Dichotomy...

Emily and I were talking about whatever happened to Ed Nelson the other day. He was a former basketball player at GT who transferred to UConn after his sophomore year, and had to sit out his entire Junior year (where had he stayed at Tech, he would have played against UConn for the National Title, rather than winning while one riding the bench). Anyway, we both assumed that after getting all doughy from bench-warming in a cheap suit his junior year, that he was so out of shape that he didn't play much the next year and then graduated. Well, I was watching 'Nova@UConn today, and it turns out that because he red-shirted as a transfer his junior year, he actually had an extra year of eligibility while he pursues a degree in Criminal Justice. So he still plays baketball at UConn. The last 2 years he's averaged about 3 points and 3 rebounds a game in about 10 minutes of play. Also, he shaved his head bald and grew big bushy sideburns. And he's still quite doughy-looking. Remember how at Tech he was the ACC Rookie of the Year and averaged 8+ points and almost 7 rebounds a game? Sucker. Although, UConn may have a shot at a national title again this year, and he might actually get to play in it if they get that far. So I guess he'll have a shot to get what he wanted by transferring in the first place. Too bad he's just some nobody bench player for the Huskies when he could have stayed at Tech and been a superstar, at least until Jeremis and Ra'Sean showed up. Oh well.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

I watched Punk-Drunk Love tonight, with Adam Sandler. Has anyone else seen this movie? It was definitely not what I expected and was in fact quite the bizarre movie. *shrug* Part of it was live a piece of fiction I read in Playboy once about being harrassed and threatened by the proprietor of 1-900 number. So, not really an original plot, and kind of a rambling story with a lot of loose ends. I'm not sorry I watched the movie, but I definitely could have done something more productive with those 2 hours.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 8:25 PM | Permalink | Comments

In other news, there was a show on last night titled "Death Star", which I became very excited about. I thought, maybe someone is trying to build a space station to compete with the ISS and is following the Death Star model. But no no no. This was a show about some imploded star which created the universe. Boooo-ring! Okay, so, ordinarily, I'd be all about that kind of show. But once you get yourself psyched up for a show with a Star Wars premise, it's kind of hard to be excited about the mysteries of existence. So I watched the Colbert Report instead and went to sleep.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments

It was snowing when I woke up this morning. Big wet flakes. So I took my time getting ready and rolled into work around 10. Sure enough, plenty of other people were still MIA. As they rolled in, all I heard was bitch bitch bitch about how awful the traffic was. My manager reminded people that if they'd left earlier, they would have had no problem. Todd and I just sat in our respective offices trying not to laugh as we thought about how it took almost as long to brush off our cars as it did to drive to the office. One guy lives in MD and said he left at 8:15, but arrived around 10:15. I'm sure his drive was worse than average today, but I can't imagine that's ever an easy commute. Sucker. This is why I made a pact with myself that I would never have to take a major highway to work again. Sure, occasionally I get caught in traffic going to Lockheed or coming back from NSWC in the afternoons, but my average daily commute involves 3 stop lights and 3 turns, two of which are getting into or out of parking lots. I am very lucky to be able to live so close to work. In any case, all these people complaining about a little snow just make me laugh. They're big wet flakes, and the roads are perfectly clear around here, so there's not likely to be any accumulation on the roads, especially since the storm's mostly passed by at this point. I love how a little precipitation makes everything grind to a complete halt.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments

I dunno what happened to my previous post about Brian's birthday. it's as if it never existed... The comments for it still exist on Haloscan, so I know it had to be aroudn at some point, but it's clearly not here and it's nto in my archives... This is seriously strange. At least it's not just me...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

A ha! So, I've been trying to figure out on thsi season of That 70's Show where I know the guy who plays Randy from. He just looks so familiar... So today, since no one else is in teh office, I went home for lunch, and was watching Celebrity Poker. Well, Seth Meyers from SNL (he joined around the time I quit watching completely) was on there and as soon as I saw him smile, I was like, YES, that's where I know him from! Randy, played by Josh Meyers, is Seth's younger brother! Apparently, being the younger brother also means teh worse jobs since Josh was on Mad TV while his brother was on SNL. Say what you will about the decline of SNL, but I still think most people will agree it was better than Mad TV. In other That 70's Show news, at teh end of last season, there was a character who just appeared out of nowhere and then promptly got killed off, who I swear I kenw from somewhere. I figured this out a while ago, but just now remembered it. It was the same guy (Bret Harrison) who played Brad on Grounded for Life, who has that other new show (The Loop) starting on Fox soon (which doesn't look all that great). I swear, with both Masterson brothers appearing on the show, and all the various other guest stars, there's a 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon just waiting to be written about every single person in the show.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

