avoision: August 2003 Archives

Cooking

August 31, 2003

Went out this morning, and got a ton of supplies. I'm planning on cooking dumplings for most of the day. I'll try to update later on, but I just haven't been in the mood. I'm a good two days behind - sorry about that. But hey, it's a holiday weekend.... (read more)

Goodbye Rena

August 30, 2003

We may have met at one of Justin's birthday parties a year or so ago, but I first recall talking to Rena at Kent and Christine's wedding. At the actual ceremony, we both noticed we had the exact same camera, which was pretty neat. I got to hang out with... (read more)

I Don't Feel Tardy

Sorry for the late updates. Haven't done much today other than putz around the apartment, but I'm heading out for a bit this evening. Kent and Christine are throwing a farewell party for Rena... and that starts in about an hour. Perhaps a shower is in order. :| I've got... (read more)

Night

August 29, 2003

Chelsea and I had plans to go to the Adler Planetarium tonight. They were going to have telescopes out on the South Lawn, and invited folks to stop by to see Mars. We hopped a few trains, and had a nice walk through bits of Grant Park to get... (read more)

Together At Last

While I was searching Google for information on Piece, looky what I found: http://www.beerandpoetry.com/... (read more)

Day

On arriving at the Clark/Lake stop, I stepped onto the street to see this. Nothing spectacular, but for as long as I've been getting off at this stop, there's been construction. It's a bit odd to see this street without all the planks and scaffolding. If nothing else, it... (read more)

Dinner

August 28, 2003

It's late (10:42 PM), and I haven't eaten yet. Going to go make a salad. Yay.... (read more)

Ants

I was over at my friend MaryAnn's after work, helping her take some photos for her cello. She's trying to sell it, and needed a few images to either put up on e-bay, or place into a flyer. We hung out briefly, but I headed home soon after (and she... (read more)

DJ Format: The Hit Song

Saw this on WH. Thanks to Corvis777 for posting the link to ruben.fm. Check out the video highlighted below, DJ Format's "The Hit Song." "Hittin' harder than a family of starving, steroid-injected Mexican Quintuplets armed with crowbars smacking the shit out of a candy-filled piÒata... on their birthday."... (read more)

Zombie Infection

Saw this on twelvestone, and wanted to share: Zombie Infection Simulation v2.3... (read more)

Moderation

After lunch, I got an invite to go have a few drinks before returning to work. As tempted as I was, I ended up declining. Which sucks, because that would have been a lot of fun. The past few nights (and even tonight), I've had an itch for a beer.... (read more)

Anthony's Birthday

Lots of birthdays this month. Today, we celebrated Anthony's day by heading out to Portillo's - a big honkin' group of us, actually. I didn't take any photos because I felt slightly more self-conscious. Plus, Justin had his camera out and I felt like I would make things feel like... (read more)

For Some Reason

August 27, 2003

On my walk to my car, I looked up and decided I wanted a picture of this building. No real reason; I just felt like I wanted to take a picture. As I was walking along, I felt this urge to stick my hand out and feel the stonework. I... (read more)

Deb's Birthday

To celebrate my boss' (Deb's) birthday, Rey took the whole Interactive group out for lunch. We went to Bob Chinn's which, incidentally, is about a rock's throw away from the Mart. The name, I must admit, threw me. Everytime I heard "Bob Chinn's," I thought it was a Chinese... (read more)

crap

Fell asleep on the couch. Just woke up and I'm headed for the bed. Sorry. *yawn*... (read more)

Lifetime Membership!

August 26, 2003

Well, no one really gets a lifetime membership. You've got to do certain things to keep the nerd badge and maintain your status. My errands (in addition to getting vegetables at Stanley's) involved going out to purchase birthday gifts for two friends. Instead, I got them nothing and bought this... (read more)

Smoothie Operator

Stopped in at Justin's this morning to give him a ride to work. We were both going to run errands at the end of the day, so I decided to drive. I got treated to a great strawberry/bannana smoothie for breakfast, and I'm now wishing I had a blender. I'm... (read more)

A Little God Complex, A Little King Of The World

August 25, 2003

After a lot of mucking around, I finally got Black & White running on my computer. I bought this game a while ago, after seeing it on the shelves for $12. I had heard good things about it a few years back, and figured what the hey. Apparently, the game... (read more)

It's A Goth World After All

Just saw this article posted on twelvestone. Thanks to The_Spectre for the link. Ahh! Just got to the end of the article, and found the Bats Day web site.... (read more)

camera++

Justin went on a bit of a shopping spree in the past week, and one of his toys was a Canon PowerShot G3. He ran into the room today after it arrived, and I got a picture of him oogling his new baby. Justin is definitely more of a shutterbug... (read more)

Juliet!

