I, Robo-dialer

Robo-dialers bothering the elderly leading up to the midterm elections? Robo-signing of forclosures gone wrong?!? Isaac Asimov was right! The robots have finally taken over...

...and they are doing a shitty job.

Come on robots, you're better than that.

You've got to be.

As I Rest the Veins in My Brain

An orgy of sports on tonight, World Series - GO GIANTS (yes for once I am cheering for the NL)

Some good baseball fans out there, and I've followed Bruce B since his run to the WS with the Padres...plus I don't want to hear Josh Hamilton say how Jesus helped him win the World Series. I love Jesus and I love baseball but I don't think one as as much to do with the other as the former drug-addled Ranger 1st basemen would have us believe.

Hawks face the Kings and Slovenia's lone representative in the NHL - - -- KOPITAR. There may be more Slovenians now, but he was the only one as of last season.

And the Bulls kick off their season against KD and the Oklahoma City Thunder or Ramblers or some such stuff.

Eating Kim's baked mosta

NOT THAT YOU SICK BASTARDS!

and enjoying a night off from working on the ending of the neverending work on the end of the new record.

Perhaps I have consumed too much of the three-buck Chuck as I am noticing new veins in my forehead. Will a vascular incident cement my position as a pathetic figure, or is it just a predicatble outcome of driving myself crazy over silly things about which nobody gives a rancid rat fart?

At this point, does it really matter? A wise man once told me, "Enjoy your life and whatever you can hold while you hold it."

He sold truck parts but was a smart piece of shit.

Gag Me with a Gaggle of Geese

Saw a flock...excuse me, a gaggle of geese flying overhead on my morning walk.

A few minutes after the gaggle passed there was a lone goose flying in the same direction, honking his ass off and flapping like hell.

I looked at him and then thought, "That's me..."

Then I thought, "No, I'd be going the wrong way."

Maybe, but I Doubt It

Regardless of what he said and how it can be taken, I'm not afraid to say I am going to miss Juan Williams as part of the Weekly Roundup on the Friday DR show. I think one of the things that makes the show is that people representing many different viewpoints have a public conversation with each other...and there is no fucking screaming. I stopped watching cable news a few years back when I found it was trending hopelessly in that direction. I simply assume it is the same way or worse so I am not going to waste time testing my theory.

I don't think it means NPR is going to swing in some radical direction and begin hacking away at voices who also lend themselves to other, not to say radically different and politicized news outlets...but I am sad that someone who I enjoyed listening to, although rarely agreed with, will no longer be on my radio on Fridays. Maybe I'll give him a chance on Fox News, but I doubt it. I stopped watching MSNBC when Russert died and didn't even like that station when KO got all screamy and shit.

I'm trying to find a bright side in all of this. Maybe it is something like progress in America when a black man named Juan can be fired by a bunch of granola-eatin' hippies for saying he is afraid of Muslims on planes.

Maybe, but I doubt it.

Joe is Cool

Making some edits to the beginning of Kish that affect the whole record...I hope in a good way. Joe was a big help. We may have to go through this process for one other set of tracks, but that'll be for next week. I need a week to decide if what we did tonight is a good thing (although I am pretty convinced we really helped, rather than hurt the record)

Joe and I went out for OF's and vittles after it was done.

A well-deserved reward?...we'll see

Yearly Chihuahua Checkup

Alex and his mom took Cookie for her yearly checkup. Our dog received a clean bill of health. You'd never know it to look at her.

Go Go Goebberts Boo Blaster

Friday - we finally managed to get Iron Man II (This Time It's Mechanical) for family movie night. The boy was thrilled and Kim and I loved the picture too. We actually took family movie night on the road when the movie came out. Fun to see it at home with Cookie.

We celebrated Cookie's birthday this weekend. Even my mom got into the act. She bought our dog a weird looking balloon. It is totally fitting because Cookie is a weird looking dog.

Sat - Kim, Alex, Al and I did some book labeling and helped mom in the classroom. Alex and I made confession. Came out feeling like a saint but didn't take long til I was a sinner again. Well, such is life...at least my life. I'm like the Cubs, I'm working on it.

Hawks rediscover their winning ways over the weekend, we discover more about what the Bears really are in their loss to the Hawks of the Sea, and we discover that it doesn't matter who sits in front when you ride a camel...the camel is the one in control.

Alex and I rode the camel and did lots of other fun stuff at Goebberts over the weekend with Joe and Steener. Our favorite thing? John Coltrane. Our other favorite thing, launching balls at big targets with the aid of the Boo Blaster! Everyone better be grateful that there is no way the Boo Blaster canons could be turned on the crowd, unless someone brought a lot of tools.

Sounds Like Me

Weird thing with my car yesterday morning. Turns out my car wasn't the problem. The problem is, I don't know how to operate my car.

Sounds like me.

Went to Elgin and added a new voc to Quake Minus for the live demo, did a new Make it Shine and started Up Yer Peninsula which I would love to finish with Joe, Cousin Mike, Bill and Jerry.

Believe me, it sounds dirty than it actually is.

I think?

Came home and the boy was still awake. Alex, Cookie and I chilled on the blue blanket and watched the Hawks lose to the Preds.

Ahhh, good times...uh, except for the Hawks.

Did I mention they lost?

Poor/pauvre Hawks

A Chorus Line of Walkers

....not Texas Rangerses!

um...

