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Tuesday, January 31

Richfield Liquor Stores

I was innocently browsing the City of Richfield web site tonight when I discovered "Liquor Stores" listed under Fire & Police as a government department?!? As it turns out, Richfield is one of 21 metro area cities that run municipal liquor stores as a local fund raiser.

Revenues in 2003 topped $9 million - divided by 34,502 residents comes out to an impressive $261/person. Of course this doesn't hold a candle to the booze hounds in Lexington, who dropped $1077 apiece at the liquor store coupla years back.

I had to calculate these numbers, so they're probably wrong - if so I blame PdfGrabber.

PS - was I dumb for not knowing the definition of off-sale liquors?

posted by Brad at 1/31/2006 11:10:00 PM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

  • Hells ya! A majority of the revenue then goes directly into the parks budget, providing citizens with schweet places like Wood Lake Park and Preserve and Veterans Park (complete with mini golf and a small water park for the kiddies, and also where the farmers market is in the summer.) Although, I think if you got drunk and passed out on a park bench you'd still get in trouble even though you technically helped fund said park bench. See you soon fellow Richfield-ian.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2/01/2006 7:50 AM 

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Me Drinking Coffee, Ad Nauseum

Busta & John have both admitted that they can't get enough pictures of me drinking coffee, so this one's for them. Plus, it gives me an excuse to show off the pathetic chin beard I've been growing for about a week and a half. Plus, Nick (aka Nicholas) got me a whole pound of delicious Blue Batak Sumatra Peaberry [PDF] from Caribou. Plus, I figured I would use up some of my monthly Flickr allowance (to no avail, apparently February starts before 7 PM on 1/31). Plus, I'm lonely.

posted by Brad at 1/31/2006 09:17:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Non-Buyer's Remorse

Earlier today, Dmitry told me about steepandcheap.com, an outdoorsy woot knockoff - as if I need another reason to stay up late. I almost bought the Suunto G3 Sport Watch tonight, but stopped when I pictured myself fiddling with a watch while everyone else used those stubby little pencils.

Seriously though, $48.75? I can't find it anywhere else for less than $200, they seem to have some pretty good deals at SAC...

posted by Brad at 1/31/2006 01:22:00 AM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

  • Although i never were a watch and am what some would consider thirfty--i dont think that is a bad price for the watch. Although i probably will make fun of you if you get the watch....

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/31/2006 8:29 PM 

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Monday, January 30

Burn Baby Burn

I caught the end of Food Network's "Unwrapped" tonight, hosted by Marc "Double Dare" Summers. They were doing a segment on matches, including a tour of the Diamond match factory up the road in Cloquet, MN.

Marc said that over 500 billion matches are used in the United States every year, which seemed like a lot to me - more than 4 per person per day, every day? That even includes babies like one Rebecca's about to have...

posted by Brad at 1/30/2006 11:30:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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A Trainer In Your Ear

Matt's del.icio.us account pointed me to iTrain, downloadable mp3 workouts that you can play on your iPod while running, biking, lifting weights, you name it. The concept is pretty interesting, since I always have my iTank with me at the gym.



Does anyone know someone who has actually forked over the money to try one of these?

posted by Brad at 1/30/2006 06:57:00 PM | permalink | 2 comments

2 Comments:

  • I actually bought one of the iTrain's but haven't used it yet - figured it be handy in hotels with subpar workout facilities.

    By Blogger Alicia, at 1/31/2006 8:27 AM 

  • The best audio-guided workouts for cardio are cardiocoach workouts from www.cardiocoach.com.

    itrain has good workouts too, lots of options, cardio, strength, strech, yoga etc. For cardio, I always reach for cardiocoach and use iclimbs from itrain. I , also use itreads, but am not terribly fond of that music.

    By Blogger gus, at 6/18/2007 6:27 PM 

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Wine Clubs Need Transparency

One of the many things I'll miss about living in California is being close to wine country, so joining a wine club or two before moving back to MN seems to make some sense. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself to justify spending money on it...

