Monday, October 31st, 2005 | 7:26 pm
Heather and I had physicals this morning, and found our new doctor. Our insurance plan doesn’t require us to choose a primary care physician; we can go to any damn doctor we want in our network. This actually makes it harder to choose one, because unlike with plans that might lock you in to a certain provider, I feel like I need to make a wise choice since I have so many options.
The physical went well; I’m not quite as fit as the president, but my blood pressure is healthy and I don’t seem to have any abnormalities.
The doctor did recommend I undergo a sleep study, to investigate some snoring and breathing issues I may want to address. I’m intrigued at the idea of sleeping overnight in a lab, with wires attached to me and cameras monitoring me.
- Will they be able to analyze my
somnambulatory killing sprees dream patterns?
- Will the bed be as comfortable as our bed at home, or will it be an unforgiving hospital bed, thus tainting their results significantly?
- Will they allow me to hit the snooze bar in the morning? If not, I’ll mumble “You’re screwing up the experiment” and throw pillows at them.
- From my reading on the web, it appears that most sleep labs require you to shower before you leave. Is there a reason for this? Do they study me in there, too? Why can’t I shower at home?
Thursday, October 27th, 2005 | 11:31 am
I haven’t posted anything about trivia for a while because our team has been performing poorly for a good string of Wednesday nights. I think it’s safe to say that the “Olsen Twins” dynasty is over, since we haven’t won in many weeks. However, last night, we broke our slump. In an impressive showing, Dean, Mike, and I pulled off the first place finish with probably the smallest team we’ve ever had.
Highlights
- Angelina Jolie is the daughter of which famous actor? Yes, a gimmee, and this was a social. Jon Voight
- Which U.S. president has made the most Supreme Court appointments? Probably my favorite question of the night, because it made me feel clever George Washington
- How many times has World Series extended into November? We came up with the correct answer, and the correct circumstances, but figured we were off by one, and guessed wrong. Second-guessing yourself sucks. Two - 1989 (Earthquake in SF) and 2001 (9/11)
- What year was the Georgia-Florida game last played outside Jacksonville? 1995
- What word corresponds to each of the following ingredients when you order Waffle House hashbrowns?
- Tomatoes Diced
- Onions Smothered
- Chili Topped
- Mushrooms Capped
- Name the father, mother, and two children on The Addams Family Gomez, Morticia, Puggsley, and Wednesday
We had a strong first round, but we weren’t the only ones. We were tied for first with four other teams. We correctly determined that Cleveland moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens in 1996 and managed to stay within a few points of the lead.
Kelly, the Trivia Guy, was out for the duration and had to send a replacement to run the game (though Kelly still wrote the questions, as evidenced by the Waffle House question based on a suggestion by our team).
Going into the final question, we were three points behind first place. The question: “What year were Ethel and Julius Rosenberg executed?” (1953) The answer to this one was truly pulled from the depths of my memory, and I think we were the only team to get it correct, giving us the win!
All in all, I’m proud of our showing, especially with so few of us on the team, and perhaps (just perhaps), we are poised for another winning streak.
Tuesday, October 25th, 2005 | 4:16 pm
You can see from the title that this is just an informational post.
I often expect all the information I could possibly need will be indexed by Google, or exist somewhere on the web. That’s not always the way it happens.
Case in point: I was trying to make a reservation for us to eat with the in-laws tonight at the new Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro in Atlantic Station, but the coupon I got last week during the grand opening doesn’t have a phone number for the restraurant. Quick Google (Web/Local) search — no number. Went to the woefully stagnant atlanticstation.com’s listing for the restaurant — no number there either.
I eventually had to look up the number of the investment group that built this restaurant, and call and ask their receptionist for the number. My scavenger hunt paid off.
Why, you ask, am I even writing about this? Hopefully this post will get indexed in Google soon so that others don’t have to perform the same laborious investigation.
The number for Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro in Atlantic Station is (404) 815-8800.
Monday, October 24th, 2005 | 10:16 am
Uh, good luck, Mom, Dad, and Stephen…
I just talked to my Mom and things were “blowing around the house”. I don’t really know what that means. The phone connection kept dying, too, but they still had power. I figure that they weathered last year’s storms pretty well, so they’ll probably be fine today.
Friday, October 21st, 2005 | 4:51 pm
I started Season One of Lost last night. Having abandoned Survivor this season, and being desperate for something widescreen to enjoy on the tv, I acquired the whole season and am prepared to hunker down and watch it all pretty quickly, so that we can start watching Season 2 in HD.
I watched the first two hours, which is technically just the 2-hour pilot, though each part has a separate episode number and credits. I know I’m technically the last person on earth to get into this show, but it definitely seems very well done so far. Good characters, loads of mystery and suspense, great-looking special effects and even some enigmatic symbolism really work together to draw you in.
When we watched the first 3 seasons of 24 on DVD, it took us about a month, which is an insane pace for 72 episodes of anything, even something that moves as quickly as that show did. I don’t know if I’ll be able to go as fast with Lost, especially with college football and November sweeps coming up, but I’m definitely interested in getting through it quickly enough to enjoy the current season ASAP.
I’d ask all kinds of questions about polar bears and transceivers and Korean subtitles, but I guess I’ll figure those things out soon enough.
