tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324312452012-02-16T22:15:11.537-05:00dolphin safe | zero emissions | calorie freeSnorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.comBlogger1741100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-67666971940759062402011-10-31T12:20:00.001-04:002011-10-31T12:21:00.670-04:00

Ha, a spam comment to my last post finally prompted me to deliver a long-awaited update. What have I been up to? True to my vow at the beginning of the year, I’ve been working on my career with an eye to some kind of improvement. So far it’s been mostly thinking, and not much action, but hopefully the latter will start happening soon. Sorry to be so vague, but I have to preserve the veneer of

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170612660898398478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-76595143878040646792011-04-18T23:16:00.001-04:002011-04-18T23:17:40.221-04:00

I’m in a restless state, and it’s a particular kind of restlessness that I’ve finally been able to identify after years of trying to figure it out: it’s a mood that strikes when I’ve been spending too much time reading things. In particular, I’m talking about reading internet message boards and news sites. I can kill weeks keeping up with my favorite discussion sites, being amused at other people

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170612660898398478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-26056536205709490182011-03-23T15:09:00.001-04:002011-03-23T15:09:25.216-04:00

I suppose you’re all wondering why I’ve gathered you here today.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170612660898398478noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-20060510414595291012011-03-10T08:41:00.002-05:002011-03-10T08:42:29.688-05:00

There is one thing I’ve been putting off in life for quite some time now, and a few recent events have finally spurred me to get cracking. The task? A major review and overhaul of my possessions, specifically all of the stuff I’ve acquired over the last, oh, ten years. The recent events are two in number: first, it’s coming up on the two-year anniversary of when we moved into our current

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170612660898398478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-39927562505863704252011-02-28T19:30:00.000-05:002011-02-28T19:30:48.295-05:00

So I went cross-country skiing for the very first time yesterday. It was my first time on skis in my entire life, as a matter of fact! Let’s just say that gravity had its way with me in cruel fashion. You know, the ground is very far away from you when you’re on skis, and I was demolished by even the slightest downslope. I hope my left knee forgives me for getting fallen on so many goddamn times.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170612660898398478noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-39994732396464318282011-02-07T14:42:00.001-05:002011-02-07T14:43:42.276-05:00

There isn’t too much that’s good about the Wizards these days, but this dunk is INSANE. That is all.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170612660898398478noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-42783592452028074192011-01-31T14:23:00.001-05:002011-01-31T14:24:58.802-05:00

Four more inches, and it will have snowed up to my height so far this winter. We’re supposed to meet that target tomorrow!

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170612660898398478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-77552422124593412692011-01-23T18:00:00.001-05:002011-01-23T18:00:59.854-05:00

During the Long Blog Blackout, one event occurred that can be seen as either momentous or no big deal, depending on whether you give a crap about cars. I confess that I do, and so when it came time to replace our 1997 Honda Civic with a newer Toyota Matrix, I was compelled to write this homage to the old trusty car. Read on below the pic.Expand/collapseIt was inevitable, of course I knew it was

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170612660898398478noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-76238694359160362922011-01-11T16:43:00.000-05:002011-01-11T16:44:13.715-05:00

So what the heck was I up to for 2010, that I wasn’t in here posting? The answer becomes pretty damn clear, really, when I break it down by the numbers. For some background reference, you can compare this to the recap post for 2009.Miles bicycled: 745.33Minutes of tennis played: 16,960 (5,590 more than 2009!)Movies seen in the theater:True GritThe FighterBlack SwanWonders I can’t believe I didn’t

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170612660898398478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-66156391248775926802011-01-03T14:40:00.001-05:002011-01-31T14:24:37.360-05:00

Now that we’ve stepped into 2011, it’s time to engage in a bit of self-reflection. And what better venue for that than my poor neglected blog?You might think that my resolution is to post here more often, and that certainly has crossed my mind. But on the other hand, I’m thinking that that will be an secondary effect as I tackle my real resolution: in 2011 I plan to start marshaling my resources

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170612660898398478noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-88115604417849926652010-04-22T12:26:00.000-04:002010-04-22T12:27:03.870-04:00

It’s been a while since I checked in, but things have been pretty quiet for a change. In fact, we just celebrated our first year of living in peace and quiet after escaping from Crazy Neighbor Land. Go us!Just to give you an idea of how organized I strive to be, I’ve always tried to keep a record of my old addresses and phone numbers. (This actually came in handy when we ended up going back to

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-25510055905127349382010-02-08T22:09:00.001-05:002010-02-08T22:10:29.488-05:00

I know, the giganto-storm that whupped the Mid-Atlantic is no laughing matter—you poor guys really aren’t equipped to deal with it. But I did have to laugh when I watched the crazy Accuweather dude’s video forecast beforehand.Heh. That guy is really, really something. Oh yeah, turn your volume down before you play that vid. Trust me.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-18401839277260033412010-01-01T13:18:00.000-05:002010-01-01T13:18:16.485-05:00

Online, there was less blogging but more other stuff. Out in the real world, things were kind of mixed this year. We escaped from Crazy Neighbor Land, which was obviously very necessary but entirely bittersweet. Job frustration has started creeping from my peripheral vision into the center of things, but I have no idea what to do with that turn of events. Anyway, perhaps as a coping strategy, I’m

