Alright, so the idea was I was going to say something about each race I'm gonna vote in, one per day, but that didn't happen. So here's a shot at putting my spin on what's happening.
I don't get to vote in this one, but Bachmann is an idiot. Rule of thumb: Never say "I didn't say that!" when it was live on national tv.
Anyway, Al Franken, Norm Coleman and Dean Barkley. I listened to the debate last night, and I think Barkley was the big winner. Seriously, not being involved in the huge Franken/Coleman media fight is the smartest thing he can do.
I'm tired of both Al and Norm. They've been at each other's throats the whole time. According to the MPR tool that tells you which candidate is most compatible with you.... Norm only matches my views on 2 issues (out of like 12 i think). So he's out. Al... well, he keeps engaging Norm in attacks. Norm (of course after doing all of his attacks), wanted to kick out the RNCC and the DNCC and only let each candidate do their own ads, not let anyone else speak for them. Al refused. He had a chance to turn this into a more positive campaign, and ran away from it.
Not to mention, Al has a face for radio :P
Regardless, they're both idiots, as proven in last night's debate. They bitched back and forth for about 10 minutes about each other about the latest campaign issues... and then they kicked it over to Barkley for his opinion, and he said "Well, now you see one of the reasons I'm running".
Barkley gets my vote. And I think he's got a real chance to win this thing.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Alright... Time for some politics...
Yes, politics causes sparks to fly, but that's fun sometimes :)
Over the next few days before the election, I'm hoping to throw a quick blurb up about how I feel about the races I have to vote for, and perhaps some other ones (Bachmann comes to mind...)
Let's start with the big one. The President. Then again, this changes every freakin day. Sorta.
McCain/Palin: McCain is too old. He'll prolly have some sort of heart failure or something within the first year, and Palin, the hick from Alaska would have to take over. Fuck. Palin has international experience because she can see Russia and borders Canada? They're not even a real country anyway! :P Srsly?! I swear, 50% of the people voting McCain are doing so because they're scared of Obama cuz they think he's a terrorist or cuz he's black, and 30% more just because Palin's female. The other 20%... Who knows :P
Obama/Biden: From the get-go, Obama has given the feel that he's in touch with the youth of America, who ultimately decides every election (see the Ventura election...), which is important to me because, well, I'm young (or so I think... at least I did til the last concert I went to...). The only thing I'm not liking about Obama... well, I signed up for e-mail updates from his campaign. Yeah, I was really thinking that day :P Anyway, for a couple weeks there, I felt kinda abused - they e-mailed me like 3 times a day some days... Slightly rediculous :P Also, part of the reason people like Obama is that he's not republican :P We don't need more of the same old same old in Washington. now, McCain thinks he's an agent of change as well. I think McCain is on crack.
In years past, I've been able to name 3rd party candidates. This year, well, nobody comes to mind. I still think that's half the problem with the political system - if you're red, you vote red. If you're blue, you vote blue. Very few vote based solely on the issues. Let's get rid of the political parties and make every candidate fend for themselves, and circulate an excel spreadsheet listing how every candidate feels about each hot topic :P
Let's oversimplify some stands on topics, based on http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/03/obama_mccain_on_the_issues/
Abortion Rights. McCain opposes them, Obama favors them. Point to Obama.
Campaign Finance: McCain wrote the book (well, the law actually) about campaign finance - and he took the public financing with spending limits. Obama said he would, then decided "Nah, I can raise more on my own" after McCain locked in his decision. Point to McCain.
Cuba: If Cuba makes steps toward democracy, both candidates are willing to ease restrictions.
Death Penalty: They both support it, when the circumstances are right. Obama has helped author laws to make sure innocent people don't get killed. For that, I'll give a point to Obama.
Education. McCain: Parental choice, vouchers for private schools, and more money for community colleges. Obama: Encourage preschool, get better teachers, and fix No Child Left Behind. Don't get me started. Hard to give a point here, both are good plans.
Gay Marriage: Both candidates oppose a constitutional amendment to ban it. You'd lose too many votes if you said otherwise :P McCain says same-sex couples should be allowed to enter into legal agreements for insurance and similar benefits. Obama supports civil unions, says states should decide about marriage. Personally, I believe... if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, IT'S A GODDAMN DUCK! Call it marriage and be done with it! No points.
Global Warming: Both realize something needs to be done. Blah blah blah.
Gun control: McCain loves the second amendment (as all gun-loving republicans do), hell Palin loves moose hunting. Obama supported a ban on all semiautomatic weapons in Illinois. Personally, the only people who should have semi-automatic weapons are the freakin military - you don't need anything that strong for hunting. Point Obama.
Health Care: Both candidates have good ideas, helping people get insurance coverage. McCain offers a tax credit, Obama offers a way to get the same health insurance the government has, and pays for it by taxing the wealthy. Since I'm not wealthy, I'm all about that. Then again, McCain is throwing real numbers out there. Then again, if there was a $2500 credit for health insurance, rates will just keep going up. Time for a REAL SOLUTION people. No points.
Immigration: Build a fence, learn English, pay your back taxes and fines - follow the program, Welcome to America. Sounds good to me. Wait, both candidates agree :P Points for everyone!
Iran: McCain "We don't negotiate with terrorists", while Obama thinks along the lines of if we start talking to them, perhaps we can find some sort of agreement. You know, so they don't terrorize us.
Iraq: McCain opposes a timetable for withdrawl, and wants a permanent "peacekeeping force" in Iraq, which means we ain't goin anywhere. Obama previously said a timetable for withdrawl would be irresponsible, but now he caved to political pressure and says end of 2009 for COMPLETE withdrawl. Personally, I agree it's irresponsible... but a permanent peacekeeping force isn't right either. No points.
Stem Cells: Let's do it. Both candidates. w00t.
Social Security: Both candidates realize something needs to be done, but neither have ideas on what to do, besides "minor adjustments", meaning it'll be long gone by the time I retire.
Taxes: McCain "NO NEW TAXES!", and we see how well this worked for Pawlenty (see falling bridges and underfunded schools, causing property tax increases). He talks about a LOT of tax cuts too. And balance the budget. Meaning he's gonna slash everything. Meaning more falling bridges, and still no money for education. Idiot. Obama wants to be Robin Hood. Tax the rich, cut taxes for the poor. Wait a second.... the poor have lower taxes... because they have low income...
'Course it doesn't really matter who wins... This is all the political talk we hear every year, then when push comes to shove, it doesn't happen (see Bush's State of the Union when he came to Fargo afterwards... and wanted to privatize Social Security... and a week later he had been laughed at so hard he gave up.)
Sure, I had to handle the big one the first night I decided to do this. Regardless, fairly obvious, Obama gets my vote. Your vote may vary.
But regardless of how you choose to vote.... GO VOTE! And for the love of God, please don't use this entirely one-sided view of the candidates as your only source of information - Google them! :)
Over the next few days before the election, I'm hoping to throw a quick blurb up about how I feel about the races I have to vote for, and perhaps some other ones (Bachmann comes to mind...)
