jsp.org » Miscellany

New Pepsi

jsp — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 07:26:21 +0000

So Pepsi has a new logo… looks a little like Korean Air in a can to me. I prefer Coke’s pared-down approach.

September

jsp — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:33:26 +0000

11th: Quit my job*
18th: Last day
20th: Off to Iceland
23rd: Turn 31
27th: Return from Iceland
29th: Nick “officially” moves in

Yeah, so, you know… not busy or anything.

*It was a contractor position, so technically I ended the engagement.

Happy New Year

jsp — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 04:15:29 +0000

Well, here it is 2008 and I haven’t made a new post in months, a fact noted by more than a few of you. I know, I know, I suck.

But really, it’s not like much noteworthy happened to me in the last few months of ’07. Other than:

I ended a (quasi-)relationship
I turned 30
I lost my sole surviving grandparent
I went to Australia for a few weeks
I split Christmas between 2 states

Hmm, maybe I could have had a word or two to say one some of those items (like the Oz trip, woohoo!) I’ll just have to do better this year…

Two Sentences

jsp — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 21:34:44 +0000

One, the opening line from a “thriller” I found left behind in a parking garage, made me groan:

The house in Silverlake was dark, its windows as empty as a dead man’s eyes.

Blech. That book’s getting donated.

But turn that frown upside down, as there’s this one, from NYT:

“It’s going to be really good for international travel over the next year and a half,” Mr. Seaney said.

Excellent! Iceland, anyone?

Hooray for Iowa

jsp — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:01:19 +0000

I’m feeling proud of my native state today.

The Gift That Keeps on Taking

jsp — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 20:53:40 +0000

So I’m checking my credit card balance the other day (eep!) and I see this little gem in the “special offers” section:

Aww, isn’t that sweet? Why not coax a smile out of someone just by GIVING THEM ACCESS TO YOUR CREDIT LINE. No biggie — it’s like a tall glass of lemonade on a hot summer’s day.

I have to say, if the best way to make your special someone smile is with plastic, it might be time to reconsider the relationship. Or at the very least, try a few alternatives first:

“Have you lost weight?”
“Let me do those dishes.”
“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”

Not, of course, that a credit card issuer is going to make any of those suggestions. If they were looking to be honest, they would have said so:

Son #1

jsp — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 01:14:26 +0000

One of the great joys of Google News, in which “the selection and placement of stories…[a]re determined automatically by a computer program,” is the highlighting of stories (sometimes from fringe sites) occasionally juxtaposed with bizarre images.

Take this story from yesterday, which reported on the supposed difference between IQs of children born first and subsequently:

How excellent is that comparison? Alec vs. the crazy one from Threesome? Well played, eCanadaNow, well played.

Of course, they’re old hands at this. Check out this one I grabbed a few months ago…

Did You Hear That?

jsp — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 07:36:13 +0000

The downside of living in a high-rise is that when it rains (as now) you don’t really hear it — barring an excellent thunderstorm, that is.

The upside is you don’t have gutters to clean.

Looking Forward to a Good Night (Ripper)

jsp — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 22:59:09 +0000

Remember when I said that the mash-up CD “Night Ripper” was blowing my mind? Well, tonight (thanks once again to Josh’s influence) I’ll be able to see Gregg’s work firsthand. He’s headlining at the Empty Bottle, which is a charming little dive.

Should be a good time — I’ll let you know.

Time for Some Actual Housekeeping

jsp — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 22:38:24 +0000

So the girl whose apartment I rent called me while I was on vacation, wanting a favor. Would it be possible, she wondered, to sleep overnight at the apartment — with four friends? Sure, I said, deep in my relaxed vacation chillout state.

Except now that state’s gone, chased away by a Wednesday that had me walking a total of 10.5 miles. (Yes, I calculated.) Starting from my court date* downtown, up to an impromptu Evanston site visit in the early afternoon, through to a scheduled equipment swap on Fullerton that ran long, I left my place at 8 and didn’t return (save for a 7 minute lunch) until after 11.

Now my feet have blisters, my back’s fucked, and though I’d just as soon close the curtains and sleep until next Tuesday, she called again to confirm her arrival tomorrow, this time adding a new wrinkle: she’ll be here with crew at 8am!

Which means I should probably spend tonight cleaning and piling my junk in the closet. Wheee….

* Went like butter. Showed up for my 9am at 8:50, court started at 9:05, was out on the street at 9:16. He didn’t show, so my ticket was dismissed.