Lost in Wisconsin

I like the snow...

2006-10-12T19:26:00.000-05:00

So there.

The first snow of the season is always really exciting to me. I come from a place where snow doesn't happen often, and only slightly when it does. October may only just be waking up, but the snow can just keep coming as far as I care. The leaves are clinging to their color. The wind will take care of that. And then we're left to steel and slate November. Bitter winds and no ready relief from monochrome. December comes along and, if we're lucky, we'll start to see some little snows. By January we'll have ice everywhere - that's interesting. But between now and then, things can get a little tedious.

So bring me some snow. I'll take it.

On closer inspection...

2006-07-17T18:37:00.000-05:00

It appears from that last post that I'm not really lost in Wisconsin anymore anyway. Time to move - never get too used to a place. It's not healthy.

Transition

2006-07-15T22:27:00.000-05:00

In about a month, I'll be moving from Wisconsin. No longer will I be Lost in Wisconsin. Nope, I'll be lost somewhere else entirely - a major metropolis in a different country, even. No more cheese curds, no more Packers, no more Badgers, no more Halloween riots on State Street, no more UW Law School, no more beers at the terrace. The list goes on.

Exciting? Yes. Very. My new country offers up a tasty array of things to get up to. The language is similar enough to my native language - shouldn't be much of a problem. But, as with any transition, uncertainty keeps tugging at my shoulder, bending my ear. It can be easy to get derailed and find yourself rocking slowly in the corner when uncertainty is unrestrained.

Must keep my head down, rolling on down the line.

By the way

2006-06-25T21:26:00.000-05:00

I'm gainfully employed. Not too gainful, unfortunately...but employed nonetheless. It's groovy. I get to play like I know things! I like my co-workers and my office. It's convenient to yummy treats and I can commute by bike.

I went to the Supreme Court last week and got myself sworn in. I signed the roster of attorneys that's been kept since Wisconsin was a territory (and, I suppose before it was actually "Wisconsin"). Kind of cool. I then went to the federal courthouse and took another oath. I can now practice in all state courts in Wisconsin as well as the federal district court for the western district of Wisconsin. Cool beans.

Sorry nothing more interesting on the ol' blog. Work is keeping me uber busy.

Just Smile

2006-06-25T20:46:00.000-05:00

Dueling bass lines

2006-06-21T19:19:00.000-05:00

AHA!!

There's a band called Office that has a really, really catchy song called "Wound Up." I highly recommend. Every time I hear the song, I think, "that bass line sounds familiar." So tonight, I placed it. The bass line in the verse of "Wound Up" reminds me of the bass line to "Let's Go to Bed" by The Cure.

There, that's better.

5 days and counting...

2006-06-15T20:30:00.000-05:00

until I'm licensed!

Time travel

2006-06-10T19:55:00.000-05:00

Wow. I'm listening to iTunes again...perpetually, it seems. Among many other gems, my electronic jukebox has selected "Two Steps" by Chomsky. I'm immediately back in undergrad, driving my mom's car - why not mine? Mine didn't have a CD player. And back then, iPods weren't even a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye. I'm driving back home with the Hot Date, knowing that I'll be driving HD to the airport - again - to go back home, 1300 miles away from me, the next morning. Perpetually wanting to be closer. The CD in the player? Chomsky's "A Few Possible Selections for the Soundtrack of Your Life." I can't remember the last time I listened to it.

Tonight we're about six years on down the line and we're apart again - for just a short while. And this time it's only 700 miles. And Chomsky's still here. And it still utterly sucks being apart when all I want is to be together.

Mere coincidence?

2006-06-06T21:48:00.000-05:00

I think not.

Allow me to explain. In the past two days, I've had repeated encounters with the idea of chili dogs. Yesterday, my parents reported eating chili dogs for dinner. Today, I went to grab lunch and ran across a hot dog vendor - that offered chili dogs. And tonight, admittedly while watching Food network, I saw several commercials for - you guessed it - chili dogs.

Sometimes the universe tells you to go eat a chili dog.

Screen door slams...

2006-06-04T19:30:00.000-05:00

I started up iTunes and it selected "Thunder Road" for my listening pleasure. I love iTunes.

I'm still here, just holy-crap busy with work. I haven't had time to cook a proper dinner in about a week. Do you think eating too many Boca Burgers is dangerous?

Weather forecasting is useless

2006-05-27T15:31:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I wrote it. Useless. Yesterday, all I heard on the news was, "wow, golly gee, this whole weekend is going to be beautiful! Plan all the outdoor activities you can! Great weather after all that rain we had last week!" So of course, now we're under a thunderstorm watch until 10 p.m. AND it's supposed to be stormy for the remainder of the weekend!

If I gave clients statements like forecasters give the public (i.e., routinely wrong), I could get sued.

Meanwhile, Joe Blow the Weather Ho gets to make all the wild, reckless promises he wants to and there's nothing we can do about it! Why do they get paid? Why do we devote resources to university programs for "meteorology?"

I'm sure weather...people...and their supporters would opine "but, but, but it's hhhh...hard to forecast!" Oh yeah. That's a fart in a stiff wind. Lots of things are hard, and very few people doing those things wrong all the time get to keep their jobs.

What's worse is that they base these routinely wrong predictions on computer programs and gadgetry, and then whine about how hard it is to predict the weather. I walk outside this morning, feel how stuffy and humid it is at 8 a.m. and think, "Hmmmm. In my experiences on this Earth, it usually storms when it's stuffy and humid outside in the morning. I daresay it might rain today!"

And I was right! I think the weather forecasters entice us with promises of nice weather just so they can get a laugh when people get caught in rain storms or get beaten up by hail stones.

That's not nice. I need a glass of water now. Okay. I'm alright.

OLN Redux

2006-05-20T19:37:00.000-05:00

Last night, one of the OLN commentators actually said that Calgary was Edmonton's neighbor to the north. Uh, yeah. Hmmm. Not so much, guys. Try again. 50/50 chance of getting it right this time.

Re: OLN - I rest my case.

Tour de Cure

2006-05-20T15:57:00.000-05:00

Here were the positives:

1. Sunny, pleasant weather - a little windy, but not too bad.
2. Rest stops with food, water, facilities, and helpful staffers/volunteers.
3. Free T-shirt and water bottle.
4. Lots of people outside riding bikes rather than inside doing nothing.
5. Free, quality support from Willy Bikes.

