What's the difference between a stove?

and another thing

2007-03-20T00:14:00.000-06:00

what ever happened to humorous mp3s? way back when Napster was still free and illegal, these tracks were downloaded and passed around like nobody's business. I'm typing, of course, of such memorable files as:

Arnold's Pizza Shop - "Broccoli? What the hell is broccoli anyway? Shut up with the broccoli!"

Louis Bagel's Matzah #5 - "One, Two, Three Four Five, Everybody likes to eat corn beef on rye"

and the multi-medium Hamster Dance

did the evolution of the intertubes kill them? am I just an old codger longing for the good ol' days? is it YouTube's fault? who can I blame for this atrocity?

gone are the days of checking doodie.com in the library every day at lunch.

question mark,
DooG

blog post-al service

2007-03-17T19:52:00.000-06:00

you may (or may not) have seen the most recent ad campaign from UPS. to summarize, some dude is writing stuff on a whiteboard. that's about all I remember, except that he is doing this while music from Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello (aka The Postal Service) is heard. irony meter going off? it should be. but the UPS jab at the USPS doesn't stop at the TV spots.

if you take the commercial's link bait, you'll find the UPS Whiteboard site. there, visitors are once again greeted by the Sandy Cohen-looking, brown dry erase marker-wielding artist, 'Such Great Heights' playing in the background. listen to his 'What can brown do for you?' spiel or click on the 'Create Your Own Whiteboard' link below him for more corporate excitement. type in a message and send an e-whiteboard to a friend. you can then preview the slightly-cheesy animation of this guy sliding back and forth on screen 'writing' your message. it was at this point that I decided to test it out with what I thought would be an innocuous text string: UPS ads are using music by The Postal Service. animated man's response? 'Yeah, I'm not gonna write that. Why don't you give it another shot?'. the word 'Postal' was highlighted in red, as seen below. [click for largeness]

apparently 'postal' is flagged as an obscenity over at UPS, tantamount to the s- and b-words. (I didn't test any others for fear of further angering Mr. Brown.)

I think this ad campaign is a bit strange, taking what will mostly be an undetected pot shot at our nation's letter carrying brigade. I will say it was clever enough to get me to head to their site, where I have now been convinced to use their services for all of my small-business needs (read: none).

as an aside, I have always enjoyed UPS'eses 'we wanna race the truck' ads shown during NASCAR events wherein UPS-sponsored driver Dale Jarrett is coerced by those at the company to switch from his #44 Toyota Camry (née #88 Ford Taurus/Fusion) race car to a UPS package car (that's really what the call them internally, ask Wikipedia). he agreed to race the big brown truck in an ad during the 2004 season, shifting the focus of the campaign slightly. the original ads were better, though I can't find any on YouTube so this will have to do.

speaking of automobile racing, the first race of the ought-seven Formula 1 season is tomorrow in Australila, which mathematically translates to tonight here in the non-penal colonies. I'll be watching and can't wait to attend the USGP in Indy this summer.

ROCK,
Davit

thought for food

2007-02-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

a. Iron Chef: I used to love watching the original Japano version, mostly for the wonderful voice replacement and truly nauseating ingredients. I especially enjoyed seeing the giggly-female-star-of-the-week, never with a bad thing to say, and all the while covering her mouth for politeness. priceless.

I do watch the American version, though it just doesn't have the same charm being in English and all. and there's the outside chance Rachael Ray may appear (see note d). but today my nostalgia for the good ol' show was satiated. Iron Chef Morimoto (the only continuing 'cast member') was pitted against... I don't know, some shmuck with no chance, and when it came time for the big M to explain his dishes at judgment: his voice was dubbed over. even though he was speaking in English. I laughed aloud.

and bring back the shiny uniforms.

b. which leads me to another reality-based food program, Top Chef. specifically a contestant I loved to hate, and who was somehow able to make it to the final two. all other Marcel bashing aside, the man has some odd ideas on hair arrangement and placement. ironically, there's a hairstyle by the same name.

he calls himself a molecular gastronomist, which means he uses scientific-sounding shit to ruin his food. I'm sure if done well, and without pretense, this is an actual thing.

