Author Archive
That special time of year quickly approaches. You know what it is. And you know I know you know what it is. Damn right! Football season! And along with it comes all the trash talking, season ending injuries, and shattered dreams generated by something called FANTASY FOOTBALL.
Today I set up my league on Yahoo! and sent out my invites. If you could see my list of invitees, with the likes of Richard Wollney, Scott Soeder, and Nick Zuniga, just to name a few, you might think I was intentionally stacking the league with people who have no chance at winning, and therefore automatically crowning myself champion. Not true! On the contrary, the people I’ve invited possess the greatest football minds of this century. For example, word on the street is that Curtis Martin will be drafted number 1 by the so cleverly named “Rehab’s For Quitters”. So the bottom line is, they know what they’re doing. It will truly be an all out battle. Like the Russian chess player against the supercomputer. Except a couple of these folks are playing with Commodore 64s. And they ain’t Russian.
So I look forward to the Fantasy Football draft. And all the trash talk. And all the lopsided trade offers I’m sure to get. And all the Vince Young Wonderlic score jokes I’m going to make. But as much as I enjoy winning, it’s all about having fun… winning. As long as someone reminds my Puerto Rican brother Horbi that this is Fantasy Football and not Fantasy Futbol (he already had his eye on drafting Ronaldhino), and as long as someone reminds my buddy Jay that I know more about his lousy Dallas Cowboys than he does (remember when you told me your precious Cowboys would never pickup a piece of crap like T.O.?), then win or lose, it will be a good season. But I am going to win. Lord knows I’m due.
Let the trash-talking commence…
-Dave Q.
So I’ve been messing with this Joost application the past month. Since it is still in beta testing, you had to get an invitation in order to download and use it. I’m not sure if that is still the case, but I got my invite from the lovely and tech savvy Natali Del Conte, the host of the podcast show TeXtra. Thanks, Natali! If I ever have an invite to pass along, I will send it your way. With that being said, my buddy Nick is about to host a poker tournament. I might be able to send an invite your way. 
Watch the TeXtra podcast here. It’s a great resource for the latest in technology, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Now let me try to describe Joost. Basically, it’s archived television programs running on a P2P network. Kind of like those “on demand” channels your cable or satellite provider offers. So it’s not like you’re watching breaking news or any type of live television like that. It runs pretty smoothly, has an easy to use interface, and the video quality is excellent. There is a nice selection of channels to choose from. National Geographic has it’s own channel, as well as Comedy Central, MTV, and the more obscure Soccer Channel, just to name a couple. And the programs range from past CNN news segments, to old Ben Stiller shows, to old school Transformers and G.I Joe cartoons. They even have some music channels. So far, it is indeed very cool. Download it here.
I highly recommend you find someone to send you an invitation to Joost. If you want one, and if I can figure out how, let me know and I will send one your way. Be aware that you may not want to use Joost at work, since I imagine it can be very distracting and keep you from actual work. I’m only imagining that. That is only my imagination. Sometimes it runs wild. Crazy imagination of mine…
-Dave Q.
Horbi and I ate lunch on Friday at Willie’s Icehouse. For those that don’t know, it’s basically a burger joint. So as we’re sitting there in the middle of lunch, our waitress informs us that our meal has already been paid for. We both looked at each other confused and asked her to elaborate. She said that a patron on their way out went up to her and asked to pay for our ticket. We pressed for as much information as should could give us, but at the end we were left scratching our heads. We know it was a guy with a shaved head. We did get a name from the credit card receipt, but neither of us recognize the name. So, who the hell was it? And why pay for our lunch? And why do that and just leave?
I have some theories. All of which involve Horbi and some shady past he doesn’t want to tell me about. Don’t get me wrong. I trust Horbi, if that is his real name. But if the Puerto Rican version of the CIA is hunting him down like Jason Bourne and toying with his mind by buying him random lunches, the I don’t want to get caught in the crossfire! Then again, it is a free lunch.
I think we may have to test this out by going to some pricey place for lunch this week. Maybe the PR black ops guy will send over dessert.
Horbi hurt his back this weekend. Get well bro.
-Dave Q.
If you can read this, then somewhere, somehow, a Systems Administrator is to thank. And for that reason, the last Friday of every July has been dubbed as Sysadmin Day. Hmmm. So today is the 8th annual SysAdmin Day, isn’t it? Maybe you should go find your IT people and shake their hands. Give them a pat on the back. Make out with them. 
What is a Sysadmin? According to sysadminday.com, it’s someone who takes care of computer systems, phones, network, servers, backups, desktops, etc. So with that in mind, I salute anyone of these fine folks who handle the day to day headaches users cause them. Leading myself to personally invest in Extra-Strength Advil.
So far today, no one is showing me or Horbi much love. I haven’t heard from Brian, but no one usually shows him love anyway. I’d like to think it’s because very few people know about the significance of this glorious day. So get the word out. It’s in your best interest. Trust me.
Your IT department can do so much for you. I would imagine that the ones that remember to take care of their IT folks on this day would surely jump to the front of the line when it comes to taking care of their issues. Just a thought. And IT teams have great memories, so if you do (or don’t) show them some appreciation, they’ll remember.
