Blogger posted this earlier in the week and it made me a little sad. I don't write to try and make money. I do it because I enjoy writing. If my brain is good for anything, it's for this. I get these thoughts floating around up there and put them on this virtual paper. That is how I stay sane. But to read this post from Blogger I thought who needs to do this?
If you need to put some little app on your blog to try and get some change from people, you need to re-evaluate your life and profession. There are successful professional bloggers out there, but they are professionals first. They become a professional blogger because people know them because these professional bloggers are journalists, comedians, politicians. They aren't some thirty year old sitting in the local coffee shop hoping to break through on the internet. I would never put 'professional blogger' on a resume. How would you explain that in an interview?
'So, I see you have been self employed as a professional blogger the past five years, explain that.'
'Well, I got fired from my last job because I couldn't make it in on time so I wanted to take my life in a different direction. I started a blog and wanted to make money off of it so I started doing that professionally for the past half decade.'
'What's that like?'
'I live in a cardboard box right now in a back alley behind a Starbucks but I still have my laptop and can get free wi-fi. I'm close to breaking through though. I made thirty dollars the past two weeks from donations. I can feel it gaining momentum, I just would really like to have this job as a fall back in case the blogging doesn't work out.'
This thing that Blogger has put up is not for their users to make the big bucks, it's just to get a couple of dollars in the back pockets. It's cool if you want to do, I guess, but you'll never see anything like that here. I always thought that blogs were started as a way for people to get their thoughts out there on the internet for people to read, but that's just me.
24 May 2011
23 May 2011
Slowly but surely
After realizing that I started off this idea to lose ten pound in the worst way possible (mainly not doing anything), I have been really forcing myself to go workout. I have been easing my way into working out in general by hitting the stationary bike. It is extremely low impact which is good for my knees, and let me tell you, I ran on a treadmill for about ten minutes last week and it felt like my knees were going to explode. I blame my dad for genetically bad knees.
I find it hard to get the ambition to workout on days that I work. I have no problem getting out there when I have the day off because I have nothing else to do. I do not find anything exciting about working eight hours and then going and exerting more energy. I want to just laze around and do nothing during the evening. I once again, do not enjoy working out. I do not feel more energized afterwards. I do not better about myself, my self esteem isn't higher than normal afterwards. I feel...more tired. SURPRISE! However, the results will be there and I know that and that is the reason I go. Well, to see the results and to look good in my European man thong, but whatever.
One small thing can snowball into more and more. I will continue to get out and workout. I want to lose the weight and I am going to get there.
I find it hard to get the ambition to workout on days that I work. I have no problem getting out there when I have the day off because I have nothing else to do. I do not find anything exciting about working eight hours and then going and exerting more energy. I want to just laze around and do nothing during the evening. I once again, do not enjoy working out. I do not feel more energized afterwards. I do not better about myself, my self esteem isn't higher than normal afterwards. I feel...more tired. SURPRISE! However, the results will be there and I know that and that is the reason I go. Well, to see the results and to look good in my European man thong, but whatever.
One small thing can snowball into more and more. I will continue to get out and workout. I want to lose the weight and I am going to get there.
21 May 2011
The end is nigh....or not
This was just spoken on live television during the Royals/Cardinals game referring to umpires Angel Hernandez and Angel Campos:
'With the end of times predicted for today, it's nice to know we have two Angels on the field.'
You know your religious thoughts and predictions are a joke when sportscasters are poking fun at you.
Idiots.
'With the end of times predicted for today, it's nice to know we have two Angels on the field.'
You know your religious thoughts and predictions are a joke when sportscasters are poking fun at you.
Idiots.
19 May 2011
Jury duty (part two?)
Once again, I enjoyed my time as a juror and when I got a piece of mail from the Office of the Clerk earlier this week I thought nothing of it. On the outside envelop it has pasted 'official business important information do not discard' front and center. I looked at this envelope and could tell that there were papers inside. My first thought was maybe it was some sort of survey of how I felt about the jury duty process. But, oh was I wrong.