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-68336182102239215032009-12-13T10:48:00.000-05:002009-12-13T10:48:24.510-05:00

Yesterday I had a unique experience that I should share. I went with the Swami to a meeting about wheelchair tennis. The goal is to increase people’s awareness in New England, organize more events, and set up a means of collecting charitable donations to help with the costs of the sport. A wheelchair that’s been specialized for tennis costs at least $2,000, and you can imagine that most people

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-50402828494969011742009-11-23T16:48:00.001-05:002009-11-23T16:49:08.829-05:00

After futzing around on Facebook for a couple of months, I realize that it’s cutting horribly into the time I spent thinking about this blog. That seems to be a pretty frequent happening on the net; I certainly don’t claim to be suffering from something unique, here. But it’s interesting how that’s come to be. Maintaining the blog requires a lot more active work, whereas I can just hang on FB and

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-12372422803807646912009-10-08T15:53:00.000-04:002009-10-09T15:53:19.110-04:00

It’s apple season, and I got a few opinions about apples.What I like in apples: I like tart, and crisp, with additional aspects of flavor a close third in terms of criteria. A long shelf life and consistency across individuals also helps guide me. So if you like soft, sweet apples, this list will at least help you learn what to avoid.Another note: I’m assuming that most people are familiar with

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-72546930801079105662009-09-27T19:49:00.000-04:002009-09-27T19:49:40.149-04:00

Well, my streak of attending every year’s Hub on Wheels has been broken, in somewhat lame fashion. I knew the forecast was going to call for rain today, and sure enough, when the alarm went off at 6:45 a.m. I heard the drops falling on the roof. After checking out the giant green wash across the radar map on TV, my resolve just drained totally away. Screw it, I really do hate cycling in the rain—

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-7051061988332432152009-09-07T12:41:00.000-04:002009-09-07T12:41:49.086-04:00

Well, I must apologize for the month of August—life has interfered mightily with my duty to report on our trip to Scotland. And that created a logjam that led to a whole lot of not posting. So here, at last, is the scoop.Expand/collapseOnce again I had a great time on a tour run by Bike Vermont. Seven days of touring, with six of them spent more or less on the bike, four different inns in four

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-8935307161800008742009-07-23T17:02:00.000-04:002009-07-23T17:02:23.467-04:00

Here’s a video to keep you occupied while I’m cycling in Scotland! Time to go make sure I’ve packed everything...rain gear being the top priority, of course.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-25461661040593208882009-07-12T20:01:00.000-04:002009-07-12T20:01:43.045-04:00

I’ve been trying to figure out the most opportune moment to post to the blog, but you see what happens when I do that. Yeah, how did it get to be mid-July?? Anyway, here’s what’s been going on.Expand/collapseAs you might have guessed from the title of this post, tennis, lots of tennis. So far I’ve been making quite the impact on the USTA team. Won the first match as part of a doubles pair, then

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-66420910622090933372009-06-04T15:58:00.000-04:002009-06-04T15:58:45.858-04:00

Unlike LeBron James, I won something last weekend: a USTA tennis tournament! Okay, it wasn’t exactly the French Open, but it was pretty tough. I prevailed in fairly straightforward fashion on Saturday (6-3, 6-2), then managed to win a real battle on Sunday against a very tough opponent (7-6, 2-6, 6-3). It took about 2.5 hours and man, did I suck in the second set, as you can see by the score. The

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-49077020962456652152009-06-01T12:53:00.000-04:002009-06-01T12:53:32.342-04:00

This post is dedicated to cheering up LeBron James now that his Cavaliers have been eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by Orlando. I figure these two videos will do the trick. Better luck next year! And p.s., LeBron, stop being such a crappy loser.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-80789785026800727022009-05-24T18:59:00.000-04:002009-05-24T18:59:43.203-04:00

As promised, some lovely photos of the new ride and one of the old one. Note that it took less than 24 hours for the new car to get covered in tree schmutz. I think I need to fire the chauffeur, he is a slacker!Expand/collapseNext, here’s a closeup of the cute little decklid spoiler and one of those rad alloy wheels.And the interior, where you can see the heads-up display above the very sportay

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-68288542593933743802009-05-20T14:37:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:37:51.076-04:00

Battle stations, everybody! Since I saw Star Trek on Sunday I’ve been thinking about how I might go about reviewing it. It’s not easy to sift through everything I think about it, and moreover there’s already a huge amount of discussion about the movie on the net, so it’s hard to be original. Hence I’m going to approach this as a meta-review.Expand/collapseFirst, as a longtime and fairly dedicated

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-33591334107722715392009-05-13T17:55:00.001-04:002009-05-13T17:55:21.474-04:00

It hardly seems possible, but there’s been too much going on recently and it’s been keeping me from updating the blog. So here is a summary:New wheels: Finally, after many, many false starts (going back a ways!) we bought a new car last weekend. The hard part is over now—the price research, figuring out which dealer might be less sleazy than the others, the horror of haggling, the feeling that,

