I'm bored, here's a survey ... read it

1. To whom did you last give the finger?
Probably someone while I was driving.

2. If you had 1,000 dollars what would you buy?
I'd buy a small piece my freedom from the tyranny and oppression of debt.

3. What was the last beverage you spilled on yourself?:
I spilled water all down my chest today at the gym.

4. Are you different now than you were 6 months ago?:
Well, I was single then and I'm single now. Just a little sadder now, for the moment.

5. Have you kissed a girl/boy in the last three days?
No.

6. What was the last photograph you took?:
It was a pint of beer and a Red Stripe bottle. Kinda like Randy's last picture.

7. Where were you last night around 9:30?:
In the office, at 9:30 I think it was the football box scores.

8. What do you think of guys that wear eyeliner?:
I mean, I have so much shit to worry about. I don't care.

9. How many hours did you last sleep?:
One and a half, it was a nap. Last night, it was just under three.

10. Who was the last person to whom you spoke on the phone for over an hour?
Because I'm part nerd, I actually pulled up my online phone statements to find the answer. It was Allison on May 25. It's been a while, huh?

11. George Clooney shows up at your door, what do you do ?
Ask him for some of that Ocean's money.

12. How was the last egg you ate prepared?:
Scrambled with cheese.

13. Where did you last wear sunglasses?
Outside to and from class, then in the car.

14. Ever worn your underwear backwards?:
Can't say that I have.

15. Who was the last person to smoke a cigarette in your presence?:
Brian and Chad at the bar last night.

16. Does it bother you when people put && before every sentence and ;; after?
I don't think I've ever actually seen that one.

17. What animal did you last pet or hold?:
I think it was Shelby, a friend's dog.

18. What was the last law you broke?:
I didn't wear my seatbelt on the way to the gym this morning.

19. What are you wearing?
My sad, dirty I'm-not-going-anywhere-today sweatpants.

20. What did you think of your last kiss?
I didn't know it would be the last one.

21. What was the last newspaper you read or skimmed?:
The TDR last night before I went to bed.

22. What was the last word written on your hand?:
FIVE19 ... it was a stamp.

23. What was the last hair product you used?:
gym shampoo.

24. What was the last text message you received???
"Coll ill call you later"

25. What was the last medication (Rx or OTC) you took?
Alcohol.

26. Who was the last person to make you really laugh?:
Tony Castleberry, on Friday, when I scared the hell outta him.

27. To what song did you last sing along?
"Bodies," by, I think, Drowning Pool.

28. What was the last musical instrument played in your presence?:
I don't remember the last time I heard live music. Sad, isn't it.

29. What was the last superstitious thing you did?:
I saw something flash across the sky ... I made a wish. Does that count?

30. What's the last good book you read?
Are We Rome?

There's a new player in the free music industry

A new Web site devoted to getting you, the consumer, free music launched today. Based out of New York, ad-supported spiralfrog.com seeks to supplant file-swapping P2P programs as the primary source for free music. There is one upside, at least, to the new Web site -- it's free and legal. Not that the illegality of P2P programs stopped anyone from downloading free media. SpriralFrog pays license fees to the record companies with a cut of the site's advertising revenue. The site also promised to be safer, as far as viruses, than P2P programs.

"We believe it will be a very powerful alternative to the pirate sites," said Joe Mohen, chairman and founder of New York-based SpiralFrog Inc. "With SpiralFrog you know what you're getting ... there's no threat of viruses, adware or spyware."

Too good to be true, right? If you're used to the file-use freedom you get from pirated media files, you will be limited in those liberties by SpiralFrog. The limitations include not being able to burn the files to a CD. The files are also copy protected, similar to the protection placed on files downloaded from the iTunes Store. The files can, however, be transfered to to many digital music players. Which brings forward the biggest drawback.

The songs cannot be used on Apple computers or the iPod -- the leading portable digital music player on the market. So, if you use a windows-based system and a non-iPod music player, there's a good chance you'll like what you find at spiralfrog.com.

Currently, the Web site offers more than 800,000 songs with plans to add more than 2 million over the next several months.

-- Parts of this post were contributed by Associated Press reports.

Hey, hey, hey . . . E C

Arrrrrrrrgh!!!

