Thoughts while wondering just how long the trip from Gainesville to Boca will be this spring…

• Give LSU their props, and USC…give the BCS none at all.
• You know, one of the nice things about having a girlfriend is that it’s cool to have a stuffed animal in your room…as long as it was a present from her.
• My truck really needs its air conditioning fixed. It’s already 80 degrees here again! In January! On the 5th! Can you sense the bitterness already?
• From the “Great, all I need is another distraction” Department”: I am now the owner of a new Gamecube, and NCAA 2004. Oh, dear…it’s a good thing I’m not enrolled in any actual classes…
• Then again: it doesn’t bode too well for my qualifying test studying either, now does it?
• One of life’s little pleasures for me this past semester has been watching the previews of Monday Night Football on ESPN for the “Jacked Up” segment and seeing how into it the guys get. It’s quite funny hearing their reactions to the big hits of the week.
• I’m feeling a little pressure trying to come up with these on the fly…Kelly’s looking over my shoulder as I type.
• Okay, so that’s not completely true: she’s looking from the side, not over my shoulder.
• You haven’t gone to an 80’s party until you’ve gone as Pac-Man, baby! Pics to come, for sure.
• My favorite “Real Man of Genius” is Mr. Pro Wrestling Wardrobe Designer. What’s yours?
• Only for the Truly Geeky Dept. I now own the MST3K version of “Manos, the Hands of Fate.” And, yes, I will get my apartment-mates to watch it one day. Everyone needs to see the worst movie of all time to truly appreciate good cinema.
• And speaking of which, I don’t care whose feathers I ruffle by saying this, but the Lord of the Rings trilogy is the best trilogy of all time. I’m saying this without having watched Return of the Jedi, or 95% of the Godfather movies. And I’m saying that I don’t need to to make that assessment.
• Is it really that wrong to miss your broadband connection when you’re away on the holiday break? I mean, who wouldn’t want to get espn.com in a second as opposed to 30? I’m from an instant-gratification generation, baby…pander to me!

From the pressing on… cast and crew (a.k.a., me), Merry Christmas to all, and may your season be truly blessed.

Thoughts while contemplating if watching Wimbledon constitutes true boredom:

• You know, for a 25-year-old male, I don’t have nearly enough tools.
• Sometimes I have to wonder about my TV’s movie rating system. If “City of Angels” gets three stars, Shawshank certainly deserves four.
• I guess that if there’s ever a time for the car to have its battery go out, it’s during summer break when I don’t have anything else to do.
• Corollary: In terms of pounds per square inch, nothing beats a car battery for heaviness.
• Saw Monsters, Inc. for the first time today, and thus far, I’ve got to say it’s my least favorite of the Pixar offerings.
• That’s not saying it’s not better than 90% of the other movies out there.
• And speaking of which: does Steve Buscemi ever get tired of playing the creepy bad guy?
• I think it’s the final step in completely missing one’s girlfriend when you make a web page calculating the exact amount of time left until she’s back.
• If you haven’t gone to buick.com and seen the “Tiger Trap” video, and you like golf in any way, go. Watch. I’ll wait.
• There aren’t many things in life that cause more frustration than working on your research project for hours and getting nowhere with it.
• And finally: while I may never be a match for Mr. Goodwrench, I had a little Tim Taylor moment when I got my car started after putting in the new battery. Yes, I know it’s not that difficult, but remember, we’re talking about someone who scored in the 29th percentile of men taking the auto/shop portion of the ASVAB in high school. Anything more involved than putting gas in the car is a victory.

A few items to address, since I haven’t done anything in some time on the site:

• A helpful hint for spammers: when giving your credentials, you don’t have to say, “Dr. John Brown, PhD”. That’s redundant. And it gives me a really easy way to filter-delete you.
• After two weeks: June 25 looks a long ways away.
• In related news, the apocalypse was reported to be near: I finished my architecture project today, a day and a half ahead of schedule.
• They don’t always bring me down, but: rainy days make me just want to stay in my apartment all day.
• And speaking of: The waterwall that I bought would rank among the best purchases I’ve made, if I had actually bought it instead of got it with a gift card.
• And finally: today’s my father’s birthday. Happy birthday, Dad!

