November 2010


Ups and Downs of the week.

Christkindlmarkt – The annual Christmas markets opened today in Europe. I’d love to be there. A nice hot Glühwein and a tasty bratwurst are perfect while strolling through the market stalls. Doesn’t get any better. Some year we’ll spend Christmas in Europe. Below are live webcams of the markets in Nürnberg and Salzburg. Two of my favorite cities.

Nürnberg Christkindlmarkt

Nürnberg Christkindlmarkt

Salzburg Christkindlmarkt

Salzburg Christkindlmarkt

Black Friday – Always seems to bring out the worst in people right at the time of year when we’re supposed to be seeing the best.

Patriots – They looked shaky at the start against Detroit, but then they turned it around in the 2nd half. Still can’t shake the Jets, though. The Red Sox were in the premium division this year and it appears the Patriots are as well.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Thesis Paper – Finally done. Just need to defend now, which should be a piece of cake.

Burn After Reading – I’ve been looking forward to watching it tonight, but it was so bad I finally turned it off. I understand the story is about the dark sides of life taken to the level of absurdity, but I don’t find humor in watching people going through painful episodes (which means, I suppose, that I don’t “get” dark humor even though I recognize it when I see it). And while I don’t mind profanity when the situation calls for it, I do mind when it becomes an overused “prop” in a movie. I stopped snickering at profanity before reaching adolescence. Now I just find it annoying when it comes up multiple times in every sentence. Call this one Burn Before Watching.

Patriots – They showed up against Pittsburgh. Maybe they really are a team to watch this year. Still tied with the pesky Jets, though.

Winter Sunsets – They can be pretty spectacular here.

Winter Sunset

Winter Sunset

Ups and Downs of the week.

Weather – It’s been a gift week with daily temps in the 70s. I taken the Z4 to work every day with the top down mornings and evenings. Very unusual for November. It’s all coming to an end this weekend, but it was great while it lasted.

Microsoft Office 2010 – Seems like change for the sake of change. So frustrating to work with.

Decent Contractors – Last week I ranted about unreliable contractors. Well we finally got our downstairs furnace working. Same contractor who rebuilt the upstairs system. Should have gone back to them in the first place.

Patriots – Got their butts kicked by the Browns. The Steelers game will be a real test of their caliber.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Isringhausen BMW – Good to know there are still dealers who will stand behind their products.

Unreliable Contractors – Seems to be the norm for this area. The economy may be in the dumps elsewhere, but around here contractors blow off work so often they must have a ton of it coming in.

Patriots – Best record in the NFL. Randy who?

Spammers – Get a life already. Losers.

Gross Injustice – An Oakland, CA transit cop kneels on a prone suspect, draws his pistol, and shoots the kid in cold blood. The whole thing gets captured on video leaving no doubt as to what happened. And yet he gets a whopping two years, reduced by the time he’s spent behind bars already. Unbelievable.