May. 2nd, 2008 @ 01:43 pm Various things
eeeevil, profile, walter, sadjax, football, mothra, wrong, rex, predicate, hero, kitty, in the flesh?, obey the kitty, WOTD, anger, kissy, logo, warrior, skulls, obey the kitty 2, metalfan, smile
Don't mind me, I'm just: tired
Hey, that sounds like: Monster Magnet -- Crop Circle
  • Busy weekend coming up: tonight is Bo-topia (a.k.a. [info]wurdsome's birthday party) which I'm leaving for straight from work, then tomorrow evening I'm off to see Testament (and several other metal bands I've never heard of) as part of Powerfest 2008 in scenic Mokena, IL. And Sunday I'll spend doing the chores I should do Saturday, but won't because I have the excuse of the concert.


  • My BushBucks have arrived! And it looks like I'll be stimulating the economy more than I thought. I decided to spend some of it on new books and somehow that turned into a $100 orgy of expenditure last night at SFBC.com -- they were having a sale, $9.99 per book after you buy two at regular price. I'm getting A Canticle For Leibowitz (which, inexcusably, I haven't read yet), World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, and the first six (!) books in Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series, which is projected to run to ten.


  • And while I was being frivolous, I also spent another hundred bucks for a ticket to the Metal Masters Tour in August. Actually, make that $45 for the ticket, $30 for parking, and $25 in various fees and fuck-you charges. The headliners are Judas Priest and Heaven and Hell (which is basically Dio-era Black Sabbath, minus Bill Ward, plus Vinnie Appice) and the opening acts are Motörhead and Testament (again!) In a way this show will be me coming full circle in my concert-going history: the first concert I ever attended was a Judas Priest / Megadeth / Testament show at Rosemont Horizon in 1990. But to be totally honest, the thing that clinched it for me is "how many chances am I going to get to see Motörhead?"


  • For those of you who are going to the Cubs game on 5/17 -- and [info]neonhummingbird, I'm still counting you as a "yes" because [info]stankow has volunteered to cover some of your ticket, so please let me know if you weren't aware of that and have made other plans -- and have been wondering how to reimburse me, I haven't been able to think of an easier means than PayPal to take care of that, unless you want to bring a personal check with you.

    Accordingly, my PayPal account is under exaustinite(at)hotmail.com, and the ticket price is $52.00, so whenever you're ready, willing, and fully-funded, let 'er rip. I'm covering all the taxes and fees and whatnot, to apologize for the crappiness and priciness of the seats, so don't worry about that. If you would prefer to send a personal check or something through snail mail, send an email to that address instead and I'll give you my meatspace coordinates. :)

    (Oh, and there's still one ticket left, by the by...)


  • What else? Ah, yes. Those of you who were privy to my red light violation post back in March may be interested to know that I did go ahead and contest it by mail after all, but I ended up having to pay it anyway, as many including myself suspected I would.

    On the other hand, I also got a notice from the IL Tollway Authority a few days afterward, demanding $220.00 in unpaid tolls and fees, which I managed to deal with over the phone without having to pay a single cent for. Turns out the expiration date had run out on the credit card I had tied to my I-Pass account, and I didn't realize this for about a week. When I updated it, the account still showed a small balance, so I figured I'd gotten lucky, but alas this was not the case. The gentleman I spoke to on the phone was very helpful and waived all the fees -- as well as the unpaid toll charges, which turned out to have been paid automatically as soon as I corrected my info on the I-Pass Account. So thanks for the pointless scary mail, IL Tollway Authority.
That seems like enough for now. TGIF! And PSA: Mother's Day is a week from Sunday! Don't forget!

--- Ajax.
Nov. 12th, 2005 @ 01:20 pm Wherein I do the math and fix the NFL
eeeevil, profile, walter, sadjax, football, mothra, wrong, rex, predicate, hero, kitty, in the flesh?, obey the kitty, WOTD, anger, kissy, logo, warrior, skulls, obey the kitty 2, metalfan, smile
Don't mind me, I'm just: accomplished
A modest proposal: the Miami Dolphins should switch divisions with the Indianapolis Colts.


