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Back to gerritt.net TRIVIAL November 30, 2004. 8:07 PM Yes, it is official. Today's episode of Jeopardy marks the 75th and LAST game that Ken Jennings played. He turned red, smiled, hugged his opponent (whom Trebek later called "giant slayer"), and gratefully received his standing ovation from the crowd. It came down to final Jeopardy, it came down to a few thousand dollars bet and lost, and the mild-mannered Salt Lake City software engineer finally found a way to lose. Trebek, if you're reading this, retire tomorrow and offer Ken your job. Nancy Zerg, if that is your real name, sign a book deal really quick before your 15 minutes are up. And Ken, my hero, retire and live a life of weird brainiac trivia nerdery. And do not, under any circumstances, continue your run as a celebrity. No books, no movies, and for the love of God, NO REALITY TV! Happy Birthday to my favorite brother! -G * Email Gerritt A LONG WEEKEND TO THINK ABOUT STUFF November 28, 2004. 11:37 AM Thanksgiving is a great holiday, and now that it's winding down and we have to go back to work tomorrow, a few things I've been reminded of over this long weekend: -Two turkey dinners later, I am feeling wonderfully blessed to have such a great family. -The Hokies, to everyone's amazement, are really making things happen late in the season, and are in contention to win the ACC championship in their first year as an ACC team. All we need is a win at Miami next week. -I am pleased to announce that I avoided the same old conversations about tryptophan, traffic, and weather this Thanksgiving, and that no one can complain about putting Christmas decorations up too early anymore. -Just because you're in the same state, doesn't mean there won't be a long drive to get there. -Against the most unlikely odds, Daryl and I know more trivia than at least ten other people in Gaithersburg, and won ten dollars for it on Friday night. -I am so lucky to have healthy and happy grandparents, who are smart enough to ask for help when they feel chest pain, even if it means a trip to the ER at midnight. -G * Email Gerritt ADVENTURE November 24, 2004. 10:27 PM Guest writer Ben Meister submits tonight's entry: Tonight, the Greatest Thanksgiving dinner ever! We began the evening by watching last Sunday night's broadcast of Inside the Actor's Studio with Natalie Portman. After the program, and the customary talking about how much we all love Natalie, we decided to go over to the Safeway to pick up some dinner. With no clear plan in mind, our intrepid adventurers proceeded to walk in the rain over to the grocery store and pick up some jumbo-flaky pop'n'fresh biscuits. Then we headed over to the seafood section and picked up some shrimp, I suppose for an appetizer. After walking around for a while we found some wonderful-looking KC Masterpiece barbeque pork in a microwave-able plastic container, and we thought, "Cool, BBQ pork." We then realized that we were lacking a side dish, so we made our way over to the Mashed Potato aisle. We carefully considered our options, and decided on some Betty Crocker Three-Cheese potatoes. We capped the meal off with some potato rolls, chocolate chip cookies, and 12-pack of Dr. Pepper. With our eclectic meal in tow, we got into the checkout line and were greeted by Ms. No-personality. Knowing how strange our meal must have looked, each of us made a funny joke, without so much as a flicker of comprehension from the check out clerk. I guess we are losing our touch. Anyway, we walked back to Gerritt's and cooked dinner. The meal was wonderful with the exception of the shrimp, which we couldn't get thawed out in time. We spent the rest of the evening watching Elvis in Hawaii movies, the Daily Show, and playing Scattergories. A fine evening to contemplate all that we have to be thankful for. This blog update is dedicated to my dearest love, Natalie Portman. -Ben * Email Gerritt I'M GONNA BE FRANK, BERNARD November 21, 2004. 9:47 PM I found a lake near my apartment. In the late 1970s, for reasons of 'flood control' and 'recreation', the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission dammed up Rock Creek about a mile from my home. Today, I went exploring and found a large, well-kept expanse of green space surrounding quiet Lake Bernard Frank. The 56-acre lake was created by a large earthen dam so tall it is practically impossible to imagine the lake ever overflowing it, and if you were to follow the creek that flows through it, you would pass through Bethesda and Georgetown on your way to the Potomac River. Signs at the entrance to the park ask the usual 'all dogs must be leashed' and 'please do not litter', but there was also a color printout of a warning about the ever-terrible snakehead fish. The sign asks that if you see or catch a snakehead fish you should not throw it back, but instead 'kill it - by bleeding or freezing'. Yuck. When I searched on the net for Lake Bernard Frank, most of the websites that came up were for, you guessed it, Battle Games! You've only read Lord of the Rings, these guys live it! Could these dangerous Dagorhir larpers possibly be connected to the recent abundance of the evil snakehead fishes? You be the judge! -G * Email Gerritt FEAR NOT THE TURTLE (UNTIL BASKETBALL SEASON) November 19, 2004. 