Well, I knew it wasn’t far off and now it’s here, a big screen retelling of the CHiPs story. Apparently Wilmer Valderrama is going to star as Officer Francis “Ponch” Poncherello in the remake. Wilmer who? Fez on That 70’s Show. I am not sure that Fez has the unbridled charisma that Erik Estrada does, so I am not sold on this. I believe that Erik Estrada could still play the part. He is just as cool as ever, but I digress.
I must say that I have been a huge fan of CHiPs all my life. It was the same show every time, kind of like House, but it worked. The only time that I kind of soured on it was when they jumped the shark and Larry Wilcox left. He played Ponch’s partner Officer Jon Baker. And who didn't love the techno disco theme song? I love it so much I have a ringtone of it.
Every episode started out with a horrendous car crash, many times leading to an explosion. Midway through the episode there was a car chase, well a motorcycle-car chase, which ended with the crooks getting away. The end of the show included another small chase, a huge explosion, and the apprehension of the crooks without any weapons being drawn or fired by Ponch or Jon. Then just before the closing credits roll they all met up after hours at a disco or a roller rink and boogied the night away. Then the credits rolled and there were freeze frame moments of people laughing at a joke made at Ponch’s expense. Good times.
Hopefully they will make the show less like the Starsky and Hutch remake and more like a funny movie. Heck, I would go to the theater to see the original episodes. I have to believe that in the long run the reruns will be much better than the movie. Look at Starsky and Hutch and the Dukes and you can plainly see that. Even so, I am sure they will trick me into going, they all do.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Tom Cruise, weird in life, but cool on film.
If you are a faithful I-A reader, and I am sure you are, then you saw my little piece on Tom Cruise taking the title of biggest weirdo in America from Michael Jackson. When Michael Jackson really got into his weirdness, it seemed that everything he touched turned to crap.
Tom Cruise it seems had truly embraced his weirdness during the publicity for War of the Worlds and it didn’t seem to hurt the box office. Of course, Steven Spielberg may have had something to do with the box office, but never the less. You may agree with me in thinking Cruise has gone over the edge into crazy town but, dang it all, I still want to see Mission Impossible III this summer. Click the link for the trailer and I bet you will feel the same. Enjoy!!!
Tom Cruise it seems had truly embraced his weirdness during the publicity for War of the Worlds and it didn’t seem to hurt the box office. Of course, Steven Spielberg may have had something to do with the box office, but never the less. You may agree with me in thinking Cruise has gone over the edge into crazy town but, dang it all, I still want to see Mission Impossible III this summer. Click the link for the trailer and I bet you will feel the same. Enjoy!!!
It looks like a blue Christmas ahead for the UK Wildcats.
It looks like a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas for UK fans this year after their performance against Indiana. Maybe I should have said lack of performance. I have not seen a UK team look so out of it. Some of the players looked as if they had never played organized basketball in their life. The team had four assists for the whole game. Is that even possible? Four assists? That must be a mistake. I could pick up four people from the Times-News staff and get six assists against Indiana.
Once again, Tubby has to go back to the drawing board. This season has been a season of ups and downs and trips to the drawing board. When UK plays a Georgia State they look great. When they play a North Carolina they look like mush. The only thing UK fans have to hold on to is the fact that UK seems to beat the teams they are supposed to beat (except for North Carolina and Indiana). All the small schools that have been scheduled to give the young players some experience have been beaten and beaten soundly. Bully for them.
Now we find out that Randolph Morris will not be eligible for this season and from what I hear there is about a 0% chance that this decision will be overturned. Perhaps when this ordeal is totally finished and the players know Morris will not be back to bail them out, things will get better.
In some ways I feel bad for Morris, but I also feel like he got what he deserved. He wanted out so bad he gambled with his career and he lost. I find it hard to believe that a player that was so anxious to leave college after his freshman year will want to hang around for a year NOT playing basketball.
I feel that once this semester is over, Randolph Morris will be in Turkey playing ball. I do hope that the “advisors” that convinced this kid that he would be a first round pick have had their mouths super glued shut. They have no business being around basketball because they obviously did not see what the rest of the country saw in Randolph Morris.
What can Tubby do to help this team rise above their obvious lack of talent? Or is it lack of athleticism? Or is it lack of shooting ability? Or is it all of the above? I am not exactly sure what the main problem is. It appears that UK is one great player, Rajon Rondo, and a group of role players. So, how can I, a Julliard trained columnist help Tubby out? I can give him some suggestions, some creative and some more realistic.
First things first, this team is not that tough. When a team has three seven footers but they can be blown out of the post by a mild gust of wind, you have problems. I have a great idea that will toughen these big men up. You put them in the post, one at a time, and throw them a ball. When they catch the ball in the post, they have to take a shot. When a player gets the ball, the rest of the team will swing bags of oranges at the player. Until all three big men score ten points the exercise will continue. This helps toughen up the seven footers and helps the team take out their frustration on them.
Another thing I would suggest is a lay-up drill especially made for the Wildcats. In this drill the player must lay in or dunk the basketball. Every time a player misses he gets a small but painful electric shock. Because the UK players cannot seem to hit the easy lay ups, they will miss many of these shots and will be shocked many, many times.
After a few weeks of this intense drill, they will not miss another lay-up again. This of course would also be used with free throws, only the small shock would be even more painful. Because, well, hitting a shot while standing alone with nobody defending you should be easy.
Another suggestion would be to not start Patrick Sparks. I believe he would be better utilized in a Cameron Mills role. He could come off the bench to spell Rondo or Ramal Bradley and hit a couple of threes. Sparks seems to be struggling on the defensive end and his shooting is too streaky. Perhaps this role will take some pressure of Sparks and enable him to get into a better groove. At this point I would try anything.
Who to start ahead of Sparks? That is a good question and right now I would have to say Joe Crawford. Crawford has been playing with reckless abandon since he came back from his injury. Not only is he scoring some points, but he is rebounding as well, and if the team needs one thing, it needs rebounding. I also think Ramal Bradley should be looked at as a starter. He needs to take better care of the ball, but he is just so quick that he and Rondo could average 8 steals a night.
The only thing I know for sure is that UK’s athletic director must be sweating bullets. He surely has had the boosters and fans all over him for the Rich Brooks situation, the last thing he needs is an under 20 win season and a first round NCAA tourney exit from the basketball team. I truly think that Tubby can right the ship, but it will be a task and a half. If he doesn’t right the ship, it may be hard for him to hang onto his job.
While I think that Tubby is a great coach and he should be given a little lee way considering he won a title at UK, I do believe his recruiting does leave something to be desired. In this day and age you need players who are ready to contribute and in some cases dominate as a freshman and sophomore. UK right now has a solid group of players who are just not quite ready for prime time. The juniors have about as much experience as the sophomores. The only way to remedy this situation is playing time.
There is some good news for UK fans. I believe that the Louisville Cardinals are in the same boat. I think they will struggle this year in their new conference. The Big East is big boy basketball and U of L has a brutal conference schedule. The Cards, like the Cats, have not shown me much so far this season. They are number 5 in the country but have struggled to beat mediocre teams by seven and eight points. As an example of things to come this year, they only managed to score 53 points against Arkansas State. In more good news for UK fans, I believe UK will beat U of L this weekend if only because it will be at Rupp, but it will not change the fact that it will be a long season for the Wildcats.
Perhaps with one season under their belts as major contributors, UK’s juniors and sophomores can make a difference next year. I have a feeling that scenario will not work for about 90% of Wildcat Nation. It is a fan base that craves instant gratification. Unfortunately whether you like it or not it may be a long and sometimes ugly waiting game before these Cats provide that gratification.
Once again, Tubby has to go back to the drawing board. This season has been a season of ups and downs and trips to the drawing board. When UK plays a Georgia State they look great. When they play a North Carolina they look like mush. The only thing UK fans have to hold on to is the fact that UK seems to beat the teams they are supposed to beat (except for North Carolina and Indiana). All the small schools that have been scheduled to give the young players some experience have been beaten and beaten soundly. Bully for them.
Now we find out that Randolph Morris will not be eligible for this season and from what I hear there is about a 0% chance that this decision will be overturned. Perhaps when this ordeal is totally finished and the players know Morris will not be back to bail them out, things will get better.
In some ways I feel bad for Morris, but I also feel like he got what he deserved. He wanted out so bad he gambled with his career and he lost. I find it hard to believe that a player that was so anxious to leave college after his freshman year will want to hang around for a year NOT playing basketball.
I feel that once this semester is over, Randolph Morris will be in Turkey playing ball. I do hope that the “advisors” that convinced this kid that he would be a first round pick have had their mouths super glued shut. They have no business being around basketball because they obviously did not see what the rest of the country saw in Randolph Morris.
What can Tubby do to help this team rise above their obvious lack of talent? Or is it lack of athleticism? Or is it lack of shooting ability? Or is it all of the above? I am not exactly sure what the main problem is. It appears that UK is one great player, Rajon Rondo, and a group of role players. So, how can I, a Julliard trained columnist help Tubby out? I can give him some suggestions, some creative and some more realistic.
First things first, this team is not that tough. When a team has three seven footers but they can be blown out of the post by a mild gust of wind, you have problems. I have a great idea that will toughen these big men up. You put them in the post, one at a time, and throw them a ball. When they catch the ball in the post, they have to take a shot. When a player gets the ball, the rest of the team will swing bags of oranges at the player. Until all three big men score ten points the exercise will continue. This helps toughen up the seven footers and helps the team take out their frustration on them.
Another thing I would suggest is a lay-up drill especially made for the Wildcats. In this drill the player must lay in or dunk the basketball. Every time a player misses he gets a small but painful electric shock. Because the UK players cannot seem to hit the easy lay ups, they will miss many of these shots and will be shocked many, many times.
After a few weeks of this intense drill, they will not miss another lay-up again. This of course would also be used with free throws, only the small shock would be even more painful. Because, well, hitting a shot while standing alone with nobody defending you should be easy.
Another suggestion would be to not start Patrick Sparks. I believe he would be better utilized in a Cameron Mills role. He could come off the bench to spell Rondo or Ramal Bradley and hit a couple of threes. Sparks seems to be struggling on the defensive end and his shooting is too streaky. Perhaps this role will take some pressure of Sparks and enable him to get into a better groove. At this point I would try anything.
Who to start ahead of Sparks? That is a good question and right now I would have to say Joe Crawford. Crawford has been playing with reckless abandon since he came back from his injury. Not only is he scoring some points, but he is rebounding as well, and if the team needs one thing, it needs rebounding. I also think Ramal Bradley should be looked at as a starter. He needs to take better care of the ball, but he is just so quick that he and Rondo could average 8 steals a night.
The only thing I know for sure is that UK’s athletic director must be sweating bullets. He surely has had the boosters and fans all over him for the Rich Brooks situation, the last thing he needs is an under 20 win season and a first round NCAA tourney exit from the basketball team. I truly think that Tubby can right the ship, but it will be a task and a half. If he doesn’t right the ship, it may be hard for him to hang onto his job.
While I think that Tubby is a great coach and he should be given a little lee way considering he won a title at UK, I do believe his recruiting does leave something to be desired. In this day and age you need players who are ready to contribute and in some cases dominate as a freshman and sophomore. UK right now has a solid group of players who are just not quite ready for prime time. The juniors have about as much experience as the sophomores. The only way to remedy this situation is playing time.
There is some good news for UK fans. I believe that the Louisville Cardinals are in the same boat. I think they will struggle this year in their new conference. The Big East is big boy basketball and U of L has a brutal conference schedule. The Cards, like the Cats, have not shown me much so far this season. They are number 5 in the country but have struggled to beat mediocre teams by seven and eight points. As an example of things to come this year, they only managed to score 53 points against Arkansas State. In more good news for UK fans, I believe UK will beat U of L this weekend if only because it will be at Rupp, but it will not change the fact that it will be a long season for the Wildcats.
Perhaps with one season under their belts as major contributors, UK’s juniors and sophomores can make a difference next year. I have a feeling that scenario will not work for about 90% of Wildcat Nation. It is a fan base that craves instant gratification. Unfortunately whether you like it or not it may be a long and sometimes ugly waiting game before these Cats provide that gratification.
Catholic vs Private Schools
In the state of Kentucky, the separation of private and public schools in state athletic tournaments has gotten a lot of attention in the past year. The four classes of state football championships this season did nothing but stoke a roaring fire.
Consider this, of the eight teams competing for state championships in their respective classes, five were private catholic schools. By my quick, very unofficial count, only eleven of the 221 high schools that play football in Kentucky are private. I'm almost certain that count is off, so take it with a large grain of salt, but the point is a very small percentage of schools are private, yet they made up 63% of the participants in the state football title games.
An even better argument in my opinion is the argument of Bowling Green High. BGHS dominated the regular and post seasons, with only a loss to 4A champ St. Xavier (a Catholic school.) BGHS gave up only 54 points in their first fourteen games. If you're scoring at home, that's about 3.86 points per game. In the title game against Lexington Catholic, they gave up 49 points. BGHS didn't suddenly forget how to play defense, they got beat by a team that recruits better players than BGHS sees enroll.
Two losses on the year, both to Catholic schools. 103 points given up on the year, 62 to Catholic schools in two games (just 41 to 13 other opponents.)
I don't want to see the schools divided because for schools like Owensboro Catholic and other small private schools, it would be a death sentence. But for football at least, something needs to be done to once again level the playing field. If not for OCatholic's loss to Russell in the 2A title game, Catholic schools would have swept the state titles. It's time for a change.
Consider this, of the eight teams competing for state championships in their respective classes, five were private catholic schools. By my quick, very unofficial count, only eleven of the 221 high schools that play football in Kentucky are private. I'm almost certain that count is off, so take it with a large grain of salt, but the point is a very small percentage of schools are private, yet they made up 63% of the participants in the state football title games.
An even better argument in my opinion is the argument of Bowling Green High. BGHS dominated the regular and post seasons, with only a loss to 4A champ St. Xavier (a Catholic school.) BGHS gave up only 54 points in their first fourteen games. If you're scoring at home, that's about 3.86 points per game. In the title game against Lexington Catholic, they gave up 49 points. BGHS didn't suddenly forget how to play defense, they got beat by a team that recruits better players than BGHS sees enroll.
Two losses on the year, both to Catholic schools. 103 points given up on the year, 62 to Catholic schools in two games (just 41 to 13 other opponents.)
I don't want to see the schools divided because for schools like Owensboro Catholic and other small private schools, it would be a death sentence. But for football at least, something needs to be done to once again level the playing field. If not for OCatholic's loss to Russell in the 2A title game, Catholic schools would have swept the state titles. It's time for a change.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Christmas songs to check out this season.
Christmas, Christmas time is here, time for something, time for cheer. It is also time for good ol’ Christmas music. I used to be one of those people who couldn’t stand to hear Christmas music unless you were in church or it was Christmas Eve. Apparently in my old age I have now become a Christmas music fan. Maybe it helps me to slow down and enjoy the season a little more. I even have my own rotation of songs that I must listen to every season.
In fact, I just downloaded an embarrassing amount of songs from Itunes today. I lost my cd of illegally downloaded Christmas songs and I had to start anew. Unfortunately I could not get two of my faves, but I replaced most of them and even added a few. Here are a few songs you should check out this season.
To begin with, you can never go wrong with any Christmas song by Andy Williams, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Burl Ives, and especially “Der Bingle” Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley (this all goes without saying).
Any song from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
I normally do not like Bruce Springsteen, but his version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” is excellent.
The Kinks Father Christmas
John Mellencamp I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Bing Crosby Mele Kalikimaka
The McKenzie Brothers The 12 Days of Christmas (“On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a beer in a tree”)
Nat King Cole The Christmas Song
The Temptations Silent Night
Donnie Hathaway This Christmas
The Ramones Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)
The Carpenters Merry Christmas Darling (Actually any Christmas song by the Carpenters is good.)
Fats Domino Please Come Home for Christmas
Eric Cartman O Holy Night (The version with the cattle prod)
There were two songs I could not get from Itunes and these are two great songs. One is John Lennon’s Happy Christmas (War is Over) and the other is Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime. I guess Itunes has not been authorized to sell their music which does not suit me, but I have XM and their 4 or 5 Christmas music channels to help me find them.
Those are a few songs that I highly recommend for your listening pleasure. I am sure you have favorites of your own, but maybe there is something here that will become a new favorite. I also must highly recommend any and all traditional hymns whether they be sung by choirs or “stars” or anyone. Those are truly the best songs for this season. Enjoy!!!!!
In fact, I just downloaded an embarrassing amount of songs from Itunes today. I lost my cd of illegally downloaded Christmas songs and I had to start anew. Unfortunately I could not get two of my faves, but I replaced most of them and even added a few. Here are a few songs you should check out this season.
To begin with, you can never go wrong with any Christmas song by Andy Williams, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Burl Ives, and especially “Der Bingle” Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley (this all goes without saying).
Any song from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
I normally do not like Bruce Springsteen, but his version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” is excellent.
The Kinks Father Christmas
John Mellencamp I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Bing Crosby Mele Kalikimaka
The McKenzie Brothers The 12 Days of Christmas (“On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a beer in a tree”)
Nat King Cole The Christmas Song
The Temptations Silent Night
Donnie Hathaway This Christmas
The Ramones Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)
The Carpenters Merry Christmas Darling (Actually any Christmas song by the Carpenters is good.)
Fats Domino Please Come Home for Christmas
Eric Cartman O Holy Night (The version with the cattle prod)
There were two songs I could not get from Itunes and these are two great songs. One is John Lennon’s Happy Christmas (War is Over) and the other is Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime. I guess Itunes has not been authorized to sell their music which does not suit me, but I have XM and their 4 or 5 Christmas music channels to help me find them.
Those are a few songs that I highly recommend for your listening pleasure. I am sure you have favorites of your own, but maybe there is something here that will become a new favorite. I also must highly recommend any and all traditional hymns whether they be sung by choirs or “stars” or anyone. Those are truly the best songs for this season. Enjoy!!!!!
Stan Van Gundy "resigns." Could retun to adult films be far behind?
Okay, does anyone really believe that Stan Van Gundy is “resigning” because he wants to spend more time with his family? Isn’t this the generic excuse that is used when someone is forced out of their position and there is no answer other than the most obvious? The obvious answer in this case is that Pat Riley sees the team that has been constructed in Miami and he wants it. He has already talked openly about how he would love to coach Shaq and Shaq loves Riley.
Shaq + Riley = resigned Van Gundy
I would not be surprised to find out that both Shaq and Riley were behind this. I will also not be surprised to read in the off season about Van Gundy’s desire to return to coaching. He will say this after speaking with his family of course. I would imagine that until he is ready to return to coaching, Van Gundy will spend time with his family and resume his adult film career under his alias, Ron Jeremy (click the link and see for yourself).
Shaq + Riley = resigned Van Gundy
I would not be surprised to find out that both Shaq and Riley were behind this. I will also not be surprised to read in the off season about Van Gundy’s desire to return to coaching. He will say this after speaking with his family of course. I would imagine that until he is ready to return to coaching, Van Gundy will spend time with his family and resume his adult film career under his alias, Ron Jeremy (click the link and see for yourself).
New Daddy Diary, Entry #3
Sleep? What Sleep?!?!
Among the hundreds of cliches parents endure during a pregnancy, the most common is the, "Enjoy your sleep while you can" cliche. I, like every father before me, appreciated the obvious advice but got very tired of hearing the same things over and over.
Nothing could have been more true than that cliche however. Sleep has become a rare commodity, far more precious than gold. Me complaining about my sleep is downright shameful when you consider the serious lack of sleep my wife has to endure as a breastfeeding mother. Several times a night she is up with him, changing, feeding, burping and rocking. The whole ordeal last for nearly an hour. When that happens three or four times a night, then you can see the problem.
Mrs. Worfner and I had decided that Sunday morning would be young Aiden's first trip to church services. On Saturday night and into Sunday morning, Aiden changed our plans. He was very fussy all night, but at 3AM he woke up and stayed up until 7:30. Needless to say, my wife and son didn't accompany me to services that morning. Since I was only up for less than half of that, I did manage to make it although I missed out on bible study before services.
I have the ability to sleep through my child's screams. I'm not bragging, in fact, it's embarassing to me. My wife has accused me of ignoring him, and deep down I think she believes I am. I tell you I am not. I told her early on, just wake me up and I'll be glad to change him and do what I can. For 3 1/2 weeks she never would take me up on it. I'm glad to say she got over that this weekend. And I truly am thankful. It helps alleviate some of my guilt for not being able to do more.
So all you soon to be fathers and potential parents, enjoy your sleep now. It's a rarity when you become the parent of a newborn. At least I'm at work now where I can catch up on my rest.
Catan: expanding the universe
For those of you who haven't played The Settlers of Catan, I warn you that your time is coming. This is a game that has been around for some time, but is slowly growing in popularity in the US. To give a brief description, it is a strategy game for 3-4 people and it takes a fraction of the time that risk takes. It involves building settlements and roads to new places to build new settlements. And upgrading settlements to cities. The bottom line is that the first one to ten wins and there are multiple ways to get points so each game you determine what will be the fastest way for you to get there.
We have introduced the game to a few new people and have met some others who have played a long time. Piccu and Bratch have played it a little, but it really gets better after you play 3 times or so.
In addition there are expansions to the game which add new rules and make the game continue to be interesting. Oh, and another thing is that the board changes every game.
If you haven't heard of this and like board games, then check it out. It is a lot of fun.
We have introduced the game to a few new people and have met some others who have played a long time. Piccu and Bratch have played it a little, but it really gets better after you play 3 times or so.
In addition there are expansions to the game which add new rules and make the game continue to be interesting. Oh, and another thing is that the board changes every game.
If you haven't heard of this and like board games, then check it out. It is a lot of fun.
A New Idea of What to do with the Family Farm
Diggin' up potatoes? Not in Asia. More like digging up Orcs. Game fars are a new craze taking over Asia. Here are these places where people live and eat and "work." If you call work building up PC game players much in the tradition of Ever Quest. Now the game is Warcraft World. So essentially these people spend all day doing the leg work building up money and weapons for a character on the game. Then they sell the character and repeat. i have heard that if the good people of World Warcraft find out then they delete the character.
Video games are fun, but paying someone to play it for you? C'mon, if you are going to get addicted to a PC game atleast have the decency to do it yourself.
I had a classmate in Med school who nearly flunked out because he was playing Everquest. He ended up selling his junk on ebay and quitting. The price tag: $10,000.
Check out the link for more details on the article and pictures of the compound.
Video games are fun, but paying someone to play it for you? C'mon, if you are going to get addicted to a PC game atleast have the decency to do it yourself.
I had a classmate in Med school who nearly flunked out because he was playing Everquest. He ended up selling his junk on ebay and quitting. The price tag: $10,000.
Check out the link for more details on the article and pictures of the compound.
Howard Stern and satellite radio...
First of all, I'm a bit of a radiophile. I really love good radio.
That being said, there isn't much good radio here in western Kentucky. In fact, there isn't any good radio at all. That is except for good old satellite radio like XM or Sirius. Piccu and I have XM radio which is beyond great. I love my XM radio as much or more than Piccu and Merlin love their DVR/TiVos.
Dec. 16 will also be the last day of Howard Stern's career as a "terrestrial" radio personality. Beginning Jan. 9 or so he'll be on Sirius satellite radio and in the article linked in the title, he's already coming up with insanely over the top ideas. On satellite radio he has no boundaries. Anything and everything will go and Sirius increased it's subscriptions from about 600,000 to 2.2 million since the announcement of Stern's move.
I haven't heard much of Sirius, but I dig some of their radios and they have some interesting looking shows, but when Piccu and I got in with XM it was because XM had the foot hold and was the smarter choice. Sirius has too many channels of just one artist. If I want to hear all Rolling Stones or all Tupac I'll listen to their CDs. Even though I have no Tupac CDs... Not that there's anything wrong with that.
The problem I have with Stern is the same problem I have with XM's Opie and Anthony. Opie and Anthony were fired from terrestrial radio because of the wild things they did on their morning talk show. I think broadcasting two people having sex in a church confessional or something did them in.
Either way, XM put O&A on their own channel and if you wanted that channel it was going to cost you an extra $2.95 or something. I'm going to say that very few people wanted to pay the extra fee. Then XM moved O&A to a channel called High Voltage and I believe they conveniently raised their subscription fees from $9.95 to $12.95 thinking that no one would notice and acted like they were doing us a favor.
Until now, you could hear O&A 24-7 with the live show in the morning and replays all day. Now they've added Ron & Fez which I've not listened to as of yet.
I listen to the Monsters in the Morning on Extreme 152. The Monsters are based in Orlando and syndicated on one other station. They are funny and have had a lot of drama on the show in that one of their members got mad and bailed on the show, but moved to another show since she had a contract with the station. Anyway, all of the remaining Monsters hate her now, but the show is funny because they just beat on each other, talk and let ignorant rednecks call in.
I've listened to Stern before and he's horrible. It's 6 hours of whatever he talked about in the first hour mixed in with making fun of hookers and porn stars. As if they had a wonderful childhood and when they graduated with honors from college they decided the sex-trade was for them. Then Stern will sometimes pick on a celebrity and pound on them with the same jokes for the entire show as it the jokes are just as fresh at 11 a.m. as they were when he came up with them at 5 a.m.
O&A is pretty much like that, but they curse so much it really takes away from the show since they are only on XM. I've always thought that bleeps and complete dumps were more funny than hearing the actual word. But they just do crazy over the top stuff and curse all of the time. So it's not appealing to me.
That's why I would rather listen to the Monsters. They are on satellite radio, but they still risk getting thrown off of Clear Channel. And since they are a crew of about 7 people, some of which are making at least $100,000, I'm thinking that they don't want to rock the boat. In fact, all of Extreme 152 on XM is shows from terrestrial stations. The Monsters, Tony Kornheiser, Lex & Terry (thanks XM for moving G. Gordon Liddy to Ask), then the Phillips Phile, Phil Hendrie, Davie Lawrence and John & Jeff. I'm not a big fan of Hendrie, but you can listen to Extreme all day long and have a blast.
Good talk radio is nonexistent outside of major cities and I like the radio for music too. Sure you can listen to your own CDs but the radio turns you on to other music and with XM, since you can see the band name and song title, you might find a song that you liked, but never knew who played it.
Then you make your way to iTunes and download that sucker. But that's for another time.
That being said, there isn't much good radio here in western Kentucky. In fact, there isn't any good radio at all. That is except for good old satellite radio like XM or Sirius. Piccu and I have XM radio which is beyond great. I love my XM radio as much or more than Piccu and Merlin love their DVR/TiVos.
Dec. 16 will also be the last day of Howard Stern's career as a "terrestrial" radio personality. Beginning Jan. 9 or so he'll be on Sirius satellite radio and in the article linked in the title, he's already coming up with insanely over the top ideas. On satellite radio he has no boundaries. Anything and everything will go and Sirius increased it's subscriptions from about 600,000 to 2.2 million since the announcement of Stern's move.
I haven't heard much of Sirius, but I dig some of their radios and they have some interesting looking shows, but when Piccu and I got in with XM it was because XM had the foot hold and was the smarter choice. Sirius has too many channels of just one artist. If I want to hear all Rolling Stones or all Tupac I'll listen to their CDs. Even though I have no Tupac CDs... Not that there's anything wrong with that.
The problem I have with Stern is the same problem I have with XM's Opie and Anthony. Opie and Anthony were fired from terrestrial radio because of the wild things they did on their morning talk show. I think broadcasting two people having sex in a church confessional or something did them in.
Either way, XM put O&A on their own channel and if you wanted that channel it was going to cost you an extra $2.95 or something. I'm going to say that very few people wanted to pay the extra fee. Then XM moved O&A to a channel called High Voltage and I believe they conveniently raised their subscription fees from $9.95 to $12.95 thinking that no one would notice and acted like they were doing us a favor.
Until now, you could hear O&A 24-7 with the live show in the morning and replays all day. Now they've added Ron & Fez which I've not listened to as of yet.
I listen to the Monsters in the Morning on Extreme 152. The Monsters are based in Orlando and syndicated on one other station. They are funny and have had a lot of drama on the show in that one of their members got mad and bailed on the show, but moved to another show since she had a contract with the station. Anyway, all of the remaining Monsters hate her now, but the show is funny because they just beat on each other, talk and let ignorant rednecks call in.
I've listened to Stern before and he's horrible. It's 6 hours of whatever he talked about in the first hour mixed in with making fun of hookers and porn stars. As if they had a wonderful childhood and when they graduated with honors from college they decided the sex-trade was for them. Then Stern will sometimes pick on a celebrity and pound on them with the same jokes for the entire show as it the jokes are just as fresh at 11 a.m. as they were when he came up with them at 5 a.m.
O&A is pretty much like that, but they curse so much it really takes away from the show since they are only on XM. I've always thought that bleeps and complete dumps were more funny than hearing the actual word. But they just do crazy over the top stuff and curse all of the time. So it's not appealing to me.
That's why I would rather listen to the Monsters. They are on satellite radio, but they still risk getting thrown off of Clear Channel. And since they are a crew of about 7 people, some of which are making at least $100,000, I'm thinking that they don't want to rock the boat. In fact, all of Extreme 152 on XM is shows from terrestrial stations. The Monsters, Tony Kornheiser, Lex & Terry (thanks XM for moving G. Gordon Liddy to Ask), then the Phillips Phile, Phil Hendrie, Davie Lawrence and John & Jeff. I'm not a big fan of Hendrie, but you can listen to Extreme all day long and have a blast.
Good talk radio is nonexistent outside of major cities and I like the radio for music too. Sure you can listen to your own CDs but the radio turns you on to other music and with XM, since you can see the band name and song title, you might find a song that you liked, but never knew who played it.
Then you make your way to iTunes and download that sucker. But that's for another time.
Friday, December 09, 2005
My brief turn on the couch
The lay person (including myself prior to med school) really doesn't understand what psychiatry is relative to psychology or other medicine. So in brief, we are trained to be experts in the psychiatric medications (which there are several that are increasingly better understood), diagnosing disorders based on symptoms, psychotherapy (think of the couch), and a few assorted procedures. Psychologists do the testing which we use the results. This is actually more involved than you may think.
Anyway, to get to the point of this post, I was in psychotherapy lecture and we were discussing a recent tragedy with one of our colleagues. We started talking about suicide and the effect it has on the caregivers. I was listening and interjected my limited experience with a high school classmate commiting suicide. It was pretty profound the effect it had on me since we were friends but not great friends. I immediately went back to the time I found out about the whole thing and the difficulty I had with the whole situation. The psychotherapist, without meaning to, slipped into her therapy mode with me. She asked a couple of questions that I had not ever thought about and essentially I was in the fetal position sucking my thumb. Well, that is an exageration, but the experience was profound.
It is amazing how a few well placed very simple questions can reveal so much. I really enjoy this part of my training so far; I hope to continue to get better at it.
Anyway, to get to the point of this post, I was in psychotherapy lecture and we were discussing a recent tragedy with one of our colleagues. We started talking about suicide and the effect it has on the caregivers. I was listening and interjected my limited experience with a high school classmate commiting suicide. It was pretty profound the effect it had on me since we were friends but not great friends. I immediately went back to the time I found out about the whole thing and the difficulty I had with the whole situation. The psychotherapist, without meaning to, slipped into her therapy mode with me. She asked a couple of questions that I had not ever thought about and essentially I was in the fetal position sucking my thumb. Well, that is an exageration, but the experience was profound.
It is amazing how a few well placed very simple questions can reveal so much. I really enjoy this part of my training so far; I hope to continue to get better at it.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Success, but not in the snow...
OK, so I'm easily impressed.
I just printed my first test CD on my new printer and it is too cool. I set it up to print a little light, so it is a little light now, but it might also darken up after the mandatory 24 hour drying period.
It didn't snow today despite the forecasted 5-8 inches we were supposed to get. We did probably get an inch and a half of rain though. That would probably equal up in frozen form.
Anyway, this printer, the Epson Stylus Photo R220 is phenomenal. Especially for the money($100). I've read on several web sites that it's not the best for text printing, but it is supposed to be great for photos. Also inexpensive to boot as far as buying photo paper and ink for 4x6 and 5x7 photos. It will also print 8x10 photos, but photo paper isn't that cheap in 8x10 form. When it really comes down to it, Wal-Mart or Walgreens is the way to go for photo printing.
No consumer printer you can buy will touch their giant Fujifilm machine. You can get your digital photos out of the same machine that people get their film processed in and it will look much better than any consumer printer. And with professional results for .19 cents (4x6), $1.57 (5x7) and $2.84 (8x10) you're a fool for even considering purchasing a printer just for printing photos. You might be able to spend $500-$1000 and get a printer worthy of a contest to beat Wal-Mart, but it will wear out before you can print enough photos to make it worth the money.
The sole reason I bought this printer was for printing these CDs. A guy at a computer store in Owensboro where a friend of mine works, turned me onto it since I didn't want to spend too much money, but wanted better results than the last time. The odd part about it is that all of the manuals and documentation with the printer have all of these precautions and steps you should take to make it all go and they really weren't needed. They wanted to make sure that the image was positioned right and I'm sure that the print heads didn't miss the disc all together. I just printed the thing just to see if it would work and it was perfect.
I also shot a wedding a few weeks ago while my buddy shot the video so I might get some printable DVDs and make another copy of the DVD I authored of the video.
It really amazes me how far everything has come since I started fiddling with computers over 10 years ago. We were compressing huge complex 6 megabyte graphics and having to span them across 3 floppy discs so we could print them on the computer with the printer hooked up to it.
Now I have a wireless network in my house and I have a tiny jump drive that I can plug into any computer that can hold over 100 times as much data as a floppy disc which are all but a thing of the past. And those giant 6 megabyte files are now pushing well past 60 megabytes and they aren't really that complex.
And the biggest change is that I'm not even using Windows anymore. I just got in as Windows 3.1 had given way to Windows 95 which was like the British Invasion when it was released. Educated on Windows machines and laughed at the Mac-heads and their crappy and crashy OS 9 computers.
