I Wanna Be A Cowboy Baby

07.23.2002

Jerry can atest to my eclectic musical tastes. Lately I've been revisting one of his lesser favorites, that being Kid Rock. I don't know why I like Kid Rock, I guess I'm his niche 33 year old white boy market? The funny part is that listening to him lately has made me miss my old Mustang convertible.

Back in '99, I went with some friend down to Panama City. Actually, we stayed just south of Panama City in Mexico Beach. The thing about Mexico Beach is that there is absolutely nothing there. It's cheaper than Panama City (which is why we were there), and only about a half hour away from Panama City.

Being bored on a Sunday, I decided to put the top down and drive around, if nothing else to find outjust how much of nothing there was in Mexico Beach. At one point, I remember driving along, the ocean not 50 yards away on one side, top down, Kid Rock blaring and me singing along. Ir was kind of ethereal; I could imagine how I must look , driving along like that. But the thing about was, I was really happy right then, just to be driving around like that.

I've known since I got the truck that would eventually get a second car, and it would be a convertible. The thing is, I'm starting to wonder how long I can wait before I have to get one. The only saving grace for me right now is that it's been in the 90's most days - too hot for me to be putting a top down, especially when you figure in our billion percent humidity. But everytime I pass a car lot I keep my eye out for convertibles. The question is will I end up getting another Mustang, or will I hold out and get a BMW 325iC so I can be snooty?

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Ode To The Lunch Menu

07.22.2002

Today I found myself in Decatur, reminiscing a little bit. I had an errand to run (yes, in Decatur) and wound up at an old hang out at lunch time.

Back when I was going to Calhoun, the main person I hung out with most of the time was Blake. I don't know where Blake is now, but back then he was a strange mix of metal head, Birkenstock sandals, and math nerd. Part of how we had became friends was that both of us had signed up for pre-algebra because we were scarred of college match classes, but both of us were well beyond pre-algebra (I think we both had over 100 average for the class. Hey, it was good for the GPA!).

By the time calculus rolled around, Blake and I would take a weekly trip on Monday to Ryan's. Monday was always popcorn shrimp day on the megabar at Ryan's, and I can clean up on some popcorn shrimp.

Today I went back to Ryan's, seeing if I could once again clean up on some popcorn shrimp. The shrimp is still there on Mondays, but my pallete has changed since those days, and it was only 7 years ago. Ok, now that I think about it, 7 years is a pretty decent amount of time for it to kick in that Ryan's shrimp isn't that good. I've gotten a taste of fresh Gulf shrimp since then, so I guess I'm ruined. No more cheap shrimp for me, which is a shame, because cheap shrimp are more affordable.

Maybe it just wasn't as good because Blake wasn't there to have lunch with me?

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Video Analysis 101

07.20.2002

Most people have seen the Mitsubishi Eclipse commercial featuring he song "Days Go By" by Dirty Vegas. (If you don't have Navigator 6.x, you can see it here). The song has gotten popular enough from the commercial that it's getting radio play and play on the video networks. I've even managed to get hooked on the video. It harkens back to my youthful heyday in the 80's, while also making me wonder "Whatever happened to Shabba Doo?" (you have to remember the dawn of breakdancing to even know where I'm coming from with that one). While surfing around and watching the video, I noticed something a little funny. There's 2 videos for the song.

The videos are the same except for cutscenes to the band. One version (which I managed to download, the main drawback being that it's 40 MB, or the ad-enhanced version is only 13 MB) has the band sitting at a table, watching the goings on of the video. The other available from the MTV website) has the band sitting at a light in.... a Mitsubishi Eclipse. It's all about product placement....

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Blocking of Invitrogen

07.19.2002

Powers that Be above me, at least as far as maintaining the webserver go, decided yesterday to block traffic from Invitrogen (also known since April 25th as "Those Bastards").

The drawback for me is that the my two biggest viewers fo the webcam, Jerry and Lori, will now be unable to view my sweet visage from work. No longer will they be able to tell just how bad my roots are showing. Am I there at my desk, waiting for the phone to ring? Have I conquered that nose-picking problem?

Oh, and they'll miss out on the Babe of the Day, too.

So, if you can read this and you're at Invitrogen, well, something screwy is going on!

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Driving Peeves

07.12.2002

Coming in this morning I was faced with the top two things that tick me off while driving.

Coming down 565, the speed limit is 70. For a change, most people were actually doing 70. Everything was fine until poeple spotted the HPD car parked on the side at the Hwy 20 exit (which is where they almost always sit - you an see them from a mile away). Immediatly, everyone starts slowing down. Pretty soon we're all going 60. So, driving pet peeve #1 - Don't step on the brakes just because you see a cop.

Getting closer to the Parkway exit, everybody started slowing down again. No cop this time, just slowing down for the exit. Now then, the speed limit on 565 drops to 65 here, and the ramp speed limit sign says 45 (even though I can safely do it at 60 in my top-heavy truck), but a half-mile before the exit traffic is slowing to 45 and 50. So what is my second driving pet peeve? Don't start slowing down 20 miles before you get there! Well, 20miles may be an exagerration, but you get the idea.

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