Blogging from my new table

Here it is - my new table. Since I bought this house, I quickly realized the kitchen is just too small for a table - especially when Henry moved in. I had planned on constructing this on my own, but procrastinated, because my handy man skills aren't quite up to par. I was googling tables one morning, and ran across this on IKEA's website. IKEA looks like a really great store, but let me tell you, they aren't even close to doing internet orders. This took about a month and a half to get - maybe longer. And the ordering process was terrible. But, I finally got it, varnished it and here it is. Now, I can eat dinner without being subjected to Oprah.

Holy wow. Gorczyca Insurance Agency. Notice how they emphasis the Z. Straight out of Pennsylvania. I need to get in touch with this guy.

View from the sidewalk - a blog written by a homeless guy. Someone's got to employ this guy, if he can figure out how to set up a blog, I'm sure he can learn to sweep floors or something.

I'll have to admit that I've been watching Oprah. Sort of against my will, because Jen records it, and watches it as we eat dinner. So, I kind of have to watch it.
Anyhow, today the show was on restaurants. The first bit they did was on an article GQ magazine did called 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die. I googled it, and found the list of the restaurants. Two are from Michigan! Ypsy and Dearborn! You better believe we're heading out there!

I was just joking with a friend that I wake up every morning to a new Google invention. Check out the latest: Google Pages.
Google Pages allows you to build your own website, using templates they provide. It's really super simple, but not so appealing. Check out my testing page: Robs GoolePage. I just read an article today that says you can actually upload your own home built pages to it - careful though, you have 100 MB to work with!

I didn't watch a lick of the olympics. Not even the hockey. I tried, I really did, but the time I sat down for a game, bobsledding was on. The announcers noted that they would go to hockey, as soon as bobsledding was over. After 15 or so minutes, I gave up. I caught a little bit here and there, but really wasn't into it. I'm so excited to finally have the NHL back.

I'm signed up on the Buffalo Wild Wings club email list. A while ago, they sent me an email asking me about various flavors. I remember one of them I picked was Mango Habanero. Well check it out - Four new flavors - and you can thank me for one of them.. well, I voted, and sent the email back, so I sorta had something to do with it. The bum part is they didn't give me anything for free. Jerks. (we're going thursday if anyone wants to join us!)..

Pure geekness

So, if you see me walking around with a new sport jacket, I probably have a dozen things hidden in it, so watch out. Check out the rest of the "007" type clothing available at: ScotteVest.com (thanks KC!)

Rumor has it, Chicago will be the first major city broadcast city-wide wi-fi stretching 228 square miles.
Imagine that. Wifi radios for everyone, and no more local radio stations.

Online Portfolios

My persuit to rid the workplace of neckties: They carry GERMS!!

Yet another video desiphering lyrics to a Brand New song.

Ripped off? Or just feel like complaining? Check out iGotScrewed!

Wow. Dog poop = methane gas = energy to heat a stove. I could do this, but the dog poop in my back yard somehow disappears.. I have a feeling mister Hank knows something about it...

Claymation coolness with Frank Zappa. If you have a few minutes to let this load, check it out - this guy has a wild imagination.

My new hero..

Ted Ferguson, Bud Light Daredevil. Check out his site, all the commercials are there and then some. I swear they're going to make a movie about this dude.. he cracks me up.

Thursday thoughts..

Hey Jen - I bought us a new car!! :)

Take a listen to this tune before you do anything else, it's a GREAT mid-week song.
SoulShine - Warren Haynes (live) (allman brothers).

Online guitar tuner - Yeah it really works. Very cool.

Olympic Hockey: Come on Detroit fans. Do you even care about the rest of the Olympics - other then the hockey? I didn't think so. Don't worry, I feel the same exact way.

Why do we procrastinate? This article will tell you. Honestly, I've had this article on my desktop for a week now, and have been procrastinating reading it. haha.
Check it out: Article on procrastination.

Drugs will wipe you out. This is a funny little video - I wasn't expecting it to end the way it did. Watch here

On that same note - check out my favorite acoustic guitar player/singer Wally Pleasant singing the song: Small Time Drug Dealer.