Now I'm using OS X powered Macs and wonder how you people live with Windows.
I just printed my first test CD on my new printer and it is too cool. I set it up to print a little light, so it is a little light now, but it might also darken up after the mandatory 24 hour drying period.
It didn't snow today despite the forecasted 5-8 inches we were supposed to get. We did probably get an inch and a half of rain though. That would probably equal up in frozen form.
Anyway, this printer, the Epson Stylus Photo R220 is phenomenal. Especially for the money($100). I've read on several web sites that it's not the best for text printing, but it is supposed to be great for photos. Also inexpensive to boot as far as buying photo paper and ink for 4x6 and 5x7 photos. It will also print 8x10 photos, but photo paper isn't that cheap in 8x10 form. When it really comes down to it, Wal-Mart or Walgreens is the way to go for photo printing.
No consumer printer you can buy will touch their giant Fujifilm machine. You can get your digital photos out of the same machine that people get their film processed in and it will look much better than any consumer printer. And with professional results for .19 cents (4x6), $1.57 (5x7) and $2.84 (8x10) you're a fool for even considering purchasing a printer just for printing photos. You might be able to spend $500-$1000 and get a printer worthy of a contest to beat Wal-Mart, but it will wear out before you can print enough photos to make it worth the money.
The sole reason I bought this printer was for printing these CDs. A guy at a computer store in Owensboro where a friend of mine works, turned me onto it since I didn't want to spend too much money, but wanted better results than the last time. The odd part about it is that all of the manuals and documentation with the printer have all of these precautions and steps you should take to make it all go and they really weren't needed. They wanted to make sure that the image was positioned right and I'm sure that the print heads didn't miss the disc all together. I just printed the thing just to see if it would work and it was perfect.
I also shot a wedding a few weeks ago while my buddy shot the video so I might get some printable DVDs and make another copy of the DVD I authored of the video.
It really amazes me how far everything has come since I started fiddling with computers over 10 years ago. We were compressing huge complex 6 megabyte graphics and having to span them across 3 floppy discs so we could print them on the computer with the printer hooked up to it.
Now I have a wireless network in my house and I have a tiny jump drive that I can plug into any computer that can hold over 100 times as much data as a floppy disc which are all but a thing of the past. And those giant 6 megabyte files are now pushing well past 60 megabytes and they aren't really that complex.
And the biggest change is that I'm not even using Windows anymore. I just got in as Windows 3.1 had given way to Windows 95 which was like the British Invasion when it was released. Educated on Windows machines and laughed at the Mac-heads and their crappy and crashy OS 9 computers.
Now I'm using OS X powered Macs and wonder how you people live with Windows.
A day that will live in infamy
I know that today is the day that John Lennon was killed about 25 years ago, but that's not what this is about. The day I'm talking about is yesterday which was the day that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor way back in 1941.
I didn't really see or hear too much about Pearl Harbor yesterday. I wasn't really looking for it I must say, but I've noticed a lot about Lennon's death today. I'm not going to say that they are giving Lennon more air time than they did an entire generation of heroes, but I would have to say that news organizations are giving it an awful lot of time.
I don't guess I have too much of a problem with it because it was in the 1980's and Howard Cosell announced it on Monday Night Football back when people partied hard on Monday night for the game.
However, I think it was Tom Brokaw that labeled the WWII generation as "the greatest generation" and he's right. And that isn't just Americans. That war was truly faught on every continent except Antarctica. Everyone has a relative or knows someone who was in WWII. Yesterday I attended an event and a local Pearl Harbor survivor was also in attendance. In fact he's on the front page of the regional daily newspaper today at another event from yesterday.
Go check out some movies and see what some of these folks did for their countries. Heck, Hollywood was making movies about the war during the war. Granted, most of those movies don't depict the actual violence as realistically as Steven Spielberg does in the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan, but special effects afford that these days.
And the U.S. and its citizens mobilized its military and sacrificed everything even when the Great Depression was still in full swing. Rival companies like Ford and Willys/Jeep both produced Jeeps. And they were created with small parts so that factories that normally built things like refrigerators could make hoods and fenders for the military.
Lennon being killed was a major event, but it isn't in the same league as Pearl Harbor and even though Pearl Harbor was around 40 years earlier, time shouldn't begin to diminish that day's significance. Pearl Harbor being attacked officially began WWII. Which spawned Midway, The Battle of the Bulge, D-Day and the atomic bombing of Japan.
It truly amazes me sometimes when I go cover a story or something out in one of the three Japanese factories we have right out in my backyard. To think of what they did to the U.S. and what it cost that country. They attacked a military installation and we dropped two atomic bombs on top of local metro areas killing 120,000 people instantly.
Look at it like this. In this day of instant news on the TV, after seeing that war go down we'd all be in therapy and Merlin would be a billionaire.
Unbelievable.
So remember today for John Lennon, but also keep in mind the half dozen or more other days of remembrance that began on Dec. 7, 1941.
I didn't really see or hear too much about Pearl Harbor yesterday. I wasn't really looking for it I must say, but I've noticed a lot about Lennon's death today. I'm not going to say that they are giving Lennon more air time than they did an entire generation of heroes, but I would have to say that news organizations are giving it an awful lot of time.
I don't guess I have too much of a problem with it because it was in the 1980's and Howard Cosell announced it on Monday Night Football back when people partied hard on Monday night for the game.
However, I think it was Tom Brokaw that labeled the WWII generation as "the greatest generation" and he's right. And that isn't just Americans. That war was truly faught on every continent except Antarctica. Everyone has a relative or knows someone who was in WWII. Yesterday I attended an event and a local Pearl Harbor survivor was also in attendance. In fact he's on the front page of the regional daily newspaper today at another event from yesterday.
Go check out some movies and see what some of these folks did for their countries. Heck, Hollywood was making movies about the war during the war. Granted, most of those movies don't depict the actual violence as realistically as Steven Spielberg does in the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan, but special effects afford that these days.
And the U.S. and its citizens mobilized its military and sacrificed everything even when the Great Depression was still in full swing. Rival companies like Ford and Willys/Jeep both produced Jeeps. And they were created with small parts so that factories that normally built things like refrigerators could make hoods and fenders for the military.
Lennon being killed was a major event, but it isn't in the same league as Pearl Harbor and even though Pearl Harbor was around 40 years earlier, time shouldn't begin to diminish that day's significance. Pearl Harbor being attacked officially began WWII. Which spawned Midway, The Battle of the Bulge, D-Day and the atomic bombing of Japan.
It truly amazes me sometimes when I go cover a story or something out in one of the three Japanese factories we have right out in my backyard. To think of what they did to the U.S. and what it cost that country. They attacked a military installation and we dropped two atomic bombs on top of local metro areas killing 120,000 people instantly.
Look at it like this. In this day of instant news on the TV, after seeing that war go down we'd all be in therapy and Merlin would be a billionaire.
Unbelievable.
So remember today for John Lennon, but also keep in mind the half dozen or more other days of remembrance that began on Dec. 7, 1941.
Weight Loss is Easy:just don't eat.
This was the jist of this new diet talked about on the Today Show yesterday morning. After a brief search I couldn't find the link to get to the interview or to info about the book the woman was peddling.
It was completely insane. Essentially, she said eat what you want and worry about losing the weight and not eating healthy at this point. For example, if you have craving for ice cream then eat it. One stipulation, and it's really a minor detail: don't eat when you're not hungry. Simple enough, right? UHHHHHHHHH, how 'bout no. I don't completely disagree that if you are really deciding between obesity and eating healthy, obesity is worse to a point. So sure if eating a bowl of ice cream is going to keep you from eating at the buffet then eating the ice cream too; I day go for it.
Here in lies the glaringly disssapointing problem: the mass of people with obesity issues cannot control what they eat and how much. This moron was making it sound as if that was all there is too it. That really is all there is to it, but people can't break that. If just deciding to change your eating habits with no further help of plans worked we wouldn't be in this mess. I see this as a novel approach to dieting and weight loss that will help a small percentage of people and worsen or at least in no way benefit the masses. Oh, I forgot to mention that it is a way to line the pockets of someone who is making money off this crap book.
Here is some free advice that will work if carried out guaranteed. If you exercise more and eat less total calories regardless of the content of calories, you will lose weight. If the content of the calories are from diverse healthy sources, then you get more benefit. Really, in a nut shell that is all there is to the mechanics of weight loss and better health. There are many ways to improve the how's of getting to a good point with good plan, but you have to ask me to get my opinion for your specific situation.
Oh, and don't waste time or money on that book. There are better solutions.
It was completely insane. Essentially, she said eat what you want and worry about losing the weight and not eating healthy at this point. For example, if you have craving for ice cream then eat it. One stipulation, and it's really a minor detail: don't eat when you're not hungry. Simple enough, right? UHHHHHHHHH, how 'bout no. I don't completely disagree that if you are really deciding between obesity and eating healthy, obesity is worse to a point. So sure if eating a bowl of ice cream is going to keep you from eating at the buffet then eating the ice cream too; I day go for it.
Here in lies the glaringly disssapointing problem: the mass of people with obesity issues cannot control what they eat and how much. This moron was making it sound as if that was all there is too it. That really is all there is to it, but people can't break that. If just deciding to change your eating habits with no further help of plans worked we wouldn't be in this mess. I see this as a novel approach to dieting and weight loss that will help a small percentage of people and worsen or at least in no way benefit the masses. Oh, I forgot to mention that it is a way to line the pockets of someone who is making money off this crap book.
Here is some free advice that will work if carried out guaranteed. If you exercise more and eat less total calories regardless of the content of calories, you will lose weight. If the content of the calories are from diverse healthy sources, then you get more benefit. Really, in a nut shell that is all there is to the mechanics of weight loss and better health. There are many ways to improve the how's of getting to a good point with good plan, but you have to ask me to get my opinion for your specific situation.
Oh, and don't waste time or money on that book. There are better solutions.
Dads & Daughters album to be reissued
Yes that's right folks, we've decided to do a second pressing of the Dads and Daughters' album Song Books and Pianos.
Some of you may or may not know that the Dads and Daughters is a gospel group that is made up of some of myself, Piccu's and Merlin's family members. My grandfather was sort of the leader the of group and my mother plays the piano with my aunt and cousin and great uncle involved as well, among others.
Basically every dad had a daughter in the group, but I guess what made people love their music so much is that anyone that wanted to sing along could join in. Of course they had a nice group of really solid singers that they would use to fill in, but the core group was what made them go.
Piccu and I made up these CDs last Christmas and gave them away. The recordings are far from professional. They were made with the cheapest boomboxes and cassette players that money could buy. They were all made by my grandfather and he only made them to see how they sounded. He passed away several years ago as have other dads in the group, but despite the poor audio, people can't seem to get enough of them.
The music is straight up old time gospel with only a piano played by my mother accompanying them. There is something about the energy in the songs. Nothing in the contemporary christian or traditional gospel genres can touch it. I can't listen to that stuff. For some reason I guess people think that making the simple hymnal songs huge arrangements with a full band would be a good idea, but it's not. I don't even care if the piano isn't in tune. For a Christmas vibe I also threw in a recording of my mother singing the only version of O Holy Night that need be uttered by the human voice. But that's just my opinion. Elvis could almost do it as well, but not quite.
With the last run of 50, the biggest setback was that I was trying to make it look as professional as a desktop production could be and cover on the actual discs themselves is tough to do well. You can print out sticker-style labels, I did, and they are adequate, but I wanted something a little better. I noticed that after being in my truck for a winter that air bubbles formed under the paper.
I was looking into Lightscribe CDs, which would be ideal in my opinion despite it being monchrome, but I don't need a $150 DVD burner. I just need a device that will do the Lightscribe part. Lightscribe is awesome because it uses the laser in a DVD/CD burner and etches a picture into a special coating on top of a DVD or CD. Incredible technology, but discs are somewhat hard to come by and I don't want to invest in a DVD burner when I already have one.
My solution at this point is a fairly new printer from Epson, my favorite inkjet printer company. I just purchased an Epson Stylus Photo R220 inkjet printer today. It is a very inexpensive printer in that it only costs $100. What makes this printer super cool is that it can print covers on CDs and DVDs. And they have blank discs with a pure white cover for just such a thing. The only difference is that most CD printers are much more expensive. The only draw back is that since it is ink, they have to dry for about 24 hours and they aren't waterproof, but it's much better than a silly old sticker. And it's a regular printer too. Most consider it to print photos very well. With 6 colors it should.
So, after a $15 two year warranty and 50 printable CDs, I'm out about $150. I'll get about 75 CD covers/notes printed at a local print house and we'll be in the run for about $225 or so. I should be able to make that back and hopefully make a sizable donation to the church.
So I'll probably get my snow photo for tomorrow and come home to figure out how this thing works. I made CDs the last time it snowed.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
New Daddy Diary, Entry#2
I've never considered myself to be tolerant of being urinated on. Throughout my life before parenthood I can honestly not remember it ever happening to me, and I've never felt like I've missed out on anything. RKelly jokes aside, it's just not appealing to have someone else's waste poured on you.
I have the distinct honor of being the first parent to be baptized by our son. The maiden voyage on the U.S.S.P.P happened during his first bath. He was laying on a towel on the sink and both of us had turned our heads for just a moment when my shoulder felt suddenly warm, then moist. How did I react, naturally I put my hand up, changed my shirt and moved on with little more than a chuckle.
Since we have learned the lesson that little boys will urinate upon immediate contact with air. Thus removing the diaper becomes an act of skill. My son has peed on himself already more times than I care to mention. Face, hair, belly, arms, back. He has expressed his displeasure with our choice of window blinds and paint color in a like manner. To save yet another cleaning of the wall, I have elected to have my hand covered in pee more than once.
I'm getting quicker with the new diaper as well, but then you've wasted a diaper. And while diapers aren't comparable to rare coinage in value, I'm too miserly to throw anything away. No, before you ask, I don't put it on anyway, I just hate throwing a slightly damp diaper away. So I resist the urge to let it air dry and throw it in the Diaper Genie anyway. And I sulk.
It's amazing the things you become accustomed to. Being peed on. Cleaning someone else's anus. Being spit up on. Ear bloodying screams. And we're not even four weeks in. Think of what I'll become numb to next week.
I have the distinct honor of being the first parent to be baptized by our son. The maiden voyage on the U.S.S.P.P happened during his first bath. He was laying on a towel on the sink and both of us had turned our heads for just a moment when my shoulder felt suddenly warm, then moist. How did I react, naturally I put my hand up, changed my shirt and moved on with little more than a chuckle.
Since we have learned the lesson that little boys will urinate upon immediate contact with air. Thus removing the diaper becomes an act of skill. My son has peed on himself already more times than I care to mention. Face, hair, belly, arms, back. He has expressed his displeasure with our choice of window blinds and paint color in a like manner. To save yet another cleaning of the wall, I have elected to have my hand covered in pee more than once.
I'm getting quicker with the new diaper as well, but then you've wasted a diaper. And while diapers aren't comparable to rare coinage in value, I'm too miserly to throw anything away. No, before you ask, I don't put it on anyway, I just hate throwing a slightly damp diaper away. So I resist the urge to let it air dry and throw it in the Diaper Genie anyway. And I sulk.
It's amazing the things you become accustomed to. Being peed on. Cleaning someone else's anus. Being spit up on. Ear bloodying screams. And we're not even four weeks in. Think of what I'll become numb to next week.
How do you spell love in Hollywood? D I V O R C E
Is it me or does there seem to be a lot of divorce in the celebrity world these days? Nick and Jessica have decided something that we as a society decided long ago. Just like us, they can’t stand each other. I just read about Christina Applegate divorcing her lesser known actor husband. I wonder if her being a known entity and him being known only as Christina Applegate’s husband had anything to do with it?
I also just found out that Britney and Kevin’s marriage is in trouble, though Britney is determined to stay unhappily married to spite all the millions and millions of people who knew this wouldn’t work. Also in music divorce news, Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli are divorcing after 24 years of marriage and a kid named Wolfgang. I have to tell you, I could have sworn they were divorced years ago. Hopefully this will get Eddie back into the studio and do something, anything.
But just when you think the whole world has gone crazy and everyone is splitting up, you read about the nuptials of Marilyn Manson. After a four year courtship, Manson recently married his longtime squeeze, Heather Sweet. You may know her as burlesque dancer and fetish model Dita Von Teese. Just remember this, when you start to get depressed and think that all your favorite celeb marriages or all marriages in general are doomed to end in divorce, you can always look to Marilyn Manson to help restore your faith in the blessed union of marriage.
I also just found out that Britney and Kevin’s marriage is in trouble, though Britney is determined to stay unhappily married to spite all the millions and millions of people who knew this wouldn’t work. Also in music divorce news, Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli are divorcing after 24 years of marriage and a kid named Wolfgang. I have to tell you, I could have sworn they were divorced years ago. Hopefully this will get Eddie back into the studio and do something, anything.
