Kathy Griffin is an embarassment

Some comedians seem to think that dropping the f-bomb in their act makes them funnier. No, it doesn't.

Kathy Griffin did this a lot during her CNN appearance on New Year's Eve. She also made certain off-color jokes that were decidedly shocking. Frankly, she should have known better. It was CNN, after all, a network that carries a certain professional demeanor.

I've never liked her act, and this incident makes me dislike her humor even more.

What a disappointing NYE celebration

I had to decide where to go on New Year's Eve. I could have gone to this one singles group, but the folks there tend to be older than I am, and they even act much older than they are. I could have gone to this ballroom on the west side of town, but I suspected that it would mostly be older people as well. (Indeed, I later found out that it was mostly older folks and a lot of couples. Not a great environment.)

So I went with some friends to a singles dance about an hour away. That was very disappointing as well. It was a "dance" where people mostly just wiggled around on the dance floor. Were they having fun? Certainly, and I won't begrudge them that. I was really hoping to see some people with actual dance skills though, especially partner dance skills.

One problem with these singles groups is that there are often good reasons why these folks are single. I'm not trying to disparage them, nor do I wish to minimize their worth as human beings. Like it or not though, very often these groups tend to be filled with people who are badly out of shape or who otherwise lack physical ability.

That's not the entire problem, though. One of my friends is pretty athletic, and she's even quite pretty. She just can't dance, and I don't know why. I think that ultimately, it's because she lacks confidence. She could do it, but if you throw something unexpected her way, she panics. She also doesn't put in a lot of effort, which is disappointing. I know that a lot of guys would want to dance with someone like her.

Some new lindy moves

Here are some new lindy hop dance moves that I learned.

"The Basket"
Trying different moves when coming out of a reverse swingout. One could do a Texas Tommy, a she-goes, or an outside turn.
Trying "the basket" but adding an extra turn at the end

Hyphenation

I thought that the title of this article was interesting. Why? Because this is a situation wherein somebody actually used hyphenation correct. The term "antigen-specific" is a compound adjective, and as such, it should ordinarily be hyphenated.

So many people miss out on this simple rule. I don't understand why, since it should be pretty clear to anyone who does a lot of reading. I do understand that some people don't seem to be wired in a way that lets them grasp the written word as well as others do, though. Some can communicate perfectly when when using spoken English, but their written English is a mess. Go figger.

Consider Rick Warren's vastly overrated bestseller, "The Purpose Driven Life." "Purpose Driven" should be hyphenated, but it is not. Very few people pick up on this.

There was a car blocking my driveway

I saw a car blocking my driveway late at night. It had its hazard lights on and its front passenger-side tire was twisted at a nasty angle. I'm guessing that it had a broken tie rod.

What a bummer for the owner. I am glad that the car was gone by the time I woke up in the morning, though. I would have hated to be blocked in. (Remind me to rant sometime about the jackass who blocked the driveway of the apartment building that I used to live in.)

I am also glad that this person didn't knock on my door and ask for help. I would have been willing to help, as I would not turn away someone in distress. However, I was also tired and had a lot of things to do.

Some cardio DVD recommendations

I'd like to recommend the following cardio DVDs:

Kimberly Spreen: Absolute Kickboxing
Criss Cross Cardio featuring Sherri Jacquelyn

In fact, I'd recommend anything by Kimberly Spreen. This particular DVD is great though, because it incorporates the use of a Body Bar (that is, a weighted bar) for some combat exercises. This is a great way to mix one's workout up a bit.

Sherri Jacquelyn is a bit of a newcomer; however, she does have some rather unique kickboxing moves. She also makes good use of capoeira, which is refreshing. I wish that my right ankle weren't hurting right now; otherwise, I'd do her workout a lot more.

I think I'll borrow these DVDs from the library now and then, just to give my workouts some variety.

A new robot

I received an ad today from Agilent Technologies. They were advertising their new Agilent Direct Drive Robot. It's a bit odd that they chose this name, as opposed to something glitzier. It's especially odd since their life sciences clientele probably wouldn't understand the implications of a direct drive robot, but what the heck.

It looks like a nifty machine. I wouldn't mind taking one of these things apart and/or discussion the design philosophy with some of their engineers. Might be kinda fun, and I do enjoy these high-tech toys.

Visiting

I'm glad that I got to visit a new friend over Christmas. She's very cool.

She says that she's no domestic diva. Personally though, I think she's a wonderful person. No romance in the cards there, but that doesn't mean that I can't respect her.

She's also a writer and can articulate herself very well. I appreciate that. If only more people had that kind of mastery of the written word.

Some Christmas humor

Here is a geeky bit of holiday humor from a clean jokes page.

Real programmers can never tell the difference between Halloween and Christmas. After all, OCT 31 == DEC 25.

