blogging with maier

2005-10-07T22:25:00.000-05:00

blogging with maier can now be found at www.markmaier.net

2005-05-14T09:05:00.000-05:00

The CommuteSo the new commute to the city has provided its share of "blogworthy" items lately.Smells The train station I go to is right next to a Pepperidge Farm plant. On my walk to the station in the morning, I usually smell bread baking. When I get off the train in the city, I usually smell raw sewage on my walk down Canal. Sounds I was on the train yesterday and there was a couple on

2005-04-26T06:54:00.000-05:00

InstallationI was wondering, what are the procedures for Pope Installation? It seems like such an interesting term to describe the inauguration of the Pope, it makes me think there have to be some very technical steps involved. Perhaps...We already know that the Pope initially gets renamed with a new version number before installation.Does the church need to be "shutdown" before the new Pope can

2005-04-07T06:40:00.000-05:00

Ouch...two months between posts. I guess you could say that I've been going through a "blogger's block". For a few reasons: -- Preoccupation - My attention has been elsewhere, like on the Illini's great college basketball season -- Self-imposed blog rules - I was reading Wired a few months ago, and there was a new term they were defining: Narcissipost - a blog entry that is only of interest to

2005-02-07T06:27:00.000-06:00

Garlic: A Love / Hate Relationship Garlic is great when you're cooking with it. Its fun to smash it and get it out of its paper shell, its fun to roast it and make the house smell savory, and it tastes good. Garlic is quite awful the day after you cook with it. It upsets your stomach, does not go well with toothpaste (this happened to me this morning...ukk.) and the house still smells like

2005-02-05T08:14:00.000-06:00

I got a new shoe on Wednesday. A boot, really. I've been trying to decide on a good story for how I sprained my ankle. One idea I had was "I saw someone getting mugged, went to help, and I just didn't land my roundhouse kick correctly." Can I blame Chuck Norris for making it look easy? Anything is better than "I jumped over a puddle and there was ice on the other side". So now I get to

2005-01-23T11:49:00.000-06:00

Its hard to blog when you're nervous. Over the last 3 months, I was in an interview process for a new job, and it was pretty stressful. Every time I would think about blogging, I would think about being nervous about the possibility of getting a new job. So the blog never happened. Sorry. Things have changed. I got the new job and I'm not nervous anymore. The new job is in the city, and

2004-12-09T15:07:00.000-06:00

Please. I would like to ask everyone a favor. Please discontinue use of "-apalooza". Just today I have been hit with "Spapalooza" and "Spendapalooza". Don't make me begapalooza.

2004-12-07T08:17:00.000-06:00

Quiet. It's quiet around me today. No one around at work. Maggie left the house before I was awake, and she's out for dinner and shopping with family tonight. Its raining outside. My phone isn't ringing. I don't think that today is going to be a day to remember. It will just be.

2004-12-01T09:09:00.000-06:00

It's been a month since my last post...and I'm sure no one is wondering why. My excuses: My last post was #100 since I started blogging. I was intimidated by the pressure of #101. Mild depression Preoccupation by the number of yards run and touchdowns scored by Willis McGahee, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Jerome Bettis My pen was out of ink November is a lousy month for blogging I was

2004-11-02T08:51:00.000-06:00

Election Day 2004 I seriously think that I could vote twice this year. Here's why: I transferred my old registration from my previous address, and I also said 'Yes' when asked if I wanted to register to vote as I updated my driver's license after I moved this year. I was sent 2 different voter registration cards to the same address, with my same name. One has an identification number indicating

2004-09-29T08:48:00.000-05:00

The Tree People Cometh The tree people came! The tree people came! (Please read this and imagine Steve Martin as Navin Johnson saying "The new phone books are here!) Our yard looks very different. Imagine that the pine tree next to the driveway is gone. Then take the big bush on the right side of the house away. Remove the bottom 6 feet worth of branches on the remaining pine trees. And

2004-09-28T09:56:00.000-05:00

The waiting is the hardest part. So we're in the new house, and we're doing some home improvement. We're waiting for a lot of stuff. Our new dining room table was supposed to come this week. We got a call saying it will be another 2-3 weeks. We have "pre-ordered" carpeting and a couch for the basement. We were waiting to officially order these things until we replaced our moulding and

2004-08-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

ex·haus·tion (g-zôschn)n. -- The inability to respond to stimuli; extreme fatigue. -- The act or an instance of using up a supply of something. -- The extraction of the active constituents of a drug by treating with water, alcohol, or another solventCoffee is a stimuli, and I am unable to respond to it currently. Therefore, I am exhausted. 4 straight days of all-day meetings in Northern

2004-08-18T10:08:00.000-05:00

Commercial Blogs: Have you heard about the commercial blogs that are sprouting up? Gawker Media has several (some of dubious taste) that focus on places like New York, Los Angeles, and Washington DC. WIRED ran an article about it. I found a blog that focuses on Chicago, its called GapersBlock, and I think its pretty interesting. If you're game, check it out.

