House Via Keyhole

05.02.2005

Last week I downloaded the demo version of a cool little app from Keyhole. The Keyhole satellites are what the government is using to spy on everyone who isn't covered by a roof by using their super high tech satellite imaging to zoom in on everything on the ground. It's so spiffy even Google is using it for their maps. I spent hours putting in addresses and zooming from here to there, it was really more engrossing than I had thought it would be.

The coolest part of the app is to go from a satellit view of the earth, then zoom down to your particular address. It's worth the download and registration just to do that a couple of times.

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Return Of My Favorite Game

04.27.2005

I have a favorite routine in wrestling and I think it's time for it to make a comeback. For this routine to work, there is a 3-way match in which you need 2 wrestlers trying to one up each other, with a 3rd wrestler who primarily serves as the comedic foil. Originally I gained many a hearty thrill as Kurt Angle played the foil, with The Rock, Steve Austin, and Triple H taking turns as the bickering, I'm better than you are wrestlers.

In this routine, all 3 wrestlers find their way outside the ring. Wrestler 1(The Rock in this example), grabs the head of the foil (Angle) and bangs said head into something hard and unforgiving - a ringpost, a table, ring steps, anything will do - while shouting epithets and mocking Wrestler 2 (let's say it's Austin this time).

Wrestler 2 is not amused and believes he can do better, so he grabs the head of the foil and delivers a mighty slam himself, retorting that he too has epithets and mocking phrases. Although our foil begins to become woozy, Wrestler 1 grabs him once again and repeats the head banging from before, doubling his epithets and mocking in the process. Wrestler 1 by this time has to grab the foil up off the ground to show that he too has more epithets and mocking to give, and thus bangs the foils head into whatever they've been using.

This might repeat again, until the foil tries to unsuccessfully flail an arm up in an offensive move, and which point wrestlers 1 and 2 join forces and deliver a double strike (punch, clothesline, both grab the foils head and bang him again, whatever) before concentrating on each other. And then the match continues.

The WWE has found themselves with the perfect setup of this once again. The first player is Shelton Benjamin, Intercontinental Champion. Shelton has good moves, but he lacks the in ring charisma that will take him to the next level. If he's not careful, he's going to be the black version of Lance Storm and Steve Blackman, who's gimmick is "I'm tough, but I lack personality". His title would be the focal point of the 3 coming together.

The second wrestler would be Chris Jericho. He's got the charisma, he's got the history of helping to make titles. He's been feuding with Shelton of late over the title. He's the one that could help bring Shelton up to the next level.

The 3rd wrestler, the comedic foil, would be the perfect fit for Christian. Christian can pull off the comedic bits - he's done it in the past with Edge, and to a similar degree with his current gimmick as kind of a "Rock Lite". I also think that like Angle did, Christian could eventually go on to main event status, he just needs a little.... something. Getting his head bashed in by 2 other guys may be just the thing!

This is just rehashing an old bit - it's not a story line or a gimmick, just one of those little parts of a matches that could use a comeback every once in a while.

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Bitchin' 'Bout Da Week

04.26.2005

I think it's going to turn into one of those weeks, at least at home:

I was supposed to have a guy come look at fixing my leaky ceiling yesterday. After I left work early and got home (at 3:30, so it wasn't tooooo early) I was greeted by a message saying he was having vehicular problems and wouldn't be able to make it.

Then it rained last night. Fortunately, not enough to make the ceiling worse.

On Apr 13, I received my income tax return (the actual return, not a refund) with a note saying "we didn't receive a W-2, resend with a W-2." Yesterday I received from the IRS my W-2, with a note saying "Here's your W-2, we don't have a return to match up with it, mail this back with a return."

Thanks to the above, the IRS is going to get pissed and audit me. I know they are.

The cable went off for a couple of hours on Friday. After it came back the picture seems a little fuzzy, but still watchable. Last night was my first attempt to get online. I managed to find the internet, but it seemed to only want to give me about a bit per second. I tried loading the Google home page, and I slowly watched the Google graphic load - and after 10 minutes I gave up. I guess I have a call to Louisville and the Charter Cable Modem helpdesk in my future.

On my alternate route to work, which saves me 4 potential red lights and is generally a little easier of a drive into work, I managed to reach each of the 4 stops signs at the same time as the other 3 vehicles reaching the intersection, thus causing the uncomfortable "I know I was here first, but are one of you sumbitches going to go instead?"

And it's only Tuesday.

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Rut

04.25.2005

I seem to just be stuck in a rut without much to say.....

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Pigs In A Blanket

04.19.2005

There needs to be some sort of standardization in the naming of foods. Apples have it - Granny Smiths, Red Delicious, Green - other foods need it. When you get chicken salad, it has the same base: chicken, a little mayo. After that, the ingredients are up in the air. Some versions have nuts, grapes, celery, tarragon, or any combination thereof. There's probably versions with god knows what in them.

There are some foods from my childhood that I like to revisit. No, I doubt I'll ever again consider a saltine, quarter slice of cheese, pickle, and garlic salt a "snack" again, but there are other things I wouldn't mind sampling again. The problem is that it's hard to track down what exactly it was that I liked. Case in point: the Pig In A Blanket.

I used to think the a pig in a blanket was a simple thing, and everybody ate the same thing (ah, to be young and innocent again). The pigs in blankets I grew up on were from the Kraft recipe. Oscar Meyer wieners, cheese, crescent rolls. Bake, dip in some mustard, you're a happy kid. I mentioned to someone the other day about how a pig in a blanket sounded good, and found out that some people had only known them as a cocktail snack. That got me to looking to see in what other ways the universe has messed with my favorite childhood meal.

Well, it seems you can have breakfast pigs, bastardized pigs in biscuits, use smoked sausage instead of wieners, or even complicate them beyond belief. In fact, there seem to be over 200 ways to make pigs in a blanket.

We need some standardization! If I go out and say "I want a pig in a blanket", I better get a wiener with some cheese wrapped in a crescent roll, not some nasty cabbage casserole!. So join the revolution. Any revolution, just so long as the right pig in a blanket is part of the charter.

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