Logan's Dave-o-scope

Red got this for me the other day. I wish I knew what website it came from, so I could share it with y'all. Here's a nice breakdown of my personality, as the stars tell it.

A SuperPower Report for dave Born 10/04/1973 22:37
In Sterling, IL (41N47 89W42 zone: 5 hrs)

Planet Longitude Declination
Sun 11 Libra 46 4S39
Moon 19 Capricorn 28 20S33
Mercury 3 Scorpio 13 14S07
Venus 25 Scorpio 14 20S59
Mars 7 Taurus 34 11N17
Jupiter 2 Aquarius 22 20S23
Saturn 4 Cancer 37 22N17
Uranus 22 Libra 42 8S18
Neptune 5 Sagittarius 19 19S39
Pluto 4 Libra 33 12N52
Node 2 Capricorn 15 23S25
Ascendant 0 Cancer 56 23N26
Midheaven 6 Pisces 28 9S08
Chiron 18 Aries 57

Sun in Libra:

THOUGHTFUL SELF-EXPRESSION NOTE: THIS POSITION REQUIRES
EXTRA MAINTENANCE
Essentially, you're a nice person and tend to be a bit
more cultured and "better" than those around you. Usually,
you're also diplomatic enough to keep your superiority to
yourself. The more that you become fair-minded, impartial
and unprejudiced, the happier you become. You have the
potential for much social intercourse and favorable public
contact.
TIP: dave, to really thrive, you need to be part of a
loving, committed "marriage."
All things being equal, you prefer civil conversation.
You usually do not find reason to raise your voice or to use
crude language at inappropriate times. Embarrassment can be
an issue for you. You like to ask for advice, but do not
like to be told what to do. You can get a cushy job in a
swanky environment.

Sun Undecile Moon:

SELF-EXPRESSION MODIFY INSTINCTS
You tend to like people and are friendly yet detached.
You can be more socially conscious than most people.
TIP: Join a group of like kindred people.

Sun Triseptile Mars:

SELF EXPRESSION NON-CONFORMS WITH YOUR MOTIVATION
A wholesome approach to the pursuit of your goals brings
an abundance of physical energy. Just doing it has a subtle
power that you can tap. You've got a LUCKY 7 going for you
here. To increase your good luck buy and wear a lucky hat or
cap. Take a day of rest and think of new ways to brighten
your physical body. You can take a different approach to
sex.
TIP: Seek the pillars of physical wisdom.
In the chase after what you want, you're driven,
willful, energetic, assertive, competitive, dramatic and
enterprising. In the pursuit of your goals, you're willing
to work hard and if necessary face danger. You tend to do
what you think is right and are not one to give up or give
in to fear. To become a star you need to channel some of
your energy into physical activity, athletics and exercise.
When you're restless, you need to work out.

Sun Biquintile Midheaven:

LUCKY AND LOVELY
You know how to turn on the charm and get what you want.
You'd make a good model or fashion designer.

Chapter 3. Moon in Your Chart
DETERMINED INSTINCTS NOTE: THIS POSITION REQUIRES EXTRA
MAINTENANCE.
You like to maintain your dignity and keep your
emotional life in check. Normally, you're somewhat cautious,
shy and reserved. Under stress, you can get very cold and
business like. Your critics may say that you have no
feelings. Probably you got this way from your mom who was
not the most huggy kissy person in the world.
Let go of harsh self judgements. Focus on realistic self
improvement projects. You can be uptight and rigid. You
could benefit from professional body work, massage,
chiropractic care and the lot. Pay more attention to your
body and its basic animal needs.
Respond more to your feelings. Take a calculated risk to
find out who really loves you. Try a classical approach to
love. The more clearly you can define your concept of fun,
the more fun you will have.
TIP: To enjoy success, you must first respect the rights
of others.
You're pragmatic. You can work hard and obtain many of
your ambitions. Money, power and status interest you, and
you're responsible enough to get them. Discipline, patience
and commitment will win the day for you. It's O.K. for you
to reach the top spot.

Moon Tridecile Mars:

INSTINCTS BRING OUT TALENT FOR MOTIVATION
You like to be candid, sincere and excitable. Your mom
could be a bit of a hot head. One way or another, you deal
with intense emotions. Find a safe way to feel your
feelings.
Once you learn to control your temper you can succeed
with people. Maintain an even flow of emotions. Be brave and
you will overcome obstacles. Caring is one thing and
criticism is another. People are touchy and appreciate any
sensitivity you show for them. Burn off some steam. Enjoy
some competitive sport.
TIP Pace yourself to your partner.
Get psyched and take the initiative. Start new projects.
Yes, it is up to you to fire the emotional charge and get
things going in your life.

