I just did the math. . .

Let's say I smoke a pack a day (Im close) for an average of 6.50/pack, thats 2300$ a year.

huh...

That's a lotta cheese I'm paying to blacken my lungs, slow my breath and make me stink.

I think I'm right about at 20 years - maybe a little longer - of being a regular smoker. Whenever I think rationally about why I'm doing it, and what it does to me, I know I need to stop. It's just a bad habit that I've never really put an effort towards controlling.

One reason I haven't tried to quit is simple - I still enjoy smoking cigarettes. So right now, I'm leaning towards the pack-a-month plan. Thats less than one a day, so no longer a regular smoker - in my mind. And they'd be saved for those special times when they just taste so good. I'm making my current 2/3 full marlboro lights box my May pack, and here's to hoping it last the rest of the month!

wish me luck. . .


DISCLAIMER: If blogging about my goals ends up jinxing my quest for clean lungs, and I find myself puffing away in a couple of months, then Ill swiftly delete this entry to hide my cyber-shame.

Lakefront art

purple haze

Street art

random photo ops - CR

Was Bush in town this weekend?

I left town early saturday, heading south to home... I took LSD, and that view is one of my favorites in the city, a sunny morning on southbound LSD.. the waves were churning, and I noticed that there was no northbound traffic.. then I noticed an SUV convoy surrounding a stretch limo with two american flags waving from above the headlights.. It had to be Bush, right? Who else would get the streets cleared? O well, I missed an opportunity to flip the bird to our great leader...

opening day @ wrigley field

I received a last minute call offering a ticket to the cubs home opener friday.. it was cold, but they beat the cards, who were fresh off a sweep of the phillies...that harry caray statue freaks me out a little... it looks like he's standing in flames which are filled with the faces of children, its a little too Freddy Krueger-ish for me..

the father, the son, and the holy s**t, youre bats**t crazy!!

saw this on the daily show's this week in god segment... Turkmenistan's president sees himself as some kind of prophet and has written a book:

Saparmurat Niyazov, president of the former Soviet republic, urged his country's youth to read his book Rukhnama, while speaking on state television Monday during a concert celebrating Naw Ruz (the Persian New Year).

"Anyone who reads the Rukhnama three times will find spiritual wealth, will become more intelligent, will recognize the divine being and will go straight to heaven," Niyazov said, according to Agence France-Presse.

all in good clean fun

baseball season is upon us.. (going to my first game at wrigley next week - thanks Marcus!)

Now, ignoring the obvious racist subtext of the shirt (and noting the pasty white arm) I think it's kinda funny.. being a transplanted north-sider/cubs fan, I get a kick out of it - but for the record, I was raised on cardinals red (can still name the '82 lineup) and a big f*** you to anyone who actually gives a merde... i am a fairweather fan of the worst kind: a traitor as well... tellyouwhat, I'm basically just a baseball fan in general, and could care less who's playing as long as the score's close and great plays are being made, and the smoking section's not too far from my seat.. oh *&$^%! is there no more smoking in wrigley this season???

more random group photo ops

rocks and waves

there was nothing more relaxing while in costa rica then watching the water cycle work its way slowly over the volcanic outcroppings...

teste tuesday stats: 3/28

shithead of the week: me (again)

Me:S.Adams Light: shithead 8 times
Chad:Peroni:shithead 7 times
Nate:Bohemia: shithead 3 times

tunes:

Snakefinger
Social Distortion
The Faces
The Quick
The Scientists
The Cars
Lubricated Goat
The Electric Chairs
Cheap Trick
The Animals
Black Easter
Black Sabbath
King Khan/BBQ

three nephews

S**thead of the week / Shield finale - 3/21

shithead of the week: me

stats:
Rob:MillerLite: shithead 2 times
Nate:Grolsch: shithead 2 times
Chad:Grolsch: shithead 4 times
Me:Leinie Honey/Bohemia: shithead *9* times

Tunes:
iTunes mix
BBQ
Gris Gris
Kinks
Steel Pole Bathtub



The Shield - 5th season finale:
What can I say about the Shield finale? Another season over and my Tuesday's will once again be filled with longing and anticipation - or maybe just more shithead. The finale ended with a bang - literally - Shane dropping a live grenade in Lem's car to end his worries that Lem was going to cut a deal that would eventually incriminate the rest of the Strike Team. R.I.P. Lem. Vic and Ronnie had no idea of what Shane did - and the show ended on the three of them walking and Vic saying 'We're going to find out who did this - and KILL them!' It was pretty well indicated that Danni's new baby (she's now officially MILF) is Vic's. Also, it was funny to see Dutch earn his pimp-stripes, he's such a quick study. A couple standout scenes: Lem and Shane's conversation leading up to the grenade-tossing. Shane was trying hard to convince Lem to head to Mexico, but Lem wasn't biting. And you saw Shane realize at some point what he was going to have to do, and steeling himself for the act. And at the end of the episode, with cops gathered around Lem's shredded body, Kavanagh accused Vic with 'Are you happy now?!?' - and of course Vic went balls out at him and they had themselves a little scuffle in the dirt - and it didn't seem like anyone wanted to separate them.

9-11/mcdonalds:before/after

a pair of interesting images from the book

Freedom is Fundamental

So, I"m moseying through Dominick's yesterday, and they have this big cardboard bin/table full of children's books. This one caught my eye, lying on top. I had to get it, for a couple of reasons. I really wanted to see if this was written for kids (over-sized format, mostly pictures, and clear straightforward text) and just what our propaganda machine was pumping out there. Also, there's not much chance I"m going to read the entire commission report, so I could use a little dumbed-down synopsis.. maybe I'll do some fact-checking of the contents and compare with the most web-friendly conspiracy theories (like the stories that a good portion of the people we had listed as hijackers are still alive)

Bill Hicks

I just started listening to this guy - a friend sent me some mp3s.. I'd heard his name for years and that he was a comic maestro.. pretty damned funny.. now, along with Mitch, he's one of my favorite dead comedians...

morning stroll

man, I need a real camera...

cold couches and crappy combos

So, I got a little rocked at poker last nite (possibly because i was winning so many damned hands!), and decided (wisely) to not drive home and to crash on my buddy's couch instead.. said buddy gets up for work at 330 tho, so I did as well.. before I fell asleep, I had my mind set on a McD's breakfast combo, since it's been awhile... on the way home, I forget about the 24 hour one on Elston, and decide to check out the one on Western, to see if it was still open.. it wasnt.. but by now, I've got a greasy egg mcmuffin on my mind - so I head back to Elston... I order a #3 and am on my way.. only to reach in the bag and pull out fries!!! egads.. if I hadn't been so tired I woulda been pissed.. I dont know if they dont serve breakfast until a certain time or what, but I ate the 1/4 pounder with a growing since of sadness and loss.. heh, well not really.. so, the Large coke still has me awake (I guess I"m up for the day now).. btw, that pic is what a near-full moon looks like through the smeared windows and screen in my office... I get home, and after what seemed like a real long time taken to park in a pretty large spot, I spot this dude walking towards me on the sidewalk.. and he's weaving like a madman - there was just not enough sidewalk for his gait.. it's like quarter til 4 at this point, and I'd say it was in the 30s/40s - this guy has a short sleeved shirt and tie on, and no jacket.. sure hope he knew where he was going - shoulda got a pic .. alrite, I guess I'm gonna go find out what's on the tube at 5:30 a.m... actually the sun's breaking, maybe I'll go for a walk...

teste tuesday: shithead stats, shield synopsis - 3/14

Chad is once again shithead of the week... here's the the rundown:















Chuckles: Warsteiner: shithead 6 times
Me: Bohemia: shithead 4 times
Naynay:Grolsch: shithead 3 times



Tunes: Kyuss, Pixies, Temple of the Dog, Arctic Monkeys, Willie Nelson, *iTunes Party Shuffle...

The Shield was fricking insanely intense.. so much going on this season, especially in these last few episodes: Lem's making a deal, hoping that by taking the heat, he'll get Kavanagh off the Strike Team's back.. Vic visited Kavanagh's mentally unbalanced wife and, after having pretty dry season over all, gave her a good shtupping on the living room floor - he later rubbed Kavanagh's face in it, telling him " your ex-wife's pussy tastes like sweet butter".. Claudette was made captain, and didnt trust that Dutch hadn't been the one to spill the beans on her illness.. Vic, Ronnie and Shane helped some henchmen of Antwon Miller's to rip off a P.D. storehouse, in exchange for assurances of Lem's safety once he's in the pokey.. but things went sour of course.. Oh and Vic also brought his dry season to even more of a halt and *finally* made the move on their lady-lawyer... At the end of this episode, to the strains of Smashing Pumpkin's 'Disarm', the boys were hiding Lem in a car-trunk, getting ready to hide him in Mexico for awhile.. Julian was driving Danni to the hospital with labor pains, and (whoa!) Kavanagh was visiting Vic's ex, most likely for a little taste of her sweet butter... holy crap! what a show...

1st night at skinner (a ghost story?)

First night we had keys for the house on skinner, no furniture or electricity.. me and my buddy Pham decide we better take our guits over and check out the acoustics of the new place.. we had come in and out of one room a couple times and I had to re-open the window, even though I was pretty sure I'd opened it the last time I was in the room... at some point, he left to get more candles or something(hopefully, not more Amber Bock) and I was alone in there... I remember walking around for awhile in the dark and semi-dark, and then just having the most chilling feeling go up my back, standing up the hair on the back of my neck... I dont know if I've ever ran faster, gunning it for the backdoor and out to the big open backyard... not sure what it was.. and never heard/saw anything strange in the house again.. but there was that weird vibe all seemed to get from the garage/loft in back..

Relatives In Pictures

sunday a.m.

still got this frickin cold.. only myself to blame - got absinthe-minded and played poker til 2 a.m.

Northern MN - altered

My Favorite New Drink - pina y guaro

I came back with a bottle of costa rican guaro - they drink it there with fresca.. I got squirt instead...

first you gotta start with a chunk of pina and a margarita glass, the kind with the smaller part at the base of the glass.. put the pineapple into that little alcove and squish it around a bit, getting the juices flowing.. then shake 2 parts squirt/ 1 part rum with ice and pour over the pineapple..

I'm usually a beer person, but this costa rican rum has some tranquilizer like qualities, so I can't vouch for what will happen if you use any other (clear) rum..

harold and kumar, cure for the common cold and kill bill vol.1

HBO has a nice little double feature on tonite, which is nice 'cuz i'm laying home nursing a cold so it doesnt ruin the rest of my weekend.. I'd never seen Harold and Kumar, and considering i'm the target audience, that surprised me.. pretty funny, and I know more than ever that Neil Patrick Harris looks just like my brother... now Kill Bill v1 is on, and I haven't seen that in awhile..

but I promised a cure for the common cold - create a little sauna for your head in your bathroom sink.. turn on the hot water, and plug up the drain, then drape a towel over your head and try to seal off the area as much as possible.. then you just gotta wait for things to loosen.. I wont go into details, but it's not for the squeamish.. if you've been eating dairy you might be there for awhile...

Savannah

I either had some schmutz on my lens or all the ghosts in that town were filtering for me..

sunset - Northern MN

Unsung Singer Songwriters

4 people you should listen to to have a better life