2004-08-13T13:43:00.000-05:00

Airports are the place to see raw emotion. Last night, I saw so many different things: -- Fear -- A woman was trying to make a cruise in Florida, and had a connecting flight in Chicago. She met a family on the exact same itinerary, who had boarding passes for the connecting flight. She didn't have boarding passes. The fear of losing out on the cruise made her... -- Nervous -- A guy was

2004-08-09T19:21:00.000-05:00

Return to L.A. I have returned to Los Angeles, and I am driving a Red Chevy Cavalier. The car is confusing me. I spent a good 2 minutes feeling the inside of the drivers door looking for the button to open the window. The Cavalier has the full panel of buttons for the windows in the middle of the car. I can only imagine this is so that everyone in the car can screw with everyone else's

2004-08-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

Balloons: Maggie and I were watching CNN on Thursday night after Kerry finished his nomination acceptance speech. As Van Halen's "Right Now" blared, we heard some guy yelling for balloons. Apparently, we weren't the only one who found this to be funny: Drudge (It even has the MP3!) Packing: This weekend was spent packing our home for our move this week. You never realize how much crap you have

2004-07-29T08:15:00.000-05:00

Fish Tacos: Check out the comments about yesterday's post, and you'll see that John recommends Fish Tacos from Wahoo's in Los Angeles. Strangest thing: I had Fish Tacos yesterday. John: I had the "Tacos on the Beach" at Front Street Cantina in Wheaton. Do they compare to Wahoo's? Wikipedia: You may have noticed a trend lately that I've been linking to Wikipedia a lot. I think its cool

2004-07-28T09:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Independence Day, Peru! Coffee: I ran out of coffee beans about two weeks ago. This wasn't really a big deal, because I was planning on being in Los Angeles for the two weeks before our move. I told Maggie that we could go ahead and pack the coffee maker. Fast-forward to this week...I didn't go to LA, and the coffee maker is in a sealed box. I also have no coffee beans. So I'm buying

2004-07-22T22:16:00.000-05:00

The Valley: I've been trying to determine where "The Valley" is in LA. I looked at a map, and there appears to be a valley west of Anaheim. But I guess this is called the "Inland Empire". The real valley is the San Fernando Valley. I still don't know where it is. In honor of my search for the valley, I will use some "valley speak" in this post. Watch for it, dude. Coming Home: Tomorrow

2004-07-19T22:45:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Los Angeles. I'm staying in Norwalk, which is not as well known as other LA locations such as: East L.A. The "Valley" Compton I'm working in Downey, which is, in my mind, equally unknown. LA is a city where everyone seems to fence in their yard. Not with picket fences, but with metal, or cinder-block. I don't quite get it. LA is also a place where you are never more than

2004-07-15T12:35:00.000-05:00

I got a letter in the mail yesterday from my dentist. Usually, my dentist only mails me a bill. My dentist wants to help me lose weight. Apparently, he's been recruited by the DDS System people. I like this movie. I think the idea is good, but I don't think I'm going to shell out $500 bucks for some plastic that makes me eat slower. I've already paid for a piece of plastic that stops me

2004-07-14T12:59:00.000-05:00

Happy Bastille Day, everybody! I was reading about Bastille Day, and did you know that the Bastille was stormed to get access to weapons, not to free the 7 prisoners inside? Did you know that the prisoners included four forgers, two 'lunatics' and one 'deviant' aristocrat? Now you do. Jeopardy: Ken Jennings is kicking some butt in the form of a question. I've actually seen him play the game

2004-07-12T08:42:00.000-05:00

June 28th was a couple of weeks ago, and apparently no one would complain if I posted a little more often. In today's news: The lingering annoyance of the failed house purchase is pretty much forgotten since we have found ourselves a new place to live. Its in Downers Grove this time, rather than Glen Ellyn. We did, luckily, keep the streak alive of living in a town that has two words in its

2004-06-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

My apologies, blog fans, but I have been busy over the last two weeks with house stuff. And unfortunately, the house deal has fallen through. So stay tuned...we'll find a new place. Sometime.

2004-06-14T09:14:00.000-05:00

A few updates for fans of the show: Maggie noticed that there were new tires on her car about 520pm on Friday June 11th. She only noticed, however, because I had forgotten to move the seat of her car back to her position. Had I replaced the seat to its upright and locked position, who knows how long she would have gone... Other news: We bought a house. More details to follow in later posts!!

2004-06-11T08:47:00.000-05:00

Something is different... Thanks to Guy for pointing out that I could have comments on my blog. To get the comments to work, I had to change templates, so please, enjoy the new blue motif. Maggie is coming home today! After 9 days and 8 nights in Las Vegas, Maggie is returning home. We've got a busy weekend planned...house hunting, and spending time in Wisconsin. There will be drinking.

2004-06-10T13:06:00.000-05:00

Tires: I bought tires for Maggie's car last night. It was actually a very quick process. I took the car to Just Tires, paid them the large sum of $500 dollars, and 35 minutes and one Subway footlong sandwich later, the car had new tires. I got the Goodyear Assurance Comfort Treads, 205/60R15. This was, in fact, quite a big deal. I talked to Rudy at Just Tires, and he suggested that I get

2004-06-01T10:06:00.000-05:00

Memorial Day Weekend was pretty tame. We were not able to see any houses this weekend...which isn't such a big deal. There are not too many houses we want to see right now. We're headed out tonight to see three. Had a wonderful dinner on Saturday night at the Sushi House in Westmont. I highly recommend the Godzilla roll and the Chicago Fire roll. Otherwise, I was fairly bored. It was rainy

2004-05-28T12:40:00.000-05:00

Humorless post alert! memorial day weekend, and not a moment too soon. Maggie and I are going to look at houses this weekend, and we're also going to see about heading to wisconsin. We've got fairly unstructured plans...that sometimes makes for boring weekends... Not too much else going on, beyond the house search. Maggie is getting ready for her annual conference, so she's been really busy

2004-05-24T15:33:00.000-05:00

good news from the weekend: we have a contract to sell our condominium. after over 90 days of market time, we're through. hopefully. you never know what can happen with these things...we are optimistic. so now we get to actually look for our new home. Its exciting, and I think that its going to be very interesting to be house hunting with the intention of buying. to this point, we looked

2004-05-19T09:25:00.000-05:00

a thank you to mr. fronza for responding kindly to my web-hosting plight. stay tuned for a new www.markmaier.net, premiering soon. my dad is retiring next month, and tonight is his retirement reception. my entire family is headed to Skokie to be there...as Dad says, he wants to "show us off". i think it will be nice to see how much he is appreciated by his school district. not much else

2004-05-14T08:20:00.000-05:00

One other thing...you may have noticed that www.markmaier.net has not been its usual self. My cheap (as in crappy) web hosting service apparently went out of business, with absolutely no notification to me. I guess I shouldn't expect much for $1.99 a month. So now I'm looking for a new place to put <20MB of web-site stuff, where I can point my domain. Its a low traffic site, for sure.

2004-05-14T08:08:00.000-05:00

RAIN. All it has done this week is RAIN. Luckily, it looks like the weather is breaking, and we'll have sun for the next 5-6 days. IOWA. I have to go to IOWA tomorrow. We're driving to see Maggie's co-workers from her college days. For lunch. At 11:30am. And not in Iowa City, but in the Amana Colonies. Because its graduation weekend at the University of Iowa. CARS. Its car maintenance

2004-05-11T08:33:00.000-05:00

in my cd player: Van Halen, 1984 - I've wanted this album for a long time. Between "hot for teacher", "panama", and "jump", you really can't complain. Its not one to listen to every day, though. Paul Oakenfold, Tranceport - I took a chance with this one, and I'm pleasantly surprised. Its going to be a good CD for when I'm developing code...which is going to be a lot this month. The Sklar

2004-05-07T08:50:00.000-05:00

Thursday nights: In college, Thursday nights were usually spent at a campus bar. Friday classes would be bearable, even with a slight hangover. Now, this automatic tradition is gone from my life...and I kind of miss it. There are, of course, reasons the tradition has ended...such as Friday's no longer being days that can be muddled through with the brown-bottle flu. I tried to resurrect

2004-05-05T11:17:00.000-05:00

a few items: "road pals" - Add Glenbard West drivers education to my list of "road pals". Everyday about 7:50am, they're on Roosevelt Road between Finley and I-355, going west. Getting around them in traffic is necessary. star trek - on the radio this morning, I heard an ad for "Star Trek: Enterprise" that had to do with time travel. It got me thinking...every Star Trek series, and even two

2004-04-28T08:22:00.000-05:00

Today on "blogging with maier", a new segment called "What's in my CD Player?" Since last Friday was my birthday, I have several new things to listen to. First, I have been listening to both 'musicforthemorningafter' and 'Day I Lost' from Pete Yorn. I have to thank 93XRT for introducing me to Pete...I love these albums. In the retro section, I have already overplayed Guns 'n' Roses Greatest

2004-04-27T08:16:00.000-05:00

I've been taking a new route to work...it gets me to and from work about 5 minutes faster, on average. What to do with the extra 10 minutes in my life.... So anyway, I've been finding new "road pals". They're not as exciting as my old ones. First, there are all the people at the Westmont Metra Station who walk in front of my car as I'm waiting at the crossing. Its always the same people.

