Some people's kids

So I'm standing in line yesterday. Or queue. Whatever.

I've long thought that kids are becoming more self involved and self-centered. I've had ample opportunity to develop this theory during my daily experiences in public education.

Anyway, back to the queue. Or line. Whatever.

The teenager standing in line before me had some unique sweatpants on. They said "I (heart) Me". And not just once, but all over them.

Now, I'm all for a healthy self confidence, but I believe this goes a bit further than that. This individual didn't strike me as the "Quiet, mild-mannered, self assured young student". It was more "Look out world, I'm here to kick your a$$!"

I guess I'm officially old, now.

So Long

It is the saddest of days.
Today, Malachi had to go away.
Good bye, old friend. I'll miss you always.
2/22/06

Once again with the impossible

Unfortunately, I consider myself an expert on drive-thru fast food. It's not something I'm particularily proud of. It's just something that has sort of happened. Darn them and their convieniece!

Anyway, I've spent my fair share of time in the drive-thru lane, but today I witnessed something I'd never seen before.

Motorcycle. Going thru the drive-thru.

Maybe this happens to you all the time, but this was a first for me. I thought the advantage of a drive-thru was being able to eat your food in the car as you hurried off to where ever you were going. Yeah, yeah, some people buy it and actually take it home, but I'm the expert here, remember, so I choose to discount such extravagant rumors.

Anyway, thought I should share that.

If you can't tell, I'm trying to get back in the habit of posting on a semi-regular basis. This, then, is a part of that effort.

"...was thought to be impossible."

I never thought I'd honestly say this but: It is possible to have too much money.

As proof of this I offer the following example. Today I went to town on a foolish errand. We won't get into that right now. Or ever. Anyway, I'm on this errand. And as I'm leaving the store and walking back to my car, I spot the inspiration of this post.

Now, the Cadillac is a brand name synonymous with luxury, comfort, and wealth. I can understand why someone would want a car made by this prestigious company. I can appreciate some of the finer things in life, and a fancy car is one I can deal with.

I cannot, however, deal with a Cadillac Sports Utility Vehicle.

First off, this thing is enormous. We're talking it could possibly be rented out as a small duplex. Secondly, it looked as though it was built to withstand the Matpocalypse (see my other website for the description of this terrible event). And thirdly, it was painted some color that I'm sure has it's own name. Like Cadillac Lustrous Cream Off White. Most people buy cars in colors that you can find in the good old Crayola 64 crayon box. Nope, not good enough for this baby. I'm pretty sure real Ivory was somehow mixed into the paint.

It did look nice, tho.

Besides the actual cost of the vehicle, I'd imagine that the costs for maintaining said SUV are well-nigh astronomical. For example, I'm pretty sure just parking near it dropped my own car's gas mileage by half.

Too much moolah. It always sounded fun. Now I know better.

Avast, Ye Scury Dogs!

My parents got back from a camping trip yesterday. As they were driving home, my dad started to have some problems with one of his eyes. Seeing spots, floaties, things like that.

Today he went to the hospital, and found that he had a small tear in his retina. No big deal, as it turns out. He was referred to a doctor up in St. Cloud and they drove up there, had the laser surgery, and were back by 4. Pretty amazing stuff, really.

Anyway, my mom had called from St. Cloud, letting me know everything was ok. After the usual "Is he okay?" question, what do you think was the next question out of my mouth?

"Does he look like a pirate?"

I sure do love them pirates.

Shout At...er, Out

Games, I dig em. All shapes and sizes, colors and creeds.

Lately, I've been playing a ton of WarCraft III, an older game published by Blizzard. Great game. RTS, if you're interested. Anyway, most of the playing I've been doing has been on user created maps. These are maps that dedicated fans create for others to enjoy, with no compensation other than perhaps a rating on some website, or an email of thanks.

I wanted to say thanks to all of the mappers out there for all your wonderful work. It's a lot of work, and I appreciate it.

Maps I'm currently playing...check them out: (most all are AoS-style)

DOTA Allstars w/AI
Rival Nations 3.0
EW Armageddon
Gate Keepers 2

Down home at the X-Games

This week the famous X-Games are held. Those are those sports on ESPN, in which young people do crazy things like jump over mountains with a skateboard, or bike through lava, or something equally bizzare. Extreme is the name of the game.

I'm a bit of an extreme athelete myself, actually. My sport is Extreme Reading.

This past week I went on a very enjoyable camping trip with my dad. Out in the wilds, roughing it. Good times, good times. Monson Lake State Park, if you're interested, is the smallest and probably least used State Park in Minnesota. Not too far from where I live, but a nice quiet, bug free area. And clean, too. I reccomend it if you are looking for a decent campground.

Anyway, my main activity while braving nature and her minions? Reading. I'd like to think I could read anywhere, like over a mountain or in lava or some crazy thing like that.

My reading was occasionally broken up by Extreme Hotdog Grilling. That's just a hobby, tho.