Moon Square Chiron:

INSTINCTS CHALLENGE MENTORING EXCITING DREAMS
You can do great healing work in conjunction with your
dreams. Read books that explore dreams in a variety of ways.
Write letters with your dreams and mail them to yourself.
TIP: Take a maverick stance to "dream work."

Kamakaze Karaoke, of sorts.

The Globe, home to my pub quiz(Tuesdays from 8-10, benefitting the MS Society of Illinois) now hosts karaoke on Thursday nights, from 9-12. Last night was my debut, something I've been meaning to do for some time, as the KJ has become a pub quiz regular.

Red and I showed up after we went out for a rare evening out dining together(she works in a restaurant, I work in financials, not exactly compatable schedules) at the Duke of Perth, we headed over to pay hommage to the great karaoke god in the sky. I warmed up with a couple of standards, then Red and I started with the "do this one for me" bit. Then, after a couple of failed attempts, I got her to sing Son of a Preacher Man for me. Her challenge to me? Oh, it was a challenge all right- Keep Your Hands to Yourself. I'd like to think I pulled it off. I thought I sounded good, considering it's a little too high for me.

At least I fought the good fight.

Movin' on up!

My beloved Wolves advanced to the Calder Cup Finals last night, defeating the Manitoba Moose 4-1, sweeping the series. That's good news.

Unfortunately, my casual 10-10 shift today has been caught in a scheduling snafu. Apparently, there was no one here at 6, because two guys switched their schedules. I get a call after a short bike ride at 8 from my boss. "I know you're not supposed to be in until 10, but could you go in now? W is there all by himself." I busted into the shower, hopped out into my least wrinkley shirt(I just did laundry last night, and didn't have a chance to iron anything yet), and hopped into a rather expensive cab to work.

The upshot of all this is that now I don't have to work until 10 tonight, so I get to go home around 5. Thankfully. Guess that opens some plans for karaoke tonight.

Not bad. Not bad.

More time-wasting tests and assorted things like that.

Your Birthdate: October 4

Being born on the 4th day of the month should help make you a better manager and organizer. You may be more responsible and self-disciplined than you realize. Sincere and honest, you are a serious and hard working individual. Your feelings are likely to seem somewhat repressed at times. The number 4 has something of an inhibiting effect on your ability to show and express affections, as feeling are very closely regulated and controlled. You are apt to be much more practical, rational, and conscious of details. There is a good deal of rigidity and stubbornness associated with the number 4.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

You Will Die at Age 58

58 Not bad, considering your super wild lifestyle Want to live longer? Try losing a few bad habits.

What Age Will You Die?

Star Wars Horoscope for Libra

You are on a lifelong pursuit of justice and determined to succeed. You convey the art of persuasion through force. You always display your supreme intelligence. You have a great talent in obtaining balance between yourself and your surroundings. Star wars character you are most like: Obi Wan Kenobi

What is Your Star Wars Horoscope?

Your Amazing Yoda Sex Line

"Ow, ow, OW! On my ear you are!"

The Amazing Yoda Sex Line Generator

Your Rising Sign is Cancer

You are compassionate and kind - and the one who gives security. And while you sometimes tire of it, people always turn to you for advice. Emotions are your domain, and you use tend to use them for good. But you've also been know to be very manipulative when you need to be. You're quite loyal to those you love most - friends and family. For everyone else, you tend take time to build up trust.

What is Your Rising Sign?

Ok, enough of the Blogthings for one day, right?

I figured I'd be more middle-of-the-road.

Not that this is a scientifically proven test, but here's something I found whilst digging through Morrigan's Mess:

Your Political Profile

Overall: 15% Conservative, 85% Liberal

Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

How Liberal / Conservative Are You?

Draggin' the Line

This song popped in my head Saturday night at the hockey game. Later that night, my best friend and I did a duet of it at karaoke. Last night, I used it in a "name that tune" pub quiz round.

It's still in my head.

This isn't a bad thing, though. I happen to love Tommy James and the Shondells. I feel fine, talkin' bout peace of mind.

So long as I'm accentuating the positive.

I read the Wolves' Game recap this morning, only to find that my favorite player to taunt had some penalties last night:

Chicago-2-0-2--4
Manitoba-1-1-0--2

First Period---1, Chicago, Santala 5 (Bohonos, Vigier), 0:33; 2, Chicago, MacKenzie 5 (Larsen, Maltais), 3:27; 3, Manitoba, Green 8 (DiPenta), 19:04. Penalties---Santala, Chicago (delay of game), 5:48; Green, Manitoba (interference), 11:51; Maloney, Chicago (hooking), 13:54; Mojzis, Manitoba (hooking), 15:05.

