50% correct

Well, I called half of them right. Alaina and Alexandrea, Jason and Robbie. I had all 4 in my least favorite category, though.

Now I have to hear Luke for another week. Ick.

10 Girls

Hey, am I psychic or what? The day after I complain about never getting Chicago songs, I get one!

Does anyone besides me mix up Alaina and Kady? I can't keep them straight in my head.

Anyhow....

The problem shared by all the girls last week was the flu. Tonight it was the key. I only think two girls chose the proper key to sing their song in. In most cases, it was too low. The vocal coaches are really falling down on the job on Idol so far this year.

Bottom of the pack was Amanda the rockin' nurse tonight. That may have been the worst performance not made by someone named Sanjaya. I don't think she actually got one single note right. I'm pretty sure that's the end for her, and it's too bad because I really wanted to hear her sing AC/DC and try to channel Brian Johnston's lead vocals. Oh well.

After her performance, there was a logjam for middle of the pack. Alaina or Kady might have put themselves in the most danger. Alaina, no, Kady did "Magic Man" in a horribly low key, such that she couldn't get out the verse so it could be heard. Kady, no, Alaina did "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and didn't do it badly, but she just has no personality on stage. When the judges criticize her, she gives them the "I hate you" stare and that's about it. I just don't think she's connecting with the audience.

Top honors goes to Carly - and I misjudged her during auditions. With a band backing her, she's pretty good. She did a Heart song as well, "Crazy on You", and hit it nicely.

Ramiele ("Don't Leave Me This Way") was terrific again, and Syesha ("Me and Mr(s) Jones") was the next strongest. Kristy Lee redeemed herself with a nice rendering of Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good".

I have to say this yet again: Idol contestants should NEVER pick a song about going home, breaking up, letting it end, going down in a blaze of glory, or some other subject that would be truly ironic if they were eliminated and had to sing it as their farewell performance. "You're No Good" would be a terrible thing to have to sing after being voted off. I don't think Kristy Lee is in danger this week, but if she gets voted off, the gods of irony will have struck yet again on American Idol. You hear that, Phil Sawyer?

Brooke did a really good job with "You're So Vain", looking Simon in the eye the whole time. She used the original key, but it was a tone too low for her to sing the first words of the chorus properly. She's safe, though. I like her.

Alexandre'a totally messed up my perfectly good rant by singing "If You Leave Me Now" (another ironic song if eliminated) by Chicago. It occurred to me that Luke Menard should have sung this last night, as his falsetto fits Chicago perfectly. I think Alexandre'a is safe because her performance was adequate and better than some of the others, but I don't get the likable vibe from her. She will be vulnerable until she wins over some voters.

Asia'h took a risk and sang "All By Myself", which is a difficult one to pull off, and she did it while sick. She broke on the very first chorus, recovered, and did a darn good job for the rest of the song. Bonus points for ballsyness.

Strongest: Carly (way out front), Ramiele, Syesha
Weakest: Amanda, Alaina, Kady

Predicted losers: Amanda, Kady

Week 2 American Idol: The Guys

Tonight, the theme was the 70's, and we saw better song choices from just about everyone.

Before I get started, I have to air one of my pet peeves. Why hasn't anyone on AI in 8 seasons ever sung a Chicago song? I don't get it. We had two Blood Sweat and Tears songs last week, but never ever anything by Chicago.

Anyway, only one of the guys stunk up the joint tonight: Luke Menard. Two weeks and I hate him already. Any fool can stand up and sing falsetto off-key, and that's apparently his shtick. I hope he's gone on Thursday.

Nobody else stank. David Hernandez ("Papa Was A Rolling Stone") and Chikeze (some Donnie Hathaway song about remembering his name), who were my least favorites last week, were much better tonight and sounded stronger than just about any of the others. Jason Castro, who I really like because of the effortless way he performs, was in my top 3 with Hernandez and David Archuleta. Archuleta is way out front of the pack right now. David Cook was pretty strong as well, so that's 3 Davids in of my top 4 this week.

