tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63562912011-10-06T13:22:42.936-07:00Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.comBlogger3071100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-65884297361769538992011-02-23T21:58:00.000-08:002011-02-23T21:59:13.873-08:00

are the easiest! No thought, no time, but keep the blog alive.Someday, blog, the video games will become tiresome, and blogging will become appealing again.

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-48803491477318390802011-01-31T21:24:00.001-08:002011-01-31T21:24:27.858-08:00

But didn't get to it.

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-92152711925984736292011-01-08T11:03:00.000-08:002011-01-08T15:12:05.928-08:00

We arrived in Seattle on Thursday night, fairly late, and Charles and Nate picked us up and whisked us off back to their relatively new and lovely home somewhere near Ravenna, north of the U District. It was cold the entire weekend, but clear, and again the mountain views from the city were gorgeous all four days we were there.We woke up on the 31st, Friday, and Charles made delicious waffles.

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-40624357058462278242011-01-05T20:22:00.000-08:002011-01-05T21:19:19.163-08:00

(Blogger's Note: I apologize for the short length of this post, but my current strategy to keep this blog going on a consistent basis is to post frequently but spend no more than an hour on a post. And what you see below is, believe it or not, an hour's worth of work. I type fast, but I think slow, I proofread often, and I edit frequently. I'm constantly rearranging sentences and paragraphs,

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-53192264159171284162011-01-03T20:18:00.000-08:002011-01-03T21:25:12.142-08:00

The week leading up to Christmas here in San Diego was characterized by highly atypical rains which resembled nothing short of a biblical attack on the city. For three days straight it poured like a jungle scene in Lost and every mundane event became a major undertaking, from driving to work (45 mph tops some days, water flooding various highway lanes) to walking the dog (who hates rain and is

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-40338023331495604832010-12-28T20:31:00.000-08:002010-12-28T21:21:10.874-08:00

Christmas has come and gone and here's how things went down in our neighborhood.In my last post I detailed the Friday the 17th where Gwen and I went out and gorged ourselves on delicious beast flesh. The following night was our annual "Holiday Party" with our local group of San Diego friends. But as the term 'Holiday Party' is so generic, and at the risk of being labeled un-PC jerks, we went

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-46303387202194595462010-12-21T21:36:00.000-08:002010-12-22T20:52:17.620-08:00

For those of you who actually continue to refresh this site, please know that I do, too.And for the record, I remain overwhelmed at the concept of bring this blog back online full time. As each week passes it seems like six new bloggable events happen, and I swear each time a week does go by I feel like I'm going to sit down and slap up one giant monster post to encompass it all.. And guess

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-81292898179440247392010-11-23T21:30:00.000-08:002010-11-23T21:49:19.314-08:00

I haven't been here in a while but have been thinking about firing this place up again. There's so much going on in the past year it seems almost foolish not to post every now and again.The first step is to try a new look, and I've gotten that far. I view it like cleaning off an old work desk before starting a new project. So now the desk is clear, and I suppose it's time to get down to

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-58111729967686658262010-05-06T20:29:00.001-07:002010-05-06T20:41:42.671-07:00

LT continues to destroy any childhood idolization I had of him. As if repeated crack offenses or leaving the scene of an accident weren't enough, now he's gone ahead and allegedly raped a 16 year old. I could care less if he uses drugs in his spare time. Leaving the scene of accident? That's pretty lame. But rape? Yikes.That's it, I'm finally tearing my posters off the wall. Harry Carson,

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-51755127210034637272010-04-26T21:08:00.000-07:002010-04-28T08:48:16.931-07:00

This is a pretty typical headline these days, and it certainly piqued my interest while browsing cnn.com this afternoon. In fact, before I make fun of just how ridiculous and exaggerated this headline is, I really should give pause and think of how well it worked on me. Damn those marketing guys are good.I read a lot of science/fantasy fiction, and so when I see a headline like this, I

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-31185407284859231282010-04-19T20:34:00.000-07:002010-04-19T21:17:27.939-07:00

Here are a couple of links detailing an especially ridiculous situation in our present day world. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8598134.stmhttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121715788&ps=cprsA TV personality in Saudi Arabia, daring to "predict the future", is accused of sorcery and sentenced to death.It's almost as if Saudi Arabian authorities are doing The Onion's job for them.

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-17604104078783936782010-04-13T21:27:00.000-07:002010-04-13T21:35:49.892-07:00

This quote, from a related article, was amusing to me: "When asked about the inevitable "Grizzly Man" comparisons, Anderson is quick to point out differences between himself and the ill-fated Timothy Treadwell. "We are two men with the same passion," he told National Geographic. "But we practice that passion in a very different way. Wild bears are not particularly fond of humans, and for good

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-60855093142909664842010-03-31T20:41:00.005-07:002010-03-31T21:16:52.552-07:00

I'm pretty sure that if you sat down and really tried your hardest to come up with a group more antagonistic to just about everybody in the country, you still couldn't beat the Westboro Baptist Church group, which of course infamously protests at service members' funerals claiming they "deserved" to die because God hates homosexuals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_ChurchStrong work

