You are in "".

If you know me well, then you probably know that I’m not a huge fan of politics. I think it’s extremely important that we appreciate that there is no one answer, and rare is the case where someone is right or wrong. Republicans? They make a lot of great points. Democrats? Also a lot of great points.

Anyway while I might dislike politics, I love MSPaint. How is this even remotely related? Well, Sarah, a friend of MikeDiDonato.com, is a campaign manager for a Mr. Joel Haugen in Oregon. Joel Haugen is running for Congress and Sarah asked me if I’d be willing to whip up a little MSPaint version of Flat Stanley in the likeness of her candidate.

Clearly I rose to the challenge. Not so much because I believe in politics but because I believe in MSPaint. So, check out Joel’s website. Over there on the left hand side bar is a little download Flat Joel link. It’ll bring you to a page where you can download my picture of Joel Haugen. Neat huh?

Here’s a preview:

MSPaint. Helping shape the United States’ Congress.

A few weekends ago my family had a big pig roast to celebrate my sister’s PHD achievement. It was really fun and I realized this morning that I haven’t yet had an opportunity to post about it.

The pig guys, so named because they took care of the pig, showed up at 6am on the day of the roast to start to prepare. There was a giant pig, baked beans like you wouldn’t believe, potato salad, corn, roasted veggies, sausage and peppers, hot wings, salad, watermelon, cake, and the list goes on.

As for the pig? well, it was a little strange to see the beast roasting on a spear of sorts. But it came out pretty good. I had no idea how fatty pork meat was.

The group was fantastic. Theresa had invited a bunch of close friends from high school, graduate school, and family. It’s really fun just to get together with a big group of fun people.

The party went well into the night, probably not closing up until around midnight.

Well done Dr. Theresa! Yay!

Pete and I are finishing up our Carabiner analysis for our Mechanical Engineering studies. Check out this sweet video showing loading.

Carabiner FEA Analysis from mikedidonato on Vimeo.

Authored by Kurt

So now that its been a few months I think its safe to announce that my wife and I purchased our first home! I didn’t want to jinx it the first couple of months, but things seem to be moving right along.

We bought a 2 story Dutch Colonial in the lovely town of Randolph.

Our House

Feel free to send presents and or cards.

On Friday the thirteenth, three Connecticut roller girl teams entered the Roller Magic arena in Waterbury, each trying to exit as the sole champion. The regular season had come and gone leaving all three teams tied. The Elm City Bone Crushers, the Iron Angels, and the Widowmakers arrived to play each other in 30 minute mini bouts. At the end of the night, if a single team won both its bouts, she would go on as champion. If again, all teams tied, then the team with the greatest point differential would be deemed champion.

Let’s take a closer look at the three teams.

The Elm City Bone Crushers
ECBC, as their adoring fans refer to them, came into the 2008 season worn and beaten from their losses the previous year. But Doomcake (#13), their willful and powerful captain, wasn’t going to let history dictate this year’s success. After a heartbreaking loss to the Widowmakers early in the season, the team came together for a well-earned victory over the Iron Angels. Their roster* includes:

Doomcake (#13 captain)
Vixen Vega (#80085 asst. captain)
ChaCha LaRue (#xoxo)
Chelsea Grin (#T-4)
Ether Bunny (#ZZZ)
Jenghis Kahn (#1162)
Murderface Maully (#82)
Susan Bea Anarchy (#79)
Smith & Wendly (#357)
Syd Rock (#2)
Victoria Deck’em (#8)

The Iron Angels
The 2007 Connecticut Rollergirl reigning champions have a strong roster. Last year’s victory was testimony of the phenomenal power and leadership of the team’s captain and assistant captain: Tina Colada (#B-52) and Pearl Jammer (#GO) respectively**. The compassion and camaraderie of the Iron Angels is unparalleled. Their roster* includes:

Tina Colada (#B-52 captain)
Pearl Jammer (#GO asst. captain)
Girl Fawkes (#V)
Mount Saint Helen (#1980)
Nelly Nuckles (#2-KO)
Niki Nos Nitrous (#N20)
Pam Terror (#9)
Slaughterhouse Sadie (#70)
Violet Riot (#911)
Virginia Woolferine (#168)

The Widowmakers
These rollergirls have a passion and a professionalism that make them quite a menace in the ring. The Windowmakers have been a consistent contender in the Connecticut scene. The 2008 season began with a fantastic comeback for the Widowmakers as they pushed past the Bone Crushers in a tight 86 to 83 overtime victory. Under the power of their team’s seasoned captain Revengela (#1-2-3-4), the Widowmakers were out to try and take their first championship. Their roster* includes:

Revengela (#1-2-3-4 captain)
Black Cherry (#C-4 asst. captain)
Barbie Q (#2-3 team manager)
Eleanor Bruisevelt (#1933)
Luciana PULVERotti (#110R)
Milla Lowlife (#40)
Miz Con SepJen (#7)
Parker Poison (#As33)
Peekaboom! (#718)
Pepper Grind-Her (#10+)
Ruby Wreckingball (#TNT)
Slick Shoes (#85)

Huge crowds gathered to watch the Championship showdown.

