Dig this site: It's a flash animation called The People's Mario that imagines Super Mario as a Russian worker. It's really a brilliant work. And I also dig the mock Super Mario Brothers music that plays during the end credits. Enjoy!

Here's a cool article I found tonight. I think the chick who wrote this article deserves a Pulitzer. It's called Why Geeks and Nerds Are Worth It...

Now, I don't consider myself a Nerd, per se, because I'm not a computer programmer and I am also not very good at math and physics. I enjoy reading about math and physics, and I have tutored math in the past, but by no means are they my strong points. As a matter of fact, I scored lower on the math portion of the SAT's than I did on the English portion of the test. I took the test twice and my math score only improved by 10 points, which equates to 1 more correct answer.

I identify more readily with the Geek aspect of this article. I love comic books, video games, Dungeons and Dragons, and Science Fiction.

I grew up playing D&D - with my church youth group, of all people - and what child of the 80's didn't grow up playing hours upon hours of Nintendo? My mother thought I was insane buying comic books by the score. I argued that they were an investment in the future; the books would appreciate and I was on the ground floor to amassing future wealth (I should have put that money into mutual funds). Even though I feel slightly taken advantage of by the comic book press, I really really enjoyed reading those stories, analyzing the artwork, trading books and discussing the story lines with friends. Like I said, Total Geek. And Proud Of It.

Does this mean I'd make a better boyfriend than that "flashy guy" referenced in the beginning of the article? You'll have to ask my girlfriend. Just kidding. I'm still married.

...sigh...

:oP

I love this page. I have always liked - but never really understood - the science behind the phenomenon of Black Holes. I still don't, but this website breaks it down to more manageable levels for us layfolk.

As a kid, one of my favorite movies was Disney's The Black Hole starring Anthony Perkins and Ernest Borgnine. The evil robot really creeped me out. The last time I saw part of The Black Hole was a few years ago at the Moorestown Pub (r.i.p.). I couldn't hear anything because the jukebox was playing, but it was good to at least see it being aired on tv. I need to get that movie on DVD.

Anyway, check out this page. It's really cool. Personally, I'd subscribe to theory 3, but I think that theory 2 is more likely (you'll have to go through the animation to find out the various theories). Anyway, enjoy!

When I started college way back in the fall of 1993, not only was I pursuing a minor in Music (and, as such, required to be in the marching band), I was an English major. I always liked English; it was one of my strongest subjects in high school. I enjoyed grammar, especially. I ended up finishing school with a major in Radio/TV/Film, but I still, to this day, find myself correcting people's grammar. Bad grammar irritates me.

That's why I find this site particularly enjoyable. For example, on this site you will find that there are no such words as "boughten" or "reoccuring" and it's "jury-rigged" not "jerry-rigged." Come on, folks! Let's get with the good grammar!

Wow. I gotta get me one of these. Check this link out now!!!
And it's a steal at just under $400!

Here's one of my favorite websites. I posted the link to it somewhere quite a while ago, but I think it definitely bears re-posting. Check it out. It's pretty damn funny. It's called The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny.

Then, after you watch it, check out this site. which is a little funnier having watched the Ultimate Showdown. Enjoy!

Here is a really cool game. It's a weird take on the age-old crossword puzzle. You click on a space and then a letter. The puzzle fills in all the spaces that contain that particular letter. It's pretty easy when you get the hang of it, so check it out. The Expert level is kind of frustrating, but you'll finish it. Have fun!

I want the Apple iPhone. I'm not going to get the Apple iPhone, though, because I don't want to pay $599 for the 8 Gb version. I'll probably wait about a year or so till it starts to come down in price. But have you seen the TV ads? Check them out if you haven't already. This phone looks sweet!!! There's no doubt in my mind that it's probably worth $599, but I'll let all the trendy yuppie suckers buy it first at full price which will help drive down the price in about a year when my Razr is on the way out. Seriously, though, dig those tv spots!

I spent some time today updating the look of the page. It's more streamlined with a couple cool new features that I've either already placed on the pages or am still working on. It's a work in progress so keep checking back. You're bound to find something cool. If not, just pretend you found something cool.

Top 5 Books I was Forced to Read in High School

1) The Grapes of Wrath - the only book I actually read all the way through. I even read it on my own after high school.
2) The Catcher in the Rye - great story, plus it was fun to hear Mrs. Hogan say all the bad words.
3) Animal Farm - "All Bloggers are created equal, though some more equal than others."
4) Of Mice and Men - I hope Lennie got to tend his rabbits in heaven.
5) Brave New World - actually, I hated this book. I thought it was rather annoying. But I am grateful that the book was written because without it, we wouldn't have Demolition Man, starring Sylvester Stallone.

So let's see if I can get back on the bandwagon. It's been a long time since I've posted anything here. I'd practically given up on it. But I'm back with renewed interest. I'm trying to put my very own website together, but that's slow-going at best. Honestly, who has the time? But I promise that when I get it up and running, I will definitely post it on this site so you'll be the first to know!

Anyway, it's good to be back. I have a lot of photos to post of lil k, who's not so lil anymore. I'll post more later. Hope you're all ok!!!

So it's 3 am. Kenzie is sleeping on the couch. I have been trying to clean the apartment for the past 5 hours, but can't seem to motivate myself. Tiff is at our friend's house. The two of them have been cleaning the house we're buying since 8am Saturday. God bless them both. I'd have quit and gone to a buffet a long time ago.

Quote of the Day for 3-26-2005

"Herbivores ate well cause their food didn't never run" - Phish (Reba, from the album Lawnboy)

Tiff and I are in the process of buying a house. And, though I spent many years helping other folks buy the house of their drrreams, this is the first time I've ever been looking for a mortgage. As you may know, I spent the better part of six years processing mortgages for three different companies. The job was great for the first two years. The last four, however, downright sucked. Processing mortgages is a job that a trained monkey can do (no offense to my friends still processing, or to my current processor).

I know, there are loans more complicated than the ones that I had processed, and each loan has its own nuances, but once you start doing it, at any level, or any loan type, you hit a point where you know exactly what the mortgage company needs and what the investor is looking for. Once you progress beyond this point there is no reason that you can't fully process a mortgage in under ten minutes (twelve, if you have to review tax returns).

Anyway, my point is not to get down on the job of processing a loan, my point is that, in my prime, I could process a mortgage in less time than it takes most people to brush their teeth. It was easy. I could "decision a loan" without thinking twice.

But now the tables have turned. I'm on the other end of the phone. I don't have access to the programs and the physical file. I'm not privy to the notes typed into the computer. It's tough not knowing. I think I'm beginning to understand why some of my customers acted the way that they did and said the things they did. Now, I'm not nearly as jumpy as some of the folks to whom I am referring, and I don't think I ever will be.

I do, however, think that I have gained a new appreciation for the job of the processor, and, were I to go back to the world of processing mortgages, I think I would be a more empathetic processor; one who takes more time to explain the process; one who doesn't get offended by being asked the same stupid question five times by the same stupid customer; one whose outlook views processing less as a job and more as a career; one who isn't so darn sarcastic to his customers; one who...oh, who am I kidding?

I'd do everything the same. I'd still be rotten to my customers; I'd still neglect files of customers I don't like; I'd still keep customers on hold just to see how long the light would flash before going dead. Man, I hated processing.

Greetings from AndyLand!

I logged on today for the first time in months, as you can plainly tell, and found out that Blogger now offers image hosting! I can now post pictures on the site, which is what I have been wanting to do for a long time now. I have a lot of pictures to share, mostly of my daughter, Kenzie. Keep looking back at the various pages on my site for updates! Talk to you soon!

