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September 30, 2002

   September's nearly over, but wow, it really went on forever.  I sort of hope every month drags on like this, because I'm not really in any hurry to have this year end.
    If you missed me on Saturday - and you probably did - you can listen to the whole broadcast on the web, right here.  So now you have no excuse.
    I probably don't have many regular female readers as it is.  But if I do, they are sure to be driven away by this week's poll, which reopens the debate of September 25.  Just as with last week's poll, I think I know where the electorate is likely to stand, but that's why they play the games.
    Speaking of polls, there's a new Top 20 if you haven't already seen it.

September 28, 2002

   Crazy road trip.  It flirts with contention for "Best Road Trip Ever," though I think that the Indiana women's basketball trip last year will continue to get by on reputation alone.   It certainly takes second place, but there were only three so that's not the hardest thing to do.
    Among the many highlights:
    * The drive up, during which Pearl and I sang a cappella obscure Beatles songs ("Dig it!"), ate at Cracker Barrel (home of soap in a cup), and drove 25 miles in 30 seconds.
    * Friday's dinner at "Clara's Lansing Station," which confirmed Pearl's theory that any restaurant with "Station" in its name is automatically good.  I may never have been so full in my life, and it was also the funniest dinner ever (earning a quote in the quotes section, no less).   Yes, even funnier than the Olive Garden dinner, which featured both "Tom Nm" and "Who es Mimo?" and yet failed to be as funny as this one, though it was close.  How can you top Pearl querying Tang on the difference between NY strip and porterhouse steaks while the waitress just stands there?
    * The drive back, during which Pearl and I bounced around the stations, coming across favorites like "Top Five Songs from this week in 1988," a list which ran as follows:
    5. Information Society - "Tell Me What's On Your Mind"
    4. Robert Palmer - "Simply Irresistible"
    3. Huey Lewis and the News - "Perfect World"
    2. UB40 - "Red Red Wine"
    1. Def Leppard - "Love Bites"
    I don't think I'd be sad if I never heard any of those songs again.
    Oh, there was also the broadcast, which I think went pretty well if I do say so myself - and I think I just did.  Considering it was my first football color and I was deathly afraid that I hadn't done enough prep, I think I did well - I also don't think, while we're on the subject, that color men need as much prep as is sometimes hyped.  What the color guy really needs is to see the team play, and there's only so many ways you can do that, particularly when previous games took place on the road or before you got to campus.
    The lowlight, because there had to be one: Pearl's "heavy construction equipment" snoring.  Yes, Matt, I know it's not your fault, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it.

September 25, 2002

   So, can you think of a single thing more pointless than going all the way down to fucking Parkes for a 4:00 section which proceeds to let out at 4:02?  Did I seriously just walk two miles just to write "Robert Flaxman, junior" on a piece of paper?  New prof quotes, by the way, as we hit the 2002-03 edition of that section.  Also, at least Marc likes the friends pages idea, so more on that anon, perhaps.

September 25, 2002

   I'm so glad they opened up the path between the Nanofabrication Center and Dearborn.  Makes my walk to South Campus at least five minutes shorter.  I'll jump back into annoying mode and provide a map thingy for you.  Explanations on said map: I've cut it to only east of Sheridan.  Kemper is the blue building; Hinman is the green building; Parkes, Harris, Kresge, and Louis, the four buildings in which I have class this quarter, are the red buildings from west to east.  The blue route, which runs from Kemper to South Campus (ending around AMS's latitude) is the way I used to go; the red route, which runs from Kemper to AMS, is my current route.  I think you can probably tell just from the map that it's quicker.
    Quick rejoinder for any of Marc's MSM buddies directed here for today's earlier update:
    1) No one said Katie Holmes is not attractive, just less so, and while this pictorial does indeed make Jennifer Love Hewitt more of a goddess than previously thought, I already thought she was more attractive than Katie Holmes.
    2) The logic that "I don't like blondes because I like brunettes" is flawed in any number of ways.  (Should I have tossed Reese Witherspoon into the equation or something?  I don't think it's really fair given that she's married and has a kid and such.)  Yes, these two particular women are brunettes and I happen to find both attractive, but that doesn't preclude me from liking blondes.  (There's an attractive blonde on my floor this year, for example.)  I don't have any real preference in hair color; I tend to go for the face, if not the overall package.  Certainly I'm not one of those guys who loves all women of a certain hair color (like guys who love anything blonde, probably the most predominant example).  At any rate, I think we've had quite enough talk about the women I find attractive on this page for one day, don't you?

September 25, 2002

   I swear, I'm not as much of a dirtball (t-shirt coming soon to the store) as this will make it seem.

   Holy fucking shit.  Have you seen the latest Rolling Stone?  If you haven't, and you are an admirer of the female form, it would behoove you to check out the first six pictures in this photo gallery, particularly this and this.   I am not one of "those guys" normally, but that cover is on my wall, I'm sorry.  It should be illegal to be this hot.
    There are quite a number of those "the world can be divided into two types of people" things out there.  My personal belief is that there are two types of people, those who give their first name to a restaurant waiting list and those who give their last name.  That aside, there are probably two types of guys around my age: those who love Katie Holmes, and those who love Jennifer Love Hewitt.
    Of course, it's possible to love both.  But you have to choose.   They're both a little quirky-looking, I guess, in that "incredibly hot yet quirky-looking way," but on the other hand I have never seen a picture of Katie Holmes that was even half as attractive as this.   It's just not even a comparison.  Katie Holmes is attractive; Jennifer Love Hewitt is a goddess.
    The best part, of course, is that she views herself as a dork.   She dismissed rumors that she was dating Enrique Iglesias with something like "I'm too big of a dork for him."  Isn't that awesome?  It's all irrelevant because I wouldn't ever meet her, and if I did would not be able to say anything, and anyway I've got her picture on my wall and, for that matter, as my computer background (prediction: I get no work done anytime soon), which is probably not my most winning quality at the moment, though at least I'm not doing anything stalking-related.
    But at any rate, until I do meet a girl, or until it becomes clear that I cannot work with a picture of Jennifer Love Hewitt staring at me from my computer screen, that stuff is staying up.  Because damn.

    On a completely unrelated note, I'd like to start a series of friend pages, wherein my friends get little spaces on the site where people can see who they are and stuff.  If you guys like this idea, let me know so I can start getting some pics with the digital camera.  If you don't, I suppose I could just forget it, or at least take the pictures when you're not looking.

September 23, 2002

   When would I root against a team I picked?  Two times: 1) when I figured they would win but really disliked them and wanted them to lose (Notre Dame vs. Michigan State; Nebraska vs. most anyone); 2) when their winning would cause Dave to go 14-0 in the picks contest this week.  If Tampa wins tonight, he goes undefeated in a week, which is really bad because I seem to recall telling him I would give him actual money if he ever did such a thing.  Go Rams, since going 12-2 doesn't really help me when the only ones I miss are the ones that Dave had different, thus sending me to three games back on the season.  Fuck.
    Speaking of that last word, there's a new poll of the week, on that subject as promised.   Weigh in, fuckers.

September 23, 2002

   New poll, y'all.

September 22, 2002

   Today pretty much defined "up and down."  On the one hand, bitchin' road trip up to Miller Park in Milwaukee (which means "The Good Land").  Ric's motto of "Anywhere And Everywhere" was made good on quite early, as he, Marc, Drew and I went to see the Brewers' last home game of the year against the Giants.  We had pretty good seats for $21 apiece, and it was a pretty good game too - the Giants won 3-1 with two solo homers in the top of the ninth.  Kent hit one, then Bonds came up and grounded out.  When the next hitter, Santiago, came up, I said "If he hits one, we all go 'Are you serious?'"   On the next pitch, bam.  A chorus of Dick Vitale impressions rang out among us.  Good times.  Miller Park really is an attractive facility, as well.   Pictures of it from the outside (I should have brought the camera in, but didn't because I wasn't sure how strict they were going to be on security - as it turned out, not very) are here and here.  An attempted picture of the infamous "Bong Recreation Area" sign (on I-94 near Kenosha) is here, but I don't think you'll be able to really read it, regrettably.
    But then I got home and the Bears had fucking blown it, and I lost both games in the picks, and the Cubs lost too, though it's sort of moot with them by this point.
    New quote, too.

September 21, 2002

   Football game today.  I did highlights and studio analysis... there were certainly a lot of highlights, since the final score was 49-40.  On the one hand, seven touchdowns (three each for Jason Wright and Noah Herron - put that in your cone and smoke it); on the other hand, 40 points to Navy.  Even SMU didn't give up that many.  And that was with five takeaways and no giveaways... Navy rolled up 678 net yards.  What???   We only had 654 in the Michigan game, for fuck's sake.  We had 545 offensive yards in this one, evenly split between 285 rushing and 260 passing... but goddamn.   We cannot stop the run to save our lives.  It's really quite sad.   Clarett could rush for 150 on us with a bad knee.  (Hmm...)
    Rudnik was there, which amused me to no end.  Rudnik tends to do that.  He's got a new quote up, which I know he'll like because he is apparently addicted to this site.

September 20, 2002

   New quotes, you say?  First night back... we're on the board early.

September 20, 2002

   There was a recent complaint from a member of my family (I don't want to use his name, so let's call him "Dad") about the frequent occurrence of profanity on this page.   Apparently, this is "too much" for the guy who swore at probably half the cars we saw on the drive from New Jersey to Evanston.  Nonetheless, I'd like to address this complaint with the following explanation.
    The base audience demographic for this page is not "my parents."  It is in fact "my friends and myself."  So I'd think that a little swearing now and then, or, where applicable, more often, is hardly out of place.  Regardless, I plan on making the next Poll of the Week (Sunday night/Monday) deal with this subject.
    With that out of the way, let's deal in backness.  I'm back at school and pretty much all set up in my dorm room.  I don't exactly get to rest on my laurels - I've got to be up at 8 or so tomorrow for the Navy broadcast - but at least classes don't start till Wednesday.  The drive out was fine, and damn fast - factoring out breaks, Dad got us from New Jersey to the Chicago border in ten hours, ten minutes.  (I stop there because we hit quite your bit of rush hour traffic on the Dan Ryan and the Edens.)  After one night in the Holiday Inn, we trekked over today, while the skies laughed at our planned unpacking of the car by dumping rain everywhere.   Fortunately, it let up enough during the process that it wasn't too bad.  The room, as singles at NU, is not huge, but it's bigger than my room at Hinman, or at least is organized to seem so.
    Things I still need: laundry detergent, a few fridge stockers, thumbtacks (having left my old supply at home, dammit), an umbrella (home again... I suck), a whiteboard for the door, a print cartridge or two.  That should complete my non-book shopping.
    Let's get you a couple pictures, if for no other reason than that I'm totally stoked I've finally gotten my camera out here and working.  A bad, bad angle of my room which makes it look really small is here; a view of the lake - twice in three years, and always visible from my suite - is here.

September 17, 2002

   Apparently, according to last week's poll, more people read the NFL Picks site than most of the things I'd guessed nobody read.  So then you'll be happy to know that Week Three picks are already upon us, right?  Right?
    Also, a new quotes page for the 2002-2003 year at NU is up.  Remember that these aren't necessarily from NU students (though, during the year, they mostly will be), such as the only one currently in there.
    In addition, we've got a Movies to See and Movies to Avoid the Shit Out Of page for October.   It's not yet linked from the Movies to See button (on the Movies page) because September's releases aren't over yet, but it is up.

September 17, 2002

    I don't actually need to remind you people when there's a new Poll of the Week, do I?

