2006 March Archive at gotshoo?

Archive for March, 2006

Tuesday!

Published

shoo

on 3/28/2006

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. 11 Comments

Who knew you could get so excited about a Tuesday!!!

Tonight will mark the last night of bowling for my league. After 30 weeks of bowling, I am bowled out.

This year I boosted my average up from last year’s 148 to 165, but was unable to reach the goal of a 600 series. Roommate Kyle bowled a 300, got a shinny ring with a diamond that would attract any hot babe! (Note to self: don’t let Roommate Kyle wear ring around GTG.)

The one night GTG was a spectator, a fight almost broke out over a $5 bag of babypowder. She since has never returned to watch another game.

The Lucky Strikes have done relatively well as a team. I’ll need to check the numbers, but I believe we are in 5th place out of 11. This year was tougher though with 3 new teams and talent to contend with. Besides Roommate Kyle there were 4 other people that bowled a 300 or were within 3 pins.

Most dispised teams “Moose Knuckle” (Did not make that name up) and “North Side Towing”.

It is still up in the air if I will return to bowling next year. It’s a physical and mental sport that is tiring on the body and mind. The off season will determine if I have the strength and a healthy enough body to perform with the weekly abuses of beer guzulers, chain smokers, and ball smackers.

What do cool kids do on a Friday!?

Published

shoo

on 3/24/2006

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. 6 Comments

Deadlines. Hate them.

I created this one. Should have given myself more time.

A little more nerdin’, and I’m going out for an adult beverage.

But teach’, how am I suppose to take notes?

Published

shoo

on 3/24/2006

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. 5 Comments

Saw this article Law professor bans laptops in class, over student protest the other day, and wanted to blog about it, but forgot. The link remerged on Blackrimglasses blog today. His stance was that it took away from the learning experience, as well as he cheated, and worked on other homework.

Before I go any further, I might be a little biased. As I look around the basement, there are a total of 6 monitors (one not hooked up), 3 computers, and 2 laptops. That’s not including what is upstairs. (Note: this is a combined tally of mine and my roommates stuff). Don’t even think about it. Kyle and I carry a gun at all times.

I finished my last two years of school at UIS, a WiFi campus. This was at the time that wireless was really starting to become mainstream. 54meg was cutting edge. I could sit in lecture and take legible notes, check on references to facts professors made, work simultaneous with theories that were being taught (sorting algorithms, basics of tcp/ip..ect). It was very cool. My laptop was my greatest asset.

That’s not to say that I didn’t have AOL IM open, or personal email, or reading material for other classes. But I think you have to consider it multi-tasking. Technology (however much it ties us down) is suppose to set us free from robust tasks, make life easier, make things more manageable, make the job go quicker. Granted we are suppose to be paying attention, but hey, we’ve already got those notes, we just Googled them.

I brought the article up to GTG, one of the hottest high school English teachers you’ll ever meet. She being a teacher, and mindful of short attention spans, I thought she’d put up a dying fight to the end about pen and paper. Not the case, she actually ~~embarrasses~~ embraces laptops in the classroom. I don’t know if that necessarily includes high school students, but she liked the idea of laptops as a learning tool in the college arena.

…. I could go on further, but A. I’m tired and B. You guys have got the idea ….

What do you think? Useful learning tool, or best way to keep connected to eBaum’s world?

Drive Thru Springfield.

Published

shoo

on 3/22/2006

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. 14 Comments

From time to time, I like to read Seth Godin’s blog. He’s a marketing, franchising, advertising guru author. I have always been entertained with marketing and advertising. More of the sense of creating an image/icon to bring a consumer to identify with a product. Not the actual interaction with the consumer. I worked in retail and in a restaurant. People suck.

Godin reviews how a product has been marketed well, or not.

Today’s post deals with creating a product that is so un-cool that it is cool. The masses then get to the product and overpopulate it, then it becomes common place, and soon afterwards yesterday’s trash.

Why I even mention his blog is because in his post dissecting a product that has ’sold out’ he mentions Springfield and Central Illinois and the prarie plethora of chain restaurants.

Take a drive through Illinois — home to McDonald’s headquarters — and you might discover that many of the towns you pass don’t have one “real” restaurant. No diner, no place for a fancy night out. Just a Hardee’s, a Pizza Hut, and, of course, a McDonald’s. This is not a phenomenon limited to tiny towns near Springfield. There are thousands of McDonald’s franchises across the country, along with chains like Arby’s, Subway, T.G.I. Friday’s, and countless others churning out anonymous, forgettable meals to people in a hurry. Hey, it’s what we asked for.

Springfield is a pit of corporate fast food. I remember hearing a fact at one time that Springfield per capita had the highest ratio of fast food restaurants per person. I think the current title belongs to Bloomington. (I don’t have any articles or hard facts to support this - but there is a Wiki for restaurants per capita in comparison by state.)

When I got out to dinner, I rather eat at a local eatery. Luckily GTG shares my point of view -of course though, I am buying. We’ll opt for Gabatoni’s over Olive Garden, or Head West Sub Stop over Subway when we go out for dinner. It wasn’t a value that I was raised on, but a conscious effort that I pay more attention to as I dish out Washington’s.

Applebees? Darcy’s Pint? Outback? Suzy Q’s? KFC? Cozy Dog? - Where are you going out to eat this weekend?

Vent.

