Thanks for those links, Ajay. I was unaware of EA's practices in that regard. I'm sure glad I bought the ESPN football game instead! Of course it was also half the price of EA's game. My friend no longer works at EA in Orlando. I'm sure he's fine though. AIP produces a lot of really good people and he is no exception.

I happen to also be a white collar worker, so I know the woes of no overtime. There are times when you work longer hours. The prevailing attitude is that when you are salaried, 40 hours is considered to be the minimum. If you have a release upcoming, you put in whatever hours you have to in order to complete the job. I'm not surprised that they had to endure that. I'm not saying it's good, just that I'm not surprised. Many fund managers and other financial people also work hours like that on a regular basis. I'm not for taking away overtime from people who already earn it. Would I like overtime? Yes! That is if my small company (or others like it) could still afford to operate. If not, then I could always just either take a moderately sized pay cut or milk the system as much as possible. About your dissertation - all I have to say is DAMN! You earned the hell out of that sheepskin. No wonder I haven't seen my upstairs neighbor in months - he's in the English Department at UB.

I'm not elite! I have no more or less power/influence than any of you! We are in a liberal bastion! Not all R's are old fat white men smoking cigars and running over babies with their SUV's, just like not all D's are non-showering, dreadlock wearing, birkenstock wearing, cocaine snorting, christian harrassing, tofutti eating hippies. Besides, "elite" can be construed many different ways, most of them having nothing to do with having a D or an R next to your name, but simply having power, money, or influence. College professors are "elite" - just look at the crackpot writing the weekly article in Artvoice. The Clintons are elite. The Bush family is elite. The Kennedy family is elite. Tony Masiello is elite. George Soros is elite. Giambra is elite. Business leaders are elite. The leaders of NOW are elite. I can go on forever - but the point is that wanting more for yourself and your pals has little to do with your political philosophy. Is having power and influence concentrated in THREE connected people in Albany good for the average citizenry any more than letting a company in NYC harrass us to pay our tax bills? I say not really. The people should have the power and influence over them, not the other way around. Cleaning up the Republican party only solves one small fraction of the issue. I would rather clean up everything. Maybe that's possible...who knows.

Jason

(e:scud) - I have a childhood friend who graduated from AIP. He went on to work for Electronic Arts modelling stadiums and helmets for Madden 2002 and such. Anyway I can tell you that he loved it there. I was able to see a lot of work that the students do there, and I was nothing short of amazed. You should have a really good experience there from what I've heard and seen.

Okay, I know that we're all happy that we can go to the library still, and we can still check out the BPO (at least those of us who give a shit about classical music, which based by my count last time I attended was about 30). That's great. I can only assume then that you all are happy (minus ajay I guess) that middle income families who are already choked to death by taxes now find their lives even more expensive. I suppose we could have an e-strip get together to celebrate the death of Buffalo's private sector and inability to attract jobs or keep people. And, oh yeah, you guys know that public money is going into bringing BassPro here, right? Yippee! BassPro! That's exactly what Buffalo needs is a place to buy our huntin' and fishin' supplies! I'm gonna get a shotgun to protect myself from rabid liberals! Thanks Giambra! The so-called Republicans straight up caved in, agreeing to yet another stupid tax hike that further harms everyone. We were fed this red/green budget bullshit, as if there were only two choices to be made - raise taxes or shut down government. How simple minded. Gah I'm so freaking disappointed right now. Maybe I'll just quit my job and start milking the system.

Jason

(e:terry) - Nice skillz! Matthew's hat looks sweet. My hands shake a little so I can't really do that kind of thing very well. Therefore I stick to the Bledsoe cap. As long as he plays well I don't have to be embarrassed to wear it.

Jason

Hooray for tax increases! Hooray for the status quo! Can't wait to have this discussion again next year!

Jason

I've been having nightmares every night about my ex. I have no idea why. I don't think of her much if at all. I mentioned before that when I have these bad dreams it's just a reminder for me to not make the same mistakes that I've made in the past. Now it's just becoming really fucking annoying. I don't like being in a bad mood first thing in the morning. I like to be a happy camper.

Jason

....I guess you don't want to chill and that's fine. The "rant" was funny though.

Jason

I think I might have been recognized for the first time this morning at SPoT. She was a beautiful blonde who basically kept her eyes locked on me. Either she knows the site, she thought I was cute, or she thought I was weird. I wasn't sure which so I am going with the neutral choice. I'll never know anyway.

(e:ajay) - Haha! Wear my RNC ID?!? What a tempting idea. That would definitely put me in the bad boy category. One positive is that people would come up to ME to talk. That's the way it usually works...there is some kind of odd fascination with those of us on the right. Hmm.. I don't feel like getting tar and feathered so I'll have to go against my mischievous side this time.

