Jeezy Chreezy

Holy wow, it's been a while... I suppose I'm back simply because I had a thought.

I was thinking the other day, perhaps inspired by the commercial about the new G1 phone that includes a Google search function, that I hope that general (and even specialized) knowledge does not go away due to fast access on the internet, the way phone numbers have been forgotten due to the cellular phone book.
I know many people who can no longer recall many (or any) of their friends' or family's phone numbers because they've simply entered them into their cell phones and forgotten, because they are now only referred to by name. Not only is this disturbing in the sense that we are relying on devices to do something we didn't seem to have much trouble doing on our own in the past, but it's also very foolish to put all your stock in a device that, if dropped in the wrong way, or gotten wet, may stop functioning, in which case you are completely lost! I admit I too am mostly at fault in this area as there are at least a few numbers I use a lot, but would never be able to recite from memory. I do still have the important ones locked in my head, and I hope that this is the case with everyone else.
I pray that the internet does not do the same thing to us with regard to answers to simple questions and that it augments rather than replaces our knowledge of the wide array of subjects in the world. However, more and more it seems people (especially young people) tend use the truly useful information on the internet for school or work in a cut and paste fashion, never really absorbing the nuggets of wisdom therein. I hope my fears are unfounded, but I'm starting to think, especially with the advertised combination of Google and a cell phone, that we are only starting down this dangerous road.

Catching up

So yeah, I missed a few days... my bad. To sum up what happened:

- Fantasy football team ate it last second, despite what appeared to be a miraculously horrible game by Eli Manning, Le'Ron McClain's unrecorded fumble became recorded and my win unrecorded into a recorded loss. :(

- Caught up on some Netflix and a bunch of DVR movies and shows, which was primarily due to not really doing anything else and also having gone grocery shopping so I can sit on the couch and eat all day like a perfect American! ...Also my Netflix reviewer rank finally went up again. Yesssssssss.

- Went to lunch at my coworker's house but was very hungover and couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. Almost threw up and/or violently shit about a dozen times. Faaaaantastic.

So basically today marks the final debate between the old guy and the black guy, so that should be interesting. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing somebody break character... or at least, I hope they do.

I found this online today and it made me sad. This guy is a full fledged gaming (WoW) addict, to the point where he doesn't even seem to want friends in a game that is MADE so you can make them, play, talk and interact with them. He also spends over $5000 a year in just subscription fees, not to mention costs of expansions, possible upgrades to the computers and TIME WASTED. What the hell is happening to people these days that makes them isolate themselves to the point where they spend thousands of dollars to circumvent having to actually meet, make or interact with friends or just people who most assuredly share your interest because they PAY to be involved in the exact same thing? I don't get it.

Blah

Oh man, it gets hard to write everyday when there's nothing going on... and of course, when I don't expect anyone to call or want to do anything, EVERYBODY calls to hang out, and I miss it all, while I do absolutely nothing. I hate how that goes. Life is retarded.

Another day, another debate

So tonight marks another of this season's fabulous debates and I do believe it could be the finest yet. All the stars will be out, wearing the most glamorous outfits and dining on the world's most expensive oysters and caviar, waiting to see who takes home this years coveted presidential office award. I know I'll be there, drinking for every "change" and "America". More news on that as it develops.

On a side note, I did end up losing my fantasy football game and fell into second place because Drew Brees apparently owes money to too many bookies and threw the game. What a fuck! Oh well, there's always next week.

Go Drew Brees, GO!

So I was watching some football yesterday, keeping an eye on my fantasy team when lo and behold, a highlight comes up wherein the quarterback of my team, Trent Edwards (whom I replaced Jay Cutler of the Broncos with at the last second, due to speculation of better performance) was struck in the head and chest, momentarily knocked unconscious and carted off the field with a concussion. At that point, I pretty much kissed any hope of winning this week goodbye, wished Trent Edwards the best through the aether and watched what turned out to be a few pretty entertaining games of football. So, I've decided to start going with my gut and common sense instead of listening to all the stupid hype these guys try to sell me. I was doing just fine before I took their advice. But if Drew Brees has a good game tonight, I may yet end up in 1st place for another week, despite my loss. Cross your fingers for him and me that he doesn't get knocked on his ass too. And yeah, I'm addicted to fantasy football now... all I can say in my defense is... better this than cigarettes!