City

Division

Miles to IND

Miles to MIA

Memphis

AFC South

465

1050

Houston

AFC South

1113

1187

Jacksonville

AFC South

880

350

Foxboro (MA)

AFC East

950

1497

Buffalo

AFC East

502

1424

New York

AFC East

710

1297


(All this is per Mapquest, not as the crow flies, so the actual distances are probably shorter all around.)

Doing a little math, it's pretty clear that the Dolphins get rooked by the current setup, vis-a-vis travel to their divisional road games. Trips to Foxboro, Buffalo, and New York rack up a total of 4218 frequent-flyer miles for the 'Phins.

Under the new regime, Miami would be in the AFC South, with Tennessee, Houston, and Jacksonville. This adds up to a much more reasonable 2587 miles -- and their farthest away game, Houston, would still be 100 miles closer than their closest away game currently (NYC). The jaunt up to the panhandle to play Jacksonville is a mere 350 miles, a very doable road trip for devoted fans.

Indy, on the other hand, would be playing in the AFC East, with New England, Buffalo, and the Jets. This doesn't create as big a savings in road time, since it's only 2162 miles compared to their current 2458. But aesthetically, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to consider Indianapolis a "South" team -- they're at the same latitude as Philadelphia, after all.

Logistics are all very well, but what about rivalries? Well, Indy is in a division that's made up of them plus three expansion teams. From where I sit, their most notable rivalry in recent years is with the Patriots, who play in...the AFC East.

Miami, on the other hand, has been around for awhile. Buffalo fans (like [info]misskaz and Tim Russert) would be denied as many opportunities to "squish the fish", which is a shame. On the other hand, the NFC North has managed to move on without playing their ex-rivals Tampa Bay twice a year, so I imagine the East will survive without the 'Phins as well.

--- Ajax.
Jun. 30th, 2005 @ 11:25 am PSA: Irony vs. Sarcasm vs. Satire (oh my!)
eeeevil, profile, walter, sadjax, football, mothra, wrong, rex, predicate, hero, kitty, in the flesh?, obey the kitty, WOTD, anger, kissy, logo, warrior, skulls, obey the kitty 2, metalfan, smile
Hey, that sounds like: M.O.D. -- True Colors (SnakeNet Metal Radio)
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This isn't an official Word Of The Day, so I won't use the nifty icon [info]relentlesstoil made, but it's sort of in that same general vein.

A question [info]1144 asked me the other day prompted me to look up the definitions of irony and sarcasm.

The two words are synonymous, and sometimes used interchangeably, but irony is more inclusive of the two: a sarcastic remark is almost always intended as a deliberate insult, whereas irony can be used for a variety of non-insulting purposes.

Examining the etymology of both words is helpful in remembering the difference: irony comes from the Greek eirōneia, meaning "feigned ignorance", whereas sarcasm derives from the Greek sarkazein, meaning "to bite the lips in rage".

Satire acts as a sort of bridge between the two -- it is by definition caustic or offensive in tone, but is used for the specific purpose of exposing human vice and folly, rather than simple assholitude. It derives, ultimately, from the Greek satur, or "satyr", the mythical creature with the top half of a human male, the bottom half of a goat, and (tellingly) an enormous prick.

--- Ajax.
Mar. 31st, 2004 @ 06:21 pm PSA
eeeevil, profile, walter, sadjax, football, mothra, wrong, rex, predicate, hero, kitty, in the flesh?, obey the kitty, WOTD, anger, kissy, logo, warrior, skulls, obey the kitty 2, metalfan, smile
Tags: ,
It's that time again! We're "springing forward" on Sunday. Prepare to be robbed of an hour of sleep.

--- Ajax.