PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - New Jersey, trying to overcome its reputation for corruption, traffic and toxic waste dumps, has rejected dozens of sardonic and sarcastic entries in a contest for a new tourist slogan.

A list of five possible slogans released on Wednesday leaves out "New Jersey: We can always use another relative on the payroll," and "Come to New Jersey: It's not as bad as it smells."

I have finished my Christmas shopping. On time and on budget, I might add. That's the first time in many years that both of those have been true. Usually I spend double what I budget. Half on me and half on others. Now I don't even want anything though, since i have purchased every gadget in the world already, so there's no need for me to get myself anything.

Here's to you Mr. Egg Nog Inventor. The first time I heard it I couldn't stop laughing.

My favorite part is when the guy goes "what the heck is nog?"

And now, for your listening pleasure, a real men of genius tribute to Mr. Egg Nog Inventor

I would like to congratulate the fine folks at the NFL and CBS for their great jobs this weekend. They decided, in their infinite wisdom, that we would rather see San Francisco play Jacksonville than see San Diego play Indianapolis. Brilliant! I mean come on, really, who wouldn't rather see the 49ers play the Jaguars? I think everyone would pick that game if they had a choice. There's nothing special about a game between an undefeated team and a team fighting for the playoffs. Get real. I want to see a team fighting for the #1 pick in the NFL draft instead. I think, when you look deep in your hearts, that's what you want too.

I saw King Kong today. It was about what I expected. The CGI by itself was excellent and the minature sets were terrific. There were some flaws in the CG when it interacted with the live actors, specifically when Naomi Watts was being flung all over the place by Kong.

On my scale I'd rate it a 5. Would watch if it was on TV or someone else rented it. On a normal scale I'd probably give it a 8 out of 10. The movie was fine, I just don't want to purchase it, which is really what my scale is all about.

I liked Chronicles of Narnia better.

The Cavs are so irritating to watch lately.

Here's an example game flow.

Non-Cavs : 10
Cavs : 0


Cavs : 20
Non-Cavs : 14


Non-Cavs : 33
Cavs : 25


Repeat. They were outscored 10-0 by the Nuggest tonight, then they went on a 20-2 run, then they gave up a 12-0 run. They can't string together an entire game.

Ding dong, school is over. Today I had my Finance final. On it I wrote "Who cares. This class is over!" and turned it in in 1 minute. The professor stated that it should only take us a minute to do it, so I did it in 1 minute. I got full credit for it.

I thought my last day of school was yesterday, but in fact it is tomorrow.

I give The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe a 9. Probable Purchase on my scale. If you liked the book you will certainly like the movie because it doesn't deviate much from the original material. If you've never read the book, then you should go read the book and then watch the movie.

The effects were terrific, and it was completely fine that the movie was toned down in some areas in order the be more kid friendly. The books were written for kids, so the movie should adhere to that. For example, you don't see anyone's head being cut off, even though they allude to it. You don't see anyone's face getting eaten by a lion, even though they infer that.

It clocked in at 2 hours and 10 minutes and I think they actually could have added another 30 minutes in there. I enjoyed it and will probably go see it again in a few weeks.

I'm going to see the Chronicles of Narnia today. I remember liking the books as a kid, so we'll see if that translates into likiing the movie as an adult.

How to be a Notre Dame fan: don't.

ING Direct is the best thing since peeing your name in the snow.

The rates go up every two months, unlike Bank One. Bank One (Chase) has savings account rates around .75% now. ING is at 3.75% now. It's pretty sad when a Bank One CD doesn't even compare to a regular ING savings account.

Many kudos to Justin for referring me.

Would you rather...



I think that picture is hilarious.



Would you rather have 1 foot long fingernails or 5 feet long nose hairs?


If you were up to your shoulders in a pool of vomit, and a bucket of snot was to be poured on your head, would you duck?

One more week of school and then I'm off for what is sure to be a glorious month.

I've got almost all my Christmas shopping done ahead of schedule and on budget, so it's looking good.

I've got a huge project at work that I'm sole developer on that will be deployed to every plant in our division, but even that is well under control. It's due to come out of testing this Friday and I'll be presenting on it next week.

The car is great in the snow now that the snow tires are on it.

Everything is good. Unless you're a first round draft pick of the Browns, and then your career is over.

Other than that though, it's good.

Here follows my tale of woe from the plane trip home. Thanksgiving 2005.

We get to the airport around 5:30 PM and I check in. I change my seat from 13 B (in the emergency exit row) to 4 C, the very first non first class row. Keep in mind later that my original seat was 13 B. I get through security at 6:00 PM and my family leaves. There's no going back now. My flight from Charlotte to Cleveland was supposed to depart at 7:00 PM. I walk 20 feet ahead and look at the departures. My flight is now scheduled for 7:40 PM. Doesn't matter. Everyone is gone. By the time I get to my gate, that too has changed. I find my new departing gate just in time to hear an announcement that the plane I'm flying out on is not arriving until 8:00 PM and since it is coming from an international airport (in this case Mexico City) there is a mandatory 30 minute security check of the passengers and plane once it lands. That means I'm not getting out until at least 8:30 PM now.

8:30 finally rolls around and we actually start boarding. It's quite a large plane for a 2 hour flight - they've got us on an Airbus A319. The plane holds 124 people, which is about triple what the normal regional jets I fly on carry. Boarding ends around 8:50 and we taxi out to the jetway. We're 4th in line for takeoff when the pilot comes on and tells us that there is a discrepancy between the number of tickets collected and the actual number of passengers on the plane. He tells us that in his 26 years as a Captain this has never happened before and that we now need to go back to the gate to figure it out. That's comforting. Immediately bad thoughts start going through my head. Did someone sneak on to the plane? Is some terrorist on the plane and they're just telling us this story so we don't panic? Is there a bomb in the luggage compartment? Who knows, but my mind certainly jumps immediately to worst case scenario. After about 20 minutes at the gate they finally get it situated. The people at the gate had counted incorrectly and we really did have a match between the number of passengers and number of tickets collected. So back to the jetway for takeoff.

