I Need A Job

It's that time of the year again: time for Kevin to get a job. The fact is, I would like to search for jobs, but it's hard being 120 miles away from my job market. So I ask you, fine readers, for help. If anyone has any connections, suggestions, or job offers, I would love any help I can get. I am a business major with a concentration in marketing, but I am willing to explore many different fields. I plan to head up one of these weekends to search, so I would love a starting point.

I am happy to send anyone my resume and/or portfolio, or you can check out http://kevinreganportfolio.blogspot.com where my portfolio is listed along with my resume. It should be updated by tonight, though it isn't at the moment.

Thanks for the help!

Open Your Ears: Ian Hunter

Ian Hunter has been in music forever, but I doubt anyone has heard of him. His flagship project was Mott The Hoople, but I doubt anyone has heard of it. He backed up a lot of good bands and wrote songs that many people covered. The one everyone will be most familiar with is "Cleveland Rocks", the theme song to the Drew Carey Show. He wrote it, the Presidents of the United States of America covered it, and they used their version as the theme song. He's also got musical connections to tons of other famous names in music, but I won't bore you, read his bio on Wikipedia if you want to know more. He has a new album called Shrunken Heads, and the first single is really good in my opinion. It sounds a lot like something you would here on Bob Dylan's Modern Times. It's called "Words (Big Mouth)". Take a listen.



(Notice, this song was also added to the Open Your Ears playlist at the top right-hand corner of the page.)

I Upgraded to Vista

This weekend, I got an e-mail from the business school telling me that I have access to all this free software just for being a student. Well, one thing I happened to be offered was a copy of Microsoft Windows Vista, to which I said, "I'll give it a shot." I downloaded it yesterday, knowing that I would have to upgrade my RAM to run it, which I did today. I went to Best Buy and bought 1GB of RAM, which put me over the minimum Vista requirement by only 256MB (I had 2 256MB cards in there from when I bought it). Off the subject, I want to get a second 1GB card, bringing the total to 2GB sooner or later, but given that the card I bought today was $134, I think I'll wait.

Anyways, after a quick and painless install of the RAM, I was ready to install Vista. It took me about 3 hours to install, and I'm still not done fiddling with it, but this is as far as I'm getting tonight. Click the screenshot to enlarge it and see what it looks like. Now, in hindsight, I think I should have installed Vista on my external hard drive as an axillary OS, because that way, it wouldn't have been as much of a commitment, and right now, I'm having post-purchase remorse. There is a lot about the look that I like, especially coming from clunky XP and not a Mac OS, but there is a lot that I don't like. I'm hoping that most of what I don't like will cease to be an issue when I get used to it (and upgrade my RAM again).

Some things I don't like is the unnecessary bulk that comes with the OS. There's a lot of features that are unnecessary, yet fun or cool, but there are also a lot that are unnecessary and totally pointless, and just suck memory. Also, and this isn't the fault of the OS, but a lot of things are a bitch to use now because the compatibility is all messed up. Some things I can't even use anymore, but they can eventually be replaced.

I'm sure once I get used to it, it'll be fine, I just need to get to that point. Once I get used to it, then I can really tell you why I don't like it. Until then, anybody got any tips on how to turn off my touchpad when I type? Vista took away all of the Fujitsu controllability on this thing, and I keep accidentally hitting it when I type, so I'll start typing in the middle of some other sentence. It's annoying.

MLB Branded Urns & Caskets

Only question now is, do I want to be buried or cremated? I was perusing the internet, waiting for my free copy of Vista to download and browsing for RAM upgrades, and I came upon these little nuggets of greatness:
(Click to enlarge)

These are Major League Baseball branded urns and caskets. I am not sure what else to say about them. I guess I'm more excited to die now. The ones above are what I would choose, and that's Atlanta Braves branded. I think I would rather have the urn too, it seems so much cooler, with the little home plate and ball, and everyone would be able to see it as long as someone had it, unlike a casket which gets tossed in the ground. They have 8 urns out now, 12 to come by years end, then the rest of the 10 sometime next year. They plan to release the caskets beginning in the fall.

I think I would ultimately want a Beatles urn at this point, but until I see one of those, put me down for a Braves urn.