NWA has partnered with Vinesse, but after scouring their website I was unable to uncover what wines they have shipped in past months. A phone call to their customer support was almost useless, the woman "thinks last month they sent a zin and can't remember what else."

How do they expect anyone to plunk down hundreds of dollars when they have no idea what they're going to get? No thank you.

posted by Brad at 1/30/2006 04:40:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Sunday, January 29

Hey Suze,

When I get back on the 17th, think we could go on a date?

posted by Brad at 1/29/2006 10:15:00 PM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

  • It looks hilarious! Are you sure that we can fit it in between the shippers moving us into our new house and you leaving for your snowboarding trip?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/30/2006 1:30 PM 

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Food & Drink

Susan's "official" last supper was Thursday night at the Mats (no surprise there), but her last meal in CA went down at Della Santina's Trattoria* last night...

We met Mr & Mrs Siegrist at their fancy Sonoma hotel and did some local "artisan" wine tasting. Discovered a red blend we liked enough to buy and drag over to the hotel restaurant, where a Woody Harrelson lookalike whipped up some delectable flatbread.

*That's a link to the first ever review I wrote at Yelp.com. If you suspect I might ever write another one, check out brad.yelp.com and add my "recent reviews" feed to your aggregator.

posted by Brad at 1/29/2006 01:45:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Ch Ch Ch Changes

Whew, quite a bit has changed since the last time I wrote. Susan is no longer a Californian, and our house is for sale (under 2 MLS numbers, woohoo).

There won't be pictures until early next week, but this listing says we have 93 acres, a steal for $285K if you ask me. The other listing makes no such claim, but does claim that we have "Ceramic kitchen counter, Laminate kitchen counter" - what is that Ikea stuff anyways?

posted by Brad at 1/29/2006 01:41:00 PM | permalink | 2 comments

2 Comments:

  • The ceramic counters is for our backsplash...
    -should we have her highlight that it is the Lincoln school district?
    -Susan :)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/29/2006 2:16 PM 

  • I don't remember the swimming pool, but I suppose I was hopped up on meds before I even saw the place.

    By Blogger Nick, at 1/29/2006 6:30 PM 

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Friday, January 27

Rock Me Amadeus

On the way to work this (Thursday) morning, NPR informed me that Friday is Mozart's birthday. The first thought that popped into my mind was "I wonder if they will do a Google Doodle for that?" I couldn't think of another composer or musician they had ever done this for, so I contemplated blogging a bold prediction that Google would doodle Mozart's b-day.

But then I got busy at work, and missed the opportunity to predict the future...

posted by Brad at 1/27/2006 02:07:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

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Creepy Candy

No surprise that Kit Kat Limited Edition Orange Creme was 50% off at Target, weird stuff indeed...

posted by Brad at 1/27/2006 02:04:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

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Wednesday, January 25

Hasta La Vista

I was going to wait until PHX to write, but I was so excited to see Firefox on this computer that I just had to - tabbed browsing really does make you more productive :)

We've got precious few hours left in sunny PV, the plan for today is to balance out the pasty white areas and the sunburned areas before using up any remaining pesos and hightailing it to the aeropuerto (Susan can testify that my ability to speak intelligently in espanol has improved greatly while on this little trip).

Finally, a special welcome to new reader Mark Peterson who started reading my blog as I wrote this post...

posted by Brad at 1/25/2006 09:49:00 AM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

  • Sunburn & pasty white areas, hey? Guess I don't have to be too concerned about extreme jealously ensuing upon viewing your spectacular tan! I bet Susan has you beat! ;)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/25/2006 2:43 PM 

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Monday, January 23

Interrobang

My brother has rebooted his blog, and made me realize that I should write more introspective posts instead of a constant stream of ¨as if you care what we´re up to¨...

posted by Brad at 1/23/2006 06:43:00 PM | permalink | 2 comments

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Ahoy, Back on Dry Land

So much for ¨discounted¨ Internet access at the resort - we´re paying $1 USD for an hour at the Maritime Terminal after a day on the high seas of the Bay of Banderas.