The Championship

Bout 1

The first bout on Friday saw a competition for the ages between Elm City Bone Crushers and the Widowmakers. As the whistle blew, the girls took off in formation; the jammer’s driving forward with fiery intensity. Doomcake showed her prowess as she maneuvered through her opponents and quickly took the first lead jammer status. With it, the Bone Crushers drew first blood with a 5 point lead. Syd Rock came out next against Luciana PULVERotti. Despite Luciana’s aggressive drive, the ECBC defense kept her down and Syd Rock, with impressive maneuvering, sneaked through to win the jam. Right from the beginning, ECBC was showing some notable muscle and strategy on their skates. After ten jams, they had an impressive lead and were consistently scoring lead jamming status.

And then came the single most violent jam of the night. Syd Rock came out as the Bone Crusher jammer following a striking 5 point jam led by Chelsea Grin. Opposite her, at the starting line, was Eleanor Brusivelt, who earlier had led a successful jam under some remarkable defense work of her teammates. The whistle blew and the girls took off. As the jammers stormed around the track, they came face-to-face with a pack that held like a wall. Careening around the corner, the aggressive shoulders of the blockers dropped the jammers, and the trip up brought seven rollergirls tumbling to the ground. The girls got up and Syd promptly slammed into Milla, Ether Bunny clocked Eleanor Bruisevelt, and after getting up Eleanor bashed MurderFace Maully. More roller girls hit the floor in this one jam than in any jam I have seen to date. As testimony to the strength of these two teams amazing defensive players, at the end of this violent jam neither team had been able to successfully navigate through the pack to score any points.

The Bone Crushers were successful in their drive putting down the Widowmakers in a 50 to 17 victory.

Bout 2

After a short intermission where we were entertained by the Creepin Cadavers, the girls got right back into action. Since the Bone Crushers won the first round, they were able to relax until the third bout. This second bout put Iron Angels up against the Widowmakers. Tina Colada started at the line with Eleanor Bruisevelt. The teams were trading lead jamming status pretty consistently. Right away this looked like a bout of defense versus a bout of offense. The Widowmakers were pushing hard on Pearl Jammer, last year’s MVP, and were effectively holding her back. Parker Poison, Revengela, and Slick Shoes were in rare form consistently laying down the Iron Angels’ jammers. Angel Violet Riot seemed to be coming out a bit more as the Iron Angels tried to combat the Widowmakers’ hard-hitting defense, but to no avail. The points kept coming for the Widowmakers and they closed out with a 36 – 26 victory.

Bout 3
The Deciding Bout.

Despite losing the previous round, the Iron Angels were not out of the contest. If they could win against the Bone Crushers with a 21 point victory, they would take the championship.

The Bone Crushers, however, were truly intent on crushing their opponents. Doom, Syd, Ether, and Chelsea Grin traded the jammer position for the first eight jams over which they took every single lead jammer title. Pearl was the first to break the Bone Crushers run. Pearl, Pam, and Nelly Knuckles came up with a short rally, but were kept honest by the devastating drive of the ECBC. Jam after Jam the girls in red were pushing their points skyward. As the clock ticked the final seconds away, the Elm City Bone Crushers threw their hands in the air, they had defeated the Angels 42 to 11.

The girls gathered ringside to collect their trophy.

ECBC pose with their trophy.

Statistics!
Syd Rock and Doomcake were the highest scorings players of the evening. Syd with 47 points and Doom with 31. These women alone showed Connecticut that the Bone Crusher’s weren’t fooling around. Eleanor Bruisevelt and Luciana PULVERotti took home 18 and 11 points respectively for the Widowmakers. Pearl was the leading scorer for the Angels with 10.

Congratulations to all the Roller Girls for an amazing season and endlessly entertaining bouts! The next big event will have the travel team, the Stepford Sabotage, against a bunch of east coast teams at the EAST COAST EXTRAVAGANZA on June 21st in Philadelphia, PA and then against some of Western Massachusetts’ finest on July 12th in Holyoke, MA. For more information check out the CT Roller Girls Website.

*The rosters listed here were not the exact rosters for this particular bout.
** UPDATE: A Roller Girl kindly pointed out in the comments that last year’s Iron Angels captain and asst. captain were Nelly Knuckles and Dead End Allie. Tina Colada and Pearl are the captain and asst. captain for this season.

I took the government census data and downloaded it to excel. I was interested in the number of 25-35 year old people in each state of these United States as a percentage of the population of that state. Specifically, I wanted to see how Connecticut ranked. The results? Not very good for us Nutmeggers.

Take a look!

Here’s some info.

Minimum: MAINE 11.46%
Maximum: UTAH* 16.03%
Average: 13.22%
Standard Deviation: 1.03%

An interesting sampling:
Connecticut? 11.65%
Mass? 12.89%
Rhode Island? 12.39%
Oregon: 14.06%
Arizona: 14.58%
Texas: 14.78%
Washington: 14.00%
North Carolina: 13.78%
New York: 13.10%

*oh those mormans. They’re so crazy.

Gymnastics Caitlin asked me to whip up an MSPaint of a gymnast as the logo for her Gymnastics Facebook club. I’m pretty pleased with the result. Check it out.

We’ve been rocking the Witty Text for a few years now. What’s Witty Text you ask? It’s the little changing phrase under the MikeDiDonato.com logo up at the top right of the page. Every time you reload the page, it gives you a different phrase.

We have such gems as:

Soy un hombre del queso.
Recommended by 4 out of 5 adult film actresses.
Salt is the volume knob of flavor.
{IF _mikedidonato IS “on”} awesome=lots {ELSE} awesome=0 {/IF}
and
We waste water here. A lot of it.

Right now I have 40 rotating phrases (10 mikedidonato.com points if you can name them all!)

Typically this little witty text phrase is really appreciated by first time visitors and completely ignored by regular visitors. Well, I think it’s time to revamp the list with some surefire winners. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to post them in the comments. I’ll add the favorites to the list and take out some of the lamer ones that have been stagnating in mediocrity (like Curing boredom since 1981. that’s pretty much the pinnacle of ‘eh’)

The only rule is that the clever phrase should be less than 75 characters long. Otherwise we could get into formatting issues.

The Comments are Open!

Whoa! The shiny new Satin Uniform has arrived! Check it out!

Rock!

For the next installment in our interview series I decided to ask my mom a few questions. Enjoy!

MikeDiDonato.com: Hi Mom D. Thank you very much for being willing to be the next Interview. You’ve been my mom for nearly 27 years now, for four of those years I have been blogging here on MikeDiDonato.com. How would you describe being a mother of an active blogger?

Mom D: Well, Mike D., in the beginning, being the mother of an active blogger was a bit stressful. Though I felt that I had a pretty good handle on what the general feeling of the site would be, I was also aware that perhaps I was off the mark and that the blog would hold unknown horrors that I would cringe upon reading and that I would perhaps be praying that no one would stumble upon mikedidonato.com. I am thrilled to say that you and the people who participate in the blog have held a very high and entertaining standard - it no longer sends chills down my spine when someone says, “hey, I just read Mike’s website” and I no longer feel I have to hope that people I know don’t read it - in fact, I’ve actually proudly sent many people to the website!

MikeDiDonato.com: Few people here know much about you other than little Mom tidbits that may have popped up here or there. Can you tell us a little bit about your life, not as a mom, but as an art teacher and an assistant librarian?

Mom D: My art teacher days were a lot of fun and very interesting. Art teachers have a somewhat different relationship with students than a regular classroom teacher in that art tends to be fun, kids like it and enjoy coming to class - also, some of the academically challenged kids have lots of talent, which is a joy to see and it’s great to be a positive part of their day. In that way, working in a library is very similar. We are there to help and make life easier for the kids, so students choose to come to the library. The high school kids are excellent and can be a lot of fun (and they’re really funny at times, whether they know it or not!).

MikeDiDonato.com: How long have you been quilting? and can you tell us about your first quilting experience?

Mom D: When we moved to Stoneham in 1974, the town offered Adult Ed classes. One of the women I worked with at Wakefield High was teaching quilting, and there was heightened interest in traditional, “folk” arts and crafts because of the upcoming Bicentennial. Since I already had an interest in sewing, quilting seemed like something that would be fun and useful at the same time (got to keep the family warm!). Thus began the Quilting Experience - and it’s very easy to pick out the older quilts because the fabric is Oh-So-Seventies. I still enjoy quilting and have a couple of things going on at all times.

MikeDiDonato.com: I have a couple quilts of yours and I love ‘em. I know you’re always reading something, what’s on your bedstand these days?

Mom D: Right now I’m reading all of Vince Flynn’s books. He writes novels that deal with political intrigue, terrorist attacks that are thwarted at the last second by the fabulous Mitch Rapp (also known as Ironman), a former Marine, who is now working for the CIA, and other such gripping situations. Political novels normally are not of great interest to me, but one of the kids at the high school couldn’t read Flynn’s books fast enough, so I figured they were worth investigating - and they are real page-turners! There are commandos, rangers, SEALS, torture specialists, upstanding citizens/politicians, slimy citizens/politicians - all kinds of conspiracies. Very good reads. I do recommend The Time Traveler’s Wife for a very interesting and wonderful read. Also, Michael Chabon’s Kavalier and Clay and The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. His short stories are excellent, too, and I’m not a big short story fan. I like Michael Connelly’s books, Harlan Coben’s, Kellerman (Jonathan and Fay), Patricia Cornwell - and The Other Boleyn Sister (or Girl, I forget which) was really good, too. Oh, and A Prayer for Owen Meany is a MUST read. I could go on and on….

MikeDiDonato.com I can provide a second vote for The Time Traveler’s wife. It’s a winner. Do you have any fun memories from your childhood growing up with three little brothers?

Mom D: Christmas was always interesting, as the brothers could not wait until morning to find out what Santa had brought. One year, there were little corncob pipes (like Popeye pipes) that were in the Christmas stockings. When a tiny button was pushed under the the little “tobacco” part, a soft red glow was emitted. One of the boys used that to light his way as he sneaked downstairs, inspected all the gifts, and reported back what everyone received. The only surprise that year was on our parents’ faces as we came flying down at the appointed hour saying, “where’s my____” and “Can’t wait to play with your_____”. No more light sources were given in years to come.
One of the boys sold all of his Indian head penny collection and buffalo nickel collection to buy candy. Bet the candy man was happy with that sale!
And I believe at times matches were lit (glad the house didn’t burn down) and there were various and sundry war games going on at all times. Guns were very popular back then, be they squirt guns, cap guns, air rifles, you name it. Civil War games were popular. Ah, the old days….

MikeDiDonato.com: Do you think it’s harder or easier for parents now versus when you were raising us and when your parents were raising you?

Mom D: This is just my personal opinion: In the 50’s - 60’s, when I was growing up, I think that parents had an easier time in that their word was law, no discussion. At the same time, any deviation from the norm was hard for many parents to adjust to, and in the 60’s and 70’s, this became an issue for a lot of people. Plus, I don’t think that many parents really knew their children very well because in many families there was not an open exchange of ideas.