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-72787793195403416242010-03-25T20:55:00.003-07:002010-03-25T21:28:52.818-07:00

I've been staring at this blog for a few weeks now trying to think of a way to dive back in. Not really knowing where to start, I decided to give myself ten good minutes and just type what comes to mind in the hopes of jump starting this thing. We'll see how it goes.A lot has happened since my last post. A LOT. THAT post was written from the other side of the pond, in my now distant

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-85719342328092749572009-06-21T09:28:00.003-07:002009-06-21T10:29:58.025-07:00

Today is my last day in Europe for the foreseeable future.My things are gone, moved last Monday. As I watched the large truck filled with my possessions drive away, I thought there is something quite unsettling about witnessing such a thing. Makes the ground seem unsteady beneath your feet. In the end though, I suppose all I really care about are the pictures. Just about everything else is

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-4093067104132349122009-06-11T13:12:00.005-07:002009-06-11T13:27:05.259-07:00

I said goodbye to my car today. Yup, had to sell off the old 1995 BMW 740i. It has European specs, so I couldn't take it back with me even if I wanted to.But really, I didn't. You see, I loved that car. But taking that car, a super-charged V8-laden highway monster like that off of the Autobahn where it can run free like it was born to and into the traffic-laden clogged streets of Southern

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-47031513822868704692009-06-06T13:05:00.005-07:002009-06-06T13:16:46.234-07:00

From CNN:"Later Friday, the president traveled in Germany to Ramstein Air Base and visited with wounded American troops at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center."This was yesterday. Unfortunately security was ridiculous and I wasn't on call. (Did I just say that it was unfortunate I wasn't on call?). I didn't get to see a thing regarding Obama.But a few weeks earlier, I did get to see Anna

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-87524847649931517182009-06-04T13:05:00.001-07:002009-06-04T13:05:16.577-07:00

I have a blog.

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-66567366006685129562009-04-12T12:38:00.005-07:002009-04-12T13:39:34.275-07:00

I've been playing a lot of Rock Band and Guitar Hero World Tour lately.About a month or so ago after we got back from San Diego, Gwen and I bought Guitar Hero World Tour for the PS3 because we knew it came with a "good" guitar. I say "good" as opposed to Rock Band's standard "awful" guitar, which comes complete with a mushy strum bar from hell and non-clacking fret keys that manage to instantly

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-51232718695097175372009-03-29T11:23:00.003-07:002009-03-29T12:03:30.674-07:00

Time for rapid fire catch-up. San DiegoGwen and I spent a week or so in San Diego in late February. I was doing several more job interviews; Gwen was doing some stuff for the hiring process regarding her new job. We were also starting to look around at houses in the area. Thoughts:-Interviewing is fun in some ways, but quite laborious. There is a lot of variety out there in terms of jobs and

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-57055819353692055692009-02-20T02:39:00.003-08:002009-02-20T02:55:38.710-08:00

Blogging from Heathrow, amidst a 3.5 hour layover from Frankfurt on our way to California.I like England and Heathrow is a nice airport. Always nice to hear English again, even if it is the sassy British style English. Why'd they steal our language, anyway?My favorite thing about the British after living in Germany is the fact that they respect the queue. Germans remain barbaric in some ways,

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-14520328290905296672009-02-17T11:17:00.004-08:002009-02-18T11:51:13.921-08:00

Gwen and I spent the last few days in Krakow, Poland, touring around and exploring as per our usual four-day-weekend-in-a-random-city-in-Europe routine. While the city itself was great (we both give it a thumbs up), the highlight of the trip was certainly the sobering trip out to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration camp.This post sort of reflects the trip - goofy then sobering. But I'll go

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-31570679765716601592009-02-10T12:16:00.001-08:002009-02-10T12:17:39.756-08:00

Three reasons:1)Work2)Madden Online3)Quake Live (thanks Adam)See you when these three don't suck up all my time.Toodles!

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-14380273460034348772009-02-04T10:08:00.003-08:002009-02-04T10:18:03.887-08:00

Gwen and I spent the wee hours of Super Bowl Sunday in GMT+1 watching the Steelers rise, then fall, then rise again in Super Bowl 43. The game marked the sixth Super Bowl Title for Burgh, but more importantly marked the end of live football viewing in Man Room (barring me watching the Pro Bowl at 3 am next weekend which ain't happening). I thought the game was good but I was fretting for

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-60305034843943500652009-02-01T03:49:00.003-08:002009-02-01T05:41:05.675-08:00

Before Friday I worked seven full days that were long and difficult. As I mentioned on the moderately insidious Facebook, I'm officially tired of working every third weekend. Landstuhl currently has seven internists, with only 3 permanent party, and only 3 of us currently do the primary ward attending. As such our call on day shifts for the wards, which runs seven days at a time, is precisely

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-81226208250868209542009-01-25T12:24:00.005-08:002009-01-25T13:37:44.476-08:00

"Hitler - you DON'T complete me."So at my urging Gwen and I saw "Valkyrie" tonight.I will admit I was sort of irrationally fired up to see Valkyrie. The thing is, I love World War II, and I especially love the European Theater and all things involving Nazi Germany. Well not ALL things but you get the point. I've been hooked a long time - I even sat down and read "The Rise and Fall of the Third

