Because I Am Just That Important

Layin' in Mountains, Countin'

2011-08-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

Rock the Bells set times came out. No Erykah Baduh, not complaining. Some tough decisions to make. Souls of Mischief or Killah Priest? Whew, good problems to have.
Another track I am excited for from the Built for Cuban Linx album:

Been a little sick the last few days but feeling better thanks to copious amounts of cold medicine.
Getting off the shuttle.
Keep it grindy.

Get Cream and the Cuisine in Queens

2011-08-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

Alright, I admit it, I have been slacking on the blogging thing. I know I am not on this enough when my mom (who couldn't care less about at least half of my posts because they are about music that she "can't listen to") is complaining that I'm not posting. I logged into Blogger and found a couple of comments from months ago waiting to be moderated. My bad.

Lots has been going on. I have been messing with Google Plus a bit so you can see some of my online activity over there. I updated my Twitter profile mostly to avoid teeny boppers thinking that I am the actor who played Neville Longbottom. If you are confused by this feel free to reference my first post on this blog. Here is a sample of the types of messages I have been subject to since the last Harry Potter movie came out:

When the hell did it become socially acceptable for Justin Bieber tweeners to drop the N word?

FFS.

Anyway, time to take my damned name back. This must be how George Michael from Arrested Development felt.

Rock The Bells is coming up. Wu-Tang is making a strong showing again and they are sticking with the "playing entire albums" theme which I am pretty pumped about. Probably I will dedicate a little bit of my YouTube embed real estate to songs I am looking forward to hearing live.

Classic.

About to hop off the shuttle. Grind hard.

Flow Freely, This Is All Graffiti

2011-05-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

Quick post.
Just heard this track for the first time. Beat is dope.

Ricky Rothstein
Chatted with Albert for a bit. Talked about getting a motorcycle. Man, this bike is pretty bonkers. Probably I should get a license and start with some kind of toy bike. Then again, if my motorcycle club is ever going to get off the ground I am going to have to man up at some point.
Wifey is in AK still. Going to keep it pretty reasonable this weekend and maybe go see gramps in the eastbay Sunday.
Good day today at work, mostly.
Grind hard.

Face It, Jerome Get More Time Than Brandon

2011-05-03T20:31:00.001-07:00

Mobi-blogging. Taking this junk to the next level. Haven't posted in a bit. Things have been good though. Some busy weekends with Johnny Evil visiting from Dub. Went to Carmel for Quannah's wedding which was pretty dammed entertaining thanks in no small part to the presence of Andre and his infinitely patient/lovely wife Tara. AK stand up. Bussing it over to the Mission for quiz night. Last week we took second on the strength of JY's Rainman-like knowledge of Pulp Fiction. Got to see the boys in black and orange win an extra inning game against the Mets. They are going to have to play better than they have been to have a real shot this year but I'm not going to complain. Kia made her way to AK to hopefully finish off the heating system. Its amazing how hard it is to give heating people large sums of money.
Off the bus. Grind hard.

No Escape, The Corleone, Fettuccine, Capone

2011-04-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

Two and a half months with no post is too long. That said, its not like I have been good about other forms of communication over that period. Haven't called my family, haven't emailed people I haven't seen in a while. Basically, if I haven't seen you in person at work, my apartment or Mini bar on Friday night you aren't getting much love. Sorry.
Work has been ape. That's not an excuse as much as a change of topic. It has been ape though. I have spent most commutes working which is not how I like to spend my time on the bus. I am breaking that trend tonight because I was at work late and refuse to spend more time working. My weekends have been pretty chill lately except for the BBQ last Saturday. Didn't eat much BBQ but had a few beers and some bourbon which is a good way to ruin your plans for Sunday.
Was in India a couple weeks ago for a couple weeks (roughly). You know, quick trip to India, nbd. The wifey and I are headed to Maui in June for the 10th wedding anniversary which makes me feel old to say and type.
OK, been listening to Nas lately, specifically the It Was Written album which I am not not ashamed to admit was my first Nas album. The album is classic, not as classic as Illmatic but whatever. My two favorite tracks off the album:

Classic, hadn't seen this video either.

Foxy Brown kills that verse.

Oh and if you were wondering if Cormega can still rap, check this out:

Yup. Oh yeah and Sean Price is a monster.
That's all. Grind hard.

Miss Her, Kiss Her, Love Her, That Girl Is Poison

2011-02-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

Voting closed!
Thanks to those of you who participated in the survey.
The results were conclusive but before we get to that here are the comments included with the votes.

"hope i voted for the anonymous coworker!"

You would, hater.

"While there are some beautiful, beautiful selections in #2, I think #1 brings the most r&b-est, deep seated grooving to the battle."

Fair enough. Deep seated grooving is my favorite.

"floob"

meh

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdF2zqs1bxQ"

Yup, damn right.

"I know who this "coworker" is. His name starts with an "m" and ends with "ark ewing." I have to say I like a little bit of both lists, but #2 stands out to me more."

That's like, your opinion man.

"More sensual and slow. Playlist 1 is more dance or too happening. Hippity Hoppity!"

La Bouche cost Playlist 1 this vote.

"I'm guessing the other person is Albert."

Not a bad guess.

"I'm picking # 2 because I think its yours, Matthew. I'm trying to be supportive here. I think the give-away was Blackstreet. The difference between No Diggity and Don't Leave Me is the tub-thumping, which features in a lot of your embeds. I also just don't see Mr. Prime Beef bumping to a power ballad like I Have Nothing. On the other hand, I can see you doing a routine to Heavy D. Tell me I'm wrong. String the contest along. But don't be a hater. It's just your old pater."

Uh, thanks dad.

"Stuck way closer to being R&B, with a decent mix of fast and slow. Just way more heavy hitters in Playlist 2 compared to Playlist 1."

But Playlist 1 had a hell of a pitching squad.

"Matthew - I suspect I am voting for the wrong one, but it has one of my favorite songs... (name removed)"

Yup, you voted wrong :)

I had a quick chat with my playlist counterpart who agreed to have his name included in the results post as long as he was permitted to make a statement. That statement is copied verbatim.

"I regret very few of the decisions I've made in my life. Putting two La Bouche songs on a single playlist is one of those regrets." -mewing

That's right everyone the mystery playlist contributor was none other than Mark Ewing. Mark proved a worthy adversary and I am impressed with his depth of selections. He did make a tactical error with La Bouche x2 but a few of his selections, Montell Jordan, Tony Rich Project and Shai in particular, gave me pause when he played those cards.

In the end, playlist 2 (my playlist) took the prize by a 9 to 5 margin (yeah, there were 14 votes, my blog isn't that popular). In the end though, there is no loser, especially when you have a blog post which reminds people of the existence of this song:

Thanks for playing.

Love Pac and B.I.G. But I Miss Pun The Most

2011-01-31T17:20:00.000-08:00

Monday done. Got some work done which was good.
Results from the survey are coming in. Not necessarily a huge sample size on the vote so if you want to vote please go for it. I will probably shut down the form tomorrow, Wednesday latest. The comments are far more entertaining than the actual vote count. One from my dad stood out today:

"I'm picking # 2 because I think its yours, Matthew. I'm trying to be supportive here. I think the give-away was Blackstreet. The difference between No Diggity and Don't Leave Me is the tub-thumping, which features in a lot of your embeds. I also just don't see Mr. Prime Beef bumping to a power ballad like I Have Nothing. On the other hand, I can see you doing a routine to Heavy D. Tell me I'm wrong. String the contest along. But don't be a hater. It's just your old pater."

Pater definition.

Anyway. Whose is whose? I won't say until the survey is closed.
Spent a lot of time grinding away on my computer today which meant I had time to listen to music. Here are some gems from today.

Big Pun was crazy, RIP.

Three dope verses, sick beat, GZA batting clean-up.

Been watching Battlestar Galactica in a quest to lock down the title of uber-geek. Its pretty entertaining though.
Alright back to my Classic X-Men comics. Like I said, uber-geek.
Grind hard.

Her Mother Told Her To Be Home At Niiiiine

2011-01-27T18:04:00.000-08:00

Alright, this post has been brewing for a bit so here goes.
Nearly two years ago an epic battle was waged over email. It ran from February of 2009 to June of that same year. The battle was between me and a coworker who will remain nameless to protect them when they lose the public judgment. The rules were simple:

Link to 90s R&B Jamz via YouTube, generally 3-4 per email, and try to one up the other person. No repeats allowed ('cause that would be weak) and you were supposed to stick to genre. We both broke this rule more than once so I removed most stuff from the 80s and the pure hip-hop songs (Onyx - Slam, for instance).

The links aren't particularly fresh in the email so I made the playlists based on what was still linked and by extrapolating from the email comments.
Here are the playlists (made anonymous to avoid the bias):

Playlist 1
Technotronic - Pump Up The Jam
La Bouche - Sweet Dreams
Immature - Never Lie
Tony Rich Project - Nobody Knows
Soul Decision - Faded
Whitney Houston - I Have Nothing
SWV - You're Always On My Mind
Next - Too Close
Snow - Informer
Janet Jackson - The Way Love Goes
Brandy - Baby
Shai - If I Ever Fall In Love
Blackstreet - Don't Leave Me
H-Town - Knockin' Boots
Salt n Peppa - Lets Talk About Sex
Montell Jordan - This Is How We Do It
Girardo - Rico Suave
Next - Wifey
Zhane - Hey Mr. DJ
La Bouche - Be My Lover

Playlist 2
Dee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart
MC Hammer - Have You Seen Her
Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack
Boyz II Men - Motown Philly
Culture Beat - Mr. Vain
K-Ci and Jojo - All My Life
SWV - Weak
Boyz II Men - End of the Road
Bobby Brown - Humpin' Around
Heavy D and the Boys - Now That We Found Love
R. Kelly - Bump and Grind
Bel Biv Devoe - Poison
New Edition - If It Isn't Love
Tevin Campbell - Can We Talk
Backstreet - No Diggity
Ginuwine - Pony
Aaliyah - If Your Girl Only Knew
Tony! Toni! Tone! - Whatever You Want
Shanice - I Love Your Smile

Loading...

Voting now open.

Bonus video. I am positive this one was on the list but can't attribute it to the right playlist so its just getting an embed:

"We played Nintendoooooo"

Probably A Foggy Bog With The Frogs

2011-01-25T16:43:00.000-08:00

Back on my grizzly. One blog post a month is not cutting it. Especially not when my dad is posting French beatboxer videos in my comments feed from a month ago.
Lots of stuff has been going on. Mostly work related but other stuff too. Kia got back from Anchorage last week. She stayed after the holidays for a couple weeks to try to sort out the contractor situation with the heating system for the house. Turns out contractors suck. FYI.
New apartment is taking shape. Mostly because Kia got home and put up what little art and decorations we have down here right now. I have been somewhat motivated to dig through the mountains of photos sitting on hard drives at this point and do something with them. First step was to organize them a bit, now not sure what to do next. Maybe upload, maybe just print some for the apartment.
Been playing Grand Tourismo 5 a bit which is damn fun. Trying to finish Fallout New Vegas which is pretty epic but I keep getting sidetracked with the side missions. I guess that's the point. I think I'm gonna log some time in Black Ops tonight though.
Daily (actually monthly) listening:

Yup, this DOOM album is dope. Pretty crazy how he drops the Dilla beat for about a minute in the middle of the track. Shout out to the guy who made the video for the crappy mouth moving animation.
Grind hard.

When Balck Smif N' Wessun Started Wrecking They Shows

2010-12-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

Shuttling north right now. Commute today has been nuts because of the weather. Rainy. Stupid precipitation.
Moved into the new apartment over the weekend. Borrowed Lasse's van, which is creepy but fully legit, and ran a ton of errands. Staying at grandpa's was actually pretty OK for the last couple weeks. I think he appreciated the company and my aunt Pam came up from TX for the last week which was pretty fun.
The new apartment is pretty legit. Getting set up. Kia has been unpacking and setting stuff up the last couple days and its starting to look reasonable. Got some good deals on furniture from a coworker which helped a lot. Mattress got delivered today and the internet went in so we are officially a couch away from being real people.
The apartment is a couple of blocks above Haight st. which will work well for the shuttle and gives us access to Cole Valley and Haight/Ashbury which should be good.
Gotta run and grab a secret Santa gift in the Haight before I get home to finish setting up furniture. Shuttle ride has officially been 1.75 hours and will be on the better side of 2 hours by the time I get there. Well, at least I don't live in Mountain View.
Music:

Props to Free's beard. Extra grimey. Also shout out to Brother Ali's voice cracking.
Keep it grindy.

The Real Noreaga, He Owe Me A Hundred Favors

2010-12-02T19:02:00.000-08:00

Shuttling back to the east bay right now. This has been my first day back at work which has been pretty good so far even though I made some tactical calendar errors my first day. Staying with gramps in the east bay has been as expected which is to say its been very nice of him and a little bit odd at the same time. Kia has been on the apartment hunt pretty hard the last few days trying to lock something down in the city with limited success but then again, its only been three days.
The last few months have been pretty hectic with the decisions to leave and come back to Google even though I never really left but in the end, here we are, back in the bay, doing big things.
Had a pretty epic month off mostly spent in Anchorage relaxing and spending time with family. Kia and I went to Maui for a week which was super chill and fun. Lasse came up to Anchortown for the Thanksgiving holiday and we showed him around a bit, taught him about American food, went snowboarding and introduced him to the locals. Some of his photos are here.
This is the anthem for the week.

Like a boss.
Keep it grimey.

I Ride The Soundwave Ridiculous, Omnipotent, Scientific, Chace Infinite

2010-08-31T10:15:00.000-07:00

Just heard this for the first time thanks to the 1998 iteration of the History of Hip Hop mixtapes from The Rub.

Holy moly. These mixtapes are monsters. Can't recommend highly enough.
Back to work.
Keep it grimey.

Shame On You When You Step Through To The Old Dirty Bastard Straight From The Brooklyn Zoo

2010-08-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

Fresh back from NYC and Rock The Bells. Had an epic time with the AK roll dogs and my brother from a Danish mother. The show was bonkers. 1:30pm to 12:00am of hip-hop legends. When DJ Premier is opening the show you know its going to be ape shit. Lots of good performances. Slick Rick rocking purple Tims asking the crowd if they like the colors, Rakim with more swagger on stage than a rhino, KRS with Bumpy Knuckles as his hype man and bringing out Buckshot. Lauryn Hill brought out all of her kids after performing To Zion.

She brought a ton of other people out just because they were hanging out in the wings. Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Chris Rock, Jay-Z, John Legend. That was nuts.
Tribe was dope, super live on stage. Wu was crazy and Snoop killed it. Still trying to process what happened on that stage.
The day was pretty rough though. I was standing in the pit for the first six acts with people pressed against me and by the time the seventh act came up I had to get some space.
It was wild.
Long night of flying last night though so I am headed home for some well deserved sleep.
Grind hard.

"Knowing Heaven'll Shun Us Being Devil's Miners, That Ain't Got Shit To Do With Tea In China"

2010-08-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

One of the blogs I follow recommended this set of mixtapes from Rub. I have listened to the 2006 mixtape and its really good. Check them out.
Headed out to NYC early on Friday to go to the Rock the Bells show at Governor's Island. It has the makings of a monster day.
Got a couple things to do. Going to wrap those up.
Grind extra hard.

