http://www.ericjgruber.com Work, play and everything in between Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:02:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In the last few years, I've had several friends move to the east coast. It's gotten to the point that it's just ridiculous. Here's the rundown of friends who have deserted the Midwest: Aaron, Mike, Brandon, Alex, Kyle, Grant and next week, Summer. Really, it's a bit of a bummer. http://www.ericjgruber.com/2008/08/13/whats-so-great-about-the-east-coast/ I love my iPhone, but I'm getting fed up with Apple's iTunes Store. A friend of mine recently told me about a band I should check out called "The Hold Steady." I did a quick search and found them on the iTunes Store, and also found them on Amazon.com's MP3 store. With ... http://www.ericjgruber.com/2008/08/11/why-you-shouldnt-purchase-from-apples-itunes-store/ Today was the first "official" (not counting weekends) day of my vacation. Here's how it went down: Watched the movie "Dog Day Afternoon." Gave my desk a much needed cleaning, accompanied by shredding of documents no longer needed. Jump started one of our cars after it died on Amy while she was at ... http://www.ericjgruber.com/2008/07/28/vacation-day-1/ We (the family) headed out to a midwest mecca of consumerism called The Legends, this weekend. We went, we saw, we spent, it was a glorious afternoon. The one thing that really annoys me about shopping is how the cashiers really push customers on signing up for the store's credit card. For ... http://www.ericjgruber.com/2008/07/20/cashiers-can-be-idiots-or-maybe-just-people-in-general/ Another week, another 5k race. And I managed to trim a minute off my time from last week's race. OK, I'm officially tired now. Have a great Independence Day. http://www.ericjgruber.com/2008/07/04/second-5k/ This weekend, I fulfilled in a longtime goal of mine and completed my first 5k run. The run was the Summer Sizzler, which was at 9 p.m. Saturday. Let me tell you, it was beautiful weather for running. The temperature was perfect, and the post-dusk running environment made it an ... http://www.ericjgruber.com/2008/06/29/running-for-181st-place/ I've got a new post over at Smallshock about Firefox 3. Rather than me duplicating, why don't you head over and check it out? http://www.ericjgruber.com/2008/06/20/got-firefox/ A couple of weeks ago, I noticed one of our Guinea pigs, Butterscotch, was acting a little strange. I couldn't tell if it was when he was pooping or peeing, but sometime during the waste elimination process he would let out a kind of "yelp!" He would then sit still for ... http://www.ericjgruber.com/2008/06/05/guinea-pig-bladder-stone-economic-stimulus-check/ Yesterday I launched a new web site, smallshock.com. The web site is geared toward the small business owner who wants to improve her web site, with the typical wit and wisdom you've come to expect from the artist formerly known as The Grubesteak. In a way, Smallshock will be like a giant ... http://www.ericjgruber.com/2008/06/03/new-web-site-smallshockcom/ I had the whole weekend to myself. Amy and Ember went to Garden City to visit her family. What was it like living like a bachelor from Friday through Sunday? Wilco describes it best in "Hate it Here" on the album Sky Blue Sky. I try to stay busy I do the ... http://www.ericjgruber.com/2008/06/02/wilco-family-absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder/