Thought Sausage

Well, for a week or so there I wasn't able to log into this thing. I actually was thinking of a cool way to explain what happened, but the short explanation of "I'm a jackass who can't remember his damn password after he changes it" is probably the most accurate. Thanks to Drew for being a server admin extradordinare.

Unfortunately I'm still not at liberty to discuss the goings on just yet that I talked about before. Things are definitely progressing but not to the point to where I can start calling bullshit on the guilty parties.

So in the meantime, let it be known that it is obscenely cold here in Chicago, and I've had to resort to tricking Drew into driving me to swim practice because I'd probably die otherwise. Granted, this will no doubt draw some mocking from Schmudde. The man cycled to the Jeff Tap from his further west digs. Insane? You decide

Welp, if one day I vanish and end up in prison, you'll know why. Seems as though if I have 500 readers (which according to my stats, I do, but don't ask me how the government expects to track that), I have to register like a lobbiest or go to jail. Whatever registering means. Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of censoring myself for the sake of appeasing some bullshit bill. But as far as I'm concerned, Senator David Vitter can just go choke on my left nut for even thinking of introducing this bill.

Alright, I've had a few go-rounds with that Chris Randall album I was talking about a little while ago. And I am officially blown away now. Sin Eater just plain fucking owns in a weird Twin Peaks kinda way that I haven't heard from anybody recently. Seriously, this album has some really good shit. Even if it does come off as a big Tom Waits wannabe record at parts, it's among one of the best Tom Waits wannabe records out there. Go Buy It.

NOTE-if you haven't bought anything from Positron Records yet, there's a couple cool things. First, any cd you buy (that is, an actual piece of plastic) will also get you all the songs in digital format. They provide you with a "locker" where all these reside. So basically it's like having a backup on their server for your mp3's. Kinda cool I think. I've been buying records from this label ever since they put their first one out about 8 years ago and the service is top notch. I know a lot of people are iffy about buying downloads from sources like this, but you're in good hands here.

No video this time, but instead, it's one more piece of bullshit from this "band" Rockstar Supernova. For those of you who don't know (and I truly envy you), Rockstar Supernova (a dumb name for a dumb band) is a "band" (and I use that term interchangeably with product in this case) that was created on a TV show kind of like American Idol. Said band is composed of members of bands that have had success in what most people would say are credible endeavors (Metallica, Motley Crue, Guns N Roses). Tommy Lee, Gilby Clarke and Jason Newsted spent a season on this reality show with the perpetually shirtless Dave Navarro trying to find a singer. Said singers basically sang karaoke to impress the band.

My opinions of the music can best be summed up here. But this quote is what really pisses me off:

"They were both showing something special. At the end of the show, we got to hear them sing on a couple of our tunes. As soon as I heard Lukas ... (I said) 'That's it,' He made us sound like a band. He put the vocals on there, where Dilana sounded like a singer in front of a band. (Rossi) made it come together as a band. He was the right person."

See this is what is wrong with music now. What the fuck makes you think this is a "band" to begin with. I feel sorry for kids now because nobody gets to discover anything anymore. It's shoved down your throat. Bands used to be these sacred things that totally defined you. Everyone had "Their band" (mine was probably Metallica or Zeppelin when I was a kid). Fights broke out over the Metallica vs. Megadeth debate. I remember when I was a kid being obsessed with Metallica, Megadeth, Led Zeppelin and their ilk. I remember wearing Metallica shirts to school like it was a badge of honor. What those guys said in their lyrics was what I was essentially saying too. Nobody had to "vote" for James Hetfield to be the singer because "he made Metallica sound like "a band"" (whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean). He made Metallica sound like Metallica because he was Metallica. And so was Kirk, Cliff, Lars (and Jason). They paid their dues together, they earned the respect of my friends who eventually turned me onto them. They didn't draw legions of fans because that fucktard who conjurs all these reality shows thought "there might be a show here". Can you imagine if it was 1981 and instead of forming Metallica with Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield entered a karaoke reality show with a "band" selecting a singer? Shit, instead of Metallica, we'd have "Groovy Tubes Nova" or some 10 year old cliche name with James Young from Styx, Terry Ollis from Hawkwind and Peter Frampton attempting to sound relevant. Actually, shit, Groovy Tubes Nova is a pretty cool name. You heard it here first folks.