Christmas Eve

Gonna meet a new friend for Christmas.

I normally spent Christmas with these delightful sisters that are very dear to me. One of them is on her honeymoon, though. The other is in a relationship, so getting together with me one-on-one is not an option.

Unfortunately, this meeting will involve a very long 3.5-hour drive, plus another 3.5 hours getting back. So I don't get to work out or do any real work on that day.

Extra billing from Bally

I don't get it.

Back in April, I cancelled my old Bally membership and started a new membership contract with different terms. Basically, for a few extra bucks each month, I can now go to any Bally gym in the nation. My old membership fees were being charged to my Visa card, whereas my new fees are being charged to my Discover card.

Starting in August though, I found that my Visa card was being charged again. I had a hard time getting ahold of any Bally customer service reps on the phone, but this week, I finally got a hold of one. (To be fair, I wasn't trying very hard, due to the long wait times.)

The problem has now been fixed and my charges are going to be refunded to me. We don't understand why the billing was erroneously resumed in August, though. Go figger.

So glad that I changed my battery

I am so glad that I changed my car battery. I could swear that the car runs more smoothly now. Yeah, baby.

I also saved myself a bunch of money that way.

Writing Great Articles

How do you write great articles? The following article (heh) from this site helps spell it out.

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How To Get Started On Writing Killer Articles


I once wrote an article in which I offered the following tip on how to speak eloquently in public: Talk about something that you’re passionate about. When we speak about matters that are dear to our hearts, we often find wellsprings of eloquence from which we can draw.

I offer similar advice to anyone who wants to learn how to write with flair and style. Start by writing about something that you feel deeply and passionately about. The same hearty emotions that lend eloquence to an orator can also provide a jumpstart to an aspiring writer. What’s more, we are likely to be well-informed about matters that we hold dear, and we are likely to have spent many hours pondering their significance in our minds.

Of course, this is no magic bullet. An aspiring writer still needs to master the mechanics of proper composition, as well as develop his own style. Still, these skills can only come about through practice—and if you’re going to practice, it helps to start with topics that we can launch into with great passion and aplomb.

V. B. Velasco Jr
http://www.immunospot.com

Replacing a car battery

I just replaced my car's battery. That was a lot more work than I expected, partly because I had never done it before. Loosening the screw on one of the battery clamps was pretty difficult, and as it turns out, I didn't need to loosen it all that much. Also, there was this arm that was used to hold the battery in place, and this one supporting rod kept falling out of place after I installed the battery.

Now that I have the hang of it, replacing the battery should be pretty easy. I probably won't have to do that for another five years, though. In fact, my current battery lasted me for a little over six years.

Oh, M.D.

This gal, M.D., is heavily into eastern mysticism and all this kinda nonsense. Too bad, since she's a very attractive thirtysomething woman. She's intelligent, lean, athletic, and beautiful, and she's got killer gams.

What a shame.

That's not what you do at a swing dance

There's a bunch of folks that I sometimes attend dance events with. Unfortunately, none of them know how to dance, with the exception of one gal who (somewhat infrequently) comes along.

There are a couple of other ladies who can follow along somewhat when it comes to partner dancing, but they aren't as enthusiastic as a lot of other folks that I hang with. What's more, they could use more energy.

I went to a swing dance event with them in December. At one point, instead of dancing swing, they did the usual "party" thing where you get a circle of people together and just kinda twist it around. That was utterly embarrassing.

It's one thing if you don't know the moves -- but for pity's sake, if you're at a swing event, then at least TRY to dance swing. Sheesh!

Motown dance moves

I decided that if I ever want to look up some useful Motown dance moves, I should check out Tamilee Webb's DVD, "Fit to the Hits: Motown Moves."

Patty

I just heard that my friend Patty got engaged. Good for her. She's a nice gal, and fairly attractive as well. She also has brains. Heck, if not for the fact that she's divorced with a boatload of kids (as well as a few areas of potential incompatibility), I might have chosen her myself.

She's a great gal and she deserves happiness.

Speaking of competence

Speaking of lacking competence...

I wonder what happened to DMS. He's a guy that I knew in school. When he landed a job, we all predicted that he'd be shooting himself in the foot before long. He had some technical competence but very poor social skills. What's more, he was basically a "plug and chug" kinda guy when it came to solving physics-related problems. He could study and he could score well, but he didn't necessarily have a very solid grasp of the underlying science principles.

Then there's Deborah, someone that I worked with at a charity. She had competence, but she was also severely lacking in people skills. She said that she was a people person who simply chose not to act like one. That was a blatant excuse for bad behavior, and she never admitted that to herself.

Competence

There are various works that could be used to describe T. Oliver. "Competent" is not one of them.

The guy is a bozo. He lacks common sense.