The Myth: December 2005

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Thursday, December 29

Finally Home

After the bumpiest flight in my recent memory (the pilot asked the flight attendants to sit down three times), I landed safely in Oakland around 10:30 tonight. Susan got in around 11:00, and we just arrived home safely.

I can't believe all the logistics worked out, but sure am glad they did since we didn't have much of a contingency plan. I can hardly wait to fly back next week for my interview...

posted by Brad at 12/29/2005 03:36:00 AM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

The picuture of the three young girls singing happy birthday to Jesus looks like a snapshot out of the Arian youth catalog from the 1940's. A bit on the scary side if you ask me.

By Anonymous, at 12/30/2005 7:21 PM

Monday, December 26

Homemade Gifts

Brie and Susan are familiar with the booty-ful irises I painted on a pitcher gifted to my mom this morning, but Michael had to upstage me by presenting her with a 30x40 painting he had done to reproduce Le Mont Sainte-Victoire vu de la carriere Bibemus by Paul Cezanne.

It's actually pretty sweet. He's got a gift with that artsy eye of his you know, and Nick just made him a bit more dangerous with a Flickr Pro account. Even though he hasn't posted anything in 145 days, you should probably check out his photos to see what magic he works with that fancy new camera.

(I'm really hoping all this public pressure will really motivate the kid to share his creativity with the world.)

posted by Brad at 12/26/2005 02:04:00 AM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

take a picture of what michael painted and post it on your blog -thanks

By Anonymous, at 12/26/2005 11:36 PM

Sunday, December 25

Merry Christmas

David wonders how I find time to write this thing - staying up until 1 AM helps. We are listening to a robotic-sounding translated version of the Pope's Christmas Mass broadcast live from the Vatican, but 8:30 AM mass will still be waiting for us tomorrow (rather, later this) morning.

I keep having to drink Santa's warm milk and pour him a fresh glass, but he doesn't seem to be showing up. I think I'm going to give up and head to bed - perhaps I can continue last night's dream of being the lone male contestant on America's Next Top Model?

posted by Brad at 12/25/2005 12:31:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Friday, December 23

Susan Is Airborne

Tonight's trip to SFO has been brought to you by overpriced self-heating lattes from Wolfgang Puck and Sugar-Free Full Throttle energy drink.

posted by Brad at 12/23/2005 02:50:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Thursday, December 22

Hooray for TiVo

Ever since we got TiVo, I've been watching a LOT of South Park. It's real funny. Ditto for Susan and Oprah, except I don't find Oprah to be that hilarious. But the amount of time we are spending in front of the TV has definitely gone down, as has the amount of random crap (and commercials) we watch.

If only I were as motivated to pack my suitcase as I am to see how Kenny dies...

posted by Brad at 12/22/2005 02:26:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Wednesday, December 21

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information

Exactly 8 months ago, I started using Google Personalized Search to keep track of all the random things I search for. It has come in handy on more than one occassion when trying to recall something I had previously searched for, and yesterday they announced that Trends have been added to the list of features.

It was quite interesting to look at my Top 10 searches - "stockton library" topped the list, and 5 of the next 6 included a zip code. This must mean that Google Local is my favorite.

It would appear that I Google more in months when it is neither my nor Jesus' birthday, and that it's hard to Google while at weddings...

I always start the week so ambitious and full of hope...

I guess I don't Google much while I am sleeping, eating, or working out...

This was the most interesting "trend" of all - people with searches similar to mine also searched for...

Chanukah? WTF^^

posted by Brad at 12/21/2005 07:20:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Grade Disclosure @ Harvard

I wonder what Will thinks of this new policy...

posted by Brad at 12/21/2005 11:30:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Tuesday, December 20

Wine Industry ConsolidaSHON

This chart is interesting to me for several reasons. The name is clever first of all, and it surprised me that 60% of California wines sold in 2004 cost less than $7/bottle. That generalization was based on observing that 20% + 20% = 40% of wines sold cost $7 or more, but the math didn't add up...

