JOURNAL
06.16.01
Neale is out boating. Not on our boat (yeah right) but with friends from work. Nice day for it.
My class is going well. I have some grading to do today.
The Mets are playing the Yankees at 1PM. Hopefully, we can win the next two against them. The chances of returning to the WS maybe gone for the Mets this year but beating the Yankees always feels great.
I have started the process of studying for my comprehensive exams. I am doing about 3 hours a night on average so far. I feel good about the schedule I have given myself to stick too. I will keep it up until October.
First year anniversary of 'chrisandneale.net' is coming up this Thursday.
06.15.01
Mets lose a close one. Good game though.
06.14.01
Today's new word:
sageual - strange but cool
ex. that shirt is so sageual.
06.13.01
He is a hard man who is only just, and a sad one who is only wise.--Voltaire
06.12.01
Class was great!
No doubt Jack the Ripper excused himself on the grounds that it was human nature.--A.A. Milne
06.11.01
Typical first day teaching, alittle nervous and out of balance with the lecture. Speaking infront of people is an art, so it takes sometime to get the stroke back.
Coming soon from Blicero Press: Zen and the Art of Taking Comp. Exams by Chris S.
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.--Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
06.10.01
1985: Coca Cola announces they'd bring back their 99-year-old formula
06.09.01
Famous remarks are very seldom quoted correctly.--- Simeon Strunsky
06.08.01
Social Weapons
Band: Orgy
Album: Candyass
Social, weapons that miss, pretend them to save Cowards, bastards to shame, condemned social slaves Here to save the freaks again you think and I bet you always will
Here to save the freaks again you think here, here to save the freaks Here to save the freaks again you think here, here to save the freaks
Snakes, causing the fate, sadistic and free, so free Traders, defendants behave, lieges stay away, from me Saints keep knocking, go home, don't sell me Mary, no no Making the crazies well inside you think and I bet you always will
Calling us no good you are the social enemies We change the people day to day Making us no good you are the social enemies Changing the people day to day
Agitators, talking the show, messing with heads, to be the number one Smashers, battling the HIV's proud of yourselves aren't you Making the crazies well inside you think and I bet you always will
Calling us no good you are the social enemies We change the people day to day Making us no good you are the social enemies Changing the people day to day Calling us no good you are the social enemies We change the people day to day Making us no good you are the social enemies Changing the people day to day
Why must we play, so bitter me, I'm suffering now, the nowhere me Stop trying to say, you fell into this place, so tragic you found the nowhere me
Here to save the freaks again you think here, here to save the freaks, nowhere me Here to save the freaks again you think here, here to save the freaks, nowhere me Here to save the freaks again you think here, here to save the freaks, nowhere me
Here to save the freaks again you think here, here to save the freaks Here to save the freaks again you think here, here to save the freaks Here to save the freaks again you think here, here to save the freaks Here to save the freaks again you think here, here to save the freaks
06.07.01
Double post!
from a past chat in reference to cooking, Alton Brown: Yes - it's only food. What I mean by that is that it's not anything to be afraid of. The more you understand what you can do with it, the more you will be able to do with it. Don't be afraid to play with it, and don't be afraid to fail. Every good cook I know screws something up! Taste your food, feel your food, think about your food, and then go cook.
06.07.01
A few recommended freeware programs you should check out: Cacheman, Iview, and Cpu-Z. These are small, free programs that provide a small but helpful service to your PC. Computing should be fun.
06.06.01
Chris and faux-Reese are alone...Neale is in Sandusky...in the name it was missing.
06.05.01
Mets win!
The Screensavers is a great show. Check it out..at www.techtv.com
The site anniversary (under www.chrisandneale.net reign) is June 22nd, enjoy the green new that is video represent.
Near that date, this journal will be stored and a new one started.
06.04.01
The tollway is nice.
We have "discovered" a new pizza place called "A Slice Above", very good pie.
06.03.01
My brother graduated from Columbia and it was great. We had fun and enjoyed the moment. We also met Cassie's parents and they are neat.
06.02.01
We had fun seeing friends.
06.01.01
National AIDS Day..Take a moment to remeber.
05.31.01
Why do we travel?
05.30.01
In these short years, we have come a long way.
05.29.01
Our New York trip went great. Yes, alot of commuting (Cleveland to BWI to Islip to Long Island Railroad to 7 train to lovely Queens) but worth the time to do so. We stayed in lovely downtown Queens at the Sheraton East which according to the hotel guide was 1/4 of a mile from Shea. More like a highway, a river, and a junkyard away from Shea. We quickly figured out the New York subway system and chose to ride the subway to Shea and downtown NYC. On our first day, we visited Times Square and Central Park. Next day was the Natural History Musuem and our first official trip to Shea. On Thursday, we stopped at the Shea Stadium sub stop to see a half inning of a game for the platform and then got back on the train. But of Friday, we saw our first game from inside the park. Great game but rainy. Neale was able to manage 10 innings of rainy drizzle and survive our first trip to Shea. The Mets won in extra innings on a Timo drive to right. Reed pitched a good game and the bullpen was excellent. On Saturday, the weather was better but Rusch was off his game and the Mets gave the Marlins 18 hits, which isn't good when the Mets only had seven or so. But, we won tickets to Orlando and appeared on the Mets bigscreen as winners...more on that later. On Saturday we went to Vincent's for our first anniversary dinner and it went well. Overall, a great time.
Next week, Chicago.
05.28.01
Fresh out of batteries but still makin' noise.
05.27.01
One year of marriage...that is a special thing.
05.20.01
Neale is on vacation! Much relaxing...
We leave for NYC on Thursday!
Won't you come home, Mr. Joe Castinolas?
05.19.01
Woodchucks.
05.16.01
"The Daily Show" is on vacation the week we are visiting NYC. What else is there?
05.15.01
I have finished my coursework!
05.14.01
You can plan a pretty picnic but can't predict the weather.
05.13.01
When will I know the answers, of course I was willing to pay. I have a box full of your toys, the workers are going home. Just like the movies, we play out the last scene. Its summer, I can taste the rain.
I walk past/with a bunch of carpenters everyday (they are building the new parking garage near my lot), how does my labor relate to theirs? Can it compare? Should it?
05.13.01
In the name...it was sweet.
05.13.01
The state of 'modern' sociology.
Did Mills, Marx, Weber, or Becker use SPSS?
05.12.01
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms checking in.
05.10.01
I am done with my final class. I have a few days off before starting the summer work.
Neale is working on cases.
During our New York trip, we may get to see a taping of Comedy Central's "Daily Show" with Jon Stewart...we are waiting for word on tixs.
05.02.01
What are you doing for Cinco de Mayo? Hmmm....
Nice and warm here. Like 84 with a nice breeze. Very nice. I read over at CNN that the US has the most violent weather (number of T-Storms, tornados, etc) which made me I never really thought about our weather in relation to other countries. Do they have tornados in England? How about Paraguay?
05.01.01
The Journal will be archived as of 06.21.01. Enjoy the past posts of the journal forever.
04.30.01
...And now a brief passage from my forthcoming manifesto....
The Social Ramifications of Woodchucks Chucking Wood
Since the dawn of time man has wondered, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood? The purpose of this research is to determine first; if a woodchuck can chuck wood, second; if it can, how much; third; if it cannot, how much would it theoretically be able to chuck if it could and fourth; what are the social ramifications of chucking wood. However, I feel the social ramifications are the most important.
The woodchuck is burrowing rodent native to North America. It is also known as a whistle pig or a groundhog but woodchuck is preferred. The term woodchuck is probably a folk etymology from the algonquin word for the wood chuck. They are known as whistle pigs due to the whistling sound that the animal makes. They are a grayish-brown color.
The main problem which had to be overcome before conclusions could be made was to determine the meaning of the word chuck. According to Webster's ninth Collegiate dictionary, chuck can mean to toss, however, nowhere were any woodchucks seen tossing wood. Since I didn't like this result I ignored it and found that it is far more likely that the correct meaning of the word chuck in this context is to have done with.
The woodchucks were watched in the wild for two months. The person watching the woodchucks dressed as a large woodchuck and wore woodchuck scent in order to not disturb the woodchucks. The original scent used was that of a woodchuck in heat, this did not have the desired effect and its use was discontinued. Observations were written in a field book every 17 minutes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It was later learned that woodchucks were very active at night. This reported nocturnal behavior is probably not important to the results anyway, but it was necessary to mention. It should probably also be mentioned that one of the grad students who worked as an observer was a cultural studies major and could not differentiate between a woodchuck and some breeds of dogs. This should not greatly affect the results.
Woodchucks were seen many times chucking wood, that is ignoring the wood as if they were "done with" it. For simplicity the term "lignin avoidance" will be used in this paper to denote the chucking behavior. Many times, when presented with the choice between a clear path through a field and one through a nearby forest which was merely 100 yards away, the woodchucks would almost always choose the wood- free field, clearly displaying lignin avoidance. In order to test this further, the mouth of the woodchuck's burrow was surrounded on three sides with tree logs. The woodchuck again displayed lignin avoidance when choosing a path to its burrow. Only occasionally were woodchucks observed chasing small sticks of wood and barking as they picked them up and returned to a person usually egging them on with commands such as "good dog." It is still unknown how the woodchucks developed this behavioral pattern of lignin nonavoidance.
The ability of a woodchuck to chuck, exhibit lignin avoidance, being proven, the question of how much was then addressed. It was calculated that a typical woodchuck could actually chuck the majority of the wood in the world. Even young woodchucks which could not walk yet were easily able to chuck all of the wood in Asia and South America.
The social ramifications of lignin avoidance in woodchucks are relatively minor, since woodchucks are not particularly social animals. It was found that woodchucks that did not chuck wood were far more lonely than other woodchucks because they were 10% less likely to meet a woodchuck of the opposite sex near wood than if they were near the discarded and scented woodchuck suit. Wood was also found to introduce stress into woodchuck environments. If a large wooden stick was waved at an unsuspecting groundhog, its heart rate would increase, as well as it's oxygen intake. Only once was lignin avoidance seen to generate a violent response from another woodchuck. A large woodchuck chased another woodchuck who had been chucking wood back to its burrow barking and snarling. It stood over the burrow opening barking and wagging its tail until a person came and shot the woodchuck that had been chucking. Another strange example of the strange symbiotic relationship of man and woodchuck.
