I'm bored

I'm bored with everything. This happens from time to time. I just wallow in self-pity for a week or two and then I'll get latched on to something exciting. Eventually I'll tire of that too. Life is futile in this way, isn't it?

Happy Halloween

I have nothing else for you.

SFB : What's Next?

Bill gave me a good idea. I'm going to try to wrap my head around "effectors" for each score. I'm not going to get into what defines a score. Things like "oh, they are a 56 because she doesn't like this or that" are just not going to happen.

I have no idea why I'm working on this. Smart money is on "because you are bored."

Example 2 : 10-40-90

This is what I'd consider a stereotypical marriage. Sex is "meh", they really aren't "friends" but they understand how to live together very well.

Example 1: 50-25-75

50_25_75

• S - Sex life is average. No one is complaining, but no one is bragging.
• F - Not really "friends", they probably hang out together - but rarely in other groups.
• B - Good solid co-existence. Money is fine, no super aggravating habits.

The SFB Relationship Model

I was awake at about 4am this morning. As I lay in bed, half awake/half asleep, I started applying programmatic thinking to interpersonal relationships. This type of analysis is usually applied to business problems or programming.

I've identified what I believe to be the 3 defining characteristics of relationships: Sex, Friendship and Business.

The SFB Model Overview
The SFB Model applies a score (i'm still flushing out the scale, but i'm leaning toward 100 pt) to the 3 components of the relationship. These 3 scores then produce a 3 point graph. It is my contention that if you understand the shape of your graph, you can more objectively look at that particular relationship.

Let's look at each component, and then discuss some examples.

Sex
This is pretty straightforward. If two people are physically and chemically compatible, they get a high sex score. If they are non-sexual, they get a zero.

Physical attraction not acted upon can be factored in, if it is believed to be mutual. Even two friends who are simply physically expressive (hugs, kiss-hellos) can have a low S-score with a bit of sexual tension.

It is important to note that the score can be high even if someone isn't having a ton of sex. It is the compatibility, not the frequency or even the quality. If two people are perfectly content having sex once a month, then they are compatible.

Friendship
The F-score is the compatibility of two people on a friendship level. Examples of compatibility such as:

• Common interests and activities
• Common friends
• Outings together
  
• Planning events together

I'll think of more examples later. A good litmus test is: If you are going out to a rock show or to a bar, do you want this person to come with you? Put that on a scale of 1 to 100, 1 being "never ever", 100 being "every single time".

Business
The B-score is a bit more elusive than the others. It can also be thought as co-existence. I call it business, because it's less "fun" than the other scores. Here are things to consider to determine the B-score:

• Financial
• If you live together
• do you fight about the bills?
• If you share money
• do you agree on what money should be spent on?
  
• If you don't live together
• is one of you cheaper than the other?
  
• Who always picks up the check?
  
• When splitting the tab, does one of you ever split the tax? If so, i hate you.
  
• Cohabitation(this assumes you live together)
  
• Cleanliness. Again, if you're both slobs - great. If only one is a slob, ouch.
• Decor and Feng Shui. Do you agree on how things are decorated and layed out? Or does one person at least not care?
• Communication
• Communication styles vary widely in relationships, the question is do the two people communicate well with each other.
• If one person never actually communicate their thoughts, it can be problematic.
  
• If both never say what they think, it might be ok - or it might explode into pots-n-pans.

Oil Cans

Oil cans are kind of funny things... have you seen anyone use one lately?

I took this pic in my wife's parents garage. I went around and photo'd nature all around their place. Lots of cool stuff, up-close.

The Cubbies Lose

Positive note: the great thing about the Cubs not making the playoffs is... I can stop watching TBS. If I had to see one more fucking FrankTV ad, I was gonna lose it. Seriously, who is going to watch that show?

Stride Gum

Blogging out of spite right now.

Stride Gum (spearmint) tastes just like Wrigley's Spearmint... and it's sugar-free. I popped a piece right at 12pm... and I'll comment when I'm done with it.

[update: 30 minutes]

Review: Radiohead - In Rainbows

Got my email at 1:20am. I was sleeping. Downloaded it and stuck it on my ipod, listened on commute in to work.

After the 1st listen, here is my take.

15 Step - There are a few songs i've heard live on youtube and the like, as well as when they played here last year. This is one of those songs. It's techno-ee, pop-ee. I liked it, and was surprised they opened with it.

Bodysnatchers - Another one i'd heard live. This song rocked pretty hard. At this point I was kind of like "holy shit, they're putting out another Bends".