Let's start with the big one. The President. Then again, this changes every freakin day. Sorta.
McCain/Palin: McCain is too old. He'll prolly have some sort of heart failure or something within the first year, and Palin, the hick from Alaska would have to take over. Fuck. Palin has international experience because she can see Russia and borders Canada? They're not even a real country anyway! :P Srsly?! I swear, 50% of the people voting McCain are doing so because they're scared of Obama cuz they think he's a terrorist or cuz he's black, and 30% more just because Palin's female. The other 20%... Who knows :P
Obama/Biden: From the get-go, Obama has given the feel that he's in touch with the youth of America, who ultimately decides every election (see the Ventura election...), which is important to me because, well, I'm young (or so I think... at least I did til the last concert I went to...). The only thing I'm not liking about Obama... well, I signed up for e-mail updates from his campaign. Yeah, I was really thinking that day :P Anyway, for a couple weeks there, I felt kinda abused - they e-mailed me like 3 times a day some days... Slightly rediculous :P Also, part of the reason people like Obama is that he's not republican :P We don't need more of the same old same old in Washington. now, McCain thinks he's an agent of change as well. I think McCain is on crack.
In years past, I've been able to name 3rd party candidates. This year, well, nobody comes to mind. I still think that's half the problem with the political system - if you're red, you vote red. If you're blue, you vote blue. Very few vote based solely on the issues. Let's get rid of the political parties and make every candidate fend for themselves, and circulate an excel spreadsheet listing how every candidate feels about each hot topic :P
Let's oversimplify some stands on topics, based on http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/03/obama_mccain_on_the_issues/
Abortion Rights. McCain opposes them, Obama favors them. Point to Obama.
Campaign Finance: McCain wrote the book (well, the law actually) about campaign finance - and he took the public financing with spending limits. Obama said he would, then decided "Nah, I can raise more on my own" after McCain locked in his decision. Point to McCain.
Cuba: If Cuba makes steps toward democracy, both candidates are willing to ease restrictions.
Death Penalty: They both support it, when the circumstances are right. Obama has helped author laws to make sure innocent people don't get killed. For that, I'll give a point to Obama.
Education. McCain: Parental choice, vouchers for private schools, and more money for community colleges. Obama: Encourage preschool, get better teachers, and fix No Child Left Behind. Don't get me started. Hard to give a point here, both are good plans.
Gay Marriage: Both candidates oppose a constitutional amendment to ban it. You'd lose too many votes if you said otherwise :P McCain says same-sex couples should be allowed to enter into legal agreements for insurance and similar benefits. Obama supports civil unions, says states should decide about marriage. Personally, I believe... if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, IT'S A GODDAMN DUCK! Call it marriage and be done with it! No points.
Global Warming: Both realize something needs to be done. Blah blah blah.
Gun control: McCain loves the second amendment (as all gun-loving republicans do), hell Palin loves moose hunting. Obama supported a ban on all semiautomatic weapons in Illinois. Personally, the only people who should have semi-automatic weapons are the freakin military - you don't need anything that strong for hunting. Point Obama.
Health Care: Both candidates have good ideas, helping people get insurance coverage. McCain offers a tax credit, Obama offers a way to get the same health insurance the government has, and pays for it by taxing the wealthy. Since I'm not wealthy, I'm all about that. Then again, McCain is throwing real numbers out there. Then again, if there was a $2500 credit for health insurance, rates will just keep going up. Time for a REAL SOLUTION people. No points.
Immigration: Build a fence, learn English, pay your back taxes and fines - follow the program, Welcome to America. Sounds good to me. Wait, both candidates agree :P Points for everyone!
Iran: McCain "We don't negotiate with terrorists", while Obama thinks along the lines of if we start talking to them, perhaps we can find some sort of agreement. You know, so they don't terrorize us.
Iraq: McCain opposes a timetable for withdrawl, and wants a permanent "peacekeeping force" in Iraq, which means we ain't goin anywhere. Obama previously said a timetable for withdrawl would be irresponsible, but now he caved to political pressure and says end of 2009 for COMPLETE withdrawl. Personally, I agree it's irresponsible... but a permanent peacekeeping force isn't right either. No points.
Stem Cells: Let's do it. Both candidates. w00t.
Social Security: Both candidates realize something needs to be done, but neither have ideas on what to do, besides "minor adjustments", meaning it'll be long gone by the time I retire.
Taxes: McCain "NO NEW TAXES!", and we see how well this worked for Pawlenty (see falling bridges and underfunded schools, causing property tax increases). He talks about a LOT of tax cuts too. And balance the budget. Meaning he's gonna slash everything. Meaning more falling bridges, and still no money for education. Idiot. Obama wants to be Robin Hood. Tax the rich, cut taxes for the poor. Wait a second.... the poor have lower taxes... because they have low income...
'Course it doesn't really matter who wins... This is all the political talk we hear every year, then when push comes to shove, it doesn't happen (see Bush's State of the Union when he came to Fargo afterwards... and wanted to privatize Social Security... and a week later he had been laughed at so hard he gave up.)
Sure, I had to handle the big one the first night I decided to do this. Regardless, fairly obvious, Obama gets my vote. Your vote may vary.
But regardless of how you choose to vote.... GO VOTE! And for the love of God, please don't use this entirely one-sided view of the candidates as your only source of information - Google them! :)
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Rock Band Live!
Alright, so I'm told I have to blog about this concert, which is actually a good excuse since I haven't posted in a freakin month :P (been busy moving) :P
Before I get too far into this, the average age of the crowd was probably about 15. Totally guessing, but I haven't seen so many kids with braces on their teeth since middle school :P No chance to pick up a chick, since they're all jailbait :P
After obligatory pat-down (since the guy's metal detector was broken), the ticket guy sent us upstairs. Which really made me wonder, cuz we had FLOOR tickets. So I checked with the people at the bottom of the escalator - Indeed, floor tickets are upstairs. Whateva. Go upstairs. Find the upper level seats. Talk to a security dude who was totally confused about life in general I think, and eventually back down the stairs to the floor entrance (which defeated the entire purpose of being early.) When the show started, we were like 3rd back from the rail. By the time it was over, it was more like 5th back. Fucking assholes keep pushing their way in.
The Cab opened the show. No, not Death Cab for Cutie. A band literally called "The Cab." Lead singer looked like he belonged in high school at best. Like 5 songs was all he played, which was enough for me :P Not for Amber, but for me it was :) Ended with the lead singer taking a swig of water and spitting it in my general direction :P 'Course I wasn't paying attention and thought it was just some water... til Amber was totally pissed about it
Then, some 35+ year old came out to "run" the show (i think he called himself ReNickUlous, which I thought was uberlame). Being Rock Band Live, people were competing up on the concourse for a chance to be on stage between sets. Anyway, it was a slight distraction between sets while they swapped out everything on stage. He just introduced himself this first time - don't think they actually got the game going that time...