I was never a huge fan of the trendy yet catchy punk band Blink 182. But, I ran across this news article about Tom DeLonge and his new group called Angels and Airwaves. After reading all of this, and watching the trailer on the bands website, I'm actually sort of looking forward to see what this music sounds like. As if this dude isn't rich enough already, check out his like of athletic apparel at macbethathletics.com.

Right brain/Left brain: I'm 70% right, and 30% left. Take the quiz.

50 Dead rock and roll stars. Some say it's the best thing that happened to their careers.

Happy day.

A brief converastion with my sister.

Rob Gorczyca: happy early valentines day.
Melanie: yeah same to you
Rob Gorczyca: I remember when i was like in 1st grade, we all made little bags and hung them at our work station, and everyone would go around and give out their v-day card that we signed.. haha. it was like the teachers were making us play a dating game for young kids.
Melanie: I remember that I think I saved the boys that I liked at the time and put them in my scrapbook! haha
Melanie: what did you get jen
Rob Gorczyca: i got her that deer.. all that deer meat. that's all hers. to do with what she pleases.
Rob Gorczyca: awesome ain't i?
Melanie: your an idiot

Andy McKee

Before I do anything else today, I wanted to mention the show I went to last night.
Andy McKee, a 26 year guitar god from Topeka Kansas, plays finger style guitar, which is just amazing to see. He'll pluck the strings, tap the fret, drum the body of the guitar.. and he does it all with such ease, it really blew my mind. He played one song on an acoustic harp guitar, which is the picture above. Andy has four mp3's on his site, to make it easier for you, I've direct linked to them below.

Drifting - This is the song he opened with. I was thinking as I was watching him play a sort of drum beat as he played guitar, that my friends are never going to believe this!

7-14 - He played this song, it was inspired by his good friends wedding date.

Nocturne - A song about the night. Great harmonic action going on here.

She - Song written for his girlfriend of 5 years. He joked that he called it "She", rather then naming it after her, just in case something happened in the future.. everyone shared a good laugh at that one.

I saved the best for last. Andy also has a MySpace site, which has a few other songs on it. He did an arrangement of a song called Africa - the old 80's tune. This was worth the concert alone! Click the link below:
Andy McKee - MySpace

It's only punk rock, but I like it . . .

Back in my younger days, I used to publish a punk rock magazine. I was making well over a grand an issue on advertising, but all of that (then some) went to printing and distributing. I was a 'rock-star' among the scenes in Toledo and Detroit, everywhere I went people and bands wanted to talk to me. The CD's and records were rolling in from record labels, I was getting about 25 or more a week. Needless to say, it was a bit overwhelming, and the free beer everywhere I went wasn't necessarily a good thing. I am an old school punk rock fan, and I wasn't liking the way the whole punk scene was heading either.. I always leaned toward the pop punk style (Ramones, Queers, etc.), and the magazine was more geared toward the entire scene of punk - so... I quit. I always consider going back and doing a strictly pop punk zine, or web-zine. Every time I hear music like the stuff below, I get really excited that there are still three chord punk bands out there. Simple, catchy and loads of fun. The pop punk scene is one of the best in music, only comparable to Grateful Dead fans.. super nice folks, almost, in some way.. hippies.

Anyhow, I'm going to The Queers tomorrow, so I was browsing their unofficial website. In his Joe Queers newsletter update from January, he goes on about a bunch of good bands. Check it out and also give some of these bands a listen.

Hot Rod Fury - A surf rock band. Lots of reverb,

The Riptides - Gritty pop punk

The Unlovables - female vocal bubble gum pop punk - very awesome! Check out the song "Feeling All Emo (Since I broke up with you)"

The Steinways - quick catchy pop punk

The Whoa Babies - low quality pop punk that totally rocks. Harmonizing and amps that sound like their sitting in a tin can.

The Arsons - street style edgy punk rock with a hint of pop.

Even In Blackouts - I've heard of this band, I even own the CD (or did before the garage sale!), but I didn't realize Phil from the Queers was in the band, and another recognizable name is Jughead from Screeching Weasel.. This band mixes up an acoustic-ish sound with pop punk. Great female vocals.

Get your 8 tracks!

The best part about working the monthly paper recycling gig at the Newspaper, is digging through the piles of magazines that people bring in. The card above is from some womans magazine from 1972. That's probably near the time when cassette tapes were just introduced, and people were a little nervous about switching to them just yet.. Like I was with CD's (you should see my tape collection!). Anyhow, we thought it'd be funny to fill this out, and see what they say. Maybe I will, and see what happens.. I'll post the letter if they mail me back.

Fourth episode of The IT Crowd has been released. I believe these come out every Friday. If your a computer geek like myself, you'll digg this show.

I'm going to see Andy McKee play tonight. He's a great acoustic guitar player, I was introduced to his music by a couple guys at work. Take a listen to some of his downloads, he's phenominal.
We're also going to the Woodward Avenue Brewery. Couldn't find a link to save my life, but found a review that said the Vanilla Porter and Burritos rock.

One last thing I wanted to mention. I was at Cigar and Conversations in Monroe yesterday, and the owner showed me this sweet website, where you can download or stream live concerts by a ton of artists. He was mainly interested in the Grateful Dead section (as was I), but there are a ton of artists availble. Very cool site - check it out here: Nugs.net

Welp. Time to get a hair cut. I've been shaggy for way too long.

Henry = The Blogger

Yeah, it's for real. Henry has his own blog. I wondered why my keyboard had slobber all over it. Hey, please keep reading mine - his might be cool, but mine is cooler. Right?!

Guess what...

That's right, it's Jerry Time. Check out this VideoBlog of a very funny and funny looking man as he struggles through life.

Cook an egg using cell phones: if this is true, I'm going to start using my headset from now on. Basically, these people took two phones and put an egg between them. They had one phone call the other, and had them both sit there, virtually talking to each other (night time free minutes!) - the egg cooked in 3 minutes.

iGuitar: I may have posted this before, but now there's a video. This is a USB guitar, that you plug this guitar into. You can use it in Garage Band to do just about anything you want. So, you can switch your Garage Band software instrument to piano, and when you play, it sounds like a piano. Freakin amazing.

Finally, a video podcast about Cigars! Ok, after waiting for this to download and watching it, I almost shouldn't even post it. But, I am going to anyhow, so maybe somebody out there, might actually feel bad for these people, and make a cigar show with more depth (this is like watching a terribly cheap porn). Check it out if you dare: Up in Smoke Video Podcast

Dear Google:

Hey Google, you continue to amaze me on a daily basis with your constant innovations.
I love Google Maps, and use it to map out my running mileage after a long jog. The tricky part is, that I have to map each mile-marker from intersection to intersection, then add up the mileage.
I think it would be great if after mapping out a run from point A to point B, lets say, that's a 10 mile run, I could create mile markers, so I know when I've ran 1 mile, or 5 miles, etc. OR, I could simply pull up a map of my area, and post a pin at one location, then post another pin at another location - and Google Maps infinite wisdom, would tell me how long of a distance that is.

Just an idea, if you implement it, throw some Google Snacks my way.

-Rob Gorczyca
Monroe, MI

====================
I'm imagining that Google won't write me back, if the do, I'll repost this - Here is the automated response:
====================
Thank you for your note. While we are not able to personally respond to
all proposals, please be assured that we review every email we receive. If
your proposal matches our current business and technology development
needs, a Google representative will be in touch with you shortly. In the
event that we do not identify an immediate match, we will keep your
proposal on record for future consideration. If your email is not related
to business development, we encourage you to submit your message through
the online contact form at http://www.google.com/support/

We appreciate your interest in Google, and thank you for taking the time
to write.

Regards,
The Google Team

The Queers!

My favorite band is coming to town! Sunday, February 12th @ The Underground in Toledo. Doors at 6pm!
I've managed to catch them almost every year they've come through town the past 7 years, so I've seen them around 6 times. If you've ever wondered what a Ramones concert was like, this is as close as your going to get. I'm really looking forward to it. Take a listen to some songs, and let me know if your going - I'll be there for sure! See here for more show info.

Punk Rock Girls - Love Love Love - Granola Head

Or go here for more Queers tunes: Lookout Records/Queers!

Check this thing out:
It's a beer bottle opener, which also is a magnet to catch your beer caps!