There is no longer a question about whether or not woodchucks chuck wood, or how much wood they can chuck, it is the basic rule which woodchuck society and life is based on.
Exactly.
04.29.01
The Chauffeur by Duran Duran
04.28.01
Never coming back down.
Uncall for.
04.27.01
I feel betrayed...stuck in your ways...you can't feel my anger..you can't feel my pain.
What you say?
04.26.01
Answers by Deftones
04.25.01
The Pixies released a B-sides album. Check it out or track down those MP3's.
04.24.01
80 yesterday...46 today. Greeeaaat!
Neale and I will be going to a Tribe game on Wednesday (Indians v. Angels).
04.19.01
Zyrtec is great....no more hives!
Well, we had snow last Tuesday. Yes, it is April and we had snow. What?
04.17.01
Whoa! We have been busy. Neale passed one of her biggest challenges last week by properly help run a very large election. It was a high stress situation for about 5 days and she did great.
I have had two presentations at conferences in the last two weeks and they went great. I don't have to present again until August.
I am teaching this summer at Akron (again) and have started to look for a fall teaching position. There are many schools in the area so I should be able to get in somewhere. More news about that soon.
After returning from Louisville, I have had an acute allergic reaction to something. Last Tuesday, we had to go to the ER and get some medication. I had alot of hives and some uncomfortable swelling. The meds have calmed the swelling but I still get an outbreak of hives at least daily. So, this isn't quite solved yet. I never had any previous allergies so this is all new to me. Luckily, we have really good health insurance and we should be able to clear this up soon.
I got to see the Louisville RiverBats (AAA-Reds) play the Columbus Clippers (AAA-Yanks) while in Louisville. Great park, almost as nice as AA-Akron Aeros.
No news about our dog, still waiting and will probably have to wait until our budget allows another expense such as a dog. Stay tuned.
04.10.01
All your base belong to us.
04.01.01
Hope you like the new colors on the main and intro pages. Let me know if they work for your browser.
I had a presentation at the Ohio Academy of Science meetings. It went well. I shared a session with a guy I went to high school with years ago. Wow. Small world.
Only a few weeks left in semester. My class is wrapping up. I will have a busy summer of teaching and preparing for my exams coming up.
Neale will be in Toledo this week. Big election for her.
03.29.01
Well, break is over. I got a few things done. Just a few weeks left in the semester.
I have presentation this weekend. It is being held at a local college. Should be a quick and productive morning.
Next weekend, I will be at the North Central Sociological Association meetings. I am running a session for the first time. It will go well because I am working with friends.
Neale has a big election coming up next week. Ask her about "suspension bar".
Competition has been updated. Enjoy.
03.21.01
I am on spring break. The small joys of working at a university. Well, it isn't all sun and fun. I have been typing and working on some small projects. I guess I should have gone to Daytona when I was an undergrad.
Neale and I watched the NY Knicks hand the Cavs their worst lose in team history (110 to 75). It was a great game.
Neale has a few elections this week. She has been busy.
03.18.01
Mega, our PC, is back. The problem was resolved after a few weeks of repair. The motherboard, modem, CPU, and 128 of RAM was replaced. So, I guess, the mobo was to blame.
The most important lesson from all this was to have back-ups of all your files and keep all the information you have on your programs. My hard drive was reformatted and I have to re-install everything. It wasn't a problem because I had all the back up information and everything re-installed in a few hours. I was also able to get rid of some of the garbage that collects on hard drives (like those useless program I downloaded and used once, no more of that). Overall, everything is back to normal and better.
This week is my spring break and since I have the PC back, I get to be productive. I have a few things to type.
Neale has some elections this week and I will seeing the Knicks vs. the Cavs on Tuesday.
Just 18 days until OPENING DAY OF MLB! Lets Go Mets!
03.15.01
More news on our PC situation shortly.
All your base are belong to us.
03.09.01
With St. Patrick's Day (or weekend this year) coming up, please visit the following site: COOL CHOICES
03.07.01
Whoa! I had to shovel yesterday. Quite alot of snow in just a few hours. The dish was actually bothered by the sbow until I dusted it off. Otherwise, it was fine.
Still no news on the coming of Riesling. We must wait.
Neale was alittle sick last night but that passed.
03.03.01
We are still looking for our dog. No new info today. The best time, for us, will probably be July but we are flexible.
Our computer, Mega, is still in the shop. It should just be a couple of days though.
03.01.01
Can you figure?
02.21.01
Has it been three years already? Yes, it has been three years of this web project and the site is getting better (IMO).
I originally started this web project to see how hard or easy it was to design and maintain a web page. I was studying professors that used the web in their teaching and thought I should have an idea of what they were doing. I guess, I am glad I don't study drug use or domestic violence. Well, HTML never hurt anyone, right?
So, I started the pages and there were alot of "amatuer" graphics and I will personally send a respectful thank you to anyone that can name the MIDI song that charmed the pages for awhile back in 1998. Nowadays, the pages are pretty slick.
