The BoormanBlog

OK, so I know I said I would support Indy if they made it to the Super Bowl. They’re a good team, that just got kicked around by the Patriots at the end of every season. Why not? Indy deserves it. This is Peyton’s year.

I lied.

Lately, I found myself wishing the plane carrying the Bears would crash into the plane carrying the Colts. But oh well.

So I’m not rooting for Indy at the Super Bowl this year. I will, however, bet money on them to win. The actuary in me always wants to hedge. So I figure if I have to endure the pain of watching Indianapolis win the Super Bowl, then I should at least be able to make some money off it.

This is not to say that I’m a Bears fan. I still haven’t forgotton how they beat up on the Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX (the largest Super Bowl margin of victory at the time). But I figure most of the 1986 team has retired, along with that damned Super Bowl shuffle.

So, regretably, let’s go Bears.

Just a short one today. Both Emcore and Coldwater Creek are officially in the toilet. Should have stuck with the mutual funds.

Damn you, Cramer.

In my ever increasing obsession with death, I’d like to through another on the pile. An old friend from 20 (!) years back got back in touch with me recently (Mad shout out to Scott!). Well, after a year of veganism, he and his wife decided to go back to meat and I say WAY TO GO. As the bumper sticker says, “If God didn’t want us to eat animals, then why did He make them out of meat?” I’ve been on a chicken kick myself (less fat, high protein, perfect for getting in shape). I can’t resist a good Red Robin burger!

So let’s all have a moment of silence for the Scott’s the misus’ vegan lifestyle. If there’s any silver lining to this tragedy, it’s that millions of plants will be saved. Mourners can now line up for chicken wings and mini-burgers by the bar.

Made more upgrades to my PC today. A few weeks I installed my first graphics card (cheapie nVidia, still have issues with the Linux drivers btw). Last week I got ripped off buying a 512MB stick of PC2700 RAM ($53 should have checked eBay first).

Today I installed my 3rd hard drive. Did you know that motherboards can only support 2 hard drives? Me neither. Lesson learned. So today I got myself an IDE controller card to take care of that. I think this thing is officially maxed out. There’s not a single PCI slot left, and it’s pretty crowded in the case. So I’m going to use the 1st HD for the XP/Mandiva dual boot. 2nd HD for applications. 3rd will be for data (formatted FAT32 so it can be read/written by both OS’s).

Booyaa!

Well, I had it all planned out. I was going to go to a different club last Saturday night (01/20). Was planning it all day. Yet on my way over, I suddenly changed my mind. May have been the fact I didn’t want to pay the cover at the other place to see some crap cover band butcher L.A. Woman or something from crap original bands like sTaInD or LimP BizkiT or Korn or EvAneSanE or however these kids spell those names with random capital letters. Ugh.

So at the last minute I decide to go back to my usual haunt. Thought it might be kind of boring since I had just been there the night before. But hey. I know what I’m getting: no cover, and no crappy local band.

So I go up to the bar and order a Bud Light, and what to my wondering eyes should appear on the cash register as the bartender rings me up $2.00. TWO BUCKS!! I gladly handed over my two Washingtons and handed the lovely barmaid a 50% tip. Hey, I was feeling generous

So I’m enjoying my two dollar beer and bopping around on the perimeter of the dance floor when in walks….

The woman I met last week.

Our eyes met and we smiled. Soon we were dancing again.

Now before anyone gets too excited, for reasons I won’t get into, I don’t think things would work out between us. Nevertheless, it was still nice to see her again. We talked (read: screamed into each other’s ears over the music) for a bit. She asked me if I’m come to the club every weekend (pretty much, I screamed)

Before long we went our separate ways. Another successful evening as far as I was concerned. Cheap beer and a few dances with a pretty lady. Just another Saturday night.

So last Friday night (01/19), I decided to hit my usual spot, the club. It occurs to me that this is getting a tad expensive. Eight bucks for parking, $3 - $5 per beer per hour I’m there. I don’t even want to know what that adds up to.
But I have to admit, it’s worth it. Some nice woman asked me to dance last Friday night. Nice enough girl. We tried to have a little conversation, but it was next to impossible to make out what the other person was saying. (Am I the only one who initiates conversation while dancing at a club?) Her friend took a picture of us, which has me a little worried :/ Am I on someone else’s blog now? At the end, she gave me a peck on the cheek and we went our separate ways.

Not a bad way to spend a Friday night!

So what does a guy do when he’s taking off for Woodstock NY the next day? Hang out in a club until 2AM of course! I got to say, I was encouraged by my success the weekend prior. I guess I just needed a change of scenery. So the Friday before last, I headed down to my favorite club to hang out and dance a little. Sure enough, I spotted a beautiful woman just sitting there. Now those who know me know that I’m very shy. But this time, well I got over my shyness. She was sitting by herself looking at the small number of people on the floor. I guess the planets aligned or maybe this woman was so beautiful it was worth getting rejected. So I asked her to dance.

And she said yes.

So we danced together a few songs. She thanked me for asking her, and we went our separate ways.

Part of me wanted to leave right then and there, thinking that was going to be as good as it got. But, I guess I was greedy and decided to stay until closing. Sure enough, another woman came up and danced with me.

Like I said guys: stay in the game. It also doesn’t hurt to change one’s thinking. Maybe I shouldn’t be always looking for “the one”. Maybe it’s not such a bad thing to enjoy one another’s company over coffee or a few dances, without trying to turn it into anything else.

Don’t worry, folks. I’m not admitting I’m wrong, just changing my mind

Last weekend, I made a pilgrammage to Woodstock, NY to see my 2nd Midnight Ramble. You may be aware that I’m a huge fan of The Band, one the greatest groups of the 70’s, who got their start backing Ronnie Hawkins, and later Bob Dylan. For those who don’t the the Band, you probably know some of their music “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”, “Up On Cripple Creek”. Just about everybody knows “The Weight”. That’s that song from the Cingular wireless commercial with the chorus “Take a load of Fannie…take a load for freeeeee”.

The Band broke up in 1976 becuase of, well, Robbie Robertson, main songwriter and biggest ass of the group.* Anyway, the drummer and vocalist for the group, Levon Helm is still making music. Time and circumstances have taken their toll, sadly. Levon suffered from throat cancer a few years back, and went through several chemo treatments. Miraculously, Levon learned how to sing again. His voice isn’t like it was 30 years ago, but his talent and passion are undiminished. Levon holds these bi-weekly gatherings at his home in Woodstock. Tickets aren’t cheap, but they are well worth it. This is a chance so see someone who’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in an intimate setting; just you and 89 other music lovers.

The first Ramble I attended was great, a lot of old blues and country standards, with Levon and blues singer Little Sammy Davis trading vocals. The Ramble I attended last weekend was nothing short of incredible. Levon played a bunch of old Band tunes, Ophelia, Chest Fever, Rag Mama Rag, W.S. Walcotts medicine show, and a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Atlantic City’.

Supporting Levon on guitar is the great Larry Campbell, who was in Bob Dylan’s backup band for several years. Larry is a consumate, professional and fun-loving musician. The man can play anything and it will sound good.

If you have the time and the cash, go to www.LevonHelm.com and get yourself a ticket to the next show. You will thank me.

*Editor’s note. In my opinion, Robbie Robertson is responsible for all that is evil in the world, from the breakup of The Band, to global warming to Social Security going bankrupt. I blame Robbie Robertson like other people blame Bush.

Your #1 in this guy’s heart. We’ll get them next year.

Sorry I haven’t written in awhile. You can guess the obvious excuses. First thing I want to get out is: best of luck to the greatest team ever to play the game the New England Patriots.

I still get choked up listening to the national anthem, seeing all the military officers in their dress uniforms. Send out a thought to our brave troops serving at home and abroad.