Summer of Dan

Nor rain, nor snow, nor sleet...it's the first one!!!!

Just as it looked like Spring was upon us, Mother Nature played an April Fool's joke a few days early. I was getting used to seeing the black and dirty snow that will surely be hanging around until mid-August because sunlight can't actually get to the snow underneath to melt it.

And then it snowed.

It doesn't shock me, just shocks me how naive people can be who live in New England. I can't count how many times I've seen people without snow scrapers. How much space does it take up in your trunk? Just leave it there!!!

So it was lunch day with the boys today, and Steve emailed both Kraig and I to see if were made it in and were still down for lunch. Unlike Newman, a little precipitation won't keep me from lunch with my homies at Beefside.

The three of us all ordered the Super Giant Roast Beef Sammich (6 oz. of perfect roast beast), and beer battered fries. I got my sammich last, and I inhaled my entire lunch so fast, I was able to just sit there with my hands folded and watch them both finish lunch. Not sure if that is a good sign or a bad, but I'll lean towards good because eating fast is a skill in my book.

We talked about Seinfeld and I just don't see anything coming close to being as widely appealing to the masses as that show. There was always something in every episode that people could relate to, and that's why shows like Two and a Half Men will never be able to stack up against it. I love it, it's the best show ever. I've said it before and I'll say it again: with Steve reminding me of Jerry so much and people saying I am just like George,  I struggled to figure out how Kraig would fit into the picture.

And then I thought of Newman. Is Kraig like Newman? Not really. Bania? No. Kramer? He's not as random as he would need to be. George's dad? Maaaaybe...maybe....

I struggle with this, even now. I'll have to ask Steve. He'll know.

Steve let me borrow the novel for I Am Legend, which I am sure I'll start and finish it tonight (less than 200 pages). Think of how much better a read it would be if I already had a Kindle!!!

Cleaning up the house

Sometimes you need to clean house: go through your friends and purge the ones that weigh you down, go through your closet and get rid of the 10 pairs of sneakers you don't wear anymore, and even go through your computer and get rid of some of those old mp3s you used to listen to but have no desire to hear them ever again.

The same goes with blogs. I found that I have about 4,329 categories, and a lot of them could be combined, so along with changing my layout and the look and feel of the old Meatball Stain, it's time to break out the Tide Bleach Pen and tidy up a bit.

Re-KINDLE your relationship with books

I'm going to come out and say it: I want a damn Kindle.

What's a Kindle, Dan? you ask. Well, a Kindle is a neat tech toy that is basically an electronic book.

It's super sweet, and for the decent price of $399 it could be all yours, or mine if you are a really nice person. Just to make things easier on you I added it to my Amazon Wish List here on my blog so if you want to help stimulate the economy by buying me a Kindle that would be cool. Then again you could be selfish and spend it on yourself.

 

 

It uses technology similar to your cellphone where you can download any books that are sold on Amazon.com for less than $9.99 to it in seconds. It has a built in web-browser, so you can read your favorite blogs, search on Google maps, or even check your email.

 

It's lighter than a single paperback, and you can even get subscriptions to your favorite newspaper.

That's right Steve: forget looking for that new cellphone, upgrade for the cheapest phone you can get with your Verizon new-every-2 credit and run out and get one of these. Or get me one.

The battery is super long lasting, and it can hold over 200 books. You can also email things to it like PDFs and JPGs and view them on there.

-No paper = happy trees. Win-win, right??

 

The Zombie Wars – coming sooner than you think

My previous post touched upon people dying and Steve emailed me asking me if I wanted to borrow Matheson's I Am Legend to read and it got me thinking about the Zombie Wars.

People I know scoff at the idea that one day (in the near future) the land will be ruled by Zombies. Just stepping up here to say I won't be one of those people. Over the course of the next year I'll be taking things into my own hands and making sure I'll be among the survivors.

Take it seriously and you have a chance. Laugh about it and you'll be toast. Simple as that.

I intend to be on top when all is said and done.

Shut your eyes

I quietly "celebrated" a milestone yesterday, something I've never really been able to do all my life:

I went to my first wake without freaking out.

That's right people! I didn't laugh or get that super nervous tension feeling that goes on every time I am among the non-living and it was all good.

Big ups to myself. I'd like to thank all that made this possible, starting with myself for basically pretending the person was sleeping and paying my respects and moving on.

The Niff had my back, praying next to me, but when she began to look at the body I hit my limit and jet setted out of there.

For those that don't know, I'm not big on wakes or funerals (I mean, who is? Well…my brother…anyway…) and every single wake and funeral I've been to since I was 8 when my friend's dad passed away I freak out. I nervously laugh, I can't hold it in, and generally I can't handle it. Most of the time I don't cry, in fact in all I've been to about 20-25 and I've cried only twice. And everytime I've laughed because it unnerves me. Well, at my Oma's service I lost it because the giant German lady singing "Amazing Grace" absolutely freaked me out, but that's another story for another time.

So here is to hoping this is the beginning of the end of the uncontrollable nervous laughter in front of the dead.

The path less traveled

Two good things to note when working out in a new gym :

1. Where the water bubblers are
2. Where the locker rooms are

It is equally important to note not only where the locker room you will be changing in is, but also where say the ladies locker room is.

So you won't accidently walk into it thinking it is the way to the spinning class your fiancée signed you up for unbeknownst to you.

My second dad

I love my upbringing. I was trusted a young age and treated like a person, not just a kid. My parents let me stay out late with friends as long as they knew where I was, and stay up late as long as I was doing something productive like reading. I was able to hang out with my dad a lot growing up because of his epilepsy, and at the same time I saw my mom as much as most kids see their mom I guess.