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-33792816148158633582009-04-23T11:15:00.000-04:002009-04-23T11:15:36.718-04:00

My homie Beerad, living a newly itinerant life, has set up a blog to document his travels. Go check it out! It’s guaranteed to be interesting or he owes you a deep-fried chili dog or something.In other peep news, we saw the ever-elusive Sashe this past weekend! How funny to have a friend from freaking Malaysia be the first person to see the new crib. I subjected him to some Halo 3 playing, and he

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-41945367495668628452009-04-15T17:28:00.000-04:002009-04-15T17:28:27.341-04:00

Well, I spent a day off of work today doing two very important things: mailing my damn tax returns, and clearing crap out of the old condo. Success on both fronts!It is pretty sad to see the condo all empty. Funny, it looks much more worn around the edges than it did when it was full of our stuff. I wonder if this is why brokers don’t like to sell vacant properties: because every scuff mark and

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-84271182560549263832009-03-31T13:04:00.001-04:002009-03-31T13:05:14.533-04:00

Another step toward sanity and happiness was taken today as we closed on the sale of the condo. I am now free of debt, free of a crazy neighbor, free of thinking about repairs and termites and crabgrass. Right now I feel totally miserable about the whole thing. I think about all the money that was made off of my unhappy circumstance by the real estate brokers and the lawyers, the town, as they

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-39653506010759711742009-03-21T10:54:00.000-04:002009-03-21T10:55:06.442-04:00

Today’s the memorial service for the mother of my close friend Erin. You can view the obituary here. She was an amazing woman; I’m very grateful that I had the chance to meet her.Everybody hug their loved ones today, extra tight.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-66395211583609647612009-03-15T10:49:00.000-04:002009-03-15T10:49:43.807-04:00

I am totally remiss is not publicly congratulating Frantix and kaskasero on their new(ish) arrivals, Mihir and Olivia! Thank goodness there will be a new generation around to show us how to use our electronic devices as we get old and dotty. By then everything will all be controlled by our thoughts, and as one whose thoughts are particularly undisciplined, I will need all the help I can get.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-28730997253024983682009-03-06T15:24:00.000-05:002009-03-06T15:24:24.234-05:00

A lighthearted moment in the middle of all the angsty darkness: an octopus at the Aquarium jammed itself into a small box to try and liberate its lunch. The picture alone is worth visiting the link, I promise.I am torn between wanting some sushi and feeling bad about having eaten octopus in the past. Although at least I didn’t have to unlock a box to get to it.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-68942805518435003812009-02-23T12:26:00.003-05:002009-03-31T13:03:38.527-04:00

I’ve been holding back from blogging this month due to being overwhelmed with house-selling trials and tribulations. To get the facts out of the way early, there was an offer, there was counteroffering, there was an agreement accepted, there was a home inspection, there was negotiation over the Purchase and Sale Agreement, there was signing of P&S. So that’s where we are now. “Pretty awesome!”

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-4718716723177119782009-02-05T00:03:00.001-05:002009-02-05T12:04:52.971-05:00

In the midst of my very dire winter doldrums comes this dish that Swami and I make all the time. It’s relatively fast and relatively healthy, and might briefly make you forget your troubles. Especially if you drink some of the wine while you’re cooking!- 6 oz. uncooked pasta (linguine works best)- 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil- 2 or 3 dashes crushed red pepper flakes- 1 tbsp. minced fresh garlic

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-13262186833404831452009-01-20T13:56:00.000-05:002009-01-20T13:56:33.043-05:00

What a pleasure it was to watch Dubya’s helicopter flying away from Washington. It’s time to scrub off the grime of the last eight years and get to work finding what has been lost, rebuilding what has been destroyed, righting what has been upset, and healing what has been harmed.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-73822152108382374842009-01-18T10:56:00.001-05:002009-01-18T10:56:26.693-05:00

Last night we were stymied in our attempt to see Slumdog Millionaire—the lines for tickets were waaay too long, I guess because of Notorious or somesuch, so we decided to hit dinner instead at the most delectable Rod Dee 2. Well, imagine the shock when we came upon its location on Peterborough St. The whole row of buildings that had once been a bunch of cool restaurants had burned down! Here’s

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-63087608964361166752009-01-02T19:35:00.001-05:002009-01-02T19:39:46.905-05:00

Well, during this long week off (not long enough, actually!), there’s been just a little bit of time spent playing Halo 3 online. Just a little bit. I figured out how to take screenshots, so here are a couple. You can either shake your head and wonder what the heck this silliness is all about, or if you’re kaskasero you can feel incredibly jealous! Expand/collapseIn the first one, I am actually

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-53558453726437843822008-12-29T18:16:00.002-05:002010-01-01T13:19:10.698-05:00

It’s getting down to the wire here in 2008, isn’t it? Somehow a final taking of stock seems appropriate.Miles bicycled: 915.98Minutes of tennis played: 6,949Appallingly short list of movies seen in the theater:There Will Be BloodIron ManW.Valkyrie2009 movies that hopefully won’t suck:X-Men Origins: WolverineWatchmenStar TrekPresidential elections pwned: 1Purchases reflecting my deeply conflicted