Sarah Palin says it all

So as far as last night's debate goes... A quote from Sarah Palin -

"Also, John McCain's maverick position that he's in, that's really prompt up to and indicated by the supporters that he has. Look at Lieberman, and Giuliani, and Romney, and Lingle, and all of us who come from such a diverse background of -- of policy and of partisanship, all coming together at this time, recognizing he is the man that we need to leave"

Enough said. Thanks Sarah.

Sickness and Politics

No entry yesterday due to some sort of flu or cold or something that became resurgent after a night of drinking on Sunday... or maybe it was actually most of the day. ANYWAY, I found it curious today that people actually ask what kind of suffering you actually experienced when your illness was at its worst. I guess they see it as genial empathy, but personally I think it's kind of rude. Unless you want to offer up the info, I'm certainly not going to ask how horrible you felt because to me, it sounds like either:

A. Disbelief in the fact that someone was actually sick

B. Getting details on suffering to make themselves feel better that you suffered instead of them, or

C. You don't actually know what happens when someone gets a cold or a flu, and not being completely over it, I'm more likely to cough on you to show you than tell you how it felt.

I WILL ask if you feel better, because that's all I really care about.

Anyway, I'm also looking forward to the VP debate tonight, more on that tomorrow...

Final Fantasy Football

I've been "playing" fantasy football from the beginning of the season, though the drafting of players was automated, so I really had no choice on my initial selections of players - thus removing most of the 'fantasy' element. They do allow you to trade for undrafted players, which I have done to decent effect, leading my team to an undefeated record and a first place ranking so far. Anyway, I was talking to my girlfriend's roommate about it the other day, and he brought up the fact that it changes your perception of the game. You only really care about one or two players in each game, so you end up concentrating on them and sort of missing the rest of the game. But being that I never really cared much about the games that didn't involve the 49ers or the Bears, I consider raising any interest in the other games an improvement. Also, the fantasy football season ends before the playoffs, so you are able to enjoy the end of the season undistracted. I personally think it's a good thing for the league to generate real interest in games that people, definitely myself anyway, would not have much desire to watch otherwise, and also gives you something to cheer for. It is quite addicting, however, almost to the point of obsession when you get into it, so you kind of have to watch yourself unless you really want to get immersed in the world of professional football teams, players, stats and matchups. So have fun, but be careful kids. I'm Dan, and I approve Fantasy Football.

Just another magic Monday

So, after a Zicam-assisted sickness avoidance, I managed to put a full weekend under my belt, including watching some less-than-exhilarating presidential debate and a trip to the Big E in Massachusetts. The debates really didn't spur much in the way of new thought about either of the candidates. I pretty much felt exactly the same by the end as I did in the beginning. It seemed to me the greatest value that was extracted from the debate was that it appeared to be the first time the candidates had ever really expressed their opinions in front of each other. Neither appeared to have any previous grasp of what the other thought going in, so I suppose it was a growing experience for them, and hopefully when one of them inevitably loses come November, they will be able to part as friends and there will be no hard feelings. The glossy eyes of McCain and the marionette-like movement of his arms make me wonder if he's actually just a robot prop, replacing what used to be a decent guy with pretty respectable values with a Bush-esque old man who doesn't even know what he stands for anymore. The debate appeared to be more of a lesson in public speaking, with Obama occasionally flashing a knowing smile in spite of McCain's rambling, increasingly frustrated responses to Lehrer's cues. It did not appear McCain was really prepared to speak with someone else there to contradict whatever fell out of his mouth. That said, I can't say they really expressed a lot of their ideas to the public, thus the lack of any real value for the audience (i.e. the country). Hopefully the next one will have more substance, less sputtering semantic arguments over the meaning of "preconditions".