Second Period---4, Manitoba, Schultz 3 (Sarno), 2:19. Penalties---Aitken, Manitoba (slashing), 4:36; Brennan, Chicago (fighting), 6:52; Aitken, Manitoba (fighting), 6:52; Larose, Chicago (hooking), 8:11; Pecker, Manitoba (holding the stick), 15:31; Bench, Chicago (delay of game), 17:51; Goren, Manitoba (roughing), 18:51.

Third Period---5, Chicago, Weiss 2 (Larose), 1:32; 6, Chicago, Simon 1 (Roche), 19:38 en. Penalties---Brennan, Chicago (elbowing), 2:25; Huskins, Manitoba (holding), 4:57; Pecker, Manitoba (slashing)

Shots on goal--- Chicago: 8-5-6--19. Manitoba: 13-17-10--40. Power plays---Chicago: 0-7. Manitoba: 0-6. Goalies---Chicago, Lehtonen (38-40). Manitoba, Auld (15-18). A---9,492. Referee---Steve Kozari. Linesmen---Clint Joyes and Garth Loeppky.

So happy.

Take this meme and shove it.

I think, somewhere in the past, I have posted how to create your Star Wars name. This one's a little different than the one I've used in the past:

First name-
Take the first 3 letters of the last name, add the first 2 letters of your first name.

Last name-
Take the first 2 letters of your mother's maiden name, and add the first three letters of the city of your birth.

Me, I'm AhrDa Haste.

My friend P sent me this on MySpace:

How to determine YOUR Star Wars name:

Your New First Name:
1. Take the first 3 letters of your 1st name.
2. Add the first 2 letters of your last name.

Your New Last Name:
3. Take the first 2 letters of your Mom's maiden name.
4. Add the first 3 letters of the city you were born in.

Your Star Wars Honorific Title:
1: Take the last three letters of your last name and reverse them
2: Add the first three letters of the make or model of your first car
3: Insert the word "of"
4: Tack on the name of the last medication you took.

So, I would be Davah Haste, Rhacav of Gemfibrozil

Not bad. Any one else got a kickass Star Wars name to share?

And then anger set in.

Somehow, my day went from blissful, post-coital sleep to focused rage. I don't like this side of my personality. I shouldn't let shit get to me. It's probably why I have high blood pressure. Well, that along with my shit diet, which, although I have improved it, is probably still to shitty.

I'm mad at a friend of mine. I'm mad at our customers. To quote Top Gun "I want some butt!"

Anyways.

I'm going to get my lunch together and hopefully settle down a bit. After all, I've got pre-made food at home, more food for Wednesday, not to mention that not only is Pub Quiz done, but I've already printed out most of what we'll need for tonight.

What could be better? I think it's high time I accentuated the positive.

Everything's coming up Star Wars.

My own obsession aside, Fark ran a photoshop contest for adding lightsabres to famous pictures. Check the rest of the entries here. Personally, I hope this one wins:

From www.fark.com
Posted by Hello

Nice work, Yesdog.

Oh yeah- I forgot.

The reason that I'm full of such wonderful lack of thinking ability today isn't that I was on the phone late in the late with Red, but actually because someone who lives on my street has a car alarm which sounds almost exactly like my alarm clock.

Unfortunately for me, his alarm was going off at about 2:27 am.

In his book Timequake, Kurt Vonnegut mentions the best way to silence a car alarm is with a bazooka. That thought crossed my mind, jogged in place for a minute, then fleeted out, stage right, from my consciousness. Wouldn't it be fun?

Oh yeah.

A Man, A Plan, A Blog, Logan's Dave

Ok, so maybe that's not the greatest use of someone else's title, but I like it.

Anyways.

So, what was up with Saturday? Was it not one of the more perfect days? I was certainly in a good, good mood. For one, it was a perfect day for cycling. Perfect. Warm, but not too warm, a nice, light wind to keep you cool, and sunny. Oh so damn sunny. I rode 55 miles. The I stopped because I got hungry and ran out of Gatorade. Saturday night, my best friend and my friend T went to the Wolves Game, which turned out to be in my top 10 all-time hockey games I have attended. Kari Lehtonen recorded a shutout, we tallied a short-handed, empty net goal, and there were 103 penalty minutes in the second period. At one point, there were 7 people in each penalty box. It was amazing. There wasn't enough room. Not to mention that one of my all-time favorite players(well, to taunt) now plays for the Manitoba Moose. None other than Cory Pecker. I don't even have to tell you what kind of fun can be had with that last name.

