home alone 2 movie

 i watched a DVD movie in the afternoon, 'home alone 2', a recent purchase from e-bay. i don't think i had seen it before, but i know i had seen the original at theaters when i was still in high school. there had been plenty of attention to this movie lately due to mr. trump having a cameo in it, this is why i finally decided to watch it. the storyline was familiar, a lot like the original. a little boy is left alone by his big family by accident, and tangles with thieves and is able to keep them at bay with cartoonish stunts. of course the main difference here is the setting, being in new york city instead of suburban chicago. i recognized tim curry, rob schneider, and dana ivey in it- they were all hotel employees. i didn't like 'buzz' in it, the big brother, but i think you're not supposed to like him. he pranks kevin in an early scene when he is singing at a school pageant. what i like about watching at home is being able to pause and rewind a little at times. i recall doing this when i wanted to see what the laundry equipment was, and it did appear to be a maytag. 

i also watched a college basketball game, as the iowa hawkeyes were playing at indiana. iowa lost 59-57. this was on at 11am on fox, and i started the movie after the game was done, and after having lunch. one of the ten meals claimed from the previous day was eaten, and it tasted fine. although it was what would be considered a breakfast. after the movie was done i turned on my phone to get things done, one of those was pay a bill. it was the first of two times where i saw my dad calling me. the other time was when i called my college roommate, the one that lives in the area and works at the VA hospital. so i called after both calls were done. it was various subjects, but shorter than typical as the super bowl was about to begin. the teams were just starting to make their way onto the field from the tunnel. tampa beat kansas city 31-9, it was 21-6 at the half. there was the typical super bowl commercials- for cars, beer, and snack foods. another notable one to me was about tax preparation. it said those over age 100 in new mexico don't pay taxes, as a former employee of the life insurance industry, i am aware that their tables only go up to age 100 as so few people reach that age. i did not go outside at all today due to the subzero weather. 

born a champion movie

 i watched a DVD movie this morning, a redbox rental, 'born a champion'. i recognized dennis quaid in it, who played a fight promoter. it was about martial arts, and was told through a flashback. the main character's friend was being interviewed on camera. it does include some footage of a congressional investigation about MMA, including an image of sen. john mc cain. i think he was the one that called it 'human cock fighting'. the sport wasn't sanctioned in many areas for a while because it was so brutal, i even recall a segment on '60 minutes' about it that said rules like 'tapping out' made it more humane and acceptable. the movie does well on covering much of the history of the sport, albeit through a fictional character. but i understand it is often easier to tell a story when all or part of it is fictionalized. it starts with the main character flying to the middle east to teach martial arts, and he meets a woman who eventually becomes his wife on the flight. she finds him at his friend's car repair shop. the friend is a man he meets when defending his honor as a car valet. i laughed when i saw one scene being repeated in this movie, it was when the couple would argue, about his wanting to stay in martial arts or needing to make money as a bar bouncer. then he would have a beer at his friend's place, and she would drive over in her VW ragtop a little later and 'all is forgiven'. one time they 'flipped the script' and she is the one that he picks up there. i understand his wanting to stay in the sport, even if just as an instructor, as he admits it is 'the only thing he knows'. it explains the mindset of many in sports, or entertainment in general. the ending is a little predictable, but i didn't mind as it was kind of the ending that a viewer can, and should, expect. 