8:57 PM  Virginia Tech - 55, University of Maryland - 6 -G * Email Gerritt STILL SAFER THAN DRIVING ON THE BELTWAY November 17, 2004. 11:03 PM After the crash on Metro's red line train (not too far from me!), the classic photo taken of the collision in the station was submitted as a "write your own photo caption" contest in the Washington Post. The results are hilarious, including someone who noticed the Metro website asks you to "stand clear the train car doors and let writers get off before you board." I guess they get the "write-of-way". Har har. Someday I'll scrape up some money and some leave time and hop on an outbound freighter, set out for adventure on any corner of the globe. -G * Email Gerritt THE ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW YORK November 14, 2004. 10:03 PM Spending time with Daryl in New York City is a real treat, from partying Park Slope style to finding cheap Broadway musical tickets, it helps to have someone like him on the inside to show this outsider around. In my third of four straight weekends of travel, I rode the Amtrak into a rainy, cold New York Friday rush hour, ducking away from umbrella spikes and hopelessly wandering until Daryl got off of work. We ended up with a full platter of places to be all weekend that took us from Times Square to the East Village, Brooklyn's Park Slope to the Upper West Side, and miles of walking in between. Just like every visit to New York, I left feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, but still inspired and ready to do it all again. We weren't able to get tickets to the show we wanted to see, so that's still on my list for next time, and I am now also endorsing Amtrak's service from DC to NY. It beats driving in every way except the price, and sometimes its just worth it. Next up: Thursday and Friday I'll be in Blacksburg, VA, for the Virginia Tech-Maryland football game. GO HOKIES!! Happy birthday to Pop! -G * Email Gerritt ALL ABOARD November 12, 2004. 9:03 AM For a second I almost decided to drive up to New York this weekend, but then I thought better of it and bought a train ticket. A wise decision, since it is ugly and rainy right now and the highway is sure to be painfully crowded with bad drivers. The train is slighty more expensive, but quicker and easier. Plus I've never been on an Amtrak before, so it should be fun. Brother Daryl endorses it as the only way to travel from DC to New York. Federal workers had yesterday off in remeberence of US veterans. It is a rightful and worthwhile holiday, just like Memorial Day, MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Independence Day, and many others. Recently I heard there were discussions about adding Election Day as a holiday each year so everyone has time to vote or work at a polling station if they feel so inclined. I can't argue with the logic, especially if we get holidays like Columbus Day off. My proposal is to go ahead with integrating Election Day as a federal holiday, but just get rid of Columbus Day entirely. Or change it to something else, like "Discovery Day" or "Exploration Day", to take the focus off of the greed and cruelty that Columbus represents, especially to Native Americans, and make it more like an inspiring holiday for kids who want to be astronauts and stuff like that. What do you think? I'd like to say happy birthday to my dad. Have you seen my pictures from Philly? -G * Email Gerritt IN WEST PHILADELPHIA. . . November 9, 2004. 7:51 PM Only two hours drive from the DC suburbs lies the historic and classy city of Philadelphia, where Melanie and I chose to spend a few days to celebrate our first year together. The weekend proved to be some of the most wonderful fall weather of the season, leaving us wishing for more than just the 24 hours we had in the city. Some of the highlights of the trip included: -Across the river from lovely Camden, NJ: a stop at Penn's Landing on the Delaware River, where we had lunch in an old sailing ship-turned-fancy restaurant. -From far below the surface: the expensive but impressive Titanic artifacts exhibit at the Ben Franklin Institute, complete with a hemispherical Imax theater -I had the buffalo medallions: Dinner at an old firehouse where horse-drawn fire wagons were used to extinguish the common chimney fires of the old city -My personal highlight: a trip to the ruins of Eastern