The Goodbad Train

Meme of a sort: Movies movies movies

2009-02-16T03:31:42Z

I surmise this list of films reflects a willingness to watch pulp, popular stuff, or things that make their basic cable debut on Comedy Central.

In any event, I've marked everything already seen (in entirety) and invite you to do the same...

(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(X) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
( ) Neverending Story
(X) Blazing Saddles
(X) Airplane
Total: 6

(X) The Princess Bride
(X) Anchorman
(X) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
( ) 50 First Dates
( ) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 9

( ) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
( ) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 9

( ) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
( ) Harry Potter 3
( ) Harry Potter 4
( ) Harry Potter 5
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
( ) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(X) The Village
(X) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 12

(X) Finding Nemo
(X) Finding Neverland
(X) Signs
( ) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
( ) Robots
Total so far: 15

( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(X) Universal Soldier
(X) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
( ) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(X) King Kong
Total so far: 19

( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(X) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(X) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber
Total so far: 21

(X) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
(X) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
(X) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 24

( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
( ) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 26

(X) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
(X) Ocean's Eleven
(X) Ocean's Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
(X) Bourne Supremecy
(X) Lone Star
(X) Bedazzled
(X) Predator I
(X) Predator II
( ) The Fog
( ) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
Total so far: 35

(X) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(X) ET
(X) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 39

( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She's All That
(X) Calendar Girls
(X) Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
( ) Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
( ) Forrest Gump
(X) Big Trouble in Little China
(X) The Terminator
(X) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 46

(X) X-Men
( ) X-2
( ) X-3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
( ) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
( ) Shrek 2
Total so far: 51

( ) Swimfan
( ) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
( ) The Notebook
(X) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(X) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 53

(X) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
( ) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
( ) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 57

( ) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
(X) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
Total so Far: 58

( ) The Jacket
(X) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
( ) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(X) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 62

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
( ) Hook
(X) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(X) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld
Total so far: 64

(X) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
(X) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
(X) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 67

(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 73

(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix Reloaded
( ) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(X) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal
Final total: 77!

I can't believe the Ewok films are options here, yet the Star Trek movies aren't. Huh-wuh?

Everything old is new again!

2009-02-11T15:21:36Z

Sometime yesterday morning, several folks started talking in a group outside my office, notably louder than the office "sotto voce." Turns out a long-erstwhile EMC lab manager returned to the fold, probably to tell us kids to get off his electronic lawn and wonder loudly who spilled his IP packets all over the floor. Time for a party!

Two shots of the funny from this week

2009-01-09T16:39:35Z

The Slumbering Lungfish (also http://badgods.com/) hit the funny bone pretty regularly for me. My favorites this week are duality:

1) SCRA--LE! (http://badgods.com/thejungle.html)

2) Logic puzzles! (http://slumbering.lungfish.com/?p=835)

The host really reminds me of a Yankified Stephen Fry in the second one.

The creeping hand of cold

2008-12-22T16:16:23Z

One weekend of chopping winds and aggressive snow plows reminds you how little control we've wrested from the world around us. Not that we're not trying hard to get those icecaps melted and drought areas expanded! Awesome policies great job.

Until that all takes effect, 16 inches of snow trapped my car and made my cats wonder what the hell's going on outside. I told them God's unhappy with the Red Sox senior management. They briefly held eye contact, which I took as agreement.

IT'S ALL GOING DARK!

2008-12-16T21:40:14Z

We creep ever closer to the shortest of days and the dawn of winter. Sleet's expected for tonight, just in time for our roof to get all leaky and weep down the bathroom walls. Doubleplus unfortunately, the handyman didn't bring a long enough ladder today, so was unable to reach the problem area. :P

The last few months saw several meaningful changes to the house itself. First, we pocketed all of the Rock Band stuff into a single piece of furniture. It does a pretty good job of hiding our need to play No Doubt and The Who at loud volumes. Second, we rearranged the basement junk into the three eternal categories:

1) Things you'll get rid of NOW
2) Things you'll get rid of SOON
3) Things that'll be ready for #1 or #2 this time next year

That opened up a chunk of basement space. We'll rotate a few more things during the winter as we redecorate the guest bedroom, in part to ditch my veteran futon. Ideally, we'll weatherproof the kitchen further to save on heating, as the previous occupants left gaps behind all of the cabinets and appliances. Something for you new homebuyers to check!