Knocked Down Round For Round, You're Feeling Like You're Shot Down On The Ground

2010-08-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

Back in Dublin from my leave. Things are progressing. The trip was bonkers fun. NYC was epic and included puking, things hitting me in the head from many stories above and of course the wifey's big 3-0. The cabin in Pennsylvania was super relaxing and it was good to catch up with the fam. AZ was great, beautiful scenery and nice to see Josiberry and her mutt. The big wedding in New Mexico was amazing and great to see the Santillanes clan and eat some green chile. SF was burrito and beer filled dopeness. Hopefully I will be back in Cali soon enough. Some music that has entertained me lately:

I've been pretty impressed with KiD CuDi.
This one isn't new but the song is pretty sick and the video is straight up nuts.

Turns out Boos was onto something with the Ratatat/Hot Chip recommendations about 2 years ago. Shout out to Boos.
Keep it crackalackin'.

God Made Dirt And Dirt Bust Your Ass

2010-07-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

Just wrapped up my last day at work for a month and I am feeling pretty ready for some leave. Thought I would leave the blog for a bit with this gem.

ODB. Greatest of all time.
I will try to update a bit while I am in the US.
Grind hard.

Feel Free To Hate, I Ain't Tryin' To Be Your Mate

2010-07-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

So Ratatat did the impossible and made Dizzee Rascal sound cool.

Respect to Dan Cheezie on the Ratatat remixes hook up.
I just realized that the comment moderation setting for Blogger requires me to check who has commented by logging into my account. I enabled the email notification now so that my dad won't have to send three of the same messages thinking that I am ignoring him. Sorry dad.
Got back from Portugal and Amsterdam on Sunday. The trip was great, totally relaxing and great sites. I caught the Spain/Portugal game in Lisbon and the Brazil/Holland game in Amsterdam. The game in Amsterdam was pretty entertaining. The entire city became a victory celebration with people driving their boats up and down the canals drinking and singing.
Kia and I are getting ourselves together for the one month of traveling in the US which is going to start mid-July (next week). We will be in NY for a few days, Pennsylvania for about 10 days with Jason, Heather, the boys, her parents and Liz, Arizona for a few days to visit Josi, Vegas for a couple days and New Mexico for a few days for Maria's wedding before ending up in SF for about a week to visit my grandpa and some friends. Its going to be a lot of traveling but I am pretty excited. I have a few things to wrap up at work before I jet but its looking doable. Kia is similarly busy trying to wrap up stuff.
One more music link, cause I can.

Yup, Dead Prez are better on this beat than Drake. The mixtape is pretty good. Give it a listen.
Grind hard.

Me And These Is Like ET And Reeses' Pieces

2010-06-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

[x]http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=13744327

So Chinese comment spammers suck. That's right, I said it. You all suck, eat it. I turned on comment moderation for the blog to try to curb the flow of links to Chinese pseudo-porn. We will see how long I put up with comment moderation. It might be time to switch blogging platforms. Maybe I should get a domain too. That would solve a lot of my photo hosting problems. Then again, I am lazy and will probably just deal with having to approve Nelson's fashion comments and my dad making fun of me.
Work is ape, I shouldn't be blogging so I will get back to it.
West, west y'all.

Please Mr. Boss Man I Need This Job More Than You Know

2010-06-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

[x]http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=13744327&postID=1683443689582372562

Hey everybody. Going to try to keep up with my commitment to Sara to actually post semi-regularly. We will see how that goes.
Things have been good. The wifey and I were traveling for a couple weeks and got back on Sunday. Spent about a week in Greece, couple days in Berlin and almost a week in Croatia. Good trip all around. Decent amount of beach time. I went from transparent white to a color I would describe as eggshell. Been grinding it out at work this week but I have a decent break on the horizon in that I will be taking a few weeks of leave from mid-July to mid-August which I am looking forward to. Spending some time in the 'ol US and A.
This track has been following me around for the last couple months and I figure it deserves a post. Stonesthrow stand up!

Still haven't seen the show but I will put it on the to-watch list. Finishing up the sixth season of The Shield and its pretty awesome.
Watched the US get robbed in the World Cup today by this man.

Eat it buddy.
USA! USA!
Grind hard.

"Running Through Snow Like Blades In The Winter"

2010-05-28T04:45:00.000-07:00

Haven't blogged in a while. Tough nuggz. Work has been a bit ape shit crazy. Lots of different things going on. Kia and I have had some visitors in town over the last month or so. Her mom, mom's boyfriend Cliff and (surprise!) little sister Josi showed up about a month ago and hung out for a couple weeks. My dad and step-mom Kirsten are in Ireland now heading back to the US tomorrow. Sara showed up this week and we had dinner and there have been a bunch of visitors from Mountain View/Beijing/Tokyo and Seoul to hang out with. Did a bunch of traveling but I will refrain from listing trips and rather work on posting some photos soon.
Anyway, the point is that I've been busy, so get off my back about blogging. Sheesh.
Kia and I are headed to Greece/Berlin/Croatia for a couple weeks leaving Saturday which are a welcome break at this point.
Been listening to Danny Brown the last few weeks and you should too.

Grind hard.

They All Got A Sales Pitch, I Ain't Buyin', They Tryin' To Convince Me That I Ain't Tryin'

2009-12-23T05:21:00.001-08:00

Pretty quiet at work today. People are mostly out for the holidays. Went for some Christmas pints with Jonas yesterday which was quite festive. Leaving tomorrow afternoon for the holiday odyssey to eastern Europe. First stop Budapest for a few nights then Vienna and Prague for a few nights each. Christmas in Budapest and New Years in Prague, should be pretty European. I will have to remember to bring my Puma F1 racing shoes - just kidding.
Not going home for Christmas will feel pretty odd but Kia and I will make the best of it. A train trip through Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic will probably help.
Music:

Shout out to Albert on the track - update the blog Shalbs. He sent it to me in August but I effectively ignored it until yesterday. If you want to see the music video (and hear the edited track, click here).
Back to it. Happy holidays everyone.

I Paint Flows With The Feathers From The Wings Of Angels

2009-12-16T11:10:00.000-08:00

Another monster track off of the Priestisms album.

Short post, trying to get out of work. Got back from Spain on Sunday. Kia and I saw a ton of the southern part of the country. I think our last count was like 13 cities in 10 days. It was pretty epic. We went to Tanger for the day which was definitely pretty high on the highlight list. There are about 4000 photos which need to be gone through and uploaded. I am trying to figure out if I should upgrade my Picasaweb storage of just pony up for the Flickr pro thing. I don't really want random photo nerds commenting on my photos but maybe I can avoid that by not tagging them. Anyway, need a better solution for the online storage thing because I am fast running out of my free space in Picasa. Anyhow, hope things are good with everyone and that their run up to the holidays is going smoothly. Kia and I will be in Europe for the holidays this year - the first time in the 10 years since we left AK that we won't be back for Xmas or New Years. We will make the most of it though. Back to work.
Grind hard.

I Make Hitler Wear a Yamika, KKK Celebrate Kwanza, Should I Proceed Further?

2009-11-30T08:49:00.000-08:00

YouTubin' you to death.
Just caught this track off of Priestisms The LP which is a crazy album. KP is definitely one of the craziest MCs out there. There is an interview with him which was featured in Harpers back in 1998 I think where he talks about his theories on space, ETs and all sorts of stuff. If you can get your hands on it, read that junk, if not, I might know a guy.... Oh yeah and anyone who models their own t-shirt on Moose Limited is awesome in my book.

Oh and I like the fact that Nas is basically angry as shit. His latest album is getting some decent spins on the Ipod.

Warm It Up Chris, I'm About To, Warm It Up Chris, That's What I Was Born To Do

2009-11-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

Shuttling with Smarbs. He is giving me a hard time about not blogging so I am going to do a micro post and show him. I made cameos on both Dougherty and Sara's blogs over the last couple days which basically makes me as big an online phenomenon as the Kanye West "Imma let you finish" jokes. Smarbs has the Marc Ecko Gmail skin which is his way of expressing his streetness, that and the fact that he is toying with MNM for his new baby's initials. We are chatting inboxes and social media. Yeah, we are nerds.

Hopping off the shuttle. Keep it grimey.

As You Step Up To Bat, Man, I Play The Riddler

2009-11-16T21:30:00.000-08:00

Shuttling from MV to SF right now. Spent the evening with Pat, Dave, Ryan and Dan watching a terrible football game. The Cleveland Browns are basically terrible and the Baltimore Ravens are only slightly better. Got to drink a couple beers and eat some fried food though so it worked out alright.

For those of you not paying close attention to my travel schedule I am in California right now. I came in for a conference and to do a little work. Its been nice to catch up with people while I've been in town. Played a little poker with some knuckleheads from work on Friday and caught up with some friends from the city over the weekend. Even went down to the south bay to visit Matt, Brigitta and Violet which was awesome. Parenthood looks good on Matt and Brigitta. Its kind of weird being in SF but staying at a hotel in Union Square which is a part of town I don't know much about. They are setting up the Christmas tree in Union Square and they have a skating rink set up. Its not Thanksgiving yet and most of the big stores have their Christmas decorations up.

Haven't blogged in a while but you know how that goes. Things are clipping along in Dublin. They managed to keep me pretty busy for the most part and Kia and I are pretty settled in. Its hard to believe that we have been out there for six months already. We aren't headed back to AK this year for the Christmas holiday for the first time since we moved away from AK back in 1999 which is pretty crazy to think about. Kia has some designs on a trip to Prague, Budapest and Vienna for the week around Christmas and New Year. I guess that could work.

Less than a week left in SF at this point and the schedule is booking up pretty quickly. Speaking of SF, just got into the city, going to hop off the shuttle.

Grind hard.

...And Find a Newport, And I Don't Mean No Loosies, Or Desi Arnaz

2009-09-21T15:01:00.001-07:00

Been listening to this track over and over the last day or so. Hipster hop at its best:

Shout out to DP on the hook up on this track.
Wale doing his thing too:

Time to bust out the skinny jeans, cardigan and desert boots.
Things are good. Haven't blogged in a while. Lots of things I want to say but I will keep it to the time sensitive stuff. The wifey is in AK for another week or so. She has been out for a couple weeks having a good time in Anchorage and doing a road trip with her grandparents who are up visiting. They went into Canada (aka Alaska jr.) and hit up Kennicott which sounds like a fair amount of fun to me.
Nelson is in town this week. Went to dinner at Gruel which was pretty tasty.
The Giants are still numerically in the race for the NL wildcard though their chances are looking pretty slim at this point. I have to admit, I am pretty damned satisfied with their play this year even if they miss the playoffs. To be in it in September far outpaced my expectations considering their complete utter lack of a batting line up. Still holding out hope that they make the playoffs.
9ers are playing some decent ball too. If they can get their passing game in order they have a decent shot at winning the division as far as I am concerned. Oh and Michael Crabtree is officially a dumb ass for not signing. I understand him wanting to get paid but the team seems to be moving on without him pretty effectively. Honestly though, I would love to see him suit up and pull down some passes. One of the stories I read outlined the fact that Crabtree's agent is effectively a draft agent saying that if Crabtree doesn't pull very top dollar his agent is at a disadvantage going into the next draft because he is essentially only as good as his last post-draft contract. I think they are both shooting themselves in the foot at this point though.
Anyway, things are good, a little bored without the wifey but she is headed back soon so I imagine I can survive. Lots of photos to post at this point, still haven't posted the AK photos, the Belgium or the Switzerland photos, so I will get up on that.
Grind hard.

Hit Like Barry, Score Like Jerry

2009-08-07T09:07:00.000-07:00

Haven't been posting much lately. Work has been extra grindy lately. Been playing a mess of ps3 lately. Even went back and restarted both Resistance and GTAIV which has been pretty fun. Haven't started playing Fallout 3 yet but I will.
Because my ipod crashed and my hard drives with all of my music are safely tucked away in a box in AK I have been listening to what little music I had on my laptop HD. Needless to say, shuffle on my ipod has been exposing me to stuff outside of the norm. This is the long and useless way I am trying to explain that I have been listening to San Quinn. A couple West Coastin' anthems for you:

I think I saw Dougherty and his dogs in the background on that one.

OK I will point this out up front, the hook on this track is a little questionable. I have to admit though, I have watched this particular video like 5 times in the last couple days.
Things are kosher though. Work is busy but that seems par for the course. The Giants are playing decent baseball despite their utter lack of a batting line-up. I do like the fact that Pablo Sandoval's nickname is freaking Kung-Fu Panda. At the beginning of the Giants season I said that if the Giants can stay at .500 going into the all-star break and scoop two decent bats in trades they could make the playoffs. Well, they are better than .500.... Hell, as of today they own the third best record in the NL (60/48). Go Giants!
Alright all for now, grind hard.

"Because, Man, Somewhere In These Memories Is The Evidence"

2009-07-27T04:35:00.000-07:00

Just caught the Tron trailer that they unveiled at Comic-Con last week (it turns out they released this trailer last year at Comic-Con but the put a date on it this time around and they are releasing it in 3D). I would put money on the fact that my brother is going to be all over this.
Here is the old school trailer just for reference:

Pretty cool. Can't go wrong with some Jeff Bridges and some futuristic craziness. Check out min 0:44 for some Lebowski-esque goodness.
Here is the new Tron trailer. Embedding disabled - boo.
Um, yes.
Back from Belgium. Trip was a blast. Lots of Belgian ales tasty food and good sites. Went for an epic bike ride through the Belgian countryside into the Netherlands and along the Belgian coastline. Pictures to come.
Back to work, grind hard.

Now Your Leg Is Missing, Blood Will Glisten, Then Your Soul Will Seep Into The Solar System

2009-07-15T02:16:00.000-07:00

I admit it, I slept on the Mr. Lif album when I first got it. The Sun was a clear winner but I wasn't really following the rest of the album. I repent for my errant ways.

Radio Raheem, You Hear Me Doctor? Always Do The Right Thing

2009-06-23T09:14:00.001-07:00

Holy DJ Jimmy Jam, this track is a monster.

Van Damme. C Rayz Walz is way mo' betta rapper than the Minnesotans, but I will take what I can get.
Sunny in Dublin, back to work.

You Get Suplexed Up In My Two Story Duplex

2009-06-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

Tuesday done. Feeling more and more settled in Dublin which unfortunately means working a bit later because I don't have as much bs stuff to do like get paperwork filled out for the Irish government. Most of that appears to be done now, maybe all of it, I guess we will see if the Irish INS comes a knockin'.
My dad pointed out that it is Bloomsday. Yeah, I didn't know what that meant either. Now I guess I have to read Ulysses, or try.
Lots of things going on. Work is busy which I have to admit I am enjoying at this point. Kia is pretty settled in. She came into work for lunch today which was nice. Trying to plan out some travel at this point now that we are actually allowed to be in this country longer than our initial passport stamps allowed. Lots of things to see.
Been listening to the relatively new Brooklyn Academy album and its pretty damned good. The same guys were in a group called Word A' Mouth back in the 90s and I had been on the lookout for more stuff from them for a while mainly because of this song from the original Lyricist Lounge album:

Uh, yeah thats nuts.
Here is a track from the new(ish) album:

Dope, Killah Priest too, monster track.
Other happenings include taking mewing to task on a 90s dance/r&b referencing contest. I will post on this more later. Son is getting served though.
Grind hard.