Some words are better than others

There are many ways to express what we're trying to say. While saying one way is correct and another is wrong might not be the way to go, one thing is for sure — some ways are better than others.

Take this ECU sign, for example. It's your typical towing enforced sign. At the bottom, to keep people from parking there are night and on the weekends, it reads, "24 hours daily." While this gets the point across — at no time should you park here, it's for permit No. 50 only — the sign should actually read, "At all times."

"At all times" is simply a better blanket statement, and I'll tell you why. The way the sign is currently written is perfect for every day of the year except one — the day daylight savings ends in the fall. That day technically has 25 hours. From midnight to 1 a.m. is the first, from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. is the second, again from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. is the third, that night from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. is the 24th (the last hour the sign says you cannot park there) and from 11 p.m. until the following midnight is the 25th hour. So, on Nov. 4, 2007, you may part in that spot from 11 p.m. until the last stroke of that hour without being towed, according to the sign.

Now, in reality, who cares? No one. I just thought it would be fun to point it out.

Early to bed, early to rise ... too early

My life is like that painting. If you click on it, you'll get a closer look. Notice the single lit window?

As you can probably tell from some of these whacked-out post times, my sleep schedule is basically non-existent. It seems I'm used to getting my sleep in two- or three-hour chunks. The only problem, those chunks don't last the hours I need to be awake. It's been going something like this: I'll finally get off to bed at 4 or 5 a.m. I'll have to wake up for class only a few hours later. I make it though class OK, but in that time between class and work, I'll hit another wall. It's so convenient to take another two-hour nap before work. After which, I'm fine and awake through my shift. When I get home from work -- anywhere from midnight until 2 a.m. -- I'm not tired again until, you guessed it, 4 or 5 a.m.

There are those rare nights, however, when I can get to bed early ... or at a more "acceptable" time. Tonight, believe it or not, was one of those nights. I got home from work rather early -- just before midnight -- and managed to hit the sack by 1. However, since I've been used to getting my sleep in small chunks, here I am at 4 a.m. wide awake.

Obviously, I realize it's my fault. If I could just forgo the nap for a few days in a row, I'd probably break the cycle, right? The only problem is that I can't really afford to be groggy at my job. I can't take a day and hide in a corner cubicle. It's not that my job is one of the more demanding on the planet. It's just that grogginess leads to mistakes. And when your mistakes get into print, it's not good. Anyway, my sleep habit is but one thing I really need to change about my life. There are a few others (and some I've already started).

We'll go with the lucky seven:
1. Drink more water, less soda (I'm drinking water right now, actually).
2. Get to the gym more. I have free afternoons (when I'm not napping), so I have no excuse.
3. Eat less crap (today, I had a nutri-grain bar, apple, McAllister's sandwich ... and pizza).
4. Read more (I'm taking classes, so that's taking care of itself).
5. Write more (and I'm not talking about work/class writing).
6. Spend less $$ (that's a tough one, I eat out too much).
7. Buy more groceries, take own food to work (see above).

Yes, advertisements work (sort of)

If you weren't already excited football season is here ...

If you watched any football this weekend -- and the NFL weekend is from Thursday-Monday -- you probably saw this ad several times. It's an ad by Nike, which is known for ground-breaking advertising (didn't we all want to "be like Mike?"). While most commercials are lame -- example, anything from Suddenlink -- there are a few that stand out from the rest. I first started really noticing commercials the day the 49ers trounced the Chargers in the Super Bowl. If you'll remember, the Budweiser frogs debuted that year. Boy, that ad sure worked. Did I start drinking Budweiser? No. I hate the stuff. There's something in it, I think, that worsens hangovers! But, it worked in that here I am 13 years later talking about that ad. The same for some of the better Pepsi ads. I don't specifically buy Pepsi products; I buy, honestly, whatever's cheaper on the soda isle. Very rarely, actually, are my purchasing choices affected by by advertising. However, it changes other things ... things perhaps more important to those companies. Here I am talking about Budweiser, Pepsi and Nike. They're companies I think about, even though I don't drink or wear their products (I wear Adidas shoes). So, in terms of that, the commercials work. What do I get out of this specific Nike ad? Um, It rocks ... and gets me jacked up for football season and/or any physical activity in my near future. The song -- from The Last of the Mohicans -- might even make it into my workout mix. Hell, I might even watch the movie again in the next week or two.