After hockey, we went to out for some karaoke, and well, tore the place up. As we are apt to do. Yesterday, thanks to the amount of alcohol I imbibed on Saturday, I spent most of the day in bed. I finally got to sit down and watch the CSI written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, though. Well done.

More later, once I get my head back on.

Movie Review: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Honestly, I felt a little like I was turning 30 again- it was such a big deal leading up to it, but, in the end, it was moderately anti-climatic. I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy it- I thoroughly did- but that I had built up so much hype within myself that I was less than completely satisfied.

Warning! I'm not trying to spoil things but I've got some stuff I need to talk about. You might not want to read beyond here.

How long is the gestation period for a Naboo woman? According to the film, the passage of time would indicate that it's probably less than a week. You never really get a firm grip on the passage of time, but you watch Padme tell Anakin about their child, then, in what feels like no time at all, she goes from barely showing her pregnancy to having twins. I felt a little ripped off by this. Not that it really matters much in the whole story, I mean, we know that Luke and Leia are twins and all, and that Anakin is the father.

Not to mention that in 95% of the "love" scenes the dialogue was so bad I was rolling my eyes. Ugh. But that's to be expected, I think. It's not like Lucas to write good dialogue.

Evil will always triumph because good is dumb. Mace Windu stands over a unarmed, wounded Darth Sidious, lightsabre in hand, ready for the kill. What does he say? "I'm going to end this right now." What does he do? Hesitates, lets Anakin cut his arm off, which allows the Emperor to kill him. Now, I seem to remember Jedis being wise and decisive. Oh well. There goes one of my favorite characters.

Ok, last one.

When Darth Vader is finally in cased in his bad-ass black suit, why the sudden hommage to Frankenstein, with the yelling, the "can you hear me"s, the pulling the wrist restraints out, fuck. It was so cheesy it hurt. I remember leaning over and saying "that was so bad I'm pissed." That was a waste of time, and it brought down the movie.

There's a lot of really, really good action in this movie, and the lightsabre battles are epic. While I'm spending more time lambasting than praising, believe me, I'll be seeing it again. Soon.

Take the cotton out of your mouth, please.

Today has been a day of confusion when I talk to people. One guy, who has a name that phonetically sounds common, but is spelled completely(and I mean completely) different had me going. I got the feeling that he's not the greatest communicator, and he's from a place where I don't usually think of the people being great communicators. Before I got a chance to yell at him for being an idiot, he hung up.

Maybe I wasn't going to yell at him, but I was going to share with him my experiences with a last name that is phonetically similar to many spellings(Aarons, Arons, Erins, Errands, Erons, etc, etc), but I always spell it out. Without failure. It's second nature.

Anyways.

Later on, I had another charming encounter with a person who just refused to enunciate words. I asked him to repeat, just a part of what he said, and specified the part, and he kept repeating the part I hadn't asked for.

So, is anyone else having troubles communicating, or am I the only one?

Use the force, dumbass.

Rather than bitch too long over the fact that torrential rains have soaked, well my entire body this morning, I'd like to point you over to this comparison between sports and Star Wars which I found over on CNN.com.

And for those of you scoring at home, it's 9 hours and 9 minutes until I see Episode 3.

Not that I'm counting.

Ok, I'm counting.

Milestone.

After entering last night's money from pub quiz, I have finally beat the fundraising total that I had last year. Last year's total, which catapulted me into 26th overall fundraiser for the Tour de Farms, was $3,730.67. Not a bad showing, if you ask me. As of right now, however, I'm at $3,782, which is currently 8th place overall. Cyclists and fundraisers tend to be a little competitive, in case you were wondering.

If you're also wondering what all this MS talk is about, click here or here for more information.

Postcards from the (Mill)edge(ville)

Red made her debut to the family this weekend, oddly enough, on her birthday.

The consensus is very good:

"I sure do like your [Red], Dave. She's very nice."
-Granny

"You better hold on to this one, she's really nice and I like her."
-my 10-year-old cousin

"Good for you, waiting for the right one."
-Grandma

Those are just a few of the wonderful things my family were saying about Red this weekend. She's a big hit. My mother insisted that Granny get pictures of the two of us for her. We were more than happy to oblige. Of course, our first picture taken as a couple happened during karaoke on Saturday night:

Well, ain't we a pair?
Posted by Hello

Sure, it's grainy, and you can barely tell it's us, but that's what you get with camera phones. Compliments to my friend T for taking and e-mailing the picture for me. If memory serves, this picture was taken after I had several friends and I sing Birthday by the Beatles for Red(I sang as Cartman), but also after I finally lived the dream of belting out Faith by George Michael. I like to think I did the song justice. Our KJ said "give it up for Dave and his ass." To which Red responded "Dave and his HOT ass."