The 400th Blog Post Spectacular!

It's my 400th post on the Blogarrhea, and (coincidently) in honor of reaching this milestone, I'm introducing a media player to the top of the page. It's my Open Your Ears playlist, and it's where I'll be putting songs on it that I have on my Open Your Ears posts. So whenever you're reading my blog, you can have some music to listen to. So, Open Your Ears and enjoy! Here's the big player

A Day in The Life: A CRYBART Digital Short

Blazers Get the #1 Pick!

The Portland Trail Blazers nabbed the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft at yesterday's lottery. When I heard this, I immediately thought Greg Oden. We have to pick him up. We have no inside presence right now, and if Oden dominates the inside after a few years, maybe the team will get rid of Zach Randolph. Plus, from a marketing standpoint, Greg Oden is substantially more marketable than Durant or anyone else, which means, if nothing else, national exposure. Get the Blazers brand out there and get our good rep back! Fingers crossed.

Then Brett called. Brett screamed into the phone about getting free tickets for next year, and how he can't wait for next season, and how the last time we had back-to-back rookies of the year, a few years later we won the championship, all in about 30 seconds. It was too good to be true that Brandon Roy won rookie of the year (ROY), it was just too perfect, but now if Oden comes in and plays, and believe me, on this team he'll play, then we have a shot of not only having back to back ROYs, but also having a run at the title. There isn't anything that this city needs more than a championship. The Blazers are all we have!

So with legitimate potential for next year, all of you who didn't dust off your hats, shirts, and Drexler jerseys for this season need to do that now! I'll be first in line to buy a black & red Greg Oden jersey. GO BLAZERS!

Fall Term Schedule

Here's what my schedule looks like for next Fall term. I'm only going to be taking 3 classes per term next year because I have 9 left to take to graduate on time with a minor in music. I could graduate early and not get a minor in music, but I figure why not take the one extra class so I can get another line on my transcript?

The 3 classes I'm taking this term are:

• MKTG 420 - Marketing Communications:
  
• A Marketing concentration pre-requisite that deals with advertising, sales promotions, public relations, and personal selling.
  
• MGMT 415 - Human Resources Management:
• This class is a business elective not affiliated with any concentration, and since we have to take 2 business electives outside of our concentration, here's the first.
• MKTG 445 - New Product Development:
• This is a marketing elective designed for entrepreneurs, but it sounds so fascinating and relevant that I couldn't pass it up, even if it is hard. It deals with techniques for analyzing and developing new markets, and the pricing, communication, and distribution of new products or services with limited resources.

Then, I also enrolled in FIN 380 - Financial Markets & Investments as a fall-back class in case I find out I don't want to take MKTG 445. It deals with financial markets and security investment decisions, analysis of risk and return, portfolio policies for individual and institutional investors, and financial instruments. It's taught by a professor I got an A from in the last class I took with her, and Amanda is taking it, and it's a business elective outside my concentration, so I figured it would be a safe plan B.

So there you have it. Taking 3 classes should give me time to better study for the classes I'm taking and have more free time my senior year to hunt for a job, work with the athletic department, or relax and do nothing. All good options. Hopefully three 400-level classes won't be too overwhelming, but the one I'm in now (that I have a midterm in later today) is going well this term, so I think it will be alright.

Open Your Ears: The Frames

The Frames are an Irish band that have been around since 1990, but since we're in America, a lot of good European music doesn't make it over here for a long time. These guys are amazing though, and with the release of their sixth studio album (I'm pretty sure), and their new powerful single titled "Falling Slowly", they're sure to blow up in the States. This song is sure to make it onto a television drama's opening sequence, I just hope they don't go the way of The Fray. Anyways, the lead singer is actually the star of a music film called Once that came out last year, but should make it across the pond this year.

It seems like there is so much good music coming from the whole "English Island Area" as I'll call it. I'm not sure what it should be called, the UK probably, but Ireland, Scotland, and England are all putting out great bands that I love. Not sure if you remember The Twilight Sad, The Veils, and Locksley, but those were all great bands from that area that I had never heard of. Someday I hope to travel to Ireland, and hopefully I can catch some concerts while I'm there. But check out The Frames.

