sometimes...nobody gets me

At work, we share a parking lot (one of several) with a prominent golf course clubhouse. That clubhouse, like most, hosts functions, parties and what not.

Yesterday, this woman I work with went out to her car after work. It was dark out by then, but there was a half full drink on the hood of her car and crumpled envelope under the windshield wiper. A note was scribbled on the envelope. It read, "you are a fucking asshole!"

Now, this woman isn't really a fucking asshole. She's actually a rather nice person, but we chuckled about it, figuring it's a case of mistaken identity and someone who had a few too many at some party.

I said, "Well, at least you're not just an asshole, but an asshole with a sex life."

She just looked at me...puzzled....

Happy Leap Day!

It's Leap Day, and I'm extremely anxious. It's also the first day of free agency for the NFL, and my Jaguars need to roll in with a huge shopping cart, cuz we got money and needs dammit..

We need a pass rusher. We need a real receiver, and since the closest thing we have now is Ernest Wilford, and it appears we'll be losing him in this same free agency period (an eventuality that I really don't understand, because he's one of the right pieces to the puzzle). we really need a few wide receivers. We could also use an upgrade at safety. The problem is, the shelves aren't exactly lines with answers at those positions, and the Jaguars don't seem to have the will to throw cash around...which is both good and bad. You don't want to squander money, but you do need to go get the guys you need. We never go after the huge profile, huge cash guys, and I can accept that (not that I have a choice if I want to stay a Jaguar fan), but get the folks you need.

Maybe the picture will clear up in the next week, and I'll be less anxious. I might be more pissed off if the next week goes by and nothing happens, and I might be pleasantly surprised, but either way, I'll be less anxious....

just get it all over with

I so don't care anymore, but I am a little curious. Does anyone have the over/under line from Vegas on how long it'll be before Roger Clemens is making a Share the Road specialty license plate for me?

I just hope whatever happens, it happens soon, so all these congressmen can get back to something slightly more substantial...like running the country.

sub economics

A few weeks ago we went to a neighbor's house for the Super Bowl. We were asked to bring a dish to share, and we did. At the time, I gave a passing thought to....why not get one of those humongous subs (hogies, heroes, whatever you call them in your part of the country)? You know...one of those very long sandwiches...everyone could just cut off however much they want. I didn't follow through on it, though, and we brought something else.

So today, it was getting near lunch time. I bring my lunch every day, but as lunch time got closer, I had the urge to leave what I brought in the fridge for tomorrow, because I wanted a sub. Then I thought...why not go get it from one of those places that make the humongous ones, so I can get an idea of cost.

Holy carp! I really don't get it. For the record, I went to Larry's Giant Subs, a southeast chain, mostly in Florida and Georgia, but stretching as far north (according to the take out menu) as Charleston, West Virginia. Now, Larry sells 8" and 12" subs, but he also has a 3 foot and 6 foot sub. I thought to myself...the 3 foot probably would have done the trick. $40! The most expensive one foot sub is $7.49. Throw in the extra penny, because I'm a big spender that way, and you have a sort-of round $7.50. So, I can get 5 feet of sub in foot long increments for $37.50 (at the worst, because remember, these are the most expensive ones they sell), or one 3 foot long sub for $40. You get a break on the 6 foot version...$75. How they ever sell a 3 foot sub, I don't know. I guess I'd have to see it. Maybe it's crammed full of meat and in some way better than the garden variety sub, but dang...$40 for a 3 foot sandwich.

my whine for the day

So, I'm doing the usual 'every other night' gym thing last night, and around 9:30, it's just me and one other guy. We have two TV's on facing opposite ends of the room. Both are featuring the same thing. ESPN - Tennessee vs. Vanderbuilt basketball game. Two top 10 teams battling in a pretty good game, and....

This woman comes in. Looks at the TVs and asks.."doesn't anyone care what Barak and Hillary have to say?" I'm thinking...please lady, it wasn't all that long ago that I ate dinner...I'd like to keep it down, but I'm saying a simple, polite, "no." The other guy explains the relevance of the baskeball game, and its place in the interest pecking order far above either Hillary or Barak...so she gets on a treadmill, puts in her little i-pod ear things and runs.

She does that until...I get off the stationary bike, grab my drink and walk outside where it's cool. Now, she knows I didn't leave for the night, because while I grabbed the drink, I left, my keys and cell phone which were right next to it, and on the wall cubbie thing right in front of her.