A few random snippets from the past few weeks:

• After a week’s absence, it’s nice for pressing on… to be back online.
• One of the more enjoyable tasks for me in all of the world has to be “break in new computer”.
• Sorry, Kay jewelers: “Every kiss” begins with E, not K.
• I’m not sure that anyone has ever gone from hero to heel in such a short time as one Dennis Franchione.
• Being up for 30 hours straight is indeed about as fun as it sounds.
• There may be nothing more depressing than getting your Christmas tree up just like you like it, plugging it in…and finding that a strand of lights has gone out. Geah.
• Have I ever had a gift that I liked more or will use more than the one that I’m using right now? I’m starting to wonder how I ever got by without it.
• I have to say it: launching the palace in Tetris gives me a warm fuzzy.
• Bama-Arizona Final Four, anyone? I’m diggin’ it.
• I didn’t realize how much HP stuff that I had until I got the computer. Printer, scanner, digital camera…at least there shouldn’t be any incompatibility issues.
• Mr. Guy will never see this, but he’d be glad to know that I don’t get exhausted riding my bike around town.
• I hope my old computer enjoys its soon-to-be new life as a Linux box…I think I may throw the server version of it on this time.
• Three things I know.
  1. I’m 25 years old.
  2. I still watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer every Christmas season.
  3. I don’t have a problem.
• I kind of enjoy “Around the Horn”, but doesn’t anyone else think it’s a blatant knock-off of PTI?
• One final to go, baby! Well, maybe. I might take an optional final on Friday. I have a (hard-earned) B+ in the class, but if I make a 20 out of 30 on the final (harder than it sounds), I can make an A. That would make my semester, regardless of what I do otherwise.

Some scribbles before I go to bed tonight:

• My highest grade of my four midterms: 81.5. Number of A’s: 3. Says a little something about grad school, doesn’t it?
• When it comes right down to it, there’s no poetry like teenage angst poetry.
• I’ve seen more of my computer than I care to think about this semester.
• I’m fighting a losing battle with my apartment on the cleaning front.
• About the haircut I got today: let’s just say there’s a reason why they call it “barber college”.
• If I hit the “Caps Lock” key one more time on a Sun workstation keyboard thinking that it’s “Control”, I just might scream.
• It may just be me, but I think that it’s a paradox when a prosecutor says that they wanted to prove that actors aren’t above the law as far as a crime is concerned and then says that they won’t seek jail time for said crime.
• If you’d have given me 11-2 at the beginning of the year, I’d have taken it in a heartbeat if you could promise me the two weren’t Auburn and Tennessee. Now I kinda wonder what might have been…
• The Count of Monte Cristo is a pretty good film. My friend Jeremy is now 2-for-2 on Guys’ Night movie picks.
• The weather should stay all year long like it’s been for the past three days.
• I realize that Veterans’ Day is about so much more than getting a day off, but right now I need the extra sleep and the time for my projects.
• I’m tired…so tired.

You may or may not recall that over two years ago I had what I thought was a brilliant idea for a car commercial.

I hadn’t thought anything more about it until about 10 minutes ago, when I saw a Cadillac commercial that used my idea! Okay, so it was two big-rigs, but other than that…

All right, now, GM…where are the royalties?

Thoughts from this week…

• I just came back from a costume party. I went as a cowboy. Someone told me that I actually pull off the look (cowboy hat and all) well, although it may just be because I’m in the minority down here in Florida.
• The singer of “Brown Eyed Girl” was right…Tuesdays are so slow.
• So, do you suppose that female ‘Bama cheerleaders all inhale a tank of helium before they do their thing on Saturdays?
• Chunky Chips Ahoy now officially takes its place on the list of “foods that cause Brandon to experience Biblical gluttony”, alongside Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cheez-Its.
• Can you imagine me as a tenor? Because that’s what I’m singing in the church choir that I joined this past week.
• Sign #178 that I’m getting old: the speaker at lunch on Tuesday asked us who was in college five years ago and I was the only one to raise my hand.
• It hurts to be a Tide fan so far from home with no TV coverage and no radio affiliate. Yeah, yeah, I realize that I can listen to the game via Internet broadcast. Let me complain, will ya?
• Diet Cherry Coke is now my favorite diet drink.
• That ESPN story about Vanderbilt’s football team not being allowed to curse was at once one of the most heartening (I’m all for Bobby Johnson’s idea) and funniest stories I’ve ever seen ESPN produce.
• Everybody needs a friend like Dr. Mike Burton. If you don’t get this, you need to watch Ed.