After further review, percentages in the Units column add up to 108% - which seems a little high to me. Even if all 5 numbers had been rounded up, the total should not have exceeded 105 - or am I dumb? At any rate, the article (from recently re-freebied) CFO.com is worth a read if globalization/the wine industry are of any interest to you.

A financial take on Mondovino, if you will...

posted by Brad at 12/20/2005 01:00:00 PM | permalink | 4 comments

4 Comments:

There appears to be an overlap in the jug wine/extreme value price ranges. Let's go with that..otherwise this will bother me forever.

By Alicia, at 12/20/2005 3:13 PM

I take that back. Even if all jug wines are extreme value wines, the number is still high. I give up.

By Alicia, at 12/20/2005 3:15 PM

As a self-proclaimed "numbers geek", this truly is disturbing.

By Anonymous, at 12/21/2005 3:15 PM

Have you heard about this new wine??
http://www.celebritycellars.com/madonna.php

By Unknown, at 12/22/2005 7:38 AM

Monday, December 19

Hey Susan

"Hugging for 20 seconds has been shown to reduce blood pressure."

Let's try it.

posted by Brad at 12/19/2005 05:37:00 PM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

I really think this blog post should be titled "hey busta" or "hey jason" or even "hey buddy"
Sincerely,
Feeling left out in La Crosse

By Anonymous, at 12/19/2005 9:03 PM

Saturday, December 17

Time for a New Audiobook

I finished AssVac earlier this week, and enjoyed listening to Sarah Vowell so much that I've added The Partly Cloudy Patriot to my list of holds at the library...

"No one in recent memory has been as insightful on [among other things] the direct pleasures and perils of voting, the misuse of Rosa Parks as a metaphor, the appeal of Canadians and the relative merits of presidential libraries."

Perhaps I would enjoy history more if someone like Sarah had been my teacher.

posted by Brad at 12/17/2005 07:33:00 PM | permalink | 2 comments

2 Comments:

I'll say it again - great choice. Love, love, love Sarah Vowell. Although I must object to the Nicholas Sparks book you've recently purchased.

By Alicia, at 12/18/2005 10:01 AM

Hijacking your post to get some info. Apparently your girlfriend's sister doesn't even have your guys' mailing address. I want to mail a little something out to Susan. Can you email me the address? Thanks!

firstname.lastname@comcast.net

and that's my whole first name, not the shortened version.

By Unknown, at 12/19/2005 8:26 AM

Friday, December 16

Weird Yahoo Hack?

Why is there a jacked-up red stretch Hummer-looking icon above the iTunes column on the Yahoo! Music Unlimited page right now?

posted by Brad at 12/16/2005 05:21:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Interviews in the Cold

For the second year in a row, it looks like I will be heading to Minneapolis in the first week of January. This time, it will be to interview for a job in Consumer Insights - whoopee!

posted by Brad at 12/16/2005 12:52:00 PM | permalink | 5 comments

5 Comments:

This would have been a great place to inform us of what what Consumer Insights is, and what the job would ential.

Try harder next time,
Love,
Michael

:-D

By MICHAEL, at 12/16/2005 1:38 PM

Will I be getting another roommate for the first week of January then?

If so, I will have guest bed this time around!

Vogts

By Anonymous, at 12/16/2005 3:37 PM

As Christmas approaches, it's important to remember God's other great gift to us...Google
http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/careers/marketing_research.aspx
Sounds a lot less geeky than I.T. I don't think you qualify. When is Susan moving back? I heard she actually wants to pay the outrageous rent we will be charging!

By Anonymous, at 12/16/2005 4:08 PM

Apparently you are I.S. not I.T. I didn't know there was a diff but I guess I.T. is the lady in our office that installs programs whereas I.S. is you in Cali that writes programs? Either way it's sweet you'll be back in town.

By Anonymous, at 12/16/2005 4:16 PM

Guess who will also be in Mpls the weekend you are? Milo. FYI.

