Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/30/13

I don't mean to go off on a [final for the month] rave here, but ...

... since there is a bonus Saturday in November, I may as well stick with that which I've been doing all month long on Saturdays, and wrap up this list of things for which I'm thankful.  If you've been following along, you probably figured out my construct, but so far I've disclosed that I'm thankful for ...


Traditions.
Homecomings.
Ancestry.
New opportunities.
Knowledge.
Smart phones.
Guinness.
Independence.
Vacations.
Indiana family.
Nostalgia.
Golden Tee.

Seeing as how there aren't any more letters in the word to inspire me, I'll just close by saying that I'm also thankful to see that for which others are thankful.  And I get that it's not a competition or anything, but I'd like to give a shout-out to the thankfulnesses expressed by one Andy P, a college classmate of mine, who impressed me this month with his reflective, honest and sincere posts.  I have to say I think he set the bar this year!

Oh and since it's the last post in my theme week "It Starts with Food", I'm also thankful that my company gives its employees a paid volunteer day and that there's a session scheduled next week for the local team to help out at the Lakeview Pantry (ironically, it's scheduled on a day when I'm on vacation, so I won't be attending, but I'll be thinking about 'em).  Here's hoping that the spirit of giving about which I've been talking all week becomes a year round tradition.

And since I have this mild OCD "things in threes" condition, I'm also very thankful that I can return to RANTING next week on Saturday, as my "crotchety old man self" just seems more authentic to my "brand".

ONE LAST TIME (WELL FOR THIS WEEK) ... LOCAL FOOD BANK:
http://www.lakeviewpantry.org/

ONE LAST TIME (WELL FOR THIS WEEK) ... THE BIG LOCAL ONE:
http://www.chicagosfoodbank.org/site/PageServer

ONE LAST TIME (WELL FOR THIS WEEK) ... FIND YOUR LOCAL ONE:
http://feedingamerica.org/foodbank-results.aspx

Random Posting for Penn State 11/30/13

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from today's game:

1.)  Woo-hoo!  Our first win of the season ... well first win of the season on the road!  It couldn't have come at a better time!
2.)  Although let's be honest -- Wisconsin did help a little.
3.)  Although let's be honest-er -- the officials might have helped a little as well.  Oh -- and congrats on your retirement, Bill LEMONNIER.
4.)  Speaking of which, if a timeout is called in the woods when no one is around, does it still make a sound?
5.)  Hey announcerman ... trust me, Wilkes Barre is like "Wilkes Barry" (as in White or the oldest Brady in the bunch) and not "Wilkes Bear" (as in Pooh or Yogi) as you said it.
6.)  So I intended to complain about all of the basketball players on Wisconsin's team that kept on blocking stuff with their 6'6" selves ... and then 6'7" Jesse JAMES went and reminded me that we've got our "tallies" on our team as well who are put to good use.
7.)  What I will complain about (again) is all those guys with long hair -- even if it does make me seem old.  I know we're (rightfully) focused on reducing concussions, but can we make all the boys get haircuts as the next rule change to consider.  Curse you Justin Bieber and your influence on the kids of this generation!
8.)  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  Fool me eight times, shame on the whole team (I'm talking about all those motion penalties, in case you weren't counting).  Just kidding ... I know you're all a bunch of great kids.  Coach says so every time he gets in front of a microphone.
9.)  Oh FICKEN, what an adventure you've had (that sounds like it could almost be a children's book in there somewhere).  Shake it off, son.  Here's one last atta boy for you this year, despite the bumps in the road today ... Atta boy FICKEN!

In closing, thanks to the Penn State fans who made it to the game today -- especially those who became blue-cheese-heads, as shown in the photo that came from Penn State's Facebook page today ... and the countdown to our next post-season game that may or may not be as late as 2016 stands at no more than 36 more games (but may be a bit less)!

And that's a wrap!  Here's to next year HACKENBERG, when no one shall call you a freshman any more, well, except for when you get fresh!

WHO KNEW THERE WERE THIS MANY QUOTES ABOUT FOOLS!:
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/fools

OUR TALLBOY:
http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2013/02/one_to_watch_penn_state_tight.html

LOOKS LIKE WE KNOW WHAT BILL'S GOING TO DO NOW THAT HE'S RETIRED:
http://www.officiallyspeaking.com/footballdvd.php

Random Flashback for Friday 11/29/13

This will be the last picture of Smokey the cat from LVC dorm living circa 1993 that I will post.

Correction:  These will be the last pictures of Smokey the cat from LVC dorm living circa 1993 that I will post (I couldn't resist a bonus photo -- from Thanksgiving exactly twenty years ago at the Woodwards).

Further correction:  These will be the last pictures of Smokey the cat from LVC dorm living circa 1993 that I will post in this calendar year (I peeked ahead to my 1994 pictures going up each week as Friday flashbacks in 2014, and she does make a return or two ... or three.)

Additional note:  The traditional feast of thanks may be over, but my week-long attempt to drum up awareness of the hungry ones in your community isn't quite over.  As captured in this photo, please consider finding a way to share that which you have with others this season -- and all year round.

Random Thought for Thursday 11/28/13

I learned a new game, whilst driving to Baltimore and back a month ago ... a game I remembered when doing the early morning drive to my Indiana family for the Tgiving holiday (and, therefore, something that fits nicely into my ongoing "distracted driving" series that demonstrates, when it comes to those long long road trips, how my mind does randomly wander as it wonders [ooh ... working in a Christmas music reference to celebrate the holiday season ... so festive of me]).

I call it "turnpike chicken".  And let's get something out of the way right away.  My use of the qualifier "turnpike" is because I grew up in central PA.  Depending on your part of the country, you might substitute "freeway" or "toll road" or "highway" or "bypass" or "interstate" (I think you get the point).  Regardless, I'm referring to a multi-laned road where traffic is all going the same way (as opposed to the more classic game of "chicken" where you drive head first toward an approaching car to see which vehicle is the last to move out of the way), and to the fact that the po-po may or may not be in the flow of traffic ahead of you (I use the phrasing "po-po" in a desperate transparent attempt to establish some street cred, so you might substitute "state trooper", "police", "cops" or "coppers" [you know, if you're a film-noir aficionado]).

This game of "chicken" involves those drivers who are either oblivious to the fact that they are passing an unmarked vehicle (and speed past to get pulled over immediately -- we'll call them "fried chicken"), or who start out oblivious and then slam on the breaks when they put two and two together (so so obvious to all involved, so we'll call them Colonel Chicken, since KFC is the obvious chicken choice), or who "fall in line", too "chicken" to make a move, destined to drive for miles obeying the speed limit and being a good, but boring, road citizen (chicken dancers, a la the wedding classic).

In conclusion, because I've gone on too long as it is, drive safely out there this holiday weekend.  In addition to the daytime drunks (it's a holiday!), there are also crazed shoppers who didn't sleep, and the heightened presence of the po-po.  And ... Happy Thanksgiving weekend to you and yours!

ANY TIME I MENTION TURNPIKE, I THINK OF THE "ABANDONED PA TURNPIKE":
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/back1007.cfm

OH THE WIKI ... LISTS FOR EVERY SCENARIO:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_slang_terms_for_police_officers

A GUIDE TO ASSIST YOU AS YOU PLAY "TURNPIKE CHICKEN":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_slang_terms_for_police_officers

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 11/27/13

Bottom Dollar Foods.