It was a juror selection questionnaire. What. The. Fuck. I've been tabbed again for possible jury selection, but on a larger level. Instead of being on the local level, it's on a state level. Two things came to my mind when I read through it.
1.) This selection process isn't random and it is done using some mathematical algorithm that I do not understand (nor do I care to).
2.) I was fucking awesome as a juror and word got out so they want to call me up to the show.
Oh yes, jury duty has a minor league and major league system. If you can hack it in the local court rooms, you can hack it anywhere. So, the possibility that the jury selection is done through some sort of complex math problem is more likely than there being a JDL (Jury Duty League) and that is what I am going with. How is it really done? I have no idea, but to have my name randomly pulled within a few months for two different levels of court systems is suspect. It's like a dark skinned, long haired, fully bearded college kid getting randomly selected for addition screening.
As they explained how our names got pulled for jury duty it got me thinking that I want to live in a tent in the woods. Or maybe a cabin. It's done through your driver's license being in the system and the fact that you are a registered voter.
So, if you need a reason to live off of the grid, this is it. GET OUT NOW!
It was a juror selection questionnaire. What. The. Fuck. I've been tabbed again for possible jury selection, but on a larger level. Instead of being on the local level, it's on a state level. Two things came to my mind when I read through it.
1.) This selection process isn't random and it is done using some mathematical algorithm that I do not understand (nor do I care to).
2.) I was fucking awesome as a juror and word got out so they want to call me up to the show.
Oh yes, jury duty has a minor league and major league system. If you can hack it in the local court rooms, you can hack it anywhere. So, the possibility that the jury selection is done through some sort of complex math problem is more likely than there being a JDL (Jury Duty League) and that is what I am going with. How is it really done? I have no idea, but to have my name randomly pulled within a few months for two different levels of court systems is suspect. It's like a dark skinned, long haired, fully bearded college kid getting randomly selected for addition screening.
As they explained how our names got pulled for jury duty it got me thinking that I want to live in a tent in the woods. Or maybe a cabin. It's done through your driver's license being in the system and the fact that you are a registered voter.
So, if you need a reason to live off of the grid, this is it. GET OUT NOW!
17 May 2011
Breaking News!
This just in: The NFL lockout is still in affect.
In a related story: I do not care.
Sports analysts are frothing at the mouth over the fact that the NFL lockout is over two months long. I don't know if they realize this or not, but it is only May. It isn't like this lockout is taking place during the pre-season or regular season where the work stoppage means no games during the week. And let's be honest, there is a little bit of each of us that wants this lockout to continue on towards the regular season and here is why. It puts them in their place. About ninety nine percent of the players in the NFL don't do it for the game, they do it for the money. If the lockout happens to carry over to the regular season, how can they afford their million dollar mansions and their five cars that cost more than a regular house?
The only time I am going to pay any attention to these stories of the NFL lockout and court decisions is when they come to a real conclusion. Wake me up in September.
In a related story: I do not care.
Sports analysts are frothing at the mouth over the fact that the NFL lockout is over two months long. I don't know if they realize this or not, but it is only May. It isn't like this lockout is taking place during the pre-season or regular season where the work stoppage means no games during the week. And let's be honest, there is a little bit of each of us that wants this lockout to continue on towards the regular season and here is why. It puts them in their place. About ninety nine percent of the players in the NFL don't do it for the game, they do it for the money. If the lockout happens to carry over to the regular season, how can they afford their million dollar mansions and their five cars that cost more than a regular house?
The only time I am going to pay any attention to these stories of the NFL lockout and court decisions is when they come to a real conclusion. Wake me up in September.
16 May 2011
Skipped out of town
We just got back from a weekend in Springfield, MO. We went for a couple of reasons. One, to see our friends who moved out there last year and two, just to get out of Wichita for a weekend. It was just a four hour (or so) ride out there and we left Friday after I finished with work and we got there in time for some beer and a few left over pieces of pizza. A great way to start a lazy weekend.