-andy

Top 5 Favorite Personalities on Food TV

1) Alton Brown (Good Eats)
2) Emeril Lagasse (Emeril Live and The Essence of Emeril)
3) Mario Batali (Molto Mario and Ciao America, with Mario Batali)
4) Tyler Florence (Food 911 and Tyler's Ultimate)
5) Ming Tsai (East Meets West, with Ming Tsai)

I must mention, however, that Ming Tsai's show is no longer airing on Food TV. Ming has a new show on PBS called Simply Ming. Personally, I like this show much better than East Meets West and I've only seen Simply Ming once!

Also, I want to present some honorable mentions regarding Food TV personalities:

1) Marc Summers (Unwrapped). Most people, especially those my age, will remember him as the host of Double Dare and Family Double Dare on Nickelodeon, the greatest kids channel in the world. I would take Nickelodeon over Disney any day, hands down. Anyway, after Double Dare's run ended, I forgot Marc Summers existed. It's great to see him on tv regularly again. Double Dare was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid, and I still watch reruns of it on the Nickelodeon station, GAS (Games And Sports), whenever I happen to catch it.

2) Al Roker (Roker on the Road). I grew up watching Al on NBC out of New York City. He was the jolly weatherman who always had something witty to say. Most of the time his antics got annoying, and he is really a lot more famous than he deserves to be. It was hard for me to take him seriously back then. Oh yeah, Al was also very heavy-set. Now he's had that gastric bypass surgery and has lost a heck of a lot of weight and it's hard for me to believe that that is really him. It may sound weird, but I think that I was able to take him more seriously when he was fat.

3) The Iron Chef. This is absolutely one of my favorite shows, right next to Good Eats. I mean, watching two chefs try to make as many original dishes from the same main ingredient, each having one hour to complete the task - it's just a lot of fun to watch. But the reason I didn't list it in the Top 5 was because there are four main personalities (five, really, I suppose) in the show: "Chariman" Takeshi Kaga (a very good biography, by the way, so be sure to click the link for him), Iron Chef Chinese: Chen Kenichi, Iron Chef Japanese: Masaharu Morimoto, and Iron Chef French: Hiroyuki Sakai. I should also put in Iron Chef Italian: Masahiko Kobe. I'm not too big a fan of his, so he wouldn't have made it into my top list anyway, but I'm putting him here now just to round out the list of characters. I just didn't want to use up the entire list with all of the Iron Chef guys; that wouldn't have been fair to Ming.

Howdy folks! It has been over 4 months since i've posted anything and even longer since i've posted anything good. Heck, some may say that I've never posted anything good. Well I say phooey! All my ramblings are good!

Tiff and I finally bought our own computer. Right now we are using a dial-up connection to AOL, which sucks, but we are waiting ever so patiently to be set up with a DSL line through Verizon, who certianly seems to be taking their sweet-ass time about it! Oh well. We'll be hooked up to a broadband line soon enough. I can't wait for that to happen.

Anyway, there have been a few changes since the last time I posted anything serious. A lot has happened to keep me busy, first and foremost my lack of a computer at home. But chief among the things that have changed is (in no particular order):

1) I started a new job. The job is fantastic. I still hate it because it's in the mortgage industry, but it's much better than both Cendant and Toll Brothers. The pay is nice, but the way that they pay us is what kind of sucks. Anyway, moving on,

2) Tiff and I moved into a small one bedroom apartment in the same town, Maple Shade, NJ. It's roomy enough for now, but I can't wait to buy a house. Our friends are supposed to be selling us their house when they move out. They are targeting a year from this coming March, I think, so we have plenty of time to save up for it.

3) We had our baby. Kenzie Paige Kovacs was born at 7:55 am on Friday, February 21, 2003. She weighed in at 8 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20.25 inches long. For more details, please see the Adventures of a First-Time Dad page.

Other than those few items, not much has been happening. I am looking into upgrading this site so that I can add pictures of our happy little three-person-one-bedroom-apartment-sharing family. We have had Kenzie's picture taken each month on (or about) her birthday, so if (when) I get that site up and running, you will be able to see her progression as she ages. I may be in a few of those pictures, and if so, you will also be able to see the progression of my hair as it turns from a lovely, deep black color to and ashen white. It's really quite neat.