Danny Noriega (the gay kid) did a passable job with his song, but his personality may not win him any votes. Robbie Carrico did a very bland, slow, and too low performance of Foreigner's "Hot Blooded" and could also be in danger. Jason Yeager did a pretty good "Without Love", but all three judges panned him for the second straight week and that could doom him.

My least favorites this week: Menard and Carrico. I predict Menard and Yeager go home on Thursday.

How To Cook A Steak

First, get two really nice steaks.


Lightly coat with olive or canola oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and grind on coarse black pepper.

Toss on a HOT grill for 3 minutes per side.

Also coat some thick slices of yellow squash and sweet potato with olive oil, sprinkle kosher salt, and throw on the grill with the steaks.


If it looks so good you forget to take the picture, just take the picture after you've cut half of one of the steaks for your wife.


Perfect pink on the inside!


This is what it looks like when it's done.

It's Curtains for You, Lefty!

The new curtains are complete, sans tie-backs.

Fabric chosen by Bernie, bought and hauled all the way from Malaysia.
Sewing by Jason's Mom.
Valances built, upholstered and installed by Jason.

You can see the framed print in between the windows no longer goes with the curtains. We'll have to replace it with something more appropriate. We have a Chinese lyre and an Indian horn (lying on the desk) to put on the wall as decorations, as well. Mom has a bedskirt from the same material on the way to us.

Results

I nailed it! The two girls I singled out were the ones sent home. I didn't actually predict for the guys, so I'm claiming a perfect score. I didn't want to see Garrett sent home so early, though. I thought he had some potential. I'm willing to forgive a weak performance in a 17 year old more than I am in an older performer.

It's too early to see trends, though. The first week is just there to survive and get your feet wet. Reset all expectations for next week.

Analyzing the Ladies

I only got to watch the second half of Idol last night, due to basketball awesomeness (I had to watch this one, since I'd ditched the last two games). However, I did DVR it and scanned the first 5 singers after watching the last 7 live.

Favorites:
Syesha - I can't make up my mind if I like her or not, but there's no denying she's good.
Ramilie - My favorite. Two completely different personalities depending on if she's singing or not.
Carly - I wasn't impressed with her until this performance. The band makes a difference.

Going home:
Amy - Oh my God, that was bad.
JoAnne - Not bad, but very weak, and she's playing the fat card too much.

As usual, I'll change my mind week to week. Overall, I was disappointed in the ladies, as I thought they'd be better than the guys based on auditions. Once we weed out the weak ones, I think we'll have a better 6 females than guys, though.

We'll see later on - elimination is tonight.

First Idol Post of 2008

Bernie and I watched American Idol last night to see the 12 guys sing. There's too many of these people to run down strengths and weaknesses individually, however, I will say that all twelve of these guys are better than any of the guys from last season's finals. Including Blake.

Nobody earned less than 7 out of 10 on my (fictional) scorecard last night, whereas I don't think I would have given that many points to more than a couple of male performances during last season.

I think the Hernandez guy (first performer of the evening) and Chikeze (Jacuzzi, according to Simon) were the worst of the lot, with the falsetto dude Menard close behind. The best was David Archuleta, who if they don't let him giggle like a retarded child on camera too much (like they did last night) might have a chance to win this season. The guy with the dreadlocks wasn't bad either. The Australian guy irritates me for some reason, and he's a quarter pitch flat most of the time. I actually liked the gay kid and the Ellen Degeneres look-alike kid, though Simon hated them.

From what I've seen of the ladies this season, the female contingent will overwhelm the guys once we go head-to-head in 3 weeks. If the guys are better this year, the girls look to be stellar.

Judge-wise, Simon was the worst he's ever been on last night's show. He's definitely scripting his insults before the show airs, and he isn't a good enough actor to hide it. It really doesn't make sense to blather on and on about being "relevant" and "modern" if the theme is 60's night. The contest is for singing, not for arranging (if it was, I'd enter and win). The judge comments were the least interesting aspect of the show last night, which is a switch. I'm beginning to think that Randy actually is the best judge of talent on the panel these days, even if 90% of what he says is indecipherable.

One day, they'll let the vocal coaches from Idol get on camera and tell us what they think. That will be interesting to hear. Probably the only intelligent commenting we'll ever hear from this show.