Used in a sentence:  "Look, it's not my wordplay, but apparently there's a new grocery chain (well, new to me as it started in 2005 after I moved away from the East Coast) called Bottom Dollar Foods."

No offense to anyone who shops there, but I don't understand how that company name made it out of the focus groups.  Sure ... it's kind of like messaging "lowest price" (and having done a bit of interwebs research tonight, the place sure sounds like it is pretty much patterned after an Aldi's) ... but I just don't think that, when it comes to making your food purchases, getting your meat and perishables from a place called Bottom Dollar Foods inspires much confidence in that which you're buying.  It just makes me picture a guy in a trench coat grabbing you off the street to pull you back into the alley where there's a truck waiting with "bottom dollar" cuts of meat in it for you to get at a really great price (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

At the opposite end of the grocery store name spectrum, there are the local Chicago establishments called Jewel (see what they did there Bottom Dollar Foods -- a name that conjures up happy images of shiny fancy things that you purchase there) ... a place I visited today on my lunch walk, and where I was happy to see that they have an easy way for customers to contribute to organizations that take care of those who are hungry this holiday season (see photo below, as I couldn't find anything on their website) ... which of course fits nicely into my theme week concept (and I'm now midway through raising awareness about how YOU can make a difference in your community as you feast with your family ... and hopefully get you thinking about starting a year round habit).

THEY ARE CLOSER THAN EVER BEFORE TO MY HOMETOWN IT SEEMS:
http://www.grocery.com/bottom-dollar-food/

I GET THAT THEY WERE GOING FOR SOME OF THIS MOJO, BUT STILL ...
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-bet-your-bottom-dollar-mean.htm

HELP GIVE HAM FOR THE HOLIDAYS AT THIS ESTABLISHMENT:
http://www.jewelosco.com/

Random Tune for Tuesday 11/26/13

So it's still my theme week to raise awareness about donating to your local food bank (easy to do during this time of feasting ... so I'm hoping to inspire a habit that goes year-round).

Which means a little Marvin Lee Aday should be perfect for today's random tune ... doubly so because I found a "Meatloaf" song that has another piece of food in its title (could I *be* any more clever).

To tie it all up (admittedly, a bit of stretch perhaps, but work with me here) ... should you succeed in getting your money back due to your life being a lemon, make lemonade out of the situation by donating it to an organization that feeds hungry mouths in your 'hood (bonus link below is another local one for Chitown folks, a billboard for which I saw whilst walking on my lunch break today -- but if you are out of the area, just get on the Google and search on "local food bank" to start making a difference).

IT'S DEFECTIVE!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPjGLXYUSeY

CONSIDER DONATING AS A NEW YEAR-ROUND HABIT:
http://solvehungertoday.org/

Random Memorial for Monday 11/25/13

Gone but not forgotten:  Mr. Charlie Trotter.

To be factual, Charlie passed three weeks ago, apparently of a stroke, and after some erratic behavior with which some media had a field day.

I think I've said this before ... but I can't officially pose as a "foodie" (despite watching Top Chef and just about every competition show on the Food Network).  That being said, I am definitely an "eatie" though, and I am fully aware of his importance to my adopted hometown of Chicago.  The closest I ever got to his culinary skills was the "Trotters To Go" (pictured above), which he opened here in the 'hood on Fullerton by DePaul's campus a year before I started living here, and which was a definite treat when we wanted to reward ourselves with something fancy back in the day (and fancy food costs extra money -- don't let that simple display case fool you).

[By the way, something else open here in the 'hood -- the Lakeview Pantry (see the link below), something I'm mentioning as part of my "It Starts With Food" Theme Week to raise awareness for those places that work to meet the needs of the hungry in the community.  If you're local, check it out (my company is headed there next week for a volunteer day).  If you're not local, use the internet to find a similar organization in your 'hood.]

Purveyor of the dish I would choose had I the choice this time of year --  "Plainville Farms Turkey Breast marinated in olive oil and fresh herbs ... then spit-roasted and finished with [a] honey-rosemary glaze", you will be missed.

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF A CHICAGO CHEF:
http://voices.suntimes.com/import/chicago/charlie-trotter-a-timeline/

THE AFOREMENTIONED TROTTERS-TO-GO MENU:
http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurants/trotters-to-go/menu

IT'S MY "IT ALL STARTS WITH FOOD" THEME WEEK:
http://www.lakeviewpantry.org/

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/24/13

What Chicago is talking about this week:

How ... it starts with food.

It feels like I haven't done a theme week of posts in forever ... but here goes seven days of daily randomness with an underlying tie-in to food, ostensibly because it's that time of year where we all partake of our Thanksgiving feasts so food is on the mind, but really so that I can plug "donating to your local food bank" seven times in a row.

Look, I don't want for food.  (If I did, I might not be on my current weight-loss journey.)  Later this week, that fact manifests itself in a table of bounty that often has multiple main dishes and so many sides that we have to add a card table just so that there's enough room for the three different kinds of stuffing.  And those of us that have excess should never forget that there are multitudes who have little.  There are many ways to contribute to the cause ... throwing a few extra items in the shopping cart that you drop off at your local food bank, making a monetary donation, volunteering your time, or even inviting someone less fortunate to your holiday feast.

Let's be clear -- it's easy to keep this front and center in your mind during this week of the year what with the holiday festivities ... but the need is year round.  Accept this challenge this week and let it become habit forming so that your food-based generosity extends throughout the months ahead.

After all ... it starts with food.

THE CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY:
http://www.chicagosfoodbank.org/site/PageServer?pagename=annual_report_food

FIND YOUR OWN LOCAL FOOD BANK:
http://feedingamerica.org/foodbank-results.aspx#

START HELPING RIGHT NOW ... FROM YOUR COMPUTER:
http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1405

Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/23/13

I don't mean to go off on a rave here, but ...

... really I do, because I'm wrapping up my month long "things for which I'm thankful for" posts with this one.  To whit ... this week, I'm thankful for ...

Indiana family.  It really is the best of both worlds ... with them being situated in and around South Bend, many a weekend and almost all holidays have been spent just a short drive away from big city Chicago life.  To be clear, South Bend/Osceola/Mishawaka/etc aren't as "country" as the old homestead in Woucster OH would be ... but they do have stars there (not of the KimYe variety, but in the sky, at night, when you are outside and look up).  Plus they have dogs, and nothing against Murder the cat with whom I live, but I haven't had canine love regularly since 2008 (perhaps that sentence needs to be re-worked), so I'm always up for a visit.  Of course, there's also great people and great conversations and great relaxation and great card games and everything else that comes from visiting with family.  Here's to the holiday season ahead, and the Thanksgiving meal in just 3.5 days!

Nostalgia.  I've said it before, but I'm a first class reminiscer.  Although I'm certain I'm killing a lot of brain cells on my every-so-often bar crawls, thankfully so far they haven't been the ones that store my memories (come to think of it, it's probably the common sense cells I'm burning off, and come to think of that, I should maybe be worried as I didn't start with many of those).  Whether it's through this blog, or pulling out the files in my file room, or taking a look at my apprentice-hoarder collections of things that represent people from my past ... I like reflecting on where I've been and what I've done and whom I've met along the way.  What with middle age almost (or already?) upon me, it's those things that fuel me through the challenging times in life.  It could be that my biggest fear (were I one of the Witches of Eastwick and were Jack the devil Nicholson trying to figure out how he could get back at me in the worst possible way) is just that -- a fear of amnesia (a fear somewhat founded in how frequently I've seen it happen with so many years of DOOL watching).