Nude - Ok, slowing it down now. Starts with typical weird, flowing back-and-forth synth sounds with Tom's falsetto over top. Then it moves into a 70's ballad - but not too weird.

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Snappy beats again, but not as aggressive. A bit repetitive at times, but we all know that's part of their MO.

All I Need - A lowkey-piano song. Slow-ish... but at about the 3 minute mark it starts to rock pretty hard. I think that part live will make many people happy.

Faust Arp - This was is pretty different, imo. Acoustic guitar and strings. Tom sings something Jack Johnson might have written (take it easy, i don't mean that it the bad way). It was at this point I realized The Bends was not happening again.

Reckoner - Turn up the treble! More treble, more treble! I think they recorded the beginning of this song under a bridge. I liked this song, I think i'll like it more after a few listens.

House of Cards - This song could have been on Eraser. It sound like Tom is just doing his thing.

Jigsaw Falling into Place - Ohhh I liked this one. It's happy, and the warm group vocal humming make me smile. I want to hum along and I don't know the song. The lyrics amble along with a strong purpose, like an upbeat Wolf at the Door. Probably my favorite song.

Videotape - Slow down exit music. Open with piano and Tom singing. Slowly add bass and a tiny little drum beat. Throw some signature weird sounds in occasionally. Fin!


-------
Overall - Exactly what i expected.

Tokyo Police Club

I meant to post this the other day...

I went to Tokyo Police Club monday night at Schubas. They were great, they are always great. I've seen then a handful of times in the last year. They rank up there with Arctic Monkeys and Pearl Jam in terms of consistency (not the same music, of course, just consistent).

They played 37 minutes, took a 30 second encore break and came out and played 1 more (approx. 1.5 minutes).

Rocking for less than 40 minutes is a great f'ing idea.

After the show, I talked with Graham (keys, yelling), he said they are putting out a new record Q1 next year. When I seemed disappointed he said "it's amazing how long it takes once it leaves your hands".

A Quick Parenthood Revisit

I read one of my entries from a month ago, and said that I should revisit the subject of parenthood. Well, as per usual, I was right - I'm starting to feel more like a parent.

Every time this kid looks *at* me, I feel more and more like we're connected. I'm still not all apeshit about this like some people, but it's getting cooler.

I am bad, I know

Ok, so i took a month off. I'm busy.

I'm going to try and post more pics up here... maybe that will keep me on task.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Small Town Living

As I spend my day in Smalltown USA, i recall the life I had as a boy. Such a sweet simple existance, that I ran from - arms flailing, screaming, crying as fast as I could.

And with good reason, this place is frickin boring.

Blog Topic Bias

I have a reminder set to write something in here every day at 8am. I'm starting to realize that I may only have my mind on certain things at this time of day.

Perhaps I should blog in the afternoon or evening once in a while.

Also, I wonder to myself, will anyone ever read this?

My Passe Starbuck Vice

A guy i work with used to work for a coffee company in Seattle (not Starbucks). He says what SB does that everyone loves is roast the living shit out of the coffee - to give it kind of a burnt taste.

I drink SB almost every day. I get an iced coffee, unsweetened. I spruce it up with a little Splenda and milk. I've tried replicating it at home, but I cannot.

I'd love to save the $3 a day at work. I have a coffee machine and small fridge (for milk). So there is no excuse other than - I can't make it taste the same! Um, and I'm probably lazy too.

My Two Million Dollar Plan

For a while I've had a plan to retire. The details are fuzzy (or don't exist), but the gist is... get two million bucks. Why two million? Glad you asked.

$1M in investments. This will provide at least 10% per year ($100k) for taxes, food, travel etc. It's not big money, but it's enough to get by.
$1M in 2 or 3 housing locations. Nothing fancy, just a place for me and the wife to stay. Probably a small 1BR condo in downtown Chicago for $400, a small cottage on a lake in Wisconsin for $400 and $200 for a time share or something small overseas.

That's it. Quite a plan, eh? Ok, now to work out a plan to get $2M...

Music to Hear

I put these on my iPod this weekend:
The Editors
The Coral
The White Stripes (new one)
The Republic Tigers

By far the best is the Republic Tigers. They are an unsigned band from KC MO. One of the dudes in the band was a college roommate of Cory. I describe them as The Shins meet Tripping Daisy, but thats not really a fair description. Just listen to them on myspace.

http://www.myspace.com/therepublictigers

Fatherhood and My Former Life

My single life is forfeit. My married life as well. My life revolves around a tiny person.