End of an Era

In earth-shattering news, the saga of the twisted column has come to an end. The builder finally sent two guys to replace it. The epilogue will be when they come to paint it and my railings.

No other news to report, other than I'm probably going to get sick soon. The evidence is that my face is breaking out - a sure sign that my immune system is in overdrive fighting something.

Prolonging My Life

I've given up watching UNC basketball games for the most part. Not because I don't care - it's because I'll die of a heart attack if I have to endure the adrenaline rush 3 times a week until March.

Two, count-em, TWO overtimes tonight. Down by 16 in the second half, and UNC wins anyway. I can tell you this because I read it online. I didn't watch, and boy am I glad I didn't.

A Scare and a Frightening Realization

Bernie and I decided to go over to Mom and Dad's house this afternoon. Aunt Pat was visiting, and Mom was planning on having the whole family over for dinner, but we decided to go early since we were out already.

After about an hour, Mom and Bernie decided to go grocery shopping. That left Dad, me, and Aunt Pat watching TV. Dad had taken a misstep on the bottom stair this morning and twisted his ankle, so he had been taking it easy on the sofa. He decided to get up, and his knee decided not to hold him up and he took a fall, whacking his forehead on the sharp edge of the chest-of-drawers.

Blood was everywhere. I ran and got him a wad of damp paper towels, then found an icepack and an old cloth to put pressure on the injuries. To Dad's credit, he didn't pass out. He had three deep cuts - two on his forehead and one on the bridge of his nose. I called mom's cell phone and told her to come home quick.

When she got home, it was decided that we were going to the Emergency Room and Bernie and Aunt Pat would stay home. Dinner was canceled.

After about 6 hours in the ER, Dad got his wounds dressed. No stitches. He had a gouge-type wound that had no edges to pull together, and two flap-type lacerations with edges that wouldn't hold a stitch or dermabond, so they used steri-stips to tape the two lacerations shut and put ointment and a bandage on the gouge. No concussion or other trauma to the head. When they heard of Dad's history and his neck surgery in 2005, they took a CAT-scan of his head to make sure there wasn't any damage.

We got him back home around 8:30.

My Dad has a history of accidents, and since his surgery, he's been predictably getting a bit weaker and clumsier, and has had a number of falls. I find myself getting irrationally angry whenever this happens ("How can you not be more careful, knowing your condition?" etc., etc.). Feeling that way isn't fair, but I guess this is my way of trying to deny that my parents are getting older and not being able to face the fact that they won't be taking care of me forever, and instead they will need me to take care of them in the future.

That's a hard truth to face, because my Dad has always been there to catch me if I mess up. Even if I don't always need that backstop (and there have been times when I've even resented it), I've gotten used to him being there for me. One day, hopefully a long time away, I'll have to go on without him, but that is too frightening to think about. I'm not looking forward to outliving my parents. I have been lucky - my parents love me and my sister, love my wife, love each other, and have been stable, healthy, and supportive for my whole life. When they are gone, I really don't know how I'll cope.

Anyway, Bernie ended up unloading the groceries by herself, and kept Aunt Pat company all afternoon and half the evening - all while worried to death for my Dad. At least I chose the perfect woman to spend the rest of my life with. Both me and my parents agree on that.

Welcome To The Doldrums

The cat is off getting his radiation treatment. He's doing fine, and we'll get him back tomorrow.

Brendan and Alexis dropped in on Sunday and we took them to the sushi buffet and had a nice time. They didn't bring little Garrett, but we keep up with him on his blog.

Watching the Super Bowl was a lot of fun, but you all pretty much know about that.

Work is still good. Most fun job I've ever had, although that is damning it with faint praise.

I'm still fat. I'm beginning to think about Lap-Band surgery. I don't want to be obese when I turn 40 in 2009.

I'm way overdue for an adventure. I don't have any vacation days left, though. We don't get new vacation until May each year. Even when I get some, I'm inclined to save it so I can carry some over to use after May 2009.

Welcome to the February blahs. Happens every year!

