pseudoblog.

2012-01-25T23:31:00.002-05:00

in ten years
we'll go to ohio (whoa-oh)
and steal cadillacs for a living

- the conclusion of "do you know what i love the most" by saves the day

man. that cd came out when i was 13.

2012-01-24T22:51:00.002-05:00

"In some ways, I think Tebow is one of the worst things to happen to Christianity. For many, his fame and hype will keep the idea that God is a God who not only wants you to be rich, powerful and socially relevant to do his work, he needs you to be. Again, none of this is Tebow’s fault. It’s our fault. There are 300,000,000 professed followers of a poor, homeless, carpenter in America today, and most of us are an embarrassment to the faith because we’re stagnant in our worry about money, status, and occupation. That’s why I found myself wanting to hear Tebow acknowledge our faith’s sad state, if only so the throng of Christians hanging on his play and commentary would get a wakeup call."

- from a blog post by the usually excellent dirk hayhurst

2012-01-07T23:41:00.002-05:00

after an absolutely lovely new year's weekend, 2012 has arrived. i don't really make resolutions, but the inherent symbolism does serve as a good chance to think over some goals. anyway, here are a few things i would like to get done in 2012.

- run 1500 miles. i ran 1260 in 2011, and just hitting that number again would be great. but it would be fun to up the ante a bit. the main trouble is the extra time committment. as it is, it can be hard to find time to run. i will have to start not only running more, but running faster as well.
- travel more. i travelled to 8 different states for work last year, but didn't do much long distance travelling outside of that.
- hike ten high peaks. i want to hike all 46, but i only have 4 so far. time to get cracking. i have done 2 a day twice now, so that means i can knock this off in 5 trips if needed.
- solo hike for a week. i want to get out and backpack by myself in the mountains for a bit. pulling this off could help with the previous as well. i would love some group hikes as well, but i like the challenge of doing it solo too.
- walk/bike to work more. outside of when i was forced to by car accidents, i didn't do much walking or biking. i am only 1.7 miles from work, and it is a good excuse to get up early (on time?) for work.

that's a good start, i say.

2012-01-02T15:35:00.002-05:00

top five songs of 2011, per the always spectacular last.fm. video links in song names.

5. lady gaga - americano - 30 plays - reminds me of el paso.
4. elliott smith - waltz #2 (xo) - 30 plays - i'm never going to know you now. but i'm going to love you anyhow.
3. the gaslight anthem - great expectations - 31 plays - a perennial favorite. everybody leaves so why wouldn't you?
2. nofx - linoleum - 31 plays - possessions never meant anything to me.
1. man overboard - decemberism - 32 plays -a favorite by a new favorite band. the summer's always lovely but the winters always hurt.

2011-12-31T03:44:00.001-05:00

115,000.

3:19am, mile 149 eastbound on I-90 in albany, ny.

2011-11-23T00:51:00.002-05:00

i'm finally laying somewhere where i'm happy that i'm here
and my troubles said goodbye
and the heartache disappeared
i miss you most when i try to act like i don't care about the warm hands
i think that we're best friends

i like your face.
that's why i stare
you're everything
i hoped a girl could be

- from "i like you" by man overboard

i was quite surprised to hear the demo version of this song on wber today. some good old fashioned catchy, sing along pop punk. i'm pumped to see them in albany (and maybe jersey?) in december.

2011-11-21T17:48:00.002-05:00

first the mic, then a half cigarette
singing "cathy's clown"
that's the man that she's married to now
that's the girl that he takes around town
she appears composed, so she is, i suppose
who can really tell?
she shows no emotion at all
stares into space like a dead china doll
i'm never going to know you now
but I'm going to love you anyhow

now she's done and they're calling someone such a familiar name
i'm so glad that my memory's remote
because i'm doing just fine hour to hour, note to note
here it is, the revenge to the tune
"you're no good - you're no good, you're no good, you're no good"
can't you tell that it's well understood?

i'm never going to know you now
but i'm gonna love you anyhow

i'm here today and expected to stay on and on and on
i'm tired. i'm tired

looking out on the substitute scene, still going strong
xo, mom
it's ok, it's all right, nothing's wrong
tell mr. man with impossible plans to just leave me alone
in the place where I make no mistakes
in the place where I have what it takes

i'm never going to know you now
but I'm going to love you anyhow

- waltz #2 (x0) by elliott smith

2011-11-13T22:48:00.002-05:00

i stare out of my window
and i look at my neighbors
and take notes on being normal

how to wave and be nice
or talk to a child
or offer a hand or actually smile

maybe i'll learn how to talk to people
maybe i'll learn how to laugh
maybe i'll end up just like my dad
but i just don't feel like a grown up yet

from "atlas" by man overboard

maybe.

2011-10-09T21:36:00.003-04:00

ran a marathon today. finished it. wheeee. a few notes!
- my time was 4 hours and 19 minutes on the nose. upset i couldn't break 4 hours, but i finished so whatever.
- my splits were...interesting. came through the first half (13.1) in 1h 49m 37s. second half took 2h 29m 23s, 4o minutes longer. the site also notes that i came through the first 17.5 miles (random?) in 2h 32m 33s. long story short - i was cruising for the first 18 miles or so, but then things got REALLY hairy after that.
- that business about hitting a wall. yeah, totes legit. first 18 miles went well, 18-22 were tricky, and 22-25 were hellish. i took 22-25 so slow that i was able to finish strong at least, but it hurt a lot to do it. it was very frustrating and quite humbling to have the desire to keep running but to not at all have the physical capability to do so.
- listened to lots of music, naturally. girl talk and then some punk and ska. made a poor choice in putting on five iron frenzy though. actually ended up crying and having to stop a minute listening to blue comb 78.
- almost puked a few times, but not once during the race. almost did before the race, due to being massively nervous. and almost did after the race after going all out for the last quarter mile.
- the fans were very encouraging, i must say. a lot of them would actually call you out by name too (names were underneath our numbers) which weirded me out but was cool i guess. there were a number of fantastic signs too, and huge portions of the race course were marked up with chalk messages. there were also a few bands along the way, of varying quality. the highlight was definitely a younger girl (maybe 10?) playing her tuba. so random and so great.
- the spectators were also pretty funny. there was a water station that had a whole bunch of people dressed like pirates for whatever reason. and then in cohoes there was a group of 10-15 college aged kids who were dressed up in a variety of absurd halloween costumes. just standing and cheering. and a few people had some really funny signs. but then again, everything seems hilarious when have been running a long time.
- i am glad i ran it, but if i ever say i want to do another one you are all responsible for slapping some sense in to me.

2011-10-06T21:47:00.003-04:00

well it was bad enough the feeling, the first time it hit
when you realized your parents had let the world all go to shit
and that the values and ideals for which many had fought and died
had been killed off in the committees and left to die by the wayside
but it was worse when we turned to the kids on the left
and got let down again by some poor excuse for protest
yeah by idiot fucking hippies in fifty different factions
who are locked inside some kind of sixties battle reenactment
and i hung-up my banner in disgust as i head for the door
- from love, ire, and song by frank turner

the 'occupy wall street' movement really frustrates me. some thoughts that i have had on my mind.
- the phrase "peaceful protest" has been used incessantly. to me, this is quite the misnomer. first off, there have been many interactions which are not peaceful, either in word or deed. once you cross that line, there is no turning back. don't call yourself something unless you are going to stick to it. the movement should separate itself from all who are not peaceful in their proceedings. second, to me protest implies being in direct opposition to something. i have yet to hear of a single coherent message that the movement stands for or against. to me, that is not a protest.
- regarding all of this 99%/1% business...to the rest of the world, we are the 1%. yes, you might be getting the shaft compared to wall street execs, but everything is relative.
- with local elections coming up and presidential primaries on the horizon, why is there no support for any political candidates? if none fit the mold you strive for, promote from within. yes, wall street is corrupt, but our government has policies which enable this behavior. and i seem to recall a massive taxpayer funded bailout which helped to jump-start some of these companies.
- cops who use violence or any excessive means are not to be tolerated. there can be no excuse or confusion on this matter. however, they are people too and should be respected accordingly, nevermind their position.
- our nation is hugely irresponsible financially, both on the goverment and personal level. studies regularly show that individuals and households spend above their means. this can't be overlooked when focusing on the corruption of corporate america. yes, there is a system in place which can make life difficult for many many americans. however, so much of this could be avoided if more people lived within their means.
- it is easy to criticize, it is far harder to provide a balanced solution. jon stewart (excellent, as always) made the comment that perhaps these protesters shouldn't have to provide solutions when the big players have failed so miserably. but i think that the effort of thinking through possible solutions will reveal how difficult and serious some of the issues are. and hopefully this realization can lead to more rational discussion, debate, and brainstorming. there is no magic fix to our problems, unfortunately.

protest. gather. fight the man. stick up for what you believe in. but let's do so without abandoning reasoning and rational thought.

2011-10-04T22:43:00.002-04:00

here i am
your fucked up peter pan
in 'never say never' never land
will you be my wendy?
will you be my tinkerbell?
dont be silly
you can be my tiger lily still.

ive got a choice
hanging out with the lost boysor growing old and dying
i'm trying to remember how to fly
it never used to be this hard and i dont know why
another night, mischief with the pirates
its quite a life dont knock it til youve tried it
but its getting old, and it turns out so am i
ok here we go, second star to the right

talking about my generation
an army of ambivalence and alienation
smoking motivation and we're coughing up a lung
we dont have goals but we have lots of fun

but secretly we all miss our mothers
we seek security in the arms of lovers
underneath the covers
we'll turn this fort into a home
we'll make it real
we'll make it real

- from "peter pan complex" by pedals on our pirate ships

2011-10-02T21:54:00.002-04:00

- i ran 137 miles in september. marathon in a week, and i am quite nervous.
- harry and courtney's wedding was fantastic. probably the most fun i have ever had at a wedding. longboarding in shirt and tie. a cop letting us know that people called the cops on us for skating and that he didn't care at all. excellent people i haven't seen in a long time. a skank circle to some rancid, complete with some cones. not exactly a normal wedding, but all the better for it.
- really, the whole weekend in rochester was fanastic, and it continued on into this next week. there were countless shenanigans in rochester, and i got to spend some good time with friends during the week as well. small groups for church started back up again, and i had no idea how much i missed them. and then to top it all off, a camp of the woods contingent visited my church today, in my first visit in a while due to travel. a very warm and encouraging return.
- it has been a very enjoyable past week or so, but it also gave me a lot of chance to think about things down the road. i had a couple of nice talks regarding life and my future, and really i have no idea at all. plans are for suckers. i think.

