Spider-LJ, Spider-LJ

HOLY SHIT A BLOG ENTRY

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:12:38 GMT

No, not really.

2 small kids = not enough time for long form blogging, so you get this instead:

http://twitter.com/brewtownandy

----------------
Listening to: Cheese, Richard - Personal Jesus

STFU

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:33:17 GMT

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3244658

MESA, Ariz. -- Ryan Dempster plans to move from closer to starter for the Chicago Cubs this season. On the first day of spring training, he took on another role: prognosticator.
"I think we are going to win the World Series. I really do," Dempster said.
That's a bold prediction before the start of a season that marks the 100th anniversary of the Cubs' last World Series winner.
"Funny when people make predictions or they say things and people are like, 'How could you say that?'" Dempster said Wednesday, as pitchers and catchers reported to camp.
How?
"Like you believe it, you really do," Dempster added. "Enough of all the ... you know the curse this, the curse that, the goat this, the black cat, the 100 years, whatever it is. We're a better team than we were last year, I truly believe. And last year we made it to the playoffs."

UFC 79: Hughes vs. St. Pierre Catch-all

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 07:20:37 GMT

Ok, I'm going to use this as a catch all to organize my thoughts and what have you for planning the viewing party for the UFC show at the end of the month.

Attending:
Me
Marissa
Dad
Andy & Jess
Davin
Moira & Dick
Christy & Adam
Eddie & his neck AIDS
Rick & Karen
Ken

Maybes:

Megan Fitz
Leinie (85% sure)
Matt (target of berating)
Jodie

Food:
White chocolate Bread pudding (or else a beating)
3 (4?) Pizza loaves
Ranchero dip
Chips
Skylabs
beer
Coke
H&D baked goods
Variety of christmas candy

Provisions:
Folding chairs
TV trays

Things to do:
finish putting away things in basement
re-read Friday Foodie entries on Ladies... for more drink ideas
re-read bar assembly entry on Bendis Board for more drink ideas

The Best Work Week Of The Year.

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 07:21:48 GMT

The A shift (night shift) USO spot is probably the easiest job that Marquette has to offer. 1 round of buildings, virtually no one is around at night, USOs are paid for their knowledge more than for what they actually do, etc. But Thanksgiving week is easily the best week of the year.

Yeah, winter break's not too bad, but the university stays open for 90% of it, so there's always stairwells to open, and there's usually conferences of some sort. Summer break isn't even really a break because of summer school. Here's the quick summary of why Thanksgiving week is so awesome:

Tuesday night: Have to only check half the buildings since the 3pm-1am C shift USO gets the east side. Only have normal morning buildings to open and no classrooms since there's nothing scheduled.

Wednesday night: A possible 20 hours of pay for 8 hours of "work" (8 hours of holiday pay + 8 hours regular pay at time & a half (the equivalent of 12 regular hours, natch) because the holiday automatically makes it overtime), although I've taken to banking the holiday pay and using it as a free day off later on. No openings at all, other than the church.

Thursday night: See Wednesday night.

Friday night: See Wednesday night, minus the extra pay. Nothing to open because who the hell schedules conferences or meetings or ANYTHING on Thanksgiving weekend, other than Jesus?

Saturday night: See Friday night and add the return of the 3-1 C shifter.

All in all, a fantastic week. I'm going to get a lot of reading done, oh yes.

I'M A DAD~!

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 18:29:29 GMT

(Not to be confused with this entry)

Ryan Andrew Fleck
Born October 12, 2007 @ 8:56am
9 pounds, 5 ounces
22 inches

ALSO adorable.