Invasion of the Body Wreckers

I went out to a happy hour with my coworkers last night, had a few beers, some wings and nachos, went home, watched some TV, felt tired unusually early, around 11:00, and went to bed (my usual bedtime is around 1:00 AM). I woke up at 5:30, with a headache and kind of a hangover feeling, which was odd because I really didn't drink that much. It was a bit of a struggle to get back to sleep and by the time I woke up at 9, I felt a little better hangover-wise, but infinitely more tired and less inspired to get up and take on a full day at work. So after a few hours at work, my sinuses start paining me and my nose is running (but that is the usual now - I associate it with what is likely a moldy AC duct), so now I'm starting to think I somehow managed to contract a virus... which makes me a very unhappy camper. So now I have to go to the store and blow hard-earned money on some Zicam, just in case I'm right. And if I don^t have a virus, !t's a11 money d0wn t#e tube$ an& kt$hai#^ 3yE3ao1 #9 2j!okj%01 09j 102Rs9?J3 1@jk-&12i=3 3k;j32 5k>jh[af?/skdna 9d 30a0\j09sh|35j saje.3 l'23;l 4t6, 34-_)(# u93 jh,]0F2e 509 j#P (okj;o;J# Oj;lL#J

Dreams and revelations

Last night I slept through the entire night without waking up for the first time in at least two weeks. I attributed this, of course, to the fact that I stayed up later than I have in at least two weeks the night before. Anyway, without the interruptions of somnia, I was able to have long, involving dreams. What I realized in the morning, however, is that all of the dreams I could remember were basically along exactly the same lines as my daily life. Nothing odd or out of place happened, just stuff I do and the average levels of emotion that go along with them. It then occurred to me that it's possible, without the odd or emotion raising elements, that my dreams had allowed me to complacently sleep through the night. So if my more odd dreams were waking me, why now were my dreams suddenly so... pedestrian? I suppose I must have reached some level of contentment in my life that hadn't really revealed itself to me previously but seemed to be relatively correct. I'm pretty happy. Shit... now what do I do?

Damn you TV, be less easily entertaining!

So the fall television line up has officially kicked off, and that, combined with the continuation of the football season has effectively rendered me completely incapable of keeping up with my DVR and Netflix. Try as I might, the 40 hours spent at work and 50 hours spent sleeping each week are enough to prevent any sort of dent. My DVR is slowly but surely winning the war, accumulating approximately one extra half-hour per day, while my Netflix lie on the floor making me wonder just what the hell I'm doing with my time if I don't have enough to watch the movies I specifically requested be sent to my house, practically placed at my feet with no excuse not to watch. Saturday was usually my day to catch up if I fell behind, but now with a girlfriend, it's much more difficult to justify spending between 6 - 12 hours in front of the tube on the weekend when we could be outside or at the fair or in bed. And that coupled with football make Sunday impossible (of course football actually extends its influence all the way into Monday), so I'm left catching what I can, filtering out the swag of my DVR schedule until I have a managable, meaty line-up that I can handle. I'm such a loser.

TRUEBLOOD, the soap opera.

I was watching that show True Blood on HBO last night when I realized how very soap-opera-y it really is. With the random sexual encounters and unnecessarily complicated relationships and the cliff-hangers at the end of every episode... I'm just waiting for somebody to go into a coma or find out it's not their baby. It's sadly pathetic that the only original thing about the show seems to be the least important - THE VAMPIRES! Using vampires as a dramatic device seems like kind of a waste. At least they started killing people right away... only a matter of time for the torches and wooden stakes to come out. I suppose that's the only reason I keep watching. That and soap operas are fucking addictive.

For you and for me

So I just decided to make this blog in case you all wanted to keep up or keep in touch with me or what it is you all think about whatever. So here you go. One blog to rule them all.