I watched the director’s commentary of “Garden State” yesterday afternoon, and then watched “Shaun of the Dead” last night. I recommend them both. “Shaun of the Dead” is a real horror movie, while at the same time is a comedy. Plus it’s Bri’ish, so that makes it worth it, all by itself. I forgot to put them in the mail this morning, though, so it’ll be another day before I get some more flix. I got my tix for the Hibbs wedding at the end of May. Apparently it’s going to cost me an extra $70 to turn the car in at 1pm instead of 9am. I suppose that I should have planned that better before I picked up the plane tickets… oh well, better luck next time. I guess I’ll put that off, too, as I doubt that their prices are as linked to time out at the time of reservation as plane tickets are.

I got my stereo setup to my computer, so now I’ve been listening to mp3s on the stereo instead of on headphones.

A little clarification on the subject of having to not tell some people that you love them. As most of you know, I don’t have any actual gf experience. I wasn’t speaking exactly to the spousal types of relationships, but perhaps more generally. Maybe everybody got caught up in my use of the word relationship, when perhaps the word friendship might have conveyed a little better exactly what I was trying to convey. I stand by my assertions. And I don’t deny that it’s probably a good thing to tell your significant other that you love them… I guess… But if you are doing it just to hear them say it, even when they don’t really want to, is that really what you want? For them to tell you exactly what you want to hear? Or should it be heart-felt? I’d prefer the latter. Somehow I doubt that I’m going to win this discussion…

Enough for now. On to some West Wing.

I’ll give you one guess what the benediction was at church today…

I know guys that probably by the end of the day I will have posted something on the order of 5 posts. Now, I know that’s a lot for one day, but I also know that you guys love me, so I figure that you’ll read them anyway. :) Plus, the beauty of a blog is that you can skip a post or two, if you want to. And I won’t be offended if you say, “Man, I really don’t care about whether Thomas did laundry today for the first time in his own washer and dryer”. The beauty is that I won’t know. You can totally blow me off, and I won’t know. Just like being able to totally walk away from somebody when they were talking to you, but without all of the guilt. So go ahead. Read what you like, and toss the rest. :) I’ll write whether you read or not.

Too all of the geeks who read this. I gave up on it. Too loud. But, the point of this post was to mention that I couldn’t get the ISA sound card to work… I finally realized that I didn’t have ISA support compiled into the kernel… DOH! Even when I recompiled with ISA support this time, it still didn’t work. But by that time, I had pretty much given up… A word of advice, use PCI sound cards instead…

I don’t know why I love that song so much. I don’t know if it was “love at first hearing” or if I’ve simply grown to love it. I’ve listened to it countless times, yet I still don’t fully understand what it means. Maybe I just get out of it what I want…

That there are relationships that surpass words. That there are times when saying “I love you” isn’t necessary. That there are times you say it without meaning it… That there is a point when you love someone so much, that expression in words of your love becomes irrelevant, because you already understand, more than words, how that person feels. I suppose that I love that idea so much because I am a man of so few words. And I’d much rather you know in your heart that I love and miss you, than have to actually say it aloud, because so often, to me, it’s canned, unreal, and unfeeling. I’d like to think that there are relationships where you know much you mean to me, so much so, that no words are required.

1. Shower, check.
2. Lunch, in progress.
3. Kroger/bank/gas
4. Do the dishes
5. Take out the trash
6. Tidy up
7. Wal-Mart
8. Pay bills
9. Plane tickets
10. Car rental
11. Movies
12. Oil change
13. See about RMA’ing dead drives
14. Make media pc
15. Laundry
16. DMV

I totally got most of the stuff done. I blame the dish washer on the dishes, as I don’t think that maintenance ever came to fix it. I should call them about that… The trash compactor is really far away. I’ll take it out when I go out tomorrow. It’s ready to go, sitting by the door, I swear. I give up on the media pc. As much as I’d like to be able to watch West Wing on TV, I just think that the computer that I was going to use is going to be too loud. I’ll just have to buy this instead. Watched “Garden State”. Better than I thought that it would be. I’ll probably watch it again tomorrow.

It’s not looking very good as far as car rentals go. The major companies’ policy is only 25ers can rent. I’ll have to see about that…

Man, I really, really, really don’t want to get a stupid Georgia license and tags… I want to keep my Texas ones. :(

Yay, it’s the weekend! But a lot of things to do today.

1. Shower, check.
2. Lunch, in progress.
3. Kroger/bank
4. Do the dishes
5. Take out the trash
6. Tidy up
7. Wal-Mart
8. Pay bills
9. Plane tickets
10. Car rental
11. Movies

Well, there’s some other stuff too, like getting my finances in better order, and making a media pc out of an old computer, so I better get started… Check back later and we’ll see how much I get accomplished today.

Well, I finally got my Netflix in yesterday and today. I semi-watched “Ocean’s Twelve” last night. I had seen it numerous times before, so I wasn’t paying too much attention to it. I had hoped that there would be an awesome director’s commentary to explain a bunch of stuff, but alas, there was none. I can only hope that they will produce one in the future. I’ve also got “Shaun of the Dead”, and “Garden State”. I watched an episode of West Wing or two, and had Arbys for supper. Exciting, I know. I did, though use a coupon to buy 8 sandwiches. We’ll see how far my $10 gets me.

Hmm, what else… I did get direct deposit setup in time, so I got paid! Yay! But, unfortunately I paid ~25% in taxes, et. al. DOH! Not as much mula as I thought…

And, I’m a little nervous now, since many more people read my blog that I previously thought… There are the obvious peeps, but if there are any other stealth readers out there, then I’d appreciate a shout out…

Since I haven’t got much to say today, I’ll just post some stuff from other people. :)

I ran across this today in my bloglines from digg.com. For my own future reference, I’m going to post the text here:

Why Geeks and Nerds Are Worth It…
In the wide world of dating, there are many options. Do you go for the flashy guy with the smooth smile, or the dude in the corner typing away on his laptop? The following are reasons why I think my fellow females should pay more attention to the quiet geeks and nerds, and less attention to the flashy boys.

1.) While geeks and nerds may be awkward, they’re well-meaning 9 out of 10 times. That smooth dude with the sly grin and the spider hands? Wonder what HIS intentions are… plus, I’ve never had a geek guy not call me when he said he would. Score major points THERE.

2.) They’re useful. In this tech-savvy world, it’s great to have a b/f who can make your laptop, desktop, and just about anything else that plugs into a wall behave itself.

3.) They’re more romantic than they’re given credit for. Ok true, their idea of romance might be to make up a spiffy web-page with all the reasons why they love you, with links to pics of you and sonnets and such… but hey. It lasts longer than flowers, plus you can show your friends.

4.) Due to their neglected status, there are plenty to choose from. You like ‘em tall and slender? There are plenty of geeks/nerds who are. You like ‘em smaller with more meat on their bones? Got that too.

5.) They’ve got brains. Come on now, how can intelligence be a bad thing?

6.) Most are quite good at remembering dates. Like birthdates and such, especially if they know it’ll make you happy. Due again to their neglected status, they’re more attentive than guys who “have more options”. Plus, with all that down time without a steady girlfriend, they’ll likely have mental lists of all the things they’d love to do once they GOT a girlfriend.

7.) Sex. Yep. Sex. I’m not really familiar with this myself, but I’ve friends who’ve been intimate with geek guys and it’s raves all around. They say a virgin wrote the Kama Sutra… all that time thinking about sex, imagining sex, dreaming about sex, (they are male after all) coupled with a desire to make you happy? Use your imagination.

8.) They’re relatively low-maintenance. Most can be fueled on pizza, Twinkies and Mt Dew. No complicated dinners needed here, so if you’re not the best cook, eh. Can you order a pizza?

