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Wed, Mar. 21st, 2012, 08:59 am
Hey It's That Guy!

So soundingsea and I are currently working our way through TNG and Buffy on Netflix Watch Instantly. I'm going to spare myself the flamewar and not discuss the content of these shows (especially Buffy). It is fun, however, to see the same character actors turn up on these shows over and over.

Take, for instance, actor Brian Thompson. Best known to nerds everywhere as the Alien Bounty Hunter from The X-Files. He also appeared as two different villains in seasons 1 and 2 of Buffy (Luke and The Judge). He was also featured in the TNG season 2 episode "Matter of Honor" as the Klingon officer Klag. But I will always remember him as poor, dumb Eddie Fiore the Brujah Primogen from the blessedly short-lived Kindred: The Embraced. Based on Vampire: The Masquerade in that they were both written in English.

Or William Morgan Sheppard who played Dr. Ira Graves in the TNG episode "The Schizoid Man". He was also The Professor in SeaQuest DSV and the Soul Hunter from the B5 episode "Soul Hunter" and the Narn Warleader G'Sten in "The Long, Twilight Struggle".

Fun fact about William Morgan Sheppard: He is the father of Mark Sheppard who is apparently continuing the family business of appearing in every show ever.

Wed, Dec. 7th, 2011, 08:52 am
Who is Aaron Rodgers?

The Answer: This NFL quarterback is a huge fan of Jeopardy.

During his weekly radio show, Rodgers was asked, aside from Football, what are his favorite Jeopardy categories. He stated for the record, in front of God and the Internet, that he watches Jeopardy every day. I think we can finally retire the whole "Is Jeopardy cool" debate.

Check out The Aaron Rodgers Show.

His favorite categories, BTW: Geography and The Bible.

Tue, Jul. 5th, 2011, 01:28 pm
On Zombie, Tribbles, and Long Absent Friends

So Con happened. It was great getting to hang out with people I only see, well, at Con. shadow9600 needs to move his ass back to town. He's too much fun for KY. It was awesome bumping into the surprisingly buff scott_lynch. And it's always fun getting to see Dystopia Minion J. Also: New People! soundingsea and I got to spend some ice cream and alcohol time with Seanan McGuire. Good, boozy times were had.

This was our first Con as commuter attendees. I gotta say, I prefer staying at the hotel. While I really liked being able to sleep in my own bed, I felt like I spent most of the weekend in the car. It's also nice to have a hotel room to go hang out in if there's nothing going on at the Con...which brings me to my other big complaint....

It's now been three years since the Con switched to a four day format, yet they seem to still only have enough content for three days. I feel like I've been beating this horse for years now but the day-time events have always been the weak link. Not that the parties were much better this year. Come on Party Peeps! How many bars does one Con really need? And can we please figure out a badging solution that doesn't result in me being harassed about my badge every 30 seconds?

All that said, I did have a good time. Indeed, it seemed like everyone was having fun. I guess I just felt that everything was just the slightest bit stale. They'll need to come up with something new if they want us to keep coming back.

Sun, Jan. 23rd, 2011, 07:36 pm
Headed to the Big Show

Well, I managed to stay spoiler-free. What a contest. Pretty much classic Packers-Bears. I think my heart stopped a couple times in the second half. Now to plan the Super Bowl party.

Sun, Jan. 23rd, 2011, 09:02 am
Dark Side of the Moon

Morning folks,

We're about to round the terminator and enter Total Radio Silence. The employment gods have decreed that I get stuck at work during the game. I've got the TiVo set and I'm going to do my best to not get spoiled. This involves avoiding TVs, the internet, and anyone with a mouth. If you know me IRL, please avoid any game-related calls or texts today. Many thanks to soundingsea for the sweet new user pic. She made me one other one that I hope to be able to bust out later tonight. Go. Packers.

Thu, Jan. 20th, 2011, 09:21 am
Call Mr. Plow. That's my name.

As Minnesota braces for the coldest day of the year Friday (Somewhere between 20 and 30 below overnight); the Strib has a nice article about those of us who commute by bike in the winter. I'm half-way through my third winter of bike commuting. And while my 2 mile round-trip pales in comparison to some, I still score badass points with my coworkers.

I finally broke down and got myself a used bike just for winter riding. I managed to find a used Karate Monkey that could take the studded tires I got for my Cross-Check last year.