We're in the air around 9:30 PM. 10 minutes into the flight the Captain tells us he is suspending food and beverage service because of turbulence. He also tells us at this point that the winds in Cleveland are currently above the maximum that our aircraft can withstand, so that's comforting. Wind gusts on the ground are upwards of 75 MPH he says. For most of the flight at cruising altitude (33000 feet) the turbulence is minimal and I think we could have had our peanuts and 3 ounces of liquid. Apparently someone else thought so too. The Captain comes on with an announcement that goes like this: "To the passenger sitting in seat 13 C, I don't appreciate your belligerent attitude toward our flight crew and I have called the authorities. You will be arrested once we land." Great. One thing has gone right. I'm not sitting next to a felon (though I originally was). I don't really understand why the Captain says this only half way through the flight. Wouldn't someone who was going to be arrested get a little anxious and perhaps cause even more problems now? I would think so, but I didn't hear anything else, so I assume he was freaked out enough to behave himself.

As we get closer to Cleveland and start descending the wind really is picking up. The turbulence isn't so bad that I feel like explosively vomiting all over the kids across the isle who are flying for the first time. The very same kids who are proclaiming "My ears hurt. I'm thirsty. I'm hungry. I have to go to the bathroom. That light's too bright. I'm hot. I'm cold. What's this button do? I'm bored. I'm scared. Who farted? Stop touching me. I'm not touching you. I'm not touching you (as finger is 1/2 inch away from the other kids face.)

Anyway, back to the descent. I can see Cleveland to the northwest now. We're going to fly out over the eastern suburbs and then turn west to fly over the city in our southwest approach. It seems like we've been descending forever. 10 minutes out from touchdown the winds are quite bad, though now thankfully within the tolerances of our airplane. Recall that this is a big plane and we are swaying at 45 degree angles because of the wind. I've lost track of downtown at this point and am wondering why we're not closer. Just then, we are rocketing skyward. We're going up as steeply as I believe our plane can climb and at full throttle too. That's generally not a good sign when you're supposed to be landing. We climb for what seems like forever, but is actually about 30 of the longest seconds in my life. Are we going to crash into a building? Are we going to hit another plane? Why did we just do an emergency climb? Nothing from the cockpit. Nothing from anyone as a matter of fact. The wind is really playing havoc with us now. At this point I am feeling sick, and very anxious about the landing. We're not leveling out. Everyone has turned off their lights now and the people next to me are holding hands. I can imagine people in the back of the plane doing the sign of the cross. We resume our descent and are probably 2000 feet off the ground. The plane is still rocking back and forth. We're coming in faster than normal too. I believe that's so that the Captain can have maximum control, but if something goes wrong... well, then we're just a faster fireball.

500 feet now. We're just above a highway that runs in front the run way. There are a lot of power lines there and our wings are still not staying level. It feels like the back of the plane is power sliding to the right and left. 100 feet. Still not level. Coming in very fast. Then the right landing gear touches down and the left side of the plane slams down. The nose isn't even down yet and the engines are in full reverse. The nose comes down hard and bounces a little bit, but we're home. We've made it. People burst into spontaneous applause. It's only the second time that has happened on one of my flights, and the other time was when we got hit by lightning, had to go into a holding pattern in the middle of a thunderstorm and had to divert to another airport because we were low on fuel. People, including me, let out a collective sigh of relief. I don't care that I'm 2 1/2 hours late. I'm alive. Things will be different. This will be the Summer of George. The Summer of George! (Seinfeld reference in case you don't know.) I feel like Ralphie in A Christmas Story after his Mom doesn’t tell his Dad that he broke his glasses and nearly shot his eye out. Mmmm. This meatloaf is great! We taxi for about 5 minutes to get to our gate, and then we're not allowed to get off. The Captain gets off first and doesn't come back for a few minutes. Once he comes back we're allowed to leave. Since I'm in the front of the plane, I'm one of the first off. At the exit of our plane are 5 police officers. Someone not going to be happy. I didn't stick around to see what happened, but it was on the news the next day apparently. I get my luggage and notice the time. It's 10:54. I get home around 11:35 and don't fall asleep until 1:00 AM. On the car ride home I'm still feeling a little queasy from the flight, but I'll take it.

Been having Internet access troubles for most of the last week, which is why nothing has been posted.

The Big 12 sucks, but Texas is good. UCLA sucks, but USC is very good. Virginia Tech is consistently the most over rated team in the country, and I hate Notre Dame.

I'm off tomorrow for South Carolina. I'll be back to the snow fort on Monday. Assuming I won't talk to any of you, have a good and safe Thanksgiving.

We've been having problems with Iran not agreeing to stop uranium enrichment. I think I have found the answer.

Exhibit A:

One of the bad guys from Superman II - Non (one of General Zod's people)











Exhibit B:

This a picture of Irans president and his bodyguards. Check out the bodyguard on the right. Tell me he doesn't bear a striking similarity to Non from Superman II.

Here are a couple of observations from last nights USC - Fresno State game.

1. Reggie Bush is insanely fast. It was like I was watching a video game. If he got the ball past the line without being hit it was all over.

2. When Notre Dame lost a close game (at home) they didn't fall a single spot in the polls. I guarantee that Fresno State drops at least 3 spots in the close loss (on the road.)

3. USC has a 3,000 yard passer, two 1,000 yard rushers, and two 1,000 yard receivers. That's ridiculous. That has to put them in the running for best college offense ever.

4. Fresno State had every chance to give up last night after USC came out in the 3rd quarter and scored 15 points in 3 minutes, but they didn't. Their very next drive they moved right down the field and scored.

5. It would be nice if the freaking game didn't start at 10:15 PM Eastern. I think I managed to stay up until the 4th quarter but then I surrendered. From what I watched it was every bit as dramatic as OSU-Michigan, and because of the scoring it was more exciting. If the Pac-10 wants to be in the spotlight then their best teams should play no later than 4:05 Pacific, so that people East of Sacramento actually have a chance of staying up for the whole game.

The Purdue game was not on TV here and I never saw any highlights. The only mentions I heard of the game were when Lee Corso called the QB "Chris Painter" and when Mike Tirico commented on the disappointing finish for IU.

I don't know how many returning starters there are, but the defensive turnaround bodes well, and just from the stats it looks like the offense could be in capable hands with Korey Sheets and Curtis Painter.

Is it sad that it's 9:45 PM on a Friday night and I'm going to sleep?

Yes. Yes it is.

Circumstances have prevented me from replacing my Summer tires with my Winter tires. Namely, freaking school last night where I had a damn test. That and the fact that it's been 65 degrees for all of November until yesterday afternoon So now we have snow on the ground and my car is incapable of being driven safely. In my 1.5 mile commute to work my ABS and traction control fired 5 times and I slid sideways going around a turn at 5 MPH. I am going to attempt to have my Winter tires put on today, but I really don't feel good at all about having to drive it out 10 miles to get them put on.

With no exaggeration I can tell you that right now, at 9:47 PM on November 15th, it is 70 degrees in Cleveland. I can also tell you that they are predicting snow tomorrow.

Yes.

Snow.

There is a huge HUGE LeBron James poster outside the Q - don't call me Gund - Arena. I'd estimate that it's 100 by 200. It's actually pretty mellow considering it's a Nike ad. It just shows him against a black background with some kind of insane dunk about to happen.

In other news the NFL has agreed to put a team back in Los Angeles. Since they've also said they will not be expanding, it's got to be one of the struggling teams. Can anyone say the New Orleans San Antonio Baton Rouge Saints? If they let that crap owner hit the proverbial jackpot in LA then someone should be puked upon, and it had better not be me. Of course I'm just speculating here, but if the NFL takes away New Orleans team now, after it was virtually destroyed, then there's something seriously wrong with the leadership of the league.

The only two other teams I can think of that are possible relocations possibilities are the Arizona Cardinals and the San Diego Chargers. San Diego has wanted a new stadium for years and even though they make $100 million a year in profit they claim they can't afford to build one. Interesting. It's the same sob story from the Cardinals. Oh no! I had to sell my 88th Bentley the other day in order to finance my wifes 17 caret anniversary ring. Oh the humanity! Won't someone please take pity on me and build my poor fledgling team a stadium?

Congress is full of idiots.

Example A

Congress believes that oil companies have enjoyed unreasonably high profits.


In reality, oil companies have invested billions and billions in their capital assets. Why did they do this? They expected to make money. Did the government invest billions? No, but they want to take the money earned by big oil and reinvestment in what? In social security? Oh boy, that's a great idea. Lets take money from a profitable part of the economy and sink it into a black hole. Here's a clue for you Congress... stop spending so much freaking money. Thats the answer. The answer is not to take money from people who have it and redistribute it to people who don't. That's called socialism and it just doesn't work.

Why are rich people rich? Generally because they've worked their butts off for it. Are there idiots like Paris Hilton who fall into it? Yes, but I can guarantee that somewhere in the Hilton clan was someone busting their ass. The rich drive the economy. They supply the jobs. They pay the taxes. Taking their money to give it to a government that throws good money after bad is just about the worst possible idea ever.

Now I'm just rambling, but the moral of the story is that people who make money are not evil. They are good at what they do. People who are good at what they do should not be penalized because they're better at it than other people.

School is keeping me much busier than normal this semester. I presume that's because I have a project due every single Wednesday as well as a test every Wednesday.

Hooray for higher education. I feel like I will truly be a useful worker bee in society now.

Here's what school has taught me so far. What a piece of paper says means nothing about what you are actually capable of. I've run across so many people who are good students but terrible workers, and vice versa.

Here's what the most expensive (with the possible exception of a pre-nup) piece of paper you'll ever have will get you: in the door. After that, it's all up to you. If it were up to me, it wouldn't even do that. As a programmer, I think people should have to submit programs and design databases as their resume. That will more surely weed out those that are capable and those that aren't. Why do you ask am I interested in that? Because that would mean I wouldn't have to cover for people who do nothing all day but try to look busy and then fail even at that.

Painter had his best game of the year, but he still has trouble hitting receivers. I've seen way too many throws at peoples feet and way too many 5 feet over someones head. For the team to pull out a win, especially after finding a new and exciting way to give up points just before halftime, says something good about the character of the team.

Have you seen the Gatorade commercial where Jordan shoots over Ehlo and misses?

Oh happy day.

Then I just turn the channel before they can twist the knife, and that's how history is corrected.

Capital Budgeting.

It's FANTASTIC!


When I say hey, you say replacement chain.

Hey! Replacement chain! Hey! Replacement chain!

Could it be? The big 3-0? I think it could. Better stock up on that Geritol.

Happy birthday to the person whose name rhymes with Nebucadnezzar. I mean, Gustin Cash.

You have been given a free car with two spitulations. First, it must be American made. Second, it must be a sedan.

What do you choose?