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-70711074485040483162008-12-19T16:39:00.000-05:002008-12-19T16:39:28.793-05:00

Whoops, I promised myself I would keep up the blog, yet here I’ve been lax for all of December. Here’s a photograph of a chandelier made of shattered plates that I saw at MOMA in New York over Thanksgiving, as a gesture of apology.Tomorrow we head to the family holiday festivities. Wish me luck. Otherwise, no news to report: no offers on the house, no more crazy neighbor encounters, no decent

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-3855181507262906412008-11-25T17:17:00.001-05:002008-11-25T17:17:50.004-05:00

In a break from my personal housing crisis, the Swami and I saw Robyn Hitchcock last Friday in Somerville. We first saw him with the Egyptians in Columbus back in 1993, and I remember that show being awesome. Next, after moving here in 2000 we saw him with Grant Lee Phillips at the Middle East, where they screwed around with a lot of cover songs, including an infamous rendition of “Kung Fu

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-53409339081473805862008-11-13T14:45:00.002-05:002009-03-21T10:56:54.268-04:00

One of the reasons I’ve been quiet on the blog is that some things have been happening that are a little too painful to describe. Also, even in the relative anonymity of this forum, I’m still a little squirrely about giving details about what’s been happening.Expand/collapseSo what the heck has been going on? It turns out that our new neighbor downstairs, who moved in less than two months ago, is

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-16822929042796567122008-11-06T22:28:00.000-05:002008-11-06T22:28:55.807-05:00

The Onion nails it.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-15037773489809089052008-11-05T07:58:00.000-05:002008-11-05T07:59:12.714-05:00

Yes we muthafuckin did.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-42287817063537189232008-11-03T16:03:00.001-05:002009-03-21T10:57:46.272-04:00

Recently it seems as though things are far less settled than usual, from the large-scale to the personal: the economy, politics, and a new (crazy) neighbor downstairs. I haven’t had much to say publicly on any of it the last few weeks, so it’s been a little quiet in blogtown. (For the neighbor story, even the purported anonymity of this blog doesn’t feel like enough cover for me to publish all

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-36199972332250480242008-10-16T12:24:00.001-04:002008-10-16T12:25:27.541-04:00

I’ve been trying to think of how to write a blog post about the election without it just being a litany of all the ways I hate John McCain. Although if you would like a semibiased source for many reasons why you might want to vote against him, this article in Rolling Stone might be for you. Anyway, as I was listening to him say a bunch of inflammatory shit in the debate last night, I found myself

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-22548504651102085422008-09-28T14:53:00.001-04:002008-09-28T14:54:20.381-04:00

As promised, we did go canvassing for Obama in New Hampshire yesterday, and as promised, I’m here to tell you about it. First, the facts. We went to the local democratic party office about 9 a.m., got driving directions for where to go in NH, and then picked up a couple of people who needed rides. It turned out the directions were really crappy, but we did make it to the destination at about 11.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-72394453643326268272008-09-24T16:53:00.000-04:002008-09-24T16:53:41.113-04:00

As you can see by the date, it’s been a bad month for the blog, with a bunch of crap at work and other things getting in the way. But there is some good news to report, mostly on the sporting front. First, I’ve been taking my singles tennis league by storm. I started out 1-1 but have won my last five matches, and just qualified for the playoffs. All the matches have been a lot of fun and very

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-48849046829644749392008-09-04T11:23:00.000-04:002008-09-04T11:23:11.879-04:00

I don’t think I have it in me to get into a really detailed discussion of recent events about the election, but I do have a couple of things to get off my chest. It all comes down to just one question: are these people kidding me? The Republican Party, the one that’s bursting full of people over the age of 50 who bemoan the crassness of today’s culture, has a VP candidate whose family life looks

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-78260767710115112522008-08-22T11:35:00.001-04:002008-08-22T11:37:09.021-04:00

Yesterday I completed the second skirmish in my war against periodontitis, getting the other half of my teeth scaled to get rid of all the nasties in there. Fortunately, it wasn’t a bad experience at all; I had the Crowded House turned up on my music player and the novocaine did its thang. Thanks to everybody who reassured me about what the whole thing was going to be like—it really wasn’t bad at

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-17212626253954451832008-08-18T21:06:00.001-04:002008-08-22T11:37:52.560-04:00

Yeah, I’m a total sucker for TNG. This scene is one of about ten thousand reasons why.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-89561054525229160432008-08-13T14:06:00.000-04:002008-08-13T14:06:24.942-04:00

Everybody, please break out your Time and Tide albums, Sandy Allen has died today. She was 6'3" at age 10; I didn’t break the 5-foot mark until I was 12!

