Day!

Today was one of those general "good days" I hear so much about...

Work was generally a positive experience. I met with some students about minor issues, which was fairly straightforward, I did some good work in getting our RA selection process ready for next semester (January-February timeframe), had some good work related conversations, and in general, accomplished what I wanted to do.

And, it's Wednesday already! Only two more days of work until the weekend. I'm not quite sure what's on our agenda yet. Possibly trying out some new restaurants, maybe I'll do some genealogy stuff, and I may have to go on my own to start my Christmas shopping in force. I'd go with Sue, but I may be getting her stuff, and having her around for that generally isn't a good idea if we're going for "surprise." And, we'll probably hit the movies at some point.

One thing that I've realized about myself (I don't know if this is a new realization, or a repeat of an old one), is that I really am a creature of routine. I tend to always blog after exercizing, then I check out some websites, and go to bed by midnight-ish (on weekdays). Sue and I watch the same shows after work (we do like them!) on most days, and our weekends are generally the same. Dinner, movies, finding something to do out of the apartment. Granted, what we do tends to change, but the general pattern is the same.

And, I generally like that. I do like to mix it up a bit, but I also don't go in for a lot of advance planning either. Maybe I should change that... Who knows....

Sue and I may go searching for a particular pancake house this weekend, about half an hour from her. Sue found it on the web, once I get the link, I'll post it up here.

NP: David Bowie - Look Back in Anger (1988 version)

Gift!

So, I bought Sue's first Christmas gift tonight... I have to think of some more stuff soon. I have some ideas, but I'm finding it hard this year to get into the Christmas spirit. It's not that I'm being a Scrooge (Bah Humbug and all that), but I'm drawing a blank on a lot of gift thoughts. I'm sure I'll hit the groove soon, but it just hasn't happened yet.

I got my car back today from AAMCO again. On Thanksgiving, driving back from Monmouth County, the check engine light went on again. In their work on it, the mechanics discovered that one of the sensors they installed was defective. So, there was no real issue with the engine, it just enjoyed lighting up for no real reason. Good to know, and the additional checkups didn't cost me anything, as the company guarantees their work. So, life is good on that front.

NP: Steve Hackett - Firth of Fifth (30 June 2002)

Dream!

I had an odd dream last night.

I was on the storage sets/offices for the old show "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.," which aired on Fox back in 1993-1994. Of course, it starred Bruce Campbell, actor extrodinare. I was walking around, and I ran into Joe Straczynski, the creator of Babylon 5, another great TV show from the mid-90's, who, in my dream, was one of the writers on Brisco (he wasn't writing for the show in real life).

I was wandering around, because I might have been a writer on the show, but there was some material on the wall about what the second season of Brisco would have been about. I had to get that info to someone, but I don't know who.

Straczynski wasn't a big part of the dream, he was more like an overseer of the office. I thought it was strange that Brisco still had an extant office, as the show hadn't been produced for 13 years, but Straczynski said that was normal (it's not).

I was outside for a bit of time in the dream, but I forget why. There's more that I'm not remembering (isn't there always?), but that's the basic jist of the story. I did sleep very well last night, maybe that caused my memory of the dream to last a bit longer than normal.

In other news, what am I reading right now? It's called "The God Delusion," by Richard Dawkins. It examines religion from a scientific/Darwinistic viewpoint, and is an interesting read. Dawkins is a great writer, and always entertaining, even if I wouldn't necessarily phrase some of what he writes in the same way. He is direct, that's for sure. I recommend the book for all thinking people.

NP: Adrian Belew - Tango Zebra

Wedding!

Sue and I attended a wedding at the Hotel Pierre in NYC last night. Quite a nice hotel, I can see why it's one of my mom's favorite places, although we did not get to see the entire place. The wedding setup was on the 2nd floor, in a few large banquet hall rooms. The wedding was a good time, Sue and I met some nice people, although you can never really have a deep conversation with people you don't know already at these things. The food was decent, although I do sometimes think that the more swanky a place is, the smaller the dinner portions actually are.

All in all, a good time, and the bride (Sue's friend) and groom look very happy together!

The wedding ran a bit late, so we didn't get home until a little after 2am. It's very easy to drive out of NYC at that time of night, as there's no wait at all at the Lincoln Tunnel! So, today was a sleepy day. Tomorrow's back to work, but it's now less than a month until the next big vacation break. Good times...

NP: Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (24 Jan 1975)

Correction!

As Brian points out in the comment for last night's entry, I *have* been to a wedding in NYC, his sister's back in November 2001. My apologies to her for forgetting that one! When I was thinking of NYC weddings, I was more thinking of the big hotel weddings, of which this upcoming one is going to be. Brian's sister got married in the Columbia University chapel (a very nice place!), and the reception was in a church hall, which also was a neat setting.

So, consider me corrected!

Turkey!

Ah, the joys of a few days off of work. Heading home to have a meal, see family, and do all that fun stuff. Yes, it's Thanksgiving. Sue and I are going to my mom's for dinner tomorrow. It'll just be the three of us, a nice small meal. I like holidays, but I also like not making a *huge* deal of them. It's a good time to reconnect with family and friends, which is a good life affirming process.

Reflective? Perhaps. I like the small gatherings better than larger ones, although I guess everything has its time and place. I don't dislike large groups, it's just that I have to be in the mood for it. But even then, I generally prefer to hang out with no more than 5-6 people at once, it gives everyone a chance to contribute something.

Both Sue and I got off of work early today. I'm on call for work, so we really couldn't go out and do stuff, but we did order Chinese for dinner, which is always tasty. I went with the Sesame Chicken, and Sue did spicy szchewan (gross misspelling, right!) tofu. And, there's plenty for leftovers...

I'm thinking the drive down to Asbury Park for dinner shouldn't be too bad tomorrow. And if the Turnpike/Parkway are crowded, we can always hop off of there and go on the "back" roads. We'll probably pop into my Dad's after eating at my mom's, to see people over there also. It'll be a fun day.

On Saturday, Sue and I are going to a wedding in NYC for one of her friends from High School. That's a big event that I can usually get into. I've never been to a wedding in NYC, so this will be a good time. The place is up around 61st Street, I believe, and it starts late (7pm or so) on Saturday.

That's about it for now, nothing too deep tonight...

NP: King Crimson - The Letters (16 October 1971)

Hose!

I brought my car to AAMCO this morning, and they fixed it right up for me. There was some sort of hose that was loose, and some transmission fluid had leaked out. They waved the magic car fixing wand over my auto, and all is now well. It's actually driving better than it was on Saturday, I believe. I'll have to bring it back late next week for a quick check, to make sure all is well, but I'm fairly confident it'll be fine. No charge for this morning's work either, since it was their issue with whatever hose had to be replaced that caused it.

In other news, those of you who know me know of my musical tastes, and recent news has been made public that one of my favorite bands, Genesis, will be touring next year. I know Genesis gets kind of a bad rap, being not very fashionable, due mainly to the presence of Phil Collins, but that's okay. Genesis has always been a band that's more than their radio hits, and I'm looking forward to seeing them next year when they tour in the US. I just hope it doesn't conflict with any work committments, but I'm sure the odds of that are small.

The tour initially was supposed to be a "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" show, with Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett rejoining the band, but Gabriel is still a bit hesitant to commit to such a venture. Give it another year or two, and I think it'll go forward. Genesis, back in the day, was a very "arty" band, and even their more modern albums (released 12 years ago!) weren't just three minute singles. And, you look at the older albums, and there are three minute songs on there also. From their first album of worth, "Trespass," from 1970, to "We Can't Dance" from 1992, there are songs of value on each album. Yeah, "Invisible Touch" was a bit over overkill, but that album was almost an accident of the 1980's. A conjunction of decent songs, with Collins's popularity just propelled the band to another level. There are songs I love on each Genesis album, and there are songs I can live without. Hopefully this upcoming tour (in late summer 2007 in the US) will give me more of the ones I enjoy. All signs are looking good, for now...

NP: George Gershwin - An American In Paris

Comedy!

Something very funny happened today. Sue and I were driving to the supermarket in my car (yes, it's back, more on that later), and on the back of a car in front of us, there was a deer that someone had obviously hunted and killed, strapped on the trunk hood.

Sue doesn't like looking at those types of things (dead animals, etc), so looked away. Unfortunately, the car was in front of us for a few minutes, so it was hard to avoid the gaze of the deceased deer. What made me laugh so much was Sue's line: "Well, she looks like she's just resting on the back of the car, so that's okay."