Our first stop was Los Arcos (¨the arches¨ for those of you who don´t habla Espanol), where we swallowed a bunch of salt water and didn´t see one damn fish. This is when the open bar started, so I downed my first of about 7 mai tais. They kept driving the boat real slow so we could ¨enjoy¨the scenic coastline, but in reality it just made the boat rock an awful lot and several people got sick.

We arrived at Las Animas next, where the locals pestered us to buy (among other things) henna tattoos, jewlery, parasailing rides, pies, nuts, and cervezas. If this computer had an SD slot, I would post some pictures of stuff we drew in the sand and frolicking in the surf - but you´re gonna have to wait.

Our last stop was Quimixto, another village accessible only by water - this time we hiked up to a waterfall. I took our trusty single-use waterproof camera to the base of the agua fria, so we´ll see if any of the pictures I snapped will actually turn out. The overall experience was good for $26/person, but nothing to get excited about...

posted by Brad at 1/23/2006 06:23:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Sunday, January 22

I Miss QWERTY

Yaay, we made it to PV safely. The keyboards here are a bit funny, so we'll see if I can type anything coherent in the 15 minutes our 40 pesos bought...

Last night's dinner consisted of elaborate Mexican sushi consumed while laying on a wrestling-mat on the beach. For dessert, I filled our in-room jacuzzi and enjoyed the second half of a Cohiba Siglo III - the combination of which made me just about pass out and drown.

We slept in and finally made it out of our room in time for a last-minute timeshare presentation, after which we had earned ourselves...
  • lunch
  • discounted Internet access
  • 2 margaritas
  • a mexican blanket
  • 750mL bottle of Kahlua
  • one grumpy salesman

Perhaps our evening entertainment will include a visit to the local Wal-Mart?

posted by Brad at 1/22/2006 05:01:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Saturday, January 21

Free WiFi at PHX

PHX is my new favorite airport, since they have delicious free wireless internet access. After a bit of fanagling with settings & certificates, I am zipping along now (although regrettably using Internet Explorer to do so).

We tried to hop on an earlier flight to PV, but are now trapped at the airport due to the fact that we checked a bag and didn't want to spend the $100 change fee. So we're camping out at Home Turf Sports Bar, home of overpriced crappy food and weak drinks.

I won't complain since it's free, but the connection just crapped out - and Susan has requested that I start writing about "more interesting things" anyways...

posted by Brad at 1/21/2006 04:59:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Thursday, January 19

Slow News Day?

I've been getting CNN Breaking News alerts for several years, but the one that just came kind of surprised me...

"-- Soul star Wilson Pickett, best known for "Mustang Sally" and "In The Midnight Hour," died Thursday, CNN confirms."

No disrespect to Wilson and his family, but is it really necessary to send "Breaking News" if you have to explain who the dead person is?

posted by Brad at 1/19/2006 04:42:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Mom!

I'm eating 3 bean casserole leftovers for lunch - except Susan's crazy recipe is from Minnesota so they call it "hot dish" - what's with that?

posted by Brad at 1/19/2006 03:47:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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How to Choose an Appraiser

I was recently presented with a list of appraisers to call, since 2 different ones have to go through our house and decide what they think it's worth. Aside from the fact that one of 'em did the appraisal 18 months ago when we bought the house, I didn't know who to pick.

So I Googled 'crp appraisal' and clicked on result #2. Pretty sure that CRP is an industry designation for Certified Relocation Professional, but perhaps they should consider Certified Relocation Appraisal Professional instead?

Anyways, it really helped me know what questions to ask, etc - so I'm blogging it in hopes that it will someday be Google result #1. Now we'll see if it gets us some sweet appraisals - think we can top $300K anyone? I don't.

posted by Brad at 1/19/2006 02:16:00 PM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

  • Try Meeks Appraisal & Consulting in Minneapolis. They do a great job.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/21/2006 7:22 AM 

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Wednesday, January 18

Hop On The Relo Train

Things seem to be moving along rather quickly now - we put together an offer on our most-wanted house and apparently they accepted it this afternoon. We still have to do an "official" purchase agreement (we faxed this one around) and a mountian of other paperwork, but the ball is definitely rolling.