And again

More crazy man!

Live, from ECU . . .

Crazy man on campus!

Ah, memories

Hehehe! This is still funny as hell . . . Switty trapped in da puter!!!

From ecu . . .

Jim says hi!

Friday night update from mobile phone

Gotta love football Fridays. I'm out at Farmville Central tonight. I picked this team to lose. Here's hoping I make it out safely!

Buchanan calls for Ankiel's suspension

Ray Buchanan, a guy who got himself suspended from the NFL for four games in 2002 thanks to a positive steroids test, now wants Rick Ankiel to be suspended for the rest of the MLB season.

What an idiot.

For those of you who don't know, a report in the New York Daily News stated that Ankiel received a year's worth of HGH (Human Growth Hormone) in 2004. Today, that would damn a player to at least a few weeks of tough questions if not a few games on the bench. The only difference here, MLB didn't ban HGH until 2005. Ankiel first made headlines this season by making a triumphant comeback for the St. Louis Cardinals as an outfielder (he was previously a pitcher). Ankiel has hit nine home runs in 23 games since returning. Just a note: That's a pace that'd put him at about 63 throughout an entire 162-game season. Obviously, the Daily News' report sparked debate about what MLB commish Bud Selig should do about the "Ankiel Situation."

On EPSN's First Take, formerly Cold Pizza, the pundits took to the debate during the first-and-10 segment. This is where Buchanan showed what a buffoon he is. He said Ankiel should be suspended for the rest of the MLB season. This is the same Buchanan who said Michael Vick is "guilty by association" and is "really a good kid" on ESPN Radio. OK, Ray-Ray, let me get this straight. Vick is guilty by association and a good kid, but Ankiel should be suspended for doing something that was not against any MLB rule. Suspending Ankiel based on this evidence is equivalent to arresting someone in 1925 for having a scotch in 1915 (note: U.S. prohibition of alcohol ran from 1920-33).

If Ankiel is currently taking HGH, sure ... suspend him. But HGH being delivered to his home in 2004 doesn't even prove that he took it back then, much less has done anything this season to deserve a suspension.

From the mobile

Is this monster necessary in greenville? Eh, this was just an excuse to use my new mobile blogging tools.

Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be punks

So I was at the gym today wearing what has become my typical gym attire -- even in the summer. You see, Greenville is changing. With the third free-standing Starbucks (to go with at least three more inside other stores) opening soon, g-vegas is becoming a town filled with wanna-be yuppies. It seems to be like Greenville wants to be the next Raleigh and/or Cary so badly. What was once a gritty college town filled with students, recent grads (more than happy to drive their beat-up Honda) and plenty of live music and mom-and-pop restaurants has become a town filled with over-extended spend-frees driving BMWs buying Starbucks three times a day and going to the same eateries in every other down in America (Olive Garden, O'Charlies, Chilis, etc...). The changes have even trickled down to local gyms. In at least three local gyms, the free weights are being whittled away for machines, cardio equipment and juice bars. While there are still a few people in there just to work out, more and more there are those who are in there for some other purpose. I can't figure out what it is. The guys with the gel in their hair and not a drop of sweat. The ladies with the jewelry and makeup. Men who insist on working out in front of an on-high fan. Which brings me to my gym attire (a roundabout way to explain it, I know.) I don't like to work out in a constant cool breeze, sorry. I want to keep warmed up and I want to sweat. So, I work out in a sweatshirt and a hoodie. Today, I was doing arms, and this guy -- seriously -- came up to me and asked, "How can you do arms with sleeves on. You can't see 'em?" I chuckled a bit as I thought he was joking, and then I looked up. The guy had spiked hair and a sleeveless shirt on. Not just a T-shirt with the sleeves cut off. I mean one of those tight-fitting shirts that was made with no sleeves. That, ladies and gentlemen, was a punk. A guy who does his entire routine within three feet of a mirror, takes time between sets and flexes to see if anything moves. Probably takes all his first dates to Olive Garden and frequents techno bars, too.

