Blog entries for TomSellecksMustache

Ueckie, shut up already about brats!

TomSellecksMustache — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:55:51 GMT

<rant>So the Crew is handily losing to the cubholes. Again. it is the bottom of the eighth and I really don't want to hear about Silver Spring Brat mustard, Usingers or ANY corporate sponsorships. Not when a Brewer is in the middle of his at bat. How about you announce these last precious moments of the game and stop paying the bills until after the batter is done?</rant>

Mmmm, this is some tasty popcorn!

TomSellecksMustache — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:44:50 GMT

I do not normally eat popcorn out of bags. I usually pop it myself. A couple weeks ago I helped my mother lay some sod and afterwards I helped myself to a snack of some popcorn on her counter. It was Aged White Cheddar and it tasted amazing. I don't think I've ever had popcorn that good out of a bag. I immediately looked at the ingredients. Something so good probably was laden with all sorts of alchemical wizardry that was no doubt unhealthy. To my surprise, it was all natural, containing no more than 10 ingredients. When I asked her where she got it, I was surprised to hear Walgreens. It turns out that this popcorn is available at many national retailers, according to their web site. I walked over to whole foods and picked up a bag of the kettle corn, which is equally tasty.

There are many other flavors I hope to be able to locate soon. In particular, the Chili Con Queso and Smoked Cheddar Cheese look quite tantalizing. After talking about how good the popcorn was, a friend let me know it is also available at Outpost. You should pick up a bag of this and try it out. The brand name is POPCORN INDIANA.

Wow it is wet out there!

TomSellecksMustache — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:29:05 GMT

After huddling in the basement for about 40 minutes with my dog and very irate cat (he doesn't like being jammed in his carrier while eating dinner), I threw on my rain slicker and flip flops to brave the torential downpour. I was on Wisconsin ave around 53rd street and it is absolutely insane how much water there is. There was a guy with a pole trying to clear the sewer. The water was knee deep. It is pretty wild. With a plastic bag over my camera I took a few shakey pictures of the deep water.

Here is one of my pictures, I just want to pass it on cause I'm crazy enough to go walk around out there.

WARNING: You may be injesting unsafe levels of tuna!

TomSellecksMustache — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:46:03 GMT

Today I stumbled upon a web site that uses gender and weight to allow you to accurately determine the _safe_ amount of tuna one can eat in a week. About a year or so ago, I decided to let seafood into my diet on a very rare basis. Otherwise I am a vegetarian. One of the last things to let slip into the "seafood I'll eat" category was canned tuna. I was at a sandwich shop and about the only thing I could find passable was this tuna sandwich they had.

The problem with tuna is heavy metals. Specifically mercury. It is really a problem with all seafood. Mercury ends up in the water just about everywhere. It is highly toxic. Fish breath that water and soak up the mercury. Then we eat them and deadliness ensues.

Anyway, find out if you're getting too much tuna. Chances are your delirium, hallucinations, and suicidal tendencies are probably from those magical cans of fish on the grocery store shelves!

Area Man suffers physical disability after purchase of Wii

TomSellecksMustache — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:59:45 GMT

MILWAUKEE, WI - After a Monday purchase of the popular console gaming system, this local resident has developed noticeable pain and diminished mobility in right arm. “I started out bowling and really got into it. Next thing I knew, I had finished six games and my wrist was hurting”. This particular resident had learned the hard way that Nintendo has discovered a more serious gaming injury than “Nintendo Thumb”.

“I used to get Nintendo Thumb all the time as a kid. I’d play Super Mario Bros until my thumb felt like it was gonna fall off.” He then added “This makes Nintendo Thumb look like a mosquito bite”.

The Wii gaming system has received a lot of attention, not only due to its new style of interacting with games but due to property damage and injuries. Many of the protective wrist straps in early versions would break, causing the “Wiimotes” to fly at top speed through the living rooms of America.

“Yah, when the Wii first came out there was so much stuff on YouTube and Engadget about how some moron threw a Wiimote into a $5,000 plasma TV or how some kid took one right in the face and lost a row of teeth.” When questioned about what he thought after purchasing a Wii himself and experiencing the system first hand the local resident responded “Well, I thought it was hilarious when people were showing how they busted their faces or TVs up on the internet, but after my Wii injury, it is serious business. I’m not laughing now.”

Many casual and hardcore gamers alike are experiencing a new sensation while using the Wii gaming system. Most are used to sitting immobile on the couch for hours while staring dully at the television set. Several of the games in Wii Sports (the game that comes with the system) require users to actually stand up. If that was not enough some require actual timing and body coordination to play effectively. According to this resident the realization came quickly “I realized right away I was going to bowl like a chump if I didn’t get off the couch. The angle was all wrong”.

When questioned about the other games he responded “Well after my wrist started to hurt from bowling, I switched to baseball and for the first time ever, I started sweating from playing a video game. I’m no tub of lard, you see, I just really was trying to knock that [expletive deleted] out of the park!”

Most injuries are not severe and the general soreness goes away after a brief hiatus with the game. The impact of “Wii arm” and the various other ailments that come from strains while playing can reach to even the most basic parts of life. “I realized I had overdone it when I woke up the next day and I had to go lefty in order to wipe my rear end” area man recalls. “The pain in my right shoulder was just too intense and I could barely reach back past my side.”

The game console itself cautions users periodically that they might be playing too much. During loading screens sometimes a user will see the Wiimote sitting on a table with an open window blowing a breeze into the room. A subtle hint that they can actually leave the house and play baseball or tennis without the assistance of a $250 gaming machine and $1,000 television set. This local resident claims “The bowling alley is too far away and how the heck am I supposed to gather up enough friends to play baseball? They’re all inside playing their consoles online!”

I too boycotted the sausage race at Miller Park

TomSellecksMustache — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:42:25 GMT

Back in 2006, I started going to as many Brewer games as possible. I don't remember how many I saw in 2006 but I made it to at least twelve games last year and I've been to three already in 2008. I found out how much I love getting those cheap bleacher seats and watching a game in the higher concentration of inebriated fans. Sometimes it is obnoxious, other times its kind of hilarious. Pretty much every game I go to, I end up in the same section in the same rows of seats, give or take a row or two.

Since I live within walking distance I've found myself in a routine. It goes something like this:

Walk down to the park right on bluemound, go under the freeway, cut across the lawn by the big electronic sign outside. Then through the lot (Braves 2 and 1? Not sure but its next to Brewers 1). Into Miller Park through home plate.

Anyway, I know my way to the right field loge bleacher seats, section 205. So I head up the escalator to my right. I usually stop off at the fancy beer cart to start the night off with something "classy" before I switch to High Life. Then I pickup a slice of cheese pizza and some peanuts. I head back to the concession island to throw some raw onions or saurkraut onto my cheese pizza. I know that probably sounds gross to 99.999% of you, but you gotta fend off the scurvy somehow.

Because of this tried and true path, I've completely missed out on the consession stand that sells a veggie dog. Every time I walk my route, I go right by a staple of baseball eats. Well, my closest approximation of said eats. Last night my fiance interrupted my usual path to let me know that she wanted to get a brat at the stand in question. "Hey, they have a veggie dog here!". Well what do you know. So I hopped in line and ordered one.

Molly S.E. wrote a story about soy dogs, to which I sent a talkback professing my general distaste for fake hot dogs. Usually, they suck. A lot. Before I gave up the flesh, I generally steered clear of hot dogs anyway, always chosing a good beer brat instead. Even today, a fake italian or fake brat is my prefered tubular psuedo-meat. I wasn't expecting much to write home about. I don't usually like soy dogs and I was at a ball park which isn't exactly the first place that comes to mind when you ask yourself "where can I get some GOOD vegetarian food"?

As I walked away from the counter I figured I better stack the odds of my enjoyment by giving this pretend wiener some extra treatment. In addition to the ketchup and brown mustard, I put on some saurkraut. I love saurkraut. I never had it before 2007. Loathed it as a child. But now, I pile it on thick. When I finally did get to my seat, I was pleasantly surprised at how flavorful the veggie dog was. It had a subtle smokey flavor and the texture was good. Not mushy at all (as they can sometimes get). I'd rank it at the very top of any soy hotdog I've ever had.

In truth, I never boycott the fun that is the sausage race. The last game I went to (Tuesday night game against the Reds) I called out Chorizo as my sausage race pick and WON! I picked Chorizo again last night and man was that a dud. That wiener barely showed up to the race. The polish sausage demolished the whole pack.

