I Get Angry

Not that anybody cares, but I thought I’d share a few things that make me mad. None of these make me mad enough to do anything, just mad enough to make an angry face:

  1. CDs or DVDs aren’t always facing the correct way when you open the case. They should face the same reading direction that the case does. When they aren’t facing that direction, I get angry.
  2. Pillows are sometimes inside pillow cases in such a way that the tag is sticking out the opening in the pillow case. Pillows should go in their cases tag first. When they’re not placed inside the case in the manner I prefer, I get angry.
  3. I spend time in the bathroom; bathrooms usually have toilet paper. Toilet paper shouldn’t unroll down the side of the wall. Toilet paper should roll over the top of the roll. When toilet paper doesn’t roll the way I deem it should roll, I get angry.
  4. When I’m typing a message in my phone, my iPod touch or other handheld device, it sometimes gets auto-corrected to something I don’t wish to spell. I have to delete and correct it and I get angry.
  5. I’ll download music and the artist and/or album isn’t named the same as other files from that same artist or album. If that happens, it shows up as two different groups and I get angry.

Again, let me re-iterate that I don’t get violent when these things happen, but I do get angry.

No Offense Fiction Books

For some reason I can’t read fiction. Not that I’m incapable, but that I can’t focus on it and I end up losing interest. If I know I’m reading a book that isn’t true, I feel like I’m wasting my time. I can watch movies that aren’t based on true events all the time. Why can’t I read a “story” about something that never took place?

I don’t yet have an answer for this, but I hope to soon. I mostly read technical books about software development or technology; I can also read books about philosophy, science, politics or religion. I’m not trying to change this, but I’m trying better to understand it. If anybody has any thoughts on why I can read these types of books, but not read fiction, I’d like to hear them.

Why do you think I can’t stay focused and read fictional books or articles?

Last Game Coming Up

I’m going to try to be in Iowa City this weekend for the last game of the year. Our Iowa Hawkeyes started out 9-0 and now are (still good!) 9-2. We play Minnesota at home this weekend and from the sounds of it, all of my siblings will be there… party time! Hopefully Vandenberg will get his first win as a starter and we’ll have 10 games in the bag. Not what we were hoping for a couple weeks back, but overall a good seasons from a very young Iowa team!

Almost in the Clear

My crazy-busy year is almost done. Saturday, I gave my presentation at Iowa Code Camp and Tuesday I’ll be giving my final presentation of the year in Cedar Falls. I say that I’m “in the clear” because the rest of 2009 will be quiet for me. No more conferences or presentations or anything. Besides the usually monthly stuff. I’m looking forward to long weekends for Thanksgiving and Christmas Festivus!

The Hawkeyes Rule the State Again!

In case you missed it, the Iowa Hawkeyes beat the Iowa State Cyclones in the biggest football game in the state of Iowa. The final was 35-3 and was the first Iowa victory in Ames in 6 years. Tyler Sash tied a school record with four interceptions while Brent Greenwood had two. What really made this game as lopsided as it was, was the conversion of 4 turnovers into scores.

I was lucky enough to be in Ames over the weekend. While the game was great, I had a really good time spending it with (among many others) Dallas and Mary Jo, Greg, Dan, and Tim and Mandee. I can’t wait for next year’s match-up in Iowa City!

The Start of Iowa Hawkeye Football 2009

Iowa Football starts tomorrow and I’m extremely excited! Tailgating season is my favorite season of the year, here are the home games:

09/05/2009 Northern Iowa 11:05 am
09/19/2009 Arizona 2:35 pm
10/03/2009 Arkansas State TBA
10/10/2009 Michigan (HC) 7:05 pm
10/31/2009 Indiana TBA
11/07/2009 Northwestern TBA
11/21/2009 Minnesota TBA

Hopefully I’ll be able to make it to Iowa City for nearly all of them. If you’re out and about tailgating or at the bars for the games, hit me up on “the twitter” with a direct message to see where I am and I’ll buy you a beer*.

* Exclusions: I have to know you ;)

Lollapalooza 2009

I have to say that Lollapalooza was one of the very best weekends I have had in a long time as far as music goes. Once I saw the lineup in April, I knew I had to buy my ticket. When Michelle bought her ticket a few months later, it was set and we were extremely excited to go!

We left Algona around 9 in the morning on Thursday the 6th. We drove a little over six hours to get to her sister Sarah’s house in Hampshire. I had only been through Illinois twice, but never had stayed there. The GPS we were using took us across the river using 20, which we learned later was the “scenic route.” We listened to the bands we were hoping to see, and we got to Sarah’s in the early evening.

