AmrraBlog

Turkey Stew

2008-01-04T18:41:00.000-08:00

Dudes, just needed a place to store this so it was accessible.

Rhiannon is due at the end of the month, gallstones and gestational diabetes are kicking her butt, so I made this. Seemed to work out well.

Turkey Stewey

1.25 lbs. Ground Turkey (Lean)
2 Tomatoes, sliced
2 cups water
3 cloves garlic
2 carrots, sliced
3 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
Juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chile powder
dash of salt and pepper
2 tblsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water

Brown turkey in large pot. Add tomatoes, garlic, 2 cups water, garlic, carrots, potatoes, lemon juice and seasonings. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until carrots and potatoes are tender.

In small bowl mix cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water. Stir into turkey mixture and cook until thickened.

Serve over whole grain noodles.

-z

Tickets to X-Fest

2006-06-09T16:54:00.000-07:00

Just got handed some work that I need to get done tonight, not going to be able to go.

Anyone want em? Email me.

-z

rock rock rock rock rock n' roll high school

2006-03-16T12:18:00.000-08:00

You ever find those random emails in your junk folder that are actually worth reading? Got one today entitled "High School Reunion" and decided to click on it for no good reason.

text:

-----

Hola Amigos!!!
High School Reunion is now available everywhere!

Frank Black, Matthew Sweet, Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses, 50 Foot Wave), John P. Strohm (The Blake Babies, The Lemonheads), The Caulfield Sisters, and Dresden Dolls are just several of the great indie-rockers covering tracks from some of the 80s most popular teen films!

High School Reunion has been receiving glowing reviews and charting as high as #1 on college & indie radio worldwide. This is the CD of the year - maybe the DECADE!!! Okay, that's a bit over-the-top, but High School Reunion is a really fun CD and, in our humble opinions, a must have for any music lover and/or film buff.

-----

Info here:
http://www.americanlaundromatrecords.com/highschoolreunion.html

EDIT:

Okay, it's got clips from it on the site. Most of the songs are crap. That's really disappointing.

Worthy tracks:
American Girl - Matthew Sweet
In Your Eyes - Lori McKenna
If You Were Here - Kitty Hawk
Moving In Stereo - The Commons
Pretty In Pink - The Dresden Dolls
Wave Of Mutilation - Kristin Hersh
Danke Schoen - The Wading Girl
Repo Man - Frank Black
I Go Crazy - PC Munoz

It's pretty funny that someone covers Wave of Mutilation, and Frank Black is a contributor. Also...Danke Shoen? Haha...great 80's song.

-z

Zachary went to the...

2006-03-01T14:04:00.000-08:00

Just pulled this out of my butt, based on the "Zachary needs" Google game.

In quotes, enter into Google:
"__yourname__ went to the"

List the top 5 or 10 or whatever.

1. Their youngest son Zachary went to the University of New Hampshire...
"their" being Dale Comey, a "UConn Hoop Legend" and his wife

2. Zachary went to the ped. on Friday and he has the worst case of strep throat that his doctor's seen in a long time.
I've never had strep. I always think I have it when I get sick but the culture comes out negative. One of these days I'm going to decide not to go to the doctor and die of some complications relating to strep throat...like not being able to yell when I'm being mugged.

3. Janet and Zachary went to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground while the rest of us walked into the Muppets 3-D preshow with about 9 minutes wait.
well, it is the coolest playground in the entire world. Just hope dad doesn't step on me! oh no!

4. Zachary went to the babysitter’s, Jennifer, for the first time. Even she stated that Zachary was such a good baby, the easiest she had ever cared for, that he was always content to just play by himself in the crib. Little did either of us realize that this was one of the first signs of autism manifesting itself.
oh, that's just fucking great. just because I was a mellow child means I'm autistic? how come nobody ever told me? I mean, yeah, I look kind of funny but hey, so do you! piss off!

5. Zachary went to the neurologist July 6, and Dr. Connolly was pretty impressed with his progress. She has put him back on the Prednisone though. His CPK level was elevated and some of his contractures have gotten worse. She thinks maybe the MD is still active in his muscles and this will knock it back down.
why does everyone with my name have some horrible malady or is handicapped? maybe I should change my name to Joshua.

Okay, actually didn't get GREAT results, the "need" one was much better. I'm just waiting for an email from a client so I can finish his darn project.

Bonus #6:

Mostly, Joshua went to the island on business. His entry for Monday, June 20, 1720, reads "I went to Fishers Island & took on bord Mr Arnold 1536 lb Wool. I Lodged yr al night. next morning Wee Sat out for Hartford & arived on Saturday 25th."

Yeah, Joshua is sounding pretty good about now, even though he's illiterate.

-z

Chili Amnesia

2006-03-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

For those of you who missed it, I posted Zach's Super Bowl Chili recipe a few weeks ago, complaining that I couldn't find my recipe from last year.

Clicking on a random archive page on the blog, I found out that I had posted mine from last year as well. What a mrrrr.

2005 Super Bowl Chili

I'm much more proud of this year's chili than last year's. Mainly because I had to actually watch it in the pot instead of leaving it in the crock pot, but also because a) it was much hotter and b) it had less of a tomato flavor. You just don't need that can of tomato sauce.

Next time though I'm going to cut the amount of chipotles in half.

-z

American DVR

2006-02-23T20:57:00.000-08:00

At about 8:45, Fox 6 had a commercial saying "two wannabes bounced off American Idol talk to us in the morning..."

They then show two contestants on film.

I won't say who they are since Mikey hasn't watched it yet.

So we're thinking, awwww man, I can't believe they ruined that for us! Someone's getting fired!

And then the eliminations come, and one of them gets kicked off, but the other one doesn't.

So what's worse, the fact that some producer at Fox screwed up and played a spot early...

OR THAT HE HAD THE WRONG PEOPLE IN THE COMMERCIAL????

Holy crap...gotta love local producers.

hahahahaaaaa...

-z

American Cloneage

2006-02-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

Anyone else notice that Ace from American Idol looks like Mark Loretta with long hair?

Cheney Rap

2006-02-14T12:28:00.000-08:00

Best quote about Cheney's shooting comes courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel:

"Congratulations Mister Vice President, you are now a Crip."

So, I figure we need a Cheney rap.

"Cheney" by Ice-Z

I am a VP walking, psychopath talking
True king of the White House just a gangster stalking
Punkin Dems like a firecracker quick is my fuse
Then dead as your freedom the cronies I choose
Red or Blue, Cal or Texas, it just don't matter
Lawyer dive for your life when my shotgun scatters
Republicans of DC will never die - just multiply.

Cheney...Cheney...Cheney...

-z

Zach's Super Bowl Chili

2006-02-06T12:07:00.000-08:00

Couldn't find my chili recipe from last year, nor our crock pot, but still wanted to make chili this year. It's pretty spicy, you've been warned. So, for posterity, here we go.

2 lbs stew meat
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon salt
vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, cut into smallish (1/2" square) pieces
5 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 small can Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 cup tequila
Half a can of Squirt
2 cups beef broth/consumme
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 large can each - kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans
1 big ass pot

Here we go.

Trim stew meat into approx. 1 inch cubes. Mix flour, 1 tablespoon paprika, garlic powder, pepper and salt. Heat some vegetable oil in pot. Roll stew meat in flour mixture and brown well. Remove from pot and place in a bowl. I had to do this 1 lb. at a time.

In same pot, add more vegetable oil if needed, and sautee onion and garlic for about 3 minutes. Add bell peppers and chipotle peppers (with sauce) and sautee for another 3-4 minutes.

Place beef back in pot. Add Squirt, tequila, beef broth, chili powder, cumin and oregano. Stir. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1.5 hours.

Add diced tomatoes, stir, and simmer for another hour covered.

Drain beans and add to pot. Stir. Simmer for another half hour covered, stir, then simmer for another half hour uncovered.

Serve with bread, grated cheese and sour cream.

Any additional simmering is highly recommened.

When I first made it, I only used 2 cans of beans. It was WAY too hot to eat as regular food so I added another can. This is some spicy chili kids, if you want to cut it down even futher, I figure you could use just the chiles without the adobo sauce, or get rid of the chiles altogether and add Chipotle Tobasco to taste.

-z

I'm so excited this is gonna be so fun...then FLASHBACK.

2005-12-31T21:14:00.000-08:00

Hmmmmm, I thought I had posted this...then I just saw it was labeled as "draft"

=================================

Rhiannon and I headed up to Steve's house in the rain to go to his new year's eve slumber party. We'd been looking forward to it ever since he mentioned it last week...we love doing stuff on NYE but hate going out and dealing with assholes, cover charges and general annoyances that go along with new years hullabaloos.

Brought our pajamas and slippers along with some cozy blankets and pillows. Ready to get hammered with good friends and see Pattie o'Hiatt for the first time in a lonnnnnng time.

It was raining.

We get up just past the 52 on the 5 north, i'm cruising easy at about 60 just taking it slow, and then we hit a patch of something and I feel the car slide about 6 inches to a foot...nothing major...wouldn't think anything of it on a normal night in the rain.

And I had a flashback.

For those of you who don't know, my wife and I slid across 4 lanes of traffic and rolled in an SUV on our honeymoon, in the rain, up by Seattle. We were okay for the most part, I was able to walk away and Rhiannon torqued her back but nothing too severe. Driving for the next few days was a little sketchy but after that I thought I'd gotten over it.

Tonight was a different matter.

I just told Rhiannon "I can't do it. I can't do it" and got off the freeway coincidentally right by our old house. We sat in the parking lot at Vons and I tried to calm down. Called Steve and apologized but I was way too shaken up to drive the rest of the way to the OC.

Bought some champagne, beer and pizza rolls at the Vons and took city streets all the way home. An hour later I'm sitting at my computer after taking some Valerian root and am about to get plastered.

Depending on how I feel in the morning about driving, we may try the trip for brunch.

I'm really worried though. I can't be one of those people that won't drive in the rain. With snowboarding that just won't do. I don't know what to do. I don't know who I'll be tomorrow. I don't know anything except that was a reliving of the scariest moment in my life and I just don't DON'T like it.

Happy new year everybody. May the new year bring you peace.

I sure need it.

-z

BEEP!

2005-12-15T10:46:00.000-08:00

you ever wake up "early" because you hear a random...

BEEP!

you don't really really know what it is, you think your computer's about to explode...

BEEP!

it's not the computer, but you've tracked it down to the living room...

BEEP!

it's coming...from the ceiling?

BEEP!

Ah, it's the smoke alarm. Batteries must be running low.

BEEP!

Grab the stepstool, get up there...

BEEP!

Figure out how the thing opens since you've only lived here a few months...

BEEP!

Almost get decapitated because you forgot to turn off the ceiling fan...

BEEP!

Turn off ceiling fan...

BEEP!

Climb back up on the stepstool...

BEEP!

Take out the battery...

BEEP!

wtf?

BEEP!

But I took out the battery...

BEEP!

But you have no power Mr. Smoke Alarm...

BEEP!

WHY DO YOU TORMENT ME?!?!!!

BEEP!

Yup, it's actually hardwired into the ceiling. Muthafukka. Hopefully a new battery will do the trick.

-z

BEEP!

Zachary needs...

2005-10-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

Stolen from Swank or Skank?, one of the blogs that I troll even though I have no idea who they are...

Go to Google.
Type in "(your name) needs." (Remember to use quotes)
And look at all the things that Google says you need!

Here are the top 10 things that Google says I need;

1) Zachary Needs Favor! - Could you grab me a glass of juice from the fridge? Thanks.

2) Zachary needs a kidney and heart transplant. - I had no idea...better get that medical insurance and tell my liver it needs to wait.

3) Zachary needs a family with realistic expectations who will encourage him to achieve his full potential in a highly predictable, safe, stable environment at home and a school. - Thanks, already got one. And having a highly predictable environment is just not my idea of a life.

4) Zachary Needs A Home. - Oh, how I wish we had a home with a nice yard so Mrs. Z could have a puppy. Licking her face when she gets home is getting kinda old.

5) Zachary needs to be in the mainstream. - Mainstream, shmainstream! I'm LIVVVIN ON THE EDDDDGGGGGGGE...

6) Zachary needs it. - All the time, baby.

7) Zachary Needs. - Yes, that's someone's real name.

8) What is the minimum standard Zachary needs to meet in order to satisfy your concerns? - Apparently, Zachary is a troublemaker. Old news *yawn*

9) Just cause Zachary needs to feel love doesn’t mean he needs to pull that crap. - See #8.

10) Zachary needs to pay the bills. - Gah! Bad, wise Google!

-z

music monday...why not?

2005-10-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

Some songs just for fun.

Tears for Fears - Everybody Loves a Happy Ending - Perfect for a cold Monday.

White Stripes - You're Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl) - Well ya are, aren'tcha?

David Bowie - Velvet Goldmine - Off the Ziggy Stardust 30th anniversary. Go ahead. Shake your groove thang.

-z

Where have you gone, Mr. Z?

2005-10-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

Oh, my poor, poor readers. So long without anything new from Mr. Z. Well lemme tellya, this last month we've been going through some changes on the homefront, and things are finally starting to mellow out. So to sum up:

We've moved!
We're now in City Heights, just east of the 805. Finally a neighborhood with a little life in it. Our next door neighbor is awesome. Mrs. Z finally has someone to talk politics with. And she has a great doggie, Casey.

I borrow tools from another neighbor.

Our neighbors have great names. Happy. Unique. Greg.

With the move has come some minor construction.
Ikea Sliding Curtains
Wall Mounted Pot Rack

Next up are the cabinets for our "office cubby." The doors just arrived today, I'll be working on getting those up tomorrow. It's going to involve completely dismantling my desk so I'm waiting on some computer parts that I'll have to install.

Started working!
I signed my first client last week. Everyone say hello to the best San Diego Wedding Photographer around, Jared Bauman. I'll be updating his site and performing some SEO magic.

I've upgraded my computer
Since I'm working from home, I decided to do some upgrades to my computer. I've been upgrading slowly over the last year or so, but I've just about finished over the last month. I built this system from the ground up, concentrating on the best quality for the price. I'm pretty proud of myself. I don't look at it so much as being a geek, more like a gearhead but instead of a car I work on my computer. Argue if you will.

This is the (almost) final result. If anyone needs to put together a machine I can help you out finding cheap parts. I buy everything new using rebates, coupons, sales, etc. Links are to company sites, or NewEgg if that's the easiest to find.

Video card and speakers arriving tomorrow.

P4 3.0ghz Prescott HT 800mhz FSB 1mb cache @ 3.9ghz - $130
Asus P4P800 SE motherboard - $60
1gb PNY PC2700 memory - Gotta upgrade to PC3200! - $15
120gb Maxtor HD ATA/133 - $0 (present)
Lite-on SOHW-1693S 16x DVD+RW/DVD-RW - $45
Sony CRX230ED 52x CD-RW OEM flashed to Lite-on SOHR-5238S - $20
XFX Geforce 6800 - I plan to unlock and OC this puppy to the max, yo. - $130
Antec TruePower 430 - $90 (Paid retail! Worth it though)
Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu - it's pretty. - $20
Antec SLK1600 - $15
Creative T3000 2.1 speakers - $10

Okay, I'm a geek. So sue me. Wait until I bust out the dremel to add another fan vent to the side and fabricate a removable front fan filter.

And it's all just in time - F.E.A.R. comes out next week. I preordered the DVD Director's Cut version hehe...I can't tell you how excited I am. Not convinced it's going to be one of the best FPS games ever? John Carpenter says "It's the scariest game I've played."

That's about it for now!

-z

i am ready for some football.

2005-09-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

second wind, of course.

I'll be the one in the David Binn jersey.

-z

is that corn?

2005-09-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

Lost little spermie

-z

wetlands? we don't need no stinking wetlands.

2005-09-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Stolen from Happy:

In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war.

Article at Spiegel Online.

Now as many of my friends know, I'm an ardent Bush supporter. I've been able to overlook everything he's ever done...starting an endless war, ignoring global warming threats and anything relating to science, appointing people for positions and ambassadorships like the job descriptions were written in Bizarro World, etc. But this?

Okay, I lie, I hate the George W. But that the paragraph above should be EXACTLY what the mindless retards of the world that voted for him should be thinking right now.

-z

last hurrah...

2005-09-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

Power and cable are on at the new place, and we're staying there for the first night. Still not completely moved in but enough so that we can be comfortable.

So this is my last blog entry from underneath the shadow of the white towers. Check out the splendor before I pack it up!

That's a lamp on top of one of my monitors.

The round thing next to the keyboard is an overflowing ashtray.

The computer has no sides on it.

There's a Linspire box next to the machine I've been thinking of uploading.

On the wall the calendar is turned to March.

Next to the keyboard is a random pile of paper...goldenrod.

Many, many explanations into the productiveness that is Zach.

-z

oh chipotle, i love you anyway.

2005-08-30T22:41:00.000-07:00

don't eat at chipotle if you're on a diet. trust me.

Chipotle Nutrition Calculator

-z

thank you jack white...

2005-08-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

Haven't been blogging much, depending on how you see this blog it's either "I'm Sorry" or "You're Welcome." Two quick shout outs.

Don't fuck with Jack White

Say hello to our new neighbor!.