The Frames:
Falling Slowly

Sad Songs

When Your Mind's Made Up

Heath Ledger as The Joker Picture?

After I posted earlier today about the new Harvey Dent poster, I said that I hadn't seen a picture of Heath Ledger as the Joker. There was one picture floating around a while ago, but it turned out to be fake. Now, it looks like there's another one, and this one really looks like Heath Ledger:





This is from the site ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com. Not sure if it's real, but it really looks like Heath Ledger, and it looks really dark and evil. Look at the gruesomeness of the scarring; much darker than Jack Nicholson's Joker. I can't wait for this movie.

Harvey Dent campaign poster

It's coming. This is a campaign poster for Harvey Dent of the new Batman movie. Aaron Eckhart is a great pick for this role in my opinion. Two face was done well by Tommy Lee Jones, but I think he could have been more sinister. Eckhart's got the look and the chops to totally kill this role. With Heath Ledger playing the Joker (which I'm still hesitant about, but could play this dark character well), this movie could be as good as Batman Begins, which is my favorite Batman of them all. With the release of this new poster, all I'm waiting for is a picture of Ledger as the Joker.

[via thedarkknight.com]

Shrek the Third Movie Review

It's just one bad sequel after another these days. After my awful Spiderman 3 experience, I saw Shrek the Third last night with Hayley. We were going out for dinner and a movie, and she really wanted to see it, so that made me want to see it. I loved the first one, we actually watched it the other day, and the second one was good too. However, the third came up way short and left both of us disappointed.

First of all, these movies make a lot of money ($122 million opening weekend for this one), so just like Spiderman, I expected this one to be better because the movie makers knew it would pay off. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that though. Just like in Spiderman, it felt like this thing was just thrown together and rushed out so they could reap the rewards.

It was far more scattered than the first two, with a flimsy plot line and some weak new characters. It still appeals to kids, because all the ones in the theater seemed to love it, but it didn't have the adult appeal that the first ones did. Also, at this point in the series, they could have played a lot more off of some of the favorite existing characters, like the Gingerbread Man. Most of the scenes with him in it were funny, and they didn't have to try much because he was already an established funny character, but even still, with all the characters they've developed, there wasn't much depth to any of them.

On the Reganometer, I give this movie a 5 out of 10, and say, if you have children, or liked the first two, it's worth seeing once, but unlike the other two, it won't be worth seeing again.

Greetings from Corvallis

Last night, I almost died

Not really, I just had a dream where I almost did, but it felt real, even when I woke up. I've heard that if you actually die in a dream, you actually die in real life. I'm not sure how that could be credited or discredited, maybe if someone died in a dream and then woke up and wasn't dead, and then told people about it, but that doesn't really matter and isn't my point. My point is my dream.

So I picked it up in the middle of the situation, or at least that's what I can remember, but I was someplace that wasn't a hospital, but it felt like it, surrounded by a couple of guys who seemed to be doctors, and I had a collapsed lung or something. Maybe I was just in a car accident or something, but whatever happened, I was struggling to breath. The doctors knew there was a problem, and that it was serious, so they made the decision that I needed to be opened up so they could re-inflate my lung. They open me up, take some little tool, and punch a hole through my sternum into my lung. Mind you, this whole time, I am having serious trouble breathing, and I'm kind of panicking because of it, plus the doctors are in a kind of a panic, so it has the whole emergency room tension, yet it's not an emergency room. After the hole is punched, somehow I am looking into my chest cavity and into the hole, like a 3rd person view. After the fact, this was kind of weird, like looking at myself as another person. Anyways, the consensus is that they need to stick a tube through the hole into my lung, and somehow that will relieve the problem. So I, being this other person, stick a tube into the hole, but the hole isn't big enough. So they get the tool out again, and make the hole bigger, all while I (the me being drilled into) am watching. Then, the 3rd person me attempts to stick the tube in again, and this time it goes in.

Immediately after this, I am the one with the tube in my chest, and I sit up and gasp as if whatever was hindering my breathing was just relieved. As I do, a bunch of blood spurts out of the tube, and I make the connection (in my dream) that this was all in my lungs, and I was basically choking to death on my own blood.