For me two cars immediately stand out: The Cadillac CTS-V and the Chrysler 300C SRT-8. I've sat in the back of a CTS-V and my knees were in my chest and my head was tilted 45 degrees to the side because of the low roofline in the back. I never sat in the front, but I imagine it's quite manageable. Since I would never be in the back only my guests would complain, which is why the CTS is in the group. I like the baby Bentley styling of the 300C but it's all over the road, and I like to be different. I guess if I had any car for free then I'd go with the CTS-V.

What else is there? Buick? Please. Chevy? The best they've got is the Impala SS and that's pretty bland. I could get a Neon SRT-4 and blow a lot of wannabe's away, but then I'd go deaf in the process, and who in their right mind would take a Neon over a CTS? The Lincoln LS V-8 is nice but they take the fun away by only offering an automatic and the power is nowhere near the top 2 anyway. Why does the Grand PRix GXP have 33 more horsepower than the Bonneville GXP? That's just plain stupid.

I think for some reason that todays game will be close. I still predict that Penn State will win, but I believe it will be low scoring when compared to other games Purdue has played in. I think the total points scored will be around 45.

Official prediction:

Penn State - 24
Purdue - 21

Notre Dame Football Announces Improvements To Its Past

SOUTH BEND, IN — With their football renaissance derailed, at least for the moment, by a current 5-2 record that includes losses to rivals USC and unranked Michigan State, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have elected to improve in the one area where they still outclass all other college football teams: their legendary history.

"I fully intend to be the primary architect of Notre Dame history's return to prominence and relevance," head coach Charlie Weis said. "I inherited a program that had only won 11 national championships between 1924 and 2005. I promise you that, by this time next year, the Fighting Irish will have won at least 10 more in that same time period."

Some of the highlights of Notre Dame's new history:

1869: The first college football game is played this year, on Nov. 6, between Princeton and Rutgers, with the understanding that the winner will go on to play Notre Dame later in the afternoon for the national championship

1887: University board approves the Athletic Department's request for a new sports team, and Notre Dame football is officially born on the playing fields of South Bend, IN, the same year as future Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz is born in West Virginia

1936: The Fighting Irish football squad travels to Nazi Germany to represent America at the Berlin Olympics; ND split end Jesse Owens gains 187 yards and scores three touchdowns in a 42-17 gold-medal-winning rout of the heavily favored Rommel-coached SS squad

1943: With the boys fighting World War II overseas, the women of Notre Dame take the reins of the football team and pummel the notorious draft-dodging Michigan Wolverines to bring home another national title to South Bend

1944: In December, the Notre Dame defense successfully holds off a German advance to win the Battle of the Bulge; meanwhile, in the Pacific theater, the Irish offense invades and retakes the Philippines; the team finishes the season ranked #2 in all polls

1956: Future Notre Dame quarterback and six-time Heisman Trophy winner Joe Montana is born of a vestal virgin on June 11 in New Eagle, PA

1957: Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung, in a vote that remains controversial to this very day, splits the Heisman Trophy with the man who is now widely regarded as the best football player of all time, halfback Jim Brown of Notre Dame

1961: 31 points down in the fourth quarter of an away game against highly ranked Ohio State, Notre Dame, led by 12-year-old freshman phenom Joe Theismann, scores 42 points to win in overtime

1970: Notre Dame turns down offers from the ACC, the Big Ten, and the National Football League, electing to remain a Division I independent

1975: Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, an undersized fourth-string transfer student, is allowed to dress for and play in the last and only game of his college career; in the final moments of the game, "Rudy" tackles the Georgia Tech quarterback, forcing a fumble which rolls into the end zone and is recovered for an Irish victory; Notre Dame jumps up 23 spots in the polls for a share of the national championship; Ruettiger is awarded the Butkus and Nagurski trophies

1984: In the last seconds of the national championship at the Orange Bowl, Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie's last-second Hail Mary pass is intercepted in the end zone by Notre Dame cornerback Deion Sanders and returned 106 yards for the winning touchdown

1991: All-time Notre Dame scoring leader Jerome Bettis is given the nickname "The Bus" not only for his great size and reliability, but also for his ability to put the entire Fighting Irish team on his back and carry them to away games as far away as Florida and California

2005: The Oct. 15 victory of the Fighting Irish over #1 ranked USC, 27-31, is marred somewhat when Trojan Matt Leinart, who attempts to run the ball into the end zone in a last-second quarterback sneak, gets hit by the entire Notre Dame defense and is killed instantly as time runs out

Just a FYI for the sake of posterity: Googles stock was at $342 when I made my buy call 2 days ago with $70 - $100 per share expected increases within 6 months to a year. Now it is already at $354.

Here's the dream scenario for destroying the BCS once and for all.

USC wins out and is #1 in the AP and Coaches Polls.
Texas wins out and is #2 in the AP and Coaches Polls.
Virginia Tech wins out and is #3 in the AP and Coaches Polls.

In the BCS it would be quite different however.

Texas would be #1 in the BCS, Va Tech would be #2, and the undefeated two time defending national champs, winners of 35 games in a row, would be on the outside looking in.

If that doesn't finally kill the BCS then there's nothing that ever will.

If you have money laying around that you don't know what to do with I would suggest that you buy Google stock ASAP. I believe it's going to go up another $70 to $100 per share in the next 6 months. Granted, the stock is currently at $348, but it's close to a sure thing.

I wish I had followed my own advice because the stock has gone up $55 in the past two days.

I have changed my Heisman vote. After watching Brady "The greatest quarterback since Jesus" Quinn, he is now getting my vote. Did you see the way he beat up on BYU? I mean come on. BY freaking U! Weren't they ranked in the top 117? I'm pretty sure they were. If he can do that to that team then just imagine what he could do against the 1985 Chicago Bears!