But just when you think the whole world has gone crazy and everyone is splitting up, you read about the nuptials of Marilyn Manson. After a four year courtship, Manson recently married his longtime squeeze, Heather Sweet. You may know her as burlesque dancer and fetish model Dita Von Teese. Just remember this, when you start to get depressed and think that all your favorite celeb marriages or all marriages in general are doomed to end in divorce, you can always look to Marilyn Manson to help restore your faith in the blessed union of marriage.
It's the end of an era, Rickey Be Rickey has retired.
It is a sad day for baseball fans; Rickey Henderson has officially retired from baseball. Of course he hasn’t played in the majors in like three or four years, but he was toiling away in the independent leagues because he basically wanted to play ball. He was the greatest leadoff hitter in history, at least when hitting leadoff still meant something, and he is the all time steals leader, when steals used to mean something.
He was also quite the character. Rickey is known to have an ego and like many pro athletes he loved to speak in third person, in fact he was rumored to have left a message on Padres GM Kevin Towers answering machine saying “this is Rickey, calling on behalf of Rickey.” Rickey has been known to talk to himself while playing saying things like, “That’s not how Rickey swings.” Rickey also talks to his bats, “Which one of you bad boys got some hits in you?”
One time it is rumored that Rickey was offered any seat on the team bus because he had "tenure" and Rickey said, “Ten years? What are you talking about? Rickey got 16, 17 years.” Another story that is told is that the Oakland A’s, the team Rickey is most remembered playing for, had found a $1 million accounting “error” in their favor and in tracking down why this happened, they found that Rickey had received a $1 million signing bonus and instead of cashing the check he framed it and hanged it on his wall.
Perhaps my favorite Rickey Be Rickey story is that when he was playing with Seattle, he noticed that a player named John Olerud, who was on the Mets at the time, was playing first base with a batting helmet instead of the usual baseball cap. The reason for this is because as a college player Olerud was hit by a line drive and almost died and since that time he has worn the batting helmet in the field. After Rickey spied Olerud wearing his helmet, he went up to him and noted that he “used to have a teammate in Toronto who did the same thing.” To which Olerud replied, “That was me.” Brilliant Rickey, just brilliant. And isn’t it fitting that on the same day that Rickey “Be Rickey” Henderson has announced his retirement, John Olerud too has retired today. And now you know….the rest of the story.
He was also quite the character. Rickey is known to have an ego and like many pro athletes he loved to speak in third person, in fact he was rumored to have left a message on Padres GM Kevin Towers answering machine saying “this is Rickey, calling on behalf of Rickey.” Rickey has been known to talk to himself while playing saying things like, “That’s not how Rickey swings.” Rickey also talks to his bats, “Which one of you bad boys got some hits in you?”
One time it is rumored that Rickey was offered any seat on the team bus because he had "tenure" and Rickey said, “Ten years? What are you talking about? Rickey got 16, 17 years.” Another story that is told is that the Oakland A’s, the team Rickey is most remembered playing for, had found a $1 million accounting “error” in their favor and in tracking down why this happened, they found that Rickey had received a $1 million signing bonus and instead of cashing the check he framed it and hanged it on his wall.
Perhaps my favorite Rickey Be Rickey story is that when he was playing with Seattle, he noticed that a player named John Olerud, who was on the Mets at the time, was playing first base with a batting helmet instead of the usual baseball cap. The reason for this is because as a college player Olerud was hit by a line drive and almost died and since that time he has worn the batting helmet in the field. After Rickey spied Olerud wearing his helmet, he went up to him and noted that he “used to have a teammate in Toronto who did the same thing.” To which Olerud replied, “That was me.” Brilliant Rickey, just brilliant. And isn’t it fitting that on the same day that Rickey “Be Rickey” Henderson has announced his retirement, John Olerud too has retired today. And now you know….the rest of the story.
Everyone is loco because Blizzardo Diablo is coming.
Snow hysteria is here!!! Our area of Kentucky has been targeted by a rogue snow storm and we are expecting anywhere from 1 to 24 inches of snow tomorrow. It is the talk of the county. I have never seen a town so excited and yet terrified of snow. This is a county that will cancel school if it clouds up. Last night the forecast was an inch or so. Today I have heard sixteen different forecasts from people all fired up. Everyone is bouncing around the county seat like they are Daffy Duck. Woo hoo, hoo hoo, woo hoo!!!
Someone said 2-4 inches, someone else said 3-4 with ice, and Yahoo weather says heavy snow with 4-6 inches. With the amount of snow this county averages a year, we are probably getting our one big snow out of the way early this season. I love snow and any time there is a chance for snow, I am for it, whether it is Blizzardo Diablo or an inch of snow. In anticipation of this storm, I am going to the store like every person in the county and buying the “in case you are snowed in” staples: bread, milk, eggs, and in most cases beer. Have a happy snow day!!!
Someone said 2-4 inches, someone else said 3-4 with ice, and Yahoo weather says heavy snow with 4-6 inches. With the amount of snow this county averages a year, we are probably getting our one big snow out of the way early this season. I love snow and any time there is a chance for snow, I am for it, whether it is Blizzardo Diablo or an inch of snow. In anticipation of this storm, I am going to the store like every person in the county and buying the “in case you are snowed in” staples: bread, milk, eggs, and in most cases beer. Have a happy snow day!!!
Are things starting to make sense for the Wildcats?
Do I dare dream that last night’s Kentucky game was a “turning point” in the season? Have some of the players who seemed like they had never played organized ball before finally get it? Does a turning point matter if it is against a team that will only win 9 games this year? It was on the road, does that count for something?
I would like to take this time to sarcastically thank the WKU fans for giving us Pat Pat. He acted is if he has never run a team before, at least until the game was fully in hand. His passes were lazy and he is proving to be a defensive liability. I hope that Tubby will bench him and start either Crawford or Bradley over him. When Sparks can’t even be counted on to hit shots unless the game is completely in hand then he does not need to be a starter.
That all being said, I do have to admit that Shagari Alleyne seemed to pick up something. Unfortunately we were playing a team that basically stunk and its tallest player was 6’9. If Alleyne is able to do this against Indiana on Saturday then I will be convinced he is actually useful. It’s easy to play like an SEC championship caliber team against a team that can’t even win the CAA or ACA or wherever they were from. I was very impressed with Joe “Kanye” Crawford, it seems like sitting on the bench lit a fire under his butt and he came out and played a great game with 14 and 7.
Hopefully this game without Rondo will help build the other guards’ confidence and when Rondo is back that same level of play can be reached. If not for the first 5 minutes or so, UK looked pretty good, they haven’t convinced me they are a top 25 team, but unlike UofL, at least they are blowing out the teams they should be blowing out. Let’s hope they keep this up and kill IU and UofL.
I would like to take this time to sarcastically thank the WKU fans for giving us Pat Pat. He acted is if he has never run a team before, at least until the game was fully in hand. His passes were lazy and he is proving to be a defensive liability. I hope that Tubby will bench him and start either Crawford or Bradley over him. When Sparks can’t even be counted on to hit shots unless the game is completely in hand then he does not need to be a starter.
That all being said, I do have to admit that Shagari Alleyne seemed to pick up something. Unfortunately we were playing a team that basically stunk and its tallest player was 6’9. If Alleyne is able to do this against Indiana on Saturday then I will be convinced he is actually useful. It’s easy to play like an SEC championship caliber team against a team that can’t even win the CAA or ACA or wherever they were from. I was very impressed with Joe “Kanye” Crawford, it seems like sitting on the bench lit a fire under his butt and he came out and played a great game with 14 and 7.
Hopefully this game without Rondo will help build the other guards’ confidence and when Rondo is back that same level of play can be reached. If not for the first 5 minutes or so, UK looked pretty good, they haven’t convinced me they are a top 25 team, but unlike UofL, at least they are blowing out the teams they should be blowing out. Let’s hope they keep this up and kill IU and UofL.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
New Daddy Diary, Entry #1
As faithful readers of this blog know, I became a first time father on November 14th at? (anyone? anyone?) 7:43PM. In the future for as long as it's interesting and as long as I can remember, I'll chronicle some of the more notable goings on in my recently expanded family.
On Sunday night I stayed home with Aiden while Mrs. Worfner went to church services. (I had gone that morning.) He was asleep virtually the entire time in his "Papasan." Which is basically a metal frame with cloth stretched over it that he lays in. It vibrates, it plays music, it vibrates and plays music simultaneously! Fascinating device.
Rather than pick him up and risk waking him, I carried him Papasan and all into the computer room for some internet time on Hilltopper Haven. After a while that got old, so I picked him up, Papasan and all, and carried him back toward the living room. Stopping to turn the light out when I lost my grip on the right side of the Papasan. it dropped straight to the floor and he tumbled out knocking his sweet, innocent head on the floor.
I'm sure every parent at some point in their child's infancy drops the kid or does something to potentially injur them. At least that's what people have told me to console me. It seems reasonable that unless you're Jerry Rice (great hands) then you might do that. He screamed a paint peeling yell and cried for a solid 12 minutes seemingly without breathing. The thoughts that run through your head at that point are paralyzing. Is he brain damaged? Where's the soft spot? Did his eyes look like that before? What's the red place?
Mrs. Worfner came home at precisely the time Aiden stopped crying. I confessed anyway and then turned down dinner (for a little while anyway) because I honestly thought I'd be sick if I could just calm down enough to puke.
Luckily Aiden's perfectly fine and I've not yet been investigated for body slammed baby syndrome. Stop by next time for:
Aiden's growing like a heatlhy baby
or
Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy, CRACK!!
Thought for the day (provided by a fellow Havenite, Swordfish)
"The diapers say 8-10 pounds, but they don't hold half that much.
On Sunday night I stayed home with Aiden while Mrs. Worfner went to church services. (I had gone that morning.) He was asleep virtually the entire time in his "Papasan." Which is basically a metal frame with cloth stretched over it that he lays in. It vibrates, it plays music, it vibrates and plays music simultaneously! Fascinating device.
Rather than pick him up and risk waking him, I carried him Papasan and all into the computer room for some internet time on Hilltopper Haven. After a while that got old, so I picked him up, Papasan and all, and carried him back toward the living room. Stopping to turn the light out when I lost my grip on the right side of the Papasan. it dropped straight to the floor and he tumbled out knocking his sweet, innocent head on the floor.
I'm sure every parent at some point in their child's infancy drops the kid or does something to potentially injur them. At least that's what people have told me to console me. It seems reasonable that unless you're Jerry Rice (great hands) then you might do that. He screamed a paint peeling yell and cried for a solid 12 minutes seemingly without breathing. The thoughts that run through your head at that point are paralyzing. Is he brain damaged? Where's the soft spot? Did his eyes look like that before? What's the red place?
Mrs. Worfner came home at precisely the time Aiden stopped crying. I confessed anyway and then turned down dinner (for a little while anyway) because I honestly thought I'd be sick if I could just calm down enough to puke.
Luckily Aiden's perfectly fine and I've not yet been investigated for body slammed baby syndrome. Stop by next time for:
Aiden's growing like a heatlhy baby
or
Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy, CRACK!!
Thought for the day (provided by a fellow Havenite, Swordfish)
"The diapers say 8-10 pounds, but they don't hold half that much.
Iran and Israel heading for a showdown.
In the next few months, Iraq could be the least of our problems. Things are heating up between Iran and Israel. Iran is continuing their development of a nuclear program claiming that it is only designed for domestic energy. Are we to believe this? Israel certainly isn’t buying it. In fact, the Israelis believe that Iran will have nuclear weapons in the next 6 months or so. Israel has vowed to take action by March 2006 if Iran does not stop this program.
This would not be uncommon for Israel because in 1981 they ordered a strike on a nuclear reactor in Iraq. After the Iranian president called for Israel to be “wiped off the map,” Israel is very concerned about a nuclear attack. This whole scenario brings a few questions to mind. What part will the US play in this, if any? Will Bush condone the attack by Israel if it comes to that? Will Bush be able to take any military action? We are spread pretty thin right now. Will the troops fighting in Iraq be safe? Could Iran just drop a nuke on our troops in Iraq and wipe out a large amount of them? Could China or Russia become involved? Russia supposedly just sold Iran a billion dollars worth of missiles. We may find out that we went to the wrong country to stop a madman with weapons of mass destruction.
This would not be uncommon for Israel because in 1981 they ordered a strike on a nuclear reactor in Iraq. After the Iranian president called for Israel to be “wiped off the map,” Israel is very concerned about a nuclear attack. This whole scenario brings a few questions to mind. What part will the US play in this, if any? Will Bush condone the attack by Israel if it comes to that? Will Bush be able to take any military action? We are spread pretty thin right now. Will the troops fighting in Iraq be safe? Could Iran just drop a nuke on our troops in Iraq and wipe out a large amount of them? Could China or Russia become involved? Russia supposedly just sold Iran a billion dollars worth of missiles. We may find out that we went to the wrong country to stop a madman with weapons of mass destruction.
The BCS needs fixing, here's how.
What a dramatic weekend of college football, or so we hoped. The two biggest games of the weekend featured #1 USC facing UCLA and #2 Texas facing off in the Big 12 championship against Colorado. Because of my extreme hatred of the BCS I was rooting for both UCLA and Colorado. The way I see it, if we could have gotten either Texas or USC to lose, then there would be only one undefeated team. Then there would have been some controversy over who should face the undefeated team in the championship game.
The best case scenario would have been for both of the teams to lose and then there would have been roughly four thousand one loss teams throwing the whole BCS process into a clustermess. Instead both teams somehow were matched up with high school teams instead of college teams and they had no problem winning their respective games this past weekend.
As far as I am concerned, Colorado and UCLA should be made to play each other and this game would decide which team is to play Kentucky for the title of the worst team in college football. My money is on Colorado who has been outscored 100-6 in their last two games. Then Colorado would play UK in a brand new bowl game called the Toilet Bowl sponsored by Roto Rooter.
So after this past weekend #1 USC and #2 Texas will face each other for the college football national championship and we have the game that we want, or at least the game the BCS wants us to want. What most of us want is a playoff system and a chance to watch more than one or two meaningful bowl games in a season. It seems that the BCS committee is the only group of people on the planet who do not see that the whole bowl system is not working. I recently heard NCAA president Miles Brand on WAIA 1600 AM ESPN Radio talk about how an eight game playoff would “degrade” the lesser bowl games.
Degrade the lesser bowl games? The lesser bowl games degrade me as a fan. The lesser bowl games insult me. Why would I, a Julliard trained sports columnist, want to watch Southern Mississippi vs. Arkansas State play in, I’m guessing, the Cereal Bowl? I wouldn’t watch that and neither would you. The only ones interested in that game are Southern Miss and Arkansas State graduates. The lesser bowl games are already degraded.
The only bowl game that is of any importance is the BCS championship game. Only diehard sports fans will watch a bowl game before January 2. I believe that an eight game playoff would make the lesser bowl games just as exciting and interesting as they are now, while making six other bowl games very exciting and more interesting than they have ever been.
You make the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl part of the playoffs and add three more for the opening rounds like the Cotton Bowl, the Capital One Bowl and the Gator Bowl and now you have the games that would encompass the playoff system. You would then rotate the championship game between the four big bowls just like it is being done now. If other bowls are jealous of the Cotton, Capital One, and Gator Bowls then you could rotate other bowls into the opening rounds of the playoff system.
Here’s how things would work out in a perfect world this season. In the Gator Bowl you have #4 Ohio State vs. #5 Oregon, then in the Capital One Bowl you have #3 Penn State vs. #6 Notre Dame, then in the Cotton Bowl you have #2 Texas vs. #7 Georgia. Now you need to use one of the big four bowl games for an opening round playoff game, so you would always put the #1 team in that game out of respect. This year we would use the Fiesta Bowl and have #1 USC vs. #8 Miami. I would watch those games. And then you get the winners facing off the next week. It’s not rocket science.
You play two games on a Saturday and Sunday or one on a Friday night and three on a Saturday so not to interfere with the NFL. Play the games one or two weeks after the official end of the college football season and then two games the next weekend and end with the BCS championship. This would interest the casual fan who wouldn’t watch but just one bowl game otherwise. I would also imagine this would enable the NCAA and BCS to charge outrageous rates for advertising, not that they care anything about money. No, their main focus is the tradition and integrity of the game as well as academics.
As for the remaining bowl games, the bowl games that do not mean anything to a national audience, you would assign teams that were not good enough to make the playoffs. Those games will still draw interest from super fans, graduates and students of the schools. If the schools in the lesser bowl games look at a post season game as a reward now, then an eight game playoff shouldn’t change that fact.
If the BCS and college presidents will not change the system to an eight team playoff then I propose they just go back to the system they used before all this BCS junk. If there cannot be a legitimate championship game every year then I do not want a sham of a championship game every once in a while. I think a split national championship is just as interesting as a real champion with a playoff. The way I see it, if you have two or three teams that are vying for the championship and those teams play in different games then there would be another game or two that would be interesting.
This is my plan for the BCS and NCAA; I am sure they will take my advice and put it to good use. If I am one thing I am a solutions oriented person and many other sports organizations have utilized my skills. It seems to me that the NCAA and BCS have two choices in front of them. They can adapt and change and move forward or they can regress and move backwards. Either direction would be a major improvement over the way things are now.