Never Thought I'd Be On A Boat, Its A Big Blue Watery Road

2009-06-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted in a while, lots has been going on and I haven't felt a ton of motivation to post. Oh well. Kia and I have settled in to our apartement in Dublin as of last Friday. Its about a 10 min walk from the office and the apartment is quite nice so we are pretty happy about that. Settling into the work stuff. Its always a bit of an adjustment moving between offices and getting to know the new personalities but kind of exciting at the same time.
Had a great time back in Alaska while we were there for the week or so doing the move. The trip up to AK was pretty awesome. Met some pretty interesting people on the ferry, lots of people headed to Alaska to work for the summer, tour guides, fishermen, drug dealers, techno djs, etc.
My ipod crashed the other day and I reformat it but its meant that I have been forced to listen to my newer music (what was sitting on my laptop) and I was listening to this song on the way home.

Pretty sick.
For the 1% of you who haven't seen the "I'm On A Boat" video its linked at the bottom. Kia says you can't fully enjoy this video without seeing the Akon video before it so I linked that one first.

Yes, for those of you paying attention this is the second time I have linked this video.

Credit goes to Claire and Paul for sharing the video when we visited in Portland. Its official though, T-Pain is a monster.
OK, that's all for now.
Grind hard.

**Update, I just posted this post and had to delete it from Pat's food blog. Doh, such a n00b.

Words Seem To Zing On Down To Beijing

2009-04-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

Wu-Tang Forever was super slept on and people were hating on it when it came out. Like RZA has said, people weren't ready for that album, it was before its time and the slang was way above people's heads. If you haven't heard this album, or heard it lately, spin it again.

Yup, monster.

I Watch For The Po-Po And Train At The Dojo

2009-04-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

Headed down to Mountain View. Sleep schedule is severely screwed up at this point. I fell asleep at 4pm yesterday, got up at 10pm ate some food and went back to bed around 2am, up again at about 5am. Its going to be a dodgy day.
Surprising how easily it was to slide back into things in SF yesterday and I have to admit the ease of doing little things (ordering pizza from Pizza Orgasmica at 11pm yesterday for instance) is comforting. That said, I am not really looking forward to the next couple weeks of commuting down south. Perhaps the move to Dublin is my way of avoiding the commute without having to live in Mountain View.
Should be a relatively calm couple weeks at work getting myself ready for the big move. Luckily (for me) Kia is going to be handling a ton of the move logistics over the next couple weeks. It turns out that we are managing two moves basically sending half of our stuff and our car to AK and half to Dublin. Yikes.
OK, going to slog through my email backlog.
Keep it grimey.

I'm A Traveling Man, Moving Through Places, Space and Time

2009-04-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

Hopping my flight back to the US in 6 hours which means I need to get out of the office and go scoop up the rest of my bags, get my self together and get the hell out of Dodge.
Tokyo has been fantastic and the last few weeks have been completely bonkers in the best kind of way. Work was completely nuts up until the week before last and then Kia and I jumped a flight to Okinawa for a week which was the completely relaxing and refreshing.
The last 3-4 weeks have been pretty weak in terms of blog posting. I have gotten pretty bad about normal updates and have reverted to just posting YouTube clips (nothing wrong with this by the way).
Here is a quick run down of whats been going on. I will probably blog more about some of these.

Trip to Nagano and Yudanaka to see snow monkeys and onsen.
Trip to Kobe and Kiyoto to see historic sights and visit relatives.
Trip to Okinawa to sit on the beach and... sit on the beach.
Baseball game (Giants vs. Tigers - that's Yomiure Giants and Hanshin Tigers) which ended in a draw... "There's no draws in baseball!"
Figuring out a new role - Going to Dublin, doing roughly the same thing as I do now :)
Figuring out move logistics associated with that - actually Kia did most of this - thanks wifey!
Checking out some cherry blossoms - sakura ichiban!

OK, that list isn't that long, but it was a lot to do. Also, I am quite sure that I am forgetting a number of things. Doh.
Anyway, back in SF in roughly 18 hours. Be there for a couple weeks and then headed out for AK then Dublin.
Leaving Tokyo is extremely tough. I have had an awesome time and I have so much more that I would like to do here. That's as sappy as I am going to get on the blog. If you want to see me blubber, buy me a beer :)

Grind hard.

Disciplined, Every Action Was A Fraction Of Strength That Made Me Truncate The Length One-Tenth

2009-03-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

Ghostface, Killah Priest, RZA and GZA plus a sample from Shogun Assassin? Forget about it.

FYI - Liquid Swords, one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. Do the knowledge.

PS. Yes Liz, I realize I need to post more pictures and updates from Japan. Patience is a virtue.

Khaled We Did It, Biggie Of My City

2009-03-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

OK, I can't stop myself. The Akon post just has go get posted.
If you listen to the haters, the auto-tone stuff is way played out, in true Alaskan fashion I am just hitting my stride on this trend a good year or two after it was actually popular or new (though new is relative, Frampton anyone?).
Here it goes:

Sorry, but Rick Ross is a g. My boy Travis caught me at the airport in AK and told me my beard reminded him of Rick Ross, my response: "I'm a bawss." That video would have been better without DJ Khaled swaggering around, dude is awkward.
Round two:

Don't even try to hate on Weezy or Jeezy. I don't care, I am going to bat on that one.
Round three:

OK, this one shouldn't be too controversial. Obie is legit.
That is all.

*Update - Yes, I made a mistake with the lyrics on the Rick Ross song, clearly it was "Khaled we did it," not "Cali we did it,". Anyway, Rick Ross is still a g even if he is from Florida.

...With Bronze Medals, Sean Is A Don Rebel, Sippin' Chandon With A Blonde Devil

2009-03-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

OK, a couple monster tracks from Black Milk. Yeah, you got the Japan picture update last time so stop griping.
Elzhi killing it:

Listening to a lot of Black Milk at this point. Actually, I am also listening to a lot of Akon too so take that for what its worth.

Guilty Simpson has grown on me a lot over the last year or so. Sean Price, I mean, what can I say? Monster.
Things are good in Tokyo. I have a ton of photos that I need to spend some time organizing and Kia is out taking more photos all the time. She is getting good with my camera... maybe I should get a new one....
Speaking of spending money I don't have, I found out yesterday that you can buy not only old Nintendo games but also old Sega Genesis, Turbo Grafix and Neo Geo games on the Wii online store. Van Damme, anybody down to play some Bonk or maybe some Altered Beast? For those of you who grew up on PS1 that would be like Crash Bandicoot or something. God, seriously?
OK, grind hard.

Who Fuses The Music With No Illusions?

2009-02-24T05:58:00.000-08:00

So I haven't updated my blog since my sister guilted me about not posting photos from Japan. Thanks Liz. Well, it worked. Here are a few.
Actually, I have been playing with my gorillapod lately which has been a ton of fun and has allowed me to take photos at night. Thanks to Hessam for the tip.

From Shibuya_Ebisu_Night 2009

From Shinjuku 2009

From Ginza_Tokyo Tower 2009

OK, that's it for now. If you are jonesing for some more hit the picasaweb album and take a look. Things in Tokyo are good. Kia is keeping herself entertained. She recently discovered Tokyu Hands which is a "creative life store". I would say that sums us up at this point. Trying to figure out next steps after Tokyo. Anyone want to halfsies on a beach front bar in Kauai? No? Fine. Jerks.
Grind hard.

Divide And Conquer, On The Low We Grow Stronger

2009-02-17T06:07:00.000-08:00

Another track from Indiefeed's hip hop channel. This one is pretty nuts.

Mr. Lif makes me want to get Crunky.

Speaking of which has anyone seen the Lil' Jon mashup with the Nickelodeon kids show? I refuse to link it here and I won't reveal my source (its not who you would think surprisingly) and, I don't recommend watching it if you are offended by, well, anything. But damn, that junk is hilarious.
OK, one more video.

Is it me or is ODB the host for this show? Oh, and I am just putting this out there, despite the fact that there is time travel involved I am about 90% sure that some of these guys stole my dance moves from the recent Wurmcock (Wurm/Hitchcock - don't look at me like that) wedding.
Oh, Tokyo, yeah things are good. Kia is getting along well and we have been adventuring a bit on the weekends. Work has been busy but pretty fun. Its less than two months more in Tokyo and there are still tons of things to do at work and outside of work. Surprising how quickly the trip is coming to an end.
OK, grind hard.

I Got A Big Gun, I'm Like Little Dice, City Of God Duke

2009-02-06T00:49:00.000-08:00

Did a quick search for "Verbal Kent" on YouTube because I heard this track on Indiefeed's Hip Hop channel:

Pretty sick. Speaking of Indiefeed I just caught a track from Josh Boots that was posted last year on their podcast. For those not in the know Josh is from Anchorage and is a member of Arctic Flow. AK stand up!
Caught this track on YouTube too. Pretty damned grimey.

Sean P. kills it.
There has been a lot of news lately about marijuana smoking in the Sumo world. Sumo might be the only sport where weed can be considered performance enhancing....
Grind hard.

I Dip Through, In That Six Trey Like Sick 'Em Dre

2009-02-03T04:56:00.000-08:00

Listening to the new Eminem/Dre/50 Cent track. Its pretty legite.
Haven't posted much since the wifey arrived. Tough noogies. Things are good though. Kia is settling in. The apartment is a bit of a squeeze but its working out. This last weekend was Kia's first in Tokyo. We went to look at an apartment (it was whatever) in Roppongi and walked from Roppongi back to Shibuya. On Sunday we went to Yoyogi park and checked out the temple that I didn't get to see last time I went to the park because the entrance to it closes at 4pm and I am a lazy bastard. The temple was nice though.
Got back from eating ramen a little bit ago. The place was a little grimey but the food was magical. I am kind of convinced that I can't tell the difference between good and great ramen though. It all tastes great to me at this point. Its a nice problem to have.
Messed around a bit with the ol' camera tonight. Ken Rockwell had some tips to help deal with the washed out aspects of the photos that I have been taking. We will see if it helps or not.
Anyway, things are good. Work is busy but I am having fun.
Its Kia's sister Josi's birthday today - Happy birthday Josi! It was also a bean throwing holiday today called Setsubun. Do the knowledge. Apparently there are demons or "oni" that you are featured in celebrations. "Demons out! Luck in!" is the phrase you shout as you throw beans around the house. Kia and I didn't participate this year. The oni aspect reminded me of the Momotaro book that I had as a kid. Damn, that book was cool.
OK, bed time. Keep it grimey

We Are Not The Same, I Am A Martian

2009-01-27T06:57:00.000-08:00

Been on a Weezy kick lately. There are a couple tracks on the new Game album that I am pretty into too but this one is probably my favorite:

Link to the video here. Thanks for disabling embedding Island Records - asses.
Work is going well. There was a kick-off meeting here in Japan today which was a lot of fun and really informative. They even had translators there on a closed circuit system for the Japanese-impaired folks like me.
The wifey rolls into town tomorrow and I am going to go scoop her from the airport. I am pretty damned excited about her getting here finally.
Going to pack it in. Get some reading done before I go to bed. I hope things are gravy with everyone. To everyone in China:
新年快乐
Grind hard.

I See Your Whole Crew Yellow Like Mustard Packs

2009-01-22T08:39:00.000-08:00

Off to bed. Up way too late again and I have an 8:30am meeting.
Just a quick update. Watched the inauguration speech this evening and I was really impressed. Obama is an amazing speaker and if he can back up his speeches its going to be a good eight years.
Went to the sumo tournament on Sunday. Check the pictures here if you are so inclined. It turns out that this guy is my new hero.

Man, he puts some exclamation points on those wins. Even if you aren't interested check out the way he picks up the other wrestler at 2:00 in.

This one is a few years old and shows him beating the Yokozuna at the time and subsequently getting hit in the face with some seat pads.
Now, Asashoryu is the Yokozuna (one of two) and right now he is undefeated in the New Year tournament.
Grind hard.

...The Last Breath Of Christopher Wallace On That Faithful Night

2009-01-18T21:27:00.000-08:00

So, I have said it before and I will say it again, Canada is USA junior. That said, this track is pretty bonkers.

So apparently dude's actual name is Aubrey - really man, Aubrey? and according to Wikipedia Drake was on Degrassi: The Next Generation - but check the acting technique....

Damn, that just messed me up.

On Your MySpace, You Kicked Me Out Your Top 4

2009-01-13T02:52:00.001-08:00

Kidz In The Hall ft. Lilly Allen:

Do the knowledge.

If Your Cup's Already Full Then Its Bound To Overflow

2009-01-07T18:27:00.000-08:00

Almost back up to the city again so I will make this one quick.
Started listening to Matisyahu again over the Christmas break. I gave it enough of a rest in between the last obsessive ipod play cycle but I have a feeling I will go through about a month of intensive listening and get burnt again. Well, too bad for me but fear not faithful reader I am going to share:

I am of the opinion that he is better live than in the studio and based on the Hawaiian reggae band that I went to see in AK I am beginning to think that this is true with all reggae music. Further, I realized that I missed my calling as a reggae back up singer - you know the guy who just shouts "blap, budabapap!" That should have been me.
OK last night in the bay area, headed back to Tokyo tomorrow. Its been nice to be back and see everyone but I have to admit I am really pumped to be getting back to Japan. I think the fact that Kia will be headed out in a couple weeks is helping with that.
Grind hard.

I'm A Monster, I'm A Killer, I Know I'm Wrong

2009-01-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

Headed up to SF on the shuttle now. Actually just getting into the city as I type this. In the bay area until Thursday around noon when I head back to Tokyo. Things have been good. The holidays in Alaska were a blast but cold as shit. The house is still standing though apparently our cat is terrorizing the other animals in the house at this point (we took him up to stay in AK in anticipation of Kia coming to Tokyo at the end of January). Anyway, the house in AK was nice and it was cool to be able to stay there over the holidays with my brother and his family.

Trying to take care of a few things in the bay area before I head back to Tokyo. Namely, I am trying to get my visa taken care of which has been a bit of a headache but the consulate has been really nice about it. They are expediting the processing time and are supposed to get it back to me by the time I get on my plane Thursday. We'll see.

Alright, about to hop off the shuttle.

There's a little tidbit from the newish Kanye album. I know people are hating on the autotone but they can suck it.
Grind hard.

Loving You Whether, Whether, Times Are Good Or Bad Happy Or Sad

2008-12-29T15:09:00.001-08:00

Been in Anchorage since Christmas Eve. Kia managed to get us on an earlier flight out of SF on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas day and I have to say I am pretty damned glad for the extra 24 hours in Alaska. Its bitter cold out and there are a couple feet of snow on the ground at this point and its just about perfect for the holidays. Cold enough that if you go outside and do something you feel a true sense of accomplishment. Also cold enough that if you stay inside you feel absolutely no guilt about that decision. The house is great. Jason, Heather and the kids are about totally moved in and it feels like a real home. Now about the lighthouse wallpaper....
Anyway, its been a fun few days. Lots of time with the nephews and a night out with the friends who are up from out of state for the holidays. We are doing the fourth and final gift exchange event with my family this evening as my brother got in last night from the slope. Making eggs benedict for dinner, uh, yum.
Went for a snowshoe (I think this word can be used as a verb) yesterday afternoon and have some pictures of my beard crusted up with a mixture of snot and frozen breath. Look forward to that.
OK, it looks like I just washed Kia's Razr in the load I put in. Doh! It looks like someone may have just inherited my Christmas gift of a G1. On the other hand, we do have another Razr at home....
Happy New Year!