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-3053784060391934642008-07-28T23:22:00.000-04:002008-07-28T23:22:49.769-04:00

I should be hitting the sack, but I gots some free association geekery to drop. First off, must link to this interesting interview with Alan Moore. Weirdest, coolest dude. Next, wanted to link to the Watchmen trailer. I hope Moore is wrong and that the movie does justice to the book. Hope hope.Finally, been thinking about getting one of these. For when my Palm finally dies. And to go with the

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-79718615794042521602008-07-20T19:01:00.003-04:002008-07-20T22:39:08.730-04:00

Well, I’m back from my not-quite-a-week in Vermont! Just to start the bragging up front, I cycled for five days in a row for a total of 162 miles, completed in 13 hours and 38 minutes. That adds up to a whole lotta riding. And you dear readers might not know this, but it’s kind of hilly in Vermont.Expand/collapseThe tour started in Stowe on Sunday evening, where we met the two tour leaders and

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-57563587568741529102008-07-10T14:53:00.000-04:002008-07-10T14:53:28.619-04:00

Down: Periodontitis diagnosed todayUp: It’s early-stage and can be reversed!Down: Requires anxiety-causing procedures over a couple of weeks next monthUp: New tennis racket still awesome!Down: Four cancelled doubles matches thanks to the crappy weatherUp: Tour de France!Down: Lingering cynicism about the Tour thanks to doping scandalsUp: Obama!Down: Obama’s stance on FISABig Up: going to Vermont

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-6511002986234385562008-06-23T15:33:00.002-04:002008-06-23T15:33:55.591-04:00

Got beat again playing doubles yesterday (new racket notwithstanding), George Carlin died, and Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita” is stuck in my head. If that don’t just mean it’s Monday.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-17609198595443378742008-06-19T15:49:00.001-04:002008-06-19T15:50:26.328-04:00

I’m not a huge fan of the Celtics, but I do loves the Kevin Garnett. So glad he finally got a ring! And it’s just too much to embed the Youtube vid, but I can’t help linking to it: his postgame interview with Michele Tafoya was beyond description. As I was watching it live, I feared for my safety even though the dude was a couple of zip codes away.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-42030514294983527342008-06-14T09:13:00.000-04:002008-06-14T09:13:35.287-04:00

Due to the heat wave we just suffered through, I haven’t gotten around to posting in a while. Here are some ruminations on a few topics.Obama! Wooot!A tale of three tennis rackets: Finally, finally, I got around to demoing a few new tennis rackets to try and replace the craptacular no-name brand I’ve been playing with for the last seven-eight years. (Raoul, you will be especially happy to learn

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-57845862876554383032008-06-04T23:06:00.001-04:002008-06-05T10:08:06.611-04:00

Man, the further I read in this article, the more I could have sworn I was reading the Onion. Rock on, hacker dudes. Aren’t we all tired of Comcast’s shitty service?

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-45253828730989456052008-05-19T19:38:00.000-04:002008-05-19T19:39:06.357-04:00

Yesterday I did what was probably the most challenging physical thing I’ve ever done: I cycled a half century (that’s fifty miles to you non-cylist types). It was a crazy day, pretty emotional and not just in the expected ways.Expand/collapseI was really questioning my sanity in the morning when the alarm went off at 7 a.m. That’s an hour earlier than I get up on weekdays, for chrissakes. (I know

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-70715327711462047312008-05-07T22:19:00.001-04:002008-05-08T09:53:24.918-04:00

Rather than attempt to be coherent, I’m going to do this in a more stream-of-consciousness style, because I’m still buzzed and not interested in making sense. First, I want to thank the Swami for indulging my need to go to both shows, even though they were on a Monday and Tuesday, because I really couldn’t have lived with myself if I’d missed one.Expand/collapseFirst night (setlist, although see

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-57499635945422914992008-05-04T20:24:00.001-04:002008-05-04T20:30:08.898-04:00

I feel obligated to respond to the suggestion that LeBron James is not overhyped, as I claimed over here. A short discussion of semantics is called for as a preliminary. Labeling James overhyped has nothing to do with whether he’s a good basketball player; it would be downright idiotic to claim that he has no skill or talent. Let’s just get that out of the way. It’s about the hype. In the

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-35408755580657221142008-04-30T21:38:00.000-04:002008-04-30T21:38:45.991-04:00

They won! They won! A close one, too. Agghh, I am prematurely aging watching these guys play. LeBron is overhyped, big time.Glad I could track down this clip of Soulja Boy doing the DeShawn Stevenson’s “I can’t feel my face” thing from Game 3 in DC. Heh!

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-44684987556216673472008-04-23T19:56:00.001-04:002008-04-23T19:56:47.303-04:00

Hm, I need to stop thinking about how badly the Wizards are playing in the playoffs. Because they are playing very, very, very BADLY. It’s killing me. But I can’t blog about that, it’s really too painful.So yesterday Elvis Costello released his latest album as vinyl only (though there is a promise of a CD version to come out later). It’s interesting to watch the reaction of the fans, because two

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-57325295963438697532008-04-15T12:41:00.001-04:002008-04-15T12:41:33.962-04:00

It’s that most momentous of days today, tax day. Funny how income tax in the US reveals so much about us, both in general and individually. Let’s start with the former and move to the latter, in an orderly, linear fashion that upholds the spirit of the tax forms themselves. Expand/collapseFirst, I noticed that it was a complete mob scene at the post office yesterday, which suggests that a lot of

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-4573557164020793962008-04-11T11:37:00.001-04:002008-04-11T11:37:22.720-04:00