this was also an errand running day, there were three stops to make once my car was warmed up as a subzero cold snap is happening. it was to target to get winter shoes, then to the post office. four orders were there, including the baseball book 'my life as a fan', an amazon order. the funny postal employee asked me if it was 'animal farm', a book he said he read while in school. i asked if it was by the same author as '1984', checked later on and found out i was correct. then it was to the gas station to return the movie and get lunch. i slept for a little while after getting home and having lunch. then it was out to get my weekly grocery order at aldi. after getting back from there i claimed some meals left in a box near my home. there was ten in all, 6 for breakfast and 4 for lunch and dinner, so it will serve me for a better part of a week. i figured since it was cold outside that they hadn't spoiled. much like before, i think it is sad when i am witness to food going to waste. i claim what i figure is still edible. in this case i didn't claim the oranges or the pieces of bread. i ate the small packs of peanut butter right away. in the evening i watched some more college hockey, the second game of the weekend between st. cloud state and western michigan. st. cloud led 2-1 at the end of the 1st, then i switched from 'fox plus' to CBS to see a show about super bowl commercials. it was the top 20 of the past 20 years, and one of the hosts was former NFL QB 'boomer' esiason. i liked some of them, four in particular were pretty good. two were for budweiser beer, both using songs. there was '500 miles' about a lost dog in one, and 'landslide' about brotherhood in another. and of course famous people are a staple of super bowl commercials. the other two that caught my eye were john malkovich in one about internet domains, and then-NFL QB eli manning in one that was inspired by the last dance in the movie 'dirty dancing'. i watched part of the show on after it, because it started with the band green day playing some of their popular songs. then it was back to the hockey game. it was tied 3-3 when i returned to it. st. cloud led late, 4-3, but western michigan tied it in the final minute of regulation and won 5-4 in the first minute of overtime. throughout the day i picked up 36 cents during my walks. 

alternate hopper

 i am using the alternate hopper, the smaller one, at work because the main one has been jamming. the parts needed to fix it arrived late in the day, not addressed to me. this is likely why there was a delay. it worked fine to run the payroll special project through the smaller hopper as well, as i am nearly done with it now. i did four separate runs when i had the time and it totaled nearly two thousand for the day. this was my second highest daily total for this project. when the letters are dated for more than a week ago i want to finish it soon, especially when my boss has been asking for daily updates the past two mornings. it will likely be finished on monday, as there are about 500 left. i went to hy-vee in eagan in the evening for my weekly grocery store order, a little earlier than usual. i like watching the news first, but there was an ad saying that st. cloud state hockey would be on. so i wanted to be home earlier to watch more of the game. st. cloud was up 2-0 when i got back, and they added a goal early in the second to go up 3-0. it was the only period of the game that i saw, as i fell asleep. i found out st. cloud went on to beat western michigan 5-1. the box score said both teams scored on a power play in the third. it is becoming less fun to be out walking as i am feeling the snow and sand on my feet. so it is time to replace the shoes. hopefully i can get this done this weekend. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when sheldon spoke of what leonard said about his sex life with penny. it was followed by the one where sheldon has the same reactions to stimuli as a monkey that is part of a study that amy is doing. 

military fort origins

as a history major, i was quite familiar with how many great american cities started out as military forts. this includes chicago, pittsburgh, and des moines. even the twin cities of minneapolis-st. paul, as there is fort snelling. this explains why some cities still have 'fort' in their name. well i just found out new york city started this way as well. i read writer's almanac from garrison keillor and saw something about new amsterdam, the city's fore-runner, started as a fort. this was on the southern tip of manhattan. this was largely overlooked by the history books i had read. same is true with other things about the early history of new york. i do recall mention of it becoming a british colony because the land was ceded by the dutch. although the british and dutch were at war a lot during the 1600s, and for a brief time it was a dutch city again. this led to looking up bowling green, which is the name of a park- and a commuter train station- on the southern tip of manhattan. i see this name every so often as a city in other areas. so i had to look up the concept. i had always envisioned a big bowling alley ball, but that is not it. lawn bowling is more like 'bocce ball' and the ball is smaller. still sounds weird as a name of a city, but when the capital city of louisiana is named 'baton rouge'- french for 'red post'- it is a reminder of how city or place name origins are as varied as the cities and places themselves. i even found something about a bowling green at mount vernon, washington's home. i want to keep up a love of learning, and this is very much possible since there are opportunities everywhere. 

at work i called for service on the envelope stuffer, i got tired of the 10-page jams. a tech arrived in the afternoon, and said replacement rollers were needed and would be overnighted. i got a little farther on the special project for payroll compared to the previous day, but not a lot. i may just want to use the smaller hopper for it as well, as i am running the checks through it already. in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 84 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends got back from the north pole expedition and sheldon left town for his mom's in texas. it was followed by the one where leonard manipulates penny for sex after penny reads his mom's book in a class. 

plate change on van

 near the end of the workday i had to help with a delivery, it was boxes of check stock. i recognized the courier, it was the husband and wife team with a thick accent. i also noticed the van they were driving had different plates on it compared to the summer. this time it was wisconsin plates, in the summer it was illinois. i decided to take the cart into the check shop myself as i was trying to save some time. i was able to get all of the checks through the envelope stuffer, it helped that i changed the normal order of what was sent through it. when the branch employee rang the bell to tell me i couldn't hide disappointment about the delivery, saying i was trying to 'close out the day'. he apologized but i told him he wasn't the one making the delivery. it really is helpful that i am doing the overnight labels earlier, as i am getting out earlier. i do recall the 'manifesto' one of the trainers gave me that said 'do not fall behind on printing checks' and thinking of this does remind me of the priorities involved with the work. one can easily get caught up if all that is left is running the envelope stuffer, as it goes at a quick pace most of the time. although i ran through less than a hundred letters from the payroll project today. i might want to make a service call soon as i am tired of how one the two hoppers has been jamming a lot. re-booting the machine helps some, but not much. i did clean the sensors, which was recommended by one of the trainers on this week's conference call. in the evening i went on a walk and found 1 cent. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends went on an expedition to the north pole. it was followed by the one where the friends were on a scavenger hunt, the one where howard and amy sing karaoke, a neil diamond song. when i saw this one before i really like it, so it is definitely one of my favorites now. although number one still is when howard's mom is in the hospital, the one where bernadette said 'me?' when the doctor said his mom asked for her first. 'the conners' seems to be leading itself towards having jackie becoming a contestant on 'jeopardy' based on tonight's episode as she spoke of auditioning. i would enjoy seeing a storyline where she does. some other shows have had an episode with this game show in it, such as 'mama's family' and 'the simpsons'. 

the cake isn't german

 i watched a 'simpsons' episode and wrote down on thing from it, about german chocolate cake. sure enough, i did the research and found out it is german because that is the creator's name, and he wasn't of german ancestry. kind of like what i once read about another grocery item, saying the only thing french about french's mustard is the name. it is still a good cake to eat, so this won't change what i will likely get at events such as oktoberfest in new ulm. i drank a can of grain belt beer tonight with my dinner, and odd how the can said 'brew' but no mention of beer. writing down a work strategy was helpful, as i did make it out on time, actually just a few minutes after my scheduled leave time. it helped to handle the overnight package labels earlier. this was also in spite of check printer issues, where i stopped the machine briefly, actually shut it off. then i noticed that it started over. i listened to all of the latest lady gaga CD, on previous attempts i had fallen asleep as i was laying down. in the evening i went on a walk and picked up 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard needed help fixing his space toilet. also, stuart asked for dating advice from leonard. it was followed by the one where leonard returns early from the north sea, and sheldon thinks penny is cheating on leonard. 

re-think strategy

 i was nearly finished with work for the day and my boss calls me, telling me i needed to start working on the overnight packages earlier as this is why i was staying late. it was evident when an email was sent. so when i got home i eventually wrote out a strategy in hopes of finishing earlier. it likely means starting on some tasks earlier, although i did say it is hard to multi-task when the envelope stuffer is running as it can get loud. this is especially true lately when doing the special project for payroll, as it has been rattling more. i ran through nearly a thousand letters today for payroll and then had to switch to running checks around midday, my normal duties. looks like nobody sorted the incoming mail that is in the tub, so it rolls over to the next day. i took out what i knew was for the department i am in, an inter-office envelope with a wire transfer clipped to it. the empty red bags were taken out, and put on the counter. after work i watched the news and then went to the liquor store for beer for super bowl week. i got a can of hamm's, and two cans of grain belt, the latter was in the discount cart. i also went on a walk and found 77 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends hired a hooker for howard in las vegas, and sheldon said he understood the concept of 'friends with benefits' better thanks to penny. it was followed by the one where leonard is in the north sea. amy, and bernadette, are at a convention and bad-mouth each other's beau, then reveal they want strangers matching the descriptions of the same kind of dudes.