    New stuff in the IMs section.  Also, a horrifying turn of events in the NFL Picks Contest.  Seriously, an 8-8 week is bad enough (that's my worst week since an abominable 4-9 in Week Six last year), but to top it all off, Dave took all three different games to pull ahead by one on the season.  Okay, it's only Week Two, but I hadn't trailed in this contest since Week 17 of 2000.  It's been a while.  The really annoying part, of course, will be hearing Dave gloat, though at least I won't have to hear it person, as I leave Thursday morning.  Two more days...

September 15, 2002

   Attack of the 50-Foot Sequels.   I was browsing movies.yahoo.com/upcoming today, and I saw a lot of sequels in the "In Development" or (more thankfully) "Shelved" sections, as well as many that are already scheduled for definite release.
    Skipping past the two Lord of the Rings movies that are upcoming, plus Episode III and the two Matrices (I love referring to them that way, for whatever reason), I just thought I'd give you fair warning, sharing with you some of the upcoming, or not, sequels.
    Initially I wrote quite a bit.  Then I realized that was stupid.   So here's an alphabetical list of sequels listed on that site (excluding the three franchises mentioned above), along with current status, and bolded if I have any chance of seeing them.  By the time you get to the bottom, I think you'll have realized just how much Hollywood loves sequels.

American Wedding (aka American Pie 3) - slated for August '03 release
Analyze That - slated for December 6 release
Another Goddamn Harry Potter Movie - slated for November 15 release
Another Shitty Rugrats Movie - unknown Summer 2003 release
Back to the Future Part IV - permanently shelved
Bad Boys 2 - Summer 2003
Basic Instinct 2 - shelved
Battlefield Earth 2 - in development
Beverly Hills Cop IV - in development
The Birth of the Pink Panther - in development
Blair Witch 3 - in development
Charlie's Angels 2 - June 2003 release
Child's Play 5 - in development
Die Hard 4 - permanently shelved
Dirty Dancing 2 - unknown 2003 release (note that aside from the title, this isn't really a sequel)
Easy Rider A.D. - in development
The Fast and the Furious 2 - June 2003 release
Final Destination 2 - March 2003 release
The First Wives Club 2 - permanently shelved
Godzilla 2 - in development
The Goonies 2 - in development
Grosse Pointe Blank 2 - in development
Indiana Jones 4 - in development for a potential 2005 release
Jeepers Creepers 2 - April 2003 release
Jumanji 2 - in development
The Jungle Book II - February 2003 release
Jurassic Park IV - in development
Legally Blonde 2 - July 2003 release
Lethal Weapon 5 - in development for a potential 2004 release
Mad Max 4 - in development
Meet the Fockers - in development
Mission: Impossible 3 - in development for a potential 2004 release
Pitch Black 2 - in development for a potential 2004 release
Pretty Woman 2 - mostly rumors, I think, but "in development" nonetheless
Rocky VI - in development
Romancing the Stone 3 - in development, though borderline
Rush Hour 3 - in development for a potential 2004 release
The Santa Clause 2 - slated for a November 1 release
Scary Movie 3 - in development
Shanghai Knights - February 2003 release
Shrek 2 - aiming for a potential June 2004 release
Spider-Man II - aiming for a potential May 2004 release
Star Trek: Nemesis - slated for a December 13 release
Terminator 3 - July 2003 release
Terminator 4 - in development
Tomb Raider 2 - June 2003 release
True Lies 2 - in development
Under Siege 3 - in development for a potential 2004 release
The Whole Nine Yards 2 - scheduled to start production soon for a potential 2003 release
The X-Files 2 - in development for a potential 2004 release
X-Men 2 - May 2003 release
Yet Another Goddamn Harry Potter Movie - aiming for a potential 2004 release

September 15, 2002

   Those of you who actually pay attention to the Weekly Ten (probably a number that, when used as a divisor, results in an undefined situation or possibly a quotient equal to the dividend) will have noticed that I hadn't updated it in for-fucking-ever.  Yeah, June 3... it's been a while.  Two reasons why: over the summer I've listened largely (though not entirely) to my movie soundtracks playlist and also only the Ben Folds section of my main playlist, over and over.  I don't like to put up the soundtracks in the Weekly Ten (because identifying specific tracks is dumb), and I already had a Weekly Ten full of Folds, so there wasn't much point in changing that (not that a thought process that cogent actually went through my head on the subject at any point this summer).  Anyway, I've changed it now, and while I probably should change the name to the "Whenever I Remember and/or Feel Like It Ten," that doesn't have quite the same ring.  And it would never fit on a button.

