falling back into the last century

Our house, as nice as it is, really only has one cable out in the whole place. It's in the front room, which means it's the only place at my house to watch tv. It's just on the other side of the wall to my room, so I could drill a hole through the wall and run cable into my room that way. A more plausible option for a renter like me would be to skip the whole hole drilling thing and simply run cable around the living room, into the eating nook, past the computer area, into the kitchen and then into my room. In either case, I'd have to split the cable from the source, which I don't really care to do. There are enough wires and gizmos sticking out from the back of the tv.

A couple of days ago I purchased an archaic antenna to attach to my room tv.

It's pretty old. It even has those forky connectors that we used to use to set up the 'ol Atari 2600. Works wonderfully though. With it, I became re-acquainted with an old friend -- flipping through channels.

See, for the past several years we've had digital cable and TiVo™. Both have changed my life for the better and I'd sacrifice two of my limbs for them, but they do come at a cost (besides the monthly fee (which Rhett actually pays for (the TiVo™ part anyway))). There is a huge delay (about seven seconds) when the channel is changed. I think the delay is increased because of the combination of both technologies. Is seven seconds worth the ultimate convenience, control and selection of these technologies? Well, yes.

I wouldn't say that being able to casually flip through channels is a more important friend than digital cable and TiVo™, but it is like a friend who may have been my friend long ago, but was abandoned by me when I got cooler, more popular friends. Thanks for still being my friend, Ability to Casually Flip Through Channels! And thanks for not going anywhere!

The biggest problem with my particular ability to casually flip through channels is that I only get broadcast channels, not the hundreds of quality cable channels the living room gets. That means a couple of average channels and like 17 Spanish channels. Why do Spanish-speakers get so many more channels? I'm pretty sure they're not even a majority in this part of the world yet. It seems like the marketplace would demand that there actually be more English local channels. Oh well. I'm considering learning Spanish by flipping through all the channels above 20.

wiigin' out!

Leave it up to Kristen Wiig to take an unfunny concept and make me laugh 'till I choke.

in memoriam: 1924-2008

So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated... And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, In all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.
-Deuteronomy 34: 5-12

"If this god is God, he would live on every mountain, in every valley. He would not be the god of Ishmael or Israel alone, but of all men. It is said he created all men in his image. He would dwell in every heart, every mind, every soul."

"All who thirst for freedom may come with us. The shadow of death will pass over us tonight, and tomorrow we will see the light of freedom."

"Almost at the moment He died, I heard Him say, 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.' Even then. And I felt His voice take the sword out of my hand."

"I tried not to come. I tried, I told my love it had no right to live. But my love won't die..."

"I have orders to bring you to God... heathen."

"I'm a seeker too. But my dreams aren't like yours. I can't help thinking that somewhere in the universe there has to be something better than man. Has to be."

"Imagine me needing someone. Back on Earth I never did. Oh, there were women. Lots of women. Lots of love-making but no love. You see, that was the kind of world we'd made. So I left, because there was no one to hold me there."

"You who are reading me now are a different breed - I hope a better one. I leave the 20th century with no regrets. But one more thing - if anybody's listening, that is. Nothing scientific. It's purely personal. But seen from out here everything seems different. Time bends. Space is boundless. It squashes a man's ego. I feel lonely. That's about it. Tell me, though. Does man, that marvel of the universe, that glorious paradox who sent me to the stars, still make war against his brother? Keep his neighbor's children starving?"

"Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!"

*sigh* I'm gonna miss you so hard, Chuck!

live podcast #6

if you happen to be on your computer RIGHT NOW (Sunday the 6th of April, 2008), then head over to jrwatchesstartrek.blogspot.com for a live geekfest.

bob ross must be spinning in his grave

I got back from my first oil painting class a few hours ago.

Yeah.

I'm doing it through the local community education program for adults. When I think of adult education I think of that Simpsons where Homer teaches the class on successful marriage and there's a sign out front of the education program center that says "We take the 'dolt' out of a-dolt education."

A long while back we got this awesome class catalog in the mail that had tons of sweet classes in it. Most classes were between 50 and 60 bucks so I figured that even if the classes were a little lame, they would still be cheap enough to try guilt-free. One of the classes was break dancing. Totally. I also considered yoga, photography, Photoshop and drawing (for the dozenth time). The guy on the phone said people complained that the drawing class was too hard, so I avoided it; although maybe it's a different kind of "too hard" than the "too hard" in college.