By Laura, at 12/18/2005 5:47 PM

Thursday, December 15

Cherry Hershey Kisses

I really appreciate ~~my mom~~ Saint Nick sending me candy last week, but the cherry-filled Hershey Kisses taste like cough syrup to me - ick.

posted by Brad at 12/15/2005 01:30:00 PM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

Be careful, Dan!! You know what happened when you mentioned that you liked chocolate covered cherries!!!!!! :)

By Unknown, at 12/16/2005 9:57 AM

TiVo + iPod

I keep telling myself that I don't need one of those fancy new video iPods, and that my 2G iTank is good enough. But we got ourselves TiVo for Christmas, and I recently learned that you can transfer recorded shows to the aforementioned iPod and take them with you. Which means that I could, like, watch the Daily Show on my way to work each morning!

This is perfect timing, since the "dense fog advisories" we've been having mean I can't look at the wilting grapevines on my way to work anyways...

posted by Brad at 12/15/2005 11:05:00 AM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

Nothing goes together like dense fog, watching t.v., and driving a car. Might want to hold off on that idea.

By Anonymous, at 12/15/2005 10:29 PM

Wednesday, December 14

Mazda > 50,000 Miles :(

I think I was bamboozled earlier this evening by the kind folks at Quality Tune-Up Auto Care Center. After plugging my personal and vehicular details into their fancy new touch-screen computer, they were able to tell me what model oil cartridge the Mazda required and that yes they do have it in stock. I come back 15 minutes later to be informed that oh by the way my car's warranty requires W-20 oil so they went ahead and put that in (at an additional cost, of course). Interesting how the fancy computer forgot to mention that...

posted by Brad at 12/14/2005 01:13:00 AM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

Y'know now that you're off your warranty (and you don't have 6" of fresh snow outside) you too can experience the manly rush that is "changing your own oil." Seriously... I recommend it. Plus it will lead to the overconfidence necessary to replace or repair other parts of your car when the time comes. Examples include exhaust, suspension, clutch, tie-rod, control arm, and then your exhaust again.

By Nick, at 12/14/2005 2:04 AM

Tuesday, December 13

Winter is Coming

In case you were wondering, it is now officially too cold in NorCal to walk your dog at night with shorts on. Whoda thunk fresh dog poop in a grocery bag would work so well as a makeshift hand warmer? I had to type this post before running to the gym - just to regain circulation in my fingers. And we're off...

posted by Brad at 12/13/2005 08:49:00 PM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

Baby poop doesn't bother me but the thought of dog poop is your hang (regardless of plastic baggy) is nasty. Ick.

MN is supposed to be getting the biggest snowfall so far - 6-10 inches. F California.

By Laura, at 12/14/2005 12:12 AM

New Sheets

I never thought I would say this, but I'm a little angry at Target right now. Ever since we dropped $25 on a set of 275 thread count egyptian cotton sheets, it has been nearly impossible to get out of bed!

posted by Brad at 12/13/2005 10:40:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Saturday, December 10

Lookalike

I was going to write a post about local trombone virtuoso Julian Priester, whom I discovered after a visit to Bud's Jazz Records in Seattle's Pioneer Square last weekend. But I decided to check my aggregator for any new posts, and Alicia's inspired me.

Remember how I was going to that Edward Tufte class on Wednesday? Well it was awesome, but I couldn't help sit there and think to myself that this guy looks a heckuva lot like Billy Bob Thornton (on the right)...

posted by Brad at 12/10/2005 05:38:00 PM | permalink | 2 comments

2 Comments:

I think he looks a lot more like Bill Murray, actually. The pictures were the first part of the post I looked at and I expected some sort of Billy Bob/Bill Murray movie news.

I'm sad, but I'll try to get over it.

Liz

By Elizabeth, at 12/10/2005 10:19 PM

I am gonna have to agree with liz and go with Billy Murray on this one.
Jason

By Anonymous, at 12/12/2005 1:10 PM

Friday, December 9

Gmail Don't Like Gspace

I was going to tell you how cool the Gspace Firefox extension was, until it locked me out of Gmail...

posted by Brad at 12/09/2005 03:45:00 PM | permalink | 3 comments

3 Comments:

Either your bored, unproductive at work or already miss Susan because that was a lot of blogging for a Friday! Or, it's because you have zero gmail. Ha Ha.