September 14, 2002

   More!  More updates, I say!   Anyway, after a search effort that took... well, the entirety of September, my Simpsons DVDs were finally found, still sitting in their packaging on the top row of a third-floor bookshelf.  It should be noted that it was I who found them, just so my mom doesn't get credit for anything but losing them in the first place.   Though to be fair, she did buy them for me.  Anyway, chalk up another entry on the DVDs list.  I now have 44 movies, the entirety of Monty Python, the first two Simpsons seasons, and Ben Folds Five live in concert at West 54th.  The following DVDs can also be forecasted to enter my collection by the time 2003 rolls around: the complete Back to the Future trilogy; the complete run of Sports Night; the Criterion Collection edition of Charade; and possibly anything else currently appearing on my Amazon.com wish list.  (I'm willing to guarantee BTTF if nothing else, because I would sell a kidney to own that on DVD after the waiting they've made me endure.)  Charade is the most tenuous of those three because it costs 36 freaking dollars - not as much as the other two, but then those are a) three entire movies and b) the entire series run of a television show.  Still, I think Charade is a must-have if only to remind everyone how much The Truth About Charlie is going to fucking suck.
    Other news: this is the first three-update day since May 13, but if you go back and look, I think we've got more in the way of content today.
    Other, other news: I've got some link buttons up.  I can't recall anyone using them before, so I don't know why I'm expecting anyone to use them now, but I probably get a little more traffic now than I used to (right).  So: if you have a website, or even a LiveJournal or something, you've probably just linked to me in text already (if you had any plan to ever do so).  But I've got exciting button opportunities!  Come on.  I'd use yours if you gave me buttons.  Anyway, there are three for your perusal: the standard button, which looks like the ones on the front page (jpg, 23k); a smaller animated gif (2k) suggesting that bored people visit the site; and a slightly larger animated gif (11k), which, like much of my commentary relating to the flow of traffic on this site, is probably more self-deprecating than is strictly necessary.

September 14, 2002

   Hallelujah.  After two ugly, ugly weeks (combined 100-27 loss, anyone?), Northwestern got off the schneid today with a 26-21 win over Duke - come from behind, it should be noted (Duke led 14-3 in the second quarter).  The defense played well in the fourth quarter, protecting the five-point lead by stopping Duke on fourth down several times.  The Cats also won the turnover battle +2.  The one problem was a lot of penalties, but word over at Purple Reign is that many of the calls were just bad, and the officiating crew (from the ACC, it should be noted) looked really biased.  Whatever.  They couldn't get a win out of it, so take that (though I think they covered the +6 spread, so does that tell you anything?).
    Anyway, with Basanez looking better (though he didn't throw any touchdowns) and the defense solid with the lead, you've gotta think we can beat freaking Navy next week, if not at least Indiana (possibly also Minnesota) in conference.   Strides.

    If you haven't yet - and most of you probably haven't - you need to watch the trailer for Adaptation.   It's just a good trailer in general - great use of "Under Pressure" - but it has me pretty amped to see the movie, which unfortunately doesn't come out until December 6, and then only in "select cities," and who knows what that means.  Will CineArts get it before I have to come back home?  Who knows.
    That made me think about the surprisingly small crop of movies that I'm looking forward to so far this fall.  More tend to turn up on the slate as things go along, but as of right now here are the movies I'm at least considering seeing - and that's not even saying I'll see them.  I'll note the ones which I'll definitely be seeing in bold, but there aren't many.
    The Four Feathers (September 20)
    Moonlight Mile (September 20, limited; October 4, wide)
    Red Dragon (October 4)
    The Man from Elysian Fields (October 4, limited; other cities later)
    Auto Focus (October 18, limited; other cities later)
    I Spy (November 1)
    Phone Booth (November 15)
    Die Another Day (November 22)
    Adaptation (December 6, limited; other cities later)
    The Two Towers (December 18)
    Gangs of New York (December 25)
    Catch Me If You Can (December 25)
    Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (December 27, limited; January 10, wide)
As you can see, I've only got two predominantly earmarked, and given Adaptation's unclear expansion table, who knows when I'll get to see it - possibly not until I get home, much like Finding Forrester two years ago.  Bah.  At least Moonlight Mile may be in Evanston when I get back - it opens in Chicago on the 20th as one of the limited sites... it's unclear just what "Chicago" means, though.  Memento was downtown well before it reached Evanston, for example.