Aside from the loss, I enjoyed my first taste of Miller Park's pretend hotdog. It is really great to have yet another option aside from cheese pizza and french fries.

And yes, you just read a whole blog about what I ate at the game last night. ENjoy!

I'm not quite sure what I think about Gagne

TomSellecksMustache — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:07:41 GMT

Go Brewers! Despite the rain falling at 6pm last evening I decided to walk to the game against the Reds. I live close enough that it is only a 10 to 15 minute walk, depending on the pace. So with umbrellas in hand, my fiance and I made the soggy trip to our wonderful roofed ball park.

It was a slow game. The Reds pitcher, Cueto, was pretty good. He threw as many pitches as Suppan yet managed 11 more strikes. All in all, both starting pitchers did a great job. Even sided pitching can make for uneventful games so it was getting pretty exciting in the ninth when Gagne had just ONE strike to throw to clench the sixth win for the crew. I read this morning that Kendall actually called for a changeup on this last pitch but in his infinite Canadian wisdom, Gagne shook that call off and threw a fastball.

Well congratulations Gagne! You're now one and three for save attempts. If it wasn't for the sacrifice bunt by Dillon and the single by Kendall to push Hardy to third, we would have been in rough shape and heading to an 11th inning. Thankfully a solid single by Weeks closed the books and we walked away with that shiny six and one record.

This is only my second game of the season to see in person but I've listened to every single one via my MLB Gameday Audio subscription. I'm continually wondering why this expensive closing pitcher can't provide the early season staying power that most closers have no problems providing. Hey some can even do it all season, which is glad the Reds didn't bring Cordero out of the bullpen.

I'm happy I got to leave the park after seeing a win. That cold damp walk back home would have been more sour than I would care to have experienced. I'd be shouting BLAME CANADA all the way, I guarentee. If nothing else, I can look back and say at least I got to see two men in gorilla suits!

Useless software for your Mac ...

TomSellecksMustache — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:12:31 GMT

I was searching for some software for my shiny new Mac book pro (after 18 years of being PC only, I now use both). I ran into this program that makes use of a piece of hardware I had no idea was even in my laptop. It plays "lightsaber" sounds based on how the computer is tilted or turned. Apparently there is a motion sensor that knows how the computer has been moved.

Totally useless but still amusing. I wonder if someone will come up with some sort of useful software for the motion sensor. Anyway if you have a newer Mac you can seriously nerd-it-up with this. See the URL below.

DMV and SSN before 10 a.m.: only in Milwaukee!

TomSellecksMustache — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:01:30 GMT

I had the great misfortune of misplacing my wallet somewhere recently, possibly in public. It just so happened that I not only had the normal items in it (credit cards, debit card, drivers license, etc.) I also had my social security card in it.

It just can't get worse for your long term stress level to lose your social security card. In this day of identity theft and consumer credit fraud this small tattered card was essentially the key my identity. I've had to fight, sometimes outrageously to protect my credit rating and now here it was laid wide open for the harvesting by any unscrupulous would be scoundrel (are there any scoundrels with scruples? We may never truly know).

Imagine my dismay when it dawned on me where this card was and after ripping up my apartment over the course of two days, I threw in the towel and assume the worst. So began my task of cancelling the debit and credit cards, filling out credit freeze applications with the credit bureaus, in addition to locating money so that I might go about my daily business of driving, eating, etc...

Yesterday I aquired leave from work to take care of "the hard stuff." Not only did I have a trip to the ever dreaded DMV, I also had to conquer new territory -- the Social Security Office. I was ready for hours upon hours of grueling waiting, proving of who I am, documentation and more waiting.

I did a bit of research and not only is the replacement drivers license form online, so is the social security card replacement form. Figuring I'd save myself and everyone else a bit of time I printed these out and completed them on my home computer.

So Thursday I wake up, eat a small breakfast, grab a book and leave my house around 9:19 (SS office opens at 9 a.m., boss!). Luckily for me there is one about 10 blocks from my house. I walk in, hit 1 for a number and go to sit down. I see the sign that says to "Turn off your cellphone in OUR office" so before I sit I go to hit the disable ringer switch on that fancy iPhone of mine. Before I can even finish that and sit down, I hear my number called. What?! Sure enough, it was my number. I head on over there and within minutes I have documentation stating I am who I am and that my replacement SSC is in the mail. Sweet.

As well as that went, the DMV is a well known timesink of epic proportions. Anyone who has ever been to one knows at least one visit where entire sections of their life have been eaten whole by this bureaucratic monster.

Low and behold, #47 is my number and 45 is on the annoying beeping display on the ceiling. This book I brought with me is proving to be more like baggage and less like shelter from the predicted storm.

When everything is said and done I spent less than one hour ordering a replacement social security card and a replacement drivers license - including transit time! Now I come to my blog entry's title. I find it unreal that in a city as large as Milwaukee can provide two essential services to someone so quickly. I might be remarkably lucky but I don't think this could have happened in other cities the size of Milwaukee.

Just one more reason why I love this town. Go Brewers!

iPhone, procured. HUZZAH!

TomSellecksMustache — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:44:37 GMT

My plan to purchase an iPhone from the AT&T on Port Washington Rd was a good one. I arrived shortly before 4:30pm. I ended up being 13th in line. I hear the Apple store at Bayshore had a line around the block. So by 6:15 or so, I was in possession of (1) 8GB iPhone. SUCCESS!

My first impression was that the device was very slick and intuitive. The touch screen is a great idea and makes navigating each part of the phone very easy. However as someone who is used to the "old" kind of cellphone, it takes a minute to get adjusted to this new way of using a device like this. Once you get the feel for how buttons are layed out, they are pretty easy to find and things just "click". I still am having a hard time getting used to the virtual keyboard, apparently my thumbs are just too large.

I like how text message conversations are displayed, closely ressembling an instant message interface.

E-mail is easy to set up using the preset for GMail. The display of e-mail is great cause of real fonts and the ability to zoom and see pictures in-line. Clicking links opens up Safari (more on that later) and it is easy to create contacts from e-mails, which is helpful.

Syncing with iTunes works pretty well for contacts but I ran into my first complaint. I've been using iTunes for awhile with my old iPod. I always go back and forth between work and home and as such I turn off automatically synchronizing my library. This isn't a problem because I could just drag music onto the iPod. Not so with the iPhone. In order to get music onto it, you have to sync playlists. So unless I'm missing something, this extra step is somewhat annoying. The videos said "best iPod ever". I say "oh really".

I intended to post this a bit more quickly, but the friend whose house I was at when I set the phone up couldnt tell me what his WEP key was. He logged into his wireless access point and showed me this horribly long hexidecimel nightmare of a key I would have had to type in. With my tubby thumbs and general iPhone newbie status, I balked at that task. No WiFi for me, yet.

Using the AT&T edge network to browse the web is slow. Period. WiFi is more usable, but very large sites with a lot of ads and graphics seem to make Safari unhappy. One such site is this one. Maybe an iPhone friendly stylesheet is in order, huh OMC?

Sync'ing my contacts from my Blackberry Pearl to Outlook was always pretty easy. Luckily so was sync'ing them from Outlook into iPhone (via iTunes). I added a bunch of contacts by hand before I thought of this double ended sync, so I had quite a bit of practice. Adding contacts is fast and easy.

The 2.0 megapixel camera on the iPhone takes some pretty nice photos. I haven't yet e-mailed them to see what they look like on a normal computer but this actually looks like it could be a feasible camera phone. The 1.3M pixel blackberry pearl camera was pretty good, but the quality of the images was always a bit low. I intend to compare them side by side later.

The google maps interface was very cool, it automatically loads traffic data onto the map. I saw that I94 near summerfest was flashing yellow last night before I headed down there. Very cool.

The playing part of the iPod functionality is great. With a speaker on the phone you can jam outloud or use the headphones. Browsing with cover art is a really cool concept and I love it!

Ok, I'm about blogged out for now, I'll post some more impressions after I've played with it a bit more

I've decided that I'm holding out on buying an iPhone.

TomSellecksMustache — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:55:58 GMT

I made this decision immediately after the device was announced, which I believe was back in January. It looked cool. My position was further solidified when I got a Blackberry Pearl about two months ago. With my 2GB microSD add in card, why would I need an iPhone?

Unfortunately, as of last night at about 6pm my resolve has waivered and today I intend to purchase one, if possible. I've read of its various short comings and even though there are some, the propoganda has worked on me. Man I want one of these things.

