Pub Quiz

Another interesting night of trivia. We only had two regulars this time so we teamed up with three youngsters. We won the first round, but tanked badly in the second. I still feel pretty good about it cause I managed to help the team out more than usual. Also, I managed to take our score sheet home this time, so here's a little quiz for you:

The questions we got wrong:
1. How many humps does a dromedary camel have?
2. Tom Penders, former basketball coach of UT, is now coach of what college?
3. What is the most popular breed of cat in the US with no tail?
4. In what Disney movie is the villain named Stromboli?
5. What does a "bodger" make: knives, armor, cider, or chairs?
6. What play was Abraham Lincoln watching when he was assassinated?
7. What sea does Poland border?
8. What was the last name of the family in Mary Poppins?

The questions we got right thanks to me:
9. Who played the villain in Man with the Golden Gun?
10. Who sang the Grease movie theme?
11. What is Herman Munster's wife's first name?
12. Who wrote Breakfast at Tiffany's?

The answers will be posted in the comments section.

Who's on the Squeezebox?

Squeezin 
Here's a picture from the event I hosted on Sunday. Notice the useful drink holder!

Two in a Row

We continue to reign supreme at trivia. I have a $100 certificate in my wallet to prove it. Not only did we "kick ass" like last week and beat the second place team by six points, but our overall score was 72/75. We missed just two questions. I have to admit a lot of our success was due to the fact that there were only two members present from the de-facto champions of trivia, and they decided to join our team instead of going alone. One of those guys actually won a million dollars on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" so we know these guys are pros.

Really, Where Are You?

Whoops, it's been a whole week! Let me look back on some old entries and provide an update:

You Are Here, Where Am I?
We took first place at trivia last Wednesday, which is a cool $100. And, we kicked ass, beating the second place team by 6 points with a score of 67/75. [Our highest ever score is 74 but that was a much closer game] Even better was that we did it with a team of only three, meaning a bigger share of winnings for each of us. We also had some help from a guy whose team didn't show up, but he didn't have any food/drink. I should mention that I'm still not up to speed on geography, though we had plenty of geography questions. What contintent Kilimanjaro is on was easy enough, as was what country's border with Chile is the longest. But the capital of Sicily? I didn't know that one but someone on the team did. And the capital of Malta? Woah, that's tough!

Solar Eclipse
Wouldn't you know it, I completely forgot about this by the time work was over. Not that I would've been able to really observe it anyway.

Trek 2
I went on a more grueling bike ride on Saturday, through some of the hills on the west part of town, near Austin's highest point (but not quite there). I surprisingly don't feel sore, and may eventually make that route part of my normal ride.

The "AC" that I spoke of was an April Fool's joke that got me. It was a supplement put out by the alternative weekly geared toward younger readers (21-25 I presume), and it concentrated heavily on shallow and irresponsible behavior. It was quite shocking until I figured out it was a joke. Since I didn't pick up the issue until several days after April 1, maybe I'm not quite as gullible as some of you were from my entries. (Hi Dad! Hi Mom!)

April Foolishness
We practiced with a drummer on Saturday night. It went pretty well, some songs we even got all the way through and closed up with a tight ending. That was the exception rather than the norm, but it was also expected as he didn't know any of the songs we played, and we are still way out of practice. But I think it will work out. I'm thinking I may need to buy some more powerful amp, it's been too frustrating trying to push both my keyboards and vocals through my little keyboard amp, while competing with guitar and drums.

You Are Here. Where Am I?

Many of you may know I have made a habit of playing pub quiz trivia on Wednesday nights. After many months (huh, has it been a year and a half already?), I may be getting *serious* enough to actually study for it. I know that sounds pathetic, but I'm really doing it out of motivation to actually learn something, rather than merely as an effort to get more points. There's usually a geography question that leaves us feeling a little dumb, and that's where I'll start.

I remember as a kid really loving looking at maps and atlases, but I can't say I remember why. As I grew up I realized that simply knowing the location of a country, and it's capital's name, isn't really knowledge. It *is* trivia. And while I still believe that is true, I also have realized that... well, where else are you going to start?! And now it's so easy to learn something non-trivial with just a little extra effort. This website is nice, with easily navigable pages and almanac info. I'll be spending some time there until I feel adequate in geography. That might only be until I know the capitals again, but hopefully I'll pick up something more in the process.

Weekend Report

Friday night I headed down to my usual downtown bar, only what was different is that this time it was FULL of familiar faces, all paying tribute to our friend who recently passed away. He had started the Beer College (where one drinks 100 different beers, over the course of months or years, to graduate), but hadn't completed the task. We all went down to have his 37 remaining beers and his name will be displayed on the graduate plaque next week. I also ended up seeing the Dirty Dozen Brass Band that night. I bought an album of theirs a long time ago, probably 1988 or 1989, and it was cool to seem them live (finally).

Saturday night I volunteered for a fundraiser on behalf of the bar, who, along with Live Oak, provided a few kegs to a fundraiser for Primavera Montessori School. I had no idea who we were raising funds for at the time, but it's always fun pouring free beer for people. Don't expect to learn much from their website, it's full of empty links. I hope that's only a sign that they are concentrating their efforts on educating their students...

Solar Eclipse

Did you know there is a solar eclipse today? At maximum eclipse, the sun will be only 40% obscured where I live, and that's about the best anyone in the US can expect. Apparently 40% obscured isn't enough for light to be dimmed noticeably, so you'd have to use a pinhole camera type device to experience it at all.

I can remember making (and using) such a device when I was in middle school. It was a memorable day cause whatever club I belonged to went on a field trip to visit a stockbroker and research stocks while it happened. All of the employees there were quite fascinated.

Details:


Geographic LocationAustin, TX

Eclipse Begins	Eclipse Ends	Maximum Eclipse	Sun Alt	Sun Az	Ecl. Az	Ecl. Mag.
16:17	17:10	17:59	34	257	0.265	0.157

Trek 2

Last Tuesday I went for a little bicycle ride after work, and today was no different. Only this time, like I mentioned in that entry, I had an extra hour of daylight to use. I went the same route, for the most part, though I slightly improved it by using some less frequented roads. Also, I went up to (the equivalent of) 51st St, as compared to 45th, so I guess you could say that's progress. Though I'm not sure that was actually farther than last week since I made some wrong turns then. I again stopped at the same place on the way home, which was very fortune for me this time as a thunderstorm rolled in and soaked everything in sight for an hour. I got myself inside right before the deluge started, and, surprisingly, didn't get hardly wet at all from the wet pavement and trails on the way home.

The place was emptier than usual and I found my mind wandering a bit. I even took a few notes which may turn into an entry soon. I wrote them on a free newspaper I found at the door, and they mostly had to do with that particular paper. For now, I'd just like to request that if you're in Austin, pick up Vol. 1 No. 1 of "AC" and tell me what you think.

Fair Winds and Following Seas

A friend passed away last Saturday after a several month long fight with cancer. We weren’t close; actually I hardly knew him, yet to call him an “acquaintance” seems not enough. He was a really great guy. I’m afraid the fact that he had so many closer friends caused me not to seek him out these last few months. On the one hand I feel guilty about not visiting, but on the other hand I didn’t feel important enough to take any time away from his close friends and family. I would’ve felt that it was more about me, and I didn’t want that. Even writing this entry feels selfish.

Probably the first time I talked to him was several years ago and he was going on about the sailboat he had just bought. He was very excited. It seems he had wanted one for a long time, and was finally making his dream come true. The last time I talked to him was a couple months ago at Ginny’s Little Longhorn, home of the infamous Chicken Sh*t Bingo. It was right before he was diagnosed, or possibly right after, before anyone knew. He had just gotten back from a strange, random road trip with a buddy of his, and was delivering a t-shirt to Ginny from a place in Louisiana that claimed to have the original Chicken Drop Bingo. That’s a small example of what a fun-loving and generous guy he was. I don’t think I said anything more than “hi how ya doin” to him that night, so that’s not much of a story, but the guy I was talking with last night that had known him for 17+ years appreciated the recollection nonetheless.

I’m seeing first hand how his loss is affecting others close to him. It causes me to reflect on some opinions of mine that I don't always remember, like how life is short, maybe even shorter than one would expect, and it shouldn't be wasted. And that being generous and building strong relationships with people is important. These things shouldn’t be avoided, but it's easy to do just that.

April Foolishness

Okay, enough of that. Maybe I had you fooled for a second on the first one, but the last entry is a bit too far-fetched to believe. I suppose I could've thrown in some aliens or something.

In other foolish idea news, me and this guy have decided to get the band back together and play for a campout in a couple of months. We play for cheap, as in free, as in all the free beer we can drink that night. The only problem is right now we ARE the band. No bassist, no drummer. We've gotten away without a bassist before, but they are going to expect drums. Hopefully I'll be able to find one, and soon.

Unbelievable

Well my luck today changed for the better, or I guess you could say for the worse since I'll be shipping out soon (see last entry). I headed out to lunch today and noticed that they'd closed some of the main streets in the small town I work near for some reason. So, I started to take a detour around the area, when a car ran a stop sign and dented my passenger side door. As we got out to exchange insurance info, etc. I noticed the driver of the other car looked awfully familiar. My suspicions were correct! It turns out she is a very well known and popular actress from the Austin area. Or at least she visits Austin often, I'm not sure. I learned from her that the streets were closed off because they'd begun filming a movie in town. All of this is very exciting, but the best part is that she was very friendly, apologetic, and insisted on making it up to me somehow. I suggested maybe we go out for drinks, so, she gave me her phone number and hopefully I'll be seeing her sometime this weekend. How cool would that be? Stay tuned.

You'll Never Believe This

You may be aware that the Army has been having trouble meeting their recruitment goals. What I didn't realize is that the other branches are having trouble too, as I found out personally in a phone call this morning. As an officer I am always subject to be called back into service, and that's just what happened. I have two weeks to report to Naval Station Ingleside for physicals and subsequent assignment to a ship. They aren't completely sure where they're sending me, but there's a good chance it will be to USS Kingfisher, a minesweeper with a crew of approximately 50. We'll be deployed for half a year at least, and I'm probably going to have a miserable time, since I get somewhat seasick. A submarine would've been better for me, since once it dives below the surface the wave action goes away. Ugh, I never thought I'd be wishing I was on a submarine again...