Of course, I had to point out that few deers would rest on the back of a car in the first place, let alone tied up with their head hanging down the side of the car, but what do I know about wildlife?

But in other non-dead-animal related news, I do have my car back, after it being at AAMCO for a bit of time. It's driving well, the brakes are good, and I'm getting used to the new transmission. However, on the way back from the supermarket this afternoon, the yellow check engine light went on. Yellow is not too bad, if it was red, I'd be really worried. But, I'll have to bring the car back to the mechanic on Monday, to have them check out what's up. It's probably just a loose something or other, but I still want it checked out.

This light has only gone on once before, when I first moved to Vermont back in 1998. At that point, there was an issue with the air filter in the car, so it was replaced very quickly. I think this will be something as minor, but it's still a pain to have to have it taken care of, when I just got the car back.

In other news, what have I been reading recently? I finished, about a week ago, Joseph Ellis's book on Thomas Jefferson, "American Sphinx." It was a good read, but fairly light, compared to other books that I've read on Jefferson. He also skipped over some of the more touchy subjects of Jefferson's life, such as his response to the Aaron Burr affair, and the slavery issue. Ellis did do well with Jefferson's ability to basically say one thing, and believe another. Self deception and Jefferson go hand in hand, and Ellis, perhaps wisely, stayed away from conjecture about Jefferson's interior world. But, that is what makes Jefferson so fascinating. It certainly wasn't a bad read, but I was hoping for a bit better.

Then, I read "Star Wars on Trial," edited by David Brin and some other guy. Brin is one of my favorite SF authors, and he does have a bee in his bonnet about the Star Wars movies. Generally, he feels that public perception of Star Wars=The Entirety of Good Science Fiction is a bit off the mark. I don't necessarily disagree with him about it, but sometimes I felt that the "Prosecution" essays in the book were taking it all a bit too seriously. The "Defense" essays weren't that much better, although all were generally entertaining. I don't know what I was hoping for from this book, but I don't really feel that I got it.

Now, I'm reading Richard Dawkins's "The God Delusion." More reports on that one as I get into it, I'm only about 5 pages in right now.

NP: Phil Collins - I've Forgotten Everything

Car!

Ah, it finally happened. I have had to put a rather large amount of money into my car.

Recently, when stopped at a traffic light or stop sign, I've noticed that when I go to accelerate, sometimes the car would not immediately go after pressing the gas. It'd rev' a bit, and then go, like the gear wasn't catching right away. I've never driven a stick shift, but I imagine it's like when a gear would slip or something like that.

So, I brought it to a national chain repair place, (Beep-Beep), and they diagnosed the trouble as the transmission, which is what I expected. And as you may or may not know, transmissions are fairly expensive to fix.

Now, the car I have is 9 years old, and in those years, I've probably only put about $1200 into it, outside of oil changes and other minor maintenance. So, spending the bucks that we're spending now, over the life of the car, doesn't hurt too much. But, this is the last major money I'm putting into the car. If this can help it last for 2-3 more years, then it'll be worth it.

The car should be ready tomorrow. I'll either pick it up during or after work.

Some people get very emotional about their cars. I'm not one of them. I tried to name the car when I first got it (G'Kar, pretty clever for you B5 nerds out there), but it just felt kinda stupid naming it. So, it's just my car. 97 Chevy Cavalier, I got it while in grad school, and it has served me well.

Yesterday, I took Sue's car down home to see my stepsister's new baby. It was good to see the little guy, and it's fun to be able to make casual visits home, without it being a major production. Both the drive down and the drive back took a little over an hour. Both mother and baby are doing well, although mom is tired from baby, which is to be expected...

NP: Pink Floyd - One Slip (9 Sept 1987)

Cups!

Sue and I went to the movies today, saw "Stranger Than Fiction." Quite good, and more on that later.

While waiting for the movie to start, and drinking my large Cherry-Coke, I was reminded of an idea that Brian had awhile back. It's a brilliant one, and it came to my mind today while reading the vapid, banal blatherings up on the screen from half unknown celebrites in the "E!" series of quotes. Something from Carmen Electra along the lines of "Life's not worth living if there's not a camera around," or some such thing.

