. I think it's a pretty good listen, not sure how much lasting power it has, but for now it's good cleaning music. Check el single here. Pharrell is a robot! Rellbot?

Up top is me at Sean Ryan Invitational in November. Up the line cuts were aplenty that weekend. I think if you pulled the earth like four feet from under my foot in that photo you'd see my real jumping power!

December Post

2008-12-09T21:10:00.000-08:00

Making my way through finals week, I have a few group projects and presentation to finish up, but things are looking good. My Christmas shopping is almost done, complete with Dave's compensation for the Steelers gear. Thanks Davey!

I feel like much of my weekly emotional resources are devoted to simultaneously recovering and preparing for the next Steelers game. Shit's getting intense, it's December, and if these dudes can pull it together on offense in these last few games things are looking up. A lot of it is dependent on this weekend. Just gotta be consistent, and I am hopeful that the offense can turn things around from this past sunday. The feelings from the Pens run to the cup is running low in the sports-happy-high-five tank, but still high in get-drunk-talk-about-it tank. Either way, time to refill boys!

Ultimate wise - I think since practice is done, I'm gonna really try to take healing the knee seriously. I think it could happen eventually if I keep biking/running/lifting like normal, but probably run the risk of hurting it again or just delaying the healing. So gonna head into the pool, which will probably consist of me almost passing out after 15 minutes, gonna do arm lifting, bought a core training book today, and gonna keep up with the PT. Sad times. Gots to be done though. Hopefully this month will make the difference.

My Pals

2008-12-06T13:34:00.001-08:00