Lyrical Munchies

This just in ...

2008-11-06T22:10:00.001-05:00

In case you missed it ...

2008-09-18T15:28:00.002-04:00

The newest SNL Andy Samberg skit. (I can't stop watching this.)

Oh yeah. By the way ...

2008-08-22T12:54:00.002-04:00

- I moved back to Pennsylvania.
- I'm engaged.
- I work from home.
- I'm running an LLC.

I think that about covers it. Things are pretty good right now.

People! I haven't forgotten about you.

2008-06-26T20:42:00.002-04:00

I've gotten two electricity bills since the one I posted a while back, but just haven't had the time to scan them yet. Interesting stuff though, people. Interesting stuff.

Stay tuned!

Almost forgot to share!

2008-06-11T13:53:00.002-04:00

DeepDiscount.com

"Honey, I've ironed my head sideways again."

2008-05-31T20:00:00.006-04:00

Because our apartment building is filled with people who have lived here for the past 50 years, you never know what treasures are going to pop up in the trash room. Here's one that I found last weekend and decided I would actually take with me. Vintage JCPenny's mint-green steam iron. She's a beaut, eh? Still works too! I have no idea what compelled me to take this thing. Maybe it was the smokin' hot blonde on the cover, just seconds away from burning her face off with the iron when the picture was taken. In any event, I'm now selling the iron on ebay, hoping to make maybe three dollars from inflated shipping costs. Because really, what else do I have to do?

Happy Memorial Day

2008-05-26T20:37:00.001-04:00

For you baseball fans ...

2008-05-24T17:35:00.002-04:00

I stumbled upon this interesting MLB rule today (thanks to Wikipedia):

No "pattern that imitates or suggests the shape of a baseball" may be used on uniforms. Notably, in apparent violation of this rule, the Milwaukee Brewers, Anaheim Angels, Florida Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies for many years had logos that incorporated the image of a baseball. However, while the Philadelphia cap logo clearly depicted the baseball, the logo worn on the uniform jersey did not feature the image of the stylized stitching indicating the image of a baseball. The Marlins logo, while depicting a baseball, can not easily be mistaken for one, as the team's namesake fish is displayed in front of the ball design. The classic Brewers "ball and glove" logo (with the team's initials, MB, stylized into the shape of a blue baseball glove surrounding a ball) made a comeback in 2006 on the hats of the Brewers' Sunday home uniforms and is now the Brewers' Friday home uniform. Also, many teams such as the Giants, Nationals, Rangers and the Mariners use uniform logos that clearly depict a baseball, and the New York Mets have featured uniforms with a sleeve logo that imitates the appearance of a baseball since the team's inception in 1962, so it may be that the rule is not enforced, at least for caps. (The purpose of this rule is to prevent one team from deceiving the other. The National Football League has a similar rule, which states that no pattern that imitates or suggests the shape of a football).

TGITh

2008-05-22T19:49:00.003-04:00

"Summer Fridays" start tomorrow at work, which means getting out at 1 p.m. every Friday from now until Labor Day weekend. It's a big step up from last year's 2 p.m., but at this point, why even come in at all? The day starts at 9 a.m. Most people roll in around 10, 10:30. We're technically required to take a 30-minute lunch. So, you're looking at about two and half hours of time in the office, and even less time spent doing actual work. On any other day, it takes me that long just to get my coffee and get situated at my desk.

Ignore him, he's just my brain.

2008-05-21T19:36:00.005-04:00

I am constantly replaying conversations in my head, often just seconds after they've taken place ... and for several hours after. If I had a choice in the matter, I wouldn't do this. But they just pop in there and play over and over again. I can't help it. Kinda weird, right? Recently, I've noticed that this happens even while I'm still in the middle of a conversation, usually when I feel I have just said something wrong. In fact, the other person will still be talking to me and I'll just zone out, thinking about the rest of the conversation up to that point.

Seriously, wtf? Who does that?