Thanks for the e-mail.... (read more)

I Guess This Is A Bad Night

August 24, 2003

The dark mood that's been hanging hover me the past week is still around, it seems. Throughout the day, I thought maybe I was just overly tired, and needing sleep. I stretched out on the couch, read off and on, and took numerous, serious cat naps. Next thing I know,... (read more)

Alex Leaves Chicago

There was a farewell breakfast for Alex this morning. 10:00 AM, at DeMar's. A few of us gathered to eat some great diner food, and to wish him well on his way to Green Bay. Stu had been waiting for a while when I showed up. At some point, he... (read more)

2:00 AM

Left the reception around 10:30 PM, and just walked in the door. I stopped to get a milkshake and a coffee (sugar and caffeine), but the thing that really woke me up was some jackhole who nearly slammed into my car from behind. I ended up swerving hard to the... (read more)

Wedding

August 23, 2003

When I first arrived in Indianaplis, I showed up late at my house. Dipti had called, and I had copletely flaked on my going over to her parents' house prior to the wedding. I was supposed to watch after Petey (her dog) and bring him to the ceremony. I was... (read more)

Indy Bound

Updated the blog this morning. Running a lot later that I expected. Off to shower, then the car, then Indianapolis for a wedding. I'll be back Chicago later on tonight. See you in a few hours.... (read more)

Múm

August 22, 2003

Múm concert, Logan Square Auditorium. We arrived to somewhat of a line. Interior shot, early on. Not as many people crowded by the stage. Overall, the whole crowd was evenly (and almost politley) separated. We all crouched on the floor (that's Jim there, on the left in front of... (read more)

Best Cab Driver Story Ever

Justin and Jim met up at my place (I got home an hour or so earlier than normal, cleaning the entire place and throwing shit into closets). We stopped over at a nearby pizza joint to pick up some food, to pick up Alex, and to make our way to... (read more)

It's Like A Game. But Different

August 21, 2003

TS7 posted this link on WOT a bit earler: TyperA. Check your skillz. I got 473 keys/minute. Trying to resist to urge to go back and improve on my score.... (read more)

persist, persisting

So I mentioned yesterday that, after we had a few drinks, persist headed back to the office. To work on that 3D graph in Flash. Lo and behold, he gets this up and running. Awesome.... (read more)

GTA

Once more, a group of us (we seem to be growing in number) gathered at the Bells' for some Grand Theft Auto. All in all a fun time, though very relaxed. I've played the game a fair amount and, though I'm not great at it yet, it's not as thrilling... (read more)

Napping While Sitting Up

Came home, with the intention of running out to do some errands before heading to Kent and Christine's. I sit down on the couch for a minute and, a half hour later, wake up to find my arms crossed and Harmony sitting on my lap. I've felt tired all week,... (read more)

This Camera Pays For Itself!

Reason to carry a camera on you at all times #283: Because you never know when you're going to run into a minivan that's been detailed like it was the Galileo shuttlecraft from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Dig the WARPD license plate. Yes. This is geeky as hell. But... (read more)

Me + Concert

August 20, 2003

Here's something that I had completely forgotten about: I'm going to a concert! Justin mentioned that Múm is playing this Friday! Woohoo! I am so not a concert person. I don't care for crowds, and I'd much rather listen to music on my own than be in some big group... (read more)

Nightcap

Afterwards, I went back to the office and found Justin and Anna Marie. The three of us hit Monk's, and had another drink (Anna Marie had water). We chatted a while, got caught up on some office gossip, and generally had a relaxing entry into the evening. At one point,... (read more)

Portnoy | Persist

After work, I met up with Jeff (persist) and we had a few beers at O'Callaghan's. We've been talking about meeting up for a few weeks, and finally cleared our schedules and were able to hang out. We talked a lot about work, about Flash, about family. We also had... (read more)

Lunchtime!

