Blow out the shot before you drink it! Sheesh.

I love a good zombie movie. And this looks like a good zombie movie. Romero knows zombies, that much is certain.

Apparently toads have been exploding in Germany. Imagine walking down the street, seeing a toad and having it explode next to you. I'm not quite sure how I'd react.

I realized today that I could not in good conscience work at a Dunkin' Donuts in this area. The caps that they're wearing now? They're all New York Yankees caps. Yuck.

Mind you, I'll still get my coffee there. It's too delicious.

In other news...er...apparently Tom Cruise is dating Katie Holmes. Yes, that Tom Cruise and that Katie Holmes. Bizarre.

I managed to snap a shot of one of the groundhogs living on our campus. This guy actually let me get within about 2 feet of him without running away. I didn't make any sudden moves or anything and at one point, he was just kind of staring at me. I think he might have been just about as interested in me as I was in him. Yeah, I know, I'm a dork. It was neat to be able to get so close to take such a good snapshot, though. Plus it was handy to actually have my cameraphone at the same time. :P

Check out this site and tell me that's not a fascinating way to take pictures. I'd love to snag that technology to even just take pictures of the rooms in my apartment, but I suppose that would be a bit pricey and frivolous.

For those of you who knew that I had a meeting that I was rather...er...reluctant to attend this morning, concerning a recent policy change that I was forced to make involving my department and equipment, it actually went rather well. I think the all of the pertinent problems were addressed and while all the members of this meeting may not have necessarily agreed with my methods for enacting the policy change, they understand my intentions behind them. Simply put, it lit a much-needed fire under everyone's ass. And things are going to change...finally. I actually have some backing and support for once at this place.

The frustrating thing, however, is that the problems raised by others at the meeting are the very problems that I've been attempting to bring to the administration and 'upper management' levels for years now...and were ignored repeatedly. It took me doing something drastic to finally get noticed. That really shouldn't be the way any place of business works and especially not a university.

Hopefully this will simply spell the beginning of a less-complicated working life for me...not necessarily easier (since it wouldn't be work if it was easy), but more efficient and fostering a better working relationship with the faculty here.

Of course, I could also hope to win the lottery or sprout wings and fly around the parking lot. Sometimes I feel like those are just as likely to occur as an efficient and hospitable working environment here.

Opera 8 Final has been released. Go get it now. This, I command!

The Garbage show last night was great. I'm trying to remember all the songs that were played, not in any particular order: Queer, Vow, Supervixen, Only Happy When It Rains, Stupid Girl, When I Grow Up, I Think I'm Paranoid, Push It, Bad Boyfriend, Why Do You Love Me, Bleed Like Me and at least one other song from the new album (can't remember the song name though). We didn't stick around for the encore, which mean we just barely made the 10:39 train back to Jersey. It's not that I wouldn't want to stay for the encore - Garbage is easily one of my all-time fave bands and this is the second time I've been able to see them - I just haven't been up for encores at shows lately. Probably a sign that I'm getting old and my legs can't handle standing up for a whole show like they used to.

In any case, the show was awesome and Shirley sounded and looked great (don't slap me, Danielle!). Duke was styling in a suit, tie and sunglasses and almost stole the show from Shirley. Heh. And of course, Butch and Steve kicked ass as usual. Great, great show.

I would have had some pictures, but I would have needed to get a hell of a lot closer to the stage to get anything clear...and these days, I don't venture into the sweaty masses all that often.

Now I'm just trying to stay awake at work. Reminds me why I don't pull these weeknight shows too often...

Apparently the cows are plotting to take over or something. Frankly, I think it might just be a good idea to submit to our cow masters now. It'll just save us a whole bunch of heartbreak later. Moo-oooo to them!

The news broke that Adobe is buying Macromedia for $3.4 billion. If this means more compatibility between the programs I love to use, I won't complain at all.

I just came into possession of a couple tickets to see Garbage at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC tomorrow night, so to that I say, woo hoo! Danielle's gonna come with me, so it should be a good time. Plus, we got new cameraphones yesterday, which means I might be able to take some neato pics of the show. If I snap any good ones, I'll post 'em up here tomorrow.

Anonymous male student on cell phone, speaking to his mother about his apparent lack of funds:

"What do you want me to do? I'm not gonna take one of those shit jobs like Rite Aid that you keep sending me."

All I have to say to that is...what a spoiled, arrogant and unappreciative little bastard. He probably wants money for a keg every other night of the week while his parents are likely spending a fortune on his schooling and he can't be bothered to get a job, even if it's somewhere like Rite Aid. Everyone's looking for a handout.

Meanwhile, I've been working full-time jobs since I was 16. It's no wonder I have such disdain for spoiled brats like that anonymous student.

It's strange, some of the sites I find myself drawn to. But this Elevator Moods one is pretty damn neat. I rather like Number 2, 'The Misanthrope' the best. That would totally be me if I had the balls to just push people out of the elevator.

Best forklift safety video EVER.

I think I'm subconsciously growing a playoff beard, despite the fact that there won't be any NHL playoffs. They would have been starting soon too. It's depressing. I'll have to shave eventually, it's not as though I'm making any sort of big statement by not doing it.

I had an odd series of dreams last night, the most prominent one centering around me apparently being part of a musical at my school. When I came out for the final bow, there was such a wonderous thunder of applause. I've never experienced anything like that, it was strange, but not totally unwelcome. I felt a little bit disappointed when I woke up since that whole feeling of accomplishment was just a dream. Something else I remember from my dreams last night...I actually willed myself to wake up at one point and I haven't been able to do that in years. I was at a set of double doors somewhere and realized within the dream that it was a dream. At the point, I just decided to wake myself up...and did. Neat.

And finally...this is the game room I've always dreamed of. I can't even fathom how much money is invested in...well, everything in that room. Wow.

I'm waiting to leave work so I can order dinner. On Danielle's suggestion (and I had actually been considering it before she suggested it, but she clinched it), I'm having Chinese for dinner. But I'm going to go a little different with my order this time. Usually I just go for familiarity and get Sweet & Sour chicken, General Tso's Chicken or the occasional Beef Egg Foo Young. This time, I'm trying out Orange Chicken to see if I like it.

Of course, I'm not placing all my hopes on that dish...I'm getting Egg Drop Soup and some Scallion Pancakes as well.

Damn it, stupid clock, move faster!

Ooooh, I'm so happy with my new Ultra Magnus. I'm truly reveling in my geekdom right now.

Wow...I just realized that I haven't posted anything here since last Thursday. How uncharacteristic of me. To make up for that, I shall treat you to some unintentionally sexual comic book covers.

I swear, I try and assert some authority around my job and suddenly people start turning into children. Well, that's not totally correct. Someone of them have been acting like children ever since they got to this school. Now, they're acting like whining infants who can't have their bottle anymore.

I tried to be nice with the rules. I tried to accomodate everyone. And over and over again, the faculty here prove that they are simply incapable of following rules or being trusted. If a student behaved in such a fashion on such a consistent basis, they'd be failed or worse yet, kicked out of class.

They had their chance to behave and they blew it, time and time again. Now, these are the consequences. Deal with it.

Ever wanted to have a piece of clothing or a handbag or a cover for your digital accessories that felt and looked like human skin? No? Really? You sure? Because you can find all of that and more at Skinbag.net!

Yeah, perusing through that site made me a little nauseous. I need to lie down somewhere.

After my visit to the optometrist, I think I've finally found the cause of my eye redness problems over the past few years. It's something called 'Blepharitis', which basically translates to dandruff of the eyelashes, as told by my doctor. Sounds weird, but it's the only thing that makes sense. It isn't conjuctivitis, because it occurs every month and a half or so and conjunctivitis simply doesn't occur that frequently. The doctor also told me that my eyesight is absolutely perfect, so nothing wrong there either. My solution? I just need to wash my eyelids and eyelashes every day with baby shampoo. Easy enough. We'll see how it works.

From his blog at ESPN.com, Bill Simmons has captured the tone of the Yankees "faithful" oh so well:

"THE BRONX (April 6) -- Major League Baseball on Wednesday set April 8 as the date for the historic start of the conclave to elect a successor to Mariano Rivera, as the Yankees made final arrangements for the funeral of a great career that is expected to draw millions of Yankee fans and world leaders to the Bronx.

The decision came after the future Hall of Famer blew his second save in as many days against the team's biggest rival, the World Champion Red Sox, giving up five runs in the ninth, getting battered like a rented mule and ignominiously getting removed from the game in the middle of the inning, the fourth consecutive time he has blown a save to the Red Sox dating back to the 2004 ALCS. Fans at Yankee Stadium even booed the great closer on his way back to the dugout, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Yankee fans are headed to hell."

Check out the whole post here, it's great.

Okay, I like the old drug propaganda films as much as the next guy, but I really don't know what I think about this. However, if they keep the scene with the guy getting run over by the pot-crazed maniac driving a car, I'll support it.

Ahh, this was an excellent ad to see at the top of The Onion today:

Today, while pushing a monitor into a classroom, I inadvertently discovered what 'JVC' stands for. Apparently it's the Victor Company of Japan. I never knew that before.

Yes, this is how exciting my life is. Quiet, you.

One thing I really appreciate about my coffee maker, especially now that I figured out that whole leaking thing, is the fact that I have an operating manual with it. Now ordinarily, this isn't a necessary thing for me. I can usually muddle through just about any kind of technology without any significant problems, but the one thing I've always had problems with is making a partial pot of coffee. I always knew the approximate amount of coffee to dump into the filter for a full cup, but what if I only want 2 cups? Or 4 cups? I'm not the kind that is likely to go through trial and error for something like that, so I'd always just make a full pot and reheat the thing on the second day, trying to kill off the pot. But with this manual, it actually gives me the proper amounts of coffee for such partial pots. And with that, I'm off to have some more coffee...but not a whole pot's worth. Toodles.

Another weekend like this and I swear, I'm going to start sending out resumes. This school is absolutely fucking ridiculous. I've seen nursery schools better run than this place.

I shant even try to explain it, but I love a good April Fool's gag. Check out these three comics and you'll see what I mean.