Whodunit?

2008-05-19T20:49:00.006-04:00

I've been reading a series of mystery/suspense novels by Ian Rankin lately. And I've come to the conclusion that I just don't like them. I own about a dozen books by Rankin, passed down from my aunt, who's been urging me to read them since the mid-90s. It was only recently that I decided to give them a try. The first one was a dud, but I've kept reading the series with the hope that they'll get better. So far, not so good. I don't hate the stories. In fact, they're well-written. The characters are interesting. And the plot lines are well thought out. Problem is, they've been boring me out of my mind. On the subway, where I've been doing the bulk of my reading, I've been rewarding myself for finishing each page by closing the book and watching people on the train for entertainment. This, to me, is far more interesting than the stuff I'm reading now.

2008-05-18T21:06:00.004-04:00

The ability to order pizza online has got to be one of the greatest things that has come out of the invention of the Internet. You choose your pizza, add toppings, throw in some bread sticks and drinks, and pay for everything, all with a few clicks of a button. You can even tip the driver, long before the pizza arrives at your door. Hey, it's not that I can't stand the element of human interaction when ordering a pizza; I'm just too lazy to pick up the phone.

And now for something completely different.

2008-05-17T19:11:00.003-04:00

This was 2 years ago at Six Flags New England, on the Batman rollercoaster. I mostly like this photo because of the pained look on the kid sitting with us. I'm pretty certain he was just as scared by the creepy redheaded man next to him as he was by the ride itself.

At work on a rainy Friday afternoon.

2008-05-16T14:47:00.001-04:00

The $21 Cheeseburger

2008-05-15T17:16:00.003-04:00

Since I moved to the city, I've become somewhat of a burger connoisseur. I can proudly say I have had some of the best burgers in NYC, which probably doesn't seem much of a feat. But I think even the most pretentious foodies out there would agree, some of these burgers are far beyond your usual ground beef on a bun. They are, simply put, f-ing fantastic.

The burger above, which I had last night, was not the best burger I've tried over the last few months. In fact, not even close. But it may have been the most expensive: $21 for freshly ground sirloin & strip steak, flambéed in tequila, wrapped in apple-smoked bacon and topped with cheddar, yellow tomato and onion rings. Altogether, it wasn't a bad burger. But it was a bitch to eat. Way too greasy. And it left a taste in my mouth that I haven't gotten rid since last night, despite drowning myself in mouthwash this morning. Still, though, not bad.

I will fight you to the death.

2008-05-14T20:53:00.004-04:00

I walked face-first into the wall this morning. Not quite sure how it happened. It wasn't one of those slight shoulder bump deals. It was full on, holy shit, face-to-wall impact. A little like a sucker punch, actually. I didn't see it coming. And I don't really remember much about it. But it was painful enough that I immediately checked my nose for blood and mouth for a chipped tooth. Checked out fine, but my lip was swollen for the rest of the morning. What the hell is wrong with me?

What to do on a Tuesday night:

2008-05-13T17:39:00.007-04:00

For those of you haven't yet seen The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters ... go out, rent it, buy it, add it to your queues right now. The story, in a nutshell: some Joe Schmoe tries to break the world record score for the original arcade Donkey Kong (which hasn't been topped since the 80s).

It's a documentary. It's 79 minutes long. And it ... is ... awesome.

It is SO awesome, in fact, that we are celebrating it's awesomeness tonight at a small gathering that's been planned around the movie itself. On tap: my newest alcoholic concoction, simply titled "Donkey Kong;" a heaping pile of mac'n'cheese (courtesy of the kind host Jess); and of course 79 minutes of pure, unadulterated awesomeness.

And I was thinking of turning on the A/C??

2008-05-12T21:09:00.002-04:00

It's 53 degrees right now. Going down to 43 tonight. There's no way to turn on the heat. And it is freezing in here. Kinda sucks. Then again, I can't help but think, "How can I trap this cold air in here so that I won't need to use the A/C when it gets hot again?"