Here were the negatives:
1. I had to ride back to the start line in the SAG wagon. A new achilles injury on top of an older achilles injury flared up pretty badly and after about 7 miles of mostly hard climbing, I had to throw in the towel. BOOOOOOOO. I hate not finishing things.

2. The route was WAY too difficult for the recreational riders who wanted to take part. Though I didn't walk any hills, I saw too many people having to dismount and walk the bike up the hill. Walking your bike is not fun. Riding your bike is fun. People will not pay to not have fun.

3. The 'celebrity' speakers really hit hard with the "diabetes is a horrible disease and all the poor people who suffer from it need our help" angle. The ADA even pulled three diabetic kids up on the stage and had them tell about how they have to do shots and check their blood sugar. Poor little victims.

That's CRAP. I have type-I diabetes. I've had it for 15 years. I don't suffer. I'm not a victim. I don't need pity from an anchorwoman or a local comedian, thank you. Nobody else needs that either. You cannot live well as a victim. The organizers of the Tour de Cure in Madison seem to have lost sight of that basic point, using the emotional appeal to try to bring in more donations. That bothers me deeply.

Seeing yourself as a victim is one of the worst things you can do when dealing with anything in life, and especially when dealing with a chronic disease that will remorselessly tear you apart. You don't get out of the disease by being a victim (or at all, for that matter), so you might as well suck it up and take ownership. No pity, thanks.

What I need is an advocate in Congress. What I need is affordable (or even better, universal) healthcare to help me pay for my supplies. What I need is easy access to specialists. What I need is someone with whom I can tear out my hair when I hit the rough days, and with whom I can cheer for the little victories.

What I need is researchers to find a cure.

As far as the ride today helped raise a few pennies to fund the search for a cure, I think it was great. Let's build on that, but respectfully - you know, without telling people with diabetes that they're victims.

Jack White is stuck in my ear

2006-05-18T20:51:00.000-05:00

The Raconteurs' new song, "Steady as She Goes," is playing in my mind - over and over and over and over and over and, well, you get the idea.

It's actually kind of convenient - no need to charge the ol' iPod. Thanks for writing such a catchy tune, Jack.

If you haven't heard it yet, check it out. Or don't. Maybe Mr. White is planning to turn us into zombified servants via his super-catchy tunage. Yes, I'm sure that's it.

In a late-breaking development, I've been a smidge obsessed with playing Funk #49 by the James Gang on my guitar. I'm not sure that it's a healthy obsession - could lead to all kinds of exploits involving cheap beer and cheaper women. C'est la vie.

Hi Bill!

2006-05-18T20:34:00.000-05:00

I seeeeee yyoooouuuu

Leave me a comment!

Yay!

2006-05-17T16:49:00.000-05:00

Someone finally figured out who the other author was in one of my previous posts. Let's have a congratulatory hand for Greg!

In other news, I rode my beloved road bike to work today, which wasn't all that smart considering Dane County was under a severe thunderstorm watch pretty much most of the day. I got home just in time to avoid the deluge. Aren't attorneys supposed to have good judgment? Hmmmm.

I have two observations re: biking to work that I would like to share: (1) oncoming bikes, pedestrians, and rollerbladers complicate the already-challenging game of avoiding goose shit on the bike path, and (2) riding with traffic - and outpacing some of it - is awesome.

Like, totally.

Scary

2006-05-14T09:46:00.000-05:00

I'm an attorney now.

I think I'll need about a week to recover from the past 5 days. Got any aspirin?

Cue theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey

2006-05-08T16:54:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is it! Last exam - to be followed by a celebration de libation to make even Dionysus blush. Much wine shall pass my lips. Oh yes.

Exam 1

2006-05-07T08:56:00.000-05:00

I should be nearing completion of exam 1. But I'm not. I'm not even in the classroom waiting for the test. Why? Well, it seems that before my professor jetted off to Europe, she neglected to ensure that the exam was copied.

Yep, you read it. There are no copies of the exam for the class. The proctor managed to find a copy machine somewhere in the law school that was available on a Sunday morning. It'll be at least another 30 minutes before the exam is copied.

It's a fitting end to the worst class I've ever had.

Tasty

2006-05-05T14:04:00.000-05:00

So I listened to the new Pearl Jam album straight through today. Very nice. It gets a little lost in the weeds in some parts, but overall the boys did an awesome job.

Alive

2006-05-02T22:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I downloaded my pre-ordered copy of Pearl Jam's new album. I'm way too tired to listen to it straight through tonight (rule #1 of buying a new album - you MUST listen to it straight through at least once). I did watch the film that came with the album - sort of a documentary short about the band and the new tunes. Pretty cool stuff. Based on the advance singles I've heard thus far, the album should kick a fair amount of ass.

After downloading the album, I got to thinking about the first time I heard "Alive." It was the first time I had heard Pearl Jam, way back on the cusp of the "Seattle" sea change that cleared away the flotsam and jetsam of early nineties sugar-coated crap on the radio. I don't remember where I was, I don't remember what I was doing - all I remember was being in junior high and thinking, "this is the best thing ever." I immediately (and dutifully, I should add) figured out the opening riff and pieced together the chords as best I could. Once I finally earned enough allowance money, I bought the album. Ten is still - for my money anyway - one the high water marks in music.

Anyway, enough nostalgia.

This is a badder sign

2006-04-29T20:53:00.000-05:00

I'm missing a whole day of notes. Oops. Oh well, what the hell. My name is Yon Yonsen, I come from Wisconsin.

So it goes.

Guess the two authors I just referred to (who happen to be two of my favorites). Give me your answers in the comments. This is a fastball right over the plate. Just waitin' for someone to swat it over the wall.

Tort_feasah answered the previous question correctly - Samantha is indeed the character from Sex and the City who says something along the lines of "the crazy ones have the good pills."

Well done.

UPDATE: I'll give a hint. One of 'em is Joseph Heller. The other is perhaps America's greatest satirist.

UPDATE 2: The quotes are "oh well, what the hell" (from Catch-22), and "My name is Yon Yonsen, I come from Wisconsin" and "so it goes" which are from a book by the not-Joseph Heller author.

This is a bad sign

2006-04-29T17:07:00.000-05:00

Wikipedia has a nice, succinct summary of the title topic of the HARDEST CLASS EVER. Thirty seconds of skimming Wikipedia and I understand several things much more clearly than I did after a semester of class.

Maybe I should pay tuition to Wikipedia instead.

Brain not feel good

2006-04-29T12:08:00.000-05:00

How to begin this post? Hmmmm. I think we require some back story here.

