Step on a Crack:Diary of a Pakistani man with OCD

Step on a Crack:Diary of a Pakistani man with OCD
Okay, so don't read anything on this blog but the title... wow!

Fire Down the Street

The other night some of my friends, my wife, and I were preparing to go caving (spelunking), one of our favorite past-times. We had assembled all our gear. Flashlights and headlamps, grubby clothing (the caves around here have soft clay floors and often have creeks running through them), and some bottled water. We were all ready, in fact we were putting our gear in to the cars when one friend, David, noticed an annoying noise. “What the heck is that?” Looking around we realized that it was the fire alarm going off in the apartment two doors down from mine. Through the open window we could see a haze of smoke and an occasional flicker of a flame. Quickly I ran up the stairs to see if anyone was home. Michal called the emergency line for the complex (it simply sent her to a voicemail-box), David called 911. We evacuated the neighbors, letting them know that there was a fire (which none of them seemed to think was a really big deal). Within 5 minutes the first fire truck arrived, soon followed by 3 or 4 other vehicles including 2 full sized fire engines. After breaking down the door and dragging in the hose, the firemen discovered the source of the smoke and flame… a burning trash can in the kitchen. I talked to the guy who lives in that apartment a couple days later and found out that his friend had flicked a cigarette butt in the trash can right before they left to return to the friend's house. The scorch mark up the side of the kitchen wall reminded me of videos I have seen of trash-can fires quickly torching an entire room.

Caving was fun. We weren't able to get out of our parking spaces to go until all the fire trucks were out of the way… but it's best to trespass on private property in the dark any way!

Encyclopedia of Arda

Well, there are a few web sites out there that can easily catch ones attention and distract that poor fellow for hours (homestar runner is one such site). But after going to the Glyphweb website I have found a site that keeps me busy for many many hours, and yet I don't walk away thinking “dang, what a huge waste of time” (though my wife might think so). This site is dedicated to be an all encompassing guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien. My favorite pages are the movie guides that go through each error in the movie (not just the “that didn't happen in the book”s, but the reasons why certain statements would conflict with the metaphysical world that Tolkie created). Anyhow, there is so much to read, you should go right now!

Strange New World

Check this out [link]. The picture is a little strange... but the idea is awesome! I think it's great that my computer can barely recognize a voice and type out what is being said, and yet this guy can mouth words and have the computer translate it into english (or spanish)... way cool!

The World At Large, How Can I Complain?

Okay, so I haven't written on this blog about my musical choice in a long time, and knowing that all of you hard-core bcBlog fans are desperate for some new tunes, here are the songs and bands that I have been recently listening to:

Alexei Murdoch – Orange Sky. I was watching a preview for some movie coming out about suicide bombers and this song started playing. I was like “wow! I thought I had heard all of Nick Drake's music, where in the world did this one come from?” – then I searched and found that A. Murdoch sounds just like the Drake! – great music.

REDISCOVERED! – The Moody Blues – Yeah so they pretty much rock! – This is a great band for all occasions.

The White Stripes – Blue Orchid – The more I listen to the White Stripes the more I realize two things. First, all there music is about the same. Heavy drum, same ol' guitar riff, etc… Second, there music gets better the more you listen to it (for some reason). Yeah, so I don't know why I like them, but I do.

The Wailin' Jennys – Michal's godfather sent her this CD and it's great. They came to Bloomington just a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't find out until the day after. They really have some beautiful harmonies (though I still can't figure out why all their songs are about sailors?)

Dude 222 and Grandpappy Lewis – If you haven't heard of them, you should check 'em out!