Then I woke up and sat straight up in my bed, just like in the movies. This was somewhere around 6 in the morning. What was crazy is that my chest was sore right where the hole was in my dream. So I feel around, and obviously nothing was there, but it was a little weird. It also felt like I had been struggling to breath, like I was out of breath still. This was all weird, and made me think, what if I was actually choking in real life, and if I hadn't dreamed that the pressure was relieved, what would have happened? It was pretty crazy. I don't think I've ever had a dream like that, and while I'm writing this, it's still really vivid in my head.

Sounds like the premise to a bad movie doesn't it? My brain is trying to kill me and all that. But don't worry, I'm alive, just wanted to share my near-death experience with you.

New Bruce Campbell Old Spice Ad

I love Bruce Campbell, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. He needs work people! When CRYBART get into big movie production, Bruce will be our #1 choice. For everything. Remember his first Old Spice commerical? Check out the new one:

There's also behind the scenes footage that you can watch.

Diet Pepsi must be struggling

Has anyone else noticed the recent marketing campaign Diet Pepsi has rolled out? Their entire campaign is based around the statistic that "56% of diet cola drinkers think Diet Pepsi has more cola taste than Diet Coke." (Check out the campaign at dietpepsi.com) Pepsi must really be losing to Coke in the soft drink market if this is what they are using. I have some problems with the whole thing:

First, the obvious: 56% is barely more than half. No matter how you slice it or what type of humor you use to try and reinforce it, that statistic is weak. It could even be irrelevant. How many people were surveyed? What was the confidence interval of the tests? What's the "give-or-take" on that statistic? Not a good base.

Second, since when do diet cola drinkers know what cola tastes like? I bet they have a damn good idea of what diet cola tastes like, but being diet cola drinkers, they probably don't drink regular cola. If they're anything like my dad, they would say that regular cola is gross ("too sweet" I believe is his rationale) no matter if it's Coke or Pepsi. I don't ask wine drinkers what kind of beer they prefer, and I don't ask diet cola drinkers what kind of cola they prefer.

I like the look of the ads, the way they have animated the text and made everything really crisp and clean, some of them are even kind of clever, but they should use all this with another message. The 56% thing just isn't doing it for me. It seems like a blatant attempt to capture some tiny bit of market share from Coke (which is actuallt very valuable in the soda industry) by taking tiny cheap shots. I don't think I've seen Coke even mention Pepsi in an ad ever. They know their brand is what sells, not the taste of the cola (See New Coke). If I were Pepsi's brand manager, I would stop sending out the message that Coke is winning. That's all I got from these ads when I saw them. Maybe a little more offense and a little less defense would be a good strategy at this point. Do something inventive, something creative, something that wins awards.

Something Coke would do.

OCCU Phishing Scam: Naughty, Naughty

I just got home and checked my e-mail, and to my surprise, my Oregon Community Credit Union account was in trouble! Oh no, somebody has hacked into an account that I don't even have! It was a phishing scam: a method identity thieves use to steal your money. They pretend to be speaking on the behalf of some company, telling you something is inevitably wrong with something you have (or don't have). Then they tell you everything will be OK as long as you give them your user name, password, routing number, credit card number, key to your car, and soul.

Don't do that, it's no fun for anybody. They use your information to steal all of your money, and then what can you buy? Nothing. So, beware of the phishing scam. Here are the screen shots:





This was the e-mail I got. Complete with OCCU logo and a link to "fix" my account.








This was the website the link went to. Looks like an OCCU website (I assume), complete with user name and password input.



If you have Firefox, hopefully you get this. This is the Firefox alert telling you that this website looks like it's a scam. Good boy, Firefox. Check out that URL too, not OCCU.



Here is the actual OCCU website, alerting users of this scam. It's much easier if you don't do it. Keep your money, it's more fun when you spend it, and not someone else.





There was a story about a girl from the UO who was scammed by something similar to this, and she lost a bunch of money. Not sure if she got it back or not, but it wasn't a fun ordeal either way, so be careful out there on the big, bad internet. As my Granddad would say, "Lotta kooks out there." And as for you scammers, naughty, naughty!