Last night I went to the Weary Traveler for some food and beer (the line between the two is fuzzy at best, I admit). I ordered the Bad Breath Burger - it's a real menu item, and (insert Homer Simpson happy slobbering sound here) it's good. Real good. It involves lots of Angus beef, some cream cheese, pickled onions, and a dumptruck full of garlic.

I ate a handful of parsley (flat-leaf, naturally) before bed last night, hoping it would help, but alas it didn't. I've brushed my teeth, flossed, used mouthwash, eaten more parsley...short of eating activated charcoal, I don't think I'm getting rid of the garlic taste in my mouth anytime soon. Maybe it's impacting my brain. No more garlic for a while.

I'm telling myself that my brain feels all cranky because of the beer last night and the studying for THE HARDEST CLASS EVER this morning. I figure I'll hit a titration point with the beer and the studying sometime soon.

"Come on baby, don't let me down"

2006-04-28T20:09:00.000-05:00

That, gentle readers, is one of the greatest lines ever uttered in all of film-dom. It's from a little known gem called The Final Sacrifice. TFS was a REALLY low budget (like no-budget) "film" made quite a while ago with an apparently not-so-generous grant from the province of Alberta. Either that, or Mr. Greidanus (we can only presume it's pronouned "gr-eye-dahnoos" though I think we all want it to be "great anus"), the director, blew the budget on strippers and stubbies of Molson. Yeesh.

And then MST3K (mystery science theatre 3000) got hold of it and made it something grand and terrifyingly funny.

As I recall, at the point I picked out, the two heroes of the story, Zap Rowsdower and Troy McGreggor, are trying to get an ancient pickup truck to start. The older, fatter, less attractive hero says "come on baby, don't let me down" and Mike, one of the MST3K-ers voices over as the younger, skinnier, less attractive hero, "I won't, Rowsdower." Solid gold.

Anyway, my brain is the truck and I am Rowsdower. I have two exams - TWO stinking, paltry little exams to take before I am rid of law school. I've ridden out so many exams by now that these two shouldn't even register on my Richter scale.

But there's something extra-freaky about knowing that the last two are here. This is it. And my final final exam is in the hardest class I've ever taken IN MY LIFE. Great planning! I think my alternator is shot...

MULLET!!!

2006-04-25T13:06:00.000-05:00

Daphne Supergirl has a funny post about the mullet and its strange Hollywood powers and, if you scroll down, she's written up a very helpful review of Dr. Pepper's latest soda.

Now THAT's more like it!

2006-04-23T20:35:00.000-05:00

Tonight OLN is showing the CBC broadcast of the Ducks/Flames game. As it should be!

Send them back to wherever you found them...

2006-04-22T21:16:00.000-05:00

Where did OLN find its hockey commentators? First of all, they can't call the plays worth crap. They even narrate line changes like a monster truck rally commercial.

"Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!!! Look at that great scoring chance!!!! The goalie just drank some water!!!!"

Someone needs to take the crack-laced bananas away from these monkeys.

Second, I just saw a player line up a brutal, malicious hit - shoulder to jaw, interfering with the puck handler. Total headhunt. The commentators say it was clean, so apparently it's okay to target the head, crouch, and spring up with your shoulder in an attempt to break another player's head open.

What a load. Now they're saying "that's playoff hockey."

Oh, so that justifies what would've gotten the guy tossed from the game in the regular season.

Watching hockey in the US is just depressing.

Overheard on the bus today...

2006-04-18T20:47:00.000-05:00

"So I'm 17 and he's like 22, so I could totally get him thrown in jail if he makes me mad."

That dude is f@$%*d. She's 17, which means the higher functioning parts of her brain are not fully developed. He's 22, which, for guys, means about the same thing. I do not have great faith that there's good decisionmaking going on there.

I hate the bus. I fear that if God rode the bus (like Joan Osborne seemed to think he did back in the mid-90s), (s)he'd probably get home, open up the day planner and pencil in "scrap all of humanity" for 8 a.m. tomorrow.

The bus is populated by a diverse group of people - the poor, the mental, the enviro/cheapo granola holier-than-thou assholes, the students, the alcoholics, the kids who go to "alternative school" on the east side, etc...

But, dear readers, lest you think I'm some intolerant right-wing S.O.B. who needs a sensitivity training session, let me assure you I am not. I do not hate the bus because of the people who ride it or because of their peculiar infirmities.

I hate the bus because it is a constant, twice-daily reminder that society continues to fail a whole shitload of people who need the most help.

That's enough soapboxing for one night.

The good pills

2006-04-18T19:53:00.000-05:00

Here's a study I'd like to see: How many inmates have mental health issues requiring some form of intervention (meds, counseling, etc...)? How much would it cost to screen and treat mental health problems vs. incarcerating the people whose transgressions are attributable to those mental health problems? Anybody got a guess as to how much it costs per year to house an inmate in a Wisconsin prison? Post your guess in the comments and I'll tell you how far off you are.

Okay, I know, implementation of a functional screening program would be a logistical nightmare.

Oh, and if you think you know where the line, "the crazy ones have the good pills" is from, post your answer in the comments. I want to see how TV savvy you all are. That's a hint.

"They should have immediately taken it off and not waited 25 minutes"

2006-04-10T12:01:00.000-05:00

First, a disclaimer: KIDS SHOULD NOT WATCH PORN!! Hell, adults probably shouldn't watch it either.

That said, I just love this story . Subtext all over the place. My favorite part is when the mom actually records some of the porn and calls police. What? You have a random VHS of porn. What use will that be as evidence?

You can kind of tell what was going on - you know, daughter probably says 'looks what's on,' mom freaks, dad probably says,'I'm calling the cable company!!...but leave the t.v. on, I want to describe exactly what kind of filth they're polluting us with!' The article actually quotes dad as saying the porn was the "hardest-core stuff" he'd ever seen. Hmmm (!?).

Notice that there is zero mention in the article of actually turning off the television or changing the station. Maybe the reporter just left that out. But it seems like kind of an important detail if the focus of the article is to be the family's outrage and disgust with what was aired.

Paris - Roubaix

2006-04-09T18:58:00.000-05:00

What can you do? Poor George Hincapie looks like he's probably got the best shot of his career at winning the Paris - Roubaix and his handlebars (or was it the steerer?) snaps clean. That's a bitch. Down goes George. I hope he's okay.

