i'm worth a million in prizes

there are few things more fun than laying awake not being able to sleep and then suddenly feeling sick. i think that chipotle burrito stabbed me in the back. i'll tell you all one thing, rice is not fun coming back up. how's that for a pleasant mental image? but here i am at work, tired and hungry.

gonna try for the kingdom if i can

there have been a few things that i've been meaning to update on for awhile, but i keep putting it off. i got my 90 day notice for being laid off from work last week. come august 15, i will be gone. i will be getting some kind of severance pay, but i won't find out exactly how much till day 45 (around july 1). i'm taking a spanish class in the second term of the summer quarter, which starts around mid-july which is going to be in the middle of my current work schedule. so once i find out exactly how much severance i'll be getting, i'll decide whether to change my work schedule for the final month or just quit. oh, and i get a raise next month.

the first of half-life 2's episodic installments comes out june 1st. that is great timing for me, as a have two huge papers due on may 31st, so that will be a great way to relax and unwind. personally, i think the idea of episodic releases online is fantastic. instead of paying $50 for a game that has around 8 hours of single player content (for a standard first-person shooter), you get episodes of around 6 hours of gameplay for only $20. despite my original anger at valve's software's steam program when i first got half-life 2, it has been wonderful ever since. considering you can preorder games (usually at a discount price) and load all the content onto your computer ahead of time, all you have to do after that is activate the game when it's released and you're all set. i've been playing ritual software's sin:episode I which was released via steam, and it's quality. the fact that it made from hl2's source engine is one of the main reasons i like it (i will forever rave about the physics in this game. they add so much to the gaming experience, for me anyway).

this quarter is almost over. thank goodness for that. just one huge paper and a small one due in a week, then a couple exams and it's done.

as probably everyone has already heard, we found a house for next year. it's gonna be sweet, i wish we could move in there.

a big band is far better than you

first off, happy birthday to big austin lubbers today. we're going to claddaghs tonight to celebrate. should be fun.

i saw mission impossible 3 last night. it was very entertaining. nothing brilliant, but the best mindless action movie i've seen in awhile. i really didn't like the second one, but the third was much better. plus, it had simon pegg in it, who was hilarious. they really should have played some queen though, or at least tossed in a zombie. also, if you haven't seen the proposition, its a really good australian-western. guy pearce is great.

i was going to write more, but we're about to go stop by master joe vogel's birthday extravaganza, so it will have to wait.

dreams in digital

i decided that there's a problem with me typing up posts at work, because it means i'm usually disgruntled and cranky when i write. more so than normal, anyway.

i mentioned more cd reviews coming, but i don't feel like going into a lot of detail about them, so i'll make them short and sweet. pearl jam released a self-titled album last week, and red hot chili peppers just came out with their latest, the double-album stadium arcadium. neither of these is really a bad cd; they're just boring. pearl jam was fine. none of the songs were bad, some of them were even a little catchy. but it didn't sound like anything new. nothing stood out. it was the same old pearl jam style that i've heard a million times before. i guess if you want more of the same pearl jam, go for it. i don't seem myself ever listening to it repeatedly. the chili peppers' album is even worse, because its two cds. if you've heard their last couple albums, you've heard this one. i'll admit, i didn't even listen to the whole thing, because its just boring.

now on the positive side, neil young's living with war is a good album. sure, i don't agree with all the politics, but that doesn't change the fact that it is still a quality cd. this is the political/protest album green day wishes they could make. definitely worth a listen, especially if you're a neil young fan.

brutus is an honorable man

i'm looking forward to the new saul williams album that's being produced by trent reznor. i'm not much of a hip-hop fan, but i liked saul's self-titled album, and amethyst rock star is pretty good too. he actually opened for nin inch nails earlier this year; sadly he was not at the cincinnati show, because he would have been way better than the yawn-fest that was moving units. the fact that he sings about something other than money, guns, cars, hoes, and bling makes him light years beyond that crap being played much too loudly by the cars outside my window every day.

drive me home and back again

this september we can all watch han solo shoot first once again. lucasfilm announced today that they will be releasing the original star wars trilogy, in the original theatrical version, on dvd this fall. in the past george lucas had said this version would never be released again, but i'm glad they changed their minds. although it wouldn't surprise me if they'd planned this all along so that people would buy the special editions on dvd (i would have anyway), but i'm sure not going to complain.

showed you how to swim for shore

i'm even more optimistic now after watching the reggie mcneal show . this guy is really, really fast. i'm not sure exactly how the bengals will use him since he won't be playing as a quarterback, but he's definitely got some speed.

i apologize in advance for the crappy rap music accompanying the video.

got a head full of ideas

the nfl draft was this past weekend, and i'm surprised at how satisfied i'm feeling with it after one day. going into the draft i really felt like they absolutely needed to get a good receiving tight end. but now i don't think that was as important; good blocking from our tight ends is probably what we need the most. another receiving threat on our already stacked offense would be great, but it isn't necessary. plus, they signed ohio state tight end ryan hamby so that gives them some more depth to work with at that position.

there were some really good players drafted like the offensive tackle andrew whitworth who didn't give up a sack all last season. they're hoping reggie mcneal could give our team the kind of trick-play threat the steelers enjoyed with randle el, and getting him in the sixth round sounded like a good bargain. i've heard good things about jonathan joseph, but he only had about a year of experience in college, so that makes him a little risky. but marvin seems to like taking gambles on risky players, which is sometimes good (odell thurman) and sometimes not so good (chris henry). i can't really complain about all the defensive players picked, and hopefully the wide received we got will be helpful on special teams. we need someone to fill the void left by kevin walter leaving, as he was second on special teams in tackles last season. i've read that frostee rucker should be a nice addition for the pass rush, which is also something we need.

i'm not happy about the steelers trading up to get santonio holmes. now i have to root against him.