Whoop, there it is.

Every once a decade or so. People in Omaha start saying something that completely confuses me. Then they say it over and over again only adding to my confusion. Part of it is the fact that I'm old, but most of it is the fact that they're young.

So, in about 1994 or so I was working my way through college at the Wendy's at 72nd and south of Dodge. I held the coveted title of "Assistant Manager". Most of the employees were high school students. There were many times when one student would say "Whoop" only to get the extremely gratifying response "There it is". And then most likely the even more gratifying response from me along the lines of "There what is? What the hell are you talking about?" Eventually I found out they were actually talking about nothing. They were just making sounds come out of their mouths that approximated talking. It's what parrots do. Entertaining? You bet. I would often give the students treats to say it some more.

Sometimes they would also inform me that I was quite unable to "touch this."
Which works for me because I'm kind of a germ-o-phobe anyway.

ff>

13 or 14 years later. I'm still working my way through college, but I no longer work among teenagers. I do, however go to school with teenagers. I wish I knew then what I know now. Because the coolest hippest thing going on in Omaha was popularized by an alcoholic in a Tina Fey Movie several years ago. All the parrots are saying it. And from my understanding of it's usage, it would have been a great response to "Whoop, there it is". It's the charming, oft used term "I know, right?"

But be advised, don't try to impress high schoolers with this one. I asked my daughter (a very cool junior in High school) and she says it's rarely used there.

At the U.N.O. library, however. Throw it out there with reckless abandon. You can do anything with it. Just sit there studying and occasionally shout "I know, right?" and passersby will say:
passerby 1: what's with that guy?
passerby 2: I know, right?

I used to marvel at the versatility of the "F" word. I still do, actually. However, this "I know, right?" thing threatens to (at least temporarily) give "F" a run for it's f'in money.

I admit that I'm exaggerating a little bit. You should only say "I know, right?"
if it makes sense to do so. But guess what? It always makes sense!

To use a classic that refuses to die: "It's awesome!"

--

This post brought to you by spring break.

You learn something every day

Like this morning I learned that my Boss' boss doesn't read my blog.

Now to decide on what mail from this week to read first

Hmm...

I'm leaving The U.P.

I'm going to go write programs somewhere else now. Oh yeah, and Mike? Erik Estrada says to remember what he told you.

I have an announcement to make

Later.

Emergency Post

I saw this photo and realized it needed to be posted right away. It is from October 30, 2004 (my 40th Birthday). We were briefly at The Homy Inn.

I saw Brady while biking today

See how I made it sound like I was riding? I was driving. Brady was most likely heading to his Shabbos ride with presumably Mitmon, Algomaha et al. I was driving home. I thought I was driving home to get on my gear and go do the anti-shabbos (ride alone somewhere). Why join a group ride to ride alone. I'm in Golf shape, not bike shape. Actually, I've never really golfed, but I'm sure I'm pretty good.


I wasn't going home to ride though. I was going home to change the wax ring thing under the toilet. It's kind of ironic that what's under the toilet is enough to make you puke, but you can't because the toilet is all taken apart and everything. Yuck.

I didn't know I was changing the wax ring thing. I thought I was just taking the toilet off and replacing a broken bolt. That's how it was advertised by Jill. Thing is ...you can't really replace the bolt without moving the wax ring thing. And you can't really move the wax ring thing without it just tearing all up and sticking to everything. Well, maybe you can. That was not my experience.

So I'm at Lowe's - trying to decide which wax ring thing will best fit the needs of me and my family. I'm getting pretty excited about this whole project because Gene Hackman's voice is in my head gently helping me find everything I need to "Get it done right". I find the Wax ring things in the 'plumbing' aisle. They range in price from around $1.16 to about $7.32. You'd think with the important function (keeping shitty water off the floor) that the wax ring thing performs, I'd settle for nothing less than the best. But I asked myself "What would Munson do?"


It might seem like a weird question, but anytime I have to "do-it-myself", I think of Munson. So I did what Munson would do. I didn't buy any wax ring thing. I just went home and wrapped a crapload of duct tape around the hole.

Then I went for a bike ride.