Hmph, I just learned over here that what everybody calls wasabi is not actually real wasabi, but some kind of concoction using regular horseradish. More can be read about this diabolical conspiracy here. I feel cheated!Although this will in no way prevent me from having huge sushi cravings at least once a week. And there’s a restaurant in Waltham named Ponzu that serves little nuclear bombs

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-54998158288018779152008-03-30T11:35:00.002-04:002008-06-04T23:07:29.980-04:00

I made a special trip with the camera to capture this one.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-26885556501360247202008-03-25T15:45:00.001-04:002008-03-25T15:46:35.003-04:00

I was clearing out old emails at home the other night and came across a good discussion we had on the Elvis Costello mailing list back in 2006. The question was, what books have you abandoned reading? Now, I have at least one good friend of steely resolve who finishes everything she starts, no matter how painful the experience. I, on the other hand, have a lot less resolve—okay, let’s be honest

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-14610665393627137692008-03-11T21:37:00.000-04:002008-03-11T21:37:45.656-04:00

Relax, that’s a line from a song. So I’ve turned the big 35 today, and I got this awesome peep cake from the Swami earlier, so I’m totally jacked on sugar right now. I took the day off work, which was schweet—now that’s a constitutional amendment I could get behind, that everyone should get their birthday off of work. Paid, I might add. Who’s with me!

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-86424235090998996052008-03-06T15:27:00.000-05:002008-03-06T15:27:48.857-05:00

The last few weeks have been slowly crushing my soul, what with late winter weather (crappy, with extra crap on weekends) and some actual work at work (the horror!). But today was a much-appreciated break. Swami managed to scrape us both out of bed and we went cycling for only the third time this year. Even though it was only 30F, the sun was up and the roads were dry. Oh, and the wind was calm.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-14735687990655569552008-02-29T11:56:00.001-05:002008-02-29T11:58:13.750-05:00

Well, I gots to post on February 29. By the time the next one rolls around, we’ll probably all be brains in jars with terabit wireless implants for communication and virtual interactions in Fourteenth Life.In contrast to the futuristic tone of that paragraph, things have been pretty retro this week. This morning I saw the video for Rick Springfield’s “I’ve Done Everything for You,” which is five

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-41682598840497880582008-02-20T21:33:00.000-05:002008-02-20T21:33:45.175-05:00

I blame Danielle for sending me this link. I got past level 10 once! Highest score so far: around 420K. Swami is kicking my ass up and down, of course.Prepare to waste massive amounts of timePardon me, I need to go scrutinize a map of Africa.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-52182393315628920112008-02-14T12:33:00.000-05:002008-02-14T12:33:09.104-05:00

As a graduate of William and Mary, I had a front-row seat to this week’s debacle of President Nichol resigning. He was the target of a lot of irrational right-wing blustering about a few topics; you can read about it all here (among other places, I’m sure).When I was there in the early 1990s, W&M was a mix of a few goofy braniac weirdos like me and a whole lot of Young Republicans studying

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-38097160689111228652008-02-08T11:21:00.000-05:002008-02-08T11:25:55.910-05:00

Here’s what Mitt Romney said yesterday when he dropped out of the presidential race:I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating al-Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-69511762328132784972008-02-01T16:24:00.000-05:002008-02-01T16:44:16.575-05:00

I can’t pinpoint the exact moment when I realized that Larry Sanders was the best comedy show on television, ever. But I do know that it is true. I think I first became aware of this universal truth near the end of the show’s run, around 1996 or 1997, when I managed to watch the entire series without much trouble thanks to the relentless rerun policy of HBO.What can I say about Larry Sanders? If

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-2792489245207668782008-01-27T12:11:00.000-05:002008-01-27T12:14:31.924-05:00

I’ve been meaning to write one more post about the Philippines trip, and finally have gotten around to it. Ignoring any sense of narrative, I give you a completely unorganized list of things that I remember the best, now that it’s been a whole month since we got back.Expand/collapseTropical tennis: One of the most fun things we did while we were there was play tennis with Kaskasero and his

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-58676984107182917012008-01-15T17:43:00.000-05:002008-02-04T22:44:41.144-05:00

We interrupt the Philippines report to mention that Swami and I went to the Celtics game versus the Wizards last night. It was the second game in a home-and-home series, and the Wiz managed to beat the Celtics at home last Saturday, despite the fact that Gilbert’s still out healing his knee. Man, with Garnett on the team this year, it’s been looking damn good for the Celtics so far. I won’t even

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-26907108187727266392008-01-04T22:42:00.000-05:002008-01-04T22:43:04.396-05:00

It’s high time I talked about one of my favorite subjects in the context of the Philippines trip: food. I consider myself pretty adventurous for an American, which I admit isn’t saying much, here in the land where ketchup is considered by some to be spicy. But growing up, we ate all kinds of weird things: tongue, liver, kidneys, and every imaginable vegetable, including the infamous brussel

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-531130036016645302008-01-01T15:49:00.000-05:002008-01-01T15:50:00.552-05:00

