Bring on the Jags...Again

Man I really hate playing the Jaguars.

I Hate The Ravens

Man do I hate the Ravens. Hopefully the second string players the Steelers are using can make a stand and score a few points in the second half. No Ben, Hines, Troy, plus a few others makes for a long game. Mix that with their slew of mistakes and you have a 13 point deficit. Onto the second half.

Week 17

Week 17 in the NFL is always really weird. The good teams usually rest their players to get ready for the playoffs, the bad teams try the younger players to see if they're any good, and the middle teams play hard. The Steelers are a good team, well better than most. They aren't going to win the Super Bowl, hell they probably won't win their first game in the playoffs. Still a 10-6 or 11-5 season is enough for me. Not bad for a year after they were 8-8. They have a lot of things to build on next year but a good bit of good things as well.

Beating Baltimore and going 6-0 in the division would be nice. Even without Willie Parker, Troy, and Ben I think they're better than the Ravens. We'll see how hard they play today though. They should win but I bet they'll be looking forward to the Jacksonville rematch next week.

Back from FLA

We're back from our 10 trip into central Florida. It was a great trip and I will make sure to post details of all of our adventures. Despite it being a great trip I know we're excited to be home.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from my family to yours.

A nice win and a huge loss

Losing Willie Parker for the season is brutal, just brutal. Still a 10-6 or even 11-5 season is about the best I was hoping for this season. Beating the Rams is great. I'm sure I'll blog more later but it is late and we just drove 7 hours. Great to get the win in either way.

They'd better

I've been asked all week if the Steelers will beat the Rams tonight. I have no idea. They've played like shit for six games in a row and have gone 3-3. The Steelers are better than the Rams but they way they've played, who knows. I know one thing for sure they better win. If they can't beat the Rams then what sense is making the playoffs. I look for them to rebound some but again who knows. It also sucks I don't get to watch it since I'm on the road but it is for a great trip. Man I hope they win.

Road trip Rules

When I was in late high school/early college I had a couple of buddies and we'd take a few road trips. They were usually very short, all usually a few hours away at most. We had two trips go well and the next one involved all sorts of issues. We decided the difference was Stairway To Heaven, we didn't play it on our third trip. We made sure on future trips to play Stairway and things usually went well. Even one trip we forgot the CD and were about to turn back about thirty minutes into the trip but then the radio station saved us.

We're about to leave on a road trip and I made sure to include Stairway, you don't want to upset the Road Trip Gods.

GI Joe

I loved the comics books, the toys, and sometimes the TV show. Obviously I will check out the GI Joe movie. They keep leaking some casting information and I gotta say it looks good. Sienna Miller as the Baroness and Ray Park as Snake Eyes. The rest seems to be nobodies so far and then I heard about the Scarlett casting. They cast Rachel Nichols as Scarlet. It seemed a little odd to cast a sports reporter in a movie but she does have red hair and could pull it off. Of course I looked into it and it is the other Rachel Nichols of Alias fame. This one also has red hair and to me looks more like a live action Scarlett.

I'm sure my buddy Jdub will be displeased.

Smoking

There are things that come off as very pretentious when someone tries to convince of their side of the argument. I find vegetarians that try to convert me to come off as pretentious. I'm not a huge fan of Monty Python and trying to convert me to be a follower just comes off as you thinking you're better than I am. Same with the Office. I get the jokes I just don't find them very funny.

Now I'm not a smoker so maybe I would feel differently if I was. I've never smoked in my life, not once. I don't go around crusading for people to stop smoking but if it comes up in a conversation I have trouble containing myself. Smoking is really bad for you and you shouldn't do it. If I'm in a position to be talking to you then I'm probably your friend, acquaintance, or co-worker. I know you and I'd rather you not get some cigarette related disease. I mean hell you're 8 times more likely to get lung cancer if you're a smoker vs. a nonsmoker.

Twice in the past few weeks I've had co-workers come off as an idiot defending their smoking. Once was when I brought up to a guy who was getting over a cold and couldn't smoke near as much as he wanted to. I just said maybe he could use this time to stop smoking. He then tried to explain to me that he had a doctor tell him that smoking was no worse than breathing. He went on to explain that his doctor relates smoking related issues to being hit by a truck, sometimes it just happens. I'd say that isn't a very good doctor.

The one didn't involve me but two other people. One was giving the other shit about smoking. The smokers defense was he was going to die anyway, who cares if it was when he was 50 or 70. The other one then asked about his kids and he said it was his life.

I understand it is your life, if you want to smoke go ahead. It is a free country, mostly. I also understand it is a chemical addiction and it is hard to quit. But don't think I'm reminding you it is a bad thing to do because I think I'm better than you. It is an awful thing to do. I've seen people fight cancer, if you can do things to help prevent it I'd recommend that. It doesn't look fun to fight. Also please don't come up with some dumbass excuse as to why smoking is okay.

Worldwide Pants to the rescue

Dave Letterman is apparently going to bypass the TV/studio organization and negotiate with the WGA directly. It is how things should be, less organizations/unions. Let people negotiate one on one for what works for themselves/their company. It is 2007, the need for unions and groups such as the AMPTP have long since passed.

Go Clinton Portis!

I'm 6 points down to make the Championship Game with only Clinton Portis to go. My opponent has nobody left so I have a chance!

I Hate Jacksonville

Man do I hate the Jacksonville Jaguars. Almost as much as I hate Fred Taylor. I had to deal with Fred Taylor when he played at UF and then almost every year in his pro career. He did well against FSU and against the Steelers. I really do hate the Jags.

Stupid NFL

Man following the Steelers can be tough. I mean that, I really do. They have so many teams that historically give them trouble and they usually play some combination of those teams every year. Now I know that upon reflection they usually win most of those games but that doesn't make it any easier to follow the games. Next team up for the Steelers is the stupid Jaguars. The Jags are 10-8 lifetime against the Steelers. Even when the Steelers do win it is always a tough fought game. This included all the time the Jags were an expansion team. Like I said stupid NFL.

The Steelers do have a few things going for them. Mainly they're playing at home and just got destroyed last week. They're 7-0 at home and would probably love to finish the season perfect at home. Plus they'd like to show the sports talking heads around the country that they are a good team just like the rest of non-Colts NFL, head and shoulders behind the Patriots. The Jags are also without a lot of their stud run defenders but with the Steelers who knows. They run well against good teams and then poorly against teams like the Jets and Broncos. We'll see what they come out and do today. I'm very apprehensive but I think the Steelers are in a good position to win. Stupid NFL.

Back!

I was able to catch an earlier plane and miss the winter storm hitting New England this weekend. We did get to go through 8 inches of snow on Thursday which was really cool. I was a little worried about the snow keeping me in NE for longer than I wanted but I'm back.

A Disney Christmas

One week from today we start our Disney Christmas in Disney World. A total of 13 from my family will be down there for Christmas and man should it be a good time. I will update more about our week long trip in the happiest place on earth.

8 inches!

From someone who grew up in Florida having 8 inches of snow drop in 10 hours is a little daunting. The locals aren't worried so neither am I but man it is a lot of snow.

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

Obviously if I'm going to watch all four of the HP movies before Order of the Phoenix comes out on DVD I need to catch Chamber of Secrets. I actually don't like the second movie and I really don't like the second book. Looking back I give Rowling a lot of credit for being able to plan that far ahead like she did with Chamber of Secrets. So many things throughout the entire run are seeded in the second act and most writers can't think that far ahead. Even when they're able to they change their minds. She is a really good writer.

Personal Football Glory

Okay I don't play football but I did have a good week with my personal football related things.

My fantasy football team made the playoffs as the #1 seed, home field advantage baby!

In our office pool I picked 16 of 16 correct this week. Too bad I wasn't in Vegas.

Of course I'd give it all up for a Steelers win.

Hartford, CT

I have to travel to Hartford, CT in the middle of December for a few days for work. At least I'll get to avoid the 80 degree temperatures and knock another state off my list. Plus I think we'll make an appearance to Foxwoods which sounds interesting. Be back hopefully on Saturday.

Too Hot

A high of 78 in the middle of December is just too hot.

Shut Your Mouth

If you're going to talk to the talk don't get beat twice on long pass plays. Idiot.

The outcome was about what I expected because the Patriots are really good, I mean really good. The Steelers have effectively a two game lead with three to play, still a halfway decent season. I just hope Peyton can beat the Patriots in a month or so but we'll see.

Blowout

I just hope it isn't a Patriots blowout. Being a Steelers fan we can get a little spoiled. Sure they have their bad years but not many of them, the are .500 or better almost every year. I believe in my 31 years they've only had a losing season 6 or 7 times. Sure I can look it up but I'm not going to. With that I don't into many games expecting the Steelers lose. This is the first game since the 2005 playoffs vs. the Colts that expect them to lose. I guess 9-4 isn't that bad.

Before you think I'm selling them out completely, I think the Steelers can win. The Steelers are pretty good and New England isn't quite as good as people think. That being said, the Steelers are only fourth or fifth best team in the NFL and the Patriots are very clearly the best team. Better teams usually win in the NFL, especially at home.

We Miss You Troy

Come back Polamalu, I know the Steelers are going to need you tomorrow.

December 7, 1941

When I was about 13 or 14 my mom bought a brand new card, the first new car I can remember her buying. I remember her being very happy and exciting about her new car. The biggest thing I remember about the car however was how upset my grandfather was at her buying that car. He hated that her daughters would buy a Japanese car. My aunt had already owned an RX-7. To me it was just a car and we'd owned a Volvo before so I know my grandfather didn't preach Buy American as his reasoning. He made sure his computer was an Apple and his TV was a Zenith. I got a Sony stereo when I was 12 I think and he was upset over it.

When I was 17 my US History teacher was a little weird, in a good teacher kind of way. She wanted our papers on 20th century history to involve actual research and reporting, not just books. Her theory was there was still people alive to talk about it, go talk to them. I decided to do a paper on World War 2 and its affect on people in the United States. Obviously I talked to my grandparents.