I Just Keep On Dune Methane

2008-12-22T08:05:00.000-08:00

A week and a half since my last post is a long time. Tough noogies.
Work has been busy the last few weeks but a lot of fun. I have been adjusting well - in my opinion - to Tokyo so far and have been having a blast. Work is picking up a bit so there is lots to do and I am beginning to feel like the 5 months is going to go very fast.
That said, I'm not in Japan right now. Some of you might be saying to yourselves, of course you're not in Japan, you're supposed to be in Alaska (thanks for taking the extra interest in my schedule). To those people I would say, yes, yes I should be in Alaska and where am I actually? Sitting on my couch in SF. Now, lets be clear here, there are a ton worse places than sitting on my couch in San Francisco, I mean, I could be stuck in Seattle with no hotel rooms availble. Quite frankly though, I would prefer to be in Anchorage at this point with my family. My flight was canceled yesterday and the next available booking is on Christmas day. Merry frickin' Christmas. Now, not to get everyone too out of the Christmas spirit here but what really steams my ass about this situation is that apparently flights are going into and out of Seattle. Yeah, its not like the airport is closed or anything. Here is the big problem:

"The big problem, according to the airlines, has to do with the lack of de-icer. Alaska announced they may not have another shipment of deicer come in until today. The constant snowfall is another issue."
Source

Seriously? De-icer? This is Alaska airlines here people, you should have like emergency reserves of de-icer and be controlling how much of it goes into the market like OPEC. Good gravy. So Kia and I spent the day trying to get through on Alaska airlines number yesterday and by the time we got through all they had left was Christmas day. Again, could be worse so I will try not to gripe too hard here.
Updated some photos on the ol' picasaweb thing. I consolidated all of my Tokyo photos to one folder as the separated folders was becoming a bit annoying to navigate but now I need to caption some of the photos so I don't forget where they came from.
For those of you who made it home for the holidays, enjoy - jerks. For those of you still in the bay area either by choice or not, hit me up, I am going to begin swilling some spiked egg nog with the quickness.
Barrumpabumpum.

Microphone Mixmasters, Make Money From Music

2008-12-10T05:20:00.001-08:00

Wednesday down. Work has been good and I am feeling pretty settled into life in Tokyo. Just in time to get on a plane next Friday for the holidays back to Alaska. I am pretty pumped for Christmas both because I get to visit with my family and because Kia and I get to stay in the house we just bought. We closed on it a few days ago and my brother and his family should be moved in by now - I think.

Rahul has been in town this week which has been nice because it has meant that we have gone out almost every night. We went to the arcade and udon last night and we went shopping and ate sushi tonight. The sushi was awesome, udon too.

Need to do some shopping this weekend for holiday stuff. We went to a store called Don Quixote or Donki for short this evening and it had some awesome stuff. Maybe I will head back and look for some gifts.

Anyway, things are good. I have been learning about Japanese sports, video games and television shows - all the important stuff. For those of you who watch this gameshow in the US it is apparently a take on a Japanese gameshow called Takeshi's Castle which has long since been off the air but we had fun at lunch today comparing notes on which events we all remembered from the show.

Lots of interesting things to report but maybe I shouldn't try to pack them all into one blog post. I should pace myself.

FYI - this movie looks awesome:

I was showing the team some of the Japanese gameshow videos that Dave showed me back in Mountain View which are funny as hell. I didn't show them this one, so a bonus for team members who follow my blog - credit goes to David.

The beginning is awesome but I lost some interest after the bad smell one. If you watch any of them skip to 7:45 to watch the "old man biting tenderly". Holy cow that's nuts.

I like the fact that some of them pretend to read inbetween.

OK, getting late.
Sayonara.

We Are Strong, No One Can Tell Us We're Wrong

2008-12-04T07:07:00.001-08:00

Just got back from an evening of Pachinko and Japanese pancakes. I have to say. I am loving Tokyo at this point. The team has been super awesome about showing me around. In fact, last night we went to a videogame arcatde so between yesterday and today I feel like I have figured out some very quick ways to drop cash in Tokyo.

For those of you who haven't eaten Japanese pancakes or okonomiyaki it is a magical food which both tastes delicious and I believe is the cure for the common cold. Perhaps my Japanese comprehension needs some work though.

Pachinko and the Japanese arcade were pretty awesome too. I managed to drop a fair amount of cash pretty quickly at pachinko meaning that I probably won't return anytime soon. Hiroyuki from the team here is apparently quite the pachinko expert. He did really well while the rest of us busted out within the first 15 minutes. The pachinko parlor was intense though, extremely loud and smokey and filled with people who were taking the pachinko thing very seriously. The arcade was actually quite similar in terms of the noise and visual stimulation. It was awesome.

Watching the Patriots/Steelers game on Japanese tv and it looks pretty damned cold in New England. I think maybe I will try to watch all my NFL games in Japanese from now on.

OK, so I was watching South Park online the other night and they had a scene where the town came together and sang "Love Is A Battlefield". It reminded me of this clip (one of my favorite YouTube videos of all time):

Pete Rock is a freaky genius. Credit goes to Beniquez for showing me this clip something like two years ago now.
Oh and here is the original Pat Benatar video. This song is pretty bonkers. Yeah I said it.

Yeah, that video features a pretty intense dance off. If you don't know, now you know.

OK bedtime. Keep it grimey

Ready To Rock 'Em Sock 'Em

2008-12-01T04:51:00.000-08:00

Uploaded and sorted through the most recent photos. You'll notice that all the photos were taken at dusk or night. I really need to start getting my day started a little earlier on the weekends. Living the dream, oh yes, living the dream.

OK, some photos.

From Yoyogi Park_Harajuku_08

Walking around Harajuku after the park.

From Imperial_Palace_08

Saw some cool stuff but more importantly got a little more comfortable being mobile in Tokyo. The subway was cake and people have been really friendly everywhere I have gone so far.

OK, grind hard.

Hurry Onward Lemmiwinks Or You Will Soon Be Dead

2008-11-30T05:29:00.000-08:00

So Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg. Or, that's the story that he is sticking to so far. The way my fantasy football season is going I am surprised he isn't on my team. Nice move Plax.

Went for a walk around the Imperial Palace today and had my first experience on the subway. It was extremely painless. It was also Sunday afternoon and my understanding is that this rush hour is the time you want to avoid the subway system. The palace was cool but because I am a lazy bastard I didn't make it to the palace in time to check out the gardens which close at 3pm. I got some photos though which I would be sharing if I hadn't managed to leave my mini USB cord at the office. Tough for you I suppose.

Did some Japanese lessons this evening. Progress has been relatively slow but I am able to pick up more each time. The structure for the Rosetta Stone stuff is actually pretty good. They have various methods to teach vocabulary and grammar. There is a lot of repetition and the software actually recognizes the quality of the users speech. I am halfway through the first unit and I am pretty far from actually speaking Japanese. Slowly but surely.

OK, time to go to sleep. The second week of work in Tokyo starts tomorrow.

Grind hard.

When It Rains It Pours, The Barrage Hardcore

2008-11-29T04:52:00.000-08:00

Watching a lot of Japanese television. I just saw the retirement ceremony of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks baseball team manager Sadaharu Oh in which roughly half of the team cried. While I am a firm believer that "there is no crying in baseball" I have to say, it was pretty moving.

Wikipedia had a pretty interesting tidbit about Mr. Oh:

"In 2001, American Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes, playing for the Kintetsu Buffaloes, hit 55 home runs with several games left, equalling Hawks' manager Sadaharu Oh's single-season home run record. The Buffaloes played the Oh-managed Fukuoka Hawks on a late weekend series in Fukuoka. Rhodes was intentionally walked during each at-bat. Hawks catcher Kenji Johjima could be seen grinning as he caught the intentional balls. Oh denied any involvement and Hawks battery coach Yoshiharu Wakana stated that the pitchers acted on his orders, saying, "It would be distasteful to see a foreign player break Oh's record." Rhodes completed the season with 55 home runs. League commissioner Hiromori Kawashima denounced the Hawks' behavior as "unsportsmanlike." Hawks pitcher Keizaburo Tanoue went on record saying that he wanted to throw strikes to Rhodes and felt bad about the situation."

Apparently, in his day, the guy could hit baseballs.

I have also been watching this show which is pretty damned hilarious. They take comedians and challenge them to make 5 randomly selected audience members laugh. The audience members try their hardest not to laugh and the comedians are all put in the same set/situation. Even not knowing the language, that junk was funny.

Japanese tv is all about food. Man its hard watching tv here if you are hungry. That and ice skating, good gravy there is a lot of ice skating on tv.

Went for a walk around Shibuya and Harajuku today. It was pretty awesome. The park at Harajuku is pretty amazing. I need to spend more time there. I am thinking I will try to hop the train tomorrow and go into central Tokyo, maybe check out the imperial palace.

I have some photos from today but I'm not in the mood to upload them right now. Tough noogies for you.

OK, hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.
Matthew

You Need To Watch The Way You Talkin' To Me Yo

2008-11-23T22:32:00.000-08:00

Survived the trip to Tokyo. Fairly painless really. Flight was about 12 hours and I watched about four movies the best of which was Step Brothers. I am pretty glad United decided not to edit it for content. It would have been terrible if they cut the swear words.

I arrived in Tokyo Friday afternoon and was hurried onto an airport shuttle towards the hotel in the building the office is in. I wandered around for a bit and then was met by (OK that was weird, someone just dialed me from downstairs and asked if I had a bible - the answer was no) the representative from the real estate people. The lady was quite nice and threw me into a taxi with my bags for a 5 minute taxi ride to the apartment. Anyway, long story short, I made it. I found a grocery store bought some Suntory and ate some instant noodles.

I spent the next couple of days settling in and getting familiar with the neighborhood. Its been pretty interesting walking around seeing a mixture of small neighborhood shops and gigantic lcd screens at the Shibuya crossing. The combination of grow shops, hippy stores with rasta hats and "rest" hotels in my neighborhood is awesome. I need to start trying the restaurants around here. There is literally a restaurant every third storefront.

I took a few photos walking around.

From Shibuya_08

That was a lot of people.

Started working on my Japanese language software and now I can tell the difference between "the boy is drinking milk" and "the girl is drinking milk". I feel pretty good about that progress.

Today was a holiday from work, Labor Thanksgiving Day. I got soaked walking around this afternoon. My goretex coat is apparently no longer waterproof which I am a little steamed about. I think it might have to go back to REI.

Oh, and if you haven't seen the new Kanye video - you're welcome. The video is inspired by the movie American pop - which frankly I didn't like but the style is bonkers. Kia said it better than I ever could have when she said "I like animated Kanye better than real Kanye".

Sayonara.

Guess Jeans, She Charged 35 Beans

2008-11-19T17:09:00.000-08:00

Shuttling towards the city for the last time for a while. Headed to Tokyo tomorrow morning at 11am. Today was pretty kosher. I didn't get to catch up with everyone completely as I had hoped. Such is life.

Printed some key information (flight stuff, phone numbers, a map or two) before I left work so I feel like I am armed with enough information that if I am reduced to pointing and grunting I should be able to fumble my way through the airport to apartment process.

I am pretty ragged at this point. I have been operating on 5ish hours of sleep the last week or two. I have gotten pretty used to getting up at 5:30am to make the 6:30am shuttle to Mountain View. Its a little rough in the morning but the commute down is both fast and I don't have a tough time sleeping as the shuttle leaves early as nuts. Getting in at 7:30am has been nice because I feel somehow more productive if I am in early and there are always Lucky Charms for me.

Going to Bar Tartine tonight with the wifey. That restaurant is fast becoming one of my favorites. I took my brother over there when he was in town a couple months ago and he was appropriately impressed.

Saw the Quantum of Solace movie last night and it was pretty good. James Bond shot some people and beat up a few more. I like the casting of the recent movies and the lack of terrible puns has been a welcome change.

This track came on my ipod as I hopped on the shuttle and I'll be damned if its not worth sharing:

Unnnh. Grimey.

OK, some BI to handle this evening.

挽くハード (grind hard)

Next Year You're Jamaican Eating Tofu Steaks

2008-11-18T19:16:00.001-08:00

OK, going to be a quick entry. Already in the city on the commute home and I am jumping off at Civic Center to meet Kia at the movies. Going to go see the new Bond movie. New Bond (Daniel Craig) is my favorite second Bond based on the last movie, but supposedly this one kind of stinks. It might be back to Moore as my second favorite before the evening is over. We will see.

Work is winding down in Mountain View. Reviews have been delivered and I have my last big presentation tomorrow. I have scheduled time on my calendar to clear out my desk but I think the hour I have booked may not really cover the time needed to clean up that nightmarish mess. Screw it.

Had a good weekend. It was pretty relaxing but we spent a big chunk of Sunday running errands in order to get me ready to go this week. I haven't packed a single thing but whatever. Clothes and an Xbox and I will be good for about 3 years.

Excitement is being weighed right now with some anxiety but that seems pretty healthy. Had a pep-talk from Sara earlier which was encouraging.

OK, grind hard.

Attach Dynamite To Opportunity, Blow Your Chance

2008-11-12T18:39:00.000-08:00

Think your vote doesn't count? Wrongo. Well, wrongo if you live in a swing state or you happen to be registered in AK and voting for senator. Apparently the latest tally of votes has Mark Begich leading Ted Stevens by, wait for it now, three votes. Three votes!

http://www.adn.com/elections/story/586989.html

Good gravy.

Almost back to my stop on the shuttle. Laundry tonight and probably something quick for dinner. Still trying to get my life in order before my trip next week. The nervousness about the trip is wearing off and being replaced with excitement. Neil said he would be disappointed if my ringtone wasn't the "I'm Turning Japanese" song. Shit, who needs a ringtone when I can sing the song and do the flashdance running in place dance move?

"I'm a maniac, maniaaaac on the floor!"

Form A Line, Jack Ya, Then Pawn The Shine

2008-11-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

Tuesday. Done.

Getting on a plane for Japan on Thursday of next week. What does that mean? Mostly it means I am busy as shit trying to get my life together before I blow this popsicle stand. Finished writing reviews for my team today, it always takes longer than I originally estimate. Lots left to do both at work and not before I am actually ready to go.

I have been getting lots of advice from coworkers who have been to Japan before which has been really helpful. Mostly they are giving me advice on what food to eat and mostly they just keep saying Ramen. I'm cool with that.

Thinking about bringing my Xbox with me. I don't think the PS3 would make the trip and it weighs about a ton and a half. I am trying to scoop a few games to bring with me to Japan so if people have recommendations holla atcha frog.

I haven't blogged for like 5 days or something and they were an eventful few days. Friday was the big Wurmcock (Wurm/Hitchcock) wedding. The wedding itself was on Baker Beach in the afternoon. It was a good thing they scheduled the wedding for the afternoon too because around 5pm the fog rolled in fast and the beach was about 15 degrees colder and a lot less photo-friendly. Right after the wedding our alternator died on the way from the wedding to drop the dog off before the reception. After the tow truck dropped us off and our buddy came and picked us up we made it to the reception which was - bonkers. It was pretty damned fun, the DJ was very legitimate and I danced like a raver on ecstasy when the "Barbie Girl" song comes on. It was the perfect combination, sweet wedding and serious party.

The rest of the weekend was spent recovering and spending a little time with Mike and Maria who were in town from Santa Fe and Jules who was down from Anchorage. Easily three of my favorite people.

