Mark's Monday brain dump

Hello, all. Here's an update from the world of Mark:

I'm currently reading Tom Clancy's The Teeth of the Tiger, which has started off pretty well. It's a lot easier to read than his more complex novels like Rainbow Six, which I have started to read about three or four times but never finished. I have only read one book since I completed my Harry Potter marathon a few months ago, much to my chagrin. I love to read, but I always relegate it behind other lounging activities, so I'm trying to resolve that. I'm also trying to finish reading all of the five or six books that Stacey loaned me back when we first met in September—she watched all four seasons of 24 that I loaned her in that time, while I have only managed to read one book. As you can see, my slacking is not limited to my blog alone!

I don't know about you, but the new U.S. version of The Office is really starting to grow on me. Maybe it helps that I've actually been watching it this season? In any event, I liked the U.K. version (and I will get that on DVD one of these days), and Steve Carrell does a fantastic job in Ricky Gervais's place as the Dilbertian boss. If you haven't checked this out yet, then by all means tune in on Thursday nights—or go out and buy a TiVo already!

I went to Fry's yesterday, mostly just to look since I hadn't been there in months. It also helped that there was no meaningful football game on for Bears fans like myself. (No, the games that were on don't count!) Anyway, I was looking at the cameras they had to offer and none really knocked my socks off. Of course, I'd never pick a camera based soley on the information available at the store—including salesmens' opinions—so it's not like I was planning to buy something anyway. I still need to do a lot of research before I make a decision, although I must admit I was definitely in the mood to buy after my sister dropped off some prints from her digital camera that she had "developed" at the store.

Although I didn't purchase a camera while at Fry's, I did pick up The Grid on DVD. It's a short-lived show that's apparently similar to Alias and 24, so you can see why it would pique my interest. I will let you know how it is once I've delved into the digital goodness.

Apparently Kobe Bryant scored 81 points last night. Holy shit, that's a lot of fucking points! I really don't think that's a good sign, though. As dominant as Michael Jordan was—and as bad as his teammates were early in his career—his high in a game was a mere 69 points. I think Kobe, feeling as if he has to shoulder the whole load since he sent his better half to Miami, has flipped the proverbial ballhogging switch. Without Shaq, the Lakers aren't very good, so this is the only way Kobe will get the attention that he craves. On the positive side of things, at least he's not Terrell Owens.

Stacey's coming to meet me for lunch today. I don't know where we'll go, since the restaurant selection around here is pretty damn sparse, but I'm sure we'll figure something out. Hopefully some jerk parker hasn't blocked in my car again!

After work I have a class on Microsoft BizTalk Server at my company's office down in Westchester, so I'll be heading down there for some learnin'. The class will take place every Monday night for the next four weeks and will feature actual homework. It's just like being back in school, minus the bitching sleep schedule. Thank goodness for the aforementioned TiVo, otherwise I'd have to set the VCR to tape 24 for the next month—knowing me, I'd surely forget at least to do so at least once.

-Mark