Perhaps on the rebound, many in our group of parents went the other way, with a very relaxed child rearing technique, so much so that some children had no boundaries and many parents were very afraid of damaging the child’s self-esteem to the point that everything was okay and all children were winners at everything (wasn’t this about the time that every child always got a prize for everything? Even the little kids didn’t really value a trophy when everyone received one). You’d know better than I how that plays out in the real world with your age group. Right now, I would think that it would be very difficult to parent because of all of the technology (cell phones, IMing, facebook, myspace, texting, chat rooms, videos, cable TV, etc.) which separates people from those who are actually near them and which can have pre-teen and high school students always feeling like they are missing something if they aren’t connected. Kind of like there may be a party going on somewhere and you might not be invited - a lot of angst going on. Not to mention the danger of forming relationships with people the young person knows only from online conversations. It’s got to be hard to keep materialism under control, and very difficult to have to leave kids with sitters in order to afford a mortgage on a reasonably good home. Ah, for the good ol’ days! I really think it’s harder today.

MikeDiDonato.com: What do you think was the biggest challenge in raising us?

Mom D: Trying not to impose my fears onto you all. Obviously, I was successful in that regard, as there is no way I would attempt many of the things you all do regularly. You’ll notice that once you all broke free of my shackles (which apparently just barely kept you under control…) you all went wild and continue to horrify and impress me.

MikeDiDonato.com: haha! I’m sorry that we horrify you, but it’s for the best. To end, do you have a favorite MikeDiDonato.com post?

Mom D: They have all been a lot of fun, but there was one long involved one with people adding to a story and it went on and on….what was that one? Seems to me that one was especially fun.

MikeDiDonato.com: hmm. I don’t know! Do any of the readers remember which one she’s referring to?

Thanks so much for taking my interview questions mom! You’re the best.

I’m sorry favorite shoes, thank you for your service, but it’s time we separated. Your soles carried me countless miles through every sort of adventure. Let it be known that you’ll never be replaced, its just that the ladies will never appreciate you the way that I do. It’s bittersweet parting company with you, but I think it’s safe to say we’ve had a good run.

Thank you favorite shoes.

And it is done. I have played Gimme Friction Baby, and I have triumphed.

I have achieved the score I have been striving for. I broke the 100 point barrier.

Check it out!

It’s a bear all hyped up on red bull.

Our next interview is with long time reader and commenter Jes Saint!

MikeDiDonato.com: Thanks for being our next interview at MikeDiDonato.com. You’re a bit of a unique reader because unlike the worcester folks, I’ve never met you in real life. According to this you initially discovered me through Patrick.

So what part of the world do you live in?

JesSaint: I live in the Great Lakes region of the United States, but oddly enough, I’ve never seen the Great Lakes.

MD: I know you have a couple little kids, can you tell us a bit about them? How old are they and what are they like?

JS: They’re 10, 9, 6, and 2. All girls. My husband is terribly outnumbered. They’re pretty much typical kids. The 6-year-old has cerebral palsy, but it doesn’t slow her down much. She gets therapy through the school, and she’s doing really well.

MD: All girls? Yikes. that’s gotta be extremely fun.

If you had a full week where a friend took care of your kids, where would you plan a vacation with your husband? Is there anywhere you’ve ever wanted to go, but never had the opportunity?

JS: If we had a full week without the kids, we’d probably stay home and enjoy the silence. If we did decide to go somewhere, we’d probably go out west again. With the exception of Wyoming, that last trip was fun. We would love to go to Ireland someday, but not while the kids are small.

MD: You must go to Ireland! it’s awesome. I presume you’re Irish then?
Oh, you’ve intrigued me. What happened in Wyoming that made the last trip so bad. Was it Scandelous?!?

If you could have one selfish superpower, what would it be and why?

JS: Some of my ancestors were Irish, and I was lucky enough to marry a man with an Irish name. I’m more Irish than he is, though.

Wyoming was part of the longest day ever, and was nearly two days of our vacation out west a few years ago. Nothing scandalous. Just misery and bad decisions. It’s a long story, but if you’re really curious, you can read it here.

Selfish superpower? I think I’d pick stopping time, so I could sleep in without the kids missing the bus.

MD: Excellent super power choice, and that Wyoming trip sounds really miserable.

What’s your favorite beverage (hot and cold)?

JS: My favorite cold beverage is Pepsi. Or maybe it’s chocolate milk. No, definitely Pepsi. Hot would have to be coffee.

MD: How do you take your coffee? And what brand is your favorite?

JS: Black. Folgers Classic Roast.

MD: And for a bit of a change of gears… I’m pretty sure that you dig books. If you could be any character from fiction who would you be?

JS: Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. She’s my all-time favorite fictional character. Why? Because she’s level headed, confident, has principals, and she’s not afraid to speak her mind. And she has three sisters, so I can make comparisons to mine. lol

MD: Ooh, tell us about your sisters. You have no brothers? I guess your daughters have something in common with you!!

JS: I do have brothers, three of them. I have four sisters, but the oldest is fourteen years older than I am, so we didn’t grow up together. We’re pretty well scattered over the country, but we younger four girls get together once a year or so when the non-Wisconsinite one comes up to visit. We all have kids except Jeff, who’s brain injured. Most of us sing, and play at least one instrument. I could probably go on for awhile, so I’ll stop here to spare you our life stories. All of my sisters are beautiful, talented people, and I’m proud of all of them.