Anyway, these guys get fucktard of the week because they are mocking everything that came before them. The bands that actually mean something don't get started because of some vision of seeking fame. Fame seeks them. Rockstar Supernova isn't a "band" it's a product and in a perfect world, Tommy Lee, Gilby Clarke and Jason Newsted would have to apologize to everybody who doesn't know any better for trying to be taken seriously. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather jam a pencil in my ear than follow American Idol, but at least that show doesn't make any pretenses of being something credible. It knows it's plastic unsubstantiated bullshit, and makes no apologies for it. Jesus, you know a show is pretty fucking lame when it actually makes American Idol look like it has integrity by comparison.

Man, Blabbermouth is commanding way too much of my attention today. The big announcement Sharon Osbourne had today was that this year's Ozzfest will include free tickets.

To be honest, this is quite a suprising move. Not because I don't think it will work, but because the people who organize Ozzfest are the last people I would have expected to take this direction. It definitely could work though. Now I haven't actually _been_ to Ozzfest in almost a decade, but I do know a few things about it. I know I've played with bands whose labels coughed up fees in the mid five figures to secure a spot at 9am on that bill. I know the only bands that make any money on that tour are the top 2-3, and even if you do sell merch, something like 40% of the revenue (that's gross, not net) must be paid back to Ozzfest. In short, if you think the bands are the ones making the cash on that tour, unless you're playing for System of a Down, Slipknot, Black Sabbath or Slayer...just ain't so. Ozzfest is always a losing venture for 95% of the bands who have ever done it. They continue to cough up the dough to play this event cos quite frankly, it's the only chance in America these bands have of being exposed to a mass audience.

Sponsorship has always been a huge part of Ozzfest as well. More businesses jump on the sponsorship bandwagon for this tour than any other tour in America (I swear I saw that somewhere). If you've ever been to Ozzfest, they don't try to hide this fact at all. It's essentially a big metal mall, brought to you by Best Buy, Red Bull and about 50 million other sponsors. Sponsors are no different than bands. They pay squillions of dollars to represent themselves on this tour because sponsoring Ozzfest makes you "cool" to an otherwise hard-to-reach market (remember, your average Ozzfest fan isn't lining up to buy a Justin Timberlake ticket).

The point is that Ozzfest isn't free because Sharon Osbourne has a bleeding heart for young metal heads, it'll be free because they simply don't have to bother charging for tickets. Just go back and look at the grosses from shows of previous summers. Seems like a lot right? Well when your 9am band pays 50k for the tour, and that's the starting price, the figures start to add up.

I think this is interesting though because this could be the next evolutionary step in concert organization (at least on a mass scale). By eliminating ticket prices and putting the admission in the hands of your sponsors, you are giving your sponsors and invaluable resource and wealth of information. In addition, the fan doesn't have to pay exhuberant prices for tickets ( I promise you, this will be problematic for Ticketmaster and big promoters like Clear Channel). The major downfall of course is going to be that if you thought Ozzfest was corporate before, you're in for a full on metal Mary Kay now. I'd even say we're only a few years away from the headliner closing their show with the phrase "Thank you and good night! Remember,Red Bull! It Gives You Wings!"

God, where'sWesley Willis when we need him?

Dear Hillary,

Look we all get it. We know you have the resources to raise more money than any other democratic primary potential candidate (through no credibility of your own of course). While it is certainly admirable that you can garner such support when it's a demonstratable fact you are woefully under-qualified and unprepared to be the democratic nominee for president, you present more problems for the democratic party than you do solutions. Believe me, when the whole whitewater scandal rears its head in a national campaign level (remember that thing that almost derailed your husband?), Barak doing coke in college will pale in comparison. The democratic party needs to be firing on all cylinders in 08, and a Clarke/Edwards Ticket or Clarke/Obama or even Obama/Edwards is what may actually _work_. So please, take your money and go back go the kids table while the grown folks talk.

Dave

Well, I always chalked this phenomenon to one being too wasted to really give a shit what somebody looks like, but apparently, the brits don't think so.

"A formula rating of less than one means no effect. Between one and 50 the person you would normally find unattractive appears less "visually offensive".

Non-appealing people become suddenly attractive between 51 and 100. At more than 100, someone not considered attractive looks like a super model. "

Can this formula be applied to other alcohol induced activities? For example a score of one and 50, the 200 foot tree in some strangers' backyard probably shouldn't be scaled at 4am, but between 51 and 100, a strange mission from god appears to command you to climb said tree, and at more than 100, you no longer need to climb the tree because you can simply fly up to the top.