I too dabbled in pacifism once ...

Not in Nam, of course.

si.com

Sabbath conflict may end playoff run

Jewish boys hoops team won't play on Saturday

Posted: Wednesday February 27, 2008 6:48PM; Updated: Wednesday February 27, 2008 6:48PM

DENVER (AP) -- State senators have taken up the cause of a Jewish boys basketball team whose playoff run may be halted because its players can't play on the Jewish Sabbath.
The Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy team could be headed for a regional championship on Saturday, March 8, if it wins one more game. But the Denver team's religious beliefs prohibit students from playing on the Jewish Sabbath between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday.

If Herzl/RMHA makes it to the regional championship and refuses to play a Saturday game, another school would be "chosen" to take its place, CHSAA commissioner Bill Reader said.
Earlier this month, the Colorado High School Activities Association, which governs sports and other high school activities, rejected the team's request for a schedule change.

At the end of morning debate in the state Senate on Wednesday, Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, called on the CHSAA to be more flexible.
Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, said the CHSAA's decision was ironic because it has a rule barring games from being played on Sunday for religious reasons.
Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Sedalia, said there must be a way for the CHSAA to accommodate the team.

"It just seems like the bureaucracy has run amok here," Wiens said.
Bruce H. DeBoskey, mountain states regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said the group was disappointed by CHSAA's decision.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Oops.

I'm in

Not that anyone reads this anymore. Not that there's anything to read here. However, I'm in. I have officially been accepted into the Master's program for Computer Science at Universitas Nebraskansas Omahanasas. I'm pretty sure I still have to pay for it and everything, but I'm kind of excited about it anyway. That, and I have only 3 more payments on my car. Woohoo!

Renewed faith in humanity

It seems the older I get, The more stupidity I see. I think it's just me getting older, I don't really think that people are getting stupider as quickly as it appears. I did expect reality TV to tank at some point. We all know that it's here to stay now. Oh shit, I forgot to record "Idol" this week. <-- See, I don't even call it "American Idol" 'cause it's like my buddy now.

Anyway, I saw this story and I realized that all is not lost. There may indeed be hope for humanity. I do not think Jordan is exaggerating either. If anything, he understates the significance.

---------------

Fans Line Up In Atlanta For New Air Jordans
POSTED: 8:30 am EST January 25, 2008
UPDATED: 10:18 am EST January 25, 2008


ATLANTA -- People began lining up Wednesday outside Walter's clothing store in downtown Atlanta for Nike's new Air Jordans that go on sale Friday.

"It's cold out here, really cold," Reggie Roberts told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as he waited to plunk down $230 for the shoes. "But I want these shoes. I gotta have these shoes."
fred notes: 230 is 10 * 23!

This is the 23rd edition of shoes names for Michael Jordan, who wore the Number 23 jersey. Only 23 pairs will be sold at 23 stores nationwide, with Atlanta and Miami being the only cities in the Southeast.

"The AIR JORDAN XX3 is deeply meaningful to me, as a celebration of both my life and career. The number 23 is obviously of great significance to me and the release of the XX3 is a pinnacle moment in the Brand’s history,” said Michael Jordan in a release from Nike. “I’m honored and humbled by the AIR JORDAN franchise’s loyal following after all these years. The release of this shoe is exciting and a dream come true for me.”

The first Air Jordan was released in 1985.
fred notes: 1 + 9 + 8 + 5 = 23!

The owner of Walter's, Jeff Steinbook, says his is the only Georgia store selling the shoes.

The group lined up outside his store was a mix of 20-something Michael Jordan fans and middle-aged professionals.

A financial analyst from Stone Mountain, 45-year-old Vince Shields, took off two days from work. He says he plans to add the new Air Jordans to his collection of 75 pairs of sneakers.

One man drove from Tallahassee to wait snag a pair.

Thanks Bryan.

I forgot all about this blog. Well, uh, yeah. I'm doing some studying right now. I saw my email thingy, indicating a comment on fredcube. Oops.

So this semester it's Theory of Computation and Biology II. Something about how Darwin is so wonderful and people need to stop being mean to him or something. But it's early in the semester yet.