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-40076583622662026172009-01-23T12:30:00.003-08:002009-01-23T12:51:57.619-08:00

I think it was back in August of 2008, while I was in San Diego actually, that I first heard "Viva La Vida" from Cold play.I'm sad to admit but this song (which grew to ridiculous popularity and was overplayed exhaustively) for whatever reason cast some sort of dark spell on me and still refuses to let go.I couldn't get enough when it first came out. I still can't. Every time it comes on - in

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-31214481004556598772009-01-21T10:42:00.004-08:002009-01-21T12:04:03.162-08:00

Despite my being sick the past the past few days and having a rough call night on Monday where I got very little sleep, and despite Gwen being on call all weekend, the past few days have been pretty good for the household.The Steelers won, The Eagles lost, Bush is out, and Obama's in. Not too shabby from our perspective.Yesterday was pretty cool. Gwen and I huddled around a laptop watching live

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-74248600303624116822009-01-20T10:33:00.001-08:002009-01-20T10:44:12.857-08:00

Boo Ya!

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-67621085408665457872009-01-18T00:46:00.004-08:002009-01-18T01:15:38.280-08:00

Gwen and I don't get to to the movies like we used to, but we did manage to catch a screening of Gran Torino on Thursday, a film in which a 78-year old Clint Eastwood proves he's still tough enough to not take any guff from a variety of slack-jawed punks coming at him from all angles.I didn't know too much about this film going in but all I really needed to hear was "Clint versus neighborhood

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-39434964658639347392009-01-12T11:28:00.003-08:002009-01-12T12:23:26.514-08:00

When I woke up this morning the awful stench of "Eagles 23 Giants 11" was still strong in the room and in my head. I went to work in a fog, I think. The Gollum/LOTR analogy from last post holds surprisingly true in my mind as I try to put this football season in perspective. I even contemplated putting on the Giants 2007 Super Bowl DVD this evening to try and make it all better.A picture of me

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-8123303061816058032009-01-11T16:15:00.006-08:002009-01-11T16:40:30.868-08:00

Well, the Giants got their ass kicked today - no two ways about it. (And emotionally, I did too.) Eli regressed to his rookie form, the defense forgot how to rush the passer, and we had exactly ZERO receivers that Philly was afraid of. Now we've choked away the number one seed in ridiculous fashion to a hated rival, and in a related story I hate the world. Incidentally, here's a picture of me

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-75362921133311637672009-01-06T12:13:00.004-08:002009-01-06T12:53:03.448-08:00

One of my sure-to-be-broken New Year's Resolutions is to blog more. So here goes.I will now talk football.It will surprise no one who reads this that I watched all four wild-card games last weekend, even though getting through the Philly-Minnesota game required me to stay up until 2 am this past Sunday night, making for a fun, fun, fun Monday morning.Here's a few of my thoughts on the ongoing

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-37069457725440961902009-01-04T08:14:00.006-08:002009-01-05T09:17:15.341-08:00

Gwendolyn and I are back from a few days in Budapest, where we spent New Year's Eve in the relative luxury of the Four Seasons Hotel. We decided to splurge for this, our outgoing European New Year's, and the accommodations certainly didn't disappoint even though my eyes widened just slightly upon receiving the bill. (Luckily my immediate comprehension of the total figure was shrouded to some

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-6113531740848824722008-12-30T11:45:00.005-08:002008-12-30T12:53:53.812-08:00

Christmas has come and gone again for another year. And I look now longingly at The Tree knowing that shortly after New Year's the "Holidays" will officially be over and the Tree will need to be taken down until next time. Grief follows happiness. So the cycle continues.Gwen and I endured our final Christmas in Europe on the down-low. Most of the week leading up to Christmas I myself was

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-68294624403925294872008-12-23T11:38:00.003-08:002008-12-23T12:20:30.115-08:00

The Tree is back.Year after year, The Tree comes back to spruce up the holidays, and this year is certainly no exception. See former versions and a general recap of the story of The Tree HERE.Gwen and I put The Tree up on the Friday after Thanksgiving. We left shortly thereafter for a week in San Diego, but since we've been back we've been lighting The Tree nightly in ritualistic fashion to

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-6729628475702501062008-12-17T12:13:00.004-08:002008-12-17T12:54:51.550-08:00

and the fantasy football tree taketh away.I am on the cusp of greatness no longer. Two of my four potential champion teams have been hammered this past week. My beloved and sweet Crackheeds were vanquished by Gabe's Pescaderos on Monday night, ironically finished off in one of the worst ways imaginable - by an Eagle. And no ordinary Eagle, but Donovan McNabb, the ringleader himself, whom, even

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-42781761015335933922008-12-13T14:54:00.004-08:002008-12-13T16:11:25.828-08:00

(Note: If you don't care about fantasy football, skip this post.)Here we stand on Saturday night (or Sunday morning) prior to Week 15 of the 2008 season in the NFL, otherwise and more importantly known as the semifinals week of fantasy football. Once again I've involved myself with no less than four fantasy football leagues this season (though for this year, unlike last, I DID manage to cut out