Been busy moving, having nervous breakdowns, unsuccessfully bartering with lawyers, and indirectly giving money to pro-life organizations because the 6 Dollar Western Bacon Cheeseburger is just too fucking good.

We'll be in our new place on Thursday, but probably won't be done moving out of the old place until November.

Did anyone check out the premiere of HBO's Rome last night? If you missed it, encore presentation tuesday at 9. Nude chicks, graphic violence and italians with english accents. Some pretty good characters too.

Fuckin Italians.

-z

aloha friday...for real.

2005-08-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

ALOHA JOB! IT'S BEEN FUN! CAN'T YOU SEE HOW UNSTRESSED I AM?

shirt purchased by the beautiful wife with the help of GFI. I saved it for a special occasion, my last day of work. Now on to the job market and part time gigs. Could be fun, we'll see.

yeah, I know, haven't updated on the Pam Anderson roast. Maybe I'll do that after lunch, where my boss is going to try to get me drunk so I don't shoot up the place.

-z

sit or jump.

2005-08-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

This guy jumped 40 feet from the loge level to see if the foul net would hold his weight. It did. I've been drunk at ballgames before but DAMN!

I'll write about Sunday tonight, I promise.

-z

sorry kids!

2005-08-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to have enough time today to recount Sunday. I'll try to do it tonight, but it'll probably be tomorrow.

I'll leave you with the Getty Images of the event and a few choice moments...

All the jokes about Tommy Lee's dick.
All the jokes about Bea Arthur's dick.
Andy Dick letting Tommy Lee grab his dick "you'd think that with a name like that it'd be bigger."
Sarah Silverman..."well, enough about the coloreds..."
Courtney Love..."I've been clean for a year. Enough with the drug yokes...jokes..."
Andy Dick finding a baggie of coke down Courtney Love's bra.
"Pam, as an actress you have the emotional range of Terry Schiavo." (you can see pam ask "who's terry schiavo")
"The sound man has to correct for echo because of Pam's enormous cunt."
"How can Courtney Love look worse than Kurt Cobain?"
"The only talk show host Sarah Silverman hasn't slept with is Byron Scott, and that's because she's racist."

More later!

hash...lovely hash...

2005-08-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday!

My parents are taking a little vacation this week, so my lovely wife and I are going to be house sitting. Saturday morning we got together for breakfast to go over the details, also inviting along my mom's friend Leslie. We met at Hob Nob Hill, buried on 1st ave. in Banker's Hill. This place has been around forever, dark wood everywhere, and naugabooths. As I'm looking through the menu I said out loud, "nobody makes their own hash anymore, it's always that canned dinty moore crap."

Just as I say that, I see on the menu "OUR FAMOUS HOMEADE ROAST BEEF HASH."

So I ordered it.

Now I'm not like a hash connoiseur, I don't even know if I'm spelling it right. I just know the difference between good hash and bad hash. And damned if that wasn't the best FRIGGIN has I've had in my whole life. Go check it out, it makes the old Topsy's hash taste like fried donkey poop.

Another reason for this breakfast meeting was so that we could talk with Leslie, whose fiance owns a 1br condo in Normal Heights. Apparently he's owned it for a while, had the interior completely redone, planned on selling it but it's just been sitting there, vacant.

We went to check it out and it's reeeeallly, really cute. Great kitchen, lots of cabinets, and on a nice street between el cajon and university that doesn't directly connect the two so there's not a ton of cross traffic. We're going to meet with him tomorrow and finalize everything, so by the first of the month we might be moving!

Later that night, we made our way to "Sexual Deviancy, Virgin 2.0 (Return of the Kink)" at a friend of a friend's house. The concept was to dress as a form of a sexual deviant. I could have just gone as myself but that didn't seem appropriate.

I really didn't have anything good to wear, and we're trying to keep expenses down, so we made up a quick outfit. Speedos, a see through negligee, and a boy scout troop leader's shirt. Topped off by a polaroid camera in a subtle reference to Douglas S. Smith Jr..

Damn, that guy's creepy lookin.

Rhiannon dressed up as Margaret Sanger, complete with propaganda and condoms. Surprisingly, a lot of people got it. My personal favorite outfits were the Scottish shepherd and the sheep, the dirty old man, and the village people construction guy. Also the farmer who dug up the dead body was pretty good.

That house was thrashed at the end of the night. Exploded condoms, water everywhere from the guy with the cock squirtgun, all sorts of paraphenalia spread allllll over.

Fun, fun fun. And the only party I've ever been to where I was served Chartreuse.

Next up: Sunday. Courtney's Hole, Bea Arthur's Dick and The Whore in the Green Dress - The Pamela Anderson Roast.

-z

roasted condo with boy scouts

2005-08-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

Many, many events this weekend. Some big decisions made, some damn good hash, some fun to be had, and courtney love's snatch. We'll start at the beginning, and I'll separate the days into different entries. I've really got to put together a real blog so I can organize this stuff better...

Friday!

Started out the evening by making some calls about apartments and condos. Making calls after 6:00 to property management companies is usually a hopeless cause, but I ended up connecting with a woman who manages around 8 properties in the neighborhoods we're looking at. Asked her about two of them, and she gave us the lockbox code for them. The lockbox code was the same, so after some checking on our list, we wrote down about 6 places that were all under the same management company. They ALL had the same code. If anyone wants a place to throw a party, we've got access to a lot of keys. One of the complexes was almost completely empty so we could throw a pretty good one...

None of the places were really exciting, your standard one bedroom rentals, but we got a good look at what our price range would get us. Not much, but liveable until I find a consistent source of income.

We were originally going to the Kensington Grill to visit our buddy Jonathan, then decided not to go, then found ourselves right down the street from it. Decided to stop by and get a drink. But we were hungry. $75 and a few hours later we waddled back to the car filled with trout cakes, mushroom/prosciutto ravioli and the best meatloaf in the world. All washed down with the Firehouse Ale that our brave san diego firemen brew themselves.

Next entry...Hash, a new home, and how to molest a boy scout.

-z

aloha friday

2005-08-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

traffic coming to work this morning was a nightmare. good thing drivers like me concentrate on the road instead of doing stupid stuff like take pictures of ourselves.

big things this weekend...some sort of fetish party tomorrow night, then the Pamela Anderson Roast on sunday. They always overbook these things so I hope we get in, I can't wait to see sarah silverman going off on her. Whoohooo!

-z

padres discount tix

2005-08-04T16:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't know if we're going to go to any of these games, but thought I'd share with the faithful. Click on the link and type "FRIAR" in the password section. Prices listed below are a little deceiving, they also tack on 2 bucks for each ticket and something like a $3 fee for each order. Still cheaper than face value though.

So, padres fans, have at it. Should work for anyone. At the very least you'll see a ton of cheap tickets for sale on craigslist for these dates in a few days.

===========================================

PENNANT PUSH TICKET OFFER

The month of August is going to be exciting as the Padres head into the final two months of the 2005 season. There is a lot going on at PETCO Park as the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks come to town. In appreciation for your support this season, the Padres are offering Friar Wire members an exclusive ticket offer.

Friar Wire members can purchase tickets for all August home games, as well as the September 6-8 series versus Colorado, at the following prices:

Toyota Terrace Reserved: $30 (save $15 over single game prices!)
Upper Infield Reserved: $10 (save $8 over single game prices!)
Upper Reserved: $5 (save $7 over single game prices!)
Right Field Reserved: $5 (save $7 over single game prices!)
Left Field Reserved: $5 (save $7 over single game prices!)

This offer is only available by purchasing online at padres.com. Simply click on the link below (moved to top of page - ed.) to access a private webpage for this offer. Your promotional code is "FRIAR".

Enter the code - FRIAR

UPCOMING HOME SERIES
August 9-11 vs. New York Mets
August 12-14 vs. Philadelphia Phillies
August 22-24 vs. Houston Astros
August 26-28 vs. Colorado Rockies
August 29-31 vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
September 6-8 vs. Colorado Rockies

extreme...recycling?

2005-08-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

I've got nothing, other than to say that this is really cool. We need more events to do things like this.

X Games Environmentality

Brain no work. Want beer.

-z

mashup top 5

2005-08-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

Since mikey's been getting into mashups, I thought he'd appreciate today's Top 5 list...

==================================================================
It's slobberin' time!
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T H E T O P 5 L I S T
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http://www.topfive.com
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August 3, 2005

NOTE FROM CHRIS:

A mashup is made when two songs are "mashed" together,
usually by mixing the vocals of one song over the
music of another. Imagine Sinatra's vocal track for
"Fly Me to the Moon" superimposed on the music for
"Livin' La Vida Loca" and you'll get the basic idea.

The Top 5 Interesting Mashups

5> Sam & Dave/Frankie Goes to Hollywood/Britney Spears:
"Hold On! I'm Comin'! Relax. Oops!...I Did It Again"

4> Sir Mix-a-Lot/The Dickies:
"Baby Got Back Hair"

3> The Searchers/George Thorogood:
"Love Potion Number Nine: One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer"

2> Aerosmith/Bread/Frank Sinatra:
"Dude Looks Like a Lady if The Lady Is a Tramp"

and Topfive.com's Number 1 Interesting Mashup...

1> Jimmy Buffett/Mott the Hoople:
"Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw All the Young Dudes"

where's ron burgundy when you need him?

2005-07-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

Zoo begins countdown to pending panda birth

I hope San Diegans who saw Anchorman weren't offended by the ridiculousness of the news stories, because seriously, it's always been like that here. Brian Christie is the new Ron Burgundy.

Panda Watch drinking game anyone?

-z

aloha friday

2005-07-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

they can take my job, but they can't take aloha friday away from me!

My parents have a way of finding random hawaiian shirts at garage sales, this is the first of the new batch. Silk. Wide open collar to show my manly chest. I need a gold necklace with a coke spoon to make it perfect. Wait til you see the other ones...whoooooDOGGIE!

Tonight, tonight...SuperDiamond at DMTC's 4:00 Friday. We'll be skipping the races to save money, but pre-partying over at Edd's house in Del Mar and then walking over to the track. Anyone who wants to make the drive is welcome.

More Neil to get you jealous! Reichlick Saveon please.

I am...I said...weren't you listening?
Sweet Caroline, we love you even though you're a bit nuts.

-z

For Natalie C.

2005-07-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

luther.

====================

Back when I was a child
Before life removed all the innocence
My father would lift me high
And dance with my mother and me and then

Spin me around till I fell asleep
Then up the stairs he would carry me
And I knew for sure
I was loved

If I could get another chance
Another walk, another dance with him
I’d play a song that would never, ever end
How I’d love, love, love to dance with my father again

Ooh, ooh

When I and my mother would disagree
To get my way I would run from her to him
He’d make me laugh just to comfort me, yeah, yeah
Then finally make me do just what my mama said

Later that night when I was asleep
He left a dollar under my sheet
Never dreamed that he
Would be gone from me

If I could steal one final glance
One final step, one final dance with him
I’d play a song that would never, ever end
‘Cause I’d love, love, love to dance with my father
again

Sometimes I’d listen outside her door
And I’d hear her, mama cryin’ for him
I pray for her even more than me
I pray for her even more than me

I know I’m prayin’ for much too much
But could You send back the only man she loved
I know You don’t do it usually
But Lord, she’s dyin’ to dance with my father again
Every night I fall asleep
And this is all I ever dream

shell game!

2005-07-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

I love the shell game! guys are usually better at them, so let's see if we can get some results from men and women on this one. Lurkers, show yourselves!

shell game

(might want to look over your shoulder to make sure nobody's watching)

-z

the real alex spanos

2005-07-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

Mikey pointed out the Shitty Tippers Database so I gave it a look. Here's a great one on Alex Spanos, the owner of the Chargers:

=======================
Tipper's Name: Spanos/Ownes the football team
Restaurant: Morton's of Chicago
Where it happened: San Diego
Total bill / Tip amount / Percentage: $890.00 / $100.00 / 11%
What happened:
He is rudest asshole in the world! He sat in the private dining room drank wine from his wine locker that is filled with cheap wine from the winery that HE ownes, Spanos Winery. He bossed me around like his his own private bitch in front of his family and friends who all had their noses shoved so far up his ass they couldn't even hear or see what an ass he was. Please ,Please go somewhere else! You are amongst the top ten wealthiest families in the U.S, go away!! Eat your steak at home you miserable, old, cheap, arrogant, hole of an ass.
=======================

Aside from spelling "Owns" incorrectly, I like this chick. Maybe I should eat at Morton's more often.

Yeah, and maybe my new job will net me 25 million a year.

I'm a Charger's fan, have been my whole life. I've never been a Spanos fan. I hate that prick, he's made so many shifty business decisions and held San Diego hostage that I've been hoping and praying that he sells the team, which he'll never do. Here's a great multiple choice question for you...

The Chargers will get a new stadium built in the city of San Diego when:

a) Alex Spanos sells the team
b) There's a massive overturn of the city council (in process)
c) Bruce Henderson chokes on a ham sandwich
d) They win a playoff game
e) All of the above
f) Never

Personally, I pick f). Donna Frye, who will probably be our new mayor, isn't prepared to give any concessions whatsoever to the team, and the teams' been pretty adamant on some sort of city funding. Love that chick, but seriously, there's gotta be a way. The last proposal looked like a decent tradeoff, with the team footing the bill for everything BUT the team gains ownership of the land it's on...of course, then someone thought...hey...but the city could use revenue from that land to solve all our financial problems...and then strippers could come over...and who likes football anyway...

There's enough people in san diego who want the chargers to stay, but there aren't enough people who want a new stadium. Tough position for the politicians whose every breath is dictated by the whims of the people. How do you get a team to stay when you have the oldest stadium in the NFL.

Chula Vista wants the stadium there, I think that'd be the best option for everyone involved. If the city of San Diego can't make a deal (and they should claim Chapter 7 anyway), I have no problem taking a trolley to the games in South SD. As long as they're still in the county.

-z

To get you ready for SuperDiamond at 4:00 friday, a little music...

Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show - Neil Diamond live, 13mb. Right-click, save-as, then go get some lunch.

don't lay me (off) like that!

2005-07-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

I got my two week notice yesterday.

Apparently, the division I work for has been hemorrhaging money for 6 months. They just can't afford me anymore.

It couldn't have come at a shittier time, really. We're trying to find a new house to rent with a yard so we can have a dog...now, if I don't find a job in the next 3 weeks, we'll barely be able to pay our current rent.

Okay I guess a shittier time would have been before the wedding.

They're going to toss me a few part time bones after I'm officially gone but it won't last, so here comes the big question...

what do I do now?

Do I start my own business in hope that I can put together clients before we're totally broke? Do I beg my friends that have their own businesses *cough* joelle *cough* to pass some work along to me? Do I go back to cube life?

Legally, I've been working for myself for 3 years, contracting with the company that's letting me go. It's been great...working by the beach, and loving the people I work for. If I'm to be honest I did get a little too comfortable here and the thought of leaving for somewhere else is killing me.

Now the future's up in the air, and I can't just think about me, I've got a new wife and two animal plates to take care of. *sigh*

so what do i WANT to do?

shit, ask me tomorrow.

-z

don't vote for pedro

2005-07-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

from Busted Tees:

-z

aloha friday

2005-07-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

some music for your aloha friday to sooth your soul.

not in a very photogenic mood. Trashed my toe again this morning. But went through the archives and found another undocumented shirt!

-z

mikey likey the mashy

2005-07-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

Since mikey loves mashups so much, thought I'd post the two most disturbing ones I've heard recently. These were sent by our graphic designer, no idea who the DJ is...righteous click please.

Fugazi vs. Beyoncee - removed
Nirvana vs. JLo - removed

bump it. it's okay. your coworkers will be impressed by your music collection.

-z

p.s. okay, fine, I took off the comments registration. will you talk to me now?

my friend flickr

2005-07-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

All your favorite Aloha Friday pictures in one place? What would you expect to pay for that?

Okay, yeah, nothing, I know. Check it out anyway.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zagood/

-z

hello, moon!

2005-07-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

Google today is celebrating the first manned moon landing.

Zoom in all the way. Damn those Google cameras are powerful!

Yesterday went with Mrs. Z, Poppa Z, Sistah Z and Sistah Z's boyfriend to Magic Mountain. Sistah Z is running away on Saturday to join the circus, and this was "the one thing she wanted to do in California" before she left.

At work. Busy. Summation:

oh man it was FUCKING hot.
X is still the most incredibly awesomist roller coaster in the entire world
X is eclipsed by the Dive Devil. I've got the DVD of me and Mrs. Z doing it, I'll rip it and post at some point. If you're out at MM bring 60 bucks extra with you...that's for two people and the DVD. You won't be disappointed.

By the way, someone should fix the damn misters at Goliath. Felt like it was raining.

-z

aloha friday...OUCH!

2005-07-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

Went surfing today. Fun. Fell on the path on the way back up the hill. Not fun.

"scrub it kook!"

Yes, I have hairy legs. Yes, that is an area where the hair has been scraped completely off. Yes, this is why cyclists shave their legs. Hairy scabs suck ASS.

The worst part about it is that I jammed my toe. You ever worn flip-flops with a jammed toe? That toe is CENTRAL to wearing flipflops. You either kick your sandal off every step you take, or end up dragging your foot behind you like a hunchback.

"she gave me...WATER!!!!"

I'm in movie quote mode, watch out. Oh, and my special order Bachelor Party DVD just arrived at Tower.

"come on honey, we're married now! it's legal!"

-z

ending of the new Harry Potter book

2005-07-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

Found this on a Bulgarian literary website.

----- SPOILER WARNING - TO VIEW SELECT THE AREA BELOW SO IT APPEARS ------

Setting - The final chapter (chapter LXXVI) of the book. Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort are fighting a duel on the ledge outside the Astronomy tower, at Hogwarts. Harry is losing, and has already sustained a devastating wound to his wand hand. Voldemort is trying to convince Harry to turn his back on the Order of the Phoenix, and join him in ruling the magical world.

Voldemort: If you only knew the *power* of dark magic. Dumbledore never told you what happened to your father.

Harry: He told me enough! He told me *you* killed him.

Voldemort: No. *I* am your father.

-z

disgusting...mortifying...just horrible.

2005-07-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

this link comes with the most powerful warning i can give...

i don't think I'll be able to get it up for at least two days.

keep that in mind before clicking here.

-z

blog...ego...

2005-07-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

"Blego" © 2005 Aragon Design Group

You ever have one of those periods of time where you don't blog for a while, and you think to yourself "man, my readers must be really upset that I don't update more often." This is an example of an overinflated blego.

I had this thought today and quickly realized that about 5 people read my blog on a regular basis.

Reality sucks.

Even worse is when you think you've created a new word, threw a "©" symbol on it, then before you hit "Publish" you google the word and find 4,010 results.

My blego is out of control.

Well, since i'm on a roll anyway, I'll share some of my most recent thoughts with you!

Free slurpees are the BOMB. Even though they're only 7.11 ounces, they're perfect for an after lunch snack.
I type the word "they're" as "thye're" 75% of the time. Why can't my fingers all get along?
Statistics are made up 90% of the time. I'm one of the most consistent practicers of this idiocy. I can't help it.
The majority of Jurassic 5's songs are one set of lyrics repeated over and over again. The song starts, and you're all "damn that's fresh" and then the next stanza starts and it's the same rap and you're all "damn, isn't that the same line?" It sounds so good though, if you're stoned you don't realize it and think they're the most original lyricists in the world. Which, of course, they are, but only for short periods of time.
Just as I'm getting used to playing goalie on my soccer team (since JD tore his ACL again), we might get another goalie for the team. Dammit, I'm just starting to have fun back there...and I bought big puffy gloves that make me look like I've got rave Mickey Mouse hands. If we don't get him though, I'm going to buy a the ugliest, shiniest keeper jersey possible to blind the attackers. Something like this.

My blego is now satiated.

-z

p.s. If this jersey was padded, this would be the perfect Aloha Monday jersey.

aloha friday!

2005-07-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

I found another shirt buried in my closet! It's missing a button so I'm a little angry...

Did anyone go see the Wedding Crashers preview last night? Sorry I missed it. If it was half as funny as the commercials we're gonna have to shell out the cash to go see it.

-z

comments

2005-07-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

Looks like my blog's coming up for some search terms, got a few comments from random people advertising affiliate links or their own blogs.

I've changed the comments system back to "registered guests only," sorry about that if you like to post anonymously.

If I've removed your comment, it's because you placed a link with no real comments. You're free to babble, argue, say something moronic, but if you follow it up with an outgoing link I'm going to delete it.

Don't argue, I know what you're doing...I do it for a living.

-z

vote for trevor!

2005-07-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

Trevor Hoffman is up for an All-Star berth in one last public vote. He's going up against his evil twin Billy Wagner, skinnybones Roy Oswalt, Brett Meyers and someone else. Ramon Hernandez, even though he's injured, missed out on being an All-Star by 16 - that's right - sixteen votes. You can vote up to 25 times I believe, so get on it.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2005/fv/pop.html

-z

we have the prettiest president.

2005-07-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

-z

OUT!

2005-07-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

boss gave us beer and told us to take off at 2pm.

in the spririt of all dat, a song for you.

marshall got snookered song removed

happy, happy day!

-z

aloha friday

2005-07-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

it's a colllllld aloha friday today...so you only get a glimpse of the last...yes LAST hawaiian shirt that I own (that I haven't posted already.)

aloha friday is either going to need some new donations or we're going to have to change it to "thrift store friday" or something like that.

I've updated my Amazon wish list to include hawaiian shirts and a couple of other hawaii related items. I've tried to keep them under 20 bucks, but there's this sweeeet hawaiian wedding shirt that I put in there, I'll probably buy it for myself later.

Donations are NOT tax deductible, but I'll add a permanent link to the sender in my template. Maybe I'll code a table for you or something.

Yes, there are some, uh, "different" hawaiian articles of clothing in there. You buy it, I'll take the picture. Yikes. Man there's some ugly shirts in there.

-z

grand old hat, high flying hat

2005-06-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

I've got an old Padres cap that I've had since the '98 season. That hat means a lot to me. That's the year they went to the series and were swept by the Yankees...because of one bad call that should have been a called third strike that would have ended the inning...next pitch was a home run...

grrr...anyway...

The hat's made it this far, been pretty dirty but never really EXTREMELY gross. Until we unpacked it from one of the boxes we shipped down from Seattle after the accident. I was so happy I found it, I put it on and got this bizarre feeling like microbes were burrowing their way into my head. I took it off and smelled it, not too bad. But the texture of the hat was...greasy. Oily.

Slimy.

Now, when it comes to baseball, I'm a pretty superstitious guy. I have no idea if I'm actually serious about my baseball superstitions, you'd have to ask Mrs. Z and maybe Lyn. The hat has had it. (ed. note: that's really hard to type) But, with both my superstitions and sentimentality getting in the way, I can't just dispose of the hat in the nearest dumpster. I want to retire it in a manner befitting it's importance in my life over the last 7 years. I hold this hat in reverence like...a flag.

A flag!

How are you supposed to "retire" an old flag?

You burn it, silly!

jiggaWhat? Didn't we just outlaw that?

From the American Legion Flag FAQ:

Q: How are unserviceable flags destroyed?

A:The Flag Code suggests that, "when a flag has served its useful purpose, it should be destroyed, preferably by burning." For individual citizens, this should be done discreetly so the act of destruction is not perceived as a protest or desecration. Many American Legion Posts conduct Disposal of Unserviceable Flag Ceremonies on June 14, Flag Day. This ceremony creates a particularly dignified and solemn occasion for the retirement of unserviceable flags.

Okay, public service announcement. I just went out for a cigarette and my coworker Maureen just told me the one of the funniest stories I've ever heard...this is in quotes, but of course I'm paraphrasing...

"We had a 'funeral' for a friend of mine who was engaged and then it didn't work out, so we ordered a male stripper. We've got the living room set up with all the furniture moved out of the way and 30 girls, dressed all in black, wasted off their asses in a big circle. The stripper walks in as a fireman. He sets down his mini boom box, plays "it's getting hot in here" and starts pouring something on his body. Then he lights it.

The whole time he was trying to put himself out and we thought it was a part of his dance. Dude got second degree burns. We had called an ambulance. When the EMT's showed up, the girl who we threw the party for was wasted, thought they were strippers and kept screaming 'TAKE IT OFF!!!'

We still have the burnt shirt floating around somewhere.

Guess he had to retire his shirt.

So, back to the hat. Our good buddy Jonathan is having a white trash inflatable pool party on the 4th. Fourth of July seems like the perfect time to respectfully retire the hat in a blaze of glory, probably right at sunset.

I'll miss you old pal, but it's time.

edit: picture added 7/1

-z

oh lordy...

2005-06-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

do NOT buy this book from them.

-z

edit: here's why not.

music for ya

2005-06-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone else posts music 'cause they're nice.

I'm doing it 'cause I needed to clean up my server a bit and realized if I'm paying for the bandwidth, I better use it.

Doesn't mean you don't have to right-click save target as!

Sleater Kinney just RAWKS.
Sleater Kinney - One Beat removed

This is off Night at the Hip Hopera. For information on the album, tracklisting, and download, go see Waxy. Play these two songs in order. Faith might even start liking the beastie boys again.

Kleptones - Break removed
Kleptones - Listen

-z

joke o' the day

2005-06-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

A small boy was lost at a large shopping mall. He approached a uniformed
policeman and said, "I've lost my grandpa!"

The cop asked, "What's he like?"

The little boy replied, "Crown Royal whisky and women with big
tits."

-z

bum dogs

2005-06-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

seen at the del mar fair yesterday...

poor doggie.

-z

myTunes

2005-06-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

from iTunes party shuffle...

1. The Cinematic Orchestra - All that you Give

2. Weezer - Slob
waiting for little clues to appear
that I drank grandaddy's beer

3. Flipsyde - Someday
Someday we gonna break free from these chains
and keep flyinnnn...

4. The Kleptones - See
It's like a jungle, sometimes it makes we wonder
How I keep from goin' under

5. the Pixies - La La Love You
Shake your butt.
(But not too hard!)

6. RJD2 - Iced Lightning

7. Interpol - Untitled - Valapene Screen Remix
Surprise, sometimes, will come around

8. Bettie Serveert - Attagirl
Don’t get stuck, somewhere in the middle
You payed all your dues and you’re not on second fiddle

9. Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood (thanks mikey. sheesh.)
He's gonna be your Frankenstein I've got one thing you'll understand
He's not what you'd call a glamorous man

10. Handsome Boy Modeling School - A Day in the Life
In this industrious world, meet the illustrious
Uncombustable, give props like Doctor Huxtable (wtf? lol!!!)

-z

aloha friday

2005-06-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

zach is tired. very happy it's friday.

this weekend is going to be spent cleaning house, maybe go for a surf tomorrow, and church on sunday. 11am if anyone wants to join us.

-z

our first quiz is a letter from paul to the corinthians...

2005-06-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

Fallbrook literature class opens the Bible in nonreligious course

If it can be taught as a non-denominational literature course, I think it's a great idea. From a literature standpoint it's one of the most influential books in the history of modern civilization and kids should have an understanding of it, especially if they're going to go into a literature major in college.

Taught by a conservative right wing bible thumper, it would be the scariest concept ever, but I think the board will keep a pretty close eye on it.

I just hope it's not an insidiuos plot that's tied into the special election.

-z

bar stars

2005-06-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

international rockstar bartenders. ok, just local ones showing off their skills. I won't be going, but looks like fun:

-z

sale at the novelty store

2005-06-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

You gotta love any article that contains the line:

Cruise then said forcibly: "You're a jerk ... jerk ... you're a jerk."

Probably smeared his mascara...the jerk.

-z

random ten

2005-06-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

thought I'd steal this from lyn. I don't know how random her lists are, but mine was pulled straight from my iTunes party shuffle...so I had to look up the lyrics on some lol...

1. Acceptance - Different
And I, I'll know what to say, It's fine.
This isn't Hollywood.

2. Beastie Boys - B-Boys Makin' With The Freak Freak
Down with the hurra since the raising hell tour
Just listen to his cuts theres no reason to tell more

3. RJD2 - Making Days Longer
It's strange the way you make me feel, with just a word or two
I'd like to do the same for you

4. 2 many djs - Monkey - White 45
I don't care about your bedside manner
I just want to be with you

5. The Dears - We Can Have It
And you never said I'd see you again
You never said I will

6. Ralph Brandi - Smoking Weblogs
D-W-I-N-E-R, D-W-I-N-E-R

7. Daft Punk - Aerodynamic
aero-dy-namics
aero-dy-namics

8. Jurassic 5 - Blacktop Beat
(instrumental)

9. Pedro The Lion - Simple Economics / When They Really Get To Know You They Will Run (live)
the candidate wrote furiously as if to save his life
then hung up the phone and spoke with great conviction

guess 6-8 aren't really the best songs for this game.

-z

EDIT - forgot #10:
Weezer - Say it Ain't So
This bottle of Steven's awakens ancient feelings.
Like father, step-father, the son is drowning in the flood.

looking forward to the weekend

2005-06-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

so I thought I'd share one of my favorite pictures of all time.

i guess this would be me and my dicks. LOL!!!!

-z

aloha friday returns!

2005-06-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

not really, it's not quite a hawaiian shirt I'm wearing today, but, uh...it's got a dragon on it?

-z

RAD.

2005-06-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

rad rad rad rad rad rad rad AWESOME!

i really can't come up with the proper words to explain how excited I am. This is one of the books (series, actually) that is such a strong part of my childhood that I got a visceral reaction where my heart jumped when I started watching the trailer. The TV version was OK, the animated version was great, and I'm really REALLY hoping that this eclipses both of them.

So now, for all you fans out there, I present,

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

-z

edit: better link

picnic a success

2005-06-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

Pastor Dave is very helpful.

-z

edit: i just realized his name is "Pastor Bates." even better!

master's thesis in meth

2005-06-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Local san diego headlines and news stories shout "A chemistry lab turned into a meth lab" makes it so cheap and tawdry. I, personally, not only think it's ballsy but brilliant. When you normally think of a meth lab, you're thinking of those random trailers out in the east county that explode every so often...they use battery acid, carpet, all kinds of random crap to keep their costs down.

this guy on the other hand used a college chemistry lab to make not only methamphetamine, but also ecstasy and fentanyl. I've never heard of fentanyl before so I looked it up...it's synthetic heroin that can be made about 100 times stronger.

This guy was getting his master's degree in chemistry.

Ok, now I'm not a big druggie or anything, but if I'm gonna get 'em, I wanna get my drugs from THAT GUY.

-z

thank you, mr. autopsy man.

2005-06-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Schiavo autopsy shows massive brain damage

Her brain weighed half as much as they "expected." She was blind. Saying she was in a persistent vegetative state was an understatement. She was MESSED up.

Finally, hopefully, rest in peace Terry Schiavo.

-z

more...quarters...

2005-06-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

you ever get so broke that you pay for everything in change, and you finally get to the point where you run out of quarters and move down to dimes?

when we got back from the honeymoon I found out my bank account was $700 overdrawn. The day of the accident I had checked and saw that I had $1200 available. About $600 hadn't gone through to the bank yet. Then we had the rental car, hotels, food, etc. now if I had KNOWN i had run out of money, I would have had Mrs. Z pay for those things, she had money in her account at the time. After $400+ in overdraft charges, I'm in a pretty deep hole. We've been living off Mrs. Z's paycheck for the last two weeks. I invoiced today so i'll have money coming in, but bills and rent are gonna kill us.

i hate banks. i hate paying for things. why can't people just give me stuff? i'm pretty charming, y'know. or I could barter. i'll learn to make shoes. what movie was that from? dammit.

quarters have now become a ridiculously valuable commodity. at this point they're like $50 bills.

you start to have thoughts about money, and they all turn to food..."i can't believe I paid $12 for a bowl of pasta and a rice krispy treat..." "i KNEW i already had cheese at home..." "what can I make out of ramen and canned corn?"

When you go to the store you buy "broke food" milk, bread, eggs, cheap processed lunchmeat, beans, pb&j, and ramen. you spring for cheese as a special treat. unfortunately I'm such a snob I can't eat any tuna other than albacore in water, and that's just too expensive for what you get these days.

We don't have a fridge at work so bringing in lunch food is kind of a gamble as far as keeping it from going bad. Lunches consist of jack n' the back tacos and chicken sandwiches, 99cent tuesday mcnuggets, or if I want to spend the extra 60 cents to drive to Jimbos I can get a small salad from the salad bar and a small bowl of soup for around $3.50.

I'm just whining. We're gonna be fine, I just wanna go buy something. That always makes me feel better.

-z

why are you calling me a barbarian?

2005-06-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

Mikey pulled the name of a kid's book out of his ass, "Moe Q. McGlutch, he smoked too much." Being the freak that I am, I decided to see if I could find any information on it, and found this great site going over children's book methodology and genres. Not only was it a great blast to the past with classics like "Make way for ducklings" and "The velveteen rabbit," but also introduced me to some books I've never heard of. LIKE...

"Chicka Chicka Boom Boom"
"It's a spoon, not a shovel"
"The dumb bunnies' Easter" described as "a story so comically scrambled as to be equally inappropriate for all occasions, not just Easter."
"Why are you calling me a barbarian?" - from amazon "...two children living in the third century A.D.: Martilla, a nine-year-old Roman slave girl, and Marbord, the 11-year-old son of an arms merchant from Scandia."

There's also a mention of the style of picturebooks for kids in adult settings.

"Edward Gorey was the chief practitioner of this hybrid approach. See for instance his "The curious sofa: a pornographic work by Ogdred Weary".
This book is, of course, not pornographic at all--unless the readers make up lewd interpretations for its puzzling text and images, in compliance with the expectations created by the title. Nevertheless, the title itself makes this book inappropriate for children."

I've gotta write children's books. That would be fun. I'll just pretend I'm telling Rhiannon a story.

-z

rumination...

2005-05-31T14:47:00.000-07:00

In honor of the playoffs...

==================================================================

If you're ever playing 1-on-1 with Jesus and you
start trash-talking, don't say, "Who's your daddy?"
because he'll just smirk at you and then as you're
thinking "Oh... right," he'll blow by you in a blur
of sandals taking the rock strong to the hole.

(Bill Muse)

==================================================================
[ R U M I N A T I O N S ]
[ Ruminations is a Top5 publication ]
[ http://www.ruminate.com ]
==================================================================

starring Ron Silver as himself...

2005-05-31T13:47:00.000-07:00

Back at work, that means it's time to use the T1.

First waste of harddrive space, Heat Vision and Jack. The worst TV show never made. Produced and directed by Ben Stiller. Starring Jack Black and the voice of Owen Wilson. Read about it at waxy.org and then go get it from the waxy.org bittorrent site.

-z

dude, nice car.

2005-05-31T10:18:00.000-07:00

i'm driving a pontiac bonneville.

it's maroon.

i'm a pimp.

pics to come.

-z

a little more info

2005-05-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a news article and video about the accident. Thankfully it's not video of us, but you can see how ridiculous the situation was. Watch the car on the right, imagine that same thing happening, but in an SUV, faster, and when it starts going backwards it's on dirt, then it starts turning toward the driver's side, then flipping onto the roof.

What A Mess! Fluid Leak Leads To Several I-5 Accidents

Still gives me goose bumps.

-z

home sweeeeet hooommmmme...

2005-05-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

we'll, we're finally home. more from me on tuesday, then again Mrs. Z will probably write some more before then.

some thoughts:

. if you're taking the train a long distance, don't expect to arrive on time. we took the train from seattle to los angeles, normally a 35 hour ride, turned into a 41 hour ride.

. if you're taking the train a long distance, get a sleeper car, but don't expect much from the full bedroom. as awesome as it sounded to get a cabin with your own shower and toilet, imagine the two of them combined. with signs that say "may be more comfortable to shower when seated." water dripping on you while you take a piss. other than that, the bedrooms are GREAT compared to the normal sleepers. you have an extra chair to sit in, there's some space to walk around, etc.

. if you're taking the train a long distance, get a sleeper car if only for the fact that you get access to a special car that has wine tasting and a 20-seat movie theater. definitely takes the edge off of being stuck in a metal phallus for 2 days.

. if you're taking the train a long distance, expect to be social. unless you go in a group of 4, you'll be sitting with complete strangers at all meals. we met some characters. Stephan, the 70-something year old guy with the cowboy hat that's retired and travels for fun. two other newlyweds who met on a plane to london (where the groom lives), married in austin tx (where the wife lives), took the train to LA to take care of her visa so they could relocate to Bristol. I of course immediately said, "oh, do you work for ESPN?" and received the "what the hell are you talking about" look until I realized, oh, the UK. also finally met the 85 year old woman who consistently walked into our cabin thinking it was hers. "It's so nice though, you're always smiling." "That's because we can hear you coming...'oh I hope it's the right one this time...'"

. if you're taking the train a long distance, quit smoking first. the train was completely non-smoking, there were some times that we had to wait 5 hours between stops where they would let us off. might not sound like that much time to wait for some people, but we'd been sitting in hotel rooms for the last week just smoking and reading non-stop. i'd say we were at two packs a day for the week after the accident.

. if you're taking the train a long distance, get all your medication in order first. Rhiannon's still in a lot of pain from the accident, she ran out of vicodin the morning of the second day and I forgot to bring ibuprofen. paying $1.25 for 2 pills is ridiculous. probably could have gotten some better drugs from the bartender but he was a bittttt too shady.

I would say that in the last week of our honeymoon, rhi read about 2.5 books a day. 7 days. that's about 17 books in the last week. of COURSE she's a better writer than I am!

I'm a better editor though. so there.

love and kisses kids, remember to always wear your seatbelts.

-z

like a rolling stone

2005-05-20T18:04:00.000-07:00

first, read Rhiannon's depiction of the event.

The Kindness of Strangers

Then see the pictures.

Rollover

She's much better at writing things like this than I am. We're very lucky. We're very freaked out. In a month or so I might do a better job of it.

-z

mrs. z knows how to write

2005-05-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

Please check out my wife's blog (oh my god...my wife...HOOORAH!) at:

Mrs. Z

love ya!

some more pics for y'all

2005-05-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

taken by the beautiful Natalie C.

Mr. and Mrs. Z

aloha sunday

2005-05-09T00:38:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mrs. Rhiannon Marie Good.

and a lot of presents.

Thank you to everyone who made it out to the wedding. So many thoughts, so little time, we'll post a recap tomorrow for all the kiddies. In the meantime, here's some cameraphone pics from the night.

Rhiannon dancing on a table at the wedding

Reezie makes a friend...on the sidewalk...outside the Triple Crown Pub.

Rhiannon's dress. What's she wearing instead?

My tux jacket and her thigh-high rainbow socks that she wore under the dress.

My goodness, she's so hot.

That's my wife dude. See the ring? Back off.

And tonight, as we celebrate our nuptuals, we enjoy champagne in our toasting glasses. Well, the champagne of beers at least.

We're living the high life.

Mr. and Mrs. Z

eat, poppa!

2005-05-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

A preview for those of you coming to the wedding, and a tease for those of you not...

MENU – Food Stations

Salad/Vegetarian:

Warm Chicken Salad: Spinach & Organic Mescalin Greens, Toasted Almonds, Grilled Chicken Breast, Sauteed Mushrooms, Soy-Ginger Vinaigrette
Penne Pasta with Brown Butter Sauce, Fresh Spinach, Crumbled Feta, Toasted Pine Nuts, Grilled Summer Vegetables, and Butternut Squash
Fresh Herb Foccacia

California Cuisine:

Sauteed Breast of Chicken with Wild Mushroom-Marsala Glaze
Hand Carved Beef with Creamy Horseradish and Gorgonzola-Pinot Reduction
Oven Roasted Roasemary-Olive Oil Baby Red Potatoes
Freshly Steamed Seasonal Vegetables
Assorted Gourmet Mini Rolls

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

-z

uh oh...

2005-05-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

----------------------------
Deer Zak--

i hav kidnaped ur bryde.

luv,

mr. kidnaper dood

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

I think she's somewhere in New Mexico. I knew I shouldn't have given her a ride to the Greyhound station.

-z

aloha friday

2005-04-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

didn't know there was an impressionist period for hawaiian shirt design, didja?

JCPenney during the 70's was very, very creative with their patterns.

If you look really closely, you can see Manet crying in the background.

Looking in my closet, I'm starting to run out of new hawaiian shirts to wear on fridays! I've gone 2 full months without repeating a shirt, I figure I've got another month left.

Maybe I should start requesting people send me their old hawaiian shirts that their wives want them to get rid of and I'll wear them on Fridays. It's a sick concept, but it just might work.

-z

i love my reezie

2005-04-29T00:24:00.000-07:00

"976-BEEEEOTCH!!!! That's so fun to say."

I'm marrying this woman. How fucking perfect.

"I think that has a 'Y' in it."

-z

public service

2005-04-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

I get these things all the time, figured I'd start sharing.

VIP to Onyx/Thin Saturday night 4/30. List closes at 11.

Hopefully my head will be buried in sweaty fake breasts at about that time.

-z

meds! gimme meds!

2005-04-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

so, yes, I'm still sick. Fever up and down. Swollen tonsils. Been taking everything anyone suggests. Mon. Night checked out my tonsils for the umpteenth time and lo and behold, white spots.

*yes*

White spots on the tonsils are usually a good indication of strep throat. A bacterial infection. You know what helps with bacterial infections? ANTIBIOTICS! I can be healthy in a few days! But I don't have medical insurance.

5 minutes away from doing a TJ run to pick up some amoxycillin, I realized a couple of things.

The last time I got antibiotics from mexico I broke out in a horrid welty rash.
I'm getting married in a week and a half.
the last time I was out of the house and walked around for an extended period of time my fever shot up to 101.

So I went to Urgent Care instead. No wait, went right in, did a rapid strep test and chatted with the nurse about my upcoming nuptuals. She informed me that the doctor would be in to see me in a few minutes, and left the strep test in the room, 2 stripes means positive.

I felt like I was taking a pregnancy test. Every 2 minutes I glanced over at the test..still nothing...still nothing...there's a stripe! Ok, just one more, come onnnnnn strep! Gimme an S! Gimme a T! Gimme an R!

In the middle of my cheer the doctor walked in. Why is it that all doctors have the same blank, unemotional look in their eyes, regardless of whether they're smiling or not?

One stripe. No strep. The doctor explained to me that there's maybe a 5% chance that it's a bacterial infection, but in 90-95% of cases in which the rapid strep test is negative, it's a viral infection. Viral Pharyngitis to be exact. Took a throat culture to be sure, but basically, $170 later, I got a goodie bag full of the same crap I've been taking for the last week.

I will say at least I've got a bit of peace of mind. Normal healing cycle is two weeks, so I've got a week left. More than enough time for the wedding.

Just hope I don't get the stripper sick.

-z

whiteout

2005-04-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

I've been jamming to the new White Stripes single that premiered on iTunes, wish I could share it with y'all but I don't know how to convert a protected mp4 file.

Typical WS song. Jack plays a "ridiculously catchy guitar riff^TM", with Meg barely catching up on drums. Nobody listens to the words until the 6th or 7th time they listen to it.

You'll probably start hearing it every half hour on your local radio station, so get in a listen before your friends!

iTunes Store

-z

aloha fricough friday

2005-04-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

i'm sick. Rhiannon's been sick since sunday, I've been sick since wednesday. Looked down my own throat this morning in a very existenstial mood, saw my tonsils were swollen and reached for the hydrogen peroxide. Not the nicest tasting stuff in the world but I'm glad to say that it helped a lot, and I feel much better.

As you can see.

you really can't tell from the pic how incredibly aloha this shirt is, but sprint is messin with me so I can't upload the other shot I took. The collars stick out about 5 inches on the sides. The sleeves are 3/4 length and the cuffs match the collar (meow!). The bottom has trim that goes around all the way, and pockets in the front.

another of the "i can't believe you're wearing that" shirts, but hey, I LIKE IT!

today's the last day to RSVP for the wedding. If you've received an invitation, or a random email apologizing for your invitation not being sent, you know what to do. If you want to go, give me a damn good reason and I'll consider it.

stop being cranky!

2005-04-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

When the hell did Lyn become the happy one?

Everyone out there needs to follow her lead. Get thee to the mall, buy some boots and cheer the hell up.

-z

Zachary Good, 009...

2005-04-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

licensed to wed!

rhiannon and I headed up to the county recorder's office and picked up our marriage license. it's so funny, all this to-do, pomp and circumstance, and really all we need to do is get a piece of paper and have someone say "do you? you two? okay lemme sign that."

then we're married.

actually thought about getting it done right then and there just so I could get on Rhiannon's health insurance sooner. don't want to have a heart attack on my wedding night.

my ring is ready. I spent almost three times as much for my ring as rhiannon. why?

I GOT BIG FINGERS YO.

hehe...

-z

aloha friday

2005-04-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

yesterday I woke up at 2. I left for work at 3. I got to work at 4. Left at 6 for a meeting with the caterer and coordinator.

when I walked into the office, my boss said "what the hell are you doing here?" I was thinking that myself when I hit my first piece of traffic on the 5. What a waste. I think it had something to do with pride, or just stupidity.

but you came here for pictures.

this one's the only hawaiian shirt I own that I ever see other people wearing. Damn you Costco and your reasonably priced clothing!

it's a little more subtle than most of my hawaiian shirts, and ridiculously comfortable. it reminds me of the old inside out patterned shirts from high school, I wish I could remember that brand.

as you can see it's got both white AND yellow flowers on it. pretty snazzy huh?

birthday stories and update this weekend. i have a feeling it's going to take a long time and I've got work to do, dammit!

-z

quote of the day...

2005-04-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

from mikey:

"dude, I'm so tired I'm not even blogging that much."

-z

additional quote of the day...no idea on the source of this:

"Computer games don’t affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we’d all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitve electonic dance music..." - Kristian Wilson, Nintendo Inc, 1989

happy birthday to meeeeeee...

2005-04-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

zach's 3rd annual 30th birthday. usually the annual party is a big to-do spanning 3 days, but with the wedding planning I really couldn't get my mind around planning another event.

Dinner at Sushi Itto. Raw fish with Chipotle sauce, what could be better?

And, of course, the Lamplighter. This song pretty much sums up how tonight will go.

The Kleptones - Rock (right-click/save as - explicit lyrics - limited time)

Went there at midnight last night for the traditional birthday Mensu Mensu shot and a few beers. Lyn and Upgrade were there for a little while but they had to take off and get busy. Rhi and I hung around for a while checking out chicks, just being mellow, and I had this great realization...marriage isn't going to change anything between us. You always think that marriage is going to change who you are, how you deal with each other, all that shit, but we're still gonna be the same lecherous overly cute little kids in adult bodies.

At least until we have children.

Come by the Lamp tonight if you want to say hi, I'll be the guy in the ridiculous shirt.

Man, I really need to update that site and get it on its own server.

-z

p.s. - I just got the best ecard ever. hmmmm I probably shouldn't put stuff on here with my friends' email addresses

aloha friday

2005-04-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

another classic from aardvark's in PB.

such a beautiful, happy shirt. perfect for weddings, bar mitzvahs, presidential swearing in ceremonies, or anything in Arizona. Made of the finest poly/cotton blend available, this comfortable shirt has been to 7 different countries and carries the distinct smell of each one along with it.

-z

lil brudder

2005-04-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

I was just going back and looking at some Strongbad Emails and had to share one of my favorites.

I'm gonna be a quarterback!

-z

winner! winner winner winner!

2005-04-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

this is the first NCAA bracket I've ever won, and I'm stoked beyond belief.

mikey, lyn and I met up to watch the UNC/MSU matchup. I had the highest possible points pretty much after the second round, but by some mysterious convergence of offworld forces and pacific islander voodoo, mikey would have won if MSU beat UNC to get into the final.

we made a friendly little side bet. we've been trying to set up a double date for quite a while now, so we bet that whomever lost the game (me for UNC, mikey for MSU) would buy Chipotle for 4 some night soon. And I won!

I'm gettin extra guacamole y'all.

Mikey's a fun guy. this is the first time that we've really hung out together, and it's always good to hang out with someone that has a similar scatalogical sense of humor. A couple of my favorite moments:

"you know when you're taking one of those huge shits that takes more than one breath?" - mikey

z: "yeah, they'd have to pay me 'new car money' to get me to show my face on Cheaters."
m: "they wouldn't pay you that much."
z: "they would if I screwed up reeeeeeeeeeallllllly badly..."

m: "we could do it at a 'fast casual' restaurant"
z: "PBX?"
m: "yeah, we cozy up by the fireplace and try different dipping sauces."

games/betting update
Fantasy Sports: zach 1, mikey 0 (dinner for four at Chipotle)
Pool: mikey 1, zach 0 (no bet...silly mikey.)
Ping Pong: zach 1, mikey 0 (first beer at the next gathering)

mikey's a much better ping pong player than I am...but he goes for the "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" shots too often, I just try to get it to land on the table.

good times, good times.

-z

hey mikey!

2005-04-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

ALL YOUR FREAK ARE BELONG TO US.

-cats

ahhh, so cool and refreshing.

2005-04-01T10:55:00.000-08:00

Google has a new product out: Google Gulp.

Check it out. If you're cool I might even give you a used cap.

-z

aloha friday

2005-04-01T10:02:00.000-08:00

The only "authentic" hawaiian shirt I have. This one is from Maui.

I'm doing a little dance. Happy, happy friday.

I have pretty ladies hanging all over me. Sin City tonight. Surfing tomorrow morning. Watching UNC kick the crap out of MSU tomorrow night, ergo me kicking the crap out of Mikey for the bracket championship! (It'll actually only be a few points either way, but whomever wins is definitely talking sh!t).

Don't get caught by the April Fool Fairy!

-z

this started as a comment...

2005-03-29T12:09:00.000-08:00

movies to look forward to for 2005:

Sin City...even if you don't like "graphic novels" or comic books, it's going to be reeeeeeeally entertaining.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Batman Begins

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

and then, who knows if this is going to be any good:

4

See a pattern here though? Can someone, SOMEONE come up with a new movie concept? We're just rehashing comic books, old horror movies, and crap. It's all crap. Where's the "Swingers?" Where's the "Singles?"

Where are the original movies that apply to my generation and start with the letter "S"?

Man, looks like I gotta start writing.

-z

stolen from snappy

2005-03-29T11:37:00.000-08:00

Lady JoJo always puts her conversations with Mikey up, so the concept is not original.

After watching the commercial for Fever Pitch:

Me: So, Drew Barrymore is acting with younger and younger guys for her romantic comedies. Ben Stiller, then Adam Sandler, now Jimmy Fallon. Who's next, Macaulay Culkin?

Rhi: She's gonna do a lesbian scene with Dakota Fanning.

-z

aloha friday

2005-03-25T10:11:00.000-08:00

hard to focus a camera phone on self timer, isn't it? but you sure can see the grain of the table.

here's the pattern close up. this is probably my favorite hawaiian shirt, and one of the most annoying to other people. my ex-girlfriend refused to leave the house with me if I was wearing this shirt, and threw an especially vocal tantrum if i combined it with my blue corduroy pants.

happy friday. blech. someone bring me a salad.

-z