ch6rmand3r = f|R3 P0k3Mon

The Twitter

2012-01-07T21:37:00.000-08:00

So, I appear to be at about 1 blog post per year... I'm at about one tweet per day, though. Mayhaps when I have more useful things to say, or perhaps a theme, I'll have more to put here... Until then, find me here:
@samnotes

Things I Wouldn't Eat as a Child: Asparagus

2010-04-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

I tried asparagus once before I was 10 years old. It was from a can and mushy and had a horrible smell. I decided to never eat it again.

In high school I heard that asparagus makes your pee (among other things) smell/taste funny. Seemed like a detriment to trying to attain a physical relationship with a girl. Another strike against asparagus.

Upon moving to Oregon, I was offered asparagus in many forms (all of them fresh, not canned) and turned down the first few offers. After some further prodding, thanks to my lovely wife, I gave asparagus another chance. I believe the first asparagus dish I tried was chopped asparagus sauteed with bacon in a shoyu sugar sauce. I was very tentative and took only a couple of peices of inch-long asparagus with some bacon. I thought it wasn't bad for asparagus.

After a few more dinners over a period of months with the same dish, my servings became bigger and bigger until I finally had to admit that I really liked it. So, new asparagus dishes were tried on me, with a pretty high success rate. So, now I have to admit that I honestly like asparagus. I prefer it with a pork product closely coupled with it, like the bacon/asparagus dish. Grilled prosciutto wrapped asparagus is also an excellent side to a meal.

I have a feeling this will be the first of many posts about "Things I Wouldn't Eat as a Child," as there were many many things I wouldn't eat... But there are now many of those things that I gladly welcome to my digestive tract.

What do you eat now, that wouldn't have as a kid?

Slumdog Millionaire

2008-12-09T09:21:00.001-08:00

See it. It's good. More later....

Happy Guy Fawkes Day

2008-11-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

Yet another reason for celebration...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night

Congratulations Indiana!

2008-11-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

NPR has you going for Obama!

I guess CNN hasn't woken up yet today. Even the BBC has declared an Obama victory in Indiana.

Absolutely fantastic job!

UPDATE

CNN now has Indiana going Obama! Word!

President Barack Obama

2008-11-04T22:04:00.001-08:00

YES WE CAN!

I Can Haz Vote!

2008-11-04T10:20:00.000-08:00

I don't know how you people who have to physically go to a voting booth do it. It took me 2 or 3 hours last night to vote. We had 10 measures + a bunch of other things to vote on besides people running for office. If we had to do this in a booth, it would be ridiculous.

I did see an awesome graphic about voter turnout in Oregon so far:

I'm not overly confident, but this is definitely a good sign. Especially considering not all Republicans are going to vote for McCain.

I really want this to be a decisive victory for Obama.

My September Indiana Trip

2008-10-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

It was fun. Glad to see everyone... Even though Ramona thought I was boring.

Here are reviews I wrote for all the places I went:

Indiana 2008

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

What's this?

I'll try to have pictures and perhaps more info later. Had a great time working the Obama booth at the Fall Festival.

Reprehensible!

2008-09-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

This is an horrendous act and I am appalled that it has happened anywhere, but especially that it happened in the American Midwest:

Muslim Children Gassed at Dayton Mosque After "Obsession" DVD Hits Ohio

It is unfathomable to me that any newspaper would willingly distribute hate speech in such a manner. This is truly a low for America.

Photovoltaic Cell Anyone?

2008-09-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

So, some 12 year old kid -- in Oregon, no less -- has developed a 3-d solar cell that absorbs both infrared and visible light that could provide 500 times more absorbtion than current commercial models.

Ananth at Applegeeks had some good stuff to say about it.

It really makes you feel inadequate, ya?

Obama's Presence in My Family

2008-09-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

It may come as a shock to most of you, but everyone I've talked politics to in my family has said they prefer Obama over the other candidates. It surprised me. Pleasantly. I'd rather not discuss their reasons publicly (as they're not mine to disclose), but give me a ring and I can tell you. It's interesting how very against Palin some of them are... Like she's a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Anyway, good news from the Hoosier state.