Yes, three years and it has been fun. Neale and I keep in contact with alot of friends and family through the webpage and that is just a good thing. Happy three years!!
Once again, sorry for the lack of updates. Our home PC is ill and under repairs. Hopefully, it will be returned soon.
02.07.01
The Western Reserve Woodchuck Appreciation Celebration went very well. Hopefully, next year, the celebration will occur in Pennsylvania. Plans are being made to see the Groundhog Days events in person.
Although the dish is working great, we still have to have basic broadcast cable to get the local channels. Not a big deal but we are using the "rabbit ears" for a few weeks until the new hook-up comes. I guess the biggest viewing problem is.....no "Survivor" so feel free to email us recaps. My guess for the winner was already voted off last week.
The search for the dog, Reisling, continues....lesser known breed and their breeders are being searched for in the Ohio area. Sadly enough, there is a Pembroke Corgi in the mall right across from our home. But, we do not want to support local pet shops that most likely use "puppy mills". So, purchasing that dog would only send the message that the pet store needs to buy more Corgis and keep them in cages. We are not comfortable with that situation. In short, the search continues and we are still hoping for spring.
We saw "traffic" and enjoyed it. Well done. I feel it made its message without pushing its point and the three stories fit well. Del Toro and Cheadle had the best performances.
Our May vacation will be to lovely Queens, NY. Yes, the Mets v. Marlins series in late May is our plan. We are hoping to see two or three games and enjoy some of New York. More later.
Modem Problems: We have no home Interent/computer access at the moment. Our modem (software modem) seems to no want to communicate with the rest of the system. So, I had to drop it off at Gateway. Their turnaround is 28 days so we are using office computers for email, etc. Not a big deal but a change. Especially for me!
01.31.01
Only a few more days until the Western Reserve Woodchuck Appreciation Society First Annual celebration. Make a note.
I am having a modem problem. In short, my modem and computer are not speaking. The longer verison involves the possible effects of updating your SCSI drivers, the motherboard, a possible expansion card, and CMOS settings. Yes, a headache. I still email but no connection at home until Gateway solves my problem. I used "PC On Call" and they were fascinated by my problem. At least, it is a good one. Usually I have had no problem updating drivers so this is a mystery. More later on this situation.
Neale and I had a great time at Jason and Nicole's last friday. The food was really good.
It is rainy in the Cleveland/Akron area. Also, alittle warm for February.
Our search for a breeder continues, still no word.
01.14.01
We had Neale's celebration dinner last night at Circo. The dinner was to recognize Neale's graduation and new job. Circo is a nice resturant near the Cleveland warehouse district. Later, we went to SpyBar, which is a place we both like a few blocks away.
I have discovered a slight black-out problem with the Dish Network. I will be calling them to see how that gets solved. As it stands right now, some games on the FoxSports channels will be blacked out, which doesn't help a Mets fan living in Ohio. I believe there may be a "MLB Season Pass" package that can be purchased so I get to see all the baseball I want come April.
We made a trip to IKEA (located in Pittsburgh) to buy lamps for our new living room set. The furniture is from Seaman's, which is a chain of furniture stores in the area. The furniture arrives next week and we will post pictures. I will also update other home photos as we need to rearrange a few things with the new couches.
01.07.01
Happy New Year! I hope all is well with you.
We spent the holiday spending time together. "The Godfather" trilogy was on. "Godfather III" really misses the mark compared to "I" and "II".
Our dish from the Dish Network is installed. Plenty of movies for Neale and I am ready for baseball season. We have the FoxSports package so I get all the FoxSports channels from coast to coast. FoxSports NY airs, on average, 15 Mets games a month and when they go on the road, I can follow them with the other FoxSport channels.
I will have a better recount of how we got the dish after the photos are developed.
This is our last week of break and then it is back to work.
12.30.00
We are back from visiting friends and family. It was a great time and everything worked out well. The weather was nice so our flights were all smooth.
Harrison and Casey, our nephews, were fun to play with and they remember who we are nowadays.
We surprised my parents on Christmas Day with the help of Noel and Cassie. Thanks again for the ride Noel and Cassie.
We are spending the New Year's inside warm by the fire and making dinner for ourselves.
Our plans for satellite TV are still ongoing. They wanted the base built before they arrived so we had to reschedule our installation. After a couple of hours, I built the base and we should have our dish by next week. I will post some picture of the dish when we get it installed.
Neither of us are doing too much besides enjoying each others company. It is good to have sometime alone together.
Happy New Year!
12.13.00
We had winds clocked at 50 mph last night. We face W/SW so that means "its time to test the windows for drafts". Forecast tonight: alittle breezing and Chris buys more window plastic.
Did I mention it is winter break? I am working on a paper. Neale is finishing finals. On Thursday night, she is done. Send money. No, please. Yes, please do.
On a typical night, I look out my window and see two trucks exchanging goods in the parking lot across the street. If you get a slightly damaged VCR or stereo for Christmas from us, don't ask questions.
The competition (trivia) contest is on winter hiatus. Enjoy the break and thanks for playing.