2011-09-16T00:26:00.002-04:00

arizona, iowa, louisiana, michigan, new jersey, new york, north carolina, ohio, pennsylvania, texas.

though to be honest, running ten miles somewhere isn't a big problem anymore. it just means i was in that state for two days.

2011-09-06T19:52:00.002-04:00

been a while.

- this summer has been an odd one. i think "roller coaster ride" is the metaphor most apt to describe it. loads of fun and adventure, but a lot of trial and heartache as well. i think i have grown from it all though. time will tell.
- yesterday marked my 1000th mile since november. here's to setting and meeting our goals.
- in a very related note, my marathon is a hair over a month away. i think i am ready for it, but it is still a scary prospect.
- one of my next goals, after completing a marathon, is to hike all 46 high peaks. i have wanted to for a while, but re-reading into the wild has certainly encouraged getting out into the mountains a bit more.
- i have read quite a bit this summer, and have been able to write quite a bit as well. i have been keeping a journal of sorts which would make the lovechild of cedric bixler and ee cummings quite proud. they are always fun to look back on years later.
- i have a response to elliot's post in the works, but i will hold off on finishing until i read a book he recommended.
- there is a good chance things might get shaken up a bit in the next few months. hopefully that works out well.

2011-08-09T17:29:00.001-04:00

for april

chaste makes waste is what they had said
as he climbed up into her bed
she's feeling both a lie and dead
as ring of plays in her head

2011-06-05T23:16:00.002-04:00

another month, another update.

- two weddings so far this year, a few more to go. both were (relatively anyway) very different from any others i'd been to so far. i felt horribly out of place at the second, but mostly made the best of it. for both instances, the wedding took a backseat (personally) to events later in the weekend. also...best men 2 - bridesmaids 0.

- finished moving into my new apartment, though i am still not quite unpacked and properly settled. still getting used to it, but i am a fan so far. i didn't move very far at all, but i love being so close to troy, and green island is a fine little town. i have already had 4 out of town visitors, and likely a 5th tomorrow.

- 100.9 miles in may. 666.4 since i started, 85.6 miles over pace. moving has prompted a slight change in the routes i run. i'm doing a loop around troy more these days. city running is a little harder than open roads and bike paths, but the buildings and the people and the personality make it worthwhile.

- i spent maybe 10 nights at my apartment all month. so much travel spent a week in jersey and another in texas for work, as well as a pair of (previously mentioned) weddings. both work trips were great, and i will return to both in july. july ought to be a fun month - i will be away for work for three full weeks, and i have already put in to have the fourth week off. still not 100% sure what i am going to do with it.

- softball has started up once a week and i love it. the league sports a near-perfect balance of being both competitive and laid back, and it is a perfect way to help break up each week. my usual church bible study will be on hiatus for most of the summer, but i have joined a guys-only small group for the summer which looks to be pretty solid. we are covering the reason for god by tim keller, which i haven't read but i am looking forward to.

i already did another post tonight, so i will stop there and leave you with some more words from my man frank turner.

-----
yeah, well life is about love, lost minutes and lost evening
about fire in our bellies and about furtive little feelings
and the aching amplitudes that set our needles all a-flickering
and they help us with remembering that the only thing that's left to do is live
- from "i knew prufrock before he got famous" by frank turner

2011-06-05T22:37:00.002-04:00

thoughts and reflections on a lake
criticisms cast out like line and bait
a hook in the mouth and i start to thrash about

warm by the fire, burned by the facts
cooled by the breeze, chilled by the truth
it tears at the flesh but i can't spit it out

honest opinions, feelings without a filter
challenging a passive circuit through life
shouldn't be surprised at the hook in the bait

trip on a rock then put my light back on the path
storms in the distance but stars above our head
the fisher reels me in from another state

2011-05-24T23:16:00.002-04:00

there is no such thing as coincidence, merely the illusion of coincidence.

a very strange end to the day. found out today that 189B is finished, demoted to being a res life staff apartment. lame. it is really sad to see that place out of the hands of our community. it is weird just thinking about it. but at the same time, i am encouraged. i meant to get to sleep early, but i somehow ended up having a solid conversation with a local guy. and it assured me that the 189 lifestyle is far from dead. and this makes me quite happy.

2011-05-17T23:33:00.002-04:00

when i was just a skinny lad on holiday by the sea
i met a girl in a rancid shirt and a tape she gave to me
with the black flag first four years and the minor threat discography
and punk rock saved my life

going down the red eye back in 1998
hanging out with household names and staying out too late
this angry adolescent found an outlet for his hate
and punk rock saved my life

the vision wasn't perfect and we knew it all along
we dressed like f***ing idiots and got our facts all wrong
but everyone must needs be an extremit when they're young
f***ing with your parents makes you grow up big and strong

- from "back in the day" by frank turner

i am very thankful for how things have worked out.

2011-05-01T00:08:00.003-04:00

the matthew marsh once a month post is back. i've actually done a fair amount of writing this month, just haven't really completed anything. i have some posts that are like five minutes from being finished if i ever get to it. we shall see.

- my car got smizzashed way back on april 5, a bit worse than last time. not my fault this time though, as i was at my desk working when it happened. got hit by a truck while properly parked, tearing off my front end. there was good and bad to it all, but the goods outweigh the bads easily. it was a huge pain and still isn't fixed, but it got me to walk/bike/bus again which is good. also, the insurance of that guy's company cut me a fine check which not only covers the damage repair but has a surplus which is close to what i friggin paid for harvey in the first place. sure.

- largely due to the previous, i got myself a decent new bike thursday night. my old road bike has served me quite well, but i've been looking to get something a little tougher. the old one doesnt handle the elements all that well, and i like the option of going off-road sometime. already put 18 miles on it and it has been great.

- ran 99.3 miles in april, putting me at 565.5 total and 65.5 over pace. as it has been 6 months since i started, i am halfway through and almost a month over pace. i was hoping to up my mileage again, but i actually took a step back. mostly because i was walking/biking so much and my legs can only take so much without growling at me. i did get to run what is likely my favorite route though, the 10.3 miles around lake pleasant near my grandparents. 4.3 miles of it are smooth and flat, a pleasant run through a small town. the remaining 6 are a hellacious and hilly trek on a road twisting through some thick woods, with just under a thousand feet of elevation changes.

- i am set to move into my new apartment june 1. going to be a blast trying to figure out when to move in. will keep me busy for sure.

- came across a bunch of old writing (as well as a pile of other nostalgia) when in a panic looking for my car title this week. dang. college was such a weird time.

- i was in the middle of writing this and i think i had more to say but then some important business came up so i think this is it for now. maybe it will come back to me later and i will actually write more. who knows. that is a problem for future matt.

2011-04-21T21:52:00.003-04:00

work has been kind of nuts lately. been working a lot of overtime, but i also have a lot of travel coming up. tentatively:
may 2 to may 6 - north jersey
may 8 to may 13 - fort bliss in texas
june 19 to july 1 - texas again
july 10 to july 22 - more texas

that means i will be away on travel for just about half of the next three months. there are goods and bads to this of course. the bads involve being away quite a bit, making time for family, friends, and church mostly impossible. it is also a bit more stress and some longer hours, something that will complicate my impending move. the goods easily win out here though, i think. as always, something new and different is great. and then of course there is the bonus of travel pay as well as all of the associated overtime and comp time. i should be able to take off full week long stretches this summer based almost entirely off of the gains from this travel. also, i was quite lucky in that none of the travel conflicts with any of the weddings i plan on attending or any major holidays. useful, that is.

i am really thankful for the job i have. to be honest, i have not done any legitimate electrical engineering in nearly a year. that kind of stinks, but i have been lucky to do quite a bit of testing, data analysis, and work in matlab though, all of which i enjoy. the real upside though is that i have been all over the place in my tasks. i am the only worker assigned to work full time with my project lead, so he usually has to steal help from other projects for a few days at a time. this means that i get to fill in all of the gaps, and this leads to a wide variety of work. only a billion years left until retirement!

2011-04-17T20:00:00.002-04:00

this mess is not to be ignored, vilified, or abhorred
so take these words for what they truly mean to me
and i may not have the same kick as some of the other spices
but i am burning up inside and i am still losing my mind for you

i was soulless, soulless broken down
i was hollow as a ghost
but you have brought be back to life and
revived the hope
take me home

i am made of mistakes, i don't believe in fate
and i refuse to fail again
i will not let them win
i am much more than human
but just as insignificant

- from "soulless" by fake problems

2011-04-04T21:46:00.002-04:00

- i paid off my first student loan last month. it is one of four, but it was the highest interest. only about 1/8 of the total, but dang it feels nice to get it out of the way. baby steps.
- paying off my loans gets me a step closer to considering what to do with my life. im still interested in teaching, and i had a great talk about it with lea williams about it. she was more encouraging then most are, and it is making me think. still need to make a bigger dent in the loans before i can consider it seriously though.
- i registered this weekend for the mohawk-hudson marathon. no retreat, no regrets, meet me by the river's edge. all are invited to come and throw peanuts at me.
- i leave for north carolina again tomorrow night. down there for 4 days. i like camp lejeune, and it should be a fun trip. also, i will be spending most of june out at fort bliss in texas. i will likely be there for 2-3 weeks straight. looking forward to it.
- baseball season has started. that is all.
- it is looking very likely that i will be moving come the end of may. a coworker bought a house, and i am going to rent out the second floor apt. overall it will be a little cheaper, with the added bonus of having a washer and dryer in house. not to mention living right by a coworker i get along well with. it is less than a half mile away from my current place, and the location is actually pretty nice. i am even closer to the city of troy and am about the same distance from work. if nothing else, it will be a much needed change of pace, as well as an opportunity to sift through my stuff and trim down a little bit.

thats all for now. that was more of a weekend update than legit content, but it will have to do for now. i have some other things i want to write about though, i will try to get on that soon. we shall see.

2011-03-31T20:24:00.002-04:00

ran 121.5 miles in the month of march. now at 466.2 total, 52.5 over pace. legitimate posts coming soon i think. lots on the mind, but it is opening day after all.