Thanks to Roly for this info.

Behold the latest in small fiscal security (you have to scroll down a bit after whacking that link):

Now if this ain't a textbook example of a solution in search of a problem, I don't know what is. Look at the description:

"The "Underwear / Brief Safe" is an innovative diversion safe that can secure your cash, documents, and other small valuables from inquisitive eyes and thieving hands, both at home and when you're traveling. Items can be hidden right under their noses"

As if there is a huge market of people who can't keep their fucking money out of site but quite commonly lay their shit-stained underwear out in plain view. To be fair, after spending a cumulative total of about 4 months in hotels last year, I have definitely left my fair share of bills out on the desk. Nevertheless, I don't recall a single time the maid service successfully stole my change.

If that weren't enough, check out the accessory. For a small premium, these people will send you what amounts to a little tube of shit. I'm curious as to what the "special ingredients" constitute. Actually on second thought, no I'm not.

Only $29.95 and you'll never have to worry about losing your change again!

Wanna join an "internet band" to go to the "tip top of the charts" cos the internet "goes around the world"? Well this guy has just the thing for you.

I knew this was going to happen. Some out of touch idiot who just read a "Get Rich On the Internet" book published in 1995 thinks he's gonna go revolutionize the "music band industry". Either that, or judging by the way the site is written, and the fact that it looks like a shitty 5th grade art project, it's some chop shop IT group in India trying to get songs from kids in America to sell to kids in Russia.

My favorite part is the little manifesto on this page:

Thats All You Really Need. You Make The Music, You Own The Music. You Sell It Directly To The People. Bypass Everything Else. Yes, That Is All You Really Need. It Seems, Nobody Has Taken Advantage Of This Fact. Until Now. Music Does Make The World Go Round. Oh Yeah. Oh Yeah.

No one has taken advantage of this fact? Apparently this guy is convinced music only comes from the RIAA and American Idol because the whole reason there is an indie community is because people take advantage of this fact.

Anyhow, some other hilarious tidbits to be found on the site:

"Guys, My Advice To All Of You Is To Get Famous First. Even If It Means Being In A Group To Do That. Think Dave Grohl. Think Sting. How About Michael Jackson. Then You Can Get Big-Headed And Go Solo. Hey, If You Sign With Me, After 3 Years, You Are Free To Leave. "

"I Have Noticed That Songwriters Are Like Athletes, When They Hit Like 35-38 Years Old. They Lose Their Songwriting Ability. "

"Like. Its Also Most Important That The Group Learns How To Expertly Record As Much As Possible Using The Computer. Yes, This Will Not Be So Easy But The Songs Won't Have To Be Perfectly Recorded To Start. You Can Re-Record Them Perfect After The Big Money Comes In. The World Will See That The Group Has Super Talent And Happily Let The Band Develop At Their Own Steady Pace. Yes, They Will. "

"Now Since I Have The Best Collection Of Rock And Pop Song Ideas Then Anyone In The World. I Can Easily Call Myself A Future Rock And Pop Songwriting Legend And A Music Visionary. My Songs Are Good Enough To Send Any Decent Bar Band To #1. They Would Be The Band Of The Year. Whatever Year My Songs Are Recorded. I Can Accomplish That With Any Decent Group Age 15-50."

"Hi Guys, I'm 42 Years Old. I've Been Thinking Up Rock And Pop Song Ideas For Over 21 Years. I Have 140 Partial-Completed Songs. I Want This Group To Do Everything Right That Every Other Group Has Done Wrong The Last 50 Years. This Group Can Record And Release 35-40 Good Songs The First Year, Every Year. It Could Be A 35-40 Song Download That Sells For $20-25.00 No-Cds, No-Cds, No-Cds."

"Good Songs And Good Albums Sell Good. Bad Songs And Bad Albums Sell Bad. I Am The Only Person In The History Of Music That Realizes This Rule. This Group Will Never Record Or Release Bad Product. "

I should have posted this earlier since, in the interweb time continuum, I'm now behind. But Yahoo lauched their pipes today and immediately following the launch it broke. Go figure

I would comment more on it but I really can't be bothered to launch it, let alone figure out what the fuck it's supposed to do. From waht the Valleywag folks are saying, what we have here is a feed aggregator that basically lets you combine all your feeds into one giant mash-up (solutions in search of problems seem to be an ongoing theme here @ thoughtsausage).

Now, maybe I'm a little bit cynical, but don't ya think Yahoo oughta focus on getting people to use RSS Feeds in the first place before they start making ultra nerdy mashup tools? For what it's worth, anytime you name your service after a legacy Unix function, you are very much in danger of being too nerdy for the mainstream.

ANNA NICOLE SMITH DIED!! OMG DID YOU HEAR!

Jesus Aitch Christ it must be a slow news week when you can't swing a dead cat and not hit a story about the various facets of Anna Nicole Smith dying. I counted 6 stories on the frontpage of CNN about this. On top of that, I've gotten close to a dozen emails telling me to comment about it here. What the hell am I supposed to say about it?

Per Dave/Travis:

[11:11] feanor319: she is now the deity that governs weight fluctuations across multiple dimensions
[11:11] ZosoV101: haha
[11:11] ZosoV101: until Oprah crosses into outworld
[11:11] feanor319: True.

Well I can't totally talk about everything yet, and I know a lot of you probably already heard the rumors, but yes they are true. Your hero is moving to greener pastures workwise. There are multiple reasons for this, most of which I probably shouldn't go ranting about in a blog (not that I give two shits about hurting people's feelings, just that I'd stir myself into an angered stupor trying to recount everything). Suffice to say, all is quite good. I'll post more deets when I have things etched in stone with the new company. But so far so good.

Also, I decided to get with the times and see what Microsoft Vista is all about. Of course, I couldn't simply shoehorn it into my current doorstop of a computer (the same rig I used to write music on for many years...I'm very much a "if it ain't broke don't fix it" kinda guy for that sorta thing). So instead, I went and got a shiny new laptop with Vista Home already on it. Aside from the fact that Microsoft can go choke on my left nut for all the updates they try to install before you've even done anything, well, it's quite pretty. The Gadgets aren't all that useful, but they definitely give it a Mac feel (which is all Microsoft really wanted to do anyway)

Even though everybody already knew it was going to happen, Barak Obama announced today that he is officially running for president. I'm pretty stoked about this. For the first time in the time I've been able to vote, there's actually somebody on the democratic side I'm excited about. It seems like the last couple go-rounds have been "vote for us cos we're not the other guy" candidates. Now there's a guy who is worth getting behind. Now, if the democrats can keep Hillary from using her shitstorm financing tornado from usurping the democratic nomination, the dems may actually have a shot at taking the administration back.

We may not have had the best graphics for our games, but our football players had mad skills

Thanks Travis for bringing this to my attention

Went to the Chicago Auto show yesterday. What we see here is what represents an additional $700 a month for your hero. Cos if I didn't think it before when I waxed poetic about the convertible camaro, I definitely am signing the fuck up for one as soon as they are avaialble. Of course, that's assuming I can obtain one for around 30k....not made of money here ya know? And based on principle, I'm not about to kick my current ride to the curb. Do I really need two brand new vehicles when I live in the city and barely drive one as it is? No...but if that's the first thing you ask after reading that, then we ain't got nothin' else to talk about.

This years crop of cars was pretty much what I expected. Drew's pics of the affair are here. The Honda Accord got best concept award, and I'd have to say I was impressed. The Accord would do well as a coupe. Dodge didn't bring the new Challenger, although I don't think they really did anything with it since last year, so that's understandable. One thing that always happens when I'm at the Chicago Auto show is I end up being imprssed by Kia of all companies. The Amanti gives you a ton of car for 'not that much money'. I mean, for under 30k to have a car with a V8, full wood/leather and all the bullshit yuppie things like "seat warmers" and shit is a really good buy. If you can deal with the fact that you're driving a fucking Kia, you could do worse. Of course, i can't stomach that notion, so it's not like I'm going to buy a Kia or anything...still, most impressive.

This week I'm going to revamp the Spokeeasy website. We're finally getting the ball rolling on things for this summer.

Although now my flight schedule isn't as heavy, I do have a few trips to the west coast scheduled this year, so at least that'll happen. American Airlines unveiled their Virgin America tricked out Airbus to Engadget. This thing is in danger of making the 4.5 hour flight to San Fran, dare I say, "tolerable"?