First off, happy new year everybody! And now back to the Manila report.I should backtrack a bit from the previous post and spend a little time describing our arrival on Monday night. It was a four hour flight from Tokyo, which definitely qualifies as insult to injury. We arrived around 10:30 pm local time, and you could feel the warm humidity from the jetway, of course. It was probably about 75F/

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-62645214403638805492007-12-30T23:04:00.000-05:002007-12-30T23:25:15.761-05:00

I’m back on the blog at last! First, a technical note. At first I thought of methodically going through each day of the trip, but then I wondered whether it might make more sense to do themes instead. In the end it looks like this first post has a little of both. Anyway, over the next several days I hope to post as much about the trip as possible, and if it appears at all organized, so much the

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-55637248807014727322007-12-17T03:23:00.000-05:002007-12-30T23:05:45.651-05:00

I’m currently sitting in Narita airport in Tokyo, operating on about two hours’ sleep, and my internal clock says it’s about three in the morning, just to keep you all informed. The long flight from Minneapolis to Tokyo wasn’t actually as bad as I thought it could be, though. Swami and I snagged one of the rows right at the back of the plane that has only two seats across, so it was nice not to

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-781250225491075852007-12-13T18:33:00.000-05:002007-12-13T18:33:33.443-05:00

Whoa, it’s been well over two weeks since my last post. I’ve been frantically getting ready for the trip to Manila and D.C., and at this point I think I’ve achieved Batman-like levels of preparedness. Anti-malaria drug, antibiotics, bug repellent, sunblock, hand sanitizer. Based on that list one might think we were heading for the middle of the Amazon, but no, it’s just bourgeois risk aversion

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-31037179177106808052007-11-25T17:46:00.000-05:002007-11-25T17:46:36.991-05:00

As of today, I’ve ridden 1000 miles on the bike this year. That’s a little farther than the distance between Boston and Louisville! (Swami has me beat, though, with almost 1200—that’s Boston to Birmingham, Alabama.) And since it’s getting damn cold now, I probably won’t get too many more miles in for 2007. Next year, the goal is to ride a metric century (62.14 miles); this year’s longest ride was

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-13879566531550768502007-11-20T20:53:00.000-05:002007-11-20T21:04:41.815-05:00

Here are two pics from a recent trip to Asheville, North Carolina, both taken from the parking lot at the top of Mt. Mitchell. It’s the highest mountain east of the Mississippi.How high is it exactly, you might ask?

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-13335995506651530762007-11-16T17:09:00.000-05:002007-11-16T17:09:54.052-05:00

I’ve been thinking a lot about creativity recently, because I’ve been in what feels like a slump on and off for the last year or so, and also because I just read Sandman: Dream Country. One of the short stories in that collection (“Calliope”) deals with the creative muse and writer’s block.Expand/collapseBut I should elaborate on both of those reasons. The first reason might seem surprising,

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-33089751440517770312007-11-05T12:01:00.000-05:002007-11-05T12:01:15.817-05:00

So Hollywood’s writers have gone on strike for the first time since 1988. That gives me the perfect excuse to think about what I was doing in 1988 (since this blog is All About Me, of course). That was the spring I was stuck at home before I went (back) to college, when I was slogging through a year of community college. I watched Letterman religiously back then, back when he was the funniest

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-16788790251741130442007-10-29T11:53:00.000-04:002007-10-29T11:53:51.164-04:00

Awright, a few things large and small that are torquing me today.Dude on the bus who rides all the way to the last stop, but stands right at the front for the whole trip. Every poor soul who wants to get on or off before the last stop has to squeeze by this guy even though there are acres of space further back where he could stand. Hey prick, think of someone besides yourself for twenty whole

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-86285398907802102032007-10-22T23:09:00.000-04:002007-10-22T23:09:36.324-04:00

Ah, I never get tired of Artie. (Psst: Turn the volume down if you’re at work.)

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-11442778918409925562007-10-21T11:46:00.000-04:002007-10-29T11:54:48.385-04:00

We hung out with Sashe yesterday! Since he now lives in Malaysia, I haven’t actually laid eyes on him since 2004. It was great to catch up, especially since he might not make it to kaskasero’s wedding.It’s interesting to think that I know people from all across the world. And some good friends I’ve never met in person, even, thanks to the wonders of the Intarwebs. Even a cranky misanthrope such

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-22262080770015879982007-10-16T21:56:00.000-04:002007-10-16T21:57:30.269-04:00

After studying foreign languages for more than fifteen years, I just bought plane tickets for my very first trip overseas ever. (Those two facts together demonstrate most of all, perhaps, the extent to which I’ve faked it so far in my life.) I was supposed to go to Ukraine in June, but that fell through in spectacular fashion. But this time, no screwups allowed: I gotta ticket for Manila in

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-62728772425704678882007-10-09T12:10:00.000-04:002007-10-15T21:54:37.956-04:00

(Magneto) You’re a god among insects—never let anyone tell you different.(Benjamin Katz) Fire in the hole!!(The Tick) Eating kittens is just plain wrong! And no one should do it, ever!(Hudson) Hey, maybe you haven’t been keeping up on current events, but we just got our asses kicked, pal!(Sarge) Why don’t you put that in a memo titled “Shit I already know”!(Ricky Roma) What are you gonna do about