2011-02-28T20:04:00.003-05:00

february -
- travelled for work twice, detroit and buffalo. i am pretty much signing on for every trip i can. crossing my fingers for another arizona trip. staying an extra day for spring training baseball would be great.
- visited rit with my brothers tyler and jordan. definitely had a great time, but it was sort of weird. worlds colliding and such. sometimes felt as if i had to protect my brothers from my friends, and vice versa.
- got quite sick for a week in the middle of the month. probably the sickest i've been since high school. missed three and a half days of work, lost about 12 pounds the bad way, and ended up feeling it for about a week total. started feeling ill the night of the 14th. hypothesis: the very concept of love is enough to make me horribly ill.
- only ran 66.1 miles on the month. this is largely due to said sickness, but trips for work and fun did not help matters. at 344.7 so far, and still about 16 miles over pace.
- i really don't mind the snow, but i am totally ready for spring. seriously. spent half of this past sunday daydreaming about summery type things.

that's all i got for now. put a little captain crunch in your serial port.

2011-02-01T00:08:00.000-05:00

107.5 miles in january. 278.6 since november 1. 26.5 miles over pace.

2011-01-25T20:32:00.002-05:00

for stacy

in the corner of the club, its going better than he planned
her eyes shining like diamonds, he looks down (blushing) at her hand
he's not sure he has the heart, cuz he knows shes the girl he'd pick
but he sees she has no spades, and plays the left to take the trick

2011-01-20T21:30:00.003-05:00

odds and ends, though it is mostly odd.

- with respect to this, i should make note that the first song i listened to in 2011 was set ourselves free by the wild. though i should note that this was not technically the first song, as i was at aarons gaming all night and it was likely something else by the ataris or me first and the gimme gimmes. but it was the first one i consciously chose to listen to.
- i ran 10+ miles in north carolina. i'll add it to the list. in other running related news, i plan on doing these three races this year: the rit indoor triathlon, the new england tough mudder, and the mohawk-hudson river marathon. should be fun. i hope to beat last year's marks for the first one, survive the second one, and do what aaron's dad did and finish the third one in under 4 hours.
- girl talk makes for excellent driving music.
- i weighed myself and i am under 220 lbs for the first time since at least my 3rd year at rit, and probably since my freshman year. that is down around 15 lbs from this point last year. id prolly be closer to 200 if i could learn to lay off the wo's, jbc's, ice cream and mountain dew. NOT VERY LIKELY GUYS.
- i will likely be going to santa clara for work the first week of february. totally ok with this.
- new year's eve was pretty fantastic. junk food, board games, and good music with two good friends. and we didn't even acknowledge the new year as it happened.
- i wanted to post a dino comic here that i read today at work but i couldnt remember it well enough to find it again and while searching i mostly just read like 30 more dino comics so instead of sharing a hilarious dinosaur comics you get a story about how i got distracted by dinosaur comics. this is a True Fact.

what's that faithful reader? you want other True Facts of a MATT MARSH variety? i only aim to please! let the reader judge whether or not my aim is good!
MATT MARSH crashed a go-cart into a local high school as a kid!
ham is almost certainly MATT MARSH's least favorite pig meat!
MATT MARSH once threw real live baseballs just outside of a tennis court as former la dodger general manager kevin malone looked on!
MATT MARSH once declared himself to be "king of the seagulls" and ate popcorn off the ground while on hands and knees outside of a movie theater to hammer this point home!
MATT MARSH has been involved with pranking girls by various methods including: burying a girl's car completely with leaves, stealing all clothes from a girl's closet while she was in the apartment, stealing a tv from her apartment while she was in the room, throwing a shoebox (literally) full of spiders at a girl, and convincing a girl that i was not legally allowed to drive because i had recently murdered hitchhikers.
MATT MARSH has both had a warrant out for his arrest and had a cop call for backup in pulling me over for skateboarding.

and that is all the facts you get for now because aaron is very demanding. but before i go, here is a great dinosaur comic, just because. http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=316

2011-01-17T21:08:00.005-05:00

as you may or may not know, i nicknamed my car "harvey dent" soon after i bought it. apparently, my car was not happy with merely being harvey dent, wanting to go all out and become "two-face".

you get the normal face on this side.

and then the ugly disfigured face on this side.

all of this to say...i was in a car accident this weekend. was up at camp of the woods for the weekend where it is quite snowy. came around a turn and decided to do a 540 nosebone, spinning and sliding into a ditch. front end is in really rough shape. parts that probably shouldn't be dangling are just hanging out, and everything is a bit off center. but i didn't get hurt any so that is good.

2011-01-16T00:31:00.008-05:00

i spent most of this past week on travel to north carolina for work related reasons. long story short, i had to test some equipment on the marine base at camp lejeune. (fact: the building i worked in did not have women's bathrooms. i was reminded of the jokes about their existence in building 9) it was an interesting trip, and a lot of responsibility. it is a lot harder to do your job when you have marines (especially the higher ranked ones) looking over your shoulder and asking you questions.

regardless, i really like that i get to interact with these guys. they are regular people, just like us, with families and friends and responsibility. i think that can get lost in the shuffle sometimes because of how politicized the conflicts iraq and afghanistan have become. i got a few solid reminders of it though during the trip.

first, i got to interact with a bunch of marines. a few were assigned to help us with the work whenever they could. it helped us get our work done, but i also got to watch and listen as these guys bantered and worked with each other. i was also able to witness a bunch of the guys wrestling too. if you have not seen a bunch of marines circling up and wrestling than i am afraid you simply have not lived. it was also great to have a guy who had done a few tours in iraq join us for dinner. i could seriously sit and listen to stories from these guys for days straight.

the highlight for me though was something which took place outside the base. the main gate to the base is located on a fairly major road, and along the road near the entrance the fences were completely covered with signs. presumably dedicated to marines overseas, some were sweet messages from family or friends. some were from kids who missed there dads. and then of course there some wives who may or may not have wanted a little lovin. the overall display was honestly touching, with at least a hundred of the signs lining the roads. a great show of love and support. unfortunately, my favorite was taken down before i could get a picture, as the signs are apparently removed once a week. not that it mattered too much, as new signs were up when i drove past an hour later. anyway, here are some of the ones that were still up when i was able to stop for pics.

one comment on the your and i punch you're face

simple and sweet, love it
i am assuming this is some kind of innuendo,
but it has raptors and zombies so i can't not post it

ok, these are a little less subtle

2011-01-12T23:25:00.003-05:00

and you're sugar and spice, and everything nice
you've got monroe hips, your poison lips are knives
and you're sugar and spice, and everything nice
you've got open wounds in a young boy's pride

and they burned up the diner where i always used to find her
licking young boys blood from her claws
and i learned about the blues from this kitten i knew
her hair was raven and her heart was like a tomb
my heart's like a wound

- from "film noir" and "great expectations" by the gaslight anthem

2011-01-11T16:09:00.002-05:00

and that's the kind of thought that makes me nervous
and worried if for real you think i'm worth it
when the rush wears off and you're left with this busted person
but if you tell me you will i will do what i can to believe it

because i'm selfish enough to want to get better
but i'm backwards enough not to take any steps to get there
and when you realize it's a pattern and not a phase
it's what you've become and it's what you will stay

- from "people are so fickle" and "ballgame" by kevin devine

when life gets hard, i run.

2011-01-01T14:02:00.004-05:00

my 15 most listened to songs for 2010, as listed by my lastfm page -
rank - # of plays - song and link - band - comments?
15 - 47 - shut up the punx! - bomb the music industry - love this stuff
15 - 47 - time bomb - rancid - i did listen to lots of rancid this year, but i blame this
14 - 48 - home - edward sharpe and the magnetic zeroes - i blame this.
12 - 49 - photosynthesis - frank turner - lyrics i am a fan of
12 - 49 - dreaming of you - the coral - i blame this. (probably nsfw?)
11 - 50 - such great heights - streetlight manifesto - not my favorite, but it was the first that i found leaked
10 - 51 - death to los campesinos - los campesinos - different, and i like her voice.
8 - 52 - punk rock girl - streetlight manifesto - wheeeeeeeee.
8 - 52 - crush - jimmy eat world - yup.
7 - 53 - saddest thing i ever saw - the wild - great lyrics. try it free?
5 - 54 - spirit of jazz - the gaslight anthem - favorite off the new cd.
5 - 54 - kill - jimmy eat world - all time favorite song?
3 - 55 - daylight - matt and kim - so damn catchy. and happy.
3 - 55 - relator - pete yorn and scarlett johansson - i blame wber and what i think is a beatles shoutout.
2 - 57 - long live the queen - frank turner - sad and good and quick.
1 - 63 - every new day - five iron frenzy - amazing.

2011-01-01T14:00:00.001-05:00

ran 90.2 miles in december. up from 80.9 in november. 4 miles over pace for 1000 miles on the year. (nov to nov)

2010-12-26T18:03:00.001-05:00

100,000.

5:51 pm, exit 7E northbound on route 787 in menands, ny.

2010-12-12T13:42:00.003-05:00

many human beings say that they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it. for them, there is no winter food problem. they have fires and warm clothes. the winter cannot hurt them, and therefore increases their sense of cleverness and security. for birds and animals, as for poor men, winter is another matter.

- from watership down by richard adams

2010-12-08T00:16:00.002-05:00

ran 10+ miles in arizona. i can now add it to new jersey, new york, pennsylvania, iowa, texas, louisiana.

2010-11-29T23:29:00.002-05:00

a few random things:
- it seems i will be in arizona (work-related) for a few days, leaving sunday. i am pretty excited about this.
- in a mostly related note, i finally discovered what sky harbor is. jimmy eat world has a (spectacular) 16 minute song which references sky harbor. things make more sense now.
- new running shoes this week, thanks mom. it makes a huge difference, and my knees are already thanking me. assuming the normal route tomorrow, that makes 78 miles on the month. i want to up that and hit 1000 miles by the start of next november. and i intend to run outside as much of the winter as i can. f*** the cold.
- my brother tyler is pretty great.
- i think i might place more value in praise/criticism from tom tango than i do in that from my boss. guys, i swear i do work occasionally.
- walking past dinosaur bbq on the way home from church smells amazing. makes me miss enjoying that smell from the top of the court street garage though.
- the cold weather is coming. seems like it is time to break out the mittens.

2010-11-16T22:55:00.002-05:00

as you may or may not know, this site marks my third foray into the blogging world, following a xanga page which itself followed a website (i use that loosely, even for 2004) i threw together by myself as a freshman. it has been a handy way to document the passing of time for myself as well as any family or friends who are interested. it has also served as a place to stick some of my 'creative writing' and a place to vent from time to time.

i carry on about this to get to the point that i am starting blog number 4, the blog to end all blogs. basically, i have wanted for a while now to bring all of the content from previous iterations under one blog. so, on the new site, i am going to start back in october 2004 and work my way to the present, adding each post individually. i am going to leave the original content unedited (something i fear i will regret for a variety of reasons...) the best i can. i will try to fix egregious spelling mistakes though, as well as redirect any broken links.

i have a purpose beyond bringing the blogs together though, that being a wealth of digital media currently sitting unorganized and unseen on my hard drive. i have considered a mass facebook and youtube dump for it all, but i felt like there was a better way. rather than clump them all together, i figured i should attach them to the stories they help represent in the blog. while i am at it, i think i am going to try to add the relevant links to content that is already out there on facebook/youtube/etc. where it fits. i am going to try to differentiate between the original content and the added stuff, but i am not sure how that will happen yet.

feel free to check out the new site or feel free to ignore it. honestly i don't care either way, as most of this effort will be for my own sanity and organization. but if you are someone who cares to take a look at this site occasionally then there is a chance that there might be something in it for you too. at worst, you can rss it and skip over quick if it doesn't seem as entertaining as funny pictures of cats would be. eventually the new site will replace this one, but that will probably take a while and i will continue my irregular posting here.

i have one post (linking to an image of what the original site looked like) up so far, and probably a few more by the end of tonight. the link for the new site is: http://miracleof86.blogspot.com/

fwiw, the moniker 'miracleof86' is one i use from time to time and it has multiple meanings, referring to the new york mets, a former band fronted by a singer i enjoy, the year of my birth, and one meaning i would prefer not to share. i might switch the site back to the 'dutchbrowncoat' heading later on though.

2010-11-09T18:21:00.002-05:00

"riding on the clouds"

skating and singing up and down river street
snapping off scissors with a ball at my feet
skanking in circles to that favorite ska beat
don't care what you think, it is all dance to me

2010-10-25T00:17:00.002-04:00

love is freedom.

accidentally stumbled across this image. i love it.

2010-10-21T23:21:00.004-04:00

i suppose it warrants mentioning that last thursday marked one year since i started my job here in watervliet. i had been kind of pumped about it at the time, but i think the timing of this post indicates it wasn't much of a big deal. oh well. one down, n to go.

2010-10-21T22:11:00.002-04:00

so if ever a man should ask you for your business or your name
tell him to go and f*** himself, tell his friends to do the same.
because a man who'd trade his liberty for a safe and dreamless sleep
doesn't deserve the both of them, and neither shall he keep.

- from "sons of liberty" by frank turner (paraphrasing a quote usually attributed to benjamin franklin)

had this one stuck in my head most of the day. i blame all of the against me! i had been listening to earlier in the week. also, i am excited to get the chance to see him play next thursday at northern lights. i have the feeling i will be one of the few there to see him and not social distortion/lucero.

2010-10-18T23:46:00.002-04:00

i know it’s hypocritical to point fingers at the people who point fingers.
but when we all march to the beat of the same different drummer,
the steps start to come off like clockwork.
-----
smile big, hug bigger. talk big, act bigger.
stop judging and do something, shut the f*** up and do something.
-----
this non-conformity looks like conformity.
why should anyone believe in our community?
this organization doesn’t feel like anarchy ‘cause
we’re suiting up to have the same identity.

- from shut up the punx! by bomb the music industry

shut up the punx! has been one of my favorite songs over the last month or so. it is a stupidly fast song that is pretty critical (right in line with my pastor's views on punk rock) and quite blunt. that middle section of lyrics seems like a decent start to me though.

in a sort of related note, i had an awesome talk tonight at bible study with a new guy regarding similarities and differences between punk rock ideals and christianity. fascinating stuff.

2010-10-03T01:55:00.004-04:00

at RIT for the weekend for jon senchyna's wedding, but i think my weekend was made friday night. i was skating to the inter-varsity meeting from 189 and carrying brendan's board so we could ride back. on the way there, a girl yelled at me "hey, i heard you like skateboards..." and finished it out.

i love (and miss) the nerdiness of RIT.

2010-09-28T23:17:00.005-04:00

due to criticism from a random person (cough my brother tyler cough) on the bare walls and overall emptiness of my apartment, i figured it was time to step it up a bit. one of my additions was some wall decorations, in the form of everyone's favorite captain. i took this image and ran it through rasterbator and printed the results.

i printed it out on some nice card stock paper and then cut off the borders. it was tricky to line up the edges neatly (i definitely didn't cut straight) but it worked out well enough in the end. i used some white thumb tacks to stick it up to the walls, but they stood out quite a bit.
i ended up using sharpie markers to continue the dot patterns of the paper onto the pins. you can still see some of them, but most of them blend in well enough. it was cheap (assuming free printers), fun to do, and resulted in a picture of captain tightpants about to shoot me.

2010-09-27T16:35:00.002-04:00

this weekend i saw two of my favorite bands in concert, i attended the wedding of a friend, and i got to play a game of settlers in 189. good stuff.

2010-09-27T00:38:00.002-04:00

95,000.

6:40 pm, mile 203 eastbound on route 90 in st johnsonville, ny.

2010-09-21T23:50:00.002-04:00

i'm not looking for a fight now
and i don't care who's wrong or right now
so release the dove into flight now
so we can start right now
start right now
- from "start now" by rancid

it has been a good week so far. i think.

2010-09-21T22:57:00.002-04:00

day - time - event
thursday - 730am to 5pm - work
thursday - 3 hours - driving from albany to picatinny arsenal
friday - 8am to 4pm - training at picatinny arsenal
friday - 1 hour - drive from picatinny arsenal to sayreville nj
friday - 7pm to 11pm - jimmy eat world with kierstin young at the starland ballroom
friday - 6 hours - driving from sayreville nj to rochester, ny
saturday - 830am to 10am - browncroft / rit iv aids benefit 5k
saturday - 6pm to 11pm - elliot's wedding and reception
saturday - 11pm - late oclock - shenanigans
sunday - 3.5 hours - driving from rochester to albany
sunday - 7pm to 11pm - the gaslight anthem with laura walczak at northern lights

i call it "the blessing and curse of owning a car".

2010-09-17T21:13:00.003-04:00

"one of the reasons that i found a lot of solace (in another day of my life) listening to punk music is the punk community are really good critics. they look and say it can't just be about the money, it can't just be about the nationalism, it can't just be about the consumer products. but they are really bad at providing solutions."
- quote from my pastor in his sermon last sunday

2010-09-08T22:20:00.002-04:00

nostalgia post #4 - october 1, 2005

(shortened for simplicity)
mmm. today had its ups and downs. the highlights include "mr saturn, mr saturn", a rousing game of blues clues, and making a fort in my room with jon. the negatives include getting up stupid early, not getting much work done, and playing terrible in hearts and euchre.

ah, a college weekend - shenanigans, but still the responsibility to get a lot of homework done. adult weekends are a bit better - just shenanigans.

2010-08-29T20:43:00.004-04:00

but I heard it's alright -
the radio spoke to a good friend of mine
and I could feel it coming up as the nights getting warm
i saw your summer dress hanging on the back of the lawn
like a dream I remember from an easier time -
with the top rolled down on a saturday night...

and i always dreamed of classic cars and movie screens
trying to find someway to be redeemed
baby darling, we will be, in the cold cold ground

- from "old white lincoln" by the gaslight anthem

the gaslight anthem is definitely one of my favorite bands. according to my last.fm page, they are my 3rd most listened to band over the past year. even better, they are ranked as 7th all time for me, though i have only been listening to the band for 2 years and i have been using last.fm for about 4.

wiki calls them folk punk, but i like to think of it as a mix of the bouncing souls and bruce springsteen. really though, the musical styling takes a backseat to the lyrics in my book. the lyrics really appeal to me, especially because they are filled with new jersey references, driving metaphors, and shoutouts to classic literature, music and movies. it might not be your cup of tea, and i am perfectly fine with that. but for me, this band hits the spot more often than not.

2010-08-23T21:42:00.000-04:00

well life is about love, lost minutes and lost evening
about fire in our bellies and about furtive little feelings
and the aching amplitudes that set our needles all flickering
and they help us with remembering that the only thing left to do is live

- from "i knew prufrock before he got famous" by frank turner

2010-08-19T19:22:00.003-04:00

the recent haps:

- went to new york city for a fangraphs event. i got to meet some of the writers, namely my heroes carson cistulli and dave cameron. it was also a very thought provoking and entertaining time, as well as a lovely excuse to visit the greatest city ever.

- i had a roomate come and go. we didn't get to hang out (or see each other, really) much but such is life. i was out of town a few weekends and he was quite busy. working part time, finishing a thesis, and the month before a wedding can do that to a guy.

- i have been working quite a bit, piling on the overtime. it is basically crunch time for our project, and i have been planning, running, and reporting on all kinds of design tests. it is a lot of responsibility and it keeps me really busy. i am usually in the lab or on the tank, and when i am at my desk i am mostly using matlab. i love matlab.

- i got to spend a long weekend at camp of the woods with my family, brendan, and matt decapua. so hilarious, so much fun, and so much awkward. we shall leave it at that.

- got some of the old gang together in rochester to celebrate aaron sevedge's departure from canada. ben bouffard was there, so it is not surprising that the weekend involved fast food, action movies, board games, and shenanigans. ben bouffard was there, so it also should not be surprising that i got caught up in picking locks and breaking into uc rooms (as well as 189 and my car), racing home from applebees, taking a stop sign at 25 (in front of campus safety), and letting brendan skitch my car (also in front of campus safety). oh and i got into the zoo for free because i had a mets shirt on.

2010-08-09T09:07:00.002-04:00

someone broke into my car last night.

well sort of. "broke in" is not entirely accurate, as the doors were unlocked as always. i had the new gaslight anthem cd, my badge for work (not my govt id), a hoodie, and a book of dinosaur comics in there. in my trunk i have an old set of golf clubs, my longboard, and an assortment of various sporting goods. fortunately, none of that was touched, as they only swiped about $1.50 in loose change from the cupholder.

the whole situation leaves me slightly disturbed though...who in their right mind wouldn't want to take a dinosaur comics book? i just don't get it.