On Demand movies? Nice. Normally I try to use flights to get work done, but this could skew that quite a bit. Or not, cos it looks like we'll finally have internet access on domestic flights (yeah that'll last until some terrorist group figures out how to use the connectivity to take over the plane or something). If there's one thing that I can't stand, it's when they announce the inflight movie and it ends up being a vehicle for Tim McGraw (yes this was on my last jaunt out to the west coast). Yes, show me a movie made for Tim McGraw. I want to watch a fucking Tim McGraw movie.

Sorry it took so long to update this (as if there's somebody who was patiently awaiting status of my bike), but here's what's going on with the John Deere bike now (who btw made a killing today after reporting their earnings):

Items added include:
-headlight
-two sets of tailights (you can one of them in the pic just above the back wheel...the black/red thing)
-huge computer (located right next to the light...big circular thing)
-water/gatorade/beer holder (located just behind the light)
-side mirror (turned out to be a godsend these days)
-rack (located just behind the seat)
-LED's on the tire air inserts

All accessories are flat black (as they damn well should be). I plan on elaborating on the drink holder once it warms up....I haven't really gotten around to using it yet. Ultimately, it will be a very useful beer holder for the beach.

Still to be installed? Well we need a cooler, SMV implement, the light blowtorch and a sound device. This all may or may not be one all-inclusive unit. A lot of that depends on how much help I get from Paddy.

Meanwhile, work progresses on the new Spokeeasy website. I have a lot of dynamic elements to get through, but I'm shooting for the weekend as completion date.

And while I'm on a biking tangent...can I mention that no matter what direction I cycle this time of year (which is obviously not an ideal time to cycle, but I got shit to do so shut the fuck up) wind is blowing in my face? What the fuck? You'd think since I'm riding predominately in the west loop the building would block the wind, but apparently not. I'm so happy about that I could just shit.

For the record, I was riding to swim practice...where coach decided to see how much fly I could actually handle. Came out to around 1000 yards.

Watch here as Mr. T lays to rest that age old myth that all black men are awesome dancers

"everybody's gotta wear clothes, and if you don't you get arrested!"

Mr. T tells everyone to "shut up fool!"

I have a hard time deciding who is more annoying these days...David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar. I'm leaning towards the former. As you may or may not be aware, 'ol Diamond Dave is back in the Van Halen fold and these people are going to attempt to pull off a tour this summer. It'll be a huge tour and all parties involved will make a ton of money obviously. Nevertheless, who really wants to see a 50 year old Roth run around doing jumpkicks and shit? Put a fork in these goofy old men...they' done!

So I decided since come Tuesday I no longer work from home, I needed a way to bring my lunch to work. It's probably been over 20 years since I've needed a lunchbox, but nevertheless, I set out to Target and picked this bad boy up.

In short,this food transportation unit is the BUSINESS. This is the lunchbox that kicks all the other lunchboxes asses in the cafeteria. Fully insulated, and has a slot on the top to put the freeze thing (which is where fruit will reside). I realize the overall pussy factor one exudes when toting a lunchbox around, so that's why I made sure I got this all terrain unit. Perfectly suitable for taking lunch to the office or the jungle.

Let me make one thing clear right away. I'm not a fan of Dane Cook. I've tried to be a fan of his because I know so many people that lap up everything this beantown douchebag days. I've watched all his specials, and I even saw employee of the month. No dice there though.

Now I'm not gonna begrudge somebody just because I don't think they are funny. Different strokes for different folks right? Comedians (and in this case, I'm using that term in the 'string sentences together that deliver a punchline and manage to sell the result' sense) rarely enjoy the success Dane Cook has had in the past couple years. But you can imagine my disdain when I found out that not only does his whole hyperactive frat boy act annoy the shit out of me, but he also steals his material. That clip compares jokes from Louis CK a few years prior, and then Dane Cook telling the EXACT same joke.

Also, here's a clip from Opie and Anthony where Joe Rogan calls Dane right the fuck out. You'll wanna pack a lunch for that one though, as it goes on for the better part of an hour.

Well Dane now that it appears Wikipedia has wised up to what's going on, and you've all but blacklisted yourself amongst the rest of the comedy world by going over-time and being a general all around prick to other comedians. It would seem as though 2007 might be the year "the dane train" comes to a grinding halt.

