So...uh...get any snow?

The in-laws were supposed to come and visit this weekend. That plan got the axe due to the storm that was supposedly moving into the area. Well, it hit. I don't know exactly how much we got, but I'm going to guess around 14-18 inches. The especially lovely part was that we got a small amount of snow, then it turned to freezing rain, and then back to snow. So, in the end, we ended up with a quarter inch of ice hovering on a sheet of snow just off the ground. It made shoveling it especially lovely. It only took me 2.5 hours to shovel my dinky little driveway and sidewalk.

Normally, I don't mind snow or shoveling, but that may have been a bit much. If I hadn't been especially excited about going to the Bahamas for the weekend, I am now. Supposedly, there's no snow there.

So the Badgers blew their chance at the Big 10 regular season title this weekend. It turned out to be a great game, and one the Badger's had in their grasp. Up 1 with about 30 second remaining, they sent one of their best free throw shooters to the line for a 1 and 1. Amazingly, he bricked the first shot, OSU got the rebound and scored with only 4 seconds on the clock. The Badgers couldn't get off a decent shot in time to get the lead back.

Nonetheless, it just doesn't mean a whole lot. The Badgers will fall a bit in the rankings (especially due to the fact that they lost the previous game to MSU, as well), but they're a shoe-in for the tourney. Probably a number 2 seed, now, and the tourney is pretty much all that matters.

And, just in case you missed it, I was reminded this weekend about this fine bit of advertising.

Who is Running the TV Companies?

#1 vs. #2 is going on as I write this (Wisconsin vs. Ohio State). However, rather than switching to that game, CBS feels the need to show the gruelingly long final minute of the Duke St. John's game, which is already over, as the score is 63-45. Gyahh!

Best of 2006...Finally

For those of you unaware of my friend's "Best of the Year" album projects, the concept is simple. Find the best tracks of the last year and put 'em together on a kick-ass album to distribute to friends and family. Year after year, my buddy creates some great CD's that have a few tracks I know and a few tracks by some great bands that I've never even heard of (Ted Leo and the Pharmacists from a few years ago comes to mind). Nonetheless, every year there are a few tracks that I just don't care for and a few songs from the year that I really loved that didn't make the album. So this year, more for the fun of it, than anything, I've taken it upon myself to create my own "Best of 2006" album. It has taken me quite a while and I have a newfound respect for what my friend puts into this every year, but I've finally finished my album off.

The rules are pretty simple. I use any song that I can get access to through my online music services (I'm using Urge, lately, but I've also used Yahoo! and Rhapsody, in the past). That gives me access to a ton of music, but there are always a few albums that, for whatever reason, aren't included in their libraries. Often, those cases seem to arise when an album is released outside the US before it is released state-side. The Pipettes new album, We Are the Pipettes, falls into that category, this year. From my "music library", I check out all the best albums of the year and pick out the tracks I like the best. Next, I go through that list and pare it down to the top handful that can fit onto a 74 minute album. Finally, I write up some hokey notes (that's what you're reading) about the entire process.

Big Winners this Year: My Chemical Romance and Belle & Sebastian came out with the best albums they've had in years. Bob Dylan is obviously an old standard, but he also released a rock-hard album this year. The Subways came out with their first full length album of the year and it was a solid effort. The Raconteurs also appeared on the scene about midway through 2006 with their debut album - very nice. But quite possibly my favorite debut album of the year was the Arctic Monkey's "Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not".

The Losers: Folks that didn't live up to expectations include The Strokes, The Black Keys, The Killers, and Godsmack. Most of their albums had some decent tracks but, all in all, fell short of what I'd hoped they'd come up with.

Anyway, I'll stop babbling and get to the actual track listing. If you'd like a copy of this album, just drop me a line. I can get one made and sent out to you. If not, no big deal - I had fun coming up with the list, anyway.

1: Miss Murder, by AFI - AFI has been around for quite a while and I needed something awesome to get the CD started, so I went with "Miss Murder" off Decemberunderground. Just what I needed to kick things off.

2: Steady, As She Goes, by The Raconteurs - A new band, this year. They released a solid album in May. It wasn't stellar, but I do have high hopes for them.

3: Thunder on the Mountain, by Bob Dylan - Just flat out fun to listen to.

4: The Blues Are Still Blue, by Belle & Sebastian - I had a hard time choosing just one track from this album. This is just a taste of an awesome release by B&S.

5: The Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, K.T. Tunstall - Okay, I kinda cheated on this one. This song was actually released as a single in '05, but it wasn't until a year later that she released it as part of a full length album. It really adds a different sound to the rest of the album, so I opted to include it, anyway. Besides, my wife loves it, so I score some points there, too.