September 14, 2002

   Only five more days.   Crazy style.  Anyway, this week's NFL Picks are now up, now that I finally got Dave's picks in (apparently his Internet was down).  Dave also informs me he won't have a poll in this week, which annoys me to no end.  (See September 3rd update.)  But because school is either just starting or hasn't started yet for most people involved, I'm going to let such things slide for this week.  By next week, though, failure to turn in a poll with anything resembling regularity (i.e. more than once and for no good reason) will result in booting.  It may seem like the end result is the same - I still end up with fewer voters - but it works out better because I'm not sitting around waiting for the final one to come and then it never shows up.
    Also, a load of new Drew IMs on the IMs page.

September 13, 2002

   Because the pictures of me on this site are old (the only accurate one as regards my current look is from February 24, 2001), I took a new one.   It's not great, but I don't think I've ever photographed tremendously, so whatever.  Also, because I'm sure somebody is interested in seeing this, have you ever wondered what my house looks like?  Well, here it is from the front and the back.

September 12, 2002

   Meet the Updates.   Beatles Countdown 2002 has been phased in as the new Beatles Top 40 Countdown, but I've added all countdowns past, because those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it (presumably by making shitty 25-song countdowns that lack representation of several albums), and because you asked for it.   Well, some of you did... look, just pretend you asked for it so we can move on.

September 11, 2002

   The "Frequently Asked Questions" are indeed up.  Also some button changes: "Links," because I don't put shit on it anymore, has moved to "Largely Outdated," clearing room for the FAQ button.  The "About" section is in fact gone; its contents were rehashed into the first two questions.  Thus that button is gone from the "Me" page which now has little reason to exist other than to preserve pages that don't go anywhere else - but I can live with it if you can.  Anyway, that's where the FAQ will go once I've decided there's no more room for it on the main page, whenever that is.
    Also, an event of seriously historical proportions is going down in the forum.  You'd better get in there.

September 11, 2002

   8:24 am.  In other words, at this exact time, on this exact date one year ago, nothing had yet happened.
    Excluding members of Al Qaeda (and given our retribution, possibly not even many of them), people pretty generally must think the same way I do - what wouldn't you give to have access to a time machine, travel back to the early morning one year ago, and stop things from happening?
    On the other hand, I'm not sure my full reasons are exactly the same as most.  Sure, they start off the same, but then they go further.  Most people are content to attend memorial services and the like, or perhaps watch some of the round-the-clock coverage on any one of a dozen television networks.  I, meanwhile, would like to ignore it altogether.
    Am I ignoring "our fallen heroes," or however you wish to refer to them?  Of course not; I just don't need to watch a very special "60 Minutes," or go stand in some church with a hundred sniffling people, to "commemorate the anniversary."  What's more, as far as the event goes, I'd rather not remember it at all.
    I was pulled out of bed not long after the second plane hit, and watched the television for the rest of the day - and I mean that, minimal breaks excluded - with a certain numbness.  It was like watching a movie; there wasn't any way it could be real.  Frankly, I've never come to feel much differently on the surface.   When I see the skyline now, I can't even recognize the south end of the island, simply because there's no way that the towers wouldn't be there.  It doesn't make sense.  I saw them collapse - hell, it happened on live television - but they're still standing.
    And because they're still standing, I don't need to see them collapse again and again.  I don't need newspaper photos with erect but smoking towers; I don't need television footage of planes hitting.  It's something I could do without.   And I suspect it's something most people could do without.  Yet these things will be shown - because after all, we must remember.  Right?
    I'll make you a deal.  You go watch all the destruction footage.   I'll remember what I want to - and what I plan on remembering is that the towers still stand.  I haven't been to downtown New York since last September 7 - or I have, but Washington Square Park was my southernmost point - and I don't plan on going anytime soon.  You can't make me believe that they're not there.
    Some people might think I'm unsympathetic.  The towers had to fall - otherwise, where did the more than three thousand people go?  It's easy for me to be distant - I don't know anyone personally affected by it, right?
    Let me tell you something, for those who don't already know.  One year ago, my dad had a meeting in the World Trade Center.  100+ floors up.  It was originally scheduled for early morning - then it got moved, at the last second, to midafternoon.  My dad was still uptown at 8:46.
    A last minute scheduling change.  That's all it was.  Now you tell me why I want to think any more about what happened than I absolutely have to.
    You keep your "tower footprints."  I'm telling you - they're still there.

