Historic Whiskey Could Go Down Drain
Hundreds of bottles of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, some of it almost 100 years old, may be unceremoniously poured down a drain because authorities suspect it was being sold by someone without a license.
Why not? I have been reading through Tim Ferriss’s blog recently and it’s been pretty interesting.
The latest gives tips on how to learn a language quickly.
I also like How to lose 20lbs of fat in 30 days. I am going to try out both ideas. I also ordered his book so I’m looking forward to reading that.
Yeah, I kind of have been ignoring this blog lately. I’ve been damn busy with my new job. Since it’s 60-80% travel it’s pretty hectic. The good news is that I have been reading books more often. I never used to do that but it’s a good thing to do when traveling. I actually started a book this morning and am already halfway through. Go me.
Anyway, I have some ideas about some things I want to write. Some technical, some just whatever, some zombie, some all of the above.
Stick around and hopefully I will give you a few interesting reads soon.
Have I really not written anything since May 25?
Been busy doing nothing mostly. I was looking for a job and found one at a great company. Started on June 29. Loving it so far. Thinking about writing again once I get back into a routine. Writing a screenplay anyway. I’ll try to find some time to write more on this blog as well.
Lately karma and I have been having a fight over a few things. Namely my job and my car. I was basically forced to quit my job. That same week I totaled my car. Not off to a good start.
But I haven’t gotten too down about it. I’m not one of those “rah rah!” type of people who looks at everything as the best thing ever. I’m more realistic than that. But this sequence of events has struck me as pretty positive all around.
I needed to get out of my last company. I think I have been able to narrow down what it is that bugged me so much about the place. I work extremely hard. I put forth 110%. I produce outstanding work. I innovate. I offer suggestions for all kinds of improvements. I sound like an ideal employee, right? Well, not there. I tend to rock the boat. If something sucks I’ll tell you. I don’t hold back.
I try to do that in a constructive way, but repeated mistakes just kill me. Why continuously beat your head against the wall? If it hurts then stop! This company couldn’t learn from their past mistakes and were therefore doomed to repeat them. The ultimate reason for this, and the source of my frustration, is they have a defeatist attitude. I don’t think this permeates all aspects of the company, but certainly the groups I worked most with.
In particular my management just gave up. They worded it as “choosing your battles” but that’s bullshit. When there are grammar errors in the user interface for more than 2 years that’s just giving up. Not requiring access to released software BEFORE customers have it in their hands is giving up.
What sealed the deal on that for me were the repeated statements of, “the grass isn’t greener at other companies.” After hearing that about half a dozen times I looked my manager right in the face and said, “yes, it is, I’ve worked for companies like that.” I was also told I was 100% correct with what I was frustrated with but that nothing was going to change so I needed to just accept that. Those two things combined proved to me they were defeatists and had given up. That’s not the kind of environment I want to be around.
I don’t believe in sub-par work. I believe in doing things right. I believe in quality. Go big or don’t go at all. If you are going to take the time to do something go all the way and do it right, otherwise there is no point.
As for the car, that turned out great. I totaled my WRX. It was low speed and no one was injured or even stiff and sore. That’s a good thing. I liked the WRX. Bought it in October because I was tired of my Mazda 3. It didn’t get great gas mileage and took premium. The payment wasn’t expensive but saved me nothing over my Mazda. Insurance was the same between the two vehicles.
Crashing the car sucked. I had no transportation, or so I thought. My friend loaned me his truck for a few days. Becky drove me around a couple days. Then I found a car. I got a 1999 Saab 9-3. It only had 45,000 miles! The thing looked immaculate inside and out and the price was right. I bought it and love it. I like it better than the WRX. Gas mileage is much better. Insurance, even after the accident, is significantly lower. My payment is much lower. Once I have a job I’ll have it paid off in under 2 years.
In a weird way this turned into a really good situation as well.
I think these things were just life’s way of telling me I needed to change. I’ve got a new car I like better and am saving money. I have an interview tomorrow for an interesting sounding job with a company that’s actually making money (what a concept). I have taken some of my time off to organize and clean my place. I’m only partially done but I feel better about my house already. Cleaned out my main bedroom and got rid of a lot of old clothes and junk. Some of it I donated, the crappy stuff I tossed. Rearranged a lot of furniture both in my bedroom and main room.
Next on the list will be the computer room and garage. I have to list a couple things on Craigslist. I don’t care if they sell as long as they go. Hopefully I will get my arcade cabinet done too. I have been thinking a lot about what I need to do. I don’t think it’s all that much really. Then I will actually move it inside my house. I know, big step! But it will be put in a diet with my plan and will fit much better.
I guess the good part of this experience is that I didn’t get caught up in all the shit that’s going on. There is plenty to think about and if I didn’t focus it would be overwhelming. But I’m just taking each piece one at a time. I didn’t even have to think about it, just did it naturally. Maybe I’m just really mellow.
Watch close or you will definitely miss it. It’s gone in 2 seconds.
Or, more appropriately, movies I love. I was just sitting having a beer after getting off work for the year when I flipped on the TV. To my pleasant surprise Mallrats was on. Sure, I can always put in the DVD, but catching it on TV is more fun for some reason. It got me thinking about the movies I absolutely love.
The movies I love are for a variety of reasons. Some are because they remind me of certain periods in my life, certain friends, certain occasions. Others are because I think they are just fucking great and have moved me to want to create my own. Below is a small list, by no means exhaustive, of some of my favorite movies to watch over and over again and the reasons why.