The newest podcast I've been listening to is called Phedippidations by a guy named Steve Runner. It's a podcast all about running, and the cool part about it is, he starts off each show recording as he begins his jog. It's pretty cool to listen to while ya run - kind of gives you motivation to keep running! Check out his website: SteveRunner.com or, subscribe to the podcast here: Phedippidations

Alright. Time for sleep. I don't even really like the NFL, and for some reason every year, I attend a Super Bowl party, eat a bunch of junk food, drink a buncha beer, stay out late and am really tired the next day. This year went exactly that way. Check out some pics of the party at my dads - and a few of the after party at MT Loonies.

SlingBox

This is just the invention I've been waiting for. SlingBox. Plug this sucker into your cable box and watch your cable tv, on your laptop from anywhere using a high speed internet. So, for example, I'm halfway across the states, in a city that doesn't show any hockey, and I have my laptop with me. I kick back at a highspeed internet location, log on to my laptop, and fire up the Slingbox application to watch Hockey Night in Canada. Wow.

Super Bowel Party!

Check out my new hat! I took this picture last week, and forgot to post it. Val picked it up at a thrift store (thanks val!!). You can bet I'll be wearing this to the beer festival this year, and every other occasion. :)
You know what I find funny, all week long we've been catching advertisers that have been trying to slip the phrase 'Super Bowl' into their newspaper ads (trademark-legal issues). So, we come up with different phrases, like "Big Game" or "Super Football" for them to use instead... My favorite one that I suggested was "Super Bowel Party".. unfortunately they didn't suggest it. Anyhow, enjoy the game - here's some links for the pre-game surf.

In case you missed this amazing goal, the first portion of this clip shows Alexander Ovechkin falling and still shooting the puck into the net. Amazing!
Click Here

Music:  Lolipop Lust Kill was a band from Toledo that was on the brink of making it pretty big. They did some stadium tours with some really big bands, but for some reason, broke up too soon.  Anyhow, I knew a couple of the members. I ran across an mp3 on the net, thought I would share it.   Lollipop Lust Kill - Like a Disease

Courtney's ready to rock! Read about her kicking her "gnarly drug habit".. and getting back to the studio.

GameWW2 Sniper After I got the hang of this, I made it through all the boards - it gives you plenty of chances. You have to shoot the little black stick figure guys.

Government warning! - The newest scam to watch out for.

BushSpeech.org - Make George say just about anything! You pick from a list of words, make up an entire sentence, then watch his speech. It's pretty funny.

Google candy store - and if your an employee, it's all FREE!

CoverDude.com - need a cover for your copied/pirated/downloaded cd? Look no further!

Google SMS Messaging!

Bookmark this! Send a text message from the internet to any phone using Google SMS. Just type in your friends number, choose their service, type in a saucy message, and Bammo! you have sent a text message without having to hammer out all those tiny keys on your cell phone.
I have been patiently waiting for something like this, each phone company has it, but, for instance, you can't send a Vtext (verizon) message to a T-Mobile phone. Thanks again google for making my life easier.

Storm wins in OT!

A bunch of us went to the Toledo Storm hockey game last night and had a great time. Toledo won in OT. I have a ton of stuff to post because I've been slacking all week, so you might see a few in the next day or so.. so stay tuned!
Online radio: Type in the name of your favorite band, and it will play songs by that specific band, and also bands in the similar genre. Very cool. Pandora.com

This dude ate the hell out of a goats head. Scroll down on this site for some pictures.

Fun with knitting! Check out some of these knitting projects, you'll laugh.

Chat cartoons! - copy/paste a small instant messaging conversation into the provided window, and Bammo! you have an instant cartoon! Then, you get a link to share with others. Very cool.

Wolf shirt: I'm raising money to buy this for my buddy Aaron for his birthday. Anyone want to contribute?! After you see this shirt, you'll want it for yourself. :)

Warner Bros. to sell movie downloads online: I called this one as soon as the ipod video came out. It was only a matter of time that movies would be available!

EyeFi: Download from the internet straight to your brain! Ok, it's a joke skit from Conan O'Brien, but it's a concept that i'm sure we'll see in the future...