MindlessChatter

"So, I need to learn golf."  Those words started something.  Apparently getting a sales job requires one to learn golf so that one doesn't make a fool of oneself whilst trying to make a sale on the course.   We started to meet early on Saturday mornings a the local public par 3 course designed for practice.  Figuring that practice on the small course would lead to less embarrassment on the larger courses.  This has proven somewhat true....but only just.  More on that later.   Grocery store visits included popping into the Goodwill store to see if I could find anything useful and well within by limited allowed budget.  My bag started to fill with a random assortment of $3 clubs allowing me to test different styles on the cheap. I eventually found an almost complete set of wedges and a new-to-me bag that finally allowed me to feel like I wasn't borrowing my child's clubs.     Since we started playin...

I think I understand why we stopped posting to this blog. After dad passed, and I moved back to California, I think it made sense that we saw each other nearly every Saturday and we told our stories in person. Now, the Cap'N and I live basically one minute from one another, walking, and Biblio is merely twenty minutes away. We hardly ever get together, and we really don't talk all that much. I miss it.. That being said, I really want to talk about my bachelor party... I don't want strippers. Let me get that out of the way. Some of my friends think that Funnel Kake doesn't want me to have them and so I am shying away from it. NO! I really don't care to go to strip clubs, it does nothing for me. I think it is because I have such bad night vision and those places are dark. Honestly, I have had a lot of people want me to do some super involved extravagantly planned evening, when all I really want is for a bunch of my friends to hang out. So, I have decided tha...

First let me apologize preemptively, J is a really nice guy, he means well, and past injuries combined with medical issues may have led to the current situation. Be that as it may, talking to him can be a bit of a challenge.   In a single conversation, he was somehow able to include: Flying cars and why can we have them Chinese cup therapy Ooo look at that explosion (news) Walking from elementary school to middle school Why can't they convert cars to use veg oil or natural gas, he knew a guy who had a car like that, it didn't make any pollution I've collected a few tidbits over the past couple of months.   Most of these are taken out of context, but to be fair most were never in context to begin with. Pointing at the tv: "what did they do? Put it on pets?" "I had chicken pox a bunch of times… then my family got a nice Mexican family and they had small pox…." "I had the same suit as ...

My first CD was a an album by Salt-N-Pepa , which I've never learned how to spell properly until now.   My second CD was some single by an R&B artists that the girl I fancied at the time was into.   Eventually my cousin turned me onto the scam that was Columbia House mail order CDs.   I immediately signed up for the free CDs that my cousin recommended to me and signed my soul over to Columbia House. My collection quickly grew to include Pink Floyd, Metallica, Primus, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, and many others.   I have a very distinct memory of my cousin telling me that I needed to listed to this new album that was destined to be huge and he "knew about it" before anybody else.   That album was Temple of the Dog . Keep in mind that this was pre internet days ; the only way to hear about music was to listen to the radio or take advice from friends and buy the albums.   Sometimes it worked and sometimes you were left with a CD t...

Once upon a time, not long ago, someone suggested a new audiobook.  I had just finished a series and was looking for something to fill the void.  I …ahem….acquired…..Storm Front and thus began my journey with Harry Dresden.  I was immediately hooked.  The combination of pop culture references, film noir, detective work, and witty inner monolog kept me laughing and turning pages.  I couldn't just listen to the audiobook, I was too impatient.  I would spend my hour long commute listening to James Marsters become Harry and then I would pick up the physical book when I got home to continue the story.  The second book followed in similar fashion as did the third.  At the time there were 13 books available so I had plenty of material to get through.  Around book 5 I mentioned the series to Capt. Punc and FunnelBoy but they were either not ready to start a new series or my description didn't do the story justice.  People have ask...

People watching is a great way to pass the time by yourself or with a group where everyone gets  to silently or judge people based on their appearance.  Occasionally alcohol is involved and the judging can get loud…..and funny.  I noticed that we would frequently see the same thing over and over again.  We were more likely to see different patterns depending on the venue.  Disneyland, for example, always had a couple of Goths running around; there was always some kid being forced onto a ride when they were clearly terrified; and my favorite, there was always a group flag (generally held by an Asian guy).  Sure, stereotypes were reinforced and we are definitely horrible people for pointing and laughing but hey, it's entertaining. Naturally we needed to make a game out of it.  Being the nerdy geek that I am, I felt compelled to create tool that would allow me to easily randomize the bingo squares and quickly switch between topics.  One night a...

Many years ago in a cubicle far, far away, sits a bored analyst.  He has finished his work early but chose not to tell anyone lest more work is assigned, plus he told them it would take a week longer than actually necessary.  The only thing keeping our hero's eyes open is the irresistible need to click the "next" button.      Let me explain.  I would often find myself in a position where I would have to look busy instead of actually being busy.  Part of this was laziness and another part was playing the long game with management.  If I were to let them know that their request only took 10 minutes, instead of the 2 days that I told them it would take, I would just end up with more work and shorter deadlines.  So I had two options: ask for more work or keep myself busy until I felt that enough time had passed.  Eventually I found webcomics.  The first one I found that really caught my interest was UserFriendly where...

Sometimes I forget that small generational gaps between two individuals can lead to totally different childhood experiences. Sure there are cultural and economic differences but some experiences are fairly universal during childhood.  Kids movies fore example; most people my age got to experience the same 80's animation that I was exposed to and we can bond over favorite scenes or quotes. My coworker (Princess McFuzzy Britches*) showed me a pictures of a rock formation, presumably something that she wants to climb.  My first response was: "That looks like Little Foot's mom".  To which see replied "…."  The following exchange then took place: Me: Littlefoot? R: … Me: Tree stars? R: Um…. Me: You're telling me that you have never heard of The Land Before Time? R: What year did it come out? Me: '88ish R: Ah, I was going to concerts during that time. Me: But that means that you never got to experience the sadness that this movie generated. R: Isn't it...

So, I have been doing a bit of research on Common Core Math and how upset people are getting at the idea of changing the way that these kids are being taught basic mathematics. I will admit, I watched a couple of videos of people opposed to 'common core' ideas and was leaning to their viewpoint, until I realized that they were teaching kids to do math the way I have always done it: simplify the problem. Common Core Math Explained Horribly.. The example that is given, in the video I watched, is a slightly confusing way to obtain an answer for a basic math problem. They take a problem like 32-20=x and, without explaining the steps involved and what the steps involved are asking you to do, they come up with an answer like this: 12+3=15 15+5=20 20+10=30 30+2=32 And then, instead of telling you why, or making clear the principle behind the numbers, they simply tell you to take the middle row and add them up.  So: 3 + 5=8 +10=18 +2=20 And, low and...

I have come to realize that I am a Disney fanboy. I love the history behind Disney, the parks, the movies, the innovation, and the music.  Sure, I'm an "adult" male over 30 who uses his kids as an excuse to go see the latest Disney flick in the theater but I take no shame in admitting that I love just about every major release.  The storylines can be cliché, predictable, and according to some carry questionable themes but I still enjoy the ride.  I've even gotten to the point where I watch a movie just for to hear the music.  This habit is great on long car trip where I don't need the visuals to experience the movie.  I just let it play and let my mind fill in the visuals based on the audio alone.  Recently I've been hooked on the soundtrack to Frozen and have been walking around the house singing "Do you want to build a snowman?" Much to my wife's chagrin.  I've been known to look for covers of various songs just to see what I ca...

There is a new-ish addition to some theme park rides that takes the boredom away from sitting a ride out. The large raft rides that are popular at many theme parks are now accompanied by water cannons strategically placed along the raft route.  Now the younger sibling that are on the smaller side of tiny have the ability to get in on the action without the need to meet the height requirement, soaking the unsuspecting riders with a blast of chilly water; all for the price of a single quarter.  More often than not, parents are found at these lovely machines eagerly waiting to dish out some payback.  I've sat back and watched a few of these over eager parents and they all have the same first experience. Gleefully jamming a quarter into the water cannon, hands hovering over the button, eyes straining to get a glimpse of the telltale black hoodie indicating that my child is in the boat that just plummeted down the ramp, frustration felt after the realization that the boa...

I often find my self at the computer late at night, unable to sleep wandering thought the endless corners of the internet.  Now it may be the number of martinis consumed but I found this incredibly amusing. So much so, that I just about fell out my seat laughing.   Inappropriate? Yes. Funny? Yes.  Safe for work? Yes as Long as you don't try to explain it....

As most internet hours ultimately conclude, I am lost. Google, Wikipedia, an occasional glance at an online thesaurus or dictionary, forums, blogs, Wiki again, 'googling' a wiki link talking about a blog, back to a dictionary or thesaurus, etc. has often made me upset at the world and the general misuse of seemingly generic words. I do not pretend to be some great smithy of words but I do believe that we need to start correcting people on the small stuff. I understand how, in a world full of short communications, text messages, and character limitations, be it Twitter or moral quality, we can lose meaning and miss inflection of simple phrases, but our childrens' children will suffer, or at least we will suffer having to listen to them. This is what started it today: http://xkcd.com/1272/ What I ended up finding was definitely in my wheelhouse: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2013/22-everyday-words-you-might-not-realize-youve-been-using-incorrectly/ It led me to the wor...

Growing up in with my family had many advantages. One of the most valuable (at least in my opinion) is the sense of humor that each of us inherited and thrived upon.  Our parents (mainly Dad) wouldn't hesitate to poke fun at us, especially at stupid things we did.  It was all done in jest and he made sure to tell us that it was all in good humor and that no malice was intended; plus Mom would always follow up with some form of "we love you just the way you are, but that was really funny" making sure that we didn’t feel ostracized. Because of this profound upbringing we have all developed a sense of humor that allows us to laugh at our own faults, traits, and/or actions.  We can be kind of relentless towards each other, always with a smile and always with the intent to make the other laugh.  This can backfire.  I distinctly remember a time when we (I think just the four guys) were at a restaurant.  As usual jokes were flying back and forth and we were h...

Ok, first of all, f*** you guys and your persistent insistence that I read these damn books. While I haven't actually 'read' anything but a few chapters I have delved into the amazing world that Marsters does a damn fine job of bringing to light and have enjoyed every minute of it. I have finished the fourth book and can't wait to add more witty lines to my notes: "loopier than a crochet convention"! It gets me thinking, have you ever watched a movie or a television show that got you hooked? That drew you into the characters so well that you crushed when it ended? I get this way sometimes, mainly with movies. It ends and I want to follow their lives for a bit longer, wrap things up more completely, get another hint of mystery or an idea of who the characters are. The cliffhangers don't get me as much as just knowing that there is more to follow, a new adventure to start, and not a lot of mingling with the unfamiliar. I guess you guys have ...

Every time we get together, my brothers and I tend to get hung up on a word or phrase; arguing over the origin and proper use or, more likely, misuse. With today’s smartphones, we can quickly ping the interwebs for an answer usually leading to more chin scratching and the muttering of phrases such as: “Ah yes.  That makes sense” or “Really? It sounds more Russian than French”.  The funny things is that we have no idea what we are talking about, but we like to pretend. There have been many ……discussions over the years: rife; lineagey; remote; etc.  Tonight the word that caught our interest was smithereens. For some twisted reason the first thing I thought of was Mr. Smithers (I already said we didn’t know what we were talking about).  A quick search led us to a page explaining that Smithereens was Irish in origin and could be based on an old Gaelic word ‘Smiodar’ meaning fragments.  The article had a second origin that I actually prefer; “’smithereens’ … ...