The best case scenario would have been for both of the teams to lose and then there would have been roughly four thousand one loss teams throwing the whole BCS process into a clustermess. Instead both teams somehow were matched up with high school teams instead of college teams and they had no problem winning their respective games this past weekend.
As far as I am concerned, Colorado and UCLA should be made to play each other and this game would decide which team is to play Kentucky for the title of the worst team in college football. My money is on Colorado who has been outscored 100-6 in their last two games. Then Colorado would play UK in a brand new bowl game called the Toilet Bowl sponsored by Roto Rooter.
So after this past weekend #1 USC and #2 Texas will face each other for the college football national championship and we have the game that we want, or at least the game the BCS wants us to want. What most of us want is a playoff system and a chance to watch more than one or two meaningful bowl games in a season. It seems that the BCS committee is the only group of people on the planet who do not see that the whole bowl system is not working. I recently heard NCAA president Miles Brand on WAIA 1600 AM ESPN Radio talk about how an eight game playoff would “degrade” the lesser bowl games.
Degrade the lesser bowl games? The lesser bowl games degrade me as a fan. The lesser bowl games insult me. Why would I, a Julliard trained sports columnist, want to watch Southern Mississippi vs. Arkansas State play in, I’m guessing, the Cereal Bowl? I wouldn’t watch that and neither would you. The only ones interested in that game are Southern Miss and Arkansas State graduates. The lesser bowl games are already degraded.
The only bowl game that is of any importance is the BCS championship game. Only diehard sports fans will watch a bowl game before January 2. I believe that an eight game playoff would make the lesser bowl games just as exciting and interesting as they are now, while making six other bowl games very exciting and more interesting than they have ever been.
You make the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl part of the playoffs and add three more for the opening rounds like the Cotton Bowl, the Capital One Bowl and the Gator Bowl and now you have the games that would encompass the playoff system. You would then rotate the championship game between the four big bowls just like it is being done now. If other bowls are jealous of the Cotton, Capital One, and Gator Bowls then you could rotate other bowls into the opening rounds of the playoff system.
Here’s how things would work out in a perfect world this season. In the Gator Bowl you have #4 Ohio State vs. #5 Oregon, then in the Capital One Bowl you have #3 Penn State vs. #6 Notre Dame, then in the Cotton Bowl you have #2 Texas vs. #7 Georgia. Now you need to use one of the big four bowl games for an opening round playoff game, so you would always put the #1 team in that game out of respect. This year we would use the Fiesta Bowl and have #1 USC vs. #8 Miami. I would watch those games. And then you get the winners facing off the next week. It’s not rocket science.
You play two games on a Saturday and Sunday or one on a Friday night and three on a Saturday so not to interfere with the NFL. Play the games one or two weeks after the official end of the college football season and then two games the next weekend and end with the BCS championship. This would interest the casual fan who wouldn’t watch but just one bowl game otherwise. I would also imagine this would enable the NCAA and BCS to charge outrageous rates for advertising, not that they care anything about money. No, their main focus is the tradition and integrity of the game as well as academics.
As for the remaining bowl games, the bowl games that do not mean anything to a national audience, you would assign teams that were not good enough to make the playoffs. Those games will still draw interest from super fans, graduates and students of the schools. If the schools in the lesser bowl games look at a post season game as a reward now, then an eight game playoff shouldn’t change that fact.
If the BCS and college presidents will not change the system to an eight team playoff then I propose they just go back to the system they used before all this BCS junk. If there cannot be a legitimate championship game every year then I do not want a sham of a championship game every once in a while. I think a split national championship is just as interesting as a real champion with a playoff. The way I see it, if you have two or three teams that are vying for the championship and those teams play in different games then there would be another game or two that would be interesting.
This is my plan for the BCS and NCAA; I am sure they will take my advice and put it to good use. If I am one thing I am a solutions oriented person and many other sports organizations have utilized my skills. It seems to me that the NCAA and BCS have two choices in front of them. They can adapt and change and move forward or they can regress and move backwards. Either direction would be a major improvement over the way things are now.
Hilton Head: Glad I went no hurry to go back though
I had a conference/retreat at Hilton Head Island this past weekend. If you are into golf it is the place for you. If you are into laying on the beach then it is also for you. If you get bored after a day of doing either one of these things then find another place. It is pretty and unlike any beach I have been to, but it is a somewhat boring besides that. The entire place looks as if it was one giant forest that they have carved all of the stores and hotels into. Sounds cool and it kind of is, but driving down the main strip you see tons of trees and all of the stores are so hidden in them that it is impossible to see which one is which. Also you are right on the ocean yet you can't see it at all until you step out onto the beach. It is a good place to visit, but we won't want to buy a summer home any time soon and since neither of us play golf there is no need to.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Lawsuit against Microsoft over Xbox 360 glitch
I picked up this little nugget on Yahoo! of course. It seems that the Xbox 360 has hit a snag. According to the article linked in the title above, the Xbox 360 tends to overheat and freeze up during gameplay.
Just a little insight into the Xbox and Playstation 3, they are powered by IBM processors. These are the same processors that are currently being used to power Macintosh computers. The reason that they are being used in gaming consoles is because of the super cool Velocity Graphics Engine it uses.
You also may have heard a few months ago that Apple will be switching to Intel processors next year. And why is that, you ask? Well, I'll tell ya.
The current processors being used in Macs create so much heat that Apple couldn't improve their laptop computers. They are running G4 processors at less than 2 Ghz when everyone wants a G5 processor. In fact, the dual G5 processors in the top-o-the-line Power Macs create so much heat that they are liquid cooled.
So it's no wonder that the Xbox 360 is having heat problems, but that is the price they are going to pay in order to try and beat Sony to the punch. What Microsoft should do is figure out a way to make the Xbox 360 backwards compatible with the old Xbox games in addition to fixing the heat issue.
Then they might have a chance against the PS3. Otherwise the 50+ Gig Blue-Ray discs and a library of games that go all the way back to the PS1 will ultimately crown the victor.
Just a little insight into the Xbox and Playstation 3, they are powered by IBM processors. These are the same processors that are currently being used to power Macintosh computers. The reason that they are being used in gaming consoles is because of the super cool Velocity Graphics Engine it uses.
You also may have heard a few months ago that Apple will be switching to Intel processors next year. And why is that, you ask? Well, I'll tell ya.
The current processors being used in Macs create so much heat that Apple couldn't improve their laptop computers. They are running G4 processors at less than 2 Ghz when everyone wants a G5 processor. In fact, the dual G5 processors in the top-o-the-line Power Macs create so much heat that they are liquid cooled.
So it's no wonder that the Xbox 360 is having heat problems, but that is the price they are going to pay in order to try and beat Sony to the punch. What Microsoft should do is figure out a way to make the Xbox 360 backwards compatible with the old Xbox games in addition to fixing the heat issue.
Then they might have a chance against the PS3. Otherwise the 50+ Gig Blue-Ray discs and a library of games that go all the way back to the PS1 will ultimately crown the victor.
28 years ago.....
Twenty-eight years ago in a land far far away. Oh, let's just get to it. It's Bratch's B-day. Happy Birthday.
Friday, December 02, 2005
The definitive rock n' roll replacement rule?
Here is what I've come up with after out lengthy comment discussions under The Cars reuniting post.
------------------------------------
Rock n' Roll Replacement Rule:
A great lead singer and/or great lead guitar player can ONLY be replaced with another fairly large star unless the singer/guitar player leaves the band because of their own personal DEATH. Everyone else in the band is expendable. However, you cannot replace BOTH the lead singer and lead guitarist in any way, shape or form unless you are Deep Purple.
------------------------------------
I think that's pretty good.
Deep Purple is the exception because they've replaced everyone in their band 206 times. I played with them in '86 and I was only 9 years-old and it was for only 3 shows in Mexico. During Live 8 the DJs on XM radio were literally playing a guessing game to see who could figure out who was going to take the stage when Purple went on in Canada.
You can replace drummers and bass players and rock on. (See: The Who, Metallica)
AC/DC replaced a great singer with an unknown, but through death and rocked on.
Lynyrd Skynyrd is living proof of the rule. A plane crash killed the lead singer and lead guitarist. They picked up the singer's brother (with a nearly identical voice) and since they were running a 3 guitar attack anyway, one of the other guys became lead. Another guitarist died later and ultimately they brought in Ricky Medlock from the southern rock band Blackfoot who had some big songs on its own. Granted Skynyrd isn't as big as they were in the 70s, but neither is southern rock in general.
Van Halen replaced David Lee Roth with Sammy Hagar who was a big star on his own and despite my views on the VH3 album, flopped with Gary Sharone who wasn't a big enough star to replace DLR or Hagar.
Guns N Roses is a non issue really because Axl will never do anything on a regular basis, like create new music or tour. So we don't know if he can pull off GNR without Slash.
So what do you think? I think it works pretty well.
------------------------------------
Rock n' Roll Replacement Rule:
A great lead singer and/or great lead guitar player can ONLY be replaced with another fairly large star unless the singer/guitar player leaves the band because of their own personal DEATH. Everyone else in the band is expendable. However, you cannot replace BOTH the lead singer and lead guitarist in any way, shape or form unless you are Deep Purple.
------------------------------------
I think that's pretty good.
Deep Purple is the exception because they've replaced everyone in their band 206 times. I played with them in '86 and I was only 9 years-old and it was for only 3 shows in Mexico. During Live 8 the DJs on XM radio were literally playing a guessing game to see who could figure out who was going to take the stage when Purple went on in Canada.
You can replace drummers and bass players and rock on. (See: The Who, Metallica)
AC/DC replaced a great singer with an unknown, but through death and rocked on.
Lynyrd Skynyrd is living proof of the rule. A plane crash killed the lead singer and lead guitarist. They picked up the singer's brother (with a nearly identical voice) and since they were running a 3 guitar attack anyway, one of the other guys became lead. Another guitarist died later and ultimately they brought in Ricky Medlock from the southern rock band Blackfoot who had some big songs on its own. Granted Skynyrd isn't as big as they were in the 70s, but neither is southern rock in general.
Van Halen replaced David Lee Roth with Sammy Hagar who was a big star on his own and despite my views on the VH3 album, flopped with Gary Sharone who wasn't a big enough star to replace DLR or Hagar.
Guns N Roses is a non issue really because Axl will never do anything on a regular basis, like create new music or tour. So we don't know if he can pull off GNR without Slash.
So what do you think? I think it works pretty well.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Lunch time soaps discussion...
So Piccu, a buddy of ours and myself were watching our usual lunch time soap opera Days of Our Lives today and I asked a question of them after a hated character made a statement.
He said that if he lost his little baby that he didn't think he could live.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Days of Our Lives or DOOL, this character's name is Phillip. He is actually the reincarnation of the original Phillip meaning he's the second actor to take up the role. The only difference being that he's just as annoying as the original Phillip only he's a terrible actor even for soap opera standards. Until DOOL his claim to fame was a Right Guard Power Stripe commercial in which Yankee pitcher Randy Johnson hits him in the gut with a kickball.
Anyway, after he intimated that he would possibly die or perhaps, Lord willing, kill himself if he lost his baby, would we be bad people if we hoped that this would happen? I know it's bad to say, but it is a soap opera and as far as I'm concerned they can kill off pretty much everyone except Mimi as long as it meant this Phillip would somehow die.
If somehow he could kill himself and take that moron Jennifer with him, we'd all appreciate it NBC.
But the good news is that his baby isn't his anyway. In fact, the baby is probably it's own aunt and with any luck, he'll find out and beat himself to death with his own prosthetic leg.
If only Passions could give out some of that poison guacamole they were using a few weeks ago.
He said that if he lost his little baby that he didn't think he could live.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Days of Our Lives or DOOL, this character's name is Phillip. He is actually the reincarnation of the original Phillip meaning he's the second actor to take up the role. The only difference being that he's just as annoying as the original Phillip only he's a terrible actor even for soap opera standards. Until DOOL his claim to fame was a Right Guard Power Stripe commercial in which Yankee pitcher Randy Johnson hits him in the gut with a kickball.
Anyway, after he intimated that he would possibly die or perhaps, Lord willing, kill himself if he lost his baby, would we be bad people if we hoped that this would happen? I know it's bad to say, but it is a soap opera and as far as I'm concerned they can kill off pretty much everyone except Mimi as long as it meant this Phillip would somehow die.
If somehow he could kill himself and take that moron Jennifer with him, we'd all appreciate it NBC.
But the good news is that his baby isn't his anyway. In fact, the baby is probably it's own aunt and with any luck, he'll find out and beat himself to death with his own prosthetic leg.
If only Passions could give out some of that poison guacamole they were using a few weeks ago.
The Cars reuniting? Not if Congress can do something about it.
Where is Congress when we really need them? Sivart is all fired up over Congress sticking their nose into the sporting world instead of doing actual work and I have to agree with his sentiments. I do however believe I have found something that Congress needs to look into that may actually do some good for the country. Better yet, it is a chance for Democrats and Republicans to join together in a common cause. Congress needs to stop the reformation of the Cars.
The Cars are reforming and going on tour. Ordinarily I would be excited about this and in fact I was when I first heard about it. I know that Ben Orr is dead and he sang many of the Cars’ songs and played bass, but I figured a replacement could be found for a short tour. Now that I hear more details, I realize that this must be stopped. Apparently not only will Ben Orr or drummer David Robinson not be in the regroup, but Ric Ocasek will not be rejoining either. What??? I know, how can we have the Cars without Ric Ocasek? Well I’ll tell ya. Todd Rundgren is going to join the two original members on this sham of a tour. Who is Todd Rundgren you ask? Exactly.
Rundgren’s fans are now in an uproar because he is doing this. First off, I didn’t know he had any fans and second of course he is doing this, he wants money. I hope that there is not one person in attendance for any of these shows. Even though Ocasek has “rellegedly” given his blessing to this bastardization, I hope guitarist Eliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and opportunist Rundgren are stopped by Congress before perpetrating one of the biggest rock n roll swindles on America and perhaps the world.
The Cars are reforming and going on tour. Ordinarily I would be excited about this and in fact I was when I first heard about it. I know that Ben Orr is dead and he sang many of the Cars’ songs and played bass, but I figured a replacement could be found for a short tour. Now that I hear more details, I realize that this must be stopped. Apparently not only will Ben Orr or drummer David Robinson not be in the regroup, but Ric Ocasek will not be rejoining either. What??? I know, how can we have the Cars without Ric Ocasek? Well I’ll tell ya. Todd Rundgren is going to join the two original members on this sham of a tour. Who is Todd Rundgren you ask? Exactly.
Rundgren’s fans are now in an uproar because he is doing this. First off, I didn’t know he had any fans and second of course he is doing this, he wants money. I hope that there is not one person in attendance for any of these shows. Even though Ocasek has “rellegedly” given his blessing to this bastardization, I hope guitarist Eliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and opportunist Rundgren are stopped by Congress before perpetrating one of the biggest rock n roll swindles on America and perhaps the world.
I like Gregory Peck, but not this much.
I just read this article on Gregory Peck’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame being replaced after it was stolen. Apparently someone was a huge Gregory Peck fan. So huge that the thief took a cement saw and cut the star right out of the sidewalk and all the while never drawing attention. I would like to think that someone would have noticed something. I’m sure this type of thing doesn’t happen every day. This is the fourth star to be stolen. Jimmy Stewart’s, Kirk Douglas’, and Gene Autry’s were stolen during some construction on the sidewalk.
This brings to mind a question. Which star’s star would you like to steal? I bet I know who Merlin would try to steal. Cary Grant and/or Grace Kelly would be my guess. I could go for Mr. Grant’s, but I feel I would go for Humphrey Bogart and to complete the set, perhaps Lauren Bacall. I am not sure how many stars are on the Walk of Fame or all the names, but I can bet that there are quite a few who don’t belong.
In fact, here are a few “stars” that will be given their stars in 2006: Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Ray Romano, Vanna Freaking White, Judge Frickin’ Judy, Motley Crue, and Wink Martindale. After seeing that list, I would almost be more than happy to cement saw Bogie and Bacall out of the ground just to save them from having to share real estate with Judge Judy and Vanna.
This brings to mind a question. Which star’s star would you like to steal? I bet I know who Merlin would try to steal. Cary Grant and/or Grace Kelly would be my guess. I could go for Mr. Grant’s, but I feel I would go for Humphrey Bogart and to complete the set, perhaps Lauren Bacall. I am not sure how many stars are on the Walk of Fame or all the names, but I can bet that there are quite a few who don’t belong.
In fact, here are a few “stars” that will be given their stars in 2006: Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Ray Romano, Vanna Freaking White, Judge Frickin’ Judy, Motley Crue, and Wink Martindale. After seeing that list, I would almost be more than happy to cement saw Bogie and Bacall out of the ground just to save them from having to share real estate with Judge Judy and Vanna.
Arlen Spector and Congress in General
Arlen Specter thinks the Philadelphia Eagles have treated TO (pronounced, too) unfairly. Yippee. Where do United States senators get off threatening private businesses for their personnel decisions? The Eagles did what they were within their rights to do. The arbitrator agreed. The NFL has no problem with. So Arlen Specter jumps in to throw in his two cents. Is Specter in TO's entourage? Give me a break.
