Since 1958

Happy forty-fifth, Dad!

WTF Mates

End of the world. Presented by Claire.

Ah-Ha!

Apparently, my DMB CDs were here the whole time, but got lost in the office like so many of my packages. Grrr. And Yay!

Gripe

Where is The Central Park Concert? I want my DMB!

Backstreet's Back

I find this notable not so much because of the message, but the unparalleled quality for a flash parody: I Want a Fat Babe. More stuff from the same guys can be found here.

Since 1953

Happy fiftieth, Mom!

There is no spoon.

I watched The Martix Revolutions on Sunday, and found the final third of the trilogy to be quite satisifying. The plot seemed to develop naturally, and at the end I felt that Revolutions was much like the scene in the Merovingian's restaurant: "What happened happened and could not have happened any other way." Were the sequels as strong as the original? Not quite, but in this case, I'm glad to have seen them anyway.

Breaking News

I just ate three caramel apples.

Trick-or-Treat

Halloween in Madison: Yes, there is much drunkenness, but before the alcohol goes to everyone's head, Halloween is a night for guys to show their creativity, self-confidence, and sense of humor and for girls to be really, really slutty.

On a side note, I spent the bulk of today at Old World Wisconsin. It is a truly amazing historic attraction, designed by my Landscape Architecture instuctor Professor William H. Tishler. We got back just in time for the evening festivities. A great field trip!

The Fourth Film

Kill Bill Vol. 1 is the most violent movie I've seen since Saving Private Ryan, and that might be a toss up. It is very entertaining, and worth a look if you can stomach it. You can find Roger Ebert's top-notch review of the movie here.

Complex

I took my RA, Ilene Gold, to see Blue Man Group at the Kohl Center last night. The show was part of The Complex Rock Tour, and it was spectacular. The opening acts were Tracy Bonham and Venus Hum, both of which were quite impressive, although Venus Hum's lead singer Annette Strean was so visually distracting that the best method to appreciating the music involved closing ones eyes.

There was an intermission, and then Blue Man Group performed. It was a spectacular show, that blended unique music with humor and thoughtful messages. Both of the opening acts appeared as guests during the show, although (thankfully) Bonham was present through much more than was Venus Hum. Ilene and I had seats 9 & 10 in Row 4 of section 002—practically the best seats in the house, and well worth $52.05 a seat (not that I don't resent the $8.05 "convenience charge"). We both got covered with streamers and sprinkled with water toward the end of the show. Thankfully, neither of us came into contact with any of the flying paint. I think they were especially careful to keep it on the stage for the Rock Tour. Good show!

Technical Difficulties

I reformatted my computer last night, and I'm reinstalling everything. The webcam works! Now I just can't check my email...

Where is my webcam? (concluded)

Status: Delivered
Delivered on: Oct 13, 2003 1:03 P.M.
Signed by: ROBB
Location: RECEIVER
Delivered to: MADISON, WI, US
Shipped or Billed on: Sep 30, 2003
Service Type: GROUND
Weight: 1.80 Lbs
Package Progress:
DATE==========TIME========LOCATION/ACTIVITY
Oct 13, 2003==01:03 P.M.==Middleton, WI, US DELIVERY
Oct 13, 2003==08:28 A.M.==Middleton, WI, US OUT FOR DELIVERY
Oct 13, 2003==04:15 A.M.==Middleton, WI, US ARRIVAL SCAN

Now the bad news...it's not working! The new journey begins: Fighting Dell!

Where is my webcam? (continued)

Status: In Transit
Package Progress:
DATE==========TIME========LOCATION/ACTIVITY
Oct 11, 2003==12:13 A.M.==Hodgkins, IL, US DEPARTURE SCAN
Oct 10, 2003==08:39 P.M.==Hodgkins, IL, US ARRIVAL SCAN
Oct 09, 2003==10:34 P.M.==Hodgkins, IL, US A LATE TRAIN CAUSED THIS DELAY

Something tells me that they aren't referring to the 8-day-and-counting delay that took my webcam across the enitre continent.

3 NT

My webcam is still no-show. On the plus side, the exams are over (save the combinatorics one next week), and I am using my late afternoon to learn Bridge. The American Contract Bridge League has a pretty cool set of tutorials that you can download for free. I'm still in the first one (for beginners), but I'm progressing quickly. The program is simple, clearly written, and has a sense of humor. It's also full of little tidbits to keep you thinking about more complicated senariios even when working with the basics. For example, I just came upon a screen that told me that "Unless your playing against real hotshot bridge players, it is safe to assume that when a finesse works one time, it will also work a second time." Thanks to David MacLeod for the link.

Where is my webcam?

Status: In Transit
Scheduled Delivery: Oct 3, 2003
Shippeded to: MADISON, WI, US
Shipped or Billed on: Sep 30, 2003
Service Type: GROUND
Weight: 1.80 Lbs
Package Progress:
DATE==========TIME========LOCATION/ACTIVITY
Oct 07, 2003==10:23 P.M.==Richmond, CA, US DEPARTURE SCAN
Oct 02, 2003==05:03 A.M.==Hodgkins, IL, US ARRIVAL SCAN
Sep 30, 2003==10:00 P.M.==Maspeth, NY, US DEPARTURE SCAN
Sep 30, 2003==07:47 P.M.==Maspeth, NY, US ORIGIN SCAN
Sep 30, 2003==06:31 P.M.==US BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

I'm not qute sure when Californina became part of a direct land route between New York and Wisconsin, but I personally blame Arnold.

Victory

I did ODE Quiz 1 just now, and I destroyed. On to the combinatorics homework!

Friendly Faces

I had the pleasure of some very good company today. My mother and my sister drove all the way out to Madison just to see me. We had Lunch at The Great Dane, before I showed them State Street and Bascom hill. We rested here before dinner at the Potbelly in town. I've got many exams this coming week, so let the studying commence!

Boldly Going

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. I received my order of teas yesterday from Avalon's Tazo store. I got a free sampler that included some flavors I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise. Last night I tried Calm, which is a chamomile tea. I can't say that I was terribly impressed, but it was worth a try. Tonight's new flavor is Earl Grey, the favorite tea of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. I've not been so much into the black teas, but I'm giving anything and everything a go. It's finished steeping, and is cooling. [7:38:22 Update] The tea was quite good, and I enjoyed it while watching Friends, which was not so good. Way to much whining from Ross.

R&R

Today was a thoroughly relaxing day. I did a bit of Spanish work and a bit of botany. I took a nap, and I talked to Marget.

Travel Plans

I purchased tickets to Copenhagen, Denmark from Icelandair. I am departing from Minneapolis at 6:55 on Monday, 5 January 2004. I have a layover in Reykjavik, and I will arrive at noon on the next day. It's a while off, but lots of good stuff happens in the mean time. The Matrix Revolutions comes out. I'm home with my family and my honey for Thanksgiving. And I can't forget a Carribean cruise over my birthday.

I've been communicating with Marget using Eyeball Chat. Its good to see her again. I'll be getting my camera soon. I ordered some headphones as well in an effort to deal with the feedback from our speakers.

Confusion

I don't know which was more mind boggling...the botany test I just took or today's addition to Homestarrunner.com. Looks like my cousin made it to France safe and sound. He should have some good stuff for us this next week.

Music Musings

I'm thinking that Some Devil would be a significantly stronger album if they had dumped the first version of "Gravedigger" and moved the accoustic version into its spot. The double track seems a little out of place; I can't say I see why they thought it was a good idea.

I bought a hot pot from Amazon.com. It was more expensive than I was expecting, so I hope it was worth it.

I'll Be There For You

Ahh...I just got a good dose of must-see-TV. I watched the last season premiere of Friends, and did enjoy it. It's sad to see it end, but I think it is time. The romance-tangles are getting a little redundant.

I've got a killer cough this evening. I think I should buy a hot pot so that I can make tea without having to use Paul and Tyler's microwave every other evening, despite their generosity. Good guys, those two.

Oh...and one more thing: Hi, Claire.

Jamba Juicing

About a week ago, I left a note on the Jamba Juice website expressing my concerns about the material they use for their cups. I just got a very nice response with the following attachment, which I found to be quite interesting.

Since we opened our first store in 1990, we have strived for Jamba Juice to be an environmentally conscious business. We recycle our cardboard, glass, paper, plastic, and polystyrene when it is possible. However, we have found that in some areas it has been challenging to find recycling, and therefore, one of our most effective actions to protect the environment has been to offer you our reusable mug and a discount every time you bring your mug back.

When using one of our mugs is not possible, we have chosen to use polystyrene cups as the best option for our packaging. Although we originally had reservations about using polystyrene, we did some extensive research comparing polystyrene cups vs. paper cups and have concluded that polystyrene is the best choice for Jamba Juice, our customers, and the environment. Here's what we found out:

+ Paper cups consume 6 times more raw materials.
+ Paper cups consume 36 times more electricity to manufacture.
+ Paper cups consume twice as much cooling water and 58 times more waste water.
+ Paper cups produce 10 to 100 times the amount of residual contaminants in waste water.
+ Paper cups require 33 times more chemicals by weight to manufacture.
+ Paper cups produce 3 times more air pollution emissions to manufacture.
+ Paper cups are typically coated with a non-biodegradable material, making them no more bio-degradable than paper cups in modern landfills.
+ Polystyrene cups do not contain or use any ozone depleting gases in their manufacturing process.
+ Polystyrene cups are in fact more easily recycled than paper cups.

Additionally, to properly serve our cold, fresh, blended-to-order smoothies, we need a cup that can both insulate and seal. Polystyrene cups are significantly more effective in maintaining the quality of our smoothies than paper cups.

It is for these reasons: the overall environmental impact, recyclability, insulating ability, and cost that Jamba Juice has decided to use polystyrene cups for our products. We hope that you find this information as helpful as we did in deciding what packaging choices are best for you.

I've got to look into getting one of those mugs if they have 'em in the Madison store. Alhough financially, maybe I shouldn't dare...

Rocking Out on the Net

I'm listening to The AOL Concert for Schools live from the Great Lawn in Central Park (which I know to be designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux). The performer? None other than DAVE MATTHEWS BAND! The show is rocking, and I wish very much to be there to see it (as well as to spend time with a special someone I know in that area). Here is the setlist:

Onstage 7:19 pm EDT
(intro jam)
Don't Drink The Water
So Much To Say
-->Anyone Seen The Bridge
-->Too Much
Granny
Crush
When The World Ends
Dancing Nancies (rambling intro)
-->Warehouse (Stop Time intro)
Ants Marching
Rhyme & Reason
Two Step
Help Myself
Cortez the Killer (duet with Warren Haynes)
Jimi Thing (NYC scat/Stop Children version)
What Would You Say
Where Are You Going
All Along The Watchtower
encore
Grey Street
What You Are (passion intro)
Stay (Wasting Time)

I rebuffered durring "Granny," but I can say it was a very solid show until "Crush" when 'solid' fell far short. Then Dave did this great 5 second vocal solo during "World" that was truly new and very impressive. "Nancies" had reasonably good introductory Ramble and impressive use of back-up vocals. Warehouse, the classic Nancy-chaser (so to speak) was equally impressive, if not more so; almost to the end of the song, the band kicked it into overdrive and did an unusally fast (salsa?) tempo during LeRoi's solo. The next two songs were well exexuted, although unremarkable. "Two Step" was well done, although the final moments were a little on the tame side. I'm not quite sure what to think of the Dave/Warren duet; I'll know better after getting this show on CD. Warren's presence was much appreciated, however, on the MOST TOTALLY tricked-out version of "Jimi Thing" ever! "WWYS" popped up, I felt sure that the main set had reached its end, but behold! "Where Are You Going." It couldn't be the closer...so what next? The classic. The Bob Dylan masterpiece "All Along The Watchtower," performed with precision and grace starting with Stefan's fabulous steel guitar intro (with the national anthem thrown in for good measure). This is undoubtedly the song which most greatly showcased Boyd's mastery of the electic violin. It wasn't really able to get any better, but the encore sealed the deal. "Grey Street" was spot-on, and "What You Are" (my favorite Everyday song) is perhaps the perfect closer, but this time it was just one more stop along the way. Dave and all stuck around and turned in a killer performance of "Stay" making us all wish we could do just that. In review: The band produced a jaw-dropping show that was the perfect balance between boldness and refinement. The show earns four stars.

That's it for me. If you want more review (from people actually at the show, perhaps) head on over to the show's page at nancies.org by clicking here.

Bottoms Up

I love going to BevNET.com: The Beverage Network, probably because I love to try crazy new drinks, and place seems to keep Tabs (a little soft drink pun there) on everything! I'll probably move this link to the side bar in the near future.

Under Contruction

Today I begin the very dangerous process of redesigning the site. I've never done it before, so I'm only assuming its dangerous because it seems like a tenth of the pages out there have messages like:
Please be patient while we redesign our site. We'll be back before the new millennium.So something must have happened to all those people. Anyway, I'm going to attempt it. I want some more blues and greens. Orange is nice, but just not my thing. Maybe I'll tinker with the fonts later on. Ooh...apparently I can make text scroll across the page. Maybe I could use this a whole lot to empasize the important parts. Everone would love it!
In the mean time, there will be problems. Line breaks in the wrong places. Mis-matched font sizes. I know. I'm still learning about HTML and this whole "Internet" thing.

Name Dropping

This is the Blog of my friend and cousin, Karl Hepokoski: Karl's year in France. I suspect that it will be more dramatic than my own. While I'm at it, here's a link to the only other blog I read: PeterDavid.net.

The big day

Today, the first day of Autumn, is the first day this Blog is in opperation. Dave Matthews' debut solo album Some Devil was also released today. I was most pleasantly to find it waiting for me in my mailbox after breakfast.