On Random Thoughts Part II: Holiday Edition 2009

In which we return to a previous concept, a ridiculous title is used as well as a record number of footnotes.

LED Christmas lights are a great idea; they don't get hot and consume less energy.  Unfortunately they look terrible compared to old school lights, only coming in strings of 60 lights (that's pretty short) and they are expensive.  Call me when you fix these problems.

Colleen¹ wants to hear my thoughts on the zombie apocalypse, I hit on that once but I can add to it.  Now I'm no expert, but I have seen some movies, played some games (video and board) and read some books on the subject of zombies.  Here are the three most important things to take care of.  1) Shelter, this is the most important piece.  You need to find a place that can be easily fortified, this means a limited number of low windows and a manageable amount of entry points (you will want more that one way in and out, but you need to know about them all).  2) Weapons, be smart about this.  A gun seems like a good idea, but it might be more trouble than it's worth, they are hard to keep clean, tough to use, and ammo might be difficult to find.  If you really want one I would suggest a shotgun, it's got a good blast radius and ammo should be easier to come by.  You will also want some sort of melee weapon, a bat, an axe, a hammer something you can swing.  Just know that they will break down over time, and the heavier they are the longer they will last but the slower you will be with them.  3) Supplies, you will need food and water to survive.  So searching for supplies will always require some bravery.  You may have to leave your shelter to head into infested areas, make sure you stick to places you are familiar with especially at first, and find a good balance of bring back enough stuff so you don't have to go out all the time but won't slow you down.  Canned foods will be your best friend.  Good luck out there.

My family and I went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra yesterday.  It was pretty crazy.  Imagine a combination of Christmas music, rock-opera, 80's hair, laser/light/fire display and a full orchestra.  I had a great time but it would have been a little better if they hadn't played their non-Christmas stuff for a 1/3 of the show.  It's two days before Christmas, play Christmas music.

Sarah² asked me to write about the use of Vince Guaraldi music in Arrested Development, some of you might remember that was a show on my list of Top Five shows.  The use of Guaraldi's jazzy Charlie Brown Christmas music was used throughout the episode titled "Good Grief" is an example of why this show is so classic.  The highlight for me comes from the fact that in the back ground you can catch a glimpse of a beagle sleeping on the top of a red dog house.


Carrie³ want me to talk about our mice.  We had mice in our house.  They are gross.  We have killed two of them to date.  I'm hoping that is the end of it, but I doubt it.  That's all I have to say on the subject.

Lauren⁴ asked two things, I'm picking one.  The origin of "Pop Goes the Weasel."  Did you know there are over ten versions of the stupid song, some with many, many verses.  The oldest dates back to 1855.  I don't know where it came from, but I think it may have been a song about visiting prostitutes⁵.  Check it out:

Up and down the City Road

In and out the Eagle

That's the way the money goes

Pop! goes the weasel⁶.

Cameron would like to know if cows fall over and if they do can they get themselves up.  They do tip over (either from being pushed or falling when stumbling on a hill).  Smaller cows, calves, and steer can right themselves, most full grown cows can't.  Cows that can't get themselves up often die due to exhaustion and stress.  (This answer brought to you by Yahoo answers).

I have always enjoyed eggnog.  Despite how terrible it is for you.  I can usually handle about 4 glasses throughout the Christmas season (Thanksgiving-Christmas day).  Growing up I remember my grandfather drinking it after Christmas dinner, he always added rum and nutmeg.  I prefer bourbon⁷ and a nutmeg/cinnamon mixture in my nog.

Story-time interlude courtesy of my friend Kevin⁸.  Kevin and I grew up down the street from one another so we would hang out at one another's houses all the time.  One summer afternoon we were playing around with Snap-Pops and we got the bright idea to through them at passing cars, which we found hilarious.  It was all fun and games until we threw a few at a car and once it passed the house we saw the driver slam on the breaks and whip the car around.  I yelled to Kevin, "Run!" and took off around the side of the house and dove behind a small bush.  When I looked back at the driveway I realized that Kevin was still standing there in the middle of the driveway.  By this time the driver had pulled up to the base of the driveway and was screaming at Kevin.  I saw Kevin glance down at his shoes then turn his head slightly point to where I was and said, "Josh is in the bushes."  We still give him a hard time about it when he makes it back to Indiana.

My top four Christmas movies are, in this order, A Christmas Story, Die Hard, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and Elf.  "Can't see the lines can you Russ?"

Whitney wants to know what video games would be the best/worst movies.  I would have said Silent Hill 2, but they tried that and it was a mess of studio meddling and wasted potential.  I think Metal Gear Solid, would have some cool potential if done right.  As for worst, Tetris.

"The Twelve Day's of Christmas" is a pretty ridiculous song.  My second favorite rendition of this song is by Straight No Chaser.  Here is a YouTube video of the song.  Please excuse the super-lame introduction.


Jon⁹ wants to know what my best/worst Christmas I ever got was.  I think my best gift was going with my dad to see Purdue play in 1998 Alamo Bowl against Kansas State.  State, ranked fourth in the nation, felt like they got snubbed by the BCS and ended up playing unranked Purdue.  Purdue jumped out to an early lead but Kansas State came back to take the lead 34-30 with just over a minute to go in the game.  But Purdue, led by freshman quarterback Drew Brees¹⁰ drove the field in just 54 seconds to score the game winning touchdown. It was spectacular.  I can't think of what the worst was.

Thank you to everyone who sent me topics to write about, it was a lot of fun.  I hope you all have an incredibly blessed Christmas and if you are traveling that you stay safe.  I've got to go watch Christmas Vacation with the family.

Merry Christmas!!
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¹ Delicious recipes found here: http://redwhiteandturkey.blogspot.com/
² I just started following Sarah, now you can too.  http://notwhollyinvain.blogspot.com/
³ Token Asian blog found here: http://thesaltyside.blogspot.com/
⁴ Warning don't go here unless you want to see super cute babies: http://majorscoop.blogspot.com/
⁵ I have no factual basis for this claim.
⁶ Come on, how is that not about visiting a prostitute?
⁷ Don't drink until you are 21 and even then please do so responsibly.
⁸ Kevin uses his blog responsibly to track his exercise routine, he is a much better person than I am. http://kevininc.com/
⁹ Jon has recently made a commitment to use footnotes more, a behavior I fully endorse. http://jonuebelhor.blogspot.com
¹⁰ You might have heard of him.

On Gaming and Charitying

In which we investigate an interest and introduce a great opportunity.


I am a member of the 'Nintendo Generation,' which according to one thing I read online constitutes those people "old enough to remember the Soviet Union¹ yet young enough to master the internet²."

Now I don't know if I fully agree with that definition but none the less I would say that I that is where I fall.  I remember the Christmas my sister and I got our NES, playing Mario while the cat batted at the screen, or jamming the Zapper right up to the screen when playing Duck Hunt.

Video games were a large part of my childhood and are an indelible part of my memories.  I love the fact that in Blades of Steal, if you get a fight the loser goes to the penalty box.  I learned that Japanese game cartridges are different from US ones when we tried to import Super Mario Bros. 3 when our friends were in Japan.  I remember my sixth grade class (the boys anyway) splitting down the middle civil war style and having the classic SNES v. Genesis argument, SNES all the way ps.  I know that if you plan on playing a Game Gear on the way from Indiana to Wisconsin and you don't have a car adaptor all six batteries will be dead with in an hour and a half.  I remember how stunned I was the first time I played Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation and how many hours my friends and I spent playing Golden Eye for the N64, helicopter pilot for life yo.  I know that on 9/9/99 the Dreamcast came out, and I think I have only seen two in my whole life.  I remember skipping class when I got the call that there was an extra PS2 for me on launch day (don't worry dad I just skipped billiards).  I still remember Jeremy and I watching Brian play Silent Hill 2 and being absolutely terrified the whole time.  I know that I have never enjoyed Halo and found the Timesplitters series much more fun.  Just last weekend I stay up until 2am playing Mario Bros. Wii with a bunch of my friends.

I don't play video games as much as I used to.  But I think it will always something that I do, it's a part of who I am and I look forward to when I have kids of my own and if they are into games I can share that experience with them³.

When I got to college I started following an online comic strip that focused on a lot of videogame humor.  Published three times a week the strips are accompanied by postings by the author and the artist.  Often they will cover various topics that come up.  Back in 2003 they came across an article in the Seattle paper (where they are based) that made the claim that videogames were training kids to be killers.  This was certainly not the first such article and Gabe and Tycho (the authors) were tired of all videogamers being painted with the brush of sociopath time-bombs that would do little for society as a whole.  So they decided to do something about it.

They contacted Amazon.com and Seattle Children's Hospital to create a charity called Child's Play.  They asked their readers to visit the wishlist and purchase items for the hospital to use with the kids there would be there over the holidays.  In the month that the charity ran they managed to raise $250,000.  That's incredible, they were totally blown away, as were most people that followed it.  Even the guy that wrote the original article responded.  Most people probably would have said, "Job well done," and walked away but they decided to try again the next year.

In 2004 they added four additional hospitals and raised $310,000.  2005 saw the addition of 7 hospitals in the US as well as in Canada and England, that year they almost double their amount to $605,000.  In 2006 hospitals from Egypt, Australia and four more from the US were added and over a million dollars was raised, $1,024,000.  In 2007 a hospital in Hawaii and New Zealand were added the total amount raised was $1,300,000 was raised.  Last year $1,430,000 was raised.  Those are huge numbers.

This year, with time still remaining, Child's Play has already raised $1,302,367.  That's over 6 million dollars in a 7 year period.  That is simply amazing.

So in this holiday season if you find yourself with a little extra spending money I urge you to think about giving to Child's Play (but really the important thing is for you to give so find something you are passionate about and give a little back).  Follow this link and you can click on one of the many hospitals they serve and find out what needs they have.  Anything you buy is tax deductible and will be shipped straight to the hospital.

God bless, and have a happy holiday!

Oh yeah, it's not too late to suggest a topic for my holiday edition of random thoughts.  I will be writing that blog next week so get them in soon.

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A⁴


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¹I totally would draw tank fights as a kid that were USA vs. USSR.  Dirty commies.
²I kicked the internets butt all the way up and down its tubes.
³Always play age appropriate games, don't be one of those parents that gets their 6 year old GTA.
⁴Thirty lives, booyah!