in the season finale, one of the judges was none other than Wiley Dufresne (I'd never heard of him either), apparently a well-respected and successful molecular gastronomist.

so... is the ugly facial hair a requirement in this culinary niche? (I really wish I could have found a picture of Marcel when he was sporting the triangu-burns, you'll just have to trust me.)

c. having trouble choosing where to dine? try the Wheel of Food. type in your zip and a keyword and watch it spin. a cute idea, if a bit unreliable. I chose 'indian' to narrow my search and Hooters appeared on the wheel. are they offering tandoori wings I don't yet know about?

d. Rachael Ray sucks. big time. and according to a classmate of mine, she's a total bitch in the real life. big surprise. I now fear the cracker aisle, knowing that her stupid toothface is plastered across every Nabisco product. I skipped my weekly Family Size Redued Fat Wheat Thin purchase in protest.

fin.
DeeEffGee

a new tradition

2007-01-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

to continue the first-day-of-the-semester posting, it also seems a new tradition has emerged with my time here at CU. like last semester, I had a bus break down today. unlike last semester, the bus didn't restart and a tow truck had to be called.

that's what a two-piece articulated bus looks like being towed by a huge truck (which I got to ride in!).

it was three hours from the time the bus broke down until it got towed back to the bus lot, during which time my body (mostly my feet) became very cold. though well below freezing, Boulder's temps today do not even compare to what I experienced over this past weekend. more on that in an upcoming post as part of a series recapping my wintry break.

oh, and I had a class today too. it was dece and the professor seems cool and mentioned he has seen every episode of The Simpsons "like ten times." my kind of guy.

k bye,
DoG

it's that time again...

2007-01-12T16:38:00.001-07:00

a new member may soon be added to the fam, in the form of an adorable German shepherd puppy. I say 'may' because the dual-dog scenario will first be on a trial basis. if parental units decide to keep her, she will require a name. like Kipper before her, I ask for any suggestions.

some background: her official AKC name is Ada vom haus Huro. she was born on September 15, so no good holiday tie-ins. she is 3/4 German and 1/4 Czech.

for some reason, hemi is still not considered an acceptable name by other family members.

and yes, I know I haven't been very good about posting lately. I'm hoping that will change soon. show your support by offering names for this cute doggy.

my toes are cold,
D*G

p.s. stay tuned for some highlights from my one-month hiatus from reality.

ohh, ehm... gee!

2006-10-22T18:38:00.000-06:00

I went skiing today at A-Basin. there was a huge crowd, we took only four five-minute runs in the four hours we were there, but it was totally kickass.

that's the lift 'line', though it was more of a mob until we approached the orderly portion that is being obscured by massive amounts of people in this shot.

one lift and two runs open. it was beautiful, the snow was falling, and it's only October.

I love Colorado.

l8r,
deeg

give and take

2006-10-14T23:50:00.000-06:00

if you haven't heard/read yet, Bono and Bobby Shriver (Ahnold's bro-in-law, and yes I realize that's Oprah in the above photo) have devised a way to help raise money to purchase medicine for African AIDS victims. a worthy cause indeed, and there's no doubt celebrity can lend a hand when fundraising.

but I kind of have a problem with their method. and after reading this intriguing, if not too well-edited, piece by Michael Medved I think I know why.

an overview of how (RED) {yes it belongs in those parentheses for some reason} works:
you buy a special product from select participating companies and they then donate some of the profits to help buy the meds. it's basically that simple, but if you'd like to read the pretentious version, head on over to the (RED) site and read their manifesto.

okay, let me first just say that I am ALL for charitable contributions, and I do recognize that it often takes some enticement for people to think about and follow through on the donation. PBS tote bags, Jerry Lewis telethons, and those little American flag toothpicks are great examples.

but this is a bit different. it seems to me that these products are supposed to be status symbols, neon signs shouting 'hey, look, I'm talking on a red phone/wearing a silly shirt/paying with a red credit card. I'm helping people!'

also, not all of the companies are sending all of the markup on to the charity. Medved points out the price difference on several items from Gap in particular that mean the company is making more profit off of the (RED) items than a normal non-AIDS-fighting version. this is not true for all of the retailers mind you, as Apple is donating $10 from each red iPod nano purchase, while that product costs the same as its differently-colored 4 GB brethren. in many cases the consumer would be better off donating directly to the cause instead of employing and feeding the corporate middleman.

