Bob LaBlog

Work - Shout Out Louds

2011-01-21T22:04:00.003-06:00

Someone needs to explain to me why I intentionally switched the channel to watch the Pacifier and why I left the tv on the channel for the repeat of the Pacifier. That makes no sense.

I really enjoyed Party Down - Season 1. Something about it is just awesome to me. It's available through Netflix.

I may have convinced a coworker to share my dream of opening a neighborhood market after we're kicked to the curb by the state. I think my neighborhood desperately needs an old-fashioned central Texas grocery store/barbecue place. We've got enough hipsters moving into the neighborhood to support it. I haven't figured out why I dream of owning a small grocery store. I guess I have to dream about something.

I went online to get an estimate of what my unemployment benefits would be should I need them. I could make nearly half of my current wage. I would prefer to stick with my current situation, or win the lottery. Maybe that should be my strategy.

The Shout Out Louds are the best band in the world right now.

Apologies to the Queen Mary - Wolf Parade

2011-01-20T21:43:00.002-06:00

Listening to Wolf Parade always makes me feel good. Sometimes it makes me think of Mrs. LaBlog and sometimes it makes me think of friends in other towns. Either way, it makes me think of positive things.

I guess I need to get my resume updated. My hope is that after this session I will be employed as an analyst somewhere in central Texas. That's not too much to hope for. I mentioned to my old boss that my job is likely to get cut and her response was along the lines of "sucks to be you." I guess I burned that bridge. I didn't know you could do that with politeness.

Why is it so windy? I prefer less windy.

The man on the tv show talking about how losing his job means losing everything, including his house, makes me sad.

I'm contemplating becoming a subsistence urban farmer. I don't think that will pay the mortgage though.

My youngest sister-in-law is going to visit Madison to look at graduate programs. I am confused with how much I want her to end up going to school there. I wasn't always happy in Madison, but I am very pleased with the University of Wisconsin. If only there weren't so many yankees there.

Did I mention that I'm freaked out about my household's employment situation?

Blackout Summer - Christmas Island

2011-01-19T22:31:00.002-06:00

I've listened to this album entirely too many times. There's a song about dinosaurs. It's awesome.

I haven't posted to this thing in just over two years and I'm not entirely sure why I am compelled to now. Clearly one reason is that the current state budget crisis hit home today and I need a place to vent. My division is currently not included in the base budget. In other words, at this time it is reasonable to expect that I will be in need of a job on September 1, 2011. At the same time, Mrs. LaBlog's job is also in danger. That lends itself to unease. If we didn't own a house, I wouldn't be worried. It would just be the potential for an adventure in a new place, but the house mucks that up. Not that I don't like my house. I love my house. I love my little prairie. If I didn't have my house, I would miss my little prairie.

Happy Confederate Heroes' Day! I hope everybody was just a little racist and committed just a touch of treason today. It's your duty.

I wonder what kind of academic programming the new UT network will offer.

Texas 81
Texas A&M 60

My Gun - The M's

2008-12-12T21:00:00.002-06:00

This is my genius playlist after selecting "My Gun" by the M's.

1. Yo La Tengo - Little Eyes
2. Grandaddy - El Caminos in the West
3. Morningwood - Take Off Your Clothes
4. Boy Least Likely To - Be Gentle with Me
5. Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken
6. We Are Scientists - The Scene is Dead
7. The Unicorns - I Was Born (a Unicorn)
8. The Last Shadow Puppets - My Mistakes Were Made For You
9. Gnarls Barkley - Gone Daddy Gone
10. Yo La Tengo - I Feel Like Going Home
11. Electric Light Orchestra - Strange Magic

Make of that what you will.

We're All Tigers Today

2008-12-06T08:42:00.002-06:00

Please Missouri, figure out a way to play that game that we all know you have in you. Just one good game...just to prove that it's in you.

CBPP Redux

2008-12-05T17:42:00.002-06:00

I made the mistake today of reading through emails from the should I, shouldn't I CBPP time. They've got a fellowship program that starts up next year and will likely place one of the fellows in my neck of the woods. I wonder from whom should I seek my second recommendation.

Hot Damn

2008-12-04T19:58:00.001-06:00

I'm ready to be done traveling for work.

NSAIDs

2008-10-21T21:10:00.001-06:00

I'm building up quite a surplus of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs these days. I think I now have prescriptions for three different types. That's what happens with mystery ailments, the doctors just throw pain relievers at you hoping something will work.

Happy Bob Day

2008-06-14T11:01:00.002-06:00

It may be Flag Day today, but more important than that is that it is Bob La Follette's birthday day. If he hadn't been dead for the past 83 years, he would be celebrating his 153rd birthday today. Happy day to you, sir.

Stupid Antibiotics

2008-06-04T21:50:00.002-06:00

I appreciate all of the benefits that antibiotics have, but I think doctors tend to over prescribe them. I had to take Mrs. LaBlog to urgent care tonight because of a bad reaction to an, in my opinion, overly long antibiotic regimen. I was advised that if she doesn't improve I should take her to the emergency room. But hey, that tonsil infection is long gone.

the Maccabees - Colour It In

2008-06-02T18:32:00.003-06:00

If you don't have Colour It In by the Maccabees, you really do need to buy it. This is particularly true if you like the Futureheads first album. Colour It In is nice post-punk with multi-part harmonies. It may be the best album that I've purchased this year and I got Our Ill Wills this year.

Question

2008-05-25T15:10:00.002-06:00

Does anybody know how to get rid of banana plants? We have about 20 of them and we don't them anymore. Cutting them down doesn't do anything. I'm not sure if digging them up will accomplish anything.

Not the Target Audience

2008-05-20T21:09:00.002-06:00

Yesterday when I was leaving work, I found a flyer on my car for a check cashing and payday loan service. Every car in the parking garage had one. This particular check cashing service is located at Parmer lane. I work in a complex that has mostly professionals who receive their compensation via direct deposit. My building is in central Austin, just north of Hyde Park. Parmer Lane is several miles north at the edge of town. There is a check cashing business less than a mile from my office. Not only do we have very few people who get paper paychecks, but we are close proximity to multiple check cashing/payday loan locations. There seem to be better uses of the advertising budget.

The Most Glorious Thing I've Ever Seen

2008-05-15T21:54:00.002-06:00

Tonight at Central Market, I saw something unspeakably glorious. I saw strawberries hanging in the sky. For a mere $23 one can buy a strawberry plant hanging basket. I did not plop down the $23, but I was entranced nonetheless. I think it's possible that a hanging basket would thwart my resident possums in their attempts to steal my berries. The possums have been winning thus far.

That's Better

2008-05-15T21:46:00.004-06:00

A 19 point Spurs win is better than a 22 point Spurs loss. I think everybody should agree about that.

John Edwards Endorses Barack Obama

2008-05-14T21:21:00.001-06:00

APD Has Brilliant Enforcement Priorities

2008-05-14T17:55:00.002-06:00

We got an agency wide email today warning that APD is now giving $500 jaywalking tickets in the area around our building. I work in the giant state government complex at 49th and Lamar. A relatively easy (jay)walk across Lamar leads to the multiple restaurants housed in the Triangle development. If I want to legally walk to the Triangle, I have to walk up Lamar to 51st and cross at that light. I then have to walk down Guadalupe to 45th and cross Guadalupe there and then walk back up Guadalupe towards the Triangle (it is possible that there is a crosswalk between 45th and 51st on Guadalupe). The other legal option is to walk down Lamar to 45th and then cross Lamar there and then walk back up Lamar towards my office, for just over a quarter of a mile until I get to the restaurant area. If I were driving I would simply turn right onto Lamar and then make a quick left into the Triangle. The City of Austin is far from believable when it says that it's goal is to make Austin a sustainable, walkable city when these are the practical policies that the City chooses to enact and enforce. give us a cross-walk or build a pedestrian bridge if the jaywalking scourge is that big an issue.