9.) Most frequent bars as often as slugs frequent salt mines. You won’t have to worry much about your geek guy getting his “groove” on with club hotties because, frankly, he’ll be too busy rooting around under his computer wondering where that spare cable went. You won’t have to worry about him flirting with other women because, 9 out of 10 times, he’ll zip right by them in a perfect b-line towards the nearest electronics store. I’ve seen this happen.
Me: “Eww. Victoria Secret’s Models… They’re so skinny. How is that feminine? You can see her ribs!”
Geek Guy: “ooooooo…”
Me: “Hey!” *notices he is staring lustfully towards the computer store*
Geek Guy: “What?”
Me: “Never mind…”

10.) Although he may not want to go to every outing with you, you can arrange swaps, as in, you’ll go to his Gamer Con dressed as an elf princess if he’ll take you to the ballet. Plus, if he doesn’t want to go someplace with you, you won’t have to worry much about what he’s up to. You’ll probably come home to find him asleep on his keyboard in a sea of Mt. Dew cans with code blinking from the screen. It’s ok. He’s used to this. Just toss a blanket over him and turn out the light.

11.) His friends aren’t jerks. I can’t stress this enough. You’ll more likely get “Omg! A GIRL!! Can I see?!” than “Hey hot stuff back that ass up here and let me get some grub on…” They’re awkward geeks too and will, 9 times out of 10, treat you with the utmost respect and, more than likely, a note of awe. A cute girl picked one of their clan to date? It could happen to them! Hope! Drag some of your single girlfriends over, open up a pack of Mt. Dew, crack open the DnD set and get working. Nothing impresses geek guys more than a girl who can hack-n-slash (well ok maybe if she can code… a geek can dream).

12.) They’re rarely if ever possessive. They trust you, so you can be yourself around them. You like to walk around the house in a ratty t-shirt for comfort? He won’t care. He does too! They won’t get pissy if you don’t wear make-up or don’t want to bother primping your hair. If you gain a few pounds, they won’t try their best to make you feel like crap.

13.) They’re usually very well educated. Physics majors and the like. See #5. You won’t have to listen to him blathering on about his car (ok maybe a little), he’ll have loads of other interesting things to talk about. Politics, world events, how much the chicken burgers down at the local place rock, so long as you douse them in hot sauce…

14.) You’ll almost never have to hear, “Yaw dawg whazzap!!” plop out of their mouths. Unless it’s in jest. They spell properly, use correct punctuation, and are able to tell the difference between the toilet and the floor. They almost never get “wasted”, so you won’t have to worry about coming home to find him and his friends passed out on the floor amidst a pile of beer bottles. Mt. Dew cans, perhaps…

15.) And the final reason why geeks and nerds make great boyfriends: They actually give a damn about you. Not how you look (though that’s a plus), not how skinny you are, not how much make-up you primp yourself up with, but they like you for you. That kind of thing lasts longer than “DaMN baby you got a fine ass!!!” Believe me.

Which made me dig up something that Ben actually had on his blog some time ago; which I will also post: (Note that the opinions expressed do not necessarily line up with my own…)

Ode to the Nice Guys
This rant was written for the Wharton Undergraduate Journal

This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you’d ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: “oh, but we’re just friends!” And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.

The nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as “oh, he’s too nice to date” or “he would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me” or “he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn’t possibly ask him out!” or the most frustrating of all: “no, it would ruin our friendship.” Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to sleep with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.

Fu-zu Jen, SEAS/WH, 2003

I leave it as an exercise for the user to find the “Ode to the Nice Girls” on the web.

I finally got direct deposit setup (I hope), so that now I can be easily paid. YAY! I drove for what seemed like forever to pickup my large hand tossed Papa Johns pizza. The stupid thing costed $13.21. That’s highway robbery, or so I told the young lady who I picked it up from… an hour after I ordered it (oops…). Anyway, I got my pizza fix, as I had been craving it for most of the day. I asked if she would honor a coupon from Texas. She said no… :(

This made me laugh out loud. And this was good, too. Surely that is the best publicity that they’ve gotten in a while. While I did download it, so that I could help the cause of him trying to swim across the Atlantic, I have no intention what-so-ever to actually install it. Sorry, guys. Hopefully my Netflix will come soon, so that I’ll have something better to do than just watch the West Wing, or try to recover data from my external. :( I’m thinking about posting my wish list, so that you guys can buy me stuff! Edit: Ok. I did it. Only $1327 worth of stuff that I “need”.

Laters…