Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Plane vs. Bus
After Delta denied my credit card but charged my account anyway, I put planning my New Mexico trip on the back burner. The money was put back in my account today so I hopped on the net and started checking out airfares.

I'm really tempted to ignore air travel all together and go Greyhound. On the plus side: two round trip bus tickets cost less than one airline ticket. On the downside: travel time is 36 hours (minimum) each way.

Being unemployed I think I can spare the time. I'm just wondering if bus travel is as unpleasant as I remember it. With my luck, it's probably worse than I remember it. I'm also not sure how well my daughter would cope with such a long ride. I'll sleep on it and decide in the morning.

What else is new? 28 Weeks Later spawned a 36 hour cold war between my wife and I, but I'll spare you the details. It's still too painful to discuss. Well, not really. It's actually kinda funny. I just don't want to have to explain it.

The day after I made my last post I got a call from my local Nielsen representative. The first thing he asked was if I told anyone that we're a Nielsen family. I panicked for a moment on the absurd notion that they read my blog (yeah, right), but it turns out it's a standard question they ask everyone. Anyway, I got bored rather quickly with the questions he was asking and changed the subject. We then spent about half an hour discussing who the best Doctor Who was (Tom Baker, without a doubt, but we both also like Christopher Eccleston). And unofficially (as he would get in trouble with his superiors) we also discussed the best sites for viewing pirated tv shows.

Also, I recently decided that stewed tomatoes are one of the most disgusting things a person can find in a can. I didn't always feel this way, but I happen to live with someone who feels the perfect addition to any (and by God I mean any) recipe is a can of stewed tomaotoes. meh.


Thursday, May 17, 2007
My Vote Counts
So, a few months ago a got a questionnaire from that one company who monitors peoples television viewing habits. They asked me not to name them, but there's really only one outfit that compiles tv ratings, right? Any way, I filled it out rather facetiously with a red magic marker using as many expletives as I could. I popped it in the s.a.s.e. they provided and sent it off, promptly forgetting all about it.

Sometime later I received another letter. They asked me to give them a call. "Hah!" I thought and stuffed it under a couch cushion which is where I file paperwork. (No, really I do. It drives Marie crazy to find months of unsorted credit card receipts and envelopes stamped "Important! Reply Immediately!" every time she lifts a cushion.) Again, I promptly forgot about it.

Fast forward a few more weeks. One afternoon while sitting on my front stoop smoking a cigarette this attractive young lady walked up holding a brown paper sack.

"Are you David Sxxxxxxx?"

I thought about lying or just running inside and locking the door. I glanced around nervously. "Yeah."

"I'm so-and-so from that company we don't want you to talk about. We'd like to stick a bunch of electronic equipment in your house and monitor what you watch on tv."

"Um, what's in it for me?"

"I have this bag full of chocolates and two pounds of Starbucks coffee." I must have looked skeptical. "And we'll pay you."

"Oh, ok. Where do I sign?"

She showed me and I signed. I spent the afternoon eating chocolate and drinking coffee.

Now, every time I turn on my television my vote gets counted toward which shows are successful.

I hope you all like Futurama reruns.

And by the way, Junk sucked balls. Twenty seconds into it I remembered that I 'd seen it before and didn't like it. I returned it saying it wouldn't play and used the money to buy copies of Good Omens and Neverwhere.

Oh, also Kurt Vonnegut, jr. recently passed away. So it goes. I'd be sad, but I truly believe he wouldn't want anyone to mourn for him.


Wednesday, May 16, 2007
I Am An Award Winning Poet!
First, I don't think I ever thanked Nichole for all the great work she did making this blog look nice. Thank you, Nichole.

Second, thanks to everyone for your help picking out which haiku to enter into the Half-Price Books Haiku Contest. Your input allowed me to choose the correct poems and take first place! The one about Donkey Kong won.


I climb a ladder
No! A barrel has hit me
Damn you, Donkey Kong!


Not the best, but good enough, I guess.

The prize for first place was a $25 gift certificate for Half-Price Books. I spent it on a copy of Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko and a DVD of the Japanese zombie film Junk.


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