Medved also points out that some of the ad campaigns for the products are a bit risque. AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease, so I think suggestive advertising is not only sending the wrong message, but is irresponsible.

in my opinion, if you want to donate to charity you should be doing it for selfless reasons. you shouldn't require a badge to show other people how good of a person you really are, and the same should go for the companies making the products. all of the money spent on advertising and marketing this stuff could have gone directly to those in need, and don't get me started on the time and gas wasted on trips to the mall to buy it. this campaign is too sales-driven for me and its presentation is borderline obnoxious. the message they're sending is that shopping and excess save lives. it has already become more about stuff than what money is going to.

okay, I realize I was rambling but I feel pretty strongly about this. and who decided on red anyway? pink and yellow were taken?

I'm anxious to hear/read what any of you have to say. please comment below or contact me privately if you prefer and let me know.

dg

CO vs. MI

2006-09-22T22:13:00.000-06:00

hola amigos,

in my short time here in 'the centennial state' I have made note of several (sev-eh-ral) differences between my new home and 'the wolverine state'.

for instance, in Colorado u-turns on divided highways are performed freehand at intersections, whereas in Michigan I'm used to the Michigan-U (not to be confused with the University of Michigan, though I did make an academic u-turn during the end of my tenure there which, coincidentally, landed me here). I'm still getting used to this concept and will be glad when I get a vehicle with a better turning radius.

another slight change has been the cuisine, or more accurately the food options local to me. gone are the days of picking up Backroom (mmm...Backroom) or Panch after an evening at the Jug. a few months back I thought all hope of decent burritos was lost when I tried Big City Burrito, an unimaginable disappointment. on Sunday, however, I was introduced to Illegal Pete's, a small local franchise that might give Panchero's a carrera for their pesos. also, I have been very, very lucky to find Sabra hummus at several (joss tryeeton!) local grocerariums.

highway driving can also be a markedly different experience out here. people actually drive under the speed limit, sometimes by 5 mph or so. also, horns are seldom utilized, save for occasionally waking someone from a slumber at a traffic light.

Hillel on campus is also quite a change from what I was used to in Ann Arbor (I'm of course referring to my final year during which I actually went inside of UMHillel). there's just not a lot of Jews out here. Hillel is in a small house and this evening's services were attended by about 75 people in auditorium on campus, and many of those present were community members (though by the end the rabbi hoped we'd all be a kehila kedosha).

feetball. Michigan's team wins in upset fashion whereas Colorado's just makes all of its fans upset. their current records also could not be more contrastative.

cars out here (as in many states) are required to have front and rear license plates. though I normally despise the look of a front plate, I won't mind too much when I get my next vehicle because CO has very cool mountain plate designs.

Colorado has mountains, Michigan hasn't.

feliz año nuevo a mis amigos sefardis y שנה טובה al resto!
el DG

p.s. for those of you who don't read hebrew or spanish, I was just wishing a happy new year to all as tonight is the beginning of Rosh Hashanah and the Jewish year 5767. now why didn't I just say it like that to begin with? because then I wouldn't get the opportunity to use a post-script to explain myself and make this already-too-long post even longer.

what a way to start a semester

2006-08-29T16:34:00.000-06:00

there is most likely only one person who would truly understand the meaning in this post's title.

for those of you who did not have the privilege of rooming with me freshman year at good ol' UM, I shall explain. after sleeping through my alarm on the first day of second semester, I woke up, noted the time, and said [post title] upon realizing I had missed the first meeting of my 8 am calc 2 class. well, here I am some 3.5 years later, apparently having passed calc 2 and many other non-exciting classes. and today was my first day of grad school. that's right, I'm now officially a graduate student.

