SleepingPoliceman

Between final papers, the GRE, Christmas, visiting people and going to a wedding, things have been quiet here on my end. And I’ve had the long end of the SP stick.

I’m so far behind, I don’t even have my 2k7 mix ready by the end of December 31 like I have for the last two years. I assure you, it’s in the works…it just hasn’t been culled down from the 3.2 hour draft playlist. It’ll be done soon, and it will, of course, be remarkably great. And when I look back at it next December, I’ll be amazed at some of the selections I made, both positively and negatively.

So farewell, 2007…you brought us a World Series victory, successful cohabitation, applications galore, and a Wii. There was a bunch of crappy stuff too, but also a bunch of happy memories and experiences. All in all, I don’t know if I can ask for any more from a year. Well, I can…but I don’t know if I should.

Let’s have a great ‘08, everybody. I think we can keep things trending upward.

boston.com: Students in Canton given electrical shocks after prank call, report says

I don’t want to jump to any conclusions until all the facts are in…but that might be the most successful prank call of all time. You got two kids shocked a total of 106 times? Not bad. Of course, the victims of this tele-Milgram study should have realized what was going on after the first five shocks, when the “supervisor” started yelling out, “Howard Stern rules!”

I like these two sentences:

The Judge Rotenberg center, which serves about 250 adults and children from across the country, has been under fire for more than two decades for its unorthodox behavior-modification treatments, including electric shock treatments. Its defenders say that the school takes in troubled students, some with self-damaging behavior, who have been rejected by other schools.

Critcs say that guns are tools of destruction that do nothing but cause damage and have no worthwhile benefits in our modern day society. Defenders say that guns are shiny.

Seriously, is that the best defense they can mount? “Well, we take in troubled students that other schools have rejected.” Oh, yeah? So do crack dens. That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea for the kids to go there.

Finally, there’s this part:

The identity of the staffer who was fooled into administering the shocks has also not been released. State officials indicated that some disciplinary action took place, though they would not specify what it was.

“Disciplinary action took place.” I bet it did. Look out, Mr. Staffer…it’s shocky-shocky time.

boston.com: Number of Big Dig leaks drops from thousands to hundreds

See? There are only hundreds of leaks in the super expensive brand new(ish) tunnel running through the heart of our city. That’s all. Who are you callin’ a boondoggle now?

This is good publicity for the Turnpike Authority. I look forward to them keeping this positive momentum going for them, and not completely crapping it away by doing something stupid like actively trying to decrease participation in a carpooling program. Even the MTA isn’t that stupid.

(I love double negatives. I really do.)

This is a public service announcement for those who might not be aware: we are entering the last weekend in which you will be able to download the new Radiohead album. After this, it will be a regular ol’ CD release. Which is fine…except you can’t choose to get the CD for free. In other words, if you’re thinking of checking it out for nothing (or next to nothing…you should probably throw them at least a pound so they do this again for future releases), then pick it up. And it just might be the best album of the year, so you should be thinking about that.

Radiohead: In Rainbows

And, relatedly, I’m going to be a band-pimp and tell you that you can also sign up and get a free download of a Marillion sampler. They’re my boys, and I want people to like them. So sign up for an account and check them out. If you hate it, delete the songs and remove yourself from their list. No harm, no foul.

marillion.com account registration
Info on the album itself: Marillion: Crash Course

Who doesn’t need some good tunes on a snowy, cold weekend? Free music for all. Enjoy.

I wouldn’t describe the following link as necessarily Not Safe For Work. But…it isn’t really safe either. Be warned: it is full of foul and explicit language…which is sort of the point. The title of the article is accurate and apt.

Robert Edward Auctions: Can we even run this? 1898 Obscene Language Baseball Document – Not For Kids!

I’m sure I’m being naive, but it amazes me that people used such harsh and foul expletives back in the 1890s. That’s 110 years ago. William McKinley hadn’t even been shot, yet apparently ballplayers were throwing around phrases like, “I’ll make you suck my ass!” I know that things weren’t as innocent and chaste back then as I thought…but still, it’s somewhat shocking to see these things in print.

Those are some filthy mouths. What would Jimmy Collins of the Boston Beaneaters think? (From the looks of it, probably something about a dog.)

History and baseball: what can’t they do?

Tonight was the surprise birthday party for Lisa’s dad (which went incredibly well…he was totally shocked, meaning somehow the 100-ish people invited all kept it quiet). During the course of the evening, people would have to go outside the function hall for various reasons and then come back inside to say something along the lines of, “Good God, it’s so cold outside! I can’t believe how cold it is! It is really, really cold out there!” Lots of exclamation points going on, all with people complaining about the frigidity of the weather.

And I went outside a couple of times, and I just rocked it in my sweater…the jacket could stay inside. It was just running to the store or out to the car (not actually running, of course). And I felt it was fine. Chilly, sure…but manageable. So when people lamented how freezing it was outside, I would say to Lisa, “Yeah, yeah…whatever, these people are weak. Weak, I say!”

Then on the way home, I drove past a bank that has a clock and temperature sign outside. The current temp? 16 degrees.

So…yeah, it looks like it was really cold out. I’m sorry, Lisa and other guests I dissed. You were right. Mea culpa.