This is yet another example of congress sticking their collective nose where it doesn't belong. Similar to them pressing MLB about its steroid policy. Congress has absolutely no business attempting to force businesses to do what congress wants them to do. I realize we've got nothing else for them to do like debate the Iraq War (constructively for a change, not just mudslinging, camera mongering hypefests) social security, welfare reform, tax reform, hurricane relief, budget balancing, etc. These guys must need more to do.
Its like city wide smoking bans. I hate cigarette smoke. Always have, always will. I particularly hate it when I'm trying to taste a nice meal instead of a stale Doral. But city wide smoking bans are not legal. If they are ever challenged in court, I think they'll be struck down. You can't have government telling privately owned entities what kind of legal activities they can and cannot allow in their places of business.
Government is too big. That's obvious when they have time to tell bars they can't allow a drunk to smoke, when they have time to tell MLB they need stricter steroid policies, and when Arlen Spector has time to threaten the Philly Eagles for their "mistreatment" of TO. So next election, when you hear a candidate talking about how much more government should be doing for you, remember, more government means less freedom and more frivilous activity by government officials.
This is yet another example of congress sticking their collective nose where it doesn't belong. Similar to them pressing MLB about its steroid policy. Congress has absolutely no business attempting to force businesses to do what congress wants them to do. I realize we've got nothing else for them to do like debate the Iraq War (constructively for a change, not just mudslinging, camera mongering hypefests) social security, welfare reform, tax reform, hurricane relief, budget balancing, etc. These guys must need more to do.
Its like city wide smoking bans. I hate cigarette smoke. Always have, always will. I particularly hate it when I'm trying to taste a nice meal instead of a stale Doral. But city wide smoking bans are not legal. If they are ever challenged in court, I think they'll be struck down. You can't have government telling privately owned entities what kind of legal activities they can and cannot allow in their places of business.
Government is too big. That's obvious when they have time to tell bars they can't allow a drunk to smoke, when they have time to tell MLB they need stricter steroid policies, and when Arlen Spector has time to threaten the Philly Eagles for their "mistreatment" of TO. So next election, when you hear a candidate talking about how much more government should be doing for you, remember, more government means less freedom and more frivilous activity by government officials.
Rock n Roll Puzzle
Do you like puzzles? Have an encyclopedic knowledge of rock n roll bands? Then this little game is for you. Click the link to see a puzzle that "stupposedly" has 74 bands hidden in it. I have found 13 so far, including Scissor Sisters, Smashing Pumkins, and the Rolling Stones. If you locate just one and submit it you are entered into a drawing for some Alienware so you might as well give it a try. Enjoy!!!
Is the Virgin Mary crying?
Why is the Virgin Mary crying? Is she crying? Some would have you believe she is and many are calling this a miracle. Click the link for the picture and see for yourself. The statue appeared to be crying blood over a week ago and the “tears” were wiped away, but they returned. Is this a hoax? Is this just a natural occurrence? Is this a harbinger of something very bad to come? Or is this a miracle that should be celebrated, especially at this time of the year?
I have to admit that whenever I see things like this I am very skeptical. I have a hard time believing that the Virgin Mary and Jesus are appearing in a grilled cheese sandwich or on the wall of an underpass. This I will admit is a different thing. This is outside a church and it is a statue of the Virgin Mary, not a grilled cheese sandwich in her likeness.
What is this supposed to mean if it is indeed “real?” How is this different from all the other so called miracles such as this that people see every year? Does it mean we are lacking in faith if we don’t believe that this is authentic? I don’t believe it, personally. I think there was a scientific explanation for why the “tears” first appeared and after they were wiped away, someone capitalized on the uproar and found a way to make the “tears” return. That all sounds very simple and believable, but why do I find myself wanting to believe otherwise?
I have to admit that whenever I see things like this I am very skeptical. I have a hard time believing that the Virgin Mary and Jesus are appearing in a grilled cheese sandwich or on the wall of an underpass. This I will admit is a different thing. This is outside a church and it is a statue of the Virgin Mary, not a grilled cheese sandwich in her likeness.
What is this supposed to mean if it is indeed “real?” How is this different from all the other so called miracles such as this that people see every year? Does it mean we are lacking in faith if we don’t believe that this is authentic? I don’t believe it, personally. I think there was a scientific explanation for why the “tears” first appeared and after they were wiped away, someone capitalized on the uproar and found a way to make the “tears” return. That all sounds very simple and believable, but why do I find myself wanting to believe otherwise?
It's official, Tom Cruise is number one.
Is it me or has Tom Cruise taken Michael Jackson’s position as the biggest weirdo/freak in America? Cruise has been going off these last few months beginning with his new sport, couch leaping. He then goes on a huge publicity tour for War of the Worlds (a pretty good movie by the way), but instead of talking about the movie he ends up espousing his beliefs on psychology and psychiatry. While I agree that those are “soft” sciences, we don’t need to hear his uninformed opinions, especially when his belief system is reputed to be handed down from aliens. To top everything off, he took a very hot girl, brainwashed her, and turned her into his very own Debbie Rowe. The carrier of his (or is it?) demon seed.
Well now Cruise has got the medical industry all p@#%es off. He has been bragging about the fact that he has bought a sonogram machine so that he can look at Jr. anytime he wants. The American College of Radiology is concerned about someone, who is obviously a complete moron, operating this type of equipment saying this could possibly cause harm to the baby. Although I would assume that even a monkey could operate this type of equipment.
I can just imagine the scenario. Katie is lying down on an examination table in the grotto of Cruise’s mega mansion. She is of course in restraints, for her and the baby’s protection. Cruise gets the gunk and rubs it on the belly. He then begins looking for Jr. He finds him and just stares for hours. Yep, that’s how he rolls and just think, if Michael Jackson hadn’t moved to Bahrain to become the biggest weirdo/freak in the Middle East, tom would have been number two.
Well now Cruise has got the medical industry all p@#%es off. He has been bragging about the fact that he has bought a sonogram machine so that he can look at Jr. anytime he wants. The American College of Radiology is concerned about someone, who is obviously a complete moron, operating this type of equipment saying this could possibly cause harm to the baby. Although I would assume that even a monkey could operate this type of equipment.
I can just imagine the scenario. Katie is lying down on an examination table in the grotto of Cruise’s mega mansion. She is of course in restraints, for her and the baby’s protection. Cruise gets the gunk and rubs it on the belly. He then begins looking for Jr. He finds him and just stares for hours. Yep, that’s how he rolls and just think, if Michael Jackson hadn’t moved to Bahrain to become the biggest weirdo/freak in the Middle East, tom would have been number two.
Captain Jack is back, jack!
Good news, good news. Captain Jack Sparrow is back. Yahoo has the trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. It looks pretty good. Lots of pirating, sword fighting, and Johnny Depp going nuts. Click the link to check it out. Enjoy!!!
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Do you know why Seinfeld is the greatest TV show of all time?
Just click the title and find out.
Yeah, that's right, it may have actually started a holiday. December 23rd. To many of us, that's Christmas Eve eve, but to Seinfeld fans it's Festivus.
The link in the title is where you can actually purchase a Festivus Pole for just under 40 bucks, but at the bottom of the page there is a blog.
The most recent post talks about a high number of aluminum light poles being stolen from Baltimore road ways. Apparently they do get stolen from time to time, but not like they are now.
There is also a book on Festivus available at Amazon.com.
Yeah, that's right, it may have actually started a holiday. December 23rd. To many of us, that's Christmas Eve eve, but to Seinfeld fans it's Festivus.
The link in the title is where you can actually purchase a Festivus Pole for just under 40 bucks, but at the bottom of the page there is a blog.
The most recent post talks about a high number of aluminum light poles being stolen from Baltimore road ways. Apparently they do get stolen from time to time, but not like they are now.
There is also a book on Festivus available at Amazon.com.
WKU Whups Up On UAB
How do you get over a four point loss to Georgia? You go to UAB and hit 15 threes beating the Blazers by 16 points. It's going to be a crazy season to be a WKU fan, but that was a definite highlight. Today I'm officially starting my campaign to get Anthony Winchester noticed nationally.
Winchester has been an impact player since being named Freshman of the Year in 02-03 in the Sun Belt. This year he's playing his best. In four games he's shooting 51.6% from the floor, 48.1% from three point range, 72% from free throws (he's typically above 80% but was just 5/9 against UGA, take that game away and he's at 89%) he averages 23 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists.
Winchester is a quintessential college basketball player. He's being viewed regularly by NBA scouts. I don't know if he'll make it to the NBA, but he should. The NBA would benefit from having players like Anthony.
I'm writing this because I'll bet you as a reader and college basketball fan have never heard of Anthony Winchester. Let me fill you in:
As a sophomore he scored 26 against Mississippi State (when State was VERY good)
He also scored 40 against La-Lafayette that year.
As a junior he played PF at only 6'4" because the team needed him to. He responded by averaging 18 points and 7 rebounds shot 45.3% from 3 and over 50% overall.
Whether or not you ever root for the Hilltoppers, get on the Winchester bandwagon. This guy is what college basketball is all about.
Winchester has been an impact player since being named Freshman of the Year in 02-03 in the Sun Belt. This year he's playing his best. In four games he's shooting 51.6% from the floor, 48.1% from three point range, 72% from free throws (he's typically above 80% but was just 5/9 against UGA, take that game away and he's at 89%) he averages 23 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists.
Winchester is a quintessential college basketball player. He's being viewed regularly by NBA scouts. I don't know if he'll make it to the NBA, but he should. The NBA would benefit from having players like Anthony.
I'm writing this because I'll bet you as a reader and college basketball fan have never heard of Anthony Winchester. Let me fill you in:
As a sophomore he scored 26 against Mississippi State (when State was VERY good)
He also scored 40 against La-Lafayette that year.
As a junior he played PF at only 6'4" because the team needed him to. He responded by averaging 18 points and 7 rebounds shot 45.3% from 3 and over 50% overall.
Whether or not you ever root for the Hilltoppers, get on the Winchester bandwagon. This guy is what college basketball is all about.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
O Christmas Tree
So Christmas is here and it seems like only yesterday it was the 4th of July. How do I know, well french_toast went to Target and bought our first christmas tree. It's a good place to start and at the amazing price on this one it is money well spent. Some of you will remember that we had a December wedding a little less than three years ago. What this translates into is lots of Christmas decor as wedding gifts. When we jammed the uhaul full of stuff back in June, we didn't have room for the decorations. So, we decided to wait and bring them back on Thanksgiving. Guess what. We forgot that we didn't have them stored in the attic. So it will be next year that we break out the full enchilata. For this year we'll have to make due with the few we did bring down.
Christmas time is here at least according to TV.
Here’s your holiday TV show lineup including TV shows, movies, and other crap. Well, most of it is crap, the only things you really want to watch are the old animated or claymated shows from your childhood. Beginning (and ending with some) with A Charlie Brown Christmas on Dec. 6. When that comes on you know it is time to get into the Christmas spirit. The music is so great, especially the kids singing Christmas Time is Here.
My favorite part of the show is when Snoopy acts out all of the animals he is supposed to play and he perches on top of Lucy’s (?) head and portrays a vulture. Snoopy is and will always be a comic genius. A Charlie Brown Christmas will probably be the only one I DVR, but I will watch it about a thousand times along with Christmas Vacation and Friday After Next. That is the perfect holiday entertainment pack.
Other shows that are sure to bring the Christmases of your childhood flooding back include: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Nov 30, Santa Claus is Coming to Town Dec 2, Frosty the Snowman Dec 17, and others that are not as old or I haven’t seen. You can click the link and see what else our old friend the TV has to offer. Check your local listings. Enjoy!!!!
My favorite part of the show is when Snoopy acts out all of the animals he is supposed to play and he perches on top of Lucy’s (?) head and portrays a vulture. Snoopy is and will always be a comic genius. A Charlie Brown Christmas will probably be the only one I DVR, but I will watch it about a thousand times along with Christmas Vacation and Friday After Next. That is the perfect holiday entertainment pack.
Other shows that are sure to bring the Christmases of your childhood flooding back include: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Nov 30, Santa Claus is Coming to Town Dec 2, Frosty the Snowman Dec 17, and others that are not as old or I haven’t seen. You can click the link and see what else our old friend the TV has to offer. Check your local listings. Enjoy!!!!
Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductees for 2006 and it's about time for one.
All I can say is it’s about time. Black Sabbath is finally being inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Why this took so long I do not know. This band has influenced as many bands as The Beatles. You cannot listen to heavy rock today and not hear Sabbath in every song. Sabbath began the scary heavy rock movement. Just get Black Sabbath’s first cd entitled Black Sabbath and put it in the cd player, turn out the lights and crank up track one, also titled Black Sabbath and get ready to crap your pants.
I wonder if the band will be at the induction, for years Ozzy has been asking for Sabbath’s name to be taken off the nominee list. He doesn’t believe the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame means anything; it’s the fans that tell you if you mean something. I tend to agree because Kiss has not been elected to the Hall of Fame when one hit wonders can get in, but I will save that rant for another time.
Lynyrd Skynyrd are going in. They are so good that I can’t listen to them anymore. I used to listen to some Skynyrd everyday for about 6 months and I can’t do it anymore, total burnout. Blondie is also going in. Blondie is a great band (although some may disagree with that, Bratch) that really brought New Wave music to the forefront of 80’s rock. Blondie started out as a punk band and then transformed into a New Wave band and speaking of punk, the Sex Pistols will be inducted this year also. Now I am not a huge Sex Pistols fan, I am more of a Ramones man, but I realize that they are a huge band when it came to the punk movement. The Sex Pistols are Nirvana for the punk movement so I am fine with this induction. Miles Davis is going in as well and I know nothing about Davis. I am not a Jazz fan, more of a Blues guy. I do know that Miles Davis is the man when it comes to Jazz. I have no problem with this induction.
Overall not a bad class, all deserving as far as I can see. The only problem I had is the time it took Black Sabbath to get in. It makes me wonder what you have to do to get in because a great catalog of work and being the major influence of a whole music scene obviously isn’t enough. I’m gonna go dig up my Sabbath and Blondie cds and rock out.
I wonder if the band will be at the induction, for years Ozzy has been asking for Sabbath’s name to be taken off the nominee list. He doesn’t believe the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame means anything; it’s the fans that tell you if you mean something. I tend to agree because Kiss has not been elected to the Hall of Fame when one hit wonders can get in, but I will save that rant for another time.
Lynyrd Skynyrd are going in. They are so good that I can’t listen to them anymore. I used to listen to some Skynyrd everyday for about 6 months and I can’t do it anymore, total burnout. Blondie is also going in. Blondie is a great band (although some may disagree with that, Bratch) that really brought New Wave music to the forefront of 80’s rock. Blondie started out as a punk band and then transformed into a New Wave band and speaking of punk, the Sex Pistols will be inducted this year also. Now I am not a huge Sex Pistols fan, I am more of a Ramones man, but I realize that they are a huge band when it came to the punk movement. The Sex Pistols are Nirvana for the punk movement so I am fine with this induction. Miles Davis is going in as well and I know nothing about Davis. I am not a Jazz fan, more of a Blues guy. I do know that Miles Davis is the man when it comes to Jazz. I have no problem with this induction.
Overall not a bad class, all deserving as far as I can see. The only problem I had is the time it took Black Sabbath to get in. It makes me wonder what you have to do to get in because a great catalog of work and being the major influence of a whole music scene obviously isn’t enough. I’m gonna go dig up my Sabbath and Blondie cds and rock out.
Nick and Jessica, who saw this coming?
If Sivart didn’t have some important things going in his life right now, I’m sure this would have shown up on his radar. Nick and Jessica have called it quits. I am shocked, SHOCKED, I say. Who saw this coming? These two crazy kids looked like they were going to make it. She was a brainless, big breasted, no talent and he was a kind of mean to his big breasted wife, no talent. If there were a better match I don’t know what it would be.
The couple released a statement on the day before Thanksgiving and asked all of us to respect their privacy. Um, what was that? Respect your privacy? Didn’t these two nimrods pretty much have their lives as a couple broadcast on TV? From wedding to right before divorce, most of the time we saw Nick he seemed jealous of her success and neither seemed to respect each other. But isn’t that how it goes in a marriage?
I wonder if MTV will be airing another show starring Nick and Jessica called, Nick and Jessica: Newly Divorced. We could follow Jessica as she makes out with scummy skate punks and watch Nick seduce coeds on a tour of America’s colleges. Now that sounds like a show.
I hope that the new baby can take away the pain Sivart must be feeling over the breakup. I know we all will need something to help us get by. Next thing you know Brtiney and Kevin will be splitting up. No no no, I don’t think the country could handle that.
The couple released a statement on the day before Thanksgiving and asked all of us to respect their privacy. Um, what was that? Respect your privacy? Didn’t these two nimrods pretty much have their lives as a couple broadcast on TV? From wedding to right before divorce, most of the time we saw Nick he seemed jealous of her success and neither seemed to respect each other. But isn’t that how it goes in a marriage?