Then Plain White T's took the stage. And it seemed each member of the band was going for his own theme for clothing. One guy looked like a 70's high school male cheerleader (lead singer), one of the guys looked like he belonged on the Dukes of Hazzard, and none of them looked old enough to know what I'm talking about :P Another guy had a suit and tie on.... like he was in the mafia. And the last guy..... kinda looked like he belonged in a rock band :P Anyway, they did the obligatory "Hey There Delilah", where they didn't even really have to sing... Not a big fan of their other songs... except "Hate" :) Great song :) The basis of the song is "Hate is a strong word, but I really really really don't like you!" :)
Then they brought a couple of groups of people who think they can play Rock Band on stage to play between sets... and it was alright - passed the time... Seems the drummer sucked :P And an equipment malfunction stopped at least one of these 2 groups :P
Third: Dashboard Confessional. Great job :) The guy stopped singing during one of his songs, ran back to his bottle of water (while the crowd kept singing), jumped off the stage and gave it to someone in the front row who was apparently having some trouble... and when he handed the bottle of water to this person, security FINALLY woke up and realized something was up :P I always like it when the band does something like that - to make sure everyone's ok. Like at Blue October when he stopped the song to have someone kicked out :P
Again, more people playing Rock Band between sets. They got the crowd to jam out to the last song, then gave us our "prize" - the fact that we had just opened for Panic at the Disco. Lame :P
P at the D :) I heard what I wanted to hear :) They did a great job too :) I heard my god-damn door song and my harlequin girls song :P The rest was good too :) And they closed the show......... with a really really old song.... Shout. Yes, that one. "You know it makes me wanna SHOUT!". Yup. Really really.
Anyway it was a great song, well worth the $37.95 face value of the tickets. Plus $2 facility charge. Plus fucking $9.65 convenience charge. Plus $.72 convenience charge tax (I can't even make this shit up), plus $2.74 order processing fee. Yeah, yeah, I know, I shoulda bought the tickets at the Target Center Boxoffice instead of through Ticketmaster... Oh well.
Before I get too far into this, the average age of the crowd was probably about 15. Totally guessing, but I haven't seen so many kids with braces on their teeth since middle school :P No chance to pick up a chick, since they're all jailbait :P
After obligatory pat-down (since the guy's metal detector was broken), the ticket guy sent us upstairs. Which really made me wonder, cuz we had FLOOR tickets. So I checked with the people at the bottom of the escalator - Indeed, floor tickets are upstairs. Whateva. Go upstairs. Find the upper level seats. Talk to a security dude who was totally confused about life in general I think, and eventually back down the stairs to the floor entrance (which defeated the entire purpose of being early.) When the show started, we were like 3rd back from the rail. By the time it was over, it was more like 5th back. Fucking assholes keep pushing their way in.
The Cab opened the show. No, not Death Cab for Cutie. A band literally called "The Cab." Lead singer looked like he belonged in high school at best. Like 5 songs was all he played, which was enough for me :P Not for Amber, but for me it was :) Ended with the lead singer taking a swig of water and spitting it in my general direction :P 'Course I wasn't paying attention and thought it was just some water... til Amber was totally pissed about it
Then, some 35+ year old came out to "run" the show (i think he called himself ReNickUlous, which I thought was uberlame). Being Rock Band Live, people were competing up on the concourse for a chance to be on stage between sets. Anyway, it was a slight distraction between sets while they swapped out everything on stage. He just introduced himself this first time - don't think they actually got the game going that time...
Then Plain White T's took the stage. And it seemed each member of the band was going for his own theme for clothing. One guy looked like a 70's high school male cheerleader (lead singer), one of the guys looked like he belonged on the Dukes of Hazzard, and none of them looked old enough to know what I'm talking about :P Another guy had a suit and tie on.... like he was in the mafia. And the last guy..... kinda looked like he belonged in a rock band :P Anyway, they did the obligatory "Hey There Delilah", where they didn't even really have to sing... Not a big fan of their other songs... except "Hate" :) Great song :) The basis of the song is "Hate is a strong word, but I really really really don't like you!" :)
Then they brought a couple of groups of people who think they can play Rock Band on stage to play between sets... and it was alright - passed the time... Seems the drummer sucked :P And an equipment malfunction stopped at least one of these 2 groups :P
Third: Dashboard Confessional. Great job :) The guy stopped singing during one of his songs, ran back to his bottle of water (while the crowd kept singing), jumped off the stage and gave it to someone in the front row who was apparently having some trouble... and when he handed the bottle of water to this person, security FINALLY woke up and realized something was up :P I always like it when the band does something like that - to make sure everyone's ok. Like at Blue October when he stopped the song to have someone kicked out :P
Again, more people playing Rock Band between sets. They got the crowd to jam out to the last song, then gave us our "prize" - the fact that we had just opened for Panic at the Disco. Lame :P
P at the D :) I heard what I wanted to hear :) They did a great job too :) I heard my god-damn door song and my harlequin girls song :P The rest was good too :) And they closed the show......... with a really really old song.... Shout. Yes, that one. "You know it makes me wanna SHOUT!". Yup. Really really.
Anyway it was a great song, well worth the $37.95 face value of the tickets. Plus $2 facility charge. Plus fucking $9.65 convenience charge. Plus $.72 convenience charge tax (I can't even make this shit up), plus $2.74 order processing fee. Yeah, yeah, I know, I shoulda bought the tickets at the Target Center Boxoffice instead of through Ticketmaster... Oh well.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
When did shit get so expensive?!
Went to the buffet at Treasure Island today with a friend. I thought the buy-one-get-one coupon I had would make the buffet relatively cheap. Instead, it made it reasonable.
$16.99 per person?!?!?! I'd expect it to be half that price. Then again perhaps I've simply become accustomed to the buffets I typically hit for lunch. For lunch, if the price gets too close to $10, we don't go back.
The Blenders, an Acappella group, are going to be in town in December for a holiday show. Sounds like a great time, if I can find someone to come along! Then I look at the ticket prices... - $32.50?!?! An acappella group can pull in $32.50 per seat for a show?! Tickets for Rock Band Live started at $35, and that's for FOUR AWESOME bands! (well I can vouch for 3 of them, but Amber assures me The Cab is great too)
Nice to see that gas jumped 20 cents too, in the name of Hurricane Ike. It's funny... gas prices didn't fall so quickly because of the impending hurricanes. So now that one's actually hitting, let's raise prices too. Comparing the price of a barrel of oil to the price of gas... it's way out of whack. Could someone please whack it back into whack? Let's get gas prices back into the $2 range! C'mon! It's realistic!
Then again, look at Europe. $2.75/liter (or litre, depending on your country), which is way freakin expensive (how does $8/gallon sound?!)
I want a Prius. I can only imagine how awesome the gas mileage would be for me living here in the city :) In the country, the Prius wouldn't get gas mileage worth a hoot, cuz it's all cruising... but in the city, where I use the brakes all the freakin time during my commute... it would be worth it :)
$16.99 per person?!?!?! I'd expect it to be half that price. Then again perhaps I've simply become accustomed to the buffets I typically hit for lunch. For lunch, if the price gets too close to $10, we don't go back.
The Blenders, an Acappella group, are going to be in town in December for a holiday show. Sounds like a great time, if I can find someone to come along! Then I look at the ticket prices... - $32.50?!?! An acappella group can pull in $32.50 per seat for a show?! Tickets for Rock Band Live started at $35, and that's for FOUR AWESOME bands! (well I can vouch for 3 of them, but Amber assures me The Cab is great too)
Nice to see that gas jumped 20 cents too, in the name of Hurricane Ike. It's funny... gas prices didn't fall so quickly because of the impending hurricanes. So now that one's actually hitting, let's raise prices too. Comparing the price of a barrel of oil to the price of gas... it's way out of whack. Could someone please whack it back into whack? Let's get gas prices back into the $2 range! C'mon! It's realistic!
Then again, look at Europe. $2.75/liter (or litre, depending on your country), which is way freakin expensive (how does $8/gallon sound?!)
I want a Prius. I can only imagine how awesome the gas mileage would be for me living here in the city :) In the country, the Prius wouldn't get gas mileage worth a hoot, cuz it's all cruising... but in the city, where I use the brakes all the freakin time during my commute... it would be worth it :)
Friday, August 29, 2008
TRUTH!
"borrowed" from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/29/obama.dream/index.html?eref=rss_latest
""King is the son of the segregated South; Obama is the son of integrated Hawaii," Hansen said. "King is a preacher and Obama is a law professor. No one would think of comparing the two if they weren't both black."
So very very true...
""King is the son of the segregated South; Obama is the son of integrated Hawaii," Hansen said. "King is a preacher and Obama is a law professor. No one would think of comparing the two if they weren't both black."
So very very true...
Politics
So, every so often I get back into the mood to follow politics, which seems to be every 2-4 years... And the mood has struck again. So I watched Obama's "I Have a Dream" speech last night, and it was a good speech, but I made fun of it the entire time. Why? Because I've lost faith in politics :P - You know... the rhetoric that sounds good, but when it comes time to do it, it becomes too costly or too difficult. Bush was going to save Social Security a couple years ago on his trip to Fargo. We see how well that went. Obama promises to save it too. Will he be able to? He also promised affordable health care. Good luck with that.
I did like that McCain reportedly took out some ads, congratulating Obama on his nomination to be aired before, during, and after his speech. That's a nice touch.
But I'm tired of politicians promising things they can't deliver on. Instead of promising, at least be honest with us. You won't know how things turn out until you get to the big chair. You can't say you'll pull the troops out of Iraq until you actually see the information and see if it's feasible.
Of course on the topic of Iraq, if they want and can afford to build a huge ferris wheel, perhaps we can leave, or at least not throw more money at them... Seriously. Recreation is not something you add in a time of war.
And McCain, why the hell did you pick the governor of Alaska to be your VP?! Afraid you can't carry Alaska without her? Want a woman in your office? Or just want someone with no experience to take over if you die in office? I mean c'mon, you're no spring chicken there McCain...
I did like that McCain reportedly took out some ads, congratulating Obama on his nomination to be aired before, during, and after his speech. That's a nice touch.
But I'm tired of politicians promising things they can't deliver on. Instead of promising, at least be honest with us. You won't know how things turn out until you get to the big chair. You can't say you'll pull the troops out of Iraq until you actually see the information and see if it's feasible.
Of course on the topic of Iraq, if they want and can afford to build a huge ferris wheel, perhaps we can leave, or at least not throw more money at them... Seriously. Recreation is not something you add in a time of war.
And McCain, why the hell did you pick the governor of Alaska to be your VP?! Afraid you can't carry Alaska without her? Want a woman in your office? Or just want someone with no experience to take over if you die in office? I mean c'mon, you're no spring chicken there McCain...
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Greetings from Denver!
My job sent me to sunny Denver, Colorado this week to learn a new piece of software we're going to start selling. Can't complain about a free trip to Denver, even if it includes 8 hours per day of learning :P
Anyway, Denver is a great city - plus I've gotten the chance to hang out with people from our other offices, which has been a far more enjoyable way to spend the evenings than sitting at home playing WoW :P - Normal working hours for me are 8-5, leaving home at 7:20 and getting back home at about 5:50... This week, I've been leaving for the office at 7:30 and back to the hotel by 5, which is nice :) It surprised me... a bunch of us were at a bar last night, we stayed what seemed like a reasonable amount of time, and we left at 8! I'm not used to actually doing stuff after work - it's been fun! I really need to do more of that :P
And you'd think after almost a week my body would become accustomed to the time change... but it's 9:00, and my body's getting ready for bed... unfortunately getting up at 6 isn't any easier than it is at home :P Not entirely sure how that one works...
I've had the chance to see the mountains a couple times now too... from quite a distance, but still a cool site to see... not something you see in Minnesota :P - I arrived on Sunday, and the flight back is tomorrow (Friday) at like 7:50... but now the trainer is telling us he's planning on leaving early, so I guess I'll go to the airport early and standby for an earlier flight... see if that idea works at all... Otherwise I guess I'm gonna be hanging out at Denver airport for a while :P
Regardless I've enjoyed being in Denver, I'd love to come back sometime, and I don't really want to go back home, but alas, I must... if I was smart I would've booked the flight back for Sunday and had a couple extra nights to explore the area. But I didn't. Didn't really have the money for it anyway :P
Anyway, Denver is a great city - plus I've gotten the chance to hang out with people from our other offices, which has been a far more enjoyable way to spend the evenings than sitting at home playing WoW :P - Normal working hours for me are 8-5, leaving home at 7:20 and getting back home at about 5:50... This week, I've been leaving for the office at 7:30 and back to the hotel by 5, which is nice :) It surprised me... a bunch of us were at a bar last night, we stayed what seemed like a reasonable amount of time, and we left at 8! I'm not used to actually doing stuff after work - it's been fun! I really need to do more of that :P
And you'd think after almost a week my body would become accustomed to the time change... but it's 9:00, and my body's getting ready for bed... unfortunately getting up at 6 isn't any easier than it is at home :P Not entirely sure how that one works...
I've had the chance to see the mountains a couple times now too... from quite a distance, but still a cool site to see... not something you see in Minnesota :P - I arrived on Sunday, and the flight back is tomorrow (Friday) at like 7:50... but now the trainer is telling us he's planning on leaving early, so I guess I'll go to the airport early and standby for an earlier flight... see if that idea works at all... Otherwise I guess I'm gonna be hanging out at Denver airport for a while :P
Regardless I've enjoyed being in Denver, I'd love to come back sometime, and I don't really want to go back home, but alas, I must... if I was smart I would've booked the flight back for Sunday and had a couple extra nights to explore the area. But I didn't. Didn't really have the money for it anyway :P
Sunday, July 20, 2008
GOOOO SEEEE IIIITTTTT!!!!
The Dark Knight was awesome :) Go see it. Now.
It made me laugh, and not in a bad way... they actually did a very good job with the dynamic between the characters... and big booms :)
Got me thinking.... how many Batman movies are out now?
1. Batman (1989)
2. Batman Returns
3. Batman Forever
4. Batman & Robin
5. Batman Begins
6. The Dark Knight (aka Batman Begins 2 as a working title... Interesting...)
Not to mention the animated ones... or the ORIGINAL live-action one.... with the cloth outfits... no armor whatsoever...... Wham! Bam! Ooof! Classic....
Not a whole lot of franchises can go past the 3 movie mark without starting to suck. This one has. Wow.... And I could totally see another one being made, if we can come up with some more villans :P
It made me laugh, and not in a bad way... they actually did a very good job with the dynamic between the characters... and big booms :)
Got me thinking.... how many Batman movies are out now?
1. Batman (1989)
2. Batman Returns
3. Batman Forever
4. Batman & Robin
5. Batman Begins
6. The Dark Knight (aka Batman Begins 2 as a working title... Interesting...)
Not to mention the animated ones... or the ORIGINAL live-action one.... with the cloth outfits... no armor whatsoever...... Wham! Bam! Ooof! Classic....
Not a whole lot of franchises can go past the 3 movie mark without starting to suck. This one has. Wow.... And I could totally see another one being made, if we can come up with some more villans :P
Saturday, July 19, 2008
nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh
BATMAN!!!!!!!!
Yeah, so I'm a lil excited to go see The Dark Knight. It seems to be hyped up a bit... but at the same time I sure didn't see many promos for it before like last week... I've been a Batman fan FOREVER.... Summer afternoons watching the OLD series on my black and white TV in my room (when I was like 7)... Never really got into the animated series... I have the OLD OLD movie on DVD now... I have all the other ones on VHS (I really need to get them on DVD...)
And of course, The Dark Knight is making news!
JUST from the midnight showings.... $18.5 MILLION. New record, passing up Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith.
Opening Day... $66.4 MILLION. New record, passing up Spiderman 3.
Some dude proposed to his girlfriend... right before the movie at the IMAX at the MN Zoo. Dressed up like Joker, no less... Hmmm.... Seeing as she didn't completely kill him, she must be as big of a fan as he is...
Yeah....
Anyway, heading to Denver the week after next for work :) - Should be a great time :) I probably won't have a whole lot of time to do too much fun stuff... and won't have a car unless I decide to rent one (which I might, you never know...) Any suggestions on things to do?
Oh wait, I forgot, nobody reads this :P
Yeah, so I'm a lil excited to go see The Dark Knight. It seems to be hyped up a bit... but at the same time I sure didn't see many promos for it before like last week... I've been a Batman fan FOREVER.... Summer afternoons watching the OLD series on my black and white TV in my room (when I was like 7)... Never really got into the animated series... I have the OLD OLD movie on DVD now... I have all the other ones on VHS (I really need to get them on DVD...)
And of course, The Dark Knight is making news!
JUST from the midnight showings.... $18.5 MILLION. New record, passing up Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith.
Opening Day... $66.4 MILLION. New record, passing up Spiderman 3.
Some dude proposed to his girlfriend... right before the movie at the IMAX at the MN Zoo. Dressed up like Joker, no less... Hmmm.... Seeing as she didn't completely kill him, she must be as big of a fan as he is...
Yeah....
Anyway, heading to Denver the week after next for work :) - Should be a great time :) I probably won't have a whole lot of time to do too much fun stuff... and won't have a car unless I decide to rent one (which I might, you never know...) Any suggestions on things to do?
Oh wait, I forgot, nobody reads this :P
Friday, July 11, 2008
Summer of Change...
So I have previously proclaimed this to be my "Summer of Change", so I figured I'd see how it's going :P
So far, this is what I've done:
- Visited the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
- Walked around Lake Calhoun (tis a beautiful sight!)
- Went to the Taste of Minnesota (I spent $15 on a bottle of water, an order of mini-donuts and an order of cheese curds. And listened to Finger Eleven live. It was pretty cool... but I was hoping for better...)
So far, this is what is still on my list
- Walk up the Barn's Bluff walking path
- Go to the State Fair
I've also hoped to become less of an introvert and actually DO things. Yeah, that hasn't so much been happening :P But I'm workin on it.
Still working on making more friends as well, because when I find something I want to do, nobody wants to come with, which makes it rather boring :P - But I'm workin on it :P
At the end of the month, I get to go to Denver for work! w00t! A week in a classroom learning new software, but I'm sure I'll get a little bit of a chance to explore town - it'll be fun! :) - It was just confirmed on Monday, so I haven't had much time to think about what to do - then again I really don't know how much spare time there'll be.....
Consider yourselves updated :P If anyone actually reads this :P
So far, this is what I've done:
- Visited the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
- Walked around Lake Calhoun (tis a beautiful sight!)
- Went to the Taste of Minnesota (I spent $15 on a bottle of water, an order of mini-donuts and an order of cheese curds. And listened to Finger Eleven live. It was pretty cool... but I was hoping for better...)
So far, this is what is still on my list
- Walk up the Barn's Bluff walking path
- Go to the State Fair
I've also hoped to become less of an introvert and actually DO things. Yeah, that hasn't so much been happening :P But I'm workin on it.
Still working on making more friends as well, because when I find something I want to do, nobody wants to come with, which makes it rather boring :P - But I'm workin on it :P
At the end of the month, I get to go to Denver for work! w00t! A week in a classroom learning new software, but I'm sure I'll get a little bit of a chance to explore town - it'll be fun! :) - It was just confirmed on Monday, so I haven't had much time to think about what to do - then again I really don't know how much spare time there'll be.....
Consider yourselves updated :P If anyone actually reads this :P
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Obama FTW!
w00t!
Just saw Obama speak on TV. Yes, I am fully aware that I am in Minneapolis, and he was speaking in St. Paul. I did think about going over there... but I figured I wouldn't get back home til upwards of 11 if I was lucky... and then try to wind down, go to bed, and be up by 6:30 tomorrow? Yeah.... Don't corpse camp that idea.. it'll never rez...
I was very excited by the things I heard, and I don't think he's gonna be politics as usual. I think he's going to be a breath of fresh air...
And the fact that he actually said good things about Clinton and McCain was really cool. I wasn't impressed by the crowd boooooing when he mentioned McCain... but he turned that around pretty well and actually said something good... I was impressed.
Anyway... I truly believe, as I have from the beginning of this campaign, that Obama will be the next president. Yes, I believed this in the days when he wasn't doing so well (well, maybe I was hoping, lol)... and I think he'll be good for our country.
And as uncrazy as I am about Clinton... if he wants her as his VP... what the heck, I can support that. Would actually be refreshing.... take a rival, and put her on his team.
He has claimed victory, she has not conceded. That kinda pisses me off.
Oh well. Life goes on.
Just saw Obama speak on TV. Yes, I am fully aware that I am in Minneapolis, and he was speaking in St. Paul. I did think about going over there... but I figured I wouldn't get back home til upwards of 11 if I was lucky... and then try to wind down, go to bed, and be up by 6:30 tomorrow? Yeah.... Don't corpse camp that idea.. it'll never rez...
I was very excited by the things I heard, and I don't think he's gonna be politics as usual. I think he's going to be a breath of fresh air...
And the fact that he actually said good things about Clinton and McCain was really cool. I wasn't impressed by the crowd boooooing when he mentioned McCain... but he turned that around pretty well and actually said something good... I was impressed.
Anyway... I truly believe, as I have from the beginning of this campaign, that Obama will be the next president. Yes, I believed this in the days when he wasn't doing so well (well, maybe I was hoping, lol)... and I think he'll be good for our country.
And as uncrazy as I am about Clinton... if he wants her as his VP... what the heck, I can support that. Would actually be refreshing.... take a rival, and put her on his team.
He has claimed victory, she has not conceded. That kinda pisses me off.
Oh well. Life goes on.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Security!
I had a WTF moment today.
So, today I was in the north metro at a secure location. Secure, as in when you get to security, they print you a nametag with an access level printed on it. Secure as in if you're not in visitor parking, you drive through an unmanned security gate, which is controlled from a tower by whether or not they recognize your vehicle. Probably the tightest security place I've been in recent years, although there are certainly more secure places... (such as the airport, or some homes in Minneapolis...)
We needed to drive through the security gate... so we pulled up to the gate in the company van... and it opened right up, no problem. We pulled up to the gate later to leave, waited about 20 seconds, and they opened it no problem. I drove back through with my car, no problem. Tried to leave. They wouldn't open the gate.
Wow. I can get in, but I can't get out?!?!?!
Seriously.
And if you're not going to let me out, shouldn't you at least come down and check me out? Search my car? Whatever you feel is necessary to prove I'm not a threat?
Idiots...
So, today I was in the north metro at a secure location. Secure, as in when you get to security, they print you a nametag with an access level printed on it. Secure as in if you're not in visitor parking, you drive through an unmanned security gate, which is controlled from a tower by whether or not they recognize your vehicle. Probably the tightest security place I've been in recent years, although there are certainly more secure places... (such as the airport, or some homes in Minneapolis...)
We needed to drive through the security gate... so we pulled up to the gate in the company van... and it opened right up, no problem. We pulled up to the gate later to leave, waited about 20 seconds, and they opened it no problem. I drove back through with my car, no problem. Tried to leave. They wouldn't open the gate.
Wow. I can get in, but I can't get out?!?!?!
Seriously.
And if you're not going to let me out, shouldn't you at least come down and check me out? Search my car? Whatever you feel is necessary to prove I'm not a threat?
Idiots...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Driving in the cities
Did you know... that if you're driving a vehicle pulling a trailer, or are just in a hurry, and you're trying to merge into traffic... you can just roll down your window, hold your arm up in the air, and drive wherever you damn well please?
2 people did this to cut me off on Hwy 100 yesterday. 2 people on the same road on the same day. 1 crossed a double-white line to do this, instead of waiting for the end of the on-ramp.
*sigh*
UPDATE: BTW, did you know that if you're driving a garbage truck, and you're stuck trying to turn left at the light (which, since the I-35W bridge collapse no longer uses the left turn arrow, you just have to hit traffic right...), the guy who rides on the back can just jump off, stop traffic, you can drive through and he'll jump back on?
Anyone wanna ride on the back of my Neon for this purpose? :P
2 people did this to cut me off on Hwy 100 yesterday. 2 people on the same road on the same day. 1 crossed a double-white line to do this, instead of waiting for the end of the on-ramp.
*sigh*
UPDATE: BTW, did you know that if you're driving a garbage truck, and you're stuck trying to turn left at the light (which, since the I-35W bridge collapse no longer uses the left turn arrow, you just have to hit traffic right...), the guy who rides on the back can just jump off, stop traffic, you can drive through and he'll jump back on?
Anyone wanna ride on the back of my Neon for this purpose? :P
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Mother Nature, what the hell are you doing?!?!
So while in Spring Grove last week, I hadn't been paying too close of attention to the weather reports... just enough to notice it was going to be colder, and out of the 7 day forecast, only 1 day didn't have a rain or snow chance (can't remember which day I saw that...) - so I start headin home, thinkin the snow was gonna be just down south.... and quickly discovered that I was wrong...
Woke up Saturday to look out the window and see enough snow to cover the grass. Bear in mind... it was 70 last week. I'm sure it took plenty of snow to get that 1/4 inch.
Then Mom tells me "You gonna come shovel my deck?" That's right, shovelable snow in St. Cloud.
Then I look at Star Tribune online... and some places got a foot of snow.
Wow.
Mother Nature, didn't you get the memo? Once we get 70 degree temps, winter's supposed to be over!
At any rate, that's Minnesota weather for ya :) Don't like it? Wait 10 minutes :P
Woke up Saturday to look out the window and see enough snow to cover the grass. Bear in mind... it was 70 last week. I'm sure it took plenty of snow to get that 1/4 inch.
Then Mom tells me "You gonna come shovel my deck?" That's right, shovelable snow in St. Cloud.
Then I look at Star Tribune online... and some places got a foot of snow.
Wow.
Mother Nature, didn't you get the memo? Once we get 70 degree temps, winter's supposed to be over!
At any rate, that's Minnesota weather for ya :) Don't like it? Wait 10 minutes :P
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Exploring the City, volume 1
So now that I live in Minneapolis, I figured what better way to spend my spring/summer than roaming around, seeing what the city has to offer. I also decided that most venues in Minneapolis are so difficult to find parking for, and once you do find parking it's so expensive... that I would use Metro Transit for this journey (and probably many more all summer long). Friday I bought one of those fancy Go-To cards (So all I have to do is touch my ENTIRE WALLET to their card reader... and it registers. And it won't charge you if there's a valid transfer on it. It's pretty freakin sweet!) And I decided to start this adventure on Saturday.
Then Will woke up, and decided he was too lazy, wanted to wait til Sunday. So this morning, Will woke up, and decided once again that he was too lazy. So I went anyway. Woulda been more fun with someone else, but twas fun just the same :)
The 4 bus stops a block away from my house... and at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, so that was an easy trip :) And I got to see my favorite statue since childhood: The big spoon with the cherry on top :)
Ok, so technically it's called "Spoonbridge with Cherry". And holy buckets was it surrounded by shutterbugs today. I felt like an idiot pulling out my cell phone to take a picture of it. Almost like there was a photography class there!