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-44449598576393579512008-12-09T10:53:00.003-08:002008-12-09T12:13:57.586-08:00

Got back from San Diego today after a quick week-long trip to begin the frenzied job search process. More on that in a second. First a couple of quick pre-trip updates:-Birthday came and went on November 19th; Gwen and I went to Julien (French Restaurant) in K-town that evening, very quiet and very nice. My birthday fell on a Wednesday, so the following weekend we took a day trip up to

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-57699057615452477122008-11-17T12:19:00.005-08:002008-11-17T13:21:10.382-08:00

Ugh, when I restarted this blog after the summer vacation my intent was to post roughly twice a week. I haven't quite met that goal, and frankly I blame the football season. Every Sunday I stay up until 2 am to finish watching all the "afternoon" games and then Monday I'm a train wreck having to go to work on about 5 hours of sleep. After Tuesday it's time to start my weekly fantasy football

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-75300501121766381832008-11-04T11:22:00.005-08:002008-11-04T12:31:20.104-08:00

Today is election day, which is something of a relief. Not necessarily because we're electing a new president, but more importantly because we will be ending the non-stop campaign coverage which has decimated our lives over the past three, no wait six, no wait twelve, no weight eighteen months, like a series of prolonged carpet bombings. After an hour with any news channel, I find myself

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-33680114311077700072008-11-01T14:10:00.004-07:002008-11-01T15:16:46.254-07:00

Today was my first day off since the 13th of October, and I promised myself I would do two things. One was work out, the other was write a blog post. And once I hit "publish post", it looks like I will have managed to do both. (For the record, I also slept in, played some Madden, and drank a lot of coffee.)Work has been ridiculous lately and a scheduling disaster happened which put me on the

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-82022196992871245412008-07-30T09:11:00.003-07:002008-12-10T23:51:51.293-08:00

So Gwen and I saw "The Dark Knight" last night.I liked it, liked it just fine as a matter of fact. But at the risk of being unpopular (since there seems to be a Batman love-fest going on right now), I didn't love it. I definitely found it to be uneven at times. And sadly, the biggest problem? It's Christian Bale. He's really not that good, and the more I think about it, the more I'm

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-3810106870495910632008-07-28T11:18:00.003-07:002008-07-28T12:34:32.791-07:00

For those of you don't remember, the phrase "Muscles from Brussels" was a surrogate name of sorts for the one and only mega-action star/"actor" otherwise known as Jean Claude Van Damme. That's right - THE Jean Claude Van Damme.(Note: From here on out, Jean Claude Van Damme will be referred to as JCVD. It's easier to type, and apparently it's also the title of a documentary on his life. Check

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-15945930650104402202008-07-23T08:55:00.007-07:002008-12-10T23:51:54.044-08:00

Yes, Pete is gone. ("Destroyed...by the Empire.") But he wasn't blown up, like Alderaan. He merely flew out yesterday, rather, off to Washington D.C. to begin his Rheumatology Fellowship at Walter Reed. I'll never forgive him for it, frankly, leaving me and Gwen like this. Leaving us alone, Pete-less, in this big scary Europe. How dare he? After all we've been through. We feel abandoned.It

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-78941197876699415202008-07-21T13:01:00.001-07:002008-07-21T13:03:11.496-07:00

Shockey's a Saint? Pete's leaving Germany for good tomorrow?My world is collapsing.

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-50559937414366092242008-07-19T11:28:00.002-07:002008-07-19T11:33:15.512-07:00

As promised. Some good shots in there. Paris July 2008And the next post on the docket, ugh, is currently too depressing to think about.

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-21266460631776802632008-07-17T12:32:00.003-07:002008-12-10T23:51:54.365-08:00

Pete, Gwen and I spent last weekend in Paris. It was basically our last "hurrah" in terms of traveling with Pete in Europe - that jerk is moving away to Washington D.C. next week to start his Rheumatology fellowship, and in the process is breaking my heart. No more Pete? Why live? I'm pissed.Anyway, we sure are going to miss Pete, but more on that in a later post. I wanted to knock out a

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-73053751680094656352008-07-09T12:01:00.003-07:002008-12-10T23:51:55.171-08:00

We are firmly entrenched in summertime again and that can only mean one thing - blockbuster season at the movies. For the most part, this doesn't mean a whole lot to me, and really hasn't since I was 18 or so. It's no secret that I'm a movie snob, and certainly the summer blockbuster is the antithesis of movie snobbery as I see it. Summer is the time of Michael Bay, Jerry Bruckheimer and

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-18072221564530010682008-07-07T05:01:00.003-07:002008-07-07T12:31:35.205-07:00

First, a milestone. As of 30 June, 2008, I had exactly ONE year left in the military. That's it! As of now, it's more like 51 weeks. Let the countdown begin.I've been busy the last two weeks. As a penalty for my early June vacations, I got blasted with call in the latter part of June through this weekend. I did a week of the wards - a busy week averaging 12-15 patients and constant turnover

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-25280725680022826522008-06-26T10:53:00.004-07:002008-12-10T23:51:55.338-08:00