Then, Discovery gets two strong riders at the front, they blow a train crossing while the arms are down and the red light is lit. They have a nice little sprint on the velodrome, pulling in respectable finishes. And then they get disqualified. They'd ridden probably 250 km by the time they got to the crossing, the train is quickly approaching - what would you do? You're tired, your legs feel like burning jello, your lungs sting, you're covered in dust, and you've been riding a bike over granite cobblestones for almost 6 hours - and the end is in sight. You know what the rules say, but at that particular moment the rules are not at the forefront of your mind. That just sucks.

Thanks to the disqualifications, Boonen, who actually stopped for the train, came in second. Not bad for a guy whose team absolutely vaporized and left him alone at the front. I know Basso is supposedly the golden child for the Tour this year, but I bet Boonen's going to give him a serious run for it. Probably depends on who's got the better crew and who masters the mountains. It'll be interesting to see how the Giro turns out.

In honor of Paris - Roubaix, I rode on the roughest section of bike path I could find (which wasn't too hard to do - the paths in my town need a serious re-paving).

"90 per cent of Ontarians live within five minutes of a Beer Store"

2006-04-07T13:54:00.000-05:00

WOOHOO!!!!!

Daphne Supergirl is headed to cottage country and has links to "The Beer Store"...I wonder if Wisconsonites can make such a claim?

Do you like nachos?

2006-04-06T20:07:00.000-05:00

Actually, this post has nothing to do with nachos. I was just thinking about a classic Simpsons episode. GHW Bush moves in across the street from the Simpsons. Homer and Bush the Elder get into it because Bush thinks Homer is a bad neighbor - and let's be honest, Homer would be a pain in the ass to live across the street from. Anyway, Bush moves out and Gerry Ford moves in. He meets Homer and asks, "Do you like beer? Do you like nachos?" Soulmates.

Anyway, I really want to start a band. Anybody play bass? I could use a second guitar also. Someone to share vocal duties with would be good. Oh yeah, and I probably could use a drummer, too. Need to know if the stage is level - JOKING, guys. You know that joke, right?

"How can you tell if your stage is level? The drummer's drooling out of both sides of his mouth."

Da-dum dum chiiiiiing.

Today was a long day.

April Fool's Day

2006-04-01T08:20:00.000-06:00

Happy April Fool's Day.

Shouldn't we read the news with April-Fool's-Day skepticism every day?

Exhibit A

2006-03-28T20:18:00.000-06:00

As my first effort clearly illustrates, I need MT to tutor me in the ways of MS Paint.

(It's a graphical depiction of my blog title)

And so the pain continues

2006-03-27T21:00:00.000-06:00

It hurts so good - Mr. Mellencamp was right. Though I'm guessing he wasn't singing about breaking in a new saddle...I can just barely sit. It's an interesting phenomenon, this saddle business.

My bike came with a seat I not-so-lovingly called "the ass hatchet." After about a week, I bought a different seat.

I went for a nice, Italian-made brand the pronunciation of whose name you would never guess based on how it's spelled. Anyway, it was like sitting on a heavenly cloud compared to the ass hatchet, so all was well with my world. Until I noticed that on long rides the new saddle was, well, not terribly conducive to healthy blood flow. Yeah, you know where.

Hence my most recent saddle purchase (state income taxes are good for something - I've gotten a refund every year I've lived in Wisconsin and have dutifully blown those refunds on biking supplies for the past 3 years - and I know, a refund indicates that I've loaned the state my money interest-free. But if they have my money, I don't, and sometimes that's a good thing. But I digress).

The latest saddle has been medically proven in independent testing to retain more than 80% of the normal blood flow down below. Much to my surprise, the saddle makes a huge difference. I can tell there's better blood flow. Unfortunately, the saddle has memory foam where your "sit bones" contact it. And I'm guessing that until the memory foam develops a memory of my posterior, the saddle shall remain ... slightly unpleasant to sit on.

So here's the choice: possible impotence or sore sit bones.

I may not be able to sit on the couch tonight for more than 5 minutes at a time, but I will at least be able to have kid(s). Someday. Please god not soon.

Sitting is overrated anyway.

And so the pain begins

2006-03-25T20:19:00.000-06:00

Today I began 'training' for my 50K charity ride. By training I mean a 20 minute ride just to sort of ease back into riding. I started the winter with the best of intentions, and I even kept up with riding indoors on my stationary trainer for a while but holy...trainers are so boring. I actually read cases for class while riding to prevent my mind from pulling a Homer ("whoo, this sucks, I'm outta here") and leaving my body in a crumpled heap on the floor.

When the trainer got too boring to handle (November), I got some rollers. Big mistake. I'm not that coordinated and I don't know where I ever got the idea that I was. Rollers really aren't that hard to use, but I'm just really that challenged. In case you're wondering what rollers look like or what they are, check out Kreitler's website. They make pretty much the most awesome rollers on the planet, which means I can't afford them. I got a used set of another brand. At any rate, with rollers increasingly not looking like a viable option and the trainer leading me to contemplate drinking while riding, I just sort of let it all slip.

Flash forward to today. I look at the calendar. I have a month and about 14 days to go from riding 0K to riding 50K. I hate riding in the rain, so I probably have about 20-24 training days to get up to 50K. No biggie, but I really gotta get on this.

So today I get the bike out, go for a little ride. It's cold. Grey. Raining. Was that snow? Shit. But you know what? It was a blast. I had a pretty wrong shoulder problem last fall that was making riding pretty unpleasant. Today nothing hurt (except my lungs and my pride). It was actually fun again. I'm going out again tomorrow. Woohoo!

Mmmm...pearl jam....

2006-03-25T19:53:00.000-06:00

I'm really digging the first 2 cuts off the new Pearl Jam album. Very tasty. Just thought I'd share. Although I notice that Ticketmaster is selling tickets for their shows...hmmm...

I think there's a pretty simple way to account for the discrepancy between PJ's angry-at-the-man music and their apparent willingness to whore themsel...I mean team with notoriously evil Ticketmaster: the Krusty defense.

That's right. Remember the Canyonero episode of The Simpsons? I kind of do and I think it goes something like this. Krusty goes all George Carlin, decries the evils of celebrity endorsement and selling out, and gains quite a devoted following of adoring fans who love to hear him stick it to the man.

But toward the end of the episode, Krusty's standup routine takes a turn for worse as he shills for the Canyonero, a behemoth SUV. Someone puts the question to Krusty: How could you do it? How could you turn your back on us like this? His tortured response: They drove a dump truck full of money up to my house.

So, PJ, hats off. Your music is really on track again. Seriously, it sounds awesome. And if I were in your place, I'd be selling and licensing everything possible to squeeze every last penny out of my celebrity. So, if anyone gives you shit over sticking with Ticketmaster (even after your nasty little spat back in the '90s), just whip out the Krusty defense.

Granted, it may not be as compelling as the Chewbacca defense, or as clearly awesome as Accident Prone's emergency-only plan, but the Krusty defense does have its merits.

Ergo,

2006-03-23T19:15:00.000-06:00

I've been eating Creamette pasta ($0.99 per lb.) in various forms for the past, oh, month or so...

(see last post, especially the tip/tab portion near the end)

Me like eat good food

2006-03-21T18:41:00.000-06:00

The Hot Date and I went to L'Etoile (used to be owned by Odessa Piper - if that name is unfamiliar to you, do yourself a favor and google it) for a rather belated Valentine's Day dinner recently. Tory Miller is now the chef, and by all measures is faithfully carrying on the Alice Waters/Odessa Piper mode of doing things.

It was really something.

If you're ever in Madison and looking for thoughtful, perfectly-made and -presented food, you have to try it. L'Etoile uses local, organic foods whenever possible - they even have special meals where they invite the farmers to come and talk with guests over special tasting menus featuring the farmers' products. We didn't attend one of those, but the menu was still great - varied enough, but without an overwhelming run-on list of options.

Our server brought us an amuse bouche of warm beet soup topped with raspberry-infused cream. For first course, I had a mixed green salad with toasted hazlenuts, stravecchio cheese, and a mild, yet elevated, lemon dressing. My entree was a 7 oz. tenderloin of locally-grown, grass-fed, Scottish highland beef. It was served with organic spinach, creamed potato, a stock and red wine reduction, and a heavenly nob of herb and bone marrow compound butter. The butter melted from the heat of the food and finished the sauce as I cut into my steak - a nice touch. I asked for the steak "just medium" and it was. Since it was a weeknight, I just had a glass of the house cab, which was just as you'd expect - perfect.

The Hot Date started with an impossibly refined heirloom tomato soup, poured at table service over a crouton topped with 10-year old cheddar cheese (this IS Wisconsin, afterall), onion and bacon - all ingredients organic and locally produced. Her entree was jumbo sea scallops with a crab cake, mache salad, and toasted pumpkin seeds. When I asked how it was, she had persistent difficulty verbalizing, so I figure it was pretty tasty.

Then there was dessert - fresh, homemade drop doughnuts sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with melted chocolate dipping sauce. Even my decaf americano was perfectly prepared and expertly served with the cup handle at 4 o'clock. Which reminds me - the service was actual, real live professional service. The waiter knew his shit. He took our used silverware and brought us new stuff. He crumbed the table. He understood the preparation of all the menu items. He got a $25 tip on a $120 tab.

A perfect meal.

After the Last Big Snow

2006-03-13T21:43:00.000-06:00

Uber Busy

2006-03-12T19:08:00.000-06:00

Work just got really hard again. Blogging is hereby granted a continuance until such time as I can make some free time.

Who the hell is Harold Adelsperger?

2006-03-07T20:20:00.000-06:00

And, more importantly, why is he/she/it emailing me about "my prescriptions"? The only thing I can figure out, aside from just chance, is that there's some link between Mr. Adelsperger and a search I was running earlier for Asperger's Syndrome. I'm pretty sure that at least one person I know has it...

Anyway, I maintain several email addresses (some of them in the same sense that I "maintain" this blog...ahem...) in a feeble attempt to cut down, or at least more equitably distribute the various spam emails I receive. I seem to get a lot of spam. I'm adequately endowed, I don't give money to anyone, and I have no intention of ever going to a high school reunion, so why don't all the spammers just piss off?

Existential Crises

2006-03-07T19:51:00.000-06:00

Well, crap. Why does everything trigger an existential crisis for me lately? Drove to Chicago last night to pick up a hot date at the airport and as I'm fighting for my continued existence on the I-90, I start thinking, "How do I know the airplane is even in the air?" Then I nearly got run over, so I snapped out of it. Like when you go into a class in the morning and the sun is out, but then you leave in the afternoon and there's snow everywhere. While you're inside, you have no idea that it's snowing. There's some serious Heisenberg shit going on in my mind right now...

Anyway, Congrats to Moral Turpitude, who has reportedly found some full-fat sour cream to sate her cravings. Incidentally, MT is the only human (other than yours truly) to have actually read this blog. I thank thee for thy continuing patronage, MT. All hail!

Today

2006-03-05T19:52:00.000-06:00

Wie ist das Wetter?
Es schneit, ja.

"30 Minute Meals"

2005-12-08T16:55:00.000-06:00

Is it just me, or does it defeat the purpose to show an hour of "30 Minute Meals?"

Achin' Legs

2005-09-18T19:33:00.000-05:00

Hmmm. Got toe booties yesterday. Toes were nice and ... toe-sty(?) this morning, but now my legs ache. Maybe going for that ride this morning wasn't such a brilliant idea. Funny how recovery rides can suddenly turn into "let's see if I can catch the rider who just dropped me."

Ah well.

Frozen Toes

2005-09-17T11:13:00.000-05:00

Rode an easy 16 miler this morning shortly after dawn. I love riding early in the morning. No cars, no dogs, and, mercifully, very few families on the bike path.

I love to see kids and moms and dads out for a ride, don't get me wrong. But most of the time, they're hazardous to ride around.

Anyway, I went out on my new favorite loop that takes me past two of the city's lakes, right along the lakeshore and then through the University Arboretum. I passed a bunch of fishing boats heading out as the sun crested the trees on the opposite end of the lake. Mist started rising off the water and there was a gentle breeze. The arboretum felt primordial - mists, trees arching over the road filtering the weak morning sun. All in all, a great ride.

The only downside? No booties to cover my shoes. When it's 47 degrees and you're traveling 17 or 18 mph, the windchill can really getcha. My poor toes are just now thawing out!

I AM BACK!!

2005-09-16T23:09:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know, I know. Lame. Right. I quit blogging 'cause nobody read my blog. Boohoo. Listen up.

I'm riding in the Tour de Cure in May 2006. You won't get any hotter cycling action until the Tour de France in July, so check out the Tour website and make a donation. It'll help people and you'll feel good about yourself. And you can be confident that the only doping with insulin going on at the Tour de Cure is perfectly legal.

This is the end

2005-06-19T21:33:00.000-05:00

of my blog. Ciao.

I smelled the corpse flower

2005-06-11T08:14:00.000-05:00

Yes, it really does smell that bad.

20%

2005-06-05T19:57:00.000-05:00

Two weeks of work done. Ten more to go.

Sigh.

Summer job = no time to post

2005-05-25T20:57:00.000-05:00

Yippee.

UPDATE: THIS JUST IN - Nobody reads my blog, so it doesn't matter! Have a nice weekend.

New bike

2005-05-22T15:04:00.000-05:00

Yay! I got a new bike!

Me vs. The Weather

2005-05-19T12:41:00.000-05:00

I decided to just deal with it and go for a ride. It was nice. Until the downpour. And then I nearly broke myself and the bike while carrying it down the basement stairs (clipless shoes do not good walking shoes make).

But the first 5 miles of my ride were quite enjoyable.

Enough

2005-05-19T10:41:00.000-05:00

Ok. The rain and the clouds and the wind and the generally nasty weather needs to stop for a while. I really want to go for a ride today, but cleaning my bike after a ride in the rain is such a pain in the ass...

I could ride on my trainer down in the basement, but the "drains" down there haven't lately and it's rather ripe. I'm somewhat reluctant to undertake a hard workout whilst breathing in poo fumes (or as a former favorite cartoon character of mine used to call it, 'poo gas' - name the character in the comments section and I'll think you're really cool).

This is the last time I will live in an apartment building this old, and the last time I will rent from this property management company.

Anyway, maybe I'll just get the bike out, cross my fingers for 45 minutes off dry-time, and ride.

The Star Wars-gasm has begun

2005-05-18T19:02:00.000-05:00

There's a guy in Seattle who's been waiting in line FOUR MONTHS to be the first to see Episode III. This strikes me as excessive. I'm excited, too. But I needs my bed and my coffee and my shower and a long list of other creature comforts. I think of this sort of like camping. I hate camping, therefore I don't camp. I figure that we didn't spend generations evolving out of e.g., caves for no reason.

At any rate, Hollywood Stock Exchange (a/k/a my reason-for-being in between class and work), is predicting Episode III will bring in more than $100 million this weekend, and I'm hoping they're right. I'm optioned up to my ears. It's all fake money, so who cares, right? I'm hoping George Lucas has pulled his head out of wherever it was firmly stuck. I mean, hey, Star Wars is his gig, he can do whatever he wants. But if Episodes I and II showed anything, it was that just b/c Lucas can, doesn't mean he should. As long as there's no Jar-Jar, nobody gets hurt.

Repeat after me

2005-05-17T11:09:00.000-05:00

No matter how lazy I may feel, how broke I may be, and how out of coffee beans my pantry may become, I will never, ever, EVER microwave coffee from last night again. Blecchhhh!!!

Enrich your life...

2005-05-13T22:10:00.000-05:00

Listen to a very good band.

Yay for us!

2005-05-13T19:42:00.000-05:00

Rough duty today. Went to the law school's honors and awards brunch this morning to collect an award. I still don't really know what I did, but it comes with $200, so as long as nobody asks, I'll just take the money and be happy with another item for my resume. I know, I know. That's really jaded of me. Hey, at least I went to the brunch.

The coffee was pretty good. The food looked fine, but I've had bad experiences at 'brunch' before, so I was content with my mug o'joe. A friend said to me, "this is like the Academy Awards, but with lower stakes and less attractive people." Indeed.

It was like drive-by awards - we all lined up and the presenters called our names and made statements based on some permutation of "I'm really/very honored/happy/overjoyed to present this award/certificate/check to X because he/she is such a wonderful/hard-working ..." you get the idea. It reminded me of Mad-Libs - you know, that game where you have a story with missing words and you have to fill in the words according to the prompt under the blank (i.e., adverb, verb, noun, pronoun).

It does strike me as a little strange that we get awarded for things we're supposed to be doing anyway.

At any rate, it was fun to see people all dressed up and excited for the recognition. As for me, I'd prefer my own office and uninterrupted time to work on client matters.

Oh, and I'm a rising 3L now. Yay for me.

My bike works again!

2005-05-11T08:43:00.000-05:00

I finally got my bike repaired. A while back I was out for a ride and had to swerve to avoid traffic. I nailed a large crack in the pavement just right and dinged the rim on my bike's rear wheel. The damage wasn't extensive, so I kept riding. I took the bike to several shops and they all agreed: gotta get a new wheel eventually.

So, I rode on it some more, but the rim damage made the bike unstable at higher speeds and also made the rear brake a little sketchy b/c the brake pads didn't make full contact with the deformed rim. I took my bike to a shop yesterday and, as luck would have it, someone had recently upgraded his/her wheel set and left the old (essentially brand new - less than 20 miles on 'em) wheel set behind. Best of all, the wheel set came off a cyclocross bike, which should mean that they're built to withstand a little more punishment than racing rims. I got a deal on some nice wheels, and the bike rides like new.

Coming up for air

2005-05-09T14:00:00.000-05:00

I'm about 4 hours into my Con Law II take home exam...I'm about 1/2 way through. Deep breath.

UPDATE: 8 1/2 hours later, I finished.

Click at your own risk

2005-05-04T20:55:00.000-05:00

I neither know nor care whether the links on this blog still connect up to anything. Click at your own peril!!!!!!! Mwuhahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

To anyone who gets annoyed by dead links - get a life.

People are stupid

2005-05-03T14:09:00.000-05:00

Madison is in an uproar over Mayor Dave's plans to shut down the city (I use the word loosely) on Halloween. He's tired of drunken destruction and riots breaking out every year. The pro-Halloween groups are saying that kids will be kids, the police provoke problems, etc...The anti-Halloween groups are saying that its wrong to trash private property and tie up police resources, especially when most of the rioters come from out of town.

Here's the deal: people are stupid and Madison is a town. It is not large enough to handle the kind of street parties it has grown notorious for. People in Madison like to blow about how great it is - first class city, what a safe city we have, etc., etc. Reality check! Madison has about 250,000 people. It's having growing pains. In another 10 or 15 years, Madison will be large enough to absorb things like street parties and football games and high school tournaments without shutting down the city.

But for now the party, at least Halloween, needs to stop. Chicago and Milwaukee are both close by. They have bars and streets - go play there. If you think Madison cops are tough, go riot in Milwaukee or Chicago.

Breathe free

2005-05-02T19:20:00.000-05:00

The test is done and the paper is as finished as it's going to get. Life will slowly revolve back to something approximating normalcy.

Sandpaper

2005-04-28T20:21:00.000-05:00

That's what my eyes feel like. Over the past day and a half, I've studied Trusts and Estates for about 14 hours. Very productive, quality studying. Unfortunately I'm hitting a wall. My brain is really tired and I'm having trouble retaining information long enough to finish my thoughts. I'm taking that as a sign that it's time to take a break. The exam is Saturday morning and I'm in good shape, so the rest of the evening is mine!

Classes done

2005-04-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

Today was the last day of class of my second year of law school. I have become 2/3 of a lawyer and remain 1/3 of a human being. Of course, just because classes are finished doesn't mean the work is done. First exam is this weekend. Paper to finish. Another exam the second week of May. Some days I would prefer to be 3/3 human and 0/3 lawyer and have my life back.

Reason # 529,871 I don't skydive

2005-04-23T22:47:00.000-05:00

I mean no disrespect to this unfortunate soul or his family. What a horrifying way to go.

He lives in a zoo - let him smoke

2005-04-22T21:07:00.000-05:00

I'll repeat. He lives in a zoo. If I lived in a zoo, I'd need a smoke, too. Can you imagine how cranky this guy will be if he goes cold turkey? Yikes. Chimps are strong. I ain't gonna be the one to hide his smokes...

Do we really need to kill cats and put Cookie Monster on a diet?

2005-04-12T17:39:00.000-05:00

I mean, is there nothing more important going on right now? I grew up watching Cookie Monster scarf down handfuls of doughy morsels and, somehow, have magically escaped the trap of obesity. I have had cats as pets for years and don't view them as a scourge to be assassinated.

I guess I have less trouble with educating kids about healthy eating habits than I do with people killing cats. If nothing else, given Wisconsin hunters' shaky track record with safe hunting (how many deer hunters fall out of tree stands or shoot each other each season??), is it really a good idea to introduce yet another reason for those so inclined to lock and load?

And while I'm ranting, why are there so many damned laxative commercials on during the evening news? Are people really THAT backed up? I wonder if Cookie Monster has anything to say about that...

Get the damn thing done

2005-04-11T20:13:00.000-05:00

When I was a junior (a/k/a third year student) in university, I was struggling with an abstract of my honors thesis. I had angst. The thesis was to be my grand work and the capstone of my undergraduate academic career. I faced a year of research and writing that would culminate in a 90-page tome on Vietnam in Film and History. I had built the thing up so much in my mind that I was paralyzed. My fingers could not push the keys on the keyboard.

I went to my major advisor and told him I was having problems. Being the wise and seasoned historian he was, my advisor looked at me, took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and said, "I'm going to tell you what my wife tells me whenever I have a writing project: just get the damn thing done."

So, on Friday I had 14 pages of my Poverty Law research paper down. 11-16 more to go. As I stared at the stacks of law review articles, cases, newspaper features and, of course, my trusty Bluebook*, I called to memory Prof. X's advice from years ago. I worked Friday, Saturday, Sunday and got the damn thing done. Mostly. Revisions and citation formatting to follow. But the bones of the paper are there and it came in at around 25 pages. Revision and addition is sure to add 3-5 to that. All-in-all, not too bad.

If you've read any other blogs from southern Wisconsin, you'll no doubt know that the weather has been amazing here. Friday and Saturday allowed just enough time for a couple of great bike rides. I think I need a wider saddle, though, because my sit bones are majorly unhappy. Like you needed to know, I know.

*For the non-law types out there, the Bluebook is the guide to citation format for legal writers (practitioners and scholars).

Out of shape

2005-04-08T19:01:00.000-05:00

Whew. The paper is about 1/2-way there, so I went for a bike ride. 6 miles took about 45 minutes. I'm really out of shape.

Ah, sunlight!

2005-04-03T20:14:00.000-05:00

The sun was out until 7:30 tonight! How glorious!

It's been a while

2005-04-02T19:09:00.000-06:00

Wow, I haven't posted in a long time. I have a large research paper to work on, so it will be a longer time before I post again.

Saludos-

I just realized something

2005-03-18T16:10:00.000-06:00

I don't really like watching basketball on TV.

What a week

2005-03-13T12:42:00.000-06:00

I don't really know what to say about this week. Two judges' families torn up by violence. A defendant who shows up to court wearing pajamas. It strikes me as a bad week for the judiciary and makes me wonder a little more about my decision to become a lawyer.

Also, the blog has been fun, but I'm kind of bored with it. I don't have time to really keep it to the standard I'd like. Maybe I'll keep posting; maybe not.

Spring fever

2005-03-06T13:14:00.000-06:00

It's almost 60 degrees today! Glorious! Windows open, folks walking and riding bikes, pleasant breeze, bright sun ... ah you could almost fool yourself into thinking spring told winter to take a hike. But we know better than to fall to that fantasy.

A guy across the street is sitting on his front porch playing guitar. Gotta love it.

Ok, it's not so bad

2005-03-02T20:20:00.000-06:00

I realized I've been dumping on Wisconsin a fair (or perhaps, unfair) bit lately. Wisconsin in late spring, summer, and early fall is absolutely glorious. The foliage of maples and sumacs can take my breath away. Seeing the grass emerge in brilliant green and smelling the blossoms on the huge lilac behind the law school works wonders for my soul. Even winter has its moments.

Actually winter has a lot of moments...like about 6 months worth of mo - okay, I know, there I go again.

I feel dirty

2005-03-02T11:45:00.000-06:00

I've actually agreed with Scalia once before. But I just read a case for constitutional law II and could see where BOTH Justices Scalia AND Thomas were coming from.

Trial of the century...

2005-03-01T22:58:00.000-06:00

You couldn't pay me enough to be in the courtroom for Michael Jackson's trial. This strikes me as profoundly sad, both as commentary on the guy "portraying" Michael Jackson and also as commentary on what passes as entertainment.

It's March...

2005-03-01T22:42:00.000-06:00

...and the windchill is 9 degrees!

When I lived in Texas, March meant that spring was on its way in. Tulips would break the surface, the days would get warmer, and we might even get a thunderstorm or two. In Wisconsin, March is a four-letter word. I know, it has five letters, but work with me here. I'm living in Wisconsin for crying out loud. Snow, ice, bitter winds. The days are getting longer and sun is getting stronger, but spring feels pretty far away.