State Penitentiary, which opened in 1829 as the first solitary confinement facility, a huge castle-like walled structure still standing in the middle of the city, now a historic site with a self-guided audio tour recorded by actor Steve Buscemi. (The guy that got fed into the woodchipper in Fargo!?) Very cool, especially if, like me, you enjoy old crumbling buildings. -Per the recommendation of our waitress: a walk down to the Fairmont Waterworks, where the Schuylkill (SCHOOL-kill) River once provided the first public drinking water into huge reservoirs atop Faire Mount. Today the beautiful Philadelphia Museum of Art sits atop those reservoirs overlooking the skyline and the river below. -A short bus ride across town and on to the history: no crowd and no line except at security meant we were in and out of the brand-new Liberty Bell Center in less than ten minutes. I got a picture of the bell, and a good look at the outside of Independence Hall, then moved on. -A driving tour: from the cross-town tour bus we got a fine view of the largest city hall in America, Love Park, the huge Masonic temple of Pennsylvania, and a bunch of other sightseeing stuff. We were able to run the gauntlet of Philly, from one riverside to another, but there's just so much more left to see in between. I'm sure I'll be back to see it all again sometime soon. To see my complete picture page of the weekend, head on over here. -G * Email Gerritt VOICES OF AMERICA'S YOUTH VIA INSTANT MESSENGER November 6, 2004. 9:53 AM I've formed a small collection of election responses that my friends have posted on their Instant Messenger profiles and away messages. If you see one of yours, or if you want to add your own, post it to the comments page below. Keep in mind that the following statements in no way reflect the opinions of the staff of gerritt.net: Four more years, until everyone will realize the world they thought they were living in was over. "I am absolutely sure, I think.." -Kerry To all those that want to move to Canada, Australia, etc: It may sound like a good idea, but stay here. Your help is needed. We need to remove the turd sandwiches and douchebags from our political process, especially from our political party. W'04 Dear Republican Majority: Please spare my Constitution. And all the rights therein. Thank you. "Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the American soldier. And, our soldiers don't just give freedom abroad, they preserve it for us here at home." -Sen. Zell Miller, Republican National Convention Jon Stewart in '08 Workin on somethin Anything war can do, peace can do better. And lastly: Vote for the Hokie Bird! I'd like to say happy birthday to my mom. -G * Email Gerritt RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN November 4, 2004. 7:40 PM So I think we set some kind of record for the number of people who showed up to vote on Tuesday, and the country has spoken. It is now official: more people who like George Bush showed up to vote than did people who like John Kerry. In more interesting news, Jeopardy pundit Ken Jennings broke the record for most money ever won on a gameshow last night, topping out at almost $2,200,000. Go Ken! Four more years!! -G * Email Gerritt I VOTED November 2, 2004. 6:20 PM These days after the switch to standard time it seems as if the world is in a state of permanent twilight. I get to see the early haze of dawn and sunrise each morning on my drive to work, and then the sundown and twinkles of dusk as I drive home in the evening. Today after work, as dark was just setting in, I walked the two miles or so to Rock Creek Valley Elementary to participate in our country's democracy. It was simple, with a dozen or so foldable briefcase-sized computers set up on high stands around two of the walls of the music room in the sparkling-new school. Touch English or Spanish, read the directions, and make your choices. There was no wait in the "F-L" line, and since I'd been sent a specimen ballot (he he- specimen), I already knew my votes and was done with the whole process in less than 5 minutes. B-B-B-B-Next-ABDE-Yes-A-B-A-Next-Against-Against-Against. I have no idea what that meant since the only basis I have is the presidential debates, the rest of the votes were just guesses and for people with cool names (Walter Lange!). On my way home I crossed through the woods, scattering a herd of deer and awakening the interest of some neighborhood dogs. In the calm, cool night air, the distant horn of the DC Metro reminded me of a sense of pride that our country cares enough to make each voice heard, even in the large numbers who planned to vote today. Here in Montgomery County, MD, an early estimate said that 90% of voters would be showing up today. Way to go, MoCo! Here's to you, voters of America. You make our country great. -G * Email Gerritt |