So the Packers are in the NFC Championship game...against the Bears. How epic is that?!? My enthusiasm is somewhat dampened by the sad fact that I have a big work thing on Sunday and will have to TiVo the game and watch it after work. Total. Media. Blackout. I might have to have soundingsea make me a Aaron Rodgers icon.

Go. Packers.

Fri, Sep. 24th, 2010, 11:28 am
The Cheesehead's Lament

As Dickens once wrote, "It is the best of time. It is the worst of times." Another NFL season is upon us. The Packers are 2-0, the Vikings are 0-2. Surely the best of times. Yet once again I am forced to wage war on the NFL and their impenetrable broadcast rules. Why does the NFL make it so hard to be a fan of a team other than the one located in the area in which you live?

All I want to be able to do is watch the Packers games whenever they're playing regardless of when the Vikings are playing. I shouldn't be forced to subscribe to two years' worth of DirectTV just to accomplish this. Even if our condo association allowed satellite dishes, $1,400 ($59.99/month for the 24 month commitment) seems like a lot of money just for 3 hours of programming one day a week for four months out of the year.

The internet would seem to be the logical solution to this problem and the NFL does offer video streams of their games...outside the US. For those of us in the US it's audio streaming only. But no mobile streaming. Unless you buy cell service from Sprint or a radio and service from SiriusXM. The NFL experimented with video streaming of pre-season games this year. And those streams were subject to the same arcane set of broadcast rules as the terrestrial networks. Check out wikipedia for a full list. Confused? Yeah, me too. Those rules were put in place to make sure people still went to the games. But even if I could get tickets to the Packers' games, I live 300 miles away from Green Bay. And I'm sure as hell not interested in going to the Vikings' games.

It's not like I'm look for this for free. I'm willing to pay a reasonable price. No multi-year contracts, no special equipment, no exclusive providers. Just the 16 games (plus playoff games) of my chosen team. This is 2010, surely this isn't a unrealistic request. And why were at it, where's my damn jet pack!

Wed, Apr. 14th, 2010, 01:54 pm
Bike Stuff

Spring sprung a little early this year. Thankfully holding off just long enough for us to get one more snowshoeing trip in. The early season warmth means here we are half way through April and biking season is well under way. For most (*ahem* soundingsea) that means getting your bike out of storage, airing up the tires and shaking off the dust. For others, spring means time to clean off a winters-worth of grime, replace worn out components and swap out studs for road tires. My own trusty steed needed some love. Thanks to Freewheel's repair classes, I was able to do the work myself.

A quick list of new components I've installed in the last month:

* Chain
* Cassette
* Shifter Cables
* Front Brake Calipers
* Brake Pads (front and rear)

Also, based on dopp's recommendation, I replaced my tires with a set of Continental Ultra Gatorskins. After 5 days I can say Gatorskins FTW! Faster with (hopefully) better flat resistance.

Two last bits of bike-related news

Minneapolis is the best bike city in America. In your face, Portland!

This MPR piece in which a Republican congressman demonstrates his lack of understanding.

Tue, Feb. 23rd, 2010, 11:18 am
We Need a New Anthem

If I've learned anything from watching the Winter Olympics; I've learned that our National Anthem sucks. The tune isn't very catchy, it's notoriously hard to sing, and even when sung correctly it's just not that stirring. I suggest we replace it. Sure it means a change of national allegiance and identity. But hell, better we do it now than let the Tea Party folks do it for us. And you just know they'll pick something like Toby Kieth's "Courtesy of the Red White and Blue" or god forbid "Proud to be an American"

And the Nominees AreCollapse )

For my money I'd probably pick La Marseillaise with "O Canada" as a close second. It's the kind of tune that'll stick in your head all day long. And thanks to this entry it's already there. Aux armes, citoyens. Formez vos bataillons...

Fri, Feb. 12th, 2010, 09:20 am
Feeling Antsy

I'm sitting in my icy, subterranean lair this morning willing the clock to move faster. soundingsea and I are headed Up North after work today for a weekend of winter fun. There's 16 inches of snow on the trails at Gooseberry Falls State Park so the snowshoeing should be pretty good.

I'm also antsy for next Wednesday when my bike maintenance classes start at Freewheel. Huzzah for knowledge!

One last hot & sweaty link that's just for the ladies. Go visit Smoove B, Love Man. Happy Valentines.

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