Adventures of Big D, Gilly, and Dobie

What You Can Do to Help the Tsunami Victims

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-12-29T07:15-06:00

Donate to ASHA by clicking here.

This Recent news article from the BBC says that the death toll from 'The Wave' could exceed 100,000 people (68,000 confirmed dead). Unfornately, besides the absurd number of casualties sustained, an awful consequence of this disaster is that they can't get the dead buried fast enough--the bacertial infections that result from the dead being left unburied "could double the number killed by the disaster". This is a disaster of awful and horrifying proportions. One community in Indonesia has drafted thousands of troops to become gravediggers. I know several people that showed an outpouring of care and love for the 9-11 victims a few years ago. These poor people need our prayers and our cash to buy relief supplies. One of my Indian co-workers has volunteered for ASHA, and suggested it as a fine place to donate. I tossed in $40, which isn't much, but if everyone that reads this page in 1 day did it -- we could make a real difference in life or death for these Tsunami Victims.

PS - If you work at National Instruments, they will match your donation and send it to them. You will have to fill out a form, email me at work to get the form

Donate to ASHA by clicking here.

Source: Subramanian R

Real World in Austin Texas

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-12-26T09:32-06:00

MTV has chosen, and chosen wisely: "The 16th season's seven cast members will start getting real in the Lone Star state early next year. The 24 episodes will begin airing in June." I wonder where they will get shacked up. I gotta think they will be close to downtown--who knows, maybe they will end up around the area near my apartment building! Too bad I'll be 25 and thus uneligable to be on it. But you never know when we'll run into some crazy MTV camera crews on 6th street this next 6 months :) By the way, extra points to anyone of my Austin buddies that can get any of the Real World cast members back to my apartment for an after-bar.

Source: cnn.com Link to Article

EA Sports Monopoly

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-12-21T16:32-06:00

EA Sports paid $300 Million dollars for the exclusive rights to use the NFL in its video games for the next 5 years. This means that there will be no more Madden NFL competitors in the video game market. Isn't the government obligated to step in and break up this sort of monopoly? Oh well, I do like Madden; though I went for the $20 ESPN Football 2k5 this past year -- and have not regreted it.

Source: Ramiro R Link to story

Teaching, teaching teaching

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-12-18T17:02-06:00

Here is an email we received from one of our students after we requested a paper past due paper.

The message is in its entirety except names.

In response to the question: "Have you got a paper to submit to me?"

Yes and no.

I am a sub-par student and did not allot a proper amount of time for completion of my paper by its due date. In a wan and willowy state I approached the prospect of research with fear and trepidation. I put little thought into my original abstract and thus was unmotivated in helping realize its potential in scientific exploration. After much hemming and hawing I crossed the great divide, and over several margaritas, discussed the properties of a sexy paper topic with my PhD of a mother. being a geologist with a fidget for the cutting edge, she directed me towards some exciting, controversial and current tops regarding the evolution and existence of our earth. I submerged my self in the wonderful world of methane hydrates and have yet to emerge (Unfortunate for the completion of my paper). One distracting factor is the constant presence to pestering geologists, such as my mother, my father, and the usual chatty passer- by, sleeping in the spare room, drinking port, and offering juicy bits of gossip about the department whist throwing me for double headers as to the direction, purpose and actualization of my exploration into hydrates and thermal maximums. I have had trouble limiting myself to a respectable amount of information, and am just now beginning to succeed in constricting myself to a respectable amount of paper space and information divulgence. I am significantly well into my the completion paper, and things are finally starting to move in a precise and favorable direction. I really hope to have it finished within the next day. Sorry for the tardiness and a possibly self-indulgent excuse. I do assure you that I am having a wonderful time in my research and learning a lot, despite the repercussions my failings as a student may have on my grade.

Jeopardy! Bitches, Sluts, and ...

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-12-17T11:41-06:00

Watch this Jeopardy Clip by clicking here!

If you're not watching Jeopardy! then maybe it's time to see what you're missing.

Source: Deanna S

That is right

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-12-15T13:35-06:00

Christmas? Chanukah (sp.)? Winter Solstice? Are you having trouble figuring out which holiday to celebrate this year. The options are many but there is only one answer for you. Keelermas (also called other things by some) is the movement where you celebrate me. Read Darin's posting below for details and I look foward to converting you, I mean seeing you ;-)

KBPC: Kee's Pre Birthday Celebration

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-12-15T11:04-06:00

Come friends of mine! Partake in the greatest radio-station-sounding event ever - KPBC. 'Keelers Pre Birthday Celebration' can take off without Keeler's support but I sure hope it doesn't have to be that way (note Kee was born on Christmas Day, so he never has any kind of celebration). If you are in Colroado December 22-23, then I highly encourage you to come along for the fun. I'm arriving in Boulder on the Dec 22nd evening, and if folks are around, I'd love to party it up in Boulder Wed Dec 22nd and then get up early & ski Winter Park Dec 23rd...

Dustin is putting me up for the night in Boulder, so if people are nice to him (I know, it sounds difficult), then 'whoever' can probably crash there w/ the aid of a sleeping bag. Or maybe you can make do underneath the foosball table.

People interested so far (names abbrev to protect them from internet email robots)
D trail, J paul, L holton, T lukas, and , D mccown!
Other names I'd love to see on this list: S Roach, A Keeler, and D Yates to name a few...

Crazy Texas A&M Fan with an Appetite for Cotton Bowl Tickets

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-12-10T16:39-06:00

They sure love their football down in College Station, Texas. Check out this crazy Texas A&M Fan: she wanted tickets to the Cotton Bowl so bad that she cut in the long multi-day line, got to the front, and then ate the list that indicated who was there in what order.

Oh yeah, and then she told everyone that Jesus told her it was the right thing to do. Mmmmmmm,kay.

Source: Ramiro R, Original Aricle Linked Here

Cat Gets MBA Degree

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-12-08T13:37-06:00

NBC channel 10 reports:

Colby Nolan (pictured, left) is probably the first animal to hold this distinction -- an executive MBA from a university.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Jerry Pappert isn't amused, since Colby is a pet cat and a Texas-based online college allegedly gave the feline a degree for $399.

"I filed this lawsuit to stop a massive illegal spam campaign that not only defrauded consumers and employers, but damaged the reputations of numerous Pennsylvania businesses across 24 counties and a government office," Pappert said Monday.

Source: Ramiro R, Original article on nbc10.com.

Have you ever been Own3d?

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-12-06T15:15-06:00

So I'm overdue for a posting of some sort, so in leiu of me skipping another day blogging, here's an entertaining link.

The definition of what OWN3D means can be discovered by clicking here.

Note that I do not endorse all of these pictures--some are just wrong! But hey, I hadn't posted in a while and I'm hard up for material. So here ya go, laugh and cry at the same time!

Source: Bob P

Good Advice for All

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-12-01T13:15-06:00

Click here to watch this hilarious ad video.

It is in another language, but I think you will get the idea. If you don't laugh, well, then, go surf some other site. I don't want your websurfing attention!

Source: Deanna, nice find :)

Thanksgiving 2004: Meet the Parents

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-29T20:27-06:00

New Photo Album Posted

So why would a 4-day trip back to snowy Colorado be blog-worthy? Well, because it was jam-packed full of everything from family-time to mad-skiing to saloon-frequenting to turkey-eating to winter-driving to deer-feeding.

The only thing we missed out on was a little Pearl Street time, I'll hit that next time over Christmas. Stay tuned for details on Keeler's Pre-Birthday Ski Trip!

Latest from the Religious Sandwich Cult

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-23T15:27-06:00

Update: eBay has put the item back on! Remember last week, when someone attempted to sell a grilled cheese that looked like the Virgin Mary? The latest bid is sitting at $28,000; Looks like someone is gonna make a ton of money off of this one.

Latest E-Bay auction, bid here, bid now, bid high!

CNN posted a newstory about it here!

Jumphook.com helped break the story: read the original blog post here

Source: Molly, thanks for the followup!

2 Great News Stories

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-23T08:49-06:00

Creating Quite A Buzz

Newspaper advertisements congratulating the 16-year-old girl who won the latest "Australian Idol" competition made an embarrassing mistake -- directing fans to a gay porn Web site.

Newspaper Ad Mistakenly Directs Readers To Gay Porn Web Site

A suspected shoplifter caused quite a buzz when he used honeybees to extricate himself from a sticky situation at a local K-Mart store.
Security personnel followed a shoplifting suspect into a bathroom. But when they opened the restroom door, they were overcome with about 100 buzzing bees.

Source: Jumphook News, fark.com

HTML Tattoos Gaining Popularity... Somewhere.

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-22T10:44-06:00

Never ever ever let me get drunk and get this tattoo. aww geez. If you don't know what HTML is, just right click on the page and click 'View Source' and you might see how geeky this tatt is...

Source: boingboing.net article

Thanks to All who Follow the Blog Daily!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-18T08:10-06:00

Thanks to everyone that is continuing to make this blog successful! I really appreciate that people care enough to check on the page now and then -- shown by the number of visits steadily increasing over the past year. I'll do my best to keep things interesting ~ Darin G.

For the Record: Already 24,255 hits in November!

Do you want to have a Lucid Dream?

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-17T09:58-06:00

Aww yeah you do:

This book attempts to teach you the skills that can help you to have lucid dreams — dreams in which you know that you are dreaming. Lucid dreams have been scientifically proven to exist. Being aware that you are dreaming, and still remaining asleep, can give you the ability to control your dreams. Lucid dreaming truly can be a fantastic experience. See the introduction for more details on what lucid dreaming is.

Read the complete online and free textbook on Lucid Dreams by clicking here.

Browse other online textbooks at wikibooks.org! Awesome website, all sorts of free textbooks out there!

Found: Carnaval Hostel in Rio De Janiero

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-15T10:47-06:00

www.casa6ipanema.com

Here is the hostel we are staying at for 6 nights in Rio (Brazil). The trip is coming up in February, so we didn't have much time to spare! It is a pretty good deal - $225/person - with the only downside being the tight sleeping arrangments (triple bunk beds). I imagine this place is none-too-big, but for a group of budget travellers during the peak tourist season--it's perfect. Thanks to Tom for helping me hunt online and ultimately finding this gem, and thanks to Joe for fronting the cash that needed to be wired down there to secure our reservation!

Brazil Political Update
(bottom left picture) Hmmm here's something I found surfing the web, looks like it will be OK for me to go to brazil even being from Texas:
Courtesy of sorryeverybody.com -- a website dedicated to showing pictures of folks apologizing for electing Bush to another 4 years of office...

The Lord Eats in Mysterious Ways

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-12T10:32-06:00

Update: eBay removed this item from its website hours before the auction ended. The last bid was at $22,000; but eBay pulled the sandwich off the auction floor before the auction closed. CNN posted a newstory about it here! - Thanks Kee!

