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  • I am teh funnah

    Which Website are You?

  • Affixing the IPass

    The IPass comes with tape to affix it to the windshield to the car.  Actually, the tape is on the back of some heavy duty Velcro that’s then attached to the IPass.  Now, I don’t really want to get tape “goo” all over my window, so I figured I’d attempt to approach this problem differently; suction cups.

    Yes, I know (now) that you can get a holder for the IPass that uses suction cups at Jewel.  However, I’d hate to think how much they’d actually charge for that, and I don’t have a Jewel near me.  Also, it’s a good engineering exercise. 

    Last night, I swung by Hobby Lobby and picked up 2 50mm suction cups for $1.  I brought them home and started brainstorming with them and the IPass.  It turns out the industrial Velcro will actually grip on to a piece of wire that is run through it.  Well, this little exercise turned out to only take two minutes.  Now, all I need to do is swing by the hardware store and get some wire, wrap it around the suction cups nipple, and Velcro it into place. 

    All in all, the project will probably cost me $2, which is probably the same, or less than the IPass accessory at Jewel would’ve set me back.  Plus, I can say that “I did it” and I have enough materials left over for another one (two cups in a package).

  • Friday in Chicago

    For those of you in Chicago, and don’t have anything else to do Friday (tomorrow) night, you should come see Adam and the Go Comets with me and friends.  They’ll be at the Elbow Room and start around 11ish. 

    So yeah, come out, and have a good time.

  • Awkward Moment

    I park on campus for work and while leaving for lunch today, I had one of those weird moments.  So, I’m in my car pulling out of my spot, and this girl on the sidewalk looks at me, gets excited and starts waving at me.  Now, I have absolutely no clue who this girl is.  What is the right way to handle such a situation?  Is it to:

    A: Wave back

    B: Look at her like she’s a moron

    C: Ignore her

    D: Roll down the window and ask, “Who the hell are you?”

    E: Ask her out for “pizza”

    F: Attempt to run her over

    I think I ended up doing something between B and C with a possible dash of F.

  • Wounded

    So, today I went in to see the dermatologist about the mole on my back.  He looked me over and said that it didn’t look serious, but that he would recommend getting it removed just because, and to have tests done on it.  That way, if tests do come back positive they can start looking at other spots too.  I give him the nod of approval and he asks if I wanted to have it done right then.

    Well, I was only missing work, and since I was just fired, I don’t see why I really need to rush back.  I mean, I had someone covering for me anyways.  So, they prep me, and ask me all the good questions like if I have any allergies or anything like that.  Then, the lady stabs me a few times with a needle around the spot for local anesthesia, and then they start digging in.  All in all, the “surgery” took under 30 mins (at least that’s what their clock said), and that included stitching me back up.  Unfortunately, I was just anticipating the meeting, and so I had a parking ticket on my car when I got back to it. 

    At the time, since I was anesthetized, I couldn’t feel anything.  Unfortunately, that’s not the case now.  It’s kinda swollen now, and is throbbing a bit.  However, they gave me a prescription of Vicadin in case the pain was too intense, plus I can take regular Advil or Tylenol.  Since it’s so swollen, it really makes it hard to move my arms around, because it keeps tugging on the stitches.  Slightly a pain.

    However, the biggest pain is what they expect me to do to keep the dressings fresh.  Apparently, 3-4 times a day I’m supposed to clean it out with Hydrogen Peroxide, apply this anti-bacterial goo (only for the first 3 days), and then bandage it back up.  Now, this normally wouldn’t be a pain, but first of all, I can’t even see the area, and secondly, even if I could see it, I can’t really reach it. 

    Thankfully Colleen has been nice enough to aid me in this task, at least once a day.  I figure that’s good enough anyways.  I mean, I’m not that dirty of a guy.  Am I?

  • In the Shop

    Well, this is the first time my car has gone into the VW Service Dept.  Hopefully it will be go smoothly, and I won’t end up with more things broken than what I sent it in for. 

    Last week we had some weird weather, and one of the side effects was a lot of ice buildup.  Well, I went up to Chicago last weekend and tried to roll down my window for the tolls.  It didn’t budge, frozen solid.  However, now when I go to roll it down (even though it’s not frozen), it makes this horrible sound like metal scraping the glass, and it just never goes down.  Quality.  I’ve read that this is a common occurrence, and actually pretty easy to fix yourself.  However, the car only has 10k miles on it, and so I really don’t want to deal with it.

    So far, this has been the only problem I have had with the car.  Otherwise, it’s been great.  There are a few weird things about it though.  The number one complaint I have is the seat adjustments.  In most cars, the lever on the side of the seat is for tilt, not mine though.  Instead, that’s to raise and lower the seat.  To tilt it, you have to turn the nob at the joint.  Talk about a pain.  However, it never really effects me, since nobody else drives my car.  I just have to constantly remind new passengers, that want to fiddle with the controls, that they’re actually making the seat go up and down, not tilt.

    However, this car definitely beats the pants out of my old truck.  Just the addition of cruise is, in my mind, heaven.  Then there’s the gas mileage.  Definitely a good purchase on my behalf.

    **Update**
    And I just got a call letting me know that everything is finished.  Took less than 4 hours, I can’t complain.  Granted, I’m not in possession of the car yet, so I’ll still have to see about that.

  • Weekend Update

    Ok, well, actually this isn’t just a weekend update, but more of a collective update covering the last week and a half.  It seems as if many things have been going on, at least bigger things.  Unfortunately, many of the people that read this already know about them.  However, since this is sort of my personal diary, I thought I’d post anyways.

    First news on the plate is that I’ve met someone.  The bad news, is that she’s in Chicago.  She’s actually a friend of Bree’s.  They go to school together.  However, I’m not gonna go giving Bree a bunch of credit, since I believe she’s the one that said something to the extent of, “I introduced you, that’s all I’m gonna do.”  Granted, it seems to have worked, since I’ve been up there the last 2 weekends hanging out with her. 

    Since I’m up in Chicago so much, and, well, because I think I’ll be up there a lot more, I decided to break down and buy an I-Pass.  I’ve been up there at least the las 4 weekends, and I know for sure I’ll be up there again the next two, so it’s a good decision by me.  I mean, the tolls work out being half the price, and I don’t have to stop at each booth.  I just hope it gets here (ordered it online) before I leave on Friday to head to Milwaukee.

    Oh yeah, heading up to Milwaukee with Binford, to go to an Alton Brown book signing.  It was either St Louis on Thursday, or Milwaukee on Friday.  I figured, Friday would work out much better, since I could take another 3 day weekend.  I’m hoping it will be a good time.  I mean, Good Eats is such a quality show, the book signing can’t be bad.  Right?

    Well, that leads me to my next topic, but that one really deserves a new entry because it’s crazy enough to be its own.

  • IHOP’s Sign

    “Start your diet tomorrow.  Visit IHOP today!”

  • Medical Trifecta

    Well, today was the last of my three checkups that I finally got around to doing.  This included the Eye Doctor, Dentist, and then to get a physical.  I figured now would be a good time to get around to all those, since I still worked at the University, and they have such wonderful benefits. 

    Apparantly I ran out of my physical too fast, because I was supposed to get signed up for a Tetanus shot.  My doctor looked at me kind of funny when I said that it has been since ‘94 since I had my last one.  Plus, while I was there I had him look at a mole on my back.  He said that it didn’t look bad, and I didn’t need to worry about it, but then when he came back after I had dressed he was carrying a book about moles and melanoma, etc, and said that he actually wanted me to meet with a dermatologist. 

    So, while my original three appointments are finished, I still need to head back in two times in the next week.  One for the tetanus shot, the next for the dermatologist.  It’s like a party, at the doctors.

    Oh yeah, and just in case anyone was worried, I’m in perfect condition.

  • Moving Again

    This will mark the fourth department in 6 months.  I’m hoping to set a new record.  Granted, my moving is not due to being unable to fit into a dept.  It’s just because there are so many depts that need fixing at the University.  It’s actually quite sad, especially since UIUC used to be such a leading university for IT related things.  It’s amazing how far they have fallen behind by simply not doing anything.