The Acclaim to Fame is not a happy machine.

the radio has stopped working, unless you apply hard constant pressure to the on switch with your palm or foot for 5-10 seconds. Also, it no longer can safely hit speeds above 65 mph without shaking violently. And.. whenever I go over a moderate sized bump it makes a sound similar to that which one would expect to hear if a metal trash can full of marbles was thrown down a flight of stairs.

yesterday I purchased the DYSON VACUUM CLEANER!

The top of the top for V-cleaners, this beast can clean anything you throw in front of it. My home is now that much closer to being clean.

But the real amazing part of yesterday’s purchase was the amazing deal I got on it. Let me begin my story yesterday at 5:15pm…
(more…)

Last night after the final christmas celebrations were complete, I realized that I was at a restaurant in Waltham, MA and I needed to be at my apartment in New Haven, CT and that there was a monster of a snow storm standing in between.

The roads were horrible! And try navigating them in a 1991 plymoth acclaim. It’s a sorry sight. There was slipping and sliding and lots of nervousness. Poor Jill had to endure the ride from the restaurant to her house.

Anyway, as I pulled into Jill’s family’s driveway the decision was made that I would not go to CT. Jill’s parents were kind enough to let me stay on the couch, which was more than comfortable for my needs. I got up at 4:15am, shoveled the driveway with Jill’s dad, and then departed for the 3 hour trip to work.

And that was my morning.

the state of the house

mom: Mike, did you get the leak fixed?
mike d: the gas leak?
mom: no th-
mike d: the furnace leak?
mom: no…
mike d: the water leak?

My sister sent out an e-mail talking about this MSPaint polar bear contest her friend is posting.

I decided to enter my own polar bear MSpainting. It’s sixth from the top.

moments ago…

mike d: “man I’m hungry. what time is it?”
co-worker Frank: “you’re hungry? it must be five minutes after lunch.”

If you recently posted a comment and it didn’t post, please fire me an e-mail.

There was just a big Climate Control Convention held by the U.N. They really didn’t get anything useful done because the U.S. was being pesky.

but, check out their awesome logo!

a little melting Earth! how clever

I was reading THIS article on CNN this morning pre-work. I was zipping through it, not really reading closely. It seemed entirely one sided. I was more than halfway through before I realized that Yanukovych and Yushchenko were not the same name.

Seriously. it’s hard to keep track.

I got in the acclaim to fame after my all too long furnace experience this afternoon. It was bitterly cold outside.

I started her up and pulled out of our driveway.

I looked down and noticed that the clock was off. I tapped my hand against it a few times and cranked the radio knobs a bit and finally it turned back on. I drove another 50 feet when suddenly the radio kicked out. So I turned to look at the clock/radio display and it showed some weird symbols “.-_” Then, it went blank again. When it came back it showed “F U”

I smacked it, it warbled, and then it went back to playing music and showing the time.

All of our house adventures have been moving along quite nicely. The whole place is really taking shape. I hope to be moved in by Wednesday.

Sadly, our furnace is still struggling. Some guys are scheduled to come today between 12 and 2. PERFECTLY SPANNING THE ENTIRE DURATION OF MY COMPANY’S HOLIDAY PARTY. Because of this lousy furnace, I’m missing the most anticipated holiday event on the office calander. The horror.

I had a dream that my barber took out all the barber chairs in his barber shop and replaced them with small boulders. When you were getting your hair cut you had to hold onto the boulder while wearing bubble wrap gloves.

Dramatic Illustration:

Check this out: Tholos.

Placed in numerous cities around the world, it projects the view from those cities onto the local screens and then likewise sends your images to the other Tholos centers around the globe… It’s like a video/audio portal.

“THOLOS thereby transmits life-sized images and clear sound around the globe. It produces a panoramic, 360 degree picture and enables audiovisual communication and real time face to face interaction.”

I’m impressed.

There’s a cool new music center opening in gateshead UK.

but it’s not as cool as THIS BRIDGE that’s opening in france (thanks to jonabad).

Pete, a sales guy here at work, has an immaculate desk.

It’s pristine.

The solid wood workspace has an empty ‘in’ box and one or two short piles of papers neatly stacked; each topped with a single smooth stone.

mike d: Pete. how do you keep your desk so clean?
Pete: Oh, I have this box here. ::pulls out a box the size of a small refrigerator from under his desk:: When I get paper I just throw it in here. An inch of paper is equivalent to about a week. ::reaches in and pulls out thick stack of completely unorganized paper::
See? Three weeks.

well, I’m back from Georgia. I went out there for the first two days this week to prep for an installation that will be taking place in February.

While I was there, I visited Eric. In fact, he was having a party so I attended. I felt extremely popular: flying into a city and immediately going to a party there.

upon arriving back in town, we bought the house! so it’s now official. I am the proud owner of land.

I’m tired though. and extremely hungry.

Friends!

Check out the BRAND NEW SAMMY G AND THE MIKE’N'IKES FLASH GAME HERE

Use the buttons at the bottom to Step into the mind of Sammy G! Insert the ‘doctor’ at the correct place in the song! WOW! YOU WIN!

Don’t spend too much time playing it, I know it can become addicting.

I was complaining about our Dial-up modem here at my rent’s home when my father said:

Dad: “your mother does a lot of shopping online. and really, I don’t want to speed that process up.”

to which my mother responded by firing off their Discover card number and expiration date by memory.

I think I’m going to try looking at my personal life (financial, physical, health, and social) as if it were a business, in an attempt to make my life more healthy and wholesome.

I’m going to try it for a couple weeks and see how it goes.

For example, if MikeD was a company there would be NO excuse as to why I haven’t had my cholesterol checked, lots o’ people would be fired because financial records are lacking, and if someone were to open the fridge they would immediately know that I have inventory issues.

This idea really appeals to me.

As many of you know, I’m a fan of Steven Landsburg’s economics. He regularly has articles in MSN SLate and today a new one appeared.

What I Like About Scrooge - In praise of misers. By Steven E. Landsburg

It starts off a bit off target, if you ask me, but upon reaching the end I was once again impressed by his general concepts and teaching ability.

For the first time in a long time, I’m actually interested in learning more about economics. Does anyone have any good economics books that they can suggest? I’ve read Landsburg’s “the armchair economist” and I give it 3 stars. But I’m looking for a more theoretical economics book.

Any suggestions? Nonfiction please.

YO!

Check out the new section on the menu bar. It’s as many rock show performances as I could get my hands on. I recommend only opening those links if:
a) you have a high speed connection
b) you have Quicktime
c) you have a good sense of humor

Enjoy!

CNN.com - Dude — professor studies ‘dude’ - Dec 8, 2004

I am a fan of the word ‘dude’ and use it regularly in my life.

“Diplomacy is the art of saying “nice doggie!” until you can find a rock.”

-Wynn Catlin

…answers are coming. Sorry for the delay - will be back on track shortly.

I recently visited the brand new JORDANS FURNITURE store located in Reading Massachusetts with my lovely girlfriend Jill.

Wow.

Not only is there an entire town inside made out of jelly beans, but there’s a huge water fountain system that’s choreographed to operate with music. It’s stunning. not to mention the Trapeze school that they operate there.
Did I say trapeze school? yes. yes I did.

They also have a huge IMAX theater, but when Jill and I showed up all of the shows in the following 5 hrs had already sold out.

All these glorious side shows are made even better by the fact that Jordan’s is an awesome furniture store. I may very well go there to furnish my new home.

I need to go there again soon.

Also, Jonabad’s recent gallery posting has made me realize how much I miss that crazy Texan.