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November 30, 2006

a farewell to kings

Ann and I watched AI last nite. Holy crap was that an abortion of a movie. Everyone, including me, has such high expectations from Speilberg, but that was garbage. 2.5 hours of boredom. Every time it looked like something interesting was going to happen, it didn't really, but it just kept going.

We watched 28 days later sunday, which was at least watchable. It was basically of ripoff of dawn of the dead, but still pretty good.

Posted by Aaron at 4:21 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

November 28, 2006

redefine

Almost 5 years ago, I was looking for a webpage that would show a family tree, or geneology.
I looked up several pages that generated some pages of trees, but nothing worked, and even those that did didn't look very good.
Now, five years later, I've found several webpage solutions, and they are looking good. I'm on a mission to setup a page that shows ours. Its always been a mild interest of mine, so I'm pretty excited.
I've been spending most of tonite messing around with phpGenView and Brother's Keeper. You can spend a lot of time updating a family tree, there are literally millions of details that can be filled in.

Expect to see an update here when I get it up and running, I know you're excited.

Posted by Aaron at 11:26 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

November 27, 2006

thrown out of the bar

My friend from Delaware sent me 3 CDs of Hank III.
I can't say it's great, because it's straight up country, but I'm not hating it 100% either, which kindof  scares me. We'll see, my favorite album has been Built to Spill's latest for almost the entire year, so it's time for something new.

Thanksgiving was good. Got to see everyone, and nothing bad happened. I didn't even severely overeat, at least not to the point that I thought I was going to be sick, which has happened. I did eat plenty, and need to be sure to get a lot of exercise this week.

More importantly, I got a little homework done, and finally didn't get schooled in poker wednesday nite. I didn't make much, but didn't get crushed, which has been the constant theme of late.

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November 22, 2006

freedom of choice

Thanksgiving tomorrow, cards tonite. I've been doing some reading to try and figure out what I've been doing wrong, and I think I see the light now. I'm going into tonite highly optimistic.
Last year on the nite before thanksgiving, I won $750.

I despise spam. I maintain 4 fake email accounts just to avoid it. I have a standard hotmail account that I use to sign up for stupid accounts that I'm sure will spam me, and any contests or drawings I rarely enter.
I entered one recently for some movie passes, where the local radio station took votes on the movies to play in a local theatre, and then gave tickets away.
So I thought "Why not?"
I so checked my email today, and I won! hooray for me.
The email reads at the end:
Please stop by the Eagle studios at 4630 Antelope Creek Road by Noon on
the 16th to pick up passes for 4 people.
You'll be asked to provide a copy of this message and the email address
you used to sign up on The Eagle web site.
Doors will open at 5pm. Movies start at 7pm. Get there early to assure
a seat for your favorite movie.


Well, that's just great. I don't think I was even doing anything last Thursday either.

Posted by Aaron at 11:36 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

November 20, 2006

raise a family

GIMP is a really good editor. I'm anticipating a slow, short week this week, so I've basically distracted myself this morning by drawing pictures.

Posted by Aaron at 11:57 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

people who died

I've had a fairly productive weekend.
First, I broke the webserver, and two servers at work.
Saturday I primed the bathroom so it is ready to be painted whatever color Ann wants.
Then saturday nite, we went a friends house for a game nite. It was a pretty good time.

Also, somewhere in there, I watched:
Event Horizon
Session 9
Dawn of the Dead (1968)
Dawn of the Dead (2004)

The first Dawn of the Dead was crazy stupid. I have read things about it has been regarded as the most gruesome picture of the time, and even as much as "social commentary" at the time. Zombies eating human flesh as social commentary is a pretty big stretch, I think, but in general, it always seemed well regarded.
Well, I hated it.
Incredibly bad special effects, no plot, no acting, nothing going for it.
Then I watched the new version, and it could very well have been just because it was relative to the first one, but I thought it was quite good.
The zombies were far more believable, the special effects were very good, and the ending was great. Same stupid plot, same bad, predictable acting, but that's expected.
So check that one out.

I've also watched a couple Rescue Me's, what a great show. I gotta watch the rest of this season.

AND, I finished my homework. Although we got a new assignment too.