I'm not a Mac person, been a PC guy since we traded in our Commadore 64 for a 386sx 16 when I was like 10. I've only owned one other Mac product, a 20GB 4th generation iPod, which I've slightly broken on a plane bound for Las Vegas. It locked up about 20 minutes into the flight and there was just no way I was flying to Vegas without some tunes. I cracked the case open with a key, which broke some pins in the docking interface. I was able to unplug the battery and hard drive and then reassemble the whole deal. It still works, I can sync with USB but not firewire. It only will charge with the wall charger. Obviously I need a new one.

That said, most Mac people I do know are saying "first generation Apple product? I'll wait". Not being a Mac person, I've not learned this lesson. Apple's track record reinforces this mindset. Compare the latest iPod (generation 5.5?) to the first one? Holy cow generation #1 iPods look like CRAP. I've seen the melting Mac laptop videos and the like. I'm suspending disbelief. The hype dictates Apple MUST have figured this out. Doesn't it?

My game plan is to head to Bayshore around 5:00pm and go directly to the AT&T store on Port Washington rd. With the Apple store opening at Bayshore, I expect that store to receive the most iPhone customers. Besides, I hate Apple stores. I've been forced to go into one ONCE to procure wireless networking cards for the Macs in the office and that was uncomfortable. I don't like being around people who give off an arrogant sense of entitlement about Mac IT knowledge but can't back it up with answers to questions like "Where do I get a supported wireless card for an eMac?" (you don't, btw).

Anyway, if I can avoid it, I'm not going to the Apple store. I feel a bit insane spending upwards of $500 on a phone after just spending $400 on one a few months ago.

I will report back if/when I am able to obtain this highly sought after device.

WISH ME LUCK!

Today, I almost died (but not really)

TomSellecksMustache — Thu, 24 May 2007 15:47:09 GMT

So I was walking back from Whole Foods with my friend and our requisite cups of morning coffee ... As he was winding down his explanation of why there is about a baker's dozen of credit cards in his wallet, we crossed the street to see not one but THREE armed police officers, guns drawn (including shotgun) circling the lower level of the building we work in.

We both stop dead in our tracks, staring in disbelief. "Whoa, what is this?" I say. "Uhh, guns drawn? That can't be good" he replies. It isn't every day we walk back from getting coffee and see police with drawn weapons staking out our building. We both agreed that we should probably take a step back. Imagine if you will, two grown men holding their coffees, hiding behind the OTHER bank across from the street of the bank (supposedly) being robbed, wondering what in the heck is going on.

As it dawns on us what is happening we immediately agree we should warn our co-workers upstairs. I had left my phone so he dials up and warns them about the situation. Visions of hostages and mournful funerals dance through my head.

After a very tense few moments we see both customers and police exiting the bank. It seems someone had phoned in a phony bank robbery.

WHEW! That doesn't happen every day. Luckily everyone we work with had evacuated the office via the back stairs within moments of our phone call. It seems our investments in Homeland Security Preperation planning have paid off.

Props to the hoodie

TomSellecksMustache — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 02:54:22 GMT

Now that winter's chill is upon us, I feel compelled to extend my glorious praise for the lowly hoodie. As I was walking down the street today, a brisk wind cut through the air. Normally this wind would have permeated my every cell, but not today. No, folks, I was rocking my hoodie.

This simple and inexpensive piece of clothing is often overlooked, but holds much utility as well as stylish greatness. Where to begin?

The hoodie is, at its most simple, another layer between the outside and you. This keeps the body heat in far more efficiently if you were just wearing a normal winter coat. Anyone who has walked any further than from house door to car door knows that every extra layer is at least another 15 to 30 minutes of "I'm not totally freezing my bollocks off" (pardon to those who are sans bollocks).

What if you've managed to forget a hat of some type and damn its 5 degress out? Oh ya, that hoodie has a hood. Pull them drawstrings tight and you have an impromptu hat. It isn't wool but it beats frostbitten ears.

No gloves? well unless your hoodie is way over-washed, they usually have stretchy arms which will cover your hands if you make fists and pull the sleeves down.

Once you are finally inside chances are at some point during the day the heat is gonna really bite the big one in at least one building you go into. You'd probably be too warm if you kept your winter jacket on, but luckily, its hoodie time.

Winter aside, the hoodie makes the perfect spring and fall accessory to keep the not-quite-spring-or-summer weather at bay. Plus, they look pretty damn good.

If you don't have a hoodie, I feel sorry for your mother...