Yes, I had a lovely Thanksgiving, and I hope you did too. Yes, I’ve enjoyed my brief time away from blogging, and I hope you did too. My traffic figures think you did – this is the second time my traffic has gone up when I’ve taken a mini-vacation. Thanks for the encouragement. Maybe I’ll put up a tip jar and promise to retire if enough money is donated.
Archive for category Me
I Have Returned
Dec 4
Unforgotten Tales
Nov 19
I wanted The Two Towers for my birthday, but the extended version wasn’t out yet. So I agonized, and put it on my Christmas list. While that means I don’t have to pay for it, it also means I have to wait for it. Until Christmas. I suppose that’s just as well as the odds of me having three continguous, uninterupted hours to watch before then are pretty slim, but it does mean I have to scurry after the crumbs others leave behind. Thanks Dodd, may I have another?
Blogger Pictures
Oct 30
Outside The Beltway got a lot of play with their list of female blogger pictures. Just in case somebody wants to compile a list of male blogger pictures, I’m posting this one (I think nothing says class like topless):
In case you’re wondering what my better half looks like, or my crib, here you go:
There are more famous Kevin Murphy’s than me, and there are those who are equally famous (as in non). You can read an interview with one of the more famous ones, the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (or MST3K to the true fan) one, who talks about the future of film (i.e. movies) in a digital world.
Travelogue Light
Oct 3
Flying in First Class is one of the last bastions of classism in America. You’re wined and dined while the poor unfortunates in coach get nothing but an announcement to stop using the first class lavatory unless it is an emergency. But it is done American style – anybody can fly first class if they pay the money (or upgrade via frequent flyer miles). I flew first class to Las Vegas (strictly business — we rented a car and drove to NAS China Lake. It makes for a long day, but hey, it’s not every day you get to blow up a tank.)
It was amazing to see how Vegas is an oasis of suburbia amidst complete desolation. You fly an hour over the desert with rarely a sign of humanity and then lawns, trees, cul-de-sacs, and swimming pools set in an endless sea of tract housing. And the airport isn’t just close to the strip – it’s right next to it. This isn’t your normal city. And I-15 was crowded between Vegas and LA on a Sunday night — bumper to bumper traffic while driving through miles of nothingness.
The next morning we put a hole in a tank, and drove back to Vegas but this time we could actually see more than just headlights, tailights, and sand beside the road. I have to admit, the desert does have a beauty all of its own. And as I stood huddled against the cold waiting for the parking bus to come at the St. Louis airport, I missed the heat of the desert too.
The resorts in Vegas really are something to be hold – they are all glitzy. The older ones have sheer bulk, while the later ones are themed palaces of glory. It really is an impressive place. Since I don’t gamble anymore — I lose so fast it isn’t fun for me — it wasn’t too expensive, either. But I have to say, I didn’t see any joy on the faces of the gamblers – even when the slot machines were merrily chinking away, the winner sat stoically. Judging by facial expression, it all seems like another day at the office.
Travelogue Light
Oct 3
Flying in First Class is one of the last bastions of classism in America. You’re wined and dined while the poor unfortunates in coach get nothing but an announcement to stop using the first class lavatory unless it is an emergency. But it is done American style – anybody can fly first class if they pay the money (or upgrade via frequent flyer miles). I flew first class to Las Vegas (strictly business — we rented a car and drove to NAS China Lake. It makes for a long day, but hey, it’s not every day you get to blow up a tank.)
It was amazing to see how Vegas is an oasis of suburbia amidst complete desolation. You fly an hour over the desert with rarely a sign of humanity and then lawns, trees, cul-de-sacs, and swimming pools set in an endless sea of tract housing. And the airport isn’t just close to the strip – it’s right next to it. This isn’t your normal city. And I-15 was crowded between Vegas and LA on a Sunday night — bumper to bumper traffic while driving through miles of nothingness.