That night we drove to Barrington to catch 500 Days of Summer.  That theatre had 30 screens (unbelievable!) and with our student discount, Michelle and I got into the show for $7, that’s as much as an adult ticket in Algona! The movie was very, very good. I would consider it a favorite.

Late morning on Friday we caught a train heading to Union Station with the help of Sarah who wanted to see Kings of Leon as much as we did. I didn’t get to see much of Chicago from the walk to Union Station to Grant Park, which I was a little disappointed about, but I know I’ll get another opportunity later. What I did see, though, I loved!

After getting our wristbands, bags checked, bathroom break, and water bottles filled, we headed over to the Playstation Stage to catch Bon Iver. Their music isn’t much to dance to, but the harmonizing was and is outstanding.  I was really excited to hear “Skinny Love” and “For Emma,” both which were very good, but it was actually “Creature Fear” and “The Wolves” that just blew my mind. They seemed like very cool guys, and very thankful to all of us dedicated fans standing the rain, which was constant for all of the afternoon. (Thank you, ponchos!)

Unfortunately, the Virgins’ performance overlapped with Bon Iver, and after hauling it a good ways across the park, we managed to catch their last song. I definitely want to see those guys in full though. We headed back to the Playstation Stage and waited for the Fleet Foxes. I knew some of their songs, but not much. They could be compared to Bon Iver: nothing to dance to really, but very impressive harmonies. These guys were quite fun as well, the drummer looked homeless (as Amber pointed out in my Facebook photos!) and joked about their very beardy beards.

Next we caught the last half of Peter, Bjorn and John who were amazing! They had insane energy which kept the crowd dancing. By then, the rain had ended, which made most of us very happy. The songs were flawless as well… I especially enjoyed “Young Folks” but I was disappointed I couldn’t hear “Teen Love” because they must had played it earlier.

After that we watched Andrew Bird from a distance, who was amazing as well. If you haven’t heard of this guy, I definitely recommend him. He plays about half the instruments himself at different parts of each song, including the violin, guitar, and bells. I didn’t know much of the songs that we heard, but it was good nonetheless.

We purposely stayed back for the next band, one because it was insanely crowded, and two because we were going to ditch early to catch the train back. The final band was Kings of Leon. It felt really strange actually hearing their music live. It was really good, I just couldn’t believe I was hearing it live! I couldn’t really see the stage which didn’t help, so I relied on the big screens on both sides of the stage. I noticed they took their songs a little slower than normal, but they pulled it off completely! “Use Somebody,” “Be Somebody,” “Molly’s Chambers,” “Charmer,” and “Knocked Up” were definitely favorites. Next time I see them, I plan on getting closer, no matter how rough I imagine it being!

After the tiresome train ride back, and an amazing shower, I woke up on Saturday to a hot and sunny day, just like I had planned for. We missed the train we intended to catch, so we had to wait some time for the next one. It was a good thing too, because we were right in time for the Arctic Monkeys on the Budweiser stage. We made our way through a good majority of the crowd, and got fairly close. They were completely amazing, just like I had expected. They played some of my favorites like “Do Me a Favour,” “505″ and my newly favorite and the most recent single, “Crying Lightning.” Then even played a Nick Drake cover and I believe two other songs off of their newest album Humbug. It’s been out for a week now and I’ve been itching to go and buy it because I enjoyed their new songs so much. I definitely hope I can make it to their show in Minneapolis on the 25th!

We wanted to make it to other shows that day, but the heat was exhausting so we took a little break and decided to wait to get as close as we could to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who were replacing the Beastie Boys after they had to cancel because of surgery. We got even closer than the Arctic Monkeys! When the show was starting, Karen O amazed all by sporting a fun and crazy outfit with an amazing headdress. Her energy – costume changes and all – fed the crowd throughout the whole show. I also loved how smiley and happy the 3 of them were, like they were having as good of a time as we were. Then of course, the giant eyeball inflatables came out, only adding to the energy. “Zero,” “Cheated Hearts,” “Golden Lion,” “Runaway,” “Phenomena,” and “Y Control” were favorites as well as “Maps” which Karen O took in much slower. So slow, in fact, that she forgot the lyrics halfway through the song! She was laughing at herself right with us, but we all cheered her on, and she kept going. Overall, it was a big dance party and an amazing show.