Alex and Kim took Grandma Judi and Great Auntie Chris to the zoo today. Mondays are our busiest day at work and I had to take off part of last Monday to finish the assessment stuff. No zoo for me which is probably for the best.

The animals can't stand my smell.

On a semi-serious note, Kim treats every day with her mother as a blessing and is a great example to Alex in that regard.

e-mailed the first of a few last notes to Brian about the Kish site.

Hopefully they were more coherent than that!

This is the easiest way to put out a record. BB is talented and easy to work with...it is not always easy to find both qualities in the same collaborator. Collaborator?!?! The way I say it makes him sound like a dissident, or worse.

What's worse than a dissident? In this country, a pundit. And a writer of sentence fragments. Well calling him collaborator didn't make him sound like either of those so it's a win, I guess.

Going to Larry's on Wed to put some finishing touches on the demo for bringing Kish to the stage...NOT THE FUCKING MUSICAL!!!!

Although a chorus line of DeKalb walkers/crazies would be hilarious.

Turn Back the Clock

Ok, it was not the fall back weekend but the Bears and Panthers managed to turn back the clock sixty-five years or so on offense in professional football. But the Bears won and that should be good enough for me.

Still can't get Iron Man II. Damn you "Very Long Wait" online rental status! We watched a coupla Next Generation episodes back to back and the boy was happy enough with that. I am just happy that he loves our little movie tradition.

Alex and I took two long walks this weekend. I love our walks. We talk so much during those 45 minutes. We have to, otherwise we're just walking down the road, looking like jerks.

He's the greatest.

The Dear of Palos Hills

Weekly catchup time again...

Tuesday, busy at work, homework with the boy after work and ran a bunch of errands for mom

Wed, Alex and Kim hung out with Swaffords after work and then went to their sign language class. Happy for them spending extra time together and I went right from work to the golf course. Gorgeous weather and I played ok.

Texted back and forth with Devin and found out that Jeanz mom died. It's been at least two years since I saw my old friend and even though I am sure she is experiencing great sadness (Jeanz loves her family) I wanted to see her. D was going to be there too. I don't know any other way to put it but it was just swell to be in the same room with those two again. We laughed and hopefully were not too obnoxious for the serious proceedings.

Some things don't change. I love to laugh with those kids.

Drove back to pick up Alex from my parents'. Glad I didn't have anything to drink this evening. Part of 83 between Southwest Hwy and Archer is the most heavily forested part of the south side. Ironically it is more heavily forested than Oak Forrest.

Hey, they needed someplace to dump the bodies in the good ole days, right?

I have no idea what I am talking about...and I better keep my fuckin mouth shut.

There were lots of deer loafing around in the dark on the side of the road. One of these haughty fucks even had the nerve to stand in the road and didn't feel like moving until I slowed to 20mph and started honking like a madman.

Then the piece of shit looked straight up at me like some kind of animal staring into the lights coming from my car.

What's that called again?

Paulie Paulie Paulie

SOX win their last game of the year. I hope Paulie comes back next year but if he doesn't he gave Chicago fans lots of thrills even in this season of disappointment. Monster numbers. He was always dangerous for the South Siders. He didn't have his typical Paulie season where one half was great and the other half was meh at best. He went wire to wire, relatively injury free and seeing the ball well the whole way through.

Paulie hit the first home run Alex ever say, major or minor leagues. We saw a great pair of Paulie moments in the game vs KC we saw in the last three weeks of the season. The AL Central race was all but won by the Twins so the game, in the grand scheme of things baseball was relatively meaningless. Royals jumped out to a 6-0 lead on Lucas H in the first. The next inning the SOX captain hit a two run home run, then a few innings later, he hit another two run home run.

It was Royals 6, Paulie 4 and we fans were going nuts. There were chants for him to come out of the dugout and tip his hat...but after being womped on 6-0 and still trailing 6-4, Paulie had too much pride to come out and tip his cap.

SOX ended up winning 12-6 so it all worked out in the end.

Here's hoping things work out for one of my favorite SOX players of all time. Good luck Paulie K. SOX fans will always love you.

I Pity the Fuel

I don't know how to spell the name of the former Bear assistant, now Giants' D-coordinator Perry Fuel. I don't care to spell check his name. They probably don't even have it spelled correctly in last years Buffalo Bills' media guide.

Fun and productive weekend with the family. Alex and I got started on next week's words and he helped me with bills. Not the ones from Buffalo. These are useful bills.

Sorry Tim Russert.

Bought new phones. Thanks and much love to KJ for doing all the research and listening to my pleas to not go G3 or G4 or G-anything. We are not yet taking part in the rise of the technotards.

Sorry technotards.

Yeah, like I have sooo much dignity as a blogger.

Speaking of no dignity, the Bears are getting their asses kicked. It is mostly the Giants defense and a Bears offensive line that is...you guessed it....

A FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT THAT DOESN'T EVEN DESERVE TO BE IN A BAG!

Yeah, they are just that much worse than offensive.

But a great weekend with my crew @ home. I needed time with those wonderful people. Monday I have a bunch of random shit to do and my real week of work begins Tuesday. I better be ready.

Shut up ed.

A Minus Parade

Swamped, fucking swamped at work. Emphasis added! It's not a big deal. I'll get caught up but man am I far behind...and I have to take part of Monday off...that's trouble.

Great FMN. We could not score Iron Man II so instead watched James Cameron's Aliens of the Deep. Alex loved it.

He had a great week in school. A Minuses make me happy from this kid. He's come a long way.