OK, made it up to the city. Going to shut it down.

Grind hard.

*Update - So it turns out my last post was November 3rd and so if your main source of news is this blog I feel obligated to point out that Obama won. His election made me proud to be from this country. Or, you know, technically from part of Canada.

Night Can Never Come Soon Enough For Me

2008-11-03T18:12:00.000-08:00

Yeah OK, so this post is mostly YouTube videos. Don't like it, well go read some election news. Speaking of the election, holy nuts, everybody is pretty whipped up about this one. I have to admit, I am pretty excited to go vote tomorrow. Old school, dropping the ballot in the box and getting my sticker.

Check out some music:

A little Raphael Saadiq:

He re-works that Dre beat pretty damned well.

Another Saadiq track:

The video to this one is pretty alright, but some dumb ass on YouTube disabled embedding - thanks Universal Music - asses.

While I am on the whole soul music thing, the new Al Green album is pretty legit (based on what I have heard on YouTube so far). ?uestlove produced the bulk of the album and I am pretty impressed that he was able to get pretty close to Al's classic sound with the tracks I have heard.

Get 'em Al.

Someday I will do a post about my love for old school R&B and *some* funk but that day is not today.

Go vote. Oh, and please, please don't deprive my home state of Alaska their much cherished Governor for the remainder of her FIRST term. We need her to solve the moose eating bushes issue in Anchorage. Is chicken-wire the answer?! We need her help! Wasilia needs its leader!

OK, grind hard.

Dance With The Mantis, Note The Slim Chances

2008-10-31T16:10:00.000-07:00

*OK, this post was supposed to go out on Friday. It didn't. I edited it a little to make it slightly less annoying.

Happy Halloween. Hopped an earlier shuttle this afternoon but I'm not sure what I am up to this evening. The SF Castro Halloween event has gone away as of late because of stabbings and shootings. I mean if you aren't willing to take some risk of getting stabbed or shot why don't you just move to Mountain View. Had a few beers at the El Goog Halloween bash so the commute may get interesting about half way through. My costume was a last minute type of affair this year. Same as last year frankly. I went as a Mazda Miata owner - complete with double popped collar, white Livestrong bracelet and slimebag hair. No one had any idea what to make of me. Its my own damned fault I guess for making such an authentic douche bag. Failed costume ideas included Silent Bob, Bearded Woman and my personal favorite Walter from The Big Lebowski. My team came decked out big time though. Other people will post pictures I am sure.
I took the last three days off of work because Jason, Heather and the kids were in town. I have to admit, they ran me ragged the last few days. Between the touring, eating and wrestling with the nephews I am gassed. The week's events included Fisherman's Wharf, the Presidio, Monterey, a trip to San Leandro to visit the grandparents, a visit to Google, a 49ers game, shopping downtown, a visit to Tea and basically food consumption at every stage of those events. It was good having everyone in town and the apartment - while pushed to maximum capacity - held up OK with six occupants.
Bladder update - pain beginning.
This weekend is going to be made up of being lazy, laundry, restocking our fridge and a little football. I've been playing Metal Gear Solid 4 the last couple weeks and while it started pretty slow (this is the first one I have played) it has gotten better as of late.
Bladder update - traffic has slowed, aaarrrgh!
Been watching Gravediggaz videos in honor of Halloween. I didn't know that one of the members was from Stetsasonic - thank you Wikipedia. Just got off the freeway, time to figure out the bathroom thing.
Trick or treat.

*Update, the SF library has a lovely public restroom.

Capture Food With Lasso Loops

2008-10-22T17:52:00.000-07:00

Shuttling north. Wednesday down, two more to go. Lots to do in the next couple of days to get my ducks in a row for Jason and Heather's visit - they get here Friday. Looking forward to seeing those guys and taking some time off next week to show them around the city and the rest of the bay area. Like I said, lots to do before then.

I have become mildly obsessed with Mario Kart for the Wii thanks to my coworkers and just spent the last 10 minutes learning about cheats and short cuts to give me a much needed advantage over my coworkers who are freakishly good at this game. I was feeling good about beating my nephews soundly and repeatedly while I was in Anchorage but it turns out they weren't quite the experts that they said they were. Lets just say they would get served at my work.

Pretty gassed at this point. The 8am start this morning meant a 5:30am alarm which just ain't right. If I didn't stay up til midnight last night reading my new book it probably wouldn't have been an issue. But shit, what fun would that have been?

The first game of the World Series is on right now and apparently the Phillies are up 2-0. I am rooting for the Rays in the series because I like BJ Upton (come to the Giants BJ) but also because I want to buy a Phillies hat but if they win the World Series I will look like a bandwagon idiot.

Pretty cool hat though. Go Rays.

Speaking of sports, the 49ers just fired Mike Nolan and are replacing him with Mike Singletary for what appears to be the rest of the season. I have to say, I am not that impressed by the move. I mean, the 9ers aren't playing good football, but Nolan is not necessarily the reason for this. He was brought in to retool the team with Alex Smith and after the issues between the two of them I feel like Nolan deserved this year to see if an Alex Smith-less 49er team could peroform reasonably. No one expects O'Sullivan to be a stand-out this year but if the team can finish strong and fortify in the off season Nolan's year will have been a success. Oh well, I like Singletary, the jury is out on Martz still, if the offense doesn't average 25 points the rest of the season I am going to vote that they dump him and O'Sullivan. Maybe they can go to Seattle and run a Starbucks together in the offseason. Oh, and yes, if they bring Holmgren to San Francisco I am going to rock an Upper Playground logo shirt everyday for a week.

Given the economic crisis I would like to encourage everyone to grind just a little harder than normal.

My Soliloquy May Be Hard For Some To Swallow But So Is Cod Liver Oil

2008-10-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

Headed back to the city on a bit of a later shuttle than normal. Meeting ended at six. I am pretty pooped from two back to back 8am starts. An 8am meeting means that I have to get up at 5:30am to make the 6:30am shuttle which gets me in at 7:30am but ensures I am ontime for my 8am meeting. That's too early.
Listening to Ready to Die right now. I made a run through my music and put some older albums on my ipod, stuff I have been wanting to listen to for a while but was locked away in the depths of the external hard drive. Meant to put the ATLiens album on there but somehow I missed it. If you haven't listened to the ATLiens album lately, or ever, do so immediately. In my mind its one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. Concept is legit, production was crazy and Outkast was still at a point where they had something to prove. They took a departure from the first album and ran with that junk. Proof.

See, told you. Oh and if you don't allow embedding on videos you upload to YouTube you are dumb.
A few more videos from Outkast which weren't embeddable but are worth referencing.
Player's Ball
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
Atliens
Elevators (Me & You)
Go to school on that.
Watched the presidential debate last night, or the replay at 9pm and couldn't stay up until the end. See my earlier comment on getting up at ungodly hours. I thought McCain came off pretty desperate in his taking shots at Obama. The terrorist thing to me is completely ludicrous and comes off as a pure scare tactic. I am pretty amazed that McCain has been willing to jump in line with the Republican party techniques of manipulation of the public through misinforming them so whole-heartedly. He is definitely not getting mavericky with it. The election is getting pretty ugly at this point though, the campaigns are taking pretty severe digs at each other.
Speaking of Sarah Palin, or more specifically Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin, did I mention that when I was back in AK I was at a VP debate (re)watching party on the Saturday after the VP debate at my brother's house and we were actually playing a drinking game around the word "maverick" when Tina Fey made reference to doing the same in her sketch? Pure magic.
Grind hard.

I Was Told "Dust Yourself Off and Try Again"

2008-10-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

Shuttling home. Pretty tired at this point.

This was the 5th weekend in a row that I didn't spend at home. This is a bit of a record for me considering I am pretty much a homebody.

Made an effort to go camping for the weekend which was thwarted by a park ranger doing his best sheriff of Malibu impression from The Big Lebowski. That said, the weekend was still a blast and part of my feeling tired has to be attributed to the massive quantities of beer I consumed.

Speaking of Lebowski, I was looking for a clip of the sheriff of Malibu for my earlier comment when I came across this gem.

Pretty funny. There were other attempts with like the Flintstones and He-Man but they mostly sucked.

Big next couple of weeks. Reviews coming due at work, Jason, Heather and the kids headed to town the week after next. The big Wurm/Hitchcock wedding and Mike and Maria headed to town for that big event.

Luckily I have this sizable commute to spend up on blogging inanely and keeping all of you up to date on all of the intricate details of each one of those.

OK, commute was pretty speedy, about to hop off the shuttle.
Grind hard.

Young Carter, Go Farther, Go Further, Go Harder

2008-10-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

Wednesday down two more days before the weekend and the man trip camping trip. Looking forward to just sitting around and doing nothing other than smashing beer cans into my head after pouring their contents into my gut.

Lots of craziness the last few days. Spent last weekend in AK visiting the fam and looking at a house that the wifey and I decided to buy. Here are the reactions that I have gotten from the various people I have mentioned this to over the last few days:

"Are you fucking crazy, man?"

This was in reference to the economic issues facing the world right now. The answer to this question is a hearty maybe.

"Alaska, huh? So, you moving home?"

Yes Alaska. No, we are not moving home in the near future but someday we hope to live in the house we purchased. For the time being my brother and his family will be living there.

"Was the house cool?"

Uh duh.

"Sarah Palin has really gotten to you, huh?"

Sarah Palin did not factor into the decision but yes, she has really gotten to me, mostly in the sense that she is a magically talented woman.

Evidence. (Credit goes to M,P,S)

The only way that could have been better is if it were this:

Kia's trip to Korea is unfortunately being canceled because she has a monster ear infection. If you want details you can check with her but needless to say she is in no shape to hop a 12 hour plane ride to Seoul in the next two days. This is disappointing obviously but there will be other opportunities to visit what Albert describes as a wonderland of fantastic awesomeness.

Watched the second half of the presidential debate last night and felt like McCain was really drilling home more rhetoric than substantial points. I continue to be concerned by the fact that this technique has worked repeatedly by presidential candidates over the last few elections and it has somehow become unreasonable to call bullshit on people in debates. I guess this is one of the (many) reasons that I wouldn't make a good candidate.

Me (in a debate): "Well, in response to your point, YAAARRRRGGHHH!!!!! BULLSHIT, BUUUUULLLLLLSHIIIIIIIT!"

OK, computer is about to die.

Grind hard.

Handle Hammers With Elegance

2008-10-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

Sitting in the lobby at YouTube right now watching the screens flash by some sampling of video content. Without audio, it makes absolutely no sense.

Meeting DP up here in San Bruno so he can give me a ride to SFO which is within shouting distance of where I am sitting. Headed up to AK to handle some BI over the weekend. Back early Monday after a red-eye. Good times. Looking forward to being home even if its just briefly.

Not particularly looking forward to the five hours of flying that is required to get me there and the five that it will cost to get me back on Sunday night. Its interesting though that after flying across the ocean the five hours up to AK does tend to clip by fairly quickly. One complaint I do have about the AK flight is that it doesn't generally have good entertainment options. British Airways had some pretty legitimate movie screens in the headrests on the SF to London flight. I ended up watching like 5 movies on the way back because I was trying to stay up. The Forgetting Sarah Marshall movie, or whatever its called, was the best one. I was pretty surprised by this because the movie looked absolutely horrible from the previews. Watched Ironman again and was happy that it was watchable again within a couple months of first seeing it. Watched Kung-Fu Panda too which was pretty legit but unfortunately represents Jack Black's continued decent into mainstream movies without edge. Get that paper though Jack. Speaking of Kung-Fu Panda, when I was in China one of the nicknames I managed to pick up was "panda" mainly due to my dead on panda impression and good nature but also perhaps due to my rotund physique - jerks. When Kung-Fu Panda came out people basically though this was the most awesome thing ever.

Dan's here, grind hard.

I Gotta Handle My B I and I Do

2008-10-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Shuttling to Mountain View right now. Brain is operating at about 50% capacity mostly due to the extended vacation but probably also due to the time change. Stayed up for like 26 hours yesterday in order to deal with the jet lag thing. So far this has worked well but I was basically a vegetable last night. We will see how I am doing this evening but I was able to get up at 6:30am this morning and slept through the evening pretty well.
Overall the vacation went well. Got to see about a ton of stuff in Bavaria and Austria. A lot of it would have been pretty difficult to swing in the time given if Kia's grandparents weren't there to shepard us around. I have about a billion photos which I will try to boil down to a reasonable amount before posting. Photo management is one of my least favorite things. This trip gave me an additional appreciation for a few things.
German beer - pilsners mostly - which I wasn't a huge fan of going in but I am going to chalk this up to the bottling and importing process messing with the taste of German beers in America.
German dislike for other Germans. There were some pretty clear lines drawn prior to and during my trip around the incompatibility of southern and northern Germans but was further emphasized during my trip.
WWII scars on the country. For some stupid reason I assumed this was going to be much less apparent but anytime WWII, Hitler, Nazis, etc. came up it was a pretty damned sore subject. Lots of my jokes over the last two weeks ended with a "too soon?" - just kidding.
Its going to be an interesting week at work to say the least. Short one, so just a few days to ease back into the swing. This is good. I need to get my head back in the game a bit.
Speaking of the game, I took some brutal fantasy beatings during my trip to Germany. Dave brutalized me in the Fantasy Baseball finals and I lost two weeks in a row in my Fantasy Football league. Party's over, I'm back bitches.

Ninety-Nine Luft Bahloons

2008-09-24T04:18:00.000-07:00

Autobahning it again. Something about blogging at high speeds I guess. The blackberry trackball has lost its click functionality which is annoying but doesn't entirely make the phone non-functional. Good thing too Google Maps has been keeping us on track this whoe damn time.
Just drove out of Salzburg where we will be returning to tomorrow to take the Sound of Music tour - Rick Steves says its quite delightful. We have arrived in Priem am Chiemsee which is a little town on a lake about a half hour outside of Salzburg where I believe we intend to stay. Hallstatt was quite picturesque and nice to walk around in. For some reason there were about a billion Japanese tourists in Hallstatt which was a welcome change of pace in the cultural homogenity which is the Bavarian/Austrian countryside.
At dinner last night Kia's grandparents accidentally ordered a souffle for dessert which was as big as my head. It was awesome and they ate every last bite.
The fall weather, note I am blaming the weather and not the beer consumption, has given me a bit of a headcold but I am going to Jaigermeister my way through it. Birthday on Friday and we should be headed toward Munich and Oktoberfest for the weekend. Grind hard.

The Hills Are Alive...

2008-09-21T05:54:00.000-07:00

OK, that was a little weak with the lyrics, but shit, I am in the middle of Bavaria and the closest thing to modern music I have heard was Forever Young this morning at breakfast.
I am flying down the autobahn in the backseat of a rented Peugot station wagon on my way to Hallstatt, which is actually in Austria, not Bavaria. The trip has been a lot of fun. We have seen a ton of stuff (3 castles, 2 lakes, 3 grand churches, 1 Hitler house, about 20 mountain villages and, at last count, 2,952,652 cows). Beer with lunch is quickly becoming my new favorite habit. Going to bed early and spending an hour eating breakfast are competing for second. I believe the wifey and I are the youngest people in most of the places we have gone which both makes me feel awesomely with-it and surprisingly spry. Well, we are off the autobahn and I am missing all the scenery.
Smell ya later.

You Tie My Hands, What Am I Supposed To Do?