Brian's idea was to have McDonalds and other fast food places, instead of just having "YAY MCDONALDS" or whatever they put on their cups or other packaging, have historical facts, interesting educational stuff on their materials. It would be good PR for the companies, and good for the populace who might actually learn something, instead of either being unengaged with the items in their hands, or looking at the latest M logo on the cups. When the companies would do their promotions, sure, they could still make Darth Vader cups, or whatever they wanted, but at other times, they'd be educating the public. It would be cheap, and fun! They're already paying someone to design the logos on their packages, just have a historian or someone on staff also, to bring up interesting facts from the past.

I thought today that another interesting place to do this, with a captive audience, was in movie theaters. I don't truly care what Carmen Electra, Matt Damon, or others have to say about their fleeting fame, why not put some quotes from Jefferson, Washington, Martin Luther King, and others up there? Or, do "History of the Movies," with Charlie Chaplin, or even go back further, get quotes from Edwin Booth up there... Granted, no films were made in the 1800's, but he *was* an actor.

Rant mode off now...

But, one other quick thing. One of the ads before the movie was for a car repair place in Jersey City, and their tag line was "We take the Dents out of Accidents." Clever, and it got me thinking if "dents" is actually derived from "accidents." I'll have to look that up. An answer to this in a future blog.

As for the movie itself, I really enjoyed it. Will Ferrell was understated, which is when I think he's actually at his most funny. The story was fun, although parts did feel a bit underdeveloped, such as Ferrell's relationship with the female lead (Maggie Glynnenhall, or however it's spelled). It would have been nice to see Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) get more screen time too, but I was just happy to see him with two hands. Overall, a good solid recommendation from Sue and myself for the movie.

The idea of a fictional character realizing they're in a fiction isn't original to this movie. I think I first ran across it in novels by Robert Heinlein, specifically in "The Number of the Beast" and "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls." Any other examples out there that you, gentle readers, can think of?

On Friday night, I watched the new Battlestar Galactica. I enjoyed the episode, but thought that the resolution was a bit anti-climatic. However, in the big picture, I am wondering the following about the show:

• It seems like the Galactica, along with the Cylons, are really on the trail of Earth. I think at some point, they will find the lost 13th colony, but when in the show will it happen? Not this season, I predict. Probably not even in the 4th season, should one happen. Also, what era will they find Earth? There's no guarantee that they'll find it during our "present" history. It'd be fun if they stumble upon Earth, and we're still in medieval times, or something like that.
• Will the Cylons kill Baltar? So far, the show hasn't killed off any major characters (Billy doesn't count), so may the B-man be the first to go? I personally don't think so, he's too fun to be around...
• Will Sharon/Athena and Hilo conceive again? I don't see why not. Sooner or later, she'll have to find out that her baby is alive. What are the Cylons doing with the baby anyway?

I think that's all for now... Coming up soon, what is Mike reading?

NP: Genesis - Back In N.Y.C. (15 Apr 1975)

Election!

Ah, politics. It's so nice when things change, and we see the voice of the voters expressed so clearly.

I do have to say that, like many, I thought that the House would go Democrat this election. I thought there was a strong chance of the Senate going Democrat also, but was less willing to put myself out there with that possibility. Turns out I was right.

And, the country got a boost when Rumsfeld was resigned the day after the election. Now, what do you all think out there? Do you think that if Rumsfeld had left, lets say, a week before the election, it would have helped the Republicans at all? Personally, I think it would have, although there would have been talk of it being a political move. Which, of course, it would be.

I must imagine that there are some Republicans out there who are annoyed at the timing of the Rumsfeld decision, thinking that, like I say above, Rumsfeld departure could have been better timed for their electoral benefit.

Now, if the Republicans had held onto both houses of Congress, would Rumsfeld have been kept on?

While I'm happy that the Democrats now have Congress, I'm not expecting us to be out of Iraq tomorrow. What I do expect is that perhaps a bright light can be turned on the events of the past 4-6 years, so that we can begin to learn the truth about the Iraq debacle, and other various and sundry issues. I think we're in for some interesting times.

NP: Jon Anderson - Cafe

Beta!

A quick note to say that I've switched over to Blogger Beta. Don't know if it makes any real difference, but figured I'd say something about it.