Which brings me to my next point. While the aforementioned fellow was a grown-up punk, adults are enabling an all-new generation of younger punks to emerge. Kids today aren't facing any adversity. There are already Little Leagues that don't keep score, because losing a T-ball game can apparently scar a kid for life. But schools, now, are banning left and right the very basics of playground activities. Dodgeball is already a thing of the past -- I can somewhat understand that. It's a bit hard to defend the hurling of athletic balls at kids' heads. But a school in Colorado has recently banned the game of tag. Yes, the "contact sport" of tag, where someone is "it" and chases after everyone else in order to touch them, thus passing on the "it." A school in Massachusetts recently banned tag along with touch football. Touch football! When I was growing up, we played 15-on-15 everybody-run-out-for-a-pass tackle football. We also got into a barbaric game of smear the queer -- sure, an awful name (even though most of us didn't know what that q-word even was back then). The Massachusetts school said it banned touch football because kids could get injured, citing "accidents can happen." If that's your reason, take down the monkey-bars, merry-go-rounds, swings, seesaws and slides. Let's just have the kids go to an open field and run laps at recess. With Little League games with no score (and no winners or losers) and school yards without the very basics of juvenile joviality, adults today are enabling a generation of kids who are just going to grow up and be punks. And I'm saying "punk" here to avoid using a much harsher term. Sure, the kids will get to grow up without facing adversity or challenge, but when they become adults, they won't be prepared to handle the inevitable failures that we all must face from time to time. What's next, the banning of push-ups because some kids can do more? Let's get rid of tug-o-war, too.

toiletpaper warz

No matter what, there seems to be only one roll of toilet paper in the Swartz brothers' apartment. No more, no less. Whenever one has to go, the lone role is inevitably in the other's bathroom. Basically, it's been a TP war over here for some time.

Drive and drink, don't drink and drive.

I know about four people might read this from time to time, but I still feel the need to apologize for the lengthy absence. I started a new job a little over a month ago, and I had to hit the ground running (or writing) on a large football project. Going to work and writing all day sometimes kills the urge for free-time writing. Now, though, I've had a couple of days off (and a few beers) and the urge to type came back. I sat down tonight with 12 of my buddies, and the last few are going down currently -- although they're quite warm by now.

For those of you who don't know, I'm now working for The Daily Reflector in Greenville, N.C. -- yes, they town in which I've lived since 2001. That means, for the first time, I don't have to commute to work. It's pretty cool. I still do a lot of driving, but to have a base in my town is a new and welcome thing. Speaking of driving (of which I had to do so much of in the past several years), I actually got the urge to "just go on a drive" recently. The fall season right at sunset is absolutely my favorite time to drive. I think it makes me feel free. It reminds me of the falls when I'd be driving back to college after a home-for-the-weekend visit. I'd usually leave just after sunset, heading east, with the red glow of the setting sun in my rearview. I know it's technically not the fall yet, but the run of cool run of weather we've had in N.C. recently can be a bit misleading. I had a really good drive today (yesterday really, but I haven't gone to sleep yet). I left from New Bern and headed east on the road that takes you to Bayboro. I found a good side road, turned right and just hauled ass down the winding, country, Pamlico County highway. I would have liked to really push it, but I'm getting older now and more aware of what a speeding ticket does to one. Sometimes there's nothing that's a bigger buzzkill that self awareness.

The driving was something of an attempt at self medication. I was just telling someone quite dear to me that I have absolutely no reason to be sad (I really lead a blessed life), but that doesn't change the fact that even I, the jovial John you all know, get the blues every now and then. Many times, I can cure the blues with a good workout or a good drive accompanied with a primal scream. I took that drive, it didn't really help (see that aforementioned reluctance to speed as a possible reason), but I did loose that animalistic howl. I had just made a U-turn on that country road in Pamlico County. I had been on the road, hugging the curves and blasting through the straights, for about 10 minutes when I finally caught up the only other person driving on the highway. I followed for a few miles, going quite slow, when we drove through a decent right curve followed by an immediate left. It was definitely something I wanted to take at 60ish. I followed the van for another half mile, or so, and then turned around. Right before the first curve, I hugged the side of the road and accelerated out of the turn into the short straight before the second curve. As I hit the slightly banked arc, I howled at the setting sun with the naturalness of a lion in the jungle.

It was great. For that one instant, all my thoughts, troubles, puzzles, preoccupations and stresses were alien to me. Oh, to carry on that feeling with me throughout the day would be quite wonderful. Until then, I'll crack open another Coors.