Free advice: Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
Happy SysAdmin Day, brothers!
-Dave Q.
Let’s see. What comes out tomorrow in movie theaters all over America? Ah yes, ‘The Simpsons Movie’. I cannot believe this show has been around 18 years! It’s amazing when you think about it. Give the writers all the credit in the world for this show’s success. They’re the ones that have made it one of the top rated programs for nearly two decades now. And to finally make it to the big screen, all I can say is “Nice work”. I have high expectations for the film. Very high expectations. I hope for everyone’s sake they didn’t produce a bomb of epic proportions. But judging from the previews, I think we’re in for a good one. Ha! Spider Pig…
‘The Simpsons’ is one of those animated TV shows that takes a certain degree of pop culture knowledge to really appreciate. ‘South Park’ is another show that you can say that about, except they put a much bigger emphasis on politics. Both shows are outstanding. And anyone that I’ve heard say they don’t like, or “don’t get” these shows, never seem to be up on current events. Even though they are cartoons, you have to have a bit of intellect to really grasp all of the humor. So if you have a low IQ, maybe you should stick to reality TV.
There are a crap load of companies promoting ‘The Simpsons Movie’ through various websites. I think 7 Eleven may be taking it a little too far. Believe it or not, it looks like they are converting several 7 Elevens into actual Kwik-E-Marts (if you don’t know what a Kwik-E-Mart is, please stop reading). You can check out some photos here. And Burger King has a website promoting the film where you can take a photo of yourself and convert it so you could see what you would look like as a Simpsons character. Check it out at www.simpsonizeme.com. You can see my results above. Well… I think it did alright with the color of my shirt. And the hair looks good, too. So… I guess it works?
The real me is still taller.
-Dave Q.
Alright boys and girls. I just got off the phone with my good friend, Nick. He has just announced that he will be hosting a poker tournament! And judging from the amount of people he is expecting, this is going to be huge! Actually, I can’t really say, since I know nothing about poker tournaments, let alone poker. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy inviting 5 good friends over to play cards, talk trash to them, have a few beers, and maybe even win a hand. But by no means do I know what I’m doing.
Uh… who shuffled the cards?
Then again, maybe I’m stating all this in the hopes that my buddies, and anyone else that may be playing poker that night, think that I am a horrible poker player. When in reality, I might be the second coming of Brett Maverick! This could all be a smokescreen. You know, smoke and mirrors? But truth be told, I suck. But, another truth be told, I’m awesome at poker. Or am I? Confused yet? I would bet that you are. And then I would raise that bet. Wham!
Still thinking about the dogs…
As of now, Nick hasn’t told me when he’s going to have his tournament. He’s just told me that it will happen soon. So if you don’t ever hear me mention it again, then it probably means I lost… badly. And if that happens, so what? Some of the best times I have are playing poker with friends. I’ll take that over going to a smoke filled, crowded club anytime. But then my friends become my enemies after I take their money and embarrass them with my ninja like poker skills…
Smokescreens…
-Dave Q.
***UPDATE!*** Looks like we will have a poker night this Saturday! I get paid tomorrow so maybe I can last longer than usual. I’m talking about cards, folks.
Well, Murphy completed his heartworm treatment today. He appears to be comfortable, but the vet said that he will be hurting for a while. It will take about 6 months for him to get all that junk out of his system. But for now, things are looking good.
My buddy Jay sent this to me. It’s video of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog at the 2007 Tony Awards. Freakin’ hysterical! Fitting since all I’ve had on my mind the last few days is my dogs.
Now I need a nap. All this stress has got me dog tired. There I go again…
-Dave Q.
“With the exception of women, there is nothing on earth so agreeable or necessary to the comfort of man as the dog.” ~Edward Jesse, Anecdote of Dogs
I got some bad news this weekend. I took the dogs to the vet on Saturday to get checked out. Well, Murphy didn’t check out so good. He’s got heartworms. And now he needs to go through a bit of a rough (and expensive) treatment to get through it. The doc says he’s healthy, and he’s acting completely normal, so those are good signs that the treatment will be successful.
This is completely my fault. I got lazy in giving Murphy and Max their heartworm meds. And now Murphy is going to suffer for it. I feel like shit. I just want the little guy to come out of this okay. And I have to consider it a miracle that Max didn’t have heartworms. Any treatment on Max would have much more risk since he’s older.
I know Murphy is just a dog. And not a bright one at that. But after hearing the vet explain all the risks involved with the procedure, I couldn’t look at Murphy and not be a little emotional. I know there are a lot of people out there that their pets are their lives, taking them everywhere they go, dressing them up, taking them for pictures with Santa, etc. Well, anyone who knows me know that I don’t go to those extremes. But I also can’t imagine life without my dogs. And the thought of losing one of them is depressing. I’ve learned my lesson. I will make it a point to never let this happen again.
So tomorrow morning Murphy starts his two days of treatment. And all the recovery time that goes with it. Hopefully he’ll be doped up on enough painkillers to forgive me for my outright stupidity.
I’m sorry, Murph. Maybe once this is over, we can look back and laugh at this whole ordeal over a drink or two. Just like the good old days. Deal?
-Dave Q.
