Go Back to Blink!

Why is it that members of perfectly good bands feel the need to start crappy side projects? In the last 2 weeks, I have wasted $19.98 at iTunes because of former members of Blink 182 (I say 'former', because, since they're putting out a Greatest Hits album, I assume they are done for). Back in 2002, Tom and Travis did a CD called Boxcar Racer, which was pretty good. Same goes with Travis's stint in The Aquabats -- The Superheroes of Punk.

Unforturtunately, I cannot say the same for Tom's latest effort, Angels and Airwaves. What garbage. I actually called iTunes to see if they offered refunds. They don't. It sounds kinda like Blink 182...if they started taking estrogen pills. Tom's whiny voice over a bunch of wimpy insrumentals. Ugh.

Meanwhile, Mark and Tavis started +44, which, while not nearly as bad, is still pretty crappy.

But, they got my money, which is the whole point, right? Why try to write good music when people will buy your album regardless? Is it greed? Boredom? Complacency? Whatever it is, it should stop.

The only side project band I've really come to enjoy is A Perfect Circle, but that's to be expected, because everything Maynard touches is gold.

Sweet

New NIN album coming soon!

Back in the saddle

I slapped fenders on the Surly and went for a short ride in the snow/slush last night. I only rode for about 30 minutes on a snow-packed trail, but it was just nice to get out. Riding 'fixed' is definitely the way to go for snow and ice. I felt like I had a lot more control.
---
In other news, I am a huge pussy. We rented the movie 'Click' on pay-per-view last night, and I damn near broke down in tears. For those who haven't seen it (spoiler alert!) it's about a guy who gets a remote that can control his universe. He can pause/rewind/fast-forward different events in his life. However, he inadvertantly skips years of his life in order to get to what he deems the "good part", and loses everything that really matters along the way. He misses his kids growing up, his father dying, his wife getting remarried, and several other big events in his life. He got everything he thought he wanted in his career, but lost his life.

Anyways, the moral of the story is to appreciate what you have, and not take anything for granted. I think that's a great message in a self-centered, fast-paced society where success is measured by the size of your bank account.

Creatine is not a steroid!

Bodacious P and I stopped at Vitamin World on our way home from work today to pick up some supplements. While we were there, a group of 4 teenagers came in. One of them was looking at Creatine, and one of his friends informed him that he "shouldn't take that shit because steroids make your balls shrivel up". Are you kidding me?

Creatine is a combination of 3 amino acids. Nothing more. It is not considered "doping" by and type of athletic groups, including the Olympics Committee. And it won't make your balls shrivel up.

The Surly gets Fixed

I finally got around to converting the Cross-Check to a fixed-gear. I gotta say, it turned out awesome. I love the ride. It should (hopefully) make winter riding a little more tolerable. I'm rocking a 45x17 gear, which seemed a little small on my maiden voyage, but I'm going to give it another week or so and decide if I want to change.

I would venture to guess that this is one of the only steel fixies around with carbon cranks. What can I say? They just happened to be sitting in my garage...

It's nice to have a fixie other than my track bike, cuz who wants to ride a pure-bred velodrome machine in the snow?

Also, I went to GCCS today and checked out Grandstay's new bikes...pretty damn sweet! Big Jim's 61cm came in at 15 lbs.

Very tempting, but I'm thinking about blowing my bike fund on a new set of wheels. Decisions, decisions....

It's official...

I'm now part of the cool crowd, because I got a RAZR for Christmas. I also got:

• Magic Bullet - The ultimate protein shake maker
  
• Blongo Ball
  
• Gift Certificate to a Bed & Breakfast
  
• Stocking cap with a bill
• Sweatpants
  
• 'Patch Adams' DVD - WTF?
  
• Track Chain
  

Of course, the kids got more presents than we know what to do with. Addison now has a veritable Noah's Ark worth of stuffed animals, and Max could start his own small country with the trains, planes, and automobiles he has.

An open letter to my fantasy football team:

I lost the fantasy Super Bowl this weekend, so I feel the need to address some players individually.

Dear LT,
You are the only reason I made it into the postseason to begin with. Just like you do for the Chargers, you made my crappy fantasy team a winner. Thank you. You complete me.

Dear Willie Parker,
Goodbye. It's not you, it's me. No, wait...it's you. I just can't trust you anymore. 40 points one week, 2 the next. WTF? This week was the Super Bowl - the Big Game, and you got completely shut down. I need a running back I can count on. While you'll always have a special place in my heart, you'll no longer have a place in my lineup.

Dear Jake Plummer,
Nice mustache, loser. You suck.

Dear Matt Lienart,
In a different world, in a different time, with a different coach, we could have had something special. You're great, but Denny is an f-ing idiot. I don't need that kind of baggage.

To everyone else,
You were neither great nor horrible. Better luck next year.

Sincerely,
Tenacious-T

Merry Christmas!

Bodacious P Goes Big

What a day!

So, today I had to be at the Surgical Center at 6:30am to get snipped for the second time. I'm thinking of making it a holiday tradition. "Christmas Vasectomy." It has a nice ring to it!

In other news, I have made it to the, um, Super Bowl (?) in fantasy football, which is odd, because I knew next to nothing about football before this season. Bodacious P helped me draft my team, and even quizzed me on the way to work. Thanks, man...I'll buy you a hoagie.

I am also the current overall leader in my "NFL Pro Pick 'Em" league at work. WTF?

I can't ride my bike or lift for at least 5 days. Maybe I'll find more time to blog.