2004-04-23T08:31:00.000-05:00

Wow...April 23rd already. Two and a half weeks of silence...sorry. I have the best Reality TV Show in the world...I call it "The Lobby". Its also known as the channel-6-closed-circuit-lobby-cam for our condo building. I love watching it. It has several good points: -- It is always on. No matter what time of day it is, I can watch "The Lobby" -- In the warm weather, I'm quickly alerted to

2004-04-06T08:43:00.000-05:00

I've become pretty set in my morning routine, and I'm leaving the house between 7:25 and 7:30 am consistently. And I'm not alone in this. On my drive to work in the morning, I have "road pals". If I leave on time, I'm assured that I'll see a few of the same cars every day. My first "pal" is license plate 'SMBA 11'. He drives a red Chevy Camaro, and he takes the same 55th to Rt 53 shortcut

2004-04-02T09:38:00.000-06:00

I can't really talk, but I wanted to share this site. You may recognize the Spongmonkeys from the Quizno's commercials. The other stuff is funny-ass as well. Thanks to Starbuck (Guy Starbuck...not the character made famous by Dirk Benedict) for the address.

2004-03-30T09:14:00.000-06:00

Maggie and I went to Maggiano's last night. let me first say, that Maggiano's always has good food, and they provide lots of it. We ate ourselves to bursting with a half salad, bread, 1/3 or our entrees, and the poundcake dessert. I will be eating 1/3 of my Chicken Giardiniera for lunch each of the next two days. But the other points of the restaurant need some help. First, Maggie and I had

2004-03-29T08:25:00.000-06:00

So two weekends of NCAA basketball have come to pass, and my beloved Illini are out. They lost to Duke, and honestly, they played like they expected to lose. Better luck next year. At work this weekend, I rearranged my cube. I could try to diagram the change for you using only text and spaces, but I won't. I am just happy to have both of my keyboards at desk level. Not too much more on my

2004-03-18T09:57:00.000-06:00

The NCAA Tournament starts today! The excitement! The underdogs! The drama! Okay, maybe not drama. Drama is reserved for films like A Walk To Remember. I have to admit it, I actually watched A Walk to Remember. I had Monday off, and HBO appealed to my slothfullness and I watched pretty much the whole thing. Here's the movie in a nutshell: - girl is preacher's daughter with a 1950's

2004-03-17T16:50:00.000-06:00

I took a trip this past weekend to Sandy-Eggo, California. A few things happened: 1. After 4 hours of sleep prior to our day of travel to San Diego, my common cold blossomed and made me into a mucus factory. I could not hear out of my right ear after the pressurization/depressurization of the flight. 2. Our Thursday night hotel, Paradise Point Resort, failed to keep track of who was checked

2004-03-05T08:33:00.000-06:00

postcript on yesterdays blog: passion.com is movin' to the bedroom. --- maggie had me drive by a few houses last night on my way home from work. Its depressing. I drove past a Cape Cod in Glen Ellyn. It's a small house, nicely decorated, on a hella busy street, and they're asking $304,900. finding a house is not going to be fun.

2004-03-04T08:40:00.000-06:00

I use Hotmail. Good or bad, it is my personal email provider. Lately, I've begun to realize that Hotmail thinks I'm a single, swingin' guy. Its been serving up some ads for dating services, and I thought I'd share: This ad wasn't so bad. But I feel bad for the girl. If you read the ad, it kind of implies that of the "5 million beautiful singles", she's the ugly one. This ad, also from

2004-03-02T08:41:00.000-06:00

Kudos to the McDonald's Corporation for infecting my subconscious with their new "I'm Lovin' It" jingle. Ba-da-bap-bap-bow... I do have to admit, however, their new Double Filet-o-fish Sandwich is an enigma. I didn't realize that the original Filet-o-fish was such a popular item that it needed to be "doubled". I also am not convinced that the fish filet isn't just undercooked hash browns from

2004-03-01T08:50:00.000-06:00

A few things about the weekend: We had some disappointment. Our condo is for sale. On Thursday, someone came to see it, and called asking, "How quickly could you be out?". Then, no word on Friday. Saturday afternoon, we heard that the noise from the train killed any hope of a deal. We can't do anything about the train tracks, but its still disappointing. Maggie and I had a great dinner at

2004-02-25T09:26:00.000-06:00

More Vegas rambling: I think that there is some odd arbitrage opportunity in Vegas that could be exploited. Why do I think this? $100 dollars is obviously not worth the same amount in Vegas as it is in other parts of the United States. During the day on Saturday, I went the the Paris casino, and played a slot machine that promised me I would win a Hummer H2. I didn't get it. But that's not

2004-02-23T09:49:00.000-06:00

Las Vegas for 2 days. I am so...friggin...tired. I got over my Blackjack phobia...and lost $250 at the table to prove it. $10.50 for a vodka and tonic was a bit surprising. I was also surprised by how many "winks" I got walking through the casino alone at 3am on Saturday night. Friendly girls! I'm sure it was all on the "up and up". More later.

2004-02-17T08:17:00.000-06:00

I am going to Las Vegas for the first time this Friday. I was given a "vegas-newbie" pep talk by my friend Josh last night. He was explaining which games I should play. -- Gai Pow Poker - I won't go into the particulars, but this game apparently has pretty good odds that you'll end up even with the house. About 75% of the time. Not a game where I'll win big money. -- Nickel Slots, or "No

2004-02-16T16:32:00.000-06:00

best...headlines....ever: Satan Scores 4 As Sabres Crush Thrashers I know its pronounded "Suh-tan", but its still funny. Its no longer online, but The Onion used to have an archive story, "Christ Returns to the NBA". A sample of the comedy: "Christ has taught me so much: like how to love my neighbors as myself, and when to pass up the three-point basket in favor of a higher percentage shot"

2004-02-16T08:39:00.000-06:00

monday morning coffee. some things are sacred. it was a weekend for eating. what did I make this weekend? -- a trip to L&F Pizza -- a bowl of Honeycomb -- reheated L&F Pizza -- Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls (a small aside...these always sound better than they actually are) -- Beef Stew in the slow cooker -- Rice Krispie Treats -- reheated L&F Pizza Maggie made Steak Au Poivre (not the actual

2004-02-13T13:01:00.000-06:00

i've been reading some java code recently, and I have some new band names as a result: -- public static void main -- boolean junky not too much more funny to be had right now. i'll work on it.

2004-02-12T09:55:00.000-06:00

mystery solved, courtesy of Guy: ¢¢¢ ¢¢¢ ¢ ¢ ¢¢¢ ¢¢¢ ¢ ¢ ¢¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢¢¢ ¢ ¢¢ ¢ ¢¢¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢¢¢ ¢¢¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢¢¢ start>programs>accessories>system tools>character map.

2004-02-12T08:53:00.000-06:00

Maggie and I will have sloppy joes for dinner sometimes. We get the 89 cent (again, I am dismayed at the lack of the 'cents' symbol on my keyboard) Sloppy Joe mix from McCormick, and add tomato paste. Last night, I got to see how my mom made Sloppy Joes. I ate them for 20 years, and I am just now watching her make them. She uses ground beef, a little bit of onion, ketchup (catsup, if you

2004-02-10T09:01:00.000-06:00

Maggie and I went to Babies'R'Us last night. Not for us....my sister is expecting, as is a former work-mate of Maggie's. So we went to get shower gifts. We bought a 6-speed swing, and a "bouncer". The bouncer thing makes me laugh...I envision a large guy with a clipboard checking to see if you're "on the list" to hold the baby. The swing and the bouncer cost about $100 bucks, total. Then I

2004-02-09T08:44:00.000-06:00

I don't know why, but I am very, very tired today. And cold. This is not a good way to start the day. Maggie and I TiVo'd the Grammys last night. I don't know why. We ended up fast-forwarding through, well, everything. Outkast? Not for me. Dave Matthews singing the Beatles? Painful. I do listen to John Mayer and the White Stripes, but when I saw them on screen, I was a bit embarrassed

2004-02-06T10:51:00.000-06:00

I saw this interesting article in Fortune: Abrupt Climate Change. I may consider buying land in Australia.

2004-02-05T08:44:00.000-06:00

Snow is coming. And no one can agree about how much. I've heard 2". 6". All I care about is Maggie getting in okay at O'Hare today. 4:39pm scheduled arrival. Fingers == Crossed. I went out to dinner with my parents and my sister last night. It was my sister's birthday, but she was upset because the waitress thought that she was my wife. It is somewhat disturbing, when you think about it.