New Food

We've had a couple of nice revelations in food news here in our little town this week.

Firstly, the giant asian food market in Cary that we drive 3 hours to visit a few times a year is opening a new branch - here in Stallings! In fact, it'll be less than a half-mile up the road! This is a really nice, clean store the same size as a large grocery store, with a bakery (char siew buns all the time!) and even a small restaurant inside. Since we'll be regulars, we will have to ask them to carry a couple of the things that Bernie misses from Malaysia. Hopefully, this news will stimulate us to take walks in the evening, where we can be rewarded with something from the bakery!

Secondly, we got a flyer in the mail about a new restaurant called Dillas, which is a quesadilla place that delivers like a pizza place. We tried it last night and I'm sold. Mom was over visiting, so we ordered a 2-person quesadilla (a 14 inch tortilla folded in half) with spinach, chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc. for them, and I (hating mushrooms) got a personal size one with steak, beans, onions and rice. Wow - it was very good and stayed crunchy during the delivery time. Probably much healthier than pizza, too. An interesting option is that they actually have one with pizza ingredients as well. Very cool, and we'll be doing this again sometime soon.

Now for something completely different. Three things Bernie told me she'd never do, caught on film:

knitting - and sitting with the cat on her lap (that's two in one):


And ironing:

We Won't Get Fooled Again

With apologies to the Who.

Local meteorologists: Be warned. At no point this weekend did you even speak of the possibility that we would get no accumulation at all - until the snow and rain ended. In fact, when the rain, sleet and snow had not even started until three hours later than your prediction, instead of backing off, you reported that the predicted accumulation would in fact be more than you originally stated. In poker, this is known as a bluff. I canceled a road trip that I had been looking forward to for a long time based on your fear-mongering, and now we all feel stupid. You've abused the public trust yet again, and we won't be trusting you any longer.

I've been really lazy today and accomplished very little. At least I'll be well-rested for work on Monday.

Tuesday update: They did it again! Predicted gloom and doom ice storm for this morning, that is. Guess what? Nothing fell. It's not even that cold.

Cloverfield

I dragged Bernie out to see Cloverfield yesterday after work.

I loved it. With the self-imposed limitation of using a handheld camera and first-person perspective, I don't think it is possible to make a finer movie. It's not just a monster movie, it's more like really being there, and it also has a nice storyline that isn't connected to the monster.

This was a cross between a video game and a nightmare, and when the movie ended, I realized I'd been tensed up for an hour without relaxing. I never got the chance to get the popcorn that I'd been craving all day, either.

The only drawback is that Bernie hated the shaky-cam perspective. She says I owe her a chick-flick next time, and she won't buy my assertion that the love story in this movie counts.

Weekend Over Already!

Man, it went by so fast.

On Saturday, we began by going over to my parents' house and watching the UNC-MooU game. Very satisfying outcome, as UNC got a 30 point lead early and coasted for the rest of the game. The best thing about beating the wuffies is going to their message boards to watch them whine about the refs. Every time. Seriously. NC State has never lost a single game to UNC according to their fans. It's always been the referee favoring the Tar Heels. Even when they are beaten by 31 points, the ref caused the 30 point lead and the State players "quit because they could tell the fix was in". Then is the inevitable whine about how UNC "left the starters in" after the game got out of hand. What a bunch of idiots.

We stayed in on Saturday night and watched a bunch of junk on TV.

Sunday morning at 4 am, the cat started throwing up again. Poor guy. Of course, then he has to be fed again, and won't let us sleep until that's taken care of. I ended up closing the bedroom door and of course the cat has to bang on the door to let us know how he feels about that. When I got up for good, I had to go in to work for a little while. We deployed our new portal release today, and I was the test lead, so I had to round up the group and document and sign off on the production validation tests. This only took an hour or so.

Then Bernie and I tackled the big project - the attic. We bought a bunch of storage containers earlier in the week, since Target had a great sale price on them, and we condensed and reorganized our boxes, and we now have a metric ton of cardboard to get rid of, but we can walk in the attic again. I'm wiped out.

By the way, Bernie made chicken pot pie for dinner (and she already ate some of hers for lunch). Looks good, doesn't it?