12.05.00
Neale is in her last week of courses at CSU. Assignments and presentations are being completed, then finals, and she is done. Only two weeks left.
I am finishing my last week of teaching at UA this semester. The class was great.
Does anyone reading this have any experiences with "flame wars"? If you know what a flame war is, then I hope you share your experiences with me through email. If you don't know, a flame war is an exchange hostile of emails or posts on the web concerning a topic, a person, or someone'e actions. Messy stuff. Please email me if you have experience with flame wars.
12.4.00
The icy wind in Northern Ohio is worse than anything in Chicago, the so-called "Windy City".
Is the lack of free agent signings a preview of what is to come for MLB? Will the owners take a stand against paying a guy $120 million to play a position on a baseball diamond for a few years?
11.28.00
Our trip to Portland was great. We saw alot of the area (Mt. Hood to the Dalles to Tillamook) and liked what we saw. Powell's Books was really neat. It is a huge bookstore located in downtown Portland. Most of the area is veggie-friendly which works well for me. Portland was also rated number one among major US cities as a comfortable, affordable, and enjoyable place to live. There are job opportunities for us both in the area. In all, an informative and interesting trip.
Recount?
11.16.00
The change in the weather has caused me some stuffiness and congestion to say the least. My friendly neighborhood pharmacist gave me some meds to help cure the problem.
If this does not clear up, then please forward my wishes to Funeral Cast, may my funeral truly be virtual.
11.14.00
Well, still no clear winner of the election. America carries on despite the uncertainity of our national election. I guess, the election does provide information on 1) the ability of the nation to carry on despite the problems of vote counters in Florida and 2) a clear indication of how presidental politics is removed from daily life.
vote. It may count or it may not!
Thanksgiving is next week so Neale and I will be traveling to lovely Portland, OR. It should be a fun trip and we should get to see some interesting parts of Oregon. I have never been so it will be all new to me.
Neale is only a few weeks away from finishing at CSU. She will finish her work and cheerfully accept her position at the NLRB. Any bets on whether or not she returns to grad school?
11.8.00
Go Gore. I know that sounds like a cheer at a horror film festival but its not. Close race. Too close.
I voted yesterday. My beginning understanding of local politics helped me cast a few votes in favor of some bond and levy issues. I believe none of them passed.
I had a good birthday. Number 28.
11.2.00
New addition to the site: Current Headlines. Want to know what is in the Cleveland-Akron news while visiting our site? Check out the headlines provided by moreover.com at bottom of the main page. The headlines are updated as the news occurs so current headlines are readily available on our site everytime you visit.
11.1.00
Well, we didn't get any trick or treaters. Neale made attempt by knocking on the door and pleading "gimme some candy" but that only yield a bag of Skittles. Maybe next year.
We are getting closer to getting The Dish Network at our home. Having the system in an apartment building is not necessarily easy, you have to have a southwest face, a place to mount the dish, and the clearance from your landlord to actually mount it. However, the landlord doesn't really want you to have it and doesn't mention how other people have gotten the system installed. Why? Because they really don't know and have you ever heard anyone say "I want to grow up to be an assistant manager at housing complex". No, you haven't. Ok, that is another story.
So, after some calls to The Dish Network and some common sense, the best answer was a tripod. Well, it sounds simple but that took a few days of discussion to reach a simple conclusion. I am pursuing a tripod at Radio Shack soon.
If your wondering why someone would make the effort to get the Dish Network, it is because it is a better value and has more viewing choices than cable. Yes, cable is nice, cable is good, and cable is simple but are you getting your money's worth compared to The Dish Network packages, no, your not. There are more movie channels, sports, and variety channels with a dish for the same price as cable. Plus, I am a New York sports fan and I live in Browns/Indians/Cavs territory. Would you want to watch the Browns? I hope not.
By the way, TV is still a common denominator for all of us. The average American watches 7 hours a day. Plus, factor in the "TV screen" your looking at right now. It adds up doesn't it?
10.30.00
The Mets did not win. Old news. It was a good series. Very fun to watch. Next year?
Neale and I found a decent haunted house experience, "The Haunted School House" in Akron. Well done. Nice sets and they spent some money on the place. We are still looking for a good scare though.
Trick or treat? With a bowl of candy standing by, we had our first trick or treater of the season. We were so surprised we were not ready to answer the door and the kids moved on before we could answer. Oops. If you want to trick or treat at our place, we are the last house on the left. The porch light should be on.
In a desire to see a scary movie, Neale and I headed to Blockbuster. Does anyone remember when video stores were independent places own by "mom and pop"? Good times. Oh well, Blockbuster served their purpose. Our clerk, T.J., took our cash and we went home with "Children of the Corn", sorry, "Stephen King's Children of the Corn". It was not as scary as we remembered (of course) and we felt sorry for Linda Hamiliton.
My fireplace skills have developed and I no longer need three firestarting bricks and a Sunday paper to get a blaze going in the hearth. However, the fireplace does confuse the furnance so the back bedroom is not heated for awhile. It is a bit chilly.
My birthday is few days away. So, remember this: fav color: blue, size: XL, and keep the receipt. I will be waiting for the UPS person to deliver your gift.
10.25.00
Mets WIN! Great game.
