Stevens Point Curling Club

A few weeks ago (during the Olympics and before the Russian invasion of Crimea) I had a chance to try Curling at the Stevens Point Curling club. I had long related to curling as the one winter Olympic sport I could ever even try to attempt without breaking a leg or embarrassing myself.

The "house" at Stevens Point Curling Club

The “house” at the Stevens Point Curling Club

The curling club was hosting an open night where you could try the sport and play an end or two. I got to throw some stones and do some sweeping. I wasn’t very good but I could see the appeal of the sport. It is team oriented and is exciting when you get into it.

Each team has 4 players. Each player throws 2 stones to the other end of the ice. The circled area is called the house*. You score points by being the closest to the center. It is a lot like shuffle board or bocce ball. A captain stands at the other end and helps call the shots for the team to maximize points. Games are often offensive and defensive. The term “chess on ice” is often used to describe the game.

If you ever get the chance I suggest you give it a try. It was a fun night out. You can visit the Stevens Point Curling Club online here.

*I am sure I am getting some of the terminology wrong so don’t take this as fact.

Reflecting on my Job

I had a moment at work today that caused me to reflect on my job. I was seeking advice from a coworker. He is knowledgeable, a sort of elder statesman around the office. The kind of guy most people go to when they need help or see something that throws them for a loop. When I was done picking his brain he asked me how things were going. I replied and asked him the same question. “Oh you know, too much to do like always.” His inbox full of emails and voice messages seemed to back this up.

As I walked back to my desk a few thoughts crossed my mind. Would he take a pay cut to be able to work less? Could he? Does he enjoy his work?

Then my thoughts turned to me: Would I take a pay cut to be able to work less? Could I? Do I enjoy my work?

Let’s start with the last question first: Continue reading →

Car Shopping in Madison

 

I recently decided it was time for me to get a car. I sold my last car in the spring of 2011 and in that time I have taken a lot of public transportation and bummed a lot of rides from people. I am at a position, financially, to afford a car. While shopping for a car here in Madison I have been looking for a few things – a decent price, good gas mileage and usefulness.

Price

I have been spending a lot of time on the Madison Craigslist looking at cars and boy are they more expensive than I remember. I routinely see cars with over 200,000 miles for $2,500+. I guess I just have to recalibrate my pricing.

I have bought a few cars over the years. I had a ’94 Chevy Cavalier that I bought for $250. I put tires and a muffler on it and it gave me no problems and about 24 mpg. I don’t think you can Continue reading →

Have you heard of the Pixar Theory?

I was wandering around the internet the other day when I stumbled across a blog post called “The Pixar Theory” penned by a guy named Jon Negroni. It was a fascinating read. His basic premise is that all the Pixar movies exist in the same universe and but generally at different times. Another site that does a good job of summarizing is pixartheory.com

If you have seen Pixar movies you probably know about some of the “Easter eggs” like the Toyota pizza delivery truck that seems to make it into every movie. For me I saw this as something fun but I didn’t take it much more than that. This post, by contrast, puts a lot of thought into tying all of the movies together. I daresay it may be borderline genius. Mr. Negroni suggests, convincingly so, that the Pixar universe is an alternate universe where cars and animals develop intelligence. If you like Pixar movies you should really give this a read.

I like the idea that there is a person or persons kind of setting an overall theme and storyline for a whole universe and movies are made from different times and places within that universe. It all feels kind of meta and gives a whole new depth to Pixar movies. I wonder if we will ever get confirmation of this.

I know it seems like a borderline conspiracy theory but read it and judge for yourself. It isn’t flawless but it is very intriguing; definitely food for thought. I will never see a Pixar movie in the same way again.  If this were true it would be pretty amazing that this overall plan was in place since Toy Story in 1995. Do you think the Pixar Theory makes sense? Let me know what you think in the comments.

The Band’s Visit – Bikur Ha-Tizmoret

I recently watched The Band’s Visit (Click for Wikipedia). It is the story of a police orchestra going to Israel but ending up in the wrong town for the night. We get to see the interaction of the band and the natives.

Movie poster from The Band’s Visit from Wikipedia

First off I must admit that I don’t know a lot about the Israeli-Egyptian relationship except that it probably isn’t the greatest. I know that there is some animosity but I am sure the film would have had much more meaning if I knew more about the countries involved.

Even without knowing much about the above I really enjoyed The Band’s visit. It shows the interactions of real people in  a small (fictional) town in Israel. A lot of times movies tend to focus on the big cities but I think there are good stories to tell in small towns too. The film is in Arabic (the Egyptians), Hebrew (the Israelis) and English (the common language of both).

The story seems to focus on the Band conductor Tawfiq. From the outset he seems like a hard man and as the movie goes on we learn more about him. Another character to watch is Haled, the young buck of the group. The roller skating scene had me laughing out loud.

I enjoyed the mix of languages in this movie. English was the way the two groups communicated. According to Wikipedia this movie was submitted for Israel’s Foreign Language submission but it was rejected because over half of the dialogue is in English. I did have a hard time understanding some of the words but overall I did pretty well with it.

For me this movie was memorable because of the small town portrayal, the look at everyday normal lives, and the bit of scenery we get to see. Overall I would recommend this movie and I am glad I ran across it at the library.

Have you seen any good movies lately?

The 24 Hour Watch and The Annual Clock

I have a love/hate relationship with time. On the one hand I waste a lot of it. On the other hand it is all we really have. It can hurt my head if I think about it too much.

What options do we have to measure time? A 12 hour clock or watch? A calendar? I don’t like these. I like the big picture; I like the long term. So I have two alternative timepieces to give me a different perspective. A 24 hour watch and an annual clock.

24 Hour Watch

24 Hour Watch

24 Hour Watch

This is my 24 hour watch. I bought it my senior year of college Continue reading →

Heaven Can Wait & Hang ’em High

As the weather this weekend was snowy and cold cold cold I rented some movies from the library. The two I watched this weekend were Heaven Can Wait and Hang ’em High.

Heaven Can Wait (1943)

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. A dead man visits the devil to ask to go to hell because he doesn’t think he will make it into heaven. He recounts his life to his “excellency”. The movie is based on a play called Birthday. The main character goes by Henry van Cleve. The movie takes place over 70 years (starting around 1887) in New York City with a side trip to Kansas. It was a pretty good movie. The change in dress and decoration over the time periods was interesting. The van Cleve home is at 921 5th Avenue in New York. I did a Google Map search and I don’t think it exists.

Henry had a crazy life and a strange family. He was a playboy and a smooth talker. To me he was neither likable or unlikable. I guess he was a bit complex. The devil looked very modern and urban. Overall the movie was okay. I don’t think it is anything great but I wouldn’t say avoid it either.

Hang ’em High (1968)

Clint Eastwood plays a man accused of vigilantes of murder and cattle rustling. He is hung but makes it out alive. He then becomes a lawman with an aim to get justice from those who wronged him. The movie takes place in Oklahoma when it was still a territory in 1889. Capital punishment seems to be a central theme for this movie. The judge (the only one in the whole territory) sees being tough on crime as a way to get statehood for the territory. Our hero disagrees with the methods and decisions of the judge at several points in the movie.

The characters were a bit predictable. One of the bad guys had an eye-patch. The love interest has a grudge. Clint Eastwood plays the strong, silent type that always gets the job done. The ending was – unsatisfactory. I have been on a western kick but there are better ones out there. I wouldn’t go very far out of the way to watch this one.

Have you seen any good movies lately?

An Afternoon with the Wisconsin State Senate

This past Wednesday I was off of work early and headed downtown to get a copy of my birth certificate. I had two hours to burn so I headed for the State Capitol. After wandering around and listening a bit to the Solidarity Singers I asked the man at the desk if anybody was in session today. He said that the Senate would be convening at 2 PM. I ventured out of the building to get some Pelmeni for lunch and then made it back in time to settle into the gallery of the Senate chamber to watch the proceedings. I took some notes and below are some of my impressions of the event.

-The session started at 2pm. I got there 10 minutes early. I was the only person in the gallery at that time. The people in the chamber (legislators, aides, security and administrative people) were talking and catching up a bit.
– The room is very ornate and has a certain gravity or weight to it. Kind of like when you walk into a church or something. It is hard to explain. I can’t imagine how much it would cost to rebuild the Capitol today. Continue reading →