Barack on Letterman

2008-09-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

hey, did you see obama on letterman last night. dave slammed mccain and palin in his opening and then sat and interviewed obama through at least 3 commercial breaks. i don't think he even did the top 10 last night. it was weird and cool.

it also made me miss hawaii a lot. i didn't expect that reaction. it also made me peeved that people on the mainland still don't consider hawaii to be a state, or treat it like it's some crazy foreign culture... i'm just going to throw this out: hawaii is perhaps one of the most patriotic states in the union if not the most. it's a state. they eat a lot of spam. get over it.

anyway, it was really a great interview.

Sick = Sad

2008-09-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

I hate being sick. The nose blowing. The pressure behind my eyes. My eyes feeling like they're on fire. Feeling like a zombie. Gah. Sneeze coming on. Out.

Hustle and Flow

2008-08-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

We saw Hustle and Flow last night. It was pretty good, thought I'm not sure I like the final message: if you almost kill somebody and get put in jail, it will help you make the big time. Anthony Anderson put on a surprisingly good performance. I like him more and more as I see him in stuff, whether it's Transformers or Law & Order. Terrence Howard was also pretty solid, though about the least violent pimp I've seen portayed on film.

For Friends Who Like Baseball

2008-08-05T13:19:00.001-07:00

You actually don't have to care about baseball to like this rant on megatokyo about Japanese baseball:
http://www.megatokyo.com/rant/928

I'm not Impressed

2008-08-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

I warned him! Now he's in my blog.

Now, here's a Jonas Brothers' video:

I'm not Impressed.

Dark Knight 2.0

2008-08-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

We saw "The Dark Knight" once again last night, and it definitely holds up. It's a truly amazing movie that will be the standard for adult superhero movies. Since this was the first time we saw "The Dark Knight" outside of IMAX, it was also the first time to see the previews before it. I read an interview w/the director/writer of the new "Watchmen" movie and i thought it seemed like it could be good enough to be in league "The Dark Knight." Now that I've seen the preview for it, I'm pretty sure it will stand on equal footing w/the "The Dark Knight."

Stick that in your cap!

Whale Talk

2008-08-02T02:16:00.000-07:00

You could have told me I'd be crying at 2 in the morning trying not to shake the bed with my sobs. I should have known a quarter of the way through the book. What tragedies fear brings. What triumph does forgiveness. Thank you for this journey.

Amazing

2008-08-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

I saw a deer today on my way to work. It was just after I dropped Akemi off at her work. It sprinted out in front of my car as I approached a stop sign. It came out of this 1 block sized park and was headed up towards Washington Park. It was beautiful. Thankfully it wasn't injured and seemed to be heading the right way. It's weird, but I feel a very strong connection with that deer, like it was my friend. I am definitely in awe at the odd happenings of my life.

Dark Knight Followup

2008-07-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

The Dark Knight. It was more than awesome. I would tell you more, but you would kill me.

See this movie!

Dark Knight: IMAX!!!

2008-07-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

We stopped by the theater on our way home to pick up our 9am Dark Knight IMAX tickets. Shows were sold out all the way through 5am. We'll report how awesome it was tomorrow!

What the #@&%!

2008-06-09T15:32:00.000-07:00

Do you remember Beetle Bailey, that old comic strip about a slacker army guy and his sergeant. Remember how the sergeant used to swear up a storm, but in those ambiguous character swear words (#$@%@^!@)?

Well, I've been noticing the funky swear words popping up in comics all across the spectrum. From For Better, For Worse and Mutts to Pearls Before Swine and Get Fuzzy. Oddly enough, or perhaps not odd at all, I hear actual swear words when reading the comics now. When I was a kid, I just heard grumbling (like stuff you'd hear Yosemite Sam say, "rickrackfrackfrickin"). It surprised me when I realized this.

Now that I'm 30, it's just weird to know that there's one more piece of innocence that I've lost.

Does anyone else hear the f-bomb when they read the funny pages?

note: i was gonna add images/links to this post, but don't have time. maybe later.

Where have I been?

2008-05-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

First off, here's a deal: http://whv.warnerbros.com/WHVPORTAL/Portal/homepage.jsp Warner Bros is have a 20% all dvd titles until Saturday May 31. If you're looking to jazz up your dvd collection, it's actually not that awesome a deal...

I've been busy for a few reasons and not in the mood to blog...

I've been yelping a lot. It's quite ridiculous actually, as last week, one of my "lists" was featured, and in this week's Portland newsletter I was a "Top Yelper".
I picked up a contracting job helping a friend set up an online store for a magazine. Should launch on June 1.
Mario. Kart. Wii. The controls are awesome and it is super fun!

I'm sure there are other reasons, but now I just want to play Mariokart. Peace out.

Yelp!

2008-05-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

The Greensburg Trifecta

What's this?

So, you've probably noticed the map gadget in the margin of my page... I've gotten in to this site Yelp.com, that I think is pretty cool. Basically it's like what city search should have been. Rate and review cool places you been to or eaten at. There's a social networking side that I've not really gotten in to, but I never seem to do that anyway...

Find me here: http://ch6rmand3r.yelp.com

I've reviewed the Greensburg Trifecta, but none of the restaurants have pictures... so, you guys still living there, please post a picture if you get the chance. See you there.

Free Comic Book Day

2008-05-03T09:13:00.001-07:00

It's a little late notice, but today is Free Comic Book Day!

50 Best Comedy Sketches?

2008-05-01T10:56:00.000-07:00

Nerve sure thinks so... and if you know what to do with $240 worth of pudding, you just might, too.

Dark Knight Posters

2008-04-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

There are some cool new Dark Night posters here. So cool. Can't believe we have to wait until July to see it. At least Indiana Jones comes out between now and then.

Whitecastle

2008-04-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

I am very sad that we don't have Whitecastle in the Pacific Northwest. It's nice that we have Burgerville, but really, it just doesn't compare.

When you're in the mood for some sliders, there's just nothing out here that can satisfy that craving. I've written them before, asking them to come out, but their business model just can't handle expansion this far west...

sigh.....

'dux, this one's for you...

2008-04-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hancock

2008-04-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

We saw the first trailer for "Hancock" starring Will Smith last night. Fox decided to show it during the new Kelsie Grammar/Patricia Heaton show Back to You. Not really the show I would have chosen to hype a person w/superpowers movie, but the Hancock idea is kind of neat. Anyway, what did you think of the trailer?

VOTE

2008-04-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

clinton evans

2008-04-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

guess who i saw at one of our favorite lunch places??? if you can't guess by the title of this post, i guess i will spell it out...

clinton evans

he's working the cheese counter. he said he's been in oregon since 2000 and worked a stint as a middle school teacher.

free obama schwag for your website/blog

2008-03-25T23:31:00.000-07:00

if you're looking for resources you can use to help the campaign, check this page out.

further down that page, you can find the Website Downloads link where the embed code for all the nifty logos live.

took me a while to find them, thus the post. hope this helps you out, RMK.

obama update

2008-03-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

so, can't write too much now, but elizabeth is being pushy ;)

it was a great event. they used this video right before obama came out on the stage:

so that when he did come out, my eyes definitely started to water. not full on weeping, just very wet. we were so close to the stage and where he came out. you ever feel like the world has gone to hell and there's no hope? well, i didn't realize i had that angry monkey on my back till i saw him in person and got some hope. he's real! and he's for real. it felt like one of the more important moments in my life.

i'll definitely write more, and post pictures later this week. one of the highlights was hearing earl blumenour (the congressman from oregon who always wears a bow tie) say "President Barack Obama". it was the first time i heard that phrase, and it was magical. it won't be the last time i hear it.

YES WE CAN!

obama comes to pdx!

2008-03-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

so we got tickets to see barack on friday. we're pretty excited. that is all.