I love you Brady Quinn!

In the spirit of the pagan festival of All Hallows Eve, here's a quote that I thought was funny.

What do we want? BRAINS!
When do we want it? BRAINS!

- Zombie

I'm heading to Kings Island tomorrow. I'll be staying the night in Columbus tonight. Why, you ask, would I be going to Kings Island when there's a 50% chance of rain and when the high is supposed to be 52 degrees? Well, I bought the tickets in September with the intent of going in September. Kings Island however feels that there is no need to be open when it is still warm outside. They instead like to close for September and then re-open in October. That is one freaking brilliant idea. Now I'm stuck with 3 tickets and basically have to go this weekend because I can't go next weekend.

The Astros and White Sox in the World Series. Good for both of them. I can tell you already that it isn't good for baseball in at least one aspect though. This will probably be the least watched World Series in the past 20 years. No one cares about it. The media most of all. They'd rather talk about the NBA dress code and game 6 of the NFL than talk about baseball. They'd rather drool all over Notre Dame losing a game and then proclaiming how they deserve a rematch. That should tell you where MLB stands in America right now.

Who gives a crap about game 6 in the NFL? Not me. How does the NBA dress code change the standings? Last I checked it didn't. This is PLAYOFF baseball. That's more important in the sports world than anything else at the moment. PLAYOFFS > middle of NFL. PLAYOFFS > middle of college football. PLAYOFFS certainly > pre-season NBA.

I drove a rocket ship today. I had my car at the dealer, so they gave me a loaner loaded G35X. You can tell it's heavier because of the pseudo all-wheel drive (the steering is heavier and there's a tad more body roll), but it sure feels faster than mine.

Back by popular demand, more uplifting stories...


There once was a man from Nantucket. He punched Tim McCarver in the face.


How about a poem for a change of pace?

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Tim McCarver is an idiot,
And so is Joe Morgan

Unbelievable! Notre Dame lost and they didn't drop a single spot in the polls.

I don't care if they lost by a tenth of a point, they still lost.

They lost! Get over it media. Notre Dame lost. They can't be rated #1 anymore. They've got two freaking losses. Two! I can't wait for them to lose some more games and climb the rankings.

I hate you Beano Cook!

Look on the bright side of things... if Purdue finishes last in the Big Ten, at least they'll get the number 1 pick next year.

Oh. Wait...

Also, Notre Dame lost. Hooray. Suck it Beano! Suck it right down to China town!

Prediction time:

Northwestern - 40
Purdue - 30


Purdue's defense will make Brett Basanez look like Dan Marino.

Since they're going to get burned anyway, why not blitz on every play? Try some wierd stuff out there. Go to a 2-2-7 zone. Try a 6 man front with no linebackers. Do something. The current defense is obviously not working and it can't get any worse. Sticking with the same gameplan is just admitting defeat.

Funny story: Tim McCarver and Beano Cook were on a boat. Then it sank. The end.

Even though the Angels just got a game stolen from them, Mike Scioscia was a very stand-up guy at the post game interview. The call was bad. I don't think anyone will argue that, but protesting with the league wouldn't do jack to change it. He made the best of a bad situation I think by just trying to move on and not dwelling on the call.

Ding dong, the witch is dead. Now while I officially have no horse in the MLB race, I also am not rooting against anyone in particular.

It's early still, but I'm going to try to go to sleep and not worry about what happens to the hated Yankees.

After falling to 2-3, here are my predictions for the rest of the season. In my opinion, it will be almost impossible for the to make a bowl game. I never thought that they'd struggle terribly to hit 6 wins, but I just don't see it happening. That cannot stop ANYONE right now.

09/10 Akron W 49-24
09/17 at Arizona W 31-24
09/24 at Minnesota L 42-35
10/01 Notre Dame L 49-28
10/08 Iowa L 34-17
10/15 Northwestern L 40-30
10/22 at Wisconsin L 35-20
10/29 at Penn State L 24-21
11/05 Michigan St L 49-28
11/12 Illinois W 42-24
11/19 at Indiana W 34-28

Prediction for todays game:

Iowa - 33
Purdue - 24

As I write this Northwestern is laying the wood on Wisconsin, so if Purdue can find a way to not only win this game, but also stop sucking, then they've still got a shot at a Big Ten title. A lot will be determined in the Ohio State - Penn State game today. After that game there will only be 1 team that's undefeated in conference.

Boston just got swept. Apparently the White Sox are good. Who knew?

That doesn't mean that Ozzie Guillen isn't a jerk though.

My stupid cable modem is sucking. I just got off the phone with service... they're sending someone out on Saturday. It just chooses to drop connections for no reason whatsoever. The connections don't come back quickly either... usually about 8-10 hours pass before it comes back. It's really a pain in the butt. It's been doing this for about a month off and on, but this week it's been almost completely on the fritz. I was able to get 3 minutes in yesterday before it crapped out.

Comcast said it is a poor cable line (i.e. static), so maybe they'll run a new one. That would actually be great, since I only have one line upstairs and one downstairs.

So I guess you're right on both counts Paul. I am having technical difficulties and I am sulking. The Indians didn't get it done when it counted most. Their failure to make the playoffs actually got me thinking though.

If I could have any of my favorite teams win a championship, who would it be? Here's the list...

1. Cleveland Indians
2. Purdue Boilermakers Football
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Cleveland Browns
5. Purdue Boilermakers Basketball


The list isn't really that close though, as the Indians are far and away #1. They've got a good team coming back next year, but this team reminds me a lot of the 1999 or 2000 team. They charged hard down the stretch but came up just short. That's what makes it so freaking frustrating. I feel like if they would've made the playoffs they had a chance to win it all. They just couldn't score any runs the last week. They needed to adapt their hitting and never did. If they didn't hit homeruns they didn't score. Well guess what team... you weren't hitting home runs! That means bunt! Bunt like your lives depended on it. But they didn't. They sucked at bunting.