Saturday was spent around the town. We walked the downtown area a little bit and grabbed some food. The afternoon was spent checking out a brewery that just opened up. It is not a brewery that has a restaurant, it's an actual brewery that just bottles and sends out the booze. It never rained, but it was overcast and windy all day. Not one hundred percent fantastic, but tolerable.
Sunday we drove down to Branson. Not to see any shows that the city is known for, but to check out some of the shops in the area. They have a nice open air mall with typical shops, but once again it was nice to just get out and see something different.
The weather was not the greatest, but it was nice enough to get outside and walk around both days. Would it have been more enjoyable has it been in the low seventies and sunny all weekend? Absolutely. It was in the low fifties and cloudy all days that we were there except for Monday, when we had to leave. Figures. It was nice to drive back home when it was sunny as opposed driving in the rain.
Getting out of the city is always nice especially when you have no real plans. And, as always, it was great to see some friends.
Saturday was spent around the town. We walked the downtown area a little bit and grabbed some food. The afternoon was spent checking out a brewery that just opened up. It is not a brewery that has a restaurant, it's an actual brewery that just bottles and sends out the booze. It never rained, but it was overcast and windy all day. Not one hundred percent fantastic, but tolerable.
Sunday we drove down to Branson. Not to see any shows that the city is known for, but to check out some of the shops in the area. They have a nice open air mall with typical shops, but once again it was nice to just get out and see something different.
The weather was not the greatest, but it was nice enough to get outside and walk around both days. Would it have been more enjoyable has it been in the low seventies and sunny all weekend? Absolutely. It was in the low fifties and cloudy all days that we were there except for Monday, when we had to leave. Figures. It was nice to drive back home when it was sunny as opposed driving in the rain.
Getting out of the city is always nice especially when you have no real plans. And, as always, it was great to see some friends.
09 May 2011
Too hot too early
At six thirty this morning, it was already seventy degrees outside. Today, the high is suppose to be one hundred. One. Hundred. Degrees. To say that it is too early in the year for it to be in the triple digits is a vast understatement. Living in Kansas for the past five years I have gotten use to the extremely hot summers. There is always a week or two when the temperature spikes in the triple digits and it stays there and it is miserable. Those are the weeks when I want to find and kiss the person or persons that invented air conditioning. But that is in July or August, not May. It's suppose to cool back down tomorrow, but still. Too hot.
In an unrelated note, Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers threw a no hitter on Saturday. He had a perfect game into the eighth inning when he issued a well deserved, twelve pitch walk. I say well deserved because the batter fouled off pitch after pitch and they were pitches that would have sat down a lesser hitter. This is Verlander's second no hitter of his professional career, but that isn't the important thing. The important this is the way he celebrated the feat. With a fist pump and a smile. They were playing in Toronto, so the half full stadium was kind of in a buzz but it would have been louder and a larger celebration would have happened had they been in Detroit. I say his celebration was important because it in no way showed up the other team. It was classy. I like that.
In an unrelated note, Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers threw a no hitter on Saturday. He had a perfect game into the eighth inning when he issued a well deserved, twelve pitch walk. I say well deserved because the batter fouled off pitch after pitch and they were pitches that would have sat down a lesser hitter. This is Verlander's second no hitter of his professional career, but that isn't the important thing. The important this is the way he celebrated the feat. With a fist pump and a smile. They were playing in Toronto, so the half full stadium was kind of in a buzz but it would have been louder and a larger celebration would have happened had they been in Detroit. I say his celebration was important because it in no way showed up the other team. It was classy. I like that.
04 May 2011
Jury duty
I finished up my first ever tour of jury duty. You always hear about jury duty and how absolutely horrible it is. It isn't though.