And since I'd like to think that I can take spirit-crushing criticism as well as I take glowing praise, click here to point out all my flaws.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

I want to be cool too. Click there and tell me who I really am.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments

Valentine's Day was really nice. Apart from celebrating the day itself, we got to celebrate Emily getting a job and an apartment! Wheels are in motion my friends and everything is falling nicely into place. =) We went to Da Domenico for dinner, which was fantastic. Mr. Fraim's suggestion from 9 years ago (really? no way. really?? I am getting sooo old...) has never steered me wrong. Then the girls opened their valentine's and Sonja seemed very intent on eating both hers and Zoey's. Emily took a few pictures, so I'll have to see if any came out well. Sadly, she's leaving tomorrow, but at least she'll be back soon and then for good! =) It's been a good VD this year, heart shaped brownines included. Plus, this morning there was a tray of leftover cookies in the breakroom! Mmmm...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments

As expected, Emily got a job offer from RAND today and will be accepting the position this afternoon! It comes with a nice benefits package and a sizeable paycheck, so she's pretty happy. I think it'll be a great starting job for her to get her foot in the door of her field and a great jumping-off point for a couple years down the road when she wants to move into something else. She'll be starting in the next couple weeks after collecting her things in Savannah and moving up here, so it won't be long before my girlfriend is living in the same town as me on a permanent basis again! YAY!!! =)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tech's losing streak began and ended with NC State. Tech finally won a close one! *phew* Now all we have to do it win our last 5 games to finish at .500 in the conference... Or, at least ruin a few other team's NCAA seedings. NC State was the perfect team for us to beat to get on track too, 2nd place in the ACC, 2nd highest ACC team in the rankings. We've given BC a better chance to move into 2nd place and we prevbailed against a strong 3-point shooting team. That gives me hope for Duke. Very little hope, but hope nonetheless. I don't really expect to see a 6 game winning streak to end the season, but at least we've got 2 quality wins now and maybe we pick up 2 or 3 more wins by the end of the season. If we get 4, we'd have an overall winning record again too! *crosses fingers* *shakes head in disgust over getting hopes up* I really should know better. I'm just going to settle for enjoying the games when if win and settle for a couple losses as long as we don't embarrass ourselves.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments

I knew as soon as I started bashing meteorologists we'd get some snow. =) We've got maybe 8-10 inches outside right now, maybe more, i dunno, I haven't been outside since last night. I had to get a bowl of snow for the chinnies to play with. It sure was fun to watch it all come down yesterday though, just makes me wish I had a fireplace and some hot cocoa.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

Nice snow storm, liars. All I see is a lot of very wet stuff falling from the sky and none of it sticking to anything. According to teh radar, we're well within the rain/snow line, but this is mostly freezing rain. 3-12" my butt. Stupid weathermen. "Prepare for the biggest snow storm in a decade!!!" Yeah. Right. Liars.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

In other sports new, GT is now on an 8 game losing streak after losing a close one to FSU last night (while I was busy toiling away at Lockheed). In the last 2 weeks we've lost 3 close games (2 points or less). There have been a couple very bad calls in the other teams favor, but if we were really worth anything as a team, it woudl never have come down to those lousy calls to decide the game. Close calls are what separate good from bad. We don't win them. Good teams would. Look at every close call Duke has had, and they've found a way to win. Our next 4 games are unlikely to be wins as we host NC State and Duke and play at Maryland and UNC. It'd be nice to be on a 12 game losing streak before we play our last home game against the only team currently worse off in the ACC than we ware (Wake) and then go to Clemson for our last regular season game. If we're lucky, we might be playing Wake for not-last-place bragging rights... *sigh* Remember how less than 2 years ago, we were tearing through the NCA tournament before losing to UConn in the National Championship? I know the team has talent, I can see it. They're just woefully inconsistent and make sloppy mistakes. But why should I expect anything less from GT athletics. After all, our motto isn't "Excelling at Mediocrity" for nothing... I'm just crossing my fingers that all the losses will help the team come together next year and we'll at least be right back in the thick of the ACC race. Until then, I'll just cringe when I look at our box scores and remember the only quality win we've had this year over BC.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments

Hahaha! Oh how the once-mighty have fallen. There's nothing I like better than seeing people undeserving of greatness getting their comeupance.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments

It sure is hard to concentrate when two offices up the hall there are workmen with power tools moving walls around... Even with the door closed and my music playing it's still loud and distracting.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

