This is Hi-Fi

...In the morning when the day is new

Apparently, the doggie has no real interest in watching TV with me tonight. She curled up in a ball about a foot away from me, despite the fact that I sat on the floor. About an hour later, she relented, and scooted over to snuggle up next to me. I think she's still pissed at me for not feeding her until 9:30, but she couldn't resist the snuggles.

Maybe she's doing that thing where she's taking on some of my traits. I don't know if it goes both ways. I certainly won't be licking my butt or waiting for soccer-boy to come rub my belly, though.

Anyone ever watch Everyday Italian? There is something really sexy about women that can cook and/or bring me food. Apparently Amazon.com did a little interview with her, as she promotes her book.

One of my friends didn't share my view of her for two reasons:

"Something about their camera angles makes her head look really big."

"Never trust a skinny cook."

The quiz is titled, "Which Housewife Are You?", but if you're male it's supposed to match you with the most compatible one.

EDIT: Nooo!!! I ended up with Lynette. I loved Felicity Huffman on Sports Night. As Dana, she is a good match for "my type" in that intelligent, career-driven, and slightly neurotic way. As Lynette, I don't want to think about her trying to raise 3 kids and sacrificing her own career. I'm taking this again.

EDIT 2: Dammit, Lynette again. I guess I should face reality. I was really hoping for Bree, but she would probably drive me nuts, too.

When Battlebots first hit the scene a few years ago, I remember seeing a really neat creation that was basically a big mechanical snake. In the grand scheme of the game, it was terrible, since it really couldn't stop anything. However, the concept was pretty novel. Now it looks like some folks at the University of Michigan's Mobile Robotics Lab have created one that might actually be useful.

In one test, the OmniTread climbed an 18-inch curb, which is more than twice its height. It also crossed a 66-centimeter trench, which is half its length. In another test, it inched up a pipe by pushing against opposite walls.

Interesting article on Blog Maverick about the obsolescence of CDs. While I don't always see eye to eye with Mark Cuban, he's got an interesting point. His situation is vaguely similar to the time that I realized I no longer needed a floppy drive.

Skies are blue, the sun is shining, and the weather is in that perfect "not too hot" range. I'm so glad that I'm not cooped up in an office or cube somewhere. Strange to think that I'm going to really enjoy doing a bunch of yardwork and changing my oil.

With gems like this, I should spend more time reading ESPN's Page 2:

Trading for an NBA player with baggage is like dating a girl with baggage – maybe you'll be happy for a few months, but there's a 95-percent chance it's going to end badly. (And I mean, BADLY, as in, "Why does it hurt when I pee?" or "I wonder who left 59 hang-ups on my answering machine?")

Economics in One Lesson is now online! Thanks to Jane Galt for the linky...

Ever think of being an evil overlord? If so, you might want to carry this handy checklist.

Includes things such as

I will never employ any device with a digital countdown. If I find that such a device is absolutely unavoidable, I will set it to activate when the counter reaches 117 and the hero is just putting his plan into operation.

Any data file of crucial importance will be padded to 1.45Mb in size.

I don't know if I agree with this one though:

I won't require high-ranking female members of my organization to wear a stainless-steel bustier. Morale is better with a more casual dress-code. Similarly, outfits made entirely from black leather will be reserved for formal occasions.

Thanks Jane!

Last night, was the bachelor party for a friend of mine that is getting married in a few weeks. Being the nice churchgoing son of a minister that he is, he announced that there will be absolutely no working women, involved in the evening. No strippers or well... "other".

Due to my prior activities taking a wee bit longer than expected, I was about an hour and a half late. Interesting that his first question was,

"So did you go decide to hit the strip club for a bachelor party pre-party, since we wouldn't be doing that later?".

Well, I didn't go to a strip club, but I did go to a couple places where a woman was taking her clothes off...

Once upon a time, I used to overanalyze anything and everything. Every negative outcome had to be broken down and figured out. What happened? What did I do wrong? How could I have prevented it? Whenever something didn't result in what I perceived to be the most favorable outcome, I would have to find something or someone to blame.

Tonight, it hit me that I don't always do this anymore. Sometimes shit happens, and it's nobody or nothing's fault. It just happens. All the analysis and/or assingment of blame in the world isn't going to change the outcome.

It's good to just curl up with the Dog and play some CDs.

From the album In Blue by The Corrs.