It hit me, maybe for the first time this last weekend that everything that was, is no more. I'll be sad to see some of those times go, but I am not sad overall.

My friend Katie said it best to me, "it's not good, it's not bad, it's just what's next". She's a smartie for a young lady from Vegas.

There were those that said, "your life will change." No shit?
There were those that said, "it's the best thing that will happen to you." These are the people I would like to talk to. I did not clarify what they like the most. Is it the little smile? I think most of those people like to either A) want to have total power over something, B) want something to need them or C) want to see something of themselves in a new life.

The weight of responsibility begins a few days in. Prior to that it's all a whirl. However, I don't think parenthood starts until they know you are their parent. I'll check back on this subject in a month.

Friday Off

Today I'm hanging out with this guy...

More Motivational Thoughts

So, i never came up with anything good yesterday on the worker bee motivation. Oh well, I may never have to manage the entry-level employee again (hopefully). Ok, now how about the mid-level employee?

Mid, high, exec... these all have different definitions wherever you go. I might be considered high someplace else, but at my company I'm mid. So what makes me tick? I might be different than other people, but, let me do a mental dump and see where I get...

I like to own things, and be responsible for them. I like to think about them from a high level and figure out how this thing can be the best thing it can be. Ok, good, now why, Chad, why? Well, I want to be recognized as the person who did this. But this is only part of it.

I also want to feel like I did a good job. I don't just want to feel like I did a good job in the "I worked hard" sense.... certainly the worker bees can work their ass off and they are doing a good job. I want to feel like I gave something of myself that most other people could not have done. So, it's both intellectual and creative.

Money plays a part, only so much that I need to be rewarded with a raise and bonus occasionally - not frequently. This is assuming I don't have financial constraints at home. If home life is hard because I don't make enough, I'd get unhappy real quick. So it's only small part money.

The social thing is part of the job for sure. I'm not sure how much tho, probably more than money, but less than the work. If I don't want to "hang out" with the people I work with, it will eventually drag on me.

So, I think the formula is:
3 parts enjoying the work (intellectual and creative challenge)
2 parts liking the people I work with
2 parts recognition
1 part money

Of course there are other things like commute and location and leadership that all come into play too. Any one thing can kill a job, but the ones I listed are "must haves" for me.

Happy Birthday Blog

Two days in a row I write. Good for me.

Note: I put a daily reminder in outlook, so i'm kind of a cheater.

Motivating the Worker Bee

I need to think today about what motivates the entry-level employee. For me it was the promise of promotion (I think). I want to come up with the 1 think that will motivate the most people, realizing one thing won't fit 100%.

Money? Promotion? Recognition? Responsibility? The work?

Posting off my pedastal

On my blog I can say whatever. If someone reads it, fine. But I control the information quite a bit here.

Some news and opinion articles have a "comments" area. I am reluctant to post there. Why? It's mostly unregulated. On a news site, generally, the author of the article isn't responding to people in the comments. It's just a forum for people to bitch, and that's just not my cup of tea.

I sort of feel like internet comments make it fine for people to just hate. It somewhat eliminates the internal monologue. Many people should really think before they speak, or type. I am *not* saying people shouldn't say what they mean, or censor themselves at all. I am simply saying, you might want to think about it - if only for a second - before hitting post.

Example: News article about the atomic bomb. Comments lead off with: "Bombing people is a crime and anyone who drops a bomb should be tried as a war criminal!"
Analysis: Really? Did you think that through? No, I don't think so.

Music I Listen to ATM

So i can look back and laugh at my musical tastes, here is a playlist of songs off my ipod:

Bloc Party - Song For Clay (Disappear Here)
Massive Attack - False Flags
Tokyo Police Club - Nature of the Experiment
The Get Up Kids - Central Standard Time
The Long Blondes - Lust In The Movies
Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
Mew - The Zookeeper's Boy
The Decemberists - 16 by 32
The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
Dresden Dolls - Mandy Goes To Med School
Hot Hot Heat - Bandages
The Kooks - Match Box
Blonde Redhead - 23
Sufjan Stevens - The Predatory Wasp of the Pali
Radiohead - You And Whose Army?
Pearl Jam - Nothing as It Seems
Cold War Kids - We Used To Vacation
Guillemots - Were Here
Modest Mouse - Spitting Venom
Muse - Exo-politics
Belle & Sebastian - She's Losing It
Mohair - Stranded
Kasabian - Empire
Wolf Parade - You Are A Runner And I Am My Father's Son
The National - Secret Meeting
Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger
Klaxons - Golden Skans
Quarashi - Tarfur
The View - Superstar Tradesman
Forward, Russia! - Nine
Razorlight - America
Silversun Pickups - Melatonin
The Long Blondes - Once And Never Again
The Pixies - Bone Machine
Tokyo Police Club - Citizens of Tomorrow
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - An Oak Tree
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Caterwaul
Snow Patrol - Hands Open
Spoon - The Beast And Dragon, Adored
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion
Massive Attack - Angel

The Missing MMO Pause Button

I played World of Warcraft. I played it a lot. I have 70 Undead Priest, and a litter of other 30s,40s and 50s. I had a guild, and played most nights.

On July 19th my wife gave birth to a baby boy, Monty. He is healthy, and his mom is healthy too.

I'm sure you can understand I don't play Wow anymore.

MMOs can't really have a pause button. Single player games will still have a place in my life, because I want to game, but I need to get up at a moments notice. I can't be the only one with this dilemma.

Old Posts : New Thoughts 3

I've never used the word poppycock before, or since this post. I kind of hate myself.

-------------------------------
is it just me or are the pre-set margins and spacing in MS-Word getting bigger? it used to be that I'd write a doc and it would fill 90% of a page. Now its more like 75%.

Out of the box I have margins of 1" on top and bottom, 1.25" on left and right, and Times New Roman 12pt font. Is that what it used to be? I have office 2003, somebody with office 2k should look.

If my assertion that it has increased is correct this must be the result of paper companies lobbying Microsoft to increase them so we use more paper - under the guise of "it's more readable". Poppycock!

Old Posts : New Thoughts 2

Cory and I are uninformed. This doesn't stop us from bitching that everyone is dumb and that we are really smart.

----------------------
11:24] cory: thoughts on dependencies on foreign oil?
[11:37] snoogiboogi: raise gas prices
[11:37] snoogiboogi: $10 a gallon
[11:37] cory: make people drive less
[11:37] snoogiboogi: yep
[11:37] cory: get bikes
[11:37] cory: get in shape
[11:37] snoogiboogi: ride trains
[11:37] snoogiboogi: etc
[11:37] cory: use their fat blob of a body
[11:37] snoogiboogi: you got it
[11:37] cory: walk to a train
[11:37] cory: instead of the garage
[11:37] cory: fucking america
[11:37] cory:
[11:38] snoogiboogi: use taxes on gas prices to pay off national debt... then cut my income taxss
[11:38] cory: what about people that actually need to drive
[11:38] cory: 10 bucks a gallon still
[11:38] cory: like...my mom doesn't have a resonable route to work w/o driving
[11:38] cory: i think you should make it 10/gallon in major cities
[11:38] snoogiboogi: carpooling
[11:39] snoogiboogi: people are clever, they'll figure it out
[11:39] snoogiboogi: how far does your mom drive?
[11:39] cory: not far
[11:39] cory: she could bike if she left early
[11:40] snoogiboogi: so she'll start looking at a hybrid car next time around too
[11:40] snoogiboogi: use electricity
[11:40] snoogiboogi: which is from burning coal
[11:40] snoogiboogi: fossil fuels rock1
[11:40] cory: walk
[11:40] cory: lose weight
[11:41] snoogiboogi: some people do have to drive
[11:41] snoogiboogi: but they'll just have to factor that into the decision to work at a certain place
[11:41] snoogiboogi: industry will have to carpool workers
[11:41] snoogiboogi: free gas for buses
[11:41] cory: blog this
[11:42] snoogiboogi: more (smaller) towns will adopt public transit

Old Posts : New Thoughts

This post is from a while back, maybe 2 years. I'm not sure what roused my ire this day, but i was clearly a little pissy. Nonetheless, I can't argue with myself.

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2 things I don't understand. Completely unrelated other than I don't understand them.

1. Terror attacks/bombings. What's the point? Are you trying to gain public attention? If you want to fight America/Europe then rise up an army and we'll fight. Or how about attack military installations or government agencies. That makes a little more sense to me, not much, but a little. Bombing buses and trains? thats just pussy.

2. People who love being married. I'm married. It's fine. I love my wife. Everything is good. However, I know people who *really* love it. They tell you all the time how great it is. Its very fucked up. I have no idea what is so great. They've explained it to me, several times, and I still don't get it.

Take Two

I've had a blog before. I'm trying again. Anew. Fresh.