Golden Tee.  Look, I'm "of the video game generation" but not proficient in video games at all.  Turns out the only joystick I ever mastered was my own [Ha!  Now I left you with that image!].  So even though I won't ever be in line for the latest release of Call of Grand Theft Fantasy, I still feel somewhat connected to my peers every time I play a video game of golf, almost always as a way to start off those bar crawls I mentioned earlier.  I'm not the best player, and I've never broken the screen with the power of my swing ... but I have developed a small bone spur over the years I've been playing on my driving hand and I do outperform my expectations when other people are gathered around to watch (and, yes, that's the opposite outcome from what happens when I'm playing with my joystick at home and people gather around to watch [HaHa!  Now I embellished that image from above!])

And with those pictures emblazoned on your mind's eye, Happy Thanksgiving week to you and yours!

"WE BARELY SEE THE STARS IN CHICAGO AND THAT'S DANGEROUS":
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/13576950-421/we-barely-see-the-stars-in-chicago-and-thats-dangerous.html

SOMEONE OUT THERE REALLLLLY LOVES WITCHES OF EASTWICK:
http://okieshadow.homestead.com/Eastwick/Eastwick.html

MY BAR FRIEND, THE GOLDEN TEE MACHINE:
http://livewire.itsgames.com/

Random Posting for Penn State 11/23/13

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from today's game:

1.)  Before I start, just a quick side note:  good luck to Matt McGloin, Oakland Raider, and his second game as starting QB tomorrow.
2.)  Well ... the law of averages, right?  We can't be expected to win every game that goes into OT.  And my boy FICKEN can't make everything he kicks.  Oh well.
3.)  Btdubs ... BELTON, I'm not your momma, but if you were too sick to practice all week and you still decided to stand on the sidelines today in the cold and snow, at least put on a hat and scarf, won't ya?
4.)  Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.  I know they play football in warm climates, too, but seeing the white stuff coming down just made it feel like home during this time of year!
5.)  Thank you Buffalo Wild Wings for sponsoring the half time report.  It's inspired me to try to get your commercial's catch phrase to really go viral.  During my next public dinner, I plan to stand up and yell, "I'm a big strong man!"
6.)  So coach said HACKENBERG never looked better than last week against Purdue.  Sadly, that was the game I listened to all old-timey style on the car radio, so he only sounded better to me.
7.)  Turns out HACKENBERG is from Palmyra.  That's like two towns over from my hometown in PA.  Wait?  What?  Palmyra VA not Palmyra PA?  Oh ... never mind.
8.)  Boy that ZWINAK sure can twirl ... Wait?  What?  That's what the halftime fire thrower performer calls it?  Oh ... well then ... boy that ZWINAK sure can spin.
9.)  I may be a Penn State fan, but I felt a little something for the Cornhuskers because, truth be told, I'm a corn-husker at my house (as that's my task when the fresh ears of corn are eaten in the summertime).

In closing thanks to Kyle Baublitz, Kevin Blanchard, Alex Butterworth, Glenn Carson, Bryan Davie, Brandon Felder, Garry Gilliam, Adam Gress, Ty Howle, DaQuan Jones, Alex Kenney, Matt Lehman, Stephen OBeng-Agyapong, Eric Shrive, John Urschel, Malcolm Willis and Pat Zerbe -- seniors who experienced a whole hell of a lot during their time at Penn State ... and the countdown to our next post-season game that may or may not be as late as 2016 stands at no more than 37 more games (but may be a bit less)!

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT EACH SENIOR:
http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/penn-state-football-senior-day-a-capsule-look-at-all-17-nittany-lion-seniors,1416524/

PERSPECTIVE ON THE 2013 SENIOR CLASS:
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/football/article_f362fb7e-5315-11e3-bb95-0019bb30f31a.html

I'M A BIG STRONG MAN!!!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJyH2RJsvM

Random Flashback for Friday 11/22/13

I know ... I know ... when it comes to these flashbacks on Friday, it's been the Smokey show all month (and there's still one more coming next week).

But hey, 20 years ago during the fall semester at LVC in 1993, Smokey, the kitty that was living in our dorm room (all illegal alien style), was a big big part of my college life (well, that and going to class and stuff).

Over any break in my schedule around lunch time, I used to grab her and jump in the car and head down to the little playground next to the Annville Cleona Pool, so that she could run around (a dorm room is a small place in which to live, whether human or animal).  This particular photo is poignant because it was taken just before her vet appointment to have the last bone on each of her front toes amputated (PS ... you may have already figured this out, but post-Smokey, I never approved said surgery again for any cats that came into my life).

Ah yes ... her first and last time climbing a tree, all on the same day ... a bittersweet rite of passage for a kitty and her co-parent (oh yeah, thanks to college living and a very open door policy in our room, Smokey was being raised by the village).

(DISCLAIMER:  the decision as to whether or not to declaw a cat is a personal choice.  I've simply shared mine.)

Random Thought for Thursday 11/21/13

[Yet another entry in my distracted driving series, highlighting the crazy thoughts I have whilst driving for long distances, trapped inside my own head ...]

So I saw a lot of trucks having sex on the road this last trip ... (that's trucks not truckERs, as I'm not travelling with a lot lizard or anything [are they still called that?  I haven't thought about CB language since I was little and my mother's boyfriend gave me a coloring book]) ... and I'm not talking about the frequently seen in the midwest truck-a-tois vehicles with one cab and three trailers (wait a minute -- would that make it a truck-a-quad?) ... but instead, a more "same-sex" hook -up version as seen in the stock photo (see, gay is trendy everywhere) -- a truck daisy chain if you will, with one lead cab and a few other cabs behind it all up in each other's business.

Yes, folks ... *this* is the way my mind works ... and hopefully no one will use this post to try to get me committed.

MY CHILDHOOD CB COLORING BOOK WAS RIGHT -- THEY ARE LOT LIZARDS:
http://www.truckertotrucker.com/blog/lot-lizards/

VIEW FROM INSIDE THE DAISY CHAIN:
http://guidemagazine.org/bonus-features/4062-inside-a-tractor-trailer

THE GOVERNMENT IS WORRIED ABOUT THE TRUCK-A-QUAD:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/forms/form_2.pdf

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 11/20/13

Go-to Oxymoron.

Used in a sentence:  "It looks like it's time to change up my go-to oxymoron."

You have one, don't you?  You know, it's what you say any time oxymoron comes up in a conversation -- and, depending on the company you keep, sometimes that's pretty often, right?

I used to always go to "military intelligence" as my oxymoron example, but now with two nephews actively serving [one of whom I'll see with wife and child next week at Indy Tgiving {note child = puppy at this time} and one of whom I'll only be seeing in the Facebook sense as he will be giving thanks somewhere in Deutschland], I now feel guilty casting aspersions on the military industrial complex.

Thankfully, in stepped the local "Walmart Express", which will be my new go-to oxymoron, as I can assure there's nothing express about the one around the corner (plus they don't sell walls, but that's just piling on).  Additionally, I can use the same place for my go-to irony example, as I'm pretty sure that the employees there are all hustlers outside of work who don't know how to hustle on the job.  There's rarely more than one person checking people out (although, due to its location in the 'hood, most people in the establishment [whether customer or employee] are busy "checking people out" in the "get your creep on" sense]), and that one person does seem to work as if he or she can stretch out one transaction as long as possible, perhaps his or her shift will be over.