I read recently in a Lonely Planet guide book to Iceland that in the arctic and near-arctic, the air is so clear and pure that distant features do not appear out of focus. Distance is thus almost indeterminable and the world around you takes on a 2-dimensional quality. I guess this could get pretty dangerous if a cliff (or polar bear) looks to be farther away than it really is.

I figure something like that happens in Wisconsin in the winter. The air is so cold that you lose your bearings. "When is spring? I remember March used to be spring...but it's so cold..." November to April kind of compresses and you lose track until you stumble into spring at some point. "How long was winter this year? I think it was pretty much the whole year..." You know what they say about Wisconsin - it has three seasons: About to be winter, winter, and just was winter.

We'll get to spring sooner or later, I suppose.

Just for the Record

2005-02-27T21:51:00.000-06:00

I found out that some folks are simul-blogging the Oscars. Um...okay. I'm not. And I'm still cool.

Talk to me

2005-02-26T09:00:00.000-06:00

You vill leaf me comments und you vill like it, ja.

Um...okay

2005-02-25T19:36:00.000-06:00

Ever wanted to walk through a colon? Yeah, me neither...

My cat

2005-02-24T22:05:00.000-06:00

My cat is the noisiest eater I have encountered. I stared at her - she looked up from her bowl and said, "myaaaaaaaaaaa." Not meow. Not mew. Myaaaaaaaaaaa.

Now she's jumped up on the couch. She smells like cat food. I try to pet her. She says, "myaaaaaaaaaaa" and then burps. Such a lady. She surveys her realm and swishes her tail contentedly. It must be great to be a cat.

Automobile bello

2005-02-20T13:20:00.000-06:00

The discovery requests (which I should probably note are for a class exercise, not a client) are done. Well, as done as anything ever is. Re-writes are sure to come tonight. With any luck all the parts will work together like a well-oiled machine and I'll get the info I need from my 'opposing counsel' a/k/a another student in my class.

Speaking of well-oiled machines, yesterday I had a random encounter with an amazing car a few blocks from my apartment. I wish I'd had a camera with me - there, parked on a street in Nowhere, Wisconsin, in the middle of winter, sat one of the most striking automobiles I've ever seen: a 2005 Maserati Quattroporte. I'm still reeling.

This is a town of Subarus and Jeeps and other 4WD vehicles assaulted by sodium for 6 months a year. A Maserati, with its smooth, delicate looking skin, sticks out here as something fragile and terribly beautiful that belongs in a temperate land of sun and olives and good wine - some place where people appreciate all the things a Maserati is without any worries about how it handles in snow. Sigh.

Speaking of snow, according to the pile of heavy, wet snow I swept off my car this afternoon (yep, swept, with a broom) we've had at least three inches since last night. I hope the Maserati is safe somewhere in a heated garage and that its owner has more sense than to drive it today.

Discover this!

2005-02-20T09:37:00.000-06:00

I've been working on written discovery requests for a couple of days now. I wish I could just write something like, "give me any information, in any medium, that could be helpful to my client's case." I know that'll never work and understand why...but, man, I'm tiring of this pretty quickly.

I also discovered that there really is some kind of law saying, "if you wash your car, the weather will turn rotten." I got the car washed a few days ago to clean all the salt off of it. It's been snowing since last night. Oh well.

Ah, my eyes!

2005-02-17T20:11:00.000-06:00

After actually reading my blog, I realized the template I chose initially (black background/white type) was really unkind to the eyes. It looked sleek and urban, but if you can't read it, what's the point?

A labor economist spoke to my Poverty Law class today. The economist was funny and made the material as enjoyable as possible. Poverty Law is a fantastic class, but one of the drawbacks is having to learn and work with 'statistics' and 'economic theories'.

Law students in general fear math. My first-year Torts professor often said, "you came to law school to avoid math...your counterparts who like math went to med or engineering school." He once asked us to quantify the 'preponderance of the evidence' burden of proof in relation to the 'clear and convincing' burden of proof. He lost me at quantify.

At any rate, in class today I started having flashbacks to 12th grade economics (the last exposure I really had to the subject unless you count living on a student's budget as 'economics'). I vaguely recall things like the Invisible Hand, supply and demand, and even something about free lunches.

In Trusts and Estates ("TnE" to law nerds) tonight we discussed the Rule against Perpetuities ("RAP" to law nerds). The idea behind the RAP, basically, is that the living, not the dead, should control property. At least that's what I got out of the lecture. There's nothing more uplifting than talking about preventing corpses from controlling your property. How does that happen? Is that damned Invisible Hand somehow involved? I'll spare the non-law readers the nasty details, but here's some indication of how beastly the RAP is:

"Of the California law on perpetuities ... it has been said that few, if any, areas of the law have been fraught with more confusion or concealed more traps for the unwary draftsman, [and] that members of the bar, probate courts, and title insurance companies make errors in these matters;...
In view of the state of the law relating to perpetuities ... it would not be proper to hold that defendant [an attorney] failed to use such skill, prudence, and diligence as lawyers of ordinary skill and capacity commonly exercise.
Lucas v. Hamm, 364 P. 2d 685 (Cal. 1961).

The good news we glean from the above passage? The lawyer's not tapped for malpractice because the lawyer was only of ordinary skill and the RAP is considered beyond the skill and capacity of the ordinary lawyer. Anybody else see a little problem there?

Back to Reality

2005-02-17T09:11:00.000-06:00

After several days of above-normal temperatures, I woke up to a 0F windchill this morning. Forget the frozen custard. I'd like to thaw out.

Frozen custard in February

2005-02-16T23:01:00.000-06:00

I went out a while ago to grab some frozen custard, which seems to be available everywhere in Wisconsin. Before I moved here, I'd never heard of frozen custard. What a deprived existence I led...

If nothing else, February here is great for frozen custard because you can walk along the sidewalk at a leisurely pace, enjoying your frozen treat with nary a worry of its melting.

In a weird way, this leads me to the recent sillyness in the NHL. Perhaps if professional hockey were restricted to only those cities in which liquids naturally become solids in the winter, the NHL and the players wouldn't be in such a ridiculous situation. Or maybe they would. Greed and selfishness seem to take root wherever they can. I don't know that a smaller league would make any difference in this case.

Just something to think about.

So...I'm blogging

2005-02-16T22:35:00.000-06:00

Cool beans. Welcome to my blog. There are about 200 other things I should be doing right now but, eh, this is more fun.

Maybe someday I'll post something interesting here. If I do, it'll be about music or politics or how Wisconsin really is the strangest place in the world...

Be nice to each other and check back sometime.