6: Through Glass, by Stone Sour - Time to slow things down a bit. Stone Sour normally plays some pretty hard rock, but this is a nice track to bring things down a bit.

7: Over and Over, by Hot Chip - Hot Chip didn't release the greatest album, but this track is excellent. Plus, the intro to the song reminds me of the theme to Knight Rider, so it earns some Hasslehoff points, which few songs can rightly do.

8: I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor, by Arctic Monkeys - Another debut album, and probably my favorite of the year. There were a couple other songs from this album I was tempted to use, but this one was just too good.

9: Crazy Bitch, by Buckcherry - Admittedly, the lyrics may be are a bit...crude...but the song is just great for rocking out.

10: Wolf Like Me, by TV On the Radio - Lots of people tell me how much they love the new album by TV On the Radio and maybe I just need to listen to it some more or something, because I don't get it. This song, however, was great the first time I listened to it.

11: Oh Yeah, by the Subways - Another new band. Some great songs on their album, Young for Eternity. This is just one.

12: The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song, by The Flaming Lips - What can I say? It's just a fun song.

13: Here In Your Arms, by Hellogoodbye - Reminds me a bit of an old Cher song, but not so much that I didn't include it.

14: Nausea, by Beck - Known for making some rather "out there" music, much of it I enjoy, this one is actually pretty main stream and very easy to listen to.

15: Welcome to the Black Parade, by My Chemical Romance - MCR came out with their best album yet, in my opinion. I had a hard time choosing the best song, but this is the one that really got me hooked on the album, in the first place.

16: The Devil's Rejects, by Rob Zombie - Known for being a solid rocker, I actually find this song a bit more interesting than much of his stuff.

17: One Rainy Day, by Godsmack - All in all, I was disappointed in Godsmack's latest release, IV. Nonetheless, this is a solid song and a great way to wrap up the album.



So that's it, my "best" of 2006, specifically in the genre of "music Corey listens to". Like I said, if you want a copy, just let me know. Also, I've included a "B" side of music that I enjoyed from last year but, for whatever reason, just didn't make the cut. Here they are, in no particular order, and with no commentary.

The Greatest, by Cat Power
Let's Make Love and Listen Death From Above, by CSS
Bad Day, by Daniel Powter
Get Myself Into It, by The Rapture
Chasing Cars, by Snow Patrol
The Adventure, by Angels & Airwaves
When the Sun Goes Down, by Arctic Monkeys
Sukie in the Graveyard, by Belle & Sebastian
Someday Baby, by Bob Dylan
Rip It Up, by Jet
Is It Any Wonder?, by Keane
Alfie, by Lily Allen
Goodbye Babylon, by The Black Keys
Read My Mind, by the Killers
Cowbell, by Tapes 'N Tapes

Brawl of the Season (Well, this week, at least)

So I went to check the hockey scores from last night (the Pens won, in overtime, but so did the Devils) and I see this headline on ESPN.com:

The Sabres and Senators went to a shootout, but all the action was in the second period. All 12 players on the ice were involved in a five-minute brawl that results in 100 penalty minutes, bother goalies getting ejected and a 20-minute delay. Buffalo won 6-5.

True to Internet fashion, I was able to track down the entire video on YouTube in less than 30 seconds. You can view it and have a good laugh here. My personal favorite is when Lindy Ruff and Bryan Murray start screaming at each other from their benches right over the top of some poor newscaster.

Just be sure to watch it with the sound turned on - it only makes it better.

"Oh! Here come the goalies! Masks are coming off, folks! Buckle up!"

Ahhh, priceless.

Speaking of the wonder that is the Internet, though...You know, I've spent the last few years of my life working with the Internet and building applications and such that run entirely over the Internet. It's a wonderful thing. Yet, sometimes, even I get taken aback at some of the cool stuff you can do. Quick example...

I was talking to my dad the other day and, apparently, my grandma's health hasn't been doing so well. I figured it'd be a good time to send her some flowers. Keep in mind that I seldom get to see my grandma and, when I do, it's never at her house, but at other relatives (primarily my sister's place). So I've never even seen the place she's living, now. It's been a number of years since I've even driven through the area.

First step, I'm on the phone with my dad and I ask him for Grandma's address. He starts to hunt through the phone book - oh wait, first he has to find the phonebook. While that's happening, it occurs to me that I'm standing in front of my computer. Whitepages.com. Toss in my grandma's last name and the city she lives in. I have her address in moments. Don't worry about it, Dad. I've already got her address.

