I don’t know how long this clip will be available for viewing so please HURRY and watch it while you still can. Conan O’Brien visits Intel and his observations on the cubicle life at Intel is spot-on. You’ll love the cafeteria where a group of geeks are playing Chess during their lunch hour and Conan confesses his love of playing Hungry Hungry Hippos back in the day.
Jim As Dwight April 30, 2007
I’ve watched this over and over and over. Absolutely one of my all-time favorite scenes on The Office:
Charter Weekend April 16, 2007
Saturday found me waiting for the cable guy for an 8-12pm time slot. I had numerous problems with my Charter digital cable, but here are some of the highlights:
- Showtime Channel 500 wouldn’t work on the living room set, but would work in the bedroom.
- Select a pre-recorded show on the DVR and the screen would go blank. If I reset the DVR, only then would it work.
- Turn on the Charter Digital Cable and sometimes the sound wouldn’t work so I’d have to crank my Bose Cinemate system to it’s limits to hear the sound. Again, I had to reset the DVR to get the sound to come back on.
- Favorite channels such as Comedy Central, E! and MTV were all fuzzy.
A young man showed up around 10:30am to work on all these issues. Problem was he was so creepy that I only chose to focus on two major problems–fuzzy reception and no Showtime. He was creepy because he was so damn quiet. No personality. Answered in one word replies and didn’t make eye contact. It was simply disconcerting to have him in the house. I think Minnie my little fat Beagle was kinda creeped out too because she just went into the bedroom to lay down. If he was normal, she would have stayed on the couch and watched him with interest.
After spending a good amount of time running new lines, I’m happy to report the cable is working excellent. The major cause of all my problems was water got into the cable lines that were running along the roof. Since he wasn’t authorized to go climbing on rooftops, he got creative and linked up some new connections through existing wires.
Sunday was a bust. I surprisingly discovered that since March 20th all email being sent to kimperry@charter.net was not getting forwarded to my Gmail account. There were so many signs that something was wrong, but I never really put two and two together. I paid the price, too. Today I spent all day reading 1, 044 emails sent to my Charter email address.
I think somehow what happened is my forwarding setting on the Charter account got wiped out and all my email just started being stored on the Charter server. I have many, many email addresses. But nothing compares to Gmail. I love their search feature, the amount of storage available, the star feature and especially the ability to label emails for easy retrieval later.
It took me all day today to sort through over one thousand emails. Fortunately I didn’t miss much in the past month except lots of information related to the stuff I track. But since I also have many of these newsletters sent to my Gmail address, what was missing was deceptive because I didn’t realize it was missing. (Thank God I have auto-payments set up on all my bills, huh?)
A bit of advice. If someone says they sent you an email and you lazily say, “Huh? I never got it.” Don’t assume they are the one’s who didn’t send it or somehow they screwed up. You just might be surprised to discover the problem was you.
I’m Bringing Sexy Back!!! December 15, 2006
If I was polled on the street by Worcester Magazine asking me which cartoon character I thought I might resemble the most…well, in a heart-beat I would say Velma. She’s got the glasses, is brainy and wears a rockin’ orange turtle-neck. She also has that blunt hairstyle which frames her face nicely, too.
Unlike Velma, I’m not a solver of mysteries. I’m naive and will probably believe anything you tell me whereas Velma is suspicious of actions and words.
So when you see Velma, just remember that if I ever had the opportunity to dive into the animated world, you’d find me hanging out with a big dopey Great Dane in a super tricked out stoner van saving the world one mystery at a time.
Weather Anchor Winner: Todd Gross!! June 5, 2006
My boy Todd Gross just won the category of On-Camera Talent Weather Anchor for the 29th Boston/New England Emmy® Awards.
Ever since his sudden departure from WHDH Channel 7 news, there’s been a void in my heart for this amazing weatherman.
I miss him. But I’m completely thrilled that he’s won yet another award.
So Long Arrested Development February 11, 2006
Last night was the 3rd and final Season of Arrested Development. It’s the little show that could…but unfortunately didn’t because it got cancelled. (The 3rd season was supposed to be 22 episodes, but FOX shaved it down to 13.)