Ducks take home the PAC-10 trophy, AGAIN!

The University of Oregon athletic department is having one hell of a year! The Men's Track & Field team took home the PAC-10 trophy over the weekend to continue this great run of success. I'm not going to go too much into it (you can read the rundown here) but Ryan Brandel, a high school track teammate of mine, took home 1st place in the javelin. Ryan Waite, another guy I ran with in high school (he was from St. Helens) ran in the 800m, but failed to qualify for the finals. That's alright though, because he's still got 2 more years to dominate PAC-10 distance running. Doesn't hurt that he's a really nice guy. But I just want to say congratulations to Ryan for the individual win, the rest of the team for the team win, and GO DUCKS!

Live Free or Die Hard Trailer

This is a new one, and the more and more they keep rolling these out, the more and more I want to see this movie. "Yippee-ki-yay mother fucker"!

Spiderman 3 Movie Review

I just saw this, and I'm going to write this thing short, and try and purge the memory of it from my brain. I'm going to try the buy or sell method.

First thing I'm buying is Bruce Campbell. Awesome. I'll buy everything he sells. I'll sell his agent though. He must have the agent from Extras, because he needs to be in everything, he's hilarious, yet he's reduced to Old Spice commercials. Granted, they're funny, but he needs his own movie and fast.

I'll buy the action scenes, I'll sell every other scene.
I'll buy good Spiderman, but sell emo Spiderman.
I'll buy Venom and Sandman, but sell Mary Jane.
On that note, I'll buy Topher Grace, but sell Kirsten Dunst.
I'll buy the budget, but sell what it bought.
I'll buy the editor of the Daily Bugle, and sell everyone else not already purchased.
I'll buy Sam Raimi, but for Evil Dead IV.
On that note, I'll buy Evil Dead 4, but sell Spiderman 4.

Everything else, including most of the awful, shameful, totally forced and not effective comic relief (the "emo" Peter Parker scenes), I will sell. Actually, I'll put it in a wet cardboard box, write "Free" on it, and leave it on the sidewalk for a few days. Then it's going to the dump. I was told not to see this movie, I didn't want to see this movie, yet I went. I didn't like it at all.

On the Reganometer, I give this movie a 4 out of 10, and say do NOT go see this movie. Like my roommate said, it was like a bad joke that just wouldn't stop.

Prognosis: Negative

So, I just wanted to jump on here and give you a little flavor of how my next 10 days are going to go. In total, I have 3 presentations, 2 midterms, 1 quiz, 3 assignments due, and 2 football events to go to, plus a bunch more.

Tomorrow, I have a marketing quiz at 2, then after that class, I have to run over to Autzen to do registration for all the VIPs at Coach Bellotti's Dinner and Auction for muscular dystrophy. After that, I have to come home, do a group assignment for DSC and prepare for one of my presentations next week. Friday, I have to wake up way early to be at the Mike Bellotti Classic golf tournament out in Springfield at 5:30am. From there, I got to class at 1 where I have an assignment due. Then, hopefully, I can take Friday night off, watch a movie, and get to bed early. (Honestly, I want to do that). The weekend will be spent studying and preparing for presentations. There are musical events that I need to go to for my music class, either Saturday at 3 or Sunday at 1, but that will be a game time decision. On Monday, I have a midterm at 10, then a midterm at 2 followed by a presentation in that same class. Awesome. Tuesday, I have a presentation at 4, and a football meeting at 6. Wednesday, I have a presentation at 2 (though it's super small). Thursday, I have an assignment due at Noon.

Friday, after my class at 1, I hope to God I'll be free for the weekend. All this crap I just listed is only the really important stuff I have to do. On top of that there's go into the office and get some more mailouts done, research my recruits, generally attend class, all while really wanting to be outside golfing, or doing anything else besides what I'll probably be doing. I might use this baby for breaks and stuff, posting whenever there's something worth taking a break for. Other than that, you might not see me for a few days. If you get bored, just watch all our videos we just made on YouTube. Check out our pages here and here.

Wish me luck.

