Hmm, let's see which is nicer:

ANN ARBOR, MI


ALPHARETTA, GA


REDMOND, WA

Only in Michigan is a 26 degree temperature drop normal!

Refused are everything Rage Against the Machine wanted to be.

Deadly Sins

ANGER
1. Who did you last get angry with? I guess I would have to say Chris Payne. He was acting very out of character last Saturday night.
2. What is your weapon of choice? First choice is words, second choice is the fist.
3. Would you hit a member of the opposite sex? Under 99.99% of circumstances, never. The only reason I would ever hit a female would be to protect someone. In all reality, I would probalby just hold them back if possible.
4. How about of the same sex? Of course I would rail on a dude. Dudes are made to be hit.
5. Who was the last person who got really angry at you? Jamie. Kids say the darndest things.
6. What is your pet peeve? When people bite their fork. It sounds like nails on a chalkboard and it seems so trashy.
7. Do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily? It depends on who it is against. If it is with someone I am close to, it is usually quickly resolved. Against someone I do not know well or do not like, it can last indefinitely.

SLOTH
1. What is one thing you're supposed to do daily that you haven't done in a long time? Use my teeth whitener. All those years of drinking nothing but coffee and Diet Coke did a number on them.
2. What is the latest you've ever woken up? 5 PM. I once pulled an all nighter and ended up going to bed around noon.
3. Name a person you've been meaning to contact, but haven't? Hmm, my maternal grandmother.
4. What is the last lame excuse you made? Not really an excuse, but just tonight Megan and I were at Borders. There was a book called Why Paint Cats (yes, it's as weird as it sounds). She actually bought a book called Why Cats Paint for her dad, so I said that this must be a sequel thus she must buy it.
5. Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through (one of the long ones...)? Never. I don't watch TV, other than 24.
6. How many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock today? I didn't. I don't need an alarm clock anymore. When I quit drinking caffeine, my sleep requirements went from 8.5 hours a night to just about 5 hours a night.
7. How many times have you skipped work/classes this month? Since I have a completely flexible work schedule, I cannot techincally skip work. I think I've skipped two classes total.

GLUTTONY
1. What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice? SoBe green tea... drool...
2. Meat eaters: white meat or dark meat? White meat.
3. What is the greatest amount of alcohol you've had in one sitting/outing/event? Probably about 14 drinks in a single evening.
4. What's the most you've ever weighed? 188, the weight I am at now. Ever since I started working out almost every day, I've gained about 10 pounds. Hopefully I've actually lost some fat and gained more than 10 pounds in muscle.
5. What have you eaten so far today? Breakfast was a bowl of cereal, a bagel and a can of mixed fruit. Lunch was a veggie sub from Jimmy John's. Afternoon snack was crackers with peanut butter and jelly. Dinner was another sub, this time a ham one from Potbelly. I am sure I will eat the equivalent of another meal before I go to bed. Working out has dramatically increased my metabolism.
6. When was the last time you ate so much you felt sick? The last time I got two subs from Jimmy John's after working out. My stomach couldn't handle it, but my body was craving nutrients.
7. When was the last time you got drunk to the point of throwing up? That time I had 14 drinks in an evening. Playing poker with the guys and going shot for shot isn't a good call.

LUST
1. How many people have you seen naked (not counting movies/family)? 3 plus naked mile plus however many people were on the wrestling and football teams in high school
2. How many people have seen YOU naked (not counting physicians/family)? 3 plus the teams
3. Have you ever caught yourself staring at the chest/crotch of a member of your gender of choice during a normal conversation? Yes.
4. Have you "done it"? Yes.
5. What is your favorite body part on a person of your gender of choice? Eyes.
6. Have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute? No.
7. Have you ever had to get tested for an STD or pregnancy? No.

GREED
1. How many credit cards do you own? I personally have 2 in my name and then there is a card that is a joint account of myself and my aunt and a debit card.
2. What's your guilty pleasure store? I guess J. Crew.
3. If you had $1 million, what would you do with it? I would move out of my crappy apartment, buy a few cars and try to invest the rest.
4. Would you rather be rich, or famous? Rich. Being famous is pointless.
5. Would you accept a boring job if it meant you would make megabucks? Aren't all jobs inherently boring to some degree?
6. Have you ever stolen anything? Yes. I vividly remember taking Vaseline lip balm when I was 6.
7. How many MP3s are on your hard drive? Currently, 3,898.

PRIDE
1. What one thing have you done that you're most proud of? I am not really proud of anything yet. I will find pride when I have a happy, stable family.
2. What one thing have you done that your parents are most proud of? Anything academic. They've been proud of me so far in all aspects though.
3. What thing would you like to accomplish in your life? Other than the happy, stable family, I would like to make some lasting contribution to whatever field I end up working in.
4. Do you get annoyed by coming in second place? Of course! I am more competitive than almost anyone I know.
5. Have you ever entered a contest of skill, knowing you were of much higher skill than all the other competitors? Again, of course. It's so easy to crush people that way, and crushing makes me feel whole.
6. Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score? Of course.
7. What did you do today that you're proud of? I set a new max on my bench press. I'm only at 250 pounds though.

ENVY
1. What item (or person) of your friends would you most want to have for your own? Currently, Zig's car would be nice. I want something faster though.
2. Who would you want to go on "Trading Spaces" with? Kristin Happ, since she is the only person I know that watches that show more than my parents.
3. If you could be anyone else in the world, who would you be? No one.
4. Have you ever been cheated on? Actually, I don't know. I may have been cheated on with two different girls, but I have no proof.
5. Have you ever wished you had a physical feature different from your own? Yes, I wish my skin was clearer and I was less hairy.
6. What inborn trait do you see in others that you wish you had for yourself? Complete confidence.

Today while I was working out at the CCRB, a girl actually hit on me. This has happened maybe three times in my entire life. Here are the details: The wrestling mats were laid out in the martial arts room because a session of aikido had just concluded. I had just finished my cardio and lifting and was walking around a bit to cool down. When I saw the mats, I decided to do some of my wrestling rolls just as a cool down. I started off walking on my hands because that was the most fun and was the most strenuous. A girl that was stretching at the end of the room started watching me. I ignored it, since she was just watching because who walks on their hands? Thirty seconds later, she came up to me and asked if she could join me.

At this point, I was a bit confused. I hadn't been hit on in a very long time so I didn't know what to do and I also have a very serious girlfriend. I didn't want to blow this girl off just for the sake of being rude, but I couldn't lead her on in any way. Anyway, I said of course she could join me and she asked if I did gymnastics. I explained that I used to walk on my hands when I wrestled in high school. She asked if I wrestled for Michigan and I just laughed. We introduced ourselves and she then said that she does hand stands because she used to do gymnastics in school and that now she likes to breakdance. She started to show off by walking on her hands and then doing single handed dismounts. At this point, I either had to commit or bail. Instead of committing by asking about her dancing, I simply said that I had to get going. She laughed out of obvious nervousness, probably because she didn't want me to leave. I simply grabbed my water bottle and headphones and ended that encounter.

Leah will be in Miami from now until Sunday. Sigh. I should have time to fill in that survey soon.

I will fill in this survey later today.
Deadly Sins

ANGER
1. Who did you last get angry with?
2. What is your weapon of choice?
3. Would you hit a member of the opposite sex?
4. How about of the same sex?
5. Who was the last person who got really angry at you?
6. What is your pet peeve?
7. Do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily?

SLOTH
1. What is one thing you're supposed to do daily that you haven't done in a long time?
2. What is the latest you've ever woken up?
3. Name a person you've been meaning to contact, but haven't:
4. What is the last lame excuse you made?
5. Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through (one of the long ones...)?
6. How many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock today?
7. How many times have you skipped work/classes this month?

GLUTTONY
1. What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice?
2. Meat eaters: white meat or dark meat?
3. What is the greatest amount of alcohol you've had in one sitting/outing/event?
4. What's the most you've ever weighed?
5. What have you eaten so far today?
6. When was the last time you ate so much you felt sick?
7. When was the last time you got drunk to the point of throwing up?

LUST
1. How many people have you seen naked (not counting movies/family)?
2. How many people have seen YOU naked (not counting physicians/family)?
3. Have you ever caught yourself staring at the chest/crotch of a member of your gender of choice during a normal conversation?
4. Have you "done it"?
5. What is your favorite body part on a person of your gender of choice?
6. Have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute?
7. Have you ever had to get tested for an STD or pregnancy?

GREED
1. How many credit cards do you own?
2. What's your guilty pleasure store?
3. If you had $1 million, what would you do with it?
4. Would you rather be rich, or famous?
5. Would you accept a boring job if it meant you would make megabucks?
6. Have you ever stolen anything?
7. How many MP3s are on your hard drive?

PRIDE
1. What one thing have you done that you're most proud of?
2. What one thing have you done that your parents are most proud of?
3. What thing would you like to accomplish in your life?
4. Do you get annoyed by coming in second place?
5. Have you ever entered a contest of skill, knowing you were of much higher skill than all the other competitors?
6. Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score?
7. What did you do today that you're proud of?

ENVY
1. What item (or person) of your friends would you most want to have for your own?
2. Who would you want to go on "Trading Spaces" with?
3. If you could be anyone else in the world, who would you be?
4. Have you ever been cheated on?
5. Have you ever wished you had a physical feature different from your own?
6. What inborn trait do you see in others that you wish you had for yourself?

There are enough MP3s on my computer to listen for over a week straight and never hear the same song twice. Winamp says 183 hours, 14 minutes and 1 second worth of musical goodness is available. Since it is all on Kazaa, it is available.

If you have a second, do a search for my last name in Kazaa. Over 259 files showed up all because I embedded my name in the ID3 tag of some MP3s I ripped. These songs were ripped my freshman year of college and then placed on my FTP server. At the peak, this server got over 100,000 hits in a single weekend. It's fun to see that my files have spread across the globe.

When I get older and I own a home, I will have a personal library. I'm not talking about a den that has a large shelf of books. I'm talking about a room devoted solely to housing books. If my (or my wife's) affluence accounts for it, the books will all be bound in the same color and style (not necessarily leather).

The waters choppy, but it doesn't cut me, no
'Cause I ain't sinkin', no I ain't goin down below
I don't think that way, you know I never have
Well I cant slow down now just because you lag

You're always pulling, keep on trying to bring me down
I'm going to show you that I don't like to fuck around
You show your face and I'll look the other way
You blink your eyes and you've got no friends to play

Pick up the slack
I won't carry your monkey on my back
Save the world
Got no time, I've got to save myself today

I've got a mission to fulfill the things in life
I've got a lot of things to see before I live to die
All this negativity tries to bring me down
As you get worse, I turn my life around

Death By Stereo - Looking Out For Number One

Just so that everyone knows and that I do not forget, Eric is playing at the Blind Pig on April 1st, 2003. Also, it's a shame that I already have two sets of plans for this upcoming Friday because Athletic Mic League is going to be at the Pig.

Benadryl = bad.

I've been taking Claritin for years now, at least since high school. Just recently, they came out with an over-the-counter form of Claritin. Now my health insurance doesn't cover perscriptions to Claritin and the OTC version costs $13 for ten doses! When my prescription to Claritin had run out at school and I needed something to tide me over until I made it to the doctor next, I would just get an off-brand antihistamine/decongestant.

When I went to the store to pick some up, they were all out so I decided to try the Benadryl version. Not at good call at all! Some people take Benadryl just as a sleep aid and now I know why. I took two in the past few days and my sleep needs have gone up at least 25%. I even fell asleep in the car when Leah's mom was driving us back to Ann Arbor! I had to take a nap from noon until 2 PM today even though I got more than my normal amount of sleep last night. Does anyone need a sleep aid? I'm not taking anymore of these.

I am definitely not a big fan of Star Trek, but I've been known to watch quite a bit of The Next Generation and some Deep Space Nine. Slashdot had an article about Enterprise and how Rick Berman is going to try to salvage it. The discussion about this article ranged from how Berman needs to be executed to reasoning why the first series were much better. Out of the blue comes this comment. It is an idea for a new Star Trek show. The basic premise is of a cadre of special ops members of the Federation that take care of the dirty work. Read the comment. If it was shot in a dark, plodding, almost psycho manner, it could be a hit. If it turns into another wild cowboy show, it could fail.