Published

shoo

on 3/22/2006

in General

. 1 Comment

I got to vent for a second. If you are not in the IT/IS world, this will not make sense.

I am trying to install Exchange server and I am getting this error from Timbuktu. When I search Google every 1 out of 3 sites is a site with advertisements. In the newsgroups, 98% of the posting are a reiteration of the error.

I’ll get this figured out one way or another. That’s why they pay me the big bucks.

The ‘REAL’ photos.

Published

shoo

on 3/22/2006

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. 2 Comments

My last blog post was concerning the ‘fake’ photo of the tornado that hit Springfield with the Hilton in the background. The ‘REAL’ photos have now been found by the gotshoo.com blogging community. Amazing detail of what this Katrina-beast-like tornado could do to the city of Springfield.

This photo brought to us by Dave Heinzel

This amazing view which looks much better than the fake one, is brought to us by Russ

This photo.

Published

shoo

on 3/21/2006

in General

. 13 Comments

This photo has been making the rounds on the local Central Illinois email circuit. I have received it 3 times. Each time I have replied to the author of the email that the photo is a fake, or rather not of the tornado from Springfield.

“Why? Why? Why?” all of you are asking why this is not the real deal. GTG and I discussed why this photo was a fake. Here is what we came up with.

1. The sunset time for March 12, 2006 was 6:01pm. The storm hit around 8:30pm. Way too much light.

2. Palm trees?

3. Hilton = Phallic symbol of the prarie. We’re missing some curvature!

4. In the horizon, we should the current state capital and the Illinois Building (Ameren CIPS).

5. In one email I received, it said that the shot was taken from St. Johns Hospital. The perspective would be different if it was. You would need to take the photo somewhere in comparable distance from downtown such as Knights Action Park.

6. Tornado Size. Way too skinny. The two tornadoes that hit Springfield were Katrina size. (okay, that might be a stretch).

Okay, now stop forwarding this email. Get back to work all of you state workers!!!

Podcast.

Published

shoo

on 3/20/2006

in General

. 11 Comments

Update: Nattie asks, “What is a podcast?”

From Wikipedia: More Info

A podcast is a web feed of audio or video files placed on the Internet for anyone to download or subscribe. Podcasters’ websites also may offer direct download of their files, but the subscription feed of automatically delivered new content is what distinguishes a podcast from a simple download or real-time streaming (see below). Usually, the podcast features one type of “show” with new episodes either sporadically or at planned intervals such as daily, weekly, etc. Besides that there are podcast networks that feature multiple shows on the same feed.

There was an article the other day from a media source in Japan stating that TV is dead (sorry, can’t find the article again). Yes, the TV in MTV is dead.

Welcome in the podcast. The same company that brought you “ipod” and “itunes” … practically anything associated with a little “i” - except iShoo. It definitely seems like this is more than just a trend. In the early stages of the internet, it too was a trend.

My internet was finally restored this morning after Springfield Tornado i2006, aka Katrina 2. First thing I did was actually get online and check my podcast subscriptions. Thanks to Dave Heinzel as you were the first to welcome me back to the internet with episode 6. Little Eathan is the coolest.

I know there are other people doing the podcast thing? Who are you and what are you watching / listening to?

My dad is even downloading podcasts from NPR to his Shuffle!

This is what I have in heavy rotation.

Ask-a-ninja - Karate Kid meets Gallagher (http://www.askaninja.com/)

Diggnation - A weekly review from the tech website Digg.com creator Kevin Rose and guru Alex Albrecht(http://revision3.com/diggnation)

Rocketboom - One of the more popular podcasts online; sold their first advertising for $40k. (http://rocketboom.com)

DL.tv - Another tech show. Products, websites, new technologies…. Yes, I am a nerd. (http://dl.tv)

– I have more, but what are yours?

House 4 Sale

Published

shoo

on 3/20/2006

in General

. 1 Comment

House 4 Sale

Originally uploaded by gotshoo.

Saw this on the cover of a shopper while at the grocery store. I drew up the plans at my previous job for this house. Josh T. and Aaron D’s step-dad built it.

Who’s gonna buy it?

I like your style.

Published

shoo

on 3/20/2006

in General

. 1 Comment

At my last place of employment, the song “Monday Monday” by the Mama’s and the Papa’s was ruled not to be played on Mondays. The one Monday someone did play it, it was a Monday no one would ever talk about.

This Monday has actually been pretty refreshing. I was up in the Chi-town burbs this weekend staying at the illustrious Hilt-sternos. Made the last minute voyage up north after a long week. I scared GTG making a split-second decision. I think she thought I was going to join Tom Cruise and his church. But in reality, I just needed some time away from Springfield.

Stern and I kicked it all weekend. Phrase for the weekend, “I like your style.” Stern on multiple occassions would go up to people wearing Illini and St. Louis gear and tell them, “I like your style.”

At one point we were in front of a Journeys, I reach to pick up a hideous looking pair of velcro shoes to tell Stern that really this was his kind of shoe. At the same time, a hip, messenger bag wearing, Asian guy reaches for the same shoe. We both stop reaching at midpoint. Stern in the middle of the rucus looks at the Asian guy with the “Shooter McGavin” wink-look, “I like your style!” Guy was embarassed.

Random fact: To figure out the youngest person you should date (Your Age / 2) + 8.

This from Rocket Boom:

Online Beer Vendor trading cards! Unfortunately, they’re all Cub beer vendors, but still cool.