109 thoughts on “December 1, 2016: Where did November Go?”

    2. My mom always said I look like Kurt Russell. I never quite saw it. Growing up I looked like Joshua Jackson, though a little less so now.

      1. grad school friends used to call me "Sikma" on the basketball court. I'm not sure that it was a compliment and I never had a perm, so it had to have been a reference to the Seattle Sikma, not the Milwaukee one.

            1. My brother is the polar opposite of me as far as remembering actor names, as well as what else he's seen them in, so he does this all the time. He recently referred to Ryan Gosling as "That kid in Murder By Numbers."

        1. Another good one!

          I once shared a bottle of whiskey with John Hodgman, Jonathan Coulton, and about 30 other people, while the two of them answered questions via walkie talkie. He also once made implications about the fact that I had gone to his show with my wife's sister. That's probably the most interesting small talk at a book signing I've ever had.

    7. I've been told on multiple occasions that I look like Brendan Fraser or Cary Elwes. Now that I've grown a Van Dyke, I apparently look like country singer Gary Allan. I've heard it twice now in the first month I've ever grown facial hair.

    8. I got Joseph Gordon-Levitt once, and Zac Pozen (the fashion designer) once. But those were both pre-beard. I have no idea now.

    10. My sister just told me I look like "Jake Belcha", who is apparently a carpenter on Cupcake Wars.
      That's a TV Show, so maybe he could act?

    11. My Jackass-obsessed cousin said I looked a little like Chris Pontius. I think not.

      My wife and brother swear that the young version of Devon Murray (the kid who plays Seamus Finnegan in the Harry Potter movies) was a dead ringer. I wish that comparison kept up as we both aged.

      1. I can see the Pontius comparison, actually.

        As for young Murray, I don't see it as much, but it's there. And the two of you don't look similar now.

    13. I've been told Greg Grunberg. I'd agree it's the closest to me I can think of, but I don't think it's all that close.

    15. Many, many times I've been compared to drew carry. Longer hair and different glasses have staved off that response.

    16. The only person I can remember being compared to is... Jason Biggs. Ugh.

      Sheenie gets Julianna Margulies and Brooke Shields pretty frequently.

  2. I left active duty ten years ago today. (I had been on terminal leave for a month already thanks to an excess of unused vacation days.) Some days it feels just like yesterday, other days it seems a lifetime ago, and many others where it seems like both simultaneously.

    3. I just rec'd an email from the WBL school district, warning about this issue as a nearby district was recently hit.

      1. If you'd asked me ten years ago to rattle off the ten companies that were the safest bets to outlive me, I'm sure I would have included ESPN. If they fall, I'll have the same feeling that I feel when a gas station in a small town fails. How can you possibly struggle to sell enough gas when there are two games in town?

    2. Seems like in the big picture, this is really bad for all the sports that ESPN carries. With bundling, all those sports were being subsidized by people who didn't care about sports. Now that non-sports fans can essentially get all they want with, say, a Netflix subscription, an HBO subscription, and an antenna, they seem to be the most likely people bailing on cable subscriptions.

      So in the medium term, this looks like a setback for the NFL, NBA, and MLB, plus some of ESPN's other big productions, like the World Cup (which I think hurts US Soccer, because I believe FIFA gives them the domestic broadcasting rights to sell off).

  6. Part of my inability to sleep stems from an inability to avoid clickbait late at night. I don't go in for the "OMG, you won't believe who died" stuff with pictures of people still living, but sometimes I can't avoid lists of improbable situations and the like. The one I added to the conversation is somewhat amusing and I don't think I've ever put it here, so what the hell:

    Before we were married, my wife got calls from a collection agency because she shared her first and last name with a girl in the same county who had apparently failed to pay a number of debts. She took my name upon marriage and joked that she wouldn't have to field those calls anymore. Turns out there was a girl in the same county with her new name who was wanted for some petty theft and misdemeanor assault, so she still got harassing calls, just from different people.

    When we moved to another state, I got a call at my new home number that started "Mr. Wells?" and I responded in the affirmative, which led to harassment about me not paying some debts. Once they said the full name they were looking for, I explained it wasn't my first name, but by this time they just assumed I was lying and called me until I challenged them to look at my driver's license. I'm not sure how we hit the jackpot with these unfortunate names.

        2. I share first and last names with a despicable criminal. Middle names are important.

          Also, my work cell # used to be held by a woman who didn't pay her bills. Lots of collection agencies have called me. For years.

          1. I've mentioned this before, but old work number used to being to a urologist, and I received entirely too many voicemails from people who clearly did not listen to my message explaining that I was not a urologist.

    2. There are just over 300 people in the US with my last name. None of them have my first name. Near as I can tell, there's one person over in the Czech Republic and one in Germany that do.

      I'm unlikely to run into any of this sort of thing.

      1. I rang out a guy who worked for a company named Bruzek yesterday, and was surprised given that I've never seen it anywhere else. I wondered if you were related.

        1. I'm sure we are (I've never known of a Bruzek that wasn't able to be connected by at least the third generation), but my grandpa was much younger than his siblings, and never really fostered any sort of relationship with them. There a bunch of Bruzeks just south of where I live (there's a pretty hefty Bohemian settlement just south of Alexandria), and I'm constantly asked if I'm related.

          I have no answer but a shrug and a "I'm sure we are".

    3. A (long) while ago, I had a work trip to Milan, Kifissia (Athen's Edina), and Istanbul. When coming back, I came through customs in Atlanta, GA.

      I walked over and picked up my bag, and a dude walks up to me and says, Mr. (NBB), please come with me.

      We go into a room where 3 people are wearing plastic gloves, and they ask me to slowly remove everything from my suitcase, at the same peppering me with questions. A notable one, "So, how long have you lived in Atlanta?" I was living in Minneapolis at the time.

      I finally got thru with no issues, but several times since then, I've had custom's dudes ask about Atlanta. I can only think there's someone with the same name on their radar from Atlanta (or they're still pissed about Game 7).

  7. Found out an hour ago that our move to the new house, originally planned for June until we found out that we could get there in April, which became February because of a tax benefit if my mom and stepdad moved from their old place (our new place) early, will now probably be January. The stress is real, although it's starting to look like we might not have snow to contend with...

    2. There is a show called "You're the Worst"* that had a storyline about that very issue this past season. (Guy was a vet had PTSD, discovered weed helps, and now Im telling too much plot) Anyway, the whole story line was well done, well acted, all that jazz.

      *It barely registers in the ratings because its on FXX and Im convinced it if were on Netflix it would dominate social media chatter**, because it seems even the most bottom level shows on Netflix gets talked about.
      ** It's one of my favorite shows currently in production and probably ranks in a Top 5 all time favorite tv shows so I may be a bit biased

    1. Seriously, this is a truly awesome beer. I'm not sure where you can get this outside Memphis, but it's worth the price of admission.

      1. Wiseacre sounds familiar, but I don't know if it's from seeing it around here or from the last time I was in Tennessee.

        1. They're the real deal. Get Up to Get Down (coffee porter) is phenomenal, Ananda (IPA) is totally solid, and the rest of their regular offerings are good. Their special releases are outstanding in this new beer movement.

  11. So, I get a text from my daughter today (who just got home for break last night). Hey, dad. Interested in trying wax worms? I can get 250 for $9 plus shipping from this company in San Diego.

    Mmmm, wax worms.

      1. Out-of-context quote from the piece Chaps linked to:

        “I think the biggest thing about Bill is, he has left a mark that the Twins will enjoy for at least 30 years.”

  13. Who would have thought not investing into offensive line would come back and bite the Vikings in the butt? Not this guy!1!

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