There is a god, and he loves us all so much

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 02:35:35 GMT

But it's apparently not Warren Jeffs' god:

ST. GEORGE, Utah (Reuters) - Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, whose word was considered God's will to his fundamentalist church of breakaway Mormons, was convicted on Tuesday of being an accomplice to rape by forcing a 14-year-old girl to marry her first cousin.
Jeffs, the self-described "prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or FLDS, spent 15 months on the run and was on the FBI's Most Wanted list before his arrest in August 2006.
The tall, gaunt Jeffs showed no expression as the verdict was read. The rape victim, who is now 21 and remarried, sat in the front row of the crowded courtroom packed with media and Jeff's supporters.
Sentencing was set for November 20. Jeffs, 51, faces five years to life in prison for each of the two felony charges.
...
Prosecutors claimed during the two-week trial that the powerful religious leader had encouraged forced sex in arranging the wedding despite the girl's objections, and instructing the couple to "go forth and multiply."

The woman, who the court requested not be identified, said that when she later begged to be released from her union, Jeffs told her she should repent and instructed her to give herself "mind, body and soul" to her 19-year-old husband.

Within the community, Jeffs' accuser testified, women are taught to be submissive and "keep sweet," while dissent can lead to exile and religious damnation. Jeffs often punished men in the community by reassigning their wives and children to other men, she said.

A hearty thank you to Washington County prosecutor Brock Belnap and to the victim for their efforts in putting this scumbag behind bars.

HA HA

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 05:46:01 GMT

From an email I got today:

The Milwaukee Brewers are making 1,000 tickets available - free of charge - to Marquette students, faculty and staff for both the Tuesday, Sept. 25, and Wednesday, Sept. 26, games at Miller Park against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Translation: We're in the midst of a pennant race and still can't sell out. Please come be drunk rowdy college students at Miller Park.

SO fucking sad.

ACTUAL CONVERSATION

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 20:40:18 GMT

The RRoD rate is officially ridiculous.

My 360 is dead, and I got my coffin today, so I boxed up my 360 and took it over to my local UPS hub, which is about a mile away. I walk into the customer service center, and I'm in there for about 3 seconds before one of the employees looks at me and says, AND I AM NOT FUCKING KIDDING:

"Did you bring any games to play on that Xbox?"

He (and the other employees, too) KNEW as soon as he saw the box that it was a Xbox.

I said that them knowing right away was kind of troubling, and he said that what was actually troubling was the people who stopped by after hours and tried to jam the box into the drop box outside.

Shipping This Week

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:22:20 GMT

Jul070230 Justice Society Of America #9 $2.99
Jul070285 Welcome To Tranquility #10 $2.99
Jun072143 Daredevil #100 $3.99
Jul072179 New Avengers #34 $2.99
Jun072126 Ultimate Power #7 (of 9) $2.99
Jul072136 Ultimate Spider-man #113 $2.99
Apr073880 Maintenance #5 (mr) $3.50

It's not like it's surprising

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:33:24 GMT

http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2007/09/04/jerel-mcneal-dnp-cd.aspx

Here's what Crean had to say about the matter:
"Jerel's lack of effort in rebounding and his response to the response from the bench regarding that lack of effort kept him out of the game Sunday night," said Crean. "One of the hardest parts of coaching is developing leadership and helping guys become complete players. We want our players to get the most of their ability and some times the best way to help them gain a better understanding of that is with some time on the bench."

Well, that's just great. You gotta love when the defending Big East Defensive Player of the Year isn't managing to put out what the staff feels is sufficient effort in a exhibition against a Canadian juco. Combine that with the fact that it's never a good sign when I hear his name on the radio at work, and this is shaping up to be a spectacular season already.

The schedule is out, BTW, and by 'out,' I mean 'released before they locked in times for 3/4 of the conference games.'

Tell Us Something About Yourself.

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:39:59 GMT

Remember the dope from parts 4 & 5 from my rant a little while back? He managed to sum himself up in 15 seconds tonight.

We had a afternoon & night shift combo meeting. All the street patrol, building patrol (my job) and dispatchers required to attend. None of the residence hall officers needed. However, Dumbo has a need/desire/addiction to getting to work about an hour early. I should point out that when I used to live on campus and had to be punched in by 11pm, I wouldn't even be awake at the times he's arriving. We have the door to roll call open because, well, EVERYONE who's at work is in the room, so why not?