Then like 10 minutes after I thought that... a HUGE group of people with cameras (young people at that) grouped up to go across the bridge... so I think maybe it WAS a photography class :P
And it was a good day all over to see the ducks! Making their spring debut, as you might be able to see if you stare at this picture to your left really really closely... - Think this also proves that if I'm gonna keep doing this, i seriously need to get a real digital camera :P
Yes, I did look at other things. Most of which were boring. (i.e. Uhh, it's a big metal teepee. What's so artistic about that? Oh great, a brick wall! Oooohhh, mirrors!) - So perhaps some of it was over my head :P - And the greenhouse was nice... although really hot and muggy (well, not really a surprise, but still noteworthy.) Crossed the pedestrian bridge over to Loring park, where I sat and reflected upon life for a while as well :)
Then I decided to sit on the side near the bus stop (but not AT the bus stop, for some reason I really don't know now :P) for my next adventure... and I knew I had like 30 minutes cuz the bus had just gone by. While I was sittin there, I glanced up... and saw my bus. Oops, guess that one stops every 15 minutes :) Oh well, still waited for the other bus. One thing I was really big on all day - if you miss the bus, don't panic, another bus will stop by in 30 minutes :P It's not that big of a deal. Life goes on :)
On the East side of the lake where I started, I ran into the little bit of ice you see on your left. It made me laugh :) - Especially since Mom mentioned something about an ice rescue yesterday? And I thought she was nuts :P (still haven't looked it up to verify...) - was going to send her this picture and say "You mean THIS ice??" :P
By the time I got to the West side of the lake, it was getting just a bit chilly, and you can tell why by the pic to your right - slush on the lake! It makes a pretty cool sound when the waves rustle it too :) Fairly solid breeze blows across that and into you - actually felt pretty good, considering how warm it was in the hot sun.
I ended up walking probably about 3/4 of the way around the lake (started on the east side, ended on the north side by the pavilion thingie), and kinda became lost. Well, my directions were based on leaving from the Uptown station... but since I didn't get off there, I didn't know where it was in relation to the park :P I decided to just start following people, and I knew what intersection this was at (I think it's Hennepin and Lagoon), but I didn't know where either of those streets were :P - Started walking up a hill... toward Calhoun Square (thinking even if things didn't pan out, there would be busses there, and at LEAST 1 of them has to connect to light rail! That and there's a Famous Dave's there I've been wanting to try... but didn't) - and found Hennepin! Looked both directions, and about 2 blocks away was the Uptown Transit Station... and my bus driver was on break even. 5 minutes later, I was on my way to the 38th Street Station. woot!
38th Street Station is a Light Rail stop, so I hopped on the train to the Mall of America! Putzed around in the mall for a while, had supper (near but not at another Famous Dave's. 2 different Daves I passed by, and didn't eat at either. Probably a record for me.)
The Nickelodeon theme park pissed me off :P - It just doesn't feel right. You know? It seemed more like a county fair than a theme park. For example, one of the things they had there was a duck pool. For $2 you get to pick a duck out of the pool, and everyone gets a prize of some sort. I haven't seen that game since our elementary school carnivals! (and I had forgotten about those until I wrote this sentence!)
Then this sight to your left caught my eye as well. On the third floor, taking up QUITE a chunk of space (almost the entire area between one of the anchors and the side exit to the parking ramp. If I remember right... - Maybe only half that space... but huge nonetheless!)
Which begs me to ask... do that many people shop at the Mall of America that it would warrant a Best Buy inside? I mean... would you go to the Mall of America and buy a HDTV? Or would you go the Best Buy, what is it, 10 miles east? If that? I still think of the MOA to be more of a touristy place, which really has no place for big-box stores like this. What's next, a Wal-Mart? Then everyone can come to the mall to get groceries too!
Of course, they probably are afraid of people thinking of it as a touristy place, which would mean the locals wouldn't stop there as often. Places like this could help change that attitude a bit...
Seriously. Think about that grocery store idea. It might work! :P Throw one into Phase 2! :P
What do you think about a Best Buy in the Mall of America?
The return LRT ride from the MOA to the Warehouse District was slightly annoying. The entire train was full of kids (think middle schoolers mostly), and they were LOUD, and they just screamed all the time, especially when one dude got off the bus (apparently they thought he was hot...), and they were RIGHT NEXT TO ME... Was obnoxious. Plus they rode all the way to the Government Plaza station. Which is like 2-3 stops away from the Warehouse District.
Oh well. The LRT was fun! And it surprised me how fast that train got when it got to the airport... in the tunnels, it seemed like warp speed :P - Never actually been on a train, so the first corner kinda freaked me out... til I realized "Hmm... Straight wheels. Bending track. What must the wheels do? Go against their nature of going straight, so they're gonna make noise! Duh!"
And this Go-To card is really slick! When I bought it, they said "Just put it in your wallet, and leave it there. When you need to use it, just touch your entire wallet to the reader!" - I thought she was nuts. But after a few people did it, I changed my ways :P
I think all day, with Metro Transit, I spent $2.50. That's right, two dollars and fifty cents. And I didn't have to find a place to park. I would've had to pay to park at the sculpture garden, and at Lake Calhoun, and would've paid for gas. Not happenin for $2.50. So I think I'll keep using Metro Transit when I can... can't use it to work and back, but I can sure use it when I decide to go exploring on weekends :)
Then Will woke up, and decided he was too lazy, wanted to wait til Sunday. So this morning, Will woke up, and decided once again that he was too lazy. So I went anyway. Woulda been more fun with someone else, but twas fun just the same :)
The 4 bus stops a block away from my house... and at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, so that was an easy trip :) And I got to see my favorite statue since childhood: The big spoon with the cherry on top :)
Ok, so technically it's called "Spoonbridge with Cherry". And holy buckets was it surrounded by shutterbugs today. I felt like an idiot pulling out my cell phone to take a picture of it. Almost like there was a photography class there!
Then like 10 minutes after I thought that... a HUGE group of people with cameras (young people at that) grouped up to go across the bridge... so I think maybe it WAS a photography class :P
And it was a good day all over to see the ducks! Making their spring debut, as you might be able to see if you stare at this picture to your left really really closely... - Think this also proves that if I'm gonna keep doing this, i seriously need to get a real digital camera :PYes, I did look at other things. Most of which were boring. (i.e. Uhh, it's a big metal teepee. What's so artistic about that? Oh great, a brick wall! Oooohhh, mirrors!) - So perhaps some of it was over my head :P - And the greenhouse was nice... although really hot and muggy (well, not really a surprise, but still noteworthy.) Crossed the pedestrian bridge over to Loring park, where I sat and reflected upon life for a while as well :)
Then I decided to sit on the side near the bus stop (but not AT the bus stop, for some reason I really don't know now :P) for my next adventure... and I knew I had like 30 minutes cuz the bus had just gone by. While I was sittin there, I glanced up... and saw my bus. Oops, guess that one stops every 15 minutes :) Oh well, still waited for the other bus. One thing I was really big on all day - if you miss the bus, don't panic, another bus will stop by in 30 minutes :P It's not that big of a deal. Life goes on :)
That next bus was the 6, which I knew would go to Uptown Station. And the online map said it would go like a stop past that to Lake Calhoun, which was my desired destination. And some dude got on the bus after me and asked the driver if the bus stopped at the Lake Calhoun stop... 
and he said yes! So I hung out on the bus until he got off - which was Lake Calhoun (yay for paying attention, boo to the online bus mapping service :P)
and he said yes! So I hung out on the bus until he got off - which was Lake Calhoun (yay for paying attention, boo to the online bus mapping service :P)On the East side of the lake where I started, I ran into the little bit of ice you see on your left. It made me laugh :) - Especially since Mom mentioned something about an ice rescue yesterday? And I thought she was nuts :P (still haven't looked it up to verify...) - was going to send her this picture and say "You mean THIS ice??" :P
By the time I got to the West side of the lake, it was getting just a bit chilly, and you can tell why by the pic to your right - slush on the lake! It makes a pretty cool sound when the waves rustle it too :) Fairly solid breeze blows across that and into you - actually felt pretty good, considering how warm it was in the hot sun.