Give me a reason
It's not romantic here in blue
Swimming, swimming in blue
You left me lonely and confused
Question, questioning you
So soon goodbye you stole my heart
I'm believing you
Was it a lie right from the start
Answer, answer me do

Well now my body's weak, so just give me a reason
And my make-up's off, so just give me a reason
And my defense's down, so just give me a reason
Give me a reason
Give me a reason

You'll never know the love I felt
Wanting, waiting for you
It takes a weak heart to forget
Follow, follow it through

Well now my body's weak, so just give me a reason
And my make-up's off, so just give me a reason
And my defense's down, so just give me a reason
Give me a reason
Give me a reason
Give me a reason

So what's a girl like me to do
Drowning, drowning in you
And who's to save me from the blue
Carry, carry me through

Cause now my body's weak, so just give me a reason
And my make-up's off, so just give me a reason
And my defense's down, so just give me a reason
I am strong enough, so just give me a reason
Now my body's weak, so just give me a reason
And my make-up's off, so just give me a reason
My defense's down, so just give me a reason
Give me a reason
Give me a reason
Give me a reason
Give me a reason
Give me a reason
What did I do wrong

I'm way behind on posting about this, but 10 days ago, our motley band of cyclists took our lycra-clad butts on a bike ride benefiting the Rosedale School for children with multiple disabilities. If there was any remaining doubt that I enjoy cycling, this event squished all of it. I knew that I already enjoyed some of the obvious things such as the sensation of speed, the wind rushing by your face, and the physical challenge. However, I didn't quite realize how relaxing and enjoyable it would be to take a leisurely ride through the country-side. On one hand, I was trying to pedal along at a good pace, so as to continue building up my strength and endurance. On the other hand, I wanted to go nice and slow to just enjoy the ride, while it lasted. It was the first long ride for me and Saxy, and I'm sure this won't be my last. Soccer-Boy and Grapes were great for helping us make it through our first ride. They kept us amused with their witty banter as well as allowing us to draft on long stretches, to help make sure we would make it through the course.

What does this have to do with Cookies? Well, I'll tell you. I wanted to dress for success, so I showed up wearing this. Soccer-Boyand Saxy also rose to the occasion. Sadly, the target jersey of Grapes' desire was not to be found in time, but we'll forgive him this time. ;)

In more serious news, I stumbled upon this a recent news article titled: Has Cookie Monster given up sweets? I guess I did have a CLIF bar instead of the provided cookies. Maybe a little diversity isn't so bad, after all...

...Nobody's gonna slow me down, oh no
I got to keep on moving

I got another job offer today, and I think I'm going to take it. Tomorrow will be time to go car shopping. =)

So many choices. So little time.

ABC has really been winning my time lately. First, I got sucked in by Desperate Housewives. Then I ended up watching Boston Legal, since it was in the timeslot after DH. Now that Boston Legal is on hiatus, my glorified VCR has been picking up Grey's Anatomy.

I don't know what draws me to shows about hospitals ( I used to watch ER. One thought might be that it represents the me that could have been, if I just could have buckled down and made it past biology to get to the fun stuff. Another might be the glorified drama that gives me warm fuzzies about my parents and numerous friends that are becoming doctors. Or maybe it's just the cute chickies. Here's to hoping that the show manages to stay interesting for a few more weeks. I actually like all the main characters on the show.

One thing that definitely tips the scale's in GA's favor is the fact that they play some pretty good music. Last week's episode featured Fools Like Me by Lisa Loeb. The week before featured Live and Learn by The Cardigans.

Go out and buy The Way It Really Is and Long Gone Before Daylight.

Anyways, give me a shout if you've seen any of the above. I'm curious to see if I'm alone here.

ARGH. Just realized the latter is now out on SACD. Hmm, I might have to upgrade my media.

Well, I almost drowned today. In the grand scheme of things, it was something that I should absolutely be able to do, but I was out of practice and just went out WAY too fast. Thankfully, my 2 companions bailed me out. It was certainly a good reminder of my own mortality. I didn't inhale a ton of water, so it wasn't close from that perspective. However, it was certainly questionable if I was out there on my own. I've really got nobody to blame but myself. After working my way to the shore with plenty of help, and calming myself down, I was able to swim back to my starting point with no real difficulty. Just a healthy dose of failure and total annoyance at myself. I'd like to think that my level of exercise and lack of sleep from the last few days has something to do with my fatigue, but I can't really blame that.

Having watched soccer-boy do a triathlon last year, I convinced myself that it was the perfect vehicle for me to overcome my limitations with swimming. While I wasn't always the star athlete, I was always pretty good at everything that I really tried. Swimming was probably the lone exception. I was talked into doing a swim technique clinic last November and that really helped boost my confidence. Hopefully I will wake up tomorrow morning and tonight's experience won't have eradicated it.