Dumbo wanders in, completely oblivious to the fact that he's now the target of a game of "One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others," and this exchange happens:

My (and his) Lieutenant: Close the door.
Dumbo [shocked, befuddled and totally clueless]: Oh, am I not supposed to be in here?
LT: No. *waits*
Dumbo closes door with him outside, which, let's face it, is a miracle.
LT [looks as if he's mentally banging his head on the roll call desk]: Sorry.

15 seconds and his entire existence has been summarized. It'd be pathetic if I didn't hate him.

Shipping This Week

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 21:11:24 GMT

JUL070027   BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #6   $2.99
JUL070309   Y THE LAST MAN #58 (MR)   $2.99
JUL072162   INCREDIBLE HULK #110 WWH   $2.99
JUL073416   BOYS #10 (RES) (MR)   $2.99
JUN073283   DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #2 (MR)   $3.99

The bar has been set.

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:17:36 GMT

One of the things I hate/love/hate about the start of a new school year is the restarting of publication of the Tribune. Without fail, at least once a month, they will publish something so stupid, it's almost obscene. Well, 2 issues in and I think they've hit the low point for the year already. From Viewpoints:

Marquette University should move out of downtown
By Sarma Danturthi, Biomedical Engineering
Marquette University should move away from downtown. First and foremost, a downtown area is not a great place for an educational institution. There is too much noise from traffic, not safe for students despite a great police force. Second, the real estate problem keeps Marquette from expanding greatly. Third, the real estate is too expensive to buy and too many funds are used to buy real estate whereas these funds can be better utilized for other great opportunities such as research or equipment, etc.

Other problems involve parking. Those who cannot afford monthly parking fees are forced to put their cars on the streets which are not safe at night, particularly at downtown. Marquette's placement is dwarfing the other businesses.

If Marquette moves, many businesses will use the downtown space. For example if Marquette were to move to, say South Milwaukee, the airport will be closer to business, it would reduce traffic downtown, increase value of downtown for other businesses, and help rebuild ravaged areas like South Milwaukee and beyond. Even the bus service will consider running regular buses to Marquette from all other areas of Milwaukee.

Yes I am aware of the costs of moving away and it could be several million dollars of worth. But selling its downtown properties can fetch those funds to Marquette.

The question is whether we want to remain at downtown and keep engulfing small businesses to grab more space (and kill aspiring businesses) and cramp ourselves or move away and create a great atmosphere away from the buzz and din of the downtown traffic and give the space to other businesses to prosper.

Ok, where to start....

How about the easy one? Learn the language before going on insane tangents, K?

Next: MILLIONS? We're going to build an $80 million Law School next year and it's only going to cost MILLIONS to build a brand new state of the art university?

Here's a picture of campus:

I count 38 (including the Valley Fields, which is not pictured) buildings/building hybrids that would happen in this crazy idea that are essential to the university. At a lowball estimate of $25 million a building (remember, state of the art Law School = $80M; how much for a state of the art Chemistry building?), that's a price tag of NINE HUNDRED FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS. I think it's safe to say that we'd find that last $50M somewhere, so A BILLION. Just to build it, AND NO, no one will want to buy our existing buildings, dipshit.

Too expensive to buy the properties downtown? THEN HOW ARE WE BUYING THE ENTIRETY OF THE 1600 BLOCK OF WISCONSIN, and STILL managing to 1) operate, and 2) plan to build TWO brand new buildings in the next 3 years? OH THAT'S RIGHT, HUGE FUCKING DONATIONS, which is the same way anything manages to get upgraded on this campus.

Moving the university will do NOTHING for traffic downtown. Please notice the gigantic fucking office buildings. Buildings will not thrive, because, OH I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE NOTICED, but we have enough of a problem with armed robberies near campus, and that's WITH DPS here. It's actually in downtown's interest to have the university here because of the extra security we provide.

This is without going into how much a move would piss off the state, since the interchange reconstruction was done with the university in mind.

Why Cubs fans are better than you

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 13:00:14 GMT

From Gene Wojciechowski's column today:

This series matters a little bit more because the Brewers and Cubs don't face each other after Thursday night's game. It matters enough that Cubs fans booed longtime Brewers announcer Bob Uecker as he led the crowd in singing the seventh-inning stretch. Then they did something I've never seen from a Wrigley crowd: They sang it again, as if Uecker's version was infected.