That's why I didn't write last night, this was taking all evening to update to Beta. I will write more political stuff tonight...

Cheers!

Mike

Election!

I'd love to hear Anderson Cooper on CNN ask Bill Bennett, "So, if you were a betting man, where would you place the final results tonight?"

It may be in poor taste, but I'd laugh.

I voted early today, with some of the new electronic machines here in NJ. I've never been disenfranchised so efficiently!

Actually, I thought the machine seemed pretty efficient. We still need some sort of paper receipt, which I always thought the old machines should have given also.

Looking pretty good for Democrats now. Lets hope the night continues in this way.

NP: CNN Election coverage

Belt!

I managed one more belt hole in my belt this morning, going the thinner way. So, I guess that's good. There's less of me to go around now.

I need to take more photos to put up on here. I've been a little remiss in doing that recently.

NP: Steve Hackett - Little Cloud (26 Jan 2002)

Sweat!

Just got done exercising a few minutes ago. I've been holding steady at doing about 20 minutes on the elliptical machine each night. Sooner or later, I'll up it to half an hour, and that will be as high as it goes. I've mentioned on here before, I'm not really willing to give up more of my life than that to exercise. 30 minutes is enough to keep me active, get the heart rate up a bit, and sweat off a bit of the poundage.

Although, I have to say, just cutting down on the food intake, I've already lost at least 10 pounds. At Dartmouth, it was very easy to get some ice cream at lunch, and eat other extra stuff. I'm finding here at Saint Peter's, even though the cafeteria is all you can eat, that I'm eating less in general. If that can continue, then maybe I'll even drop into the 175 lbs. area I've been out of since about 1996. I don't think I'll ever get down to my high school weight of 140-145, but I have no real urge to get that light again.

I suppose it's time to start thinking about Christmas, people will start asking what I want. Honestly, there's not a lot of "stuff" out there that I'm looking to get. I enjoy books, music, and getting some DVD's, but I'm trying to cut down on all three, especially the DVD's.

Maybe a donation in my name to the Human Fund is in order...

Of course, I do have to also start thinking about what to get others in my life. It is fun to get people stuff, but it's hard, especially when you don't know what they're looking for, or what they have.

I actually have an idea for a friend's birthday, which I have to order soon... Ack, but I need that friend's new address! Maybe he'll get the hint by reading this blog, and send me his address.

Eh, probably not, I better e-mail him.

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday. Vote early, vote often!

NP: ProjeKct Two - Live Groove (1 June 1998)

Vote!

Ah, November 1st, and thoughts turn to election day this coming November 7th (right?), and our upcoming mid-term elections. I encourage everyone out there to vote, no matter what your political persuasion...

Okay, I'd much prefer if all Republicans stayed home this coming Tuesday, but hey, I have to be equitable, right?

Well, it is my blog, so screw it...

Personally, I think it's important to vote in every election. I remember, in the November 1984 election, my grandfather was in the hospital, and wasn't able to vote. On the way to the hospital, the Saturday following the election, I recall my dad saying that Pop actually had some connections, and found out afterwards they could have got him an absentee ballot, so he wouldn't have missed out voting.

When we were in the hospital room, I mentioned this to Pop, and said something along the lines of, "Well, Reagan won, so missing your vote didn't really change the outcome, he didn't need your vote to win." Pop then looked at me, and said, "You always vote, no matter if you're sure your candidate will win. " I didn't argue with my Pop, so I have always thought that no matter what, you vote.

That was also the last time I saw him alive, as he died, surprisingly, that night in the hospital. He was 68 years old. His health was failing, so if he didn't pass away then, with hindsight, I don't know how much longer he would have lived, but I think that also makes it important for me to vote whenever I can.

Granted, I don't know if Pop would be happy with me voting Democrat most of the time, but you can't win them all. At least I'm voting!

My polling place here in Jersey City is within walking distance, so I'll probably go during lunch on Tuesday. It'll be fun, although there are less local races going on than I thought. It's really only the Senate and House race happening. No state or local candidates on the sample ballot I got. So, it should be pretty quick to get in and out and rock the vote...

In other news, I was glad to see my old friend Geoff make a comment here on the blog... I look forward to more comments!

NP: Queen - Keep Yourself Alive

Halloween!

