Witty Quote

Here’s a witty quote I found a couple of days ago. “Life on earth may be expensive but it does include an annual free trip around the sun.” Man what a deal!! All aboard Spaceship Earth. Witty quote discovered at radio42.com, a place I stumbled across while searching for some fresh new streaming radio stations to frequent. Radio42 is pretty cool. Their musical selection is pretty varied. They’ve got a lot of groovy, chilled out, layed back, mellow songs in constant rotation. Plus there’s no jabber. I don’t tune in to hear the DJ talk. I tune in for the music.

Linkin Park + New Album: Meteora = Great!!!!

I love good music. I’m not picky. Errr…. or maybe I’m very picky. If it’s good I’ll listen to it. I feel that I have very discerning tastes in music. Sadly there’s not a lot of good music out there these days at least not in the realm of popular music. That’s why I find Linkin Park refreshing. In this humble fan’s opinion they are one of the most talented, creative, and innovative groups out there right now. Yes Aaron for the umpteenth time I am a Linkin Park fan. Their new album, Meteora, came out yesterday. It’s been in heavy rotation throughout pretty much every facet of my life for the past 26 hours. It’s playing in my car, on my computer at work and at home, in my MP3 player, in my DVD player in the living room, and in my stereo in the living room. Heck I even burned a copy for my CD Alarm Clock radio so can I wake up to it each morning (this allows Linkin Park’s last release, Reanimation, to retire to it’s rightful place in my CD Hall of Fame). The DVD that accompanied the CD has graced my PS2 and will soon find it’s way to the “big” DVD player in the living room. I’ll have to reserve a more critical review of the album for a later time once my new album euphoria wears off.

As a wannabe creative person I can really respect these guys and their ability to express their creative sides through their music and their art. I’m not much of an artist but once upon a time I was a musician so can appreciate the hard work that goes into their work. I hope to one day be able to find a creative outlet to express my musical and artistic sides. Not out of any hopes of commercial success but simply as a way of release and self exploration.

I don’t care what anybody says. Everybody should give Linkin Park’s new album at least one listen. If you give it a couple more listens I guarantee you’ll be hooked. If the “I’m too busy” excuse crops up, have no fear. The album clocks in a a tight and succinct 36 minutes and 41 seconds. The songs are small in length but huge in sonic goodness. Be sure to listen to it on a decent stereo with decent speakers or better yet a good set of headphones. There’s a lot of little intricate details that you’ll miss on a bad sound system. If you have to download the mp3′s get the highest quality ones you can find. I ripped the songs off the CD (for my personal use) at a whopping 224 KPBS which sounds almost as good as the actual CD played through my stereo. The song/album length kind of reminds me of Green Day except Linkin Park is different and more talented. Surely you can invest 37 minutes of your time to discover your next favorite band. They’ve even made it easy for you. Just mosey on over to Linkin Park.com and check out the Meteora Player. You’ll get to hear several songs off the album so you can try before you buy.

How do I know Linkin Park is the bomb? This past Sunday night I wore my Linkin Park concert tour T-Shirt to church. One of my older friends (he’s not old old. i think he’s in his mid-30′s, married with children) came up to me and said “That’s Linkin Park right?” I answered affirmative. He then said ” I like them. They’ve got some really tight beats. I heard they’re coming to town soon.” All I could do is smile. Yes I’m counting down the days until April 12th when my favorite band rolls back through Memphis for the 2nd time in a little over a year. My tickets came in the mail this week. This next month is officially Linkin Park Month in Daryl’s little universe. I know I’ve got it bad but I can’t help it. Well I’ve got to start getting ready for work. Better turn the stereo up so I can here it in the bathroom. I’m sure all my neighbors know all the words to Meteora by now. I’m more than happy to share.

My Old Friend Broadband Has Returned Home

Yes!!!!! I’ve finally got high speed internet access at home again. Oh broadband how I’ve missed you. After traveling the Information Superhighway via your slow, puny, and malnourished counsin, dial-up, and before that not traveling at all for many months, I have an even greater appreciation for you. What’s this? A phone call? O yes I forgot I can receive calls and be online at the same time now. Oh my what’s this? I can download at 2 MEG per second now as opposed to the 4.5 K per second I was downloading at last night. What ever will I do with all this bandwith? Streaming video baby!!! And music too. Browse multiple sites at once in multiple browser windows. I feel like I’m back at home.

How did we ever exist online before broadband? Thankfully I’ve only had to subsist on dial-up for a few months at a time on a couple of occasions. Before this latest net hiatus we had Road Runner at our old house hooked up to my roommate’s blazing fast 1.2 Gig P4 system. It was like riding the highway in a Benz. Before that I had AOHell (strictly for the web connection mind you) for a few months before my trusty old AST 486 finally died. Come to think of it I’ll bet installing AOL is what finally killed the poor thing. It was an all in one system and the monitor blew after 4 years of faithful service. The one thing on the machine I couldn’t personally fix. Damn you AOHell. I shed a tear at that moment. That machine helped me type many a paper in college and struggled through the occasional game of Doom or Civilization I. It was a good machine. Before that I was spoiled by T1+ speeds via the on campus networks at the two colleges I attended. 486 or not when you’re on a LAN, you’re flying. Before that I didn’t know the Internet existed beyond the BBS stuff some of my friends did which seemed incredibly dry and boring to me. No I was a Broadband guy before broadband existed. Just a broadband man living in a dial-up world. But no more!! Broadband, thanks for coming back. You’re always welcome in this house… I mean apartment.

Real On-The-Ground Reporting From Iraq

If you want real insight into what’s happening on the ground in Iraq, check out Where is Raed? If that doesn’t work, Check out the mirror site. Salem Pax give the inside scoop on what it’s like in Baghdad during this crazy time from an Iraqi citizen’s point of view.

Is It Okay For Guys To Own (Or Buy) A Lot Of Shoes?

I bought some shoes today. Two pairs of shoes in fact. When I walked into the store I had not intention of buying two pairs of shoes. It just happened. I actually did go to buy a pair of shoes just not two pairs. Just For Feet had Adidas Sambas on sale for about 15 to 20 dollars less than they’re usually priced. If you’ve never heard of them, Sambas are basically the greatest indoor soccer shoe ever made. That plus they’re totally stylish. If you’ve ever worn a shoe that was so comfortable you hardly even noticed you’re wearing shoes, you’ve got some idea of what it’s like to wear Sambas. Yes I already bought a pair of indoor soccer shoes a few months ago which I totally raved about. That being said, I justified my getting this pair of Sambas because while the other shoes are nice, I can only wear them with thin socks. That’s fine and all but I’ve got a zillion pairs of regular athletic socks and I wanted to get a pair of indoors that would allow me wear them. In addition to that reason, I haven’t had a pair of Sambas in like 5 years which is way too long to be without the best pair of shoes I’ve ever owned. So I bought them and since I’ve already got a pair of dedicated indoor soccer shoes, these Sambas will be used exclusively for stylin’ and profilin’.

Well it just so happened that Just For Feet had a promotion going (don’t they always) where if you buy a pair of shoes, you get the second one for half off. I saw the signs all over the place when I walked in but vowed to myself that I was just going to get the Sambas. Well wouldn’t you know the guy who went in the back to get my Sambas mentioned the buy one get the second one half off deal. How dare him try make more money for the company he works for!! When he said it, my mind switched from you’re just here to buy Sambas to yeah why don’t you find another pair of shoes for equal or lesser value. So I looked around and looked around and looked around. I kept coming back to this pair of black and red Nikes. When it comes to shoes, it’s black or grey for me. Me and white shoes don’t mix. I can’t keep them looking nice and once they get scuffed and banged up they’re not really worth trying to keep up. The great thing about these shoes was that they were on sale. (I love Just For Feet!!) The big selling point for me other than the price was that they had the latest Nike technological gimmick, Shox. They just look cool. I remember when the Nike Air air pocket thingee was the bomb digity. That’s so 90′s. For the 2G’s it’s all about the Shox. So I got the shoes. But there was a surprise waiting for me when I got to the cash register. It was a roughly $30 dollar surprise. It turns out that because both of the pairs of shoes I chose were on sale, they didn’t qualify for the buy one get the second pair half off deal. The helpful sales person failed to mention this tiny detail and though it was mentioned in the small print on all the signs around the store, you had to be right in front of the sign to see it. I didn’t complain too much since I was getting the Sambas for $20 off and the $120 Ken Griffey Swingman Shox for $60.

This leads to the question I presented in the title of my post. Is it okay for a guy to buy (or own) a lot of shoes? I don’t know. I hope it is because I’m slowly starting to amass a collection. I’m a guy. I’m not all that big on shoes. I’ve still got a couple of pair that I wore in high school which will soon be 10 years ago in the not so distant past. As long as the things don’t have holes big enough to drive a truck through I’ll wear them. I’ll wear a pair of shoes until they fall apart. But I’m afraid the floor of my closet is starting to look like some women’s closets. I’ve got 8 pairs of athletic/casual shoes sitting there at this moment that I could wear at any given time. 10 if you count the 2 pairs of soccer sandals. Soccer cleats don’t really count as regular everyday shoes but if you throw those in that would make 12 pairs of shoes. Is this okay? It seems kind of weird because I only have 2 feet. I can only wear one pair of shoes at a time. Do I really need 8 pairs of shoes? I’m not one of those guys that has shoes to match outfits and stuff. That’s another reason I like getting black shoes. They go with anything (at least to my untrained, non clothes matching eyes). So I ask myself, is this too much? I guess it’s okay but I definitely don’t need any more shoes. The ones I’ve got should tide me over well into my marriage (which is a long way off considering that I don’t even have a girlfriend at the moment). The dress shoes I’ve had since my sophomore year in high school are finally starting to tear up so I’ll probably need to replace those but after that, I’m set for life. Or at least through my late 30′s. After that I’ll be old and ready for the nursing home so shoes won’t matter anyway. Bring on the hospital slippers baby!!

Yes War Means People Die

I’ve been doing my best to avoid watching the coverage of the war on TV. I’m not sure why. I guess I just don’t want to dwell on it and get depressed. I don’t want to watch the carnage and develop a “Yeah, let’s get those dirty Iraqis” attitude. I don’t want it to become trivial. This is WAR. It’s not pretty. It’s not tidy. I don’t want to see it recorded, reported, packaged and tied up in a little bow on the evening news. My roommate however has been following the coverage and since we were both at home at the same time today I happened to catch some of it. It amazes me how stupid these news people are. When the first reports of combat casualties came in they seemed to react with shock and surprise. What?!?!? American troops actually lost their lives? Wait a minute that’s not supposed to happen. What are those sneaky Iraqis trying to pull? They’re the only ones who are supposed to die. They’re not supposed to fight back. That’s not fair. It’s outrageous!!! Come on. Give me a break. In war the object is to kill your opponent or disable them to the point where they can no longer fight. The U.S. military is highly skilled. Awesome even. But real bullets are flying out there and if they hit their mark, that person on the receiving end is going to be wounded and may even die. When a grenade or mortar explodes in your general vacinity you’re going to at least be wounded and may even die. The other side is out to get you before you get them. It’s a battle. This is elementary stuff and yet this seems to be foreign to these news people. Well thanks but no thanks. I’ll be doing my best to go back to not watching the war coverage. Besides it’s much more fun following the NCAA tournament. I’m second in my bracket pool. The smack talk is flowing. And at least the media covering these “conflicts” knows that at the end of the games one team wins and the other team looses. In fact at the end of the tournament (gasp) 64 teams (63 + the play in game loser) will have lost and only one will win it all. Everything I needed to know I learned in kindergarten. I think Dan Rather, Stone Phillips and the rest including the self proclaimed “experts” need to go back and take that grade again.

Finally! The Rock (I mean Daryl) has come back to the Internet

Yes after a long hiatus I’ve finally returned. I’m sure all 3 of you have really missed me. (Yeah right!!) I think I can honestly say I’ve been suffering from Internet withdrawal. A month of no Internet sucks big time. Lots has gone down since I was last here. I got a new job. I’m making 2/3 more money than I used to make which is definitely a good thing. I’ve finally got a real working computer of my own here at home for the first time in oh… 3 years. Going from an old AST 486 DX2 with 36 megs of RAM purchased my freshman year in college back in 1995 for a whopping $1900 to a slightly used Pentium III 733 with 256 megs of RAM (soon to be at least 512) purchased for $155 plus s&h is a HUGE jump. Now all I need is a high speed Internet connection and I’ll be crusin’. This dial up stuff is for the birds. I guess I’ve been spoiled over the years with high speed, always on connections first at school, and then at work, and even at home when I was in the house before moving to my current apartment. The next order of business is definitely Roadrunner. Time Warner here I come.

The new job is going pretty well. I’ll be getting out of training soon. The new place is different from the old place in some ways but in other ways they’ve got the same old drama. That’s life though I suppose. I just feel blessed to have a new, better paying job that allows me to do something I’m pretty good at. For the most part the people have been really nice and have kind of taken me under their wings. Everybody’s showing me the ropes which has helped me get up to speed rather quickly. Hopefully this will the be the first step leading to bigger and better things with this company. My roommate won’t stop saying how glad he is that I got on with the company. That’s because he works for the same company. In fact we work in the same building which happens to be exactly a mile from where we live. That’s tight. Of course, my roommate works at the other end of the building where the people making the big bucks work. If it ever stops raining and gets a bit warmer, I’m going to start riding my bike to work. (I know you’re saying yeah right! But I figure it’s time to get back on the health kick I was on from the end of ’01 through around the middle of ’02 or so. This couch potato Daryl just ain’t working out. I like the fitter, leaner, gym rat, work out junky Daryl much better)

Soccer gets cracking this Sunday. This will be our first official game of the Spring Season. My team, The Tornadoes, is hoping to take the division title this season. This is our goal every season and we always say that this is our year/season but this time it REALLY IS our year/season. I’ll keep you posted.

Well some goals for the coming months include: 1) Finish building my monster computer (this one I’m using now will be the tamer, older Internet machine (kind of like having a beater car that you beat the snot out of while the Porsche is in the garage) 2) get a digital camera and a modern scanner so I can scan in my regular non digital pictures 3) finish my website and 4) getting back to updating this blog that nobody reads daily or semi-daily. I guess that’s all for now. I’ve got tons more stuff to say. A month is a long time to be away from you blog but I’ll save it and try to let out in some semi-coherent fashion over the coming days.