Bottom line -- it sounds like I have another establishment in the 'hood to boycott (so for those of you at home keeping a running score, I'm adding it to the list that includes the Subway near Clark and Belmont that impolitely rushed my selection of cheese for my work colleague's sandwich a few years back [see Shannon SD, I *never* forget] ... and the 7-11 next to Wrigley whose security guard with the gangland tattoos was a little too aggressive the day I parked there and made a purchase and walked too slowly to the car to leave [someone else in my party was at the Starbucks next door, and we were leaving together, despite the guard's overtures that I must leave immediately] ... and a few soulless people who once were in my life [that's soulless as in "without a soul" not soleless as in "needing shoes", because, after all, it's just sad to see people without shoes in this kind of climate] ... and the Wells Fargo in Evanston [for reasons outlined in my Jan 2013 post below]).

IN CASE YOU WANT TO FIND YOUR OWN GO-TO OXYMORON:
http://www.oxymoronlist.com/

SPOT THE HUSTLERS IN THIS PHOTO FROM WHEN THE PLACE OPENED:
http://chicago.racked.com/archives/2011/11/30/walmart-express-is-now-open-in-lakeview.php

THE LAST TIME I MADE PUBLIC MY BOYCOTT LIST:
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/2013/01/random-soapbox-for-saturday-11213.html

Random Tune for Tuesday 11/19/13

Just one more.

One more Toad the Wet Sprocket song in honor of having seen them in concert last week (while on vacation, which explains why I've been posting like a mad man tonight, trying to get caught up on all of my daily items on which I've fallen behind).

This time from the new album that just came out last month.  My favorite song of the moment on that CD is the one entitled "The Moment".  It's funny ... my connection to Toad back in the day was how uncannily their songs connected to my life as if it were a soundtrack that they provided for me ... and even the new album has an aspect of that.

Without sharing any more (I flashback on Fridays for that ... well ... in about twenty years ... assuming these formats are still around ... but, yes, son of Pethuel ... I'm dedicating this one to you) ... just know that these are the words I like the best:

And for everything you've taught me here's the one I've learned the best
There is nothing but the moment
Don't you waste it on regret

That's a challenge I can take to heart every day!

THE MOMENT IS HAPPENING NOW ... THE MOMENT IS PASSING:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bhWOnplYc4

Random Memorial for Monday 11/18/13

Gone but not forgotten:  the Blockbuster store.

Admittedly, it's been a long slow death that's been predicted for years (I've seen its corporate logo on company slide shows for at least five years now with the warning that companies that don't change don't make it) ... but now it seems official that all stores will close.

Being a frequent reminiscer, that saddens me even if I haven't rented from them in many many years (oh my -- am I complicit in killing them), because I do know that having a Blockbuster card was one of the first "adult" things I added to my wallet (back in the days when people carried those around), and because there was many a time where we would stumble into the one store on 422 E back in the hometown of /Lep'nun/ PA to choose something to watch for the night (with my friends) or we would take a more measured stroll around the perimeter to investigate and evaluate every new release with my family to craft a movie marathon to watch on any given holiday (when we learned quickly to never have more than one "slice of life" film in the collection -- right Wendy and Judy W?).

Of course time marches on, and I guess the cable on-demand DVR now can fill that role (or Netflix, although I'm not an early adopter in any form or fashion, so that's probably still a good ten years off for me -- even with the frozen banana temptation of Arrested Development I've missed) ... but regardless, locales for some of my youthful memories, you will be missed.

*Breaking news -- see below -- even though they are all closing, it seems that some will stay open in Alaska or on the Mexican border, should your need for rentals take you to either place ...*

WHAT'S THIS?  BREAKING NEWS ABOUT A FEW REMAINING BLOCKBUSTERS:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304448204579185702090813172

YOU MUST BE OF A CERTAIN AGE TO REALLY APPRECIATE THIS:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/11/17/a-blockbuster-swan-song-snl-mourns-the-end-of-an-era/

CAN YOU STILL HAVE MOVIE MARATHONS WITHOUT A BLOCKBUSTER?:
http://confessionsofahombebody.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/top-10-movie-marathons/

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/17/13

What Chicago is talking about this week:

Those devastating November storms that had their way with some downstate communities.

First, thanks to those of you who checked in regarding the well-being of me and mine.  As luck would have it, we were on vacation in Toledo OH and still there sleeping when the worst storms rolled through downstate IL.  By the time we were on the road headed back to Chicago after a weekend getaway, we were able to track the event on radar (go modern cell phones) and to hear the reports of the (temporary) evacuation of Soldier Field (first, Wrigley gets evacuated during the PJam concert ... now this ... things happen in threes people ... don't say you weren't warned).  We drove through that same storm while on the interstate around LaPorte IN that afternoon, and it was windy (the rest stop Hardees had just had its power restored when we stopped for lunch) and it was buckets of rain dumping down from the skies all at once (as opposed to nice little raindrops that the windshield wipers could handle) ... but it was short lived at that point and was uneventful that far north.  (But it was scary to see the seasoned folks pulled off to the side of the road under a bridge being good tornadians ...)

Second, in the days since the storm [due to a backlog in posts from being on that vacation, I'm *actually* posting this three days later], there have been some very heartwarming stories (communities pulling together, a dog left for dead that was found alive in the rubble, people posting random-personal-effects wreckage that was blown 120 miles into someone else's back yard).

All that said, to the guy who pronounced every religious passage whilst filming the oncoming storm from his window, even the God(s) to whom you were praying would have said "get to the basement, you dumb sh!t" if the wind hadn't been blowing so hard that you could have heard the small still voices... so let that be the lesson for any future i-witnesses who are tempted to abandon common sense.

That snark aside (hey, I gotta be me ...), our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who lost loved ones, and to the other survivors who are now tasked with rebuilding at the onset of winter.  God bless.

AT LEAST THE FANS BEHAVED:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-11-17/news/chi-fans-stay-levelheaded-at-soldier-field-20131117_1_evacuation-order-bears-soldier-field

TORNADO DOG SURVIVES!:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-tornado-dogs-met-1120-20131120,0,4718504.story

YOU'VE SEEN THIS BY NOW, RIGHT?:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/17/us/irpt-incredible-illinois-tornado/

Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/16/13

I don't mean to go off on a rave here, but ...

... I guess I kind of do, as I've been raving instead of ranting every Saturday in November as my version of the FB phenomenon of daily "thankful status updates" (after all, I kind of already have my own daily thing going here).  So where was I?  Things for which I'm thankful this week include ...

Guinness.  Look, you can subscribe to whatever version of the first Tgiving that you'd like, but I just have to believe that, somewhere out in those recently harvested fields, Pilgrim Bill and Pilgrim John had sneaked out (snuck out?) to have some brewskis while everyone was cleaning up and/or passing around the hemp peace pipe, so I say that it fits in my comments about this time year (and so sad for them that they didn't have Pilgrim Arthur G on the boat to get them started on the good stuff early) .  And I *am* very thankful for the Guinness.  It has restorative powers ... it has more buzz per unit ... and it just makes me feel good when I drink it.  Thankfully, it's not an addiction that rises to the level of being an unhealthy relationship with my beer of choice (or else I'm in denial about that ... and then, by definition, I'm blissfully unaware ...), and so my chocolaty stouty goodness, how grateful I am for you.