I'm outside for maybe two minutes, I walk back in and...the basketball game isn't on anymore. Instead, we have HGTV. Now, I can understand...we have the game on one TV and even though, as I head for the weight machine that works abs...I can't see it except at a strange angle through a mirror, I can still hear it. I don't have that much of a problem sharing. What pisses me off, is that we're watching HGTV...and it's muted. She has those stupid ear things in her ears...so she's got her tunes, and we're watching home improvement shit which we can only partially understand, because we can't hear it. So I'm watching some guy do something with a level, instead of watching basketball. At least you can follow basketball with no sound, but Tim 'the tool man' Taylor, or whoever this guy is..not so much. He's probably explaining what the hell he's doing with the level, but we don't know that, because we can't hear him. She doesn't care, because she's not listening to him, and I highly doubt she knows what he was doing with the level either.

If you're going to be a bitch, and change the channel that you know other people were watching before you showed up, and are still interested in...at least watch the stuff you change it to. It was just an "all about me" rude thing to do. If I was going to be there more than 10 minutes after the heinous act, I may have said something, but I figured I was just working the tummy and leaving. Instead of getting into it with her, I'd passive-aggressively just whine to you guys.

You Won't Succeed on Broadway

I did my Jewish post over two years ago. It's my one claim to fame. It's my one (as far as I know) link that can be found in Wikipedia, the one post of note in this literary undertaking of mine, such as it is. For the record, that post is still responsible for almost as many hits on this blog as the fact that I have scantily clad women on the right, and both of those are responsible for more hits than everything else on this page put together, (excluding people looking for Feist's 1-2-3-4 song, which seem to come here in droves because I link to the video - seems they could eliminate the middle lumberyard and go straight to you tube, but, whatever)..times ten. That should give you an idea of my insignificant speck of a place in cyberspace.

As I said yesterday, we went to Spamalot Sunday, and the show was very good, but there was one part that left me wondering...where the hell did this come from, and why is it here?

One of the departures from the movie is that Arthur is charged with creating a show on Broadway, and in that regard, we get the song that features the concept, you won't succeed on Broadway if you don't have any Jews. Can someone help me with that, because the concept is just completely lost on me? Is it a cosmopolitan New York thing that rubes like me in J'ville don't understand? Do people of the Jewish faith somehow own what goes on along that strip known as Broadway? The song goes on for a while, with bits of traditional Jewish music and Fiddler on the Roof references, and Arthur lamenting his goyishness, and whatever, but I really wasn't getting why this whole thing was supposed to be funny. Is it supposed to be the same as saying, you can't succeed at the Apollo if you have no blacks? The obvious conclusion was...let's round us up some Jews. I was cringing more than chuckling. Call me overly sensitive, maybe. It took me to a place with a chill down my spine.

It just...had all the makings of a slur, but...it was supposed to be a funny slur?? from the same people who make a fairly liberal point of poking fun at the idea that gay marriage is a controversial subject? It just seemed a bit out of context, uncomfortable, and straight out of left field for those of us in the rest of the country who don't understand what possible link there is between Broadway and Jewish people, if such a thing exists.

find your grail

I am a Monty Python fan, and have been for...I dunno..maybe 35 years. I know we watched them religiously when I was in high school, and we complained because gas was up to 50 cents a gallon.

Last fall we heard Spamalot was coming to J'ville, and there was much rejoicing...and least with me and the youngster. Monty Python and the Holy Grail was one of the things about my youth that I shared with him on several occasions. We have the movie on DVD and while he can't quote it like his father (yet), the youngster enjoys it as much as I do. One of our neighbors asked if we wanted to see it with them, and ordered tickets for all of us. I was so stoked. I have been many places, but none of them are Broadway in New York City, and other than local theater that mom-in-law does costumes for, and the stuff I did in high school, had never really seen a play. So here was coming a real "been on Broadway" play (minus the famous named actors), and it was the stage adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. What more could I ask for? (Don't answer that.)

Yesterday was grail day. To prepare, we watched the movie (yet again) Wednesday night. It was the first time the wife watched it from beginning to end, and when it ended, she just looked at me and asked, "That's it?" Then..."ohhhh, I don't know if this is going to be my thing."

So, over the weekend, I was a little concerned. All the anticipation, and she wasn't going to enjoy it?? How could you not like Monty Python? I mean, how does one watch the famous dead parrot sketch and not find it funny? But, on the other hand, I know plenty of people really don't. My dad, for instance, wouldn't last 2 seconds watching old Python sketches.