I'd better get off this now. I want to post a little something on the Adventures page. I'll post more stuff on a more regular basis now that I have this lovely little computer. Take care, everyone!!!

-andy

[12/13/2002 1:31:33 PM | Andy Kovacs]
Top 5 Movies from 1984
1984 was such a good year for movies. So good, in fact, that it was very hard to come up with 5 definitive favorites. But, here is my list:

1) Ghostbusters
2) The Karate Kid
3) The Terminator
4) Gremlins
5) Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

[11/25/2002 1:46:52 PM | Andy Kovacs]
"The other day I told my wife, 'I lost my wallet, I'm very depressed.' She said, 'That makes two of you. You and the guy who found it.'"
- Rodney Dangerfield


[11/25/2002 2:08:04 PM | Andy Kovacs]
You know what really bugs me? I mean really gets to me??

Excessively negative people. I cannot, under any circumstances, absolutely, never in a million years, cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye, tolerate excessively negative people. I hate 'em. Them and bad drivers.

[11/22/2002 1:22:51 PM | Andy Kovacs]
"Part of being sane is being a little bit crazy."
- Janet Long


[11/22/2002 2:05:56 PM | Andy Kovacs]
Good afternoon, everyone! It's been a while since my last posting, and I'm sure you all want to know if I would do something as gross as go to class as dirty as I described. The answer is:

Yes.

It is true, my friends. Just ask my friend, Phil. It only happened the one time and hasn't occurred since, so you are all safe.

Now. On to this week's Truth or Fiction:

Summer. 1986. My mother was taking care of the twins, David and Laura. My friend, Matthew Martin, who lived down the road, hadn't yet moved away. David and I used to ride our bikes to Matt's house to play. We mostly played in the road, much to the annoyance of passing motorists, but Matt didn't really have much of a yard in which to play, so we made do with what we had.

Down the road from Matt lived a girl named Chrissy Bongiovanni. She was very pretty and was entering the 8th grade. As I was going into 7th grade at the time, she was the alluring older woman. She had attended private school since kindergarten, and was going to start public school in 9th grade. I had a serious crush on this girl. But this is not the Truth or Fiction part.

It turns out that Chrissy had a younger sister (whose name escapes me). The younger sister was David's age, who was 7. Needless to say, David had a crush on the younger sister. We'd go there almost daily to hang out with the Matt, but more importantly, the girls. David really wanted the younger sister to like him, but didn't know how to go about the task. That's where I came in.

Being in the 7th grade made me very knowledgeable in the ways of women and dating, even though I hadn't really dated anyone, ever, with the exception of Diane Wilton from kindergarten to 4th grade. But David was eager to learn from my vast stores of experience.

My course of action: to have David woo her with his angelic singing voice. Here's how it worked: I was a huge fan of the Monkees at the time. Monkees albums were all that I'd owned. So, I transcribed the lyrics to their love songs and made David memorize them. Then, the next time we'd be at Matt's house, I'd have David sing the song to Chrissy's younger sister.

It was quite comical because David took it so seriously. He really tried hard to make sure he got all the words right. Chrissy's younger sister never really responded at all to poor David's efforts; in fact, she once laughed at him, which really hurt his feelings. But we were kind of kindred spirits in a sense, because Chrissy rejected me, too. Oh well. C'est la vie, eh?

So, the question is: Did I really make poor, young, naive, David memorize and sing Monkees love songs to Chrissy's younger sister? Bonus Question: Did he ever get a song 100% correct when he sang it to Chrissy's younger sister?

The answers will be revealed in the next Truth or Fiction!!! Till then,

-andy


[11/22/2002 1:28:07 PM | Andy Kovacs]
Top 5 Favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger Movies
1) The Terminator (1984)
2) Total Recall (1990)
3) Predator (1987)
4) Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
5) The Running Man (1987)