If I were in charge next year I'd make them spend all of March bunting runners over, stealing bases, hitting sacrafice flies, and hitting and running.

Fundamentals. Maybe it's because they're a young team. Maybe it's not. They need a better graps on the fundamentals.

I actually have a calm feeling about tonights game. My initial feeling for some reason is that the Indians are going to win 13-2. My second thought was that it was going to be 88-7.

Either way, I'll take it.

What the expletive?!!?!

BUNT! Freaking bunt!

What the expletive?!!?!

Down by 1. Man on second. No outs.


FREAKING BUNT BUNT BUNT BUNT BUNT BUNT BUNT BUNT BUNT BUNT BUNT BUNT BUNT

Bunt!

Instead, three freaking straight lineouts to third.

GREAT!

For once I will give a Yankee some credit. Laura Posada, the wife of ole Georgie Posada, is mighty hot. She was on a few episodes of American Chopper and I give her 9 thumbs up.

The Yankees bike for their foundation actually came out quite nicely too. I'm by no means a fan of the subject manner, but the colors and all the details were pretty cool.

What is Nissan going to call the Skyline GT-R when they bring it over? Is it going to be the Infiniti G35 GT-R? That sounds stupid. Is it going to be under the Nissan umbrella? That also has its drawbacks. First and foremost being that the Z car has always been the Nissan sports car champ. Nissan Skyline is something that most car lovers are well familiar with though. Infiniti Skyline... not so much. The Skyline name is great, but it's the G35 over here. That leads me to believe that the new car will be called the Infiniti G35 GT-R. Maybe they'll just go with the Infiniti GT-R. That would be better I think.

We should all know by 2007. I'm not sure if that's model year or calendar year though...

The Twins suck. They've scored a whopping 3 freaking runs in the last three games combined. Way to roll over for the White Sox. Wouldn't want to actually risk winning the game.

And once again, that's how a season that's supposed to be great turns into one that's not.

The defense played better in the second half, but they certainly didn't strike me as an elite defense.

The offense didn't go anywhere under Kirsch. The option offense isn't fooling anyone. Ever. I'd rather him just set up for a regular pass and then take off and run. He did it in the past and it was a lot more successful than this new option offense. As far as I'm aware he only scrambled once the whole game, and it went for 20 yards. Why not try it again?

The game went from me thinking they deserved to lose but were going to win to deserving to lose and having lost.

If this is the best they've got, it's going to be a long season.

CUZ's halftime report.

Minnesota - 10
Purdue - 7


What I should've said earlier is that Minnesota will get about 120 rushing yards in the first half.

The first couple of drives for Minnesota were ridiculous. It looked like a pro team on offense and a junior high school team on defense. Purdue could not tackle anyone. They were very lucky to escape on that first drive and not allow any points.

In the second quarter the defense played better, but that's because it couldn't play any worse. It seemed to me like they were tightening up as play went on. It will be interesting to see what happens in the second half.

Now, for the Purdue offense. Kirsch played like crap. Complete crap. Underthrowing wide open receivers who were 10 yards away from him. Overthrowing wide open receivers were were 10 yards away from him. He didn't do a good job running the option. He played terribly. Yet somehow they're only down by 3 at half time. It took a miracle play, but I'll take it.

Kirsch has to play better. If this is the best he's got, I'd bench him.

It's showdown day. The NCAA's number 1 rushing defense (Purdue - 16 yards per game) against the NCAA's number 1 rushing offense (Minnesota - 335 yards per game.)

Who wins? I think Purdue will win, but I can't see them holding Minnesota to 16 rushing yards. I think the Gophers will hit for about 120 rushing yards and Purdue will win the game 24 - 16.

Even when the Indians play like crap, they still win. Granted it's against the Royals, but still, that counts for something. Now if only the sucky Twins could win another game against the White Sox, that would be great.

Hurricane Rita is HUGE! It stretched from Merida, Mexico to Tampa, Florida.

That is one big storm, and it will be worse than Katrina. There are no levies to break in Galveston though, as the city is actually above water, but not by much. There will be flooding, but it shouldn't be anything of the magnitude of New Orleans.

This storm itself will be worse than Katrina, but the overall damage should not be anywhere near as high.

Well they lost. They should've won, but they were throwing the ball around like idiots in the 7th inning. If they had not let in that last unearned run, when they scored a run in the 9th they would've won instead of tied.

Poop.

That one team keeps winning. Watching the game I don't even feel nervous now. Yes, I still yell at the TV, but I expect them to win now. It's quite a different feeling. I will not publish again until they lose.

This is somewhat similar to what WTAM (the flagship station for that one team) is doing. There is a board operator there who is undefeated for the entire season. Whenever he worked the boards that team won. Now the staff of that station has started chipping in to pay him extra so that he stays for every game. They started about a week ago and since then they haven't lost. His name is Dirty Kurt. The players have even called in promo's thanking Dirty Kurt. It's pretty funny. Of course, I just did a horrible job explaining it...

Once again, I will comment that the Browns seem headed in the right direction. Even when they lose, there is at least something good that happened. They looked great for the first 20 minutes of the Cincinnati game. Then they actually looked pretty good for the whole Green Bay game.

Initially I had predicted that they'd win from 2 to 4 games. I still think that's about right, but I don't actually feel negatively about them like I did under Emperor Davis.

Freaking Choker Dame. The one time in the world when it would be beneficial for them to win, they lose. What a pile of ass. They suck and I hate them. Now I'm probably going to get screwed on those extra tickets that I have. Son of a crap!