Valentines Day will be my last hurrah in the office, after which I will hit the road to be back in MN by the 17th for our closing. Later that afternoon, I will head UP to the UP with some fine gentlemen to "get gooned up," only to return on President's Day and start the first day of the rest of my career on the 21st.

Surely there won't be any glitches along the way - wish us luck...

posted by Brad at 1/18/2006 05:00:00 PM | permalink | 3 comments

3 Comments:

  • Let me be the first to congratulate you both on here. I'm sure your moving back to MN to be closer to me is going to be great!

    By Blogger Nick, at 1/18/2006 10:54 PM 

  • Congratulations! I am glad everything is falling into place. You will be neighbors to our friends the Abels who live on 7600 10th Ave. Best of luck on selling the CA home.
    Jan

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/18/2006 11:31 PM 

  • Well, even though it's your turn to drive to the UP, I guess we can wave that responsibility! You should barely be busy before leaving. I'll cross my fingers for you two and hope the move and the closing goes as planned.

    P.S. Will you be my valentine?

    Vogts

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/19/2006 1:37 PM 

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Monday, January 16

It's Official

I accepted the offer today, you can now call me a Consumer Insights Associate. Well, maybe not quite yet. Time to get pre-approved for another mortgage!

posted by Brad at 1/16/2006 10:15:00 PM | permalink | 2 comments

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MLK Does a Body Good

Happy MLK Day, I'm not bitter that it seems like everyone else got today off except me :(



Anyways, I was listening to the radio this AM and learned that U2 wrote "In the Name of Love" as a tribute to the good doctor King, except they screwed up the lyrics...

The band U2 wrote the song "Pride (In the Name of Love)" as a tribute to Dr. King and his work. However, the song contains a historical error, as the first line of the last chorus (which references Dr. King's assassination) reads "Early morning, April 4/Shot rings out in the Memphis sky", whereas Dr. King was killed shortly after 6 PM - early evening. U2 vocalist Bono admits he "screwed up" when writing the lyrics and now performs the song live with the correction.

posted by Brad at 1/16/2006 07:13:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Sunday, January 15

Skeleton Key

Back in May of 2004, Susan and I were visiting Rebecca in New Orleans and took a day to explore the French Quarter. We happened upon Kate Hudson and Peter Sarsgaard filming a scene for Skeleton Key, which has since been released and subsequently Netflixed. We finally watched it last night, and saw the scene on the Jackson Square balcony that we witnessed the filming of...



Seems like an awful lot of equipment and work for what ended up being about 30 seconds in the finished movie. But the film itself was decent, and the end was actually pretty good. Can't think of the last time I sat around "figuring out" a movie for 5 minutes after it ended...

posted by Brad at 1/15/2006 09:44:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Saturday, January 14

Coffee on Pier 39

I've always balked at the pricetag for Starbucks' Coffee Liqueur, but somehow talked myself into paying $4.75 for a tiny bottle of it on Pier 39 yesterday (since nothing there is marked up for the hoards of tourists on the way to see the Sea Lions). Everyone agreed that it was rather delicious, but it did nothing to improve an already crappy cup of coffee from the San Francisco Coffee Roasting Company.

posted by Brad at 1/14/2006 02:10:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Friday, January 13

I Should be at Work...

It didn't take much arm-twisting to convince me to skip out of work yesterday afternoon to join Tony & Krista for some 55° golf action at Micke Grove. We gave up after 9 stellar holes to make sure we had ample time for wine tasting in Lodi, which turned out to be quite enjoyable (and lucrative for the wineries we visited).

I'm currently playing in a Paradise Poker no-limit hold'em tournament with Tony's money while he "poops & showers." It's kind of fun to play with other people's money, but I haven't gotten any cards worth caring about yet. We're getting cleaned up to head over to Napa today, and then come back for an exciting Stockton Thunder hockey game...