I find that it's always tough to get going on this thing after a lot has just happened. There is simply too much expectation to document all the fun properly and entirely. The expectations are my own more than anyone else's, of course, but that fact doesn't stop me from creating a large mental obstacle that needs to be overcome before I can even sit down and just get going on a simple blog

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-5001685587129860892008-05-28T11:39:00.005-07:002008-12-10T23:51:57.005-08:00

Bloody England.As some of you might have already read over at Gwen's more expeditiously updated blog, we just got back from a fun and surprisingly sunny four day trip to London, England. Despite being raped by the low dollar time and time again (estimated cost of our four day trip: about 34,000 dollars give or take), we still managed to have a good time. As with any great city of the world,

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-69676062003817508172008-05-20T11:40:00.004-07:002008-05-20T12:23:22.971-07:00

I spent last week in Washington DC, at the annual ACP meeting. It turns out that many thousand internists gather each year, not unlike druids, to attend lectures on the latest medical issues and network. I think I'm still too jet-lagged (just got back Monday) to go over in exhausting detail everything that happened during the week, but here's a brief recap of the highlights. -I thought the

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-56435832325330943372008-05-01T10:53:00.004-07:002008-12-10T23:51:57.702-08:00

How can you not love a band with THIS as one of its album covers?The first important thing to realize is that as I write this post I'm rocking out to Judas Priest.The second important thing to realize is that I've had a true rock resurgence of late. And that includes Metal.I think it started over a month ago when I re-stumbled over the song "Disposable Heroes" by Metallica. I was at the gym

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-70360006558152177002008-04-23T12:30:00.004-07:002008-12-10T23:51:58.170-08:00

Gwen returned this past Sunday after a week in Chicago, where she participated in the ultimate Rock Star Convention - otherwise known as the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurologists. Nothing spells non-stop party like a convention of doctors; trust me the American College of Physicians conventions which tout thousands of internists are no different - nothing but sex, drugs, and

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-54654456192234370262008-04-13T12:23:00.003-07:002008-04-14T10:21:25.133-07:00

Last weekend Gwen, Pete, Margie and I headed to Chamonix, France, and the Alps, marking the second time in consecutive weekends that Gwen and I went to France (I'll lay off the surrender jokes this time - give Frenchy a break) and the first and only time Gwen and I went snowboarding this "season". (In stark contrast to Pete, who must have gone skiing about 15 times this winter - not sure how he

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-35064122491189688492008-04-09T12:50:00.004-07:002008-12-10T23:51:58.359-08:00

Back from a great 4-day weekend at Chamonix. Details and pics to follow in a future post.More importantly, I just beat "Cowboys from Hell" on Expert, meaning I finally cracked every song on Guitar Hero on expert. Yes! (Yesterday I failed at 97% and nearly collapsed. Generally, however, the good thing about CFH is that the hardest part is right away, so you fail often, but at least it's early

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-76821199946389631552008-03-31T11:52:00.004-07:002008-03-31T13:21:31.851-07:00

Well after 3 days, 25,000 calories, and 45 million "We Surrender!" jokes (made mostly by me), we're back from Paris. As always, P-town continues to rock the house and rock it hard. This was my third trip to Paris, and someday when I sit down and write my Power Rankings for European cities there is no doubt Paris will be near the top, if not THE top, of the list. The food is awesome, the

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-25977961053809646962008-03-25T12:45:00.003-07:002008-12-10T23:51:58.525-08:00

Our long national nightmare is over.Well, sort of. I beat Bark at the Moon just a moment or so after I put up (and answered) the newest poll to the right.Perhaps the night before provided a sign. I was driving into the hospital late, on call, and noticed a full or near full moon over the trees on the hilly road which leads to Landstuhl. There was a gray haze of cloud but the moon remained

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-23843989154099900092008-03-23T07:03:00.002-07:002008-12-10T23:51:58.932-08:00

We woke up this morning and saw snow covering the ground, finishing the dusting which began eerily last night. Spring started last week, right? Apparently not in Germany. We barely got any snow all winter, and then a week into spring we have two days of the stuff. It's melting fast, but still. Yeesh. Signs of the apocalypse. Gwen and I are taking it easy this weekend. We're both on call

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-9089170396544366472008-03-21T05:28:00.004-07:002008-12-10T23:52:00.198-08:00

Last week I rediscovered Guitar Hero.It had been months since I played a musical game of any kind with any regularity. And I'll be honest, I've been underwhelmed with Rock Band. I'm not that into it. The game looks great, and the song list is top notch, but the PS3 guitars are crap, the singing portion manages to take any fun out of actually singing, and the drums, though fun, often seem to be

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-26598966051460639272008-03-15T08:46:00.006-07:002008-12-10T23:52:00.588-08:00

Do not adjust your monitor.I thought this blog needed a change - a jolt of sorts - and here it is. Got a new color scheme, a new font, some new "Page Elements" including a poll (answer or die), and even a couple of new links on the side.Penny Arcade is a column-with-web-comic site done by a couple of Seattle-based video game guys who discuss, what else, video games and their near cousins in

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-91427075430400258562008-03-09T03:57:00.003-07:002008-03-09T05:46:56.728-07:00

