HURRICANE KATRINA

AAAH! Run for your lives!

Poor, unfortunately named cat. Fortunately, she's not very destructive.

Take that, Nature!

Ha ha, fish, I have you now!

I went to Cape Cod with my family this past weekend, and one of our activities was pay-for-seasickness - er, I mean ocean fishing. We were out on a boat somewhere in between the Cape and Martha's Vineyard, when I managed to reel in this bluefish. Pretty freakin' rugged, isn't it? I've been fishing before, but it was years ago on a man-made lake in New Jersey that my uncle used to live next to.

Strangely enough, I was the only one to catch a fish on this particular outing.

I'm sure Greenpeace wants nothing to do with me anymore, even though I bought their calendar.

Online Comics, woo!

Web-based comics have apparently arrived. Witness coverage in no less than the New York Times. I've been reading comics online for over two years. Not just familiar syndicated stand-bys like "Get Fuzzy" or "Doonesbury", which you can set up RSS feeds for and get each day's strip in your news aggregator (I use Bloglines). I've been enjoying some of the new stuff that's only available online - you're not likely to see these in your local newspaper or comic book shop.

My favorite is Scary Go Round. Very humorous, in the British vein of humo(u)r. The artwork is bright and colorful, and it's amazing how much characterization John Allison (the artist behind SGR, as the "cool" kids say) can get into an oversized daily four-to-six panel comic strip. Two others that I highly recommend are Wigu and Overcompensating, both by Jeff Rowland. These both feature mainly hand-drawn artwork, but they consistently make me laugh out loud. Good thing my office isn't really near anyone else's. Both Jeff and John actually make a living through these comics. More specifically, they make money selling t-shirts inspired by the comics, and reprint books of their work. I admit I've dropped some coin on both. They've got my seal of approval, which I don't just whore around to anyone.

A somewhat different take on a web comic, the Perry Bible Fellowship straddles the line between syndicated, newspaper-style strip and web comic. There are no recurring characters to speak of, the style can be described as "minimalist," but I dare you to find something equally funny on the printed funny pages. Actually, the PBF (there's another one of them cool acronyms) has run in newspapers - it was published in the Syracuse University Daily Orange in its early years, and currently appears in several alternative newsweeklies, including the Rochester City Newspaper. The artist behind PBF, Nicholas Gurewich, lives in the Rochester area and was interviewed earlier this summer in the City paper - search the archives for the interview if you're interested.

Well, I hope I've given you some pleasurable reading material. I regularly read several other web comics as well, but I leave the rest of the online comic world for you to discover on your own, if you're so inclined.

Note: NY Times article linked above may require free registration

When the backlash gets the best of you

Some of you may know that the White Stripes have been a favorite band of mine for the past 3 1/2 years or so. They put out a new record earlier this year, but the advance word and initial reviews said it was weird. Because of this, I didn't rush out and buy it right away. Finally, a good couple of months since its release, I picked it up last night (at Target - ok, I don't usually buy CDs at Target, but I was there, it was on the rack...). And my first listen through confirms that the initial backlash was wrong. It's a great record, and easily stands up to the rest of their work. I will no doubt keep listening to it in the coming weeks. They continue to branch out, and despite their increased popularity and exposure, and Jack White's sudden transformation from weird nerd to mercurial rock star, they continue to stay interesting in the world of music.

I noticed something else interesting just now. The New York Mets have a better record than the San Diego Padres by one game (the two teams are playing today). The Mets are in last place in their division. The Padres are in first place in theirs. Huh?

Free day!

I was back amongst my family in the Albany/Troy area this past weekend for an anniversary party (my aunt and uncle - 25 years without injuring each other!). Saturday ended up being "free day" for me. Here's the dish - I was having dinner with Ben at Holmes and Watson in downtown Troy (if you've never been there, I highly recommend it - satisfying food named after Sherlock Holmes stories and an insane number of draft beers). Apparently, the cooks had prepared the wrong sandwich for me, but the waitress caught it before bringing it to me. She apologized for the delay (which didn't really bother me), and gave me my second beer on the house. Nice! Then Ben and I went to a baseball game. As we were walking in from the parking lot, some people asked us if we would like some free tickets to the game, courtesy of the local National Guard post. We gladly accepted them, on the condition that we wouldn't have to enlist. Score! Then, at the game, I got up to go to the concessions stand (helmet sundaes - gotta love them). I saw something on the ground, and stopped to examine it - it was a folded-up $20 bill. No one appeared to be looking for it, so it became a matter of finders keepers. Frickin' sweet!

I am still waiting for nubile young females to fall from the sky into my lap.

Who says it's no fun being a librarian?

Look what I came across in my book ordering activities! I think I may buy this for myself - the hell with the students! Let them get their own copy.

I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya, but there hasn't been much to say. Except that I'm slowly becoming obsessed with The Decemberists. Guys, if you read this, please come play a show in Rochester! Otherwise, I'll have to impose on Brian and see the Providence show in October.

Seriously, now

I don't intend to get political in this forum very often, but seriously - the more I hear about this Roberts guy, the more I think he's just a tool.

If you agree with me, tell them so.

Thanks - RK

I have created LIFE!

Well, not really. But I did manage to grow these nifty roses. And that ain't bad.

Nightmare scenario

I don't know how many of you are baseball fans.... well, I suppose I should, since you're my friends and all, but still. If you've been paying attention to the baseball season, there have been a lot of interesting developments and more than just the usual teams are contending, especially in the American League. So here it is, my prediction for how the season will end. You can thank me (or spank me) in October:

The Los Angeles Angels of Cucamonga, er, I mean Anaheim, will pull out an underdog World Series victory. Owner Arte Moreno will hold a grand victory celebration in downtown Los Angeles, surrounded by hundreds of Angels fans screaming with delight and thousands of Dodgers fans howling for his blood. The team will receive personal congratulations from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in front of the imposing phallic facade of LA City Hall. It will mark the ultimate triumph of commerce over tradition.

My god, it will be glorious!

And by glorious I mean HORRIFYING.

Sweet victory!

See what I have here?

Yeah, it's a room air conditioner that sits on the floor. So my problem is solved. It works pretty well. The only drawback is it's a little noisy, but so are window A/Cs.

Oh, and it cost quite a bit more, but let's not get into that.

Frustrating

I bought a window air conditioner for my living room the day before yesterday. Then, when I tried to install it yesterday, it didn't fit. And I mean just barely didn't fit - only one inch or so too wide. I had measured the inside of the window opening, but neglected to raise the screen and measure the outside opening, which was indeed narrower. The windows were replaced this spring, so they are the replacement windows with all sorts of doohickeys and little strips that can easily be broken by something large and heavy, like an A/C unit. Since I didn't want to deal with the consequences of broken weather stripping in January, I didn't force it.

So, the adventures of home ownership never end. But now, you can all laugh at the silly man and I will feel good about it. I wonder if I can get my hands on one of those narrower, taller window A/Cs. Stupid heat wave.

When renovations attack

In my last post, I mentioned renovations at the old place I used to live while a Cornell student: Risley Hall. Some of you probably lived there yourselves, and others have at least seen the place, so let me elaborate:

Brian and I arrived at Risley to find a cyclone fence strung around the perimeter. Cornell had put up a sign indicating what was going on. This summer, they are replacing all of the windows in the building with efficient modern windows. Also, the plumbing system is being upgraded, and apparently the bathrooms are being remodeled as well. They had some nasty photos of clogged pipes on the sign explaining the renovation. Good for Cornell, for investing in student housing. A few years ago they built new North Campus dorms. Currently, they are constructing new dorms on West Campus to replace the U-Halls - that's right, no more U-Halls. As already mentioned, Risley is being renovated, as is Balch Hall (though the renovations at Balch look to be less extensive).

Risley was built in 1911 and, if I remember correctly, it was last renovated around 1970, when they upgraded the heating system and made cosmetic repairs (the building had fallen into some disrepair). A few years ago, on visiting, I noticed that they had carpeted the rooms and purchased new furniture. I am impressed with these changes, and once again, I'm glad to see Cornell spending money on increasing the comfort for its students, rather than building indoor practice facilities for their football team (as a certain Midwestern university I attended chose to do).

Festivities back at the old place

Nobody worry, I'm doing just fine now. My good friends Brian and Kara came out to visit from Providence this weekend. We took a trip down to Ithaca so that Kara could check out the lovely Cornell campus, where Brian and I both went to school. There we are on the shore of Beebe Lake, not far from the dorm that we both lived in (Risley Hall), which is now undergoing extensive renovations.

NYARRGH!

Gah, everything is pissing me off lately. I've been hiding in my office at work mostly, because seems like when I interact with co-workers, they get under my skin. Blame it on the heat, or blame it on myself?

Anyone miss Wegmans?

I got your backs covered!

Sweet, sweet technology

Yes, I've posted my first photos to this blog - one of my house, one of my cat. I had to download Hello and Picasa to do it. I think I did it right. There's got to be a way to upload more than one picture to a single post. But maybe not. I guess I'll have to muck about with it, because I just ordered.... A NEW DIGITAL CAMERA!!!! (studio audience applauds and hoots) Sometime next week, I'll get my new camera. Should be pretty fun. Like I said, bear with me - it's my first day on the internet (hurr hurr).

Casa de Me

This is the old (new) Koshykar homestead. Newly sided this spring. Pretty swank, I guess.

Mysterious house pet in the picture window

Here's Katrina - my cat, sitting in one of her favorite positions.

Zoom! Whoosh!

I did manage to go to the air show on Sunday. The weather was absolutely miserable. I almost didn't go, because less than an hour before I told my friend I would get there, it was pouring rain. But the rain passed and gave way to - unbelievably oppressive humidity. This made it difficult to see the planes in the hazy sky.

But I made it in time for the Thunderbirds show. They do all sorts of crazy stuff that I would never, ever do - like fly upside down and pass within a couple feet of each other's wings. Then the show was cut short due to a potential for another thunderstorm. Ah well.

I still managed to get a little bit of sunburn on my face and neck.

And no, they did not play "Rock You Like A Hurricane." I can't help but be a little disappointed by that.

Hott

Yes, summer has arrived here. Ick. I'm caving in and buying an air conditioner after work today (yes, that's right, I'm posting at work - take that, the Man!). I'm going to put it upstairs, because my upstairs is really stuffy. I have ceiling fans, but I'm still hot, so I'm going to excercise my right as an American consumer, dammit. Each room upstairs only has one operable window. Two rooms (my bedroom and the spare bedroom) have a second, half-sized window that doesn't open. One of my co-workers says this is some sort of a unique Rochester thing - he's never seen these little architectural details (useless, if you ask me, except to let some light in) in houses in other cities. They are both on the north side of the house. Wonder if that means anything?

In other news (and there hasn't been much - hence the week plus without posting anything), I've managed to get a free ticket to the air show on Sunday. I've never been to an air show. I hope I can resist the temptation to say "vroom" and "whoosh" as planes buzz over my head. It should be pretty decent, I think. Better than doing yard work. I whooped my yard into some kind of shape, and it's still bearing me weeds. Alas. At least the roses are starting to get buds and blossom.

Yee ha!

- RK