This is different than a guilty pleasures (crap movies I still love) group of movies. Don’t worry, I have those too and I’ll post about my guilty pleasures someday.
Mallrats - This reminds me of my senior year of college. I actually saw it my sophomore year but we watched it repeatedly my senior year. My friends and I knowingly and unknowingly quote the movie all the time. Just watching it reminds me of all those good times and good friends. I also have a lot of personal connections to the whole View Askew thing and that makes it even more significant. Sometimes it gets poo-pooed as Kevin Smith’s worst film but I think it’s one of his best.
Animal House - Need I saw more? First, it’s just an awesome fucking movie. Absolutely hilarious, great writing, great acting. It reminds me of all my college buddies and all the times we had doing the same stupid shit. That was my college life.
Donnie Darko - This movie was absolutely a life changing experience for me. I loved this movie and can watch it over and over. The tone of the movie, the acting, the story, the sound (and sometimes lack of). Just perfect. I discovered this late actually, after it was in theaters and had a bit of a following. I can’t believe I had never heard of it before then. Luckily I saw it and fell in love.
Pulp Fiction - Another life changing movie for me. I was lucky and saw it in the theater while in college. I can remember going as I didn’t go to the theater a lot (too expensive for a college kid). I went with my girlfriend at the time. I remember being very confused for most of the movie then everything came together towards the end and I loved it. This is one of the movies that changed how I thought about film, along with the next on the list.
Scream - In my mind perhaps the best horror movie for a variety of reasons. It’s got such a tight story, every little detail is covered. It doesn’t take itself too seriously yet is serious enough to still be a great horror movie. I remember seeing it, for free, at the theater in my hometown during a college break. I used to work there and one of the guys let me in without paying. It was phenomenal and still is. It really started a sub-genre I love which is the modern teeny horror genre.
Super Troopers - A more recent addition and totally worth it. Again, I saw it in the theaters. It was on a whim as I knew basically nothing about it. A totally tight movie that seems well thought out. The Broken Lizard gang interacts so perfectly. I hope they can do it again. Club Dread missed it. Beerfest was close. I have faith they can write another that comes very close.
Shaun of the Dead - I kind of have a thing for zombies. I like the genre but honestly most of the movies completely suck balls with only a few notable exceptions. Shaun of the Dead I had heard about and heard good things so I couldn’t wait to see it. Unfortunately for me it was only out in Europe, already on DVD, without a US theatrical release. This is because studios are retarded and wouldn’t know a good film if it gave them a lap dance. I downloaded it from a nefarious source and my DVD player was cool enough that it can play PAL DVDs. I immediately loved it. Subsequently I saw it in theaters and bought the US DVD. Love it, even made it my Halloween costume this year. The detail is absolutely spot on. Watching the extras you can see how every little detail from start to finish is related and well thought out. Ranks up there with Scream.
Dumb and Dumber - I lived in Colorado so the references remind me of that. I can’t tell you how many times we quoted this damn thing while I lived there. One of Jim Carey’s first big roles and it’s fantastic and very quotable, a big thing for me with comedies. If you can quote it constantly without repeating yourself then it can’t be too bad.
Back to the Future - Mainly I’m talking about the first film, but I love all of them. A fantastic comedy that’s totally 80s. Heavy.
Princess Bride - One of my top movies, certainly in my top 10. Why? First, it’s a great movie. It’s a hilarious comedy and a great love story. I know I’ve met my future wife when I can say “As you wish” and she knows exactly what I’m talking about. I had a girlfriend like that but that never worked out (story of my life). Anyway, one of my all time favorites and I can watch it over and over and never tire of it.
Can’t Hardly Wait - I’m throwing you all a curveball with this one. Never heard of it? Have heard of it but think it sucks? That’s fine. I like it. The reason I like it is because of the memories I have around the movie. I bought a DVD player when they first hit the market, spent $650 on something that’s worth about $20 nowadays. There weren’t a lot of DVDs to be had so I bought just about anything that looked decent (btw, that’s how I found Half Baked which I also love). I picked up Can’t Hardly Wait on a whim one day in Colorado and loved it. My friends and I used to watch it all the time when we partied or were going out so it reminds me of all those good times.
Office Space - If you work in an office, in a cube, how could you not absolutely love this movie. It’s one of those little gems that took on a life of its own after its theatrical release. It’s spot on for anyone who works in any office, especially in technology companies as I have. very quotable, very relatable, very funny.
The Fifth Element - Another underrated classic. The style and visuals are stunning. The story is very good. It’s a space opera that, to me, is up there with Star Wars. It’s a gorgeous movie to watch. Just look at the Diva scene to understand how beautiful the visuals are.
That’s a good start. There are a a lot of other movies I love but don’t watch as I do the above. Movies like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Starship Troopers, Reservoir Dogs, The Frighteners, Army of Darkness, There’s Some About Mary, Weird Science, A Knight’s Tale, Arachnophobia, Boogie Nights, Desperado, and dozens of others. They all hold a special place in my movie-viewing heart.
One of these days I’ll get my DVD collection database all updated and then upload it online. Here is an old version (warning, HUGE page, takes a long time to download). I have added several since that was updated. It was really more of an experiment with exporting my database. Yes, I have a database of all my DVDs. I have a barcode scanner and I scan them all in using Delicious Library.
What are some the movies you love?