Yes, it is, of course, Halloween. No dressing up for me today, I never really think about Halloween costumes until it's too late. And usually, it's easier to just treat it like a regular day. I do think I really liked Halloween as a kid, but it was more about getting lots of candy than anything else.

I did see some kids going around, Trick-or-treating with their parents earlier today, which was fun. It really is a kid's holiday, maybe even more so than Christmas or a birthday.

I've got nothing else to really write about now... If I come up with anything else tonight, I'll log back in.

NP: Plant & Page - Nobody's Fault But Mine

Recording!

This weekend, I recorded three quick pieces on my home studio set up. I think only one of them was slightly over a minute. The other two were probably less than 45 seconds. I recorded them as musical bumpers/interludes for Pseudocertainty, recorded by Joe and myself. These bumpers will probably show up on the next episode we record, which should be in maybe 2 weeks time.

One piece is some basic percussion with some keyboards on top of them. The second was a bass piece, just messing around with some delay, and the third one was bass and guitar, very simple and straightforward... Nothing to set the world on fire, but just some good segues from one segment of the show to another.

In other news, on Saturday, I went over to the Elizabeth Public Library to check out some genealogy stuff. I got hard copies of the obituary for one of my Great-grandmothers, Apolonia Sanecki (maiden name Drozd). She died back in 1943, and I had a scan of the obit, but it's good to get the hard copy from microfilm, in case there was anything else near the obit that was relevant.

There wasn't.

But, you don't know until you check.

I also found the obit for a Frank Golda, who died in 1986. I believe, based on what I've been told from some of my Sanecki connections, that Frank was a cousin to my grandfather. I need to verify this, but if it's true, I can try to track down some living Golda's, to see if they know anything about the family.

I also started going through some of the old NJ state censuses. Unfortunately, the state censuses (every 10 years, from 1855 to 1915) are not indexed, so I have to look at each page of the census to try to find relevant people. For some places, like Harrison, NJ, it's not too bad, as the town is maybe 1/3 of an entire microfilm reel. However, Jersey City for 1885 is 5 rolls of microfilm total.

I learned this weekend that I can go through one roll of microfilm, visually scanning each page for recognizable family names, in a little over an hour. Not horrible, but not quick either. The only good thing about this is that once I find the first family connection in these reels, I should find the other Jersey City people fairly quickly, as they all lived very close to each other.

The family names I'm scanning for are Coulson, Jameson, Sutcliffe, and Ferrigan. Fortunately, not the most common of names, although there's always the danger of zoning out and missing a name as it goes by. I try to set the microfilm controls slow enough that I can read all the last names on a page, but fast enough so that I don't get bored sitting there. It's a tricky balance, but not impossible to do.

I do wish that Ancestry.com or some other website would index these State Censuses, but that's too much to ask for right now, I guess.

NP: REM - Saturn Return

Music!

This weekend, I have as my goal to write and record at least 5 short-ish (15-30 seconds) music pieces to use as bumper music for Joe and my Pseudocertainty show. I'm tired of Joe having all the music fun! Also, I think the exercise of my musical muscles will keep me interested in doing some more expansive things.

There are times when I think about recording some covers, just to be doing something with the recording equipment I have. Then, I want to do some of my own things, even if it's re-recording some songs I've already recorded. Of course, all this comes down to really wanting to generate some new material. I actually picked up the acoustic guitar for the first time in awhile tonight, just to start getting into practice playing again, should I use it at all for the recording this weekend. I'll see where the "muse" takes me. It should be fun....

I'm about 80 pages out from finishing the Alastair Reynolds book, "Century Rain," I mentioned a few blogs ago. I continue to enjoy the book, and if I don't finish it tonight, I should get it finished by this weekend.

No real plans for this weekend yet. Saturday should be rainy, so maybe we'll do indoor stuff that day.

NP: The Beatles - Ain't She Sweet

Pseudo!

Joe and I just finished recording a new episode of Pseudocertainty. It went well, and the show should be up on the website in the next few days. These are always fun to do, we work well off of each other, and when we come with material to talk about on the fly.

We really do a minimum of prep for each show, we'll read some articles, find some interesting things on line, or just have some good material to react to. As Joe said recently, we could be the "Car Talk" of aliens...

Dare to dream.

NP: Talking Heads - Heaven