“Boom”

There are three topics that I wanted to talk about, but I had was having a difficult time deciding on which one to talk about so I’m going to do all three in one.

First, I found another gem on TV. Labor Day weekend I was flipping through the channels in order to find something to do to waste my Saturday. I looked at all the normal favorites, but it was to no avail. So, I flipped up to my new hotshot channel that I discussed in my last blog, Current TV. But when I got up to channel 156, I look at the guide and noticed something that excited me one channel down on number 154, TRIO. What was this that had me so hot and heavy? None other than Late Night with David Letterman reruns. To make things even better it was a marathon all weekend long. This gave me a good fix, but I knew I’d need more after the weekend. Then I found out that Classic Dave episodes are on every night at 10 PM (Eastern). I’ve probably laughed harder watching these old episodes than I have in a very long time. So, definitely check it out.

My next two subjects kind of run together. As you may know, I am a huge baseball fan. You might recall my first blog where I predicted the playoff teams. Well, looking at the current standings, I’d have to say that I’m not doing too bad. I’m completely off on both my wild card picks and the AL Central, but I have picked every other division correctly. which would give me a record of 5-3. But my little cherry on top is the fact that, as of right now, I correctly predicted that Boston won’t make the playoffs. We’ll have to see how the rest of the season plays out before I can really brag. Speaking of seeing how the rest of the season plays out…

My last topic is the NL West and the San Diego Padres. As of this moment, the Padres are leading the NL west with a record of 76-76. Yes, a 500 team is leading a division. Which brings up an interesting notion. Can a team win it’s division with a losing record? To me, this is one of the most interesting stories in all of baseball. I just find it remarkable that an entire division could be this bad.

So, that’s all the topics I wanted to cover. I just want to say GO ATHLETICS. We still have a chance to take the division, so go do it.

Current TV

Have you kids watched any of that new channel Current? I started up about a month ago. I watched it the first day it started because I knew it was backed by Al Gore and it was targeted towards people in their early 20’s.

The channel is set up in an unusual way. Instead of having 30 minute tv shows, they have 8 minute shorts. This allows them to show a whole bit with out having to take a commercial break. In addition, all the shorts are user submitted. If I had a camcorder I would create something for it.

Most of the shorts shed light on either some political issue or something that is underground (like a moped club). It is kind of like if you took MTV and put a brain behind it. I find it intellectually stimualating. Right now they are doing a lot of pieces on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which makes sense seeing as though it is dominating the news as of late.

There are some downsides to the channel though. As a new channel that is based on user submitted material, so far they seem to be a little short on the amount of shorts. This results in some of the shorts being repeated many times. Actually, the first day the channel came into existance, they had a black screen from 10 PM through the rest of the night. That experience almost turned me off from the channel, but I’ve stuck with it and it is paying off. Now they fill up everyday with material and the repeats are decreasing.

So, if you get the chance, flip on Current tv for a little bit. Hopefully you’ll find it as interesting as I have.

P.S. While watching Current, I saw a commercial for a band called Hot Hot Heat. This led me to take an interest in their music. The songs of their’s that I have heard so far I have liked. So, check them out also.

Drinking with the Boss

This evening my boss took out the trainees after work…and by take out I mean paid for drinks and appetizers at Carraba’s.

The reason for the celebration was that all of the trainees have gotten through the series 7 (a.k.a. the license you need to sell stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.).

You may or may not know Carraba’s happy hour special, it is buy one get one free. So, if you order a draft beer, they bring you two. So, through the course of the 3 hours, I had two beers, a glass of wine, and a rum and coke.

Now I know some of you are saying, “That’s nothing. One time I drank…” but I’m a guy who has never really had more than two or three beers in one night, let alone in three hours. So, needless to say, I was feeling it. But that’s not the interesting part of the story.

As you may know (from my last blog) I do not like my job. So, as we are getting tipsy, I loosen up along with my boss. We discuss how our lives are going and what not. Now, I know what you are thinking and I did NOT tell her about how much I hate the job. But I did tell her that Patti (the wife) is working in Clermont and lives over there. This led to her telling me the story of how her husband stayed in Denver when she came to Melbourne, and how it ultimately led to their divorce.

Now I understand her sharing her experience, but I’ve done the long distance thing before and I’m cool. Actually, people said I wouldn’t make it through the first month of college with a long distance relationship. Yeah, I proved them wrong.

But anyway, by the end of the event, we were joking and laughing and having a good time. It’s kind of amazing to see the difference in people when they are at work and when they are out drinking.

Anyone else go out drinking with their boss?

P.S. Tomorrow, one of my co-workers is throwing a huge graduation party for his wife (Ph. D). At this party will be lots of alcohol and all the people who went out drinking tonight, including the boss. I look forward to another semi-awkward engagement.