Independence.  You might say I have a streak, and that it's always been there ... but I can definitely say that in my life, I've always been best served by a spirit freed from the shackles of needing to be like everybody else.  Don't get me wrong -- it's fascinating to observe so many different types of people and to be in so many different types of situations (that's how you learn about humanity, in my opinion), but in the end, I'd rather belong to no group and to all groups at the same time, so to speak.  I'm just fine with that ...

Vacations.  Who doesn't like some time off work to do something (or to do nothing -- either way) ... and thankfully my job allows me a flexible schedule and a benefit after ten years that creates the windows of opportunity for little getaway weekends or longer trips every now and then.  Driving in the car singing along to CD after CD, unpacking and settling in at each destination, researching random things to do and random places to eat ... I even enjoy that admin side of things. If I ever win that big money lottery that I hardly ever play, I could easily see me traveling the countryside, enjoying my Guinness everywhere I possibly could.  But until then, I'm thankful for every little getaway I got.

BREAKING DOWN THE THANKSGIVING DRINKING FEAST:
 http://www.fermentarium.com/random-news/thanksgiving-pilgrims-and-beer-myths/

WHO KNEW?  LANA DEL RE GETS ME:
http://www.vagalume.com.br/lana-del-rey/ride-monologue.html

THIS IS NOT NEWS TO A GUINNESS DRINKER:
http://www.valpolife.com/entertainment/cuisine/10762-breaking-news-beer-is-good-for-you

Random Posting for Penn State 11/16/13

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from today's game:

1.)  Can I just say how much I loooove the time-stamp post-dating option on this blog site, as it allows me to be on vacation and to come home and be a bit behind, and yet still be able to catch up on all that I want to say as if it happened in real time?
2.)  Can I just say how much I loooove SiriusXM radio, where I was able to find the Penn State v Purdue game this past weekend (I mean today, "wink") so I could hear part of the game whilst driving from Detroit to Toledo?
3.)  Can I just say how much I loooove Detroit and Toledo as getaway destinations (maybe even so much as they maybe replaced Indy as my favorite weekend getaway from Chitown spot)?
4.)  Can I just say how much I loooove when we win a game, even if we were a 21 point favorite anyway?
5.)  Can I just say how straaaaange it was to "listen" to a football game on the radio, all old-timey style?
6.)  Can I just say how surpriiiiiiised I was to actually miss some of the graphics about which I've previously complained as I tried to picture what the announcermen were saying?
7.)  Can I just say how embaaaaaarrassed I was to be cheering at the wrong time for the wrong team, because I couldn't visualize who had the ball?
8.)  Can I just say how haaaaappy I was to still be able to yell "big throw!" once or twice (when I was better following along)?
9.)  Can I just say how goooooofy I am to carry that extended vowel action throughout this whole post (and that I probably should have been saying "May I just say ..." instead of "Can I just say ..."?

In closing, thanks to FICKEN (atta boy FICKEN!) for tackling someone in a key play today (he's not just a kicker, yo!) ... and the countdown to our next post-season game that may or may not be as late as 2016 stands at no more than 38 more games (but may be a bit less)!

AS FOR SIRIUSXM ON DEMAND, HERE'S AN EARLY SEASON O'BRIEN INTERVIEW:
https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmsports/penn-st-head-coach-bill-o

LOCATE YOUR SIRIUSXM CHANNELS:
http://www.siriusxm.com/frequency

ATTA BOY FICKEN!:
http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2013/11/penn_state_football_fickens_ta.html

Random Flashback for Friday 11/15/13

If you haven't been following along, this is my retelling of my life twenty years ago via the posting of weekly photos from that time (and, I'm not claiming that anything was "stolen" necessary, but I've been doing it much longer than this "throwback Thursday" trend ... just sayin'), and this is 1993.

The location is FE213, which was the dorm room for me and Jon M in that school year [to prove the time stamp of this picture, see the Beavis/Butthead poster in the background], and which was at the end of the hall, and although we didn't exactly secede from the other rooms (neither one of us is Texan, after all), we did declare that our space was not subject to the same rules as everyone else due to its somewhat unique location.

Which is all the long way to say that that we had a kitty living with us at this time twenty years ago -- and she, Smokey, was a perfect fit for us college students, as, like us, she sure did sleep a lot, at any time of day.  When  I went looking, there are many photos from that time of her sleeping (or, more accurately, of her in the exact moment *after* we woke her up from soundly sleeping so that we could take her picture) ... but this is, by far, my favorite one, as she decided that the small of my back while I was asleep on my top bunk was the most comfortable spot in which to nap that day.

So cute!  (The kitty, I mean, although I guess I did ok too ...)

Random Thought for Thursday 11/14/13

[As "inspired" from my recent trip driving to Baltimore and back on a quick schedule last month, I've revived my distracted driving series for this month, with things I saw that made my mind wander ... in a safe way, of course ...]

Believing that creativity allows for endless possibilities when it comes to naming things (for example, see naming conventions of progeny in the African American community*), I was disappointed to see a sign for "Street Road" when driving across the boring part of Maryland on I-68.  (Note:  I am aware that the image is for a similar byway in PA and not the one I saw in MD -- more on that in a minute.)

It bothered me so much that I did a little digging around on the interwebs (not at the time I was driving, as I think I pledged to Oprah that I wouldn't do that at some point in my past, but when I got home), and I feel a little better having learned that there is a town in MD named Street and so this path is literally the road to Street, and not the height of laziness as I had first thought.  As for the one in PA, which is the one that google provided to me as an image when I went searching for something to accompany this post, Wiki says that it is also not laziness for which I should be offended, but that "it was called the Street road because, contrary to present usage where 'street' is a synonym for road, the original use of the word 'street' was a paved road".

I am now appeased.

[*Oh ... I also wanted to say that upon reflection, I didn't want this to sound racist in any way, so I went to the internet to document that this was a known cultural phenomenon.  In so doing, I first found a good bit of racist detritus, and then I finally stumbled on a Freakonomics clip that helped to put that observation in context ... and an ABC companion study about how "white" and "black" names were treated by hiring managers ... fascinating stuff ...]

MY WIKI SOURCE REGARDING "STREET ROAD":
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Route_132

THE FREAKONOMICS PERSPECTIVE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9TWt_9ARrg

A COMPANION STUDY ON "WHITE NAMES" AND "BLACK NAMES":
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2470131

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 11/13/13

Mole-searching.

Used in a sentence:  "Sometimes, when I get out of the shower, the first thing I do is look at myself in the mirror, and I get mesmerized ... and decide to do a little mole-searching."

What can I say -- my people are a mole-y bunch!  As such, I visit the dermatologist every year (and I've had four removed in my lifetime, none of which were ever proven to be dangerous).

Point being, I'm always curious as to whether the remaining moles (and there are quite a few of them), might actually be trying to communicate something to me if I somehow managed to connect "the dots".  So far, there's no obvious mark of the beast or anything (well, at least that I can see), and it doesn't seem to be a treasure map (although I haven't given up hope) ... but I think I'll be mole-searching for many years to come.

[And, by the way, aren't you glad I chose this image instead of the one I considered of me freshly out of the shower staring at myself in the mirror?  {I've lost 7.5 lbs recently ... but I'm still not pretty enough for naked selfies ... yet ...}]

PS ... MOLE-SEARCHING IS A SERIOUS THING:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/moles

PPS ... OR ELSE IT'S AN ANIMAL PLANET THING:
http://animal.discovery.com/mammals/mole-info.htm

PPPS ... AND THE MARK OF THE BEAST IS A SERIOUS THING AS WELL:
http://www.markbeast.com/

Random Tune for Tuesday 11/12/13

Time to get excited, as in just over 48 hours, I will be in Detroit -- not to document how the city is returning to its agrarian past (I was actually there last year around this time and got to see a bit of that) -- but because Thursday night is the night I'm catching Toad the Wet Sprocket on tour to support their latest album 'New Constellation' (and, I guess if I'm being 100% accurate, I'll be in the suburbs of Detroit).

