Anyway, as I was saying, my wife Jennifer, her friend Jeff, and I were zipping across Manhattan to get to the Westside. Our taxi driver was zipping with us, naturally. The start of the ride was a little difficult. With three backseat drivers (well, I was actually in the passenger seat), Cabbie was getting a little frustrated with our contradictory instructions. Cabbie, being a cabbie, thought he knew the best way to cross the city. We all helpfully suggested three other ways of crossing, e...
Anyway, as I was saying, my wife Jennifer, her friend Jeff, and I were zipping across Manhattan to get to the Westside. Our taxi driver was zipping with us, naturally. The start of the ride was a little difficult. With three backseat drivers (well, I was actually in the passenger seat), Cabbie was getting a little frustrated with our contradictory instructions. Cabbie, being a cabbie, thought he knew the best way to cross the city. We all helpfully suggested three other ways of crossing, e...
How funny is that? Okay, I can't take credit for that headline; it's the unofficial slogan of a leading candidate for Congress, Vernon Robinson. He has a hilarious web site: VernonRobinson.com and some awesome radio spots: "The aliens are here, but they didn't come in a spaceship," an announcer says over the theme to "The Twilight Zone." "They've filled our criminal courtrooms and clogged our schools ... They sponge off the American taxpayer ... they've even taken over the DMV. The...
Well, I'm back to my blog, after a break of about a week. Sorry, my mood hasn't been that great. I'm having trouble finding work, and the news from Iraq isn't helping my mood. I make a conscious effort to keep my blog from becoming topical, and that was difficult this week. Three or four weeks ago, my wife, her friend Jeff, and I were racing across Lower Manhattan in a Taxi. We had just finished some fusion Indian meal at an East Village restaurant. As I've mentioned, Jennifer and I live i...
In the dark past, I kept a blog at another web site, which will not be named. Well, I went to Brazil, and amazingly blog worthy experiences, and forgot to keep blogging. In the meantime, my old blog site started charging lots of the green stuff. So, I've washed up on the shores of JoeUser. But giving my inherent laziness, and my current battle against caffeine deprivation (see my previous post), it was in the cards for me to recycle my old blog material. Furthermore, my wife is quite in...
Ronald Reagan, president 1981-1989, has died at the age of 93. He succumbed to Alzheimer's disease after a ten year battle. Let me start with some good memories of Ronald Reagan: - He said one of my favorite presidential lines: "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Really, it's a great line, and he said it against the advice of his aides, who were concerned it was too belligerent. - He once joked at a press conference that the bombs were going to start dropping in five minutes. ...
For many of us, the bathroom is a refuge from the dangers of everyday life. For this woman, it was much more. From Yahoo News : "With a monster tornado bearing down on her last weekend, Diane Neises sought refuge in the bathroom of her manufactured home and locked her arms around the toilet." Really, that's pretty amazing, but I can empathize with her. When at home, the bathroom is a haven from unpaid bills, chores, my wife looking for me to do chores, and Sunday NPR: which my wife ...
For many of us, the bathroom is a refuge from the dangers of everyday life. For this woman, it was much more. From Yahoo News : "With a monster tornado bearing down on her last weekend, Diane Neises sought refuge in the bathroom of her manufactured home and locked her arms around the toilet." Really, that's pretty amazing, but I can empathize with her. When at home, the bathroom is a haven from unpaid bills, chores, my wife looking for me to do chores, and Sunday NPR: which my wife ...
Sometimes you tell a story, and you forget the most important If you look at my earlier post, you'll see I talk about a strange commercial for the Six Flags Amusement Parks, that plays the circa 2000 Vengaboys' hit (well, at least in Southeast Asian discotechs): "We Like to Party". For me, the importance of that song is the it keeps repeating that "the Venga Bus is coming", which I see as an escape from the sometimes overwhelming New York City, to the dance center of this arm of the Milky ...
Sometimes you tell a story, and you forget the most important If you look at my earlier post, you'll see I talk about a strange commercial for the Six Flags Amusement Parks, that plays the circa 2000 Vengaboys' hit (well, at least in Southeast Asian discotechs): "We Like to Party". For me, the importance of that song is the it keeps repeating that "the Venga Bus is coming", which I see as an escape from the sometimes overwhelming New York City, to the dance center of this arm of the Milky ...
Sometimes I get emotional at surprising times. Right now, I'm all worked up about death. I was watching "10.5", the awful disaster movie that was on last night. It's only worth watching if you like watching the Seattle Space Needle collapse, or the Golden Gate Bridge tear apart. Being from the Bay Area, I do. I like to wrap up lose ends. The hardest question in my life has always been "what if?". What if I had done this, or wrote that? This is often bad after relationship, but at least ...
To my own shock, I remembered that Jennifer and I have been married for one month, as of today. Wow. The month went by quickly, and I still have to take care of various wedding related matters. Such as sending out the remaining thank you notes. Thankfully, my loving friends and family are understanding, and I'm sure they're patient. Anyway, they know I procrastinate on everything. And really, what the hell do I care? It's not as if I'm getting married again any time soon. See, I tricked...
Man oh man, I sure love coffee. Nothing beats a good coffee high. To understand it, picture yourself in the mirror. Now imagine that there's a starry background behind your head. Now imagine yourself fading in and out, mystical like. Finally, imagine yourself saying "The Coffee extends life. The Coffee expands consciousness". Actually, that's the beginning of "Dune", which is an intensely crappy movie, and that's coming from the guy who liked "10.5", last weekend's earthquake movie. But th...
Man oh man, I sure love coffee. Nothing beats a good coffee high. To understand it, picture yourself in the mirror. Now imagine that there's a starry background behind your head. Now imagine yourself fading in and out, mystical like. Finally, imagine yourself saying "The Coffee extends life. The Coffee expands consciousness". Actually, that's the beginning of "Dune", which is an intensely crappy movie, and that's coming from the guy who liked "10.5", last weekend's earthquake movie. But th...
According to Yahoo News, CIA Director George Tenet is history . According to the article, Tenet resigned, predictably for "personal reasons". I'm sure he's suddenly decided he wants to spend a hell of a lot more time with his family. Of course it has nothing to do with totally botching the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) stuff in Iraq: "The truth about Iraq: A Play in Two Sentences." Tenet: Iraq has WMDs. Reality: Um, no it doesn't. Of course, the real truth is that Tene...