2008-09-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

On the shuttle. Now only most observant readers would realize that I shouldn't be on the shuttle right now but instead getting ready for a day of work in the SF office because of my flight in the early evening tonight to Munich. So why, pray tell, am I on the bus this fine morning? Well, I needed something to do with the car during my vacation so I drove it south, parked it at work and hopped the early morning shuttle from Mountain View to San Francisco. So I have spent the last two hours on the 101. Oh well.
Working from The City today and I have m day planned out already. Need to maximize my efforts to ensure that I get everything done that I have planned. Its going to be a bit tight.
In Fantasy news, I have made it to the finals of my baseball league. Finals in fantasy baseball, like most fantasy sports suffers from the fact that the playoffs are really at the end of the regular season, where many teams are benching their star players in anticipation of the playoffs. I'm hoping my teams are playing for playoff spots, most of them are out of contention though. Zoinks. Football was less successful this week. Carson Palmer is fast becoming a liability on my roster. Peterson had another bonkers game though.
Getting off the shuttle at Embarcadero. I may try to update the blog during my vacation, but it will be limited at best.
Grind hard.

Jump In the '64, Get Out, Cock the Hammer, Then Kick Down The Door

2008-09-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

Man, had to post this little tidbit. (credit goes to Josi via the wifey for pointing me at this one *Updated with the actual Comedy Central video)

Uh, y'all got sizzerved. Oh, and Sarah (Palin this time, but happy birthday Wampler) if you have a kooshy cabinet position open for me, let me know girl. A to the motha fucking K homeboyyyyy.

I Call These Rappers Baby Seals 'Cause They Club You To Death

2008-09-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

Another late night in Mountain View tonight. Tomorrow will be a bit late too because of some video conferencing with another office. Today I was late because, frankly, I am going on vacation next week and I have a shit ton of work to do before I leave. 'Twill be a magical vacation though. I'm considering smashing my blackberry before I leave in order to ensure that I am not tempted to check my email. I am going to end up checking it anyway though. Isn't T-Mobile from Germany or something?

Man, the late night commute is something else though. Flying towards the city. About to get off the freeway and I left Mountain View roughly 35 minutes ago. For those of you not from and/or currently residing in the bay area, this is completely insane.

Ended up winning my fantasy football matchup this week. Adrian Peterson came through for me even if Carson Palmer was a big fat dud.

It turns out that I am going to miss the basketball final in our Google league. My prediction on this is that it has abolutely no bearing on the outcome of the game though I will be a little sad to miss the victory lap that I imagine Nate taking around the the court doing his characteristic old man shuffle jog. My coaching advice - pass David the ball in the paint and play Dougherty aka "The Human Highlight Reel" at least half the game because, damn, that is just some fine basketballing.

Tomorrow is Sara's birthday, happy early birthday Sara! On a related note, I was thinking that I may have to edit all of my blog entries about my friend Sara and change her name from "Sara" to "Sara, not Palin", but I am going to assume that my readers are advanced to pick up on the subtle presence of the silent 'h' on one of their names....

OK, grind hard.

You Rhyme Depressin', You Haven't Learned Your Lesson - The Issue I'm Stressin'

2008-09-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

Monday down, four more days to go. Then one more day next week, then 14 days of vacation. Boo ya.
Work was OK today but I was there longer than I wanted to be. Headed back on the later shuttle this evening which is on track to put me back home only marginally later than the 5:30pm shuttle. Man, 101 traffic is painfully bad if you are on the road at 6pm. I keep talking about adjusting my schedule to account for this, but I probably never will.
Following the Minnesota/Green Bay game on the Yahoo! ticker right now and Adrian Peterson just scored on a 3 yard touchdown run. I picked Adrian first in our work fantasy draft this year which was a bit of a risk but so far I am feeling pretty good about that. Tom Brady (picked second) is potentially out for the season with a knee injury. I am playing against the guy who got a bargain on LT picking third this week and with Adrian Peterson already scoring me 17 pts this game, I am feeling pretty good about my chances - I was up 8 pts going into the evening where I have AP playing and he has Selvin Young and Minnesota defense.
Speaking of fantasy sports, I need to set my pitchers in my baseball league playoffs this week. OK done. Lincecum pitching against AZ tonight. Timmaaaay.
So, another "tribute" (read: mock-tastic) post along the lines of Sophia's affront to Alaskan sensibilities - Palin would be appalled - was posted by a coworker. OK, you have jokes, not bad.

Caught up on a bunch of Sex and the City this weekend, the wifey and I are almost all the way through the series and I have to say the production value and the sriting of the show has gotten much better as it has progressed.

OK hopping off the shuttle. If you haven't checked out Mock, Paper, Scissors yet, do so, its pretty funny.

Make that money but don't let that money make you.

I Bust With An Exuberant Lust For Life

2008-09-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

Hurtling towards the city and its roughly 8:30pm. That puts my work hours committed today up to roughly 12. Boo ya.
So the topic of discussion at work the last few days - at least with me - has been Sarah Palin. Here are a few stats on Sarah.
From Wikipedia:

"Palin served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska, city council from 1992 to 1996, then won two terms as mayor of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002. After an unsuccessful campaign for lieutenant governor of Alaska in 2002, she chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004 while also serving as Ethics Supervisor of the commission."

"As of the 2000 census, (Wasilla's) population was 5,469, but the 2005 estimate gave a population of 8,471"

"In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla beauty contest (playing the flute),^[7]^[8] then finished second in the Miss Alaska pageant,^[9] at which she won a college scholarship and the "Miss Congeniality" award.^[6] Palin attended Hawaii Pacific College — now known as Hawaii Pacific University — in Honolulu for a semester in 1982, majoring in Business Administration. She transferred in 1983 to North Idaho College.^[10] In 1987,^[11] Palin received a Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism from the University of Idaho, where she also minored in political science.^[12]^[13]"

Children's names: Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, Trig

Number of votes she received in 1999 Mayoral race in Wasilla: 909 (73.6%)

And of course:
"Governor Palin announced on September 1, 2008, that her daughter Bristol was five months pregnant and intended to keep the baby and marry the father of her child, 17-year-old Levi Johnston.^[134]^[135] Bristol Palin is a senior at Wasilla High School.^[136] According to Wasilla High School Principal Dwight Probasco, Levi Johnston plays on the school's hockey team but does not attend the school. Johnston is home-schooled through the Mat-Su Correspondence Study School in Wasilla, Alaska.^[137]"
Seriously, do I have to explain why this person is a bad idea to be anywhere near the president's seat let alone one tossed blood clot (in a dude who looks like he is about to pop half the time) away from the presidency of America? Give her a job in the cabinet. Let her be press secretary, something with lots of air time.
I think Mrs. Palin actually took longer in college than I did. Joe Bidden will tear her to shreds if they do a VP debate but (according to my mother) this actually worked to Sarah's advantage in the Governer's race in AK because voters thought that she was getting "picked on" when the other candidates tried to get her to state a position.

OK, whew, rant over. Good luck Sarah.
Weekend was good. Relaxed a lot, watched Tropic Thunder, which was pretty funny, but not awesome. Finished the Watchmen which was awesome. The ending was good, I was pretty worried about how they were going to end it, and they did a good job. I hope they do a good job in the movie version of capturing the cultural climate in which it was set (80s Cold War). I heard that Alan Moore (the author) walked off the set and told the producers to take his name off the movie. Yikes.
Hopping off the bus.

I Roll Backwood Trees With That Emerald Green

2008-08-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

Uh-oh, serious face.

So, my computer battery is about to die but I just had to throw this little tidbit up. According to the NYT McCain just selected Alaska Governer Sarah Palin to be his VP candidate. Nice little shout out to the 49th state but let me say this - I ain't voting for him. Congrats though Sarah. You are fast becoming the AK version of Gavin Newsom.

If you claim to be from Alaska and don't have a picture of a salmon you caught you might as well be from frickin' Seattle.

I Said A Banana Nutriment Man

2008-08-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

Thursday over. Man, the week has been moving fairly quickly which I am definitely not complaining about. Long weekend coming up and only a couple more full weeks before I jump on a plane for Germany - or Bavaria as apparently some people consider it a different country than Germany. Headed into Munich and then spending the next two weeks traveling the German countryside. My dad put in a request for a cuckoo clock mainly to harass his clients but I am willing to take other orders as well. Apparently some of the towns we are going to go through are famous for their taxidermy of small rodent like animals and dressing them in lederhosen so there are options. It turns out - completely by chance - that I will be there for Oktoberfest. Uh, hello, this is going to be frickin' awesome. I wrote an essay in my college English class about how Oktoberfest really represents the best type of party because of the beer/meat/polka/lederhosen combination. I stand by this. I talked with Jan - visiting from Dublin - about Oktoberfest and he dryly remarked that it was great if you were into drunken American tourists.... Translation - its going to be awesome. Anyway, I am pretty pumped to be getting on a plane and not answering email for a little while.
Got my 49ers tickets in the mail this afternoon. They look legitimate and it turns out the face value on the tickets was like $98 so I am feeling pretty good about the $35 including fees I paid for them. I mean, it is preseason but it should be a good time. This is reminding me that I need to search for some tickets for October when my brother is in town.
Speaking of the 9ers, I got my Frank Gore t-shirt in the mail today and was reading his diary on the 49ers website. Lets just say, he's a better runner than writer. I wonder if the players actually write this junk. Ol' Frank probably has some agent crony who does this type of thing for him - shoot, I would. Actually, I heard Dan has a similar method for posting on his blog - he just transcribes them to his housekeeper Consuela. "Consuela - that picture of Kobe isn't an animated gif - I want it to be an animated gif!!"
Started playing Assassin's Creed last night. Its pretty fun so far and the graphics are pretty cool. I can kind of tell that I won't make it through the entire game, like as soon as it starts getting hard I am going to end up losing interest. The movement animations are pretty awesome and I spent a good 45 seconds jumping in and out of the stacks of hay.
So I think I mentioned that I got a new crackberry from work the other day. As a part of this new phone switch I have managed to lose all of the phone numbers that I entered into my old phone. So, old contacts from my sim card were cool, but any number I put into my phone after changing to the last Blackberry has gotten lost. This has already and will continue to lead to awesomely awkward moments where someone text messages me and I have to be like "uh, who the hell are you?" Sorry Burger.
Go hard in the boat.

I'm Pro-Zapatista, Pro-Cuba, Viva! Pro-La Raza Saying Fuck La Migra

2008-08-27T18:20:00.001-07:00

Things have been pretty ape. The shuttle has been a little wacky lately - they have been using smaller buses the last couple days - I blame Sara. Thanks for ruining my commute Sara.
Work has been busy this week despite my manager being out of town and I have managed to not get a ton of sleep.
Fantasy baseball is winding down and I am finishing the season pretty strong. In first place by 4.5 games in the last week of the season. Playoffs start next week. Trying to sweep that junk.
Been watching Coup videos on the way home. If you aren't familiar with The Coup, don't feel bad, actually, scratch that - feel bad, real bad. The Coup is Filthy McNasty. Here is some evidence.

Classic joint. Real old school West Coast beat - Shalbs, I'm talking to you - and some punchy lyrics.

Bad ass beat, Boots kills this one and shit, the video is just sick.

The first YouTube comment says "this song makes me want to dance AND punch a cop in the face. love this shit.". Enough said.

Last one. Bouncy beat and relatively low budget but high impact animations.

See, now you know.
Going to the 9ers game on Friday with Allan (Mountain) Du. Trying that nickname on for size. I tried it in China but it just confused everyone. Got some pretty decent tickets on Stub Hub - we will see how that works out.
Been reading the Watchmen graphic novel on the bus and in the evenings before bed. I have to say, I am pretty obsessed with it. Its really well written and the art, while not particularly edgy, is sort of understated and awesome.
OK, in the city. Grind hard.

My Choice Is What I Choose To Do And If Its Causin' No Harm It Shouldn't Bother You

2008-08-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

It was a wacky week. One day at SES, one day at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Didn't finish enough work to feel like I accomplished enough to relax this weekend.

Left the office late tonight because of the Fantasy Football Draft. I am pretty pleased with my team but I am noticeably WR heavy. Its not my fault, the draft just crumbled like that. That said, I scored first pick this season - the second time in three seasons - and picked Adrien Peterson. We'll see. I could be in big trouble if Reggie Bush or Adrien Peterson go down. I need to stay on top of the free agents wire.

Headed to the Giants game tomorrow with Allan and the wifey. Looking forward to that. It will be my first game of the season. Hopefully I can hit up a couple more games before the end of the season. I still haven't gotten to see Lincecum pitch. Speaking of which he is currently blanking the Padres through five. That guy is a freaking beast (not that blanking the Padres is a real indicator of this, but still).

Thinking about going to the Guitar Center this weekend to check out keyboards. You know, the kind that is shaped like a guitar and you can rock out on. OK, not really, but if people have recommendations feel free to let me know. Something decent, medium sized with some bad ass Samba beats pre-programmed.

Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow and watching more of season two of Weeds. Its a pretty decent show. Better than I expected. Kevin Nealon is insanely hilarious on the show, in my opinion he is funnier than he ever was on SNL.

OK, hopping off the shuttle. Stay out of trouble this weekend.

Domino Effect, Arts and Crafts, Paragraphs Contain Cyanide

2008-08-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

OK this post is going to be a little YouTube heavy, so what?
Headed back to the city from Mountain View a little late this evening. We had our playoff game today and my team (aka the people who let me hang out with them after they win basketball games) won which puts us in the semi-finals. I am pretty pumped about it and we played a team we barely beat the first time around. So far in the playoffs we have just been playing teams we have already played so we kind of have their scouting report together. Next couple of games might be a little different. Anyway, it was fun and I scored a couple points. I am tipping the scales on my injuries/points ratio in my favor....
A quick video game update - I have given up on Bioshock. No, not because "harvesting" small children was disturbing (it was though) but rather because I fired the game up last night and it had lost my saved game somehow and moved me back like two levels. Two levels? That was like 3 hours of my life. I sent it back to Gamefly and I am hoping my hard drive just had a little hiccup - yeah right, how often does that happen.
Its foggy as hell in the city.
Here are some classic videos:

Fat Joe is ballin'!

One of my favorite Wu videos and songs of all time.

My favorite Killah Priest song. No video that I could find but the song is bonkers. I know I said this before but if you haven't checked out Heavy Mental do so immediately.
Hopping off the bus. Dougherty just sent me an angry text message because I missed our annual photo booth session at the Google Dance. Sorry Dougherty, I will make it up to you at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on Thursday.

Everything I Hear On The Radio Is Hillbilly Hood

2008-08-18T18:13:00.000-07:00

On the shuttle. Sitting next to Sara so she is getting a preview of the blog content.
Spent the day at SES. It was the second time I have been on the first day of the conference with no intention of going any of the subsequent days. The first day of the conference is generally less well attended than other days and because the expo (schwag booths) aren't set up people generally aren't as apeshit excited about stuff. Anyway.
Weekend was good. Watched a bunch of Sex In The City - yes, I have already admitted to liking this show. Also watched a bunch of Olympics over at Nate's house. Basically, I burned myself out on the Olympics watching the women's marathon. Fun was had none the less, and beer and burgers were consumed.
Ordered the Watchmen graphic novel from Amazon and it arrived today along with a Japan travel book. Am I going to Japan? Maybe, I hope, but no plans as of yet. Amazon shipped me (and billed me for) two copies of the graphic novel though but a willing coworker took it off my hands, or will take it off my hands tomorrow when I collect his ten dollars. I'm pretty excited to read it though. I will update the blog with some kind of a review when I do.
I've been playing Bioshock for the last few weeks and taking my time with it. Its a little scary for my tastes but its pretty bad ass. Graphics are really good and the story is pretty engaging. I think I am on the last level.
OK, going to get off the shuttle. Grind hard.