My grandfather was a very outspoken person, talking to him about World War 2 was interesting. It was the first time I really got to understand his hatred of all things Japanese. He lost friends and people he knew at the attack on Pearl Harbor and then throughout the war in the Pacific. He talked to me about standing in line for four hours to join the Navy. He talked about being upset he was that he wasn't allowed to serve. He talked about how in 1941 America didn't care about the rest the world and no one understood how some island nation decided to attack us. He sure didn't understand. He never forgave them for it either.

A lot of people died on December 7th 1941 and the many days afterwards of World War 2. I reflect upon it and think how tragic it is. I also feel very guilty. On Pearl Harbor Day I usually just get sad thinking about my grandfather and our hours of conversations instead of remembering the people who died. I was very close to my grandfather and miss him a lot and it is odd that my brain decides this day as a day to think about him.

I do honor the servicemen who paid the ultimate price but I really do miss my grandfather.

We don't bet on the Steelers

Someone at work was going to give me 20 points if I'd bet with him on the Steelers/Patriots game. I didn't take it and then had to deal with my boss giving me shit over and over again. My family doesn't bet on the Steelers, I think it is bred into us. Here is an actual exchange with my uncle this year in June. He is telling me a story about him and his neighbor and last year's Dolphins/Steelers game. The won that opened the season after they won the Super Bowl. My uncle is a 45 year old construction worker who does like his beer and lives a little north of Miami. Here is how the story went.

His neighbor wanted him to bet $100 on the Steelers.

Neighbor - "TMacs Uncle, come on bet me $100 that your Steelers win"
TMacs Uncle - "I don't bet on the Steelers"
N - "What, you don't like your team enough to wager $100 on them"
TU - "I don't bet on the Steelers"
N - "Come on, it just a $100"
TU - "We don't fucking bet on the Steelers in my family"
N - "Wimps, come on bet"
TU - We don't fucking bet on the Steelers!"

I'm sure it went back and forth but that is what it is like. We don't fucking bet on the Steelers. Bad enough I have to pick their game every week. To my boss that wouldn't leave me alone, "WE DON'T FUCKING BET ON THE STEELERS", just leave me alone. I don't pick on you about liking the Seahawks. Well okay, I do but it is the Seahawks.

I did finally shut him up by asking him if he had a Seahawks Super Bowl 40 t-shirt. Man he wouldn't leave me alone.

Dumb Ass

Anthony Smith is one helluva safety in the NFL, well he is going to be. He does have attitude issues which is really stands out on the Steelers where you don't have many players who act like an idiot. Now Smith went and talked like an idiot. Dumb ass.

Take the Pats and the points

The average line opened up at -14 for the Pats and is now -11.5 for the Pats. The reason for the change is that 89% of the bets are going for the Steelers. Man we Steelers fans are a crazy, dedicated bunch. After two off weeks I fully expect a motivated Patriots team to crush my Steelers. This does mean I don't care about superstitions as much this week since I know my team will lose.

Color Blind

Most times I can fake it in the world of color, I really can. I actually see most reds and greens just fine, other times not so much. I guess it is okay the Christmas chain The Little One and I made is okay being green and pink instead of green and red. She didn't seem to mind.

Killed

The Steelers are going to get killed, we all know it. The only hope I'm holding out is that the Steelers are better than the Ravens and Eagles. Both of those almost beat the Patriots so there is a little hope. Still I expect the Steelers to get destroyed by the Patriots. Stupid NFL.

Patriots vs. Ravens

It is tough, a very hard game for me. On one hand I really don't want the Patriots to win and go undefeated. On the other hand I can't ever root for the Ravens. Plus if the Patriots lose tonight they sure as hell won't lose next week. Granted I don't think they are going to lose next week either way. Stupid NFL.

Four Games

That is four games in a row they haven't looked very good, at least on offense. That defense looks really good, I mean really good. The second half of the game was just shitty for both sides, not good for either. Hopefully Willie got the fumbles out of his system. Of course they will be 17 to 20 point underdogs next week and rightfully so. Stupid Patriots.

More Second Quarter, Less First Quarter

Man the Steelers are lucky they have a great defense because their offense really blew chunks in the first quarter. The second quarter was a lot better though. They just a little bit more like the second quarter and a lot less of playing like they did in the first quarter.

Division Games

Man are division games tough. The Steelers are much better than the Bengals but that doesn't really matter since it is a division game. The Steelers have played like shit the last two weeks but at least they've finished 2-1 in those games. A win tonight would give the Steelers a two game lead over the Browns in the division. Plus the Steelers hold the tie-breaker. So essentially a three game lead with four games to play. I just hope the homefield advantage will help tonight, that mixed with the Steelers actually being better than the Bengals.

All they have to do is remember how to pass block and things should be good.

Good Stuff

About the best thing outside of a Steelers win happened today, a Browns loss. Thanks Crimson Herbivores.

Die Hard

Just like Love, Actually, Die Hard is one of our annual Christmas movies. Still good after all of these years. Alan Rickman is just incredible in this movie.

Brett Favre

I stopped watching some of last night's game and then I come back to see Aaron Rodgers running the Packers offense. I immediately decided that was enough of this game. Of course Rodgers did a pretty good job but 38 years old or not, you watch the Packers to see Brett Favre. The real bad thing is now the Cowboys fans will be insufferable.

Shatner, The Shaman

Not near as cool as Mr. T but still cool.

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone

With the fifth Harry Potter movie coming to DVD and me finally finishing the seventh novel I was in a Harry Potter mood. I of course decided to start with the first one. I haven't watched the two Chris Columbus ones in a few years. I think he set the right tone for the franchise but I really think they aren't as good as the next three movies.

Get Some Nuts

A little more Mr. T for everyone out there. Man he is funny.

Mr. T, Computer Hacker

GI Jane

Yes, I like the movie, kill me. I think Viggo is really cool and I like military movies. Consider it one of my guilty pleasures.

3-0

In tonight's game the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Florida Marlins 3-0. That was a fucked up game. A win is a win but good lord.

0-0

WTF kinda first half is that. At least they aren't losing.

0-10

The Steelers should totally crush an 0-10 team. It is the NFL and anything can happen but if the Dolphins win then the Steelers season is over. With two division games, the Patriots and Jags still on the schedule I doubt they make the playoffs if they lose to the 'Fins. Come on boys, play fired up.

Sean Taylor

I hope that Sean Taylor recovers from his gunshot wound, I really do. However if you would have asked me yesterday to name five players in the NFL that were most likely to be shot Sean Taylor would be on that list. I do hope he recovers, maybe this will cause him to change his circle of friends.

A week later

It has been a whole week and I'm still pissed over the Steelers losing to the Jets. Hopefully the Steelers are even more pissed.

Game of the Week

The Steelers vs. Bengals game is the Sunday Night game next week. I'm pretty sure the Steelers have never won on Sunday night since NBC took over the broadcast. In addition the Steelers usually split the series with the Bengals, I'm not happy.

Xbox 360

Yes my Xbox had the 'red ring of death'. No it hasn't made me feel bad about buying a 360 over a PS3. I had a first generation 360 which has a failure rate of about 40%. The newer generation ones have a much lower rate, still appalling at about 15%. Microsoft should be ashamed that their product has a failure rate so high, it is pathetic. However they offer a 3 year warranty so mine will be fixed and I'll be good to go. Still pathetic but at least I won't be out any money.

I worked at Toys R Us when the Saturn and the first Playstation came out. A huge amount of both systems were just duds, they didn't fail they just never worked. Ever after that the PS too many parts made out of plastic and not enough cooling so the failure rate was very high. Sony did change things so latter generation systems didn't fail so bad. However they did nothing to help their current customers after the 90 warranty was used up.

I'm not defending or slamming MS or Sony. We'll probably get a PS3 as soon as there is a game or two I have to own. I'm just used to video game systems failing. You use them so much more than a DVD player and companies use cheap parts in them to cut costs. A mid-level DVD player is made much better than a video game system. They are just bound to fail. MS does need to figure out why the 360 is so much higher than it should be though.

And they need to hurry up, I really want to pick up Mass Effect.

Battlestar Galactica: Razor

I'm not typically a huge fan of back story and this double episode was all back story. They handled the gaps in the story really well. It was cool to see the old school Cylons as well. I'm always impressed when a storyteller is able to make you sympathetic for a character you're supposed to morally despise. Too bad we have to wait until March (or longer) for more episodes.

One other thing, it is great that DirecTV added a bunch of HD channels starting this summer. We have SciFi in HD and man did BSG look good.

Love, Actually

Love actually is all around. Pretty Bird and I love this movie. It is our holiday movie of choice and we watch at least once every holiday season.

Madden 2008

With the 360 on the 60-Day DL (MS says it will be four to six weeks, stupid MS) I decided to trade Madden for the 360 in for Madden on the PS2. When I first upgraded to the 360 I didn't realize how much better the graphics are compared. You throw in the upgrade to HD and it is night and day. With two years of Madden on the 360 I have forgotten the lack of presentation features compared to the PS2 version. It is just painful how many corners they've cut on the current generation of systems on Madden. I'll suffer through the bad graphics with better presentation so I can get the Football Gods back in my favor.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours. Hope you don't eat too much turkey.

I can't drive...85

When cruising down the interstate I really have to be careful with the Mustang. It does 80mph at about 2100 rpms. I really must set the cruise control or I end up doing 90+ without thinking about it and that is a little fast to fly down the road in a bright red car.

Still Pissed

It is two days later and I'm still pissed they lost to the Jets. Man I hope they play fired up against the Dolphins. They might have to play fired up since they will be without Polamalu and Santonio. Stupid NFL.

Still Can't

I still can't believe they lost to the one-win Jets. Damn it!

Well Damn

I'd like to blame the loss on any of my dozen or so superstitious things but the Steelers just played like crap. With their pass protection and special teams issues I've been telling everyone that talks to me about the Steelers that they aren't 'elite'. Well 7 sacks and a key punt return by the Jets later and it looks like I'm right. Having an almost elite team is tough, you think you're supposed to win every week. But you're not good enough to win every week so you don't, tough to watch every week.

