Blog Master G

I just created a new skiing category for my blog. This is officially the first entry in it, though I may have to go back and re-categorize at least one other entry (Look at Me Now).

SnowBomb has a good article on winter driving tips, which more drivers should follow. Too many people can’t drive worth shit, especially in the snow. Yesterday some jerk changed lanes on the freeway right on top of me; my front bumper nearly kissed his rear bumper. Then going to the ferry to pick up Jen, a bunch of jerks just drove into the intersection and blocked it when they had the red — and people kept on going into the intersection in front of me as I was trying to cross it on my green.

Skiing is on my mind since I’m hoping to go this weekend. I’m still undecided, though, as my friends and usual skiing buddies Ben and Jess are going to be busy with Christmas shopping. I may just go by myself. I sure want to put all my new ski equipment to use, not to mention my AWD.

I just came across this oneword site, which is pretty cool. The word I got was candle. This is what I wrote about in the 60 seconds I was given after clicking “go” and seeing the word:

wax. dripping. melting. hot. flicker. power outage. quiet.

I posted this message to Google Groups today. There’s probably a simple answer out there, so if you know, please let me know.

This afternoon I was hungry. I intended to go the the 1st-floor kitchen to get a spoon to eat the yogurt in my fridge. I went wandering. The mailroom is on the 2nd floor. I found myself in the 2nd-floor kitchen. I saw a plate with two slices of banana bread on it. I grabbed a paper towel and wrapped one slice in it. I took a Welch’s grape juice out of the fridge and left the kitchen. Something pulled me back. I didn’t want that second piece of banana bread to go to waste. I went back. I placed Slice 1 atop Slice 2. I picked up the plate. I left. Now I am eating Slice 2.

Last night Jen and I watched the HBO special Live from Baghdad, which is the story behind the story of the Gulf War — the last time a Bush was running the country and the last time we were targetting Saddam for his oil. It follows a CNN crew, led by characters played by Michael Keaton and Helena Bonham Carter, around Iraq. It was a timely and important look at what goes on behind the camera lens. The film wasn’t entirely groundbreaking or incredible, but it was very well done and both Keaton and Carter were great in their roles.

Over the weekend while at Viansa, Ben busted out his and Jess’ awesome new Canon G3 for a handful of photos. Among them is a funny one of Jen and me with the Viansa boar, which happens to be a replica of the boar in Florence whose nose you’re supposed to rub if you want to return to Florence one day. (Thanks for the photos, Ben!)

The latest issue of Newsweek has a fairly extensive story on behind the scenes of a Google search. I read the print edition of this story at home last night. I already know most of what’s covered in the story, but it’s good to get a refresher course and a glimpse at some of the company’s estimated revenue numbers. It’s also interesting to see how the story was spun in a publication aimed at the mainstream.

While reading the story, I was picturing elderly people in Middle America reading it and wondering if they understand this new world of technology in which we live. Considering that even my own mother, who’s only a generation ahead of mine (obviously), has a hard time understanding the Web and technology, I’m sure that for every person who does get it, there are at least two or three who don’t.

This Technical Difficulties site is a great commentary on the state of our country these days. I wonder how many sites are out there that begin with “dubya.”

I had an idea this morning while reading my friend Dan Rosan’s blog: Why not compile a list of all the Vassar blogs out there?

Vassar alums and students are a rare breed with a powerful in-common experience. They’re also incredibly smart, thoughtful people with a lot to say about the world. Even though I’m not so involved with my local Vassar Club any longer (I was the club president for a couple years right after graduating), I still do and always will feel a strong connection to my alma mater. I met my soon-to-be wife there after all. And we’ll be getting married on the campus. I had an amazing 4 years there. How could I not feel connected? (All that and I happen to be wearing a Vassar shirt today.)

So, without further ado, I bring you the new Vassar Blogs Web site (I call it a site, but really it’s just a sub-domain of my own site with a redirect to the specific page, which makes it much easier to maintain):

http://vassarblogs.gabeanderson.com

There are currently only a handful of blogs in the list — just to get it started. But I hope to see the list grow over time. I plan to begin promoting it in online forums and through my various Vassar connections.

This should be fun.

Last night I took Jen out to the Hilltop Cafe for her birthday. It was a really fun dinner. And economical, too. We brought a bottle of Viansa Chardonay, so I only had to pay 10 bucks corkage fee for that. The place also had a 2-for-1 entree special with the Marin Express Card, so I’ve already more than gotten my money’s worth with that thing.

The Hilltop is very into birthdays. When I made the reservation yesterday morning, the guy asked if I had any special requests. When I told him it was my fiancee’s birthday, he got really excited. He told me he’d give us a window seat, balloons, and cake, and would make sure our picture was taken to be added later to the Hilltop’s Web site. All that and they surprised us by giving us a print of the photo, too. It’s a good picture.

Among the excitement of the night was the dessert. A white, squishy cake that wasn’t overloaded with sugar. I really enjoyed it. Jen was ecstatic about it. It reminded her of Freihofer’s orange doughnuts of New England. She is very fond of them.