It's Sunday morning and I've had perhaps a little too much coffee - so why not update the old blog? Nothing too crazy to report lately. Other than the recent Dresden trip, we haven't traveled anywhere exciting. The weather here is slowly but spasmodically improving toward Spring - it'll be warm in the 50's for a few days and then lurch back to sub-freezing temperatures for the next week, but at

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-29845317349209140532008-02-24T07:40:00.003-08:002008-02-24T08:21:58.767-08:00

I must admit that it pains me to move on from that last post. Every time I opened my blog to see the beautiful "Giants Win" piece, I thought I could just go on seeing it forever. Why ever change it? What can be better than that? Who cares if no one ever comments on it any more? I ought to have just retired this blog right there and then and yet still refreshed it every day. That would've

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-64649542724334822262008-02-05T12:21:00.000-08:002008-12-10T23:52:00.776-08:00

I'm still stunned. What an amazing game. Not sure what can top it - not sure what can come close. Does "Wide Right" compare? Sure it does and it's going to take some time for me to figure out where this win sits compared to that one. This one is probably better - mostly because of the juggernaut, hated Pats on the other end. Ruining a perfect season of a big-headed team on the biggest stage

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-45947288129265816312008-02-03T19:49:00.001-08:002008-12-10T23:52:00.999-08:00

Not quite perfect.....G-MEN!!!

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-12385815160670712662008-02-03T07:35:00.000-08:002008-12-10T23:52:02.239-08:00

Big game today, and I know that most people will probably read this after it's all said and done, but I figured I'd slap up some pregame thoughts to appease the masses.Today, for the fourth time in my life, I'm going to watch my Giants play in a Super Bowl. Despite our large underdog role in this game, I must say it's pretty cool. Of course, I'm hoping this game turns out more like our first

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-10207187423812801222008-01-27T05:59:00.000-08:002008-01-27T06:51:11.004-08:00

Gwen and I are no longer speaking after our latest Pat Benatar riff. (See her blog for details). We've painted a line down the middle of the house; her side has its walls adorned with the best posters of Pat that 1982 has to offer. My side has protest-style banners with lines like "Hit me with your only three hits" and "Both of us knowing - Pat is a three-hit wonder!" But I digress. In all

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-77610249026152815252008-01-20T19:34:00.001-08:002008-12-10T23:52:02.409-08:00

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-61571104510343569352008-01-19T06:01:00.001-08:002008-01-19T06:52:30.481-08:00

We took the tree down today - it was time. It's always sad, taking the ornaments down, stuffing Yodas and Darth Vaders back into their boxes, effectively putting the whole operation in Carbonite. But it must be done. The holidays are gone for another year and I suppose this is about my last chance to recap them in a somewhat relevant time frame. So here we go.Obviously the big deal this year

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-37367885411080306792008-01-14T11:15:00.001-08:002008-01-14T13:03:43.778-08:00

What a weekend. Most importantly, thanks to my Giants, America will not have to endure "America's Team" (puh-lease that stupid-ass moniker) any more in the post season. This is awesome. Could anything have been worse than a Patriots/Cowboys Super Bowl? I say no. I stayed up until 2 am local time watching the game - celebrating alone in Man Room with my fists raised and a grin from ear to ear

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-77662230772863721082008-01-05T09:21:00.000-08:002008-01-05T09:38:46.081-08:00

It came to our attention that a photo of Gwen from her deployment has made the official "Army Times Photos of the Year" list for 2007.This piece of news, besides being the funniest thing I've heard in a while, is yet another powerful indication that Gwendolyn - aka Major Brophy (although she's still just Captain Brophy in the photo) - isn't just strong; she's Army Strong (Tm).I'm not sure how

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-66995705911049232852008-01-03T12:23:00.000-08:002008-01-03T12:39:31.614-08:00

After two weeks of hosting and traveling, I'm back. I dropped my parents off at the airport this morning, and Ceil and Ken (friends of the family from way back) likewise the day before. Christmas and New Year's have come and gone, and it was great seeing everyone and of course seeing some of the sights. A full report on the comings and goings will follow over the next week or so, as I piece

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-24962848896717164972007-12-22T04:36:00.000-08:002008-12-10T23:52:04.244-08:00

This is the sixth year of "The Tree". As always, it's one of my favorite parts of the holiday season, a nice little tradition which I don't see going away ever.Most people reading this will know of the tree, and may have even been blessed enough to gaze upon its luster. If not, here's a quick recap: My mom bought it for me before my intern year and has also supplied about 95% of the ornaments

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-6961161015300138122007-12-12T12:38:00.000-08:002007-12-12T13:59:18.213-08:00

So I finished The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (by William Shirer) last week, one of the best, if not THEE best, non-fiction book I've ever read. It took me several months to conquer the more than 1100 pages of dense text (not even a single picture - I must be all grownsed up!).If you were to pick it up, feel its weight, and leaf through the thick pages, it might seem to be a bit of a slog,

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-61379586225420337292007-12-06T12:46:00.001-08:002007-12-09T07:13:48.627-08:00

