Chicago: Totally hands-free!!!

Yeah, congrats, dude.

Also: did anyone ever lend me a copy of Colson Whitehead's Apex Hides the Hurt? I just found it on my bookshelf and I have no idea where it came from.

So excited to go to the game tomorrow.

The game going on right now is great, are you watching it?

I didn't get a perfect GRE score or anything, by the way, but I did significantly better than I did on any of the practice tests and better than I was thinking I would do and good enough for me to feel like I don't have to take it again, unless I somehow did terribly on the written part (which I don't think I did).

One of the dumb things about the GRE is that in addition to the verbal, math, and writing sections, they will often (maybe always) include an extra section of verbal or math questions, which are "experimental" questions they are trying out. They don't count towards your score, but you don't know which of the two verbal or math sections was the noncounted experimental section, so you have to try hard on both. So I had to do two math sections, which sucked, because I was getting pretty worn out by the end. Fortunately, the first math section I did, which seemed easy, must have been the one that counted. But I still think it's lame to make people do extra work for no reason.

Yes

I don't know why I'm being coy, I got 700/800 on verbal and 700/800 on math for a total of 1400/1600. Probably could have done a little better on verbal but the questions got pretty tough, and I did much better on the math than I was expecting.

The game tomorrow should be great, the Cubs are kind of on fire right now.

HB to Jeff!

And really awesome about the GRE! I know you were worried.

I never doubted Jenny's character for a second. :)

Holy moly, Nick! Are you looking at schools in Chicago or elsewhere?

I am moving everything I wrote in high school and college from my old PC to my iMac so I can finally throw out the PC. It's running on Windows 95. Hilarious.

Drew Daniel responds re: "Do You Party?":

The title is blatant ripoff of the title of the first house record that I owned while in highschool, Royal House's "Can You Party?" and . . .

it is also a crystal meth reference, since "partying, must share expenses" and similar personal sex ad lingo tends to refer to tweekers. Since my band name is itself a tweeker reference I thought I ought to continue.

But soon The Soft Pink Truth is going to mutate into The Soft Pink Tube.

-- Drew Daniel, Saturday, September 22, 2007 8:31 PM (17 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

omg congratulations, Nick!!!

I am adding tons of photos to my flickr account. So far this may be my favorite. This is the first time I met Jenny and Jeff.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1044/1425889624_386ca442ab.jpg

October 2004. Just about 3 years ago.

That was our first date.

Not mine and Jenny's, ours collectively.

I can remember if it was then or a later time on Nick's porch when I was expressing regret for something I'd said online, and you said something like, "Don't apologize! You're such an asshole! It's great!" You are the first and last person to ever express that sentiment.

I CAN'T remember, obv.

It must have been later, I think I mostly talked to Jenny that first time I met you guys.

You're both so damn cute in that photo, though! Jenny with a positively adorable little bob haircut, you without a neck beard.

Those were different times. Nobody was married then. :)

Jaymc remembers this one, I'm sure:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1239/1425004025_0b1eace3d2.jpg

Same day, btw.

Jenny, you just have such a great grin. If I saw you somewhere, that alone would make me want to know you. I like girls who grin.

jenny is kind of unilaterally awesome.

I think someone nicknamed me the "indie rabbi" on account of that photo.

So I'm done transferring everything from the old computer and I'm ready to dispose of it. But I don't really want to just put it in the alley as is, because theoretically someone could take it, hook it up, and read all my 15-year-old poetry. I mean, I don't know why anyone would want to, but the thought makes me feel a little weird. Do I take a sledgehammer to the CPU?

NO!!!! Take it to an electronics collection point, John. Srsly srsly, there are both very toxic substances and also precious metals that can be reclaimed safely (and profitably). Computers are TERRIBLE for landfills.

OK. I didn't know things like that existed. I will research, thanks.

Monitors, too, if you ever upgrade.

Haha, wtf, I found a document last updated October 1999 called "CLOTHES INVENTORY" wherein I just list all my clothes and what condition they're in. For instance:

Light blue jeans. Really dirty and faded around the ankles.
Dark blue jeans. Good, except for the boomerang-shaped hole in the ass.

Ze Nat'l was good, but man that guy mumbles a lot.

he's quite sad. Give him a break.

John: notice the title I gave that photo on my flickr. :)

this is, I have decided, on of my favorite photos I have ever taken.

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1426016316&context=photostream&size=l

gotdamnit.

here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fluxion/1426016316/in/photostream/

and find the size you like yourself. I uploaded it unchanged from my small-ish powershot.

I like your lake and Grant Park 6 a.m. photos, Kenan -- I'm guessing those are on Flickr somewhere.

I like Kenan's photos.

I'm getting ready to get rid of a lot of old computer equipment at the office. We want to donate as much as possible since it is all reasonably functional, but our IT contractor told us to remove the hard drives and smash them to bits b/c they contain a lot of confidential data. Will a collection point accept destroyed HDs?

This day has been very weird. It's one in the morning, and I just cooked up some lobster ravioli.

LOBSTER?! You're a monster!

(ps, um... yum.)

I'm guessing those are on Flickr somewhere

yes! But I'm tired of dealing with third parties. Here I am.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=502964937

oh wow wrong link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fluxion/

sorry. :(

Cool.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1180/1426010544_7b96c036f9.jpg

That was the last time I saw that thing. I think I accidentally left it as a tip. :(

this sitehas info on how to donate to a charity that will refurbish and also how to recycle computers in chicago...

More than the computer, I think the CRT monitor is the bigger landfill pollutant. Someone somewhere can make use of computer parts, but an old-ass monitor is going to require more attention to dispose of properly. If it still works, I'd say put it on Craigslist for $5 or something, or Freecycle.

The people on freecycle make me rage.

At least the one's I've dealt with. They have made shit so complicated. YOU ARE GETTING FREE STUFF, STOP BEING A COLOSSAL PAIN IN THE ASS.

Kenan, that pic of me at Intonation is AWFUL. It really reflects how I felt there--tired, hot, drunk, and just plain worn out.