Yeah, you don't get paid much. Kansas pays ten dollars a day, plus two dollars for meal stipend, plus mileage. So, it's a losing effort if you go in thinking you'll make some bank off of your state. Yeah, the first day is really long and boring. I brought a book and the ipod and it went by quicker than I thought it would. Some even brought laptops to do some work. I would equate the jury assembly room to an airplane. You are stuck next to someone you don't know and unless you get a talker, you keep to yourself. Luckily, I was not next to a talker. I hate talkers. Hate is a strong word, but I have a strong feelings about it.
The assembly room was boring and very quiet. After being selected for a jury pool, we went up to a court room and were interviewed by the defense attorney and district attorney. It was a little intimidating. It wasn't like they asked extremely embarrassing questions or anything like that, but it was monotonous. Imagine hearing the same question asked twenty four times. Not an exciting question, but a question like 'what is your living situation, where do you work, have you ever served on a jury.'. BOOOOOORING! After getting the information, they started to ask questions that would weed out anyone that they deemed to have a prejudice thought or answered a question that they did not approve of. That took four hours. Four. Hours. With one little break in between.
That was the rest of the first day. And they didn't even finish up the jury selection. That went on into the second day, but it was not for very long. Second day was hearing the testimonies and the start of deliberation. Testimonies went on for six hours and we were able to start deliberation, but did not get very far. It was difficult to just sit and listen and not be able to discuss anything with the rest of the jurors. I think we all felt that because the minute we got into the jury room, there were about three conversations going on and nothing really happened.
Today was the last day of the trial, and it didn't last all day. Luckily. We were able to deliberate when we were all present and we started around nine fifteen. The deliberation was much more calm and organized with people who thought the defendant was guilty able to present their arguments to those who thought he was not guilty. It was organized, it was calm, and for the most part, it was one conversation. We deliberated for close about an hour and a half and came to the conclusion that the defendant was not guilty because of lack of evidence.
Overall, it was an experience that was enjoyable. Well, I think that enjoyable isn't the right word. Tolerable is a better word. Do not look at like an inconvenience. If you don't want to participate, and you get called, go in there and answer the questions they ask as horribly as possible. And there were some people like that. The way that they answered some of the questions, I just knew (and I'm sure the lawyers did too) that they were trying to get out of being there. Listen, it's not a big deal. It's an experience. An experience that you'll have to do eventually and will have a year off from that.
My only advice is when they ask the jury to select a head juror. Everyone in the room kept saying that they didn't want to do it, so I took the reins. Creepy, right? Me in control of something. I was determined to keep everyone in line the last day when it came to deliberation. It drove me nuts when everyone was talking. Keep control of the conversations and be a dick. When they got off topic, I brought them all back with this great phrase I have picked up from work. 'That doesn't matter, let's focus on what is important.' It shut everyone up and got us back on topic.
Yeah, you don't get paid much. Kansas pays ten dollars a day, plus two dollars for meal stipend, plus mileage. So, it's a losing effort if you go in thinking you'll make some bank off of your state. Yeah, the first day is really long and boring. I brought a book and the ipod and it went by quicker than I thought it would. Some even brought laptops to do some work. I would equate the jury assembly room to an airplane. You are stuck next to someone you don't know and unless you get a talker, you keep to yourself. Luckily, I was not next to a talker. I hate talkers. Hate is a strong word, but I have a strong feelings about it.
The assembly room was boring and very quiet. After being selected for a jury pool, we went up to a court room and were interviewed by the defense attorney and district attorney. It was a little intimidating. It wasn't like they asked extremely embarrassing questions or anything like that, but it was monotonous. Imagine hearing the same question asked twenty four times. Not an exciting question, but a question like 'what is your living situation, where do you work, have you ever served on a jury.'. BOOOOOORING! After getting the information, they started to ask questions that would weed out anyone that they deemed to have a prejudice thought or answered a question that they did not approve of. That took four hours. Four. Hours. With one little break in between.