People give themselves arbitrary challenges or put themselves in harms way for different reasons. The thrill of danger, fun, or maybe a sense of accomplishment. For me, swimming isn't really supposed to fall into the first one on that list. The triathlon was certainly supposed to be 75% fun and 25% accomplishment. Somewhere in there, there is probably a little bit of the competition aspect, too.

One could argue that hopping into an open water lake for the first time in 4.5 months for someone of my dubious swimming ability was a really bad idea. I'd probably agree with them. The real part is kicking myself for not preparing for this. I had weeks to think about this opportunity! Why did I wait?

All I know is that this experience has seriously pissed me off. When I get pissed off, I don't get mad, I get even. I don't know if it's possible to kick a lake's ass, but the next open swimming day is May 5th. By then, I'm going to be ready. Your ass is mine!

I never really watched that much music television, but there was a period of time where I was hooked on VH1's Behind The Music. One of the most interesting was the one on No Doubt. As always, I picked the title of this post (Track #1 on Return of Saturn) for a reason. Listening to the story of how two band members dated and subsequently broke up is probably a recurring theme in the music industry. It's probably also common for torrid love affairs to produce the best music, since it's so emotional and from the heart. What's probably not as common is for the band to stay intact through this process. That's exactly what happened to No Doubt and the end result was Tragic Kingdom. I don't really know how Tony could hear and perform songs like Don't Speak and Happy Now? when he knew that they were written about him, by the girl whose heart he just broke. I guess that's why they make the big bucks now.

This week marked the recategorization of a relationship. Initially, I typed "ended a relationship", but realized that was incorrect. I guess it's impossible to predict, but it sure would be a damn shame to ruin a perfectly good friendship this way. The day after the split, I spent 2 hours hanging out with one ex-girlfriend and emailed another to tell her what had happened. We were friends before becoming couples and managed to re-establish our friendships afterwards. Our friendships are certainly different, but those friendships are a valuable part of my life and will hopefully remain that way. Why was it that I sought them out so soon? Who knows? In some ways, I don't know what I would do without them. I don't know what is considered normal and what isn't, but I am who I am. I'm certainly not going to wait until I create a list of my top 5 breakups to talk to them again.

I was really looking forward to going to a wedding and Jazz Fest in New Orleans with her next weekend. I think we could go and still have fun, and not because I want to avoid a solitary 7.5 drive. Of course, the entire world seems to be in disagreement with me. I think there were 1.5 people that thought it would be fine. I don't remember when I initially asked her if she was interested in going, but it was certainly "as friends". In many ways, that was what had been missing for a while. We stopped just hanging out for hanging out's sake. Initially, we would squeeze in an hour from both of our busy schedules, because we really wanted to see each other. At some point, it almost seemed like we got together, because we were supposed to. A mutual concession to an open time slot. It's a bummer that one of my fondest memories occurred the day before the end. We just hung out and had a good time, and that was something that hadn't happened in quite some time.

Anyways, here's to hoping I can add another ex-girlfriend to this list...

On Amazon:
Tragic Kingdom
Return of Saturn
Rock Steady

Apologies for the middle school flashback. The weather has been all crappy and gloomy. Poor puppy has been wanting to play outside, but it's a bit wet and nasty out there. Playing indoors with me and the rawhide bone will have to do for now.

I found lots of old CDs that I haven't played in quite some time when I cleaned up the other day. Time for some Tevin Campbell.

Thanks to OSUNick for the link...

Apparently Philip Greenspun doesn't have a very positive view on single folks in our late twenties, since he seems to think the dating pool is an efficient market. =(

At least it's good for some laughs.

Wow, what a busy weekend. It's always a strange time after a split, because your social structure suddenly changes. Your partner in crime switches from a substantial chunk of time to almost none. It's been pretty awesome how I've reconnected with quite a few friends in the past couple days or so. A bunch of them randomly popped up out of the woodwork. A few may have been reading along. Most definitely weren't. It certainly helps to have many different social environments to jump between.

On Friday, I had dinner at a new sushi joint, Maiko, with Squirrel and Lilly. Lots of fun, despite the fact that the food was overpriced and under portioned. Lilly is such a riot. She actually got up at some point and moved to the other side of the table. "Don't want people to think you're taken". Aww, she's such a sweetheart. She's always looking out for me. One of the waitresses would have put the FS temptresses to shame. A total cutie, yet less slutty. It's always a fun time when the help is cute. Backwall showed up for some drinks/pizza, as we made the rounds to a few bars. The tradition of eating twice lives on. Gotta soak up that alcohol with something, and another trip to Maiko was not in the works.