Yesterday, we piled everyone in the rolling video game and went downtown to the theatre (us and the neighbors - I knew that fold down seat would come in handy someday). The curtain went up and I watched thew wife anxiously....and soon the anxiety went away. She loved it, as did I and the youngster, and the neighbors, and just about everyone else I saw (and I was surprised to see several people I knew there). I'll just say that it's not the same as the movie, but it is loosely based on it, and it is hilarious. If you get the chance (and haven't already), go! I don't want to say any more, because I don't want to ruin it if you haven't been and get to go. The wife...thought it was far better than the movie. I'm a bit more old school. I like the movie better, but I have loved that for years. This was very very good though.

Boo Weekly

This guy is my new favorite golfer. How can you not like a guy, especially a PGA Tour Golfer, who's willing to jump in a cage to wrestle an orangutan at a state fair in an effort to win a few bucks. For the record, he lost. All he remembers of the encounter was waking up...not in the cage anymore, or so the story goes.

women, shoes and....does it really matter?

The wife is like most women, in that she likes shoes...shoes for different purposes, shoes that match outfits, shoes that match handbags, shoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, shoes for shoe shopping, shoes for......you get my point.

She also works around doctors, and apparently doctors prefer Cole Haan shoes, which are nice...and pricey. For whatever reason, she thinks this is a good thing, and that I should aspire to wear them. Twice in my life, she has bought these shoes for me. Once about 10 years ago, and once as a Christmas present a little over a year ago. When she did it 10 years ago, the soles wore out in about a year, and she said..."These are the kind of shoes you get resoled. You don't just throw them away and get new ones. They're too expensive for that." I did that about three times and finally said, "this is a pain in the ass", and bought some less expensive shoes that lasted longer.

Now, I've had these shoes for a bit over a year and...I have a hole in the sole. I really don't need to wear $300 shoes. Granted, she got them on sale, which combined two words in the wife's lexicon that, put together, are as dangerous as crack...shoes and sale. It's the perfect storm of female retail therapy. It also explains why they showed up for Christmas, but still...Give me something that costs half that (or less), and lasts twice as long so I don't have to continually get them repaired or replaced, and I'll be happy. Shoe maintenance is an activity I want to spend as little time in as possible. Just finding someone who repairs shoes these days takes more time than I want to spend dealing with shoes. Cobblers aren't exactly on every street corner. All I do in them is walk around at work, and nobody there (including me) gives a rats ass about what shoes I'm wearing, as long as they meet the dress code.

Should we be surprised?

I've only got three words to say in response to this story, about a rumored John McCain affair with a lobbist...New York Times.

If it's corroborated by any real news source...ya know, one with more journalistic integrity than Dan Rather, like the National Enquirer perhaps, maybe I'll give it an ounce of credibility.

Please don't travel the same road as Major League Baseball

Denial...not just a river in Egypt.

missed it

Damn, I was frustrated last night. We had cloudy skies. It wasn't a complete cloud blanket. Occasionally you'd see a star through the clouds, or a piece of the moon. I really wanted to catch some of the eclipse, and I went out several times and stared where the moon was supposed to be.



Yeah, every now and then I'd get teased into looking a little longer. You'd see a quarter of it here, or even a half there, but never the entire moon, and most of the time....nuthin'. Even what I did see didn't sport the colors I hoped to catch. Oh well, maybe next time...in about 2 years.

Talked to my college roommate last night. It's strange how things work out. He grew up in New Jersey and went to Villanova. I grew up all over and went to Villanova. After we graduated I joined the Navy and he went back to New Jersey, but somehow, almost 30 years later, he lives across the river from me. Even this close we see each other less than once a year, which is stupid. I saw him more when he lived up north. So, I called him last week and finalized plans last night. We're having dinner Saturday night...he and his family and me and mine. Sometimes I take too much for granted...like him being right there. I try to learn from other people's lessons in the "Don't it always seem to go, you don't know what you got till it's gone" world, but occasionally I need to kick myself in the head and get things moving before they go away. I might have missed the eclipse, but I'm going to do my best not to miss everything.

I love college basketball

It's even better when my little main line Philly school is doing well, but we aren't this year. At this point, I'll be pleased if we can spell NIT, so we can skip that part of the discussion.

I watched Indiana play Purdue last night while sweating in the gym. I have no particular rooting interest in that game, but damn it was fun to watch. The kids on both sides fought so hard it was a shame that one had to lose. Indiana came out on top, but it was just a fun battle to witness, especially in light of the accusations against Kelvin Sampson, the Indiana coach regarding recruiting practices. The guy may not have a job by the weekend, but none of that mattered last night. His kids played and fought their way through turnovers and scratched out a win regardless...and hugged ther guy when they came off the court.

