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2.27.2002
Here's the picture of Amy and I:



Click on it for a larger version.

I'm just hanging in there with CS projects and such. Actually my partner for one class is sick today, so I've got a little time to myself.

I hope Amy is feeling ok. It was a year ago yesterday that a good friend of hers died. That, along with some news about my dad's aunt, has gotten me thinking about death. And that's not something I like to think about. On the one hand, you have to accept death - it's part of the cycle, nobody lives forever. On the other hand, it's not that simple, especially when people are very close to you. Blargh. I don't like thinking about these things...

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2.25.2002
Not a bad weekend. Went to a few more state parks to continue our little adventure. Lots of running around, but I actually think we managed to be social *and* get some things done. That's always a good thing.

I must put in a good word for Acme Photo in Madison. I took some film there a few weeks ago for an enlargement. They did a fine job, but we wanted a few more copies made, plus there was some gunk on the negative which resulted in some white spots on the print. Well, we went back there, and the first thing the woman working there did was clean off the negative. Ok, great. I told her we wanted 3 copies - she said she could have them done later that day, but I told her it wasn't a hurray and that we'd stop back in the next day. Well, we came back the next day, I went in, took a look, and decided everything was fine. No marks from a dirty negative, and the woman even made an extra print for no charge. I went out to the truck (where Amy was waiting) to show Amy - oops: they used the wrong frame. There are two very similar pictures, one where I'm wearing my glasses and one where I'm not. We wanted the one without, they printed the one with. Ok, go back inside. The woman is very sorry and says she'll have them done after lunch. So, we go to lunch, come back, and sure enough they were ready. They looked great, and guess what - she made *6* copies for us (we ordered 3). Talk about customer service.

And, you know what? I think she only charged us for 2.

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2.23.2002
Well, this was a long week, or at least it seemed like one. One CS project to turn in, another one to work on, and a new one assigned. Blargh.

Not a whole lot else to talk about. The state HS wrestling tournament is this weekend, and out of town people do NOT know how to drive/park in Madison, but other than that...

I finally scanned in one of the pictures of Amy and I. It's currently on her site and our blog, but here's a link to it if you haven't seen it already.

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2.20.2002
I just saw a bumper sticker I really liked:

"Re-elect Gore in 2004"

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2.18.2002
Nothing too exciting today. Just keeping busy. As usual. Had a late birthday dinner with Erin and Casperson. Thanks guys.

I picked up Ellington At Newport 1956 (Complete) today. I've never been huge on jazz (not like my dad, anyway), but this seems kind of like the type of thing we would play in high school (the style that is - on a technical level it's obviously much better than our band was...). I think I like it. Of course, the recording process is just really nifty - the VOA and Columbia both recorded the show, in mono, with separate microphones. For this CD they played the two recordings back side by side to create true stereo. Of course, there's a lot more to it than just that, but...

I was fairly happy with how my latest Spanish test went...

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2.17.2002
First off, I unfairly targeted a few people with my last post. Sorry, guys. Thanks to everyone who came out on Saturday. I appreciate it.

So, last night was our first Pat show since New Year's. And you know what? I really didn't find it that exciting. Maybe Pat's show is losing its edge. Or maybe I'm just not that interested any more. Or maybe both. Whatever the case, I don't see myself going to large numbers of Pat shows in the future. I think that's what last year was for.

For my birthday I got the M*A*S*H DVDs. Both the movie and the first season. I've only glanced at the movie so far, but I must say the first season set is impressive. Not a whole lot in terms of extras, but the DVDs give you 1) a great picture, 2) no syndication cuts, and 3) the option to turn off that damn laugh track. I must say that third point is a big one, as the show feels really different without it. Almost like you're watching a movie at times. I'm not quite used to it yet, but I think I like it. I know my dad and I have been screaming for years that they should make the shows available without the laugh track.

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2.16.2002
FUCKING BLOGGER. I just lost all of what I wrote.

It's my birthday. What a thrill.

So, it really bothers me when people decide to act like children. A friend (if you can call them that) of Amy's has decided they either don't like me (why I don't know), or don't like the fact that Amy and I are together (ie, taking away their "personal Amy time"). Either way the result is they choose to avoid us and not do "group things" anymore. Which really isn't a problem in and of itself (for me, anyway), but then this person whines and moans that Amy never wants to hang out with them anymore. Apparently a prerequisite of Amy hanging out with them is me not being there. Yeah, whatever.

And, really, this hadn't been too much of a problem until recently, when this person decided to start bringing mutual friends into things. Yes, it's becoming "our side" vs. "their side", and people are having to choose. Like last night, for example. Amy, myself, and a friend were at the bar. This person and some other mutual friends walked into the bar. They saw us, said "hi" to our friend, then quickly went somewhere else in the bar. Never said a word to Amy or I. We didn't see them again until we happened to run into them (all drunk) on the street later. This has manifested itself in other ways as well, such as sudden attitude shifts about certain issues.

All I have to say is GROW UP.

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2.15.2002
So, two years ago today I went to my first ever Pat show. I wasn't 21 when the night started, but was by the time it ended, so I don't feel too bad about it. Two years... A lot can happen in two years. I went from not knowing who Pat was to being "#1 fan" to not caring that much. And, of course, if it weren't for Pat I most likely wouldn't have met Amy. Thanks Pat.