Got The Respect Without Dropping A Check

2008-08-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

Ted Stevens is a crook. It was widely accepted as a fact when I was growing up in Alaska and mutually beneficial agreements between industry and politicians have been a reality of the political landscape as long as I can remember - Dick Cheney anyone?
I just sifted through this Anchorage Daily News article on how Stevens as a modern day crook was able to make illegal deals which unless he was being actively investigated would have been extremely easy to miss. This guy is running (still running!) for his seventh full term in the US Senate. He is hosed. His family is hosed - his son Ben was busted for accepting bribes a few years ago while he was in the State Senate. Well, his family is hosed and it isn't. Depending on how much money uncle Ted was able to sock away over the last 20-30 years of selling out his state and his loyalty. Good luck to the Stevenses.
There was mention of lunch meetings in the article and it reminded me of when I used to work at a brew pub at one of the local hotels in Anchorage and Ted used to come in and eat with the hotel owner and various other big-wigs. He was always a dick and he called the waitresses "honey" and "sweety". That's the guy he was (and is) - the Don of Alaska.
Shit, this guy should be thanking heaven that this isn't China where BYOB stands for "Buy Your Own Bullet".
This one is just plain fun:

(Photo credit goes to http://www.mockpaperscissors.com/ - which I just found out is an awesome site)

"Seriously Spidey, you can't be in favor of term limits!"

Monster Truck, Punk, Elephant Gun Poke, Jawbreaker Humanoid, Vicegrip, Choke

2008-08-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

Week has been long and with little opportunity to blog. Yes, that is likely a welcome respite for most. Jeez jerks, nobody is making you read this junk.
I had three 8am starts this week and one 7am start. Drove to work twice which I am estimating a gas cost of $75 on the full tank. Midweek the extra half hour of sleep that afforded me was worth it.
The wifey and I have been watching Sex And The City for the second time through. I am willing to admit that I like the show. Its pretty funny and the fact (similarly to Weeds) its only a half hour long makes it much more accessible during the week. I haven't been watching the Olympics really mostly because NBC doesn't come in at my house. When are they going to start streaming network television? It has to be cheaper than broadcasting it. From what I can gather, China is doing well so far despite scandals around underage athletes. Underage athletes?! Really, that's the biggest gripe the media has about China and the Olympics? I would chalk that up as a win for China. Oh and lets just put this out there, who cares if that kid is 13? If she is good enough to compete, let her compete, I couldn't really care less.
The Giants are playing fairly horribly and while this is not unexpected it remains disappointing. Maybe Zito will retire or something. Every Giants fan collectively wrung their hands this week when Lincecum got drilled with a line drive but news reports claim he is doing OK and should even make his next start. He flipping better, I am a half game out of the lead for my fantasy baseball league and my trade of Manny Ramirez for Brandon Webb got flipped on its head when Carlos Lee got injured. Damn, I should have held onto Manny. Speaking of whom, I hate the Dodgers, and most if not all of their players, but it is tough for me to hate Manny. Maybe this goes back to my complicated feelings for other power-hitting asshole baseball players who will remain unnamed.
Alright, about to hop off the bus.

...As He Utter The Calm Flow, "Don't Talk About My Mom's Yo"

2008-08-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

Week over. It had its high moments and it had its low moments and next week is shaping up to be quite a doozy.
Olympics party tonight. I am getting more and more pumped for the Olympics. Its always pretty fun to watch though I am pretty concerned about my tv reception on NBC which is especially terrible. Maybe if the online thing works out I can use the PS3 to watch some of the events I am interested in. It probably requires some kind of advanced Flash player though which the Sony browser is not going to support. Stupid awesome PS3.
So, going to Sara's tonight. I'm glad her party is in the city because my plan is to drink heavily and make fun of anyone who is not from the US because of our Olympics dominance. Boo ya! Then, of course, I am headed south on Sunday to watch the US vs. China basketball match which will be a demolition job.
The next playoff game for the work league is on Thursday of next week and I need to work on the jumper prior to the game. Its going to be a pretty tough match. I think we might recruit Allan to put in some work for us though as we may be down a player or two this coming week.
The wifey and I started watching Weeds this week. The show is pretty good. I like the fact that its only 25 minutes helps make it more accessible during the week.
The bus driver has spent the vast majority of the commute giving a commentary on everything we have driven past. In most cases I would find this terribly annoying, but damn, you can't hate this guy. Its because he is both well-versed on many different subjects and because he has an Irish accent and lets be frank, you can't dislike anyone with a brogue unless you are a heartless bastard. He has been giving us his take on everything from the poverty in the city to the fantastic natural beauty as we drove along the 280.
A couple of excerpts from my IMs with Chris:

"The missionaries had a profound influence on early California history"

"Of course it was a traumatic time for many of the Native Americans, many of them died"

Fan-frickin'-tastic.
OK, about to hop off the shuttle.
USA! USA!!

The Heat Be In It, You Need A Key To Get In It

2008-08-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

Headed back to the city. The weather has been typical of San Francisco summers the last few days in that as soon as you get to the airport headed north on the 101 the fog banks are pretty heavy the rest of the way to the city. Its probably pretty nice in the city during the day but as soon as the early evening rolls around it just clouds over. Whatever, I kind of prefer the cold anyway.
The day was taken up with mostly a legal training for managers which was uncharacteristically entertaining. I had gone through a similar training a couple years ago and it was the same teacher, the same stories I have to admit, it was almost as good the second time around.
Weekend is fast approaching. I was talking with Allan about watching the US vs. China basketball on Sunday down in Mountain View and while I thought that meant I would have to get up at 5:30 to be down in the South Bay by the 7:15am tip it turns out they are airing the game at 10am on NBC so I will just not listen to the radio/go online in the morning before heading down to watch.
Speaking of the Olympics Friday is Sara's Olympics opening ceremony party which I have heard explained as an excuse for Sara to cook all of the food she likes prior to the Olympics so that have leftovers ready for the coming few days so that she can focus her energy 100% on watching gymnastics etc. I am pretty excited about the party and the fact that Sara is living in the city now and we can be proper friends.
Watched Gone Baby Gone last night with the wifey. I am pretty sure I liked it more than she did. The story was pretty depressing and I am not a good job of managing the Netflix queue to ensure a good balance of happy-go-lucky movies and depressing movies. Its been heavily weighted towards the depressing dramas - which I tend to naturally gravitate towards.
So between (or I should say instead of) clearing out my inbox on the commute home I have been watching George Lopez videos on Youtube. The best of which have been the sections of his HBO special which are chunked out. If you don't know about George Lopez, or you think you know about George Lopez from his tv show, you need to watch these. To me, this is one of the funniest guys out there. He has an uncanny ability to be both self-deprecating and cocky simultaneously. Plus, he is funny as shit. Here are the first couple.

The rest are on Youtube, just click in and they should be linked in the related videos section. Seriously, take 15 minutes and watch.
OK about to get off the shuttle. Get that guac.

I'm About As Swift As Lightning Greased, And I'm Cold Like Sub-Zero - Feel The Deep Freeze

2008-08-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

Extra grindy this week so far. Hump day down and only two more days to go before el weekendo. I was talking with Allan today about the impending USA vs. China basketball match which he said was scheduled for 7:30am PST on Sunday - feel free to verify this on your own - and I demanded that he have me over to drink beer on Sunday morning and watch the US and A demolish the home team. This will be the first time since Kobe got that butterfly tattoo that I will be rooting for him. God, I really do love this country.

Seriously, are those butterflies on that crown? That mess is whack. Dougherty needs to start wearing tank-tops like Hiro at the company picnic and show Kobe what tattoos are all about. Speaking of the company picnic, someone please remind me to post my pictures from the picnic. Two 8am starts and one 6am start so far this week. I am going to feel slothful coming in at 8:30 tomorrow.
The wifey gave me a hard time today about queuing up Afro Samurai on Netflix but nerdy or not, I have to say, I am pretty excited about it. Basically, the RZA (who does the soundtrack) is a media genius and the fact that he is homeboys with Jim Jarmusch (whom the RZA partnered with on the movie Ghost Dog - check it out if you haven't already) pushes it over the edge.
Trailer:

Bridge traffic is slowing us down bigtime close to the city which gave me plenty of time to find that trailer and watch it a couple times.
Keep it grimey.

Reflecting Off The Church Pews, Givin' You The Good News

2008-08-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

Monday. Done. Started earlier than I normally like to on Mondays but its going to be starting even earlier as I have a 6am start. Zoinks. That means up at 4:30am and in the car by 5am to get down to Mountain View in time.
It was a pretty packed weekend. Friday was the company picnic and Kia came down. It was pretty fun, pretty similar to last year really except quite a few more people. I caught one or two people breaking the "bring your spouse and your kids" rule - yeah nbui I saw you running around with that troop of neighbor kids - busted. Anyway, it was pretty fun even if the lines for everything were way too long.
Saturday Kia and I spent the day with Allan in SF touring around. Allan spent a chunk of the morning doing some shopping at Union Square and I went and met him as he was winding down the shopping and Kia and I effectively pressured him into enjoying the weather at the beach. We started at Chrissy Field but despite being absolutely beautiful out it was far too windy to sit there so we followed the coast around to Baker Beach which was more crowded but also much less windy and almost equally as beautiful. So we sat there for a while mostly telling Kia stories about all of the stupid things that I did while I was in Beijing - it took a while, I did a lot of stupid things. Then we went to go see the Batman movie. Yeah, I saw it before, but I was glad to see it again, it was pretty bad ass even the second time around. Kia seemed to enjoy it and Allan surprised everyone by saying that it was his first Batman movie. First Batman movie?! That's downright un-American.
Sunday Kia and I got up a little late, ate, and hopped in the car around 2pm headed for Antioch to visit with some of Kia's long lost relatives (and some who weren't lost at all). Her paternal grandfather, aunt, two great-aunts (I think) and second-cousin all drove out from Texas to come to Kia's great-uncle's 75th birthday party. There were a number of other second/aunt/cousin/uncle/nephew/great/in-law types at the event and I must say, they were pretty damned entertaining. I already knew that the Texas branch of Kia's dad's family was pretty much an absolute riot but now I know that the California bunch are right up there. I got grilled about El Goog, pressured into trying to help with the A/V problems they were having with the slideshow. I failed miserably but I made an honest go at it. It was fun. Actually this is the second time I have gone to visit long lost relatives in California in the last few years. The other time was my mom's relatives (aunts and great aunts etc.) in Sacramento - no, not Roseville Koko. Funniest quote of the evening: "You're uglier than I was at 75" - Kia's grandfather recording a video message to his little brother whose birthday it was. That guy was a riot.
It was a hell of a weekend but I am pretty wiped at this point.
Oh, and last week I broke some glass at work and somebody said:
"Broken glass everywhere"
And subsequently attributed that line to MA$E. Go to school youngsters.
Grind hard.

I'm Gonna Get You Sucka - Like Damon Wayans

2008-07-31T22:06:00.000-07:00

On the shuttle late tonight. Headed back from an evening of bbq and drinks with Allan and Lu and some other people who I work with regularly so are less notable, oh and one of Kunan's friends who reminded me a lot of Kunan - meaning he was cool.
Anyway, full on bbq ribs and all dem fixins and hurtling towards the city with absolutely no traffic. Tomorrow is the company picnic and it should be fun but it has been making me think that today is Friday, its not.
Spent the majority of the commute home watching Def Squad videos and thinking that I should throw some more of my vast Redman music collection on my ipod - that junk is sick.

OK this video is bonkers. I haven't seen it since I was in high school and its still completely insanely awesome.

Come on - Erick Sermon dressed as the Klumps. That's just brilliant.

Another classic video featuring Red and Meth.

Only Method Man can get away with dancing like that in a video without looking like Puff Daddy. Oh and the Asian dude in the orange vest halfway through was busting me up.

Last one. Loved this beat back in the day - ooooweee.

OK, hopping the shuttle. Night.

Still Wil' Out, Kick It Like Cobra Kai Dojo

2008-07-29T18:01:00.000-07:00

Man o man o man o man. Full tilt this week. Today was one of those days where for some reason people asked me repeatedly for my opinion on relatively controversial work things. For future reference, this is a very quick way for you to sink half an hour if you don't have anything better to do. Anyway, I got to say what I thought - which was good for me, and probably marginally useful for other people. I am a big proponent of discussion which I think in most companies is seen as wasted time. I should have been on the debate team.
Watched Hellboy II over the weekend and it was pretty much exactly as I expected. Which is to say it was good, but not great. The monsters were pretty rad though and this was my greatest hope for the movie. A lot of people quipped that the monsters in this movie looked a lot like the monsters from the Pan's Labyrinth movie and honestly they kind of did, but uh, hello, those monsters were pretty bad ass and one of my major criticisms of Pan's Labyrinth was that they pumped the monsters in the previews and under-delivered in the actual movie. Anyway, I liked this Hellboy better than the first one.
Speaking of movies, Kia and I finally watched There Will Be Blood last night. Kia wasn't a big fan and I have to admit, I got pretty bored. Daniel Day-Lewis was bad ass in the role (no more so than most of his roles though - the dude is an awesome actor) but the plot was kind of slow at times and never really turned in a way that I found really engaging. Kia thought it was depressing, it was. Dougherty said that he thought it was better than No Country For Old Men, its not - friendo.
Early start tomorrow and I managed to let a coworker talk me into giving a presentation at sort of the last minute. Talked me into it? Please, I didn't even give the meekest of resistance. Get comfortable with saying no and make yourself redundant - those are my professional development areas for the day.
About to hop off the shuttle. Stay up on your business.

Jumpin' Out of Cabs, Grabbin' Money Bags

2008-07-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

"They say the recipe for Sprite is lemon and lime but I tried to make it at home, there is more to it than that. 'Want some more homemade Sprite?' 'Not until you figure out what the fuck else is in it!'" - Mitch Hedberg
I can thank Google Reader for allowing me to aggregate my coworker blogs and stumble across this gem. Pure hilarity and it also featured the mlewis/Tibetan Hulk picture that I referenced in an earlier post. I should be sleeping on the shuttle right now like everyone else on Monday morning but the magic of the internet is keeping me up.
About to get into work. Lots going on this week not the least of which is the company picnic on Friday which is going to be quite the spectacle. Kia is going to get to come down (hopefully) for it this year for the first time in the four years I have been here.
Finished the fourth season of The Wire over the weekend and I have to say, it was one of my favorite seasons. I said this to Beah (she begged for that link) the other day but I think the way they portrayed the middle school that was featured in the season was pretty damned realistic. Yeah, fine, I didn't go to middle school in Baltimore, or in San Francisco, but I spent a year in one as a college student (no, not for remedial classes) and and its clear that the writers for The Wire did some research.
OK, hopping off the shuttle. Grind hard.