Added note: The TV show recaps at Television Without Pity are hilarious.
Wednesday, October 19th, 2005 | 1:51 pm
Found in Atlantic Station…
Monday, October 17th, 2005 | 4:05 pm
Carl Berg failed to pay a $25 annual fee for rural fire protection and, as a result, firefighters let his house burn to the ground last month near International Falls, Minn.
Along with his daughter and a grandson, Berg escaped the fire, grabbing two rifles and a camcorder as he went.
“I lost everything [else],” he said. “Stand and watch it burn was all I could do. … They should have put the thing out, but they didn’t.”
Fee not paid; firefighters let home burn
My first instinct is that $25 a year for rural fire protection is a pretty sweet deal, especially since the article itself notes that their initial efforts alone cost the department over $1,000.
This reminds me a bit of an earlier discussion in which I participated regarding the power company and their inability to legally cut nonpayers off during particularly cold weather. I tried to make my point there, and the same issues of ownership should apply to this decision. If you don’t pay for fire protection (or homeowner’s insurance, or car insurance, or for a motorcycle helmet), you don’t get the concomitant protection. That said, such protection should only be mandatory if there’s any danger of the fire spreading to the property of others. It’s not unreasonable to ask people to minimize obvious risks that their property may present to the property of others.
And I ask again– who looks at a $25 bill for a year of fire protection and says “Hmm, should I pay this or not?” Seems like a no-brainer to me. And I bet it seems like a no-brainer now to Mr. Berg, the owner of the incinerated mobile home.
Thursday, October 13th, 2005 | 4:19 pm
Saturday
We had a good group of people over to watch the UGA/Tenn. game, and we all know how that went. The new TV was in full effect, and everyone had a good time. It was definitely an experiment in cramming people into a small space, and we’ve quickly learned that our little condo was not designed for entertaining groups of people. Still, we managed to gather around the big screen and enjoy the thrilling contest.
We bought chicken for everyone from Roasters, and it was fantastic. I recommend their “Instant Party” for a quick and easy way to entertain a group of people. (If those people like buffalo wings, chicken fingers, and spicy spinach dip!)
After several rounds of beer and margaritas, and a sweet victory over the Vols, we walked over to IKEA across the street. The place was packed as usual, and it seems like we’ve (thankfully) gotten over our urge to spend hundreds of dollars every time we visit.
Sunday
Some of Heather’s family came over for lunch. We made tacos. Surprisingly, the simple meal was a hit. I think slicing fresh tomatoes and onions goes a long way toward making a simple meal seem more… thought out. I mean, all we really did was buy a few pounds of beef and some sour cream. Come to think of it, how, then, did we spend $100+ at Kroger?
Of course, I had to come in to the office both Saturday and Sunday for a big deadline Monday morning. This also forced me to miss kickball for the second time on Sunday evening. I’m glad to finally be working a less hectic schedule this week. Those 50-60 hour weeks take a toll on your system.
Wednesday, October 12th, 2005 | 2:04 pm
I’m probably overreacting, but I was encouraged, if only briefly, by a quote I read in a Washington Post article this afternoon. The article, The Army’s Musical Pitch: Download, Join Up is a simple, brief piece about a promotion the National Guard is doing– agree to be contacted by a recruiter, and you’ll get 3 free iTunes Music Store downloads.
It’s an inconsequential program, and I could care less about the promotion itself, but check out what the recruiter said: (emphasis mine)
In contrast, ads for the Guard’s iTunes promotion are less expensive and have run on hundreds of Web sites frequented by young people. (Music.com, Billboard.com and the Web site for Fry’s Electronics are examples.) Each download costs the government between 90 cents and a dollar, Jones said. That’s much cheaper than more traditional giveaways of hats and T-shirts, which can cost $3 per item plus delivery charges.
“My responsibility is to get the best bang for the buck out of what we are entrusted with,” Jones said.
What an important distinction…
How rare it is to see an official in any public agency stand up and recognize the nature of “their” money. We, the people, entrust an agent of force with the ability to sieze some of our cash, with the expectation that they will uphold their concomitant responsibility to use our collective earnings wisely.
It makes me think of the congressmen who approved $500k to paint a jet to look like a salmon, a $50 million indoor rainforest in Iowa, a $200 million bridge to nowhere, and other excessive, worthless projects. I’d like them to get on TV, announce what they’re spending our money on, and with a straight face, look right into the camera and say “This project is in keeping with my duty to responsibly spend your money, which you have entrusted to us, the congress.”
Monday, October 10th, 2005 | 8:44 am
So, driving to work this morning, I heard a commercial for the Georgia Lottery’s latest game, and the announcer said “There’s no other game in Georgia like it!”
Really? There’s no other game like it? That’s shocking, considering the state government has a total monopoly on those games. So they created a type of game that is illegal for anyone else to offer, and then advertise that there’s “no other game like it”? Amazing!
It doesn’t even seem like there’s any debate over whether this is a proper function of government. Maybe there’s a section of the U.S. constitution that I missed, a part that says "And the States Shall Create a Game whereby Citizens can Pick their Favourite Numbers, but Make such games Illegal otherwise; These States Shall offer Worse Odds than any other Game, and Shall be Exempt from Fair Advertising Laws and Thus can Lie about where the Money Goes."
