Brooms and More

So I now have the audio that you have all been waiting for. Let us here it for TMBG!

First Presidential Debate on Beer

What? This is what happens when you watch a presidential debate while drinking various "beers of the world" that you bought from Costco. First, they (Costco) have some new beers this year. I'm trying a beer called La Bolduc from Canada. Opinion: nothing special. Now a few words on the debate, which is not over yet. Kerry is making Bush look really bad. Will this change my vote? No. What is my vote? You will not find out by reading any of my blog posts. What is interesting, is that I am reading other blogs using the "next blog" link, and find that one of every ten blogs is about politics and the upcoming election. I found more than one blog that had quotes from the ongoing live debate. What were they doing, blogging while watching the debate? Wait, that is what I am doing. Luckily, the Padre game is on soon.

I Am Not Your Broom

As I walked past my broom today I realized that it is just a stub of its former self. How did this happen? My broom used to have long, straight bristles ready to sweep the dirt away. Over the years the bristles slowly wore down, leaving a sad looking stick that can no longer perform its intended task in life. Am I not like my broom in some existential way? Perhaps I should restore my verve before I replace my broom. What would my broom say about this? "Do what you like, because I am not your broom."

Charmed Guest Stars

The television show Charmed on the WB is off to a strong start this season with appearances by two Sci-Fi veterans: John de Lance from Star Trek and Charisma Carpenter from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. John de Lance went from being an omnipotent being on Star Trek to a powerful elder, and Charisma Carpenter went from being an evil Master on Buffy to a demonic seer. Hmmm, I see a pattern here. Both actors played their part, although short, convincingly. As you might have guessed, I don't care about that other recurring guest star, whos name I cannot mention.

Aztecs Win

The SDSU Aztecs won tonight against Nevada (who are they?). Better yet, we all got two free fish tacos from Rubios because the Aztecs scored more than 25 points. (One taco per ticket - we found four extra tickets on the ground.) Their next home game is on October 16th, and since I'm the only one who is going, I have three extra tickets to the game. Plus I can get anyone into the SDSU Athletic Foundation tailgate party before the game where there will be plenty of beer and hotdogs.

Key West Trip

I am back from my trip to Key West. I left for home earlier than planned for two reasons. The first was to beat the rush of people fleeing hurricane Jeanne, and the second was to get home in time for the Festival of Beers. I did avoid the hurricane, however, I'm too tired to go downtown drinking tonight. I have been awake since 3 AM West Coast time and have spent the last 12 hours in airports and on airplanes. Because I changed my flights at the last minute, I had to fly home through Dallas. There were no delays, but the only food they served was a small bag of pretzels. Talk about cheap! Good thing I had a turkey sandwich in Dallas.

My time in Key West went by quickly. I actually got tons of sleep due to my work schedule being shifted to the afternoon and evenings. I got my fill of local food including an excellent pecan crusted Mahi-Mahi dinner and a Willie Burger, which is a hamburger in a croissant with cheese. Tomorrow it is off to root on the Aztecs at the Q.

DSL vs. Cable

I just got through installing SBC Yahoo DSL for a friend. SBC was going to charge $150 for the installation, which is a ripoff. However, it took me over two hours of my time to install a network card, get the DSL service working, activate the account and configure the e-mail. The end result is that I dislike DSL even more now than I did before. To install a cable modem, all you have to do is connect the coaxial cable to your modem and the modem to your computer. Then run any browser, like Internet Explorer, and you are connected to the internet. SBC Yahoo requires you to install software, run a special browser that requires a login, and the default page is cluttered with extra icons, links and other junk. Plus, you cannot change your home page. I would strongly recommend to anyone who asks me about DSL or cable that they should get a cable modem if available in their area.

Final LASIK Post-Op

Greetings, fellow LASIK under-goers. I had my final LASIK post-op exam yesterday. It has been 10 months since my surgery. My optometrist said my eyes healed perfectly and have stabilized as expected. I do have a slight prescription, but nothing that would require me to ware glasses until I need reading glasses in 10 years or so. Since I started this blog after I had my surgery, I should mention that I had my surgery performed by Dr. Schanzlin at the Laser Eye Center in La Jolla, CA. I had the Custom LASIK procedure, which was a little more expensive, but typically has better results. I would suggested that anyone wearing glasses should look into having LASIK if they are a candidate.

Johnny Ramone

The rockers of the 70s are dying off too quick. Johnny Ramone of The Ramones is now the third member of The Ramones to die, leaving only one original member. He was only 55. Somehow the rock pioneers of the 60s like some members of The Beatles and the Rolling Stones are living longer than many of the innovative rockers of the 70s such as The Ramones, Frank Zappa and Robert Palmer. It's sad to see artists that I think are still young die, and it also makes me feel old because the 70s was a long time ago. I guess these entertainers lived hard and paid the price. I might live until I'm 90 but I will never experience the adventurous life led by madmen like Keith Moon of The Who.

Tropical Storm Jeanne and Ranting

Here comes the next storm to delay my trip to Key West once again. I have never spent so much time tracking hurricanes. I should be working for NOAA. On the up side, if my trip next week is postponed, then I can attend the SD Festival of Beer.

Start of Rant:

On an unrelated topic, what is the deal with San Diego radio stations? Every other city in the US, even Salt Lake City, has better radio stations than we do. San Diego radio plays what I call "safe rock". Music that is not too extreme and not too soft. Why can't we have a radio station like K-Rock in New York? K-Rock plays the kind of music we used to hear from 91X, back when they were "on the cutting edge of rock" (now they are on the trailing edge of rock) combined with the pure rock of the now internet only KNAC from Los Angeles. I know what the problem is: Clear Channel Communications. However, as much as I dislike their monopoly on radio in the US, I don't believe that Clear Channel, the FCC and President Bush are out to get Howard Stern. Howard needs to take some kind of anti-paranoid pill and get back to talking about strippers, porn stars and more strippers.

End of rant.

Ivan ruined my trip

No thanks to hurricane Ivan, I will not be traveling to Key West on Monday. My trip was postponed for one week, and even that trip might be delayed if there is substantial damage on the island. If I go as planned, I will miss the 10th annual San Diego Festival of Beer. True, I can drink all the beer I want when in Key West, but it is more fun to sample a variety of beers in the festive Downtown atmosphere with fellow beer drinkers than it is to hang-out with co-workers on a tropical island. Not that I don't enjoy going to dinner with them, but I end up looking like an alcoholic after I finish my 4th pint of Guinness at Finnegan's Wake. Well, now it is time to escape this sauna I call a house and search for a cooler place to relax.

Buffy and I

To see something bizarre, click on this photo.

Sky Show and Aztecs

Last night was the KGB Sky Show at the 'Q'. Since the Padres moved to Petco, and having a big fireworks show downtown is not possible, they decided to have the Sky Show after the home opener for the SDSU Aztecs football game. Since I get season tickets every year anyway, I was happy to hear this. The game was rather boring. The Aztecs beat Idaho St. 38 to 21, which is good, but the game took over four hours, which was bad. After the game, Marshall Faulk pushed the button that started the big show. I believe that this was the loudest Sky Show ever. The fireworks and other explosions were so loud that the music was drowned-out. Between the acts, they showed specially produced clips staring the characters of Space Ghost and Zorak from the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim which I didn't find very funny, but I never watch those programs. We left quickly after the show and exited the parking lot with no wait, despite the fact that there were 57,000 people at the stadium - a new record for an Aztec football game (Note: SDSU students now get in for free).