Catching the right bus on Sunday, which was even hotter than Saturday, we enjoyed the Kaiser Chiefs first. They had great energy as well, and although we were at a distance from the stage, we enjoyed them so much we decided to go to their autograph tent. They were really nice, but the line was moving so fast neither one of us got to say much, but I did thank them for an awesome show!

Next we quickly made it to catch part of Passion Pit, which I enjoyed a lot! “Sleepyhead” and “I’ve Got Your Number” were definite favorites.  I already had Drew’s birthday present in mind, and already had purchased their Chunk of Change EP to get it signed by them. Those guys took their time and were extremely friendly. They were happy to sign it for Drew after I explained to them that he wished he could have come to Lolla, but couldn’t. The last guy, I’m not sure which band member he was, was drawing pictures on everyone’s swag and after he was done with the CD cover insert, he pushed it away, studied it, and said, “Sorry, I fucked that up!” I laughed and told him it was ok. Regardless, I think Drew enjoyed his present when I gave it to him a week ago!

While I was waiting for Passion Pit, I got to hear Lou Reed’s first few songs, the only one I knew was “Sweet Jane,” which was pretty exciting! Before that, we could hear Vampire Weekend from a distance, but we knew the walk there was too long and we’d miss them. But they sounded great!

Next we ran into a cool, small dancing marching band all dressed in black. They got the crowd to join in and dance, and it was a fun little detour on our way across the park.

Finally we made it to the Chicago 2012 stage to see Snoop Dogg finishing up. Although I’m not a huge fan, it was still really fun and I can actually say that I’ve seen Snoop Dogg! We made our way up the best we could for the Killers. We had a decent spot, but of course we were surrounded by tall people. That anticipation made the wait seem so much longer. But when they finally came on, what a show! Favorites included “All These Things That I’ve Done,” “Smile Like You Mean It,” “Spaceman,” “This is Your Life,” “Read My Mind,” and of course, the encore songs, “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine” and “When You Were Young.” Brandon Flowers told some good stories in between the songs, one of which he explained their plane ride from Vegas to Chicago, saying they flew over southern Iowa. Michelle and I screamed as loud as we could so show some Iowa love! During the last song, “When You Were Young,” we had already made our way out of most of the crowd so we could make sure we could catch our train in time. But the song was amazing, the light works were crazy and the song couldn’t have been better! It was an amazing ending to all of Lollapalooza.

As we made our way back to the train station, the festival-goers flooded the streets of Chicago, cheering and clapping in approval of a great weekend. It was an amazing spectacle, and it made the ending not so sad!

We took off the next day and headed back for Algona. Overall, the weekend was unforgettable, and I hope to go next year if the lineup is just as good!

Worst Riverfloat Ever!

My sister Amber, brother Drew and many other friends went riverfloating in Carroll, Iowa on Saturday and it was the worst weather during a riverfloat that I’ve ever experienced. Bryan and Dalls also agreed, but even on that note, we were all in agreement that it was still awesome! Even though the weather sucked, a riverfloat is still fun and we had a blast

For me, that’s two floats down and one more to go this summer, the next will be the Sunday after the first Iowa Hawkeye game, September 6th, the day before Labor Day. I can’t wait!

Beer Review – Miller Lite

Today I indulged myself with an ice cold Miller Lite. Normally I don’t like Miller Lite, so I don’t buy it, but I had to, since I’m working on my beer bottle cap collection and I noticed they had a new gold cap. Upon further inspection the cap informed me that it was a “taste protector cap” and it “locks in great pilsner taste”. Who could resist? I mean, it’s even spelled “Lite”, not “Light”, it has to be good, rite?

The Aroma

I was definitely in Happy Town after twisting off the cap with my bare hand, I could immediately spot the pungent exquisite smell of triple hops and barley– err, rice, or something.

The First Sip

Upon getting a taste on my parched tongue, I knew I was in for a treat, I hadnt tasted something like this in years, not since college probably! The slightly bitter, slightly stale, mostly flat beer went down smooth, like water.

The Aftertaste – You Just Keep Living The Dream

With a beer that tastes as *distinct* as this you truly do keep living the dream nightmare all night long, just like the advertisement suggests.

Final Thoughts

Miller Lite should be on every grocery list across America, an interesting taste with a price that can’t be beat! Until we get out of the recession and people can splurge on that extra dollar to get something fancy, this is one fine beverage.

7 out of 10 caps

Crazy Video

This is a pretty awesome and hilarious video I just found, and I thought I’d share it all with you.

http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2009/08/05

PS, I plan on blogging about Lollapalooza soon!