Big News

2008-05-14T17:14:00.002-06:00

I hear that John Edwards has endorsed Barack Obama, apparently with his eye on the Attorney General position. I don't think it's any secret that I have a giant man-crush and the former Senator from North Carolina. I still think Edwards would have been the best President out of all of the once-declared and currently-declared candidates. That said, it's been clear for a while now that Obama is far and away the best remaining candidate in either party and it's nice that Edwards has officially come out in support of our presumptive nominee and likely the next President of the United States (God willing).

I just want to add one more thing, I don't think endorsements from former opponents are all that important generally, but for me the possibility of John Edwards in the next administration gives me enthusiasm for Obama's candidacy that might not have otherwise been there. Instead of wearing a button and making a donation, I'll likely make a larger donation and I'll consider spending more of my free time actively volunteering for the Obama campaign.

People That I Meet

2008-05-14T17:11:00.002-06:00

I now own the newest Natural History album, People That I Meet. It's available in MP3 form from CD Baby for $10. It's worth it.

Don't You Evah

2008-05-13T21:47:00.002-06:00

I've been hearing the new Spoon single every time I turn on the radio lately. I like it. Tonight I went to Waterloo and picked up a copy. There are eight songs on the disk, and five of them are remixes of Don't You Evah. The reason I made the purchase is that the eighth track is the original recording of the song by the original artists, The Natural History. The Natural History seem to be defunct despite the fact that they have a really good album that's been ready for release since the fall of '04. Here's where I beg. If anybody knows how I can get a copy of this album, let me know. Max and Julian Tepper wrote and played some great music together. It's a shame that their last album full of music is not available.

Minor Annoyance

2008-05-13T21:42:00.003-06:00

I have somehow managed to hurt my knee for the second time in the past couple years. Last time, I was doing the physically vigorous act of putting itch stuff on some bug bites on my ankle. This time, I was swiveling in my chair at work when I heard a crunch. The last time this happened, I would have been okay if Mrs. LaBlog hadn't kicked it just so in her sleep. I think I'll be okay this time around.

How did the Spurs get outscored by 15 points in the third quarter? That's lame.

UPDATE: It may have just been the bad weather that had my knee hurting so much last night because I've made it through the day with very little discomfort thus far.

Cleavage and the Apocalypse

2008-05-12T21:13:00.002-06:00

I went to a meeting today in which I learned two things. One, pandemic flu is coming and we're all going to die, or at least many of us will die. Two, in this post-apocalyptic world cleavage will not be permitted. I think this is what the point of the meeting was. We talked about pandemic flu preparedness for a while and then we shifted to discussing why cleavage is not acceptable in the office, particularly if your bosoms are tattooed.

Also today, my Ancora Coffee arrived. We got the Ancora d'Oro, Organic Celebes, and Ancora Black and Tan Blend. I am thrilled to have this. The box in which it arrived exclaimed, "Your Fresh Ancora Coffee Is Here!"

Fine Analysis

2008-04-25T22:19:00.003-06:00

During my sick day today, I thought I could ignore juvenile justice issues, but Grits For Breakfast had to go and ruin that. If you're curious about what I spend all my time doing, read this post. I just finished doing the analysis and writing most of the text of the JJAEP report and I provided most of the other numbers that our Executive Director presented the committees, though the numbers were initially used for a report and presentation by Tony Fabelo.

Strange Week

2008-04-25T22:15:00.003-06:00

I'm a 29 year old man and I've been to the doctor three times this week. Actually, it's two visits to my doctor's office and a super fun trip to the emergency room. I spent an hour and a half in an MRI machine and they found nothing. At some point, I assume that some doctor will tell me what's going on.

Ho Ho Ho

2007-12-23T11:23:00.000-06:00

Things have been crazy busy again. Mrs. LaBlog and I bought a house. We've painted and moved most of our stuff in, but we have yet to unpack the vast majority of boxes. We made the trek to Northwest Arkansas which took 10 hours, as opposed to the normal 8. The wind was so bad that our poor little Scion xB felt like it was getting swatted around like a cat's toy. After we return to Austin and find the camera, there will be photographic evidence of our home's existence posted to this blog.

Here's to Uncle Jim

2007-12-05T19:24:00.000-06:00

William Edward Mcdonald, loving husband, father and grandfather, died on Sunday the 2nd of December 2007 in Houston, with his wife and children at his side. He was born the 14th of June 1931, and raised in Orange, Texas. He attended The University of Texas on a football scholarship, where he played center and was co-captain of the 1951 Cotton Bowl championship Longhorns. He received his B.A. in Business Administration and LLB at The University of Texas School of Law. Mr. McDonald began his law practice in 1956 at Vinson-Elkins where he made life long friends. Subsequently he was a partner in several law firms, but the job his family enjoyed the most was his position as General Counsel for the Houston Sports Association (Astros) and Astrodomain complex under Judge Roy Hofheinz. He gave freely of his time and talents coaching baseball and softball in Austin, Texas and the Spring Branch Memorial Sports Association. He was also a Life Member of Chapelwood Board of Stewards and served as head usher and children's Sunday school teacher. His family is grateful for his gifts of integrity, honesty courage, encouragement and humor. He is preceded in death by his parents, Myra McGill McDonald and John Forrest McDonald, brother, John McDonald, sister, Nora McDonald Riggs, and daughter, Julia McDonald. Mr. McDonald is survived by his wife of 38 years, Gayle Williams McDonald, and children, Melissa Bohannon, Mindy Hensen and husband, Charlie, Bryan Fuller and wife, Sarah, Sherri Fuller, and Melanie Worthington, as well as grandchildren, Kristen Bohannon, Amanda Terrell and husband, Nick, Heather Hensen, Katherine Worthington, Will Worthington, and Grayson Fuller, and Kaylee and Gunner Terrell, great-grandchildren. He is also survived by brothers Forrest McDonald and Fred McDonald, sister, Virginia McDonald Sanford, and many nieces and nephews to whom he was devoted. Following private graveside services at Memorial Oaks Cemetery, a Memorial Service will be held at two o'clock in the afternoon on Thursday, the 6th of December in the Sanctuary of Chapelwood United Methodist Church, 11140 Greenbay in Houston with Dr. James F. Jackson officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to The Chapelwood Foundation at Chapelwood United Methodist Church, 11140 Greenbay, Houston, TX 77024.

Sorry About That Hiatus

2007-10-23T19:26:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to think about what's happened since I last posted and I come up with a lot. Mrs. LaBlog is teaching music at two elementary schools. Her primary school is primarily bilingual. She is almost always tired, but she seems to be enjoying singing with the kids and kindergartner hugs. Soon she'll get used to the little kid germs and all will be well.

I still have my job (four months)! It's fine for the most part. Nothing much to report there.

The big news is that both my father and sister have purchased iPhones in order to make me jealous. Very clever, family,

Also, as of December 15 we will have a lovely east Austin house.

Why Al Gore?

2007-08-08T21:53:00.000-06:00

Why are liberal activists longing for Al Gore? Didn't they not particularly care for him seven years ago? Don't we have two dynamic candidates in Edwards and Obama? I think Gore is great and he'd probably make a fine president, but all he's proven in terms of presidential politics is that he can run a pretty shitty campaign and hire a horrible staff. Edwards is my candidate and I'm excited about him, but I could vote for most of the Democrats currently running, Biden and Gravel being the two certain exceptions.