MD: Awesome! Wrapping up, which is your favorite post here on MikeDiDonato.com?

JS: The one where you assigned super powers to all of your readers.

And you can find it here!

Thanks for Participating Jes Saint!! If any of the other readers are curious about the feature image associated with this post, it’s a farm. I asked Jes Saint what she’d like as the image for her featured interview and she commented that she likes horses, books, and farms. So there it is!

After reading the fun Schenk interview, I thought it might be fun to interview our MikeDiDonato.com readers so that we can improve the community here. We’ll all learn a bit more about each other. I asked Kurt if he’d be willing to be the first subject. So here we go!

MD.com: Kurt! Thanks for your willingness to be our first interview victim here at MikeDiDonato.com. Tell us a bit about yourself and your family?

Kurt: How bout we switch this around and start with my family. They may be the coolest people on the face of the planet. Starting with my wife Shauna, who has put up with me for going on decade now, I think she can be classified as Insane in 37 states for dealing with me.
My Parents, Mom and Dad, once drove up to Worcester from Rochester, NY to come to a Halloween party we were throwing in April without telling me. So you might say thats where I get my “unique” personality. My brother, Andy, and my sister, Katie, are only lightly less cool than I am just because I’ve been around longer. My whole family is pretty important to me, it really took alot to move out to Boston away from all of them, but with the invention of the Internet (Thanks Al!) and the Telephone the hundreds of miles seems alot shorter.

Now as for that little bit about myself. I’m a biologist by schooling and a Nerd by choice. I like the planet earth and while I may not be a hippy, i try to do my part to keep this place clean. I’m currently a lab rat, pouring over tubes of science and microscopes of data. Tons of little bugs live and die under my tyrannical thumb. In my off time I enjoy reading, books, magazines, rule books to games, and whichever catalog is sitting in my “office”. I’ve dabbled a bit in pretty much every facet of nerdom that there is (MMORPG, Table Top wargaming, Miniature painting, P&P D&D, CCG, Boardgames, etc etc.) and I must say anime is the wierdest.
Some people might call me extroverted and sometimes they are right. IT takes a little while for me to warm up to new people, but once the gates are open they can’t be closed.

oh yeah I like Mayonnaise.

MD.com: What was the last book you read?

KO: Well I’m currently reading A Storm of Swords, but prior to that I read A Clash of Kings. Both by George R.R. Martin they are part of an ongoing saga that he is writing. If you like intrigue, Kinghts, or a Medieval themed story with a dash of magic being thrown in, this series of books is for you.

MD.com: What first attracted you to the fantasy sci-fi sort of genres?

KO: Well, in ninth grade we needed to read a book over the summer before classes started to write about when we started up, and I was looking over all the books and they all sounded so boring. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks stood out as sounding exciting, so I got that. I had never read anything so large before, I think the largest book I read was maybe 200 pages up to that point, but this was 700+. I moved on to the rest of his books and just never stopped.

MD.com: how’d you meet Shauna?

KO: We met at Work. We both had the same workstudy job in the Bio Prep lab. So we knew eachother about a year before we eventually started dating. She wouldn’t let me copy her Chemistry lab and i was upset about that, so I would continually threaten to put her in the autoclave. Not very nice, but apparently it worked. So guys…if you like a lady threaten to cook her at 121 degrees celsius at 4 atmospheres of pressure. It Works!

MD.com: If you were a superhero, what would you want your superpower to be?

KO: Flight. Most definately. Most people may not know this but I’m not a good flier. Some people may call it Terrified. If I had the power to fly myself I think that would help me overcome one of my few fears.

MD.com: Scared of Flight? Interesting. When was the last time you were on a plane?

KO: Last March when we flew back from a Cruise we went on with Friends.

MD.com: What are your biggest goals and aspirations?

KO: Thats such a tough question. Like for right now? For the next five years? Ten years? Lifetime? I mean there are things I’d like to do like see the Grand Canyon, visit all 50 States, stuff like that. But nothing really earth shattering. I find it difficult to try and quantify your life in a set of goals, because so many things could happen when you least expect them that it makes your goals impossible to achieve. I just try to keep my wife and myself happy, in that order, and everything else seems to have a way of working itself out.

MD.com: How soon can we expect to see Kurt Jr. and Shauna Jr. running around the new house?

KO: You try this every time we have a conversation and I tell you the same thing every time.

MD.com: ASAP?

KO: No.

MD.com: ha ha. Lets end with this one: What’s your favorite MikeDiDonato.com post?

KO: Well I have a ton, so how bout I give you my top 3.

3. This would have to be When you shaved your head. That was really brave of you.
http://www.mikedidonato.com/2006/04/01/a-life-changing-experience/

2. Skylines. I really liked the Skyline challenge and was saddened when they fell by the
wayside.

1. Wish Corruption. I thought that was a ton of fun!

MD.com: Thanks for being the first interview Kurt! Rock on!

On Sunday night the crowds gathered once again to witness the aggressive roller derby girls in action. This bout had the Elm City BoneCrushers taking on the reigning champions, the Iron Angels. Both teams have some considerable strength to them. The Iron Angels were coming in with a 1-0 record after defeating the Widowmakers in February. The BoneCrushers were coming in vengeful and furious with a record of 0-1 after barely losing their bout with the Widowmakers in January.

Amidst the cheers of their loving crowd, the RollerGirls came onto the flat track for the first jam. Jamming for the Iron Angels was Assistant Captain Pearl Jammer (#GO), and opposing her for the BoneCrushers was captain Doomcake (#13). Striking quickly before the BoneCrushers could organize their defenses, Pearl grabbed lead jammer status and pulled in a quick 5 points. The early lead for the Iron Angels was short lived however as BoneCrusher Syd Rock (#2) came up next against Girl Fawkes (#V). Syd has a furious ability to navigate through the menacing shoulders of the opposing blockers and responded to Pearl’s grand slam with 9 points of her own. No, the BoneCrushers were not going to let the Angels’ title as champion intimidate them, they had their own agenda and it was proving aggressive and effective.

BoneCrusher Chelsea Grin (#T-4) jammed next against Angels captain Tina Colada (#B-52) and showed the strength of her shoulder in a sick take down. One after another, the BoneCrushers were coming out in force. Doomcake added 4, and Syd 5 more. Sadly, the bout’s momentum faltered when ChaCha LaRue (#XOXO) took a bad fall in an early jam.

The bond between the girls became more than apparent as Iron Angels and BoneCrushers alike tended to the fallen RollerGirl. Pearl Jammer and the EMTs helped ChaCha get to a stretcher. Despite the pain, ChaCha looked to be in good spirits as she was carted off to the ambulance. While always unfortunate, injuries do shine some light on the strong camaraderie of the CT RollerGirls.

ChaCha LaRue gets some attention

After the injury, the score stood 18 to 6. The Angels weren’t making it easy for the BoneCrushers. Fawkes pulled in 9 more points bringing the score a bit closer after a few jams. Yet still, the BoneCrusher defense was dominating. Ether Bunny (#ZZZ) had a wicked hit on Angel substitute Token (#X) and Susan B Anarchy (#79) successfully dominated Pearl late in the first half to keep Syd Rock screaming around the ring pulling in points.

The first half ended with the BoneCrushers holding a significant lead over the Angels. Would the Elm City BoneCrushers be vindicated after their last frustrating loss?

Beaver Knievel (#97) re-establishes the pack after Doomcake soars through

The second half was just as furious as the first. Girl Fawkes held the relentless Syd Rock at 11 points in the early part of the second half with a hit that knocked Syd into the air. It was clear that the girls were getting tired. With 11 minutes left the Angels were down over 20 points… but then they began to rally behind the blocking of Slaughterhouse Saide (#70) and Mount St. Helen (#1980). First Tina Colada pulled 4, then Pearl took 3, Violet Riot (#911) snagged four, Token 3, and Pearl 7 more. Could the BoneCrushers keep the advancing Angels far enough back to claim victory?

Yes! The BoneCrusher defense closed the door on the Angels through the last 5 jams securing a critical victory and bringing about a unique situation entering into the championship. Each team is now tied with a record of 1-1. While the format for the championship in not yet certain, you can be sure that it will be furious.

STATISTICS!
Top Scorer was BoneCrusher Syd rock with 44 points over 15 jams.
Next up was Iron Angel Pearl Jammer with 26 points over 13 jams.

This is especially impressive when you realize that there were only 36 jams total. These two jammers were pushed to their limits.

Chelsea Grin had the most trips to the penalty box with a grand total of 5. Susan B. Anarchy was right behind her at 4.

I talked to Syd Rock briefly after the bout. Tonight was, she believed, her top performance as a jammer. She comes from Tuscon, but did mostly blocking there. When asked which she preferred, being a blocker or jammer, Syd replied “Blocker. I like to hit people.”

Congratulations BoneCrushers!

The next stop for the RollerGirls is coming this Saturday (April 12th) in Philidelphia where the Stepford Sabotage will take on a local team the Philthy Britches. After that there will be a quick bout against Gotham’s Bteam in Brooklyn on the 19th. Finally, on May 17th the Stepford Sabotage will be taking on the Maine Roller Derby Port Authority in Maine. Get all the details at the CT Roller Girl website here.

Great job to all the players! We’ll see you in Maine!

So yes. If you didn’t see the post yesterday explaining what was going on, this 720 posts thing was an April fools joke. Ryan decided to post a bunch o’ posts. But I figured I’d counter by actually continuing onward. So I made a bunch of posts. Today will probably conclude the madness. And you definitely won’t be getting 23 monsters today. you’ll get a handful. Maybe 7?

you’ll also get a link to some crazy creepy music. And perhaps a survey that we should all take to help out one of my sister’s friends.

Anyway. rock on.

Today’s April 720 event will be dedicated entirely to food. Delicious foods and stories of food.

Enjoy!

The internet will not soon forget the incredible accomplishment that was January 2008. For those of you who live under a rock (”House of Rock” excluded), this is the month where a new entry was posted on MikeDiDonato.com every single hour, 24 hours per day, for the entire month of January.

Well, dear internet readers, in celebration of Ryan Schenk’s birthday on April 30th, I am very pleased to announce that I will be posting one entry every hour for the entire month of April!

JonAbad and Emily are getting Married!

Below is Emily’s description of how they met:

How we met…Emily’s version of the story.

So my version of the story is a long one…I can’t seem to tell the story without it being a long story so here it is.

In September 2006 I moved into an apartment with my 2 roommate, Maggie and Nina in Dorchester. We all sat down the night we moved in and I was told that they would both be moving in with their boyfriends a year from then so I basically had to find a place to stay in September 2007.

When I was talking to my brother Andrew in November he told me about his friends from WPI named Tyler Leeds and Jon Abad who lived in Somerville and who might be looking for a new roommate in September 2007. I didn’t have internet access at that time because my laptop was old and so I told him when I had time in the spring I’d see about writing to them and seeing if they still needed a roommate.

So at that time I figured I had a long time to find a new apartment but once it hit March of 2007 I started to get nervous (yeah I know…I had 8 months to find an apartment but I wanted to be ready!) so I went out and bought a new laptop, called Andrew and got Tyler’s email and sent him an email to see if he still needed a roommate.

I got an email back a few days later from Tyler saying that he was busy at work and couldn’t really respond to my email at that time but he sent it on to Jon. So then a few days later I got an email from Jon and he said that the roommate position was still open and that we should meet to see if it was a good fit. So we planned to meet at the end of March.

He also answered all the questions I had asked in and Tyler about in the first email about the apartment and area and normal roommate questions. But then I had more and more questions and over the next few days he answered them all. So then I was curious…if we were going to possibly roommates one day who was Jon Abad, how did he know Andrew, what did he study at school and where did he come from.

I first wrote to Jon a few days before St. Patrick’s Day and when it finally came to the end of March it hit me one day that Jon and I had been writing back and forth to each other everyday for almost 3 weeks. I would wake up every morning and open an email from Jon and come home from work at night and send him an email back.

I’m not talking about like hey how was work, I’m doing good emails. Some times it would take me 3 hours to write them and would be several pages long, with everything from 20 questions to more detailed aspects of our lives and it never occurred to me that I was asking questions that were too personal because all along I was thinking these were questions that in being roommates I would find out anyways.

So it surprised me when it came to be the date when I was going to be finally meeting Jon that I was so very nervous! Was it a date? Was it just a meeting? Would Jon be thinking it was a date? Why was I thinking it was a date when we never talked about it and we were just meeting to see if being roommates would be plausible? But I was nervous because I really liked Jon. He never made me feel stupid when I asked him questions about his job and things that I was curious about and he was really sweet in answering my 3 page emails all of the time and stayed up very late answering them all and every question I had so I could wake up to one in the morning.

When I got to Jon’s apartment I was surprised that Tyler was there but it was good because it kind of made things easier for Jon and I with someone else there and we could both play it off like it was just a roommate meeting and I wasn’t so worried. That’s a lie because of course I was worried and nervous and scared out of my mind but there was nothing I could do about it because after we all went to dinner and walked to Harvard Square and back I realized that as Jon and I were sitting in the bar waiting for Tyler to bring us our drinks that I was in love with him and so my fear at that time was is Jon going to want to see me again after this and we can’t be roommates because I want to spend more time with him and it would be bad if we were roommates.

But my fears disappeared when I got an email the next day from him wondering the same thing I was wondering…did I think it was a date and because Tyler was there was it really a date and did we want to go on a date and how was I thinking the night went? So then we decided to meet up again a week later. It was going to be our date but it’s not really a date but a pre date to see if we wanted to go on a first date and maybe date later. It wasn’t as complicated as it sounds like now but looking back we never really had a real first date that we can pinpoint as our first date so this was our first serious time out being Jon and Emily and not Emily the maybe roommate one day.

And then it went from there. We started hanging out more often and decided that we couldn’t be roommates and we wanted to see where things went from then on. On April 15th Jon asked me to be his girlfriend and we’ve been together ever since. We spent Thanksgiving in Houston Texas with his family and had a great time then Christmas with my family. (We’ve had many other adventures together and apart…I went to Paris in August which was very hard because we had never been apart for more than 2 days and though I had a great time I missed him very much…but you can look at the pictures and see some of those adventures).

So from the beginning I knew that I was going to marry Jon. My mom always said when you know you know and I knew the moment I met Jon, even before as we were writing back and forth but I didn’t know it then, that he was the one for me. I haven’t kept it a secret from Jon that I’ve wanted to spend the rest of my life with him and up until January of 2008 he never said anything to me until we were talking one day about my healthcare and he told me that he wanted to marry me and I was so happy and excited and

One day (January 12th) we were out shopping and I asked Jon what was one of the things he really wanted to do this year. Last year we had planned on going to Disney World this year but because I changed jobs we weren’t going to be able to do it until September. So as I was thinking about it that night while making dinner I thought well why don’t we get married in Disney? Jon and I had talked about a small wedding, we both love Disney and it would be so easy to have our wedding there.

Again I was nervous to ask Jon because I was basically asking him to marry me and jumping the gun but I couldn’t help myself and I asked him what he thought. He loved the idea and so later that night Jon asked me to marry him and of course I said yes and then the next day we called our families, checked out the Disney Wedding’s website and by Monday, January 14th had the wedding booked for Friday, September 19th at the Sea Breeze Resort in Disney World!!!!

I love Jon so very much. He means so much to me and he’s such a special guy! He makes me laugh and is very supportive, he can cook, (more than just mac and cheese from a box and cereal!), he’s a great listener, he pushes me to be my very best when I need a little push because I’m a little stubborn (OK maybe I’m very stubborn) and he makes me so happy! I’m really blessed that I found Jon and I’m going to be spending my life with him. :)

So that’s about enough from me! I know it was long…but that’s my story from start to finish. Thanks for sharing this very special moment with us!

Emily

Congratulations guys! That’s awesome!!

The crowds turned up in great numbers on Sunday night to witness the aggressive meeting between CT’s Stepford Sabotage and the Rhode Island Riveters. The Riveters are a seasoned team with some great experience and a national ranking (14th!). Stepford, while still young and anxious for a rating, is decidedly feisty. We showed up knowing we’d be in for some great competition.

But on this Sunday the girls didn’t start the show, no, it was the men’s turn to debut. Three men’s derby teams showed up to welcome Connecticut’s first men’s derby team, the CT Death Quads, to the derby scene: The New York Shock Exchange, Western Mass’s Dirty Dozen, and Baltimore’s Harm City Homicide. The four teams mixed players into two squads for a fast and furious single period bout. It was extremely fun. The guys were brutally hitting one another, and what a mix of player skills! From Feelgood Marshall to Davy Jones the men were really throwing it all down.

Fans for a change, CT’s Stepford Sabotage (Ether Bunny, Revengela, Tina Colada, Violet Riot, and Black Cherry) watch the men do their thing.

With the crowd all riled up, the girls came out welcomed with cheers of anticipation. As they warmed up by skating a few laps, Miz ConSepJen and Luciana Pulverotti walked around selling cupcakes to support the traveling team.

MC Hitman Hank was joined by Rhode Island’s Al Mighty. They introduced the players on each team and we started right in on the action.

The first jam put CT’s Powerhouse Pearl Jammer (#GO) up against Rhode Island’s Hysterica (#42). Hysterica, speed skater turned roller girl, was fast. She whipped through the pack quickly, snagged lead jammer status, circled once, and strategically ended the jam. Black Cherry (#C-4) came up next as jammer against Craisy Dukes (#high 5). Craisy repeated the process for the Riveters. If Stepford was caught off guard, they didn’t show it. The slow start didn’t deter the girls. Syd Rock (#2) snagged the first lead jammer status for Connecticut followed by Black Cherry and Tina Colada (#B-52). Despite grabbing these leads, the girls in green were coming up short on points.

Jetta Von Diesel (#VR6) and Hysterica plan their attack

As the bout progressed it became clear that the Riveters’ defense is staggering! Jean Harlot (#1937), Burnin’ Helen (#73), and Sass E. McNasty (#8ball) were just some of the Riveters who were working to stop The Sabotage in their tracks. But as the first half came to a close Stepford seemed to strengthen… really landing their hits. Two consecutive jams in the final minutes of that first period saw Violet Riot (#911) plow into Bunnicula (#***), and Syd Rock savagely slam Jailbird Jenny (#111). Pearl and Doomcake (#13) concluded the half with critical strategic wins of lead jammer status.

Pearl, Ether Bunny, and Syd talk strategy during the intermission.

After a quick break they were back at it. The second half saw great strategy by Riveters Craisy Dukes and Rhode Kill (#90mph). Rhode Kill was especially effective at taking a broad corner and driving the opposing jammer out of the ring in that first turn. It was brutal, but effective. Cleo Patronize (#10) had amazing stride and raised her team’s score even further. As the time ticked away CT had one final surge pulling in 23 points to the Riveters 12 in the last 8 jams.

It wasn’t quite enough. The Riveters secured a strong victory 107-47.

Craisy Dukes and Rhode Kill on their victory lap

“It’s a hell of a start,” Girl Fawkes (#V) commented. And indeed it was. Stepford is working to get a rating in the national association, but to do so they have to play two ranked teams. Hopefully they will get a rating by the summer. Both teams skated their hearts out on Sunday. Great job Roller Girls!

Statistics!
Point Leaders:
Stepford Sabotage
Black Cherry: 17
Pearl Jammer: 9

The R.I. Riveters
Hysterica! 36
Cleo Patronize: 18

Trips to the penalty box were, more or less, evenly distributed between the teams. Pearl with 3, Cleo with 4.

Both teams have bouts fast approaching. The Riveters will be up in Maine on April 12th, and Connecticut will see a battle between the Elm City Bone Crushers and the Iron Angels on April 6th. The Stepford Sabotage will be back on the road in Philly on April 12th and against Gotham’s B-team on April 19th. It’s a hectic schedule so for all the details check out ctrollerderby.com.

Okay. Here’s a little “how to” for MSPaint gradients. Yes, it’s a little convoluted. But that’s what makes MSPaint so much fun.

Good luck!

Feel free to post any questions in the comments.

Kate and Kurt have both, at one time or another, asked about the picture frame I have on my desk. From afar it looks like a little hippo or robot… but why is it so awesome that it deserves prime desk real estate?

well, it isn’t so much a picture as a card that my sister Alicia sent me for Valentines day last year. Let’s take a closer look.

The Front (click to make bigger):

The Back (click to make bigger):

Isn’t that neat? I love it. So I put it in a frame and keep it on my desk. I think it’s creative and passes along a great message.

So the company “Shine-To-Go” sent me some samples to check out. As you are probably aware, I love shining my shoes. It’s so rewarding. This product is kind of an all-in-one shine kit. Let’s look at some photos.

First, the before picture.

Now… these shine-to-go packages were not quite what I was expecting. Inside they have a small little packet which you stick your fingers into.

It actually has a blob of polish on it. you spread it, then you buff it.

End result?

So, it’s pretty decent. Not as good as a full shoe polishing, but at least it uses real polish. I’ve got another “instant” type shoe polishing device. It’s “speed shine” and uses some clever silicone stuff to give your shoes a quick luster. The Shine-to-go brand is a bit better than the Speed Shine brand for quality purposes. Speed shine is a fake blast of shine while Shine-to-go uses legitimate polish. At home I’ll stick to real polish, but this stuff might be decent for business trips.