Welcome to my new home on the web. If some of the posts look a little funny, or are missing comments, that is because something got messed up in the move. Importing my posts from Blogger worked pretty well, but sadly the comments were lost.

There were a lot of choices for a personal publishing platform (weblog script), but I settled on WordPress because it just worked. I tried a couple of others, and kept dealing with permission problems and other instabilities that were very frustrating. So when I tried WordPress and everything worked without problem, I was sold. Plus it is free, and that is an attractive price point.

I’m hoping to open up my new and improved (well different anyhow) blog at it’s new home soon. I am not a smart man, and I have spent most of the weekend trying to figure out all of this web stuff. I’m still a little dopey trying to both remember and organize all of the stuff I’ve crammed into my brain in the last 24 hours or so.

Huge thanks to L & P for all of their help, in addition to their generous contribution to the cause. May they both stay warm and toasty for the rest of the winter.

Oh, and I hate cats. Stupid furry standoffish meanspirited little buggers. (Just so you all don’t think that I have completely strayed from my stated purpose of being angry about stuff.)

I PVR’d the Leno show last night to see my beloved Rachael Ray. But for some reason she wasn’t there. Instead? George Wallace. That is NOT an equitable trade in my book. Grrrrrr.

Got my Rio yesterday, and so far I’m thrilled. FYI, here is my first playlist:

Daft Punk – Human After All
Hooters – The Definitive Collection
Newcleus – Jam on Revenge (some dap for D-Piddy)
Sum 41 – Chuck
Tegan and Sara – So Jealous
Tori Amos – The Beekeeper (some dap for Patti)

I was very excited to stumble upon the new Daft Punk last night. I think it is “officially” being released in March, so make sure to look for it then.

I’ve got a headache this morning. And coffee isn’t helping. Grrrrrr.

It is absolutely gorgeous outside today. Sunny (no matter what the Weather Channel says below) and in the mid 60′s:

Why is this bad? Because this is the outlook for the weekend:

This has been a trend for most of this month. A couple cold days here or there, a bunch of rain, then a beautiful sunny day in the middle of the week, then a crap weekend. It is impossible to enjoy the nice days since I’m at work, and come quitting time the sun is already starting to set. It is downright painful to walk past a window and see the sun, then return to my windowless office to grind away the day. C’mon Weather, how about a nice Saturday or Sunday?

There is no bigger racket than Hallmark and the greeting card business. Yesterday, I was a victim of their scheme. I had to break down and buy a card for my grandparents. Granted, the cause was just–it is their 60th wedding anniversary. But even still, I feel used. $3.50 for a card that they will most likely throw away within 10 minutes of having received it. So wasteful. What makes me even more irritated is that I was at my sister’s house on Sunday, and she had an extra card laying around that she offered to me. And I left it sitting on her countertop. Grrrrrr.

Still, I find it hard to be too upset with Hallmark, as they are the parent company of the Hallmark Channel, which is the only place I can find episodes of Hogan’s Heroes these days. Thankfully, my Media Center is able to record them, because they are on at 6am Saturday morning. I don’t think I would be tuning in to watch them live, no matter how much I love Colonel Wilhelm Klink. “Ho-GAN!”

After years of not being able to pull the trigger, I have finally bought (ordered actually–I haven’t received it yet) an MP3 player. A Rio Forge. I had a couple of reasons for choosing the Forge: it’s CHEAP, expandable, has an FM tuner, and no moving parts. Plus I like the fact that it uses a battery, so I don’t have to worry about recharging, just replacing (of course, I’ll still use rechargable AAA’s.) I settled for the 128mb version because it was much cheaper than the other flavors, and SD cards are cheap. I’ve been wanting one to use when I go running, and I promise you that I will tire out long before the music repeats.

Of course, there is always a downside. The Forge has been getting beaten up in the user reviews, at Amazon and some other places. I tried to do lots of research and it looks like many of the problems have been eliminated with newer firmware. My fingers are crossed.

$75.94 from Amazon. With a $20 mail-in rebate. Final cost: $55.94. In TN (I can’t speak for your location) there is no sales tax and it qualifies for free shipping. Like I said, cheap. I just hope that it isn’t a big piece of crap. That would make me angry. I’ll post my impressions after I get it and have used it for a bit.

Now, if there was only something good to listen to…

About time for a new inductee to the “Famous People I Hate Hall of Fame.” Does that make some fun acronym? Let’s see: FPIHHoF. Nope. Damn. Oh well, I can always rename it later, but the hating just cannot be postponed.

Jeez just look at this guy. That smirk alone is one of the most hateable things on earth. But then you look at his filmography:

Meet the Fockers
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
Sphere
Hook
Dick Tracy
Ishtar

I can’t go on, it’s too painful. Dustin Hoffman, I hate you.

James Dobson, if there is indeed a “Hell”, I hope you burn like Andre Rison’s house.