So for 50 bucks I settled on oil painting. Then, two days ago I went to pick up my supplies. That's where they get ya. After getting oil tubes, brushes, tape, a palette and other miscellaneous debris my tab at the art store was about 100 bucks. I did pick up some watercolor stuff that I may not need (the suggested materials list included oil and watercolor equipment, but it turns out we can sort of pick whether we focus on one paint type or the other), so I'll probably be returning some stuff, but I still need to go back and pick up some mineral spirits, many more canvases and even more brushes.

Our teacher is a lovely hippie soul named Tera. Her motto seems to be a very friendly "figure it out." I always wanted to break myself into art class, but the same thing happens every time I do. Everyone in the room already knows exactly what they signed up to learn. They just use it as a place to do it. After Tera turned us loose to art ourselves silly, I sort of put out a needy vibe by subtley stating how I've never really painted before, I've only taken a couple of drawing classes and I'm also very colorblind. Halfway through my masterpiece of the night I contracted some kind of anxiety associated with an inability to determine what set of procedures I needed to enlist to actually make something of a picture.

Tera said we'll be doing more technique next week. I'll report on that.

In the meantime, here's how we turned out today:


I think it actually looks pretty good if you take a few steps back from the computer.

overusing photobooth

Maria bought me this sweet sweet shirt before she left.

It pretty much means that I'm better than you. It also means that I now have an added amount of pressure to accomplish something that is logically impossible.

We haven't decided when I'm going to go over there to visit. I think it mostly depends on her work travel schedule. She might come next month for the Swell Season concert, so probably after that. I really ought to see what events are in New York over the next few months.

My debit card expired yesterday. I think it's pretty momentous, because this might be the first debit card I've ever had that has expired before I've lost it. Look at me crush it with my gigantic left hand!


Yeah, It got pretty hammered. It didn't work in lots of places because it was crooked, or damaged or both.

I really liked it because it had the easiest "security code" ever: "444."


Here's my new debit card. I'm a little peeved that I get the same old "horses and stagecoach" visual routine. Look how shiny the letters are! Also, look how jealous Dre will get when she sees my new card's expiration date.

nerd it up again

if you happen to be on your computer RIGHT NOW (monday the 31st of march), then head over to jrwatchesstartrek.blogspot.com for a live geekfest.

enter: gorthon

So far I've only achieved one life goal: learning double-dutch.

Another life goal I have is to participate in some kind of table-top role-playing game. My good friend Pete, who is part of this geek cabal known as the Homestarmy, graciously talked to some of his best nerd friends about it. I guess they've been looking for an excuse to start playing again. Hopefully, in the next little while I'll be clutching a 20-sider.

Here's a clip from Freaks and Geeks (my new favorite show starring James Franco). In it the role-playing geeks become cool because they welcome the cool kid from school into their group. If everything comes together, I would be honored to make Pete and his friends cool by my presence.

my beloved is gone!

I think this is a good thing. I think we'll both come out of this better in the long run. Doesn't mean I'm particularly happy.

final fish finally

Alrighty. I finally finished the YouTube version of the Fish Sandwich Fest '08. This is the best version. It's far shorter, tighter and has graphics to display the rankings as they happen.



Click here to go to YouTube.

tales from tivo vol. 1

Recently in conversation I proudly stated that with the exception of seeing who's on Letterman sometimes, I don't watch any programs at all on CBS. I was met mostly with agreement. I suppose some of my friends who were silent have a passion for CSI and Survivor.

Playing devil's advocate, Joe told me that I needed to watch Big Bang Theory. He then explained the premise, which sounds pretty good. It's about a really attractive young blonde who lives next door to four total nerds. I suppose it's sort of a sit-com version of Beauty and the Geek. He said he was going to TiVo it for us. He did, because while I sat down in front of the TV to have a bite, I found the program available for viewing.

First of all, the girl in the show isn't that hot at all. Second of all, the nerds are far more annoying than funny. Not that I'm a nerd or anything (I'm more of a geek), but I'd rather the nerds have a little more humanity to them. Funny concept, sloppy execution.

At the end of the program, TiVo recorded a couple of minutes of How I Met Your Mother, which is a show I had heard is pretty good. It actually sucked me in and fortunately I found the entire episode recorded as well.

I assume someone recorded this particular episode because it had a special guest-starring role by the great Britney Spears. Honestly, I thought she was really funny. She actually had a pretty small role, which may have helped, but I really commend her for making me laugh. The biggest surprise was the main guest-starring role by Sarah Chalke, possibly my favorite girl on television. These factors made this ep a really great introduction to the show for me.

I knew that Willow from Buffy was in it, as well as Neil Patrick Harris, but I didn't know that Nick from Freaks and Geeks (and the upcoming Forgetting Sarah Marshall movie) was also a series regular.

I've been meaning to extol the virtues of Freaks and Geeks for a couple of weeks now. Hopefully a post is forthcoming.

Anyway, a quick check on IMDb shows that a good chunk of Freaks and Geeks regulars have appeared on How I Met Your Mother. Apparently, the latter creators are huge, huge fans of the former.

So besides all that casting stuff, I thought the show was plenty funny. Excellent use of flashbacks, editing and timing. Plus, Doogie Howser is hilarious. There are jerks and then there are mean people like a grown up Doogie Howser that make you laugh your head off.

Yeah, so that's what I watched on TV.

fish sandwiches revealed!

Alrighty. This is the long version. I'm gonna cut it up some more and throw in some graphics, but in the meantime, this will give you the required fish sandwich information you'll need in the future.

lent advice

Before I forget, A&W Restaurant has the best fish sandwich in town. It's true. We did a blind multi-variable taste test. Photographic and video evidence are on their way.

I'm still probably going to go to Arctic Circle for my fish sandwiches, though.

prophecy fulfilled?

Anybody catch this sketch on Saturday Night Live two Saturdays ago?


It was Amy Poehler at her wackiest poking fun of some of those "Queer Eye" type fashion shows on Bravo! (also SNL New Girl was in it and I think she has promise). During the sketch, though, Maria pointed out a "curious lump" that she surmises may be some kind of unborn child.


It's common knowledge in the comedy world that Amy Poehler is married to Will Arnett (who is famous as G.O.B. from Arrested Development (and he also plays "Jonathan" in the official ninth best movie from 2007, Hot Rod (although it's quite actually third best))). If, the curious lump is indeed some kind of baby and if said hypothetical baby was actually caused by Poehler's actual husband then...

The forthcoming child will be THE FUNNIEST BABY EVER!

attention total nerds!

Right now, J.R. and I are recording J.R. Watches Star Trek For the First Time. If you're at your computer RIGHT NOW (Ides of March 2008 4 p.m. MST) then you can hop over there and join us live. If you're reading this later (perhaps on Google Reader), then you can't. Sorry and/or you're welcome.

plugged in even harder if that's even possible

Yesterday (3/11 Day) was officially the day that I turned on the A/C to the car. A few years ago I noted that St. Patrick's day was A/C day. Hopefully, the globe really is warming. My bones hurt in the cold.

Anyway, on topic:

When iPod Shuffles came out, I made fun of them hard. I couldn't stand the thought of no display to tell what songs are playing or how much time is left for the song or how much time is elapsed or what album it's from or what track or whatever. I live for stats like that. Some people need to know the media (and meta-media) they're exposed to. So therefore, I thought iPod Shuffles were for chumps.

I bought an iPod Shuffle.


It's partly out of a justified necessity. I don't feel good working out (and snowboarding) with my normal iPod because I've heard that the big iPods have this danger of getting their internal hard drives scratched and useless after too much movement. My old mp3 player worked fine for this, but its uselessness in hooking up with a Mac made an Apple purchase necessary.

It has a cool clip built in so I don't need to buy a holder.

It's only 50 freaking bucks for the one gig model. It's only 70 for the two gig, but I'd go crazy filling up two gigs worth of songs that I can't see the song title to.

I could've gotten a Nano, which is flash-based like the Shuffle, so there's less danger of internal damage. I didn't because of cost and also because I'm kind of changing my tune about the non-display thing. Since I'm planning on using it for physical activities I figured it would actually behoove me to NOT have the tempting distraction of a display.

Here's my first pump-up playlist I entitled "partyyyy" (maybe I should've called it "pumtttt").

1. On A Plain -- Nirvana
2. Sweat -- Oingo Boingo
3. Flash -- Queen
4. Paranoid Android -- Radiohead
5. Guerilla Radio -- Rage Against the Machine
6. House of Jealous Lovers -- The Rapture
7. I Am One -- Smashing Pumpkins
8. Rusty Cage -- Soundgarden
9. I See Red -- Split Enz
10. Hyperactive! -- Thomas Dolby
11. Rag & Bone -- The White Stripes
12. Common People -- William Shatner
13. Date With the Night -- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
14. You're Gonna Miss Me -- The 13th Floor Elevators
15. Party 'Til You Puke -- Andrew W.K.