It's kind of strange to think that one of the things between me and a promotion at work is my lack of knowledge about clam anatomy. Yeah, I don't see how any self-respecting I.T. department could look past something like that.

Have no fear though "The Union Pacific", I'll soon know the clam parts like the back of my hand. I'll be expecting a bunch more money at that time.

I do more before 9 AM ...

... than most people do by like 10 or 10:30 in the morning.

So yesterday (Saturday Dec 29) I went for my first bike ride in I don't know how long. I bundled up pretty good, then rushed outside because I was burning up inside. I got on the bike, cruised down the hill, realized I forgot my water bottle, went back up the hill, removed my arm warmers (layer 1 of 3) and went back down the hill.

From there I didn't know where I was going to go. I just knew the trail was not going to happen. So I got to 52nd and headed north/56th/morman bridge road/hwy 75/ then kind of eastish to near Dodge park/downtown/ home.

23.01 miles. 99 minutes. Under 14 MPH average. A new personal worst. In my defense, who cares. It was very enjoyable to be riding on the road again. Having properly dressed for it, my toes felt like this at the end:

Munson should know better.

It was nice and sunny and made me remember why I believe that any money spent on indoor training would probably be better spent on outdoor gear.

This morning, I went to 24 hour disco for a spinning session. The regular girl wasn't there this morning. If I'd have known, I would have really tried to encourage all you shabbos++ people to come. Especially Bryan.

You guys missed out. Not only was there more "Teh Cars" than I've heard in about 25 years (2 songs), But she also did two Bryan Adams songs!!! I know how Bryan of Algona is a huge fan. The first one was "summer of '69". I forget the second one because I was thinking, "You're kidding with this shit, right?"

No Prince though. Sorry Shim. I only want to see you standing in the Purple Rain.

So the spin was ok, but honestly, one decent hill outside kicks the whole spin class' ass.


It's just good to be back on the bike.

Not Optimus Prime

Social D

On Shim's suggestion, I did the trainer thing with Social D's Live at the Roxy. Good choice. It was a good mix of pretty high cadence music. I will now be needing other suggestions for good training music. The Jason Mraz and John Mayer just wasn't working for some reason.

Anyone? What do you like to workout to? I'm new to this whole "Music not played on A.M. radio" thing.

What's your favorite indoor training device?

I have been thinking about how much I dislike cardio training indoors.

Here's a very quick run-down of the ones I use (I hate them all).

At Home:
My least favorite is the trainer. Maybe because I spend the most time on it. It's hard to be motivated for a good workout. On the upside I can watch some good races while I train. I taped (recorded to disk) all of the 2006 TDF (The one with Landis) and even though Landis is a dirty cheat, that comeback was still awesome.

The treadmill is not bad. Every bit as boring as the trainer (I don't have any "running" dvds), but I can actually gage how I will run outside based on the treadmill. No idea with biking and the trainer.

In the Gym:
Spinning is actually pretty fun in a disco sort of way. I have to challenge myself not to be a bike snob, though. The instructor usually has awful form (very asymmetrical spin, like someone galloping down stairs). They say things like "Now we're going to sprint for 60 seconds, then we'll kick it up a notch. C'Mon!!!"

Yeah ok. First of all, who sprints for a minute? Nobody, that's who. But I typically get a better workout spinning than my trainer sessions. The instructor is a good motivator. You have to meet at the scheduled time though, so it's not always an option. The stationary bikes in the general cardio area are worthless. I especially like the stationary recumbants. Seriously. Those are about half a step up from one of these:


One of my favorites (that also sucks) is the stair master. This one turns my legs to stone in about 15 minutes. Nice. It is sort of a hill-climbing workout and can be very difficult.



One of the very popular ones that I just don't get is the elliptical. I used to do this one exclusively when I just did weight training. I'm not sure what's going on there. It's like the Gazelle, but not as cool. It never seemed to matter how hard I went, I rarely got my heart rate going very high. It also didn't really mimic any real life activity. Oh, and it can go backwards for a new challenge! Says so right on the machine.


One that I don't use, but I think might be the best of them all is the rowing machine. I'm just afraid that cable is going to break and snap me in the eye. No thanks. Also, it doesn't have any real-life application for me. If I find myself at some Ivy league college, and they need a guy, I could fill in. Not likely to happen.


I don't really care for winter.

This is exactly what I had feared

The only hesitation I had buying the new iMac was that it now has "Intel inside". That always sounded scary to me anyway. Like there are tiny little CIA operatives living in there.

But the big fear is that as Apples become more and more like PCs, will they become vulnerable to the same problems? Apparently so. I've only had the thing for like 2 weeks and I've already got the xp virus (see photo).




Actually, it's kind of cool. I first installed XP using "Boot Camp". Then I installed "Parallels" a few days later (trial) just to see if it worked as well as many say. Parallels allows you to run windows as a virtual machine so you can drag and drop files between the Mac and the PC. You don't have to reboot or anything. And the windows performance is supposed to be good since xp runs on intel and everything.

I wasn't impressed. It took longer to start the Parallels machine than rebooting (which makes sense). The VM ran pretty slow compared to just running XP.

The real funny thing was that Microsoft required activation on the virtual Machine and then denied it since apparently the VM and the boot camp machine represent 2 different machines - even though I only installed XP once.

Sure Microsoft changed their minds for some mysterious reason after I rebooted, but anyway I removed Parallels so now, I need to reboot to run the iMac with the xp virus.

Oh yeah - I started exercising again yesterday. Man, that was easy.

Blogger with no name

So apparently, I'm Italian. At least on eBay to the 6 people my userid sent the following note to:

Caro Signor ms \:
Siamo un grossista con reputazione migliore nell'onestà e
integrità, pricipalmente vendiamo tutti i generi di prodotti elettronici di marca noma compreso:
cellphone, taccuino, TV, pc, macchina fotografica, GPS, MP3/MP4 e così via ......
Certamente crediamo che il nostro prezzo superiore e più basso, first-class
servizio, che gli porterà la maggior parte dei benefici.
Non esitare a passare in rassegna il nostro Web site dove scoprirete un grande sorprendi piacevolmente.
Metterseli in contatto con:
----

Yeah uh, whatever Don Carleone. Ok, so I was curious about what it was. Frankly, I think Babel Fish needs some work:

Beloved Mr. ms \: We are a wholesaler with better reputation in the honesty and integrity, pricipalmente we sell all the kinds of electronic products of marks noma comprised: cellphone, note-book, TV, PC, camera, GPS, MP3/MP4 and therefore via...... Sure we believe that our advanced price and more bottom, first-class service, than it it will carry the greater part of the benefits. Not to hesitate to pass in review our Web site where you will discover a large one you are strange pleasantly. To put them in contact with:

Anyway, let me know if desire to work with a company with more bottom first class service. I think you'll be strange pleasantly you did!

The iMac is dead, long live the iMac

And just for fun

Ed Norton's ex-girlfriend




Ed's finest role:

and a photo of Pierce Brosnan, Pinky

For Munson

You know what I'm talking about ...

My Name is Judge!

Communication Networks: A+
Biology 1450: B (if I get between a 54 and 89 on the final)
IT Ethics: No idea. I don't get that class. It's all about right and wrong even if you don't get caught. Very confusing.

Notice: Piracy warning

Due to the large number of posts by individual(s) claiming to be me, I've had to adopt a plan to guarantee to you that the messages you read are from the real fredcube. If you see something posted by "me" that does not include the following image, don't read it.

I can not think of any way that this extremely sophisticated security measure could be compromised.

Will this be on the test?

Follow Up: No. It wasn't on the test. But I was ready for it.

and a photo of seal

how to go back in time

and a photo of Pierce Brosnan

Lunch break

9 days

Bye.

It up to you now, Robbie!

sorry - i'll return in 3 weeks. (dec 20, 2007)

until then i thought i should put a new photo up. man the ,shift key. is hard to press.

Face painting alarmist

Bryan had a photo of a face painting arsonist on his site. He was not happy with the response. Meet Frank. A face painting alarmist who declared that the world would end 19 years ago yesterday, (10/30/1988) which would have been my 24th birthday.

