Barack Obama: As close to normal as just about anyone who's been elected

People said George W. was a guy you wanted to get a beer with. But was that really true? Did people *know* George? Or was it the affected drawl and the cowboy hat that gave you the illusion that he just might drive a pickup truck with a gun rack? The public didn't really know him. He was a fortunate son, in the Creedence Clearwater Revival sense.

Barack Obama, by his own admission, may be as close to normal as just about anyone who has been elected. You know, he's just like us. He went to the same kind of public schools. [Edit: He went to Punahou, which was private.] He grew up on the low end of middle class, but he was intellectual and proud. And yeah, they went to the best schools too, but their parents didn't have buildings named after them. And by the fruits of his own labor, he raised himself up to the highest office in the land. Incredible.

Must-watch: Barack and Michelle Obama's first interview since the election on 60 Minutes. Check it out, CBS has made the full video available.

O Brother Mini DisplayPort to Dual DVI Adapter, where art thou?

It's been over a month since the new Macbook Pros were released, and in that month, we've been waiting with bated breath for word on the new ship date.

Thus far, thorough Google Searches have revealed basically zero information about when this thing may finally arrive. Until then, we remain without our 30 inch monitors.

Poor us, I know. But you know, when you work with computers for a living, a 30" monitor just makes sense. It's kind of like a good samurai needs a good sword, right? These are the tools of our trade, and a monitor is the #1 productivity boost you can have. 

 
 @days.each do |day| 
   if day.items.shipped?(:dual_dvi_adapter)
     self.rejoice! 
   else 
     self.gnash_teeth(:amount=>:a_lot) 
     self.whine! 
     self.whine! 
     self.whine! 
   end 
 end

Yelle = French Electro best described as Stereolab meets M.I.A. (I am addicted.)

Heard at Villains Vault in the Haight today. Got hooked after just a couple songs. I remember hearing Je Veux Te Voir on the Cannes episode of Entourage from this season, and had been meaning to look that artist up.

Really catchy, electro, driving beat and I do love the français.

Check out her MySpace

Buy the album (it's awesome)

Oregon State Phi Kappa Psi house exploded tonight from a gas leak.

With only seconds to spare, an Oregon State University fraternity president rescued 12 students and their dog right before their living room blew up in a gas explosion Saturday around 2 p.m.

No one was hurt in the blast that ripped through the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, but students and firefighters credit Phi Kappa Psi President Christopher Gerritz for a timely rescue.

Eight fraternity brothers were watching the OSU football game in a room directly above the boiler when Gerritz popped into the house for a couple of minutes. While his fraternity brothers watched the game, he heard a sound and smelled natural gas. He went down to the boiler room to investigate.

“The steam was just billowing out of the door,” he said.

Gerritz said he knew he might have just seconds to act. He immediately cleared out the eight students watching TV and another four who were in their rooms. He also made sure the house dog, a Labrador-fox terrier mix named Yaeger, was rescued. He then led his fraternity brothers and the dog across the street.

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Calamity has been hitting our bros at Phi Psi at OSU. Our hearts go out to them.

Full article...

Klosterman on the Importance of Nemeses and Archenemies

It rarely matters who is on your side; what matters is who is against you. Unlike Gloria Loring, you don't need a friend and you don't need a lover. What you need is (a) one quality nemesis and (b) one archenemy. These are the two most important mechanisms in any human's life. We measure ourselves against our nemeses and we long to destroy our archenemies. They are the catalyst for why we do everything.

Now I know what you're asking yourself: How do I know the difference between my nemesis and my archenemy? Here is the short answer: You kind of like your nemesis, despite the fact that you despise him. You will always have drinks with your nemesis. You would attend the funeral of your nemesis, and -- privately -- you might shed a tear over his or her passing. However, you would never choose to have a cocktail with your archenemy, unless you were attempting to spike the gin with arsenic. If you were to perish, your archenemy would dance on your grave, and then he'd burn down your house and molest your children. You hate your achenemy so much that you keep your hatred secret, because you do not want your archenemy to have the satisfaction of being hated.

If this distinction seems confusing, just ask your girlfriend to explain it in detail; women have always understood the nemesis-archenemy dichotomy. Every woman I've ever known has at least one close friend whose only purpose in life is to criticize their actions, compete for men's attention, and drive them insane; very often, this is a woman's best friend. Consequently, females are always able to find the ideal nemesis (usually without even trying.) Meanwhile, every woman also has a former friend (usually someone from high school with large breasts) whom she has loathed for years and whom will continue to loath with the intensity of a thousand suns, even if she only sees her once every ten years. This is her archenemy. Women intrinsically understand human dynamics, and that makes them unstoppable. Unfortunately, the average man is less adroit at fostering such rivalries, which is why most men remain average; males are better at hating things that can't hate them back (e.g., lawnmowers, cats, the Denver Broncos, et cetera). They don't see the big picture.

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The above was excerpted from Chuck Klosterman's book of articles and essays, IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas.

Chuck Klosterman is our generation's Kurt Vonnegut, only more into pop culture and sports, and probably less serious. But just as pithy. He is pithy as hell.