2004-02-04T08:40:00.000-06:00

I do have two band names that I thought of long ago: -- The Distincive Snap of Produce -- Semantic Density I may have posted these before. If so, I apologize.

2004-02-04T08:31:00.000-06:00

It's cold. It's one of those days where I don't think my feet will ever feel warm...like I have socks that are wet. Not that this was hard for me to figure out, but I don't like being home alone. Maggie is in San Antonio until tomorrow, and going home at night is no fun. I get home, decide that I should work out, and then eat dinner around 8pm. I talk to Maggie on the phone, and then I end

2004-02-03T08:45:00.000-06:00

A few comments about yesterday: -- Guy pointed out that I misspelled 'sparse'. -- Richard Pryor, I am not. I don't think I'll be blogging "blue" anymore. It is not my style. -- After all of my comments about parts of speech, did I even end up using the F-word as an adjective? I can't wait to have a garage. I spent about 10 minutes brushing the snow off my car this morning to find a

2004-02-02T09:01:00.000-06:00

The Return of the Blog. As all of you die hard fans of the show have undoubtedly noticed, my posts have been, well, sparce, over the last few months. Blame it on a busy project. But that's all over now. I hope to be blogging much more in the future. Something that has been on my mind: the FCC is letting a lot of swearing through on broadcast TV lately. Now, I'm not concerned for myself.

2004-01-08T12:14:00.000-06:00

Special thanks to Guy Starbuck for finding a follow up to the snake story... Y'All Look Here Now So, by the same token, the original fact that Starburst peddled could have been wrong too. Man, Facts are tricky. TV Guide Synopsis of the last week: "The Big Chill", 2004 - During a cold snap, Mark continues to plow through Functional updates and fixes. Maggie comes to the realization that her

2003-12-29T17:00:00.000-06:00

Hey blog fans! Welcome my newest audience member, Brian Meyer. Wave hello, Brian. Die hard fans of the show will remember the issues I had with the Starburst Silly Science Fun Fact Writers and the problems with their "facts". Well, it appears one of their facts, even if it was well written, it now patently false. *****FROM THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE***** Officials: World's Largest Snake Caught

2003-12-09T17:12:00.000-06:00

TV Guide Synopsis of today: "With the project continuing at breakneck speed around him, Mark continues to develop the interface to the AS400. Maggie plans for her half-day vacation." 2003, (CC) TV-13 (AL, V)

2003-12-05T11:52:00.000-06:00

i'm still working on The Metra Profiles. I've been working on one, and I've identified my next "profile-ee", but its taking me a while to actually write them. i don't think they're going to be funny, either. Think Sociology report. I did think of another bit for the show, though. TV Guide Synopsis. TV Guide Synopsis will be a segment where I say what happened in my life as if it had to go

2003-12-02T08:27:00.000-06:00

hey blog fans....sorry for the dry spell with no posts. I don't have a bunch of time, but over the past few days, I've found several excellent band names that I just had to share: - Fuzzy Python -or- Prickly Python (these were uttered by my father, describing the fake christmas garland we were fastening to the house) - Catholics in Massachusetts (found on the graphic below a reporter on the

2003-11-12T12:28:00.000-06:00

The Silly Science Fun Fact (SSFF) world got a little bigger over the weekend. I had originally thought that the SSFFs were limited to Fun Sized Starburst Fruit Chews. This is, in fact, not true. I found SSFFs on Fun Sized Milky Ways and Fun Sized Snickers. Here's what I saw: "Electric Eels produce enough energy in one shock to light up every room in your house" Problems with this fact: -

2003-10-31T12:18:00.000-06:00

a friend of mine, in a separate discussion of Halloween costumes, had these ideas: - National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice - Elbow macaroni - Kobe Bryant - Elizabeth Smart kidnapper "Emmanuelle" - The kid from the Cracker Jack box - Uday Hussein Tenacious D - I saw a band covering 'Tribute' by Tenacious D last night, in Union Station of all places. I think the subtle message of "This

2003-10-31T08:31:00.000-06:00

Correction: I've been misquoting a Startburst Silly Fun Fact (SSFF). Your heart beats 100,000 times a day. Not 10,000. Nobody pointed this out, I just ate another fun-sized pack and re-read the SSFF. As I think about it, its the difference between 70 beats/minute and 7 beats/minute. I think that's significant. It doesn't fix any of my issues, though. My anger boiled over last night when