_|3$5$ (|-|.1$7

Nebraska Names Osbourne New Head Coach

Lincoln -- The University of Nebraska has named John Osbourne as its Head Football Coach. Interim Husker Athletic Director Tom Osborne made the announcement on Thursday morning, after introducing Osbourne to the team.

Osbourne, known to his friends and fans as simply “Ozzy” is a former “Heavy Metal” musician. Osborne explained his decision to hire Osbourne, “He brings a traditional sounding last name to the program along with a bat-biting intensity that this university has been missing for quite some time.”

Critics of the move say that Osbourne, a foreigner, cannot represent Nebraska football. “Isn’t he British or something?” one fan asked. Many feel that even though Osbourne does “rock”, his lack of coaching experience may hinder his ability to have a positive impact on the program. "Not so," says Dan Cook, longtime NU booster, "Ozzy rocks. Period."


Osbourne’s candidacy for the position came about after Nebraska alumnus, Tommy Lee turned down an offer to lead the team back to prominence. “Have you heard about these breakfasts they have? They’re like in the fucking morning and shit! No way,” explained Dr. Lee.

I'm bembarrassed for you

Not to step into Bryan's territory or anything, but ...
I was watching the "news" last night. The top story: the hiring of new interim AD at UNL, Tom Osborne, or as people from other states say, "Osbourne". Apparently, he was with Black Sabbath for a while.
Anyway, WOWT pointed out that you can leave comments on their website and provided a sampling. Wow. It's worse than I ever imagined. I'm a college football fan, and particularly of the Huskers. The stuff Bryan and Munson have said lately seems possible, but more of an exaggeration - that is until I took a look at what these people are saying. The complete article is here. But I selected a sampling (below a ways) to give you an idea of what I saw. I'm not sure why people are actually "thanking the creator of the universe" for this. I want to see the way it turns after Nebraska (they, not we) loses the next 3 or 4. Those comments will be very entertaining. We truly will "restore the tradition". Why, I don't remember bashing Osborne (Osbourne) for at least 10 years (except when he was running for Governer). Those were the days. Osborne bashing. It's been too long. It will be like seeing an old friend. Just wait. It will happen.

First it will be "Well he doesn't call the plays, That's Callahan."

Then it will be "Why doesn't he just fire Callahan?"

Then the inevitable, "Fuckin' Osborne! Why didn't you just stay gone you outdated piece of shit!!"

Awesome!

Osborne knows this though. He's probably got bets with Callahan and Pederson as to how long it will take us to respectfully ask for his head. Good times. Anyway, here's the sampling:

Posted by: Tony B Location: Omaha
Tom is a great choice and with Dave Rimmington as the AAD we will be good for several years. The glory days for our University will return soon.



Posted by: Anonymous Location: Omaha
Maybe now they can see if Solich will come back. We where doing better when he was coach. Also, we need to get rid of the new music for the tunnel walk and start using the old one again. the new one stinks. A concerned husker fan

Posted by: Amen Location: Thank GOD
Hey, great move by the chance.. We now have hope! Cally days are numbered.. We will shine in this time of darkness.. GBR!!!!!

Posted by: Ping Location: Omaha
It is now 3:12 CDT, ten mintutes ago our beloved T.O. was announced the AD!! Behold, the sun is now starting to shine! Perhaps a sign of things to come?? GO BIG RED!!!

Posted by: Martin Location: Omaha
The sun is smiling over Nebraska today!

Posted by: Chris Location: Lincoln
Its the return of the king

Posted by: Susie Location: Omaha
I knew God was a Husker Fan!

Posted by: jk Location: omaha
instead of restore order, we should be shouting "Restore Tradition!!! Way to go Perlman for getting it right this time! Thanks Tom for accepting the challenge! Our sons of Nebraska will once again get to live the dream of playing for the HUSKERS and feel the PRIDE that goes with the dream!!