I'm a wild man

2007-08-08T21:44:00.000-06:00

Mrs. LaBlog's out of town so I spent some time in my underwear drinking beer and watching the sequel to Bring it On. This wasn't the gymnastics movie. No, I watched the straight to video second cheerleader movie.

Not Bad

2007-07-19T21:55:00.001-06:00

Mrs. LaBlog has been called in for an interview for a music teacher job at an elementary school on the way southside. If she were to get that job then we would easily be able to afford a decent house in town. We're not getting our hopes up, but I'm happy for her.

I am awesome

2007-07-15T11:54:00.000-06:00

I promise that I want to update this thing more frequently, but the job leaves me not interested in posting anything at the end of the day. I also am not quite sure in what direction the policy talk on this thing should be going. I tend to focus on the budget and tax issues, but with my newfound juvenile justice responsibilities, I may start focusing on issues related to that. I'll start with this:

TYC, is that place fucked up or what? If I wanted to fix a horribly broken juvenile justice agency, I don't think I'd bring in a bunch of people for a horribly broken adult justice agency along with tax lawyers to fix things. I may hire a competent juvenile justice person to run things. Fortunately for me and my coworkers, the state hasn't done that and we get to keep our boss and lawyers.

More juvenile justice stuff. Despite some grits for breakfast induced fear, nobody showed up to the TJPC board meeting. The few people who did show up had only good things to say about the funding plan for the new money. That was a shock. An even bigger shock may be that Texas now uses some juvenile justice money to attempt to equalize based on property wealth, so that the poorer counties get more money to spend on state-mandated services. Some really smart guy must have created that funding formula.

GA GA GA GA GA is awesome. Spoon consistently puts out great albums. I don't think it's Series of Sneaks good, but it does share some elements with that earlier brilliant album. The disappointment in GA to me is that Spoon recorded a really good Natural History song from their still unreleased follow-up to Beat Beat Heartbeat. Spoon does 'Don't you evah' really well, but it makes me long for some Natural History nonetheless. One shocking thing about GA is that the bonus album Get Nice, is nearly as good as the featured album. It's just a terrific album that people should be buying.

Transformers is awesome, if you played with the toys and watched the cartoons as a small child. The new Die Hard is awesome, if you like the first Die Hard movie. Harry Potter is good too.

Collaboration not Litigation Ale is really good. They have it at my Central Market. Two microbreweries discovered that they each brewed a beer by the name of Salvation and instead of involving the most nefarious of creatures, the dreaded beer lawyer, they just decided to bottle a mixture of the two beers. One is dark and the other is a golden ale. It's a pleasant and complex combination. It's also relatively high in alchohol content, so it may give your wife a hangover. Just a warning.

Happy Birthday, Mrs. LaBlog

2007-07-05T17:29:00.001-06:00

Today Mrs. LaBlog celebrates her 26th birthday. Despite being around for more than a quarter of a century, she's not too old for me.

RIP RNC

2007-06-30T22:15:00.000-06:00

No, not that RNC. My rock 'n chop has died. It's a damn shame. Other than being a kind of crappy knife, I love it.

MonkeyTown

2007-06-30T09:59:00.001-06:00

It's MonkeyTown, what's not to like?

Who Wants to Buy Me a House?

2007-06-27T19:12:00.001-06:00

We found a house that we want. It's clearly had some recent work done on it. It's roughly the same size and layout of our Madison apartment, only it's a house with a reasonable yard and a nice garage/work station. It happens to be across the street from the state office building complex in which I work and down the street from the Omeletry. Good times. The asking price is a mere $240K. Come on people, let's make this happen. I could live on Grover.

You Can't Return a Car

2007-06-18T22:08:00.000-06:00

In case you're curious, there is no "Buyer's Remorse" law in Texas. If you change your mind, even within say the first ten days of ownership, you're only alternative to owning the vehicle is attempting to sell the recently purchased car back to the dealer at a large loss. It's hardly worth it. I'm sure glad that the State of Texas doesn't believe in protecting the interests of consumers in any situation.

Sometimes I feel like G.O.B.

2007-06-16T23:58:00.000-06:00

Not to worry anyone, but I've found myself thinking, "I've made a terrible mistake," a couple times recently.

I don't know how I missed any, but I guess I did

2007-06-09T11:28:00.000-06:00

I am smarter than 91.89% of the rest of the world.
Find out how smart you are.

Happy Birthday

2007-06-09T07:14:00.000-06:00

Both to Mark and the Sovereign State of Arkansas. They are 25 and 171, respectively.

Happy Anniversary

2007-06-08T09:16:00.000-06:00

My parents have been married for 39 years as of today. Congratulations to them. This is slightly longer than my three years and three days of marriage.

Way to Rally

2007-06-08T08:49:00.000-06:00

I'm probably going to buy a car today. I still may not, knowing my difficulty with spending money, but my current plan is to go to the dealer today with the intent to make a purchase. I'm hoping that they'll deal at least a little, but car dealers seem to be trying to get out of the negotiating game.

The Spurs won game one. That's hardly a shocking outcome. The Spurs didn't play particularly well and they shut down the Cavs. The Cavs didn't play well either and they played some pretty good defense. Hopefully the Spurs will win this in four games. I'd prefer to see LeBron have some good games along the way to force people to finally respect a Spurs championship. They've got three of seven and people pretend that that is somehow not an amazing stretch. Could they ignore three of five and four of eight?

You're Failing Me

2007-06-07T10:06:00.000-06:00

I have made repeated requests for people to talk me out of being rational and in to a new car. So far, the rational side is still winning. I want either a new Civic or a Fit, but I am not sure that I want to take on car payments while I have a working car already. Come on readers, convince me that a new car is a good idea. I'm not even talking about a flashy car, I'm talking about two very practical compact cars with great safety features. What's wrong with me?

A Man's Gotta Bowl

2007-06-05T23:09:00.000-06:00

I really want to join a bowling league of some kind. I enjoyed Bob's Bowling and I miss the fun of bowling poorly yet still doing well due to my crazy high handicap. Any Austinites interested in doing some not so serious league bowling?

Gone Back to Lame

2007-06-04T22:19:00.000-06:00

While Mrs. LaBlog managed to get to Dallas, the American Airlines people screwed up and canceled the reservations for the BookPeople, um, people. There is no telling how or when Mrs. LaBlog will get here.

Less Lamer, More Better

2007-06-04T20:54:00.000-06:00

Mrs. LaBlog made it to Dallas and should be in Austin shortly before midnight. Hooray.

Because I was so obsessively healthy this weekend, I decided to go wild with the food today. I had breakfast at the Waffle House, the standard eggs over easy that I love so much. I followed that up with chopped beef and cole slaw at the Southside Market. For dinner, I went healthy with a burger, fries, and a shake. The burger was on a wheat bun. For an example on how I took care of myself this weekend, I had brisket, sausage, dirty rice, biscuits and gravy, a hamburger, some beer, french fries, fried alligator, ham, potatoes au gratin, shrimp creole, gumbo, shrimp etouffee, jambalaya, fried shrimp, fried chicken, red beans and rice, more biscuits, and more beer. I was almost monk-like in my self denial.

Not Lame

2007-06-04T15:21:00.000-06:00

I may be without my lady, but I'm not without good new music. Upon returning from the Golden Triangle,, I had a Shout Out Louds EP, a Camera Obscura EP, and a Butterglory LP waiting for me in my mailbox. I also had some bills, but we'll not talk about them.