For some reason I woke up really stupid early (as I'm known to do from time to time). Maybe not a bad thing since it is likely I'll be doing running before work (and possibly swimming). Because my brain seems to function on a different algorithm this time of morning, I made the following:

LIST OF TRIVIAL THINGS I DON'T OWN BUT MY LIFE WOULD PROBABLY BE COOLER IF I DID:

-Commando on DVD
-A banana hammock
-A people hammock
-A Chicago Blackhawks jersey
-one of those oil burner things from Yankee Candle (I used to have one, it ruled the school)
-TV Trays
-The Jimi Hendrix 2001 vinyl remasters
-A zippo-esque lighter fashioned to look like a pistol
-A Scarface movie poster with a frame
-a Ronco Food Dehydrator
-Re-seal caps for wine bottles
-A fedora styled hat
-a properly functioning Atari 2600
-An electric grill (the only kind we can have in this building)
-A radio controlled gas powered 4x4 truck
-A fully functioning Robocop pinball machine
-Electronic Battleship
-flip flops (as in the rubber things with the thong for your toes..not the jesus sneakers, I have those)
-Parachute pants (remember those?)
-Richard Pryor Live at Longbeach on DVD
-an electronic can opener (I think I do have one of these in storage somewhere)
-a switchblade comb
-a theremin (to prove it is possible to annoy my neighbors even more than I do now)
-a back scratcher
-a tent
-two lava lamps
-a frisbee
-a coat tree
-some floor wax
-a carpet shampoo-er
-a pogoball (remember these?)
-stilts
-a cookie/candy jar
-a crockpot

First day on the new job went off without a hitch. I'm glad to say there's some decent kids working down @ the Resolution Media docks. And boy howdy they weren't fucking around when they said they were growing. There were like 3 new desks in there since the last time i talked to them, and a stack of newly ordered computers in the lobby. It bears mentioning the company is moving to some new digs very shortly.

Also big ups on the little deli around the corner. Went to lunch with a new partner in crime today and had an Italian sub from Delicious. I'll post a proper review of it later. Which brings me to my next point....still in what one would call "beta" stage I have conjured yet another website. Behold (drumroll): Sandwiches of Chicago. Here I'll be reviewing all the sandwiches I eat while in town and hopefully pointing out which ones suck and which ones are the shiznit. I've been meaning to do this for awhile because it really is my lifelong dream to become the Sandwich Czar of Chicago. I've got some fellow reviewers who should be posting as well. Like I said, this is all really preliminary and I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but whateva...sue me Web Police.

After work I was thoroughly pounded with what turned out to be a rather aerobic intensive workout. So I'm lying here in bed about to pass out feeling as if somebody threw a bunch of pennies in a sock and beat me for a good hour with it. Oh how I love swimming!

It's 5:30am on a Saturday morning. Normally you'd think I'm still up because I just got back from Melrose Diner after a night of destroying what's left of my liver. Unfortunately that is not the case. The case is that I woke up yesterday morning with a head that felt like it weighed 200 pounds...ergo I seem to have caught some kind of sickness. The changing weather combined with my habit of riding my bike to and from swim practice and walking to work may have been a factor. Who knows who cares right? So I've basically been asleep since 7:30 or so last night...yay.

Originally I was going to motor up to Madison today to celebrate my uncle's 40th birthday. The impending 17 inches (!!) of snow that is supposed to drop on Madison postponed those plans. Most likely this means I'll be spending the entire weekend in bed watching Drew's 1st season of the West Wing.

On a positive note....it appears there is a new bike shop going up on the corner of Fulton and Des Plaines. It's called Get A Grip Cycles. Doesn't look like it is quite ready to be open, but a glance through the windows revealed that these people are very much in line with my road biking needs. Good to know there's a shop around the block for the summer.

I know Reno 911 is funny as shit, but when it's real it's hilarious.

So the Dio version of Black Sabbath has a greatest hits of all the Dio years coming out. To optimize the cash grab, they recorded a new song. Starts off with a pretty sweet Iommi riff, but jesus christ Ronnie James Dio could fuck up a wet dream. I got to about 2:30 until I decided that was enough suck for one listening session.

Welp, that's one more year down. Yesterday was my birthday. That's 28 years on this mortal coil. No big affair....few friends stopped by Jeff Tap for a couple and was up 'n at 'em this morning. For some reason, I didn't feel like making a big thing out of it this year. Gettin past it I guess. Besides, I have a meet on Sunday which is most likely going to monopolize the weekend.

Did I mention the cold sucks?