The next morning we put a hole in a tank, and drove back to Vegas but this time we could actually see more than just headlights, tailights, and sand beside the road. I have to admit, the desert does have a beauty all of its own. And as I stood huddled against the cold waiting for the parking bus to come at the St. Louis airport, I missed the heat of the desert too.
The resorts in Vegas really are something to be hold – they are all glitzy. The older ones have sheer bulk, while the later ones are themed palaces of glory. It really is an impressive place. Since I don’t gamble anymore — I lose so fast it isn’t fun for me — it wasn’t too expensive, either. But I have to say, I didn’t see any joy on the faces of the gamblers – even when the slot machines were merrily chinking away, the winner sat stoically. Judging by facial expression, it all seems like another day at the office.
Tropical Heat Wave
Aug 13
I was in a meeting yesterday with a bunch of Brits; I joked St. Louis and London had swapped weather for the summer. Europe has had a scorching summer; in St. Louis it’s been a fairly mild one. I know we scoff when the all time record for London is 100 degrees F, but as the Brits pointed out, nobody has airconditioning at home, at work or in their cars. So I have to sympathize with them over their plight. I experience it evertime I visit my parents, because my mother dislikes airconditioning so much it’s only turned on when the temperature courts 100 degrees.
One of my older co-workers pointed out that he’d lived here without airconditioning for many a year; I was a kid when we got AC at home, and I can remember the worry that it would keep us kids from playing outdoors in the summer. It didn’t – we were happier having fun in the heat than being bored in the cool; but I think electronic games and cable TV channels aimed at children have to a large degree kept kids from playing outdoors (plus parents aren’t as carefree with their kids as they once were.) When I was growing up, there were no electronic games; and the only programing aimed at kids were cartoons on Saturday mornings and old TV shows (think Nick at Night and TV land) on weekday afternoons on channel 11, the only non-network station in St. Louis. That was it. I grew up on humor originally aimed at adults – Green Acres, Gilligan’s Island, F Troop, Petticoat Junction – shows that I was amazed to later discover were actually on network TV in primetime. Now kids can stay cocooned in their own age appropriate programming in the airconditioned comfort of their own homes. I’m sure it is their ruination. That and organized sports outside of school.
A Clash Of Titans
Jun 13
The whole blogosphere has quaked to the battle of a couple of titans arguing over who’s the real moxie. The odd thing to me is that neither is actually named moxie – they just use that moniker online. Just think if all the “Kevins” decided to get in a flame war — the internet itself would slow to a crawl as the legion of Kevins and their supporters sucked up bandwidth. Hey, that would be a real traffic booster!
I’m hereby laying down the gauntlent to all those other bloggers who use Kevin in their name – it’s mine, all mine. I’m older than most Kevins out there – 41. I’ve been on the net since 1997. And I have an Irish family name to go with it. Ha! Take that, you other Kevins! I think that entitles me to be King of the Kevins, the one true Kevin, the Keviniest Kevin of them all. So all of my regulars, both of you, go out and tell all the other Kevin bloggers that they are ripping me off. That goes for:
Kevin who definitely isn’t Irish,
and any other blogging Kevins.
Okay, the taunting was pretty lame — my heart wasn’t in it. I’d rather form the League of Kevins than get in some stupid fight about who was here first. Still, I can’t deny I would like the traffic.
Oh yeah, Kevin Drum did link to a bunch of Kevins, and Kevin Aylward liked the idea enough to do it again and send a nice email, but the League of Kevins is my idea!
It’s All About Me
Apr 11
I realize it’s a shocking display of insensitivity to the sacrifice of our soldiers and the unmitigated horror the Iraqi’s went through under Saddam’s reign, but now that he’s gone from the world stage, I’m hoping people go back to saying I look like a young Omar Sharif instead of Saddam. I’ll be able to wear a beret again, not trim my moustache regularly, and hail a cab without that odious comparison.
Between a new computer at home, the kids, regrading the back yard (by hand), and my job getting in the way of the rest of my life, I’ve been even more busy than usual. The whole retiring early, selling the house and traveling around the country in an RV is looking better and better all the time.