It kinda makes me wonder...what happens to those kids? I know, money happens, and I guess I don't give money enough credit. The difference between watching that game and watching something like the Lakers and Cavs in the NBA is night and day. The passion goes away and is replaced by entitlement. The cheering students are replaced by blaring gangsta rap. Bling gets to start while raw desire rides the pine. Is money to blame for all that...or am I missing something?

Feel free to chime in.

golf lately

As many of you know, (or at least the two or three that read my corner of the internet) I like golf, but I don't play much, and I play even less now that my bicycle has taken up more of my free time.

What you don't know is I don't wear a golf glove. I think the golf glove is a useless piece of gear. The grips on clubs are good enough that the glove really doesn't do a whole lot. The club certainly isn't going to slip out of your hand without one. I used to use one because everyone else did, and I figured I was supposed to, but never really figured out why you wear it to hit a drive and your irons, but take it off to putt, then put it back on, and take it off, and put it back on...ad naseum. I did it though. Then one day I ripped a hole in one, took it off and played better. Never bought another since.

I used to play about once a month, but I'd at least get to the driving range at leats once a weekend for an hour of practice. This year, I hit the driving range for the first time yesterday..and actually hit the ball pretty good, all things considered. What I did find though, is a reason for a golf glove. When I played all the time (or at least practiced) I had a callous on the ring finger of my right hand where it rubs against my left hand holding a club. My lack of practice has made that disappear, and now I have a huge, ugly, painful blister there. If I let it heal and continue to practice, I'll be fine.

The guy who taught me to play says if I'm getting a blister, I'm holding the club wrong. That may be, but until I figure out how to hold it right, I may have to buy a glove just to stop the blistering thing.

The youngster's old school holds a golf tournament every February, and I've helped out with it (and played in it) for the last 5 years. Even though he doesn't go to school there anymore, they asked and I agreed to help out again this year. It was supposed to be this coming Sunday. We already had plans that would prevent me from playing, but I could still help out beforehand, even if I couldn't play. Then, yesterday at church, they announced they moved it to May...so maybe I can play after all. I sent the organizers an email thanking them for moving the show, just for me. Truth be told, I think they just got too comfortable with the tournament pretty much running itself. There was very little (as in, NO) advertising this year. I think they procrastinated themselves into a corner where the tournament is a week away and nobody's signed up to play because nobody knew it was coming. The answer...more procrastination...put off the tournament until May! Maybe by then, I'll be done with the blister ordeal.

the 'no spin' zone

I went to the gym last night, and as usual, someone was already there with something on TV. I usually don't mess with the TVs much, unless I get there and nobody's around and they're off. Then I'll usually hit ESPN News, or one of the other ESPN flavors, unless there's something on I really want to see. Mostly though, it's just something to make the time go by while I sweat. This time, the Fox News channel was on, and specifically Bill O'Reilly in the No Spin Zone.

If you've read much of my rantings, you know I sit a bit right of center, politically, but I don't particularly like Mr. O'Reilly. I think he's a bit pushy and arrogant. I don't particularly dislike him either, though, and I guess that's my point. The man has a show, and an opinion, and like a lot of others in his trade, he makes me think. He doesn't make me agree with him on any particulary issue, but he does bring up valid points which help me agree or disagree with him.

I think it's that way with a lot of these conservative talk show hosts, which Hillary once called part of the great Right Wing Conspiracy. It's the same with Network News, which I think of as liberal propaganda. It's all out there, but none of it is to be taken as gospel. You listen to all the sides and you make up your own mind...and I think most people do, and the so called 'experts' (which include the Hillarys and O'Reillys of the world) don't give us credit for that. It has to be true. how else can you explain John McCain. If all Republicans were little lemmings, following the Gospel according to Coulter, John McCain's campaign is dead before it even gets started...and yet, he's probably going to be the Republican nominee. They give themselves more credit than they have coming, and then are shocked when they find America doesn't fall in lockstep with them. We do it to ourselves too...or at least the people who don't think like we do. I do it...and have to slap my own hand occasionally, and remind myself that people aren't that stupid, even if I can't explain them. When I see people go to the polls, and don't vote like I would, I question their intelligence and chalk it up to being brainwashed by the Nightly News...but it's not true. They think, and evaluate, just like I do. They just come to different conclusions, and that should be OK. It doesn't make them any smarter or dumber than I am.