[by the way, that wasn't the only alarm I slept through freshman year. during dinner one evening in MoJo's dormtastic (read: craptastic) dining hall everyone was discussing the previous night's fire alarm and subsequent hall evacuation. fire alarms were, of course, a common occurrence in dorm life, but I didn't recall this particular event. after adopting the practice of staying in bed and covering my ears with a pillow during these nuisances, I apparently became immune. luckily it wasn't a real fire, it never was.]

so what, you may ask, am I referring to with all of this? well I didn't miss my first class, it was at 12:30 and lasted just long enough for introductions and syllabus handing out (yeah, they still do that junk in grad school!). no, I had been awake for seven hours by that point. during five of said hours I was driving a large two-piece articulated vehicle around campus helping others to their first classes of the day. until it happened. I'm really not sure what exactly, all I can say for sure is that the engine died and I was stuck in a lane of traffic on a four-lane road. my first breakdown! (vehicular, not mental.) so there I and the bus sat until one of the mechanics could bring another bus out to me. I was probably there for about 10 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. you'd be surprised (at least I was) at the amount of people who honk and swear at a person blocking one lane of traffic. believe me, I did not choose for this to happen. what did they expect me to do? push it onto the non-existent shoulder? even the city buses were honking, you'd think they might have some sympathy for a fellow driver. I guess not. so that was a bit stressful to say the least.

now I know you're also wondering (and by you I mean maybe three people) what I've been up to for the last month or so. well...I moved into my new place with two nice roommates (who actually live in the rooms they rent), one of whom has a dog. I've been training for a position to teach the GRE at a test prep company. and I've been logging the miles around town. this coming weekend I'll be heading home to the MI for a bit of familial and friendly visitation. brother, sister, and nephew will be there as well so I'll get to see what Oscar looks like at three months vs. fresh.

well, I have to get ready for my second class this evening, wouldn't want to miss it! I hope all are well and that I can see some of you folks in a few days.

warmest regards,
¡DG!

where you'd least expect

2006-07-28T09:30:00.000-06:00

first Sufjan appears as the lead-in music on a segment [see Peugeot 207 vs. Teen Parkours] of last Sunday's episode of the BBC's Top Gear motoring programme, and now this.

an after-school youth program has produced a rap track sampling "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!" from Stevens' latest proper album Illinois (the outtakes of which were recently released as The Avalanche). very interesting mashup, and I echo Pitchfork who hope that this might start a new trend.

word.

behold: here I descend

2006-07-15T18:11:00.000-06:00

sure, we're all aware jews tend to be a humorous lot, but did you know that there's a rabbi who's also a stand-up comic? his name is Bob Alper and you can hear a short clip of him here. I first heard him on one of Sirius' many comedy channels a couple of weeks ago. funny stuff. I think he'd be a great shmooze-shponsored shpeaker...

shpeaking of words with the popular 'sh' sound at their beginning, today's high temp in the Boulder/Denver area was 103 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale, and I drove a bus back and forth to Water World (about 20 miles away) thrice today; I felt as though I was driving a mobile shvitz. tomorrow's high is a forecasted 104.

happy summer,
deeeeeeeeg

noodles, potatoes, and carburetors?

2006-07-07T14:52:00.000-06:00

I spent the 4th in Telluride and on Monday we took a trip to Durango to see the cars involved in The Great Race. the GR is a rally across the US from east to west for cars 45 years old and over. each vehicle has a driver and navigator and the navigation is done using only mileage directions, a calibrated speedometer, and a stopwatch. no computers, no calculators, no GPS, no nothing. it was a rest day so we were able to drive around downtown Durango and see the cars, many of which have large support crews and trailers. we met a nice woman who, along with her husband, was fielding an entry with this license plate:

it turns out this is their last name, as well as the name of their company. their '32 Ford actually made the list of the 75 most influential '32s because of its use as a test bed for all of their products. their names are Judy and Jerry, though I was hoping for Malka and Elimelech. this is one kind of kugel we never considered in the great kugel debates of '06.