Stupid NFL

About ten of my normal weekly, Steelers win routines are all messed up this week. A celebrity who picks them didn't pick them to cover, my Xbox is on the DL so I can't play the preview game, and Pretty Bird is not working today (they are 7-0 when she works that day, 0-2 when she doesn't). They haven't won two in a row on the road, they haven't won more than three in a row total, both of which would change today.

Hopefully none of that matters since they are playing the Jets. They need to not play down to their competition and play like the good NFL team they are. It will be hard to stay focused over the next few weeks but hopefully the Steelers can do it.

Older and Oldest

It is odd that Old Man Favre is not the oldest starting QB in the league. What is even weirder is that Old Man Favre is not even the oldest starting QB in his own stadium today. Timeless, Color-blind Testaverde is starting for the Panthers. Gotta love the NFL.

Beginning to look a lot like Chirtsmas

Around here it is. We put up the tree, stated putting on the ornaments, got the lights ready to go, all of the usual things. Even the tacky snowmen my mom likes to buy the Little One are out. One thing I really enjoy putting up the Christmas stuff is how it is a time capsule. To see an ornament with a picture from our first Christmas together or The Little One's ornament. Both of us have ornaments from when we were younger and living at home. There are ones we bought together or ones we bought for each other. It is just a good time remembering our lives through ornaments. One of the best parts of every year.

Lethal Weapon 2

A few months ago I watched the first Lethal Weapon. I always remember thinking that I liked the second one better than the first so this week I decided to watch the second one. After all this time I still think I like the second one better than the first. I actually enjoy all four of them, pure'80s-style action movie, I love it.

Christmas Decorations

Christmas is our favorite time of year, all three of us have a great time with it. We're going away for Christmas for the first time ever so we're going to put up our Christmas decorations up a little early this year. We normally start them, like most people, the weekend after Thanksgiving. This gives the Little One good month+ of enjoying the lights, tree, singing snowman, whatever. Now she'll have the same basic amount of time. Of course then she'll get a week of seeing the over the top Disney decorations.

Poor Bonds

If you follow sports at all you've heard the Bonds is indicted for perjury. I know because I'm trying to watch PTI and can't because it is all Bonds, all the time. Other than missing Tony and Wilbon I have a pretty big issue with the coverage. They keep brining up over and over that he isn't guilty of anything. Hold on, hold on. As it relates to criminal charges, correct he isn't guilty of anything. However in the terms of the sports world he's been guilty for a long time.

The indictment is for perjury and obstruction of justice from testimony from four years ago. In that testimony Bonds says that he didn't knowingly take steroids, that is the lying part. He didn't knowingly take the cream or the clear or whatever random other name they had for designer drugs that gave Barry a size 11 hat. He didn't knowingly...

In that same testimony he admits that he took steroids. Knowledge of what it was or not, he admits to taking steroids. That is my issue with the Bonds defenders. The leaked testimony has been out there for a few years. In that testimony he says he used steroids, he just didn't know what it was. How do only a few people get that?

You can debate all of the implications of steroids, if it is really that helpful or really that big a deal. You can say that 75% of people used steroids so it wasn't a big deal. Whatever you want, it isn't a big deal but that is a different discussion. The Bonds supporters say he didn't do anything yet for two years now we know he did use them. But that keeps getting overlooked and I really don't understand why.

The Bourne Supremacy

After watching the Bourne Identity I had to follow it up with the Bourne Supremacy. Like I wrote before I really enjoyed all three of the movies. I do think is the weakest of the three however. I understand the need to kill major characters when telling a story I just think killing the love interest in this story don't really do anything to the main character. It isn't need to advance the story. I still think Matt Damon is great in all three and if you haven't seen them and like I action movies I highly recommend them.

Get Back to Work

I work for a game company. A lot of my friends work for a game company. While there are days that are pretty stressful and plenty of days could be better, we don't have a real job. We're not curing cancer or pulling people out of a fire or teaching the next generation of gamers. There are plenty of great things games offer to people but as I tell myself when I'm having a bad day "at least I don't dig holes for a living". My dad worked construction for most of his life and many a day actually did dig holes for a living.

My company has a bonus structure. I get something like 10% if the company makes X million in profit. There are only two owners and some 25 employees total in the company. The owners own plenty of other things and typically leave us alone. The X million is more than 1 million and less than 10 million. Let's say all 25 employees make 50k a year (some make much less, others much more) and we make our X million. That is 10% of 25 people x 50k a year or .10(25x50,000), so $125,000. So two owners make multiple seven figures and the 25 make $5,000. When you explain it like that it seems like we're getting shafted but I agreed on my salary without a bonus. An extra 10% would be nice. Plus again I get to do what I like to do for a living. Sure the accounting people or production people or whoever aren't doing their hobby for a job but you get to go to free NFL games and cool NASCAR stuff. I bet working in our customer service department sure beats digging holes for a living.

I agree the Hollywood writers are getting shafted, they are more in the right the billion dollar corporations. But the writers get to do what they love to do. They get to write. I write an article each week and write a few hundred cards every few months, I know writing is work. People who read this blog realize there are days my writing is on par with a 5 year old so I realize it involves skill. But it isn't digging holes or pulling people out of a fire or asking people if they want fries with that.

You agreed to your salary, you thought it was fair. You get to write for David Letterman or The Daily Show or Heroes or whatever. You get paid well for it. Now you're keeping the hundreds of other people on your show from working and getting paid. I know, I know, the big evil corporations get all of your profits. So you get paid to write Friday Night Lights and FNL loses NBC money. NBC might fire you eventually but they don't ask for the money back they paid you. Hell the West Wing lost NBC money and it went on for seven years and won 1435451 Emmys. They fired people but they didn't take money back from Aaron Sorkin or Rob Lowe. The big evil corporation is the one shouldering the risk, they are the ones that get the rewards, that is how it works. Don't like it then be like George Lucas and fund your own projects.

Get your ass back to work.

Oh the health insurance issue you say. Almost half of the WGA don't earn enough money to qualify for health insurance through the WGA. The WGA has close to 13,000 members and over 6,000 of them are below the minimum. The minimum for health insurance provided by the WGA is I think $32,000 a year. If you are educated and you aren't making $32,000 a year then you probably need to do something else. I know laborers for the DOT make $16 an hour with a good bit of OT/double time, turns out you can make $32,000+ a year digging holes. You don't want to dig holes, you want to write. You want to keep with it and maybe make it big as a writer. You're willing to deal with those early sacrifices to make it big. Well those sacrifices include no money and lack of health insurance but you knew that going into it.

I like what I do but I like feeding my family more. If I was single I'd do what I like at risk of things like money and insurance if it was what I like. I'm not single and I'm fortunate to make a good wage, have health insurance, and get to work in a field I really enjoy. If I couldn't work in this field I'd have no problem getting a job to pay the bills. Either way I wouldn't want or ask for your sympathy. I sure as hell wouldn't ask for your sympathy when I'm keeping thousands of other people from working.

Get back to work.

Veteran's Day

On the anniversary of the end of the War to End All Wars we remember our veterans. (Veteran's Day is actually the 11th but we Americans need our holidays to be on a Friday or Monday.) I am the proud son of a veteran. To every veteran out there thanks, To the ones who didn't come home you are remembered.

End reflection, enter political rant.

Now if we can pull the 150,000+ men and women (I should say boys and girls since most of them are younger than I am) out of Iraq and let them come home. I am not 'opposed' to war, well I'm opposed in the sense that I think it is stupid. I however live in the real world and realize there are times it is necessary. This insurgency into Iraq, even if it had the beginnings of validity years ago, is not necessary. No clear mission, no goals, out proper outcome and men and women are just dying. Completely unacceptable. Let's bring them home and have more of them in parades celebrating Veteran's Day 2007 and less in coffins remembering their sacrifice.

Another Year

Yes this is another year where the Steelers will have a winning record vs. teams from Ohio. With the victory over the Browns yesterday they are now 3-0 this year vs. the Bengals and Browns. Since 2000 the Steelers have only not had a winning season against Ohio once in 2003 when they went 2-2. They've twice swept the season series in that same span and have a chance to do so this year.

Hey at least Ohio State is #1...oh wait.

Ben for President

Man was Ben awesome in the second half. He is having some kinda year. It says a lot when you're having your best season and your career already includes a 15-0 regular season start and a Super Bowl win. Now I just hope they can keep focused in the next two weeks vs. two awful teams. Good teams beat the teams they're supposed to and the Steelers are supposed to be the Jets and Dolphins.

More effort

It is going to take a lot more effort to beat the Browns than the Steelers have put forth so far. Granted 14 of the points are off huge Steelers mistakes so if they eliminate mistakes then they should do better. They really need to come out in the second half and stop the mistakes.

Undefeated

That's right, since Ben came into the league the Pittsburgh Steelers haven't lost to the Browns. That means they eventually must lose to them but it also means he has their number. Even if the Browns do beat the Steelers the Steelers will own the tie vs. the Browns and be the division leaders. I would prefer if they just beat them and had a two game lead plus the head to head tie-breaker. The Browns have two things the Steelers historically have trouble against, a big physical wide receiver and a TE that can catch the ball. I think the Browns will put up a much bigger fight than the 9 point line suggests but I think the Steelers are a better team. Plus losing to Cleveland is just wrong.

The Bourne Identity

After I watched the Bourne Ultimatum I had an itch to watch the first one. I really like the first one, I Identity is easily the best. I still like all three of the movies but the first is the best. I remember watching it the first time when the girls went and saw some cartoon or another. I do like that the Bourne movies, which were influenced by Bond obviously, heavily influenced the Bond relaunch with Casino Royale.

Stupid Browns

It is much more fun when they just stink. Now I actually have to be worried that the Steelers will lose to the Browns. Hopefully the 'good defense beats good offense' saying holds out this Sunday.

Really weird

It is really weird to be at game 9 of the season with Browns coming in town for a shot at first place. Is this bizarro NFL? I really don't know what to say other than maybe Baltimore and Cincinnati stink, who knows. Their offense is playing incredibly well but their defense is awful. Hopefully the NFL proverb "Good defense beats good offense" holds true this week. Go Steelers!

TMac's Mid-Season All Pros

TMac’s Mid-Season All Pros

All the cool kids are doing it, well all of the sports sites at least. I want to be a cool kid so I figure I should do it as well. Plus I like to waste a little time at work and write about football. My All Pro team will run a two TE (no FB) offense and a 3-4 defense, pretty much like the Steelers. The Steelers have a FB but they run the two TE set much more often. Where you need backups I will list them.

QB – Tom Brady (s, real easy choice)
QB – Ben Roethlisberger
RB – Adrian Peterson (s)
RB – Brian Westbrook
WR – Randy Moss (s)
WR – Braylon Edwards (s, oh the pain)
WR – Reggie Wayne
WR – Greg Jennings
TE – Jason Witten (s)
TE – Heath Miller (s)
TE – Antonio Gates
OL – I have no idea how to rate offensive linemen so I’ll just take the Patriots line. The reason Brady and the Patriots are silly this year is because Brady doesn’t get touched. Watch a Patriots game and pay attention to how little a defensive player even gets to Brady. The press should be all over the O-Line and not Moss, Welker, and Stallworth.

DE – Ose Umenyiora (s)
DE – Aaron Kampman (s)
DE – Elvis Dumervil
DT – Kevin Williams (s)
DT – Casey Hampton
OLB – James Harrison (s)
OLB – Mike Vrabel (s)
OLB – DeMarcus Ware
ILB – DeMarco Ryans (s)
ILB – James Farrior (s)
ILB – EJ Henderson
CB – Asante Samual (s)
CB – Charles Woodson (s)
CB – Antonio Cromartie
CB – Ike Taylor
FS – Sean Taylor (s)
FS – Ed Reed
SS – Bob Sanders (s)
SS – Troy Polamalu

KR – Devin Hester
PK – Nick Folk
P – Daniel Sepulveda

A day late

I realized earlier that I forgot to write about the last few Heroes. When I have more time I will definitely write about the last few episodes. I was a day late watching last night's episode because of the Steelers ass kicking of Old Cleveland. The episode last night was pretty damn good, I liked it a lot. Now I just hope the writers get back to work so I can get my 22 episodes or so this year.

35-7

Well that is about as good as it gets for a half. Man what a game Ben and James Harrison are having. Go Steelers!

Old Cleveland

If there is a team I hate it is Old Cleveland, man do I hate them. I hate Steve McNair and his 14-4 or whatever record against the Steelers. I hate Ray Lewis and his big mouth. I hate their four game winning streak against the Steelers. I hate that they are actually only a game behind the Steelers. Man a lot to hate. Before the season started I wrote this game down as a home loss but now I'm not sure. The Steelers are better, it is the 75th anniversary thing, all sorts of things. The Ravens do bring out the worst in the Steelers though or so it seems. Hopefully the Steelers being better actually matters this game. F U Old Cleveland.

Friendly Poker

We finally got enough people for a try at a regular poker game this past week. We were supposed to have eight players but we ended up with only six, still enough for a decent game or two. With most people either on the "too many bills" or "not good enough at poker" our format is a sit-n-go tournament style with a $10 buy in. Second place gets their money back and winner gets the rest. We usually have enough time to finish two or even three games, this week we were able to play three. A bad night and you only end up down $30, not bad. Of course it means people can tend to play like idiots.

Our first regular game in almost a year and I am down $30. I'd like to say it was due to bad luck and partially it was but it was also due to me thinking I'm better than the others at the table. Well I still think I'm better than the others at the table but I shouldn't have got cocky. I should have played the game like I was at a crazy tourist filled game in Vegas and only played the cards.

Session One. I finished third. I was able to knock out two of the five other players. Once with top two pair, he was very short stacked. The other one I had the K high nut straight and he had the bottom end. I lost most of my chips to the other Steelers fan in the office. Great guy, not a great poker player. He is the play one face card or any two matching suit players. Normally I should beat that player but Friday he was lucky heads up against me. There are only three players left and I have 33, the flop is K37, one heart. I bet, he raises me 3x the pot and I put him all-in. I figure he has a K or maybe even two pair. He calls with A9 of hearts and everyone knows the story is two more hearts. I end up going out with KQs vs. AT. Flop is two spades but I didn't get the third.

Session Two. I remember being in pretty good position. I also figure I've figured all the players out save one, I still am not sure about Chaz. I have KQc. Flop is two clubs, giving me three clubs and also three to the straight. The flop is checked around, there was decent betting preflop. The turn gives me four to the flush and four to the straight. I'm one off the button, all of them check and so do I, button bets about 1/2 the pot. All fold to me and I go all-in. It was a horrible idea however I was trying to play the player. He was very afraid of flushes and talked about it a few times. He also said he doesn't bet the best hand it usually costs him money. I figure he doesn't have anything and is just trying to steal the pot. I constantly complain about people who risk too much and overbet which is what I did on my check-raise. Well I read him correctly, he had A7 for a pair of 7s which end up holding up. No idea why he made the call with that but I shouldn't have bet all-in either.

Session Three. Third hand I get AA and I'm the BB. I'm trying to decide how much I can raise and still get a caller. The small blind doubles the blind and I double that. The only caller, Steelers fan who plays any two goes all-in. I call even before button can act, sorry about that JDub, I'm usually not bad. My AA vs. 88 and he hits an 8. I actually hold on okay but go out on AT suited.

Other than thinking I'm better than them I had a weird night of cards. I had AA, KK, and 4x 33 for my only pairs. KK I didn't win much because it was two to the flush on the flop and I wanted to end it there. I was 50% with 33. But I got plenty of playable hands, only 1 AK but plenty of AQ, AJ, AT, KQ but they rarely if at all hit. With friendly poker they usually call everything and this was no different. I couldn't steal any blinds with my two over cards and they just didn't hit. Still if I play just a little better I think win session 2.

Well shit

I really thought Peyton and his boys were going to pull it out, they almost did. Stupid Patriots.

Big game?

I've been watching ESPN all week and I can't figure out what the big game of the week is going to be. All of the coverage has been over the Browns vs. Seahawks and Texans vs. Raiders. Sports media has really dropped the ball this week, I don't know what the big game is going to be.

What is Troz?

Zort backwards of course.

Two Years Later

It has been two years and I still don't really have anything useful to say. Blogging is a nice release for ranting and rambling though.

Happy Halloween

I hope you get enough candy.

Free Taco Day!

Don't forget to get your free taco between 2 and 5 today.

5-2

Not a bad way to start the season. Ben does like playing in Ohio, 9-0 as a professional. Man I do like beating the Bengals.

8-0 so far

Ben is 8-0 as a professional player in the state of Ohio. The Steelers have won 6 games in a row at Cincinnati. Both of those streaks eventually have to end but hopefully it can keep going with this game. Like every other game they've played this year the Steelers are better than the team they are playing, at least on paper. On paper in the NFL means nothing, absolutely nothing. After last week's loss because of the lack of running the ball I think the Steelers are going to run a little bit more. The nice thing is the Bengals can't stop the run very well. I always worry about a team that has really good WR since the Steelers' corners aren't actually very good in coverage. That mixed with the Bengals wanting to get a little revenge for the Steelers ending their season two years in a row, I'm even more worried. I think the Steelers have a great shot to win but in the crazy NFL where emotion plays a huge part who knows.

9 Days Off

I guess 9 days off does hurt your chances to win a World Series. Either that or the American League is so much better than the National League. Naw, it must be the layoff, that makes for better TV.

Last Half Day

Today is our last half day for 2007. I don't mind half days as much as I used to because I haven't been to many shows in the past two months so I've been able to enjoy them. I will like working an hour less everyday though, more sleep makes me happy.

Jack is Back

Well at least he is coming back in January. So are a few regulars, another Robocop alum, and a rumor appears to be true. Good times.

http://www.24trailer.com

12345.6

Today on the way to work the odometer on my Mustang hit 12345.6. What can I say, weird things like that are fun. We bought the car with 2400 miles on it and have owned it 10 months next week. Averaging 1000 miles a month is pretty good. It is actually much less than that if you take the tons of trips to Atlanta and back.

Free Tacos for Everyone!

That is right, the Red Sox stole a base in the World Series and we call get a free taco.

October 30 from 2pm to 5pm you can get your free taco. Good times for all!

Pirate Movie

Talk about flashing back to a different part of my life. My buddy's family had two VCRs (which was weird in 1984/85) and knew how to copy movies so they had a quite a few movies dubbed from the local video store. Pirate Movie was one of those movies and my buddy, his brother, and I watched to hell out of this movie. We must have seen it 30 times one summer but I don't think I've seen it since then. Pretty Bird had never seen the movie and recorded it for her to watch and I decided to watch it as well. I can't believe after not seeing the movie for probably 20 years that I remembered almost the entire thing. I also can't believe how awful my 10 year old tastes were, that movie is really bad.

This just in...

The Rockies have had 9 days off between games. I can't believe the sports outlets haven't reported this yet.

JDub joked to me about it yesterday, today I watched PTI and Sports Center and it was brought up a few times, even before you talked about the Rockies team.

True Lies

Pretty Bird and I absolutely love this movie yet for some reason don't own it. It was on Fox Movie Channel a few weeks ago and we Tivo'ed it. FMC shows their movies unedited and without commercials so it was good stuff. The movie was just as fun as it was the first dozen or so times I've seen it. I really wish James Cameron would get back to making real movies, he is so good.

Sick

The only time in your life want to be sick is to trade places with your sick child. It is so tough to watch her be sick. She is close to getting better though.

As Jack Bauer would say...

Damn it!

So close yet so far away. Too much time left, too big a hole to come back from. The main thing that pissed me off was the sloppy play on the final drive. Lapses in coverage, penalties, come on now. Now they are 1-2 on the road and 3-0 at home. Hopefully they can play a little better on the road over the next ten games.

Halftime Report

Man they look like absolute shit in the first half. I've told my buddy at work who is a Steelers fan as well that their pass blocking is not very good and this game has showed that. As bad as they've played they are only down by two scores, it is still possible to come back. Hopefully they will remember to run the ball some.

Week 7

A bunch of really annoying games to watch today. The ones that appeared interesting quickly turned into blowouts. At least I have a game to look forward to tonight.