Update: I lost Tony's money, sad.

posted by Brad at 1/13/2006 11:12:00 AM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

  • Are we moving back to the Twin Cities? This job is it with or without GMI? Don't worry, I'm pondering the same thing...

    By Blogger Will, at 1/13/2006 5:41 PM 

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Thursday, January 12

Is January National Bike to Work Month?

I finally decided to walk pedal the talk and rode my bike to work today. Doing so on a foggy mid-January morning with underinflated tires and a stupid messenger bag that wouldn't stay put may not have yielded any record-breaking speeds, but I made it without turning into any of the roadkill I was so fortunate to ride (slowly) past.

posted by Brad at 1/12/2006 01:05:00 PM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

  • I guess I should bike from LA to Stockton!!! I tried getting my flights changed to visit you, but it would have cost me $700. Can't afford that! Later.

    Vogts

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/12/2006 6:37 PM 

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Wednesday, January 11

Whoopsy Daisy

Plodding through an interesting chapter on the coordination problem of heavy traffic in The Wisdom of Crowds, I come across this typo...

"If I-5 between Sacramento and San Francisco suddenly became clogged with traffic because of a broken-down tractor trailer..."

You sure I-5 connects those two cities? Turns out James is from Brooklyn...

posted by Brad at 1/11/2006 01:17:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

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Tuesday, January 10

Happy News

After what seems like an eternity, I'm proud to announce that I have finally made it to the top of the holds list for Freakonomics at the Stockton Library.

You thought I found out about the job? Ha.

Seriously though, this was one of the first books I amabuddied back in September. I'm excited to jump in, but I have 140 pages of The Wisdom of Crowds to get through first. I just realized that I haven't yet written about my impressions of the last 2 books I've finished (The World is Flat & How the Republicans Stole Christmas), so that will be forthcoming...

posted by Brad at 1/10/2006 10:43:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Blogging About Blogging

Laura sent me an article about a Minnesota political blogger being sued for defamation, and I was writing her a reply when I realized that it made more sense to type it here.

It's bloggers like Brodkorb that make this whole "blog revolution" so damn fascinating. They are willing to stick their necks out, blog about work, expose secrets, yadda yadda yadda. If you've ever felt that my posts are relatively tame (I certainly have), it's because I'm skirred of the repercussions of being too controversial.

The litmus test for my posts is whether or not I think my mom can handle it, so the rest of you may have to lower the bar a bit - thanks for reading anyways ;)

PS - Have I mentioned that I dislike the word "blog"? It sounds like you're throwing up a little bit every time you say it...

posted by Brad at 1/10/2006 11:06:00 AM | permalink | 2 comments

2 Comments:

  • several comments to be made---first of all you can throw some dirt into your blog to spicy it it up a bit--but you are witty enough so it is interesting. Second, thanks for the invite to go bowling, you were obviously afraid of my skills at the alley. Lastly, i think i like the word blog.
    Jason
    ps--i told the buddha about your blog

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/10/2006 5:50 PM 

  • Now I'm a litmus test! Come on, dish it up! I can take it. After all, I know all about the Silver Bullet don't I? Mom

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/10/2006 7:08 PM 

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In Case You're Wondering

I haven't heard anything yet about last week's interviews, hopefully Tuesday will be the magic one...

posted by Brad at 1/10/2006 12:45:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

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Monday, January 9

Soccer in Stockton

I heart Tivo - currently watching the first ever televised California Cougars game, even though we were in Minnesota on Saturday night. I'm hoping this will help me decide if I should shell out $30 to see them in person, considering they started the season an awe-inspiring 0-11.

We've been watching them build Stockton Arena over the past year and a half, and it seems to have turned out pretty nice...



Tony & Krista will find out firsthand soon enough, as we're planning to check out some Stockton Thunder hockey during our upcoming action-packed super fun NorCal weekend.

UPDATE: I hate Tivo - the game went into OT but did I get to watch it? Of course not.

posted by Brad at 1/09/2006 11:53:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Airplane!