Lame

2007-06-04T15:16:00.000-06:00

Mrs. LaBlog's flight from New York to Dallas has been canceled. Apparently all flights to Dallas are being canceled. Mrs. LaBlog was scheduled to get back just before midnight, but now I have no idea when she'll show up. I hope she gets here safely and soon. Seeing as tomorrow is our anniversary, I would really like to celebrate it with her.

A storm is moving through north Austin that is producing baseball sized hail. So far it's missing the Hyde Park and Campus areas, but there's no telling when these storms can shift. It's raining a little, but I can see blue sky out my window. It looks nasty to the north though.

I'm a guy, I don't cry

2007-05-31T16:05:00.001-06:00

I just turned down an interview with the CBPP.

Closure?

2007-05-30T11:43:00.000-06:00

I think I'm going to take the job in Austin. I like the idea of getting experience with a state agency and getting the chance to get training with more statistical software and grant writing. I want to have an advocacy component to my career, but at this point in time I think that the state agency job is a better fit for where I am personally.

That's right, I want a new car.

More Progress

2007-05-29T16:21:00.000-06:00

I went to Progress Coffee today, but that's not what this post is about. I'll find out tomorrow if the DC folks want to have me in for an interview. I have a message from the director of the department here in Austin, so I'll call her back tomorrow as well. It's a weird situation for me. I have the opportunity for a decent job with reasonable money here in Austin, which makes buying a home or getting a new car much more likely, but I may also have a shot at a good job with probably less reasonable money over a thousand miles away and I'm torn. I felt good about the Austin place. I liked the people who interviewed me and the office seemed reasonably mellow. My trusted advisor tells me that I should try to buy as much time as possible from the Austin people so that I don't end up with any regrets from not pursuing the DC job. Hopefully the dillemna will get less abstract soon. You know, an interview early next week and then they make a decision by next Friday. From the 30th of May to the 8th of June seems like a reasonable amount of time for the Austin people to wait. Sure, it may turn out to require more days, but I'll deal with that when and if it happens.

Advise Me

2007-05-26T15:34:00.000-06:00

As I wrote earlier this week, I am expecting to get a job offer from a state agency early in the upcoming week. At the same time, I have made it to the second interview stage for a position with the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. I can't conceive of the CBPP being able to move fast enough that I could either know that they would be offering or not offering me a position by the time the state agency needed a decision from me. The job in Austin is a decent job and would give me decent experience for later in my career. The CBPP job would be very close to a dream job as I would be working for a prestigious group in my area of interest.

What, dear reader, would you do in my situation? Please advise me in comments, especially you readers who I don't know well. You too, Mark.

Update, somewhat in response to Mark: I want badly to get the job with the CBPP. Salary is no consideration in that. I got more excited about them calling me (an hour after receiving my resume no less) than I did about getting into grad school. The thing is that I only know how I feel about them. I don't know the level of their interest in me, other than they've called me and that they've talked to one of my former professors, with whom they have a good relationship. I do have a good amount of fear that if I don't try as hard as possible to get the CBPP job that I will regret it for a while. I'm about to be offered a job for which I applied because I felt confident that I could get it and was disillusioned that I would be able to find a job that I care about. It's something to think about.

That's a Thought

2007-05-26T15:30:00.000-06:00

Mrs. LaBlog is leaving for New York City in a few days and she has made a strange suggestion about what I could do while she's gone. My wife suggested to me that I could buy myself a new car while she's away. Howdy Honda (dumbest name ever) has both the Civic EX Coupe and the Fit Sport in the colors that I want. There are only three manual transmission Civic Coupes available for sale in Austin right now. There's only one manual transmission Fit available too. Why would anybody buy an automatic transmission compact Honda. You can't get any of the benefit of their high rpm engines that way. And seriously, Hondas are fun to drive.

It's Unofficially Official

2007-05-24T15:34:00.000-06:00

The HR person at the Probation Commission called to say that I will be getting a job offer from the department head either on Tuesday or Wednesday. This comes after the really good feeling interview thing with the CBPP and the very real possibility that I could get a State Fiscal Policy job with the most respected "Progressive" Budget and Tax Policy outfit in the country.

The Magic Telephone

2007-05-24T14:29:00.001-06:00

The phone call happened and went well. It lasted a mere 45 minutes. I'm hoping to talk with someone else there next week and then possibly go if for an in-person interview sometime after that. I'm nice so maybe they'll like me.

One thing about interviews is that they often ask about what in one's life made them choose this life path and what fuels the interest in a particular job. I have two moments in my life that I always think of. One is of my dad complaining about our church trying to spend money on making the upstairs nicer by saying something along the lines of, "until their are no homeless people in Northwest Arkansas, we, as a church, have no business spending money on improving our facilities." The other thing that I think of is a situation in my gifted and talented class in which we had to design and build an architecture model. I chose to design a homeless shelter that looked like a hotel. I also remember arguing that we shouldn't spend money on space travel because the money would be better spent on taking care of homeless people. That's not a popular argument for nine year olds. Now you know something about where I got some of my interests and values.

Try Again in the Morning

2007-05-23T23:00:00.000-06:00

My phone conversation didn't happen today due to an illness by the DC guy. It has been rescheduled for tomorrow.

I want a new Civic. They are awesome.

Good Day

2007-05-22T17:06:00.000-06:00

Hopefully the Hawks will get the second pick in the draft and the Spurs will beat the Jazz to make the day a complete sweep of goodness.

I got a call from the Juvenile Probation Commission telling me that they want to do a reference check and a criminal background check, which I assume indicates that I'm a finalist for the position for which I interviewed with them. Even better, I got a call from the head of the State Fiscal Policy Project at the CBPP today to set up a phone call tomorrow. It may mean a move to DC, but it is absulutely the perfect position for me and I'd be incredibly happy if I got it. After the calls we went to look at new Civic Coupes and they are really awesome cars. I want one. We decided that if I get the CBPP job we'll sell my Civic and stick with the xB and if I end up with the Probation Commission job that I'll get a new Civic. So, I'll be a winner either way.

Here is the job description for the CBPP just so you, dear reader, can know how perfect it would be for me.

The research associate will work as part of the State Fiscal Project which focuses on issues such as the fairness and adequacy of state revenue systems and the interactions of federal and state fiscal policies. The Project also provides assistance to a growing and increasingly influential network of non-profit policy organizations across the country.
The position involves maintaining and analyzing data, translating technical research findings into non-technical products that can be understood by broader audiences, preparing graphic presentations of findings, analyzing pending policy options, and utilizing academic research and other resource materials. The research associate assists in preparing major reports and analyses and providing information to policymakers, state and local advocates, and the press.

Candidates must have strong quantitative skills and a basic knowledge of economics and public finance. The position also requires facility with spreadsheets and working with large data sets. Applicants must demonstrate strong writing skills, a penchant for accuracy, and the ability to work on multiple tasks, often on a time-sensitive basis. A masters degree in public policy or economics is preferred, although we will consider candidates with a bachelors degree who have at least two years of relevant work experience.

Never Forget

2007-05-19T17:16:00.000-06:00

I still miss Jose Blanco

2007-05-19T17:06:00.001-06:00

Six years ago today, I woke up to find my wonderful friend, Jose Blanco, missing. There were no signs of a break-in, no broken glass, yet Jose was gone. Those animals who took him from me eventually returned him, to a golf course, in flames. As many problems as that Jeep gave me, and as much as I like my Civic, I still miss my Jose Blanco. I hope you went to Jeep Cherokee Heaven. Goodbye sweet prince.