The Kegerator pt. 2

Bryan basically finished the kegerator today. He stained some wood and used it to hide the ugly seams, and he got his tap handle in the mail. Coors Light of course. Like I said before, we don't discriminate, but we do have our preferences.

UPDATE:
Read what Bryan has to say about the finished product here.

The Kegerator

Here's the kegerator. It's fully functional, but still has some aesthetic work to be done. Pretty cool though.

The Deck Overhaul, pt. 4

It's been a while since I've posted an update. Since the last one, nothing has really happened, but just today Bryan started a new project, so it's time to get it going again. When I left you last, we were in the middle of coating it with polycrylic. That was the clear coat that was intended to waterproof it. Well, it turns out that the polycrylic was water-based, so when water pooled on it for too long, it would start seeping into the finish, and we were worried it would eventually get to the paint and corrode it essentially, so we went back and found something else.

What we ended up with was oil-based polyurethane. After only 2 coats of that, it was completely water proof. Water could pool on it and nothing would happen. So after 3 more coats, bringing the total to 5, we called it good, and our table was officially complete. This is what the "table area" turned out looking like. That shot is obviously when it's folded down, and it doesn't look much different than it did before we put the clear coat on it, it's just shiny all over. As you can also see, we put up Bryan's huge Coors Light flag, and we also have a bunch of tin signs with random beers and alcohols represented. While we don't discriminate, we do have our preferences (clearly).

So, between that project and the project Bryan just started, we've used the deck a ton. We got a dartboard and have been playing the hell out of that. Then, as I mentioned last week, we got a keg, and that is where Bryan's project comes in.

He has started making a kegerator. Here's a clip from FeelyWorks.com:

My base is a 5.0 cubic foot Wood’s chest freezer, modified with a wooden collar on the top and then filled with all the gas, tubing, and fittings that are necessary to dispense the delicious nectar.

Read the whole post here. Today, he went and picked up the chest freezer that he got on Craigslist, and over the past few days he's amassed all the parts necessary to build it. All that's left is to build it. I'll keep you posted on his progress.

Today I went out and snapped a few pictures of what the deck looks like now. Keep in mind Bryan is in the process of building the kegerator and we have a keg back there in a yard debris can full of ice, plus the table and Bry's tool chest. Oh, and our meth-lab-looking blue tarp that's there to keep noise and heat in. And it's not exactly the most spacious deck, so it's a bit crowded right now. Take a look:

Requiem for a Plunger Fake: A CRYBART Digital Short

Bomb Threat Closes Lillis Tomorrow

I got home from playing a little basketball with Ryan at the rec and got a cheery little e-mail (minus the cheery). It read:

Over the weekend, the University of Oregon learned of a bomb threat made against the Lillis Business Complex. Upon receiving the threat, the UO Department of Public Safety immediately contacted the Eugene Police Department and locked down the complex. Law enforcement experts then conducted a sweep of the facilities. No explosive device was found. While UO and law enforcement officials do not believe the threat is credible, the decision has been made to close the buildings on Monday, May 7, 2007 as a precaution. As a result, all classes, activities and other business scheduled in the Lillis Business Complex have been canceled on Monday. The complex will reopen on Tuesday, May 8 at 7 a.m.

Dave Frohnmayer
President, University of Oregon

I hear this kind of thing happens all the time (mostly during Finals Week), but this is way too soon after the VT tragedy to be playing games, and I'm thankful President Frohnmayer feels the same way. Especially since this is where most of my classes are and will be for the rest of my college days. I hope this is a one time thing, because campus could become a scary place if it's not.

Cinco 'Stache: A CRYBART Digital Short

Roll Credits: A CRYBART Digital Short

The second video from the CRYBART team, Jake, Ryan, and myself. Enjoy.

Check out our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/CRYBART.

Aqua Teen Movie Intro

This was the best intro to any movie I have ever seen. It was the funniest part of the Aqua Teen movie in my opinion. This plays right after one of those cheesy, old-school, "let's all go to the lobby" bits, and it's perfect. I wish they would play this before every movie.

The quality sucks because it's a video camera in a theater, but some guy put the CD quality audio on it and amped the subtitles so you can read it. If a better version comes out, I'll put it up. Take a look:

I webbed you. That means you got the apartment!