First Time Fantasy

I just want to congratulate Taylor for succsefully making it into the second round of the playoffs with the team that I drafted for him. I hope that he thinks of me when he is standing on the podeum; while I am sitting at home waiting for next year. I think its really cute though how he takes credit for it almost like he knows something about football. I admit that the strategy wasn't exactly ground breaking (Draft LT) but still it got him where he is today. At least I can live vicariously though him knowing that I am his silent partner and if that doesn't work then I will just chaulk up his season to begginers luck.

People are wierd...accept it

I had a huge epiphany in my interpersonal relationship skills last week when I came to the realization that the majority of people in this world are very wierd and, in general, have major personality flaws which are generally objectionable to modern society. The number of self-centered, spazzy, and unreasonable people in this world is staggering. Now, I'm not talking about people who are simply eccentric. I'm all for individuality. I'm talking about people who can't handle themselves in everyday life.

I think when you're growing up, you are under the assumption that most adults are "normal", and there are a few odd ones. As I've grown older and entered the adult world myself, I've slowly learned the the opposite is true.

What this has changed is my perception of these people. I used to become aggitated and annoyed that grown men and women could not handle themselves in an appropriate manner...at work, at the mall, out to dinner. I now feel sorry for these people, who, for the most part, cannot see themselves for what they are.

Now, I know I should "worry about the log in your own eye before you concern yourself with the sliver in someone else's". Fine, here are my shortcomings: I'm obsessive, sarcastic, slightly immature, and mildly conceited. I do, however, know when it's time to chill out and act like a normal human being for a while.

Your wife called...

She wants one of these bad boys for Christmas:

The ultimate in iPod accessories.

Tenatious-T's first day at the gym

Have you ever gone to a public place with someone and shortly after arriving wished you had instead gone by yourself. This is pretty much how every outing with Taylor is but yesterday really took the cake for embarrassing.
I Taylor at the gym ready to get a serious workout going. I change into my workout stuff and spend about ten minutes flexing in the mirror waiting for T to finally show up. Then when he gets there he makes the announcement that he has forgotten his gym shorts. We both have a good laugh as to how he is now going to be the weird guy that works out in Jeans and a T-shirt this alone was embarrassing enough, but it gets worse.
SO were out doing our first lifts (Incline Bench) and 2 sets in and Taylor starts to complain that his jeans are restricting him to much. I instantly close my eyes assuming that he is going to drop trough not realizing that when my eyes open up again I was going to wish that he had. I look over at T and he has now rolled his jeans not just once or twice but up to the top of his calf. Now lets think about this were doing a chest and arm exercise and Taylor decides that his calves are too constricted hmm?? Then he feels the need to release them to the world in the worst possible way. At this point I am trying to nonchalantly wonder away so no connection between us can be visually made. So what does he do yell my name and starts dancing like a monkey in the middle of the gym while we are surrounded by people. It was all I could do to not hide under one of the weight racks.
I would do anything for T but sometimes it's like hanging with my 3 year old daughter.

The Bodacious P Quote of the Day:

"Not at that weight you won't, that's for damn sure."
(Responding to Ted's "I'm not going to get injured" after moving the pin on the leg curl machine from 225 to 150)

Overall it was a good day, with PR's all around. I squatted 405x6, Ted did 405x10, and Bodacious P did 365x11 and almost passed out.

Guess who's back?

1st Lt. Erik Wilson, one of my best friends, is back from Iraq for two weeks. It's been over a year since I saw him last, and it was great to see him again. Only 3 more months until he's home (hopefully) for good.

When I asked him what exactly he does, his response was, "I'm the poor SOB that goes out looking for bombs." Damn!

He has some crazy stories about Iraq, which he refers to as "a funny little country". Apparently, women are only used for breeding purposes, and men and boys are used for sexual pleasure. Erik said that a lot of times they'd be patroling in the desert, and there would be a truck parked on the side of the road, and two Iraqi men would be standing outside smoking hash and having butt-sex. It's actually a pretty common occurrence over there.

There are lots of other strange stories, too. Basically, it's a funny little country.

Take care buddy, and hurry home.

Where the hell is Canby?

Apparently, it's about 35 minutes away from Granite Falls, and it's loaded with pheasants!

We left at 6:30 so we could arrive just before hunting hours, to ensure a bountiful harvest. I was concerned about bringing Bandit, since it was really cold and he had been sick lately, but he snuck into the truck, so I really didn't have a choice.

We hunted 5 different pieces of land, some private and some public, and I saw almost as many birds as I saw in South Dakota last fall. It was insane! Late-season hunts are always hard, because the birds are quite wily. Bandit did great, but we let him down when it came to marksmanship. Most of the birds were getting up way out in front of us and didn't offer very good shots. We came home with 2 birds, but could have easily limited out given the number of shots we had.

On the way home I started to get a gut-ache, and I ended up getting the stomach flu.

My wheel is done!

And it f-in' rules! I'm a loser who just happens to have a postal scale at home, and I found that the new wheel with cog and lockring saves me 350 grams over my old wheel with cassette. Add to that the fact that I removed the derailleurs and cables, I figure I took almost 2 pounds off my bike. Not that weight matters...(right Ted?).

Plus, this wheel is one stiff SOB:


Now, if I hadn't ordered the a chainring for the wrong BCD, I could ride my damn bike.

Props to Chris at Granite City Cycles for building me a hell of a wheel.

Super News!

I just found out that I get to have ANOTHER "no more kids" surgery. After a full year of bi-monthly testing, my mighty swimmers have prevailed over their surgically-altered vas deferens. I always new I was manly, and now I have proof.

Just what I always dreamed my life would be: 2 vasectomies in 2 years.