That's friggin' fantastic. Uecker sang, Wrigley booed it, and then when he was done, THEY SANG THEIR OWN RENDITION, just because he's a Brewers employee.

GO CUBS GO.

Shipping This Week

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 13:43:01 GMT

JUL070001    PREVIEWS VOL XVII #9     PI
JUN070242    EX MACHINA MASQUERADE SPECIAL (MR)    $3.50
JUL071921    MICE TEMPLAR #1    $3.99
MAR071857    TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD IMAGE ED #8    $3.50
SEP063510    LOCAL #10 (OF 12) (MR)    $2.99

Huh. No Marvel books.

Line Of The Night

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 10:42:04 GMT

For tonight, it goes to Milwaukee's Finest, while out on a illegal substance call on Tory Hill:

MPD: And your eye color?
Female student: Green... sometimes...
MPD: Except when you're high, and they turn red?
FS: ... I wouldn't know anything about that.

EDIT: Anti-line of the night goes to Kevin, who called in sick and forced me to work overtime.

I've Had A Night

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 11:14:54 GMT

1) Found a Engineering smart room ajar with NO (ZERO)(0)(NADA)(ZIP) data projector inside
2) Somehow caused the gate arm to Lot N to continually go up and down
3) Had a doorknob in Army ROTC come off in my hand
4) Had a co-worker ask if paychecks were going to be moved out of the shift command office. (YES WHAT A GREAT PLAN ESPECIALLY AFTER WE PULLED THE REPORT BOARDS FOR SECURITY REASONS)
5) Actual Conversation on Frequency 4:

318: On 4
319: Hey, I was just looking at the Summer DR binder and I don't know if any DRs are going to show up in the morning, because all the buildings are X'd out for the day, and I've had problems with DRs running late the last few days.
*dull thunk as I bang my head on the gate arm control box in Lot N*
Me: 368 REGARDING
319: Go ahead.
Me: Its move in. Buildings will start running their own staffs, so no more summer DRs.
319: So, uh, do we still open the buildings in the morning?
Me: ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH (although this comes across the radio as: The FMs are going to be up early and on duty, so they can take care of it.)

And if you guessed that the co-worker in #4 and 319 are the same person, YOU WIN. And yes, these are very good examples of why he failed out of (OH EXCUSE ME, may as well say what he's telling everyone else: VOLUNTARILY STEPPED DOWN FROM) the job I currently have. Although I suppose that's a better excuse than using your mother's failing mental health as the reason why he struggled, and yes, I will destroy him if I ever hear him say that in person.

Appetite For Destruction

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:11:36 GMT

We're (and by we, I mean the university) gonna tear down a whole BUNCH of shit. From Monday's News Briefs:

4. Marquette purchases apartment building
Marquette University has purchased the Trebor Apartments, 620 N. 17th St. The transaction was completed on Aug. 16.
Marquette’s location, the changing dynamics of university life and the desire to enhance the campus environment make it prudent for the university to monitor property opportunities in our campus area. When the Trebor building came on the market, the university evaluated it as a strategic location relative to the potential site for a proposed new College of Engineering.
In addition to the Trebor, Marquette is under contract to purchase a number of other properties within the campus area. These include:
Kalt Apartments at 1621 and 1623 W. Wisconsin Ave. and 628 N. 17th St.
Marquette Apartments at 1622-1634 W. Wisconsin Ave.
University Center at 1610-1616 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Commercial Buildings at 1202 and 1222 W. Wells St.
Closing on these properties is expected to occur before the end of the year. A generous gift from an anonymous donor helped make the purchase of these properties possible at this time. A portion of the bond issue approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2007 will also be used to finance the property acquisitions.
The site of the Kalt Apartments is critical for the proposed engineering project. The location of the Marquette Apartments is also strategic, and the building will be used to provide housing for students while residence halls undergo renovations and upgrades. The commercial buildings at 12th and Wells are close to the Al McGuire Center, Parking Structure 2 and student residences; no specific use for this site has been identified at this time.
Apartment residents are being notified of the property transactions. The Office of Residence Life will operate the Kalt and Trebor Apartments, most of which are occupied by Marquette students. The university is working closely with residents of the Marquette Apartments to find suitable alternative housing. Doug Smith, associate general counsel for the university, said the university will honor the existing terms of all residential and commercial leases for the properties.