I wonder if MTV will be airing another show starring Nick and Jessica called, Nick and Jessica: Newly Divorced. We could follow Jessica as she makes out with scummy skate punks and watch Nick seduce coeds on a tour of America’s colleges. Now that sounds like a show.
I hope that the new baby can take away the pain Sivart must be feeling over the breakup. I know we all will need something to help us get by. Next thing you know Brtiney and Kevin will be splitting up. No no no, I don’t think the country could handle that.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Is it time to think about letting Tubby go?
Basketball season is here and I’m sure some University of Kentucky fans are already upset. Why is that? Well I’ll tell you. UK has already blown a chance at an undefeated season. Of course it’s all Tubby Smith’s fault. I know that sounds idiotic, but I am sure there is someone out there that feels this way. The UK Wildcats head coaching job is the most pressure packed job in college basketball without a doubt.
Where else would a coach who over the last three years has won more games than any other coach in college basketball still be questioned about his coaching skills? Where else would a coach who wins just about 80% of his games get second guessed for even the most minute decisions? I’ll tell you where, right here in the Bluegrass State.
The man has won an NCAA title for Rupp’s sake. Not many coaches even get a sniff at one of those. Now here come the detractors, “Yeah, but he won with Pitino’s players.” He did, but some of you act like that was the 1996 UK team and the players were so good they needed no coach. If you reflect back, that was not the case, far from it. So the whole “Tubby was carried by Pitino’s players” complaint doesn’t hold water, unless you just happen to know nothing about the game of basketball.
I have always maintained that if Pitino knew he could get another NCAA title, he would have never left UK. The man has an ego, the Celtics job or any other bad NBA job would have been open to Pitino after the 1998 season. In fact, another NCAA title would have more than likely increased his asking price and we all know that the only reason Ricky left in the first place was for the cash.
I have never realized why UK fans can’t be happy that they are always in the hunt to win an NCAA title. I guess they are just spoiled more than other teams. Nothing short of a championship will be accepted. I don’t see UCLA fans putting this much pressure on their team. You don’t think that WKU or Murray State fans would strangle their dogs to have a serious chance at a national championship every year? I bet 80% of them would punt their dog like a football for a Sweet 16 finish every season.
Kentucky is a hotbed for hoops and has been for many years. We seem to have more unemployed basketball coaches here than any state in the world. I get caught up in the wave of second guessing too. Luckily for bleacher seat coaches, we live in a country where you can voice your opinion freely. In the former Soviet Union when a fan questioned the moves of the coach of the Russian National basketball team, they were shot at sunrise.
In my life as a Kentucky fan, I have never seen a UK coach more hated than Tubby. I hope I am not being too naïve to believe that it is only because he happened to follow Rick Pitino and not for other ignorant reasons that shouldn’t be serious reasons to hate anyone in this day and age. If you look back over the last eight years, we can see that Tubby has had a better run than Ricky P. Can anyone say Celtics?
So another season begins and another year of, “What the heck is Tubby doing out there?!?!?” and “Let’s get rid of that guy.” As far as I am concerned UK needs to stand pat and UK fans need to appreciate the fact that UK is a contender every year and a majority of schools in Division 1 basketball cannot say that
Whew, thank you for letting me get that rant out of the way because with that being said, it may be time for UK to find a new coach. I know, I know, I was a Tubby defender and I still am. I still believe that he is one of the five or ten best coaches in the game right now as you can read in the opening paragraphs and I think UK is lucky to have him, you can feel a but coming up, can’t you. BUT, he has not appeared in a Final Four since the 1998 season and we are coming up on 8 years since UK’s last Final Four appearance. If I am indeed correct with my facts, and there is a good chance I am not, the Wildcats have never gone longer than eight seasons without appearing in a Final Four. As you can see, I am a little touched with fair weather Wildcat fever and the only cure is not more cowbell, but a Final Four appearance.
While I am not so delusional that I expect UK to win the NCAA title every year, (because frankly no team can win every year in this day and age) but I do expect to make it to the Final Four every three or four years. I would also like to beat Michigan State in an Elite Eight game. I am not in favor of dumping Tubby if he doesn’t make the Final Four this year or even the next year, in fact I am very excited to see what Tubby will make out of this current team that has no post presence whatsoever. BUT if or when he approaches that tenth year without a Final Four appearance, I believe that the university should at least look at the option of perhaps going in a different direction.
I have been satisfied with the job Tubby Smith has done and I am not sure who UK could get if they let him go. At one time many were hoping Billy Donovan would be the coach, but that would be a nightmare. For one thing his Florida teams have never been known for their toughness and one thing you can say about Tubby’s teams, they play defense and they are tough. Not too mention the fact that you would obviously want someone who was a better coach than Tubby to take his place and Billy Donovan is not.
If Tubby were let go I don’t see the coaches from Duke, North Carolina, UConn, or any other so called “big” program coming to UK. I especially do not see Rick Pitino coming back so don’t think that as soon as Tubby leaves that Rick is going to swoop in and take over. Pitino is gone, move on. So besides about 5 coaches in the game right now, UK could not bring anyone in as good as or better than Tubby. Thankfully it wouldn’t be my responsibility to find a replacement.
As I am writing this I am beginning to hate myself, I am turning into the one thing I thought I would never turn into, a spoiled, rabid, irrational, arrogant, delusional UK basketball fan. I guess we all have it in us; it just takes something to trigger it. For me it is an eight year Final Four drought, for others it is losing one game in the season. At least I’m not that guy.
Where else would a coach who over the last three years has won more games than any other coach in college basketball still be questioned about his coaching skills? Where else would a coach who wins just about 80% of his games get second guessed for even the most minute decisions? I’ll tell you where, right here in the Bluegrass State.
The man has won an NCAA title for Rupp’s sake. Not many coaches even get a sniff at one of those. Now here come the detractors, “Yeah, but he won with Pitino’s players.” He did, but some of you act like that was the 1996 UK team and the players were so good they needed no coach. If you reflect back, that was not the case, far from it. So the whole “Tubby was carried by Pitino’s players” complaint doesn’t hold water, unless you just happen to know nothing about the game of basketball.
I have always maintained that if Pitino knew he could get another NCAA title, he would have never left UK. The man has an ego, the Celtics job or any other bad NBA job would have been open to Pitino after the 1998 season. In fact, another NCAA title would have more than likely increased his asking price and we all know that the only reason Ricky left in the first place was for the cash.
I have never realized why UK fans can’t be happy that they are always in the hunt to win an NCAA title. I guess they are just spoiled more than other teams. Nothing short of a championship will be accepted. I don’t see UCLA fans putting this much pressure on their team. You don’t think that WKU or Murray State fans would strangle their dogs to have a serious chance at a national championship every year? I bet 80% of them would punt their dog like a football for a Sweet 16 finish every season.
Kentucky is a hotbed for hoops and has been for many years. We seem to have more unemployed basketball coaches here than any state in the world. I get caught up in the wave of second guessing too. Luckily for bleacher seat coaches, we live in a country where you can voice your opinion freely. In the former Soviet Union when a fan questioned the moves of the coach of the Russian National basketball team, they were shot at sunrise.
In my life as a Kentucky fan, I have never seen a UK coach more hated than Tubby. I hope I am not being too naïve to believe that it is only because he happened to follow Rick Pitino and not for other ignorant reasons that shouldn’t be serious reasons to hate anyone in this day and age. If you look back over the last eight years, we can see that Tubby has had a better run than Ricky P. Can anyone say Celtics?
So another season begins and another year of, “What the heck is Tubby doing out there?!?!?” and “Let’s get rid of that guy.” As far as I am concerned UK needs to stand pat and UK fans need to appreciate the fact that UK is a contender every year and a majority of schools in Division 1 basketball cannot say that
Whew, thank you for letting me get that rant out of the way because with that being said, it may be time for UK to find a new coach. I know, I know, I was a Tubby defender and I still am. I still believe that he is one of the five or ten best coaches in the game right now as you can read in the opening paragraphs and I think UK is lucky to have him, you can feel a but coming up, can’t you. BUT, he has not appeared in a Final Four since the 1998 season and we are coming up on 8 years since UK’s last Final Four appearance. If I am indeed correct with my facts, and there is a good chance I am not, the Wildcats have never gone longer than eight seasons without appearing in a Final Four. As you can see, I am a little touched with fair weather Wildcat fever and the only cure is not more cowbell, but a Final Four appearance.
While I am not so delusional that I expect UK to win the NCAA title every year, (because frankly no team can win every year in this day and age) but I do expect to make it to the Final Four every three or four years. I would also like to beat Michigan State in an Elite Eight game. I am not in favor of dumping Tubby if he doesn’t make the Final Four this year or even the next year, in fact I am very excited to see what Tubby will make out of this current team that has no post presence whatsoever. BUT if or when he approaches that tenth year without a Final Four appearance, I believe that the university should at least look at the option of perhaps going in a different direction.
I have been satisfied with the job Tubby Smith has done and I am not sure who UK could get if they let him go. At one time many were hoping Billy Donovan would be the coach, but that would be a nightmare. For one thing his Florida teams have never been known for their toughness and one thing you can say about Tubby’s teams, they play defense and they are tough. Not too mention the fact that you would obviously want someone who was a better coach than Tubby to take his place and Billy Donovan is not.
If Tubby were let go I don’t see the coaches from Duke, North Carolina, UConn, or any other so called “big” program coming to UK. I especially do not see Rick Pitino coming back so don’t think that as soon as Tubby leaves that Rick is going to swoop in and take over. Pitino is gone, move on. So besides about 5 coaches in the game right now, UK could not bring anyone in as good as or better than Tubby. Thankfully it wouldn’t be my responsibility to find a replacement.
As I am writing this I am beginning to hate myself, I am turning into the one thing I thought I would never turn into, a spoiled, rabid, irrational, arrogant, delusional UK basketball fan. I guess we all have it in us; it just takes something to trigger it. For me it is an eight year Final Four drought, for others it is losing one game in the season. At least I’m not that guy.
I love it when you call me big papa
This is what all the fuss is about. Zil and I are proud to announce the birth of our son Nedia. Ok, this backwards stuff is getting silly.
Liz and I are proud to announce the birth of Aiden Christopher on 11/14/2005 at 7:43PM. He weighed in at 7lbs 9.5 ozs and he was 19 inches long. Both baby and mother are healthy and happy, praise God.
I don't typically get too preachy, especially on here, but the birth of a child is proof of God in my eyes. I pity those who see it as anything less.
Friday, November 25, 2005
New blood...
Over the past few weeks Piccu and I have noticed a decline in readership as well as a decline in posting from our contributors.
So last night Piccu and I made an executive decision and decided to acquire a highly touted rookie that we found on the free agent wire.
I have extended the invitation and I'm expecting their arrival any day now.
Piccu and I have high expectations for this rookie and we expect them to become impact players very quickly.
That being said, with a solid rookie coming in that Piccu and I know can write, some of you veterans who aren't posting quite as much as you used to had better be looking over your shoulder.
On a side note, Piccu and I should have went straight to Wal-Mart last night before we went home. They had 8 Xbox 360's and didn't sell all of them until 5 a.m. That's $2,500 down the drain.
So last night Piccu and I made an executive decision and decided to acquire a highly touted rookie that we found on the free agent wire.
I have extended the invitation and I'm expecting their arrival any day now.
Piccu and I have high expectations for this rookie and we expect them to become impact players very quickly.
That being said, with a solid rookie coming in that Piccu and I know can write, some of you veterans who aren't posting quite as much as you used to had better be looking over your shoulder.
On a side note, Piccu and I should have went straight to Wal-Mart last night before we went home. They had 8 Xbox 360's and didn't sell all of them until 5 a.m. That's $2,500 down the drain.
ABC is cancelling Alias. Happy Thanksgiving? Not bloody likely.
I hope all have been having a happy Thanksgiving and I was until I saw the news that I had been expecting for a while. I was rolling along enjoying my long weekend, eating a piece of sweet potato pie the size of a car battery for lunch and I saw it. Alias is coming to an end this March. What have we done to deserve this and on Thanksgiving as well. ABC sucks and I hope they drop in ratings and fall to last place again like they were all those years ago. Without Alias I do not even have a reason to watch ABC so I hope that they are happy. We should all boycott ABC and Disney (except ESPN they haven't done anything to anybody).
Luckily, it sounds like Alias is going to go out with a bang. I believe the ax fell early enough for them to write some great episodes to give the die hard fans some closure when the series ends in May. The creators said they would not be winding down, but revving up as they reach the end. Perhaps this will draw more viewers. It's obvious that the creators have nothing to lose and should just go for it. They should use any story they were perhaps scared to use before. I want them to just totally go off the deep end and send the show out with a bang.
Well, now that I have regurgitated my sweet sweet potato pie and vented my hate against ABC I feel a little better. I am excited about what is going to come next. Well, I know the end is next, but the time between now and then should be very interesting.
Luckily, it sounds like Alias is going to go out with a bang. I believe the ax fell early enough for them to write some great episodes to give the die hard fans some closure when the series ends in May. The creators said they would not be winding down, but revving up as they reach the end. Perhaps this will draw more viewers. It's obvious that the creators have nothing to lose and should just go for it. They should use any story they were perhaps scared to use before. I want them to just totally go off the deep end and send the show out with a bang.
Well, now that I have regurgitated my sweet sweet potato pie and vented my hate against ABC I feel a little better. I am excited about what is going to come next. Well, I know the end is next, but the time between now and then should be very interesting.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
David Banner is all p@%*ed off. David who?
David Banner is angry, and you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry. Or something like that. The rapper has been raising money for the victims of hurricane Katrina, in fact raising over $500,000 already. He organized a benefit concert in Atlanta in September in which many stars in hip-hop donated their time. Now Banner is angry that all the efforts that are being done to help people seem to be getting little press. Banner complains that he would have gotten more press if he and another rapper were feuding or if he had shot someone.
He is true. In today’s music world the old saying “there is no such thing as bad publicity” is antiquated. The new saying is now, “Bad publicity is good publicity.” In fact, on an episode of Bones on Fox, a rapper who was called in for questioning in a murder negotiated with the lead detective into arresting him and charging him with the murder in exchange for some information that would lead them to the real killer even though he was innocent. I would be willing to bet that many publicists in hip hop have thought about the dream crime their client could commit. You know, a crime that has street cred but wouldn’t involve any real consequences.
I think that if Banner had worked something out with another rapper and started a feud, he could have gotten all the press he wanted. He could have started a feud with Nelly (who wouldn’t feel comfortable feuding with Nelly) and then could have arranged to “squash” it at the benefit concert. That would have given his cause some pub and would have helped himself to some pub. Let's face it, the world already knows Nelly, what we need now is more David Banner. Every reporter would have been there to document this joyous coming together of the Hulk’s alter ego and the guy with the band-aid under his eye.
What would have gotten more publicity would have been for him to kneecap Nelly on live TV, I would tune in for that. I would provide the bullets. Let’s face it, maybe all David Banner’s problems are because his name is David Banner. Have all the crazy rap names been taken? Perhaps if he were MC Davy B he would have had his concert on MTV. Maybe he should think about a name change before lashing out at the always fair and unbiased media.
He is true. In today’s music world the old saying “there is no such thing as bad publicity” is antiquated. The new saying is now, “Bad publicity is good publicity.” In fact, on an episode of Bones on Fox, a rapper who was called in for questioning in a murder negotiated with the lead detective into arresting him and charging him with the murder in exchange for some information that would lead them to the real killer even though he was innocent. I would be willing to bet that many publicists in hip hop have thought about the dream crime their client could commit. You know, a crime that has street cred but wouldn’t involve any real consequences.
I think that if Banner had worked something out with another rapper and started a feud, he could have gotten all the press he wanted. He could have started a feud with Nelly (who wouldn’t feel comfortable feuding with Nelly) and then could have arranged to “squash” it at the benefit concert. That would have given his cause some pub and would have helped himself to some pub. Let's face it, the world already knows Nelly, what we need now is more David Banner. Every reporter would have been there to document this joyous coming together of the Hulk’s alter ego and the guy with the band-aid under his eye.
What would have gotten more publicity would have been for him to kneecap Nelly on live TV, I would tune in for that. I would provide the bullets. Let’s face it, maybe all David Banner’s problems are because his name is David Banner. Have all the crazy rap names been taken? Perhaps if he were MC Davy B he would have had his concert on MTV. Maybe he should think about a name change before lashing out at the always fair and unbiased media.
Ah, Thanksgiving the day of pranks.
I have investigated this somewhat and I thought I would open this up to the board. Target is apparently having a big sale event on Friday and Saturday and to make sure you do not miss this Target is offering to give you a wake up call on those mornings. All you have to do is get on their website, enter a phone number, a name, and an email address and that's it. Then you have to wait one hour and call an 800 number to confirm the call.
The trick to this is that you have to call the 800 number from the number you want to confirm. You will need to register the wake up call one hour or so before you go to the victim’s house and then after a nonsuspicious amount of time, ask to use the phone and make the confirmation call. Then your unsuspecting friend or enemy will get a nice wake up call at 4 AM or a time of your choosing. You can also leave a tuck in call for 12 AM. I recommend that you do this to as many people as you can for a Happy Thanksgiving. Click the title for the link. Enjoy!!