Yep. She's a keeper.

After arriving at my dad's parents' house on Monday to go to lunch before Red and I headed back, my grandparents presented me with a rather strange gift. Knowing my fondness for swords, I was presented with a World War Two Japanese officer's sword, which my biological grandfather somehow procured during his Naval service in the Pacific theater. My great-uncle, who has moved into the family farm, found it recently and gave it to my grandmother, who has, in turn, given it to me. It's not in the greatest condition, but who can blame it, after spending almost 60 years in storage? I'm going to try to restore it(as best I can) and put it on display in my apartment. I'm not selling it. No way, no how. I can also honestly say that other than my last name, this is the only thing I have ever owned that belonged to my grandfather.

Anyways, Red really enjoyed her time out at the farm. She went for a walk through the fields while I mowed the lawn(I'll scan and post a picture of that as soon as I can), hustled my family and myself in Bocce Ball, and got to share in the ages-old family activity of throwing rocks in the creek.

Wait. I've never adequately explained this activity.

The Rock Creek(the word creek, by the way, is pronounced crick in my family) runs by my grandparents' house, about 3/8 of a mile down the road, and sits next to a quarry. As long as I can remember, we have gone down there, thrown a target into the creek on the north side of the bridge, and then waited, with handfuls of gravel, on the south side, to attempt to sink, or at least hit, said target. It's a fun game. Now that I'm older and stronger, I can throw larger rocks, which makes it more fun. Big splashes and all. It's silly, but fun. Just ask Red, who said "this is like a family tradition, and it's really, really fun!"

So, that's the recap. I've got a pub quiz to write, so I'd better get to work.

Yet another first.

I was just on the phone with a client of ours. He forgot his password. I asked him for his account number. He said "I don't have it in front of me right now." I tried to look up his information, but did not have a listing for his last name. I recommended that he call his broker for that information.

Here's here things got scary. As he's confirming with me that he should call his broker, I hear a toilet flush. Not in a quiet, across-the-house kind of flush, but a I-just-stood-up-and-hit-the-handle kind of flush.

I don't know about the general public, but I don't like to be on the phone and the toilet simulaneously, and I'm all for multi-tasking. There's just certain things I don't like to do together. Cooking and changing Mia's litter box is a perfect example. But when my friends are on the pot and talking to me on the phone, I point it out, not that it grosses me out or anything, but I like to tease, and that is a perfect opportunity to do so.

However, when placing a business phone call, I can't imagine doing such a thing. It did underline the fact that he truly didn't have his account number in front of him, though.

Must be Friday the 13th or something.

Celebrating my inner geek.

For those of you who haven't figured it out, I'm a royal geek. A nerd.

I am, in just 6 days, going to see Star Wars Episode III on opening day. I have little to no doubt that I will be going again a couple days later. What you don't know is that there's an online test to determine which side of the force you lean towards. I found it over on Fark

My results:

The Force-O-Meter
Posted by Hello

I only have a couple problems with my results. My father isn't evil. He's good. Trust me. I also don't have a sister to fancy, lots of step-sisters, though. At least the force is strong with me, right?

Off to my geeky little world.

Texas.

For some reason, lots of things Texan in nature are coming up today.

First off, a friend of Jen's, who lives in Texas and reads my blog(finally solving the mystery I was dealing with- who from Texas reads my blog?) sent me a couple e-mails this morning, including an entry in the Dave/Jen trivia quiz.

Second, I finally got around to reading the Onion(sometimes I forget it is Wednesday), and in the opinion page:

"If we outlawed everything some people find offensive, there wouldn't even be a Texas in the first place."

Third, as I'm reading through Dan Savage's column, I came across this:

I work in an office at the Texas House of Representatives. Last week, the house passed an amendment to the Child Protective Services bill saying not only that gay people can't be foster parents, but also that if you already are a foster parent and are discovered to be gay, your children will be taken away from you. This week, they passed a bill to amend the Texas Constitution to invalidate any legal agreement similar to marriage for same-sex couples.