The Fed? Really?

2007-05-15T20:11:00.000-06:00

I'm supposed to set up a preliminary phone interview with the Federal Reserve. Hopefully my lack of understanding of macroeconomics won't hurt me. Maybe my grandfather serving on the Fed in Houston forty years ago can help me overcome that deficiency.

I should be studying for my statistics test on Thursday. That's right, despite completing several statistics courses and earning a Masters degree, I still have to take tests, or at least a test. Hopefully I still know something. Maybe I'll do it tourettes style: tobit, logit, ordinary least squares, regression, SAS, Stata, Access, SQL, monte carlo sensitivity analysis, Bayes Theorem, r-squared. Awesome. Clearly that qualifies me to be a research analyst.

I expect to hear from Virginia soon. I wouldn't mind living on the Eastside for a few years. Somehow Mrs. LaBlog is okay with this idea despite Richmond being about 300 miles further from San Antonio than Madison is. It's also about twice as far from Fayetteville as Madison is.

When did the Pistons get bad?

How quickly can the media change fan perception of a franchise? It seems to have taken about nine games for sportscasters to decide that the leagues least penalized team is somehow the reincarnation of the Bad Boys era Pistons. Bruce Bowen is not particularly athletically gifted by NBA standards and he is really good at hiding fouls. Maybe he's dirty, but then so is every player in the defensive stopper role. Robert Horry commits a hard foul at the end of a game and gets a crazy ass two game suspension and suddenly he's further evidence of a dirty team. Watch the replay. Horry and Nash are essentially playing chicken with each other. Nash tried to accelerate between Horry and the sideline and Horry held his ground and tossed in a little forearm for added flavor. If people are just focusing on how hard Nash appeared to fall, may I suggest that they watch the result of nearly every Tony Parker drive. It's always the same thing... Parker accelerates, drives, gets contact and ends up knocked hard to the ground. In this series that has seldom resulted in fouls being called.

It's A Trap

2007-05-15T20:05:00.000-06:00

I've added a new link in the side column for It's a Trap, a site dedicated to preaching the good word of Scandinavian music to the rest of the world. It's good stuff. Be sure to check out the interview with the Shout Out Louds ( only four months until Our Ill Wills gets released in the States).

Steve Nash Hates Shady Tactics

2007-05-15T09:11:00.001-06:00

The entire Phoenix Suns organization can't tell you how upset they are that Steve Nash got kneed in the crotch by Bruce Bowen, or that Steve Nash got fouled hard by Robert Horry, or that Steve Nash head-butted Tony Parker, yet ended up in worse shape. No, Steve Nash hates it when people do stuff like that.

Image From West Side Slant

What a deal

2007-05-14T23:11:00.000-06:00

I'll take a Robert Horry for Amare Stoudemaire and Boris Diaw and day of the week. That could turn out to be a great flagrant foul for the Spurs. San Antonio may lose an incredible clutch shooter, but the Suns stand to lose their entire post presence for game five because the Suns players clearly ran onto the court when Bell and Nash were slapping at Robert Horry following his obviously flagrant foul of Steve Nash.

Go Spurs

2007-05-12T21:00:00.000-06:00

Did San Antonio get into the Suns heads tonight or what? The Suns got to the point where they were spending more time complaining than they were playing. I'm glad. The Suns are incredibly fun to watch, but the Spurs are my team.

I'm off to the movie theatre.

Clever Voter Suppression

2007-05-12T10:54:00.000-06:00

Today is the Special Election. It's also college graduation day around the state. College age kids, particularly in Austin probably aren't thinking about voting this weekend.

Here are my endorsements:

Vote NO on the Proposition 1. There are better ways to provide property tax relief for the elderly and disabled that don't involve giving disproportionately large tax cuts for wealthy property owners. Property tax caps are always bad policy, unless your goal is to reduce revenue for schools, municipalities, and counties. They accomplish that pretty well.

Vote for Sam Guzman for the AISD Board of Trustees.

I am Jesus according to an internet quiz

2007-05-12T10:25:00.001-06:00

Which God or Goddess are you like? Your Result: Jesus You are God's lovechild. You love all and most love you. You help those who need it, and those too. The girls all chase you, and some boys too. You love to have fun, but you keep a serious life of working as well.Congratulations!! You are Christ!!
Budha
The Christian God
Goddess Bast
Goddess Sekhemet
You are your own God or Goddess
God Zeus
Satan
Which God or Goddess are you like? Make Your Own Quiz

Theft from Erin

2007-05-11T16:50:00.000-06:00

YELLOW

You are very perceptive and smart. You are clear and to the point and have a great sense of humor. You are always learning and searching for understanding.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

Love in a Crappy Apartment

2007-05-11T14:25:00.000-06:00

From 2.00 am until 3.30 am, that scene in High Fidelity in which John Cusack and Iben HjeJle are listening to Tim Robbins character having sex upstairs, was going through my mind on a loop.

Volovan: Ella es Azul

2007-05-10T02:30:00.001-06:00

Everybody likes their rock in Spanish. Plus, I like the guitar.

Fender Highway One Texas Telecaster

2007-05-08T23:12:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, when things aren't going your way, you need to buy a new guitar.

Liberty Lunch. Really?

2007-05-08T19:44:00.000-06:00

I thought that the Hank Melton reference was funny. I understood the Amy's Ice Cream part. I think the use of the Liberty Lunch name in Veronica Mars may be too much for my taste. That was an awesome venue that was torn down to make way for the beginning of the Warehouse District developments. (Perhaps it's ironic that I'm planning a post in support of the Warehouse District development.) I loved that place. I ended up with other people's blood on my clothes at that place. I understand the idea of this as an ode to Austin, but it seems inappropriate. I will say that this episode of Veronica Mars is better than the majority of the rest of season three.

Feedback Request

2007-05-07T11:46:00.000-06:00

Do the few readers that I have enjoy the music posts? Those seem to be what I prefer to write these days, but I don't seem to get the comment response from those that I do from policy related posts. Comments are about the best proxy that I can think of for enjoyment of a post. Let me know. I want to make this thing at least somewhat enjoyable to read.

Pandora

2007-05-05T23:35:00.000-06:00

If you aren't using Pandora, then you are seriously missing out. It's an internet radio service that creates radio stations based around your tastes. You name a band or a song and it goes from there. You just provide a little feedback along the way. Hopefully it survives Congress.

It's on repeat

2007-05-04T14:32:00.000-06:00

I can't stop listening to Burning Birthdays by Harlem Shakes. I want somebody else to get it so that they can tell me what song "Carpetbaggers" reminds of.

A wise decision

2007-05-03T14:08:00.000-06:00

We chose to not go to the Blonde Redhead show at Stubb's last night for fear of the rain. I also wanted to get to sleep so I'd be rested for my interview. It turns out that the show was canceled after the opening band finished and is not likely to be rescheduled. I love Blonde Redhead, but I'm glad I didn't head out there last night. Maybe I'll go see Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin tonight at La Zona Rosa even though it's a crappy venue. Speaking of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Broom is a really good album. I particularly like Oregon Girl.

Lesson Learned

2007-05-03T14:00:00.000-06:00

Showing up is a vital component of the job search process. Accurately recording the time of a scheduled interview is very important.

A magical kitchen tool

2007-04-30T19:44:00.000-06:00

We purchased a small electric kettle a week or so ago and it has turned out to be a really exciting addition to our kitchen. I highly recommend picking one up if you are a tea drinker.

Mrs. LaBlog plays the alphabet game

2007-04-30T19:05:00.000-06:00

the Aislers Set - the Last match

Boy Least Likely To - the Best Party Ever We agree on this one.

Camera Obscura - Underachievers Please Try Harder I've said good things about this band before. Good choice, Mrs. LaBlog

Deerhoof - Reveille Same band, different album.

Enon - Hocus Pocus

French Kicks - One Time Bells They appeared at the about the same time as the Strokes and make similar, though less mainstream, music. They're pretty entertaining live.

Guided by Voices - Universal Truths and Cycles These guys may be the most influential of the recent indie rock bands. GBV, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Pavement, and Built to Spill are probably the tops of that group.

Headlights - Kill Them With Kindness We agree again.

She didn't list an "I", but my guess is she'd pick Imperial Teen or maybe Islands.

the Joggers - Solid Guild Again, we agree.

Kawaii - If It Shines: We Have It Twee.

Les Aus - Haranna Hanne We agree.

the Maybellines - s/t Another twee pop band. They make very cute pop records.

the Natural History - Beat Beat Heartbeat These guys are/were one of the best of the post-punk bands. I'm not sure that they still exist.

the Oranges Band - All Around They sound strangely similar to the Natural History. Their singer briefly played bass for Spoon.

Pipas - Golden Square Mrs. LaBlog loves this band and I can hardly blame her. This is another twee band.

Quasi - When the Going Gets Dark I don't believe that she likes this, but we really don't have many "Q" bands. Yeah, we own no Queen CDs.

the Rondelles - Shined Nickels and Loose Change Really good female punk band.

the Sea and Cake - Oui This is one of the most pleasant albums that we own. It's perfect background music. We often listen to it while we eat breakfast.

the Thrills - So Much For the City It's California beach pop by some guys from Northern Ireland.

U2 - The Joshua Tree

the Vaselines - Way of the Valelines Agree.

Weezer - the Blue Album Same band, different album. Really, there are only two Weezer albums worth listening to.

XTC - White Music Agree again.

Yo La Tengo - Summer Sun Again, we agree on the artist, if not the album.

Zap Mama - 7

Curds

2007-04-27T18:53:00.000-06:00

God bless, they got cheese curds at my Central Market. Some guy in a Penn State shirt watched Mrs. LaBlog jump for joy upon seeing them.

Kudos Commissioner Aulik

2007-04-25T23:19:00.000-06:00

I somehow managed to miss this, despite my best intentions, but my friend Jamie Aulik has won his County Commissioner race. Congratulations to him and to the voters of Manitowac County.

Music by the letter

2007-04-25T16:19:00.000-06:00

This isn't my highly anticipated must-have music post, nor is this a strangely titled commentary on my, rather enjoyable, trip to College Station. I'm going through my alphabatized compact disc colletion and picking my favorite album for each artist letter. I'll also include symbols and numbers as a selection. Just for clarity, it's alphabatized by artist, not album

The 6ths - Wasps' Nests If you like the Magnetic Fields, then you have no excuse to not like this band.

Ash - Trailer This album contains the first song that I ever learned how to play as well as the first song that I ever played with a band. It's awesome.

Boy Least Likely To - Best Party Ever This probably isn't the best of the "B"s, but it's my current favorite. One song references being a country disco band, which I think captures this album. It's fun. It's happy. It's everything nice about music.

Clem Snide - Your Favorite Music I started liking this band at a really strange time in, not just my life, but damn near everybody's lives. In September of 2001, I saw them with Underground at the Continental Club. It was an amazing show and I bought this album at Waterloo the following day. It's sad without being depressing and uplifting without being cheesy. I could have picked almost any of their albums, but this is the one that I liked first.

Deerhoof - Apple O Ryan recommended this to me while I had my radio show at KVRX and I really liked it. I like that it's structured but unclean on the edges, sort of like Austin. It's noise combined with musicianship.

Ex Girl - Back to Mono Kero I don't really like many bands whose name starts with E, or if I do I don't own any albums by them. Sorry. I've seen this band twice. The second time was for a birthday at Emo's. They put on a really exciting live show that doesn't quite translate to the album. If you like Japanese pop, then I'd suggest giving them a try.

Foo Fighters - the Colour and the Shape Dave Grohl poured water on my head and generally put on the best and most energetic show that I've ever been to. I may have been 19 years old, but it was awesome. Every song on this album is good, really good.

Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven Think Mogwai but better and more interesting. Did you think that music for the climatic scene of 28 Days Later was awesome? If you did, then you would like this. If you didn't, then I don't care for you (you know I really do).

Headlights - Kill Them With Kindness I think I have mentioned them before. They have a pretty pop sound with shoegaze qualities for depth. It's really quite a good album.

Islands - Return to the Sea I know I've mentioned this album before. It's like the Unicorns, but cleaner and maybe more structured.

the Joggers - Solid Guild Now, the Joggers are a good reason to move to the Pacific Northwest. They're a hard band to describe. The mix multiple guitar lines and multi-part harmonies with a loud, but not noisy rock sound. They can be close to perfect. I'd definitely recommend seeing them live if you get a chance. Another band that I'd recommend seeing live is the Harlem Shakes. They have a similar style as the Joggers, but a slightly different take on it. Their harmonies are better live than on the EP.

Kaito UK - Band Red You thought I'd pick the Village Green Preservation Society, didn't you. Band Red is a great noisy rock album. I called it one of my favorites from 2003. It's female voices with loud instrumentation and driving drumlines.

Les Aus - Haranna Hanne This may be cheating since they are a Spanish band, but I don't care. The "Les" counts. Les Aus is a mixture of traditional Spanish folk music and noise rock. It's more of a salad bar mixture as opposed to, say a melting pot. Several songs are folk instrumentals and then several are really energetic noise rock. They also seem to be really nice. I saw them in Little Rock and they put Ted Leo to shame with their performance.

the Murder City Devils - Empty Bottles, Broken Hearts This may have been the hardest so far, but I had to be honest with myself and not pick Malkmus. This album gets me excited every single time I hear it. It's loud and it's catchy. Plus, people used to tell me that I look like Spencer Moody. This led to the formation of the Birthing Farm Angels, a band which rivaled the Murder City Devils in name only. Had we ever played music, we would have been awesome.

Billy Nicholls - Would you Believe Some people called this the UK's response to Pet Sounds. That's a pretty reasonable description of it. The people at Waterloo seem to love this guy. It's really good.

Old 97's - Too Far to Care I may be wrong on this one, but I think that any of their first three albums would be a good choice here. This particular album just seems to be a perfect balance between their raw early stuff and their overly polished more recent work. It's got all the energy that you could ever want and it still sounds like it's inspired by Johnny Cash.

Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted Luxe-Redux I was torn on this one too. I'm trying to balance between the albums that I think are the best, the albums that I enjoy the most, and the albums that I've been listening to lately. One of the Peter Bjorn and John albums could have conceivably worked here since I've listening to them a lot lately, however, I think Pavement is the best band of the past 35 years and this is my favorite album, plus the second disc has the Watery Domestic EP included. That puts it over the top against it's primary competition, Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. If you don't have a complete Pavement collection, then you really should get working on that. It's a negative statement on your character.

Quicksand - Manic Compression Surprise, it's a really noisy rock band. Onward.

the Rentals - Return of the Rentals This was the first of two for the Rentals and I tend to think that it's better than Seven More Minutes, although not by an overwhelming margin. I think that this is a logical progression from the Blue Album, although not the same band. The Rentals are apparently in the studio recording a new album. Awesome.

the Shout Out Louds - Howl Howl Gaff Gaff This is the best pop album that I own. It's an all growed up version of Return of the Rentals. My love for this album has made my anticipation for the new release reach an insane level. Our Ill Wills will be released in the US by Merge Records on September 11, a date with no bad mojo whatsoever. Our Ill Wills should be available in the US as an import in the next week or so if you want to spend $30 on it. It may be worthwhile.