    Moving on (please).  Later today there will be a new FAQ section up - because every other website has one, and I figured it was a good excuse to be funny.  I think it'll actually just replace the "About" section... fair?

September 9, 2002

   At 1:14 am on Monday, this took a little longer than one might have liked, but this is something that can be "blamed" on the Jewish holiday (Pearl avoids the computer on Rosh Hashanah) and ought not to be repeated with any regularity.  Anyway, it's the first Top 20 College Football Poll of 2002.

    There's also a new Poll of the Week.  Expect one every Monday so I don't have to do this every week.

September 5, 2002

   If you thought the CD player in the car was nice, meet my new best friend.  Speaking of friends, someone call Satan and tell him he should probably turn up his thermostat.

September 4, 2002

   This is the second time in less than a year that I've wished someone a happy 22nd birthday, which if you ask me is just crazy.  Anyway, this is Drew's birthday shout-out, because today is in fact his birthday, plus if I didn't get it out on time I would be yelled at.

September 4, 2002

   It's baaaack...

September 3, 2002

   I think preseason college football polls are pretty stupid, and it's been proved by the fact that Colorado State is still ranked below Colorado despite beating them, entirely because Colorado had been #6 in the previous week's poll.  It's stuff like this that allows Florida State to be ranked all the time even when they go 8-4 or whatever they did last year - no other team could be ranked at 8-4 on an ACC schedule.
    Anyway, for those of you who don't like the real polls, here's your chance to get a vote in.  That's right, it's the third annual edition of the BigFlax.com Top 20 College Football Poll.  Rules and notes:
    * It's 20 because somewhere along the line, some whiner said they didn't want to have to rank 25 teams because it was too hard.  I forget who that was, but let's all laugh at them in retrospect.  Anyway, it's still 20 because why the hell not?  It sets us apart from other polls.
    * If you are going to be in the poll, you have to be able to get shit in on time.  This has been too much of a problem in years past for me not to say anything about it.  So here's the deal: polls are due no later than three pm each Sunday.  (Note the special emphasis.)  If you can't handle this, just don't bother asking to be in the poll, because I don't want to have to deal with it again.  Get 'em in or you're out.
    * Under no circumstances will anyone be allowed to put Northwestern in their poll, or at least not before they improve their record to 6-1.  You put them in there and I replace them with Air Force, unless you've already ranked Air Force in which case I replace them with the shittiest team I can find in Division I-A.
    * No teams that aren't in Division I-A.
    * Don't bother whining to me about the rules.  Join the poll and follow them, or don't.  It really isn't that hard.
    * The poll is tentatively scheduled to start this weekend - i.e. rank 20 teams and send them to me by 3 pm this Sunday, September 8.  However, I want at least five people besides myself to do the poll.  Click here to send me an e-mail re: signing up for the poll.  If I don't get that many people, the poll may not start until later when I do get that many.