I'll stop rambling now (or rather...soon). It's just..I hadn't seen Mr. O'Reilly in a very long time, and I'm not inclined to watch more based on what I saw last night. It was just interesting watching him verbally joust with people on various issues. For the record, I agreed with him in his outrage with Jane Fonda for throwing out the word 'cunt' on live TV on the Today Show, and having everyone involved laugh it off. If I was getting ready to take my preschooler to day care, and he or she watched that, and saw everyone laugh it off, would we be surprised to have that 4 or 5 year old head to preschool and look for a few laughs of their own? You don't use that language on network TV. I disagreed on his outrage (the guy seems to be outraged quite a bit) on having people in a halfway house, some of whom could be convicted sex offenders, go on a field trip to the circus on a supervised visit, where there are lots of kids. If the idea is to get them out in public again, you need to do that. Parents taking their kids to the circus are very aware of what's around them, and damn well better be taking precautions against the unsupervised, not-yet-convicted sex offendes that are there, because they are. I'd be worried more about them than the ones that are under supervision.

Happy Valentines Day

It may be a Hallmark manufactured holiday, and whatever else the cynic in me could call it, but have a great Valentines Day. Give someone a hug, because they need it, and so do you.

the writers' strike is going away

Does this mean we might see the end of the really bad reality show crap that's been dominating TV lately...like that Dance War: Ginger vs. Mary Ann thing?

the whole 'flowers on Valentine's Day' thing

Contrary to what you might believe based on the kinds of things I post in this blog, I'm really not a total idiot. I know, even though the wife says she doesn't want a big production on Valentines Day, there'd better be a flower guy showing up at her desk at work sometime between 9 and 5.

So being the semi-smart guy I am, I called the flower people a few weeks ago, and set all that up. Of course, because they make most of their annual revenue on this day (or actually, tomorrow), they charge a bazillion dollars for a dozen roses on Valentines Day. I'm OK with that. It didn't come unexpected, so I cashed out part of the 401k (because last lear I did the second mortgage thing, and I don't need a third) and along with what I could scrimp since the Christmas bills got covered, I was in there.

Then came the kicker, as I'm on the phone with the flower guys..."We have another option. We'll only charge you hallf a bazillion if we can deliver them on the 13th. Are you interested?"

What? Are you crazy? When I called, did "Stupid Person" show up on your caller ID? Does anyone leap on that? The reason I'm calling you guys is because it's Valentines Day. That's it. That's all the leverage you got. What would make you think I'd be OK with having them delivered a day early? If I go that route, I'd better come up with plan B for the actual Valentines Day show, and it had better be a step up from what I did the day before. I just increased my workload, and hit the 401k one more time. Why would I want to put myself through that? What a way to completely look like a schmuck. "Well honey, I had them delivered yesterday cuz it was half price, so today, I got nuthin'." Yeah, you got nuthin' all right, and that's what you're gettin'...for a very long time. Make sure the cable bill on the doghouse is paid up, because it's going to be you and Sports Center in that place for the forseeable future. Valentines Day is based on emotion and romance, and very little else. How could you better just suck all that out, than getting flowers, but doing it a day early so you could get a deal?

I know...my romantic streak is pretty thin, but it does exist.

as National Holidays go

Today is huge. I didn't know this until I hit the morning news, checkin' the weather, but today is..


are you ready for this?

Are ya really?

You're sure now, are you?

National Pancake Lovers' Day!

And I'm all over it. I could spend every morning at the IHOP if time and my waistline would allow. I very much enjoy the food group known as pancakes. ...in just about every variety. Put some fruit in them, like blueberries, bananas, or chocolate chips, or on them...like strawberries. You could throw some nuts in there. There are just endless possibilities. Just plain, with a little butter and maybe smother them in maple syrup, or any of the other countless varieties of syrup....Yessssssss! I'm in breakfast heaven, and we haven't even touched the close cousin...the waffle, or the cousin from across the pond, the belgian waffle.

God I love pancakes! Oh, and a big shout out to Mr. Lincoln, too. Happy Birthday Abe!

the weekend in review

The youngster and I went biking Saturday morning...20 miles, nothing huge. On the way home, some woman in a beat up pick up truck yelled at us, going in the other direction, across a median. (Pretty truck though...nice shade of...ummm...primer.) I didn't quite make out what she said, but the youngster caught it. "Get off the road!"

OK, so we're in the bike lane with no traffic even headed in our direction, and some woman in a old pick up feels it necessary to yell at us and tell us to vacate what she clearly believes belongs to....her?? I need to just let that go, but it's obviously still bugging me a bit because I'm blogging about it.