Made it to B

2008-03-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

i made it to B! it was nice, i finished off A w/ Aye Davanita by Pearl Jam and started the Bs w/ Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba by The Mr. T Experience. right now, though, i'm patiently waiting for Baby Baby Baby by TLC to finish. it's over 5 minutes long. ughhhh.....

i'm going to have to wait a couple more days for my favorite song from vitalogy to come up: Bugs!

gotta go do stuff, but will highlight some favorites of the As at a later date....

music... alphabetically

2008-03-07T15:06:00.000-08:00

so, following in the footsteps of mr. andrew, as i often do musically, i've started listening to my music collection in alphabetical order. i started off w/47 titles that started w/a symbol or a number. some of the best of that group:

7 by Prince
16 Military Wives by The Decemberists
19 Nervous Breakdown by The Rolling Stones
40' by Franz Ferdinand
5/4 by Gorillaz
2000 Light Years from Home by The Rolling Stones
36-24-36 by Violent Femmes
100 Flower Power Maximum by Cracker
54-46 Was My Number by Toots & The Maytals

some bad times were had b/c of these guys:

three versions of 3rd Planet by Modest Mouse
97 Bonnie & Clyde by Eminem

i'm in the A's now. i have a freaking lot of songs whose first word is "All" (29), including three versions of All Apologies by Nirvana, two versions of Allison by The Pixies and 2 versions of All You Need is Love by The Beatles.

i'll probably post more as this thing progresses.

Garfield minus Garfield

2008-03-06T15:35:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen Garfield Minus Garfield you have really got to check it out. What happens when you take the cat out of the comic? You end up w/a paranoid, schizophrenic, bipolar john arbuckle. it's really funny.

http://garfieldminusgarfield.tumblr.com/

This is not the post you are looking for...

2008-02-28T16:05:00.000-08:00

So, I'll have to write some other time about The Great Gatsby. I've just finished reading The Spiderwick Chronicles, which i must say, were a pretty fun read. the original series is 5 books long. you could easily read one a night before bed (which is what i did). they are definitely short enough to be considered "Middle Reader" reading material, but more than worthwhile for adults.

there are pictures on about every other page and the chapter titles are pretty fun (In Which We Almost Break the Fourth Wall). the general plot is about two 11 year old twin boys, their teenage sister and their very recently divorced mother who move away from NYC to a dilapidated house somewhere in small town america (i forget where). the house belongs to the mother's aunt, who has been sent to an asylum because she refused to eat, claiming little people brought her food that made normal human food pale in comparison.

needless to say, the aunty wasn't lying, and the first five books comprise the adventures had by the three children after having found a field guide to fairie in a hidden room in the house. each book stands on it's own, but leaves just enough hints that you feel compelled to read the next one. in the end, the three kids fight an ogre to save their mom... and all civilization as we know it.

it's all told in the third person, and mostly from the perspective of the twin who inadvertently always gets in to trouble, often for things he did not do, though not always undeservedly.

these are some very entertaining books, especially if you're looking for something fun and light.

also, you can read a fun Q&A w/the authors here.

Volkswagen Jetta

2008-02-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

my friend is contemplating purchasing a jetta. here are my reasons why and why not...

Reasons to get a jetta:

They're small and fun to drive
It's a solid frame and can take a hit
We have the cold weather package, w/seat heaters for the front seats.
Black leather interior is nice.
400 miles to the tank when oil freshly changed AND travelling constantly between 70 and 80 MPH

Reasons to NOT get a jetta:

They're small. Don't think you're going to cart your taller than 5'10" friends around in the back seat, or much anything else. We can barely fit one 80lb bale of hay in the trunk. 2 large suitcases fit only w/much maneuvering, and only b/c the one is tall and skinny. You cannot easily fit a bicycle in the car. Only by putting the back seats down, and then, only just. We have carried 9 foot pine trees for the winter holidays, but only by putting the seats down and have the trunk of the tree touch the dashboard and having 3 or 4 feet dragging behind the car. Sap on your dash = BAD.
Good luck finding a good mechanic
Expensive upkeep.
Full of specialty parts, including special pink coolant, wiper fluid, light bulbs
Electrical system seems slightly faulty and very dependent on the temperature. When it's cold, some features seem to not work right (b/c the wires shrink). Many people report frequent bulb/fuse shorts for lighting.
Many recalled parts over the years (we have a 2000)
Door locks stick in warmer weather.
It's more expensive than a hybrid (or was in 2000)
Not very fuel efficient, especially for town traffic (speeds less than 65 mph).
The plastic/rubber parts of the interior seem to scratch easily.
The cup holders completely broke within the first year after we purchased this vehicle. They're over $100 to replace.

i think that's all i've got for now. please comment. i know i might...

Duty Calls (XKCD)

2008-02-20T10:17:00.000-08:00

two posts

2008-02-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

i had 2 posts 2 write, but i can only remember one:

i just finished reading "The Great Gatsby"

oh wait, i just remembered:

thoughts on the VW jetta for andrew, who is contemplating purchasing one...

look for those in the future.

Olsen Twins eat Blade Runner

2007-12-31T10:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Ninja Day

2007-12-05T11:41:00.000-08:00

Go do something ninjatastic. Living in Oregon, I know all about ninjas. We learned about how everyone in Oregon is a ninja back in high school, and that is totally why we moved here. Or maybe not.... Maybe it was all the breweries.

Anyway, Happy Ninja Day. Also, Happy Second Day of Hanukkah.

Learn more about Ninja Day here:
http://www.askaninja.com/node/1716

friends

2007-11-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

i feel so honored. my friends listed me in their friends blog list!

idiocracy

2007-09-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

i am a wee bit worried. i saw idiocracy last night. it's a scenario that i actually worry a lot about: mankind is doomed b/c only stupid people are breeding. it's definitely not a feel good movie (even w/the happy ending).

so if you are smart, and you have a good heart, have a bunch of kids and raise them so that they're not uncaring morons.

also, mike judge makes good movies.

smallville

2007-08-31T11:56:00.000-07:00

nothing very exciting, but i just got the first season of smallville from the library. i'm going to start watching the entire series untill i run out of dvds. hopefully i'll be caught up b-4 the new season starts. i've only ever seen a few episodes, but my friend mad dog raves about it every couple of minutes, so i figure i should watch it.

on the TV on dvd topic, we just got the firefly box set at target for $19.??. it's usually $50. if you've got a target around, it's $20 well spent. that is a great series.

Harry Potter: The Movie

2007-08-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

So, we recently watched the Harry Potter movies again, and I have to say, Goblet of Fire is by far, the worst of the five movies. It was almost unwatchable. We have yet to watch #s 1 and 2, but from what I remember, they are much better than #s 3 & 4.

Order of the Phoenix was amazing, but I think that's mostly b/c Goblet of Fire was so horrible. If you haven't had the chance to see Order of the Phoenix in the 3-D IMAX, but you've already seen it, it's so not worth it. The screen doesn't really enhance the movie, and there is only one 10 to 15 minute sequence of 3-D towards the very end. Having seen the movie on a regular screen first, I had thought much of it would look great rendered in 3-D. The bit that was in 3-D was cool, but not worth $6 more than a regular version of the movie.

'k, i'm done.

harry potter experience

2007-07-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not actually going to write more... just see my comment at Space Sector 2814

slacker lifestyle

2007-07-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

i'm not sure what i'm listening to, but it's not bad.

just found out, it's ben kweller - "Commerce, TX"

it's okay. if you want something better, though, try The Presidents of the United States of America. their musix are really rockin'.

bye Pishy

2007-07-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

Sad news. yesterday, our betta Pishy died. we had some pretty good years with him. we'll miss him. he was always at our entranceway, so we saw him every time we left or returned. he always begged for food, even if he had just eaten a worm half his size. he was a very spunky fish. it will be sad to go home tonight and not see him. so, a shout out to Pishy. we'll miss you.

word.

i got you now!

2007-07-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

i can't post a title in firefox on my debian box. that is sad.

ah, figured it out. had to get the mouse in exactly the right spot.

eat the spark electric.

try this blog out for your health. R4n+z0r C0mM@nDZZ 1T