Decided to sober up at Lilly's place and ended up chatting until some ungodly hour of the morning. She made me promise to call her when I finished driving home, to make sure I made it home safe. I think she's only the second or third person to ever do that. The teacher was one. I guess that I drive a lot, so the situation occurs fairly sporadically. It's funny, but I had just gotten to that point with Pink.

On Saturday, we had a combination puppy play date and crawfish boil with the Redhead, Deadpan, and the Drummer. To experience true mayhem, drop some live crawfish and see how long it takes them to find it in the grass. Lots of growling and some roughhousing, but no biting or marks. Good beer, good food, and good times.

Sunday, we hit Barton Springs in my new Aqua Skin and did some swimming. Damn that water is cold! Being the big dorks that we are, Lilly and I ate at the same place before and after our swim. We had never been there, and their tortillas were yummy!

When I got home, I touched base with the Connoisseur, to see what was going on in her life. Traded some stories and reminded each other of why we enjoy each other's company, even if this was only in a virtual sense. The best part is that I told her about a new tax credit that will likely save her quite a bit of money. If she actually does save money, I've earned myself some free BBQ the next time we see each other. =)

I had lunch with Pink yesterday. In a backwards sort of way it was more relaxed and more awkward at the same time. Even if we weren't completely at ease, it was a good time. Seeing her smile, reminded me of the start. I think it had gone missing for quite some time, and only made a few brief reappearances over the past couple of weeks. In the end, I think we'll probably be better off.

Last night, I was IMing the Connoisseur. She's been going through some interesting things at work. When I mentioned a couple lingering questions for Pink, she laughed and said, "i think there should be a clause in all relationships that each party has to fill out a customer satisfaction survey. I mean, at my job I'd like to ask those same 3 questions."

Hunh. Maybe I'll offer a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate for answering all of the questions on the survey. =)

I made chocolate chip cookies from scratch on Saturday, since I didn't want to show to the crawfish boil, empty handed. This was actually the first time I had done it from scratch by myself. Every other time, I was either assisting or being assisted. A few weeks ago, I made some, but that was actually from a mix *gasp*.

Everyone was pretty positive about them, except for one person that thought it was missing something that they couldn't identify. In reality, they had too much of something. I slightly overdosed the vanilla. My little secret... Well, until now. SHH! Don't tell anyone.

Other cooking tip for the day:
When making chocolate chip cookies, fold in the chips by hand. If you just use the mixer they don't get distributed very evenly.

The new canine transport was picked up from Houston today. Unlike last time, I didn't get a speeding ticket on my drive home. This time, I skipped that forsaken speed-trap hell-hole known as Giddings, Texas that paced me going 45 in a 35 while my brake pedal was depressed as I was passing the speed limit sign.

I'm going to take the opportunity to point out that I've only gotten two speeding tickets in my 5+ years in Texas. I was never given one before I moved here. For some reason, I still get a bad rap though. Totally unfair accusations of driving at excessive speeds.

Transcript from an IM with the maternal unit:

Mom: Enjoy your new car but don't overdo it.
Audiophile: I won't. It's an SUV, not a sports car, so I will be driving very slow and carefully.
Mom: Slowly at Audiophile's pace - 80 mph

Hello Lisa - Lisa Loeb

Got back from New Orleans around 4AM. Got a call around 9AM-ish. Been awake ever since. Gah. Hopefully I can catch a nap this afternoon. My brain is shutting down.

Stunt - Barenaked Ladies

Well, I woke up to a rather pleasant surprise on Monday. 3 packages were waiting for me on my front doorstep, including my replacement sandals! It's strange to be so excited about something that I already owned before, but I think it's still a big deal. Temperatures here have started getting into the comfortable sandal-weather season and I was tiring of my old Teva's.

I once discussed this with my buddy Blink when we first moved down here. Teva's have this interesting phenomenon where they will just absolutely reek if you wear them for maybe 2 days in a row during a hot summer. Presumably some combination of the rubber used in the footbed and the general nastiness of sweaty feet in a hot Texas summer. We used to wear them to work for those long days in the 100 degree weather and it wasn't a pretty site. While I would alternate my footwear to minimize the size of the putrid cloud, he kept to the same pair. At some point, a bunch of us had to shoo him out of the office, because his feet stank up the place! Add this to the list or random crap that I remember.

While I often associate word of mouth with restaurants and stores, I don't generally think of it as a way to buy shoes. Everyone's physiology, tastes in fashion, and whatnot typically don't intersect. Remarkably, these were passed on to me by a former co-worker (soon to be co-worker again) and later passed on to another co-worker of mine who was looking for a comfortable pair of sandals. While I can often be a slave to fashion, these are a perfect testament to function over form. I guess I'll have to buy a second pair of sandals for "slightly more dressy" occasions, but that's the price I'm willing to pay.

Fear - Toad the Wet Sprocket

Ever since I saw Underworld last fall, I couldn't stop saying, The fetching Kate Beckinsale. I don't know why.

Yesterday, I picked up Everyday Italian. The editorial review starts with: "With its cover image of the fetching de Laurentiis wearing a low-cut top and its promise of easy, tasty Italian recipes, this cookbook is sure to draw in home cooks who don't know how to make a basic marinara sauce and want to be introduced them to the beauty and simplicity of Italian cuisine..."

I guess I'm not the only one that likes the word fetching.

WAIT! There's a point to this:

What those who are lured in by the good looks and charm ... an unsophisticated but decent selection... her recipes are generally minimalist (there are no recipes for homemade pastas or stews that take a day to make) ... this is a rather flat first effort.

I don't know what the reviewer is smoking, but the whole point of this book is simple "everyday" dishes. Who the hell has the time for homemade pasta or day-long stew, every day?

Rock Steady - No Doubt

Tried on a new shirt that I got in the mail today, but it's a wee bit tight around the tummy. Looks like I need to shed some fat. =(

On the trip to New Orleans, we were unable to locate a Hardee's, so I couldn't do the Monster ThickBurger (1417.56 cal and 965.22 cal from fat) challenge. I had to make due with the Texas-Sized burger from Fuddrucker's (nutritional info unavailable). I was challenged to eat 2 of them, but I declined. If someone would have offered to pony up the cash for it, I would have done it.

Famous for my 5 Arby Melt lunch(1500 calories & 540 cal from fat), I've thought about pulling a repeat. I scarfed down 3 Jr Cheeseburger Deluxes and 1 Jr Bacon Cheeseburger (1460 cal & 590 cal from fat) on my way to the airport. I had a witness and everything.

Maybe I should enter a eating contest. =)

Up - Right Said Fred

Over the years, I've met quite a few people that ended up changing their stance on religion. Usually it is people deciding to switch away from the religion of their childhood that was largely forced upon them by the parentals units. For many of the ones that did, they seem pretty strongly opposed to the idea of organized religion. In some cases, the repression and force-fed righteousness probably caused more harm than good. There's a reason why people joke about trying to find a preacher's daughter to teach you things that you had never even heard about. It seems rather unfortunate that they were basically forced to attend against their will.

The other night, I was at my friends' house when a church group stopped by. They were looking for her youngest son. While she is not a member of that church, she called him over. While she doesn't necessarily support the church, she thought it was extremely important to let him decide for himself. If only the rest of the world worked that way.

In all fairness, I'm sure there are a large number of people that find religion later on in their life. I just don't happen to know any of them.

Immaculate Collection - Madonna

What does it really mean to be nice, flexible, or accomodating? When is there a crossover into tradeoff, compromising, or pushover. Sacrifice is clearly well marked in another place. What about good old ambivalent?

It's amazing how often good intentions + good intentions = bad result. Sometimes when you're on completely opposite sides of the fence, there is no happy middle ground, and you have to just do your own thing. Sometimes there is a middle ground. Sometimes, one side is too used to getting their way, and never wants to compromise. Giving ground just makes the situation worse.

Lately, I've been teetering close to (sometimes over) the line of happy tradeoff into the territory of reluctant compromise. I've lost count of the number of times it has happened in the past few weeks. For years, people told me that I was stubborn or uncompromising. Have I really changed that much? How did I get here? Who am I? What happened to me?

Next time, when someone is being a PITA, I'm just not going to bother working it out. No reason to give ground as a policy. I'm tired of getting option C or D, because I'm being flexible. The next time someone is an hour late, I'm just leaving without them.

At least I never made it to sacrifice.

Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? - The Cranberries

You can't have your cake and eat it too. The world won't wait around until you can fit it into your schedule. The phrases "I don't have time" and "Maybe later" usually mean "I don't want to make time". Whenever it matters or is important, your instinct will tell you. When it doesn't, that should be a pretty clear warning sign. Oh well. Lessons learned for the future...

Return of Saturn - No Doubt

Dude. You're 42. She's 26. (42 / 2) + 7 = 28. Abort!

On the less sketchy side of things, Alicia Silverstone is my age. Anyone else remember the video for Cryin? Yummy.

Pump - Aerosmith