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November 16, 2006

basketball jones

So Bobby Knight "slapped" his player. I don't care. Have you seen it? I watched it, and thought it entirely appropriate. I don't understand why this is even a subject for debate.
If he had wound up and hit him in the face with his fist, that's a little different, but I've had that done to me before!
After my first loss (and only one of two in the whole regular season) in my senior year, my wrestling coach made me stand outside in only my singlet, to "wake me up" and get my head back into the tournament. I don't know if the actual cold worked, but the act certainly impressed upon me that he was disappointed in my performance.

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November 14, 2006

cowboy

I finished watching Eraserhead, though I question why.
It now wins my coveted "worst movie of all time" award. There is absolutely no plot to this movie. At least with 'Snakes on a Plane' you know what you're getting into.
This abortion is a "coveted David Lynch" film. Have you seen any David Lynch films?
I haven't met anyone yet who has
a) seen one
b) claimed to understand it
c) liked it
Not only have I not met anyone who meets al that criteria, I've never heard of someone who has.
David Lynch sucks.

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November 13, 2006

pigs (three different ones)

So I'm done with poker for awhile. I doubt I could quit, but I have to take a break, as I do nothing but get my butt kicked all over the place.

I've watched a couple of the movies I wanted to:
Invasion of the body snatchers
Fair. Not terribly scary. In fact, a little funny at the star power and things they say and do.
Eraserhead
This is not a typical horror movie, because it's a David Lynch film, which means it so far out, no one not high on LSD can enjoy it. I only got about 33% through it before I got bored and quit.
The Blair Witch Project
I started to watch this again, only got about 40% through it, and was immediately getting a little freaked out. This movie is great.
The Blair Witch Project 2
I didn't have great expectations, and wasn't disappointed. It was so bad, I nearly shut it off, but I was stuck at the table doing homework, and had nothing else to watch. It's absolutely horrible.
Aubrey and I started watching
The Haunting
but we both got kindof bored and stopped in the middle, but I think we'll finish it. It looks halfway interesting.

I also added some drywall mudding to the bathroom on some sections that Ann wanted, and no it's actually 100% mudded. Time to paint!

Posted by Aaron at 3:18 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

November 10, 2006

genius in france

I have been visiting Joel's website more frequently, now that it's actually updated with his kids' pictures and whatnot. I noticed he now has a link to Connie and Medhi's website, exclusively dedicated to their (now in the past) wedding in Paris, since that's where they live.
So I was interested, and went through some pictures to see who I knew that actually went there for the wedding, and found this picture.


Wow! I didn't realize that Connie and Medhi were so famous as to get Napolean Dynamite to show up in character there! They must be big wigs!

Posted by Aaron at 3:59 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

November 9, 2006

the pot


Aaron:
really good set of kitchen knives
medium sized gym bag
bob and tom 'man boobs' cd set

A memory foam mattress pad
car FM transmitter for ipod


Ann:
large skillet
This

Aubrey:
a PC
these are my ideas
-PSP or PS2 games?
-toboggan?


Abby:
guitar
sled
bratz stuff

Ally:
guitar
bratz stuff
sled

Posted by Aaron at 9:10 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

November 8, 2006

NWO

I was driving to work this morning around 10:30am (I've been working from home in the mornings for the last couple of weeks, for various reasons). I was almost to work, just getting off the interstate, and on the exit I was taking I saw state patrolman, who had pulled over some guy and was giving him a sobriety test.
I thought, "Jeesh, it's 10:30 in the morning. Who's drunk already?"

Then I saw the guy. It was the professor from my current class! I could hardly believe it! This is the most straight and narrow guy ever!
So I can't imagine I'll be having class the rest of the week, or maybe semester.
I'm having a poker tournament this saturday, and you're invited. My numbers have been dwindling of late, I think the poker craze is about over. Especially with the death of online poker, but it looks like it's not totally dead yet. Pokerstars is claiming to fight the new law, based on the million-year-old argument that poker is a skill game, and not a game of luck.
I would agree that skill is involved, but so is luck. Now the question becomes, what is the minimum luck/skill ratio needed to be declared a 'sport' versus a 'game'?
Backgammon is considered a skill game.
Darts is a skill game.
Pool is a skill game.
All those games have a serious amount of luck involved too, if I'm playing them. Yet it's perfectly legal for me to enter a pool league for $50 and claim a grand prize of the large pot of $50 entries if I win.
And I'll guarantee if I win, luck was involved.