And so it begins ...

2008-05-11T14:23:00.003-04:00

I present to you my electricity usage over the past year ...

As you can see, Sara and I have been doing a pretty good job of keeping our usage low (or consistent, at least) for most of the year -- with the exception of summer.

And although last May was also pretty good, it's only a matter of weeks, perhaps days, before we'll have fire up the A/C. The question is ... how long can we go without turning it on?

We've already been using a fan in the bedroom window at night. Once we hit the 80-degree mark outside, I'm afraid it's all downhill from there. Keep in mind, we're on the fourth floor of our building (technically the fifth, since the elevator counts the second floor as the first). Heat rises fast in this place. And once it's trapped in here, it's there for good. It's like our own greenhouse effect.

Anyway, if you enjoy looking at energy usage as much as I do, here are some other things to consider when looking at the chart above:

- Sara didn't move in until June, so the lower usage last May (and the shaded bar from April) represents usage by just one person.

- Sara wasn't working until September, which means we needed the A/C on during the day, as opposed to turning it on when we get home from work.

- We have gas heat, which explains the low usage during winter months.

- We have two window-unit air conditioners (built into the walls): one in the bedroom, one in the living room. Last summer, we generally used only one a time: living room A/C during the day, bedroom A/C at night.

I'm curious to know how many kWh other people are using. Break out your electricity bills, folks. Let's stall our A/C usage together!

A plan.

2008-05-10T22:40:00.003-04:00

I told myself today that I'd like to start posting every day of the week. But, in all honesty, I rarely have anything to say. Today, I wrote three press releases, ate an egg sandwich, returned AVP 2 to Blockbuster and zoned out at the computer screen. Good times in Rego Park, Queens.

Anyway, unrelated, here is a picture that I rather like.

Pet Peeve #427

2008-05-09T20:38:00.002-04:00

Subway riders who are oblivious to their surroundings.

Yesterday, within the course of 60 seconds, some crusty, smelly old woman had inadvertently (and unknowingly) touched me at least half a dozen times, at least three times with her ratty hair, twice with her hand and once, believe it or not, with her ear. And it really wasn't even that crowded!

In the same realm of pet peeves: subway riders who don't realize their hands are sliding down the pole to the point that THEY ARE ACTUALLY TOUCHING MINE. You would think, in the grander scheme of life, these things wouldn't matter all that much. But if there's anyone during the day who I'm mostly like to kick in the face, it's these people.

I got picture-happy, at least for one night.

2008-04-27T10:43:00.004-04:00

I finally took my camera out on the town a couple months ago. And while I am way too lazy to format all the photos to include them in my blog, I've uploaded many of them to my flickr account, which you can see here if you feel like clicking over.

Huh.

2008-04-16T20:48:00.002-04:00

I just realized I don't own a single tape player. Weird.

Pork Ribs ... and Pizza.

2008-04-12T08:23:00.003-04:00

In a lot of ways, a food hangover can be just as painful as a drinking one. Last night, I devoured pork ribs, hot wings, mac & cheese, baked beans and cornbread like it was the last thing I'd ever eat. I'm paying the consequences today. My stomach still feels full of food all the way up to my eyes. And, to make matters worse, I dreamt of eating pizza all last night. This is an ongoing problem, actually. Whenever I pig out, I dream of eating pizza ... forcing it down my throat, piece after piece. I wake up, and for days after, the thought of pizza disgusts me. Kinda strange, right?

Lameness: An Inside Look

2008-03-22T19:57:00.003-04:00

Sara is visiting family this weekend, which leaves me home alone for the next few nights and without a clue as to what to do with myself. After hours of staring at the computer screen, watching YouTube videos, tinkering with Photoshop and wasting a perfectly good Saturday, I now find myself nursing a vodka & cranberry juice, watching Titanic on TNT. Nice.