2010-07-22T12:34:00.003-04:00

it's just that you know there's more than we can see
that what we know is narrow and brief
and i've got to say it inspires me,
the way that you know that if we work together
that we'll be set free...
of anger, of hatred, all those things that ain't right
and oh, my god, i feel free tonight

from "burn up in the setting sun" by the wild

2010-07-16T14:51:00.002-04:00

on the corner there once stood a church full of sound
you could hear songs escape at night
they'd sing praise be to him for what we have built
a home, a community, a life

but it broke.

now stands a high rise
i can't take back what i've done
so we danced around the room to an old familiar tune
and i looked deep into your eyes and i though about the fact
that we are lucky for what we have but i wonder

what's the price?

cause the saddest thing i ever saw was a colorful neighborhood turn white
a vibrancy destroyed by greed, a neighborhood of fallacy
developmen't sacrifice

i don't know this place anymore
i'm afraid it's my fault, i've become what i hate
cause the saddest thing i ever saw was a colorful neighborhood turn white

from "the saddest thing i ever saw" by the wild

2010-07-15T18:40:00.001-04:00

so we'll reach for the stars
but if we land on the moon
it's all right cause we know we did the best we could do
no regrets
don't forget that sometimes life is hard

from "set ourselves free" by the wild

2010-07-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

and i suppose it is time for a quick update on the haps!

- i am getting a roommate to fill aaron's room now that he has a job. the guy just needs a place until his wedding a month later, so it should be good times. he has an excellent name and he is a seminary student so it should make for some interesting discussion.

- i got an award this week at work, and it surprisingly wasn't for "achievements in reading webcomics" or for "excellence in commenting on fangraphs and tom tango posts". apparently it was for actually being pretty ok at doing my job. it comes with a little bonus, and i know you can't ever say no to free moneys. now i just need to get a bonus for making up fake countries.

- i have been running pretty much daily, even though it really sucks in this heat. i just signed up for a race, and i am pretty pumped. running through mud and a river, climbing walls, and leaping over fire...all while wearing a sweet viking hat. if you could make all running this awesome then maybe we wouldn't have that whole obesity problem.

oh and in the past month i got a new phone, started playing basketball and softball every week, watched a lot of soccer, spent a week in jersey playing laser tag for work, watched matt sones get married, turned 24, watched the first season of gilmore girls, beat 20 or so 10 year old asian kids masquerading under the code name of lo pan, re-read fight club, and watched fireworks from the beach at camp of the woods.

2010-07-13T20:17:00.004-04:00

stuff i like - #3

Bomb The Music Industry!

what is it?

Bomb The Music Industry! is basically a man and his band from long island. the music is mostly punk and ska but they do tend to mix it up a bit. really though, this isn't about the music. i could write a gushing piece about them or a number of other bands, but i am not really into that kind of thing? i think the music is catchy and the lyrics tend to make me either laugh or sit down and think. but that is not what fascinates me.

why do i like it?

you hear so much negative press about music industry, but no one out there is willing to do anything about it. you can probably see where i am going with this, especially given the band name. this (excellent) interview goes into some detail about the philosophy of the band, but let me sum up some of their ideas for you real quick...

- the music is free. all of it. you can buy the records if you really want, and there is an option to donate to the cause. they even run a "label" that does the same for other bands. but yeah, all of the music is online for free. seriously, it is right here.
- for every show they play, the venue must be all ages and it must cost less than $10 to get in.
- they don't sell merch, but they have the tools and stencils at the shows to spray paint shirts if the kids really want to.
- you know how to play their songs? you are welcome to come on stage and play with them.

seriously, who does this? ok, yeah, radiohead did that give away the music and ask for donations thing too. but they were also pretty popular and pretty well off at that point. and we will ignore the massive press they got for the move.

even for a punk group this is some pretty radical step. they are all about getting the music out to people, not allowing age or cost to get in the way. f*** the money. f*** the industry. it's about the music.

2010-07-05T22:29:00.001-04:00

i don't wanna make new friends
my friendships always end up in a blaze
i just wanted to be something that i'll probably never be
a happy well-adjusted human being

me, i won't impress
i'll bore you with kindness
everyone's obsessed with this whole mess of impressions they wanna make
but once you know you won't impress
you'll find that being nice is nice for its own sake

from "never trust a man without a horribly embarrassing secret" by bomb the music industry!

2010-07-04T00:45:00.002-04:00

90,000.

12:42 pm, northbound on 787 in menands, ny.

2010-06-28T21:24:00.003-04:00

here is the first half of a recent installment of the webcomic diesel sweeties. i don't mean it as a slight against the iphone or any of its users. i just thought it was pretty funny, as well as an accurate reflection on the american way of life.

2010-06-28T19:32:00.004-04:00

stuff i like - #2

Fangraphs Baseball

what is it?

fangraphs is a website which offers a unique database of baseball statistics in conjunction with a blog that offers analysis of baseball happenings from a sabermetric standpoint. all of the statistics are provided free of charge, offering both conventional and advanced statistics in one of the broadest and most useful databases available. the blog is run by a group of writers who update 6-8 times a day with posts on all topics, ranging from player and team performances to current events to player transactions.

why do i like it?

i mentioned earlier that i wanted to avoid silly and superficial aspects, so i will try to cut to the chase and focus on some of the concepts behind the scenes. putting it simply, fangraphs is the main reason why i resumed following baseball after a hiatus in my college years. i have always enjoyed the sport, but the statistical and almost academic approach taken by fangraphs really brought me back into it. fangraphs has not created all (or even most, really) of the concepts key in sabermetrics, but they apply it in a useful way and make the information accessible to anyone who is interested.

the key aspect of fangraphs i love is the interaction between the site and both similar writers and the audience at large. fangraphs regularly bounces ideas back and forth with others, including my hero tom tango, and this allows the writers and researches to keep each other honest in their work. shoddy or erroneous research and writing will get picked apart, and it creates a healthy and friendly sort of competition between the sites. similarly, the guys at fangraphs interact regularly with the audience, hosting chat sessions weekly as well as engaging regularly in the comment threads and site forums.

two of my favorite things the site offers are the WAR statistic and win probability graphs. a quick look at the stats overview provided by the site, including WAR, is shown below. the player in question is david wright. as i mentioned, the site offers "traditional" stats, as well as some more advanced ones such as WAR. to put it simply, WAR is a catch-all stat that defines a player's total value in terms of wins. the stat is convenient, as it allows you to quickly compare the overall value of different sorts of players, such as pitchers or hitters, or sluggers vs. speedy players. the stat is surprisingly accurate too, as the sum of the WAR of all of the players on a team added to the right offset will tell you within a game or two how many wins the team had that year.
one of the other cool features offered are the win probability graphs. because A. each situation in baseball can be represented as a game state and B. there is a huge sample size (30 teams, 162 games a year, and over 100 years of play...), you can estimate the probability that a team will win at any point during the game based on past performances. this will obviously change with the outcome of each new play, and plotting these points for every play yields a handy graph of the game. it is unique and easy to read, providing a quick overview of the key points in the game as well as how close the game was.

as a review of sorts, the key concepts i like...
- free, quality, and unique content and opinions
- regular audience and peer interaction and review

2010-06-13T21:35:00.002-04:00

#1 - WBER

what is it? - WBER is a Rochester NY based radio station riding through the air on the 90.5MHz band. some might say that it is the only station that matters, and i can't help but agree. main point is that they are one of the few (and apparently one of the first) alternative music radio stations out there, as well as one of the first radio stations to offer an internet feed.

why do i like it? - well, i do like most ( though certainly not all) of their music. that is a solid start, and that is why i started listening. an alternative station is definitely a great change of pace from the usual pre-packaged rap/hiphop, top 40, generic rock, and christian stations you will find in any city you visit. beyond that, there are a few key reasons i love the station, and they are represented fairly well in the unique ways the station gets its funding - school districts and listeners.

the station has great ties with local schools, regularly offering students internship positions so they can try their hands in the radio industry. additionally, WBER cedes full control every weekday afternoon to a variety of local schools and their respective radio clubs. the students run the live show and even choose the songs they want to hear. the results are often awkward and of varying quality but it is almost better that way and it is certainly refreshing. these ties are great in that it gets the kids involved with the station and it can give them a solid head start into music or media related fields.

the station also receives a bulk of its funding from the listeners. commercials are few and far between, typically for local events, local businesses, or providing PSA's. the money has to come from somewhere, and this is usually in the form of periodic (and creative, i think) fundraisers. the most recent event set a monetary goal for each year of the station's existence, offering listeners the chance to donate to a certain year and then request a song from that year. additionally, listeners were encouraged to stop by the station and offer their opinions or a shoutout during the fundraiser. i thought it was very creative, (i pitched in and enjoyed hearing between the bars by elliott smith played) and it certainly acts to engage the listeners. calls, messages, and requests from listeners are all regularly encouraged, and the DJ's all seem to be friendly and accessible.

even past the interaction and funding, the station is all about the listeners. online polls allow the listeners to give their take on new songs. other shows will play new songs and let listeners call in immediately after with their take. in keeping with the local ties, they also dedicate a weekly show entirely to local music of any form, as well as having a tendency to work local artists into the regular playlists. additionally, the station sets itself apart by not only playing a wide variety of artists, but by playing a variety of songs by these artists. though they may give preference to a single, they do not limit themselves to only the radio friendly singles, preferring to play a wide sample of songs. to make a long story short, it is nice to see a station that cares less about its profits and more about the music it plays and the listeners.

2010-06-10T22:25:00.002-04:00

so my writing has been fairly hit or miss lately, so i wanted to throw up some of the things i am currently working on and/or intend to write. perhaps making them "public" will encourage me to keep on it. or maybe it will just serve as a clear demonstration of my inability to follow through on my commitments. either way, here goes:

- a multiple part piece on the concept of replacement level as it applies to the job market and salaries, using that angle to take a look at the newspaper industry and photographers

- another multiple part bit on some things i like. i am thinking more along the line of conceptual and lifestyle things and not things ice cream or firefly. i'll explain if i get to it?

- my take on homosexuality and abortions. probably separate posts. working title for this one is "how to make everybody really angry and divided with a single post". other options seem inappropriate due to content or puns.

- i really want to do book reviews too for funsies. some recent reads that prompted this endeavor include: Is Belief In God Good, Bad, or Irrelevant? by Greg Gaffin and Preston Jones, The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, Guyland by Michael Kimmell, Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman, and Moneyball by Michael Lewis. here is a spoiler...you really should read these books.

- my rant on why the world cup is awesome and the olympics suck. the world cup is more appropriate timing than anything. i would be content writing just about how the olympics suck.

those ought to keep me busy for a while, no?