Thin Lizard Dawn - s/t I think that members of Thin Lizard Dawn now are in Hotsocky. The album is a series of really well-written pop songs with enough of a lo-fi sound to satisfy me. They clearly liked Bowie and the Beatles. They nicely mock Oasis. It's good.

the Undertones - the Very Best of the Undertones Greatest Hits albums are for suckers. Hi, I'm a sucker. If you like pop-punk, then the odds are that those bands you like are cheap ripoffs of the Ramones and the Undertones. It's probably safe to call the Undertones the Irish answer to the Ramones.

the Vaselines - The Way of the Vaselines You've probably heard one of their songs without knowing it. Nirvana covered several of their songs. To be fair, the Vaselines sound nothing like Nirvana. They're more of a lo-fi pop band. It's a great album if the Nirvana covers don't ruin the originals for you.

Weezer - Pinkerton Every guy in his late teens or early twenties can relate to this album. It's the only Weezer album that doesn't sound polished. It's very raw. Pinkerton made Emo music poppy. That's really the only negative to the album. It is also the last decent Weezer album.

XTC - White Music This is early XTC, before they got really bad. I think that post-punk is just code for "sounds like early XTC." White Music has a lot of classic pop songs on it.

Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out This is basically the soundtrack to my relationship with Mrs. LaBlog. You're damn right it will be my pick here. I do think that Nothing is everything that is good about Yo La Tengo's music. It's pretty, it's interesting, it's melodic, and sometimes it's funny. Other than Nuclear War, I don't think a person could go wrong with Yo La Tengo.

the Zombies - Being Here The Zombies were making pop music as good as any other band for a brief period of time. I was torn between this and Odessey and Oracle, but I chose this. Both are great albums. I just went with the pure pop album as opposed to the more psychadelic Odessey.

Here's a Question

2007-04-20T16:29:00.000-06:00

Could you picture me as a financial advisor? I'm not sure that I could. I don't have a financial advisor job, I'm just curious.

Uploading to the itunes

2007-04-12T23:31:00.000-06:00

I enjoy having access to music on my computer and I find my ipod to be convenient, particularly with Mrs. LaBlog's car and its ipod connector. I do not, however, like the process of putting all of this music onto my computer. I like to go to record stores and buy records and cds. I don't like to order music files online. I don't want my computer or my ipod to be my primary music playing device. I prefer my stereo and my records.

I steal from Erin

2007-04-12T11:32:00.000-06:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Dwight Howard with a Young Fan

2007-04-12T10:11:00.001-06:00

Sign that man to the Spurs.

Awesome

2007-04-08T10:32:00.000-06:00

Happy Easter.

I saw Meet the Robinsons on Friday. It was entertaining enough, but I didn't like all of the Disney stuff added to it. The movie is based on a non-Disney picture book. I know Disney made the movie, so I shouldn't really complain. I didn't see it in 3-D because Mrs. LaBlog is creeped out by the idea of 3-D movies.

I decided to try and start a new family tradition for my very small family of two and made shrimp creole for our Good Friday dinner. It was really good. The kind of tradition that I can get behind.

I tried to get some traditional southern breakfast on Saturday, but we opted to sleep in. I don't think there are any all day breakfast places in Austin that can do a southern breakfast well. By souther breakfast I mean, eggs, hash browns, pork of some variety, and biscuits and gravy. Dan's has it early in the day. We tried to go to the Omeletry for brunch, but it was too crowded and too cold to wait outside. We then went to Magnolia, but there was no parking. I then came up with the brilliant idea of going to Las Manitas. It worked out perfectly. I got the Central American breakfast plate with bacon. The plate had eggs over easy, black beans, tortillas, salsa, and fried plantains. It was really good. Their coffee was really good too. Even better than the food, when I went to pay two very recognizable people walked in...Ira and Georgia from Yo La Tengo. They were in town to play a show at Stubbs' (which was canceled to do freezing temperatures and precipitation). I stood next to them and said nothing. Mrs. LaBlog looked to be having a heart attack. She claimed to be having a heart attack, so maybe she did in fact have a heart attack. For some context, a Yo La Tengo album was playing when we first said I love you. The same album was playing when I proposed. Our first dance at the wedding was to a song off of that same album. We also missed a Yo La Tengo show because while we were getting married in San Antonio, they were playing in Austin.

After the Yo La Tengo sighting, we went to Waterloo and spent all of our money on music. I'm really enjoying the Cribs. They're a post-punk band from the United Kingdom. They've got a little Pavement to them too. I like the other stuff we got, but I'm listening to that at the moment.

After spending money, we headed to Progress for yet more coffee and some intense jitters. It was good and at least one person who works there gives me the impression that she remembers us and likes us. I like it when people at restaurants like us. They owners of Ruby's will sit down and talk with us. Everyone at Habanero remembers us. In Madison, the people at Espresso Royale would always take time to talk with us and the waiters at Maharaja always smiled really big when we would walk in. We're loyal customers, we tip well, and we're polite. From my experience as a sandwich maker, I can say that service industry workers respond well to those things.

Now I'm waiting for my wife and her family to show up so that can eat our Easter Indian food. Yeah, conceptually that makes no sense to me. I won't complain because I have three hollow bunnies upon which to gorge myself and then promptly head into a glucose induced tailspin.

Happy Good Friday

2007-04-06T15:55:00.000-06:00

I'm still trying to get my head around the must have album posts. That's why I haven't posted much in the past few days.

I hope you have a good Easter weekend, if that's your thing. Take some time to think about how stupid the death penalty is, or not. I'm going to eat Indian food.

Tonight I have to leave it- Shout Out Louds

2007-04-03T12:45:00.001-06:00

On WIsconsin

2007-03-30T09:59:00.000-06:00

I brought Wisconsin cheddar and Leinenkugel's home with me from the grocery store last night. I only buy Wisconsin cheese when I have a selection of origin-labeled cheeses. It has to do with me being a policy analyst and hating the way that dairy subsidies are abused by California. I never tried the Leinenkugel's Original while in Madison, so I thought I'd buy it.

Colt McCoy TD pass vs. Texas Tech

2007-03-29T23:52:00.001-06:00

The Spring Game is this Saturday. College Football is better than damn near everything.

My favorite part of spring

2007-03-29T21:44:00.000-06:00

Central Market has pixie tangerines. Pixies are perfectly sweet tangerines. There is no fruit that I like more. If you live someplace with a Central Market, then you have until the end of May to get some.

More music is coming soon

2007-03-29T20:40:00.000-06:00

Even if Erin is upset by the volume of music recommendations coming from this site, you should be expecting more in the near future. I'm going to go through the album collection and note the albums that I consider to be must-haves for any music fan. I'll go through the alphabet.

Reunionization

2007-03-28T22:33:00.000-06:00

My high school class is having it's ten year reunion in August. I have a hard time imagining something that would be less pleasant than going to my high school reunion. I'm more likely to go to the Clements ten year reunion. I don't keep up with people from high school. My high school girlfriend lives across town and I basically haven't talked to her since she introduced me to Mrs. LaBlog just over five years ago. It's just not my nature to keep in touch. It's a fault. There are certain people with whom I try to stay in contact, but I don't think any of them are in my graduating class. I haven't spoken with anybody in my graduating class in seven or eight years. One girl went to UT and I saw her one time on campus my junior year.