This Christmas I want a time machine. I would like to physically become somewhere between the age of 19 and 22 again. Why? Let me explain.I've been realizing for some time that there has been something missing from my life for the past five or so years and that "thing" is two words: Competitive Sports. I was raised on Competitive Sports (Tm) and ever since I can remember (teeball, which I

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-60012297661437145082007-12-02T06:44:00.000-08:002008-12-10T23:52:06.369-08:00

Anyone who just read Gwen's recent post knows we spent out Saturday over in Luxembourg visiting the closest thing we've seen to a mall in Europe, with the exception of the shopping district in Paris and maybe this one other place in Prague. (And for the record, when I reread that last sentence, I realize how snobby I sound because I'm casually mentioning things like: a)I just jaunted up to

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-68305991151213449222007-11-26T11:08:00.000-08:002007-11-28T00:09:55.120-08:00

Today I have a legitimate football hangover.As the NFL season wears on, I feel emotionally not unlike an actual player might physically. The weekly grind of my obsession with football slowly wears on my psyche like successive 30-carry games might on the knees of some aging running back. All the preseason research, all the monitoring of my Giants, all the study of the spreads and the weekly

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-38651425712873275422007-11-23T04:56:00.000-08:002007-11-23T06:39:55.058-08:00

It's the day after Thanksgiving, which means that the Christmas Season is officially upon us. Rather than join some consumer fracas at a nearby shopping outlet, having our courage and stamina tested by the flying elbows of other shoppers and our will to live sapped by ceaseless, repetitive, maddening holiday ballads, Gwen I have decided instead to stay at home, relax, and begin the season with

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-68659221290093674222007-11-12T11:29:00.000-08:002007-11-12T12:51:12.855-08:00

Winter is in the air here in Germany, a fact augmented by the abrupt temperature difference noted upon returning last week from Jacksonville, Florida. And since we've been back, the mercury has continued to slowly but steadily drop, a sign winter is creeping in and preparing to lay its dark, bleak shroud of icy cold over greater Europe. The time change hasn't helped things, with darkness

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-74872227043670821742007-10-29T12:17:00.000-07:002008-12-10T23:52:06.619-08:00

Gwen and I had another lazy weekend, and in the process of enduring successive lazy weekends I'm realizing that we're officially becoming old.For example, on Friday night we went out to dinner with Pete and some of the Navy Reservist docs who had spent a year here "deployed" at Landstuhl and who were preparing to head home. (Yes, when you're in the Navy, apparently you are "deployed" to four

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-73251520139973511002007-10-22T10:12:00.001-07:002007-10-22T13:07:50.680-07:00

Gwen and I were relegated to call this past weekend; I stuck on nights and she on all the time, so we just took it easy. We made into town on Saturday, cruising around the walkplatz to do a little shopping, beg T-Mobile for insight into the German internet, and get some lunch. The internet (as well as the actual phone line itself itself) at my house works poorly, at best. I finally got the

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-69257210702993982742007-10-16T11:19:00.001-07:002007-10-16T12:19:13.335-07:00

We didn't travel anywhere far last weekend but we did manage to spend a night at an exotic, off-the-beaten path type of place that hadn't been used in any significant capacity in years. My house. Yes, some two years and two months after signing a lease on my apartment when I first arrived here in Germany, I (with Gwen) have finally spent a night in the place. Odd, huh? Many know the story -

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-54913147584731896062007-10-15T10:13:00.000-07:002007-10-15T11:11:30.668-07:00

Well its happened. My Madden Season - the all-offense, play-every-single-game one I started in Iraq as a way to kill time while dodging incoming mortar fire - is over. Hard to believe. It took almost a year to complete. More than a year if you count that fact that I was seven weeks in initially when the original memory card crapped out. That happened right when I got back from the desert.

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-48769387335883333962007-10-08T10:02:00.000-07:002008-12-10T23:52:07.216-08:00

Just got back from a long weekend in sunny Spain, spending four days in the ultra-cool city of Barcelona, which for some reason is lisp-ily pronounced "Bar-tha-lona" by the locals. (Something to do with them embracing their Catalonian heritage, I think.)Barcelona is another great town in Europe which lived up to its billing. I heard nothing but positives about it prior to our trip and after

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-58095818525279488972007-10-01T11:58:00.000-07:002008-12-10T23:52:08.718-08:00

Back.I'm not going to waste time with the usual litany of excuses this time, either. Let's just move forward and get straight to recapping the latter half of summer, shall we?It seems like I spent said summer alternating between a fairly rigorous work schedule and a thrilling-but-tiring travel schedule. Time has flown by, the football season is here, and fall is in full swing.And with that, as

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-19701342765592882162007-08-23T12:53:00.000-07:002007-08-23T12:55:32.477-07:00

Here's the link to some Croatia pics. Gwen and I edited the captions and photos together. She already has a full post up on her blog (of course). Me, well no post yet - but here are some photos. Enjoy:PHOTOS

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-87239725062389132792007-08-20T11:35:00.000-07:002008-12-10T23:52:09.001-08:00

Got back from Croatia today - one of the most beautiful and frankly best places I have ever been. Took this shot cliff-jumping into the Adriatic in my Grandfather's home town - a small coastal village on one of the thousands of islands. It was amazing. More to come another day (or you can read Gwen's blog which will assuredly beat mine to the press...) Regardless, the place rules. Just