Glancing at cnn.com this morning, I stumble upon this. In summary, James Dobson has taken offense to some sort SpongeBob “tolerance pledge” because it includes a reference to sexual identity. Because wouldn’t it just suck to have a new generation of kids grow up to be, you know, tolerant.

I’m not going to even try to get into right vs. wrong when it comes to homosexuality. The thing that pisses me off, is that these “Christians” are fighting against the concept of tolerance. I seem to remember being hammered with the concept of “hate the sin, not the sinner” in my many, many years of going to church and church school. I guess that only applies to people that are straight.

Stories like this make it hard for me to read the news let me just tell you. It seems that every time I even glance at the headlines, I end up getting so damn mad that I about burst a blood vessel. Grrrrrr.

I’ve already asked several of you for suggestions, but I’m asking again. Is there any newish music that you are digging? Either music is in a serious slump, or I’m being really closed minded about newer releases. There just hasn’t been much out there that has grabbed me. Help!

Things that have been OK, or at least partially good:

• Roots – Tipping Point
• Sum41 – Chuck (I know I know, but some of it is pretty heavy, so I won’t apologize)
• Killers – Hot Fuss (The Duran Duran-y stuff is good, the Strokes-y stuff not so much)
• Megadeth – The System Has Failed
• Jem – Finally Woken (I’m not loving it, but it’s OK)
• Jimmy Eat World – Futures (About 3/4 of a good CD)

Here is some stuff that everyone else seems to think is “boss”, but I can’t stand:

• Jet – Get Born
• Scissor Sisters
• Velvet Revolver – Contraband (Boo-urns, this CD is terrible)
• Modest Mouse – Good News blah blah blah
• Mos Def – The New Danger (Too much Black Jack Johnson, not enough Blackstar)
• Franz Ferdinand
• Stupid U2 – How to Record a Bomb Without Removing Your Sunglasses
• Eminem – Encore (A HUGE disappointment)

So please, chime in with some suggestions so I can put some new CD’s in the car, and put the Berlin, Pat Benetar, and Billy Idol Greatest Hits collections back in the archive.

I’m mad that it took me like an hour to figure out that it would work a lot better for me to add the HTML for the hit counter to the template instead of trying to make it a post.

Duh.

Over the years, I’ve found that nothing makes me more angry than having no one to blame for misfortune. Having a scapegoat or fall guy for problems just makes things more palatable. But today, I do not have that luxury.

I had my alternator replaced at the end of October. Fine, it was about due I’m sure. Then, a couple of weeks ago, the battery light started coming on again. I took it back to the shop, and the guy replaced a battery cable. Hell, he didn’t even charge me. So I was happy again. Then yesterday, I’ll be damned if the light didn’t start coming on again. So my poor car sits at the shop, waiting to be attended to in the morning.

The part that makes me mad is that I can’t really fault the mechanic. This guy has always done right by me, even doing little stuff for free on occasion. Having to diagnose problems in my line of work, I understand that it isn’t always easy and can sometimes take more than one try to hit on a solution. So I find it difficult to fault him (so far at least.) But I’m still mad. It is a major inconvenience to have the car in the shop, and having to take it multiple times is exasperating. Not to mention I now drive with one eye on the road, and the other on the battery light. So I’m mad, but I don’t have anyone to blame.

Does anyone out there want to claim responsibility for the battery problems? I’ll probably only be able to yell at you for a couple hours before my voice gives out, and I’ve never managed to hold a grudge longer than 14 years or so. A small price to pay for my piece of mind. Right?

Grrrrrr.

Who killed Lilly Kane? Where is Veronica’s mother? Does Neptune High have the most non-threatening biker gang in recorded history? Join me in the journey to find answers to these questions and more. Watch the Pilot episode of Veronica Mars tonight on UPN at 9pm. Or 3:07am in Chattanooga on WDEF. Grrrrrr.

Today’s subsection of the population that is making me angry? Customers.

Doing on-site computer service can be a challenge. Normally not because of the tech work, but because of the humans that are involved. Take this morning for example. Customer calls Friday afternoon, wants me to come out ASAP. “My network is down. I can’t work. I need you out here to fix it. Wah wah wah. Can you come this evening?” “Sure,” I reply, “but I have to bill you time and a half.” Needless to say, that statement made the problem go from Terror Alert Red to Terror Alert Blue in a blink of an eye. So I schedule a Monday morning service call, with the caveat that I will call ahead. I normally do not need do this, but this particular customer has a history of being a bit of a problem child. I come to work early, so that I can have my coffee and get my bag of tricks together, then call. No answer. I’m still waiting for a call-back almost 2 hours later. Now my schedule is totally out of whack for the rest of the day. Grrrrrr.

I think it is time for some of that tough love I hear people talk about. Except maybe without the love. I hope this customer is prepared to wait for a couple of days, because my schedule just filled up.

Don’t worry, I’ll keep sports commentary to a minimum around here, but I really needed to get this off my chest.

Die, Paul Hackett, die.

I don’t blame the Doug Brien for missing those two kicks that would have won the game, I blame the coaching staff for pulling a Marty Schottenheimer and crawling into an offensive shell instead of actually trying to gain yards and be aggressive. Because you know, a TD or 20-some-odd yard field goal might be a better alternative to a 40-some-odd yard kick in the notoriously hard to kick in Heinz Field on torn up turf in January.

I don’t really know why I’m angry about this, as it was a totally expected outcome. I’ve been telling everyone who will listen the last couple of weeks that the Jets will find some sort of way to screw it up.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “Sometimes, it is hard to be a Jets fan.”

Grrrrrr.

Yes, after just two days, I’m adding a new feature. I guess all features I add at this point are new, but I’m pretty sure that throwing “new” in front of something makes it better. Like “new” Coke. Or “new” Zealand. But I digress.

There are lots of things that make me angry. Places, objects, situations…But this “new” feature deals with people. Mostly famous people. I hesitate to use the term “celebrity” because some people are just famous for no reason. You know the kind of people I’m talking about, don’t you Paris and Nicole?

It only seemed fitting that for my inaugural selection, I chose this individual:

Yup, Oprah. “How can you hate Oprah”, you say. “She helps so many people.” Shut up. That is the beauty of hate, you don’t need a reason to do it. It is irrational anger people, and I’ve got piles of it out back. But since you asked, I’ll try and explain without getting too far into it. The constant patting herself on the back would be problem #1. I’d like to take on the challenge of trying to smack that sense of self-satisfaction right the hell out of her. How you ask? Why, by whapping her across her ugly-ass mug with each and every one of her Book Club selections. The hardcover editions. Large print. Reason #2, her misguided attempts to “help” everyone. “Everybody gets a car!” And who the hell pays the $7,000 in taxes for a shitty Pontiac. You Oprah? Didn’t think so. And the counseling? Dr. Phil? Who the hell is that helping? That fat idiot got his own show and immediately started telling people to lose weight on his plan. I’m sorry, did I miss the episode where you were prancing around stage in a Speed o showing off your six-pack? Hey dippie, here’s a plan–lose some weight your damn self. And grow some hair. Oh wait, I’m getting off topic. #3, the non-stop positivity. Hey Oprah, sometimes life IS good. But you know what, sometimes it blows. How come you never end a show with that sentiment? Be honest with the brainless masses that tune in. At least every once in a while. #4, the acting. I know she doesn’t do it often, but once would have been plenty. Seriously, stop it.

Jeez, I could go on all night, but I would hate for this to turn into some sort of rant. Let me finish by saying this: If I ever won the lottery, I would keep a full time 9-5 job just so there was no chance that I would ever be at home to stumble upon her “hour of false empowerment.”

There, now wasn’t that fun? I know I feel better. I’ll bet this isn’t the last time I vent about a famous jackass…

I owe an apology to the maintenance workers of Tennessee. Or at least the Concorde Apartments guy.

Water is now hot. Hot water = Good.

But I’m still mad that I had one cold shower. One cold shower is too damn many cold showers for my fat ass.

Grrrrrrr. Or in this case, Brrrrrr.

And I promise, all of my titles won’t be taken from Kix lyrics or song titles. Just most of them.

So there I am, at home, 9:30pm last night, ready to take a nice hot bath. I turn on the tap and…

Nothing. No water, definitely no hot water. Great. Only the cold water works.

Imagine how well I slept last night knowing that I had to take a freezing cold shower in the morning. And of course, the water was even colder than I would have ever thought. Yikes. I’ve taken a cold shower or two in my day, had a dip in an icy cold stream while camping and all that. But this water was butt-cold. I’m guessing that I managed to get about 40 – 60% clean before I gave it up.

The apartment manager was apologetic. Uh huh. The maintenance guy is gonna get right on it. Yeah.

Who wants to bet that I still don’t have hot water when I get home from work?

OK, I’ve already taken grief from several of my “friends” about this subject. But that is OK, because I know I’m right. As usual. So listen up and do as I say:

Watch Veronica Mars.

Really. Yes I’m serious. Stop laughing.

1) Go find a TV
2) Find UPN (this task is considerably harder than task #1.) It is that channel that you never watch. Probably next to TBN or QVC on your cable.
3) Watch Tuesdays @ 9pm, or if you live in Chattanooga, Wednesday @ 3:07am on Channel 12, which is NOT a UPN station, because Chattanooga doesn’t have a UPN station. See, it is stuff like this that makes me angry.

Why do I bring this up now? Well, I just started the blog that is why. Jeez, you people are dumb, and you ask too many questions. The OTHER reason I bring this up now is that UPN is airing the absolutely brilliant Pilot episode next week. The amount of stuff that is packed into that 1 hour episode must been seen for you to believe. But believe you will.

If you see this episode and are desperate to catch up, check out this site for summaries. And when you are hopelessly addicted to this show, I want some DAP. I live for dap.

Still need convincing? Try this: