Uhm... Right....

Nobody needs a dollar this badly.

Some things make me sick.

Eugene? Seth? Sarah? Sorry.

Pop culture enthusiasts find Greg the Bunny funny. They are wrong, it is simply annoying.

NY can, and probably will, kick your state's ass.

I personally don't think I have an accent, but no one with an accent thinks they've got one either. It's like a heroin addict who thinks they're kind of in shape and not too sickly looking ending up hanging out with a bunch of Olympians; once you see the other end of the bell curve you know where you're standing in accordance with that extreme. Anyways, back to my "point". Someone today asked where my accent was from and I replied simply, "Rochester, New York" and that encouraged them to give me a sly, knowing look. I think people from New York are generally smarter, cooler, and all-around more respected than people from other regions in the mass of the public eye. Think about it, f I'd of said, "Los Angeles," or "Seattle," or God forbid, "Dallas" I'm willing to bet I'd of gotten a different look. Sorry Texas, don't mess with NY.

Perhaps a bake sale instead?

Look at this. Is it just me or does that sound a lot like a punchline from a racist joke?

Is that who I think it is? it is! it is!

Last night we went to the Dave Matthews show.

Dave's never been the most exciting show, and his fan base looks a lot like an Abercrombie & Fitch ad drank too much Jagermeister and threw up all over the lawn, but we found a good place to stand and the weather was nice enough where a good time was had by yours truly. I ran into a few old friends, had a few over-priced beers, watched some clueless kid walk into, flirt with, dance with, straight-out grind, yet never muster up the balls to make out with one of those crazy Dave floozies. I was upset for the boy, I really was. Like a lot of the people there, I was a little bored for a while but then something happened. Trey Anastasio came out and owned the show for like half an hour with his mad guitar skills and a fury of feedback. Dave completely scrambled to keep up with him. So you're the number one touring draw in America and you get showed up at your own fucking concert by a guy that never even spoke a single word. Totally kickass. Trey rocked. Anyways, that's about it for now. Adios'.

Cowboy Jam? Pearl Mouth? WTF?

I was listening to Cowboy Mouth in Windows Media Player and it recommended Pearl Jam to me in the "You Might Like" section.

What?

No caption f@#$ing needed.

Why won't they learn?

Masochists need to wisen up and realize that they're only hurting themselves.

NPR, Algebra, & the Hydrogen Car.

I've acquired a fun habit of having a steaming hot cup of coffee from my french press right before I go to bed and listening to NPR while I let the caffeine run it's course. I find NPR's broadcasts relaxing and just informative enough where my mind won't start dwelling on the topics longer than the three to five minutes they allow each to have. It's calming and a lot cooler than television.

I helped Lisa with her algebra homework tonight. It's surprising how much of the math sticks in your head in the years since high school. It's pointless for me to know how to do those things, but it made me somewhat proud that I did.

I'm thinking of writing an article on the hydrogen car. If you have any thoughts on them, please share. I have my own opinions and need to reply to a post that Brenton put up in regards to them, but am formulating my thoughts before I do so.

Current happenings.

Today's Friday and I pulled a quick shift at the office, came home, had a few beers, and watched an episode of the outstanding Rescue Me. Nice to wind down after working for 8 days straight. Tomorrow I go help Pete move from Athens to Duluth so he can be closer to his new job and the love of his life (Elves. Lots and lots of dirty elves.) I'm saddened by my newly found lack of an excuse to drive into Athens, but if any gal's worth the hike to Duluth, it's my friend Jess (Pete's actual, not very elf-like girlfriend). Anyways, I now calmly listen to the first A3 album whilst I prepare to move heavy items into my sister's very dykish truck in the morning. Hope all is well with you wonderful kids.

- Eric.

PS - My buddy Lars is in Vegas right now, which makes him a regular asshole and myself a jealous one. Have fun, Larsy.

Under the covers.

