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.

Good start

Well 12 runs is a good start. Of course they scored 11 runs last night and 14 runs on Sunday. Welcome to Atlanta Mark, it is looking like a good summer.

Demo?

With this group of sad looking mofos I'm surprised we got a single demo.











Of course, as a reminder we did get a demo or two :)

Nice Ride

I so missed my Mustang last week. I had to drive a huge Lincoln Town Car, wtf man that thing was a boat. At San Diego Comic-Con I did find a few alternatives to the boat town car. I love Batman but I think I'd take the Mach 5.

Welcome to Atlanta Mark

He'll look much better in a Braves uniform. This is the first good first baseman we've had since El Gato Grande. This guy is one helluva ballplayer. Good times.

Good bye San Diego, see you next year

This is such a bittersweet show. It is so much work, so expensive, on the other side of the country, all sorts of random things that appear bad. But I absolutely love the show. There is so many good things to see and do, I wouldn't want to miss it if I could avoid it. See you next year San Diego.

Done!

We're done with San Diego Comic-Con. What a great and tiring show. This is the first time since I left Decipher that I broke down this show, I forgot how much waiting was involved. I will post a complete after the show write up sometime this week. Less than two weeks until our next show, Wizard World Chicago. I doubt I'll see as many celebrities much less talk to them like I did at this show. It was pretty cool to talk to Ali Larter, Levar Burton, some guy from Kyle XY, and Andre 3000. I love Comic-Con!

The Simpsons San Diego Comic-Con Style

Who knows who the person is in the picture. But the Simpsons were walking around SDCC all week to promote The Simpson's Movie. They stopped and had a huge queue line for pictures, I just grabbed one.

Happy Simpsons weekend

San Diego Comic-Con Hotties

There is quite a few hotties at San Diego Comic-Con. From the before mentioned Jessica Alba to Hayden Panettiere and Ali Larter to just people who dress up. Some of them even stopped by our booth.

A naughty nurse taking a demo.














Another person taking a demo who kept readjusting her pants to make sure her thong showed to whole world. Hey if she is going to readjust to show it then why not take a picture. It turns out she was a model looking for other booth modeling jobs. She did like 24 TCG though.














Probably the best looking Slave Girl Leia I've ever seen. I couldn't bring myself to take a picture of her rear even though she was showing a good bit of it off.














Black Cat.














Jean Grey.














Batgirl and Supergirl.














The coming of 50 girls, yes 50 of them all right in front the booth, for the new Resident Evil movie.














And the going of 50 Resident Evil girls.














And of course Ali Larter's backside after her security realized I was trying to take a picture of her after talking to her for a few seconds. Sadly no lacy thong with her either.