September 2, 2002

   Did I remember to promise you pictures?  Well, maybe I didn't, but here they are anyway.  I actually didn't take very many, certainly not as many as I was planning to.  Oh well.  Again, if for some reason you want big pics, go ahead and click to enlarge.

Ric lounges in the chair shortly after arrival.  He must have been tired, since he arrived at one in the freaking morning!

My birthday ice cream cake.  Serving size was like "one-fifteenth of cake" and I probably ate half of it myself.

To prove that I ate half of the cake, witness my first piece.  I had two more after this, though not of that size.

This picture came out fairly dark, which is a shame.  But it's Ric with the family shortly before he departed.  Ric claims to have had a good time while in Pennsylvania, so we can present this picture as proving that theorem.

Ric walking out the door with Kudos M+Ms bars in tow.  My sister started saying "I miss Ric" about three minutes later.

September 2, 2002

   It's odd that it's September, but on the other hand I'm hardly complaining.  Summer couldn't have gone fast enough for my taste, at least after the first month or so.  Getting back to school should be good just so I can see everyone again, and do all my fun extracurriculars like NUR and quiz bowl.  (Speaking of quiz bowl, Loyola sent me a birthday card.  Is the fact that they check the page that much a) weird; b) strangely flattering; c) both; d) neither?)
    And speaking of birthdays, mine has now come and gone.  There were no updates because I was out in Pennsylvania and didn't want to open the 100K August page on the slow-ass computer, but there were certainly things I could have said.
    Wednesday the 28th: Went out there.  Ric turns up at about 1:15 am - technically on my birthday already - with a long story about rain and pay phones in Maryland not accepting Visa.  (Should they change their slogan to "It's everywhere you want to be, except for Maryland pay phones," or would that imply that one might actually want to be at a pay phone in Maryland too much?)  We go to Wawa, the Philly equivalent of White Hen, at 3 am.  I buy Doritos' new Salsa flavor, because I am daring.  Marian insists that Drew resembles Mr. Ratburn from the PBS cartoon "Arthur," for some reason.
    Thursday the 29th: Birthday.  I sleep in, and it's too wet to play golf anyway.  Mom left all my presents out in Jersey, so I don't get much of anything.  I spend my $50 Barnes and Noble gift certificate from Grandma and Grandpa on a mere two DVDs (serious fleece-time).  We have dinner at the club - Ric and I both get the "Rosemary Marinated Filet," which is as usual utterly sublime.  Key lime tart for dessert - holy lord, that was good.  I think I put back on most of the weight I lost this summer today alone.
    Friday the 30th: It clears up, more or less.  We finally get out and play golf.  Ric shoots 89, I shoot 115 but hit a decent number of good shots after I get my swing back in order on the range.  Full scores not pictured because I let Ric keep the scorecard, and I know no one's complaining.  So just for that, here's the scores from the 36-hole mini golf match play tournament Ric and I played that night.

First 18 - North Course

Second 18 - West Course

Notes: scores are how we ended the hole, obviously.  18 of each course was 17 again because the real 18s were those free game holes that you can't get real scores on.  This annoys me to no end because I could have won if we hadn't had to end with West 17 twice - I could not play that hole very well.  It was uphill, with a creek in the middle and rotating obstacles just above the creek.  I pounded mine just to make sure it would go up on the 35th - it did, but Ric hit his easier and got it much closer to the hole, winning the hole as a result.  On the 36th, I hit mine less, and - sure enough - it went into the creek.  End of story.  I've demanded a rematch, so I think we'll play at some point in Chicago - and I'm bringing my clubs out there, so we may hit up Peter N. Jans - or even others farther afield, now that Ric has his car.
    Saturday the 31st: Ric leaves in the morning so he can be home in time for the Notre Dame game.  My sister immediately begins to long for his presence, in that "uh, we get it" sort of way.

There's more! View last month's updates.

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This page last updated: Thursday, September 11, 2003 07:07:50 PM