Oh, and the story about my professor being pulled over and arrested for drunk driving is totally not true. I did see a guy pulled over this morning and taking a sobriety test, but that was it. I just needed a better ending.

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November 7, 2006

a new machine

I played a volleyball game last nite. My knee was hurting when I walked out.
Then I played raquetball this afternoon, 4 games. I mention this because it was the first time the 4 main guys I've been playing with lately all played together as doubles. It was a first chance to evaluate who was the top dog.
I ended up as the top dog of us all. No surprise, as I would only write this if the outcome was favorable for me.
But I payed a price, as I can barely walk now.
I'm going to need to check this knee checked out again...

Posted by Aaron at 5:58 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

harvest moon

So it's time for the harvest moon. I got into a debate with Ann the other nite about this, as I saw a show that insisted that the harvest moon is in fact, no larger in the sky than at any other time of the year, and I believed it.
When I told her that, she did not believe it. So I found a couple real explanations of why I am right.

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November 6, 2006

Ænima

I've always been a bit of a horror movie buff. Now I like a lot of different types of movies, but still like horror flicks. What is the scariest movie of all time?
It seemed to me from several lists I remember and read recently, it was 'The exorcist', which I have been thinking recently, is very strange that I have not seen.
So we watched it Sunday nite.
Wow. I must be severely desensitized. That movie was borderline boring. It had some moments, some intense, but most humorous. Shoot, I think I was more scared when I recently re-watched the original 'Night of the living dead'. It at least had you worried about your our fate. The exorcist had me feeling more empathy for the people in the film, I was not fearing for myself at all.
So now I'm on a mission to watch some of the scariest that I have not seen, which includes:
Event Horizon
Session 9
Eraserhead
Blair witch 2 (not sure about this, but I loved the first one)
28 days later
dawn of the dead

What movies do I consider scary?
The Shining
The Thing
Seven
Silence of the Lambs
Alien
Blair Witch Project
Saw
Signs
The Hitcher
Hostel (was for about 2 minutes, then it spiraled into the crapper never to return)

Posted by Aaron at 8:23 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

the day i tried to live

Poker has not been good to me lately. Got crushed at my last home game, got crushed last 2 trips to the boats in omaha, and got crushed last nite too.
Last nite was the first in that series where I can honestly say I made some errors, all justified at the time, I thought, but errors nonetheless.
Big poker week this week, tomorrow nite, friday nite, and saturday nite. Something better turn around.

I got a guy coming in tomorrow moring to do the drywall mudding, at least that's the plan.

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November 3, 2006

stealing people's mail

Well, I'm feeling a little better now.
The test was difficult as expected, but based on my homework performances, I was expecting to get a score like 12%. I may be being overly optimistic, but I think I did better than that. Definately not 100%, but greater than 12%, that's all I can say for sure.

I got the truck's clutch hydrolic line bled with Aubrey's help last nite, it's now like a new truck! I had just gotten used to driving with with no hydrolics, so now I rev the engine too much when shifting and starting off. Gotta learn to drive again.
Still cool that I talked to BJ before trading it in, spending $10k on a new truck. $3 fix instead. I like that.

Posted by Aaron at 3:15 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

November 2, 2006

schism

I'm not in a good mood.
1 hour until I go take a test I have been dreading, I do not anticipate doing well, so I can only hope to do as well as everyone else.
MY really cool remote mythbox seems to have taken a turn for the worse, and it is basically inoperable right now.
My truck is at least not dead, but the clutch system still needs to be bled, so it's a real pain to deal with right now.
My GS needs new tires, and they need to be mounted.
I need a new mower.
I need a new snowblower.
I need a new DVD player.
I need a raise.
I have been getting my butt kicked in poker lately.
We got a new bird, and he sucks. He hates everyone. He's the most unfriendly bird I've ever seen.

sigh, it can only get better I guess

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