Fast forward a day. Now I need to find a nearby florist - and believe me, there are no florists in "Sticksville, Wisconsin". Google Maps. Search for Grandma's address. Click the "Search nearby" link. Enter "florist". Spot a likely candidate in "City vaguely near Sticksville, Wisconsin". Click on "More Info". Click on the "Get Directions" button. Enter my Grandma's address (which was saved, so I didn't have to enter anything, at all). Look at the directions.

I've already got the phone number of the florist, so I give 'em a ring. I talk to this lovely old lady that must be typing things out in morse code as it takes her an age and a half to take down the address of my Grandma's place. I ask if they deliver that far. She says, "Hmmm...it's a Sticksville address. Any idea how far it is?"

"16.3 miles, I respond."

I wonder if I should have given her driving directions, too.

Go, go Gadget Internet!

The Agony

I mentioned earlier that I'm trying to compile a list of the best songs to be released in 2006. I tell you - it's rough work. It started off easy enough and I had the album about half completed before I knew it. Things got a little tougher, after that. However, I'm now down to the situation in which I have a half dozen songs or more and only 1 or 2 places to put them. There's another song that I really like and would be a nice closer, but it's 7.5 minutes long and eats up a lot of real-estate. I wonder if this is what it's like to choose which teams go to March Madness. So...difficult...

Speaking of March Madness, though, I hope everyone has noticed that the Badgers will be playing Ohio State this weekend. The two teams are ranked #1 and #2 in the nation coming into that game and, thanks to Wisconsin's boneheaded loss to MSU last night, the Badgers will need to win this one to take the Big 10.

Sunday. 3:00.

Hooray for Summer!

It's nice that Summer has finally arrived. Today, rather than take the subway to go get my lunch, I walked outside, taking a leisurely stroll to get myself a sandwich. Didn't need a coat, gloves, or a hat, as it is a lovely 34 degrees (and sunny) this afternoon. Hooray for Midwestern winters and 34 degrees feeling downright awesome.

Rollin'

I actually got to take in a Pens game this weekend, as their game against the Caps yesterday was on TV. The Pens topped the Devils, who lead the Atlantic Division on Friday night and then beat the Caps yesterday to extend their win streak to 6 straight and have now earned at least 1 point in their last 16 straight games, going 14-0-2 over that stretch. For anyone not familiar with the inner workings of the sport - that's nuts-o hot.

They'll have a chance to extend the streak tonight as they take on the Islanders. The Islanders are a playoff bubble team, right now and the Pens are going to have to deal with back-to-back games against a team that's had a day to rest. Should be a great game. Naturally, I won't get to watch it. Rather, the televised game of the night will be Philly/Boston - neither of which can even smell the playoffs from where they sit.

In their first 42 games of the season, the Pens went 18-17-7, earning 43 of a possible 84 points. In their last 16, they've earned 30 of 32 possible points. Simply put, no one has been as hot as the Pens since the start of the new year (16-2-3). They hold in 4th place in the East, for the time being. They have more points than any division leaders (and actually more points than one of the division leaders), but they can't get higher than 4th unless they overtake the division leading Devils, who are currently 5 points ahead and have been, in their own right, quite hot since the start of the year, going 14-4-3 on their own. Of course, the win by the Pens over the Devils on Friday brings 'em a bit closer. They'll face each other just twice more over the final 7 weeks of the season.

Beauty, eh?

Aside from the rare chance to take in a Pens game, this weekend was a 50/50 split. Saturday, I spent the day hanging out with a handful of my friends. Sunday was housework day. Our toilet was running constantly last week so I had to do some work on it. No worries, I figured - I know how to fix that. Of course, I opened the tank to have a look and found that the hardware was old, broken, and looked like nothing I had ever seen before. The handle was currently attached to the rest of the machinery with a rusted twist-tie. Awesome.

So, what I had originally expected to be a 10 minutes project turned into a 3 hour project that involved taking the whole dang thing apart and replacing everything. Huzzah for that. In the world of people, there are those that are handy around the house and there are those that are not. I am clearly in the latter group. Frankly, I suspect I'm far too proud of the fact that I managed to get it all back together and don't have water all over the floor of my bathroom. Nonetheless, it works. Hopefully, I'll never have to deal with it again.

Pens Update

Because I'm sure everyone out there is simply drooling over a chance to hear about the latest Pens news, I feel I must appease the masses. So I'll cut right to it...

The Pens started off the year blazing hot. I even blogged about it once. I hadn't really expected that level of play to continue out of a bunch of kids that all seem to be 20 years old or younger. Alas, it would have seemed I was correct. The Pens tailed off for he next few months, playing roughly .500 hockey and sitting just outside the last available playoff spot.

Apparently, though, they got something going right around the all-star break. In their last 14 games, the Pens have gone 12-0-2 and climbed from outside the playoff hunt (the top 8 teams get in) to 4th in the conference. They haven't been on a streak this good in about a decade. Also of note - during that streak, rookie Jordan Staal became the youngest player in NHL history to net a hat trick (including the overtime game winner) in the Pens win over the Leafs. Also, 2nd year phenom Sidney Crosby leads the NHL points race by 10, with 88 total points. The last time a teenager won the points race (Crosby is a whopping 19 years old), it was by a guy that goes by the name of Gretzky.

Will they keep it up all the way to the playoffs? I don't know, but it's fun to follow. Tonight's a big game for the Pens as they take on the division leading New Jersey Devils. I'd love to say that I'll be home watching the game, but I won't get it. State of Hockey, my ass.

Going Nuts

Hope you all had a good Valentine's Day. The wife and I had a nice night at home - made a fancy dinner and actually ate most of it at the table instead of while sitting in front of the TV. (Dessert was still taken in at the TV.) Aside from that, not much exciting - just hanging out together at home with the cat.

Apparently, I just can't drink. Last night I had roughly a half a bottle of wine and found myself tossing and turning all night long. It's never that I feel ill or drunk - I just can't sleep after I've had a few drinks. Ah well - I make a cheap date, I guess. As it is, I didn't get much sleep last night and am trying not to drag too badly while at work (as I yawn typing this).

I'm working on a project at work that is literally driving me insane. It's just becoming very complicated and, to make matters worse, my main customer contact has been in and out of the office (much less in than out) on sick leave for the last three weeks, or so. As such, I'm left guessing on a lot of these decisions. I suspect the guy that sits next to me at work is getting tired of me talking things over with him, constantly.

Anyway - back at it. Later, daters.

Valentine's Day

So I was recently reminded that I have this blog thing and that, supposedly, I've been neglecting it. Go figure. My problem is that if I don't post anything for a few days, I feel like I need to try to recap everything that has happened (as boring as thay may be) and it just seems like too much work. So I don't. Then a few more days pass and it seems like even more work, so I don't do it. Repeat. Kinda like paying the bills. Of course, if I don't pay those, someone comes along and turns off our heat - no such similarity with not posting to a blog. Anyway, here's a brief rundown...

Christmas came. And went. Visited family in Wisconsin. Was good.

New Year's came. And went. Visited friends in Minneapolis. Also good.

Bought a Wii. Find it fun, although Zelda consumes too much of my time.

Yup. I think that about covers it. Let's see - what else...

I got an mp3 player last year for my birthday. I had thought about getting one for quite a while, but never figured it was worth the investment. Once I got one, I fell in love with it. I take it on the bus every day. I was told by a couple people that I should look into getting some nice earbuds for it, rather than the cheap ones that it comes with. Again, I didn't really figure it would be worth it. Then, Liz got me some nice ones for Christmas. It took me a while to get used to them, but I do like them. Then, about a month after getting them, the left earbud stopped providing nearly as much volume as the right. So, my options are to either listen to my music in mono from my right ear, only, or to crank the volume so loud that I can hear things in my left ear while causing temporary deafness in my right. The earbuds are under warranty so I sent them in for repairs and I've switched back to my original earbuds. It wasn't until then that I realized just how much better the new ones really are. I miss my earbuds.

Aside from me whining about earbuds, my year has been off to a rather slow start. I set up a little project for myself (well, one of many) to create a "Best of 2006" CD. A good friend of mine creates one every year and he's been giving me copies for the last few years. He's always got some great stuff on there, but my tastes never quite match his. So, just for kicks, I decided to try to make one on my own. First off - my hat goes off to my buddy - it's not nearly as easy as I'd thought. I started by listing all the best albums I could think of that came out last year (which was a bit harder because I hadn't been really keeping track all year). Then, I went through each of those albums, listening to them from beginning to end and taking note of the particularly good tracks. Now, I've gotten to the point where I have a lot of excellent music, but I need to trim it down to an amount that will fit onto a single CD. It's a ton of work. Hopefully, I'll actually get it done, at some point. What will I do with it? Probably nothing. If someone actually wants a copy, I can probably create one, but I really just did it for the fun of it.

And, on an entirely unrelated note, the wife and I have decided to plan a little "get away" for our Valentine's Day present (and then some). The first weekend of March, we're going to head off to the Bahamas for a long weekend. Don't really know what we'll do except be warm, but it should be fun.

Anyway, enough babbling. I'm off!