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-8661055075926175032007-10-01T00:04:00.000-04:002007-10-01T12:04:40.729-04:00

Whoa, it’s October. How did that happen?I’ve been quiet, but not idle. A week ago yesterday we rode our second Hub on Wheels, and this time we made it the full 41 miles—our longest ride ever. Only one minor mishap, despite many, many unskilled cyclists out there on the road with us. It was fun, but three hours of pretty much unwavering, teeth-gritting concentration. Yes, cyclists are masochists.I

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-46297777835766619192007-09-17T14:08:00.000-04:002007-10-09T12:11:07.600-04:00

It seems prudent to reveal all my biases first, before I dive into the actual review of this movie. It also might be helpful to explain why it’s taken me over a year to see it, which is very much a related topic. Thanks to X-Men and X2, I am now pretty firmly committed to that particular universe as serving my comic needs. Heck, I didn’t even know I had comic needs until those two movies kicked

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-9239317247723067982007-09-13T12:19:00.000-04:002007-09-17T14:15:48.366-04:00

Things feel a little off balance right now. Here it is, the second week of September, the sky is that ridiculous shade of blue again, but I’m not in Maine. We’ve gone there around this time of year for four of the last five years, and it feels so strange not to be there now. It’s funny how quickly the human brain gets accustomed to a repeating pattern, to the point where you even start waking up

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-89679079714070446762007-09-07T16:56:00.000-04:002007-10-01T12:05:19.726-04:00

It’s been way, way too long since I posted, sorry about that. I’ve been waiting for a theme to surface that covers the last couple of weeks, but it turns out I got nothing. So here’s a summary.New nephew! Welcome to Earth, Corey Michael. Work kind of sucks. Counting on other people doesn’t work when they’re slacking fuckups. And getting a lengthy lecture from the Usual Suspect is enough to sour

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-52730093514396548292007-08-22T12:43:00.001-04:002007-08-22T12:43:14.733-04:00

The latest development in tennis is, we got beat again last weekend, 6-0 6-2. I thought we were fairly competitive, and I had some solid plays, but the score says we were completely outmatched. As a result, on Monday the league admin bumped us down into the lower division. It’s a bitter outcome, but then again I certainly wouldn’t mind playing some matches that are a little more even. Still, it’s

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-66823470678701151022007-08-17T12:48:00.000-04:002007-08-17T12:49:36.293-04:00

It’s been a bad week for sports, at least in the most local sense. Sunday afternoon I fell off my bike only three miles into a planned 30-mile ride in Gloucester, which gave me a nasty road rash on my knee and forced us to turn around and limp back to the car. It was a dumb fall and luckily pretty minor as crashes go—nothing like the one from the 2006 Tour de France I’ve embedded here.Expand/

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-38435400148431734012007-08-13T11:45:00.000-04:002007-08-13T11:45:58.895-04:00

Thanks to the arrival of the Atlantic Monthly late last week, my disgust with the Bush administration has resurged to the point where it’s been hard to think of anything else. So my emotions are decidedly mixed with today’s top story of Karl Rove resigning from the White House staff. Of course, I immediately thought about the whole rat leaving sinking ship metaphor, and the whole door hitting him

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-60992389710848000002007-08-02T17:07:00.000-04:002007-08-02T17:08:15.701-04:00

At last, a travelogue from our recent trip to Vermont! It was a four-day cycling tour, about 25 miles a day, through some of the most ridiculously hilly terrain I’ve ever ridden. We stayed at two different inns, one nice, the other extra-swanky, and had breakfast and dinner included. Expand/collapseSo the day’s routine was: crawl out of bed at 7 a.m., breakfast at 8, start cycling at 9, a

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-75368755610324840922007-07-31T15:19:00.001-04:002008-06-04T23:08:40.430-04:00

One of my fondest internet-related memories dates back to April 2000, during the whole Elian Gonzalez debacle. Soon after the raid during which Elian was seized from his family’s house in Miami, this little Shockwave movie found its way onto the Net. Sure, it’s dated, sure, it references a stupid Bud commercial, but I laughed so damn hard at that thing. And the best part was, it got pulled almost

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-49879138754433508912007-07-27T12:50:00.000-04:002007-07-27T12:50:16.455-04:00

Well, I owe everybody a long account of my Vermont vacation (in one word: excellent), but then I got caught up in watching the Tour de France, and then I got caught up in the ridiculous doping scandals that have marred said Tour, and as a result you poor souls out there haven’t heard from me in a while. I’ll try to get to the Vermont recap this weekend, although I ain’t guaranteeing anything.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-71516225992607252982007-07-08T15:35:00.000-04:002007-07-08T15:35:45.067-04:00

I hope all two of you loyal readers can handle it, starting tomorrow I’m away to Vermont until Friday. It’s a cycling tour, so we’ll see if I can handle four straight days in the saddle. Next time I post, it might be while sitting on a big ice pack or something.While I’m gone, here are some study questions:Exactly how awesome was Keith Olbermann’s demand for Bush and Cheney to resign?Exactly how

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3