Katie stopped in to the Interactive area, and announced we were all going to lunch together. We are a hard group to motivate/move, but we all ended up at Portillo's and having a nice, relaxing meal together. Today is technically Katie's last day, although she may still be around the... (read more)

Easily Amused

Sometime last week, a promotional poster was brought into the Interactive area and left for storage. It was a big poster of Tom Berrenger's new USA miniseries: Peacekeepers. From what I understand, it's a sort of CSI western sort of thing. Anyhow, this big promo poster was left, and Ben... (read more)

Simpsons Chess

When I walked in to work this morning, I found a pawn moved and Katie's calling card. Awesome! We ended up playing a few games later on in the day, but this was such a neat thing to encounter, even before the day actually began.... (read more)

A Good Run

August 19, 2003

It was nice while it lasted. Today, I had to run back home during lunch and dig for more money (took my car into the shop yesterday). Despite my best efforts at ignoring the crunching, grinding sound whenever I'd turn the wheel, my car has failed to magically fix itself.... (read more)

The Web, Version 1.0

On the bridge that I cross each day to work, there are a ton of spiderwebs. And not just ordinary ones either, but huge, massive nets that are tucked into the girders. Some mornings, I feel like the only one who notices - everyone else is rushing by, walking briskly... (read more)

Couldn't Find My Keys This Morning

...until I opened the front door.... (read more)

Hello Mother, Hello Father

Just got off the phone with my parents (they had called earlier). Got caught up a little bit on how things are going, and told my mom about some freelance stuff going on. Next thing I know, my dad's on the phone and he asks: Hey, did you know your... (read more)

Two In A Row?

Ah, me. Late late late. It seems like the moment I look up from my computer, it's damn near 10:30 at night and I haven't eaten anything yet. I've already neglected you once for food. What kind of monster would I be if I did that again? No no, don't... (read more)

Sorry

August 18, 2003

I've got nothing for you today. It's super late, and I need to make some dinner. So for the record, I'm choosing food over you. Sad to say, but that's how it is. Oh now don't be like that. Don't look at me that way! That's completely unfair. What do... (read more)

Changed My Mind

August 17, 2003

... (read more)

Breakfast And The Sunday Paper

It's been a long while since I've even picked up a newspaper, let alone read one while eating breakfast. I ran out and did some errands this morning, and got some breakfast stuff together. I stopped off at a nearby store, expressly to pick up a paper. Partly to have... (read more)

Quotation Of The Day

August 16, 2003

"One a scale of 1 to 10, I give this movie the finger." From templeton's review of Equilibrium... (read more)

One Minute Is Curiosity, Ten Minutes Is A Warning Sign

One of my friends (who shall remain nameless unless he says otherwise) likes to watch The Gilmore Girls. He refers to it as his "guilty pleasure." As you know, I tend to have this habit of working on the computer, then getting up and walking to the television, flip channels... (read more)

This is Zombo.com. Welcome to You Who Have Come to Zombo.com.

I think this is an old site. But still funny as hell. www.zombo.com... (read more)

Odd Hours

So it's now 5:38 AM. What started as a "Gee, I'd like something to drink" has turned into an hour-long, log onto the Internet and surf fest. Jebus, what's wrong with me?... (read more)

With The Lights Out, It's Less Dangerous

August 15, 2003

Alright. Before I go though, let me share this little gem with you.... (read more)

Blue Line: Denied

So it's a slow day in the office. Jill is off to New York by noon, and Ben has been on vacation all week. Justin, since he had to work on his actual birthday, took the day off. All quiet on the Interactive front. Around 4:30 PM, I get a... (read more)

Where It Comes From

For those who may not know the reference, this is the cause of the whole Icculus / Icebus debacle.... (read more)

Half Praise, Half Scolding

From: Icculus To: Portnoy Date: Friday, August 15, 2003 3:24 PM Subject: http://avoision.com/portnoy/ Just a quick note to let you know your blog brings me at least one daily laugh :D Now get back to work and update todays entry!! Cheers, Icebus... (read more)

'morning

My alarm kicks off at 6:30 AM. One of our recently acquired Austin stations goes live this morning and, though we just have a placeholder site for them... I wanted to make sure everything was running well. I kept pushing to get all the information at the start of the... (read more)

Busy busy

August 14, 2003

We got hit with that blaster virus at work, and I spent most of today helping Joel (our IT guy) run virus scans, and install patches. Ugh! Almost the entire day was spent moving from workstation to workstation, methodically testing and recording and approving each one. I finally got done... (read more)

*crink*

Alright, so it's 4:50 AM. I just woke up with this horrific crink in my neck. Keep in mind now, I had something like this yesterday morning - an uncomfortable pinching in the neck that prevented a full range of motion. If I wanted to look to the left or... (read more)

