Whazzup

Greetings, Dudes and Dudettes,
Tonight was great. The COA's school had a 'kid's night' where for a nominal fee parents were allowed to drop their children off at 5:30 and pick them up again as late as 9:30. The kids got hot dogs and games, and we got a night off. We had originally planned to see a movie, but nothing we wanted to see was playing within the appropriate time frame, so we just went to dinner. We splurged a bit at Ruby Tuesdays where I had the most delicious, so-rare-it-nearly-mooed steak. I point that out because in our overly litigious society it is nearly impossible to get rare steak anymore. I have resorted to answering the 'how would you like that cooked?' question with the stock reply, 'As rare as they'll cook it.' And usually it isn't rare enough. Tonight's was perfect. Then we went and wandered around Wally World where I got some new sneakers. Then we mosied to Target, and the grocery store, before picking up the young'n at around 8:15 or so. It sounds mundane as hell, but we are so rarely out of the house after dark anymore that it was a treat just to go shopping with the sun down.

Pity me.

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but my In-laws gave me an MP3 player for Christmas this year. It is a wonderful gadget, and if you don't have one yet I highly recommend one. It's tiny, holds 2 gigabytes of memory, and makes changing tunes in the car a much safer and easier task than fumbling with CD's. Recently, as a result of this new toy, I have discovered Podcasts. They are audio programs, usually made by amateurs, that can be downloaded from the Intertubes, often free of charge. As I must commute 80+ miles a day they are a godsend. There are a few that I listen to regularly, and they are:

Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me. This is National Public Radio's hilarious weekly news quiz show. If you like silliness, and current events this show is for you.

Make It So. This is a podcast out of Britain which features two or three guys talking very candidly about Star Trek in all its incarnations. They are very relaxed, and even though they love the show, they aren't above tearing away at any and all flaws. Much like many of us do when we get going. They don't censor their language, however. Just FYI.

The Naked Scientists. This is a weekly science show, again out of the UK. If you are a Monty Python fan the show sound a lot like one of their sketches at first, with very British people talking rather briskly, and sometimes just a tad too cheerfully, about what's new in science, and then rapidly lobbing the story to another person, but once you get used to the format it is a great summary of the week in science.

The Skeptics Guide to the Universe. This is also a weekly show, this time from the good old USofA that debunks pseudo-science and other areas where people take things as reality when they really shouldn't. And it isn't all just 'psychics are all fakers', although to be fair there is quite a bit of that. This last week they explained just why and how many time share schemes are scams. So there is some useful information there. I will admit that they can get a bit, um, uncharitable with their criticisms of some of their subjects, but they almost always have facts to back themselves up. This one may not appeal to everyone here at The Corner, but I rather enjoy it.

And lastly there is Smodcast. This is Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier's podcast. If you don't know who they are, they are the writing/directing/producing team behind such movies as Clerks, Dogma, Chasing Amy, and many others. I left this one for last for two reasons. 1. They haven't posted a new one in over a month. 2. You really have to dig Kevin Smith to like this show. He and Scott talk like most of the people in their movies. Lots of profanity, and no subject, no matter how depraved or private, is taboo. Sometimes they go too far, but most of the time I find them hilarious. All of their shows are archived, as are all of the above mentioned podcasts, so you need not dive in unprepared, but beware of Smodcast if vulgarity and juvenile humor aren't your thing. And all of these shows can be subscribed to through I-Tunes.

Ok, I think that's enough for one night. If you have any podcasts that you like, let me know. I'm always looking for more and varied entertainment while driving.

Peace out, y'all,
Marius