Every day, the Texas house opens its session with a prayer. Representatives bring in pastors from their districts. The prayers usually sound something like, "God knows what he wants you to do today... let God guide you in your important decisions..." I was wondering, if you were to write a prayer invoking the name of God before the Texas House of Representatives, what would you say?
Gay Government Employee

"Dear God, deliver me from Texas."

Now, I've been to Texas, and I have friends who are from there, or have lived there for extensive periods of time, and I gotta tell you, never have I had this strange planetary alignment where all things Texas pop up in one day. I'm almost afraid to go to CNN or Fark for fear that I'll be reading more and more about Texas, where the only things I've learned to dislike are the presidents it produces and the hockey team they claim to love so much, which was stolen from me. Ok, that may be a truncated list, but I just wanted to make a point or something. I lost track.

*fizzle*

Timing is everything.

Last night was a friend of mine's going away party. She's headed back to the Emerald Isle, as her visa has expired. I'm really sad to see her go. She's a great person, funny, beautiful and sassy. Exactly the kind of person I enjoy having in my life.

Unfortunately, her timing is off. Last night, she asked me if I would marry her so she could stay. I've been asked this before, the first time I said yes, but things got screwed up(more on that in a bit). This time, I told her it was a great idea, but impossible. I'm with Red now, after all, and am trying like hell to not screw that up.

Some folks think that marriage for citizenship is wrong. I don't. I've been asked before, and I have friends who have actually done it. The first time I was asked was about 8 years ago. We were both working for the soulless company that stole my youth, her visa was expiring, I was 24, she was 31 and drop-dead gorgeous. Things seemed to be all go, until one fateful day in late August. I had recently returned from my father's wedding, and proudly displayed a picture of myself, my father, and my step-mother on my desk. She was on a break walked into my office. Immediately, she eyed the picture. "What is that?" she asked me. I informed her of all the people in the picture, and she ruined our relationship with the words "and you don't have a problem with that?"

What you may have already guessed is that my step-mom is African-American, and my soon-to-have-been wife was South African. Myself being a person who tries to not stereotype anyone, was rather unhappy to discover that she reacted so badly. We had never really talked about it, so I guess it was a surprise for both of us, but there was no way in hell she was going to get away with that, no matter how much money I was getting to become her husband. I may not be the most moral person in the world, but I do have certain scruples. Needless to say, everything was called off, and we went our separate ways.

In an unrelated vein, in the challenge I put forth unto my dear readers yesterday, the leading score is 7. Send me your answers!

The Unbearable Lightness of Pub Quiz

Red had the night off last night and wanted to hang out. Of course, Tuesday night is my regular pub quiz night at the Globe, so I invited her there. She was reluctant at first, but then she decided to come out. I think she had fun. They wound up in second place.

But I think that she and my friend A had an advantage. The Dead or Canadian round last night was factiods about either myself of my friend and co-quiz-host Jen, and those who know me or Jen did pretty well. Other folks, well, most of the questions were toss-ups, but I think most folks could take a decent stab at it.

Here, try your own hand at it:

1) Born on mom’s 30th birthday.
2) Graduated from college cum laude.
3) Was invited to try out for the 1992 Olympic Games(bonus if you name the sport).
4) Has flat feet.
5) Broke their collarbone as a child by falling out of bed.
6) Was lead singer for their college band, Tea on the Lawn.
7) Can play the flute.
8) Has been an extra in an independent film.
9) Can drive a tractor.
10) Orders CD’s by group, then chronologically by album.
11) The New York Met owns a painting by an ancestor of them.

I'd say answer in comments, but that'll make so everyone can see everyone else's answers. Shoot it in an e-mail over to daveahrens@gmail.com and I'll post the highest score later on.

Welcome Back, Kevin

CNN.com is reporting that Kevin Francois, the 17 year old student who was suspended after talking on a cell phone to his mother in Iraq last week has had his sentence commuted, as it were. He's back in class.

I'm happy for him, honestly. I hope his school's administration and the teacher are embarassed as all hell over this, and they should be ashamed. After all, 3700 families in that district are "military families." You might think that would lead to a little be of tolerance and understanding. At least, I would.

Humor in other people's pain.

(singing)
Control your go-kart Tony Danza
You're not the king out on the raceway...

Check it out.

Patches, we don't need no stinkin' patches!

Red has decided to try to quit smoking. She feels bad about smoking around me, because, well, I don't smoke. It doesn't really bother me, honestly- while I'd rather she didn't smoke, I'm too old and too tired to think I can change a person overnight, so I'm excercising some patience. On our second date, we sat down, and she apologetically asked if she could have a cigarette. "Go ahead, I don't mind," I said, "I'm fine with it." After she smoked maybe 3/4 of the cigarette, she did something I never thought I'd see, especially with prices what they are today. She actually stood up and threw out the rest of the pack. Just like that. Up, and gone.