Did the bike thing again Sunday (so yeah, it was a fairly big cycling weekend, but the weather, except for the wind, was perfect for it.) Did the trip to work and back with a neighbor. The youngster declined, as I thought he would. It's still a bit far for him. 30 miles, OK. 42, a bit much. The wind was nasty and the bridge was difficult...much like last weekend. It was just a nicer ride with company.

Then came the grammys. I was doing the bills, so I was sorta watching and sorta not, but what I saw showed me how out of it I am. Amy Winehouse. People, what is the big deal? This woman is winning stuff left and right, and I couldn't be more underwhelmed. They tell me to listen to you singing, I say No No No! That was the best the music industry could come up with this year? Rehab? Are we in that big of a slump? The girl's got pipes, but what about that music and/or lyrics brings to mind the word "good"? What an unimaginative piece of crap...but that's just one man's opinion. I liked Feist doing the '1234' i-pod song with the brass backing her up, though. Kanye West...just go crawl in a hole somewhere, and stop telling me how you deserve a grammy. Apparently you do, because you got several, but you don't have to be the poster boy for the "Me" generation. Really, you don't.

For those of us of a Christian persuasion, it's Lent. For those of us of a Catholic persuasion, that means attempting to give up something you really like for the next several weeks, and no meat on Fridays. I usually give up the same thing...chocolate. I loooves me the chocolate, so this is a fairly difficult thing for me. I usually also falter once or twice, especially in the beginning where I just plain forget. Last night though, I wasn't forgetting. I was just plain weak. The wife and youngster made chocolate chip cookies for the youngster's school bus driver. It seems it's his birthday. Home made cookies, and I just stared at them whenever I found myself in the kitchen, and did great for several hours, until the wife was doing her nails, so she asked me to bag up the cookies so the youngster could take them this morning. That was torture. Again, I was doing great, until one fell on the floor. I picked it up, well within the three second rule limit, and stared at it. I wasn't going to put it in the bag. I didn't want to throw it out. What a waste! Oh man...home made cookies...so I indulged. Ahh well. Pick myself back up by the scruff of my neck and try again.

buh bye Mr. Romney...and other stuff

I was a little surprised...well, OK, a lot surprised, that Mitt Romnet dropped out of the Republican race yesterday. I guess, looking at it now, it makes sense, though. They guy wasn't going to win. All he was doing was spending more money in a cause going nowhere. I can also see why Huckabee is still there. He wants his name in the hat when they start talking Vice Presidential hopefuls. As much as it might suit me, (and giving you a pretty good idea how much creedence my opinion is given in national circles) Mitt Romney won't even be an afterthought in the list of possible V.P. hopefuls running with John McCain, so what reason does he have to stick around?

Roger Clemens and steriods - does anyone really care anymore? I was in the gym last night and this story was dominating everything...or everything on ESPN. Ya know, I just don't give a shit. Enough other guys have raised their hand and admitted that they used illegal stuff to enhance their performance, that baseball is smeared about as much as it's going to be. One guy more or less makes no difference to me, and no, it doesn't matter that it's Roger Clemens. The whole steroid/HGH thing is ugly. It's being addressed. Move on. I don't care if Clemens did it or not. If he did, he should be punished. If not, he should be left alone. If he perjures himself, he ought to go to prision. Just do it off my TV screen. I'm tired of hearing about him. Clemens isn't that big a story to me.

Dan Snyder got turned down (although there never was an offer on the table) by the Giants defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, for the head coaching vacancy at the Redskins. What does that say about that job? Oh gee, come to Washington. We'll pay you big bucks to come here, but if we're not in the playoff hunt next year, start looking for a new job around week 14. If we lose in the playoffs, you can postpone that search until mid January. Your staff is already hand picked by the owner, so you don't have to make any choices there. Oh, and he's a great guy too. How inviting is that?

I met so many nice people...

One thing that struck me about a week ago. I was talking to someone else who did the MS Ride for the first time last year, and we talked about doing it again. She got wide eyed and said, "I met so many nice people!"

I thought about that, and it just became so obvious. When you do something like that, you are bound to meet "so many nice people." Think about it. You have a bunch of folks who are dedicating a lot of time over the summer to do a two day bike ride to benefit a great cause. Some of them do it purely for the personal challenge, and some of them treat it like a race, and for them, the motivation may be different. I won't speak for them, but it may be different. I don't want to insinuate that bike racers can't be nice people too. Most of the people, though, aren't bike racers, and that isn't their primary motivation. They're people wanting to do something to make a difference, and that's a big part of why they're there. They may have other reasons, like trying to get or stay fit, but they want to help someone other than themselves. When you get that many people like that in one place, you almost have to meet "so many nice people." This is one of the things nice people gravitate to. I also won't guarantee everyone you meet at something like that will be nice. Jerks exist everywhere. It's just, when the focus of a gathering is to help other people, you will find a higher concentration of nice people than you will at many other events.

So there you have the Lumberyard advice piece for the day. If you want to go out and meet nice people, find a thing that attracts nice people, and be a part of it. Something like the MS Bike Ride nearest you would be one, but that's my thing, and not necessarily yours. There are plenty of others that involve giving back to your community in some fashion, making a personal sacrifice for someone who needs you. You'll find some nice people there, in greater numbers than you might in a bar on a Friday night.

the wiiiiiide screen thing

There's this evolutionary thing happening with video screens of different kinds, particulatly computer screens and television. It's the wide screen.

Televisions and computer screens have been doing it for several years now. The really strange thing to me that I thought they would have solved almost immediately, but haven't, is the fat thing. The first time I saw a football game on a wide screen, it looked like all they did was take the normal picture and stretch it wider. It looked that way because...well...that's what they did. They didn't show you more of the field because you now had more screen. They just took the picture they had and made it take up all of your TV. Consequently all the wide body linemen looked even wider. Television found a way to make the lollipop girls look like they had some meat on 'em.

I bring this up because yesterday, someone delivered my new monitor at work...a nice wide one. My work wallpaper on the monitor is one of the several shots I shared last fall from the MS bike ride. It features me and several other people I was with on the ride. Now, I'm not a particularly skinny guy to start with. As a matter of fact, speaking of starting, that's what started the whole bicycling part of my life last year about this time. It's working, but it's a work in progress. I'm skinnier than I was this time last year, but I'm not where I want to be yet. Then comes this new monitor, and...daaamn, I'm fatter than I was last year....every time I start this computer, before I fill the screen with other stuff. Thanks a lot Acer.

Can someone start working on that whole proportion thing soon?

McCain, Limbaugh and Dole

Yeah, I work during the day, so I get some news second and third hand.

I got home from work last night and we're eating dinner, and the wife asks me if I heard about the big flap between John McCain, Rush Limbaugh and Bob Dole. I hadn't, but she told me about it, and Romney's comments and how he's backpeddaling and so on. Then I read a little online before hitting the gym. Somewhere in that reading process I started to get pissed off.

I don't care that Rush Limbaugh bashes McCain. If he doesn't like him, he's free to say whatever he wants to. I'm free to either agree or disagree. I don't care that Bob Dole wrote a letter asking him to reconsider. He too, is free to do that. Nor do I care that Romney verbally put his finger and his thumb in the shape of an "L" on Dole's forehead, and now feels like he ought to clarify the definition of "L".

What I do care about is the idiocy I read last night in some quote from Limbaugh that I wish I could find now, but I can't. The gist of the quote was, if McCain ends up with the Republican nomination, he'd vote for Hillary, so she gets blamed for what happens.

Now, that's the thing I hate most about Washington and how people vote and view things, and all sides are guilty. They don't give a shit about what's best for the country. They vote to make the other side look bad. That's party politics at its most stubborn, its most frustrating and it's most just downright stupid. If you honestly like Hillary (assuming she ends up being the Democratic candidate) and think she can do the best job running the country, by all means, vote for her. If you think McCain (again, assuming he ends up being the candidate) would, vote for him. You vote for who you think can best lead this country. You put aside all that other crap, because you love the country and want the best for it. You don't vote for someone because you want the blame to go to the right place when the choice sours. You don't vote for who you believe is the worst choice for America. That's taking an awesome right and responsibility, and treating it like one of those Chinese toys with too much lead in the paint...and it should be treated as such. If that's how and why you vote the way you do...if that's your motivation for making your choice for President of the United States...your vote should be recalled. You're taking something that I consider very precious and treating it like garbage.

I've made no secret of the fact that I like both McCain and Romney. I think they'd make a great ticket together, if they could manage to get over each other and work together. I think either would do a better job of leading this country than any of the other choices I have, but I'm not locked in to anybody. That's why, for now, I'd vote for either of them. That might change between now and November, but in any case, I'll vote for the person I think is the best choice of those available to run the show. I won't vote for someone so they can get elected and be blamed for whatever ugliness I envision for the future.

Rush Limbaugh, you're being an ass.

happy Fat Super Tuesday

...or Super Fat Tuesday, depending on your perspective.

It is Fat Tuesday, the end of Mardi Gras and the last day to party before Ash Wednesday and Lent settles in (for those of you unaware of the Christian stamp on the whole Mardi Gras debauchery thing). It's also Super Tuesday, when we will probably end up with our Democratic and Republican front runners in the race to the White House. At least the parties hope we have front runners, so they can stop beating each other up and focus on beating up their November opponents.

In a way, the two celebrations go together...because face it, Super Tuesday could use a beer, or a hurricane, and what's better to discuss (in a very l;oud voice) after several Pat O'Briens hurricanes on Bourbon Street than politics? Well, there is your inexplicable desire to Bust A Move for the karioke machine, but that's a blackmail story for another day.

quick trip to work and back...then the game

It was a beautiful day yesterday, if a bit windy, so I decided to make a trip to work and back...by bike. The trip includes a grueling trip over the intracoastal waterway bridge each way, but the view at the top of the bridge, when you're on a bike and not moving very fast (because you just pedaled uphill into the wind), is worth it. Round trip, slightly under 40 miles, so I did a lap around the neighborhood when I got back to make up the difference.

Then off to a neighbor's house for the Super Bowl. It's not all that often that the Super Bowl lives up to the hype. The commercials usually do, but the game itself is a bit spotty. Last night was a defensive struggle, so while the scoring left a bit to be desired, it was close all night. Finding a place to get up and grab some food or a beer was tough, because the game was exciting and the commercials were good...or mostly good. Some were a bit bizarre (jumper cables on the nipples? ouchie!), but the Bud Clydesdale/Rocky theme thing was one of my favorites. That, and the not one, but two e-trade baby commercials. We still have some Bud Light in the fridge from a month or two ago (because we don't go through beer very fast). I'm downing that shit tonight, in hopes that we bought ours before the ability to fly was recalled.

The outcome - as I said before the game, I really liked seeing Tom Coughlin win that game. There's proof karma works. I guess it would help to know something about him, but Coach Coughlin still has a home in J'ville, and still does a lot for the community here. He comes off pretty gruff, but that man has a heart of gold. He still has a golf tournament here that raises a lot of money for local charities, and is supported by many celebrities and sports figures. You continually hear stories of him doing things, like visiting kids with cancer in the hospital and helping their families. You never hear it from him. You hear it from the people who saw him there...like the nurses. He deserves what happened last night. I'll admit, it wasn't so bad seeing the Patriots get taken down a peg either. Before the game, Plaxico Burress made a prediction that the Giants would win, which you would expect, seeing as he plays for them. What player doesn't think he'll win? He predicted a 23-17 score. Asked about it, Tom Brady laughed and asked, "Does he really think we'll only score 17? " How about 14, Tommy? Bellichick - I manage to dislike that man more every time I watch him. It's not that he wins, but the smugness with which he does it that bothers me. I don't know if it's really how he is, but he comes off as thinking he's above everyone else, and that it really is his world, and the rest of us are just living in it. The whole cheating thing is a good example, but so are his three word interviews, the cut off sweatshirts. Ya just want to smack him.

Still, I gotta give 'em credit. They got to the game my Jaguars couldn't, so now they share my loser's refrain...wait'll next year.

wow...in the "whatever happened to" dept.

Does anyone remember Casey Martin? This was the guy who sued the PGA Tour and won his right to use a golf cart to play in tournaments, and he did for a few years, but then he disappeared pretty much. I admired him most before he won that decision, when he'd go play without the cart. The determination he displayed was pretty amazing. You have to have a lot of fight and desire in you to compete like that...to endure that pain and still get up each morning, knowing what you're in for and doing it anyway.

He's now the golf coach at Oregon. Good for him.

it's football, it's the Super Bowl. How could I not watch?

It is the last real football game of the season. Well, there's the Pro Bowl, but that doesn't really count. After this, it's the long football drought until July when training camp starts, interrupted only for one shining moment with the draft. Being all that, it is the Super Bowl, and we will party (or paaaaty as they say in New England) and watch...oh, and watch the commercials. It really is the only football game where you can't get up to get food, beer or hit the rest room during commercials, because you might miss something great.

I still don't really have a rooting interest. Like I said before, if either team wins, there's a good thing coming out of it in my book. If New England wins, it finally shuts up theose'72 Dolphin people who would then be one of two teams to have an undefeated season. If the Giants win, good on ol' Tom Coughlin. Some folks are saying that'd be the greatest upset in Super Bowl history, which give you an idea of their perceived chances. I would harken back to Joe Willy Namath and his improbable prediction in Super Bowl III, when his upstart Jets took down the Baltimore Colts. Everyone laughed at him when he said his Jets would win....until Sunday afternoon.