ISP Change

Last week, i decided to get a divorce from Time Warner. In the past, I resolved never to get cablevision from them ever again, and only allowed them to provide me with broadband internet. Well, last month, they raised their already-higher-than-everyone-else rate from $44.95 a month to $46.95 a month, and put a note in the bill "warning" me that the rate was going up - in the bill with the rate increase in it! Thanks for the warning, jerks!

So I called up Windstream and found that I can get their Greenstreak broadband for $34.95 a month at 3mbps, which is technically slower than TW, but because TW is a shared connection, it turns out to be effectively the same speed. They can also bundle my Dish Network subscription and save me more money, but I have to be a Windstream customer for 6 months before they can take over my relationship with Dish. They also will be doubling that speed to 6mbps in February without raising the rate. After consulting Bernie, we signed up.

OK, so the installer shows up. I don't have a phone line connected to the house at all, because we use VoIP over the internet. The guy says he's only going to connect us to the box on the outside of the house and not do anything inside. Bernie calls me and she hands the phone to him and I tell him to make it work inside or the deal's off. I come home and he's done a crappy, messy wiring job inside my wiring cabinet to one phone jack in the house - upstairs. Strike one on Windstream. I'm ticked off, but I get out my wire tools and cut out his work and re-do it so that I now have a jack inside the wiring closet that I can plug the DSL modem into.

I have a letter in the mail from Windstream telling me that there is a sticker on the back of the letter with my ID and password, which is necessary in order to enable the DSL modem. I turn the letter over - no sticker. Strike Two.

So I call technical support. They ask me for all sorts of ID over the phone, then tell me they have no record of me at all. I'll have to call the business office in the morning to straighten it out. Strike Three.

Despite striking out, I decide to give them one more chance. The business office gets it straightened out, gives me my ID and password, and last night, I get it all working. The speed difference isn't noticeable. I guess we'll call Time Warner tomorrow and tell them to take a hike. That should be pleasant.

My readers should be used to something simple like this becoming a total train wreck by now.

My New Ride

You are looking at my new truck. The color is "Dark Cherry Metallic". Aside from the intoxicating new car smell, the new features include the Sync audio system that hooks up to your MP3 player via USB and lets you do voice commands like the "Play artist Michael Bolton" gag on the commercials.

(Bernie tried that one on me this morning and I don't have any Michael Bolton on my MP3 player. Ha!)

It also will bluetooth to your cell phone and let you make or receive calls using the voice commands. Heck, it will even READ your text messages to you! We'll be taking a road trip to Raleigh soon, and I think I'm going to have to drive the truck rather than Bernie's car, gas mileage be damned!

I've probably seen the end of the new toys for a long time now, because I've had too many lately. But I'm now set for my car for the next 3 years. Hopefully, when that time comes again, they'll have some better, more fuel-efficient engines in small trucks.

Object of My Obsession

In case you've been wondering why I haven't been blogging since Christmas:

This is a Nokia N800 Internet Tablet. This was my primary Christmas gift this year, and I've been spending all my spare time playing with it since then.

Basically, this is a handheld PC with wi-fi and bluetooth. It runs on a flavor of Linux, and there are lots of free applications out there that can be downloaded and installed. I'm just beginning to unlock this thing's potential.

Web browsing (fully-functional, not handicapped like cell phones' browsers)
VoIP telephone calls (it can use my account for Broadvoice!)
Instant messaging
Media player (it's a fantastic music and video player)
Streaming content from the internet (YouTube, Internet radio)
GPS Navigation (I ordered a bluetooth GPS antenna)
Games (they ported the original Doom release for it already)
PDA
FM Radio

Anyway, that's what I've been doing this week. I can even blog from it!

It's Christmas in Heaven...

(title of post is from Monty Python's Meaning of Life)
Merry Christmas, everyone!

The tacos have been eaten, the yule log cake devoured, and we're killing time before going to midnight mass. Santa's on his way to deliver lots of coal to put in Bernie's stocking.

By the way, Bernie finally got the Christmas spirit tonight. I think the nephews helped her out.