As I sat in crappy seat 10F last night next to a woman playing a Pac Man/Tetris on her Game Boy, I started to wonder if it would be possible for me to open the Emergency Exit door while in flight? Or do the pilots have to unlock them from the cockpit or something - what if they get food poisoning from the fish and Striker has to fly the plane?

posted by Brad at 1/09/2006 03:34:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Travelin'

After a dinner party, ABC watching and picking up Pekoe, we finally made it home safely. Found another house we like this morning, except this one is in Bloomington near Dmitry. No word about the job yet, hopefully that will change tomorrow though.

72 hours until Tony & Krista fly out, and 11.5 days until we leave for Puerto Vallarta...

posted by Brad at 1/09/2006 02:26:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

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Saturday, January 7

Happy House Hunting

Susan and I spent a good portion of the last 2 days looking at 20+ properties, on top of the 15-20 she looked at in December. 7500 11th Ave S currently tops the list, but there are a few others we also like. I still haven't heard back from Thursday's interviews, so we have to sit on our hands and hope that everything works itself out next week...

In the meantime, I find myself relaxing to some Sufjan Stevens mp3s and catching up on blog reading (and now writing). Speaking of music, another song I hijacked from Michael's iTunes is "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel. I remember singing this (with my brothers?) when it came out in 1989, and I'm guessing we mispronounced 80% of the words and didn't know what 90% of them meant.

I listened more intently this time around, figuring I must be older and wiser by now right? Apparently not. I wasn't surprised to find a Wikipedia entry for the song, but didn't figure I'd also learn that it was on several "50 Worst Songs Ever" lists and even BJ himself thinks the song now sucks...

posted by Brad at 1/07/2006 09:15:00 PM | permalink | 2 comments

2 Comments:

  • Sometime you should do a google search or whatever for a song called "Pet Names for Genitalia". It's a hilarious spoof on the "We Didn't Start the Fire" number. As long as you aren't easily offended, that is.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 1/07/2006 11:29 PM 

  • If you do move into your first choice, you can walk 6 blocks to the north and watch me during the 11th mile of the Urban Wildland Half Marathon in August. See ya when I'm a Papa! :)

    Dan

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/08/2006 8:09 PM 

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Thursday, January 5

What I Never Want to Be

posted by Brad at 1/05/2006 10:07:00 PM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

  • too late. (yes, I'm checking blogs today - don't say I give you no love)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/06/2006 2:55 PM 

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I Hate Worm Poop

I got this sweet new Chaps tie (mine is pink) for today's interviews, and I swear the silk pulls a little loop out every time I touch it. Perhaps I need to moisturize...

Frank: You have lovely hands. Do you moisturize?
Billy Tim Denham: I'm Sorry?
Frank: You know, I've tried all sorts of moisturizers. I even went fragrance free for a whole year. Now my sister, she uses some kind of uh... uh... uh... uh... aloe vera with a little sunscreen in it, and ideally, we should all wear gloves when going to bed, but I found out that that creates a kind of an interference with my... social agenda, you know what I mean.

Better head upstairs for my first interview. Silk is worm poop, right?

posted by Brad at 1/05/2006 01:17:00 PM | permalink | 1 comments

1 Comments:

  • It appears you are in the right frame of mind for a job interview. Best of luck. Call if you have time to squeeze a beer or several into your schedule while in town.

    Hopefully your next trip will be to close on a new house!

    Vogts

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/05/2006 1:35 PM 

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Free Time Between Interviews

I was hoping to write last night when I arrived in Minneapolis, but the stupid Marquette Hotel charges $10.95 for daily internet access. Lucky for me (and therefore you), I found out after spending 2 hours writing a case study that I am "off the hook" for the cognitive assessments as I took them when I was interviewing to be an intern. A whole hour with no commitments, why shouldn't I blog? It's not like I have more interviews this afternoon to prepare for...