I suppose after watching my favorite clip montage of eldest son Gob doing his chicken dance (or what his father George Bluth Sr would call his “…tweety bird dance”) you’re not surprised to see why it got cancelled. But it was a critically acclaimed show winning multiple awards including an Emmy in 2005 for Best Writing in a Comedy Series, but it had the kiss of death because I liked it very much. It always happens. Shows I’m usually crazy about just don’t make it in Prime Time. Here are a few notable examples”
There are some rumors that another network may pick it up like ABC, Showtime or Comedy Central, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
It’s hard trying to describe why I loved Arrested Development so much. Maybe it was the pure silliness of the family or just the sheer delight to see David Cross (one of my favorite comedians of all time) every week playing Tobias Fünke, the sexually confused budding actor who wasn’t attracted to his beautiful wife, but had a man-crush on the actor Carl Weathers.
If you haven’t seen Arrested Development, I suggest you rent Season 1 & 2 on Netflix and settle in for hours of guilty pleasure.
He’s MY Weatherman for LIFE! January 3, 2006
At some point in December, Channel 7 (WHDH) decided to get rid of the amazing Todd Gross. He was their chief meteorolgist after old Harvey Leonard moved onto to greener pastures with Dickie Albert. I’m not sure why Todd was asked to leave, but regardless it was a huge mistake in my opinion.
The thing that I love about Todd (and I can call him that because I have an autographed picture of the man) is how he always was working astronomy into his forecasts. It wasn’t enough for him to report on the next full moon–he encouraged his viewers to reach for the stars. He made it exciting to want to see a planet on a clear night rather than just looking up into the sky. (Did you know he was the guy who coined the phrase ‘The Perfect Storm’? Yes, the very same Perfect Storm that inspired the Mark Wahlberg movie. OK-it was more George Clooney, but everyone who knows me knows I love my Marky Mark)
But here’s the great news! He’s back on his own terms with an evolving weather website for all of us living in New England. I implore you to tell your friends, family and co-workers about ToddGross.com.
If you’re hard up like me and really want to support the guy, you can even join the Todd Gross Support Group hosted on Yahoo. I’m already a member! Not a big surprise there…
I’ve also subscribed to his RSS Feed so his daily forecasts will be posted on My Yahoo. Screw that annoying little chirpy Weatherbug application that will only clog up your computer. Say good-bye to any other weather websites out there. I don’t know where the man is getting his weather models to do the forecasts, but he’s doing it and I’m supporting his endeavors.
Might I also suggest you provide some viewer feedback via email to WHDH telling them what a HUGE mistake they made in letting him go? If enough crazies like me and you send emails, maybe we can get him back on the air. (Remember-The Family Guy came back)
You can also email Todd. Just remember that he might not be able to answer your email as it appears he’s getting inundated with support which is fantastic news. Plus he’s still involved in lots of technical weather discussions with people that are really, really into meteorology.
Just knowing that Todd’s got my back is already making this a great 2006.
Can’t Get Enough Of… October 8, 2005
I go through these periods where I’ll discover something and I become obsessed about it. I have to learn all that there is to know about it. If it’s an actor, I’ve got watch every single movie they’ve ever been in. Example: my infamous Mel Gibson obsession. If it’s an object, I start collecting everything related to that object. Example: Rubber Ducks. If it’s a taste, I have to try every version of it. Example: French Onion Soup and Black Licorice.
Television shows are also a classic example. My dad watched The X-Files when it premiered and I had no interest whatsoever. Then about half way into the season I actually gave the show a cursory glance while my dad was watching it and then WHAM–Hello David Duchovny and the proposed sexual tension between Mulder and Scully…and the aliens, of course. Can’t forget about the aliens. I became obsessed with all things X-Files. I started out slow by taping each show on Friday night and then started surfing the net hoping for spoilers for the next episode. It ruined the surprises sometimes but who cared? I was on a mission to know before everyone else what was going to happen next. I was so desperate in my obsession for this show that I began reading fan fiction just to get anything related to the X-Files.
But the weird thing is how I handle music obsessions. Most of the times I’ll know either the artist or the band in some backward sort of way. I might have heard a few of their songs and thought they were average, but then one song will just POP for me and it sets me off. It happened with Gwen Stefani recently. Sure I enjoyed the success of No Doubt, but when I heard her solo CD I just became a huge fan. Jack Johnson is another example. I heard one song in passing, spoke to a guy that I work with who loved him and then it began.
Sometimes the obsession slowly builds. I started watching LOST mid-season last year soley on the recommendation of a cube-mate at work and really got into the show. I knew that I had seen Matthew Fox somewhere on TV before, but couldn’t place it. So I did a search online and found out he was one of the stars of Party of Five. Yup. You guessed it. I had to rent the first season of Party of Five to see Matthew Fox play Charlie.
It’s a happy sickness these obsessions.
So what’s my lastest obsession? What is it that I can’t get enough of right now? OK, I’ll tell you.
The White Stripes. Spencer borrowed their latest CD from the library called “Get Behind Me Satan” and so it began. I gave a listen to it once and it sounded ok. I downloaded the CD onto my iPod figuring that I would listen to it when I had more time. Eventually I got around to it and then it happened. I touched upon one of their songs, Little Ghost and I was hooked. I began to listen to the CD over and over and over again. Then I remembered that I had copied their last CD Elephant so I pulled that one out and threw it in the car to really give it a good listen to. Once again, pure excellence.
Why The White Stripes? I love Jack White’s voice and I love the fact that all their music is simply and purely vocals, drum and guitar. I listen to their songs and cannot believe they can make such amazing music with so little instruments. Jack White’s voice reminds me of early Robert Plant from Led Zepplin and Meg White’s attempts to sing are just hilarious. But she belts it out with such gusto and how can you not love someone who doesn’t care how she sounds?
I started researching the band a little bit. Their last two CD’s were recorded in the span of two weeks. Then there is the whole controversy about how Jack and Meg claim they are brother and sister, but really they’re ex husband and wife (married 1996 and divorced in 2000). It’s like an in-joke that nobody really cares about. I love it. And recently Jack White got married to some model in the Amazon with Meg White serving as bride’s maid. How funny.
Their videos are really cool, too. Brilliant to serve up a video created with Leggo’s and they’re latest video My Doorbell shows them playing to a whole bunch of children in a vaudeville-type stage.
I just love everything about The White Stripes. They are my latest obsession and I love that they POPPED for me.
Sign(s) of the Times June 23, 2005
Karen and I watched the James Brooks movie Spanglish last night together. The movie explores a multitude of relationships, but the overall joke is how the Spanish-speaking mother struggles to learn English over the course of the movie.
Karen began telling me how her niece Rebecca LOVES the cartoon Dora the Explorer. Apparently the little girl is getting pretty adept at speaking Spanish just from watching cartoons. We both laughed and said these cartoons should have been around when I was growing up and I would have never failed Spanish class. Things are so much better now. If I had Bob the Builder as a kid, my house would be so much nicer because I would know how to use all those tools in my garage collecting dust.
And what’s up with the ice cream truck merrily rolling though my neighborhood each night at 6:30 with the annoying “Hello!” jingle? I never had that luxury when I was a kid. If I wanted a popsicle or an ice cream, I had to open up the freezer or wait to be taken to Friendlys for a special treat. I never just had it delivered right to my front door with such occasion.
These days kids have it too good and I feel like such an old person for saying it. They learn sign language in daycare so they can demand a cookie, can speak Spanish by the age of three from cartoons and expect cell phones by the fifth grade for their growing social web. The only way I could communicate in elementary school was to figure out how to fold those maddening origami- type things to ask questions if a boy liked me and depending on how many snaps of the paper, well–you get the picture. Today it’s all about text messaging and ring-tones.
As Dora might say by the time she reaches the tender age of 35, “Soy tan viejo“
Watch Out Thomas Edison! June 3, 2004
Ever watch a TV show called “Invent This!” on TechTV? It’s a show dedicated to inventors and each segment features a re-enactment of how the idea for the invention originated.
I’ve got one. Why doesn’t Purina or Iams invent glow-in-the-dark pet food? That way, when the dog poops outside in the evening, you’ll see this brilliantly green glowing mound of poo and it won’t be so hard to pick up in the dark and deposit into your Stop & Shop plastic baggy.
It’s a struggle being a responsible dog owner. Our beagle Minnie is housetrained and always poops outside. Our walks are equipped with flashlight and plastic baggy. Our precious little Minnie is a very discerning pooper. She’ll only go in certain spots and frequently seeks out patches of musky-smelling leaves or overgrown weeds to do her business. Try gathering dog poop in the dark. That shit’s like camouflage.Picking up after her in the daytime is easy…it’s when the sun goes down that presents the challenge.
Minnie’s poo sure is elusive. And essentially this is where the idea comes in. Scooping up glow-in-the-dark poop would be so easy. I’m no chemist, but I’ve got to be thinking that if the Trojan folks can come up with glow-in-the-dark condoms…well, then digestible friendly dog food can’t be too far behind. Y’think?
