Archive for October, 2006
October 18, 2006 at 8:48 am · Filed under Lifestyle
Over a month ago, my landlord said he had some leaking coming from our upstairs shower. He’d known about it for sometime and he tried to fix it once himself. A couple of wall tiles had fallen off, mold was building up, and water was ruining his ceiling. He asked us to stop showering in our apartment and use his shower downstairs.
Until now, nothing has been fixed. He got some estimates, but they were out of his price range. Then, he wanted to do some of the work himself, but he hasn’t got the time. He asked me if I wanted to make a couple of bucks, but I dont want to touch it. Not to mention, I dont know what I’m doing. So, he approached my roommate.
From the start, my roommate complained all the time, “Is the shower fixed, yet? All he has to do is this, this, and this.” So, I guess he’s now putting up or shutting up. He works on the business side of construction, and he has some experience himself. Last night, he drank some beers and started swinging hammers around and this is what it currently looks like. I’m sure it will be done soon, because it’s now on him.
October 12, 2006 at 10:08 am · Filed under Food
Usually around this time, my fraternity people organize an outing to the old Shnitzelplatz for Oktoberfest. But, this year we had some poor planning. The organizer called to make reservations the day of, and he found out that the ‘Platz’ had been closed for a private party. So, he got on the ol’ internet and googled for something else. Many of our party started to drop out at the idea of an alternative. You accept no imitations for the ‘Platz.’ Even I dropped out. The alternative he came up with was the Glunz’s Bavarian Haus.
I wasn’t planning on going, so I made myself some tomato parmesan. During mid-meal, my roommate called. The party had dwindled to four and he was swinging by the apartment before he left. After some convincing, I decided to go. I had already ate, but I supposed there was still beer to be drunk.
The Haus had a nice German atmosphere, and it was decorated with a lot of Oktoberfest apparel: hanging banners and blue and white checkers. The waitress, Lola, (sweet, sweet, Lola) sat us at a back table. We were optimistic about more people showing up, but it was just the 5 of us. I wanted to try some food, but I was still relatively full, so I surveyed the beer menu.
The first (and my favorite) beer I tried was the Weihenstephaner Dunkel Weiss, a German Unfiltered Dark Wheat Ale. It claims to be brewed in the oldest brewery. It looked like a ‘Black and Tan’, but it tasted nothing like a Guinness. It wasn’t strong or thick, but it had an appeasing smooth brown malt flavor. Two Thumbs Up.
The second beer was a Delirium Tremens, a Belgium Strong Ale. I ordered it expecting some Oktoberfest rarity, but my friends said it was common. One of their local bars had it. I think it’s one of those triple filtered yeast brews with a high alcohol content. It was smooth and sweet, but it gets One Thumb Up.
The third try was the Spaten Oktoberfest, a German Marzen. It had a nice reddish color to it, and …that was all I remember about it… It wasn’t as awesome as the Dunkel Weiss. One Thumb Up.
The Bavarian Haus hosts live music every night of Oktoberfest, but I felt bad for the performers that night. It was a jazz group: 3 guitarists, a cellist, a violinist, and a female singer. They didn’t start playing until 8:30ish, and we were the only people in the restaurant. It was a Wednesday night, though. We finished our food and drinks and stuck around to hear them play. They performed some well known songs like ‘Cheek to Cheek’, and they had some of their own songs. They were actually really good and the singer had a great voice. I should have asked for a CD. Lola picked up a second violin and jammed on a couple of songs. I’m pretty sure she wasn’t a part of the group, but she read the other violinists sheet music. Maybe she was playing a different key or second part. Nonetheless, it worked. Overall, it was a great experience, and I’d go back.
October 9, 2006 at 10:00 am · Filed under Lifestyle
Played frolf (frisbee golf) on Saturday with a group of friends. This was one of those completely spontaneous happenings where one person asked “Who wants to play frolf?” and it sounded like a brilliant idea. So, we packed up and drove to Valparaiso, IN.
If you can imagine a golf course with a lot more forest and brush, you’d have the frolf course. There was a sign next to the “tee” that showed where the “hole” was located. It was sometimes located up a hill, in a maze of trees, or out of site. Unless you were familiar with the course and a good thrower, your best play was to keep the frisbee within site. Otherwise, you’d have to crawl into some bushes and brush in order to find your disk. The “hole” is a mesh of chain that’s meant to catch the frisbee and drop it into a basket. The frisbees were also made specifically for different distances and throws, like golf clubs.
One friend was the expert at frolf. He said he’d been playing for ~10 years. He had nearly 15 different discs and extras for 3 of us. He knew the course well, so he’d wing his disc the farthest and out of site, and he’d listen for where it landed. Meanwhile, the rest of us would throw a disc 100 ft or end up looking for it in some bushes. Each hole took me about 5 or more throws. But luckily, we weren’t keeping score. One guy lost a disc. On the first throw, it sailed into the one and only lake.
October 6, 2006 at 3:38 pm · Filed under Games, News Events
The geek/kid in me thought this was a neat idea.
Though, the $7.99 price is a bit much for something you can pick up at the dollar store.
~via the Lego Shop
October 4, 2006 at 3:03 pm · Filed under Books
Well, last week was Banned Books week and it wouldn’t have been appropriate if we didn’t have at least one person making a scene.
Alton Verm filed a “Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Materials” Thursday with the district regarding “Fahrenheit 451,” written by Ray Bradbury and published in 1953. He wants the district to remove the book from the curriculum.
“It’s just all kinds of filth,” said Alton Verm, adding that he had not read “Fahrenheit 451.” “The words don’t need to be brought out in class. I want to get the book taken out of the class.”
He looked through the book and found the following things wrong with the book: discussion of being drunk, smoking cigarettes, violence, “dirty talk,” references to the Bible and using God’s name in vain. He said the book’s material goes against their religions beliefs. The Verms go to Grand Parkway Church in Porter.
Source
Someone posted a comment that I should hope makes them reconsider.
If the parents of this 15 year old girl find the Ray Bradbury book a bad influence, they might want to reconsider letting her read the Bible.
Think about it.
Fahrenheit 451 is a book that uses bad things to teach good lessons. These bad things are what the family is protesting. Here’s a list of what they stated were bad about the book:
- Filthy words
- Discussion of being drunk
- Smoking
- Violence
- Dirty talk
- References to the Bible
- Using God’s name in vain
Now, the Bible is another book that recounts terrible things to teach good lessons. Here’s a list of a few of the things the Bible includes:
- Filthy words
- Discussion of being drunk
- Smoking
- Violence
- Dirty talk (among other explicit sexual themes)
- References to the Bible (the Bible has many cyclic references)
- Using God’s name in vain
- Incest
- Rape
- Sex without marriage
- Sodomy
- Murder
- War
- Satanism
- Magic
- Idol Worship
- Gay behaviour
- Adultery
- Anti-Governmental behaviour
- Genocide
- The list goes on.
I must say, the Bible contains MUCH more dangerous material than Ray Bradbury’s book Fahrenheit 451. I would recommend that the family ban the Bible as well, if they really wish to prevent their family from being exposed to bad things.
Just a thought.
Christopher Steffen, Euless, TX
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