On My Way From Work

August 13, 2003

... (read more)

Total Luck

Last night, I was going through a bunch of old letters. On a whim, I googled an old friend of mine, Kim, and stumbled across a site that I thought might be hers. I sent off an e-mail and, as luck would have it, we discovered we knew one another... (read more)

Justin, B-Day Warm Ups

After work, I met up with Justin, Alex and Emma for a few drinks at Dunphy's. The place was pretty deserted, and we talked a bit about everything from work to Flash Mobs to employment. All in all, everyone's energy level was somewhat low (Justin had been at work since... (read more)

Lunch With Katie

I had a good, relaxing lunch with Katie today. Actually, we played a round of chess, and then went out to grab a quick bite. Today, some hardware folks from Indianapolis came down, and there was a fairly big technical meeting. I ended up sliding out of it, but ended... (read more)

On My Way To Work

... (read more)

Babysitting, Valentine's Day

August 12, 2003

by Felix Jung The child, exhausted by his sobbing, falls slowly into dreams. The mother (a low, quiet perfume) and the father (a thick, midnight sweater) have long departed. The cats, equi- distant from the couch, are curled around themselves. I can barely hear the clock ticking over the dull... (read more)

12S vs. WOT

There's a photoshop battle underway, between Twelvestone and WOT. A lot of talented designers are throwing down, and going toe to toe. And to top it off, Mr. Grumpy made a kick ass page that houses the battle.... (read more)

56 : 118 | Good To Know

... (read more)

Trying To Shake This

All day today, I've been feeling down. Nothing that I think I can point to - but a general feeling of unhappiness that seemed to grow as the day wore on. I hung out with Justin after work and, after a bit of uncomfortable silence and prodding, he got me... (read more)

*Sigh*

August 11, 2003

What is it about talking to my parents that just immediately puts me in a bad, depressing mood? I found out from my mom that my parents' restaurant is closing. Now, the financial wheelings and dealings of my parents have always mystified me, and they've never really pulled me or... (read more)

Slow Sundays

August 10, 2003

Gotta love 'em. I spent most of my day mucking around on the computer. Got a lot of information together for a freelance project, and spent time talking with the client about what they wanted. Let's see... washed dishes, did laundry, a quiet sort of weekend day. I did, actually,... (read more)

Grumpy Is The Greatest: No Explanation Needed

Session Start (MSN - Portnoy:Mr. Grumpy): Sun Aug 10 20:08:43 2003 *** (Mr. Grumpy) has joined the conversation. Mr. Grumpy: what's up, quiet man? Mr. Grumpy: cleaning? Portnoy: :P Portnoy: Mucking with a poem a little. Portnoy: I wrote something when I was babyistting for my friend Ben on... (read more)

Waiting For The End In New Smyrna Beach, Florida

by Maxine Kumin At the corner of Lytle and South Dixie Freeway a pale young woman, baby on one arm, crooks in the other a placard that asks WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY? while the husband, hearty, even beefy waves all to COME TO JESUS and behind them on the... (read more)

Early AM Ramblings

For the last half of this past week, I've been looking over old work more. In the mornings, after showering and getting dressed for work... I've indulged myself by reading a few of the poems I have taped up on the walls around the apartment. I think this is a... (read more)

The Postal Service

August 9, 2003

I've been playing the song "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service all day today. Looping it endlessly, as I tend to do. I'm not sure why, but I seem to get fixated on a particular song, and I'll have to play and play and play the thing until I... (read more)

:smile:

After I got home, I walked to Gallery Cafe for a quick breakfast. On my way back to the house, I passed a mother walking with her kids (who were on bikes). The youngest kid, on a bike with training wheels, looks up at me as he rides by. I... (read more)

Early Morning Whirlybird

Strangest of things. Yesterday, in my state, I left my portable drive at work. So far, I've done that maybe once... but I don't even think that. Since I update this thing daily, I tend to have my drive with me at all times. So... this morning, at 8:30 AM,... (read more)

Aftermath

August 8, 2003

Agh. I got that blotchy red thing, despite trying to remove food out of the equation. Stupid allergic reaction! I started to get it right around the bus ride home, and ended up conking out a lot on the ride home. Back at the office, I tried to drink a... (read more)

A Three Hour Cruise

The whole office got to go on a relaxing cruise today. We typically have what are called "Stress Buster" meetings on the first of the month, where food is catered in... that sort of thing. Because it's summer (and because my company rocks), we got to spend this meeting on... (read more)

