4/30/2002
yoda lightsaber master
The main reason Yoda will be only computer animation this time around (and not a puppet) is that, to quote Lucas, "Yoda will finally show why he is called the Master." He will be using a lightsaber.
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4/29/2002
the win stat for pitchers is a farce
juan cruz of the cubs is 0-5 with a 2.33 era. Big whoop
i really dislike the win loss record for a pitcher. It's more moronic than the save statistic. I hate it when announcers talk about how great a pitcher is because he won so many games. It might actually make sense if the pitcher was directly related to how his team bats. Like maybe if it was only the pitcher pitcher and then only the pitcher bats. Then it would be just like a tennis match. One on one. And then the win stat would work for the pitcher.
I just don't buy the thought that a teams hitters would bat better for a better pitcher. If I knew randy johnson was on the mound for my team that day, I would actually be more likely not to care if i get more runs.
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4/28/2002
ice cream in the cold
Why eat ice cream when it's hot outside? Does it really cool you down? If anything, I find it stressful trying to prevent my ice cream cone from melting. I would much rather have an ice cream cone out in the cold where i won't have to worry about it melting. And I feel more at one with the cold weather. When eating an ice cream cone in the heat, it's like you are denying the heat's nature of being hot.
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4/27/2002
transformers
Get the new special Special First Season Collector's Edition on DVD for $45.00 at amazon. You'll also get limited-edition cels of Transformers characters. Hot dam!
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4/26/2002
universal greeting
someone did a search for "transformers universal greeting wreck" on google and they got my site
here it is: "Ba weep granna weep ninny bang" from my transformers movie script page.
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4/25/2002
Who can sell more art on ebay?
A bet was placed between my twin brother, a friend, and me. By April 23, 2003, the person who earned the most money by selling their art on ebay wins. Erik, my twin bro is the first to put art up. Check out his current auctions: auction 1 auction 2
Here's the official websites of the competitors: Erik Maldre, Laura Kesselring, Matt Maldre
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4/24/2002
Yoda Supastar
In the next Star Wars film (Attack of the Clones) Yoda will yield a light saber with "maneuvers as quick as his speech is circuitous." Time Magazine states. "A Gandhi turned Rambo, Yoda is the real action hero of the film." And Yoda will run! Can you imagine?
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4/23/2002
folding screen book
Samsung released a new folding LCD screen that reads like a book. Seems pretty neat. But I can't find how much this sucker costs.Check it out.
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4/22/2002
the nonsense of human exercise
This morning there was bird that ran around a statue in Lakeview. It almost seemed like the bird was just exercising. But that would be odd, because animals don't exercise just to exercise (like us humans). Everything animals do is for some constructive reason. All this energy humans use to just exercise with no external reason seems like a waste. Therefore, I hereby declare that all joggers should become messengers. Joggers could carry packages to and fro.
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4/21/2002
isosahedon
The magic 8-ball has 20 sides to it! TWENTY! I didn't think it had that many. Something with 20 sides is called an icosahedon.
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4/20/2002
Croquet Coincedence
The official croquet of the Squirearchy is now made under the brand names of Wilson and Sportcraft. Amazing. Here's the story no-point story:
hey! i found the croquet set for lisa. I went over to sportmart during work. There's one by the rock-n-roll mcdonalds. It's freakin 8 stories tall of all sportmart. It was my first time there and was very confusing. I like the single floor sportmart much better.
I called beforehand to see if they carry the official croquet set of the Chicago Croquet Squirearchy of Gentlefolk. They did not carry the Classic 444. But I went over there anyways. They carry a bunch of croquet sets much to my delight. I found out that the same manufacturer of the Classic 444 also produces sets under the Wilson and Sportcraft name. Both sets have some slight differences between the two. Wilson in black bag, Sportcraft in green bag. The decorations on the mallets are a bit different, but essentially the same set. So I opted for the more sportier Wilson model for $80 instead of the $90 Sportcraft.
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4/19/2002
Montgomery Monkey
The town mascot of Montgomery, Illionis should be the monkey. The Montgomery Monkey! Imagine, the monkey in the land of no noise.
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4/18/2002
land of no noise
Yesterday I was wondering if Montgomery, IL has a nickname. (it's where my girlfriend now lives). So I was searching for some special characteristic of Montgomery... "The Land of No Noise." From this article.
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4/17/2002
lucky bee
I played the Big Game lottery yesterday for 325 million dollars. I was hoping that since i got stung by a bee (or hornet) that would be my lucky day. So I played the numbers 8, 4, 16, 1, 46, 3.
8 = 8:00 the time that i got stung
4, 16 = 4/16 the date
1, 46 = 146 the bus number
3 = Three letters in BEE
I didn't win. I didn't even got one number right. And my thumb has ballooned up in size. I feel like in the cartoon Tom and Jerry when Tom gets his head blown up really big by a drinking straw from Jerry. Now I just waiting for it to explode.
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4/16/2002
wanted dead
The assilant was not clearly identified. Police sketches have narrowed it down to either a bee, a wasp, or a hornet. No stinger was left behind, so it may be a hornet. The incident occured on the 146 express bus at approximately 8:00am. The victim had his eyes closed while the assiliant snuk up on him and stung him on his right thumb.
Well, that's the police report filed. It's been over an hour and a half now and it still really hurts. I've got ice on it now. Before this I've had a great phobia of bees even though the only time I got stung was when I was 10 years old. I suppose my time was due. It makes me wonder what will this do to my phobia of bees. Will it make it stronger or weaker?
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4/15/2002
triskaidekaphobia
triskaidekaphobia \triss-kye-deh-kuh-FOH-bee-uh\ : fear of the number 13
i wish i was afraid of a number. that sounds really cool. let's see what number would i be afraid of. I think 666. It's kinda funny, cuz lately i've been using 666666 in alot of my html code for websites. the 666666 calles for a nice medium gray in html.
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4/14/2002
soda pop innovation
I purchased a coca-cola from a vending machine in the Aurora, IL trainstation. And the thing plunked down sooo hard that it got all fizzy. I think the soda pop companies should be some sort of cushioned thing at the bottom of the tray to help prevent the overfizziness of soda.
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4/13/2002
most unpopular stamps ever
oh boy! i simply can't wait until the "neuter or spay" stamps come out from the post office. uh. YUCK! Check it out
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4/12/2002
adobe buys good pizza
I just went to an adobe conference. They were providing lunch and mentioned they were gonna get pizza. I thought, "oh gee, your standard flat pizza." But my to my delight, they got some really good stuffed pizza. And no, I didn't go just for the free lunch, I also learned about Adobe's new updates. Read it here:
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4/11/2002
alien lady beetles
Springtime means that ladybugs come out. But in recent years, we've seen a new type of ladybug emerge. One that isn't as bright red as our earthbound ladybugs. Yes indeed, these new ladybugs are actually... ALIEN LADY BEETLES! They will suck our planet dry until it looks like Mars, their previous victim. For photos and complete story on these aliens, visit: http://www.spudart.org/etc/ladybugs.
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4/10/2002
cheap pc
I'm looking to buy a cheap PC. yes, it's true! I am inviting the death star into my own apartment! Not to worry, my Mac will still reign supreme. There's been too many things that i want to do on a PC, that I can't do on a Mac. The most recent item added to my list is online banking/bill paying with Quicken. So do you know of any good places to look for a cheap PC? (with no monitor, i'm gonna get a switch to hook up my one monitor to both my mac and pc)
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4/9/2002
Kung Fu Hampster
I was at walgreens during lunch today and I ran into this Singing Kung-Fu Hampster. Squeeze his hand and he sings the pop dance song, "Ku Fu Fighting." But the killer winner of them all is the spinning nunchucks! I'm suprised that they can sell this, because the spinning nunchuck looks very dangerous. But that makes it all the more hilarious! Check it out at: http://www.gemmy.com/nf.html
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4/8/2002
A New Plan For Daylight Savings Time
by Stan
Who says that we have to switch over on a weekend? Here is my
new plan. In April, when we spring forward and lose an hour, we
change the switchover time to 4:00 p.m.on Friday. That way when
it gets to be 4:00 it suddenly becomes 5:00, and everyone goes
home. That seems much better than losing an hour of weekend time.
But in October, when we fall back and gain an hour, we might as
well just leave that one on a weekend.
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4/7/2002
violent planting trees
Then the interviewee, Paulo Freire, from that same book replied,
"Yes, yes, yes. Planting a tree can be also a creative and artistic job. Unbdoubtedly, the veery movement of the body in order to make the hole--there is ritual, there is harmony, there is contradiction in this. The very process of planting is very interesting; in some aspects it is a violent process also. By making a hole, we are interfering in the nature of the being of the earth. Neverthelesss, we can discuss the beauty of the objectives. This is also an artistic job."
~Paulo Freire (Dialogues in Public Art)
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4/6/2002
radical planting trees
There's this neat section in a book i'm reading...
"I have a friend who is an artist who said that he felt the most radical thing that he could do was to plant trees in the communities where there are no trees, to give some living beauty to the people in that community, to give them a sense of hope, the living presence of the tree. To take care of a tree, to help it llive, to help it grow in a communityis a transparent metaphor for life."
Tom Finkelpearl (Dialogues in Public Art)
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4/5/2002
Golf
We've got an official new video game here on the 14th floor of the Tribune Tower. It's this mini-golf game you can play on the web. It's quite addicting! Right now, I'm the supreme score leader with 27.
Try to beat me!
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4/4/2002
Cubs Opener
It's neat living in Wrigleyville. Today is the Chicago Cubs home opener.
* They painted the Addison red line L a couple days ago
* The street sweeping truck thingy is out
* The Tribune Company put up stupid new wind blockers in the outfield to block the view of neighboring rooftops. Readers reactions
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4/3/2002
most sunspots ever on today
Today's sunspot number is the highest EVER recorded since 1750!!!!
Today's sunspot number: 262!!!
http://www.sunspotcycle.com
History of sunspots:
http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/images/zurich.gif
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4/2/2002
snow protestors
Then at like 4:00pm yesterday, there a bunch of protestors outside the Tribune building. Once or twice a month, we get protestors outside protesting one thing or another. I work up on the 14th floor facing the Pioneer court where they hold the protests. So we can look out our windows at them. Even drop water balloons on them! Uh, okay, maybe we don't drop water balloons on 'em. But i'm soooo tempted to do so. But from up here they look like ants and you can never tell what they are protesting. So I told my co-workers that they were protesting the snow. hehe.
I went outside to take pictures of these snow protestors. They were carrying these red, green, and black flags. I couldn't figure out why they would choose those colors to protest snow. I would go with all black flags... to be the opposite of snow. (hehe) Plus if you carry all white flags, it would like you are giving up. Y'know carry the white flag thingy in the cartoons to surrender?
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4/1/2002
Nature's April Fool's joke
I loved having snow in april. And on april fool's day! It was like an April's Fools joke on us. Actually, I think it was cotton falling from the sky. THAT would be a real April Fools joke.
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