Anyways, off to John and Katie's Christmas party tonight. No, not holiday party, CHRISTMAS. Wish you could be here to join in the festivities.

Vogtman

By Anonymous, at 12/09/2005 3:53 PM

Sorry, not your, but you're. My easy edit button goes broke when Friday afternoon rolls around.

Vogts

By Anonymous, at 12/09/2005 3:56 PM

you got rocked.

By hexod.us, at 12/09/2005 6:35 PM

Post #600, the Catch-All

Monday 12/5 - Happy Birthday, Mom!
Thursday 12/8 - Happy Birthday, Dan!
Friday 12/9 - Happy Retirement, Jan!
Saturday 12/10 - Happy Birthday, Tobkin! (even though I don't think you even know I have a blog...)

posted by Brad at 12/09/2005 12:33:00 PM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

This is Nick---I know you have a blog, Thanks for the B-day wishes.
Sincerely,
The Guy

By Anonymous, at 12/12/2005 4:21 PM

Assassination Vacation

I listened to part of the James Garfield chapter on the way back from the airport last night - Jon Stewart is hilarious in his recitations of our 20th president's notable quotables. If anyone is interested, I could probably share an mp3 or two - although they might be less entertaining out of context with the rest of the book.

Susan made it back to Minnesota safely, although the same can't be said for the Southwest plane that skidded off the runway at Chicago Midway last night. That makes me feel much better about the fact that I'm flying into the same airport with the same airline in 2 weeks - I hope it's not snowing then...

posted by Brad at 12/09/2005 10:52:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Thursday, December 8

~~amabuddy~~ Ringfo is Fixed

For those of you paying close attention, my amabuddy list has not been updated since late October. As it turns out, my phone number had somehow morphed into 559-261-9767 (which is from Fresno). Todd over at ringfo has been supremely helpful and responsive, but we can't figure out why this is occurring so we're just gonna go with it.

If you've been following the list, you may recall that I added Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation quite some time ago. I'm excited to say that I got the audio book from the lie-berry and have listened to 3 of 6 discs thus far. It's really good - Sarah is funny and we have moved on from the Lincoln assassination to Garfield (whom I know absolutely nothing about).

Gotta take Susan to the airport now, but there should be plenty of time for more Seattle stories and generally mundane updates from my life this weekend...

posted by Brad at 12/08/2005 09:34:00 PM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

Sarah Vowell is one of my favorites - nice pick!

By Alicia, at 12/09/2005 10:04 AM

Tuesday, December 6

Seattle Cool Thing #1

One of the neat things we did in Seattle was visit the Lisa Harris Gallery near Pike Place Market, on a recommendation from aforementioned Frommer's Seattle 2005. They were featuring the recent work of Kent Lovelace, which was primarily oil on copper...

Painting on metal with oil...is a technique dating from the 15th C. Renaissance in Europe, but is uncommon in contemporary painting. Lovelace, who was familiar with copper plates from his many years as a master printmaker, has used them as “canvases” for the past seven years...combines the reflective quality of the copper with the vehicle of oil to create atmospheric paintings with a strong physical presence.

Dordogne was one of my favorites - too bad it was sold or I would have totally dropped $2100 for it.

posted by Brad at 12/06/2005 03:54:00 PM | permalink | 2 comments

2 Comments:

Dordogne is the region in France we visited last spring. It is home to the caves of Lascaux and the Dordogne river. Funny you should like that painting, which by the way is fantastic! Mom

By Anonymous, at 12/07/2005 6:35 AM

Hey, when did you change it from the Myth of the First Mover's Advantage? I miss it a whole lot.