The trick to this is that you have to call the 800 number from the number you want to confirm. You will need to register the wake up call one hour or so before you go to the victim’s house and then after a nonsuspicious amount of time, ask to use the phone and make the confirmation call. Then your unsuspecting friend or enemy will get a nice wake up call at 4 AM or a time of your choosing. You can also leave a tuck in call for 12 AM. I recommend that you do this to as many people as you can for a Happy Thanksgiving. Click the title for the link. Enjoy!!
He's a she? No, She's a he. ABC's Wife Swap has pulled the old switcheroo.
We should have seen this coming. Apparently the wonderful hit show Wife Swap on ABC (read that line as if it were coated and deep-fried in sarcasm) has switched a wife for a gay man. The husband who got stuck with the dude is from Oklahoma (red state alert, red state alert) and is surprisingly upset about this whole deal. I can understand why. If I were to swap my wife, I expect to be able to sleep with a new female wife. This whole thing boils down to you get what you asked for. This idiot wanted to be on TV so he could be the most popular guy at the barber shop and he got got. Surely this crossed his mind. Why wouldn’t ABC take a gay couple and send one to Oklahoma, the heart of W.’s America?
ABC is just trying to capitalize on a (apparently true) stereotype and do not let them tell you different. I imagine they will play this up as a grand sociological experiment trying to bring two different lifestyles together in perfect harmony. ABC is now being sued by the dupe and he claims that if getting the old switcheroo wasn’t bad enough the producers kept telling the man his wife was leaving him. I assume that if this happens during the filming of Wife Swap you have to keep your new wife, so this had to be very frightening for the Oklahoma man.
The producers also would not let the man know his wife’s location unless he participated in the show. I guess this was in the contract too, if you do not participate in the show you will never see your significant other again. The Oklahoma man also claims that his new gay wife invited a gay group to his church’s bible study. I am surprised this happened. Who knew Haileyville, Oklahoma had such a big gay Christian community and how did the new gay wife find them? Want ad? Internet? (Not in Oklahoma.) Gun range?
ABC has no plans to air the episode, but I’ll tell you this, when they do I’m there. I have never watched a Wife Swap show or a Trading Spouses show because, well, they seem like total crap. This is the kind of sweeps stunt that could hook me for a week or two. In the end I hope we all get what we want. Cletus will get some money, ABC will get to show this episode on TV, and we will get to see the most uncomfortable hour of television history.
ABC is just trying to capitalize on a (apparently true) stereotype and do not let them tell you different. I imagine they will play this up as a grand sociological experiment trying to bring two different lifestyles together in perfect harmony. ABC is now being sued by the dupe and he claims that if getting the old switcheroo wasn’t bad enough the producers kept telling the man his wife was leaving him. I assume that if this happens during the filming of Wife Swap you have to keep your new wife, so this had to be very frightening for the Oklahoma man.
The producers also would not let the man know his wife’s location unless he participated in the show. I guess this was in the contract too, if you do not participate in the show you will never see your significant other again. The Oklahoma man also claims that his new gay wife invited a gay group to his church’s bible study. I am surprised this happened. Who knew Haileyville, Oklahoma had such a big gay Christian community and how did the new gay wife find them? Want ad? Internet? (Not in Oklahoma.) Gun range?
ABC has no plans to air the episode, but I’ll tell you this, when they do I’m there. I have never watched a Wife Swap show or a Trading Spouses show because, well, they seem like total crap. This is the kind of sweeps stunt that could hook me for a week or two. In the end I hope we all get what we want. Cletus will get some money, ABC will get to show this episode on TV, and we will get to see the most uncomfortable hour of television history.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
It has returned...
After several weeks without our precious widescreen HDTV, we finally had it return from the repair shop. Personally, I was hoping to have wasted that $250 on the warranty, but I guess it was money well spent since the delivery mileage alone was $200.
We also got our HD satellite receiver from Dish Network. It's pretty solid, but I'm hoping they up the HD channels. Right now there are only about five or so, but what they have are pretty good. Unfortunately, ESPNHD, the reason we wanted the HD receiver in the first place, is a joke. The games themselves aren't in HD. The dudes in the studio and the graphics are in HD, but the cameras at the games that are broadcasting the game apparently are not HD. The games are broadcast on the HD channel with these cool "HD" bars on the side to take up the space that the 4:3 picture ratio leaves from the broadcast cameras at the games.
There are a few games broadcast in HD, but "few" is the key word. Most days the actual HD broadcasting is done in 20 minute spurts according to the ESPNHD schedule. Kind of crappy, but I'm assuming that the good folks at ESPN are going to upgrade their hardware.
What is cool is Discovery HD Theater. It's unbelievable. It's like you are looking out of a window into the Guiana Highlands of Venezuela. At least that's what it was tonight. It's unbelievable. Some researchers were in these giant sink holes in table mountains in South America and they were finding new species of animals everywhere. Giant waterfalls and lush green landscapes were too cool in HD.
Combine the Discovery HD Theater with Monday Night Football and that will keep us satisfied and give us our HD fix.
We also got our HD satellite receiver from Dish Network. It's pretty solid, but I'm hoping they up the HD channels. Right now there are only about five or so, but what they have are pretty good. Unfortunately, ESPNHD, the reason we wanted the HD receiver in the first place, is a joke. The games themselves aren't in HD. The dudes in the studio and the graphics are in HD, but the cameras at the games that are broadcasting the game apparently are not HD. The games are broadcast on the HD channel with these cool "HD" bars on the side to take up the space that the 4:3 picture ratio leaves from the broadcast cameras at the games.
There are a few games broadcast in HD, but "few" is the key word. Most days the actual HD broadcasting is done in 20 minute spurts according to the ESPNHD schedule. Kind of crappy, but I'm assuming that the good folks at ESPN are going to upgrade their hardware.
What is cool is Discovery HD Theater. It's unbelievable. It's like you are looking out of a window into the Guiana Highlands of Venezuela. At least that's what it was tonight. It's unbelievable. Some researchers were in these giant sink holes in table mountains in South America and they were finding new species of animals everywhere. Giant waterfalls and lush green landscapes were too cool in HD.
Combine the Discovery HD Theater with Monday Night Football and that will keep us satisfied and give us our HD fix.
A Thanksgiving cornucopia of sports.
I have a few things I would like to talk about this week, so I think we will get into a grab bag situation and I will randomly hop, skip, and jump around the sports map. Let’s hunt.
Not more steroids news
Yes, more steroids news. Major League Baseball has agreed to strengthen their drug testing policy. This means that if you test positive for steroids one time you will get a 50 game suspension. If you test positive a second time you get 100 games and if you test positive for steroids a third time you will be banned from baseball. This was a shock, not because of the new penalties, but because the owners have finally strong armed the players for once.
As long as I can remember the MLB players union never bent unless they thought it would help them. The owners could never come in and demand anything, they had no power. That all changed with the threat of Congress. I guess the MLB players union decided they would rather come up with their own penalties than to be forced by Congress to accept government testing most likely in the form of the testing used by the IOC for the Olympics. The IOC testing penalties are very stringent; they call for a two year ban for a first positive and a lifetime ban for a second positive. I guess the players union thought that 50 games were better than two years.
I think the owners were glad that Congress stuck its nose in their business. This was the only way they could get the union to bow to their needs and not the other way around as has been the case since the beginning of time. MLB also got amphetamines thrown into the testing as well, which we may find out is much worse than steroids. The penalties are not quite as stringent for amphetamines, but it’s a start.
What are my feelings on this? Mr. I Don’t Care if Baseball Players Want to Use Steroids to Entertain Me, well, I’ll tell you. As long as there are real penalties for using and MLB is making an effort than I am pleased. The reason I did not care that much whether players used or not was the fact that not even MLB cared and the fans sure didn’t care. Steroid use had been going on for more than a decade and baseball knew this and chose to ride the home run to record breaking attendance. Now it shows they are making an effort. The only problem is that there are certain substances that will not show up in a urine test and baseball is only using a urine test. HGH will not be detected and we all know there are some weasaly little chemical geeks in a lab somewhere working on a formula for undetectable steroids. The crooks are always one step ahead of the law when it comes to things like this. It’s just good to see that MLB is now taking things seriously and I applaud them for that.
I thought defense wins.
I admittedly am not a huge football fan, but I do enjoy sports so I can enjoy a good game and this weekend I enjoyed two great games. I happened to get in a little early on Saturday night and I tuned my satellite into the USC-Fresno St game. At the moment I first saw the score, Fresno State was up on the defending champs and I became giddy with joy. Why? Well, there are only two undefeated teams left and because of the stupid, idiotic, moronic, numbskullian, dipweed, BCS nonsense; it appears everything will work out for them. With two undefeated teams left, there is no question which two teams should play for the national championship. I want one or no undefeated teams left and about 14 one loss teams fighting for the title. And any chance to make the BCS committee look like a round table of imbeciles is a good thing for the universe.
That being said, I was rooting for Fresno state, hard. I knew that they had about a 30% chance of winning but I thought I would watch the game nonetheless. I’m glad I did because I witnessed one of the best single game performances ever. Reggie Bush for USC sealed the Heisman trophy up on Saturday night. He was amazing in running up over 500 all purpose yards. Every time a ball was kicked he was there. Every time a pass was thrown he was there. Every time the ball was handed off, he was there. He was like Santa Claus. He was everywhere.
Even though Bush was basically the total offense for USC, he was not playing defense and neither was anyone else. This game was a barn burner in every sense of the word. Fresno State had the lead going into the third quarter 21-13, and then the USC Trojans decided to play and ran off 28 points in the third to Fresno’s 7. The fourth quarter while not as explosive as the third was just as exciting. It all came down to the familiar two minute drill. Fresno State had just under two minutes to drive 80 yards and score a TD and get the two point conversion to force overtime. They were driving and the Fresno quarterback, Paul Pinegar, threw a strike for the end zone. It was intercepted and USC held on for the win 50-42. Fresno State came as close as anyone this year to beating a team that hasn’t lost in like 10 years. If not for the five, yes five, turnovers in the second half alone, perhaps they would have. I was devastated but glad I got to see the unbelievable game by Bush. Tell all your friends he is your Heisman Trophy winner, book it.
Speaking of no defense, I checked out the Indianapolis Colts-Cincinnati Bengals game on Sunday and enjoyed another great game, well, great for those of you who don’t like defense to make an appearance in a football game. My Bengals are finally trying to become a respectable team and the Colts are perhaps the best team to have played in the NFL in the last five years. Another offensive explosion, much like that of the USC-Fresno State game, was expected in this game and these two teams did not disappoint. One team would drive and score and then the other team would drive and score, unfortunately for Cincinnati, they had too many field goals and not enough touchdowns at the end of the game, losing 45-37.
The game featured a great performance by Bengals receiver Chad Johnson. I am not talking about catches or touchdowns scored; I am talking about his celebration after scoring a touchdown. Chad Johnson caught a touchdown pass from Carson Palmer, ran off to the side line, ran up to a cheerleader, got down on one knee and took her hand as if he were proposing to her. Apparently she said yes because he got up and hugged her. The NFL will probably suspend him for the rest of the season because they can’t handle a little fun. I look forward to seeing the touchdown celebrations more than anything else it seems. That is why I miss Terrell Owens, well that and the fact I have picked him up on waivers in my fantasy football league. Hopefully TO will get back on the field and start entertaining us again and scoring me some fantasy points, but I digress.
As you can see I had a rather boring, but eventful weekend and hope to parlay that into a long four day weekend full of sports and giblet gravy this Thanksgiving. I hope all five of my regular readers have a Happy Thanksgiving (even though the idiot of a sports editor at the Times News did not feel the need for a sports column this week) and in the words of the great philosopher Chick McGhee, “Wherever you go, whatever you do, always be a good sport.”
Not more steroids news
Yes, more steroids news. Major League Baseball has agreed to strengthen their drug testing policy. This means that if you test positive for steroids one time you will get a 50 game suspension. If you test positive a second time you get 100 games and if you test positive for steroids a third time you will be banned from baseball. This was a shock, not because of the new penalties, but because the owners have finally strong armed the players for once.
As long as I can remember the MLB players union never bent unless they thought it would help them. The owners could never come in and demand anything, they had no power. That all changed with the threat of Congress. I guess the MLB players union decided they would rather come up with their own penalties than to be forced by Congress to accept government testing most likely in the form of the testing used by the IOC for the Olympics. The IOC testing penalties are very stringent; they call for a two year ban for a first positive and a lifetime ban for a second positive. I guess the players union thought that 50 games were better than two years.
I think the owners were glad that Congress stuck its nose in their business. This was the only way they could get the union to bow to their needs and not the other way around as has been the case since the beginning of time. MLB also got amphetamines thrown into the testing as well, which we may find out is much worse than steroids. The penalties are not quite as stringent for amphetamines, but it’s a start.
What are my feelings on this? Mr. I Don’t Care if Baseball Players Want to Use Steroids to Entertain Me, well, I’ll tell you. As long as there are real penalties for using and MLB is making an effort than I am pleased. The reason I did not care that much whether players used or not was the fact that not even MLB cared and the fans sure didn’t care. Steroid use had been going on for more than a decade and baseball knew this and chose to ride the home run to record breaking attendance. Now it shows they are making an effort. The only problem is that there are certain substances that will not show up in a urine test and baseball is only using a urine test. HGH will not be detected and we all know there are some weasaly little chemical geeks in a lab somewhere working on a formula for undetectable steroids. The crooks are always one step ahead of the law when it comes to things like this. It’s just good to see that MLB is now taking things seriously and I applaud them for that.
I thought defense wins.
I admittedly am not a huge football fan, but I do enjoy sports so I can enjoy a good game and this weekend I enjoyed two great games. I happened to get in a little early on Saturday night and I tuned my satellite into the USC-Fresno St game. At the moment I first saw the score, Fresno State was up on the defending champs and I became giddy with joy. Why? Well, there are only two undefeated teams left and because of the stupid, idiotic, moronic, numbskullian, dipweed, BCS nonsense; it appears everything will work out for them. With two undefeated teams left, there is no question which two teams should play for the national championship. I want one or no undefeated teams left and about 14 one loss teams fighting for the title. And any chance to make the BCS committee look like a round table of imbeciles is a good thing for the universe.
That being said, I was rooting for Fresno state, hard. I knew that they had about a 30% chance of winning but I thought I would watch the game nonetheless. I’m glad I did because I witnessed one of the best single game performances ever. Reggie Bush for USC sealed the Heisman trophy up on Saturday night. He was amazing in running up over 500 all purpose yards. Every time a ball was kicked he was there. Every time a pass was thrown he was there. Every time the ball was handed off, he was there. He was like Santa Claus. He was everywhere.
Even though Bush was basically the total offense for USC, he was not playing defense and neither was anyone else. This game was a barn burner in every sense of the word. Fresno State had the lead going into the third quarter 21-13, and then the USC Trojans decided to play and ran off 28 points in the third to Fresno’s 7. The fourth quarter while not as explosive as the third was just as exciting. It all came down to the familiar two minute drill. Fresno State had just under two minutes to drive 80 yards and score a TD and get the two point conversion to force overtime. They were driving and the Fresno quarterback, Paul Pinegar, threw a strike for the end zone. It was intercepted and USC held on for the win 50-42. Fresno State came as close as anyone this year to beating a team that hasn’t lost in like 10 years. If not for the five, yes five, turnovers in the second half alone, perhaps they would have. I was devastated but glad I got to see the unbelievable game by Bush. Tell all your friends he is your Heisman Trophy winner, book it.
Speaking of no defense, I checked out the Indianapolis Colts-Cincinnati Bengals game on Sunday and enjoyed another great game, well, great for those of you who don’t like defense to make an appearance in a football game. My Bengals are finally trying to become a respectable team and the Colts are perhaps the best team to have played in the NFL in the last five years. Another offensive explosion, much like that of the USC-Fresno State game, was expected in this game and these two teams did not disappoint. One team would drive and score and then the other team would drive and score, unfortunately for Cincinnati, they had too many field goals and not enough touchdowns at the end of the game, losing 45-37.
The game featured a great performance by Bengals receiver Chad Johnson. I am not talking about catches or touchdowns scored; I am talking about his celebration after scoring a touchdown. Chad Johnson caught a touchdown pass from Carson Palmer, ran off to the side line, ran up to a cheerleader, got down on one knee and took her hand as if he were proposing to her. Apparently she said yes because he got up and hugged her. The NFL will probably suspend him for the rest of the season because they can’t handle a little fun. I look forward to seeing the touchdown celebrations more than anything else it seems. That is why I miss Terrell Owens, well that and the fact I have picked him up on waivers in my fantasy football league. Hopefully TO will get back on the field and start entertaining us again and scoring me some fantasy points, but I digress.
As you can see I had a rather boring, but eventful weekend and hope to parlay that into a long four day weekend full of sports and giblet gravy this Thanksgiving. I hope all five of my regular readers have a Happy Thanksgiving (even though the idiot of a sports editor at the Times News did not feel the need for a sports column this week) and in the words of the great philosopher Chick McGhee, “Wherever you go, whatever you do, always be a good sport.”
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