I ended up walking probably about 3/4 of the way around the lake (started on the east side, ended on the north side by the pavilion thingie), and kinda became lost. Well, my directions were based on leaving from the Uptown station... but since I didn't get off there, I didn't know where it was in relation to the park :P I decided to just start following people, and I knew what intersection this was at (I think it's Hennepin and Lagoon), but I didn't know where either of those streets were :P - Started walking up a hill... toward Calhoun Square (thinking even if things didn't pan out, there would be busses there, and at LEAST 1 of them has to connect to light rail! That and there's a Famous Dave's there I've been wanting to try... but didn't) - and found Hennepin! Looked both directions, and about 2 blocks away was the Uptown Transit Station... and my bus driver was on break even. 5 minutes later, I was on my way to the 38th Street Station. woot!
38th Street Station is a Light Rail stop, so I hopped on the train to the Mall of America! Putzed around in the mall for a while, had supper (near but not at another Famous Dave's. 2 different Daves I passed by, and didn't eat at either. Probably a record for me.)
The Nickelodeon theme park pissed me off :P - It just doesn't feel right. You know? It seemed more like a county fair than a theme park. For example, one of the things they had there was a duck pool. For $2 you get to pick a duck out of the pool, and everyone gets a prize of some sort. I haven't seen that game since our elementary school carnivals! (and I had forgotten about those until I wrote this sentence!)
Then this sight to your left caught my eye as well. On the third floor, taking up QUITE a chunk of space (almost the entire area between one of the anchors and the side exit to the parking ramp. If I remember right... - Maybe only half that space... but huge nonetheless!)Which begs me to ask... do that many people shop at the Mall of America that it would warrant a Best Buy inside? I mean... would you go to the Mall of America and buy a HDTV? Or would you go the Best Buy, what is it, 10 miles east? If that? I still think of the MOA to be more of a touristy place, which really has no place for big-box stores like this. What's next, a Wal-Mart? Then everyone can come to the mall to get groceries too!
Of course, they probably are afraid of people thinking of it as a touristy place, which would mean the locals wouldn't stop there as often. Places like this could help change that attitude a bit...
Seriously. Think about that grocery store idea. It might work! :P Throw one into Phase 2! :P
What do you think about a Best Buy in the Mall of America?
The return LRT ride from the MOA to the Warehouse District was slightly annoying. The entire train was full of kids (think middle schoolers mostly), and they were LOUD, and they just screamed all the time, especially when one dude got off the bus (apparently they thought he was hot...), and they were RIGHT NEXT TO ME... Was obnoxious. Plus they rode all the way to the Government Plaza station. Which is like 2-3 stops away from the Warehouse District.
Oh well. The LRT was fun! And it surprised me how fast that train got when it got to the airport... in the tunnels, it seemed like warp speed :P - Never actually been on a train, so the first corner kinda freaked me out... til I realized "Hmm... Straight wheels. Bending track. What must the wheels do? Go against their nature of going straight, so they're gonna make noise! Duh!"
And this Go-To card is really slick! When I bought it, they said "Just put it in your wallet, and leave it there. When you need to use it, just touch your entire wallet to the reader!" - I thought she was nuts. But after a few people did it, I changed my ways :P
I think all day, with Metro Transit, I spent $2.50. That's right, two dollars and fifty cents. And I didn't have to find a place to park. I would've had to pay to park at the sculpture garden, and at Lake Calhoun, and would've paid for gas. Not happenin for $2.50. So I think I'll keep using Metro Transit when I can... can't use it to work and back, but I can sure use it when I decide to go exploring on weekends :)
Saturday, April 19, 2008
I'm back!
Ok, so it's fairly obvious that I so didn't keep up the blog... - But here I am, once again, over a year later to try and pick it back up. And BOY has it been an eventful 14 months...
The job fair ended up netting no results, I ended a long relationship, I moved to Fargo, found a new job, then they asked me a couple months later if I was willing to move to the cities. I said "Sure!" after negotiating moving expenses and a small raise, and they said "Great! Can you be here Monday to start?" I was, and now I work in Eden Prairie and live in Minneapolis (even though in one of those past posts you notice I said I refuse to live in the cities... - hehe. Funny how circumstances change, eh?)
My new job entails going into restaurants and bars and installing new point of sale systems, so they can move into the 21st century. They're slowly getting me into liquor stores as well (coincidently, that's where I'll be next week - hehe...) Tis fun. It's kinda funny how for the most part when I go into these places, they have almost no processes in place to do anything. For example, we recently had a business owner and 2 of her employees (aka a Woman, her daughter, and her daughter's friend) in, and we were dealing with pricing issues. "How much do you charge for ___________" - And everyone had a different answer. Not too surprising for alcohol actually, but it kinda proves why they need a computer to tell them the price :P I also think it's kinda funny how the guy who doesn't really drink is the one who goes into BARS and LIQUOR STORES to install POS systems. It makes me lol.
Anyway, I'm gonna go explore the city a bit today... more later...
The job fair ended up netting no results, I ended a long relationship, I moved to Fargo, found a new job, then they asked me a couple months later if I was willing to move to the cities. I said "Sure!" after negotiating moving expenses and a small raise, and they said "Great! Can you be here Monday to start?" I was, and now I work in Eden Prairie and live in Minneapolis (even though in one of those past posts you notice I said I refuse to live in the cities... - hehe. Funny how circumstances change, eh?)
My new job entails going into restaurants and bars and installing new point of sale systems, so they can move into the 21st century. They're slowly getting me into liquor stores as well (coincidently, that's where I'll be next week - hehe...) Tis fun. It's kinda funny how for the most part when I go into these places, they have almost no processes in place to do anything. For example, we recently had a business owner and 2 of her employees (aka a Woman, her daughter, and her daughter's friend) in, and we were dealing with pricing issues. "How much do you charge for ___________" - And everyone had a different answer. Not too surprising for alcohol actually, but it kinda proves why they need a computer to tell them the price :P I also think it's kinda funny how the guy who doesn't really drink is the one who goes into BARS and LIQUOR STORES to install POS systems. It makes me lol.
Anyway, I'm gonna go explore the city a bit today... more later...
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