At first I thought she just threw out an empty pack, but then she smiled at me. "I don't want to smoke around you."

She doesn't want to smoke around me. Hm. I had to mull that one over, but in the end, I'm fine with it. She went out last week and bought the patch, but we hit a little stumbling block this weekend. I'm trying to encourage, without pushing too much, this quitting smoking venture. Once she's done that, she wants to buy a bike, but she's afraid she won't be able to keep up with me.

Anyways, I'm on day two of nose/headache, and loving every second of it. Unfortunately, I'm out of painkillers, so a trip to my local drugstore is in order. Damn nose. Damn pain. Damn dirty ape. Oh well. Back to the grind.

We don't believe in Daylight Saving Time here, boy.

I've had a busy weekend of playing with friends, hanging out with Red and more general mayhem that is my daily routine.

Yesterday, however I did something special.

I, dear reader, hopped on my beautiful new bike, and with Jen and fellow mopundow rider T, we headed south. Way south. Then east. Way east. Next thing you know, I'm in Indiana. Indiana.

One of the more unfortunate things about Indiana, especially the Hammond/Gary area, is it has a rather distinctive smell- and not a pleasant one, at that(not to offend any readers I may have in that area, I am, as always, just expressing an opinion). Jen, who has the luxury of a rather dulled sense of smell missed out on it, but did ask the poignant question "why would anybody fish this lake, and why would they eat anything that they got out of this lake?" I had no answer, and I still don't. Not just because I don't particularly care for seafood, but I could smell the lake and was amazed that no only were people sitting next to it voluntarily, but they were fishing with the intent to consume things that lived in that lake.

But I digress.

Last night, a group of friends and I went to the Wolves game, where they won in a most exciting method- the short-handed goal. I don't think my retelling of the story would be nearly as good as this one, so here it is, straight from the article:

With just 43.3 seconds left in regulation, Stewart stole the puck in the neutral zone and pushed it into the Cincinnati zone before breaking to the net. Center Ben Simon beat a Mighty Ducks defenseman to the puck and dumped it to the front of the net. Stewart, from his knees, one-timed the feed past Mighty Ducks goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov at 19:44 of the final period. The Aurora, Ontario, native has registered three goals in the last two games.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Afterwards, we headed back into the city so we could catch up with Red and do a little karaoke. Things were fine, they went well, until just before closing. Drunk guy #1, a regular, was at a wedding or something, and was fairly well lit up. He spent a few minutes getting on my nerves by hitting on my friend A, who really didn't want him around at all. I saw the "help me" face and decided to put an end to his ill-advised wooing. Drunk guy #2, another regular, was out drinking as well, and had exceeded the logical beverage limit for himself. I was happily chatting with Red and A when I heard loud voices from behind: "you wanna go?" "Let's take it outside, asshole!"

Then, kind of like in the Matrix, time seemed to slow down. I watched a couple punches, then a kick, then I realized that they were way to close to me, and more importantly, too close to Red and A, and oblivious to the fact that there were other people around. This makes for a dangerous environment. I also noticed that no one else in the bar seemed compelled to stop the fight, so I stepped in.

Admittedly, this was not the smartest thing I could have done. I could have simply said to Red and A that it was time we moved away from the fight. I could have. Sadly, still reeling from a hockey game and karaoke adrenaline, I did not. I forced my way in between the two pugilists and managed to tear one off the other within a few seconds, when finally someone else took an interest in stopping the fight. Unfortunately, in the middle of this melee, someone landed an elbow right on my award-winning schnoz.

Initially, I thought nothing was wrong. 10 minutes later, I started to get a bad feeling about it. Now, I'm just in pain. There wasn't much swelling, so I don't think I broke it(I have before, and it's no picnic), but at the same time, I can't look down comfortably, not to mention blow my nose, sneeze, or shake my head much without a fair amount of pain. Red insisted that I ice it when we got home, and I did, but I'm sure not happy about this.

Red also pointed out that I should have expected something like this if I were going to jump into a fight between Drunk guy #1 and Drunk guy #2. She is, of course, completely correct. Although, I still think I did the right thing, from a certain standpoint.

At least no one else got hurt, right?

Another example of zero tolerance being complete and total bullshit.

I don't care if you're for or against the debacle in Iraq(see if you can guess my opinion), but this is just plain fucking wrong.

The teacher, principal, and school board should be completely ashamed of themselves.