Posted by: joe Location: omaha
KING OF NEBRASKA!!!!!
Posted by: Dave Location: Ralston
I remember when I was a little kid and NU lost a game,I was so disapointed,but my parents asured me,when I woke up the next day,the sun would still come up. Well after the OSU debacle the sun was nowhere to be found..then,like it was waiting for the right time,the sun came out here in the Omaha area atound 3:00 pm..Ironic maybe,fitting ABSOLUTELY! Mom and Dad..you were right,as usual!

Posted by: Mary Location: Lincoln
I was hoping and praying yesterday already that this would happen. This is a great thing. He understands the tradition here at Nebraska and sill strive to get it back!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Mary Location: Papillion
Dear Nancy O, Please allow Tom to come out and play. If there is anything we fans can do for you...just say the word. Whatever you want!

Note: Nancy is Tom Osborne's wife. She's probably thinking "Yeah - how about a nice glass of 'shut the hell up'?"

recursion

if you're so lazy that you can't even post about how lazy you are, at least you can point to other posts to get the job done. Whew. Time for my nap.

This in no way seems stupid ...

A few weeks ago, a friend sent me this photo of a revolutionary bike design. It's "safe" and "fast". I pretty much dismissed it as one of the stupidest things I ever saw. But then, I saw something that made me realize maybe it's not such a new idea.

Care to accompany me to the Salon, m'lady?

Who knows ... Maybe one day, we'll all be adding our awesome arm strength to the cycling equation (oh yeah - pushing 200 pounds of steel up a hill at 50 MPH seems reasonable, and very safe).

Ok, I can come out and play now

I had my first biology test yesterday. I'm pretty sure I did not fail. This is one of a sequence of 2 Biology classes I need to graduate. It is not an introductory class, so it’s pretty involved. The prerequisite is high school Biology, which I took about 5 years before any of my classmates were born. Back then it was called Biology: crazy new ideas from that Darwin guy. I had some catching up to. I think I’m on top of it now. Today marks day 27 of me not riding. Wow. Tomorrow, I ride.

Disclaimer: That's not me in the photo. That's just the first photo that comes up in Google images for the word "studying".

Sorry about this Bryan

Looks like the summer of '69 guy is not delivering.

Cubs lose : (

And what really gets me is they get beat by JJ.



Thanks to Bryan, I've realized that it is silly and childish to identify with a college football sports team. I don't really follow baseball. I just know the one guy who stands behind the couple at the plate gets more excited calling a "strike". In fact, he looks positively bored when a "ball" is pitched. He just kind of stands up and looks around.

But anyway, it was time for me to grow up. Now I can be a part of America's pastime. It might take me a while to get some of the nuances, but it will come. Apparently, in the MLB, you don't refer to the team you worship as "we". I'm gonna miss that.

Well I guess I'll go kill Steve Bartman now. Go Cubs!

Yes baby, yes.

Wow, school is getting weird. Two films this week. Tonight, it's in I.T. Ethics. I don't know what it will be, but the good Dr. Ward (I think he's a doctor) is unable to attend. There will be a substitute (in college?) who may show a film. There will definitely be some disrespect for the seating chart tonight, I can tell you!

I can't imagine anything boring about an I.T. Ethics movie. Actually, maybe it will be something like "The Net" or something. That would suck pretty bad. Or maybe Speed 2!

On Thursday however, things heat up a bit in Biology lab. Popcorn will be provided (this is true, actually). It (the movie) is about botanical reproduction. I think it's called "Games Plants Play" or something. Sound sexy?
All I can say is I hope this tree is in it.

The Finest Movie Ever Commited to film

To say that 'Shoot 'em up' is the best movie ever made, or that ever will be made is a little bit of an understatement. Sure, there are a lot of action movies out there, but none are even close to this realistic. Does the shooting stop during the movie's sex scene? Look at the title for the answer. 6 stars out of 5 on this one folks. This movie is what 'Snakes on a Plane' should have been. Good.

Getting no play on this

From the U.P. Want-ads. It's weird. I know there's a lot of people out there with tickets.

College is evil

Every college course, I don't care what it is, insists that evolution is real. Sure, it seems like a reasonable explanation for the state of the living stuff and stuff, but it doesn't answer some the the deepest mysteries of life. For instance, who gave rock and roll to you? Argent has the answer, ironically, in a not very rock and roll way ...