Q101 Intern Party

August 7, 2003

Before lunch, Katie came into the office to invite everyone in Interactive to the Q101 Intern Farewell party. This was an awfully nice thing to do, and all of us thought it would be a blast. The past week, the interns have been visting us a bit more, which is... (read more)

Gino's

Ben, Justin and I went over to Gino's for lunch. It took a while (45 minutes for the pizza to cook), but worth the wait. An interesting interior there, as I had never been before. Apparently, they just let the customers loose with pens and what have you, so every... (read more)

Intern Party

August 6, 2003

Tonight, all the interns at Q101 got together and celebrated their last week working with one another. Interactive got the invite from Katie, and we all basically showed up and boozed it up with everyone else in attendance. I am not terribly sober, but also not terribly drunk. However... (read more)

Walking Home

August 5, 2003

Found this lovely sticker on the corner of Milwaukee, Damen and North:... (read more)

$5.50 for Ramen

After work, Justin and I stopped in a Penny's for a quick dinner. I tend to get Pad Thai all the time, and had to fight against the urge to fall back into a comfortable pattern. I happened to see Ramen (shitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, chives, served in miso soup)... (read more)

Float No Go

There were plans to go floating again at the tanks, but I was feeling like crap all day. I opted not to go and everyone else, in turn, didn't end up going. I got some ribbing from Ben and Justin, which I deserved. But all in all, the last thing... (read more)

Waking Up Drunk

Yeah. Good night last night there. :)... (read more)

Recapping

August 4, 2003

Alright. I wasn't able to actually update the blog on time, seeing as how I was super drunk and all. :D It started off with a simple "Hey, let's get a beer after work" from Ben. He was going to go see a movie, and while I didn't feel in... (read more)

I Can't Help It

table width="600" border="0" align="center"> This poster is on the inside of the "storage room," where a lot of Q101 stuff is stored. It's right next door to our area, the Interactive office. As I walked by, I saw this poster... ...and immediately thought of this song. Thanks a lot,... (read more)

Found Art. Sorta.

Ben used my camera to take some pics of a CD album he designed. He was nice enough to leave them on my camera and I gotta say... the man is good at what he does.... (read more)

The Comic Stylings of Mr. Grumpy

August 3, 2003

I saw this thread on WH, and just about did a spit take when I read Grumpy's post. hahahahaha :)... (read more)

The Fast Paced Lifestyle I'm Living

I spent most of my day today cleaning. Bopping around the house, spraying, scrubbing, washing all manner of things. Tonight, I turned down an offer to go out and opted to just stay home. I've been wanting that for a while now, and today's been a fairly productive (albeit reclusive)... (read more)

Neverwinter, Revisited

Played around with Neverwinter today for a bit. Saw a few instances that I thought were rather pretty, so I did some screen caps.... (read more)

GTA + Riptide

August 2, 2003

Justin, Kent and I hung out at Kent's for a good part of the evening. We started in on some Scotch and Irish whiskey, talked a while, and got to see several great pictures from Kent and Christine's honeymoon. A bit later on, Kent and Justin were playing around on... (read more)

Party Girl

Hm. I guess this is the "before" picture.... (read more)

They've Still Got It!

Justin spotted this sign, posted on the door of a local shop. Hehehehe.... (read more)

Justin And A Brief Q101 Interlude

Justin called me up Saturday, and discussed playing Trivial Pursuit over at Kent's. I wasn't feeling particularly social, but in the back of my head I knew this would be fun. So - he swung by around 5 or so, and headed over to Justin's. Prior to hanging out with... (read more)

Summary

August 1, 2003

Not too much exciting toay. I had a constant-work type of day, trying to get images gathered and processesed for this Flash "gallery." Really, it's just a variation on the photo galleries we have in place... but it throws in a few fancy effects. I got to play around with... (read more)

Note To The World

When you're waiting for an elevator and the doors open? Think about waiting to the side, instead of standing right in front of the doors as they open. Don't try to immediately walk in. Sometimes, there are other people trying to get off the elevator. When they leave, it only... (read more)

Photo Ops

Today Ben and Justin were working on a "Career Channel" for all of our affiliate stations. This is one of those network-wide pages that will appear on a station's site should they decide to use it. We're getting the content from a third party, but we needed to come up... (read more)

Chinese New Year - February 2, 2003

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