Speaking of home values, Zillow.com just mailed us an update on the estimated value. The current number matches what we paid in 2005, not counting our own improvements. That's a 2% drop from the 2007 value, a change that compares favorably to the rest of the country. Boston isn't cheap yet! Talk to us again in 12 months' time.

Playing games with people you know against people you don't know

2008-12-04T03:42:34Z

Earlier this evening, I spent an hour or so racing cars and occasionally running into other people on Grand Theft Auto IV. Their multiplayer system's pretty robust and nuanced, allowing for all sorts of team or all-against-all playing. Going up against people you know lets you banter about and talk some good-natured smack. Taking on people you DON'T know makes it a challenge to completely whack the other foo'. I expect this says something about armed conflict in general.

Dub-ya Tee Eff? It's been how long?

2008-11-24T23:40:07Z

Been finishing up my ninth class (of ten) for the Brandeis IT Mgmt MS and looking forward to the late-year holidays. Sunny just booked us a couple of tickets to Tulsa for Christmas, which will be my first trip to see her "homeland." (No offense to folks from Oklahoma, since I visited a bunch of times, but I hope she doesn't include a tour of nostalgic convenience stores.)

I will call out one COOL UPCOMING EVENT: "Koolhas Houselife" (about architect Rem Koolhas) plays for free at the Harvard Film Archive on December 9th at 7pm. They're running a bunch of cool architecture pieces across November and December. (We caught a lecture on Le Corbusier last week from a recent biographer.) Go awesome buildings!

http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/calendar/december08.html

Another of those personal memes. Because we love you, man.

2008-10-30T19:51:29Z

Comment to this post and I'll:

a) Tell you why I friended you.
b) Associate you with something - fandom, a song, a color, a photo, a board game, etc.
c) Tell you something I like about you.
d) Tell you a memory I have of you.
e) Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
f) Tell you my favorite user pic of yours.
g) In return, you could karma-post this on your own lj.

Turnaround on the X-Box repair: 15 days

2008-10-16T20:51:47Z

The UPS guy dropped off a return package yesterday from the Microsoft repair center. That means it took about 2.5 weeks to request the repair, receive the box, mail it, and get the fixed 360 back. (I'd missed a delivery attempt on Tuesday, so subtract a day should you care to.)

Inside the package was a note explaining what they fixed and a card for a free month of Microsoft Live service to ameliorate my days without the system. Since the service is primarily an MS money-maker, they don't really sacrifice anything by extending me. Many argue the annual $50 fee makes little sense because it's a marketplace anyway--you're just paying to get in the door to spend more money.

There's a final goal for all of this: get Rock Band up and running at EMC on the repaired system. I ordered a Mad Catz MIC to provide the singing controller and expect to purchase one of two things to provide the remaining band equipment.

1. a set of used Rock Band instruments from craigslist ($100 - 120)
2. Guitar Hero: On Tour, which includes drums, mic, guitar, and game ($190)

Anything for plastic rock! (I mean, the fans. Anything for them.)

Teh coffin arriveth!

2008-10-01T13:28:15Z

Time for the next step in Boy Cave's erstwhile X-Box 360. Yesterday UPS delivered the "coffin," a.k.a. the return-for-repair box provided by Microsoft. (First time that I've been so interested in receiving an empty box.) It's an interesting efficiency of materials, just a plastic sleeve with recycled foam padding pieces and a return shipping label and single piece of sealing tape.

I'll drop the box at UPS today and expect to see the whole package back in a couple of weeks. (So saith the intertubes.) Is it overkill to give the 360 a Viking funeral, though? You know, just in case?

FDIC acquires my first bank

2008-09-26T14:47:32Z

My family moved to Seattle in 1979 and I opened a savings account with something like $10 in it. As a gesture to their youngster customers, Washington Mutual gave me a plastic, cube-shaped "piggy bank." (No actual bacon involved.) A single slot on the top allowed cash to go in and the cube's "halves" came apart in a very specific way, probably to be an intriguing challenge to the young. After all, if you spent a couple of minutes just trying to get the bank open, perhaps you'd be tighter with the actual money inside.

Primarily due to its heavy involvement in the mortgage market, the FDIC just assumed control of Washington Mutual and sold its assets to JP Morgan Chase. This makes the latter second only to Bank of America (which issued my first credit card) in financial "size." There's no emotional attachment to the bank and its troubles, but it feels like a milestone for how the industry's changed in the last 30 years.

X-Box machinations

2008-09-24T13:40:35Z

This weekend, we gave our friend Boy Cave the courteously geeky sort of birthday present of replacing some defect-o-matic hardware in his possession (RROD X-Box 360) with a spicy new one. He liked the fact that we picked up the new box, though it took awhile to convince him that people actually give their friend PRESENTS on birthdays. (Take it! Seriously, take it!)

As far as the old one's concerned, Microsoft covers fixing its (endemic) problem under a special extended warranty, which means the original (vintage? broked? pseudo?) system can make a trip back to Redmond, WA for special Six Million Dollar Man reconstruction. If that actually works, and I suppose there's no guarantee, the 360 will move into my workplace at Kendall Square as an engineering entertainment device, complete with some sort of Rock Bandage. Not sure how the people downstairs from us will feel about the drum's kick pedal, so I'm thinking "after hours."

Back from the midwest, for now

2008-08-05T22:03:23Z

After catching the Police and Elvis Costello on Thursday night, Friday morning saw me on a 6:05am flight to Chicago. I spent the weekend there with a group of my sports collecting friends, all collected around the week-long annual sports collectors convention. I caught a game at Wrigley for the first time and appreciate what an excellent stadium it is. (Sure, Boston likes things cramped and stodgy, but as another freakin' old stadium, Fenway could learn several things from Wrigley's willingness to update usefully.)

The sports collecting show itself occupies a huge building and divides the whole thing into blocks and rows, with hundreds of dealers selling almost everything imaginable. You've got plenty of sports cards, since they transport easily. Trickier to set up are the guys selling large oil paintings of players, old stadium seats, or huge racks of uniforms. Most of the modern card companies use glitz and a lottery-like atmosphere to sell their products. Spin a wheel for prizes, hidden treasures in foil packs, and that kind of thing. I find myself drawn more and more to the actual history of the hobby, partly as a writer and mostly as a collector. Each year of cards includes business decisions, personalities, and other unpredictable elements that feed into the final product. Outside of the blogosphere, not many people find it interesting enough to write about, and most of those people stick to modern subjects. That leaves you with almost entirely oral histories, which makes for a long research process (and dependence on people living long enough to tell you).

Speaking of such things, I did catch up briefly with my half-brother Zach on Friday morning. My grandmother's lung cancer recurred recently, or at least they learned of it early last week. She lost half of a lung to it about 12 years ago and is in unwilling to undergo the long-term treatment this time. It's fair to say she's got less than a year left and some of that will depend on how her spirits hold up. My dad, Zach, and I made rough plans to see her in September and every visit might be the last one at this point. With much of the family still in Wisconsin, at least everyone can attend together!

Mapping one's run

2008-07-31T04:01:44Z

This month, I've taken to running the commute from Davis to Kendall Square twice a week. It's about 3.5 miles in total and takes about the same time as riding the subway, given station stops and walking time. Plus, start early enough in the morning and you don't sweat like a pig! At least, not until mile 2 or so.

I wrote before about running down Orchard St and it's foliage. More urban, but still quality, is the "second half" of Beacon St., leading into Inman Square. It passes a number of nice yards and plants, including a flower and veggie garden near a brick condo that would be cool to have at our place, if we had the space. Beacon also has a couple of restaurants we plan to try out, one focused on breakfast and the other pimped for burgers.

Morning commute, week 3

2008-07-21T16:26:15Z

Ran from home to work again this morning using a route that's stabilized at about 3.5 miles. It skips most of Mass Ave by tracking the length of Orchard Street, a much more pleasant option getting out of Davis Square. It ends at Porter, so I catch a little of the traffic shenanigans and then head past the newly paved Somerville Ave and Beacon intersection and follow the latter's long descent into Inman Square. The route includes a couple of inclines--not really hills--but is downwards over all, since it points to the river. That's a fine reason to run to work and not away from work.

Oh, I apologize on behalf of my prolific sweat glands to the people who sell me convenience store sodas near the end of the run. One worker at 7-11 clearly didn't want to acquire any of my saltiness by touching anything connected to me. It was like a mini hostage swap, where she had the bag of sodas and I had the money. Rather than rush into handing the goods over, we sort of pushed them across the counter slowly until the other person could grab them. Maybe they should issue the staff hygienic gloves during summertime.

Pepsi art

2008-07-21T15:58:37Z

Some years ago, I read the GNN article on Bob Kolody's intellectual property battle with Coca-Cola. Kolody died a couple of years ago, which sort of closes the legal issue, but the apparent rank injustice from the story comes back to me every now and then. It "popped up" again this morning from a bottle of Diet Pepsi. I changed from drinking Coke to Pepsi primarily on the strength of the Kolody article, not that Pepsi's a saint or anything. I found the article very motivating, given Coke's history with the government and, you know, thumbs-down on injustice.

The DP bottle includes a credit just below the promotional label: "Artwork: J.C. Bronx, NY." My thought was that the initials could be anyone. Is Jesus Christ back again and churning out retro-modern bottle art from a fifth-story walk-up down the street from Yankee Stadium? On the other hand, it does recognize that Pepsi can't just push a magic button and get good-looking products. Props to them (or the artist's agent) for getting the person a little visibility.

This morning's commute

2008-07-07T15:44:38Z

It feels likely that the replacement hormone level from the MGH study is lower than my natural amount. That means my body's more likely to retain fat. Not worried about getting fat, really, but even a few pounds slows one down and makes for ill-fitting clothes. As a tonic to this, I plan to start running to work Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It is true that the study overseers asked me not to "remake my body" during these four months, since they want accurate measurements of change, but running an extra 10 miles a week is hardly a major effort.

The complete route takes me from Davis Square to Kendall Square, 3 3/4 miles as Mass Ave flies. It's expected to be a hot week, so starting my run at 9am this morning wasn't a great idea. 7am will suit me much better on Wednesday. This is a run to work, so I stuffed a bunch of necessities into my backpack and saddled up. (Some of it will only make one trip, to be left at work for future days.)

1. One pair dress shoes
2. One pair black pants
3. One pair dress socks
4. One work shirt
5. One book ("A False Spring" by Pat Jordan)
6. Bag of granola for breakfast
7. Bag of microwave popcorn
8. Sandwich
9. Bag of snacks (carrots, wasabi peas)
10. Item for the post office
11. Wallet
12. Keys
13. iPod
14. Phone

As my first time running to work, I felt very self-conscious zipping down the sidewalk with a pack on. It's only 6 or 7 pounds, so doesn't really slow me down, but it's obvious you're not just running anymore. A pack means a destination. 9am is still work travel time, so I passed a lot of people waiting for buses or walking from place-to-place. Porter Square had less people than expected, at least compared to Harvard. Even when school's out, lots of people walk the fringes of the campus or move through the Cambridge Common park. That's where I passed one other runner with a pack. (If see him later in the week, we'll work out a secret salute.)

A Chinese tour group clustered next to a parked bus across from Bartley's Burgers, shooting videos and listening the guide's bursts of Mandarin. Just beyond, I passed a girl with recent hair treatments, very red lips, and dark sunglasses. She evoked Marilyn Monroe in facial composure, though wore basic hipster student clothes. (It sparked the odd thought of going to school with someone so iconic--no one quite so glamorous sat in any of my classes.)

Another couple of blocks takes you right into breakfast-hour Central Square. Lots of people, some homeless, and some just waiting on a street bench for the heat to arrive. I recognized a guy with a bunch of "stuff" bags and dark, curly hair who'd spoken at a church meeting two weeks previous. He objected to our choice of new senior minister--and was perhaps the only one to do so directly. (Everyone else with a negative comment spoke to the process as the problem, while praising the new guy's personality. The guy on the street this morning was the only one to say, in essence, that his personal connection with the departing minister wasn't echoed in the new one.) I stopped at CVS hoping to find a deal on soda, but no dice. By this time, I was very sweaty from the asphalt, heat, running, and extra weight on my back.

Main Street's intersection with Mass Ave used to be a giant ignominious ball of traffic confusion. Pedestrians faced death at any number of angles. Cambridge showed uncharacteristic practicality in remaking the area to resemble a coastal breakwater. Main Street now fishhooks into Mass Ave, almost taking a head-on approach to Sidney at the corner with the Asgard pub. The former hazardous crossing now features a concrete "park" with seating areas and decorative planters.

I felt pleasantly surprised at the square's new geography, pausing just long enough to wonder why my backpack felt a little odd. (Whoops, one of the shoes fell out and required retrieval.) Continuing down Main Street to Kendall, I passed what will be the new home of Craigie Street Bistrot. The excellent French restaurant on the sleepy side of Harvard is moving eastward later this year to get more space. (They're taking over at 853 for La Groceria, if you know the spot.)

Wait, one last gasp of distinctive Cambridge culture! The first Monday of the month means street cleaning for western Kendall Square. The morning's home stretch took me past no less than five tow trucks, all positioned in front of--though not yet attached to--subcompacts outside the housing projects on the north side of Main. The truck drivers stood casually nearby, probably waiting for a meter maid to apply tickets and give the "take 'em away" high sign. At the moment, I wanted these guys, mostly in their 40s with blasted lungs and occupational tattoos, to have any other job. With apologies to the sainted folks who run these businesses, tow trucks are the reminder that American isn't really all it could be. That the city makes car-stealing and extortion a business model reflects how much more creative they could be solving issues of clean streets and parking enforcement.

Don't like to end on a rant, so I'll say the run was worth it, especially with a shower and breakfast at the end. It'll be good to try different routes for a few weeks and see which feel easiest on the feet and lungs...

A lifetime of memes

2008-07-03T20:55:04Z

No doubt us LJ folks will eventually be checking off "Lists of memes I've participated in!"

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone - 80% sure, since it sounds like something I'd do
08. Said I love you and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby's diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne - what, and remembered it?
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse - it was actually to place, not win, but I got the dough at 14-1
30. Called in sick when you were not ill
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy - heh heh heh
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking - rare, but it's happened
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer - you mean the ones on it right now?
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job briefly
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign from uncle sam - and hung it on my bedroom door
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign governments official in that country to avoid notice
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight - plus a couple of stone more, grunt grunt
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your CDs or DVDs
70. Pretended to be a superhero - pretended?
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to "Lets Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it - does voting for Perot twice count?
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken - well, I did the leaving...
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn't have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made you dizzy
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first a prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on - velvety goodness
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an "expert" - as a Nintendo game play counselor
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug (pot counts)
109. Performed on stage or recorded music
110. Eaten shark
111. Had a one-night-stand - yeah, pretty much
112. Gone to Thailand
113. Seen Siouxsie live - ha, I wish!
114. Bought a house
115. Been in a combat zone
116. Buried one/both of your parents
117. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
118. Been on a cruise ship
119. Spoken more than one language fluently - got decent at Japanese
120. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
121. Bounced a cheque
122. Performed in Rocky Horror
123. Read - and understood - your credit report
124. Raised children
125. Recently bought and played with a favourite childhood toy
126. Followed your favourite band/singer on tour
127. Created and named your own constellation of stars
128. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
129. Found out something significant that your ancestors did - invented the most effective sort of barbed wire
130. Called or written to your Congressperson
131. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
132. ...more than once?
133. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
134. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
135. Had an abortion, or your female partner did
136. Had plastic surgery
137. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
138. Wrote articles for a publication
139. Lost over 100 pounds
140. Held someone while they were having a flashback
141. Piloted an airplane
142. Petted a stingray
143. Broken someone's heart - I expect so
144. Helped an animal give birth
145. Been fired or laid off from a job - sorta, though they immediately hired me back as a contractor
146. Won money on a T.V. game show
147. Broken a bone
148. Killed a human being
149. Gone on an African photo safari
150. Ridden a motorcycle
151. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of 100mph or faster
152. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
153. Fired a rifle, shotgun or pistol - all of the above, sucka
154. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild - I think my brother collected them
155. Ridden a horse
156. Had major surgery
157. Had sex on a moving train
158. Had a snake as a pet
159. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
160. Slept through an entire flight
161. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours - when I've been really sick
162. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
163. Visited all 7 continents
164. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
165. Eaten kangaroo meat
166. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground - what the heck are they talking about? "I can't live without you, [unpronounceable name]!"
167. Been a sperm or egg donor
168. Eaten sushi
169. Had your picture in the newspaper
170. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime - I have nothing but this kind of relationship, FWIW
171. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
172. Gotten someone fired for their actions
173. Gone back to school
174. Parasailed
175. Changed your name legally
176. Petted a cockroach
177. Eaten fried green tomatoes
178. Read The Iliad
179. Selected one "important" author whom you missed in school, and read him/ her - Asimov or L'amour, take your pick
180. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
181. ...and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
182. Taught yourself an art from scratch - like painting? I guess so.
183. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
184. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
185. Skipped all your school reunions so far
186. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
187. Been elected to public office
188. Written your own computer language
189. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
190. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
191. Built your own PC from parts
192. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
193. Had a booth at a street fair
194. Dyed your hair - made it redder, no fantabulous color change
195. Been a DJ
196. Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
197. Written your own role playing game - and playable card game, and computer game, and ...
198. Been arrested - twice for shoplifting, yeah. Getting collared for writing my own RPG would be geek++.

Shot to the knee...and you're to blame

2008-07-02T15:19:51Z

My soccering rarely ends up causing real injury. No doubt heading the ball will give me brain cancer later in life, assuming the Splenda doesn't poison my chakras first. Yesterday, however, produced a wicked charlie horse right on the leg spot where the horse is thinnest. It's not exactly a knee sprain, but it functions like one. The areas swells up, gets weak, and makes self-propulsion a mental exercise. If you see me walking down the street, don't think, "hey, nice pants." Think, "wow, he's moving upright, no dragging knuckles or anything."

Naturally, I blame European professional soccer. I spent a chunk of the last few weeks watching the world's best (outside of South America) hurl themselves around a Nerf-like pitch and bounce off each other with grace. (They do fall down and make a meal of it occasionally...but wait! he's back up and as good as new! Those guys heal so fast!) After all that, I figured DAMN, I CAN DO THAT TOO! At yesterday's game, I decided not to hold off on contact. I'm big and strong, right? I can take it! The first time set me up for the fall, as I shouldered a guy expertly to the ground. (GRAHHH! HULK SMASH!) The second time...whackity to the leg. I hopped around a bit and got back into the game, but this morning is a day for Advil. Darn you Europeans and whatever super-stuff you're made of!

Gaming your system

2008-06-17T20:49:45Z

I checked in at Mass General last Wednesday for a checkup, two months into being a lab rat for their endocrine unit. They're studying testosterone levels in men and at what point significant things change. To wit:

- Bone density
- Fat / muscle retention
- Sex drive

The study uses three medications, a slow-dissolve abdominal injection that lasts 30 days and inhibits testosterone production. (Just what every guy wants!) The second one is a daily pill that prevents your body from converting estrogen to testosterone, which it'll normally do when the latter hits really low levels. The third medicine is a post-shower lotion that provides a replacement amount of male hormone and represents the essential part of the study. You'll get one of five different amounts, from placebo to 1.5 times "normal." A monthly check-in tracks changes in height, weight, mental outlook, and sex drive.

MGH's only one subway stop away from work, so that's no obstacle. The real draw for me will be the screenings, which included a full-body CT scan and blood work. Any hormone-based changes will recede after the study ends, so while I briefly pictured myself with 50% more bicep, it really doesn't work that way. (The doctors requested that I "avoid substantially changing my body composition," which I assume means "don't join a power-lifting team, get massive pecs, and screw up our muscle data.")

Keeping the daily pill-plus-lotion routine going is no problem, so the only hiccup is second-guessing what might be happening to your body. ("Am I going to lose my hair?" "Am I getting child-bearing hips?" "Why the sudden fascination with classic Cher tunes?') They say it's possible to get menopause-style hot flashes and ask that you record any that happen. ("Record that it happened?" More like "sweat all over and eat a bunch of ice cream.") Nothing like that so far, so I trust my stuff isn't the placebo version.

The magnificent outcome to all this should be better medicines for men suffering from various hormone deficiencies, including age-related decline. No doubt there are plenty of men interested in treating fragile bones, low libido, and weight-related health issues! Who knows, perhaps I'm helping the "future me" as much as anyone.

Our man on the ground in Venezuela

2008-06-05T17:13:34Z

Baseball, often considered America's pastime, does booming business in plenty of other countries. Venezuela, for example, organized games as early as 1895. See this interesting history site for details.

By the 1950s, the enthusiasm (some would say 'wanton craziness') led to a desire for baseball cards. Some home-brew Venezuelan cards exist from this time frame, though prove elusive to collectors. The makers likely suffered from the wide variety of problems businesses outside the first world have, such as low-grade materials and distribution challenges.

Enter the US-based Topps company, whose own 1950s baseball sets pretty much set the standard for all cards to follow , even to the present day. Starting with 1959, Topps replicated their 'normal' sets for this emerging South American market. Printed locally with cheaper card stock than their US set, the first set is almost indistinguishable from cards available in the American market. (Technically, they have no 'gloss,' a printer's finish that protects the paper and looks shiny when held up to the light.)

Topps followed the inaugural 1959 effort with sets in 1960 and 1962, possibly skipping a year to let the existing stock sell out (or even to wait out some political or economic turmoil). The card pictured, a relatively intact rendition of Hall-of-Famer Sandy Koufax, is from 1962 and features the now-classic wood paneling and post-war optimism. He looks a bit wistful in this picture, perhaps lamenting years wasted on the bench in Brooklyn, where his top-notch stuff could've helped win more than their single World Series in 1955.

This card, a happy addition to my collection, isn't actually here yet, though the Venezuelan eBay seller tagged it as 'shipped' a few days ago. It apparently takes 3-to-4 weeks to reach the US, probably via mail boat. The mere fact that they can sell local wares on eBay at all says great things about the state of international markets, even if a baseball card seems a banal way to set that milestone.

The Rock Band stage experience

2008-05-30T18:56:57Z

You can thank Gorto or the FSM or whoever that I won't continually post Rock Band stuff. Put away your crude altars today, though, and check out the Rock Band stage experience.

This reminded me of a flaw in the Rock Band night we attend at Orleans in Davis Square. By using a rear-projection screen on the wall, the four players spend the whole song looking away from the 20 or 30 other folks. Everyone just looks at the big screen, with no real chance to perform. It would be top-notch if they turned everyone around and set up a second set of TVs so the audience could focus on the players. Worth looking into, this is, says Yoda.

Pictures from Sunday's 5-mile run

2008-05-30T18:04:49Z

The pro picture-takers at the event got a pretty good shot of me crossing the finish line.

I can probably caption it as "BATHROOM PLZ KTHXBAI"

No longer just a kitteh?

2008-05-29T23:26:23Z

The snout on kitteh the younger, aka Maladroite, filled out in a more pointy fashion lately, or perhaps her jaws broadened. In any event, she's not the tiny, young kitten we used to have! Another month or two and it'll be two adult lady cats in the house. One will just be more likely to walk on your face.

More tales of weekend exercise

2008-05-27T18:30:01Z

With three days of good weather, Memorial Day gave itself over to lots of outdoor time. On Sunday morning, we celebrated a friend's birthday by running the 5-mile version of Boston's Run to Remember with her. It starts (and finishes) at the harbor, right in front of the World Trade Center. The course winds through the financial district, around Government Center, and past the garden side of Boston Common. We enjoyed the morning sunshine throughout and ran better than 9-minute mile pace without difficulty. Search the results for my finish time, safely in the top half of my 30 - 39 age group. (The site promises race photos in the near future.)

In the grand tradition of runners everywhere, we spent the rest of the afternoon eating and enjoying BBQ at a friend's in Bedford. NOM NOM NOM.