Series is at 2 to 1.
10.23.00
The Mets are down two. Roger Clemens is a complete jerk. I was not familiar with the ability of a major league pitcher to throw splintered wood at another player and STAY in the game. What does the guy have to do to get ejected?
10.22.00
The Mets are down one. Good first game but the Yanks won. What was with the baserunning mistakes?
Neale and I are helping Nicole and Jason with some furniture on Sunday.
10.21.00
The Mets are in the Series. Although labeled the Subway Series, the two ballparks are only 8 miles apart. The Mets and the Yanks played a day/night doubleheader earlier this year and the teams traveled by bus to the Bronx in under 30 mins. for the night game. So, I don't think "home field" advantage has much to do with the games this year.
Neale and I gathered some of her co-workers and spouses to enjoy the "Haunted House and Cemetry" of North Ridgeville. Although not scary, it was mildly annoying. We learned that a haunted house connected to a carnival next to a bowling alley is probably not going to be that scary. However, I am sure the "carnies" could probably tell a few stories that really are scary involving the maintence of the rides and the sinister answer to the question "wanna go faster?".
Speaking of carnivals, "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is probably one of the movies that motivates my fear of carinvals and circuses. It really is a good movie and Jonathan Price plays the role of evil quite well. Worth your time, especially around this part of the year.
Neale's "Quest for a Coat" continues and probably will for a few more weeks. Everyone needs a hobby and Neale's is shopping. I learned that my patience for marathon shopping cannot match Neale's passion for a "good buy".
10.16.00
Team Sutcliff finished the Towpath 5K in 29 mins. and 3 seconds. Although that time shows the terrible effects of gravity and the hard luck of genes, it was an improvement over a previous time in October. Overall, Neale and I enjoyed it. We will do it again next year.
Comedy Central's "Strangers With Candy" comedy series has completed its run. Just three short seasons (30 shows) and plenty of laughs was all we got these past few years. It was a very funny show and expect Comedy Central to re-run the episodes for the next three years. I am looking forward to what the writers and performers of "SWC" have for me next.
GOOD NEWS: "The Ronnie Dobbs" movie is being completed. This is the first feature from Bob and David of "Mr. Show" fame. The plot is the story of Ronnie, who becomes famous after numerous appearances of "Cops", his rise to national fame, and his decline back into painful normality.
For those of you with the Independent Film Channel and a desire to want to know more about the horror film genre, check out "The American Nightmare". If you love or hate horror films for their excess or beauty, the documentary is worth your time. By the way, I am not talking about (or endorsing) "Prom Night Six" or "Friday the 13th Part IV" rather "Night of the Living Dead" and the films of David Cronenberg. These films have serious messages about our society and its discontents. Besides, what really scares you and why?
10.13.00
The Mets are playing the Cards in the NLCS. Of course, we are cheering on the Mets and hoping that they can wrap up a trip to the World Series this weekend.
There is an off chance that I may get tickets to Game 7 of the NLCS in St. Louis. Neale's mom, Debbie, was offered tickets for Game 1 so she may be offered tickets again and pass them on to me.
Neale and I with some friends from the NLRB are going to a "haunted" house this weekend. I haven't been since high school and for Neale it has been even longer. There are quite a few professional "spook" houses in the Cleveland area. Oh, smell the fear.
We had fun hanging out with Nicole and Jason last weekend. However, Neale and I were schooled on the finer points of Hearts playing. We will brush up our card playing skills before challenging Nicole and Jason to a rematch.
I am running the "Towpath" 5K this weekend. This is the last one of the season. Please cheer on Team Sutcliff.
I was offered an opportunity to teach at UA this spring. I will teaching "Intro" again at UA. Will there be another school for Chris to teach at?
10.04.00
The Halloween decorations are up at Sutcliff Manor. I will post a pic soon. I am adding another string of lights to help the scene. Neale and I will carve our pumpkins soon.
The competition is going really well. In the past few years, I have been holding the contests and the participation was steady among three or so people. This year, there are about eight people participating, which is great. So, it is going really well. Thanks everybody.
9.29.00
We have decided to decorate our place for Halloween. I will scouring the shops of Strongsville for pumpkin light and just plain pumpkins. This year may actually have kids knocking the door hoping for tricks and some tasty treats.
There is a party at Ben's place this evening. There will be grad students gathering, parlor games, and stories of days past from the senior members of the staff. Much rejoicing will be had by all. I believe. Maybe not. Who knows. I guess.
9.25.00
It got really cold here. Summer is really over. The rain kept us from participating in the annual walk for "The Cure". We woke up Sunday morning and the weather was really unpleasant for a walk. Oh well, next year. I still have the Towpath 5K coming up in a few weeks.
The Independent Film Channel is running a "scary movie" fest during the month of October. They started this last weekend and I got to enjoy "Heavenly Creatures" and "Braindead", which were both excellent films. "Heavenly Creatures" was Kate Winslet's first film (the actor from "Titanic") and she did well. Considering the depth and complexity of the plot, the film delivered quite nicely. I believe it was up for best screenplay back in 1993. "Braindead", also by the director of the previous film, was a well done movie, if you are into zombie mothers and their fascination with their son's lovers. Believe me, it is better than that brief description.
The last two episodes of "Strangers With Candy" air in the next few weeks. Will there be a season four?
9.19.00
At UA I have an office that I share with many other grad students. We have a blackboard and a listing of "You know your Sutcliff..." started last week. Here are the postings so far...
1. if your hit straight ball very much, curve ball, bats are afraid.
2. If your name does not appear on the fantasty football league page.
3. pissed about not getting the "dot.com" name before the other guy did.
4. all you want to do is rock.
5. if you're cooler than Ben.
6. if you're sun tan after being outside for two minutes
7. if you're keeping it real.
9.18.00
Travis was great. They will be taking some time off to work on new material so they won't be back until 2001. They did play some new songs and they were good. Remy Zero was also good. Check their website for more information about an original band.
I played in the Sociology Club's faculty v. students softball game and did well. Considering we play every 2 years, 4 for 4 with 2 runs, 5 rbis, and 2 2B is pretty good. Did I ever mention I would give up sociology to play rookie ball in the minors? Dare to dream.
Neale and I had fun hanging out with Nicole and Jason on Friday night. Nicole works with Neale at the NRLB.
9.12.00
Well, I ran the 5K and did alright. I am sore though. There is a race/walk for the "Cure" coming up soon that Neale and I will participate in together. I believe it is in October.
Travis is tommorrow. They should be great. We are expecting some new stuff. The opening band, Remy Zero, is also pretty good. I have heard one of their songs on "The Summitt" (local Akron public alternative radio).
Neale and I made a great four cheess sauce for our Sunday pasta dinner. It was very simple and easy to make. If you would like the recipe, please email or check out "Recipe.com" for more information.
9.5.00
"Taste of Cleveland" was okay. Most people go once and we did just that. You just have to ask yourself about how you feel about eating in a parking lot, sweating, and listening to a cover band perform its "Tribute to the Sound of 80s Metal". Think about that combination and add that most of the sweaty people there with you are drinking way too much, then you have acquired the true "Taste of Cleveland". Overall, it wasn't that bad but not that good.
I will be running (or at least, steadily jogging) in the Cleveland Clinic 5K this coming weekend. It seemed like a good idea after seeing an ad on TV and then visiting their webpage. I am guessing this a huge event so my chances of not being last are increased.
8.29.00
Back to work for both of us.
Well, summer is over. A brief recap for those of you asleep at the switch: Neale starts co-op at NLRB, Chris and Neale are married, then Chris and Neale go Hawaiian, Neale returns to NLRB, I teach a summer course at UA, several fun activites occur on weekends, Mom and Dad Sutcliff visit, the Ohio Amish ban all visitors from auctions, Chris and Neale risk their lives at a theme-park, and, finally, Neale gets hired full-time at the NLRB and I start teaching at UA.
Was that eventful or what?
Bring on the fall!
8.25.00
A REMINDER FROM YOUR WEBFIEND
Hello non-believers! There has been some rumors swirling around the email inboxes of my corner of the web that suggest I'm losing control of my webpages. Rumors that I've created a world of paranoid delusion for myself to live in, and in turn that I am slowly losing my grip on reality. Well chatterboxes, you can shut down your rumor mill mach schnell, because this talk is a bunch of rotten tofu!! As far as I'm concerned my world of paranoid delusion is reality and your reality is nothing but a tall tale told by a buffoon. So, in honor of my declaration of sanity, I will remind you of a few undeniable truths here at Chris and Neale Net that I think you just may have forgotten during your loss of faith.
TRUTH #1: I am watching. And my vision ranges miles farther than you can run. Don't test the system. It was tested long before there was anybody around. Not by me or anybody I know. But I have the paperwork. Oceans of it. Enough paperwork to choke a talking woodchuck. And don't tell me talking woodchucks don't exist. They do!
TRUTH #2: I will personally go twelve rounds with any person who feels like getting fresh mouthed on these webapges. And by any person I mean John Littlenutt of Yorkstown, Ohio. John I have audiotape of you talking quite a bit of trash sucka! And I quote "I'm so mad. I'd like to smash Chris' face into the desk." says Johnny. Well Johnny, bring it on! You know where I am. Bring it. Bring alot of it. I can't wait to show you my moves. My jab comes at you so quick you won't even have time to yell for mama. They'll carry you off on a carriage drawn by a herd of talking woodchucks that'll tell you, in gory detail, how badly I beat your ass the day before. I bet you don't think talking woodchucks exist. Wrong fool. They exist....I've seen em'. Bring it on!
TRUTH #3: There will be a comprehensive exam next Friday on talking woodchucks. I expect each and every one of you to research their life span, eating habits, and favorite conversation topics. Just talk to a few and it's an easy A. Talking woodchucks exist!! I'll see you all soon. Study diligently, I'm a stickler for detail.
Believe
8.24.00
Well, Neale is hired. Gone are days of making sandwiches or collecting tolls on Interstate 80 for ends, she is a full-time employee. Need an election? Call Neale.
Dave Mathews was great. The new material sounds really good.
Mom and Dad Sutcliff visited last weekend. Much fun. The Ohio Amish and Rock Hall provided a big picture of Northern Ohio and its interests.
Did you pick Rich to win "Survivor"? Well, you should have! He PLAYED the GAME.
8.16.00
Greetings. I am back from Washington, D.C. and this year's ASA conference. My presentation went well. I was able to meet a few people that work in my area of sociology. I was also able to see the job interview process on a first hand basis, which was informative.
Dave Mathews Band is coming up next Tuesday. Travis just annouced a show in Cleveland on Sept. 13th. It will be the third time we have seen Travis this year. They are a great band.
We went to the Cleveland Zoo last weekend. It was great. The wolf exhibit was well done. However, no woodchuck exhibit, which only hurts the zoo.
Does the competition page have a new post?
8.1.00
Yes, it is Chris once again. I promise Neale will make a journal entry soon.
Well, some members of the Chris and Neale Website community have moved away. Darren and Rene Hendrickson have moved to Illinois for the promise of a new job, some bottom land, and propane accessories. We got together with them last Saturday to see them off. Wendy and Geoff planned the event and it went well. Simply, good times...good times.
We all had fun hanging out in the Valley for one last time. We tend to play cards while we enjoy fermented beverage (ok, I just watch and enjoy beverage. I can't play cards). During a hand, Neale excused herself and in her absence was dealt a fixed hand. She was doing too well and she should know better than to trust the cutthroats at the table. When she returned, she wondered why she didn't do too well (in fact, terrible) on the next hand. So, hopefully she will read this and finally get an answer.
Ok, is this a community? Since I am a sociologist I could write a 50 page document with a list of references the length of your arm but I will spare you that argument. Let's just use that "community" term loosely (very loosely, like slippery and falling loosely).
My parents are visiting soon. We are open to visitors and have a guest room that rents for cheap.
Neale and I made quiche. It was great. Thanks to Steve and Joan for the recipe.
7.24.00
Well, it has been awhile since I did a journal update and there are some reasons. We moved, which created quite a bit of shuffling around. Everything is back to normal now. I even went to the gym after a short "vacation" from picking up weights to picking up boxes, furniture, etc.
With July almost over, August brings a few upcoming events into focus. Neale and I will be seeing Dave Mathews @ Blossom on the 22nd. Hopefully, a few more shows will come up soon.
Neale has about a month left at the NLRB. She is enjoying the work and wants to hear from them by the end of the year. She only had one more semester at CSU, then she is officially graduated.
I have the ASA conference in D.C. to look forward to. I have a short presentation to deliver.
The trivia page is coming close to launch. I am working out some problems with various browsers seeing the pages before I start that competition.
7.5.00
We had a fun and safe Fourth of July weekend (nothing like a day off from work in the middle of week).
We start making solid plans for the move this week. In case you wondering why we are moving, there are a few reasons. The first being: closer to Neale's work. The commute has been long for her.
Other good news about the new place: (1) it's nicer than the present nice location (2) we can have a dog (eventually) (3) washer and dryer included (4) gas (5) we can have Direct TV (6) close to Berea
Please send Neale peanuts. She will love the thought.
My summer goals are being accomplished. I have an upcoming presentation in D.C. in early August.
6.27.00
We recieved the wedding proofs in the mail today.
The move is official. We start moving on July 14th. I have begun to feel lower back pain already.
My class has reached the midway point and all is well.
Neale and I are going to a coworker's picnic for the Fourth of July. I guess we get to celebrate Sat., Sun., and Tues. due to the calendar.
6.22.00
I updated the main page and changed the selection of links.
The pictures are on the way. I have received some photos from friends and family that were at the wedding. I will post those shortly. Thanks for giving us the pics, Neale and I appreciate it.
Neale's election went well. She handled herself well in a difficult situation.
We should learn about our new place in Strongsville soon. Right now, we are moving on July 14th.
I launched the new web project, "Chris and Neale Website". The domain name looks very slick and will be much easier to remember than the original long (and confusing) address.
I edited my old files on Tripod and dumped a bunch of saved files that over stayed their welcome. Some of the files had been used and saved since I designed my first page.
I added a new verison of Nedstat to keep track of visitors and opened a new guestbook.
I am planning on adding an updated photo section soon.
Neale saw the page and liked what she saw. Hopefully, her section will become much more developed.
This is an odd situation to report. Neale has to get up at 2:45 AM. Yes, AM. She has an election to run this morning at 4AM and then go to work up in Cleveland. Is this what they mean by professional hours?
We are finalizing our move out of Akron. It has been great living in the Valley but we need to be closer to Cleveland.
Please email either one of us if your see something on another web page that you think is cool and would be a nice addition to ours.
Please check out the pages and email your responses, questions, or suggestions on cool sites I could add.
If you encounter any problems with the web site(s) please excuse me, yet another thing out of my immediate control. Tripod is good but they have their problems too.
The Chris and Neale Website project is two days old. Thank you all for visiting.
Putting Funk Back in Dysfunctional Web Pages Since February 22, 1998.
Copymine 1998.
All written materials are mine unless otherwise noted.
Thanks to all those kind programmers for the graphics and backgrounds.
LOVE YA!