Ebay Auction selling grilled cheese sandwich burned with the image of the Virgin Mary

THE VIRGIN MARY, OR GOD, WHAT EVER YOU BELIEVE IN YOU'LL BELIEVE NOW..........THIS IS AN ORDINARY REAL GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH THAT I MADE ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO. I WENT TO TAKE A BIT OUT OF IT AND "THE VIRGIN MARY" WAS LOOKING BACK AT ME..........I HAVE PLACE HER IN A PLASTIC CASE WITH COTTON AROUND HER............SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME.........AND EVERY YEAR THAT GOES BY SHE KEEPS GETTING STRONGER.........I DON'T KNOW WHY SHE CHOICE ME BUT I WANT TO SHARE HER WITH THE WORLD............I FEEL SHE WANT TO BLESS THE PEOPLE THAT SHE TOUCHES..........SHE NEEDS TO BE OUT THERE IN THE PUBLIC SO SHE CAN BLESS AND TOUCHES EVERYONE..........I WILL MISS HER, SHE HAS GIVEN ME A LOT OF COMFORT OVER THE YEARS...........I WONDER SOMETIMES WHY SHE CAME TO ME...........TRULY TRULY AUTHENTIC

Bid now while supplies last!

Source: fark.com, Jumphook News

Can Greeley Really Afford This?

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-12T08:02-06:00

I mean honestly why the hell does Greeley have to pay when Bush visits? $30,000 is a lot of money in that town. I bet total slaughters this week went way up. With an upslope or (plug in weather term here) that smell will make it to my house!!!! http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3911704/detail.html

Grounds for drinking java

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-11T09:35-06:00

Deanna keeps sending me emails about the benefits of coffee, so I figured I would help make the case for coffee on my blog as well :)

Barbara Quinn On Nutrition

So, when did you start drinking coffee?" I asked our youngest daughter after she had worked on a guest ranch in Colorado for a year. "When I had to start work at 6:45 in the morning and there was 8 inches of snow on the ground and the temperature was five degrees," she said.

Good answer. Coffee is the most abundantly consumed stimulant in the world. But it was not invented by a modern sage named Starbuck. According to registered dietitian Amy Brown, "Coffee was probably discovered in Ethiopia around the 3rd century A.D. when an Arabian goat herder named Kaldi noticed that his goats became particularly frolicsome after eating certain berries." Coffee berries, or beans, do have some perks. They contain caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant that increases mental alertness and temporarily fires up metabolism. Caffeine can enhance athletic performance by helping the body burn fat for energy during long bouts of exercise. In fact, the International Olympic Committee considers more than a moderate amount of caffeine in athletes a "doping agent."

Excess coffee can create a "latte" problems. Caffeine arouses the heart to beat faster and raises blood pressure. It stimulates stomach acids and can disturb your sleep. Too much coffee mixed with too little calcium in your diet can pour the strength out your bones. Strong discussions continue to brew over coffee. Some evidence links coffee drinking to a lower risk for type 2 diabetes. Other studies find that coffee and caffeine raise homocysteine levels -- a risk factor for heart disease.

The issue grinds down to this: How coffee affects you depends on how much and how often you drink it. Most experts recommend we keep our intake of caffeine to less than 300 milligrams a day. Here's the breakdown:

Brewed coffee contains the most caffeine, about 140 milligrams per cup. Instant coffee contains about 80 milligrams per cup. Tea contains 40 to 50 milligrams of caffeine per cup. Cola drinks contain 40 to 100 milligrams of caffeine per 12-ounce can. Energy drinks like Red Bull contain about 120 milligrams caffeine in 12 ounces. Caffeine-free coffee is not... entirely. Most decaf coffees still contain about 3 percent of their original caffeine content.

If you're healthy, one or two cups of regular coffee a day should not pose a problem and may even have some beneficial effects. Be cautious with coffee and other caffeinated foods if you have high blood pressure or other heart ailments.

Source: Deanna, no link to original article

Jogging in Austin

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-10T11:50-06:00

Clearly the best place to run in Austin is around Town Lake; not to toot my own horn or anything, but I ran about 4.8 miles this morning around the lake. If you live here, you gotta come try it out sometime. You run along the Colorado River and cross various bridges in order to shorten/lengthen your trip. You can also rent kayaks and row the river, rock climb on the nearby greenbelt, or take your bike around the lake. It passes by some of the nicest rec areas in Austin. And it's all within sight of downtown (and sight of my apartment).

Here are the mileages for the town lake trail:

Town Lake Trail Guide

BRIDGES	MOPAC	LAMAR BLVD	1ST STREET	CONGRESS AVE.	IH-35	LONGHORN DAM
MOPAC	-	2.9	4.1	4.5	6.9	10.1
LAMAR BLVD	2.9	-	1.5	1.9	4.3	7.5
1ST STREET	4.1	1.5	-	0.8	3.1	6.4
CONGRESS AVE.	4.5	1.9	0.8	-	2.8	6.0
IH-35	6.9	4.3	3.1	2.8	-	4.0
LONGHORN DAM	10.1	7.5	6.4	6.0	4.0	-

Live News Feed Now Available

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-09T09:22-06:00

Look no further than jumphook.com for your news story surfing needs! I have now integrated zFeeder in order to provide an aggregated news page that is updated hourly (automatically).

Read Jumphook News: www.jumphook.com/news

Let me know any constructive criticism for the page, also comment to this note if you know of any other informative/interesting/funny RSS news feeds that I can add to the list of news! Enjoy jumphookers!

Pope endorses wanking, screwing

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-05T10:04-06:00

OK So I borrowed the title from boingboing.net, but that is the funniest headline I've ever heard. The Vatican has published a new pamphlet entitiled "It's a Sin Not to Do It," endorsing masturbation for married women and in general more sex for Catholics.

Forty years ago, the Vatican published a notorious set of guidelines for courting Catholics that outlawed even French kissing before marriage.

The pages of It's A Sin Not To Do It, however, feature a frank interview with Cardinal Ersilio Tonini in which he emphasises that "the Church is not an enemy of the flesh". He argues that Vatican doctrine has always defended the "nobility of sexuality", which is regarded by the Church as a "treasure" of humanity.

Another chapter likely to raise eyebrows unearths theological justification for post-coital masturbation for women who fail to achieve orgasm during intercourse.

boingboing.net, Link to Article

Funny Not-Political Movie

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-05T09:23-06:00

Cause we all need a laugh now and then :). Click Here to Watch this Clip.
(There's audio there too that's funny)

Source: Bob P, Link to Original

Discussion: Gasoline

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-04T16:04-06:00

Click here to Disuss Gas. I recently got an email from Jennie L. telling me to 'strike' by not buying gas on a certain date. I will attach the contents of that note. My question is, wouldn't this just hurt small town gas stations and not the big wig oil outfits it is geared to attack? I find it hard to believe the trucking industry will pass on gas for one day out of the year.

Don't buy gas on May 19th IT HAS BEEN CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYONE IN THE UNITED STATES DID NOT PURCHASE A DROP OF GASOLINE FOR ONE DAY AND ALL AT THE SAME TIME, THE OIL COMPANIES WOULD CHOKE ON THEIR STOCKPILES.

AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD HIT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WITH A NET LOSS OF OVER 4.6 BILLION DOLLARS WHICH AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINES OF THE OIL COMPANIES.

THEREFORE MAY 19TH HAS BEEN FORMALLY DECLARED "STICK IT TO THEM" DAY AND THE PEOPLE OF THIS NATION SHOULD NOT BUY A SINGLE DROP OF GASOLINE THAT DAY.

THE ONLY WAY THIS CAN BE DONE IS IF YOU FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN AND AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TO GET THE WORD OUT.

WAITING ON THIS ADMIINSTRATION TO STEP IN AND CONTROL THE PRICES IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REDUCTION AND CONTROL IN PRICES THAT THE ARAB NATIONS PROMISED TWO WEEKS AGO?

REMEMBER ONE THING, NOT ONLY IS THE PRICE OF GASOLINE GOING UP BUT AT THE SAME TIME AIRLINES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES, TRUCKING COMPANIES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES WHICH EFFECTS PRICES ON EVERYTHING THAT IS SHIPPED. THINGS LIKE FOOD, CLOTHING, BUILDING MATERIALS, MEDICAL SUPPLIES ETC. WHO PAYS IN THE END? WE DO!

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. IF THEY DON'T GET THE MESSAGE AFTER ONE DAY, WE WILL DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN.

SO DO YOUR PART AND SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND MAKE MAY 19TH A DAY THAT THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES SAY "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH"

The WalMart Society

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-04T07:49-06:00

To briefly elaborate on the WalMart Society we live in, the whole 'consumer attitude' in this country is part of a more fundamental problem that goes way beyond politics -- consuming whatever big corps throw at us makes us lazy and unable fend for ourselves in the modern world. Consuming mass produced everything stunts our collective creativity and decreases our productivity in the long run. This problem forces the US population to meet the stereotype that we currently face (US folks are fat and lazy).

I'm worried that much of america has become enslaved to the cheapest, mass-produced solution offered. I love being a part of this society in the past 50 years: Ingenuity and Creativity and Success have been integral to our collective character. I don't want to see it change because we all start buying the same blender at Target and it starts us down the slippery slope of lazy consumerism. Help USians to not lose our creative ingenuity in this mess; buy your blenders elsewhere.

Somone Explain to Me Why Bush Won the Popular Vote (Gilly sez)

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-03T07:41-06:00

I just don't get it. Am I out of touch with the rest of America? How could the US put Bush back in for 4 more years? How could the majority of the country be in favor of consersative social values and unecessary wars? I'm sick and tired of being associated with a country that doesn't align with my thinking. While travelling, I'm tired of explaining that I don't agree with nearly every action our republican government takes. I'm tired of seeing environmental protection dissappear.

Are these the types of Wal-Mart buying consuming Americans that are left in this rural areas of this country? Who are Americans - do they like wars and big military cause they like kicking ass? Do they like having Christianity shoved down their throat and the throats of their children by the highest governmental officials? Are they afraid of peace? Afraid of change?

I think it is sad.

The Depressing Truth (Brian Sez)

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-03T06:44-06:00

I got an email this morning from a friend in Norway that was empty except for a link to a site for getting visas to live/work in his country. It is tempting... The blurring of the line separating church and state really scares me. The separation of church and state is one of the principles built into our government that helps us be united and strong. Bush will probably appoint several supreme court justices. Their approval will be easier than ever since the Congress is even more heavily Republican now. For those of us who aren't evangelical, and consider religion and spirituality a private matter like Kerry does, these justices will produce many years of aggravating rulings. Roe v. Wade could be at risk, etc. What will be scary is if the democrats make adjustments to try and win and incorporate evangelical Christian "values" and neo conservative foreign policy into their party. Like the Republicans, Democrats will be trying to tell people how to live their personal lives. They'll be for spreading democracy throughout the world at gunpoint. The democrats have given up on gun control, the death penalty, etc. How will they become distinguishable from the Republicans if they lose every last liberal ideal? They won't, and democracy will be dead. I'm trying not to get too depressed about this election. The good news is that our community, Travis County, is pretty friendly to our viewpoint. 56% voted for Kerry here.

Oh well, I guess I didn't explain why Bush won the popular vote. Here comes the really jaded analysis:
1. People are dumb and therefore had a closer psychological link to the president who is also dumb. I mean, don't say he's not dumb. Looks dumb. Talks dumb. *IS* dumb. Just like the multi-billion dollar pro-wrestling industry.
2. Latino votes for Bush grew big time because of the evangelical Christianity of Bush.
3. Uneducated people are afraid because they don't understand terrorism and Bush exploited that fear effectively by bringing up 9/11 all the time and claiming we would be all be killed if Kerry were elected. New Yorkers were the ones attacked and killed in the 9/11 attacks, and therefore would have the best excuse for being afraid, but who did they vote for? Kerry. Because they have educations. Lot of them have degrees. Who gave Bush big landslides? All those states that rank low on education scales and voted 90% to prevent gays and lesbians from having civil unions. All those red rural states? Uneducated fools that couldn't even follow Kerry's eloquent talk about his faith.
4. Money. Bush gave like $1000 to every voter in 2001 with his tax break and people liked that. Like dogs given scraps or junkies given a free fix. Ironically massive #s of people who make minimum wage and could have benefited from Kerry, who said in the debates that he would raise the minimum wage a buck or so, voted for Bush because they are uneducated and therefore followed analysis points numbers 1 and 3 above.

Webrings

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-02T16:04-06:00

In an unprecedented cry for attention, today Darin submitted his webpage for inclusion in not 1, not 2, but 3 blog webrings. You can click on them in the left bar just below the Categories block. When questioned earlier today about this desperate plea for people to comment on his trite, banal weblog entries, he had this to say: "My friends won't write comments, so damn it I'm gonna get web traffic that does write comments [and get wasted tonight]." - AP News Exclusive

Halloween 2004 - An Aqua Teen Halloween

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-11-01T07:44-06:00

"Aqua Teen Hunger Force, number one in the hood G."

New Photo Album Posted

What a crazy Halloween, Check out the pictures in the Halloween Photo Album. Our costumes were a huge hit downtown, we couldn't walk from bar to bar because of so many people wanting pictures. Matt had girls throwing themselves at Master Shake, Meatwad (Ryan) was a big hit with the ladies, and me (Sir Frylock) well I was more preoccupied w/ Leila from Futurama to be honest... And to top off the excellent night on the town, we finished 2nd (IMHO) in a $500 costume contest at the Galactic concert at Stubb's -- 2nd place winning us nothing by the way. All that hard work payed off, it was a load of fun. We're gonna send our costume picture into Cartoon Network and try to get it on TV -- wish us luck!

Was Bush Wired in the First Debate?

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-29T09:08-06:00

Here's the content of an interview w/ a respected NASA scientist that spent his off-hours analyzing a video of the president with Photoshop. He stakes his 'repuation' that Bush had some type of device on his back during the debate.

Quote from the article:

For the past week, while at home, using his own computers, and off the clock at Caltech and NASA, Nelson has been analyzing images of the president's back during the debates. A professional physicist and photo analyst for more than 30 years, he speaks earnestly and thoughtfully about his subject. "I am willing to stake my scientific reputation to the statement that Bush was wearing something under his jacket during the debate," he says. "This is not about a bad suit. And there's no way the bulge can be described as a wrinkled shirt."

Source: Erik B: Link to Salon.com's article

Ring the Bell

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-28T14:05-06:00

Check this one out, thanks Ramiro for finding this one. Sometimes football guy cheerleaders get a little too into their duties... In this case, the duty was ringing the victory bell.

Short, hilarious video clip.

Source: Ramiro, well done

This song

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-26T11:35-06:00

I am sorry these lyrics to this song are cracking me up.

"Underwear Goes Inside The Pants" by Lazyboy

Why is marijuana not legal? Why is marijuana not legal? It’s a natural plant that grows in the dirt. Do you know what’s not natural? 80 year old dudes with hard-ons. That’s not natural. But we got pills for that. We’re dedicating all our medical resources to keeping the old guys erect, but we’re putting people in jail for something that grows in the dirt?

You know we have more prescription drugs now. Every commercial that comes on TV is a prescription drug ad. I can’t watch TV for four minutes without thinking I have five serious diseases. Like: “Do you ever wake up tired in the morning?” Oh my god I have this, write this down. Whatever it is, I have it. Half the time I don’t even know what the commercial is… people running in fields or flying kites or swimming in the ocean. I’m like that is the greatest disease ever. How do you get that? That disease comes with a hot chick and a puppy.

The schools now… It is all about self-esteem in the schools now. Build the kids’ self-esteem, make them feel good about themselves. If everybody grows up with high self-esteem, who is going to dance in our strip clubs? What’s going to happen to our porno industry? These women don’t just grown on trees. It takes lots of drunk dads missing dance recitals before you decide to blow a goat on the internet for fifty bucks. And if that disappears, where does that leave me on a Friday night with my new high speed connection?

Masterminds are another word that comes up all the time. You keep hearing about these terrorists masterminds that get killed in the middle east. Terrorists masterminds. Mastermind is sort of a lofty way to describe what these guys do, don’t you think? They’re not masterminds. “OK, you take bomb, right? And you put in your backpack. And you get on bus and you blow yourself up. Alright?” “Why do I have to blow myself up? Why can’t I just…” “Who’s the fucking mastermind here? Me or you?”

Americans, let’s face it: We’ve been a spoiled country for a long time. Do you know what the number one health risk in America is? Obesity. They say we’re in the middle of an obesity epidemic. An epidemic like it is polio. Like we’ll be telling our grand kids about it one day. The Great Obesity Epidemic of 2004. “How’d you get through it grandpa?” “Oh, it was horrible Johnny, there was cheesecake and pork chops everywhere.”

Nobody knows why were getting fatter? Look at our lifestyle. I’ll sit at a drive thru. I’ll sit there behind fifteen other cars instead of getting up to make the eight foot walk to the totally empty counter. Everything is mega meal, super sized. Want biggie fries, super sized, want to go large. You want to have thirty burgers for a nickel you fat mother fucker. There’s room in the back. Take it! Want a 55 gallon drum of Coke with that? It’s only three more cents.

Sometimes you have to suffer a little bit in your youth to motivate yourself to succeed in later life. Do you think if Bill Gates got laid in high school, do you think there’d be a Microsoft? Of course not. You got to spend a long time in your own locker with your underwear shoved up your ass before you start to think, “You’ll see. I’m going to take over the world of computers! I’ll show them.”

We’re in one of the richest countries in the world, but the minimum wage is lower than it was thirty five years ago. There are homeless people everywhere. This homeless guy asked me for money the other day. I was about to give it to him and then I thought he was going to use it on drugs or alcohol. And then I thought, that’s what I’m going to use it on. Why am I judging this poor bastard. People love to judge homeless guys. Like if you give them money they’re just going to waste it. Well, he lives in a box, what do you want him to do? Save it up and buy a wall unit? Take a little run to the store for a throw rug and a CD rack? He’s homeless. I walked behind this guy the other day. A homeless guy asked him for money. He looks right at the homeless guy and says why don’t you go get a job you bum. People always say that to homeless guys like it is so easy. This homeless guy was wearing his underwear outside his pants. Outside his pants. I’m guessing his resume isn’t all up to date. I’m predicting some problems during the interview process. I’m pretty sure even McDonalds has a “underwear goes inside the pants” policy. Not that they enforce it really strictly, but technically I’m sure it is on the books.

Washington Redskins decide the Presidential Race

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-25T14:34-06:00

Every time the Washington Redskins have won the football game before election day, the incumbant's party continues to hold the presdiency. It is a true statement since 'Skin's first game in the 30's.

The 'big game' for this year's election is this Sunday: Washington Redskins versus Green Bay Packers. So what that means is that instead of plastering pro-Kerry stuff all over this blog, I'm going to say: "Go get 'em Pack! Stop the war in Iraq!"

Source: Link to Article on snopes.com

Go Buffs!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-22T13:16-06:00

I'm going down to College Station, Texas to watch the Texas A&M Aggies play the Colorado Buffaloes in a football game for the ages. That is if CU doesn't get blown out. Well regardless, I'm gonna head down friday and see what the town has to offer and then try to score some bleacher seats in the one of the endzones in the morning. Go Buffs!

Potential Spam

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-21T07:57-06:00

Okay we have all seen this before at the bottom of our favorite SPAM messages

assaulted refractory assaulted summitries indesirable dodded precooling. cornbird hirsuteness totemisms tidinesses pianisms bandoleers untortured. reshun hummingbird eucre woesome cumbrance practicalize hissproof compriest altarpieces. omelets armholes amentiferous

What the hell does all that mean. Who knows but on a weird occurence I actually received something that looks like a poem at the end of the last SPAM I was bored enough to read. Seems repetitive but every so often a new part of the poem pops up. Or something.

it was only a matter of time before the hurricane became a dog-shaped apology. a matter of time before the hurricane became a dog it was only a matter of time before a dog-shaped apology became a hurricane. This hurricane dog, this is the best birthday present i've ever gotten even better than the time the thermometer gave me a chocolate bath. This hurricane shaped bag of dogfood will be the end of me. This dogless hurricane. This dog forgave me. was only a matter of time before a dog-shaped apology became a hurricane. This hurricane dog, this is the best birthday present i've ever gotten even better than the time the thermometer gave me a chocolate bath.it was only a matter of time before the hurricane became a dog-shaped apology. matter of time before the hurricane became a dog it was only a matter of time before a dog-shaped apology became a hurricane. This hurricane dog, this is the best birthday present i've ever gotten even better than the time the thermometer gave me a chocolate bath. This hurricane shaped bag of dogfood will be the end of me. Th is dogless hurricane. This dog forgave me. was only a matter of time before a dog-shaped apology became a hurricane. This hurricane dog, this is the best birthday present i've ever gotten even better than the time the thermometer gave me a chocolate bath.

Mindball: Game of the Future?

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-20T14:58-06:00

Who's the coolest under pressure? Is that the same person that can keep their alpha waves and theta waves down to a minimum? Even today that question can be answered, enter the latest invention I've encountered: Mindball. The game is simple, there is a metal ball sitting on a table between two players. Each player has a headband that detects that player's brain waves. Whichever player can 'chill out' the most will have the ball roll towards them. Sounds like a pretty sweet game, yours for the price of $20,000. Company: Interactive Productline in Sweeden.

Source: Link to boingboing.net article

Peruvian Bacon

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-20T11:26-06:00

Mmmmm I ate this delicacy while travelling in Peru... I'll post this picture at a later date. :)

Source: Found by Ryan S, Link to Yahoo Article

More Sean Connery News

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-19T13:20-06:00

Just when y'all think I needlessly created a new topic for Sean Connery related material, I go off and find interesting Sean Connery news. The government of Panama had extended a diplomatic passport to Mr. Connery, but now they have revoked that passport. You really have to wonder why they gave him diplomatic priveledge while he was visiting the country in 2003, but we all know the answer to that. (Can anyone say: License to Kill?)

Source: Link to Article

Sean Connery Update

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-18T07:54-06:00

http://www.yourethemannowdog.com.

Pesky Work, Why Do IT?

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-14T09:30-06:00

TOP TEN ways to allude co-workers into thinking you are working (from the keedog). This is what i have learned from many office jobs over the years

10. Remote Desktop from home - You have access to all the files you have at work. Next thing you knowing you are sending attachments of files to co-workers they think you are in your office since those files only exist on that server, they don't know better.

9. Leave your door open to your office (if you have a cube sorry). Leave your music on and leave the document with the most clutter and words open on your screen. This will make a co-worker think you have gone to the restroom or lunch or something. More on this see 8.

8. Find an office buddy where one day you open his/her door at 7:00AM and close it 4:00PM and then the next day he does the same for you. A door open always makes people believe you are around.

7. Walk all around carrying a giant Manila Envelope. This will stop co-workers from talking to you because they will think you are on your way to deliver something important.

6. Hire a student worker to do your lying for you. An innocent young poor student will tell your supervisor you are in a meeting or fixing a problem somewhere. Of course to supplement this put bogus meetings on your calendar with really cool named or high ranking people. For me I used Betsy Hoffman and Chancelor Bynny. A variation on this method sign up for an all day event hit the breakfast buffet skip out until the 2:00 speaker pay attention there and then go back and give a presentation in your dept. Bonus points if you can setup a bogus meeting to attend!!!

5. Never check your voice mail until the box gets a 100% full. Once they realize how backed up you are they will never call again.

4. Send out meaningless emails to the group list. Try to do this like once an hour. You will win employee of the year awards.

3. Make special trips by events, such as baby showers, farewells, award ceremonies. Appearances at these will cause the whole staff to see you at once.

2. Pick up the phone and reel off F-Bombs to your own answering machine or a tape recorded message. This hostile environment will stop people from bothering you. Another thing that works is answer every phone message or email with these two words "Request Denied"

1. Act like you are working on work when really you are working on Dog Racer© all day long or NBA simulator.

Jumphook Music Page Added

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-13T15:56-06:00

I keep getting music recommendations and promptly forgetting to check them out, so I'm starting static page dedicated to remembering these songs. Check it out at: http://www.jumphook.com/music. If anyone has any songs that one must check out, drop me an email at musiccritic@jumphook.com and I will update the list. Maybe it will eventually be some sort of Wiki that can be edited by anyone. Oh well something for me to think about and experiment with. I'll keep the world posted on what turns out.

Old-Skool Keedog

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-13T11:14-06:00

Beloved Austin Treasure THUMPed

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-12T15:53-06:00

Holy crap I'll wear whatever Lance Armstrong wears, he's the king of Austin. If you can tear your eyes away from Lance, check out his shades -- Oakley Thump -- a new invention from Oakley. They've taken the music out of the iPod and squished it into flash memory in the frames of a pair of sunglasses. Something tells me you will not be able to find these for 3 bucks across the Mexican border...

Despite the fact that 99% of the population does not look like the sunglass models on Oakley website (check out their promo shots) -- they seem pretty cool. There's a high-speed USB connection to upload music one side and the volume controls, next/prev buttons are all on the other sunglass 'stem'. I have to wonder how heavy these get after very long, but I'm sure it be fun joggin with these on. Software is supported on both the PC and the Mac.

Source: Jack F - Link to Article

Vote for Kerry

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-11T08:35-06:00

This Website is a pretty damn funny link. But it does make an honest point, for those who are just anti-Bush and not quite pro-Kerry; this site provides some reasons why you should just go ahead and vote for Kerry anwyway!

ACL and Tampa Pictures are up!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-05T08:52-06:00

Austin City Limits and Tampa Bay Trip Photos Posted Here It's been far too long since I've blogged, but I'm still out there, making memories by the dozen. And thanks to the Tampa trip, I erased a few of those memories as well :)

Austin City Limits A short walk across the river, and Deanna and I got to enjoy 3 days of quality music. We saw: Dashboard Confessional, Modest Mouse, Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper, Cake, Terri Hendrix, Pat Green, and a whole bunch more. Concerts by day, crazy 6th Street-ness by night. Can't beat that!

Tampa Bay Went to watch the broncos play and stay at Tysons down at the Kappa-Sigma-Post-Undergrads chapter in Tampa. The nightlife was insane, and it included a party bus with a keg and a stripper pole. The gambling was insane, because Tyson knows 3 bookies and he can only bet with 1 of them thanks to Kyle Ester. The Denver Broncos - Tampa Bay Bucs game was insane because we ended up on the 50 yard line for a twenty dollar ticket.

B to the E

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-10-04T10:35-06:00

B^e: what does that mean to you? It will mean a new beer made by Budweiser that is infused with energy drink. The polar opposite of low-carb beers like Michelob Ultra, this one is chock full of sugar, 6.6% alcohol, caffeine, ginseng, and a brazillian berry named guarana. The beer will be called B^e and is pronounced "B to the E". The release date for this new late-night beverage has not been announced.

Source: Link to Article

Apparel Apparent Presidential Apology

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-09-30T14:06-06:00

Link to Article

Anybody try this!!!!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-09-28T14:38-06:00

I got an email a few weeks or maybe i saw it posted here but okay here it goes. Rotate your right foot clockwise now at the same time point your right finger out and rotate it counter-clockwise...... Were you unsucessful??. I think something with your whole right brain, left brain thing (sorry cannot be more scientific here) makes this near impossible to pull off. But it is trippy and i have practiced it for hours at work out of pure boredom. Once in awhile I can overcome, half of the time somehow my knee locks up??????

The frist and lsat letetr

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-09-26T11:48-06:00

Aoccrding to a research at Cagbridme Univresity, it dseon't mttaer in waht oredr the lettres in a wrod are. The olny impartont tnihg is taht the frist and lsat letter be in the rhgit plcae.

The rset can be a ttoal mses and you can sitll raed it wituoht prbolem. Tihs is bscauee the hamun mnid deos not raed eevry letetr by istelf, but the wrod as a wohle.

Sugar Found in Milky Way

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-09-22T11:39-06:00

So this just sounded funny. I guess it's cool. Astronomers found a cloud of sugar floating out in the vast emptiniess of space. The high-carb dust is called Sagittarius B2 and is a mere 26,000 light years away. So save your hunger, the good stuff's on the way.

Link to Article Source: boingboing.net

I plan on repairing the lack of activity here on the ole blog, but deadlines are looming and my web-surf time is rapidly approaching zero. Asymptotically of course. They can't take my soul!

Where do your dreams come from?

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-09-17T10:18-06:00

Scientists have found out that dreams and REM sleep are not directly connected! So an old lady, around 73, had a stroke in a very specific location in the occipital lobe of her brain--and she's lost the ability to dream. She still has REM sleep cycles, but not with dreams! That means that all the mumbo jumbo about our dreams being part of our subconscious and all might have some weight after all. I always thought so, finally some hard evidence. :)

Source: boingboing.net, Link to article

Football, It's Back!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-09-14T16:12-06:00

Denver Broncos, Colorado Buffaloes, fantasy football, it's all here. Check out this phat logo for the Austin Cattle Prods, my coveted fantasy football team. Ok, so if I'm posting this, that means I'm terribly busy at work and this is as creative as I'm going to get right now.

Labor Day Pictures Posted

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-09-09T10:51-06:00

Darin's Picture Album Posted Here, --- Deanna's Picture Album Posted Here

Highlights include: Top of the Sears Tower, strolling along the Navy Pier, watching the fireworks, riding the ferris wheel, riding the L-Train, checking out the Millenium Park (and giant reflective bean to the left), passing by the jazz festival, hotel room service breakfast, deep dish pizza at Pizzeria Uno, shopping on the Miracle Mile, getting upgraded to 1st class after a canceled flight and just overall great quality time with my girlfriend!

Bloomin Ridiculous

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-09-01T17:08-06:00

The story of one CU Buffalo's war with the NCAA; the student's side comes out in this candid essay written by Jeremy Bloom himself.

Two years ago, I became a proud member of the 2002 Winter Olympics team and then won the World Cup overall title as a freestyle skier. Then, a few weeks later, the NCAA informed me that if it were to allow me to continue my financial means of paying for my trainer, nutritionist, physical therapist and agent for skiing, I would be endangering the core principle of amateurism as a college football player.

Even though the NCAA denied multiple waivers to let me play football, at least it provided me with a lengthy and adequate response to why it felt the request was off-base. It read something like this: No.

Thanks to Stefan on this one, Link to Yahoo Article

Would You Use It?

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-31T12:23-06:00

Here's a picture of a public toilet in Switzerland that's made entirely out of one-way glass. No one can see you in there, but when you are inside, it looks like you're sitting in a clear glass box.

- Would you use it?

Thanks to Chuck on this one.

Blackjack Strategems Revealed!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-30T15:46-06:00

Y'all might enjoy brushing up on your blackjack skills. But would I endorse any ordinary run-of-the-mill blackjack program? Oh hellz no, that's why I'd like to introduce OpenBlackjack -- an open source blackjack strategy and card-counting trainer developed by my good personal friend Phillip Posts Jr. Nice try Shaun, you're not fooling anybody with that penname. Anyway, Shaun has redone the website and it looks great; go check it out. Learn something. Gamble smarter.

Keep Austin Weird: The Race

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-30T07:16-06:00

Have you ever run a 5k in downtown Austin: The Keep Austin Weird 5k? If not, I can tell you that it is just plain weird. Deanna, Allison, and I ran the race Saturday night at 5pm and enjoyed hanging out in the festival-like concert-like atmosphere with the crazies. What makes it so weird? How about the fact that while you are running there are:

People running in costume
People running half-naked
Free chocolate donuts on the race course
After the donuts, free bacon strips
After the bacon, free jalepeños
After the peppers, free french fries
After the fries, free ice cream.

I actually couldn't stomach the fries, and barely finished the race due to my heavy weezing and upset stomach. The final standings: Deanna 1st (29:00), Darin 2nd (32:00), Allison 3rd (32:30).

Bet on Physics!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-27T07:42-06:00

Finally, the true marriage of intelligence and gambling. If you think about it, it was only really a matter of time anyway...

British bookmaker Ladbrokes is now accepting wagers on the future of physics. They've opened a book on:

* Understanding the origin of cosmic rays by 2010 (4/1 odds)
* The ATLAS experiment at CERN finding the Higgs Boson by 2010 (6/1 odds)
* The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) detecting gravitational waves by 2010 (10/1 odds)
* Building a fusion power station by 2010 (100/1 odds)

Anyone can place bets on these breakthroughs during the next two weeks. Apparently, New Scientist magazine is also involved in the gamble, dedicating ten pages to it in the print edition.

“I’d be tempted to take a bet on the Higgs at 6-1,” says Brian Foster who heads the particle physics group at the University of Oxford in the UK. “I’ve been quite instrumental in betting the taxpayers’ money on us finding it, so I’d better put my money where my mouth is.”

Source boingboing.net, Link to article, Link to Ladbrokes

Down Home, Chicago

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-26T14:01-06:00

How long has it been, weeks since leaving Austin? It's not that I don't like this place; but good travel options keep popping up. The latest: a weekend fly away date to Chicago over Labor Day weekend! Deanna and I found cheap tickets and a decent rate at a 4-star hotel and said "Why not?" Two days and two nights in the Windy City, I'm sure we can stay entertained w/ the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Miracle Mile, the Millenium Park and the Rush Street nightlife.

If anyone I know in Illinois has nothing to do and a few bucks for beer and deep dish pizza; you should come up Saturday or Sunday night and live it up Chicago style!

Dave Matthews Band Shit

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-25T14:34-06:00

Awww geez, I guess everybody's shit stinks... I'm sorry, but this is hilarious.

The state of Illinois has filed a lawsuit against the Dave Matthews Band for allegedly dumping up to 800 pounds of liquid human waste from its tour bus into the Chicago River earlier this month.

And that was bad news for Chicago's First Lady, a passing tour boat filled with 100 people on an architecture sightseeing cruise that was doused by the falling excrement.

Thanks to Ryan on this one, Source: Yahoo News

Smart Piggy Bank

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-24T08:07-06:00

Oh yaa! Finally, mankind can be spared the tiresome task of counting his/her savings. Wait a second, I think I need a piggy bank...

This $15 jar-topper senses and counts the coins you deposit into your coin-bank and displays the outcome on a little LCD.

Source boingboing.net, Link to Item Description

Real Live Drunken Bear

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-20T10:52-06:00

Check out this recent article on cnn.com:

SEATTLE, Washington (Reuters) -- A black bear was found passed out at a campground in Washington state recently after guzzling down three dozen cans of a local beer, a campground worker said on Wednesday.

The hard-drinking bear, estimated to be about two years old, broke into campers' coolers and, using his claws and teeth to open the cans, swilled down the suds.

It turns out the bear was a bit of a beer sophisticate. He tried a mass-market Busch beer, but switched to Rainier Beer, a local ale, and stuck with it for his drinking binge.

Thanks to Chuck Stauffer on this one: Link to Article

NIWeek Conference Ends, Life Resumes Normality

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-19T14:47-06:00

I had to put something up here; so here's a quick note. I just finished up all the work we had to do for NIWeek 2004. Whew, that was a pain. Good thing I took that sick day Monday. I did see Tom, Dustin, Kee and Kathleen this weekend; which was fantastic by the way. Viva Colorado!

Winnebago Man

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-13T12:56-06:00

You can't tell me this is not hilarious. This is a link to an angry, angry Winnebago salesman that went of the handle during a commerical shoot. Warning, EARMUFFS!

Click Here for Winnebago Man Movie

African Runway

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-12T15:36-06:00

You are a South African bush pilot. You fly in some critical medical supplies, enjoy a quick lunch at the hospital.

It's a stifling 100 degrees in the shade and you're eager to get back up to the cool, high blue yonder.

On the way back to your plane, you discover that the only bit of shade, within 1 mile, has become very popular . . . You start calculating the distance to the plane door . . and wonder . . .

"Do I feel lucky today?"

Source: Jack Followay, http://www.b17sam.com/WildBlueYonder.html

Free Music - DaveProj (circa 2001)

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-11T11:12-06:00

Here's something I ran across in my virtual 'attic' a few days ago.

Artists: David Yates and Darin Gillis
Listen to DaveProj.mp3

Record companies feel free to contact me via email.

The Incredible Shrinking Gilly

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-10T15:56-06:00

I lost 20 pounds over the past 3 months. I am not wearing Pro-Anorexia Merchandise, by the way. Wow! I wasn't really trying to, I suppose this is an expected consequence of dating a nutritionist... Now, I just gotta start taking advantage of the Gold's Gym downtown and world look out! I could pick up that 'Placed 2nd in Beauty Contest, Recieve $10' Community Chest card in real life..

Brand New Picture Albums!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-09T15:15-06:00

The future is now! Check out the Jumphook Photo Gallery. From now on, this is how I plan on posting pictures. The best part is, you can post pictures too! If you want to post pictures in an online album, let me know who you are and I will make an account for you. Send an email to 'd at jumphook dot com'. The engine I chose to use is 'Gallery 1.4.1'; among the features are:

Slideshow for albums
Easy navigation
Captions on photos
Leaving per-picture comments
Logged-in users can upload their own ablums
Hi-resolution originals of photos are available

The first album I've posted is the 'Summertime 2004' medley. Including moments from various parties and random events over the course of the summer. Enjoy! Click Here to View Summertime 2004

Pictures from the Pimped-Out Downtown Loft -- Pictures Here

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-08T09:05-06:00

Ok, here are some pictures of the new downtown Austin loft! The first pictures are of the setup in a tour-fashion-show style. After that, I've thrown on a few pics from our Housewarming Party (thanks to everyone that made it down for that). That party was a complete (drunken) success. Everyone hurt the next day. Bodies all over the wood floor (Justin do NOT crawl into my bed ever again haha). I also tacked on a couple pictures of my work cubicle so people can understand where I spend 30 to 40 to 50 hours a week...

Back to Illinois

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-06T16:03-06:00

My grandfather TC has passed away early this morning. He was a tough ole coot, that's for sure. Ten years ago he went into the hospital where he was informed he needed a quadruple bipass. But my grandpa, oh hell no, he was not going to let no doctor operate on him. They gave him 6 months to live without receiving the operation. So what was his solution? Well just go home and let life take care of itself. Well, 6 months passed, a year passed... He went back to the doctor, who was amazed that he was still among the living. How did this happen? My grandfather's heart had created a natural bypass over the surface of his heart. Which meant he had the worst circulation in the world, but he kicked around long enough to see a few great-grandchildren come along. Rest in peace grandpa, I'll be taking off to Illinois for the funeral after work today.

Lost Vegas 2003 Picture Surfaces

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-06T14:18-06:00

Quoting an email from the long lost Erik Behrens:

As usual Darin is doing more than his fair share in the partying department. I am glad we have someone like Darin to show us how it's done. Cheers, Erik

How does Gilly stay inspired?

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-05T12:38-06:00

Ah there's a good question. Here's my secret. solbeam.com, my favorite all-purpose inspirational blog. Almost a year ago I came across the site, and it incited within me a desire to travel more (i.e. all the trips I've talked about in this blog), live freely, escape the buerocratic cage of my office job. Over the past year when I have longed to escape my entrenched, responsible existence; I have found encouragment and inspiration from those posted thoughts and stories. You should check it out, and though many of you that know me will write this off to me being a 'liberal hippi' as Thompson likes to say; it might just teach you a thing or two about 'undefended love' and what it means to chase your dreams. And of course it makes you want to travel like all get out! On a side note, I found Sol's site originally by searching the web for other people that liked 'The Alchemist' as much as I did...

Hippos terrorise Siberian fishermen

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-04T12:54-06:00

Ah nothing like sharing some water-cooler humor from the NI Think Tank that I swim in... Courtesy of Jack Followay:

TWO Russian anglers quietly sharing a vodka as they waited for fish to bite in a Siberian river fled for their lives when two hippos broke the surface and shattered the peace of a summer day, Itar-Tass news agency has reported.

Malvina, the female hippo, and her companion Kenigs had escaped from a zoo at Bolshaya Rechka, about 200km north of Omsk, it said.

The terrified anglers sped to the village, one on foot, the other by bicycle, and alerted zoo keepers, who found the animals quietly grazing in a field.

Source news.com, Link to Article

In the Crystal Ball: Rio De Janiero

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-03T16:26-06:00

The dates are set, and the next wild adventure is ready to rock out of the box. I just purchased a plane ticket for myself to visit Rio De Janiero over Carnival in 2005. I'll warn you, it was not cheap; roundtrip cost me $780. Good news is, I'm looking for travel partners. So if you're free from February 4th-February 13th--I'm the guy to talk to. The general plan is to arrive in Rio on the 5th, enjoy 3 or 4 days of Carnival [meeting up with Tom and his buddy from Boulder], and then spend the rest of the trip 'flying solo' in the towns surrounding Rio [or even check out São Paulo and fly out from there]. The options are limitless, the bank account is not quite so limitless (See future post on Kick Ass Downtown Loft in coming days). All that really matters is that I have another vacation in my sights which helps me count down the many many days of office work until this trip takes place.

Mystery Animal Captured

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-08-02T14:35-06:00

They captured it alive! This weird animal (nicknamed a 'hyote') has been running around Maryland causing the locals to suspect there is some kind of new species of dog running wild. Strange pictures of the animal have been bouncing around the web for weeks, and I even saw one on Talk Soup the other day. In fact, the animal has turned out to be... a fox. With some nasty skin. And in definite need of rogaine. And that monoxodil additive couldn't hurt either.

The mystery may be over as one of the creatures roaming through central Maryland was finally captured on Saturday. According to the veterinarians at Falls Road Animal Hospital, the animal was a male red fox.

"It is a skin parasite that looks -- under the microscope -- like spiders," said Dr. Herko. "One of the signs of the disease is hair loss and you've seen he's lost a good portion of its hair -- a good 70 percent."

Link to the update: Hyote Captured | Link to the Original Story

Nuero-magnificent

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-07-26T15:45-06:00

Check out this Article on Neuro-Control Research. OK so another big idea for an original business goes haywire. This time it was inventing some magical electronic device that works off of someone's brain waves. I was thinking, "Geez, it would be cool if people w/ prosthetic limbs could move them just as though they were real"--they could be controlled by their own brain waves somehow. Then I saw this article. Oh well, just another time my big idea comes up a little late in this world. And my fallback plan, making a TV Remote controlled by thought; yeah looks like someone came up w/ the basis for that in 2003. Article on Brain Control. At least I'm my ideas are only one year late instead of 20 years late like last time (remember Darin's Frustration at the Travelling Salesman Problem? Tyson?)

Forbes Reports: Darin is 2/3

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-07-23T13:34-06:00

Forbes Best Cities for Singles 2004

Denver-Boulder
Washington-Baltimore
Austin

Well hey, I've lived in 2 of those places for more than a year! Makes me feel pretty good I'd have to say. And I think I'd agree. I can't imagine you finding cooler and more attractive people in Norfolk or Pittsburgh that's for sure.

Bottlecap Tripod

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-07-22T15:30-06:00

Introducing the Invention category, a new listing of crazy whizmo's that mad scientists have put together to make life simpler, easier, and lighter to carry in a backpack.

The first invention I've spotted, is the Camera Tripod Bottlecap. Here someone's taken the time to detail step-by-step how to make one yourself--Making a homemade bottlecap tripod. It makes a lot of sense, and appeals to the traveller in me that never has room for something as cumbersome as a camera tripod. Don't worry Dustin I wouldn't trade the crooked picture of us in front of Centro Del Mundo for anything (we propped my camera up on a dirt mound w/ some rocks).

Source: boingboing.net

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Smack Opponent

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-07-21T15:05-06:00

OK Matt sent me this Japanese video clip today at work*, and I feel that it must be shared with the rest of the world. (or at least the people in my personal universe) If you don't understand the look on this guy's face, then you have never competed for shotgun in your life and need to do the opposite of 'grow up' as soon as possible.

*You will need Windows Media Player to watch this. I know, look at this: the guy with the mac posting windows movies, arrgh! It physically hurts me. ;)

Drunkard.com

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-07-19T10:48-06:00

Ok here's my site recommendation of the day. Drunkard.com You gotta laugh at these t-shirts. And also some of the essays. I'm a big fan of 'Why I Drink'--the first line was enough for me :) Why fight it, c'mon party people. Submit to the graceful will of alcohol.

Stay Tuned The downtown Austin loft is up and running. Right now it's just got furnature; but it's amazing and pictures will be up soon. Oh yeah there will be a sweet apartment-warming party so look out for that in a few weeks as well!

South Padre, Debauchery -- Pictures Here

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-07-13T08:31-06:00

Here ya go! Start Here, Relive the fun! Pay special attention to: Wet T-shirt contest, girl cage, henna tats, dogpile on the roof, and of course, my personal favorite memory from the trip--the blurry picture of Officer Woodward. Good ole Officer Woodward, what a nice guy. After he and 3 of his cohorts threatened us with public intoxication tickets; he called us a cab and waited for the cab to arrive. The only harm done was a few hundred mosquito bites and a well framed picture taken by the officer in charge himself. Good stuff.