2010-06-10T21:53:00.002-04:00

so today i was out running as usual and a car drove past me and the passenger threw a half full bottle of water at me. it ended up missing my leg by a few inches so no real trouble occurred, but i am kind of confused. i am used to cars honking and stupid kids yelling things at me and drivers running stop signs, but projectiles is a new one. i am not sure i understand people sometimes.

2010-06-02T23:37:00.002-04:00

and if this sentimental movie marathon has taught us one thing,
it's that the opposite of true love is as follows:
reality.

- from "we are all accelerated readers" by los campesinos

had this song stuck in my head all day. don't read too much into it kiddies.

2010-06-02T21:17:00.001-04:00

"i will say, to anyone who is listening, that the cheese curd (the fried cheese curd) is one of God's gifts to the human palate. if you are anywhere near a place where you can have a fried cheese curd go and do it now."

- carson cistulli via fangraphs audio (episode "on getting lucky")

i love carson cistulli. i love fangraphs.

2010-06-01T12:48:00.001-04:00

so don't sing me your songs about the good times
those days are gone and you should just let them go
and God help the man who says "if you'd have known me when..."
old haunts are for forgotten ghosts

- from "old haunts" by the gaslight anthem

2010-05-22T16:47:00.002-04:00

with reference to thi s...

i recently got an article i wrote published on fangraphs, one of my favorite places to frequent on the interwebs. wooo.

http://www.fangraphs.com/community/index.php/david-wright-is-not-getting-much-help-from-jobu/

2010-05-11T19:27:00.002-04:00

nostalgia post 3 - november 12, 2004

Yeah, so today happens to be one month for this thing I refer to as my website. One month, and exactly 350 hits. Today was also the last day of class for me. A little bit of Calculus, where I learned some useful things, such as the limit dance, the n dance, and the 2n+1 dance, all of which are very entertaining in a class that boring. Crossroads was good as usual, and Barefoot Friday continued. We had this nifty thing for IV referred to as the "Talent Night". Really though, the only true talent was that Gollum kid and Jon G on guitar. Some of the Baker lads did a pathetic boy band imitation, and then of course there was the "Bill's getting married!" musical medley sketch. Afterwards, we headed over to 73 Colony for some smashing, with Dragon, Gilbert ( though he had to leave early for his lady ), Punchy and two kids I don't know. And now it is time for some smash before sleep.

2010-05-10T11:13:00.002-04:00

85,000.

as of about 3:15 friday afternoon at mile 114 on interstate 88 westbound near rotterdam.

2010-05-09T22:27:00.004-04:00

spent the weekend visiting jon in lovely ithaca. always nice to see that kid again. had a good time with some bowling, watching the mets, hanging out with grad students, both iron man movies, getting myself hilariously lost, and visiting a hippie church. pretty simple weekend, but it was a good time. i kind of miss having a "best friend" type around. things are far less exciting.

oh, and then there was the giant book sale too. 250,00+ books for dirt cheap? pure joy my friends.

2010-05-07T00:12:00.003-04:00

earlier tonight i had been debating with myself whether to spend some solid time writing or to go out boarding for a bit. even for little things like this, i feel like God will sometimes shine a figurative light on a certain path to lead the way. tonight this took the form of knocking out my power for just under three hours, so i hit the streets.

the lack of power hit my whole town, save a few streetlights, and it had a curious effect. everyone was outside. it was actually pretty cool. many were on cell phones (and i heard some of these speaking of the loss of power) but a bunch were just hanging out or talking to neighbors. it was a welcome change from the usual. spring has brought more people outside and they are a bit friendlier than in the winter, but everyone stepped up their game a bit tonight.

the boarding was good too. i finally found a good hill to ride (in my town anyway) but i was not out for all that long. turns out having streetlights on is kind of handy.

2010-05-06T20:03:00.002-04:00

(i feel as if i have posted this before, but it rang true again today...)

dear drivers -

please use turn signals and stop (at least mostly?) at stop signs. i like running and biking but i also like being alive.

- matt

2010-05-03T21:14:00.002-04:00

"...if i tell a story about a dentist from Bavaria or Saskatchewan, I have to deal with readers' notions about dentists and people from Bavaria or Saskatchewan, those preconceptions and stereotypes that lock people and stories into small boxes. But if it's a rhinoceros from Bavaria or Saskatchewan who is the dentist, then it's an entirely different matter. The reader pays closer attention, because he or she has no preconceptions about rhinoceros dentists - from Bavaria or anywhere else. The reader's disbelief begins to lift, like a stage curtain. Now the story can unfold more easily. There's nothing like the unimaginable to make people believe."

- from Beatrice and Virgil by the great Yann Martel

i love it.

2010-05-02T23:55:00.001-04:00

nostalgia post 2 - february 9, 2006

hmm....99.9999998%

2010-05-02T01:53:00.003-04:00

first of what will probably be a short series rehashing some old (really old) blog posts. i will leave them unedited so there is a good chance for words being spelled wrong, lengthy posts, or content that makes absolutely no sense.

nostalgia post 1 - November 9, 2004

Not much happened today, other than the giant marshmallow fight in FYE. I totally hit our instructor multiple times. Life is good, but I am very much looking forward to the end of this quarter. For now though, i just want to make it through this week in one piece.

2010-04-20T23:07:00.003-04:00

i walk down to the water and i can smell the stink of spring
the moon has worked most of its shift but that doesn't mean a thing
sleep gets pushed aside for now cuz i got too much in my head
the city skyline to the south warms the heart by blinking red

happy with my home
but i swear i am "dying to be the one moved"
i spend my whole night wondering
cuz i don't have much to lose

i walk out on the water and have a clear view east to west
feel like i might be sinking and i am worn from all the rest
the night can make it hard to see but i think my path is clear
feet are dry but the cheeks are wet as i walk on without fear

happy with my home
but i swear i am "dying to be the one moved"
i spent my whole night wandering
but i have too much to lose

2010-04-17T17:36:00.002-04:00

the rest?

i guess i will close out this miniseries of sorts with a few other comments on various areas.

first off, my area. i live in a pretty small (and pretty poor) town just across the river from the city of troy. i am just a few miles outside of albany and can see the buildings from my town. i love my area, i really do. i have not had too much of a chance to get involved in the community yet though, nor do i know many people. i am on friendly terms with a bunch of the people at the supermarket, and i am on very friendly terms with the staff of the pizza place across the street (no, not because i am in there so often) but not much outside of that.

i missed the signups, but i still want to take part (when i can) in helping out in some way with the local little league. in a related note, i was randomly dropped onto a local softball team. i am excited about the chance to meet people through that, as well as the fact that we will play on fields all over the capital region. i am also signed up for one road race in the area, and am planning on running the half marathon (maybe the full thing?) in the fall. i would still like to get involved with some local swing dancing but i have really lazy in that regard.

i feel like i am a lot less social these days, but much of that can be attributed to a full work schedule and the fact that i am not in college anymore. living alone and with actual responsibility, it is hard to keep things the way they were. still, i do get out on occasion, usually with the guys at work. we regularly hold video game nights, and have had some poker nights thrown in. throw in small group monday nights and a few other random occurrences and i manage to stay busy. as i am slowly meeting more people i will probably get myself into more trouble. for now though, i am ok with a kind of slow going, as i am able to (usually) get some good sleep. and since acquiring a car i have had tons of weekend adventures to keep it exciting.

my apartment is pretty ok, ignoring the dead bodies in the walls. it is old and not exactly the nicest place, but it is also pretty huge, which sort of makes up for that. i have tried various methods for finding roomates (i have an empty bedroom) but have had no luck yet. that is ok though, as it is still a fair price for an apartment. and i am within a ten minute walk of my church, 3 pizza places, a popular hot dog stand, a chinese restaurant, 4 convenience stores, 2 bridges over the hudson, a supermarket, and a little league field. good times.

so yeah, i guess that is it. i feel like i am forgetting something, but if i am i will just add it later i guess.

2010-04-14T19:59:00.003-04:00

churchy things.

i think i got lucky and found a pretty cool church even before i moved out here. i had heard some rumors and good things about it while at camp of the woods, and as it turns out terra nova is the only church i have been to. i have enjoyed it thus far, but it remains to be seen whether or not i will keep going there or if i will end up switching around like i did while at rit. i would like to try to stay put though. it is also nice that it is only about a ten minute walk away.

terra nova is certainly a different style church, at least compared to all other churches i have been to. it is pretty liberal in many ways, and though far from being exclusive, it does have some appeal to younger people and hippie types. the main demographic seems to be younger couples and families, though there are a fair amount of college kids to go along with a few older folks. the church meets in a bar/concert venue in downtown troy and certainly provides a unique atmosphere.

as of right now, terra nova is a tale of two stories for me, if you will. the sunday morning services are great, straightforward and simple. i think that ed marcelle, the preaching pastor, is great. his sermons are pretty solid, though i do notice that he does talk for a long time. still, the sermons are quality so i don't really notice. also, the music is some of the best i have heard. a rotating lineup of bands takes the stage each week, tending to perform modernized versions of hymns. the mix of solid old-school lyrics with a modern sound by a talented band works out well.

the other side of the story is that i don't feel all that involved in the church, though i have now been attending for 6 months. much of this is my fault, i admit. i am obviously not the most outgoing person, though i have made some adjustments with that. i have also missed many weekends due to holidays, family, or other adventure. the problem is not helped by the fact that i am really the only single person who regularly attends my bible study. it is a great group with great people, but it is just a touch harder to connect with the group. hopefully it will all come together in time though. i just need to step it up, it is not fair for me to sit back and expect others to do all the work.

i think that problem follows along with a general problem of not being proactive or bold enough in many facets of my life. it has been tricky making the transition from the christian lifestyle i was a part of with intervarsity at RIT and at camp of the woods. being dropped into a new area alone is certainly not an easy task. while i can not say that things are going super well from a spiritual standpoint, i can say that it is going better than i had expected at this point. continuing my efforts to build a strong network of friends and a network of people at church should only serve to help me out in this area.