We love this commercial, the way the guys says that, so I figured I'd post it so we can watch it anytime we want.

A Rant

So, we're having a party tonight for Cinco de Mayo. It's the day that Olive's people gained their independence, so we must celebrate it. Olive is Amanda's Chihuahua for those that don't know, and she is Mexican, so you get it. Anyways, to celebrate, we decided we wanted to get a keg. I have never gotten a keg before, but thought it was something I needed to do now that I was 21. Also, Bryan is hellbent on making a kegerator (fridge with a tap that holds a keg), so that was more inspiration. So Thursday we decided that we would go out and get one. I grabbed Jake and headed over to Springfield where the beer docks are. When we got there, we saw that it was cash only, and we were $2 short in cash of getting the cheapest one, and it was close to closing time, so we rushed to a gas station, got some cash, and made it back. We got into this tiny room with a list of kegs and prices. We're looking at what we're gonna get, and the lady comes over and asks for our IDs. By now, it's just second nature for, and I'm sure Jake too, so we fork them over. After a good 3-4 minutes of looking at Jake's ID and checking the national ID book, she tells him that the book says that his ID is fake. We both kind of stand there and go, "what?". Jake is from Pennsylvania, so he's used to people looking closely at his ID, but it's real. The Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles issued him a valid Pennsylvania driver's license, yet this lady had just told him it was fake... So I ask her, "is there any way for us to prove to you that a real id is real?" And this lady was a HUGE bitch, but then again, who wouldn't be if you were 35, looked 45, and worked at the beer docks. But seriously, if there was ever a time that I wanted to punch a girl, it was definitely then. Anyways, this guy comes over her shoulder and jokingly says, "just give 'em the beer". To that she replied "NO" as if he had been hassling her all day. Again, HUGE bitch. So we go back and forth with her for a few minutes, me getting exponentially more frustrated, until Jake says, "well, that ID would be pretty hard to fake." He was talking about the state and all the counties being printed on the edges and all the holographic shit that's on it. To this, she replied, "actually, it wouldn't be, because it's out of state and we don't know what a real one looks like." Then I got more mad. First, she had a book that has all the ids in it just for this purpose. She had consulted it, but while she did, I noticed it said "2005" with "time-sensitive" below it. You are using an old book which says it needs to be updated, AND you call a real ID fake. Then she said she had just taken a class on this from the OLCC. I should have choke slammed her right then. So she looked in a book AND took a class, and she STILL got it wrong. Wow. After telling us she could get fined if they took it, she handed Jake his "fake" ID back (wouldn't she legally have to take that?) and we left. I was pissed, and even while writing this 2 days later, I'm getting myself worked up about it. We eventually got the keg the next day, so don't worry folks. It was a 1/2 barrel keg of Olympia because Bryan was $1 short of Coors Light. Ironic. It's funny though, because I know somebody who has gone in there with someone who has a fake California ID, and they were fine. FUCK THAT! I thought Cali ID's were made so that they were really hard to fake, but apparently that's wrong, it's clearly Pennsylvania.

But hey, we are having a party tonight, so you should come over.

Star Wars, Robot Chicken style

I guess Robot Chicken is planning a TV special dedicated to Star Wars sketches like this one.

My New Sony Handycam Camcorder

I just got this baby today. I've wanted a video camera for a while now, and the combination of winning money in Vegas and starting a little production company motivated me to finally get one.

It's a Sony MiniDV Handycam with a 2.5" swivel LCD touch screen, a 20x optical zoom,and it only weighs 14 oz. with tape and battery. It is a MiniDV, which is a little cassette tape essentially, and while I would have loved to get one with a hard drive, I wasn't willing to spend $300 extra bucks to get it. Most camcorders are MiniDV right now, though hard drives will take over soon, but I don't need that because I can hook up the camcorder to my computer and save them on my own hard drive, but it just takes a little more time. Time I'm willing to put in.

So now that I have this, plan to see many more videos. The next one we plan to do is set for Thursday night, and I think it's going to be hilarious. Stay tuned. Here's a few more pics: