Susskins Central Dispatch

Light Rail

Minneapolis/St. Paul Light Rail

Here are some shots of the new Light Rail system in downtown Minneapolis. The trains are testing, with plans to open for service in June, I believe. They were scheduled to open at the beginning of April, but the transit strike screwed that up.

When completed, the line will run from downtown Minneapolis, through the MSP International airport, to the Mall of America.

Once again, the streets of Minneapolis have a grid of wires above them. It's a return to the old trolley system.

Hubert Humphrey is probably rolling in his grave.

The Latest Internet Meme, attempt 2

Hmmm. I didn't follow the rules on my previous entry. So let's do it the right way.

1. Grab the nearest CD.
2. Put it in your CD-Player (or start your mp3-player, I-tunes, etc.).
3. Skip to Song 3 (or load the 3rd song in your 3rd playlist)
4. Post the first verse in your journal along with these instructions. Don't name the band, nor the album-title.

Third playlist, third song, first verse:

Home in the valley
Home in the city
Home isn't pretty
Aint no home for me
Home in the darkness
Home on the highway
Home isn't my way
Home'll never be

Okay, that's more like me.

Via Michele

The latest Internet Meme

Per Jim Treacher

1. Grab the nearest CD.
2. Put it in your CD-Player (or start your mp3-player, I-tunes, etc.).
3. Skip to Song 3 (or load the 3rd song in your 3rd playlist)
4. Post the first verse in your journal along with these instructions. Don't name the band, nor the album-title.

So I grabbed my iPod, spun through the albums at random, and came up with this:

These are not dispassionate words of the cruel
The headline still rules, the editor's a fool
should we douse out the flames or will everybody fuse
and leave us stranded here tomorrow?
I heard her calling out a cry from the heart
from the towns of cement and no beauty
A whisper it’s turned howl, man he didn’t know
he was standing waiting for tomorrow

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Via Michele

My professional life

This is me.

This is why I come home cranky and worn out. This is why I hate spammers and browser hijackers.

This is why I'm so tired some days.

Humpday ramblings

It's the middle of the week. Time to spout off.

I hate John Kerry. Too botoxy.

I like Tony Carey. Great music.

I hate sushi. Seaweed is gross.

I love pizza. Pepperoni rocks.

I hate dieting. Pepperoni rocks.

I need a nap.

Well. That went nowhere fast.

It's got a pepper bar

I've got the Spongmonkeys in my head, and they're singing the Quiznos song. (Warning: Flash animation and bad singing.)

Make it stop!

Miss, there's a clavicle in my pie

Sweeney Todd is now available on DVD.

I love this gruesome little tale. I love the music, I love the horror, I love the cast. And I love the silver razor and the oven. I despise the Judge. I pity the poor. I cringe at the Sanitorium.

You think musicals are just fluff? Try this one. Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is anything but fluff.

Giant cake

Last night we had dinner with Jim and Stuart, at Vic's in St. Anthony Main. St. Anthony Main is a not quite successful little place on the banks of the Mississippi in downtown Minneapolis. It's not quite successful because it's hidden, it's hard to get to, and it's expensive for parking. At least, it used to be expensive. It's actually quite cheap now, but no-one knows that. (Vic's validated our parking in the municipal ramp.)

Pretty place. Sports the new clean modern look that everyone expects. Good food, a touch pricey, but then I'm a Wendy's kinda guy. I had tenderloin medallions and asparagus. Fred had a half of Crispy duck, and snow peas. He got the better deal, I think. He was in heaven. I got some not-quite-there asparagus and some overly salty steaks. Okay, but not great.

And then the dessert course came along. I ordered the carrot cake.

Ever see Pollyanna? Ever notice the size of the slices of cake they were selling at the Charity bazaar?

No joke, it was that big. I didn't finish it.

Anyone that knows me knows that I don't leave cake behind.

Today's weigh-in

Starting weight: 416
Last week's weight: 414
Today's weight: 414

No change for the week.
Total lost: 2 pounds

That giant piece of carrot cake didn't help last night. Yet I persevere!

Yesterday's weigh-in

The Sunday weigh-in: 414 pounds.
Down one pound from previous Sunday.
Down two pounds from starting weight.

A little at a time.

And again

Must be having one of those John Kerry moments.

Here's another

Man, this stuff just writes itself.

Caffeine and Dubya

George Says...

I love these automated text generators.

Al Franken photoshop

Farker JangoFett nailed it. I haven't laughed this hard at a Fark Photoshop contest in a long time.

For more of JangoFett's interesting work, go here.

I love internet advertising

Texas House candidate, onetime cross-dresser says he won't bow out

Apparently there are pictures of Sam Walls, 64, circulating about. They show him in a dress, high heels and a wig.

The banner ad above the story: "Whatever came of your High School Prom King?", an ad for classmates.com.

I love when that happens.

Whoops

Sunday's weigh in: 415

Original starting weight: 416

Overall loss: 1 pound.

Three steps forward, two steps back. And yet I persevere.

The enduring snarkiness of Rachel Lucas

The Truth Laid Bear: Weblog Traffic Rankings

86) Rachel Lucas 1482 visits/day (113)

And that's with NOTHING on her site. Literally. It's a blank white page.

Damn, but I miss her blog. She ranted like no-one else. And she had Digger and Sunny on display, the fierce grackle killers, the farting dogs.

Rachel, I hope you're having a good life. We miss you.

Chernobyl

This is creepy.

It's been a long time since Chernobyl went off. Ever wondered what the countryside around it is like now?

Bow before me

You are a GRAMMAR GOD!


If your mission in life is not already to
preserve the English tongue, it should be.
Congratulations and thank you!


How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I knowed it! I done gooder than everybody!

Changes

Let's see; where do I start?

1. Fred is unemployed, after having issues with his company jerking him around on his paycheck. He had enough and quit yesterday.
2. My friend Mike is watching over his Mother, who is in the hospital after surgery on her leg.
3. I just found out that an old friend died after several months of fighting a resurgence in cancer.

Life is on a wobbly course at the moment. I'm a little stressed from worry. But I know it'll settle down soon enough.

Embarrassed by Bullshit

So you're embarrassed by your President? I'm embarrassed by your bullshit.

You have issues with the President. Fine. Try addressing those issues specifically, rather than acting all snotty and pouty. Until that happens, I will continue to display this graphic.

Damn. I'm gonna have this graphic for a long time, ain't I?

This post courtesy of the brilliance of Artchick.