Usually I hear cover songs and listen in raw disbelief and/or mild amusement, but Lyle Lovett's cover of the Dead's "Friend of the Devil" is fantastic. Fantastic enough where I opened my browser and popped over here to post about it. That's big for a cover song and probably the best press Lovett's gotten in six years. You go, Lyle, you go.

Reformed Diet.

I think I'm going to try to cut high fructose corn syrup out of my diet. It's not completely possible and it won't be easy, but I just don't want to have any part of it. It's bad for me and I know it's not helping the nation's obesity problem by any stretch of imagination. I thought about this as I was clearing my head through driving and decided to see how hard it would be by stopping at a gas station and getting a drink that didn't contain any HFCS. This didn't prove too difficult, as there are a plethora of diet drinks available that steer clear of it, but who really wants diet drinks? I picked up loads of Snapple and was shot down every time after looking at the ingredient list (I wasn't surprised) but I have to admit I got a little worried when I picked up my favorite Snapple flavor, Diet Peach Iced Tea. I was afraid I'd have to cut this out of my diet and peach tea is a beverage I enjoy often. Thankfully, it was without HFCS so I bought one in celebration. Hooray for me.

On a side note, I respect Orin Smith. He's a very smart man who's made it off very well in his business. He's the CEO of a corporation I'm sure you've heard of and pulled in $2,145,000 in 2001. I respect him because no one knows his name. He hasn't turned his being CEO of a huge corporation into an excuse to become an idiot playboy and he doesn't write foolish business books (Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jack Welch take note). All this and I've never seen a single commercial for his company; it's all word of mouth. I go there, you go there, and so do a lot of people you know. I'm not saying what business he runs, but I will say that instead of making big commercials or anything like that, they just signed a cool deal with Bob Dylan instead. Look into him; he's a smart man.

Friday.

Yesterday was a good day. Here's a few of the things that filled my day:

1. First, I got paid. That's always a nice thing to have happen. I got my money and hung out with the work peeps for a little while and just shot the shit.

2. Went to Target to look at the newly legal fireworks section and ended up buying a replacement cd case that's made out of wood and a guilty pleasure.

3. Indulged in a simple lunch of a chili cheese burger and a Diet Peach Tea Snapple. Yum!

4. It started doing that sunny, yet raining like Hell thing outside. I went out and walked in the street and watched the steam rise off the pavement as all the rain hit it. I then took off my shirt and just enjoyed the downpour from the best seat in the house; Right in the middle of it. Finally I went in and dried off, putting on some comfy jeans, a tagless t-shirt, and a fishing cap I haven't worn in at least 2 years. It's fun not giving a shit.

5. Ran some errands before going out to eat with the family. Had a combination plate involving ribs & a 8 oz sirloin cooked so rare it actually frightened my nephew, fries, a cup of chili, and two dark ales. Could not have been happier.

6. I dropped off everyone at the house and switched out cars, as the sky had started looking a lot like a Monet painting and I wanted to take the convertible out to enjoy it. I threw an older Kinks record into the cd player and just drove through the country for a while, it felt fantastic.

7. I grabbed a latte on the way home so I could enjoy it while I listened to some NPR podcasts I'd been meaning to catch up on. I've always really liked NPR and it loans itself to podcasting in a really nice way. I read somewhere that podcasting is like Tivo for radio, I think that's about the best way to sum it up.

8. Around 10:00 I put my head down to the pillow for the night because I had to be at work today by 7:00 am. It felt nice to go to bed before 2 or 3 in the morning, I felt normal again. The normal feeling came complete with a unexpected, humorous, and straight-out vindicating phone call from someone that's caused me some grief as of late. Man, I love being right.

Anyways, that was my Friday. I enjoyed it thoroughly, every step of it. Now it's Saturday and I'm at work, so that earns a "blah" but all in all I'm not complaining. Friday was just too damned good. Hope yours was too.

- Eric.