We never had anything right away when everyone else did, and Nintendo was no exception. When we did get it, all my friends had it for months already, if not a year or so, but my parents got it with a crapload of games. We didn't care we weren't the first to get it, we were happy to have it, and happier that they realized that.

And with that, it is with great love and admiration for both my parents to proudly display this poster, one I would love to seek out and put on my wall proudly in Mantown. Not because of the truthfulness behind it (for me at least), but because I know a TON of kids that were raised by this wonderful invention.   And if I wasn't so fond of the beauty of the Nintendo Entertainment System, I wouldn't own two of them.   (By the way, if anyone has Solomon's Key, let me know…)

I'll give you a fistful of quarters...to the face

The Niff and I just finished watching one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I met up with Kraig and Steve today for lunch and Steve handed me a DVD he burned titled The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. I'd heard of it before but didn't really know what it was all about...but in the first 3 minutes I was hooked.

Basically the guy on the left, Billy Mitchell, thinks he is the hottest shit around since he has some world records in old skool games like Donkey Kong, and Steve Wiebe (guy on the right) is his biggest challenger.

Lots of controversy, even an appearance from the people of the Guinness World Book of Records (via phone).

But the best part in all of this is a big chunk of the movie centers around the giant arcade here in New Hampshire called Funspot, where Steve attempts to set/beat every record out there.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, and in the end, you'll be pretty damn happy that you watched it. Go rent it, if you can find it. Definitely worth your time.

Just eat the sticker

I have a few minutes to crank out a CRU so I will have at it.

• Moving is highly stressful. Unpacking is just as stressful. Feeling unsettled is even more stressful. Hopefully after this weekend we'll be less stressed. I think we will, the place is coming along, and during the week we have work and then we workout. Some people would just say "well, don't workout for a week", but for us that isn't really an option. Skipping a day here and there is fine but a whole week is just not an option.
  
  
• It's important to have help when moving, but more important to have what I call "movers". Not just helping hands, but people that actually move, move, move. They rarely stop for a breather and just want to pump out the work. Steve is one of these people, the Niff is one of these people, my dad is one of these people. Sure it's nice to have a large number of people to move stuff, but I'd definitely go for quality over quantity. I've had both and believe me, there is nothing more annoying than someone going 2 mph., and acting as if they are doing as much as you are.
  
  
• Gold's Gym isn't what I thought it would be. Sure there are a few muscle heads, and I've already seen my fair share of guys walking around with gallons of water, but I've worked out there for four days in a row now, haven't heard any grunting or weight dropping. The machines are better, the cardio equipment is superior, and the experience just feels like the people there take their workouts more seriously. I can dig that, even if it's 2 1/2 times the price of our old Planet Fitness memberships. When you workout 5-6 days a week, paying for a superior product makes sense.
  
  
• I cannot wait for the NFL Draft this year. Rather than imposing on the Niff's family or my own and going back to D-Town to watch it, we're opting to host the Annual NFL Draft Party at our new place. We have a much larger living room, we're getting a new couch tomorrow (more on that later), and we'll have more space to just get comfortable. Between our George Foreman Grill and our stove (need to get a grill pan), I think the food will be just as good if not better than last year (can you say burn to shit chicken??). Should be a great time. Especially once I beat Flack in the annual Draft Day Bet...
  
  
• I ate an apple yesterday but couldn't get the sticker off. It's not that it wouldn't peel off, it was just not coming off and it was disintergrating while I was peeling it off. In typical broly fashion, I just ate it. A little sticker never killed anyone. Right?
  
  
• Have I said how much I love my job? Within the last 20 minutes?
  
  
• One more sign the world is coming to an end: I've drank coffee every work day this week.
  
  
• Twitter.com is a super cool site. Check it out, sign up, find me. Takes two seconds, and it's a quick and dirty way to let people know what's going on in your life, and it's not even close to being as egocentric and narcissistic as MySpace.
  
  
• Have I mentioned how awesome the Niff is for getting us Sox tickets and plane tickets to Baltimore to see the game at Camden Yards for my birthday? :) Unbelievable.
  
  
• The weather is shaping up lately. Sorta. I know it's still technically winter, but all of New England needs to get out of the winter funk and into spring. Soon.
  
  
• I actually feel like I am where I belong now that we're back in Concord. It's a weird peaceful feeling.
  
  
• No Country For Old Men is amazing. Don't take my word for it, rent it, buy it, or even catch it in the theater (since it's still there). What's the most you've ever lost in a coin toss?
  
  
• This football season will be better than any other. I can feel it. I'm more prepared now than I ever was and we have some special talent too.
  
  
• Frosted Mini-Wheats are the most underrated cereal out there. It's healthy and has that sugary sweetness to it as well.

Once the place is all set and we're settled I'll be changing the design of the blog. It's too much work to just try and wing it piecemeal. I'll be doing the same with Beantown Sports Guys as well.

Clean the gene pool

I just read an article on CNN about a father that forced his two young kids to murder their family cat "to teach them how to kill".

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/13/cat.stabbing.ap/

Brown said the case was particularly troubling because Collins involved his children in killing the animal, an 8-month-old tuxedo-type cat named Boots.

"I've been doing investigations for 10 years, and this is really bothering me," the detective said.

 

WTF is wrong with people??? I can't wrap my head around this. Maybe someone in jail should wrap their bedsheet around this guy's head instead.