[Ian, you have my permission to use this image for future Kugel-off promotion.]

also, my dog had a very good time visiting Telluride. here he is on a hike up the Bear Creek Canyon trail:

ttfn,
someone

hail to thee

2006-06-24T20:10:00.000-06:00

this just in from Boulder: it hailed today. a lot.

after seeing a severe thunderstorm warning announced on TV, I began to hear the storm. I don't think I've ever seen hail this large, luckily I was inside because it was hitting the roof hard. I grabbed my camera to document nature's fury.

the sky was darkening. it started hailing harder. [that's the view out my window.]

more hail.

hail piling up on the deck.

then there was hail everywhere, and heavy rain accompanying it. the parking lots began to flood.

then a pool formed on the grass between the building and the parking lot.

hail!

the aftermath.

I recorded some audio of the storm and took a few videos. I'll try to get them online for your audio/visual pleasure.

crazy weather is fun.
-dg

update: here's the video. [apologies for it being side-wise.]

have time, will waste

2006-06-23T16:57:00.000-06:00

here's a pilot for a show called Nobody's Watching that didn't quite make it. the show is a sitcom about two young TV-aholics [is there such a thing as TV-ahol?] who get the chance to make their own sitcom, while the studio tapes the process as a reality show. it was bought by NBC then picked up by WB, but for one reason or another never got greenlit. I think it's pretty entertaining, and if you look past the pilot-y-ness, it seems like the show has some real potential. take a look for yourselfs. (the above link will take you to part 1 of 3, with the others available on the bottom right 'Explore More Videos' section of the YouTube controlling panel.)

like music videos? who doesn't? Pitchfork recently trawled YouTube for 100 Awesome Music Videos. the criteria aren't really terribly specific, with videos chosen for their artistic vision, hilarity, importance, or for being just plain craptastic. each video is accompanied by the contributors' reasons for choosing it, with the commentary itself being either interesting, funny, or lame. here are some of my personal faves and whyfor I chose them:

Björk: Triumph of a Heart - a great beatbox-laden track off her latest release, Medulla. in the video a cat is anthropomorphized to the fullest. watch to believe. [p 1]
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: "Tha Crossroads" - I remember listening to this song at Tamarack when I was around 12. never saw the video until now. [p 2]
The Decemberists: "16 Military Wives" - a great Rushmore parody. great song as well. [p 3]
Ice Cube: "It Was a Good Day" - always liked this song and its accompanying no-nonsense narrative video. I enjoy and agree with the contributor's description of Ice Cube as 'unfuckwithable'. [p 5]
Juvenile: "Ha" - what the hell is he saying? all I can make out is the oddly-placed 'run Forrest, run Forrest, run' toward the end. a note on the Pitchfork-supplied description: the 'bright-yellow corvettes' mentioned are actually a yellow Ferrari 355 Berlinetta, a blue Jaguar XK convertible, and a 5th generation S-Class. but I can't fault a music nerd on their lack of automotive knowledge. wait, yes I can, and I just did. [p 5]
Pavement: "Shady Lane" - a wonderful and expectedly odd Spike Jonze creation. and 'cause I just plain love Pavement. [p 7]
The Postal Service: "We Will Become Silhouettes" - it's nice looking, the song is great, plus I get to see my favorite Troop Beverly Hills actress and Postal Service songstress, Jenny Lewis. another description comment: the 'cookie' that the 'frumpy suburban Dad' gives his son is obviously a piece of dried fruit from a RonCo-esque as-seen-on-TV food dehydrator. we all know dried food can last through a nuclear attack. that and Twinkies. [p 7]
Radiohead: "Just" - great song, semi-confusing video. but that's how they likes it. [p 8]
They Might Be Giants: "Ana Ng" - the Johns' odd lyrics are well matched by this equally different video. [p 9]

feel free to discuss any agreement or disagreement with my choices, or post your picks in the comments section.

have a lovely evening,
Spiral Stairs

I'll take you to the candy Apple shop

2006-06-19T17:36:00.000-06:00

do you have 50 Cent in your iTunes library? how about having iTunes, as well as all of the other iApps and Mac OS X, on a 50-Cent-branded computer? Forbes says that 50 Cent and His Steveness are in talks to do just that. fitty wants a low-cost computing option for inner-city dwellers.

I'm interested to see what becomes of this. will we see a shift in rap lyrics in order to flaunt 20-inch screens? maybe this will add to the already growing market of Mac mini ride pimping. think of how difficult it will be to tell someone the correct price of such a product, a miscommunication [fifty-cent computers?!] might cause a stampede or something.

[I tried really hard to modify some 50 lyrics to be Mac-centric but the post title was the best I came up with, sorry]

stay fly,
Poochie D

three cheers

2006-06-17T10:02:00.000-06:00

I got a job this week, thankfully.

I'll be joining the company of the following persons:

Ralph Kramden from The Honeymooners
Otto from The Simpons
Chris Farley's character in Billy Madison
Miss Crabtree from South Park
Roberto Benigni as Dante in Johnny Stecchino
Annie Porter in The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down*

what do they all have in common? bus drivering.

I hope to avoid any and all banana peels, and will refrain from playing GTA until the vehicle has come to a complete stop.

good, great, grand, wonderful,
Davey

*Homer: I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to speed around the city, keeping its speed over fifty. And if its speed dropped, the bus would explode! I think it was called... "The bus that couldn't slow down."

is the future behind us?

2006-06-13T13:45:00.000-06:00

I just came across this interesting article (or did it come across me?) about an indigenous people in South America called the Aymara. it seems these people buck the widely held convention, once thought universal, of picturing the past as behind oneself and the future in front. they speak and gesture accordingly, pointing or waving over their shoulders to reference the future and referring to 'last year' by saying 'nayra mara', literally 'front year'.

Backs to the Future - PHYSORG.com

I am currently searching for a job, both in front of and behind myself, and have some promising leads (fingers crossed). I'll be sure to let everyone know when I've secured employment.

hugs,
David

here I am.

2006-06-07T19:57:00.000-06:00

I'm in Boulder. that's in Colorado. I live here now. this is my new home. I'm sort of freaking out.

the journey began bright and early Monday morning when I set off from Birmingham and picked up my accomplice for the trip, Gabers. I can't thank him enough for sharing the driving, entertaining me, and keeping me sane over the last three days.

the route took us through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. while in Iowa (I think) we saw a sign on the highway for a Middle East Conflict memorial and decided we had to stop. it wasn't until we had driven a few miles from the interstate through a sleepy little town that we realized what was meant by Middle East Conflict, we're not talking Israel here but instead Desert Storm and Iraq. why didn't we think of that before? we were in such shock that there would be a memorial to Israel-Palestine conflict that we didn't consider any other (more logical) options. oh well. we stopped and took some pictures anyway.

we stopped over Monday night in Lincoln, NE, home of the University of Nebraska and their Cornhuskers. we stayed at a lovely Best Western with pool, spa, wireless internet and continental breakfast (though by the time we made it to the breakfast bar there were only english muffins left). we ventured to the campus that night to explore and have some dinner.

Tuesday came, and with it the rest of Nebraska. an hour or two after setting off we began seeing signs for Fort Kearney, of Oregon Trail fame, and Gabe was insistent that we take a look. it's neat to see a real live place after you've been there so many times electronically. we chose not to hunt for food or trade any of our wagon tongues but instead took this picture.

we arrived in Boulder at around 4:45 Mountain time (I'm two hours off for future reference) and met the young man from whom I'm subletting my room for the next couple of months. we commenced unpacking my fully-loaded car (in the 90+ degree heat mind you) and then went over to campus for a walk to check it out. the evening ended with a late dinner and a run to Wal-Mart for some miscellaneous necessities (no Meijer out here, a big adjustment).

today we explored the campus a bit more, strolled the Pearl Street pedestrian mall, Gabe bought his requisite Colorado t-shirt, I brainstormed employment ideas, and then it was time to take Gabe to the airport for his departure. on the way there I learned an important Mapquest lesson: if you are routed via toll roads, always select the 'No tolls' option and update the route to check how much time/distance is added in avoiding pay-roads. we discovered that E470 to Denver airport costs an astounding $6 (2 bucks at each of three toll plazas over a 15-mile stretch). on the way back, I was slightly distracted when Gabe called to tell me his flight was delayed an hour due to thunderstorm activity in the area and I missed the exit for the world's most expensive road. instead, I managed to get back to Boulder without paying a dime (sans gas costs) and when I checked Mapquest upon my return it turns out I only added a mile to my journey. I'll never take that road again.

so here I am, all alone in Boulder (because neither of my roommates have been home since I arrived last night and I haven't met them yet, seriously). this is the start of a new life for me I guess. or, according to the fortune cookie I got at China King the evening prior to my arrival: '[I am] only starting on [my] path to success.' let's hope so.

tomorrow I begin the job search.

hugs and long-distance kisses,
DG

p.s. we also saw this in Lincoln:

copy that

2006-05-01T16:30:00.000-06:00

so yesterday saw the fourth and final ann arbour move-out for the lost boys of 1023 Church. with it came some laughs, some sadness, a lot of dust (read: David sneezing), and numerous comments regarding the 12 noon move-out deadline imposed by our lovable landlord. the following is a (very incomplete) list of quotations spoken by [name removed for anonymity and stupidity reasons]:

'uh, there's no cars on the lawn, so...if you could tell your roommate...'

'do you still have vehicles in the back?'
yeah.
'um, how many vehicles?'
maybe three or four.
(walks inside, mumbles to cleaning crew and inquires as to where they have parked, informs them that they cannot park across the street)
'yeah, um, could you maybe move them? our cleaning crew needs to park back there...'

referring to the fact that we were sitting on our porch eating lunch from Red Hot's after the noon deadline:
'I'm sure the restaurant you got the food from has seating...'

please feel free to add any more in the comments.

an audio version of these exchanges (and more!) will be forthcoming so stay tuned.

happy graditation or monday (whichever applies),
DengineeringdegreeG

ps: do I remove AAIO from my blog reading list now?

star stricken

2006-04-23T20:42:00.000-06:00

driving down main street in AA not an hour ago, who do I see crossing the street? Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn. I recognized Posehn first based on his stature and unique facial hair. apparently on their night off between shows in Detroit and Lansing they decided to stop in Ann Arbor.

pretty cool.
[dg]

technically not chametz

2006-04-12T12:44:00.000-06:00

I received this picture, with accompanying caption, in an e-mail message.

"You just can't make this stuff up..."

I actually think you can make this stuff up. especially with the aid of a scanner and a little-known photo editing program called Photoshop. oh well, it's a funny idea anyway.

hag sameach!
dg

and the hits keep on coming

2006-04-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

good news, part deux: I'm going to grad school here. I got in. yes!

the last 24 hours have shaped my future quite nicely. and my mom assured me that it was not an April Fool's joke after reading the acceptance letter to me over the phone.

nearly textless,
me

this summer in Jerusalem

2006-03-31T15:25:00.000-07:00

After the dog show, I was on an El AL flight to Haifa faster than a walnut could roll off a hen house roof.

Christopher Guest as Harlan Pepper in 'Best in Show'

I leave May 17^th. excitement is building.

דויד

'Dr. Marvin Monroe's Guide to Etiquette'

2006-03-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

on my way to class today, I approached a set of double doors connecting the G.G. Brown and H.H. Dow buildings and opened the one on the right (as I always do) to find several people also wishing to pass through the doorway from the opposing side. of course, I politely held the door for them (even though we actually drive on the right side here in the US), and they thanked me. people continued to file through the door, and continued to thank me, at which point I realized I was holding the door for an entire campus tour group. an awkward position to say the least, but I waited for a gap and made my way through, careful to not let the door hit anyone, and also 'excuse me'-ing as a cut across. I don't know that I've ever had such an odd door-holding experience as this before.

along these lines, I found an interesting piece on urban etiquette.

*please note: deeg. is undergoing a slight makeover! the sidebar has been upgraded thanks to inspiration from some peo ple I know. a parade of minor tweaks is also underway, so be sure to take a closer look around the place, if that's your sort of thing.

Smallville calls...
daV

I wonder

2006-03-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

the following is a message received from one of my professors:

ME495 class:

Due to some conflicts with St. Patrick related

activities, it was decided that the quiz originally

scheduled for this Friday will be moved to next Monday.

< dg >