Seeing as how I talked about this last week when I mentioned that said concert/Detroit experience would be the capstone on my current vacation, tonight's tune shouldn't really be a surprise.  Although with so many great songs from which to choose, maybe the surprise is the one I'm picking, and the one that I *hope* they will do live in concert -- the cautionary tale that challenges you to be still and appreciate the beauty around you in the moment it happens whilst not disturbing it, metaphorically represented through different perspectives by the 'Butterflies' (who knew they were so deep, these Toad folks?)!

IN TIME ... I WILL ... COLLECT THE WORLD!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16JyrIhvOUY

Random Memorial for Monday 11/11/13

Gone but not forgotten:  my Amazing Race Asides.

To clear up a few things, I can't lay claim to being there from the beginning with this reality show (being a TV addict, I started out a reality show snob until sheer volume overwhelmed me and caused me to change my perspective), and I only started watching courtesy of 'The Bonnie Hunt' show (Bonnie and Phil were pals, and racers who lost the leg would show up on her eponymous daytime talk show the day after the Race episode aired) -- which means I started in around the 13th or 14th edition.

And I only started inserting an "aside" into my daily posts referencing the episodes during the 17th edition.  That continued in the same format for five seasons (with a tweak here or there, I morphed it into an aside that listed "3 things I learned from this week's episode" after a bit), and then last year, for Race 22, I changed it up to a standalone format (which wasn't quite true to the "aside" nomenclature, but hey -- my blog, my rules).

So what's changed for Race 23 (the current season, now at its midway point)?  Like the kids nowadays, I consume my entertainment on my *own* schedule, which means there's more likely to be a DVR marathon of episodes instead of following along a week at a time.  That means I'm still a fan, it's just that my viewing isn't aligning with my posting schedule.  I'm still hoping that karma catches up with meanies like Marie (oh, poor Tim) ... and figuring out that the Afghanimals end up growing on you after awhile (maybe they'd be easier to handle if there was just one of them) ... and being surprised to see teams make the same mistakes over and over again (read the damn clue ... and stop thinking that a travel choice with two connecting flights/layovers will be faster than a direct flight) ... it's just that I'm not sharing my thoughts about it all all that often.

Publicly stating my appreciation for the Emmy award winning races around the world (deservedly so, I might add), you are missed (by me, anyway) ...

CATCH UP ON ALL OF MY PAST "ASIDES":
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/search/label/Series%3A%20Amazing%20Race%20Aside?max-results=20

CATCH UP ON THE CURRENT RACE "SEASON":
http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/

"CATCH UP" ON CLASSIC BONNIE HUNT SHOW MOMENTS ON THE YOUTUBE:
http://www.youtube.com/user/bonniehuntshow/videos

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/10/13

What Chicago is talking about this week:

The same thing the world is talking about ... the destruction in the path of Typhoon Haiyan, and the exponential growth in the predicted number of fatalities.  From 100 on Friday to 1000 on Saturday to 10000 on Sunday, that number that gets an extra 0 tacked on the end of it daily helps to put into perspective the devastation in the area.

I would expect the donation campaigns to start at any time (and shouldn't we have already had a telethon by now?), but for the time being, we offer up our thoughts and prayers for those left behind and the work that must be done in the days ... and months ... and years ahead.

CHICAGO'S COVERAGE:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-typhoon-philippines-20131110,0,3220526.story

SOME POWERFUL PHOTOGRAPHS:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/typhoon-haiyan-kills-1-200-philippines-report-article-1.1511577

GET FAMILIAR WITH THE TYPHOON IN GENERAL:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/11/131107-typhoons-pacific-natural-disasters/

Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/9/13

I don't mean to go on a rave here, but ...

... I will continue my take on the Facebook 30 Days of Thankfulness phenomenon, and I'll rave this and every Saturday in November about things for which I'm thankful ... this week, including ...

New opportunities.  I've always said that the freedom to do new things in my life is because I have the understanding that I always have a place to which I can return and people whom I can rely on for comfort if things were to go wrong.  That attitude has taken me to Germany for an exchange program, to Uniontown to interrupt my undergrad studies, to law school and back when it looked like I might not finish and to the great city of Chicago for the last dozen years.  And as I gear up for yet another exciting change in 2014 (more to come about that next month), I'm grateful for the support I have that allows me to take advantage of that which shows up at my life's door.

Knowledge.  Look, it's a known fact that were I independently wealthy, I'd have simply stayed in school forever.  Except for a few early morning classes and some challenging law school experiences, I did just fine in that environment.  Now that I'm a million dollars in monopoly-money-like school debt (would that I were exaggerating instead of just rounding up), I can still appreciate when I get the chance to learn something new whenever possible as a student of life.  Additionally, although not everything on the interwebs is true, I also am grateful that Al Gore made the internet so that we can salvage family arguments nowadays by simply saying "let's go to the web" (to be read in the same voice as those boxing announcers when they say "let's go to the scorecard")!

Smartphones.  Oh to be fair, I fought to keep my flip-phone for as long as I could, but once my employer confirmed rules that allowed me to get reimbursed for having something more intelligent, I finally switched to the latest and greatest equipment (although, to be fair, I am the farthest thing from an early adopter, so I still have my first smartphone from three years ago ... which means it's no Rhodes Scholar, but it also doesn't need to take remedial classes, if you catch my drift).  It gives me just what I need -- a widget that is a feed for the Facebook ephemera that fuels our virtual-social existence, a Reuters news app for a healthier mix of domestic and international news (God bless America ... but you know, we're not alone on this globe), a shortcut to the free Words With Friends game for occasional distraction of the lexiconical kind, and a status update button to allow me to express myself (sometimes with pictures) and to feed my hashtagging addiction.  Oh -- and apparently I can make and receive phone calls on it as well.

More of my kind of thankfulness coming next week!

WHAT I FOUND GOOGLING "THE GREAT CITY OF CHICAGO:
http://www.yelp.com/list/the-great-city-of-chicago-chicago

THANKS AL GORE FOR YOUR INTERNET AND FOR SOLVING FAMILY DISPUTES:
http://internethalloffame.org/inductees/al-gore

AND NOW FLIP PHONES ARE COOL AGAIN:
http://mashable.com/2013/10/28/flip-phone-costume/

Random Posting for Penn State 11/9/13

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from today's game:

1.)  ... although, in reality, I should probably only post three of them, since I only caught the last 20 minutes of play in this game (way too many people were running errands this Saturday morning, and the DVR only "saves" so much in the buffer).
2.)  ... and since the game was "over" at halftime, that wasn't a very exciting third to see.
3.)  Congrats to you Mr. ROBINSON, even if you were a sideline sourpuss by the end of the game, for your new record for most receiving yards in a season.
4.)  So this Jerry Kill is a turnaround expert, eh?  The graphic showed that he did time at Southern Illinois, then Northern Illinois and now Wisconsin.  At this northerly migration rate, he'll be in coaching in Canada next!
5.)  Anyone else see announcer person Beth Mowins wearing OJ gloves today?
6.)  Hey TCF Bank ... nice stadium.  Now I know what you did with all my excessive overdraft fees!
7.)  According to the all-knowing Wiki, the gopher nickname for Minnesota came from a political cartoon that satirized a government "pork" railroad project back in the day.  The more things change ... the more things stay the same, eh?
8.)  Ok gopher kids, I know you were excited to win and set some 40 year old record, but did you have to break the trophy?
9.)  Any attempts at kidding aside ... take care of yourself and your epilepsy there Jerry Kill.  Football's just football ... your health is paramount.

In closing, thanks to the veterans recognized during the game and to all for whom they stood in by proxy ... and the countdown to our next post-season game that may or may not be as late as 2016 stands at no more than 39 more games (but may be a bit less)!

GENTLE BOYS GENTLE:
http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2013/11/9/5085046/minnesota-penn-state-governors-victory-bell-trophy-breaks

SINCE WE'RE IN MINNESOTA ... CHECKING IN ON MAUTI:
http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2013/11/former_penn_state_standout_mic_1.html

CONGRATS SIDELINE SOURPUSS ROBINSON:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1843803-allen-robinson-sets-penn-state-record-for-most-receiving-yards-in-a-season

Random Flashback for Friday 11/8/13

Let me tell you a little story about FE 213 at LVC (Funkhouser East on Lebanon Valley College's campus).  Sure, on its face, it was simply the dorm room for me and John M during the academic year 1993-1994.

But, most importantly, it was at the end of the hall.

As such, it was bigger than other dorm rooms.  And since it was bigger than other dorm rooms, it was much easier to entertain extra visitors (like Brad H in this photo, and like Rich G and Kim H and Suzanne W in many others), and since we were a welcoming bunch who didn't believe in labels, we permitted those "extra visitors" to not just be restricted to humans.

Although it may have been a violation to have a pet in your dorm room, we used our status as "room at the end of the hall" to declare a zone where the rules simply didn't apply to us (see ... my anti-authoritarian streak was already fully formed by this time).  Which means that, twenty years ago in the midst of all things college-y, little kitty Smokey (she who was clearly small enough to fit in the baseball mitt) became a resident of FE 213, along with John M and me and all the other visitors ... twenty years ago.

Random Thought for Thursday 11/7/13

[It's time to revive an occasional series I haven't touched since September 2010 ... my Distracted Driving series ... which basically speaks to the fact that, when on long long drives (as I was in the past fortnight), my mind tends to wander.]

As seen whilst driving on I70 (or was it I65?) in Ohio (or maybe Indiana?), signs proclaiming that Jesus is real -- which, I already knew to be true, as, before I switched to working from home, he was the guy who would clean my work office every weeknight (or maybe that guy was named Jose).

Of note, Ohioans and Indianans were also very proud of said Jesus' ability to hold on to his money (which seems like it might be a little racist?), as evidenced by additional signs proclaiming Jesus saves (I guess they are just being encouraging?).

[Of additional and final note, I am aware that there is so much wrong with this status update and that I'll be going to hell because of it.  Btdubs, Ohioans and Indianans also let me know that hell was real too, via these same highway signs, so ... consider me warned.]

TO COUNTERBALANCE MY FACETIOUSNESS, HERE'S A REAL THING:
http://www.signs4jesus.com/

LOVE IT ... COURTESY OF HELL MICHIGAN ... HELL FREEZING OVER:
http://www.signs4jesus.com/

OK KIDS ... DISTRACTED DRIVING IS NOT A LAUGHING MATTER:
http://www.distraction.gov/

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 11/6/13

Spousal order.

Used in a sentence:  "Just like has been done with birth order, where personality traits are evident when comparing oldest to middlest to youngest, etc ... I'm intent on creating a new industry around the concept of spousal order."

Admittedly, it needs to be bolstered by a meta-study of other multiple marriage situations (feel free to share your story should you be in this situation, either as one of the spouses, or as those whom the spouses raised) ... but here's my early hypothesis:  first spouse is the first love, second spouse is the hot one that steals you away, third spouse is the match.com mismatch (note:  for those of you that are of a certain age, feel free to substitute Parents Without Partners in place of the modern internet reference), fourth spouse is the crazy one who does magical things in the boudoir and fifth spouse is the spite wedding to get back at the fourth one because you've been inculcated into the crazy.

I see a series of books (with names changed to protect the guilty) ... and an appearance on Dr. Phil ... and maybe a lawsuit or two in the future (to that end, any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental) ... and publication in psychology journals.  If only the vacation which I just began were longer, I could embark on this study in earnest ...

I LIKE THAT THIS IS WHAT GOOGLE RETURNS WHEN I SEARCH "SPOUSE ORDER":
http://mailorderhusbands.net/love/order/

I'LL PATTERN IT ON ALL OF THIS PSYCHO-BABBLE:
http://mailorderhusbands.net/love/order/

SEE ... DR. PHIL IS JUST WAITING FOR ME:
http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/109

Random Tune for Tuesday 11/5/13

By my quick research (courtesy of the google powered search button on the blog'o'mine), this will be the third time Huey Lewis and the News have been selected for my random tuneage.

Today's song -- working for a living -- is because ... well ... because I do that.  And one of the perks of doing that is that this is the time of year when you check your pay stub against your total benefit package and, not living in a "rollover" state, you realize that you best take your vacation days before you lose them.

Hence, moments ago, I closed up virtual shop and I will not return to my virtual place of employment until Mon Nov 18th.  As a matter of fact, between holidays and using the rest of my time, I actually only have one full work week each for the months of November and December, which I don't mind so much.  As for the 12 days ahead ... 71% of them represent a staycation (when I will finally clean up my "hoarding room" [expect lots of posts about that which I find in there, and, no, there won't be any dead cats -- I promise my illness is only in the early stages]) ... and then next weekend, a quick trip away to Detroit (for two nights) and Toledo (for one) which will include ... drumroll please ... the Toad the Wet Sprocket concert (oops ... I pretty much just gave away my choice for next week's tune).

When its vacation days are that which I'm taking from what they are giving, I'm not hatin' workin' for a livin'!

HUNDRED $ CAR NOTE, TWO HUNDRED RENT (WHEN WAS THIS SONG WRITTEN?):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcIK3akktLU

Random Memorial for Monday 11/4/13

Gone but not forgotten:  the sounds of the *previous* tenant in the apartment above the one in which I live here in Chicago.

I get it.  Live on the second floor of an old old building with nine units in it (three on each of three floors), and you have to expect that you're going to have to deal with the sounds of those who also live above and below you.  What with this being a popular 'hood for the young professional group, this building has seen a bit of turnover throughout the years, which means you're always getting used to new sounds.

Just when I got used to the previous upstairs tenant's work schedule (she woke up regularly each morning between 6 and 6:30 and traipsed down her hallway to her bathroom [and I'm being generous with the use of the verb traipse, as galumphed down the hallway seemed to better describe her actions on most mornings]), she went and got herself a gentleman caller (and yes, he did more than "call", as you can imagine I also got to hear) and she moved out shortly after they hooked up (which in itself was a decidedly short activity, poor thing).

In move new neighbors, one with a paramour with whom she may have broken up in the hallway this past weekend, as evidenced by the male voice announcing he was leaving in a tone that seemed to imply for more than just the night and in the accompanying wailing and gnashing of teeth that everyone could hear on the upstairs back porch later on in the evening.  But worse than all of that is the beagle she/they have who gets lonely when no one is in the upstairs apartment.

Honest to Betsy (and, come to think of it, every Betsy I've known is worthy of that phrase -- but it does make me wonder who the original Betsy was to whom honesty was proclaimed), the first day after they moved in and went away and left him behind, I thought that one of those coyotes from the 'burbs had gotten trapped in my 'hood and was in need of rescue.  The howling went on all ... day ... long.  I've taken matters into my own hands (working from home as I do, I'm keenly aware of his separation issues and how he voices them), and I now go upstairs and slip Peanuts cartoons under the door in hopes that he'll read them and get inspired by Snoopy and pass his time more in his imagination and less in his vocal range.

Early morning waker with a leaden foot who had boring relations (I'm not being creepy ... just reporting the facts as I heard them) ... in light of the latest lonesome wails with which I must deal ... you and your sounds (sexual or otherwise) are sorely missed.

PERHAPS I SHOULD SUGGEST THIS ITEM INSTEAD OF PLYING HIM WITH PEANUTS?:
http://www.thundershirt.com/

OR I COULD TEACH HIM THESE NOISES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD2UyHq06kE

BUT I DON'T WANT TO GO THE PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE ROUTE:
http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/2012/03/11/thundering-cows/

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/3/13

What Chicago is talking about this week:

How hard it is to be in the IT industry.

Sure, the rest of you can have your opinion over a certain website that has over-promised and under-delivered on a national scale, that was taken down last night for some "heavy maintenance", and that may or may not be a key part of a plan to be a savior to a people uninsured ...

... but here in Chitown, it's the computer programming drama over the Ventra card that has the locals all a-twitter (pun mostly intended).  I've yet to get one, but I've also been working from home since late 2010, and I'm lucky enough to have a car in the city for the longer trips, and I'm grateful to have just about everything I could need in the 'hood within a 60 minute walk (and, guess what, I'm conveniently walking for sixty minutes each day on my lunch break, as I slowly rework my routines to shed some middle age pounds).  Here's hoping by the time I get back on the CTA with any kind of regularity, those issues will be resolved.

All in all, though, both bits of news just make me a little happy that the extent of my computer skills consisted of learning a little Pascal in high school (I've never used that ... but it was a logic based system, so it did inadvertently prep me for law school a decade or so later) and being able to make "my name is Troy" run across the screen non-stop using BASIC language.  Surely someone out there can swoop in and code these problems into oblivion, no?

HEAVY MAINTENANCE PERFORMED LAST NIGHT:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/31/us-usa-healthcare-surge-idUSBRE99U16R20131031

A LITANY OF CONCERNS FOR THE CTA TO CONTINUE TO ADDRESS:
http://www.chicagonow.com/cta-tattler/2013/09/ventra-card-problems-how-the-cta-is-responding/

EXPAND THIS LIST OF 10 TO INCLUDE THESE 2 JOBS?:
http://waag.org/en/news/10-worst-jobs-it

Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/2/13

I don't mean to go off on a rave here, but ...

... and let me first back up and say that I'm planning on jumping on the Month of Thanks Facebook phenomenon (and, let's face it, that's not a bad bandwagon to be a part of), BUT I'm going to tweak it to make it my own.

So, whereas I normally do one rave a month to somewhat balance out my usual rants, and to give my inner child a chance to "check" the crotchety old man I will one day fully embrace (hey, everyone needs a brand ...), for the month of November, I'm going to rave every Saturday until I get all this thankfulness out of my system.

To whit, i.e. to kick things off ... this week, I am thankful for ...

Traditions.  They can be little routines in life, or recurring special events, or something as simple as that which is said each night before falling to sleep.  I'm not talking about the things that take over OCD-wise (although checking the front door knob on the way in to bed each night to make sure it's locked, is the right kind of OCD behavior, I would say) ... but that which gives us something about which to be excited, and which propels us through this life ... those are the things for which I'm quite thankful, especially when those traditions involve loved ones.

Homecomings.  Whether I'm rolling up into somewhere in Lebanon County, or passing through Uniontown PA, or walking along the Susquehanna river front in Harrisburg, or crossing the Skyway and seeing the Chicago skyline ahead of me, home is wherever I've laid my hat ('cause I'm such a rolling stone) ... and coming home to any of those spots always makes me thankful for all that happened to me and I'm overwhelmed in a good way with all the memories that rush back when I'm in those locations.

Ancestry.  Look, there's a lot of nature vs nurture specifically relevant to my past.  But, despite my rebellion against those blood connections and those with whom they "dallied" who would have traditionally been charged with raising me, as I get older, I do so embrace my Prussian past, with an obvious apology for Kaiser Wilhelm and his involvement in the Great War.  I'm thankful for my stubbornness and sense of order ... and I only wish my face had more noses so that I could cut them off and embrace more spite as well.

More of my kind of thanks next week!

CHECK YOURSELF REGARDING YOUR OCD-NESS:
http://psychcentral.com/ocdquiz.htm

A BRIEF BRIEF BRIEF HISTORY OF MY PEOPLE:
http://www.kolpack.com/packnet/prussia.html

MAMA I'M COMING HOME:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rSBgfXoIPo

Random Posting for Penn State 11/2/13

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from today's game:

1.)  Not sure if I was hampered or blessed OR if it was ESPN's fault or the loud fans at Beaver Stadium, but I sure did have a hard time hearing the announcerpersons today.
2.)  How the teams were similar today -- focus on the #17 (as I learned, courtesy of the cable description of the game).  Going into the game, we had allowed 17 TDs to be scored against us in the last 3 games
3.)  How the teams were similar today -- focus on the #17.  They were bringing a 17 game Big 10 losing streak into the meeting.
4.)  How the teams were different today -- QBs.  We had someone who went to his prom in the previous June.
5.)  How the teams were different today -- QBs.  They had someone who got married that month.  Young un vs someone already with a ball and chain -- I mean, congrats SCHEELHAASE on your special day.
6.)  Let's just say that the refs earned their money today.  Good grief on all those penalties.
7.)  Let's also just say that if boys wouldn't get involved in shoving matches, "free" field goals wouldn't have happened either, eh?
8.)  Let's finally just say, as I am wont to do each week,  Atta Boy FICKEN!
9.)  After the The Ohio State game last week (which, btdubs, I was much more sympathetic to Perdue watching the shutout score get run up against them in the running scroll on the bottom of the screen during this game), I did catch the graphic referencing the 1899 game at Beaver Stadium (the last time so many points were scored against us) when just 500 were in attendance.  I bet you they were the loudest 500 fans, even back then!

In closing, thanks to the combo of rosy-cheeked HACKENBERG and "they're a bunch of great kids" O'BRIEN for keeping calm under OT pressure (but don't feel like you have to turn it into a regular "thing", if you know what I mean) ... and the countdown to our next post-season game that may or may not be as late as 2016 stands at no more than 40 more games (but may be a bit less)!

PLUS THE POOR KID HAD TO DEAL WITH HIS DRUNK DAD'S PUNISHMENT:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/10/29/illinois-qb-nathan-scheelhaases-father-banned-from-schools-campus/3304409/

THE SITE OF THAT 1899 GAME (for 500 loud fans, no doubt):
http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/markers/oldbeaverfield.html

THE GAME COULD HAVE GONE SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS (BUT IT DIDN'T)!:
http://www.faniq.com/blog/Penn-State-survives-Illinois-wins-in-OT-Blog-72153