PS: The Marquette Hotel is actually quite sweet - but the ceilings were too low for me to jump between the beds and I banged my head real good.

posted by Brad at 1/05/2006 11:28:00 AM | permalink | 2 comments

2 Comments:

  • I hope that bump doesn't interfere with your interview skills! Good luck! Mom

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/05/2006 1:14 PM 

  • Glad you followed my advice on jumping! Though, between the beds?...guess you didn't get hooked up w/ the king, hey? Too bad! Knock 'em dead this afternoon! K

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/05/2006 2:32 PM 

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Wednesday, January 4

It's Time

Time to leave the comfort of my cubicle and fly to Minneapolis and interview for what I hope will be my next comfy cubicle. I'm starting to get nervous...

Update: My flight is " Delayed due to required crew rest." - guess I don't quite get to leave yet.

posted by Brad at 1/04/2006 12:05:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Happy Birthday Louis Braille



This has to be one of the coolest Google Doodles ever. As opposed to the Happy New Year one, which was scary & confusing...

posted by Brad at 1/04/2006 12:02:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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Cartman Joins NAMBLA

I just finished watching South Park Season 4 Episode 5, during which there is a hallway scene with French music playing while young boys run from naked men, Marlon Brando lookalikes and the FBI. It's clearly a reference to something, but I'm at a complete loss - click on the image for a clip.



Can anyone help me out? Mom, you're all about the French...

posted by Brad at 1/04/2006 12:31:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

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Monday, January 2

Rediscovering Jeremy Scott

Earlier this week, I dropped the contents of Michael's iTunes Library onto my iPod. I've been using ephPod to troll through it and look for stuff I don't already have (it appears he got lots of what he currently has from me).

So I came across an album called "Movin' On" by Jeremy Scott - something I definitely don't have, but in this case the artist's name sounded strangely familiar. Once my memory kicked in, I remembered him as the abnormally talented (and even moreso humble) freshman saxophonist from my senior year at Horlick. Here he is pictured with George W. Bush...



It appears that Jeremy is keeping busy performing all over the place, and heads up the Jazz/Gospel group Emerge. I doubt he's selfish enough to egosurf, but it'd be cool if he dropped a comment and let us all know how he's doing - and where his blog can be found...

posted by Brad at 1/02/2006 12:42:00 AM | permalink | 1 comments

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  • Dad and I went to the opening concert for his new CD and it was impressive. It was however not very well attended. I think Jeremy will make his mark out there in the big wide world of jazz rather than in his home town! He is amazing. Mom

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/02/2006 9:15 AM 

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Sunday, January 1

Coffee Talk

I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a snob when it comes to coffee. I blame everyone who worked in downtown Minneapolis in 2003 for making me feel like a cup from Caribou or Starbucks was akin to a hall pass in grade school - you couldn't roam the skyways without one.

I started on the fancy stuff - mostly mochas & lattes. And grande/large of course - more for your money. After a few weeks, I started bouncing checks and dodging creditors, since $4/beverage adds up real quick. I weaned myself down to coffee with half & half, and have been drinking it ever since.

Problem is, I suffer from Folgerphobia (I just invented that word?) - had too many cups of tinny office coffee to trust anything other than premium (a.k.a. overpriced) beans. I went out on a limb recently and bought Safeway's private label Mocha Java, which was a pleasant surprise and seems to have impressed our house guests.

I've always been curious if I could save a few hard-earned pennies by getting Folgers at home, but I tried some of their French Roast in Tahoe this weekend and that settles that. Good thing Saint Nick got me a couple pounds of Boo Bou for Christmas...

posted by Brad at 1/01/2006 12:52:00 PM | permalink | 2 comments

2 Comments:

  • I can't believe you went and dissed the Folgers French Roast. As a fellow coffee snob (though not nearly as snooty as you), I'm truly hurt. Perhaps it was the half & half??? ;)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/05/2006 1:06 AM 

  • I like my coffee the same as my men...Hot, Strong, and Black.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/06/2006 8:19 AM 

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DVD Watching Tip

In case you're planning to watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith anytime soon, be sure to do it at night or in a very dark room - there weren't very many daylight scenes in that movie...

posted by Brad at 1/01/2006 01:09:00 AM | permalink | 0 comments

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