code monkey

Testing...

2010-09-14T13:50:00.001-07:00

Testing...
Originally uploaded by bugbiteme

1.2.3.

2010-06-02T18:21:00.001-07:00

I've been meaning to post more candid shots from Mazatlan, but for some reason I keep leaving my phone back in the room. Just close your eyes and visualize me, constantly shirtless, in speedos, wearing a big straw hat and my trade-mark aviator shades, guzzeling mass quantities of Patron at Senior Frogs while house music constantly thumps in the background, along with the rising chants of "go go go" from a crowd as I down a beer-bong after beer-bong of Pacifico in record time. I'll visualize you, bored at work, checking Facebook, waiting for the clock to hit 5 so you can go home and watch some Television.

Blog Blog Get-a-blog I Got a Blog OOOweeeeOOO-OOOOOO!

2010-05-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

I've been so obsessed with the Beach Boys lately. It's been ridiculous.

"Beach Boys? HUH?"

That's usually the response I get when I bring this up. It's also the response I used to give. I never even bothered to listen to Pet Sounds when it got popular again in the late 90's or gave Brian Wilson's SMiLE a chance when he finally finished it in 2004, since I figure the Beach Boys would always be a cliché. I don't really regret waiting so long to get into my Beach Boys phase, since I have always been into uncovering old gems when current music gets boring, revisiting the past, making old bands and music trends part of my foundation. It was only a matter of time before Beach Boys came into the mix.

So many people blow them off, since they were never perceived to be much more than a "fun in the sun with pretty girls in your car on your surfboard" kind of band, only to be knocked out of relevance by the British Invasion of the mid 60's. But yes, I did love "Surfin' USA" and "California Girls" when I was a kid. What child with baby-boomer parents from LA/OC didn't?

Anyhow, the Beach Boys are blowing my mind right now. It all started when Baby Grand was invited to play a Beach Boys tribute show at Old Ironsides (which will be happening on June 20th, btw). When trying to decide what songs to cover, I let the band know that I really didn't care what songs we did, but I had one request, which was to do the unreleased version of Fallin' in Love (Lady). I originally discovered the song a few years ago when listening to my iPod on shuffle and a version of the song came on. It was a cover done by Sambassadeur and it's great. I thought it was an original, but I later found out it was a cover of a song by Dennis Wilson. I later found the unreleased Beach Boys version of the song and it rocks....especially to a sappy guy like me. Anyhow, we all got together one Sunday afternoon and started playing each other possible songs to cover. The rest of my band mates were playing all these beach Boys tunes that I had never even heard before that were blowing my mind. Cory burned a DVD of most of the Beach Boys catalog for me which sent me off the deep end (the DVD is missing MIU Album and L.A...CORY!!!). I've been trying to spend a week or two on each album. I also checked out The Dennis Wilson biography from the library which has caused me to never look at the Beach Boys the same again.

I can't get enough right now! It's driving Niki crazy.

Here are some of my favorite tracks that are in heavy rotation at the moment:

This one is really moody, but I love it:

This will lift you up after the last one:

First Real Post in Like 2 Flippin' Years (or) How Facebook Killed the Blogger in me

2010-04-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

(update** fixed some formatting issues)

Seriously, WTF happened?

One day I'm going on and on about how much fun I had trying delicious brew and food at the Sierra Nevada brewery, next thing you know...poof... nuthin'.

I've come to realized that Facebook is to blame and I apologize. I fought off the urge to sign up for years, worrying about my privacy, or not wanting to plague the world with vague snippets of my life that come into my head throughout the day:

Leon is what a ho hum day *sigh*

Oh yeah? Could you please elaborate? If not, why the fuck did you post that to begin with?

After enough poking and prodding from some friends who use Facebook, I finally caved in, and for the last two years I've been lurking, liking, being vague, following, but really not saying much. It was cool with a few friends, but now I got family, coworkers and long lost high school acquaintances in my list of "friends" and FB is beginning to creep me out. I've even had weird anxiety dreams about it.

I find that I can easily offend people even more so on Facebook than here with my reactionary quips. Here I can at least explain myself and make a funny story out of it. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be won over in the end...most of the time.

Facebook does come in handy at times, for instance, the Mrs and I are planning a weekend getaway that involves visiting one of my favorite breweries in Santa Rosa. Besides drinking cold frosty brew, I wanted to see if the area had more to offer. I hadn't a clue. All I had to do was post "what is there to do in Santa Rosa?" on my status, and before I knew it, blam, I had my whole weekend planned out for me thanks to a handful of helpful individuals: some friends, some acquaintance as well as some people who I haven't talked to in person for 10 plus years who I probably wouldn't say much to if I actually did see them in person. It was great!

So anyhow, time to dust off the ol' keyboard and get back at the ol' blog. I hope all three or four of you will enjoy it...and please...send all hate mail to my actuall email account, not through Facebook. Thanks.

2010-04-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

Anyone out there?!?!?!?!

Is anyone watching? Should I revive this blog?

2008-12-29T14:35:00.000-08:00

Sierra Nevada Brewery

This Sunday Niki and I drove all the way up to Chico to finally check out the legendary Sierra Nevada brewery in person

We showed up way early before the tour, so we decided to taste the taps...all 16 of them!

Sierra Nevada sells around 6 different beers in stores (including seasonals), but they brew about 16 total at any given time that you can sample all at once in their taproom. The glasses were way too small, making it hard for the beer to stay cold. I found out that the flagship Pale Ale is made slightly different between the bottled and the on-tap version. Both versions are included in the sampler.

We settled on the Ruthless Weiss Beer, which was a delicious "Begian white" style ale.

One thing I found out during the tour is that all of the Sierra Nevada bottled beers are bottle-conditioned (naturally fermented)!

2008-12-22T21:10:00.001-08:00

Super good latkes
Originally uploaded by bugbiteme

This is the second year I've made these, and they are a hit. I may try to make a vegan version again this week. The above latkes are the real deal though!

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups potato, cubed
* 3 smaller russet potatoes, peeled and shredded
* 1 onion, shredded
* 2 eggs
* 3 tablespoons matzo meal
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 6 tablespoons vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and mash.
2. In a medium bowl, mix shredded Yukon Gold potatoes, mashed potatoes and onion. Add in eggs, matzo meal and salt; mix well.
3. Feel consistency of the dough; mixture should hold together without being sticky. If it sticks to your hands, add more matzo meal until dough is no longer sticky.
4. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm enough oil or butter or margarine to cover 1/4 inch of the skillet.
5. When hot, drop mixture by heaping tablespoon to oil; flatten with a spatula and cook on both sides until golden brown. Serve.

2008-12-21T01:34:00.000-08:00

Peace + Love...all of the above

Happy Hanukkah!

2008-09-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

Baby Grand on KXJZ (90.9) today at 2pm PST

Well, Gerri from Baby Grand anyway.
link to KXJZ

Tight!!!

2008-09-15T13:48:00.001-07:00

Beer

Since I used to rant and rave about Belgium beers a while ago, I have been pigeonholed as the Belgium beer guy, but let it be known, I have moved on.

The main reason I got into Belgium ale was because it was so different and had interesting flavors. Just like when I was into English ales. Now I can hardly stand either. (When is Soul Jazz Records going to put that Belgian Funk compilation out?)

Traveling abroad, you find that people in other countries like the beer that is locally brewed, and you get funny looks when you try to be the International Douche Bag Bank of Beer Knowledge Expertise Specialist Pro know-it-all.

I've gone to Germany twice now, and as generic as it may seem, I like German beer the best when it comes to imported brew. The best brand is Hacker-Pschorr, and every variety I've tasted by them is really fresh and good... The Bon Lair carries Hacker-Pschorr during Oktoberfest season and I highly recommend getting some when they have it. I have even better news though... Sacramento's #1 beer store (the A&P) carries a bunch of Hacker-Pschorr varieties year-round!

For my "local" beer, I really enjoy a California/American brewed IPA. Skip the Sierra Nevada PA if you can help it. Laguinita's is the next step up, but can be inconsistent (sometimes great or not). Racer 5 IPA has the lamest label, but is probably one of the best I've had in a bottle. Brew-It-Up's Captain Ron's IPA is delish, but can give you a massive headache the next day. A good Colorado brewed IPA is by the Flying Dog Brewing Company.

2008-08-12T09:07:00.001-07:00

Wasps are Dicks

For the past few weeks I have been seeing the occasional wasp floating about in my back yard. I figured they are part of life, and just happen to be passing through, hanging out in my lush back yard, because, well, it's just kinda nice to hang out back there.

Yesterday when I got home from work, Niki informed me that she found a wasp nest under one of the rails on our back porch. Holy crap dude! She was actually chased down by a few. Luckily I was already equipped with a can of Raid wasp killa spray, so I went into action, thirsty for wasp blood.

"I see you fuckers....BLAM!!!!"

One shot fired... I could see the wasps were pissed, yet they didn't know what the fuck just happened, so I went inside for a bit to let the mass dying commence while I sipped on a cool, refreshing ice-water. I didn't want any of those dudes trying to retaliate on my ass.

About ten minutes later I went out to check on the damage, and there was a pile of wasps and wasp pupa on the porch right below where I had sprayed. They all looked pathetic, gasping for their last breath. I started feeling bad for what I had done, but then I reminded myself that wasps are dicks.

2008-07-31T08:06:00.000-07:00

Feeling Nostalgic

The music was way better, the food tasted better, people were nicer to each other while meadowlarks fluttered about...or something, right?

(forget the fact that I was stressed out over money all the time, my family was a bit f-ed up, the constant anguish over females caused by hormones, hating school, etc...I just block that stuff out)

Lately though, I've been feeling nostalgia for some of the music I listened to as a kid throughout my teens. That was pretty much all I had (well, at the time, that was all I thought I had). What triggered all of this nostalgia? Well, recently I stumbled upon this amazing torrent which pretty much covers every song I liked during that time period.

After making a "best of" comp of all these songs and feeling more and more nostalgia (sorry, I lost my thesaurus), I decided to finally read one of those 33 1/3 books about one of my favorite albums of all time, which is A Tribe Called Quest's "People's Instinctive Travels And the Paths of Rhythm"....terrible title, but fitting for that time, and a terrible book by the way, well not that bad. I had gotten the book a while ago and it has been gathering dust ever since, but now I felt like it was the right time to read it. I had never read any books from that series before, and I was hoping for some insight on the writing and recording process of the album more than anything else, but the book is more about one guy's trip down memory lane, when he was a teenager, and music was better, food tasted better..etc.. so this book doesn't really cover the technical aspects of the album, it is a book about nostalgia.

The book is more or less a shrine to the album, digging back to when the author was an awkward teenager with a fucked up home-life, and music was all he had..etc... and even digs back to his teenage journal when he wrote about listening to the album for the first time. Talk about a trip down memory lane...did it really come out 18+ years ago?!?!?!

Shheeesh I'm getting old...but thank god (or whoever) that I'm no longer a teenager.

2008-07-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

heckafun

Last night's English Singles/June Brides/Baby Grand show was probably the most fun I've had at a show in a long time.

English singles are the best band in Sac, and definitely my favorite Smiller inception since Nar.

Sacramento got props for being better than Portland by the touring act...

I got to play with the June Brides!

Baby Grand REMIXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!!!!!

2008-07-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

June Brides in July!

OK...if you go to one Baby Grand show this summer...this is the one to go to!

please please please please......

:)

Talk about a top notch show

2008-06-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

It's Official

By decree of "Sacramento's Pizza and Beer Expert", I, Mr. Leeeeeeeeeeeen Peon, do hereby, in the most solemn manner, declare that Zelda's Pizza is better than Chicago Fire Pizza. Any other claims and/or charges to state otherwise are considered false, and most likely made by consumers of carpet-cheese pizza, and fans of Pizza Hut (aka: people who's opinion on food does not contain any credibility)

Last night I finally did a direct comparison between the two pizza establishments and ordered what Niki and I commonly refer to as the "Trifecta" or "Tri-Force" (mush.ol.garl). We order it just about every time we go to Zelda's, but this time we decided to go with Chicago Fire Pizza. I get hungry just thinking about it. It was good, but not as good as Zelda's. The crust wasn't as flaky, and I could not distinguish any garlic added from what was already included in the sauce. I think Zelda's sauce is a bit better (even though it can be inconsistent), and Chicago Fire doesn't have the 4 dollar pitchers of cheap, summer-time beer.

Don't get me wrong. I love Chicago Fire's stuffed and thin crust pizza, but I consider them entirely different entities than deep dish. CFP is also good in that they take credit cards.

I know some of you will disagree. Those of you who do, please refer to the first paragraph of this posting.

2008-06-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

Blogging from my iPod

In Las Vegas

Working at a conference

Dressed like a dweeb

(not a haiku)

2008-05-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

I Can't Drive/Pay....FIFTYFIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!

So after filling up my gas tank last time for $55, I decided to try something new....

Drive the speed limit

First of all, I was amazed at how fast people drive on the freeway. I did my best to stay out of people's way, but even in th far-right lane people would constantly tailgate.

The 'ol "spray-tailgater-with-windshield-wiper-fluid" trick seemed to get them to back off. All of this spraying made me think of my current favorite Nintendo game.

Second thing... I actually got wayyyyyyy better gas mileage. I usually never go less than 80 mph on the freeway, so going the speed-limit actually made a big impact on my mpg. I usually get 335-345 miles on a tank of gas, driving like grandma got me 370 miles!

That adds up!

2008-03-20T20:09:00.001-07:00

Culinary Genius pt2: Easter Ice Cream

Cream Eggs

Naked

Vanilla ice cream ingredients

Borrow an ice cream maker from one of your friends

Make vanilla ice cream

+ Cream Eggs

mix

Let everything set

Eat!!!

2008-02-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

The Case of the Non-disappearing Armoire
or
Is the Sacramento Tree Foundation Wasting Money?
or
Just Take the Damn Armoire Already!!!

The armoire Niki and I sold on craigslist is no where near as nice as the armoire depicted in the picture above, however, it wasn't ugly, just a bit unstable with a couple minor dings, yet still functional. All information was disclosed in the craigslist posting.

Niki handled listing it and dealing with potential customers, so I'm sure she could give a better account than I, but seriously, what is wrong with people?

caller number 1: "I see you are listing the armoire for $50. How about I give you $30 for it...oh and by the way... I don't have a truck, so you need to deliver it to me"

No thanks...NEXT!

caller number 2: "I'll take it. I'll be by Sunday at 1"

1 pm rolls around, dude never comes by...

caller number 2: "Sorry I couldn't make it, I'll come by Monday at 5 to get it"

OK...

5 pm comes and goes, but the armoire stays.

5:30 caller emails us via his blackberry

"Sorry. I couldn't find your place. I need to pick up my wife from work but I'll be by at 6:30"

OK. (are you serious?)...

6:30

me to Niki: "Where is this guy?"

Niki: "Let me call him"

Niki calls dude

caller number 2: "I've been driving all over RIO LINDA and I can't find your place!"

That's because you are in Rio Linda dumb-ass. Thanks but no thanks. Next!

caller number 3: "Can I come by tonight?"

Sure

(caller arrives...with a compact car)

"Ooooh. I'll take it! I'll be by tomorrow with my boyfriend's truck to pick it up"

We never hear from her again.

At least two more people email Niki and ask if we still have the armoire.

"Yes we do! Do you want it?"

no response...

Finally a serious buyer representing the Sacramento Tree Foundation comes to take a look at the armoire. Maybe for their office or something.

"Here is $50 in cash. We'll take it, but we will have to pick it up tomorrow"

...It's been sitting in our house for a week now...

At least we have the money.

sigh

***Update***

They finally came and got it!

2008-02-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

Excess Ain't Rebellion...

For the past 5 years my 3rd generation iPod (pictured on the left) has been by my side through thick and thin. Once I started running distances longer than 4 miles I decided needed to bring something to listen to, but I soon realized the clunky guy was too big to bring along, but I definitely needed something too keep my mind off of the monotony that comes along with running laps and laps around the park. I asked Santa for an iPod shuffle, and I got one! It's the greatest for runs or short walks around town (and yard-work). The only thing I hate about it is that you can't see what you are listening to, and if you are listening to a longer pod-cast and accidentally skip to the next track, it's a pain to get back to where you left off without intervention from the computer and iTunes.

Then along came by birthday, and my loving wife got me the iPod touch. It's just like the iPhone, without the phone. As soon as I got it out of the box, I saw that look of regret in Niki's eyes (the same look she gave me after getting me a ps2 for Christmas a few year back). It instantly brought out the inner geek from within. Besides listening to music, and watching movies, and looking at pictures, and surfing the net, and checking email (via wifi) I had to find out what this thing could do ;)

So far I've been finding all kinds of applications that can do some amazing things. I love it. The only thing I hate about it is that it's so fragile, and after you've blown your wad of cash buying the dang thing, you spew another load of cash on products designed to prevent it from getting scratched and dinged.

(now back to ripping all my Curb Your Enthusiasm DVDs to iTunes)

2008-01-29T06:19:00.000-08:00

Modern Medicine...Gotta Love It!!!!!

So after getting all the way up to being able to run 8 miles, my gout came back in a bad way, rendering me useless for over 3 weeks.

Sucked.

And just as my gouty foot started getting better, my normal foot starting being a bitch to me from standing on it weird. I was at my wits end. You have no idea of the pain I was in. It was to the point where I almost lost it mentally.

After Niki gave me a good slap to the face, looked me in the eye and firmly told me to "Be a man. Quit being such a big pussy and get over it!" life went on, and the pain seemed to subside over the next few days. Life was looking good. There were parties with magicians and a really great show happening over the up-and-coming weekend. Things were on the up-and-up.

Last Saturday came around and I was all geared up for being the exclusive guzzler of my giant bottle of Hitachino Red Rice Ale that I scored at Whole Foods along with two very large bottles of their "White Ale" which blows away all other whites and wits. Seriously..pick up a few bottles of the stuff if you ever come across it, and give me a call and let me now where you got it (if you live near me....or if you live in Japan and want to send me a bottle...Katy)...

Oh yeah... whining about my foot...

So I was over at the lovely Shanada and Bradnada residence Saturday and proceeded to devour my beer, a couple of Raske's and a Ham's sitting in our host's fridge (I couldn't help myself) and I was feeling pretty...pretty...good. I watched this amazing magician perform, and as I was sitting there witnessing levitating money and origami frogs jumping around, my gout just instantly came back hard core. I was down for the count yet again.

At this point I wanted to cut off both of my feet and get those cool prosthetics that amputees use to run with. That would solve everything.

Damn that's hot!

Finally Monday rolled around and I hobbled like an old man to my podiatrist (Dr Dawson at the Mercy Med Clinic...who rules). He proceeded to give me a shot of some stuff strait into the joint of my gouty big toe. It hurt like a mo-fo, but by the afternoon I was like "gout who...what..no gout here...I don't know nuthin' about no gout!"

So this morning I packed my gym bag and I plan on putting in some mileage during lunch today, weather permitting.

Yay!

The end...

?

2008-01-10T10:17:00.001-08:00

I miss my old band

As much as I enjoy playing quiet, cute music music with Baby Grand, every now and then I get nostalgic about the good ol' days of being in The Frenchmen. Where Baby Grand feels like a nice group of friendly people that get together to play music, The Frenchmen were more like a family. Even if we weren't playing shows or practicing, we were always hanging out, going record shopping together, getting wasted, causing havoc, having slumber parties at each other's house, fighting, hugging, touring the world, being super loud and at times annoyingly so.. I miss it!

2008-01-02T13:17:00.000-08:00

Top Whatever of 2007

Going back to Germany, eating Kasespaetzle every day, driving super fast on the Autobahn...and drinking local beer
Having Pipas play in Sacramento, then going to visit them a couple months later in Brooklyn.
Wii Wii Wii
Owning the cutest kid in Sacramento
Getting back into running, and enjoying it.
New friends
Cast iron skillets
home made bagels
no cavities
Micaela's flour tortillas
bur coffee grinders
This American Life free podcast

and last but not least...album of the year goes to: Caribou - Andorra

2007-12-29T18:57:00.000-08:00

Tis' The Season

Ahhh... it's been a nice week off from work. Just relaxing. Enjoying the holiday. Doing a lot of eating (highlight Niki's family's annual homemade Christmas tamales....today's chili I made this afternoon).

Last night I got pretty wasted at the Four Eyes Christmas show... It was cancelled last year due to the demise of the loft, where it had taken place for who knows how long. I think Guphys place captured the vibe just fine. Too bad she's moving out of that place. Stupid dog haters. Sorry no pictures this time around.

One funny thing that happened over the break is that I tweaked my back super bad (ha ha!)...not from lifting free-weights, running, basketball, kick boxing or any of that other crap I've been doing. No, after pulling Ira up to Winn park in his new Radio Flyer wagon, we were headed home. AS we got to our street, I was feeling confident that Ira would think it would be pretty fun if I picked up the pace, so I started running down the street, wagon in tow. He was laughing his little head off, but by the time we got to our house, my back was killing me. For two days I couldn't sit more than a few seconds without being in excruciating pain. I was poppin' the vicodin like I was at the movies eating junior mints, just so I could function. By day three I had enough, so I asked Niki to walk on my back. I laid on the floor, and she proceeded to walk down my spine....*POP!* I stood up and felt great... I was cured! A couple hours later I went for a little 4.5 mile run.

2007-12-20T11:31:00.000-08:00

BUSTED!!!that's not morning star bacon!

Holiday show tomorrow night. There is supposed to be a picture of Baby Grand in the Bee today or tomorrow with an article talking about it.

Time to run (literally!)

2007-12-13T14:18:00.000-08:00

Good Times Bad Times

Good Times:

An album that began the recording process years ago is done and just about for ready for public consumption.

Another album that began the recording process less years ago is almost done being recorded...I think.

Christmas show on Dec 21st at Old I. All procedes from all bands and the door go to The Sacramento Children's Home on Sutterville Rd

Bad Times:

The joke used to be "hey we should sell a t-shirt that says 'I'm in Baby Grand' since there are so many people in the band...ha ha funny". Now we are the incredible shrinking band. Another one down!

2007-12-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Culinary Genius - Limon Toasted Almonds

I thought up this while laying in bed last night...

Procedure:

Take a handful of almonds and toast them on both sides in a cast iron skillet

Transfer toasted almonds to a small bowl

Toss almonds with some lemon and/or lime juice and some kosher salt (or crushed sea-salt)

With the heat still off, transfer almonds back into skillet to evaporate moisture

Enjoy (while still warm!)

2007-11-29T08:13:00.000-08:00

SHOW!!!FUNNN!!!

and don't forget the indie-craft thing going on down the street!

2007-11-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

I Love New York Pt 2 = Depressing

Last night's episode was more like an episode of Dr. Phil than the ghetto reality television I constantly crave.

What was once 1.5 seasons of trashy fun has now gotten depressing. Seriously. I even had a dream about it last week.

Bummed.

In other news:

In two weeks time, a new batch of "U street Brew" will be ready for consumption ( although I should reveal the fact that I had a little help from V street).

UV Brew?

2007-11-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

2007-10-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

Talk about the Weather/You were in my favorite band

I want it to be cold. Go away heat. I have a batch of brew to make!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember that band Rocketship? Someone made me a CD with a ton of mp3s on it. One of the tracks on it is a live rendition of "Naomi and Me". It just popped up on my iPod. What a friggin' great song. Ahh.... the good ol' days when Sacramento was full of melody.

2007-10-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

that's more information that I needed to know

So last night my dad calls to say "hi". This time he forgoes the details of his dating life that always goes something to the effect of "...I'm dating this Jewish woman who I met at the gym [in the retirement community where I live], but she's too old for me...." or "...I'm seeing this woman, who is Jewish, but she complains all the time..." or "...I'm dating this lady, but she's Catholic...." You get the picture. Excuse after excuses.

Anyhow...

So last night he didn't mention any of his love life to me (thank goodness) but instead he told me about one of my uncles (his brother), who had to get 20 prostate stones removed. Prostate stones? 20?!?!? wtf man! I never even heard of such a thing, but this isn't the part that bothered me. I can stomach body part talk.

After hearing the nitty gritty details of the operation, and being informed that my uncle would be fine, I was trying to speculate what could have cause such an ailment while talking to my dad. His diet? heredity? weight? Then out of the blue my dad says "well, my brother is a big man..." and he is. He's probably the fattest relative I know of...and then my dad went on... "..maybe I shouldn't discus this with the family, but my brother does have a very large penis...it's huge...so maybe that could have caused complications..." ok ok dad. enough!!

The last thing I need to think about is my obese, more-than-somewhat weirdo uncle's wiener... and to beat you smart allec readers to the punch, no, nothing weird ever happened between my uncle and I. I barely even saw the guy when growing up.

OK. time to stop now. Have a good weekend!

2007-10-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you feel like a noob...

So I spent all this time and money (and loss of sleep and social activity) to get a Computer Science Degree from UC Davis, got a job with a large technology company, and have been on a number of complex projects doing a number of complex things, for over 6 years...yet I can't get my niece's printer to work.

Homemade Bagels

2007-10-01T09:33:00.001-07:00

Homemade bagels
Originally uploaded by bugbiteme

So after moaning and groaning about bagels, I decided that if biblical genealogy is true, then, as a direct descendant of Moses (played by Charlton Heston in the movie "The Ten Commandments") I should have innate ability to make my own. As you can see from the picture displayed in this post, my hunch proved to be correct. I was able to feed 7 out of 12 tribes (tribes of: Ander, Hawley, Hull, Raske, Beardsly, Baker, Keller, and of course Levites...the remaining five tribes were no-shows) after doubling the recipe.

I going to do my best to make them on a weekly basis so I can stick it to the man (they really aren't that hard to make if you have a Kitchen-Aid mixer with the hook attachment).

Coming up: "Making my own cream cheese....the kind Abraham used to eat back in the day while herding sheep in the land of Cannan..."

2007-09-28T10:17:00.001-07:00

Baby Riblet.
Originally uploaded by riblet

In case you haven't noticed, I've been blogging a little more than usual this week. Well, my boss, who sits right across from me, who can look right at my desk at any given moment, is gone for the week, so I don't have to pretend like I'm working the whole time I'm here.

Also, believe it or not, more than zero comments lets me know I'm not typing into a black hole, thus giving me inspiration to inform you all (whether it's useful information or not, that's up for debate...not really, it is all useless information...who am I kidding?).

I figured I'd complete the week with yet another picture of Heylove. This is old-school Heylove from back in the day.

Next Month she will be three and Ira will be one. Niki and I are trying to think of what to do for the duel birthday party. Chili cook off? I was even playing around with the idea of making tamales, but that's a lot more work than making a big-ass pot of of chili....and a cake!

2007-09-27T11:23:00.001-07:00

Sleeping in
Originally uploaded by riblet

Just as a follow up measure, I've been taking extra care to make sure my feet stay spiffy clean by changing my socks twice throughout the day...(thanks for all your concern commentors)

Heylove's been dong fine. Like nothing ever happened. Maybe she was sleepwalking after a bad dream...who knows.

------------------------

Last night Niki and I tried Kaveri for some Southern Indian cuisine. It didn't seem much different than any other Indian food I've had, so I checked with a co-worker (who comes from S.India) and it turns out that we pretty much blew it by ordering the Kung-Pao of Indian food (Channa Masaala) when we should have tried the dosas and/or an order of idli. Next time!!!! (which I hope is soon!)

Brisket!!

2007-09-25T09:15:00.001-07:00

Brisket!!
Originally uploaded by riblet

Last night I made an emergency run to the vet at about 1am.

Around midnight or so Heylove woke up (from her bed next to our bed) and it was a bit cold, so I decided to let her lay on my feet under the covers (one of her favorite sleeping spots btw), but she started acting freaky, like she was scared of something (my stinky feet maybe?). I put her down and she looked super confused and backed herself into a corner. She settled down a couple times, but kept on freaking out. No yelping, no barking or growling, she just looked scared. She wasn't lethargic and she would eat treats, but it freaked me and Niki out, so we called the Pet Emergency Room on El Camino.

Heylove was still acting bizarrely in the car ride to the vet, but as soon as we got there, she was back to her original spaz/face-licking self. I couldn't confirm if she ate anything bad, so all the vet could do was run some blood tests, which came back fine.

Well after 3 am they let us go home and Heylove was OK...and still is as of this morning.

DOG!!!!!

2007-09-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

A bagel is a bagel

Sorry. Sorry to you all. I've been touting the Bella Bru bagels as good bagels all this time. After my trip to New York, I am completely repulsed by them.

At first I was thinking "now I gotta find some good bagels in Sacramento", but this morning my carpool partner suggested that I not even try to kid myself, and I'm thinking he's right.

Pretty...Pretty...Good

2007-09-24T15:24:00.001-07:00

My sister has on-demand HBO, so I'm going to her house tomorrow to watch the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm!!

2007-09-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

Back in "The Sac"

I bet you guys didn't even know I was gone.

I had a fantastic time in NYC: Went to a great wedding (dance scene from reception pictured above), saw friends, family, visited parts unknown (The Bronx, Harlem, Brooklyn), saw some celebs, ate quite a bit of pizza and bagels and enjoyed the weather. Expect pics on Niki's flickr soon...I hope!

I got a really good workout carrying I. in his stroller up and down the subway staircases, which was great for working off the excessive carb intake.

When it comes to baked good, New York takes the....umm...cake!

the number 12

2007-09-04T22:30:00.001-07:00

2007-08-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

11 Guys At The Playground

Basketball is my favorite sport. I like the way they dribble up and down the court. Call me a "fair weather fan", but the only time I actually watch a game on TV is when the Sacramento Kings are going to win. Needless to say, I haven't watched basketball in quite a while.

Since the Kings suck, and will remain sucking until further notice, I like to spend my free evenings playing the game. It's fun, but there are always those dudes who show up. I bet I'm one of them. Call me Mr. Excuses.

11 Guys At The Playground - Watch more free videos

Melody Day

2007-08-27T13:41:00.001-07:00

2007-08-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

How can we be a "world class" city when we have "no class" public transportation?

Faced with a budget shortfall and a surprising ridership dip, Sacramento Regional Transit officials are expected to cut service on 15 bus routes countywide today.

Surprising? Not really. This really strikes a nerve with me, in a big way. It's almost like RT is sabotaging itself.

Next month I plan on flying the family out to NYC. I don't plan on renting a car at all. I plan on riding the subway the entire time. We are staying in Manhattan, going to a wedding in Brooklyn, going to the zoo up in the Bronx (why is it called "the Bronx" and not just "Bronx"), among other places, and I know it will be a breeze.

That's what makes a world class city!

Get a friggin' clue bitches!!! Better (aka useful) RT service will increase ridership, not cutting and crapifying (even more) our current system.

uggh...

Ok, I'm done now. Go watch the video posted ~~below~~ above. It's good.

2007-08-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

Set your alarm clocks!!

via The Daily Green

2007-08-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

Weekend Summary

beer
poker
massive quantities of food
strippers
beer
gambling on horse races
working on cars
playing rock n' roll
changing diapers
beer

It doesn't really get better than that...well maybe if "getting laid and shooting guns" was added to the equation.

2007-08-14T09:25:00.001-07:00

Thinking positive

Got my amp, everything is good. I love it. As soon as I saw it out of the box and put together, I knew that Tim would be jealous. I'm sure he's happy that I'm no longer abusing his bass amp. I'm still borrowing his P-Bass, but that's another story.

So, I look forward to seeing everybody this Sunday evening at Old Ironsides where Baby Grand will be performing songs by the Kinks (as will all other bands playing that evening). This will be the last Baby Grand show until December AND *sniff sniff* our last show with Chris Olsen *sniff stiff*...*holding back the tears* (How did someone who I initially found completely annoying become one of my favorite peep? I will miss you dude.)

Mr. Jed Brewer will be participating that night as a solo acoustic act covering the Kinks.

Come see us both!

I took down my Tony Soprano post because I thought it came across too negative. In the long term, when the movie of my life is being made, I want to hide the fact that I can be a jerk sometimes.

2007-07-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

I was a mii before you was a mii

I keep on having ideas in mind for what I should blog about next, but lo and behold, by the time I get to work, and my boss goes "Hey Leon..can I talk to you for a second...so I got this email......so they want....and so I was wondering if you could...by this date...and then....our people will talk to their people...with the latest firmware upgrade....code named....this message will self destruct..." my mind goes blank and goes into binary mode and I just think to myself "01001001001000000111011101101111011011100110010001100101011100100010000001110111
01101000011000010111010000100000010010010010000001110011011010000110111101110101
01101100011001000010000001100101011000010111010000100000011001100110111101110010
001000000110110001110101011011100110001101101000"

2007-07-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

Bogart the Joint

Baby Grand, it our grand scheme of playing just about every weekend in Sacramento and not letting anyone else get the spotlight, and never saying "no" to a show offer, has decided to yet again, play another awesome show this weekend:

The Finches

The Bushes

Baby Grand

AT

The Press Club

Sunday afternoon at 4pm!!!

2007-07-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

Awwww

So I'm not sleeping, just trying my best to hide my double chin in this photo.

My dad came to town this weekend. Niki and I were trying to decide on what do to the whole time while he was here.

After picking him up from the airport we got lunch at Bernardo's. For a while I was through with that place, but lately it's become one of my favorites.

Then we took Ira to get his first haircut which worked wonders for him later than night when we had dinner at Maaloufs. He was mesmerized by the belly dancer that came out mid-meal, and she seemed to be into him too. He kept turning his head to follow her around, and she was having a hard time not laughing while dancing. I felt bad, cuz we didn't have any cash to put into her bra. The food was amazing.

Next day we went wine tasting at Bogle. I was kind of hoping there would be more going on there....like food or something. The wine was pretty good, but not mind-blowing or anything, but what do I know? My dad only liked the sweet wines. I picked up a bottle of the zin and petite syrah reserves.

Next day we got lunch and headed to the river. I think it would be fun to go there more often, maybe during the week when it's not so crowded. You can hike just a little bit down from the main beach and have a little cove all to yourself.

2007-07-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

I always leave my heart in San Francisco

SF is my favorite city. I've been to cities all over the planet, and nothing comes close to it.

Anyhow, I ate too much food (a list of all the stand out places I went to over the weekend), got to see friends, and finally checked out the SF MOMA (I felt like I was meeting a celebrity when I was looking at some of the famous paintings).

We took Ira on BART one evening on our way to the Mission. It was more of a trial run than anything else. We plan on going to NYC in a few months...so we needed to see what it was like to bring the baby on public transit. Besides all the broken elevators and a bit of confusion with the ticket system, it was fine, and plus NYC doesn't have elevators in the subway stations as far as I can remember.

2007-07-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

I moved

Not that posting a blog on the world wide internet gives you any privacy, but I don't really care to advertise the URL. It's not like I have any secret juicy gossip that I post, I just like to keep things low key.

Anyhow, if you are one of the lucky few who found me, congratulations!

Here are some pics from my hike to the Lock Leven Lakes over the weekend.

Later!

2007-07-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

Gettin tan on the 4th

Hope everybody had a good 4th o' July!

2007-06-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

The Rock sings a song about Sacramento

2007-06-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

Don't hold your wee, just have a bit of patience

Following words of advice from Axle Rose, I just decided to wait until I had that gut feeling, and it paid off! Sunday morning I could feel it. I could just sense that wii waiting for me at the Natomis Best Buy (the one that no one goes to), and I was right. AS soon as we pulled up, I saw store patrons walking out, wii in hand, so Niki shoved me out of the door and told me to get my butt in there while she found a parking space.

Lo and behold, I walked up to the first BB sales person and asked for it, and they had ONE LEFT! FOR MEEEEEE. They only had nine in stock that morning. I got the last one.

The rest of the weekend ruled: Friday night dinner at Maaloufs (Ira got to see his first belly dancer), killing at the 80's cover show, vegan dim-sum at Josh P's, Tim and Gerri buying Zelda's pizza for band practice.

and in the spirit of yelp: minus one star for missing the Canadian style birthday party.

our perpetual kitten (named mouse) waiting to play the new wii

2007-06-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

Dear Lovely Rita

I think I am too nice in this letter

June 22, 2007

City of Sacramento
915 I Street
Room 1214
Sacramento, CA, 95814

To Whom It May Concern:
I would like to request an Administrative Investigation to contest parking citation no. 47773121. The citation claims that my vehicle (CA license plate #######) does not have a valid O parking permit, when in fact the vehicle does (O parking permit number #####). I had received this citation while my car was parked in front of my residence at blah blah blah Street, Sacramento California, zipcode on June 19, 2007.

Please note that I had received the same violation three times now! Once in August of last year and one as recent as last month! All citations were cleared since I do, in fact, have a valid O permit, which is clearly visible on my rear bumper. I would appreciate it if the parking enforcement officers patrolling my neighbourhood (which they seem to do at random intervals) would cease writing me erroneous citations.

Thank you for taking time to investigate this citation, and please let me know if you need any further information from me or anyone else concerning this matter.

Sincerely,
Me

2007-06-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Since I went through all the trouble deciphering the lyrics...I'll post them (need to work on chords next)

jiggle jiggle jiggle jiggle
tickle tickle tickle tickle
little saka sugar I could eat you up
jiggle jiggle jiggle jiggle
pickle pickle pickle pickle
little saka sugar I could eat you up

hey hey hey
little saka sugar
ho ho ho
my little saka sweet
he he he
my pretty little angels
pretty pretty pretty
I could eat your feet

hey hey hey
little honey bunny
ho ho ho
little turtle dove
he he he
little saka taters'
your so pretty pretty pretty
I could eat your toes

jiggle jiggle jiggle jiggle
pickle pickle pickle pickle
little saka sugar I could eat you up
jiggle jiggle jiggle jiggle
tickle tickle tickle tickle
little saka sugar I could eat you up

hey hey hey my tootsee wootsee
wrangle tangle dangle and a honey in a tree
ho ho ho my butterfly flutters
pretty pretty pretty I could eat your nose

jiggle jiggle jiggle jiggle
tickle tickle tickle tickle
little saka sugar I could eat you up
jiggle jiggle jiggle jiggle
tickle tickle tickle tickle
little saka sugar I could eat you up

google google google
a coogle(?) and a cuddle
I kick your foot like a bicycle peddle
a pretty little hoodle(?) and a one-eyed frog
pretty pretty pretty I could gobble you whole

jiggle jiggle jiggle jiggle
tickle tickle tickle tickle
little saka sugar I could eat you up
jiggle jiggle jiggle jiggle
tickle tickle tickle tickle

little saka sugar I could eat you up
little saka sugar I could eat you up

2007-06-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

I hope it's worth the paper it was printed on

After receiving numerous MAJOR violations, Huong Sen Tofu finally got a green card. I've been waiting for a clean bill of health before checking the place out. Supposedly it's a 100% vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant on Stockton blvd...home of the good stuff. I've been looking for something better than Andy's, so this place looks promising.

Next step, either convince Niki it's safe to eat there, or invite one of my more adventurous friends out for dinner.

2007-06-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Josh P..Vegan Chef Extrordinare

Right now I am enjoying an amazing spinach calazone, courtesy of Mr. Josh. It's sooooo good!

Ya'll need to take advantage of his services since he moved in to Sac and all for us! I've missed his last self-hosted meal, but Niki and I have been utilizing his food-to-go service and going to his brunches.

mmmm.. ok time to finish lunch...

Oh...and here's a link to his blog

2007-06-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

Lupes!!

My friend Lupe was on Conan last week, singing with Feist!

Here's more info about it all.

2007-06-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

More pics from Yosemite!

2007-06-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

Feeling guilty

Every once in a while I feel guilty for getting free stuff on-line. If it's an album of a band I really like, I try my best to buy it on LP format, (since I already have a digital copy). Most recently though, Ira Glass from my favorite NPR show "This American Life" gave everyone a reality check (aka a guilt trip) on the cost of providing the free weekly podcast, which is how I've been listening to it for a while now. I've never given to NPR, since I'm always put off by them asking for $50-100, like that's chump change, but Ira made a good point by stating "if everyone who listened donated 25 cents, we could cover our costs", so I was sold. I figure $15 a is a good deal for a year subscription to TAL, since buying a CD containing that many episodes would probably cost double the amount.

2007-05-31T16:22:00.000-07:00

Apsishik aukshtielninkas

Probably the most useful site on "the net"

2007-05-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue

Vs.

Great article about the US vs. the UK versions of The Office

2007-05-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

Spinnin'

Not much to post about, so here is a list of albums I'm currently rockin':

New stuff:

Not as new:

P.S. Does anyone know where I can buy a ground cable for one of these?

2007-05-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes...scratch that...many times I don't get pitchforkmedia.com quality standards

So they dis the finches for using ear friendly chord progressions yet basically perform fellatio on Hot Chip for making a dance mix album (songs from other artists).

2007-05-24T17:35:00.001-07:00

OK OK OK aldready...

The comments on code monkey are blowin up these days: "Leon write more about your trip to Germany....blah...blah...blah". One of the resons I haven't written much is because of my "incident".

2007-05-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

What time is the best time to go to the dentists?

"tooth-hurty"

Pipas made it to town (pictured above with Ira)!

The weekend was so sweet that my remaining lower wisdom tooth became infected and needs to be pulled (happening Thursday).

And just to clarify things: Smiller accused me of bringing that terrible beer to G-ball's party. It isn't true! Don't blame me for your hangover!!!!! If you need to file a police report on the person who did, I can find out that information for you. It was a crime against humanity, I tell ya....but it was funny seeing everybody dive for that beer after Scott's announcement.

2007-05-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

Show Packed Weekend!!!!

Friday:
The 4 eyes and the Pizzas are playing at the distillery Friday night.

The show that three people won't stop talking about:
Sat, 5/19
Cheveu(France) &Tyvek(MI)/NothingPeople/Nice Smile
@
DAM House, 503 E Street in Davis
7:00, $donation

And Sunday!
Record Club! with:
Pipas
The Land of Ill Earthquakes
Baby Grand
Buildings Breeding
@
The Press Club
4:00pm!!! $5
early show!!!

2007-05-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

Tschüs!

It's 3:30 am here in Germany. My plan is to stay up all night so I can have a head start on the time readjustment...you know.. cuz it'll be mother's day when I get back and all. Hopefully my boss will give me Monday off.

I want to go back here sometime and take a real vacation, but I had to see as much as I could in the time permitted. I need to come back!

I ate a lot of cheese here.

Highlights from my one day of sight seeing (Technically yesterday):

Hitting 118 mph on the autobahn!
I got freaked out after a while at that speed, but since traffic was still moving in front and behind, the feeling eventually morphed into a pure adrenaline rush. There was some crazy German song about "Skoobidoo" blasting on the radio at the time. I need to figure out what it was.

Tübingen (as pictured above), was one of the prettiest towns I've ever been to. It's existed for around for 2000 years and was untouched by the WWII bombings. There was an awesome farmers market going on while I was there and I picked up some schwäbische noodles so I can make (try to make) Käsespätzle when I get back. I should make it soon while my memory of how it's supposed to taste is fresh in my mind. The place was packed with little bakeries filled with warm, fresh breads and pastries. There was a neat little river going through the middle of town. Definitely a place I want to go back to.

On the way to Freiburg, I stopped in a little lake-side town in the Black Forrest called Titisee. It was small, nice, and I found a place that carried Rothaus beers on tap, and it happened to be lunch time! Titisee is where I did the majority of my knick-knack shopping.

Freiburg was pretty cool. Mainly a shopping area. It was fun to walk around and see some of the street performers (a lot of accordion players ;). They had trolley cars going all over the place.

The bad:

Stupid navigation system had me making some funky ass turns all over the place. At one point, it told me that the road I was driving on didn't exist. I think I broke multiple traffic laws en route to my destinations, but I got there, and I'm alive, so it's OK. Just don't make me late for my flight, stupid car!

They only have white dashed lines on the road, whether it's a one or two ways street. I almost learned the hard way (by narrowly escaping a head-on collision)

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually tired of beer. Multiple litres of beer for at least 4 nights strait did the job for me. I'll be drinking Martinis for the next few days instead.

That's it. I need some Mexican food in a bad way right now. I need to see my wife and kid. I'm dreading the flight home.

I worked while I was here, but I won't go into that (not much any readers here would be interested in)

See you all next week!

2007-05-05T04:23:00.000-07:00

Böblingen!!!

Just a few hours after I arrived at my hotel in Böblingen it started raining..so I figured I'd kill some time online until the brauhaus down the street opens up.

The flight was actually one of the more pleasant international flights I've taken. Last time I flew with Lufthansa air, and they plied be with enough alcohol to forget I was packed like a sardine on their jet.

This time I flew Delta, who were stingy with the booze, but I actually had plenty of room to stretch my legs. It still didn't prevent my ass from hurting like a mo-fo during the home stretch of the flight.

Anyhoo.. See that C-class Mercedes Benz out there on the street? Yep, that's my rental car! I could either pay 10 bucks more a day for a nav system with my existing compact car, or upgrade to this car with a built in navigation system for the same weekly rate...duh!

It was my first time using one of those things, and I have a feeling the navigation system took me on the scenic rout. I don't think the standard trip to the hotel from the airport should involve getting on and off the Autobahn multiple times, going down some cobblestone ally, going through some nice countryside, making a U turn at the end of the street. I did start talking to my onboard computer lady "prepare to turn left in 400 meters" "OK..you got it" "turn left now" "OK OK whatever you say!" It seemed like I was going in circles, but I did eventually get to my destination. Hilarious.

I'm staying at the Hotel Böhler in the downtown area. People at work kept saying "Oh yeah..that place is sooooooooooooo German!!!" I wasn't sure what they were talking about, until I stepped inside, had to carry my bags up a flight of stairs to the tiny reception desk, where this older German guy was waiting for me with a smile. Once I got my room key, he showed me that they actually do have an elevator. You have to open this super tiny door and the elevator itself is literally a tube not much wider than one suitcase and one person. I thought it was just for the bags, but the guy insisted I ride up while he ran up the stairs to meet me. I guess you wouldn't find anything like it at a Hyatt or Holiday Inn, so maybe that's what people are talking about. Looks like they have an awesome breakfast that I’m sure to get well acquainted with.

After I took a shower, I quickly made my way outside in search for food. Kabob places are huge in Germany, and I found one right away, so that's where I ate. The place I found actually makes the pocket bread right then and there when you order you food! The veggie kabob I ordered was packed with veggies and feta cheese. It was soo good!

I walked around looking for a market or something, but most stores seemed to be closed. Sunday will be even worse. They take their day of rest seriously around here.

2007-05-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Nothing in particular.

So yesterday my work laptop's hard drive decided to die on me. I'm currently at my desk waiting for the IT guy to come by and replace it. I managed to get my computer up and running for the moment, but a lame laptop is the last thing I need right now.

----------

Last night at band practice someone opened up a "can of worms". Luckily no one was injured...physically. I'm starting to feel guilty about being such a lazy slouch in the band, but I figure as long as I always show up, and on time, and contribute to the beer fund now and then, I'm still in good standing. I just need to get my own bass amp.

2007-04-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

7 Layer Weekend

This weekend was awesome. While watching "Balance of Terror" (aka - my favorite episode of Star Trek so far) I see this commercial for the new Taco Bell 7 Layer Crunchwrap! I can't wait to try it (even thought I'm 90% sure my tummy will hurt afterwards)

Origami folded flour tortilla covering a crunchy corn tortilla and filled with:

"hearty" beans
"warm" nacho cheese
"zesty" red sauce
"crispy" red tortilla strips (a tortilla three-way!)
"cool" sour cream
"chunky" guacamole
"fresh" tomatoes

Too bad taco bell doesn't serve beer...that would be an awesome pairing.

Oh.. and I went hiking and to a bbq.

2007-04-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

Icky Thump

So the first song from the new White Stripes album is floating around the net already. It's a recording that was taped off of some British radio station. It's sick as hell and pretty much making me forget that any other bands exist at the moment.

Link to torrent DL

2007-04-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

I write like a girl

Supposedly this website can tell if you are a male or female based on your writing. Apparently I'm a woman in a man's body.

2007-04-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

Boeblingen

I've been gearing up for my trip to Germany next month. Mainly creating class materials that I'll be teaching.

More importantly, Tannenzapfle is the regional beer of Boeblingen (it's a pilz) and I want to bring a few back with me. I guess pretty much every place has it on tap! I wonder if that German Deli in Carmichael carries it...probably not.

2007-04-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

This blows!

The cafeteria had to close due to some power outage over the weekend, and everybody already split for lunch..except me...and I don't have my car today. LAME!

update: My sister (and bro in-law) saved the day and took me to El Azteca!!!

2007-04-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Anxiety Dreams

I've been having both "school" and "flight" anxiety dreams lately. I haven't been in school for 6 years (thank god), but they still suck. Where are the sex dreams? gimme more of those!

As for my flight anxiety dreams, they have nothing to do with planes crashing, but more along the lines of:

Where do I park my return car rental?

Wait! Did I leave my boarding pass at home?

Oh no! I think I left my ID/passport at home

I just got on a shuttle to the airport, but I left my luggage at home

I just got on a shuttle to the airport, but I left my luggage on the sidewalk

and all my paperwork is in my luggage...

along with my wallet!

What is my flight number again?

Am I late for my flight...I'm not sure what time it's at

Oh no! I booked the wrong flight!

Hey that person wants to have sex with me! Awesome! But I'll be late for my flight!

2007-04-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

rained out..psych!

Stupid weather report. So it was supposed to thunderstorm Saturday, so I cancelled the hike. It wound up not storming at all. Next Sunday anyone?

2007-04-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

Home on the trail

Last summer..the summer of hiking pt.1, Niki was pregmatic, so I went solo, with Heylove, or with my sister on most of my hikes. This time around, Niki is ready for hiking, and so is the little guy!

I splurged on a baby carrier backpack, so expect family outings every weekend..aka.."the summer of hiking pt2"!

This last weekend I took Niki and Ira (and my sister) on a moderate hike up in Auburn. It went well and everybody seemed to have a good time. Next week we are going to try Steven's trail in Colfax. It looks like wild-flower season has already started, so it should be great. If any one wants to join us, I'll be hitting the road bright an early in order to avoid the heat and crowds.

2007-03-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

The Park vs. The Park

VS

The other day Gerri asked me if I wanted to play a show at "the park". I was a bit thrown off, since every show we play seems to be either at Old I or FnG. I figured "new place, different crowd...why not? I'll play just about anywhere", so I agreed.

A few weeks later I was talking to someone and mentioned Baby Grand playing a show at "the park" this summer. The person I was talking to told me about how he and his friend got thrown out of "the park" for wearing tennis shoes (after eating dinner at Ma Jong's). Obviously we were talking about the same place called "the park". I was appalled. How could I play at a venue that would do such a thing? This is Sacramento godammit. We drink our Sacramento Treat (Miller High Life, ice, lemon) and dress however we want to in this town. This is gentrification turned elitism gone overboard! Fuck this shit man!!! Then I made a vow to myself to dress as inappropriately as possible when we play at "the park".

Then last night at band practice, while learning a new Go-Betweens cover, I looked on our band calender (yes..we are an organized band...you have to be when there are 7+ of you) and I saw that the date for playing "the park" said "Show at Cesar Chavez Park"...Ooooooohhh...THAT PARK!!!! OK....wheww!!

It will be this summer, so I'll remind everyone about it later.

2007-03-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson knows a good beer!

This weekend I had an amazing double hopped/bottle conditioned IPA, hand picked by Michael Jackson (not to mention the Hitachino Extra High hand picked and smuggled into the states by SM). Apparently MJ is the King of Beers as well as the King of Pop and he runs a rare-beer of the month club. Although I'm tempted to join, it's a bit out of my budget. Confused? Good!

Speaking of ale..I have sad news for all of us Sacramentans...the Nugget in Roseville kicks the Wessac location's butt in beer selection...plus it has a way more extensive deli. Either way, both Nuggets rule, but I'll have to stock up on my lunch breaks during the week before the weekend commences.

2007-03-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

These are a few of my favorite podcasts

Since Niki posted her favorite podcasts, and so did the dude from boingboing.net, I thought I'd share some of my favorite podcasts that I listen to on the regular. Keep in mind that these are mostly shows that are originally broadcast on radio in one form or another, I just like to listen to them on my clock.

This American Life
Niki and I named our kid after the host. We like the TAL that much!

Radio Parallax
Based out of KDVS, Radio Parallax is hosted by Douglas Everett.
Radio Parallax* is a show covering topics in current events, politics, science, technology, history, satire, and whatever we damn well please. . Gotta love it.

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me
Really funny, if you don't mind Mo Rocca and Paula Poundstone every now and then. I want Carl Kasell to record a greeting for my answering machine!

Joe Frank
I used to listen to Joe Frank back in the day while driving a taxi late at night on the weekends. Very surreal and weird at times...right up my ally!

Brain Food
This is the only 100% pure podcast I listen to. It's mainly a science show about how every day things we take for granted work. Good for people who like to know the science behind everything, and done in a way that's accessible to just about everyone. It's hosted by a college student, so it never gets updated during finals and spring break. Whenever he does put up a show, it's of the highest quality. I bet he could get a radio show if he wanted to.

2007-03-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

Tamponade

Last night's show was decently attended, especially for a Wednesday night. I assume it was scheduled on that day due to the touring band from Australia, the Zebras (who have ah guitar player named...Leon...who plays a Jaguar...not as handsome as the real Leon though).

Fun show. The Zebras were pretty cool. I didn't hear any stand out hits, but thought the encore performance by the non Leon guitar player was the best song in their set.

It was my first time setting foot in the Press Club since back in the day (I think I saw No Kill I or Nar). The inside has this cheesy metallic finish to it all, but the layout itself is pretty nice. I like where the stage is now. I don't know why there aren't more show there. I thought it was funny that you can buy a tall-boy of PBR for 3 bucks.

complaints:
The restrooms were just plain nasty with the scent of 100 year-old urine. Also, the club doesn't allow women in the men's restroom..what's up with that dawg?

2007-03-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

PING!

Hey guess what...my band is playing fucking again! tomorrow night at the press club!

GO

On another note. I had an amazing sandwich at the new Roseville Nugget:
fresh baked ciabatta roll
hummus
fresh mozzarella
basil
tomato
olive tamponade

2007-03-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

"particulate matter"

That's the term for the day here in Sacramentoland. Keep your babies and puppies indoors or they'll die from toxic smoke inhalation.

If you don't mind a little permanent lung damage, come see baby grand tonight. We are selling a remix cd single for superduper cheap!

2007-03-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

Memphis was great

And here are the pictures to prove it!

Although Memphis isn't all that culturally diverse, everybody was very friendly, and everybody likes to take their time. Also, in Memphis you can buy a Land Park style 3 story house for about the price of a cottage sized house in Oak Park. And sweet tea is really really sweet. And everyone says "ya'll".

2007-03-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

I'm goin' to Memphis

I haven't given up on blogging. I've just been busy as a bee.

Anyhoo. Goin' to graceland this weekend.

later ya'll.

2007-03-02T08:40:00.000-08:00

American Idol

Usually I just like to watch the cringe-worthy auditions, and then I ignore American Idol for the rest of the season. It all just goes downhill from there, yet somehow I really got into it last season. Taylor Hicks was horrible, but a fun guy to watch, Kelly Pickler re-enforced every "dumb blond/hick" joke known to man, Chris Daughtry would crank it up a notch after all the boring-ass R&B ballads, and Catherine Mcphee was just plain bootylicous.

Not that surprisingly I'm already bored with this season of American Idol. While watching, I felt this and last weeks episodes would never end...even with tivo's fast forward button. Every contestant is pretty much unforgettable, and they (the voters) have been keeping some really bad singers while getting rid of some with actual talent, (not that I can remember any of their names). Paula Abdul's "yes man" feedback is just plain annoying (where's the drunk Paula I've grown to love?). And it's a sad sad day when Ryan Seacrest is the most entertaining person on the show (he can actually be pretty funny.. I think E! network is rubbing off on him).

I can't take it any more.

2007-02-20T15:14:00.000-08:00

Now that's what I call art!!

I can't draw or paint, but I've been wanting to put up some cool art in Ira's room for a while now. I stumbled upon this pretty rad website called thumbtackpress.com that let's artists upload their works and sells high quality prints for a reasonable price.

I picked these guys up via the website (and bought the frames and matting separately from a local store). The prints arrived in the post super fast!

"Wes" by Gina Triplett

"Nutburd" and "Umbrella" by Brandon Reese

2007-02-15T10:27:00.000-08:00

Thirty-Brew

today I turn 100000 (in binary)

2007-02-14T09:46:00.000-08:00

New favorite TEA

Numi Honeybush herbal tea is the bomb! Probably the best (and only) herbal tea I've ever really liked.

2007-02-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

My Ears are a ringin'

and I just got this email from Raske:

Hey check this band out when you get a chance. It goes really well with
ringing ears!
http://www.myspace.com/deerhunter

Little did he know I'm already in love with this band..and how did he know my ears are ringing? His must be too!

I think we are both suffering from "Ofmontrealitis" (dude..they were sooooo friggin loud!)

2007-02-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

Show this weekend!

Looks like ye ol' Baby Grand will be playing this Sunday in Davis!

we go on first.

Sunday, Feb. 18th.
The Morning Benders (from the Bay)
Buildings Breeding (the biggest band in Davis right now)
Baby Grand
@ Delta of Venus in Davis CA
$4 cover. all ages. 8pm start.

Link to show listing

2007-02-09T09:32:00.000-08:00

Bourdain

Here's a funny blog posting by none other than Mr. Anthony Bourdain. He's goin' off on Food Network...again. I like the guy and all, but I thought the following comment that someone made on another forum was pretty funny:

Bourdain for me falls into the same category as, say, Chomsky -- I like what he says, but often the way he says it makes me wince. At least when Chomsky goes rhetorically medieval, he's talking about human rights and dignity. As opposed to, you know, cake.

2007-02-05T12:00:00.000-08:00

Swords Award and The Pizzas

I had to edit this post from the original version, which was posted early in the morning while buzzing on coffee. See. I told you I shouldn't touch that stuff!

I went to the show at the blue lamp this past Friday. Both of the two bands I saw were great. The Pizza's were definitely a pleasant surprise. Swords Award were really good too. I left before Sex Rat played.

I missed out on the Sic Alps show of Saturday. I was definitely too tired. Oh well.

Currently digging the new Deerhunter album.

2007-01-31T09:29:00.000-08:00

This week has been nutz for me so far. I've been having to get up at 3:30 am (more like 3:44 after hitting "snooze" a couple times.) I'm getting up so early in order to attend a class that's being taught virtually on-line, in real time. Talk about living in the future! Ahh the sweet (in)convenience of technology.

So my coffee free month is almost over. I feel fine. Actually, after the first couple weeks I feel better in the morning now and am debating if I even want to start drinking that stuff ever again (I'm sure I will). It's all about self-discipline. I almost caved in a couple times. I'm glad the coffee at my works sucks, otherwise I wouldn't have made it.

2007-01-30T05:24:00.000-08:00

Finches show

The Finches sandwich was great last weekend. I could have done without the Mantles in the middle... the midddle...the the the...middle. Nice folks and all, but for me, live, they sound like a bunch of high-school kids just forming a band, who write songs while "jamming", but they are most likely in their mid/upper 20s, so I have no patience. Sorry.

Luckily the Finches were in full form, playing two sets and selling the new CD. I picked that up and the LP version of their last album which contains an extra song from the CD format, and a cool silk screen print hidden within'.

The Fools Foundation finally seemed to have gotten a clue about their lousy acoustics and put up some drapes around the perimeter to prevent the notorious echo...the notorious echo... notorious echo... echo... echo...

Next weekend will be a live show extravaganza. Knock Knock at Delta Venus and Sic Alps at Fools Foundation...all on Saturday. I bet I could catch both bands!

(sorry I've been up since 3:0am)

2007-01-29T12:36:00.000-08:00

PB & J

peter bjorn & john are going to be on conan tonight!

2007-01-26T10:12:00.000-08:00

Rad show tonight!

The Finches and The Mantles at Fools Foundation! Tonight (1/26)

The Finches are simply the best band around right now in my humble opinion. Don't believe me? Check out some of their tunes on-line. Yeah, If you've never heard them before, you might just go "well the singer's voice is really good an all...", but I'm telling you, their shows are always a treat, and I wouldn't ever miss a finches gig. Always a top priority. I hope they are selling the new album tonight.

Second up are The Mantles, who I saw once when they first started out. I hear they are really good now, so good that Matt Roberts, who knows good music (aka music I like), is putting out something by them. Virginia, their drummer, is probably one of the coolest people you'll ever meet.

Oh look at that. Time to make some more tea. Have a nice weekend!