2010-04-13T20:13:00.002-04:00

work.

the skinny - i work at the watervliet arsenal in watervliet ny doing retrofitting and support type project work for the abrams tanks.

the rest -
work started off really slow, a fact that was certainly not helped by the fact that it took a week to get my CAC card. without my common access card i can not log onto a computer, and these days that means you can't do much work at all. it also took a while to learn the projects and the hundreds of acronyms used by the army. the majority of my first two weeks was spent reading manuals and other information on the tanks. this was followed by nearly a month and a half that was primarily spent on required training for government/army employees. thrilling.

things finally picked up later on, as our group picked up a new project and i was pulled into it. basically, the project is to design a permanent installation for a cooling system for tankers. in the summer heat, it frequently reaches upwards of 140 degrees F and a significant method of heating is required. the electrical design has been fairly light so far, but it has been a great project for getting to know the tank and how things operate in the workplace.

now that i have more work to do (though things have slowed down a little lately), work has been far more enjoyable. this has also been helped by getting to know my coworkers a lot better. we have a whole bunch of other young guys in the office, and they complement the old guard real well. there are a number of cliques in the office, but for the most part everyone in our group gets along well. there has been a little time for fun too, with a few solid pranks pulled over the past months.

overall the experience has been pretty good, but i wonder how it will go from here. being busier would certainly be a plus, but i don't want to be overly busy either. i feel like i could really enjoy my time at benet, but part of me also worries that i will become bored or disillusioned with my work as time goes on. hoping for the best.

2010-04-13T19:57:00.003-04:00

today marks 6 months of work at my job here in watervliet.

hard to believe it has been that long already, but looking back i guess a lot has happened. so, i figure it is time for a status update of sorts. let anyone reading this know some of what is going on here while providing me a chance to look back and evaluate the past 6 months. however, given some of the areas i want to cover and my amazing ability to make a post twice as long as i intended, i think i am going to break things up and make a few separate posts covering different aspects of life.

so yeah.

2010-03-22T21:21:00.003-04:00

matt sones recently made an excellent post regarding poverty and dignity. i wanted to comment on it, but i honestly feel that i don't have anything further to add though i will probably ramble here for a bit anyway. it really hit home for me though, especially in how i interact with the poor or needy.

i know that i typically go into these situations with the mindset that i am doing these people a favor. the high and mighty matt marsh is descending down to bestow some measure of charity on them. those kinds of thoughts betray the belief that i am better than these people in some way, and that is an absolutely horrible mindset to have, especially if i am seeking to legitimately help these people. it is not enough that i am acting - i must do it for the right reasons and do it in an appropriate and respectful way. the deed needs to be done as a friend to a friend, an equal to an equal. not as a master to servant, or as a higher class to a lower class they need to be treated as if they were family, a best friend, or a girl you are trying to impress.

and really, the only way i can see this kind of change developing is if you go beyond just acting out to help people. rather, you need to integrate this mindset so that it becomes your lifestyle. as i think matt is hinting at the end, it is not about what we have, but rather about what other's don't have. and that is where our focus should be.

2010-03-21T23:07:00.002-04:00

this weekend:
- my trusty car harvey dent picked up 600 miles of experience.
- rit hockey stomped sacred heart 6-1. there was much joy and happiness, burt brought the hurt, and brendan did questionable things with the opposing team's mascot. rit visits my city for the next round of playoffs.
- garbage plates and slurpees.
- i walked on the (snow covered) beach at camp of the woods and saw the sunset from in front of the teepee.
- 5 games of settlers. i was in rochester for just under 12 hours.
- left rochester at 1:30am for albany. i love night driving.
- i got my head shaved by a complete stranger in a noisy bar downtown.

2010-03-15T14:49:00.003-04:00

i did the rit indoor triathlon again this year. 15 minutes swimming, 15 minutes biking, and then 15 minutes of running with 5 minute breaks to change and get to the next event. only got one practice training in (compared to probably 15-20 last year) though i have been running more consistently than last year. anyway, i did slightly worse biking and swimming than last year but went up a little in the run.

2009 - swim 23 laps (.3267 miles) - bike 7.20 miles - run 15.25 laps (1.906 miles)
2010 - swim 22 laps (.3125 miles) - bike 6.82 miles - run 16 laps (2 miles)

not happy i went down in two events, but still ok with what i did. still hoping to get in a (full) triathlon and half marathon sometime this summer though.

2010-03-08T21:32:00.005-05:00

as is the case for almost every christian gathering i have been a part of, the worship leader in church this past sunday precluded the music by speaking a piece on issues he had been pondering. he spoke of his relationship with God and how it related to the successes and struggles in his own life. he stated that the stated relationship was often at its worst when things seemed to be going best, and that relationship was at its best when things were hardest. the concept makes sense - if things are going well we see less need for God's influence and when times are rough we wise up. anyway, he implored us to try to change that, continuing to seek God when things were tough, but being sure to maintain it when things were going well.

allow me to translate for you. let your relationship with God be represented by the function r(t) and the events of your life by l(t). naturally, l(t) is a time varying function that has positive values when things are good and negative values when things are tough, with the magnitude corresponding appropriately. r(t) is the response to that function, following similar rules.

basically, he is advocating a change from
r1(t)=-k*l(t)
where k is a positive constant varying person to person. he thinks something like
r2(t)=k*abs[l(t)]
would work a little better. or maybe even
r2(t)=2k*abs[l(t)].
a good concept, just one that i think is explained better (and probably quicker?) with numbers than with words.

jon, you can now add a "let's use math instead of words!" church to the lists of churches i am going to start in my country along with "skanking" church.

2010-02-15T20:05:00.003-05:00

one of the best parts of the college experience had to be that of living in perkins 189b. the apartment has been passed down from friends within or related to intervarsity christian fellowship for something like 20 years now and it was a privilege to be a part of that. when i first moved into the apartment, i had some big shoes to fill. jon and i took the place of the gonzales brothers who for the past years had been popular figures in the intervarsity crowd as well as in their majors and around campus.

the brothers were immensely influential in my life. much of my college experience was directed in an effort to emulate much of the good work they did and how they went about their college years. a big part of this, i think, was how i (we) went about handling living in 189. looking back, the apartment has been synonymous with a certain set of traits. not all of these are true 100% of the time, and these are not exlcusive to 189. some are adapted from a previous generation, some are carried over from the baker boys, and some are very recent developments. some are easy and fun, while others are challenging to maintain, especially while keeping a smile on your face. inspired by jon's post on the legacy of dritzak, i now present to you what i believe are the cornerstones of the '189 philosophy' i have been discussing.

1. take care of the kids - my freshman year, it took a while for me to leave the friendly confines of the dorms and venture off campus or to the dorms frequently. i got my start in this because of the residents of 189 at the time, and how they freely invited freshman over for movies, football games, fight club, and anything else that was going on. freshmen (or younger people in general) often need some good role models or older friends, and they are at a point when they have not yet become (completely) set in their ways. conversely, they are a welcome breath of fresh air for the older folk, and they keep things interesting and fun. while friendships are important, it is also key to offer them a place to go. someplace new, different, and separate from there dorms.

2. the doors are always open - heck, in the later years, the door didn't even close most of the time. this is one of the key points of 189 philosophy, i think. a lack of locks implies a general trust, but there are more benefits to than just that feeling. knowing some place is always open and inviting, no matter what the time or circumstance, is pretty sweet. it encourages drop-ins, quick visits, and a general feeling of community. it also helps turn the place into a more social venue and a place to hang out, whether planned or not. i can't even count the number of times i walked in and found non-residents in the apartment without any of the other residents around, let alone the times when the guests outnumbered the roommates. it takes a little getting used to, but it is a whole lot of fun. admittedly not good for getting schoolwork done though.

3. everybody eats - this one comes from a similar mindset as number 2, but is far more limited by the general economic standing of the apartment. really though, 189 was always been a good place for eats. it can range from big group meals to just being free in giving away snacks and drinks. it is admittedly very difficult to do sometimes, but it can be even more rewarding because of that. it is also a contagious concept. not to say that 189 was the first to think of this by any means, but if you have people over for a meal, they are more likely to have you (or others!) over in a similar way. and really, it helps people feel more comfortable to know that they can raid your cabinets and fridge if they need to. if you have more than enough, you should probably share. fwiw, this can be extrapolated out to books, movies, sports equipment, cars, whatever.

4. motel 189 - this was a phrase that was actually tossed around a lot, and for good reason. i bet i could list at least 40 people who have spent the night at 189 just in the 10 quarters i lived there. girlfriends and boyfriends of friends or residents. prospective rit students. siblings of friends. random people from south africa. off-campus students who don't want to drive back. people locked out of their apartments. and on and on. it is a good way to meet people, it is a lot of fun, and is a great way to help out. similar to points 2 and 3, it is just a great way to make people feel more welcome, knowing that they have a place to crash if they need.

5. couches, like 30 of em - 189 has had tons of seating space as far back as i can remember. it certainly helps with points 2 and 3, providing places to be comfortable or to get some sleep in. really though, it helps the apartment to accompany a lot of people. this is handy not only in the case of a big party, but also in smaller groups. if you can seat them, they will come.

6. know your neighbors - i feel we were weak on this one early on, but pretty good in the later years. it is huge to know your neighbors, even if just their names. it makes things far more friendly, and similar to point 1, it keeps things far more interesting. it is also one of those contagious aspects, especially if you can act as a medium for introducing neighbors. as time went on, our neighbors visited almost as often as our friends did, and many good times were had.

7. respect tradition - in this case, i am going to limit traditions to events that occur consistently. i am a sucker for tradition and i really value consistency. something that i think has helped fight club stay strong over the years is that it has met at 7:30 in 189 for nearly ten years now. knowing something is always going to happen the same time, same night, and/or same location makes it easier for people to join in. it is also a good way to get people interested. if you can get them to come once, letting them know "hey, we do this every week..." is a good way to get them to come back. just look at subway mondays and tuesday night movies, among other things. they both started out as things that were exclusive to me, jon, and/or brendan, but in less than 3 quarters at rit we had many more regular members of each and a whole bunch more who joined in at least once or twice.

8. the more the merrier - this relates significantly to most of the previous points, and i will summarize it as this - don't leave anyone out. that has two aspects to it, both allowing anyone who is willing and inviting anyone you can. naturally, some cases have limits as to how many people can join, but activities are usually more fun with bigger groups of people. getting together a settlers game? frisbee? skating? cards? the more the merrier.

9. shenanigans - this is kind of a broad one, but i think it is another of the key points. be different, have fun, and go crazy. dance with cones on your head. elect an ice cream king every night. skate in parking garages. make up a new way to play the game. show up at peoples door randomly doing something crazy. whatever. just keep it fresh and interesting. you will be surprised by how fast you can get to know people and how fast ideas can spread.

i am sure i have left out a few points, but i think that this sums up 189 philosophy pretty well. these are some of the points i try to live by, especially in how i interact with people and make use of my home and belongings. really though, i think that life is just more fun this way.

2010-02-15T00:49:00.000-05:00

80,000.

as of about 9:45 tonight, mile 94 on the nys thruway (87), just north of kingston.

2010-02-10T21:21:00.002-05:00

"you're a rabid anti-semestite! oh it starts with a few jokes and some slurs, "hey, semesty!". next thing you know, you're saying they should have their own schools!"

- my spin on this with respect to the news that rit is moving to a semester system

2010-02-10T13:13:00.002-05:00

"i was a teenager...and i just got my first computer. one of the first things i did was try to calculate the breakeven point for steals, by quality of stealer."
- tom tango via this

certainly not what most of us would use our first computer for, though he touches on (what i think is) an interesting topic. what i really love is the mentality behind the quote. instead of sitting there and just wondering about something, put forth a little effort and do some science.

mock me all you want, but i love being a nerd

2010-02-08T21:15:00.002-05:00

with reference to this...

i am quite glad i decided to get my tickets when i did. the nyc show sold out within a week. still over 6 months until the show, but at worst i sell them online. sounds good to me.

2010-02-06T22:54:00.002-05:00

back in what i believe was the fall of 2002, i participated in a similar degree of shenanigans as in future years. the key difference at the time was the people i engaged in these adventures with. among these characters was one michael beausoleil, who after a brief introduction the previous spring, i had become fast friends with. combined with jon steffens, the three of us complimented each other quite well, and we were known far and wide for the hijinks we were a part of.

anyway, one saturday night that fall, me and michael headed to rochester. i can't remember why we went, only that it was the two of us and that we got incredibly lost on the way back. really lost. coming from downtown, we somehow ended up in fairport, and then after finally doubling towards rochester we again overshot where we should have turned. anyway, we had a good time of it, and i am sure that there were many laughs, pit stops, and side quests along the way. the thing that stands out from that trip was actually a curious show on the radio at the time. i don't remember what station it was, but they were playing a reading of the voyage of the dawn treader, complete with some cheesy sound effects.

being fans of the book, we had a great time with this. it is something kind of odd to hear on the radio late at night, and we got really into it. it kept us entertained the remainder of our trip, and quick became the highlight of the night. in fact, as it was one of our first adventures together, we began referring to it as the first voyage of the dawn treader, with the dawn treader being a new nickname for the car. the name stuck pretty well, and it was referred to as the dawn treader, especially among us, from that point on. many more adventures were had of course (stories for another time i am afraid!) but that first adventure will always stand out.

flash forward to january 2010. matt marsh, after years and years of making do without a car, finally decided to purchase a car. it came about as the result of a deal with a coworker, with the exchange being mutually beneficial. the car in question caught my attention though. though two years newer, it was the same color and model as the dawn treader! furthermore, michael informed me at about the same time that he was parting ways with his car. it appeared that the torch could be passed on. i was hesitant to accept so high an honor for my car and i held out on naming my car for a bit. after some weeks of deliberation, i was quite close to just sticking with the dawn treader, or perhaps a variation of the name such as "the second" or "jr.".

fortunately, i recently decided on what i think is an appropriate name. the car has a dent in the center of the hood and while it is not too severe, it is enough to notice and stick with you. while thinking about the dent, the name harvey dent sprung to my mind, prompted no doubt by a recent viewing and enjoyment of the batman films. i couldn't get the name and idea out of my head, and so i have decided to stick with it. harvey is a cool name, one that makes me think of a greaser with a foxy lady on his arm. it also reminds me of harvey palmer, the dean of engineering at RIT who once choked me.

though i have settled on a new name, i think i shall always fondly remember the dawn treader and all of the adventures it was a part of.

2010-02-04T20:27:00.003-05:00

bonus ex machina

in another case of what my mom will attribute to my uncanny luck...right at the end of lunch today (while i may or may not have been rerereading the axecop comics) i heard rumor that my boss wanted to see me. i head on in to his office and sit down and he informs me all casual-like that he had previously forgot all about the fact that i was entitled to a pretty nice signing bonus. so yeah we talk a bit and then i sign a piece of paper that said yes i do like free and completely unexpected piles of money and carried on with work. it was admittedly a little hard to concentrate for the rest of the afternoon though, as i was completely and totally amazed at how awesome axecop is.

2010-02-03T22:25:00.003-05:00

for kate

thought i saw a sign of you
and my heart begins to race
i can't hear a word you say but i still can see your face
i am moving towards you
at a slowly growing pace
but no matter what i do i cannot finish the chase
seems that all too often i
come just short of your embrace
like attempts to reach the tv screen when i run in place

2010-01-31T16:21:00.001-05:00

did you really think that it was over when you hung up the phone
and said goodnight? and did you ever think that it would be
too much? i can't leave without saying goodbye.

i just found out that the juliana theory is having a brief reunion tour in honor of the 10th anniversary of the release of emotion is dead. i have my ticket to the nyc show.

"high fashion-ably late" or "how i got my job"

2010-01-26T21:24:00.004-05:00

i have talked over aspects of this with a few different people and i wanted to write it all down because of how ridiculous it seems now. i am often accused of getting very lucky (mom points this out, especially after i find a ten dollar bill on the ground...again) or being completely ridiculous (see: most interaction with jon, brendan, stephen, or aaron) or being dropped exactly where i was supposed to be (matt sones seems to love this about me, and it is evidenced especially by my time at rit and past co-ops) and this story has a little bit of all of that.

way back in july i spent a night or two per week away from life at camp of the woods to get on the internet a bit. i spent some time checking baseball scores and catching up on dinosaur comics, but most importantly (let's be honest though, t-rex came first) i was applying for jobs all over the place. i applied for any job that i felt capable of, in a huge variety of work environments, pay scales, and locations. no dice.

i got a grand total of 2 responses of any kind in my first two two months, neither of which amounted to anything. and then i got the response from watervliet. it was slow-moving at first, but a week after the initial email i had an interview set up. it took some creative rearranging of my work schedule (incidentally helping lead to the pursuit of the bear run records, a story for another time) and a busy week of phone calls and emails, but i got it done. august 5th at 1pm i was to be in watervliet.

i shave (and i mostly didn't cut myself!) and get a shirt and tie all set to go and be sure to get a reasonable amount of sleep the night before. i head out in the morning, leaving plenty early to make sure that i arrived plenty early. i ended up being 2 full hours early in the end, so i found where i had to be and then headed out for food. the first place i found was a wendy's so i stopped for lunch, as well as to use there bathroom as clark kent might make use of a phone booth. well satisfied by a pair of jbc's, i stop to read for a bit to relax before heading out.

turns out i probably shouldn't have stopped for food. it was a warm day, and combined with the nerves and fancy clothes, i was sweating like crazy and i got a pretty good stomachache. doing my best to deal with it, i head out to the base for the interview. i arrive exactly fifteen minutes early and wait to meet with mike. five of and he still wasn't there. i call mike and he says he is there. i wait and look around, but no luck. 1pm, and still no sign of him. i make a call to mike again to find out what is going on. he says he is at the gate waiting for me. i say no, i am at the gate waiting for you. naturally, there were multiple gates to the base, and i definitely had the wrong one.

i drive off trying to find it. i come to a gate. wrong one. i keep going and come to the end of the base, and am forced to turn around. just a few minutes going, the road that hugs the edge of the base stops hugging. not cool. i make a few educated guesses and take a few wrong turns, but then i finally get to the base. i meet mike, shake hands, and fill out the paperwork needed to get onto the base.

i finally sit down in ray's office for the interview, just shy of 45 minutes later than we were supposed to start. i was freaking out, and it seemed as if my stomach was having more success in talking than i was. fortunately, much of the first 15 minutes was mike and ray talking about the company and the job, allowing me to slowly become more comfortable before they start asking me the tough questions.

and this is when, curiously enough, things start to pick up. for whatever reason, they seemed intrigued most by two points from my resume. first was all my work and experience dealing with led's out in iowa. and i like me some led's, so that went well. second, they got me talking about one of my biomed ee projects that i worked on, one that i both loved and (if i may say so myself...) i did exceptionally well on. while still about as nervous as i would be in talking to csg, i was apparently coherent enough to come across as a mostly competent engineer. i am sure it was not as natural or as eloquent as i might be in talking about sabermetrics, strategy for puerto rico, or my running of foxybabistan, but it got the job done.

as it turns out, i was also able to make some friendly conversation about non-work related things, notably that mike shared my interest in the mets and that ray was also born and raised in jersey. i found out later that ray was quite dutch, and all three of these have jokingly been used as reasons as to why i was hired. (sometimes you wonder though)

anyway, i left with a kind of mixed message from ray. he complimented me on my resume and said some positive type things and didn't appear overly bored or angered by me. but we had also just had a talk on my plans and goals, especially related to the job, and that didn't seem to fly as well. i said i was essentially just looking for something to pay off my student loans with, and that i was unsure about what came next. it seems they wanted to hear me talk about a wife and kids and a long term commitment with them. anyway, 45 minutes after we started, we all shook hands and i started on the long ride home.

i heard nothing at all for almost 3 full weeks. in this time, i began to doubt it would work out, and i was looking into alternatives. an old friend led me to another half chance at a job, but i was beginning to strongly consider joining the lift program up there for the fall. really, in the day to day of work and adventures, it had started to slip from my mind. but then, right as i was taking that lift consideration more seriously, the job offer came. after thinking it over for a weekend, i felt it was the right thing to do, and here i am today.

and it has worked out well so far. among other things:
- a coworker (in my group no less) graduated from the same high school i did just a year earlier, and we share a few friends.
- a bunch of people are from jersey, as well as two guys who i have become decent friends with already
- there is a good mix of older and younger guys in the office. apparently the big shots realized about five years ago that the workforce was getting old fast, and they hired a crap-ton of new (ie young) employees. a good mix of old sage wisdom and army experience with young guys who are good with those computer things and are great to hang out with.
-it is a government job, and there are so many benefits. seriously. 400 ~~babies~~ benefits. they will pay for me to get a master's degree from rpi or union...on company time. doctors and eye doctors and dentists. potential to travel all over the country and the world. every other friday off. stability. they will pay off (some) of my loans. and on and on and on.

but most importantly, i have had the chance to sit inside of a tank and go pewpew.

2010-01-25T00:56:00.002-05:00

yearning for grace, hoping for peace
dear God - increase

healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again
Jesus Christ, light of the world, burning bright within our hearts forever
freedom means love without condition, without a beginning or an end
here is my heart, let it be forever Yours
only you can make every new day seem so new