I hope Beano Cook gets runover by a very slow clown riding a tricycle, and I hope that clown has very bad gass.

"OH MY GOD! NOTRE DAME WILL WIN THE NEXT 90000 CHAMPIONSHIPS! Look at my double chin! It's quivering with excitement! The Irish are back! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WE WIN WE WIN WE WIN! We are awesome! Everyone sucks! The Irish rule! We are so great! Look at how great we are! I'm screaming! We won 2 games! Where's the BCS trophy! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" - Beano Cook

Shut the freak up. It's 2 damn games and now you lost to Michigan State for the 90th time in a row. It makes me want to shoot my TV.

It seems like the longer I go without publishing this page (due to technical dificulties originally, but not now) that a certain team keeps on winning. I think it's because the people who post here cannot jinx that team. Yay team!

Of course! I didn't actually want to win the freaking auction now because cheaper tickets have been brought to my attention, and I won. Great! Now I have two extra tickets that I need to get rid of. I'll probably just put them back up on eBay as soon as I get them.

The bidding escalated quote a bit today, so now it's even less likely that I'm going to win, as I am already at my limit - which also happens to be way higher that it should be.

I've bid on those Notre Dame tickets. I don't think I'm going to actually win, but you never know.

Also, King's Island is freaking stupid. Who the hell closes an amusement park in September and then re-opens it in October????? King's Island, that's who. We found out Friday night that the stupid place was closed after Labor Day and wouldn't re-open until October. That's brilliant. Let's close the place while it's still warm and re-open it when it's snowing. GREAT! Now I have to go down there on October 15th.

If anyone wants to go to the Purdue - Notre Dame game, the let me know ASAP. By ASAP I mean by tomorrow afternoon. Also, let me know how much you're willing to pay for a ticket.

I'm heading down to King's Island for the weekend, so once again you'll be without my insight.

I bought a new toy today. Because I needed it. I purchased the new iPod Nano. In black. It's sleek. I should be receiving it early next week. Yay for necessities.

Eric brought this article to my attention. This was published in the October 2004 issue. The opening paragraphs read like they could've been in the paper this week. It's eerie how close the New Orleans Hurricane Pam simulation came to being EXACTLY right.

There are reports circulating that the Cavs have signed Damon Jones. THe last step is to sign Tractor Traylor again, and I think the Cavs will have pulled off the best offseason that anyone could've realistically expected. I'm pretty exicted, which can only mean that they will end up missing the playoffs by 40 games.

I hate school. Have I mentioned that before?

We had class on Monday. The prof was down in Columbus on Wednesday, so no class. Monday was Labor Day, so no class. Now we freaking have a test on Wednesday. We've had a whole 1 day of class and now a test.

I hate school.

Also, why aren't my posts showing up? I blame school.

The Sporting News predicts the Browns will go 2-14 this year. That's good.

The reason for the great demo on the F-18 is because it was the newest version... the F-18F Super Hornet.

Very impressive.

At the Cleveland International Air Show today I saw probably the best F-18 tactical demo that I've ever seen. The only performance I can compare it to really is the SU-37 with thrust vectoring. The B-1 on the other hand wasn't good. They didn't fly low enough or fast enough. In years past it was great, but not so this year. Lastly, I wonder if the Thunderbirds are still recovering from when they had two planes touch during a performance a while back. The opposing solos really didn't do much at all, and one of them left the show in mid stream. I haven't heard anything yet, but I guess I'll know for sure tomorrow when I'm back at the show.

New Orleans: Beyond Thunder Dome.

I was talking to a friend at work who is a former Marine. He was stationed in Somalia for about 6 months and he said that the stuff going on in New Orleans right now reminded him of the stuff going on in Somalia. I never ever thought that the United States could be compared to a third world country, but through the desperation and lawlessness of the residents, I can see how it could be compared.

The situation going on in New Orleans seems like it's out of a movie. It seriously reminds me of something like 28 Days Later. The stuff I'm reading about is absolutely crazy. Huge mobs with guns looting everything. Police pushing aside dead bodies floating in the water so that they can rescue people. Army helicopters patrolling the city. A call for a total evacuation for 2 to 3 months. The level of the disaster just doesn't sink in.

Well the day has arrived.

$3.319 for premium gas.

Nothing like a $.60 increase in one week.

So far it has rained here for 9 hours and the Weather Channel is predicting another 18 hours of rain for us. It isn't particularly hard (no thunderstorms), it's just a steady soaking rain. So far we've got 1.59 inches of rain.

School comes back to bite me in the ass once again. I got offered tickets to see the Indians tonight from a luxury box at the Jake, but because I'm in school, I cannot go.

Bitches.

If I were a betting man, I would say that the price of gas will rise $.35 - $.50 per gallon in the next week.

The market raised prices by $.50 with no just cause whatsoever. Now it actually has a reason in Katrina. It looks to me like my $3.00 prediction is indeed just around the corner.

This right here is what's wrong with professional sports:

Aug 26 - With the Pistons and Rockets going in other directions at two guard, Latrell Sprewell is now high on the Nuggets, the Denver Post reports. "I can confirm Latrell has interest and even hopes of playing there," agent Bob Gist said. Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe confirmed talking to Gist, who said Sprewell likes the speed of Denver's game, and the chance to team with former Knicks teammate Marcus Camby and coach George Karl.

Denver can only offer the $5 million midlevel exception, which Gist called "hard to digest," but he added Sprewell could be inclined to take it.