Arboretum Cows

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-07-09T09:28-06:00

Haha only in Austin will you see marble cows grazing in a grass field. OK so it's more like a playground, but it's in the middle of the Arboretum and therefore hard to miss. Recommended activity: Amy's Ice Cream followed by Cow Wrangling. There aren't exactly Longhorns there, but it is definitely something strangely and uniqutely Keeping Austin Weird.

Photo from austin.citysearch.com

See Through Solid Walls!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-07-08T14:55-06:00

Wow, this is fricken sweet. Just mix 2 parts concrete, one part glass, and you get strong concrete that you can see through. Who woulda thought?

The Associated Press has an interesting article about the translucent concrete developed by Hungarian architect Aron Losonczi. During the mixing process, glass fibers are added to the traditional stone, cement, and water. This enables light to shine through the material. Several variations of the new material are on display as part of a National Building Museum exhibit called Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete. Judging from the Web site, it looks to be a stunning exhibit. Link (to AP article)

Source: boingboing.net

Night Vision and Munchies

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-07-07T15:02-06:00

One person's testimonial ought to be enough to sway some legislation...

An article in the Guardian about a recent scientific study that indicate marijuana consumption can improve night vision -- if you can keep your eyes open, that is. Their results backed up claims by the Observer columnist Sue Arnold, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa and is officially registered blind. She noticed several years ago that drawing on strong Jamaican skunk suddenly and temporarily enabled her to see things clearly. But Ms Arnold has since warned of side-effects that could impede night-time navigation. "Only trouble was," she said, "I couldn't stand up." Source: boingboing.net

Come to the Grotto with Me

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-07-06T11:40-06:00

Wow, so only about 30 miles away from Austin there's a pretty sweet place called the Hamilton Pool. After I returned from a superb 2 days [more to come on that] in South Padre, Deanna and I checked this out w/ my day off from the NI grind. There's this collapsed 'grotto' where a river flows down a 45 foot waterfall off the bedrock into this large (and green) pool of water. Usually you can swim in it and let the waterfall massage your back, but the bacteria was too high Monday for swimming. Behind the waterfall there's this large cave cutout of the bedrock where the rocks have collapsed and there's stalagtites and the water spray gives off some 'Natrual a/c'. There's also a mile or so of trails that hike along the river below the pool that runs out to the Pedernales River. Besides the frickin Texas heat, it's a great place to visit on a sunny afternoon! Oh yeah, and remember to bring a hot girl with you, that's essential :)

4th of July Festivities

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-07-01T10:53-06:00

If you're in Austin over Independence Day, think off all the possibilities for good times there are:

Sweet trip to South Padre Island
Floating/Canoeing on the Guadalupe/Town Lake
Partyin' on a Lake Travis boat
Watchin the fireworks from an undisclosed location
Getting your Texas license at the DMV
Check off this list of things to do in WalMart
You can always play Edward 40-Hands I suppose

Why aren't more of you Colorado folks visiting yet? That is the question I'm asking myself!

Sights Set on South Padre

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-06-29T11:14-06:00

3 days until the next vacation. Ah, now that's more like it. Ames rented a sweet beachside condo for the 9 of us; I can't wait. I just hope it gets sunny sometime soon--this rain would put a real damper on a few days at the beach. I would be forced to resort to driving into Mexico for my good times :) Wait, that sounds fun, hopefully I'll do that anyway. Side Note: I haven't really tested the 'vacation counter on the top of this page. I wonder if it will start counting down negatively; wow, what I will do to avoid thinking about work.

Last Night's Dream - I travelled to the Falkland Islands, where I met Peter Faulk of course. I promptly saved his life by catching him when he fell off a ladder. But I couldn't say thank you because I couldn't understand the quasi-european language spoken in 'Faulkland'. The dream ended w/ me getting kicked off a bus in between the two major cities of Faulkland for arguing with the bus driver. Wow, I must have been pretty relaxed last night to have a dream that creative...

One week later... -- Pictures Here

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-06-27T09:50-06:00

Man I am a thug. Straight up. But there's still something wrong with this picture. I'm not wearing a toga.

Week Recap: Downtown Fri: My film camera is busted because I sat it on the car roof while Chuck arranged an "ass grab for beer" trade with some girl in a parking lot. Lake Travis Sat: Kyon's party boat, look at this fun posted from Kyon's Boat Party Pics. Mid-week: First date with Deanna Marie (!) Fri: Garnass-palooza at Jason's house. And finally, pictures from Saturday night's Toga Party. You will see plenty of debauchery. Then again, debauchery is the norm for me I suppose. Deanna and Paula came along and helped me realize my dream of walking into a NI party with 2 girls--something that has been whispered about but never before accomplished. For those nosy and interested but not present parties: Deanna's the one smiling in the forground of most of these pics :)

Costa Rica Photos -- Pictures Here

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-06-20T17:32-06:00

Ok, you want 'em, you got 'em! There are 118 Pictures in 4 chunks, or you can wait until I see you next; and then you will get the hi-res pictures from my mac. But for those of you who I don't see all the time... Enjoy!

First Section
Second Section
Third Section
Fourth Section

FYI - About 2/3 of these pictures came out of my camera, and the other 1/3 from Tom and Laura.

BBQ and Movies

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-06-18T10:03-06:00

That about sums up my activity this week. I checked out 'The Chronicles of Riddick' and 'The Day After Tomorrow', both of which I liked. Mostly because the special effects were awesome in both movies. And believe it or not, I think the Vin Diesel movie had the better plotline of the two. Who woulda thought? And besides, it leads to all sorts of interesting questions like: "What would I do with a army of darkness?" Oh yeah finally made it out to Bone Daddy's BBQ this week also. Plenty of ditzy 16 year olds in tight clothes, hmmmm I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. (But it's not all together a bad feeling) Wow what a boring weblog entry compared to jungle adventures. I think my soul is dying, thank you office job.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-06-15T12:03-06:00

Wow, ok so the last night in San Jose (Costa Rica, not California) was spectacular. Tom and I were prepared to rage until dawn; and that is just what we did! We caught a cab over to San Pedro, the college district of San Jose, and visited 'La Calle'. It was swarming w/ college age ticos and ticas. After waiting 45 minutes in line at a club; we got in and got our drink on. From accross the room sat two amzaingly attractive blond girls that proceeded to stare at us flirtatiously. (put this in perspective; we saw 3 blonds in total the whole night) We managed not to talk to them; but when we saw them at another bar an hour later we did not make the same mistake twice. I was playing interpeter between the four of us; and managed to get them to drive us to 'El Pueblo'--the dance club area of town that does not close as far as we could tell. From then on, these beauties got us in 7-8 clubs with VIP treatment: no waiting in line or paying covers for us, we were with girls that every bouncer wanted in their clubs. We danced the night away, the perfect ending to an amazing trip to Costa Rica. But sadly, the taxi cab DID get us to the airport, and the plane home WAS on time. Crap. Oh well. Thanks for the memories Costa Rica!

Big City Blues

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-06-12T18:23-06:00

Ok, well the days of bus riding and 4x4ing are over! Tom and I just arrived at the costa rican backpacker's hostel in San Jose and we are catching our flight back home tomorrow afternoon. It's been quite a ride. Here's the scoop on La Fortuna. It's a perfect little tourist town. We went out to the hot springs which were amazing. The water was super hot and had a lot of force after falling down a waterfall--free massage. After that, we managed to rally and make it to the largest discotec in rural costa rica. It was crazy good times, Tom and I tried the salsa and Laura picked up a few ticos. Afterwards, we went out at 3am and watched the lava flow from the volcano. It was difficult because it was cloudy but we managed to see it! This morning, Laura went on a separate trip to Monteverde while Tom and I tried out Canyoneering--this morning I was rapelling down a waterfall in the jungle. :) Besides a few scrapes and bruises and a busted disposable camera, it was a complete success. Tonight we plan on hitting San Jose hard and 'raging' till dawn. Will be back on US soil next time I write. Unless something goes pleasantly arye...

Gilly versus the Volcano

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-06-11T15:21-06:00

Not a whole lot interesting has happened in the past 2 days, and the end of our trip is soon approaching. First, our plane flight out of Puerto Jiminez was canceled. So we decided to drive with Roy back to San Jose. By 'we driving' i mean 'Tom driving'. So we braved the 6 hour highway full of juecas (potholes) and slow trucks on steep and rainy mountain passes and lived to tell the tale. We got lost in San Jose driving around the downtown area, but we managed to drop the car off and get that taken care of. The drivers down here are frickin insane. 2 cars and a motorcycle in one lane at once, que loco. From there, we looked up our favorite cabby Sammy and he happily drove us up to La Fortuna, a small tourist city just beneath the Arenal Volcano. This morning we woke up and went white water rafting on a class 3-4 in which we were all dumped out of the raft briefly. good times :) We plan on finishing the trip with the 9 hot spring pools and lava-heated river tonight, a bit of 'canyoning' and waterfall hiking tomorrow, and a late cab/bus back to San Jose to then catch our Sunday flight. It's been tons of fun, just need more time :) (and more money, damn you Las Vegas...)

Tapir Hunt

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-06-09T20:12-06:00

ok heres what has happened in the past few days. Tom and i found roy, roy is a costa rican guy that does some freelance tours on the side. he talked us into this crazy plan (which we executed). We rent a 4-wheel drive mini suv, we drive it out to penninsula de osa. the drive was 6 hours over pothole hell. including another hour long 4 wheel trail to the parque nacional de corcavado. tom rocks and did all the driving. on the way, we stopped at a fishery that had alligators in the back yard, and we got to grab the tail of the alligator while it was eating a fish. if this sounds incoherent, it is because after we got to the park, we backpacked 48 kilometers in 2 days. we have seen all sorts of crazy animals, and lots of jungle. and lots of beach, and lots of bugs. i shall hereafter name the adventure: Tapir Hunt. lots of walking, and we camped at sirena inside the park. more to come on all the animals. on to the future--catching an early plane out of big city, costa rica (puerto jiminez) and flying to san jose. from there we are heading to la fortuna and hopefully will hit the hot springs. ok, im pleasantly exhausted, laters.

Costa Rica is Awesome!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-06-06T18:33-06:00

Ok not much time but here´s the lowdown: one part south beach in miami, one part smooth plane flight, one part awesome taxi ride from sammy, one part crazy beach party, one part surfing walls of death, and one part manuel antonio national park. tom is crazy and in sunburn denial. i have a yellowish bugbite on my arm i got in the jungle. we are travelling w/ a girl laura met that is from austin, though we are going separate ways tomorrow. oh yeah i saw a sloth and 30 howler monkeys jumping over our heads. uh what else... going to penninusala de osa tomorrow if we can find a bus or taxi. road is full of poisnous snakes. will buy a machete. having a blast!!!

Vegas Dreams --
Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-06-02T09:10-06:00

Come one come all, relive the experience of Las Vegas; Start the slide show fun here. Enjoy great mountains of glory, and great valleys of sorrow (i.e. 3x credit card cash advance). But when all is said and done, Vegas allows you to live a week's worth of vacation in a matter of days. ...sigh... Now, to collect my Costa Rica funds.

Gone to Vegas

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-28T11:08-06:00

Going to Vegas for the memorial day weekend! Coming from Austin is Kileen, Hexar, Scott, and I. Coming from Colorado is Shaun and Kee. Coming from Tenesssee is 5 people I don't know. Coming from Vegas is Molly. How can this plan fail? Be back w/ a report on Tuesday (and pictures from my Gold Limo).

Richapalooza -- Pictures Here

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-27T22:59-06:00

It's never too late to have your 21st birthday... Rich can have his 2 weeks before his 22nd birthday. OK, relive all the exciting moments of Richapalooza 2004. Here you can remember moments such as: Sitting by the Phalic Fountain ; Drunk Gnats ; Walking 6th on a Monday ; Rich Starting to Fade ; and of course Triumphantly Staring Down the Flaming Dr. Peppers. Rich, like a true champ managed to hold the contents of his stomach until he got home. Way to go! Of course he didn't wander into work the next day hungover as all hell; but we will forgive him that :)

Burnet Road-- Pictures Here

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-27T22:52-06:00

The long awaited pictures of the Burnet Road Pub Crawl are finally here! Months late, come and re-celebrate the memories of driving along Burnet Rd. Top hits include: La La's Little Nugget Where Christmas Never Ends; My Boss Flipping Me Off ; Dallas Nightclub Shot Girls ; Brian and Shelly ; What is Ramiro Doing with the Pool Cue in the Background of that 2nd to Last Picture ; and finally, Exchanging Hats with Random Denny's Patrons.

$5 in Every Mailbox

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-26T10:15-06:00

So I recently participated in one of those 'pyramid scheme' emails where you send $5 to some guy you don't know--and in a month you actually recieve $5 somehow. Apparently, some people took aversion to the whole thing since I just forwarded it out to a bunch of friends and family. It's just a little experiment I'm running; to see if my damn $5 gets back to me. I do honestly know someone who knows someone who made $1000 off this scheme. But I just want to see if really works (at all).

Here's the link to the mail I sent out if you are curious...Five-dollar Scheme

And remember, don't hate the player, hate the game :)

TV Taking Over...

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-25T09:31-06:00

I cannot stop watching The Sopranos. I knocked out the 1st season last week and I'm almost done w/ the 2nd season this week. God help me through this troubling time, because I can't stop. And now, tonight is the finale of 24! Holy crap I have no will power whatsoever. I'm just another TV couch potato with borderline alcholism I suppose. And a winning attitude of course. And witty sense of humor.

random thought: Guess what my superpower is: Self-Evaluation. I can tell you exactly what you want to know about my personality at any given moment mwhahaha. What a superpower...

Blast of Cool Wind from March

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-21T10:52-06:00

Who could forget this moment from the ski trip this past March?

Who is Rance?

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-20T12:00-06:00

OK, whats the word on this guy? This guy nicknamed 'Rance' is running a weblog and he is a self-proclaimed moviestar. Read through Rance's Weblog, it is kinda believable. But he will not say who he is in real life. So I pose the question: Who is Rance? Give me your guesses. According to boingboing.net the actor is Owen Wilson. I don't know but I'm curious if any of y'all 5 readers out there have a guess.

The Vegas Shuffle

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-19T16:28-06:00

Today at lunch I had the exhaustive pleasure of running in a 2 Mile race at work. Which I won. Ok so maybe I didn't win the race, but why start setting new precendents like that !?! It was called the Vegas Shuffle because we got a playing card at certain points in the race (only 2 cards) and then played blackjack w/ the 2 cards against a dealer at the finish line. You're right in assuming that the only reason I ran the race was to gamble for free. I can never resist a temptation like that. Anyway, I won a coaster. Woohoo. Hmmmm but the real question is can I double that into 2 coasters before the day's end?

Sunshine and Jet Ski'n

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-17T11:12-06:00

Alas, Laura must return tomorrow; but it has been a fantastic weekend of laying in the sun, hitting the hot tub, and sweet outdoor water fun. We were out kayaking on the Colorado on Saturday and then jet skiing on Town Lake on Sunday (courtesy of Laura's Uncle Les). Sadly, all must great things must come to an end; signified by Monday. But nonetheless, thanks for coming out Laura; hopefully I'll return the favor and visit Boston in the near future... Laters!

Here's a picture of me jet skiing. Oh my god that is corny what is my problem.

LabVIEW RT for OS X -- My Baby is All Growns Up

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-11T11:31-06:00

Whew. I'm glad that the 1800 miles of driving is over. I can still feel the suttle vibration of my vehicle now that I am back home in Austin. But hey, I did get the opportunity to tear through my spanish conversation CD's. That aside, I am now going to plug the piece of software I worked on at National Instruments--the package is called: LabVIEW Real-Time 7.1 (ETS) for Mac OS X. Nice long title! Notice the $1995 price tag, oh baby. If we sell a few sets of these they will have paid for me a few times over!

Chipmunks, Not Goin Down Like Punks

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-05T11:52-06:00

I'm sorry, but this is pretty damn funny. This movie depcits the 'other side' of the chipmunks lifestyle. I can't seem to figure out who made this movie. But it's hysterical.

www.yorku.ca/casa
/images/chipmunks.html

Bring on Central America!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-04T13:51-06:00

Oh yes, it's so on. The tickets have been purchased, and it looks like Tom, Laura, and I will be visiting Costa Rica the second week in June. Eight sweet days in spanish country (and one night in Miami). An immediate trip to the library was needed to pick up guide books and start the educational process. I'm looking forward to everything again and I already feel excited and out of the rut that one easily falls into working an office job. Plus, trying to harness the energy of the moment, I'm going to make the tough one month long push towards eating better and drinking less--in preparation for the beach of course haha. Don't worry Laura, I'll make a drinking-exception for the duration of your visit to Austin next week :) If anyone [I can tolerate and that accept not staying in 4-star hotels] wants to come along; the dates are Sat. June 5th - Sun. June 13th. Drop me a note, Jumphook Travel Agency is open for business.

¡Nosotros hablamos español por supuesto!

The Quickness of Smarty Jones

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-05-03T13:24-06:00

That is correct, Darin Gillis will not miss the Kentucky Derby. Smarty Jones got it done, and right behind him a very game run from Lionheart. These two horses helped secure a winning streak of sorts for me--I've had at least $5 on the Kentucky Derby's winning exacta the past two years in a row! Does that mean it's time to quit my job and become a handicapper? Hell yeah. Oh wait, I missed just about every other race I bet on over the weekend; so perhaps I'll keep my day job for now.

Update: Costa Rica looking like a very real possibility June 5th-June 13th...

The People's Politburo

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-04-29T11:41-06:00

I've started a new forum topic titled: The People's Poliburo. If you don't know what a poliburo is, click here. Hopefully, this will be a place we can post interesting political topics and get some lively debate--and it allows links and lots of replies unlike the comments functionality at the bottom of each blog entry.

On a patriotic note, you gotta like the women founding this webpage: http://takeoneforthecountry.org. Here's the synopsis: these women go to bars near army bases and 'take one for the team' by prostituting themselves out for soldiers getting ready to go to Iraq and fight. I cannot imagine a more worthwhile cause haha. (Source boingboing.net)

Spongemonkeys

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-04-28T15:29-06:00

If you haven't enjoyed/hated the absurd Quiznos Commercials by now, you've been living in a cave. Interestingly enough, I found the technical name of these beasts. Thanks to urbandictionary.com, these withered vermin are aptly named: spongemonkeys. What do you say, love them or hate them? Me, personally I flip the channel cause it makes me lose my appetite. In other words comment about this now before I bump it off the front page of my blog...

Politically Incorrect: Worst President Ever?

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-04-28T09:28-06:00

The following appeared in the Durham, North Carolina local paper as a letter to the editor and forwarded to me from Justin Tipton:

Liberals claim President Bush shouldn't have started this war. They complain about his prosecution of it. One liberal recently claimed Bush was the worst president in U.S. history. Let's clear up one point: We didn't start the war on terror. Try to remember, it was started by terrorists BEFORE 9/11. Let's look at the "worst" president and mismanagement claims.

FDR led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us: Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost, an average of 112,500 per year.
Truman finished that war and started one in Korea, North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost, an average of 18,333 per year.
John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us.
Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5,800 per year.
Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent, Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.

In the two years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Lybia, Iran and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people. We lost 600 soldiers. Bush did all this abroad while not allowing another terrorist attack at home. Worst president in history? Come on!

The Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking, but...It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51 day operation.

We've been looking for evidence of chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records.

It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Teddy Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick drowning a young woman in the back seat.

It took less time to take Iraq than it took to count the votes in Florida!!!!

JOIN THE DISCUSSION!

Family Meet Austin, Austin meet family

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-04-26T19:31-06:00

Been busy showing my folks around town and haven't had time to write! I'm proud of Mom she's been keeping her energy level high and staying busy on this trip. We've gone down to 6th street playing pool, went out to Katz's Deli, down to the Salt Lick, Z-Tejas, and Chuy's. Other than eating, they went on a trip to San Antonio while I was at work--visited the Alamo, boated the riverwalk, and went to some kind of nature preserve. All of this from a woman who hadn't left the state in several years (got out of the house literally once a month). WAY TO GO MOM!

Me? Besides being devastatingly entertaining and boozing with meals, I've been working all the time. Bluhhh. On the brightside, I did win a drawing at Chipotle and got 12 free burritos for me and my coworkers. Hey tough to beat that. And I scored a bunch of points and made the game-winning shot at my 3 on 3 game after work today. Buzzer beater jump hook. That's where the name for this website comes from you know--my mean jumphook :)

Wednesday at Dallas

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-04-22T18:07-06:00

Dallas Nightclub that is... Ramiro, Chunk, and Andrew and I were up to no good again at the 69 cent beer night. Goodness, and before an 8am workday on top of it. Oh well, managed to keep in control some, so that I could struggle through a long Thursday work day. We're having an internal technology conference called NITech--where all the R&D employees go from talk to presentation to presentation and so on. Luckily they supply us with beer and pizza and free t-shirts. This conference runs Thurs, Fri, and Sat. That's right, Saturday. I will join the ranks of people who have worked an office job on a Saturday (sigh). Oh well all good things must come to end sooner or later.

Current Books Listed in the Left Bar

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-04-20T10:49-06:00

I've just figured out the 'allconsuming' plugin that links books you are currently reading from allconsuming.net's database and displays them for you complete with Amazon.com links and such. It seems to work pretty well, I have it set to randomly show 4 books on my active book list at the moment. Here's a blurb about the book I just finished.

I've just finished this travel essay Avoiding Prison and Other Noble Vacation Goals, I'd recommend it to anyone (anyone who wants to dream about travelling to crazy and dangerous destinations and leaving daily routine behind). That being said, holy crap it makes me want to travel. I just got word that Tom's heading to South America in July. I'll have to think awfully hard about those vacation days I saved up...

Toothing, Etc.

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-04-20T08:02-06:00

Yet another way to get laid in this world--'Toothing' What will technology innovate next? For my own curiosity, if you're reading this and have ever 'bluejacked', 'dogged', or 'toothed'; leave a comment informing me quality & quantity... and your home phone number.

Gamblrific

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-04-19T09:32-06:00

Latest Church: Last night I managed to make it to a night service with the UT Episcopalians. The folks there were very friendly and answered many of my questions. I look forward to checking it out next week as well. Oh yeah, and they have great eats after the service is over. Wait, am I still in college? :)

Today's Hero: Ashely Revell is crazy. Crazy like a fox. Well done man, way to double up on your net worth. That's what Vegas is all about folks, the power to provide someone a bright future and the power to blow everything up in your face as well.

Link-of-the-day: Klingon Wedding link found courtesy of fellow blogger at the UCCU.

Weekend Recap

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-04-18T14:49-06:00

Real-Time drinking after work on friday got parlayed into a nap at my apartment; but I recovered enough to make it to Jack's board game night and held my own. The exciting part of the night was the multitude of phone calls I got--one in particular from Mrs. Molly Lloyd (my first crush in HS). I hadn't talked to her in around four years, so it was good to catch up and hear each other's voices again.

Saturday was great, got some errands run, went to the horse track (lost a quick 40), grilled fajitas and burgers at a local park, hacky-sacked, footballed and frisbied, followed up by a little hot-tub time. But that's not all, the Justin and Chuck and I kept the magic going by going downtown for a bit AND to a UT college party. Many beers and a couple episodes of Batman later, we all passed out at the bachelor pad after 4am.

Today, all I've achieved is breaking my laptop (dropped on floor, broke power adapter). But hey, it's sunny and sun-day and the nugz are playing tonight--what could be better?

Happy Friday

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-04-16T08:41-06:00

Sweet it is almost the weekend, my favorite time of the year. On the downside I just found out I have to work next Saturday while my folks are visiting.
National Instruments = Initech? I hope not!

Got some pictures back from my cousin Kim and her wonderful family. I'm so jealous--they just got back from Hawaii. I'm happy for you guys--16 days wow that sounds excellent right about now. Check out my little cousin Brittan, looking good on the surfboard! Well done, well done, well done :)

Good News

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-04-14T09:11-06:00

Nothing new has been posted recently, because I haven't taken many trips. But I've decided that in order to keep the 'public' readily informed and up to date on my constant stream of chatter--I'll try to post a journal entry now and then about whats new.

Good News from the doctor - Last but certainly not least, I've been hit with a couple of feel good stories over the past few days. For one, my mom (has been very sick for a number of years now) has been unable to get much diagnosed for her various ailments--which are too long to be listed on this page. But they have discovered that she has a rare disorder in which the body cannot absorb Vitamin B-12; This can be treated by taking shots of B-12 every week initially, and then once every three weeks. This means that she has a chance of feeling 50% better within a few weeks time. That's grrreat news--way to go mom! Good news on your birthday, what could be better?

Go Nuggets - Went to the Nugz vs. Spurs game last night at San Antonio with Justin after work. Good game, until they got blown out. But all that really matters is that the Nugs are in the playoffs and Carmello Anthony is rockin the cashbah.

Vive Espanol - I've been working on my language skills so that I will be able to travel to Monterrey, Mexico. It's only a six hour trip from here and I here it's just crazy amounts of fun! Been hanging out with those crazy Mexicans that work here at National Instruments with me. Some fun has been downtown for sure.

That's all for now, back to work for me. I hear that I will be getting a visit from a special girl back home soon; can't wait Laura! I'll say it again: You're the best!

Ski Trip! --- Pictures Here

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-03-23T20:16-06:00

Ah, nothing like spending a little bit of that hard-earned vacation :) The monumental mega-terrific ski trip has taken place, and I'm happy to say it was a complete success. Let's see what everyone else thought:

Marsha Huffman - "I had an amazing time"
Tom Lukas - "I love it when a plan comes together"
Phil Hindman - "Ass-pain [due to snowboarding]"

Many thanks to give out, first of all to sweet Miss Laura who put up with the Texans for a Thursday night in Boulder--and also for driving back up to Winter Park with everyone's favorite car-less character Dusty Trail. El vive en Boulder tambien. Thanks to Phil & Eric for teaching me the way of the mountain on my first day snowboarding. True, they had only one day of experience on me; but they did a great job teaching me (except for the whole intense pain bit). Of course thanks to the ringleader Tom for hooking us all up with the pimpin-est condo in all of Winter Park. And letting us hang out at his place next door :P

And of course nothing tops of a day of skiing like amazing food (bacon-wrapped scallops) and a few guiness. It was a 3-way birthday celebration every night up there. There's evidence in the kareoke pictures from Buckets, hell even Tom got up there and sang a few tunes (with a little help from his columbiana). Marsha and I tore up the mountain on skis Saturday, until she passed out at the bottom of Mary Jane of course (see picture for a laugh). Got myself a nice goggles tan from staying out in the sun without sunblock; proof to my boss that I did go on vacation.

At that point, the Texans went the way of the Alamo; while the rest of us regrouped with a hot tub and a few frenchmen. Luckily, Laura, Heather, and Dustin showed up to save us in the nick of time! After a few margs at the Taqueria; we wandered around Winter Park and closed a few bars before washing up at Tom's nightly after-bar celebration. I think the night ended with 3 people sleeping on the same pillow, scandalous! Woke up late, hit a few more bump runs, and returned to ole Estes Park for some family time before returning back to the National Instruments desk. It was great to see each and every one of you, and I can't wait until next time--enjoy the pics!

NCAA March Madness - The Pool is Back!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-03-14T19:40-06:00

Step right up, we have three days until all the action starts! Anyone that knows me is eligible to play. Anyone that knows anyone that knows me is also eligible to play. It's just a game, and this year I'm hoping to hang around for awhile.

Here's how it works:
<-- Click on the NCAA Pool link
<-- Create an account
<-- Fill out your bracket (you can always go back and make changes)
<-- Click on the Paypal Donate button and send $10 my way (or just pay me in person)

It's that simple! Updates will be posted as quickly as I can get them out there, and hopefully everything will go smoothly with this new web project of mine and no one will have any technical problems. If you do, just hit me at d@jumphook.com and we'll square it away.

The deadline to submit a bracket is March 18th at 10am. Other than that, good luck! You'll need it to beat me, the mastermind of college basketball--still looking for his first ncaa pool victory...

Jumphook.com Updated, Finally!

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-03-05T19:00-06:00

Give me some feedback on the new look of jumphook.com, just click on the 'Writebacks' link at the bottom of this note... Also now there are links at the top of the page for generating an RSS feed and to see all the stories I've posted. Also, at the bottom-left there's a BabelFish program that will translate my page into 8 different languages! It works pretty slick. The NCAA Pool doesn't have the right 'look & feel' yet, so stay tuned. Oh baby that NCAA pool is gonna be sweet!

Madri Gras Mayhem --- Pictures Here

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-02-22T21:56-06:00

NOTE: Adults only on this photo album, and don't send these photos to Girls Gone Wild or anything, for our sakes!

I'm not going to tell any stories here, I'm just gonna list a few things that might trigger some good memories--and help those of us that went save face:

Ames on the cop car
Coin in the eye
Stuck on the wrong side of the parade
The Search for Thompson
Ames on his knees
Triple-kiss with two hotties
Kissin' on the Vandy girls
Sleeping under the Rodeo
Chuck's lost cell phone
My extra cell phone
Crawfish and gator kabobs
Dragon master showcase
Beingets and raw oysters
Home-made beads are so money
Throwing away my shoes at NI
Lethal hand gernades
Chuck droppin' dueces every 20 min
Ames and I and two breasts
High fivin' and loaded cigs

Snow in Austin --- Pictures Here

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-02-15T21:56-06:00

Snow in Austin, Texas? You gotta be kiddin me. It was true, and though it wasn't anything spectacular to a Colorado stud like myself--for Sylvia from Mexico City, it was first time she saw snow. That goes for a lot of the Austinites around here, so the atmosphere was euphoric. Thompson, Sylvia, and myself did our best to take advantage of it by grabbing some Taco Cabana trays and hittin the 'slopes'. (a hill by Parmer & Metric) We sledded and got the snowball fight going. Good times. Oh yeah it was 4am, we were winding down after seeing the Dark Star Orchestra, a Grateful Dead cover band.

I still can't get over Sylvia's reaction to snow, she literally got down on all fours and crawled in it at Taco C's... What a sweetheart :)

Camping at The Rock --- Pictures Here

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-02-09T15:47-06:00

Welp, back to back eventful sweet weekends! Chuck and Dubya and I trooped a few hours west of the ATX for a camping trip in the great outdoors. I got to try out my new tent (which is so money by the way), and spent much of our time scrambling about the awesome rocks around the Enchanted Rock Natural Area. We showed up there Saturday afternoon after a quick stop into the Fredricksburg Brewery to sample our favorite local microbrew. Upon arriving, we met up with the other people we were camping with--several other working at NI. These guys were prepared man, had full grills for the campfire and tons and tons of meat for the campfire. The fajitas were Deeeelicious.

The first hike we went on (off the trail, of course) went straight up the side of one of the smaller nearby rock areas--and did some sweet scrambling there. We crossed over the rock and walked on a flat, moonlike surface that reached up into the horizon. Crossed over that and down, then climbed the main rock; took in the view, and back down the other side. Got some sweet pictures due to Chuck eating his magic cookie, and Scott playin spiderman on some sweet climbs. After repeating another couple times on different hills, we returned back ready for sweet sweet cheap beer.

I pussed out, and was the first to hit the tent. I missed out on the fellas in my camp finishing off a giant 40 oz whiskey bottle, having a run in with the park ranger and nearly getting us kick off the campsite. But luckily i slept soundly and missed all the details. The next morning after graciously accepting some breakfast fajitas, I finished off my latest book (Siddhartha, borrowed from Ames) and packed up the campsite. We took another hike, this time in search of caves and better climbing opportunities. Caves we found, dropping down 20-30 feet into these akward holes between rocks. It was good fun, except Paul took a cut under the eye from some rock that crumbled from Chuck climbing in front of him. Nothing wrong with a few battle scars though. We climbed up the difficult side of Enchanted Rock and then found the main cave we had heard about--but were a few flashlights short to go down the 1/8 of a mile into the Abyss. Next time though, we're hittin that up for sure.

Other than that, we had some most satisfying grub ("Fredricksburgers") back at the brewery and a few glasses of our favorite beers (Honey Cream Ale was the popular choice). Chuck drove us home and that as they say, was that.}

Frugal Superbowlers --- Pictures Here

Darin Wayne Gillis — 2004-02-02T20:26-06:00

How better to start my first weblog entry than to recount the story of last weekend! Scotty Dub, Ames and I trooped off in my Isuzu to Houston, to partake in the craziness going on with the hoardes of people crowded into the downtown area. Thanks a bunch to Kim and Samantha and Whitney and Co for letting us watch the game and guide us around and all.

We started off downtown, where we were surrounded by nearly 250,000 crazy football fans (and indifferent folks. After several times getting separated from our group, we 3 Austinites finally just set up shop on the top of an electric box and spent the time high-fivin just about everyone. Then we almost got trampled by a stampede like event when some fool had a gun in the crowd and scared an entire throng of people to start running the other direction. After recovering and regrouping, we still had the coordination for a human pyramid with help from some random folks.

Then we went camping--urban camping. We found a square of grass behind the Shriner's building in a nearby neighborhood, and set up the tent. After 4 hours of godawful sleep thanks to the banner-planes flying overhead we got up to start our tailgating the next day.

We set up a slackline between two poles, and started up the ole trusty campstove for some hobo-hippy good times. We ate dogs off of a sewer drain, played frisbee in a pretty nasty drainaige ditch area, and met the marijuana cheerleader squad. Otherwords, just a great time. And after retreating back to Kim's and watching the big game with 9 girls, well, I'd have to declare the weekend a success :)