What do you think of my playlist? Are there other songs that you use to get pumped? What do you think of my songs? If you are unfamiliar with any of these, get familiar, because I really do listen to awesome music.

I took Yvette-a-tette (that's the name of the Shuffle. I named her after my other iPod, Yvette) to the gym today with this playlist. I must say that I only got up through "House of Jealous Lovers." Part of that had to do with my ending my 14-minute run with a little leg stretching while I attempted to let the machine take my pulse. I lifted my right leg up behind me and rested it on the treadmill's side hand-rail. I figured I'd do a little impressive gym stretching and decided to lift my other leg over onto the other hand rail. So I kind of attempted to get into this sort of "flying" position. That's when my left glute pulled. Hard. At least the machine wasn't running because the last thing I needed was to trip on the treadmill (again).

yrdraziw wen

So I'm working on some HTML programming basics and I'm coming across some pretty unique code. Anybody ever try out the "bdo" command? Yeah, it's the first for me as well.

It's funny. I've been thinking about modern computer science lately and I really do relate it to fantasy wizardry in a couple of senses. Perhaps it's because I've been playing so many old-school RPG computer games in the past few months. In those old games magic is performed in two separate ways. One way is with magical items or ingredients such as reagents or wands or something. Another way is through incantation, or simply through words. Although the items to perform the magic are obvious, both methods are still "magic" because the science of it can't be explained by commoners.

Now, fantasy aside, we get two types of people who work technological computer magic. One type uses hardware -- special devices or specific programs they've mastered in ways that bewilder the commoners. The other type uses programming or special words to manipulate the digital universe.


Is it any wonder computer geeks love fantasy role-playing so much?

© jonmadsen ¥28112 ÷ £14

at least itunes approves of us

It took forever, but iTunes finally accepted the J.R. watches Star Trek for the first time podcast. If you enjoy hearing my and J.R.'s and J.R.'s kids' voices, you should really go ahead and hit up our page on iTunes. Also, future live broadcasts of the show will be handled over on the blog page.

For those of you that don't know, my friend J.R. has hated Star Trek for 30 years, but recently decided that he will watch it all. This podcast is simply me helping him cope as he goes through the whole thing. It's not too dead serious. We actually joke around through most of it. If you hate Star Trek you could still listen and have a pretty pleasant time. In fact, hating Star Trek may even help.

Anyway, it's a lot of fun. Everybody should do it. We've already got three episodes in the can in which we talk about the first season of the original series.

So, to sum up:

J.R. watches Star Trek for the first time at iTunes

J.R. watches Star Trek for the first time blog

j.r. watches star trek for the first time volume 3

Planning to do this at 5:00pm MST.

Log into ustream if you have time and energy. You may need to refresh the page every so often.





If you're having trouble viewing us, make two separate windows with each of the following URLs:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/thejonblogcam
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/star-trek-stuff

You'll probably have to join ustream to chat. So join ustream and chat on the jonblogcam page. If you're lucky, maybe you can chat on the above chat link.

b-day party pics '08!

Here's a pretty good shot of Maria and me last night at my big giant birthday party.


So the party went down at Skybox. They were extremely accommodating. They got us a big table in less than 15 minutes and everything.

Unfortunately, we had a drastic shortage of party guests.


The hostess and the servers were understandably rude to us because the two of us monopolized a 12-person table for our entire meal. The event was really depressing.

Actually after about five minutes 20 of my friends showed up and we had to get some extra tables too. Monica even brought me a gift: Hotrod on dvd. I think I rated it as my ninth most favorite movie from last year, but honestly I think it's more like the third. I got the halibut and chips. After that we played on the awesome big-person arcade games. I played the life-size basketball shoot three times in a row and got major back sweat from it. I also played the football throw game and beat Clint by three points. Maria beat me on the motorcycle game because I have cycle-turn-dyslexia. There's also the sweet racing game where four of us could race at once. Plus I got to the third screen in Donkey Kong. We had a wonderful time, but I forgot to take pictures of all that.

The hostess and servers weren't really rude. They were, in fact, quite nice.