Honestly Saturday is best for me, and I've never been to Hardware or Prespa. I've heard both are decent places. Can anyone tell me more about them? I guess I don't know enough about them yet to make a choice. I'm sure we'll find plenty of test subjects at either, right?

Hopefully more people will sign on and go out. It sounds like some of you need to go out and have a good time. I'd like to see a bunch of (e:peeps) partying. Muuahahaa.

Jason

PS - After I read Doc's blog - I will be the good guy. I have experience at it! Sometimes it works!

I smoke, I know plenty of dirty jokes and I have a leather jacket - can I be a bad guy this time? Sounds like a fun experiment.

Jason

We can talk about other stuff like chicks and football! Or something!

By the way everyone my brother made some good sandwiches today:

Toasted Marble Rye
Leftover Turkey
Gouda Cheese
Cranberries (put in the food processor with a little sugar)

Put the cheese and cranberries on top of the turkey, butter the bread and put the sandwich in a pan. Cook until the cheese melts. There you have it folks, the Thanksgiving Sandwich! If you're a veggie you can always remove the turkey and have a white collar grilled cheese. Enjoy!

Jason

(e:ajay) - I used to be one of those guys. Gramma taught me to be a gentleman and to do nice things. She used to nag me at the dinner table, telling me that when I'm at a girl's house I needed to use better manners. Over the past two years I've slowly realized that what Gramma taught me (while well intentioned) is a method that is far outdated. Essentially she taught me what would work on a woman back when she was young, and it just doesn't work on today's women. Being the nice guy has gotten me cheated on. It has brought me nothing but frustration and a loss of hope. This stuff is fresh in my mind because when I was on the plane back from Philadelphia getting drunk on Courvosier I realized that I needed to make a personal transformation, and I've spent a lot of time working on it. I've had to go against my natural tendencies in some cases. Just lately it's been put to the test.

It's not that women don't necessarily like their guys to be nice. I've shown generosity and have someone's face light up like a billboard. I'd never seen anyone smile so big before. Just last night when I was talking a girl into being patient with my best friend it blew her mind. It was like she never heard anyone use those words before. She was clearly impressed. Being sincere, being good natured, being a stand-up guy....these are traits nice guys have which they shouldn't get away from! That's what sets them apart from 99% of the knuckle dragging male population! Good women, the ones that we actually WANT to spend time and energy on, notice this stuff and really appreciate it.

What I didn't realize before, and this is where 100% of nice guys inevitably fuck up, is that it's okay to have a little bit of the devil in you. Nice guys spend so much time thinking about how to do the right thing, and how to respect her that they become boring and uninteresting. If you can sense she wants you to kiss her, don't wait, be the guy and take charge. If you're thinking she looks hot, give her a look that lets her know it (I raise one eyebrow and grin). Give her an "innocent" pat on the ass every now and then. It's okay to be imperfect. Don't worry so much about making mistakes that you become a stiff or a stick in the mud. She wants to be attractive to you and she wants to feel excited and happy around you.

Another thing I've learned deals with how you handle disagreements. Nice guys generally don't stick up for themselves enough. They let her win every single argument because they're afraid she will hold off on the sex, or they just can't bear the thought of her being mad at him about something, and they'll back down just to fix it. They become a pushover. Women don't like their guys to be pushovers! If you are in a disagreement and you believe you're right, it's okay to stand your ground and make sure she understands and respects what you have to say. As long as you give her the same treatment you should expect nothing less. If you can be civil and reasonable with each other, and respect what each other has to say, then you can resolve just about any situation and keep the peace. Don't overdo it and cross boundaries you shouldn't, but don't make her lose respect for you. If she does, your ass is already halfway out the door.

At the bar you went to the other day, you saw a case of two girls ("women" don't behave that way) who have very little self esteem. You don't want girls with no self esteem, so who cares if they fight over some asshole? They deserve each other. Rest assured that you won't have to be around them. I know you probably know all this crap already, as I'm only 26 and you have more life experience than me, but I know it would be useful for your friends, any guests reading this, and most importantly ME as a reminder to n
ot let the nice guy in you be your only dimension. Doing things you're not used to is very hard, and I know it feels unnatural and awkward, but I guaran
tee any nice guy out there can mix in a little of the jerk, the parts that are harmless that is, and see more success. Take the opportunities that are given to you and don't feel bad about it. It's less stressful and a lot more fun this way.

Jason

PS - My twin is almost certain he saw you on the street. We're fraternal, but we look more or less the same (I am better looking). Say hello sometime and maybe he will invite you up to smoke a doob. That's if you can stand to talk to a Conservative. ;)