That was the rest of the first day. And they didn't even finish up the jury selection. That went on into the second day, but it was not for very long. Second day was hearing the testimonies and the start of deliberation. Testimonies went on for six hours and we were able to start deliberation, but did not get very far. It was difficult to just sit and listen and not be able to discuss anything with the rest of the jurors. I think we all felt that because the minute we got into the jury room, there were about three conversations going on and nothing really happened.
Today was the last day of the trial, and it didn't last all day. Luckily. We were able to deliberate when we were all present and we started around nine fifteen. The deliberation was much more calm and organized with people who thought the defendant was guilty able to present their arguments to those who thought he was not guilty. It was organized, it was calm, and for the most part, it was one conversation. We deliberated for close about an hour and a half and came to the conclusion that the defendant was not guilty because of lack of evidence.
Overall, it was an experience that was enjoyable. Well, I think that enjoyable isn't the right word. Tolerable is a better word. Do not look at like an inconvenience. If you don't want to participate, and you get called, go in there and answer the questions they ask as horribly as possible. And there were some people like that. The way that they answered some of the questions, I just knew (and I'm sure the lawyers did too) that they were trying to get out of being there. Listen, it's not a big deal. It's an experience. An experience that you'll have to do eventually and will have a year off from that.
My only advice is when they ask the jury to select a head juror. Everyone in the room kept saying that they didn't want to do it, so I took the reins. Creepy, right? Me in control of something. I was determined to keep everyone in line the last day when it came to deliberation. It drove me nuts when everyone was talking. Keep control of the conversations and be a dick. When they got off topic, I brought them all back with this great phrase I have picked up from work. 'That doesn't matter, let's focus on what is important.' It shut everyone up and got us back on topic.
01 May 2011
ten pound fail (so far)
It has been twelve days since I brought up the ten pound challenge and I am very thankful I didn't set any real date on completing it because, well, I've done jack shit about it. I shouldn't say that, I have been watching what I'm eating, a little bit anyways. I haven't gotten crazy healthy, but have curtailed the portions on some foods and eaten a few more salads. So, baby steps I guess.
Once again, I hate hate hate hate working out. Some people have said they love it, that it releases stress and it's addicting. For me? Not so much. It's an inconvenience. If I could get to a pool that's not located in a gym that you would have to pay a membership for, I would be all about that. I love swimming. I love (and miss) smelling like chlorine. I miss smelling like clean all the time. There are two major gyms in the Wichita area. There is the YMCA and Genesis Gyms. YMCA is up front with their fees, close to forty dollars a month for adults. Genesis? Not so much. I checked their site, I checked for forums or FAQs via Google, and still nothing. So I just gave up on looking for it and decided that if I am going to do this, I suppose I will give up hope of finding a cheap pool and just use the workout room that is in the apartment complex.
On a side note, news just came on that Osama Bin Laden has been killed and his body is in U.S. custody. A significant day, but nowhere near the end of any kind of fighting in the Middle East for America. A moral booster for sure.
Once again, I hate hate hate hate working out. Some people have said they love it, that it releases stress and it's addicting. For me? Not so much. It's an inconvenience. If I could get to a pool that's not located in a gym that you would have to pay a membership for, I would be all about that. I love swimming. I love (and miss) smelling like chlorine. I miss smelling like clean all the time. There are two major gyms in the Wichita area. There is the YMCA and Genesis Gyms. YMCA is up front with their fees, close to forty dollars a month for adults. Genesis? Not so much. I checked their site, I checked for forums or FAQs via Google, and still nothing. So I just gave up on looking for it and decided that if I am going to do this, I suppose I will give up hope of finding a cheap pool and just use the workout room that is in the apartment complex.
On a side note, news just came on that Osama Bin Laden has been killed and his body is in U.S. custody. A significant day, but nowhere near the end of any kind of fighting in the Middle East for America. A moral booster for sure.
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