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-64753263223958392342007-08-16T15:38:00.000-07:002007-08-16T15:48:21.315-07:00

I thought that last post might generate a few comments.I was wrong.I was going to try and slap up a sizable post about the San Diego adventures tonight- to include of course a recap of best weekend ever 2007 (to include of course, in that, a recap of "Best DAY Ever" 2007) - but alas I cannot. Work sucked this week. Busy, busy. I didn't get home until 9:30 pm tonight. Now I'm packed and ready

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-11960394198968873272007-08-14T12:39:00.000-07:002008-12-10T23:52:09.184-08:00

Went to work today and Pete was there. It was awesome. He works in my office now. Right down the hall. We shot the shit, drank some coffee, talked about "work stuff". He joined Gwen and I for lunch. It was like being back in residency briefly - but in a good way. He's officially a part of the Landstuhl Team now. It rocks.I think I should put this picture up in our hallway.Maybe a placard:

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-58561633315674197142007-08-13T12:55:00.001-07:002007-08-13T12:55:32.071-07:00

Not today, though.

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-77081364099754007972007-07-12T12:40:00.001-07:002007-07-13T13:35:22.103-07:00

Crap its been a while and I guess it means that its time for another post.As always, with this blog, as each day passes since my last post I feel a sort of growing pressure to post something new. I have no idea why this guilt emerges, only that it does. And with that in mind - a post.Gwen and I haven't really traveled anywhere exotic since the Dublin trip. Sure, we went to the local base a

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-64420398283198569022007-06-21T12:34:00.001-07:002008-12-10T23:52:12.961-08:00

"I'm from Dublin - listen to me."As mentioned, we journeyed to Ireland for an extended weekend. Good times were had by all.To start, we took a popular European discount airline to Dublin - Ryan Air. Ryan Air, based in the UK, is revered amongst Euros and Americans in Europe alike for the low costs, as low as 20 Euros one way to cities like London, Paris, Madrid, etc. Its a no-frills cheap and

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-70030267827362386622007-06-19T13:01:00.000-07:002008-12-10T23:52:13.294-08:00

We had a great time on the Emerald Isle. Greenery, Irish brogues, Guinness, and drunken Micks a plenty! Due to time constraints this evening, though, the full recap will have to wait - check back throughout the week. One of the Beautiful Dublin Sights...

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-60096141779500864802007-06-14T13:43:00.000-07:002007-06-14T14:25:03.303-07:00

So I have some good news and here it is:After a little bit of fretting, I found out that I'm no longer on the PROFIS list for the 2-6 infantry of the 2nd brigade of the 1st Armored Division.Why does that matter? Well, it matters because that unit is going back to Iraq in November, and I didn't want to be stuck going again. The word PROFIS is short, in military lingo, for something like "

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-39619848926804869282007-06-10T11:21:00.001-07:002008-12-10T23:52:13.435-08:00

I survived another date with golf today, and by survived I mean 'had a good time'. Its always tough when you start hanging out again with someone you used to be close to but then broke up with, and this time is no different. Initially I was tentative with all the usual reservations. But our first date back, in Bermuda, went so well that I was curious to try it again. Still I'm cautious, and

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-43474688451688844672007-06-03T12:07:00.001-07:002007-06-03T13:30:59.518-07:00

A strange man came to our door on Thursday.It was about 6 pm or so. I was preparing to go for a run and the door buzzer rang. When Gwen opened the door, we were greeted by a middle-aged German man in either a cheap or overly wrinkled suit, possibly both. He was forty-something, pudgy, balding, and stood patiently at the foot of our set of four concrete stairs.When he saw us behind the opened

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-10542668415077181222007-05-29T11:22:00.000-07:002008-12-10T23:52:16.002-08:00

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffin' blog.Or writing in this thing for that matter. A lot has happened recently, I haven't written a damn thing lately, yada yada. We've all seen this before. So I'll skip the lamenting over of the how or the why of letting this blog fall into the disarray of idleness (or at least I'll pretend to skip over that part while in reality drawing more

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-73929188522436405572007-05-07T14:10:00.000-07:002007-05-07T15:05:13.795-07:00

OK, so it's been a while. Since coming back from our travels, and certainly since my last post, Gwen and I have been decidedly grounded into the grind. Work, come home, maybe work out, eat dinner, watch something, I play Madden (or she plays Final Fantasy), I make chess moves on itsyourturn.com (that's right - I'm playing a lot of email by chess! Its f*cking NUTS!), I obsessively analyze my

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6356291.post-55052504131807854312007-04-12T12:09:00.000-07:002007-04-12T13:42:07.827-07:00

Gwen and I stayed home last weekend (even though it was a four-day), opting to sleep in and enjoy the mornings at our leisure over getting away and traveling somewhere. It was a good call - nice and relaxing - coffee stretched out over a few hours lounging around, playing video games, checking the internet (and not returning emails) - that sort of thing. The weather has been beautiful here,

Discostuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233673556111643989noreply@blogger.com4