Not too much else going on. I'm quite glad it's Friday, though. Yes, very glad. I see a lot of drinking in store for this weekend, but not a whole lot of stuff that I will really enjoy. Oh well.

So, I finally have a good box to run Linux on, other than my Mac. A 400 Mhz K6-2 or something. That's what I'm typing this on. I really need to get a larger hard drive for it, though. I guess I'll just put it on the list...

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2.14.2002
So, it's Valentine's Day. Do I really care? Nope. And, as you probably know, it's not "I can't get a date so I don't care blah blah blah...", it's "every day is a good day, so how is this day any more special than the others?" So, I guess I don't have too much to say about it, really.

I think the world must be ending. Yesterday I went into the post office to mail a package. Now, normally this entails waiting in an understaffed post office for more than 10 minutes. Yesterday, however, was different. At the post office I usually go to, there are 4 windows. Well, you know what? There were 4 people working. Not only that, but the line was moving fairly quickly, and I only had to end up waiting for about 2 minutes, if that. I didn't time it, but my guess is I was in and out of the post office in under 3 minutes, anyway.

In other news, we had some friends over last night for dinner. More grilled salmon and such. That almost didn't happen, though. The potatoes were baking and I had just put the corn on when I decided to go check on the grill (which was already heating up). We were out of gas. Wait, it gets better. We are about to go get the tank filled up when we realize that the key to unlock the chain around the tank and grill is nowhere to be found. Next we try to set up one of those portable propane grills. We had gas for it, but there's a piece missing which means the tank won't stay on the grill. Not good. *Finally* (after much time and grumbling) I said we should suck it up and buy a new tank. Why I hadn't thought of that earlier is beyond me, but... So, after all that, we finally had grilled salmon.

Oh, and after dinner we found the key, in a drawer in the dining room table. Go figure.

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2.10.2002
Another long weekend. This seems to be a pattern. Friday was another "what did we do Friday?" Saturday started out with lunch with Erin and Ruppert, then the four of us headed down to Illinois to go to Ikea and the mall. And, I must say, I couldn't give a damn about Ikea. It must be because I'm not a female or a gay male. Then again, Ruppert seemed to like it. Hmm...wonder what that says about him. Oh, probably not that much.

Today we headed out toward Dodgeville and went to Governor Dodge State Park and Blue Mounds State Park, among other places. Governor Dodge is very nice, IMO. I think that was the first time I was ever out there. Took some more pictures and got some more developed. Not my best work, but there were some nice ones in there.

Well, I think that's all for now. Time to get ready for yet another week. Blargh.

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2.08.2002
Ahh, relaxation. It's finally Friday. While I have 3 classes this morning, none of them are too exciting. Once I get through those, I can completely relax. You see, I had CS programs due on both Wednesday and Thursday. Neither was too terrible (I even got to reuse a bunch of the code from the Wednesday program on the Thursday program), but the Thursday program had to be done in C (NOT C++), and well, C just sucks. Once I got certain things working I didn't have a problem, but getting to that point WAS a problem. Luckily both work with no problems, to the best of my knowledge.

Not too much else exciting going on. Which is probably a good thing. Maybe I'll take some more pictures this weekend.

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2.04.2002
Getting a new face after rare infection

I guess this gives new meaning to the phrase "wait dear, I need to put on my face."

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God damn Mozilla. I just lost what I was writing.

Ok, so last weekend was a LONG weekend. I don't even remember what we did on Friday. On Saturday we first headed down to Racine to see my parents and pick up my car stereo. Then it was off to a quick visit of the grandparents, also in Racine. Then up to Milwaukee to see Pauline and Narf. Picking up stuff from Sears then dinner. Then back to Madison for a few hours of drinking. Rose Bowls at Brats are very tasty.

Sunday was...what happened Sunday? Ahh, yes, late start, then a drive through campus, Eagle Hights, and up around the north side of the lake. Then down to Belleville to help Amy's mom with her taxes. Then dinner and Barnes & Nobel. Then home - and bed. We didn't even turn on the Super Bowl. Oh well.
So, I think that's it. Now for another week of the grind. Which luckily isn't too bad.

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The Simpsons Archive

Vital stats:
DOB 2/16/79. I'm a web developer at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. I like lots of old music, including The Who. I spend a lot of time working with computers. And my favorite TV show (when I actually decide to watch TV, that is), obviously, is The Simpsons.

Education:
In May 2002 I officially graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BS in computer science. In 1997 (man that seems like a long time ago) I graduated from Washington Park HS. Yes, I know, that site isn't very impressive, and no, I haven't touched it for several years.

WFS Logo

WFS:
One of the best experiences I have ever had was on a trip called Western Field Studies. This is a 33 day adventure throughout the western United States. Students travel on a school bus to national parks, monuments, forests, and places of historical interest and camp out (in tents or under the stars). I was a part of trip 25, which took place in the summer of 1996. A first for WFS was we took along a laptop computer and kept up a web site. That link will take you to the 1996 site, where there is a link to the current site.