Ode to Dr. Marten

It occurred to me the other day that I should write a post about the virtues of my favorite brand of footwear - Dr. Martens. I have circulating at least one pair of 'Docs' for at least 10 years. I currently wear Docs almost every day. I have a pair of black 5-eye and a pair of brown 4-eye shoes that I wear exclusively for work (both in 'classic unisex' style). I've had my black pair for the entirety of this century, and they have become my most comfortable pair of shoes. The outside leather is durable but still soft, and the sole has retained most of it's tread even though the shoes have about a million miles on them. The characteristic yellow stitching has remained as bright as ever through assaults by dirt and shoe polish. I've only had my brown pair for about 3 years, so they're just getting to the really comfortable stage.

Before I had these shoes I was known to be seen in a pair of 10-eye navy blue Docs with steel toes. Although impractical in a professional environment the boots were quite at home at the grounds in which I used to stomp. I, too, have also owned a pair of the ubiquitous 8-eye black boots which hold the honor of being the only Docs I've ever grown out of.

Bottom line; Docs are durable, comfortable footwear and are a good choice regardless of social connotations associated with them.

Mr. & Mrs. Sean Johnson

My buddy Sean got married this weekend to the lovely and gracious Heather (Fuge). The wedding was held at Gashland Presbyterian Church and the reception was held at KCI Expo Center. The ceremony was nice - short and sweet. The reception was a really good time.

As some of you know, I participated in the festivities as Best Man. It was an honor to perform such duties as helping to organize the bachelor party, standing up at the wedding, and making the first toast to the newly married couple. Everything went well, and a good time was had by all.

I'm not sure how Sean was feeling, but I was a nervous wreck - and I wasn't even getting married. When I was standing behind Sean in the ceremony my heart was beating out of my chest and it felt like I was going to pass out. Later I got some major butterflies before it was time to give the toast. I guess I didn't do too bad though, I got a good laugh, a few heckles, and an 'ahhh' or two.

So, Congratulations to Sean and Heather. It's about time Sean stepped up to the plate.

Sporting News

I decided to do a post about updates on my sporting endeavours. I don't usually post much about stuff like this because it doesn't garner as much attention as other things, but anyway.

Two weekends ago our tournament softball team won the 'Last Chance' tournament held at Clifton Park in Independence, MO. Our team is going through a reorganizational period right now. We are using these post-season tournaments to strategize for next year's team. I played well in the tournament with only one error in the field and a .500+ batting average. We beat the Boulevard Brewing team twice in that tournament which was especially sweet because the Porn Stars have lost to that team in every meeting - and there have been several. It appears that my primary defensive position for next year will be second base. My legs will appreciate getting out of the outfield.

Our tennis team received our first 'L' in the team match last weekend. Although my partner Jeff Thimgan and I won our individual match, it wasn't enough. This is actually the first time our team hasn't been in first place since I started at the end of 2005. I'm not worried though, I'm sure we'll come out on top at the end of the season. You can view my historic stats here.

Bowling has really been looking up for me. I've finally gotten rid of the shanks and am bowling above average again. My average over the last two weeks is 173.2, which is about 17 points above my overall (379 game) average of 156.42. I'm also winning back the money I've lost over the last few weeks - I was up $1.50 last Sunday. The updated bowling spreadsheet is available for download in the downloadable content section.

Indians on the Moon

The world's largest Democracy, India, has announced plans to land a man on the Moon by the year 2020. Are they doing this to expand Indian technology? Are they doing this to earn international prestige? Are they doing this because they've run out of space to build call centers on Earth, and are looking to expand to our only natural satellite?

Apparently the Indian government plans on spending tens of thousands of crore on research and development of systems and training for a moonshot. They also plan on re-inventing many of the tested systems that have been used in previous Moon landings by other countries - manned and unmanned. Indian technology has already produced the launch vehicle (a rocket system with the capability of sending a payload into orbit) and has successfully launched satellites. They are also planning to launch an unmanned lunar orbiter/impactor as soon as December. Much R&D needs to be done in the interim such as the actual creation of the lunar modules, and development of systems and practices needed to actually make the trip survivable for the occupant(s).

The whole idea is amusing. I like Kiwikid's opinion on the subject. Let's just hope that they put more effort into imitating the Apollo program than they do into imitating Michael Jackson.

Hindustan Times
India Today

Is This It?

Have I arrived? Is this what it's supposed to be like? Why am I asking these questions?

Last Thursday I did something for the first time that most people are accostomed to doing regularly. I actually paid somebody else to change the oil in my car. It may seem like it's not a big deal to you, but it was for me. I've been driving for 12 years, had many cars, and have done the vast majority or maintenance and repairs myself. My main arguments for not having my oil changed was the price difference and that I wanted to be sure it was done right. Changing it myself would only cost $7-10, but having somebody else do it costs at least $30. I've never had a lot of money to throw around for unnecessary things like that. I still don't have the money, but lately I haven't had the time to get dirty nor the patience to do the job.

This time the want was born from necessity. I'm not sure I'll have somebody else do it next time. I'm still going to change my own brakes and do whatever other repairs are within my realm of expertise, but I may be tempted to let them change my oil again - it felt pretty good.

Neat Little Toy

Fellow Bloggers. I feel the need to post about a little known blogging toy called Site Meter. I have recently discovered this nerdy little tool by looking at the little icon hidden at the bottom of the blog of LocoMocos. Site Meter is basically a counter for your blog, but it does so much more. I can go to the Site Meter website and view exactly who has visited my blog, when they visited, where they came from, and how long they stayed. On top of all these stats you can also view a world map with marks on it corresponding to where your visitors came from. It's not exactly 100% correct about that (it shows one of our clients offices as if it were in Plano, TX), but most of the locations are correct. So, thanks to Site Meter I have recently found that my blog has been visited by people from Canada, India, France, Spain, UK, and Argentina, as well as many of the United States. I have also discovered that if you search Google for 'Greg Graffin myspace comment graphics' my blog is listed on the first page of results. Also, if you Google 'Yahoo radio 810 WHB' I am listed on the fourth page of results.

This is a neat little blog utility that LocoMocos has been keeping secret, but that I felt needed to be exposed. This is also one of the reasons I put up a post mentioning stem cells and those national politicians - to try to see if I could get more search results and page views from all over the country. It worked pretty well.

Even if you already have a counter on your site (like me), I still suggest adding this little gem to your blog. Did I mention that it's free? Scroll all the way down on this page to find the link to my stats on Site Meter.