2003-10-28T12:11:00.000-06:00

I've become addicted to Starburst Fruit Chews. I've been eating them regularly now for about 2 weeks. At first, I'd buy them from the vending machine (60 cents - HEY! where's the "cents" key?) and eat half a pack a day. Whoa, that second day, I'd play a game. I'd see how long I could go without having one from my stash, and then I'd try to beat that record. At 30 cents a day, I didn't

2003-10-24T06:46:00.000-05:00

a quick note...notice the banner above. The Chocolatey, Peanut-Buttery Experiment has altered the search links in the banner ad. Success! Now, to try some other words! (I think that brackets set the thing off...we'll see.) (Mookie) (Dutch Treat) {K-Mart} (Global Thermonuclear War) [Muppets]

2003-10-24T06:40:00.000-05:00

as you may or may not have noticed, I have made a Blog naming decision. I ultimately decided that I have a dream. A dream where people are not judged by the name of their blog but rather by the content of their postings. So I went with the simple approach. Thanks again, John. Also, coincidentally, I have a new web page of my own at www.markmaier.net. I'm not sure if the DNS stuff has

2003-10-22T12:37:00.000-05:00

hey blog, how are you? no....don't get up. Through scientific deduction I have come to the conclusion that my readership is increasing. Thanks to John Gorup for his suggestions for renaming my blog. How's Germany, John? I liked these names, seriously. But it such easy fodder, I have to do this. Here are his suggestions, and some pros and cons. - The Maier Factor A play on the O'Reilly

2003-10-07T20:53:00.000-05:00

Thanks to those who participated in the following experiment... Experiment Name: Candy Bar Comparison I - A Chocolatey, Peanut-Buttery Conundrum Scientists: Mark Maier and Guy Starbuck Hypothesis: Despite different manufacturers, labels, slogans, and marketing, the Clark Bar, Butterfinger, and 5th Avenue candy bars are, in fact, very similar. Secondary Hypothesis: The promise of "free

2003-10-01T11:07:00.000-05:00

has anyone noticed that the ad at the top of this blog has searches related to the content written below? it is now my goal to manipulate this feature for evil, hopefully with Sexy Results. stay tuned...

2003-10-01T10:14:00.000-05:00

Whoa...almost forgot to Blog. Blog is now a verb. CHICAGO CUBS: Is it just me, or did Kerry Wood single handedly beat the Braves (okay, so its not just me) last night? He pitches, he hits. Awesome. The bad news is, I watched the whole game. I was pretty wound-up, and then I had a hard time sleeping. The morning came pretty early. The return of Frosted Car Windows came today. This is the

2003-09-30T08:51:00.000-05:00

Two-for-Tuesday: I wonder if Roxanne listened to Sting. Did she turn off the red light? Did she wear a different dress that night? Did the ska-sound-stylings of The Police convince her to change her life after only 3 minutes of prodding? And how did Sting know Roxanne? Former client? Is this a skeleton in Gordon Sumner's closet? Def Leppard: I think there are some common criteria for Def

2003-09-29T08:47:00.000-05:00

Its getting wierd. I keep seeing Wilford Brimley lookalikes. This weekend, he was driving a minivan. So far, the only consistent thing I've found is that he likes domestic automobiles. Along with Quaker Oatmeal. Culinary find of the weekend: Pad Thai Noodles at Trader Joes. I bought these one day when I was shopping while hungry, and they sat in the pantry for about a month. Then, on

2003-09-26T11:38:00.000-05:00

The International House of Pancakes. Now with powdered eggs and burnt toast. I'm glad its Friday. Its been a long week. Sorry, blog. Not much to say. 1:02 - 4.4 - 181

2003-09-25T08:39:00.000-05:00

Going back to the celebrity lookalike discussion, I could have sworn that I saw Wilford Brimley driving around Wheaton in a Sebring Convertible yesterday. Was anybody else weirded-out by Tom Cruise kicking his ass in The Firm? About a week ago, I started listening to Fatboy Slim again. First I started with 'You've Come a Long Way, Baby", but I recently moved on to his most recent album, "

2003-09-24T08:40:00.000-05:00

Went to Pappadeaux last night. Had the Crawfish Etouffee. It was so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. Ha. Watched my TiVo'd season premiere of CSI: Miami last night, and I was happy to see that they have Horatio, the self-righteous head of CSI played by David Caruso, in a shirt and sport-coat that are NOT black, or dark purple, or dark blue. I think they were

2003-09-23T08:41:00.000-05:00

Another Two-for-Tuesday brought me The Eagles and U2. I'm a big fan of The Eagles. But I always get confused at the beginning of 'Victim of Love'. I always think its 'Life in The Fast Lane'. Weekend Culinary Report: I only had the leftover Chinese food. My day at Power's Lake ended up being the morning, and I went to my parents to mow the lawn in the afternoon. But dinner was my reward.