The Steelers enter the tough part of their schedule or at least what looked to be difficult before the season started. They will probably be favored until they play the Patriots in New England. My biggest fear is they look past opponents and get sucked into the dreaded 'trap' game. I'm fairly certain they will lose one of the two against Cincy and Baltimore, they do every year. There are a few others that can be troublesome.

Denver tonight is really tough. The Steelers are better than the Broncos but they are playing in Denver. Pittsburgh historically doesn't play well in Denver and Shanahan has his team play really well after a bye. I think the Steelers will pull out a win but I'm a little worried. The thing that keeps me going is the Steelers run well and the Broncos don't stop the run well.

Transformers

We picked up Transformers this week, like you guys didn't expect that to happen. Pretty Bird had to work today so The Little One and I watched it. The movie still isn't very good but I enjoyed it a lot just like the first time I watched it. The Little One enjoyed it as well, Bumblebee is her favorite.

Dr. Eomer McCoy

Karl Urban as Bones? I'm not really sure that is the rout I would have taken but we'll have to see.

Five of Eleven

Five out of the Steelers remaining eleven games are on prime time. It kinda makes Sunday Ticket anti-climatic.

Schools

There is an upcoming vote on a bond to increase property taxes to give a good bit of money to the county's schools. From what I've read it is a pretty good amount of money for not a huge percentage increase in taxes. Schools need more money, period. The education system needs reform as well but that is a long term problem, short term they need money. The opponents spout back that by 2012 it could increase my property taxes, based on my house value, by $76 a year. Well I guess that is one less video game I'll have to buy in 2012.

Ready for normal days

Half days on Fridays are nice but I'm really ready to go back to regular work days and a decent time to get up everyday. Just crazy that our summer hours are now going to match daylight savings time. I want normal hours.

Back

It looks like I'm done traveling for work until next year. I like traveling but the last few trips have been tough for whatever reason.

The Bourne Ultimatum

I know I saw The Bourne Ultimatum and I know I liked it. It has been the only first release movie I've seen in a few months, at least until We Own The Night. I don't really remember anything specific about it other than it was very similar to the second one. I also know I enjoyed it more than the second one but still not as good as the first one. When I buy it on DVD I write more about it because I'll remember more.

Lethal Weapon

After I posted about Eva Mendes and her incredible self pleasuring I realized I haven't written about the movies I've seen in a few months. Pretty Bird and I watched Lethal Weapon a few months ago. I'm not sure why we watched it, I think we wanted something with mindless action. Lethal Weapon sure fits the mindless action/violence description. We do own and love all four the Lethal Weapon movies but they are all pure '80s action movies.

Football?

I heard a rumor they still play NFL games when the Steelers have a bye. This seems incredibly odd to me, who exactly watches these games?

We Own The Night

You'd think a movie starts off with a scene of Eva Mendes masturbating topless would be a great movie. It turns out it wasn't. I think the problem was starting out with such a great scene. Overall the movie just wasn't good but we had to waste some time in Ft. Wayne. If you go see make sure you aren't late, you'll miss the best part.

Whoa

A bunch of college women track and field teams arriving at the same time you do in Indy. Sure baggage claim took a little longer but the view was good.

Off to Indiana...Again

This will mark the 3rd time this year I will travel to Indiana, not exactly a tourist stop. At least it should be a productive trip. I will try and blog some while I'm on the road.

9 Years and Counting

I mentioned yesterday is Pretty Bird and my 9th wedding anniversary. In one moment it can seem like it was just yesterday and no time has passed and a split second later it feels like it has been 50 years. I wouldn't trade any of it for anything though. I love her very much and wish to spend the rest of my life with her. Happy Anniversary Julie.

This day...

Nine years ago I was a little nervous, just a little. I was on the eve of the thing I've wanted most in my life, ever. It turns out I wanted something else more but I didn't know it until she was born.

From about two weeks after we started dating I knew I wanted it and it hasn't changed today, on the eve of our 9th anniversary. Because of our Disney trip I'm not allowed to buy her anything big, at least according to her. We'll have to see about that.

Overrated

There are two perennially overrated teams in the NFL. Here are the records for three NFL teams over the past few years.

Team 1
8-8
8-8
8-8
2-14

Team 2
9-7
9-7
10-6
7-9

Team 3
8-8
9-7
5-11
6-10

I removed the best year out of all three teams. Team One is six games under .500, Team Two is one game over .500, and Team Three is four games under .500. None of those records are spectacular or even good. They all have one really good year but nothing other than that illustrates that they are a perennial contender for the Lombardi Trophy.

Here are two winning teams over the last five years, with their off year removed.

Team 4
12-4
10-6
14-2
14-2

Team 5
13-3
10-6
10-6
9-7

Now if either of these teams had an off year they wouldn't suddenly be considered bad. Team 4 is 18 games over .500 and Team 5 is 10 games over .500. Both teams went 9-7 and missed the playoffs in their off year. Even with an off year and missing the playoffs Team 4 and Team 5 would still be considered perennial playoff contenders. Why aren't Teams 1, 2, and 3 considered average?

Team 1 has missed the playoffs in all four years except their on year at 11-5. Team 2 has actually made the playoffs most years but still didn't perform incredibly in regular season, they had a really nice on year though. Team 3 is underrated compared to Team 1 and 2, they had a good on year like the other teams and made the playoffs. To my recollection Team 3 hasn't been a 'Super Bowl Contender' like Team 1 and 2. Team 1 and 2 aren't Super Bowl contenders either. Well Team 2 is a contender to get to the Super Bowl, just not win it because they play in the NFC.

Team 1 - Cincinnati Bengals (11-5 on year)
Team 2 - Seattle Seahawks (13-3 on year)
Team 3 - Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4 on year)
Team 4 - New England Patriots
Team 5 - Denver Broncos

Why is Cincy and Seattle perennial Super Bowl contenders according to the expects but Jacksonville isn't? Well because the Seahawks and Bengals are teams that rely on flashy offenses and adequate defenses and Jaguars have a good defense and an adequate offense. It is better to root and pick the flashy offense, better ratings. Too bad apparently 'good defense beats good offense in the playoffs.' Actually I believe you need both but let's look at the defense.

Super Bowl Winners Points Against Defense
'06 - 23rd
'05 - 3rd
'04 - 2nd
'03 - 1st
'02 - 1st

Seattle
'06 - 19th
'05 - 7th
'04 - 22nd
'03 - 16th
'02 - 24th

Cincinnati
'06 - 17th
'05 - 22nd
'04 - 21st
'03 - 28th
'02 - 32nd

The silly Colts and their incredible playoff defense ruins my theory but you get the point. Before you Seattle or Cincinnati fans make Super Bowl reservations this year Cincy is 26th in defense and Seattle is 8th. Well actually Seattle is doing pretty well but they are making that up by slipping to 21st in offense. I know it seems like I am picking on Seattle lately but I'm not. I'm mainly picking on the media. I still think Cincinnati and Seattle are overrated and have been for years.

Wow, what an ending

Man, last night's MNF game had an incredible last few minutes, very intense. I should have not got involved because I'll be dragging all day but the game was very enjoyable. Good times. Too bad the Cowboys had to win.

Suck It Bitches

21-0
As great as the final score was here are some other numbers I like.

40:45/19:15 Time of possession

19/8 First Downs

342/144 Total Yards

163/38 Rushing Yards

DOMINATION! The Steelers kicked the snot out of the Seahawks. I didn't mind the Seahawks until their legion of whiny fans came out of the woodwork before and after the Super Bowl. "Why are we 7 point underdogs in the Super Bowl", "Why are we 6.5 underdogs when we're both 3-1". Well you lost by a combined total of 42-10, I think Vegas got it right. And stop being so whiny, one good year does not mean you get the respect of the NFL, its fans, or its media. You're entire franchise has had one good year, ever, and you want to be a top 10 team.

The Steelers were down their three best players, both their starting WR, and the keys to stopping a running game. They still only allowed you to have the ball 5 minutes in the second half. In a four wide set with a TE, #3, #4, and #5 WR you allowed them to convert three 3rd and 10+ conversions on the 110 yard drive. Hopefully you will stop complaining about how everyone hates your beloved Seahawks. Nobody hates the Seahawks we just can't stand the bitching.

So again I say...

Suck it Bitches

Kindred

For the first time since Heroes started last year this was the first episode I didn't really enjoy. There aren't much I enjoyed about the episode, except, well nothing. Even bringing back Sylar was pretty lame. I guess maybe the Hiro storyline was pretty good if predictable.

Please drop the Wonder Twins storyline or have a major payoff.

It was cool to see Uhura, now we just need Kirk and Spock. Well I guess we already have Spock.

Lizards

I didn't write about last week's Heroes because I wasn't blogging for whatever reason. Anyway it was a pretty good episode, better than the first.

I still hate the Wonder Twins storyline.

I think Claire's toe would have bled more.

Where exactly do you get scissors that sharp? Not that I've tried to cut off my own toe but I think it would be a tad bit tougher than that.

Peter is still a bad ass but do we really have to suffer another "Peter is lost and needs to find himself" storyline. Lame.

I'm sure Hiro and the other storylines were good but I don't remember too many details.

Steelers vs. Seahawks

I want to say the Steelers will win today, I really do. I'd love to say they are a better team, going to play hard after their first loss, and the Seahawks are focusing on the wrong things. But the combination of injuries to the Steelers and the fact this means more to Seattle is just tough. Hines Ward is out, Bryan McFadden is out (the 3rd corner) for sure. Casey Hampton and Troy Polamalu, their two best players on defense are probably out. Ward, Hampton, and Polamalu are the Steelers three best players and they are all out. Not good. I think the Steelers can win but it will be really tough.

Fans are dumb

This week I've had trash talking from Cardinals fans. As weird as it is that there actually are Cardinals fans, these same people talked to me before the game. None of those fans trash talked before the game, in fact they were very humble and saying the Steelers would win. Now the Steelers lay an egg and the Cardinals play well and they defeat the Steelers. Now the fans want to trash talk, weird. I guess even trash talking hindsight is 20/20.