The albums on my counter

2007-03-28T11:26:00.000-06:00

This is a list is some recommended listening. I'll also be supporting local merchants by providing a link to purchase each album from Waterloo. Just buy it. Fair warning, there are at least twenty albums sitting out by the stereo right now, so this will be a long post. I also want to say that these aren't my favorite albums, just the albums that Mrs. LaBlog and I have been listening to at home lately.

All Girl Summer Fun Band - s/t. AGSFB is a quartet from Portland which makes great catchy twee pop. Mrs. LaBlog loves twee.

Ash - Free All Angels. Ash is somewhere between between power pop and britpop. It's probably safe to refer to them as the UK's answer to Weezer. I've liked this guys since I heard them on the Angus soundtrack.

Aerospace - In a Place of Silver Eaves. It may be safe to call them twee simply because they're Swedish. Aerospace is melodic pop that belongs in the same family as Belle and Sebastian. This is another of Mrs. LaBlog's selections.

Chin Up Chin Up - This Harness Can't Ride Anything. Chin Up Chin Up surround you with sound and melody on this album. I think that it is safe to call them indie pop. This Harness Can't Ride Anything is one of the most enjoyable albums that I have listened to in a long time. I am listening to it right now, actually.

Camera Obscura - Underachievers Please Try Harder. If you aren't familiar with Camera Obscura, then that is a personal failing on your part. This Scottish group makes very pretty pop music. The songs are well crafted and the primarily female vocals are great. They can be a little boring live, but they always seem to sound good.

The M's - Future Women. The M's reminded me of the Beach Boys the first time that I saw them live. I credit their white pants for that. Future Women is a very layered album that relies heavily on timing. They pull it off wonderfully. It is a good driving album, very nice rock music.

Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger. I've already briefly mentioned them and Underground discussed this album as well. His description is spot on, so I'll just stand on his work.

Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity. I really love Deerhoof, so it shouldn't be surprising that I like this album. Deerhoof makes very noisy, layered, rock songs. They aren't a single band, they are an album band. Randomly pick any of their albums and you should be satisfied, assuming you like the noise. Apple O is a great place to start.

Various Artists - The Hot Generation. This is a collection of Australian rock from the 1960's. It is billed as punk rock, but punk didn't really exist until 1977, so take it for what it's worth. It is reasonable to call this a precursor to punk rock. The songs are raw and the guitars are jangly. You, dear readers, definitely need to own this album.

the Strokes - Is This It (import). You need the import. Otherwise you don't get "New York City Cops," aka the best song on the album. You know the Strokes, right? Everybody knows them. They were super cool and then they got popular and instantly became super lame and then they released two more fairly well received albums. I don't know if they are cool or lame now, but I do know that Is This It is a catchy album that borrows liberally from old punk rock bands. They put it together pretty well.

the Headlights - Kill Them With Kindness. There is a lot to like about the Headlights. They have male-female harmonies. They use keyboards well. They combine elements of pop with shoegaze really well. The shoegaze is very subtle on the album and serves more to add depth than anything. The album is just really enjoyable to listen to. The live show is even better.

Spoon - Girls Can Tell. This is the redemption album following the embarrassment of being dropped by Elektra shortly following the release of A Series of Sneaks, aka my favorite album. If you haven't caught on that I really like Spoon, then you haven't been paying attention. Do you like the Kinks? Do you like the Clash and the Jam? You should, and you should love Spoon.

Spank Rock - YOYOYOYO. Critics love this album. I like it too. Spank Rock is rap with some electronic thrown in as a bonus. It's not the rap that I'm particularly fond of, it's the way that the noises in the background and the vocals blend to provide a really nice listening experience. Also, it is very raunchy.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets. Ted Leo writes very political punk rock music, and he does it better than anyone else. Shake the Sheets is immensely enjoyable. His live shows can be somewhat terrifying because the crowds resemble a cult rally more than a rock show audience.

Quasi - When the Going Gets Dark. I don't actually like this album. Neither does Mrs. LaBlog. Oh well. It's just out because we haven't bothered to find a place for it on the shelf.

Peter Bjorn and John - Falling Out. How can one not like Peter Bjorn and John? If nothing else, they should be loved for their association with the Shout Out Louds. Fortunately, there is more to Peter Bjorn and John than that connection, as nice as it may be. As Underground and I have mentioned, Peter Bjorn and John write beautiful melodies over catchy pop tunes and the production value is top notch. They also put on a great live show, but don't just take my word for it,
the Austinist liked them too.

Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block. This has some better songs than Falling Out, but the album isn't quite as good on the whole. It's still better than most albums out there. Peter Bjorn and John may be familiar to those who watch that stupid show, Grey's Anatomy. I'm told that their music is regularly featured on that show.

Yo La Tengo - Ride teh Tiger. Yo La Tengo is the most consistently good and creative band on the planet. There is no active band that come close to the consistent quality that they put out. If you are thinking about U2 or some similar band, I will beat your ass. I own seventeen Yo La Tengo albums and I like all but the reggae ep. If you only have the greatest hits album, then you are doing yourself a disservice. Go to the record store with great haste.

Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass. This is their newest album. Go get it, it is really good. Maybe you don't like good music? If that's the case, go buy some Creed.

Silver Scooter - The Blue Law. Silver Scooter made melodic indie pop songs. Whenever I hear Death Cab for Cutie, I get angry because they got huge writing songs that are essentially Silver Scooter songs that don't go anywhere. Maybe Ben Gibbard is a big Super XX Man fan.

That's all. Feel free to comment. I'll probably find more albums around my apartment, but I'm not going to write about them. I'm tired of writing.

I can, in fact, read it

2007-03-28T10:49:00.000-06:00

That email forward in which the letters in words are randomly displayed is on display at MaxSpeak. I found it via Matthew Yglesias. I'm sure my mom has forwarded that email to me before. I don't know if the research actually exists because I don't think I've ever met anyone who couldn't read it. Then again, only my parents have ever commented on it with me.

A hazard of the job

2007-03-27T12:10:00.000-06:00

Jeff Corwin seems to have had his arm broken by an elephant while talking to Anderson Cooper. There's a video of it on YouTube, but I refuse to post it because it's a video of an elephant tossing a guy around by his arm. Jeff Corwin is the only animal show person whom I can watch and enjoy. It sucks when people get hurt like that.

Stone cold killer

2007-03-23T09:15:00.000-06:00

Last night I killed one of God's creatures. I was running through my home, with Mrs. LaBlog giving chase, and stepped on something that felt like a rubber band. I picked it up as if it were a rubber band and threw it down in horror upon realizing that it was, in fact, a gecko. An innocent albino gecko. Sometimes it's hard to live with myself.

Happy Birthday Mom

2007-03-22T16:39:00.000-06:00

Today my mother turns [redacted]. I hope that the next year is just as good as the past [redacted] years.

Also, congratulations to Luis, the maintenance man at my apartment complex, on the birth of his daughter today. She'll share a birthday with a great lady.

A piece of advice

2007-03-21T11:17:00.000-06:00

If you're ever bored and think it might be interesting to see if you can find any high school classmates on MySpace, don't do it. It's a traumatic experience. In my case, every guy I went to high school with is either gay or a preacher. Again, resist any temptation that you may have.

Camera Obscura - Lloyd I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken

2007-03-21T09:24:00.001-06:00

Quoi?

2007-03-20T16:16:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure how it happened, but I was just paying bills and I had a $650 credit with a credit card company. I guess I paid twice, but that's just strange.