March 2005


The Den of Iniquity22 Mar 2005 11:19 pm

That last post got me thinking more about radio and annoyance. I’ve always loved listening to the radio. It’s constantly on in my car, and when I used to work out in the shop at home I wouldn’t think of not turning on the radio.

The first ten years I spent in the work force I would listen to the radio every chance I got. Installing custom van interiors I would always have the van radio on. Working in the shop on the farm, and later working in my warehouse, always turn up the radio.

I love talk shows, news/talk radio. Stations that play my kind of music are few and far between and usually nonexistant, and I’ve always liked talk radio anyway, so that’s usually what it is for me.

BUT. . . .

Now the radio is driving me up the wall!

I currently work in a Den of Iniquity, and the radio is constantly blaring. Loud. And the music ranges the horizon-wide spectrum of classic rock to heavy metal. Yes, a tremendous variety.

It’s usually classic rock. I have learned to feel an intense hatred and repudiation for classic rock. Classic Crap is what I prefer to call it, it’s much more accurate. I can’t think of enough derrogatory adjectives to convey the depths of my scorn and contempt for it, so I’m not even going to try.

But day after day after day I’m forced to put up with this aural assault, and I’m sick of it. Once in a while they change the station to a pop/current hit/variety station and it’s a relief. That fact alone gives you an idea how bad the classic rock situation is.

What a load of garbage! I can find something to appreciate in a lot of different music, but I’m struggling to find one small redemptive tidbit in that cesspool of grating aural pollution.

Man I hate it.

Misc22 Mar 2005 05:27 pm

Is there anything more annoying than a radio commercial that plays twice back to back?

Of course there is, but it’s still really annoying.

Speaking of the radio, when I moved from Utopia to Indiana it took me a couple days to figure out why Rush was on in the afternoon! At first I thought it was a delayed broadcast. It just didn’t seem right, Rush was supposed to be on in the morning. But I like it now because I can catch some of the show after work.

Family21 Mar 2005 11:40 pm

One of my older sisters has been going through her old photographs and slides and scanning them into her computer (she would have been a teenager when I was just a few years old). She’s emailed me several old ones of me as a small child. There was this one in particular that she tried to convince me to post, but I don’t see that happening anytime this millennium. She should be ashamed of it! I certainly am!

But here is a nice one she sent me, I’ll post it instead.

This would be Jean and I at Crater Lake I believe. Notice how I exude confidence and charisma. I think it’s the shades.

Food/Recipes19 Mar 2005 01:31 pm

Currently consuming: Clam Chowder, iced tea. With butter, gotta have butter in the chowder.

That reminds me, Jewel and I and Mom and Dad were out on the Utopian coast once and we went to eat at Mo’s, famous for clam chowder. I asked if they had an all-you-can-eat bowl, but they didn’t of course. So I ordered the family-style portion.

Yes, for just myself.

I wish I could afford to buy some now! They sell the base for it on their website.

Food/Recipes&Hoosierville18 Mar 2005 11:52 pm

Here is something that has been on my heart for a number of years now. What is it with sloppy joes eaten as a regular sandwich? That’s just wrong!

Today at work some of the guys brought in sloppy joes and we ate them at break. I’m the only open-facer there! We did the same thing several weeks ago for our buddy’s last day, and Craig looked over at me and said something to the effect of “Tom’s an open-facer!”

I said, “Of course, the meat/bread ratio is much better.”

It’s incomparable, in fact. Pile the meat on each half of hamburger bun, see if you can hide the fact you have any bread at all! That’s about right.

Sloppy joes are a popular menu feature when feeding a large group. But unfortunately, the people in charge often make them up for you, they don’t usually just set out a pile of buns and a tub of meat. They take one side of a hamburger bun and dab a smidge of meat on it, then completely conceal it by slapping the other half on top. Then you’re left to choke down a dry, harsh, caricature of a sloppy joe.

This especially happens out here in Indiana. Maybe I’ve been sent as an Open-Faced Evangelist.

Food/Recipes18 Mar 2005 11:45 pm

I know this will be a shock/disappointment to most of you, but I have (for now anyway) abandoned the idea of tracking the iced tea consumption here at the ITF office. I wanted to come up with a formula that would document how much iced tea the ITF staff went through per day or week or something, but I haven’t yet came up with an equation I’m happy with. Maybe some day.

In the few weeks I did keep track, the highest consumption rate was 1 gallon in 22.5 hours. And that was consumed by just the ITF editor, none of the staff or interns.

Misc17 Mar 2005 09:14 pm

So here I am at Bethel College in Mishawaka, IN, working on my laptop in the library. They have a wireless internet connection, like all public areas should have.

I especially like the coffee shops and bakeries so equipped. That way you can eat food while computing. Libraries usually don’t like that too well. Not that I’ve tried it.

Jewel has an evening class, so I come with her and hang out in the library accomplishing great and wondrous things (like this post) on my laptop.

When I get home maybe I’ll edit this post and put in a pic I took on campus here last week.

[edit]

We were walking across campus back to the car. This week most of the snow is gone, hallelujah. Bethel does have a pretty nice campus.

[/edit]

Misc16 Mar 2005 06:28 pm

It’s not too often that spam is good for a laugh, but I got a kick out of one today.

From an outfit called “MusicofFaith:”

Dear ,
Because you are a good Christian, you have been [[selected]] to receive 10 FREE INSPIRATIONAL SONGS! and a FREE AUDIO BIBLE NOW!

WOW! i can HARDLY WAIT! And all because of what a good Christian I am!!

I wonder what their criteria was for separating the good Christians like me from the bad Christians like all of you that didn’t get this email!!!

What a bunch of poozer slackers.

Food/Recipes16 Mar 2005 12:22 am

Ok, so it’s not famous yet, but it certainly should be. I can’t help but humbly acknowledge that I have a tremendous gift in taking a simple, common dish and totally turbocharging it! You’ll never think of a Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich the same way. And the next time you find yourself consuming a BLT less than Tom’s Famous Monster Diet BLT, there will be nothing but sore disappointment for you.

Now then! I’m sure you can’t wait to get started.

Here’s everything you need. Toast, mayo, a tomato, lettuce, the tomato slicer your Mom gave you because you couldn’t find one like it, lots of bacon (there’s more under the paper towel), and of course a glass of iced tea (not pictured).

A special note on the bacon, whenever you need bacon for any recipe go ahead and fry up an entire pound. By the time it’s fried good and crispy there’s hardly anything left anyway, and what you don’t use in the recipe you can snack on. I adore bacon.

Toast your toast. Spread liberally with mayo (there is one of the few examples of our day using the word “liberal” in a positive context!). Slap on a layer of bacon.

Add a slice of tomato.

Add a layer of lettuce, then more mayo.

Add another layer of bacon, another slice of tomato, another layer of lettuce, more mayo, another layer of bacon, another slice of tomato, another layer of bacon (if there’s any left), then top with second piece of toast.

Words fail me.

I can’t quit looking at this picture!

If Dagwood came to life and made a BLT, I believe it would look something like this.

I am a happy man.

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