Then I spend time with some Seahawks fans giving me shit, which I don't mind. This just in guys, if you win today you don't get the Lombardi Trophy from two years ago. So I've had to relive the complaining that Seattle actually beat Pittsburgh but the refs took it away. Um, really. The Steelers only had three good offensive plays, all game. With only three good players you still lose by 11 points. Did the refs cause you to miss two field goals, give you the worst clock management in the history of the Super Bowl, cause you to not even come close to talking Willie or Hines, cause you to allow Ben to complete a 3rd and 25, or the inability for you to convert a 3rd down. All of those penalties were valid save the Hasslebeck penalty on the interception. Get over it, move on, and try to win this game.

Silly Desert

I traveled to the desert and saw my beloved Steelers lose to the Crimson Herbivores. I had a feeling all week that they were going to lose on their trip to Arizona. It was a tough feeling to explain since I had no real evidence to back it up. The Steelers are a better team than the Cardinals, in almost all aspects in which you can compare a team. All aspects save desire to win the game. The Cards just wanted to win it more than the Steelers. That is almost all that matters in the NFL, who wants it more. Talent means a lot when you're the Patriots or Colts but for the other 30 teams in the NFL emotion plays a big part and the Steelers just didn't have that. Hopefully we can win the Super Bowl XL rematch.

Still Around

Sure I've taken over a week off but I have an excuse. Well I don't really have an excuse, I just didn't use my computer at home all week. I was out sick for a day and out of commission. That mixed with being out of town for a few days meant I wanted to spend time with the Little One at night, so I did. But have no fear, your daily useless facts about the Steelers, Braves, TV, or some dumb thing I find interesting is back!

Off to Arizona

I'll be in Arizona for a few days, see you on Monday.

One is a bad number

Well damn. The margin for error by the Braves is down to one. One more loss by the Braves or win by the Padres and the Braves are done. Well there is always next year!

Go Dodgers, Giants and then Nationals!

Oh yeah, go Braves as well. Two games out with five to play. Should be an interesting few days.

Four Months Later

And what a painful four months it was. I do like me some Heroes and having it go away for the summer wasn't any fun. I'm guilty of wanting more out of the premier than was delivered last night. It wasn't bad, I was just expecting more, which is typically your own fault. I've found with movies and sometimes TV that keeping your expectations in check will really change if you like or dislike something.

To go from saving NYC from the brain eating, evil guy who was going to nuke it to dealing with bad paper store managers and the in-crown cheerleards, a little bit of a let down for the Bennets.

So far I'm not a fan of the Wonder Twin storyline.

I do like that Hiro was read stories about himself.

I think the British Kensei is going to be a fun character.

I'm really shocked that someone hasn't commented on the impeding addition of Kritsen Bell. More hot blondes can never hurt a show.

I wish I would have remained spoiler free. When they kept spoiling that an older Hero would die I just knew it was Sulu. I wish it was Lady McBeth instead.

The virus storyline, I haven't read an X-Men book in a bit so this isn't old news for me. The virus storyline happens every other month in X-books but on Heroes I'm sure it will be refreshing.

Repeat powers, you knew it had to happen sooner or later.

So when you blow up you end up in a container in Ireland? I would say you get $10 if you guessed the end of the show reveal but you should have guessed the end of the show reveal.

I know it sounds like I really didn't like the episode but I did. It is almost the perfect geek show, this episode just didn't live up to expectations is all.

The Race Card

Eagle's Quarterback Donovan McNabb was quoted a few times last week, all from HBO Inside the NFL (which is the one show that makes me miss having HBO) saying basically that black QBs face tougher criticisms than white QBs. Um...duh?

I would think it is painfully obviously that black QBs face tougher criticism than white QBs. An NFL Quarterback is the face of the of multi-billion dollar corporation that is owned by a white man. That corporation relies on millions upon millions of dollars in sponsorship money from other corporations that are run by white men. Those 32 corporations and its parent corporation really need the mega-billion TV deal by TV networks run by white men. The money to pay that mega deal comes from advertising dollars paid by, you guessed it, corporations owned and run by white men. This just in, most of the wealth in the US is controlled by white men which means all of those people list want to appeal to those dollars and those white men. People tend to gravitate towards things that are familiar and the same and that makes it easier to appeal to other white men by promoting your star white players. That means teams would prefer not to have a black QB if they can avoid it. They'd obviously want to win more than anything else but all things being equal would take a white QB over a black QB.

The media is no different. The sportswriters are white men, their news directors are white men, the station manager/editor are white men, and their owned by the same above corporations. It is easier to attack something that is different than something that is familiar. Tom Brady gets a pass because he knocked up a super model. Everyone above wouldn't mind knocking up a super model so they sympathize with Tom Brady. Shawn Kemp doesn't get a pass because none of the above people understand having seven children with six different women, nor would they probably want to.

Brett Favre is passing all-time QB records. When Dononvan McNabb or Vince Young does something it is the first time a black QB has done something. We make sure to get that point out to us. Warren Moon is the all-time best black QB, Steve Young, Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Johnny Unitas are just all time great QB. Doug Williams was the first everything for a black QB in the Super Bowl, nevermind he played an incredible game by any standard. The week New England upset Pittsburgh (Kordell Stewart) and St. Louis beat Philadelphia (McNabb) there was significant talk about the first match up of black QBs in the Super Bowl. Steve McNair was the second black QB in the Super Bowl, not the first QB for a storied franchise.

Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Stephen A. Smith, all jump to Jevon Walker's defense when he is playing for a less than ideal contract. Chris Mortensen, Peter King, Brett Favre, and Steve Young all tear into Jevon Walker. Asante Samual, Michael Strahan, and Lance Briggs should shut up and get to camp or their teams should pay them the long term money they are owed, just depending your side of the fence. Tony Romo is playing in a less the ideal contract and his owner/GM said they will just franchise him if they don't work out a deal. Len Pasquarelli and Peter King wrote how bad that is, John Madden commented on it last night. Tony Romo should be paid his money!

It is dumb that I can't write a certain word in my blog because I'd be a racist. It can be played on the radio just as long as it is someone like 50-Cent shouting out the lyrics and not someone like Sting, that would be racist. Having Sting sing some gansta rap would be funny. There are many things that both sides of the race card complain about that are absolutely silly. But to pretend there isn't a race divide is absolutely dumb.

3-0

Not much better than starting the season 3-0. The Steelers didn't look incredibly good but they still demolished the 49ers. I take that back, their defense looks incredible. The offense needs to be a little better for the Steelers to be an elite team. Right now they're offense is making too many mistakes for them to be as viewed as good as the Colts or Patriots. I'm really enjoying the season so far. Bring on the Cardinals.

49ers Come to Town

This is week three of five in the Steelers incredibly easy early season schedule. They actually don't have a tough schedule the entire year but the first five games are very easy. The 49ers are 2-0 but they don't seem like they've figured everything out yet. The Steelers other than converting a few more TDs in the endzone as opposed to field goals have figured most of it out, at least so far. The Steelers should win this game, hopefully they aren't overlooking the 49ers too much. A 3-0 start would sure make getting into the playoffs much easier.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Little One. Having an eight year old sure feels weird. I mean I still play games at work, I'm supposed to be responsible?

Enough about me, she loves her birthday. Every year she is so happy about it that Pretty Bird and I get a kick out of it. Her joy and excitement probably makes us spend too much money on her birthday but hey who can blame us, she is such a great child. This year is a slumber party tomorrow and a bunch of her friends coming over. It should be a great time.

TiVo Cleanup

With the new season starting up it is time to make sure your TiVo has enough room so you catch all the shows you want to watch. I know we're already here at the TMac household.

60-10

That is the Steelers and their opponents combined point total for the first two games. Most NFL games end within 7 points so the Steelers defeating their opponents by an average of 25 points is pretty good. Here are some more numbers that make me feel good.

392.5 Total Yards Per Game (#6 in NFL)
195.0 Rushing Yards Per Game (#2)
197.5 Passing Yards Per Game (#22, okay not so good but not bad since they throw like 5 times a game in the second half)
30 Points Per Game (#5)

222.0 Yards Allowed Per Game (#3)
74.o Yards Rushing Per Game (#5)
148.0 Yards Passing Per Game (#3)
5 Points Per Game (#1)

That are some good numbers. This mixed with the 6-2 finish has things looking up for Steel Town. Three bad things though. One and most important is that last year doesn't count for shit. Second is that even if you could last year, the 8-2 record only has them beating one team with a winning record. Third is that the Browns and Bills are probably two of the five worst teams in football, you're supposed to beat them.

The Steelers however don't make the schedule, they only get to play who is on it. This week is the 49ers who are 2-0 but have the worst offense yardage wise in the NFL. They are averaging less than 100 yards a game passing which is really not good. Since they switched to the 3-4 zone blitz I've only ever worried about the passing game. The scheme requires them to have physical corners over cover corners. That hurts them against either a great line or short, quick passing games if the QB is really on. It appears the 49ers don't have that passing thing down yet. Hopefully the Steelers can stay on and the 49ers can stay off for one more week.

The return of Heroes

I'd just like to remind everyone that a week from today is the return of Heroes. I know Pretty Bird and I can't wait.

Thanks but no thanks

After I put The Little One in the Mustang and walked around to the driver's side.

Some woman in the parking lot- "I like your car"
TMac - "Thanks"
SWITPL - "It's real pretty"
TMac - "Thanks"
SWITPL - "I'd really like to ride in a car like that"
TMac - "Well, good luck"

I obviously bought the Mustang to pick up chicks. Too bad I couldn't have it when I was 16.

Screw Carson Palmer

Cleveland beating Cincy is great. Carson Palmer having like 5458923 yards and 60 TDs in the game isn't. Of course I'm playing two people who have Carson Palmer this week, so sad.

Bring on the Bills

It is very hard to keep expectations manageable. The Steelers have a very winnable first part of the schedule. It isn't hard to believe they will be at their bye in week six at 4-1 or even 5-0. Sure the NFC West is improved but they are still in the NFC. They play the 49ers and Seahawks at Heinz Field. Heinz Field hasn't exactly been a home field advantage the last two years, at least not to the level of something like the Broncos or Chiefs. Hopefully this year they can change that and get a nice 6-2 or 7-1 record at home. Then you have today's game with the Bills. The Bills look to be on the right path rebuilding and I'm sure they'll play fired up but the Steelers are just a better team.

Like I said, hard to keep expectations manageable but the Steelers will probably be favorites in every game leading up to the Denver game in week seven. I wouldn't be upset with a 3-2 start but a 4-1 or 5-0 start would go a long way towards making the playoffs.

Radio Disney

It is a very bittersweet feeling that my soon to be eight year old little girl is now into the tweener stuff. She has been since around March or so but it got much worse when the new school year started. She still wants to like the cartoons and what not but the High School Musical/Hannah Montana things are now more popular. With HS Musical being the highest rated show in cable TV history, including things like Monday Night Football and Bowl games, and Miley Cyrus selling out in a matter of hours all over the country, The Little One isn't the only one.

My only request is that pop stations and Radio Disney up their rotation. You listen for an hour and you've heard only five songs about three times each.

Checks

The Little One and I went to the grocery store today. We only had to pick up two items so it should have been a quick trip. We got our stuff and headed to check out. There were five lanes open plus the girl at the service area was checking someone out. All five lanes only had at most two people in line, it should have been real easy. All three of the self check out lanes were buying alcohol and needed the person at the service area. The two other lanes were writing a check. The person at the service area was buying money orders so it took a little bit of time, oh yeah, she was also using a check. I only know this because we were at the grocery store for at least fifteen minutes extra minutes. I was able to walk to all five lines. Who the hell writes checks anymore? I haven't used a check outside of paying a bill in years.

Cheating

I'm not going to try and justify cheating. Actually I think cheating really stinks. But I do believe the media is dramatically overreacting to the Patriots sign stealing story. I would not surprised to find out the entire NFL tries to steal signs. I'm sure the Patriots are better at it than some but I'm sure everyone of the 32 teams tries. I think the NFL did the right thing if they are trying to curb it, losing draft picks really stings. My problem is the media however, they are just making a huge deal of it, like the Patriots are the only ones that do it. They just got caught.

Would someone please tell me again why I should buy shoes Shawne Merriman is pimping? He is also a cheater, uses something that really can hurt a teenager trying to play football, and now Nike wants him to pimp their shoes. Nice.

TV Time Yet?

Is it the new season yet? I'm ready for some new shows, new Heroes, new Earl, new Robin Sprinkles. Hell I'll even try some of the newer shows for an episode or two unless their good, then I'll watch them more. Well a little over a week isn't too much to wait.

34-7

There are two good things that can happen every week in the NFL. First and foremost is the Steelers winning. A distant second but second nonetheless is a Browns loss. When the Steelers beat the Browns both things happen at once.

The Steelers looked pretty good. The defense was awesome, special teams (which was a huge issue last year) looked good, and the offense outside of the second quarter was great. Not a bad start to the season. They say you need 10 wins to make the playoffs so the Steelers just need 9 more.

Kevin Millar Night

Since KO and I are in Baltimore we figured we'd take advantage of some connections and see an Orioles game. This is step seven in my quest to visit all of the stadiums (Turner Field, Fenway, Phillies, DBacks, Padres, Rangers, and now the House that Cal Built). Yeah I know I'm not that close but it is fun to knock a few off every now and then. This also brings me only to only needing to see the Royals, Mariners, and A's till I see all of major league teams.

As you can see we got great seats. Nice 8th row on the third base side. Here is future Hall of Famer Vlad Guerrero.














We miss you Leo!














Oh yeah, I caught it mid pitch baby!

Coolest Plane EVER

Yes that is the coolest plane ever.

Live from Baltimore

Or should I say Old Cleveland. I do love visiting the inner harbor area in Baltimore every year. What great food, so many places to eat. It is weird to watch a Ravens MNF game in Baltimore, lots of fans for the Ravens. I just wonder if both teams playing tonight can get a loss.

Good for the Steelers to get a win in the first game. Other than the offense in the second quarter they looked really good.

Game Time!

Today is Mike Tomlin's debut as the third Steelers coach since the Lyndon Johnson era. Hopefully he starts his career the same as his two predecessors did, with a win. The Steelers are still fielding essentially the same team that went 15-1 and then 11-5 with a Super Bowl win. Out of 24 starters from the Super Bowl team they will start 17 of them and two of the others are still on the team but got beat out. They had a little bit of bad luck last year, mixed with a ton of bad execution, and only finished 8-8. They did finish in the top 10 in offense and defense and finished the year 6-2.

I think in 2007 they will pass a little more, blitz a little bit less, and rebound from an 'off' year. How long have you been winning when 8-8 is an 'off' year. Some NFL teams would view an 8-8 year as a huge improvement. Not in Steeltown.

Here's to a good year. Go Steelers.

Are you ready for some football?

I know I sure am. Three hours until the Steelers kickoff the '07 season. Man I love me some Steelers football!

Three in a Row

Three in a row, four out of five, is a good start. There is still plenty of work to do but it is a good start.

Baseball Gods

The Baseball Gods allow you to talk about a no-no after the 7th inning. Anything before that and you aren't allowed to talk about it. Today Smotlz had a no-no through 7 and I talked about it to Pretty Bird. Sure enough he loses the no-no with the first batter in the 8th. I think it isn't because of talking about it but more because the Baseball Gods are mad that I talk about the Football Gods more often. Either that or there really isn't a Braves fan amongst the Baseball Gods. Who knows, either way, well pitched John.

Football Baby!

Man I love me some NFL. I actually have my picks for the year and I will write them up and post them. Tonight's game should be a lot of fun, hopefully high scoring and entertaining. Are you ready for some football?

Another reason not to fly Southwest

Sure they are cheap but they aren't the most on-time airline in the world. They don't have a good frequent flier program, which is key to a business traveler and they don't have free First Class upgrades, another key business traveler requirement. There is also their stupid first come, first serve seating, wtf. Now there is this.

What the hell? If they stocked their planes with more girls that looked like her and wearing the same outfits then maybe I'd fly Southwest more often.

Inbred

I really think our new cat is inbred. She is the dumbest living thing I've ever had to deal with on a regular basis. Tonight she did something I've never heard of a cat doing, she jumped into the bath tub with the Little One. She is like all other cats, she hates water. It is really funny to see her run around all wet like an idiot, other than her getting everything in the house wet. Stupid animal.

College Football

A few of my friends are incredibly excited about college football, I however am not. The college I went to didn't have a football team, I kept up with teams from where I lived and who most of my friends rooted for. I think my main problem is that it has been a long time since I lived where there was a big college football push. In Florida, Atlanta, and Athens there was a ton of college football push, in Virgina Beach and here in Charlotte, not so much.

Let's face it, without the excitement college football isn't that much fun. Oh sure there is usually a good game every week but not involving the same team. Most of the good teams just destroy the other teams every week. It is hard to be a casual fan of a specific team, the games aren't entertaining. You have to be hardcore fan to put up with those boring games. I guess I live college football the game, just not the specific teams anymore.

Over

It is all over for the Braves. They have been so awful for the past three weeks or so, I should have stopped having hope a little while ago. The pitching has been so bad and you can't win in baseball with at least some pitching. I guess there is always next year.

Goodbye Jason

Today was Jason's last day at Press Pass. He decided he had enough designing games and wanted to try something else. Not really much else to say other than to wish him luck and say it has been a really good two and a half years. Of course Jason will be at my house a good bit this fall/winter because he isn't moving and I get NFL Sunday Ticket. Good luck Jason.

First NFL Game

Tonight was the first NFL game for both of the girls. Sure it was only a preseason game and we only stayed a half but they both had a good time. The Little One love that she got to see Polamalu, her new favorite player. I'll have pictures later but it was good time.

Crystal Meth

I've been fighting a head cold for more than a few days now. We ran out of cold medicine recently and it was time to get some new stuff. It has been so long since we bought any medicine that I've never had to fill out a form, show them ID, and waste a huge amount of time just to fix my cold. I don't mind laws and I really think drug use/abuse is a problem, I however can't stand assuming your law abiding public is breaking the law. Just silly, like I'm going to make crystal meth, I just want to get rid of my cold.

Fantasy Football 08 Team #2

This is the team with players from my job and previous jobs. I completely drafted this team on my own, which is usually not a good idea. I think I'm okay with the team, although I'm a little weak at QB and I'm not very happy with my WR depth. Like the other team this one has a flex spot that RB is eligible so it basically means you need 3 starting RB, if you can get three decent ones. I think my 3 backs are pretty good provided that Clinton Portis bounces back from his injury and Frank Gore is actually as close to good as the hype.

The weirdest part of this team is the first seven picks were from the U, which is just wrong. I hate Miami but man can they recruit NFL level talent.

Starters
QB Philip Rivers
WR Reggie Wayne
WR Andre Johnson
WR Santana Moss
RB Frank Gore
RB Willis McGahee
W/R Clinton Portis
TE Jeremy Shockey
DEF Philadelphia
K Stephen Gostkowski

Bench
QB Matt Leinart (I always wanted a lefty)
RB Tatum Bell
WR Bernard Berrian
WR Mike Furrey
WR Derek Mason
TE Benjamin Watson

Fantasy Football 08 Team #1

This team was almost completely auto-drafted, I forgot about the draft until about round 9. I was smart enough to change my order a little bit and ended up with some players I like.

Starters
QB Matt Hasselbeck
WR Marques Colston
WR Hines Ward
RB Willie Parker
RB Travis Henry
W/R Thomas Jones
TE Kellen Winslow
DEF Baltimore
K Jeff Reed

Bench
QB Vince Young
RB Warrick Dunn
RB Rueben Droughns
WR Bernard Berrian
WR Issac Bruce
TE Jason Witten

Out of It

I've been so out of it since returning from the Midwest Death March. I was fighting a stomach thing mixed with fatigue. Now I seem to be fighting a potential head cold, man cons really can knock you out. I should be mostly recovered except for the weird head cold thing.

So Awful

Good lord the back end of the rotation for the Braves is just awful. They don't have to be good they just need to be a little bit better.

Life sure is weird

I'm finally home after 12+ days on the road, man did I miss my family. I recover from very little sleep and some con funk and figure I'd watch some MNF pre-season.

I was just at the RCA Dome and spent 7 days in Indy but right before that I spent 5 days in Chicago. So weird.

She's Only 17

Well she's 17 until Tuesday. I only know this because like 50 people over the weekend have told me once Hayden Panettiere was annouced as a guest. Of course I get a freaky picture with her standing next to Peter Adkison. Not really sure what she has to do with the Bella Sara booth but I'm also not questioning a gift from God at this show full of 99% men when I've been away from my wife for 12 days.

Convention Blues

Today is only day six on my twelve day trip through the midwest. I'm already missing home and ready to go. Maybe I'll feel better after my three hour drive to Indianapolis. More updates to come, maybe.

Damn Bullpen

Can't hold a lead but hey it is baseball. There is another game tomorrow and one after that, can't get too down.

Convention Time!

I'm off to Wizard World Chicago and Gen Con Indy. Jdub and I get to spend 12 days on the road, it should be interesting to say the least. I will miss the family but it should be a good time.

Isn't equality supposed to be equal?

When I first started at Toys R Us the best department, the one everyone wanted to be in, was Ticket. Ticket was named because of how product was sold, it was on a ticket system. It included Big Ticket, items that were too large to keep on the sales floor, stuff like bikes, swing sets, above ground pools. It also included Security Ticket, stuff too expensive to be stolen, things like video games, high-end Barbies, v-tech computers, whatever. They had different hours, a smaller department, never had to deal with seasonal employees, first to get overtime, and rarely had to run register. About a month into my tenure there I was moved there and worked there off and on until it changed.

The front page of the employee guide for Ticket include the job expectations, stuff that was different than regular TRU, stuff like you must pass a background check, take car seat safety class, and lift a 50 lb bike on a ladder. It said it right there, on the front page of the guide. Before you can do anything in the department you see that you must be able to lift 50lbs while on a ladder.

There was this girl in the department for my first two years, an okay person on most days. She was very much into equality, at least to the point that she brought it up all the time. "You know Store Director X we don't have enough women building bikes", stuff like that. That is all good and probably has a place. However every year during Christmas season she would be the Department Head of the Big Ticket section and I'd be in the Security Ticket section. One of the closing jobs of Big Ticket was to refill the bike rack. Every single time she closed she would throw a fit, not ask for help filling the rack, but throw a fit. "I'm a woman, a man should be filling the bike rack," similar statements like that over and over again. Equality works when it is convenient I guess.

There is a person at my current office who makes "women get the shaft" comments all the time as well. Again I don't mind if you the conversation is that "women get the shaft", they probably do, I mean we deal with NASCAR companies, it is the south. But today I almost lost my temper. Jdub and I had to ship things for WW Chicago and Gen Con Indy. It was about 10 to 12 boxes, most normal size, under 15 lbs, but still 12 boxes. One of the boxes was pretty big and weighed about 80 lbs and another one probably 40 lbs. So Jdub and I prepare them to be shipped and have them set up for the UPS person.

Our UPS person is now a small woman and apparently has been for a few weeks. Well the Equal Rights for Women person absolutely flipped out. "I can't believe you left all that for that little woman", "you're a man you should have come up and helped her", "it is too hot to do that to a poor woman", and something else while I was walking away. The UPS driver knows that they can pick up packages weighing up to 125 lbs, I know this because anything bigger than that and we have to call them. The UPS drivers know it rains, snows, gets hot, cold, other various things that make life suck. They know this before they take the job as UPS driver but UPS drivers also make really good money. Again the pay doesn't matter because they know the job before they take it.

Again I guess equality is only important when it is good for you.

Larry!

Man fans in NY really don't like Chipper Jones do they.

Bad Customer Service

We all get it, we all get it a lot. Working a CS based job for 10+ years made me very unsympathetic. If I'm paying my hard earned money for something then I expect to get the service I deserve. I still understand there are times when bad service happens and I can leave it alone. Today was not one of those days.

I called our upcoming hotel in Chicago to try and make some changes. The lady at the front desk was not very helpful, which happens and then she followed it up with "we're very busy right now" and then she hung up on me. Yeah, that doesn't work for me.

It turns out that you shouldn't hang up on someone who books hundreds of nights of hotels a year at your chain, they give a nice preferred card and a special 800 number to call for help. I ended up getting three email apologies and two phone calls about it today.

When I worked CS based jobs an actual call/mail complaint to a higher up was really bad for someone. I've seen people get fired or get on the "one more fuckup and you're fired" list based on a complaint like that. And these were places that didn't give out a "you spend five figures a year with us" card. I'm sure the lady at the front desk had a really good day. When the hotel general manager has to make a personal phone call to a guest because you fucked up, it can't do wonders for your raise potential.

Are you ready for some football?

What a great day. Some nice steaks on the grill, some cold beer, and a Steelers game on TV. Sure it was a pre-season game but who cares, Steelers Football was back. They say the Steelers have a new coach but it looked like the same Steelers team I've seen for years. They passed early to get a lead, then ran the football, and ran the football, and ran it again. They were more physical than the other team and held onto the ball about 10 minutes longer than the other team. The could describe almost every Steelers win I can remember.

Sure it was pre-season and sure none of this shit matters. But it sure is better to win and look good than it is to lose and look like crap.

A Win!

I didn't see the game, JDub came over and we watched 300. I did see the score and Tim Hudson pitched well and the Braves won. The Mets and Phillies lost so all is well, at least for today.

Tomorrow is also the first Steelers pre-season game, good times.

Entertaining at least

Man was today's game, well yesterday's game, entertaining. Every position player, every pitcher from the bullpen, Willie Harris playing third base, Chipper playing shortstop, a few pitcher pinch hitting, one of them with the game winning hit. Too bad the Braves didn't win but it sure was entertaining. I love baseball.

Holidays

Given the day we've had and the fact the women are asleep I guess it is weird I can't sleep and I'm feeling very open to being insightful about myself. I am watching a incredibly entertaining Braves game but I'm exhausted, I should be sleeping. Anyway, onto my personal insight.

I really don't like holidays, almost any of them including my birthday. About the only one I do like is the commercial American version of Christmas. I take that back, I really do enjoy the Little One's birthday. I don't really like any of them, for various different reasons. But I'm talking about birthdays mainly now.

It isn't that I mind getting older, I don't care about that, although last year was tougher than I expected it to be. I just don't have found memories of birthdays. I only remember a few that didn't go well so I assume the others went well but like most things you remember the poor more than the good. I also remember poor experiences with other family member's birthdays as well.

This just causes me to hold birthdays in poor regard. This really hasn't effected how I treat The Little One but it has unfortunately caused Pretty Bird to have some blah birthdays. It also causes me to forget or at least do a poor job with other family member's birthdays. I feel bad for them but I also don't see myself changing despite any efforts I try to put forth. It isn't because I don't love them but I'm sure on their birthdays they don't care. Sorry about that.

When it rains it pours

It actually isn't the bad, at least we'll both be okay. But I took today off because I had a appointment with my doctor to check up on issues. I'm supposed to see him every six months and it is has been seven. Now that I'm over thirty I guess I should pay more attention. Prior to last year I only visited the doctor every 18 months or so, which made my wife, mother, and doctor very upset. So now I'm a good patient. The appointment since it is only a checkup was only going to take a 30 minutes or so and my doctor is on the south side of town.

I took the whole day off because Pretty Bird was off and we've been promising The Little One for over two years now we'd take her to Carowinds, the local Paramount themed amusement park. With me traveling four out of five weeks and her going to start school during that time I really wanted a little family time. Sure we didn't need to spend the money but we figured what the hell, let's do it.

The park in most cases would have been a good day. However today was not meant to be a good day. Apparently the Little One hasn't been feeling well for a day or two and been hiding it because she really wanted to go to the park. She didn't eat breakfast but hide it from us so we wouldn't know and be upset/make her eat/not let her go to the park. She does fine for the first 90 minutes or so at the park and then she doesn't want to eat lunch. She does drink a decent amount and we're able to get her to eat a little bit. At first we thought it was just her not liking the food. Well another hour or so and we can really tell she isn't feeling well. It only gets worse from there, partly because she hasn't really eaten all day, it is 95 or so, and she really doesn't want to leave the park. Leaving the park early, a few calls to the doctors, and some nervous temperature watching and we almost end up taking her to the hospital. Obviously it is some sort of stomach bug but now probably combined with dehydration and/or heat exhaustion. Then she up and starts eating everything she can see. She is still slated to go to the doctors tomorrow but it seems things are better.

Pretty Bird almost always, eight years now, gets sick when The Little One gets sick. It is obviously just nerves/stress but sometimes she gets herself really sick. Today was almost one of those days, again probably mixed with the heat. She was doing pretty poorly but of course hid it from the Little One. She is actually doing much better, probably due to eating and the Little One eating.

Me, I think I'm okay. I visit my doctor today, my condition really hasn't bothered me much in months and then today about 5:30, bam. It was a very mild one but none of them are fun. I get about six different types of attacks and this one was almost the easiest to deal with. It really isn't much pain, just knocks the wind out of me and sometimes a pretty bad migraine follows it, like today. I'm writing this with the lights off because it does hurt but it is much better than my chest hurting. Yes, my condition is almost always brought on by stress and I have a good bit right now. Hopefully I don't get a real attack in the next few weeks, Gen Con and WW Chicago are big deals for us.

Which brings me to my other source of stress, not that work or an almost trip to the hospital aren't enough. I knew to call my dad today early in the day, I even reminded Pretty Bird to tell me while we were at the park. It is his birthday, so Happy Birthday Dad. With all of the craziness I just forgot to call him. I knew something was bothering me at the back of my mind and I didn't put my mind on it until I remembered about 15 minutes ago. With my mom fighting her stuff they go to bed earlier than 10pm. So of course I'm a bad son and didn't call him. I will call him tomorrow and fell like a deadbeat. Hopefully he'll understand.

Well both the womenfolk are asleep. The Little One kept her food down and doesn't have a fever. Pretty Bird should be okay but will probably still be stressed tomorrow about The Little One and stressed over me being stressed about my dad. Still a good day, the womenfolk appear to be on the way to recovery, all is good.