What remains of old Detroit?

See for yourself...

You never hear about...

Flagpole sitting anymore.

Check it out!

Pix of the inside of our new house! That's not our stuff in the pictures. We haven't moved in yet.

Victory on the Homefront!

Yesterday morning, we received the good word: our offer on a house was accepted!

It's really a gorgeous house. And it'll be ours after an inspection and appraisal!

Gunrack Sightings

Time for my favorite pastime: Gunrack sighting. For those of you who aren't familiar with Gunrack, it was the early-90s punk-a-billy band that made Ann Arbor famous. Gunrack sighting is the practice of finding information about Gunrack on the web and linking to it from somewhere else so as to futher the world's familiarity with the Gunrack legend.

Here's my favorite. It's a Russian site that appears to be about beer. They've reproduced the the complete lyrics to Gunrack's hit song, Drink Sum Beer, and have even provided a Real Audio recording of it.

http://www.nubo.ru/songs/texts/drink_some_beer.html

My Planet X Names

1. Osama (where is it?)
2. Jackson (creepy. the further away the better)
3. Hasil (R.I.P)
4. Bendy (hell, why not?)
5. Zelda

Planet Naming Contest?

Chris, you're exactly right about the bullshit names they give planets. "Bush" is plausible enough to scare me.

So let's brainstorm! Here's some ideas:
1. Elvis
2. Nusic
3. Wellstone (*sigh*)
4. Leslie
5. Eegah! ("The Name Written in Blood")

House hunting

We've been looking for a house for a month (in northeast Minneapolis), and bad luck is keeping us looking. We've lost 2 right out from under us... It's not unusual: the market here is just crazy. At least we aren't getting caught up in condo fever!

So why are we looking to buy in one of the worst real estate markets in the country? Because it's better than renting in one of the worst real estate markets in the country.

Free cookies to whomever finds us a winner.

Planet X

Every few years, it seems like astronomers find a new candidate for the 10th planet in our solar system. And each time I get excited. I'm such a sucker. Again.

Good Times!

Got hooked in to the "Good Times" marathon on TV Land... Temporary layoffs. Good times.

Hockey! Part 2

The players' union voted to support the new CBA. This was the last significant hurdle to hurdle, so from now on it's all icing and 5-minute fighting penalties!

The hockey market

Every problem has a solution, and I guess every solution has a problem, too.

Can I get an amen?

Yes. I can get lots of amens. Don't let the narrator hypnotize you with his powerful voice.

Coolest Keyboard Ever

So far, that is. Man, that's cool. It's got LEDs for each key that change according to the program you're using, or any template you put in.

Rutgers is bad for politics and writing.

This upsets me as an American and an editor. Saw this on DailyKos.

Hockey!

Finally! Here's the details:

1. A salary cap (both a minimum and a maximum)
2. Salaries tied to league revenue (54%)

Both things the players' union had rejected for almost a year.

No word yet on if this means reduced ticket prices, or if the draft order has been sorted out.

Beanball Biggio

A favorite player in our household, Houston's Craig Biggio set the record for being hit by pitches yesterday.

Don't wanna holiday in the sun

The Russkis lost the solar sail.

Yeah, the coverage sucked...

But the cycle's passed, so it's too late now.

At least, that seems to be the media's reaction to the Downing Street Memo at this point.

I'm especially disgusted byt this paragraph in the Strib's response:
"I love a good campaign in which informed, engaged citizens come together eagerly to debate issues. But there's something about these e-mail campaigns fomented by political websites (and Downing Street is just the most recent -- they erupt across the spectrum of politics and issues) that smacks more of Astroturf than grassroots. Ombudsmen around the country chat regularly about the latest campaigns; the technique isn't fooling anyone. It's also important to remember, however, that some of the Downing Street reaction, such as the e-mail from Bootz, was genuine and spontaneous -- although Bootz says he later went online to urge others to contact the media."

Sorry, but my outrage about the silence over this wasn't part of a "campaign." I also don't think that Bootz stopped being authentically outraged when he encouraged people to ask the media to cover the story.

Boo, strib, boo.

Suburban art

There are people living outside of Minneapolis? I know nothing of Minnesota outside of the Twin Cities (and a few blocks of Duluth and St. Peter). Lucky for me the McKnight Foundation just released a snazzy little interactive map to arty places outside the cities.