2003-09-19T08:22:00.000-05:00

Maggie is headed to Atlanta today to see her friend Samantha. Which means its bachelor weekend. My plan includes watching stuff on TiVo that Maggie doesn't want to see. I may cook things Maggie doesn't want to eat. I am headed to Powers Lake to help the Murphy's take the pier out for the winter. Other than that...I'm gonna go wherever I want. Until Sunday when Maggie gets back. Stuff

2003-09-18T09:09:00.000-05:00

Ladybugs are everywhere. In swarms. And they like to leave little yellow poop streaks on my newly cleaned car. I like to flick them with my fingers like little pieces of lint, so its possibly done in retribution. In other motoring/wildlife news, 5 geese walked in front of my car today. Their slow saunter across the speedway completely negated the value of my shortcut. I hope they're happy.

2003-09-17T08:41:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine sent me these two links: Stealth Disco, and, my favorite, The Gambler. It made me think...are there other people in popular culture who deserve doppelganger themed websites? For example: www.ronaldmcdonaldlookalikes.com www.am-i-emmanuel-lewis-or-not.com www.guys-who-appear-to-weigh-as-much-as-luciano-pavarotti.com while looking for ronald mcdonald pictures (funny, a bit

2003-09-16T09:22:00.000-05:00

I've been listening to 97.9, WLUP on my way to work recently. Why? Because they broadcast a digital signature now so my car radio actually says "THE LOOP" in the display. I think that is neat-o. The bee's knees. Its Two-for-tuesday today, and I caught the second in a great set...Styx. Come Sail Away. Besides the obvious Cartman references, I enjoyed hearing the campy song as I came in to

2003-09-15T09:04:00.000-05:00

fantasy football - i left 34 points on the bench. good thing I don't do that for a living. it was a good weekend. saw friends from college, ate some good meals. chiles rellenos...mmmm. i did not make these, Casa Margarita in LaGrange did. i went to an outlet mall this weekend. i've decided that outlet malls have several characteristics: -- A Tommy Hilfiger store. A must to be considered

2003-09-12T09:44:00.000-05:00

time warp. i don't know what happened. i got up 30 minutes late today. my routine was the same. i arrived at work at the usual time. please send your theories of how i gained 30 minutes of time to temporal_physics-AT-markmaier-DOT-net. Thank you. On a side note: Apparently, Denise is alone in her love of Guy Starbuck. 0:57 - 3.9 - 184

2003-09-11T08:43:00.000-05:00

hey, blog. its been a while. i wanted to apologize for not writing in a while. things have been hectic, and well, you really weren't my priority. i started to write you a few times, but then something came up, or i thought my writing to be unworthy of sending to you. but that's all over. i'm recommitting myself to writing you. things will be different. you'll see. i got new shoes.

2003-07-24T11:28:00.000-05:00

it appears that Jon Fronza and I are not alone in our love of Homestar Runner. The Chicago Tribune is running a story about the cartoons called Atlanta brothers turn doodles into oodles of fun on Internet. (Free registration required.) No food to report on today. Mags and I have been so busy at night, we've been eating out a lot.

2003-07-14T09:30:00.000-05:00

Made a delicious dinner on Friday night. I highly recommend it. Get some Tilapia fillets. I like the ones at Trader Joes. They're individually packaged, and they defrost quickly. Never fishy smelling, either. Pat 'em dry, and then dredge them in flour. Dip the newly dusted fillets into buttermilk. Take buttermilk'd fillet and put it into a bowl with breadcrumbs, seasoning (your choice..

2003-07-11T16:13:00.000-05:00

the show may have suffered, but hey, I had boxes to open. So all my stuff is here, and I've got a decent little setup. My Dell PIII-550 has 384MB of RAM, a 13GB harddrive and its running Red Hat 9...very quickly, I might add. KVM'd it with my laptop...I like it. I have this whole list of stuff I want to do with it...fix the sound card, get Samba working correctly, max out my video performance

2003-07-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

i like getting packages delivered. i'm going to be on package overload for the next week, though. i've got a new 15" PowerBook arriving today. Very cool, but alas, it is not mine. Its my moms. But its a package, and I get to open it, so I'm excited. Then I have about 4 other packages on the way. its like christmas. in july. cliche. is my url forwarding really working? its been almost

2003-06-12T13:29:00.000-05:00

happy day...after only 9 days of waiting, my url, www.markmaier.net, is now directing traffic to this here blog. Please make a note of it. I don't like the name of my blog. Please feel free to email me with suggestions at: cool-dood@markmaier.net