Weak In The Knees Like Pat Ewing

2008-07-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

Van Damme, week over. It was a good week all said. Busy, had more than a couple times where I cursed under my breath, a couple where it was audible, maybe one or two which echoed across the office. Had some interesting conversations with folks and put in some good work. That said, glad its over.
Played the first game of the basketball league playoffs today at work. I have to say, while he didn't score the most points, MVP of this game is going to Dougherty. All hustle. Scrappy as all get out. And, by God, one of the single most entertaining steal/fast-break/lay-up attempts of all time. He left bodies in his wake. We played against a team which we beat earlier in the season 21-10 but they were much improved this time and we held on at the end to a 21-17 victory. I finally scored my first two points of the season in true Robert Horry fashion, though not quite as clutch.
Took Jason's (my coworker Jason, not my brother Jason) advice and pulled together all the coworker blogs in Reader. It certainly organizes them well, but it also makes it much easier to ignore all of them instead of reading one or two that pop into my head randomly. Meh.
The bus driver mistakenly took the 101 branch of the freeway into the city. I can see the 280 branch from here and its clear. We are stop and go. Daaaaamn. Usually he makes an announcement on the overhead and asks people to look up the traffic for him. He didn't do it today. Sometimes he likes to spend the last 5-10 minutes as he drives through the city sharing his perspective on random things. How lovely the day was, a public hearing coming up about how to use park land in the Presidio, whatever is on the top of his mind. Gotta admit, its kind of weird, but I have to respect that the guy is willing to subject a bus load of what I am willing to blanket classify as fairly self-absorbed professionals to his own random musings. If I had a PA system I would probably subject them to my music. I would probably get fired. Unless it was Mos Def, you know, because white people like him. Sean Price hasn't made that list yet.
"Eminem nice but Eminem white" - Sean P.
Check out this short one from Killah Priest's new album. Yikes, just plain yikes.

If you aren't hip to Killah Priest, get familiar. He was with Sunz of Man - which is all you should need to know, but later release 3 or 4 solo albums. His first is, in my opinion, one of the all time best Wu albums of all time - Heavy Mental. His interview with Kelefa Sannah from Transition magazine was basically one of the most awesome pieces of journalism of all time. I think Harpers picked up the article and my dad made me read it in highschool. I remember him saying something to the effect of, this guy is basically nuts. And my response being something to the effect of yup, he is and his album blew my mind. Tried to dig out a copy for you guys but they want me to subscribe. Uh, no thanks.
Gooooo weekend.

Moms Kicked Me Out The House While I Was Flipping I'm The Man

2008-07-24T18:19:00.001-07:00

Cranking this week out. Its been moving fairly quickly to be honest but it always does when I am trying to catch up on stuff. Feeling good about my productivity for the first time in a while at this point and taking some cues from my former professional coach (yes, for a short period I had an executive coach) in saying to myself, shit sometimes there's only so much you can do. She phrased this more effectively. During a group training session she brought in a guy who exemplified some of the good behaviors that she was trying to emphasize to talk to our group. She mentioned (perhaps jokingly) that she tried hard to recruit this guy to work with her company. I remember thinking to myself, this guy - please, why isn't she trying to recruit me? How's that for an insight into my psyche. God, I am nuts.
Restarted that Quicksilver book (no, Hiro, its not about the clothing company, well at least so far), I was only about 25 pages into it anyway, and the second time around its making a bit more sense. At this rate I will finish the series of three books by the time I am 43. One of the reasons I was probably struggling reading the book was the fact that it weighs about 8 pounds and holding it above my head in bed was posing a serious risk of injury.
Was listening to this album for the first time today and was floored by the beats on some of this stuff. Premo son.

Alright, about to get dropped off in the city.
Uh bye.

Word To My Nanna

2008-07-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

Hump day. Shuttling south at this point. Work has been relatively ape and I have been sinking a lot of my commute time into catching up on work as opposed to blogging. I've also had to spend an increased amount of time trying to follow the now numerous blogs generated by my coworkers. I must say its become increasingly difficult and if anyone is interested in creating a meta-blog which would aggregate and summarize the content I would be willing to subscribe for a couple bucks a month.
I've been trying to get into this Neil Stephenson series Quicksilver but I am struggling with the first 20 pages. This is not a good sign. I guess I need to stop reading in bed but, you know, when I'm not in bed there are things like PS3s which are more likely to snatch my attention. Maybe I should grow up. Meh.
Another product of my new favorite youtube query "red band trailer" is the trailer for Burn After Reading from the Cohen brothers.

Uh, this looks awesome. Brad Pitt's haircut/ipod armband combination is enough of a reason for me to go to this movie.
About at work. Stay grizzled.

In the PJs Like I'm Ready For Bedtime

2008-07-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

Gray Monday. Didn't sleep well last night. Its either because I am stressed about being behind at work or because I took an hour long nap in the early evening yesterday. Either way, I woke up every hour or so last night and it sucked.
Weekend was legitimate. Didn't really get a ton done but I managed to kick whatever remained of my cold.
Watched The Dark Night on Friday with the team. It was pretty much awesome. Better than the first (first of the new ones that is) but I think that is owed to the fact that the villain characters in this one are just better characters. Even walking out of the movie Friday people were talking about Heath Ledger doing a better job at playing the Joker than Jack Nicholson. I even heard people saying that his role was perhaps one of the best all time movie villains. I don't know about that, but the kid played the hell out of the Joker. I will also say that Ledger's portrayal of the Joker has to be considered a tribute to Nicholson's portrayal. Mannerisms, speech and even the scenes they put him in (lone, walking down the street towards an oncoming Batman, gun in hand) were very much built on Nicholson's Joker. Anyway, the movie was sick.
The brougham was in town last week. He and Kia came down to Mountain View on Wednesday and I showed them around the office. Paraded them through like they were show dogs is probably more accurate. My team was well-behaved for the most part and even the Wysz did his best not to make it awkward. I took Thursday off to hang out with Jason and we spent the majority of his time in San Francisco eating foods that aren't likely available in Alaska. We hit up Bar Tartine for Kia's birthday which was almost as good as the first time I went there (kudos to Beah for the recommendation/gift certificate). Went to this dirty little dim sum spot on Balboa st. and it was pretty tasty, and cheap as hell. Hit up Green Chile Kitchen and this froofy dessert spot which was damn tasty, if not a little snooty.
At work now. Stay on your grind.

I'm Just So Ricky Ricardo - Ridiculous

2008-07-15T17:42:00.001-07:00

So I am on the shuttle, shuttling between shuttle stops on the work campus and we managed to get stuck in traffic between buildings. Traffic between buildings? - you ask - I know, come on, this company isn't THAT big yet, but its not Google employees. Its concert traffic. My informal visual survey of the people in traffic around me included spoiled brats and their parents in gigantic SUVs, cars full of teenage girls, and lonely looking single middle-aged women. Who could be playing at the Shoreline Amphitheatre which would draw such a crowd? Josh Grobin? - nope, not enough old ladies. Alanis Morrisette? - nah, crowd is too young. Carrie Underwood? - don't think so, the rodeo contingency was too low. I decided to look it up. It turns out it is the Jonas Brothers. Who the hell are the Jonas Brothers? - you ask. Clearly you don't read Tiger Beat, Bop or US Weekly (Tiger Beat for adults). The Jonas Brothers are the latest iteration of the Partridge Family/Nelson(the music group, not the person)/Hanson musical family Disney sponsored crap-fest. And they just cost me 5 minutes of my life - and about 30 seconds of yours (depending on how fast you read).
So my dad made some comments last week I think about hip hop, some were fair, some were dumb.

"there will be hip-hop aficionados ten years from now, but the fact is: it's over. All that is left of American culture can be summed up in the interchangeable cover of the latest DVDs: foreshortened glinting pistols (preferably automatic). If we weren't reliving the same, tired, rage-against-the-establishment posturing, I could be persuaded that things were different. But there isn't even any self-awareness of the fact that they've been co-opted by the military/industrial/entertainment complex. The Notorious B.I.G.: coming soon to a theater near you. (A Division of SONY)"

Now, let me start by stating that I am by no means impartial in my view of hip hop. I'm a fan/fiend/geek. That said, hip hop isn't over, its not even close to being over. Its reaching its stride, hitting middle age and churning out some of the best music I have ever heard in my life. The raw creativity of the early 90s has made way for more polished and smart music that is being put out now. If hip-hop was an infant/toddler in the 80s, it was a rebellious teenager in the 90s. Maturity is a good thing in many ways. I will also admit that I am a painfully nostalgic person so my perception of things that happened in the past (music, people, movies, things I have said, things I did) is always elevated to some kind of star status like Shinobi. The legitimate criticisms in my mind that my dad makes are these: hip hop is commercialized, it glorifies violence and it presents itself as anti-establishment when it isn't. Hip hop is guilty on all charges, and fuck it, so am I. Hip hop and I are a complicated couple, get over it. Do those things make it dead? Shit no, those are issues that have always been associated with hip hop and always will be.
OK, getting off my soap box and going to throw some fire atcha.
Some RA The Rugged Man:
RA hands out some free lessons on these ones. His verse is second on this track. Also, shout out to Masta Killa and Killah Priest, two of the illest Wu-Tang MCs. Take notes.

OK, shout out to Dan on this one. I read about this track on Wikipedia but hadn't heard it until he sent me the track. According to Wikipedia RA's verse tells the story of his dad's experience in Vietnam.

From AK to Gray Day

2008-07-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

Headed south. This morning was made more excruciating by the fact that I managed to pick up a chest cold this weekend. I almost turned around about four times on my way out to the Muni bus to head back into bed chug some Robitussin. The people sitting across from me on the shuttle are wishing that I had as I keep coughing all over them. My cube-mates are going to be thrilled.
Spent the majority of the weekend nursing the cold. Did some cleaning of the apartment in preparation for my brother's arrival on Wednesday. Played some Forza Motorsports: 2 on Sunday while Kia was at work. The game is pretty much identical to Gran Turismo except that Microsoft apparently realized that the career mode in Gran Turismo is kind of a pain in the ass to make any money at and subsequently hard to upgrade your cars. That said, Microsoft made it unprofitable to sell the cars you area awarded for winning races (100 credits for a 1970 Porsche 914, wtf?) which is kind of annoying.
I have to say, I am glad that I ended up not going camping this weekend if only because It would have sucked being stuck in the middle of the woods with this cold.
Maybe I will try to bounce early today.
Finished the third season of The Wire on Saturday. It was a good season. I am interested to see how they carve out a couple more seasons of the show. A lot of the plot lines appear to be tidied up at this point.

VIP Baby, These Days D-I Prescreens Baby, Let Me See ID

2008-07-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

Booyakah, back like a comet.
Been tied up this week. My dad expressed some concern around my lack of blogging but I feel that this has more to do with the fact that his blog comments are beginning to account for the majority of his social life rather than any genuine concern for my wellbeing. Oh, and I haven't forgotten about your little "hip hop is dead" comment pops. I'll be right back with a couple things to say on that.
Spent the last couple days wearing grown up clothes, being diplomatic and enjoying a 20 minute commute. The conference was solid.
Man trip got canceled for this weekend. This is a minor tragedy in my book. I was looking forward to it.
A weekend in the city may be just what the doc ordered. I am definitely trying to watch Hell Boy II. Guillermo del Toro is a creative genius (I'm a huge fan of the Spy Kids franchise) and it looks like they finally let him go nuts with creating some crazy-ass monsters.
My brother is apparently coming to town next week, actually arriving on Kia's birthday. He has a training thing in San Diego and is going to come by SF for a day or two. I asked him what he wanted to do, he mostly said eat, I can make that happen. Was going to see if I can scoop up some baseball tickets for Wednesday or Thursday but the first Giants game next week is Friday because of the All-Star week.
Van Damme.
Lincecum apparently isn't getting the start at the All-Star game. He should. Here is why:

Webb
ERA W-L SO WHIP
3.27 13-4 106 1.17

Lincecum
ERA W-L SO WHIP
2.66 10-2 126 1.27

Less wins, but he plays for the frickin' Giants. Dude is a beast.
Just caught wind of this Dilla track. Its awesome. Enjoy.

You Ain't American Dreamin On Me Is You? Well Is You? Fool You Better Come On In

2008-07-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

Short week? Says who?
Bounced a little early from work today. Got a haircut from "the van" at my work and the frighteningly bad barber was there. I luckily avoided having her near my head this time around.
There is a group of three guys on the bus talking about one of the guy's trip to Alaska recently. He described a moose as "like the biggest elk thing". One of my indirect coworkers is headed to Alaska soon. Keep your eyes peeled for bears, even in Anchorage - some poor girl got chomped the other day.
4th of July tomorrow. Not sure how I will celebrate. Probably eating unhealthy food of some kind and drinking a brew or two.
Pulled together a few classic videos mostly in defiance of my father's recent comment about hip hop being a lost cause. Lets put it on the table. Hip hop makes old people mad. Its rude and loud, except when it isn't.
Here are some classics:

Busta Rhymes in one of my all time favorite videos. This is pre-LL Cool J hulking up for Busta and back when he was mostly wacked out of his mind. Genius.

One of my favorite Tribe songs. Hadn't seen this video before but its pretty legit.

Pretty classic De La track. This song and album were kind of a departure from their first two albums. I don't think they could have kept up with the hippy rap forever and I am glad they didn't.

Here is a Roots classic video that the YouTube poster disabled embedding on - jerk.
Whatever, here is the link. If you haven't seen this one, you are missing out.
Enjoy the holiday but don't go American dreaming on me.

Ray Charles Wit' It, Doing the Damn Mess Around

2008-06-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

Wacky week. Late night vc tonight which should put me home around 1am. Came in at noon today but somehow its not making up for it. Coming in at noon tomorrow, but I feel like my sleep schedule for the week is just going to be chalked up as a loss. Did get to go to a pizza party though which was fun. If we had some game tokens and some pitchers of mixed soda from all of the fountains (which is apparently called a "Suicide") it would have been a real party though. Lots going on at work this week despite the shortened week because of the 4th of the July holiday.
Some major accomplishments this weekend. Bought groceries for the second weekend in a row at Whole Foods for the whole week. I shouldn't have done the math on what the groceries cost me vs. eating out. Essentially, I could eat out every meal for roughly the same price. None the less, groceries were purchased. Kia had to work on Sunday for a couple of hours which meant video games were played roughly the entire time she was at work. I got a glimpse of my life without marriage. It was a scary vision. That said, I did beat Resistance: Fall of Man which I had been stuck on for many months and managed to finally get to Dr. Doom on Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, he's hard....
Watched the first four episodes of The Wire Season 3 which is bad ass. I also watched Fool's Gold (yes, the Matthew McConaughey/Kate Hudson romp where they search for sunken treasure) and it was bad (not bad ass). Donald Sutherland was in it. I hope he got paid enough for the movie to pay for floor seats at the Staples Center for the rest of his life because there is no other excuse. Come to think of it, he was hiding behind his sunglasses at the games a little more than normal during the playoffs.
20 minutes until my meeting. Going to go prep on my speech which will likely consist of me going in front of our global team and saying "uhhh" and then sitting down. Its late here.
Going to make some notes so that I don't stammer too much.
Uh bye.

Eatin' Croutons All In Your Futon

2008-06-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

Hiero y'all

Couldn't find an unedited version of that one, sorry, its still sick.

I hate to admit it, but I hadn't heard either of these before today's commute. I need to step my game up.
Traffic sucked, YouTube helped. Spent the majority of the commute going through some old school videos. A little Redman, some more recent Sean Price albums. Those guys are monsters. Get familiar.
OK, hopping the shuttle.