Kevin Francois, I feel for you and hope your mom gets back safe and sound, and I'd leave a big flaming bagful of dogshit on that teacher's doorstep for starters.

I am so hating my job right now.

I have a new nemesis, remarkably similar to my old one.

He says things like "it's a rudimentary program function" but doesn't know how to open Microsoft Word.

I don't understand why people like this have money enough to lose in the futures market. I consider it to be further proof that there's no such thing as a god. I couldn't imagine any kind of being making people so fuckin' dumb.

I'm going to go back to trying to keep myself from exploding.

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad Logan's Dave

After work yesterday I hoofed it over to Dearborn to take the 22 bus up to my former employer, Tower Records. I was heading up there to buy tickets to a certain playoff hockey game for myself and 6 friends. Of course, whenever I grace that store with my presence, my old friends who are still there and I have to catch up. We don't get to see each other nearly as often as we used to, after all.

After I got my tickets, I wandered the store, looking for my old friends, and caught up with some, and got invited to the restaurant downstairs for drinks. Figuring I could have a couple and still get home in time to go grocery shopping(finally) and make dinner, I agreed.

That was my big mistake.

We wound up drinking for some time, then, when people started to realize how much trivia I have in my head, we just had to play NTN. Then it became "c'mon, just one more game, Dave." Ugh. Not the wisest of ideas I've had recently, but I did get to have fun and catch up with some good people. I finally got home at about 8:30, in desperate need of food and in no place to cook myself, so take out was ordered and hurriedly consumed, then bed was crawled off to, but only after I placed a drunken phone call to Red to see if I could convince her to come over, but she was at work, so it wasn't to be.

So needless to say, I'm in a slow mood this morning. Slow enough that I missed my train this morning. I decided that hopping the bus and taking the Red Line down would be the good idea. Not so much, it turns out. I looked at my watch when we got downtown, and realized that I needed a taxi. I needed it now. Taxi #1 didn't see me until the last minute, and someone else got in it before I was able to cross the street. Taxi #2 was at a stand outside a hotel, and decided to be a dick about taking me to work. Taxi #3 waved me off, causing me to get very pissed off, and finally taxi #4 stopped, I got in, but he misheard me and drove to 55 E Jackson instead of 550 W Jackson. This was a minor infraction which was easily rectified. He also agreed with me that the taxi stand guy was a dick.

The end result was that I was 5 minutes late to work, which would have been about the same result had I just waited for the next Brown Line train to show up. It was a good lesson to learn, that fortunately only cost me $8 to learn.

Logan's Linguistic Breakdown

Found this over on Pat's Blog. Nice work:

Your Linguistic Profile:

65% General American English

25% Yankee

10% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Life, don't talk to me about life.

Whenever it gets to be too much, I tend to take an ever so brief hiatus from my blog. It happens, and I apologize, especially to those who call me out on it when I've been neglectful to my beloved readers.

Why I'm so damn busy:
I spent Tuesday getting our MS Jerseys together and finishing up the pub quiz for Tuesday night. Red stopped by after I had finished up and hung out, making me very, very happy. Yesterday I was trying to organize myself for my team meeting, which was last night. There's a lot of work to do, but things seem to be falling into place. Check out our team website and feel free to donate to our cause!

I may not be rich or famous yet, but at least I'm happy, right?

So, I'll stay the course for the time being.

What the...?

Did you realize that Logan's Dave will be celebrating it's two year anniversary in 20 short days?

As always, no applause, just throw money.

Bizarro World: Chicago

I did something I don't usually do this weekend. I shopped. I splurged. I ate up vast amounts of my tax refund check. I also almost, almost, spent a sizeable amount on a trip for Red's birthday, which is coming up very soon. For the most part, however, I spent money on myself. I got 4 DVD's(Trading Places, Mars Attacks, The Wall, and one I can't remember right now), bought myself some new extremely comfortable boxers, a new alarm clock, 3 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of pants, a new pair of padded bike shorts and an extra water bottle cage for my beautiful new bike. Life is good.

I also got to do something I haven't done in a long, long time. I slept in on Sunday. Of course, Red and I were out until all hours on Saturday night, so it was rather necessary.

But what's really got my boxers in a bundle today is waking up on May 2nd, walking out the door, and finding that it's March 2nd. This has me pretty pissed off- I mean, what's up with 40 degree weather(about 4 C) in May? I'm trying to get ready for a big ride, and don't like biking in that cold of weather(even I have my limits).

Anyways, I guess I'm just pissed that nature's palm pilot broke and is stuck in March. What a pisser.