Possibly the best of invention of all time just got even bester. Thanks to Brian for the link. Just think of the possibilities! It's like ready made wrapping paper, or wall paper, or fabric, or construction paper, or curtains, or flooring, or make-shift shelter!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

In better news, Emily has an interview with RAND today that seems pretty promising. The lady on the phone seemed like she really wanted to get Emily in for an interview ASAP. So I'll be on pins and needles all morning until I hear how the interview went. *crosses fingers*

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments

Nothing is less appetizing than pizza that arrived for lunch on Monday and has been sitting on the counter in the break room ever since. It's got a nice layer of congealed grease on top which is slowly being supplanted by a fine layer of peach fuzz mold. I'm glad my office isn't near the break room or I'd be super-concerned about the possiblility of deadly pizza-based pathogens hovering around my desk for weeks to come.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

2 cups of coffee later, I'm still ready to go back to bed. *sigh* It's going to be a long day.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments

It's only 4:00, where is everyone?? You'd think it was a 3-day weekend coming up or something with home empty teh office has gotten since lunch. Last time I checked (right now), the only thing happening on Monday is Waitangi Day in New Zealand. Well, that and the birthdays of Aaron Burr, Rip Torn, and Bob Marley. Maybe everyone is trying to get out to the Los Comanches Dance in Taos Pueblo on Saturday...

(I love my Simpsons calendar!)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

I found this site while looking for a different manufacturer of LC fiber optic connectors. Wow. You can buy lasers here. Not wussy key chain laser pointers, like real-deal CO2 and YAG lasers. They've got realyl good deals on some too, and on various other equipment like o-scopes, function generators, etc. I'm going to have to keep this place in mind next time I get the urge to buy a digital signal analyzer for no real reason.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Bon Jovi concert last night was a lot of fun. The opening band was Fools And Horses from Baltimore. They would have been a huge WHFS band in the mid to late 90s, but I have a hard time believeing they are very popular these days. I mean, yeah, they opened for Bon Jovi, but still. They sounded like Earth To Andy crossed with Better Than Ezra crossed with the Stone Roses. Not bad, just not that great either. They played about half and hour, and then Bon Jovi played for a little over 90 minutes. They played every song I knew, so I'd say it was a good set. We had pretty good seats too, in front of the stage and to the left in the second tier. Despite being a bunch of old fogies at this point (though hardly Aerosmith or the Rolling Stones), they still rock pretty hard. Richie can still shread on guitar, including the double and 12-string varieties. Tico's biceps are as big as my thighs, so you know he's going to be drumming well into his 60s. Jon's still rocking the MacGuyver hair cut, and I think he's the only person on earth who can still pull it off. He opened up on a platform in the middle of the crowd, and then walked through everyone to get onto the main stage. Later he reappeared in the stands for a couple songs. It was funny to watch the women around him just swooning when he shook their hands. Funny because it was them and not Emily... She was laughing too, but she'd have done the exact same thing had he ventured up to our section. Jon is quite the charming fellow though, so I guess I can't blame her. I mean, if I could pull off skin-tight leather pants and a gold leather jacket, and wasn't losing my hair, and had his smile, I'd, well, I'm not really sure where I was going with that. Whatever. Two complaints about the show - the first couple songs, Jon sounded very tinny, but that was quickly attended to by the sound board guy and the keyboards sounded a lot like mic feedback several times. Otherwise, great show and a lot of fun! =) Also, single guys - if you want to meet girls, go to a Bon Jovi concert. I think the ratio was something like 15:1. Most of them will be divorced 45 year old women from way out in the boonies, but hey, beggars can't be choosers right? We rode the Metro home with a lively group of 5 women from Winchester who just kept getting funnier and sadder simultaneously the longer we were on the train. I knew as soon as I saw them they were from way out there, cause they haven't bought new clothes or changed hair styles since Bon Jovi's first record hit stores. Hi-larious!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments

Emily arrived yesterday with no problems; even found a visitor spot! Hooray!! =)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

Georgia Tech basketball - the new ACC whipping boy? After our loss to VT on Sunday, we're 2-6 in conference and 9-10 overall. That places us tied for 2nd to last place with VT (Wake's in 12th), makes us the only team in the ACC with a overall losing record, and puts us on a 6 game losing streak. Awesome. Maybe the Miami game on Saturday will right the ship, or at least bail some of the frigid water. It's been a frustrating season so far because of youth and inexperience. We have come really close to winning some big games, only to see it fall apart in the last few minutes, and a couple bad calls have taken away our momentum in crucial moments. Short of a miraculous no-losses-in-February streak, I think this season's pretty much a wash. But the team is gelling and gaining valuable experience, so hopefully next year will go a little smoother.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments