Movie Time!!

Well its the end of April. So what does that mean?? Not only the beginning of Summer, but the beginning of the Summer Movie Blockbusters!! And while we don't have a Lord of the Rings or a Spiderman this summer, we still have some pretty decent movies to look forward to. Here are the movies I want to go see.

May 1 - X-Men Origins: Wolverine

May 7 - Star Trek

May 15 - Angels and Demons (maybe)

May 21 - Terminator Salvation

June 24 - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Hopefully they will be good ones! Let me know when you want to go see whichever of them!

As the Weather Turns

After enduring a week of temps in the 40s with wind and rain, the weather is beginning to turn here in Western New York. Its gonna be in the 70s today and 80s and sunny on the weekend!! Yes, I'm excited.

Why? Because its the perfect weather for the first official BBQ of the season!! Ahhh nothing finer than grilling dead red meat!! Unless of course, you add drinking beer and playing frisbee into the mix!! Now you have yourself a bonified party!!

I am proposing a gathering in Ellison Park tomorrow afternoon for all who can make it. Bring your own meat and beer and lets enjoy this beautiful weekend together!

{Ellison Park is a Monroe County Park with a carry-in/carry-out policy. No glass bottles allowed, no open containers within 50' of roads or parking lots or playgrounds, you are allowed 6 12 oz containers per person.}

What that little legal mumbo-jumbo means is that you can only have 6 beers with you at a time. so leave the big cooler in the car with plenty of ice and go for refills as necessary!!

Any suggestions for which part of the park is most ideal?

Holler back if you hear me!

S-I-X

A Gem of A Find!

I am a live music nut. I have literally over 300 GB of live concerts at home on my computer. Yes - that is a lot of live music. I just really enjoy listening to the live performance of songs over the studio versions. One of my favorite bands is Pink Floyd. I have many, many live shows from them over the years. I thought I had all the good ones - but then as I was browsing on The Traders Den, i came across a torrent that I had heard and read about existing, but had never seen before. The 1977 Oakland Coliseum show.

Apparently it was recorded on a full reel to reel tape deck and they had a great location. Then someone found the tape and a couple of guys with the right equipment and know-how, remastered the tape into the version that I downloaded the other day. It is a wonderful sounding show.DISC ONE:
1 - Sheep
2 - Pigs on the Wing part 1
3 - Dogs
4 - Pigs on the Wing part 2
5 - Pigs (Three Different Ones)
6 - Shine On You Crazy Diamond I-V

DISC TWO:
1 - Welcome to the Machine
2 - Have A Cigar
3 - Wish You Were Here
4 - Shine On You Crazy Diamond VI-IX
5 - Money
6 - Us and Them
7 - Careful With That Axe, Eugene

Not only does it encompass two of my favorite albums (Animals and Wish You Were Here) its just a great show from one of the greatest bands of all time. If any of the Prophets are interested, I will gladly make copies for you.
One final note - The Traders Den is an excellent source for live shows. And the best part is, they only allow non-commercial material - so you dont have to worry about the RIAA coming after you. And best of all - its FREE - the way it was intended to be. All you have to do is share it with others and contribute as a seeder.

Best wishes to you as I enjoy the sounds of Floyd.

Six

A Few Things on My Mind

It seems every year we are hit with ridiculous new laws and regulations aimed at "improving" our lives. How many of them have actually helped us?? I will use HAVA as an example.

HAVA is the Help Americans Vote Act. It was a poorly thought out, knee-jerk reaction to the 2000 election because of the poor ballot used in the state of Florida. It has forced every state to buy new voting machines that are "modern" and work "better" than the old ones. Of course, there were hundreds of millions of dollars set aside by the government to pay for this. But as we all know, that money comes from our taxes. Its been a total and complete disaster - I would term it an utter failure. Many states are on their second or third different system since HAVA was enacted. And the machines chosen (actually forced) for New York are the biggest pieces of crap I have ever seen.

So let me tell you what I think the government should be enacting. This is just my opinion, but to me they make sense.

First thing the governement should do is make all car and SUV bumpers a uniform height. How many people do you know (including yourself) who have had a minor fender bender, but one car ended up totally demolished because the hit wasnt bumper to bumper?? Think about it - if they improved the structural rigidity of bumpers and made them the same height, there would be a lot less damage to vehicles. This would mean: lower insurance, lower repair bills, no more rubber-necking from gawkers looking at an accident. It just makes sense!!

Second is they should make cell phone companies create one universal charger. Again, you are over at your buddy's place and your cell phone dies. You forgot your charger - but your friend has the almost the exact same phone. Hey Fred, can I use your charger?? Sure - what phone do you have?? Its the Vibra 250 model X. Oh damn - I have the Vibra 250 model Z - its a different charger. WHAT???? Are you kidding me?? Every phone has a damn different charger!! Design one damn charger and make ALL the phone companies use that one! Problem solved - end of discussion.

Maybe some day common sense will be applied to the things in our lives - but until then, we are stuck with what we got. Thanks for listening

Six

Construction Zones and You

If you live in Rochester you should know that road construction happens almost year round. So here we are in year 3 of the I 490 project. Both the westbound and eastbound lanes are reduced to 2 lanes each way. The speed limit is 45 mph. There is a reason for this. First, there are construction workers very close to the lanes. Give these guys a break. Just because you are late is no reason to put them at risk. Second, the lanes are not quite as large as usual. This means you have to drive closer together and closer to the temporary barriers. So there really is no need to drive 60 through the zone.

Now, as you approach the zone you will notice different lane striping on the road as well. Again, this is done for a very specific reason - to help moderate traffic flow. Here is a very simple rule to follow. If the stripe is solid it means no crossing it. If the stripe is dashed it means its ok to change lanes. I will give you an example. As you are merging onto 490 East from 390 South, you have to merge over one lane. You will notice there is a very large and very thick solid white stripe on the road. That means do not merge until the line becomes dashed. It really is that simple! Then, as the lane jigs over to the westbound side, again, the line is painted solid here. This means once again, that you should stay in your lane until the line becomes dashed once again.

Just one other tidbit. I know I said the lanes are not quite as wide and there are concrete temporary barriers on either side. BUT there is still enough room in each lane for your vehicle. You do not have to drive down the middle of both lanes not to hit the barriers.

If everyone followed these simple rules (LAW is actually a better term) traffic would flow a lot better and we would all be safer and happier. Thank you and have a nice day.

Six

HALO B.U.N.G.L.E. - not for real

Well - you may have noticed that the other day was April 1. Some people call this April Fool's Day. Some people do more with it than others. Bungie took April Fools to a whole new level this past week.

If you have not seen the HaloFriday.com post or read the article on bungie.net, you missed a hum-dinger of a joke. Bungie announced the creation of B.U.N.G.L.E. - a new super league for Halo All Stars. And of course, Bungie made up fake maps and fake game types (Showerball) and even did some game action video to tempt the hapless loser Haloist into believing that there was a place for them to excel. Well my friends, it was all a ruse; a big facade. Hopefully you all got as big a laugh out of it as we did.

However, Devil did add the maps and game types to his download queue and we will be test playing these for complete hilarity and fun. Because THAT and only that is what they were ever intended for.

Happy April Fool's Day 2009 and a big Thank You to Bungie for making it a great one!

Six