Peeps: Satan's Sugar Fix

I'm glad that I rediscovered this entry because of a fortuitous search that led to my blog ("death to peeps"). Because it's the season, and because I despise peeps, I decided to repost this gem:


Click here to make your own Fyrebug game

Death to Peeps!

I abhor peeps. I think they are the marshmallow manifestation of pure evil. That's why this is my new favorite game (well, second, behind Throw Paper!)


Click here to make your own Fyrebug game

Throw Paper!

If you would like to be productive again at some point in your life, do not follow this link.

My best is 13 32. Can you beat me?

Hubside Again (Briefly)

Back after a long weekend down in lovely Green Harbor. Great weather, many laughs, fantastic food, and a helluva painful early-morning commute from Kingston to Boston yesterday. A few highlights:

• The beach. Does it ever get old?
• Redonkulous catches in the surf
• The Genny
• Mussels galore
• Cooking for people who seemed to enjoy it, unless they were just being really nice
• Bacon omelettes
• Caipirinhas
• Beach lightning
• The Thinking Man's Game (1-1; Rigs and I couldn't squeeze in the rubber match but hopefully we can do so before he leaves)
• Quoting lines from Arrested Development
• Reading Patrick O'Brian by the sea
• Paul's baked haddock
• Cigars
• Amrys potatoes
• Lobster claw potholders
• Guac-ing up everything
• Butter

A Couple Awesome Things: Giacomo's and Beirut.

A bunch of people that I hang out with for some reason and I are having dinner at Giac's tonight. Should be good. Then we are going to break in the schtonky new beirut table that 45 sent me for my birthday. Hopefully we'll get some good pics for the interwebs.

Although I haven't heard from a single one of these so-called "friends" today...

Population Boom

Thanks to your efforts, MRhésville is growing quite nicely! However we're starting to have a touch of unemployment - click here to help build our industry.

And if you haven't visited yet, come on down!

My Mini City

Came across this fun little time waster on the internets this evening. Come visit MRhesville and help me build my city!

Awesome Friday! Horrendous Saturday.

A happy birthday to Benoc! Anne, Amanda, Scottojam, Lydia and I went over to Benoc & Dr. Raven's luxurious pad for some food, drinks, and some serious musical video gaming with Rock Band. This is by the same folks who did the immensely popular and awesome Guitar Hero series, but adds a bass guitar, drum set and microphone so that everyone can join in on the jam session. It's fun for the whole family! The instruments:



It was fantastic! With the karaoke aspect added, it really creates an interactive experience. You feel like you're performing the song along with your friends. Good stuff. Here's a shot of the game:



The game doesn't come with all that many songs but you are able to purchase more on the onlines. Good revenue stream, that.

---

Unfortunately I had to get up early this morning to help with the office move. It was an extremely long and painful day, due in no small part to the vast amounts of Jack and Red Bull I imbibed the night prior. A fantastic cocktail, but - ugh. I was at both the old and new offices for the entirety of today, getting home around seven o'clock. Hence why I am taking her easy tonight.

But it's done. Still a lot of unpacking left, but I can't wait to get my new office set up so I can kick back and finally get some serious work blogging done.

---

Big Ben's thrown three picks. He's killing the Stillers right now. Is NBC having broadcasting issues or is it my cable? The video keeps hiccuping every few minutes.

smAlbany

On Friday I got out of work early and Jeff and I headed out to Slingerlands, a suburb of Albany, NY, to visit Amrys and her folks for the weekend. Am's mom and the Good Doc (Doc, what happened to your blog?) provided good food, holiday cheer, and a lot of amusing anecdotes and advice, as always. Weekend highlights included:

Good eats - It seemed as if food was being prepared at all hours over the course of the weekend. Undoubtedly holiday preparations were the cause of this, but Jeff and I were the beneficiaries of this gastronomic largesse. The Williams made a roasted lamb which came out just before Jeff and I arrived. One of Jeff's relatives had given his family a basket full of homemade preserves, and, knowing what was on the menu, Jeff brought along a jar of mint jelly. The jelly was the perfect compliment to a heavenly lamb - moist, garlicky, with a simple yet delicious herb crust. The leftover lamb found its way into a curry the next night. The Good Doc slung some of the best homefries and eggs I've had for breakfast each morning.

Good reads - On Saturday we went off to do some Christmas shopping at a few Albany locations. One of these proved to be a great stop for me personally - Dove & Hudson, a used book store (296 Hudson Ave., Albany, NY; right on the eponymous corner). It was a small shop but it was packed with a pretty good selection of stuff, including a decent fiction section. The gent who ran it was also a character, helpful and rather witty. I managed to pick up a few choice books:

• Prague, by Arthur Phillips. I've read Phillips' The Egyptologist, and I liked it quite a bit. He wrote Prague prior to The Egyptologist, and it was well-received.

• If on a winter's night a traveler, by Italo Calvino. Full credit for this goes to Am, who literally put it atop the pile of books I was assembling as I poked through the shelves. I've heard good things about this and decided to go with Am's literary judgment (which I have found to be very reliable).

• The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, by Umberto Eco. I've read a couple of Eco's novels, and I'm currently in the middle of The Island of the Day Before. I'm becoming a fan, and it was impossible to pass up a beautiful paperback in perfect condition.

• Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace. I took perhaps the biggest chance on this one. Am gave it a mixed review; I read an excellent review of it and I've heard good things in the past from a couple people. It's massive, and will require a lot of time, dedication, and effort to slog through, I reckon. I don't think this will be at the top of my To-Read List for some time, but it was hard to pass up a paperback in very good condition sitting there screaming to be purchased.

• Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. This was probably the coolest find. I've heard many good things about this, and it's been on and off my radar for a while, but I zoned right in on it when I saw it sitting on the shelf. An earnest recommendation from Jeff sealed it for me. I think this will climb toward the top of my list.

A great used book shop, though. Definitely stop in if you're ever in the area. On a related note, Jeff picked up one of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, and the Good Doc clued me in to a recent biography of Lord Cochrane, upon whom the character of "Lucky" Jack Aubrey is based. I flipped through his copy; looks to be a fascinating read. I may have to acquire this sooner rather than later.

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..." - Not only did we have a cozy fire on Saturday night, but we roasted chestnuts in a popcorn-popper. This was cool and kind of fun, although chestnuts are surprisingly starchy. They are tasteless raw, but after some prolonged roasting they have a curious taste similar to roasted potatoes. Not unpleasant, but takes a while to get used to it.

The Mark - Manhattans and hot water bourbon with Maker's Mark; pleasant accompaniments to a roaring fire on a cold winter's night.

Getcha flax here! Two-I-got-two-I-got-two-two-two - A rousing game of Pit, the exciting card game that simulates the U.S. Corn Exchange! It's actually a very simple game that's good fun for a group. I believe I had a score of -20, which is horrendous.

Of course it was great to have the A-Side Lounge reunited for the first time in a while. With one in England and one in Wisconsin (and yours truly in the Hub) it's not too often that we can do this. Nice to be back together, if only for a short time. Getting a bit dusty in here...

Thanks to Am's parents for a wonderful, fun, relaxing weekend. Two nicer, more generous, more genuine people I will be hard pressed to meet.

Boston Rock City

After the game yesterday, Ben purchased Guitar Hero II after some subtle hinting from Amanda. This game is awesome. Tons of fun rocking out to sweet jams like KISS's "Strutter." Really addictive, challenging, and right up the alley of one who likes to rock the air axe on occasion (such as I). There's a bit too much metal on there that I don't know, but I guess that's the point.