Touch Me

I got my income return and paid off my credit card and my car insurance.  I also bought a new a/v receiver, which is awesome ’cause my old one made weird noises and you had to slap it to make both speakers work.  And, since I wasn’t under contract with Sprint anymore, Emily helped me get a new phone from Cincinnati Bell.  It’s a HTC Touch Dual.  It is cheaper a month for me to have this phone with unlimited texts and unlimited data than the old one.  Plus, the phone was free.  It’s a no brainer.  Emily was able to get out of her contract for the iPhone, which was charging her the same amount per month that we’re paying now, together.  She got the Blackberry Curve.

Since my new phone plan includes data, I signed up for Qik.  It’s a service that streams live videos from my phone to the web.  Expect me to record things like parties, deep discussions, or live entertainment.  I will send a tweet right before I go live.  Stay tuned.

I haven’t had my heat on for the last 3 weeks.  If we’ve gotten cold, we’ve used a space heater.  I’m hoping that using the heater, as well as changing to compact fluorescent bulbs  in my lights, will help with my usually giant winter electric bill.

I can’t wait to move out of this apartment.  Emily and I bought a huge bookshelf that, somehow, fits perfectly on a wall in my place.  It’s 6′ x 6′ with cubbyholes.  It’s basically this, times 6.25.  It’s sweet.  We have all of our books in it, and other cool things.  It’s very entertaining to look at.

I have tomorrow and the next day off, and that’s great.

Emily and I are headed up to Chicago on April 11th to see Loyal Divide play a huge show at Congress Theater.  I can’t wait to get back up there.  Hopefully the weather’s good.

Hepcats, at it Again

The fishing trip that I alluded to in a previous post was actually a stop on The Mighty Hepcat Tour.  The Hepcats are a group of grey men and their sons that invade coastal towns, in the summer time, in search of fish.

if you lose your sunglasses while on tour, there are repercussions

Well, it seems that even in the middle of winter, Hepcats are still looking for fish.  I came across the website Striper Time, and was excited to see that some Hepcats had made the front page.

yeah it's pointed the wrong way, but he's still on probation

I was a probationary Hepcat on that trip to the Keys.  All that really means it that you have to carry more stuff, which wasn’t so bad.  I won’t be on probation the next time there’s a trip because I caught a monster Tarpon that weighed 110 pounds, that I had to fight for 2 hours.   It was the hardest work I have ever done.  No lie.

both my forearms and knees were on fire

man that thing was pissed

I hoping to join the tour again.  The graybeards aren’t too old yet, so there will probably be a trip soon.  I’m sure I’ll keep you posted.

dos beardos en key west

Adding New Post

Whoa these titles are getting lame.  I tried to add a post earlier which had several videos embeded.  They told the story of the recent Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) and Jim Cramer (Mad Money) verbal feud.  I must be doing something wrong because I couldn’t do it.  So here are the links to the videos to watch, in order.  Oh, and they are unedited, fyi:

CNBC Gives Financial Advice
In Cramer We Trust
Jim Cramer Battle
Basic Cable Personality Clash Skirmish ‘09
Jim Cramer Interview Pt. 1
Jim Cramer Interview Pt. 2
Jim Cramer Interview Pt. 3

It’s sad that The Daily Show, a show on a network called Comedy Central, is a more credible news source than most (if not all) of what’s on the major networks.  It’s probably because Comedy Central does not have an agenda to push.  Which means that the others do.  Which is not the way the News works!

I walked to work today.  About halfway there I realized I should have not walked.  But I was breathing hard, so I think it was good for me, overall.

And we’re done here.

What’s New

One of my links over there –> is to Ear it Now, which is a music blog run by the brother of one of my good buddies from college.  I have to say that it is probably the best music blog I’ve been to.  The author (Michael) doesn’t write much about the albums he posts, but does give a sample track.  I might be biased because I know him, but I trust his taste in music.  I don’t like everything that makes it to the site, but occasionally some good stuff is posted.  And it’s stuff that I’ve never heard about.  Honestly, I am really wondering where he finds all those bands.  So, check that out.

With the help of Ear it Now, I’ve found some new music that is fun to listen to:  Air France, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Birdy Nam Nam, Callmekat, Chester French, Dusty, Howling Bells, Nitin Sawhney, and Tuomo.  I haven’t had much of a chance to give all of these artists a proper listen, but I’m working on it.

Emily and I saw Watchmen with my parents and brother.  I thought it was awesome, and really want to read the graphic novel now.  I love Rorschach.  ”None of you understand.  I’m not locked up in here with you.  YOU’RE locked up in here with ME.”

I’m getting closer to my home

Holy guacamole the weather is nice right now.  I walked to work today because I was a little early, and the thought of getting into my jeep disgusted me.  Well, I’m also kind of low on gas, and the inside might need a cleaning; but, I really did have the urge to be outside.  I think the weather is supposed to get a little cold again, which is disheartening.  But, at least we had a little taste of Spring.

I’m trying to decide on the best page header to use for this blog.  I have a couple options over there –> on my Flickr feed.  I think I’ve made up my mind though.  The beach is behind Hale Halawai, which is a community center on Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

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That rock wall on the left side of the banner is where my brother and I spent one New Year’s Eve, watching fireworks over the bay.  We hang out there almost every night we’re in town.  That whole coast is my most favorite place in the world.

The other photo is one I took at the sculpture park in Hamilton.  I like that photo a lot, but like I said, I think I’ve made up my mind.  Anyone have any opinions?

As I was having this flash-back of me and my brother in Hawaii I remembered our trip to the Keys that we took with our dad and his friends.  The day we checked out of our hotel in Islamorada my dad and his friend had chartered a fishing boat (the same one we took the day before, when I caught a monster), so my brother and I were left to check out and hang until they got back.  We had both drank the night before so we were happy to find some shade on the beach beneath a palm, and rest with a bottle of water.

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I do believe that, at that moment, I was the most relaxed I’ve ever been.  The wind blew in subtle gusts across the empty beach, letting just the right amount of sun through the palm, and the resort speakers played softly some classic rock.   I’m Your Captain by Grand Funk Railroad is the song I remember.  I know it doesn’t sound like the perfect moment in time, hungover in the sun listening to resort radio, but we were on a fishing trip with our dad and his classic buddies, and all stimuli I was experiencing just fit.  I remember drifting in and out of sleep, listening to this song I had heard at least 30 times in my life thinking, “this song is pretty good.”  I was basically hearing it for the first time.  I think I would give almost anything to be back there, in that place.  It would be nice to be there with my brother again, but especially with Emily.  I really need to get her to a beach.

It sucks I’m inside right now.  I think I’ll fix that.  Laters.