Why I hate Cardinal fans

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 07:36:07 GMT

http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showthread.php?t=122768

I post as Brewtown Andy, in case you didn't figure it out.

The South Campus Menagerie

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 16:30:29 GMT

Previously added to the list of animals I have seen at work:

Cat
Fox
Opossum
Raccoon
Rat
Squirrel
Rabbit

And now -- drumroll -- Skunk.

Shipping This Week

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 22:52:41 GMT

MAY070233    100 BULLETS VOL 11 ONCE UPON A CRIME TP (MR)    $12.99
APR070162    BATMAN #667    $2.99
MAY072169    CRIMINAL #8 (MR)    $2.99
MAY072111    DAREDEVIL #99    $2.99
JUN072158    INCREDIBLE HULK #109 WWH    $2.99
JUN072174    NEW AVENGERS #33    $2.99
DEC062362    POWERS #25 (MR)    $3.95
JUN073396    BOYS #9 (RES) (MR)    $2.99

Also

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 20:09:12 GMT

I picked up Guitar Hero Rocks The 80s, and of course, score tracking is available on ScoreHero.com, so here's the link to my scores. Right now, I've got some entries being considered as proofs for 5 star cutoffs for scoring, so I got that going for me, which is nice

The Basement 4: The Picturing

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:46:55 GMT

So here's the pictures as promised. This first one is the view from sitting on the stairs to the basement. On the left you can see the footing for a full bathroom, although we're going to be tearing up the floor and moving that over towards the PVC and support pole that you can see.

The next one is taken standing up against the wall you just saw, facing back towards the stairs. In the shadow over on the left on the far wall, you can see the circuit breaker.

And I mention the circuit breaker because I was standing right in front of it for this final picture. We're looking at August 13th for a start date on work, so I'll update at least once a week from that point on. I'll try to always take pictures from these three viewpoints, but wall construction may eventually hold that up. :D

I don't even have to invent reasons any more.

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 19:50:04 GMT

Turns out two Packer fans locked her son in his bedroom with some bread, peanut butter, jelly, and a bucket so they could go to Potawatomi Bingo & Casino to watch the Packers. Other things the house contained: an estimated $1 MILLION in Packers memorabilia. Things it did not contain: $30 for a babysitter or $4 for a bottle of Tilex.

The Basement 3: The Hassling

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 10:26:43 GMT

Marissa's already told the story in her blog, so I'll direct you there. Yes, it's titled Baby Update, but the second section is the relevant part. After you read that, come on back for some details. It's ok, I'll wait.

...

...

Ready? Ok. I have no idea what made them think calling us again was a good idea other than this: When they actually did show up, they were arrogant dicks, which I didn't really get into in the previous entry for brevity's sake, if nothing else. I actually had to tell them THREE (3) (tres) (troix) times that I didn't want to do business with them, and each time, the guy was increasingly surprised that I didn't want his "help." I do find it hilarious that now that they have no chance of getting the job they won't stop calling, when all it would have taken was a phone call between 10:00 and 10:05 to get them in the door in the first place.

In fact, when Art & Mike came over with the proposal, the phone rang at exactly 1 minute after when our meeting was scheduled for because they knew they were going to be late.

Anyway. To follow up on Marissa's anger, I'll tell you that I plan on opening the door with my cell phone already calling Franklin PD if they actually show up. I'm almost going to be slightly disappointed if they don't, because I'm looking forward to the first chance I get to shout "GET OFF MY LAWN" at someone.

Also, "before" pictures have been taken. As it's my weekend, I'll probably upload them either today or tomorrow.