Vogts

By Anonymous, at 12/07/2005 8:56 AM

SoCo Ice Cream

My grandpa loves his Southern Comfort, and my grandma loves her ice cream. Now, they can share a bowl of Southern Comfort Egg Nog Flavored Ice Cream!

I'm going to hold out for Finlandia Vodka-inspired desserts...

posted by Brad at 12/06/2005 11:32:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Monday, December 5

Wine in the Media

Why do newspapers have magazines? I'm flipping though the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, but why not just publish these stories in the regular paper - I wonder if you can subscribe to the magazine only...

According to the article I'm reading, the Cab/Shiraz Wine Cube I bought at Target is packaged to appeal to women. I'd better drink up - wouldn't want to appear girly to all the manly men visiting our home.

The Chronicle just came out with their Top 100 Wines of 2005, only one Lodi native on the list makes me sad:

2002 Cosentino The Temp Lodi Tempranillo ($18)
This take on Spain's most famous red grape is packed with ripe black cherry and blackberry flavors and hints of chocolate and spice. The tannins are smooth, the acidity brisk.

Never heard of Cosentino before, I wonder if I can actually get it in Lodi (it's a Napa winery).

posted by Brad at 12/05/2005 09:08:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Sunday, December 4

9 More Photos Flickr'd

I love the abundance of free WiFi networks in Seattle! It has made photoblogging this trip super easy - no doubt everyone is sitting around all weekend waiting for more photos, so here you go.

Packers lost again, at least they aren't the absolute worst in the NFL?

posted by Brad at 12/04/2005 04:39:00 PM | permalink | 3 comments

3 Comments:

What the ____? Why aren't you drinking coffee in the picture of susan and you. I am gonna need a little better event from you.
And since it is current 3 degrees of zero in WI I would appreciate you not discussing how the weather was cold in Seattle.
Sincerely,
One angry blog comment poster

By Anonymous, at 12/05/2005 4:25 PM

Hokay, so. Why don't you post an entry that maybe explains what you're doing in Seattle. Like, what you are seeing and stuff. E'rybody knows they have coffee in Seattle and e'rybody knows you drank coffee in Seattle. What the viewers don't know however is what you found cool, exciting, or interesting. Did you make it up to Capital Hill? How about UW campus area? Heritage Square? See, a little insight on your itinerary would have prevented me from having to ask. It's like you want us to actually talk to you in person or something, geez!

By Anonymous, at 12/06/2005 8:56 AM

Not Heritage Square...Pioneer Square. Whoops.

By Anonymous, at 12/06/2005 9:00 AM

Saturday, December 3

WiFi on the Water

Of all the wireless networks in Seattle, whoda thunk we would find a completely free one while on the ferry across Puget Sound? I posted a bunch more pictures from the day, but we're pulling into dock so I have to make this quick.

We're a bit "le tired" after walking all over downtown, but the weather has been surprisingly non-rainy (although still pretty chilly). Looking forward to a relaxing evening (and probably some more coffee), hope you're enjoying your weekend!

posted by Brad at 12/03/2005 07:06:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Friday, December 2

I'm Real Tired...

...no coffee since Wednesday morning. I'm saving myself for this weekend in Seattle, where my goal is to try 10 different local cups of coffee in 48 hours. Judging from the 40° high and rain/snow showers in the forecast, I'm gonna need it.

At risk of appearing to be obsessed with concert posters lately, does anyone want to order a Dave Matthews Band poster? They are all 30% off through Sunday, and I get an extra discount for being a fan club member. Shipping one poster is $6.50, but only $2 more for each additional - let me know if you're interested and perhaps I can place a combined order.

posted by Brad at 12/02/2005 02:48:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

Thursday, December 1

Sluggish Post-Turkey Shopping

Need some incentive to procrastinate on your holiday shopping? Retailers will be begging for your business if sales continue at last weekend's sluggish rate... This was the first year in several that I didn't get up at the crack 'o dawn on Black Friday, so it's probably my fault that they noticed a dip in sales.

You're Welcome.

posted by Brad at 12/01/2005 10:40:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

0 Comments:

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