I know man... how are you going to survive on that chump change? There must be a shelter somewhere that you can stay in so that you're off the street. I've heard of a soup kitchen nearby. Maybe there's still some food over there for you. I wouldn't be able to digest $5 million either. What a horrible insult. Maybe you should take it up with the United Nations Security Council. Maybe they can impose sanctions on the NBA. You said that you couldn't feed your kids on $12 million a year. I hope you've got food stamps so that they don't go hungry on only $5 million a year.

What a freaking jackass. He, and players like him, are the reason why people hate the NBA.

I saw the 40 Year Old Virgin again. That alone should tell you what I really think of it...

Now onto the Browns game. The stadium isn't bad. We sat in the upper deck in section 532 (at the 25 yard line) and the seats really wen't bad. The steps are murder however. They remind me of the old Riverfront stadium in Cincinnati. I don't see how drunk people don't constantly tumble down them because they are so steep. You could easily see all the action and easily read the players numbers, which I think is about all you can ask for when you go to a football game. Not bad. I won't be going back for a regular season game though. I cannot imagine being down there in the middle of Winter. The wind would be terrible since you're right on top of the lake basically. It was blowing up to 20 MPH last night, which was comfortable because it was 80 outside. When it's 8 outside however, 20 MPH winds would seem to take away a lot of enjoyment. Combine that with all the layered clothing you have to wear and then squeezing yourself into your seat and you get a combination that doesn't make me want to attend.

I'll be attending the Browns VS Panthers pre-season game tomorrow. Why? Because I got free tickets. The actual cost of those two free tickets you ask? $100. For pre-freaking-season. Who in their right mind would pay $50 each for a pre-season game?

What a rip.

Ding dong, the witch is dead. Huggins is out at Cincinnati. I heard, as everyone did, that it was because of academics, but what I didn't know was that only 4 black players at UC actually graduated under Huggins' regime. That's astonishingly horrible.

I just got back from seeing the 40 Year Old Virgin. The first half of the movie is the most hilarious movie I can remember seeing. Period. After that it's still funny, but not the constantly funny movie that the first half was. It's very vulgar, extremely raunchy, and a movie you've got to go see.

On my ultra tough rating system it get's a 9. Probable Purchase.

If the Dyson DC15 Vacuum has a filter that they say never needs replacing, why do they sell replacement filters?

I must be getting sick or something... I think the Browns are actually on the right track. Of course, I think they'll win at most 4 games this year, but I actually think that the new coaching staff and more importantly, the new GM are doing a good job. It seems like all the players that they drafted are actually capable of playing football. For a living even. Not just good at putting pads on and then injuring themselves ten times a year. Hooray. I think they will make the playoffs within 3 years.

For those of you trying to book an appointment, here is the schedule of events for the next several weekends:

Saturday August 27th - 4th Annual Wiffle Ball Tournament

Saturday September 3rd - Cleveland International Air Show

Sunday September 4th - Cleveland International Air Show

Monday September 5th - Cleveland International Air Show

Saturday September 10th - Kings Island Amusement Park

We are the Bears shufflin' crew. Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you. We're not here to start no trouble, we're just here to do the Super Bowl shuffle.

Good news! Our stock is going to split at the end of this month. That means that my option prices are halved and my quantity is doubled. Now, I'll most likely hold on to them instead of exercising them as soon as I can so that I can maximize the profits.

Why is that good news for yo? Because now I can take you for a ride in my brand new Ferrari F60 Enzo.

On the video game front, I beat Beyond Good & Evil lately (an adventure game, similar to Legend of Zelda) and now I'm playing Burnout 3 : Takedown. The best part are the crash courses. So far my highest dollar crash is just north of $600,000. That one was something involving an exploding tractor trailer and a 23 car pile up. Fun!

I didn't expect my $3.00 / gallon gas prediction to come storming into town so quickly. Gas today was $2.91. It cannot possibly continue to go up $.20 per week. I don't care how irrational the freaking market is, it just cannot go up 20 cents every week from now until eternity.

Someone robbed a grocery store in Omaha. We'd better raise oil prices by $19. You never know if he stole the local oil refinery from that grocery store.

A meteor hit Mars. Oh no! I must raise oil another $12. The Martians may start immigrating to Earth and drive up our demand for oil.

It was 77 degrees in Cleveland today. No! Say it ain't so! Oil is too cheap. I demand you raise it by $52 / barrel. Think of the children! Won't somebody please think of the children?!?!

There was weather somewhere on Earth. Oh sweet Lord almighty! Weather!?!?! The demand will go crazy with this so called weather. Breaking news: Oil prices surge $4000 per barrel on news of impending weather!


What is the freaking big deal already? Ok, demand is up. Is it up by 250%? I think not, so why are the prices? Because the market is currently frothing at the mouth for any reason to raise prices.

Now I'm irritated.

Teams in second place in the wild card are not supposed to get swept at home by Tampa Bay.

The Indians have 44 games left and I figure they're going to need to win at least 33 of them to get the wild card. They would put them at 96 wins, which normally would be enough, buy maybe not this year...

Gas prices high. Me no likey. It won't be long before I'm paying $3.00 / gallon.

Right now gas is $2.72 for me.

Boo!

The Indians blew a golden opportunity tonight against the lowly Devil Rays. They scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st and left the bases loaded. They had 5 hits with men in scoring position, yet somehow managed to get only 1 run out of those hits. They had 5 errors and hit into 4 double plays.

That is the recipe for a loss.

The house hunt continues. It's looking more and more like I'm going to wait until next Spring to start looking again.

Getting back to the Cardinals - Cubs series, I was laughing out loud remembering the taunts of some of the Cardinals fans directed towards Chris Spier, the Cubs 3rd base coach.

"Hey Spier, make me a chocolate cake!"

"Hey Spier! My mom is baking you brownies, Spier! Come and eat your brownies!"


Why those are funny I'm not really sure. It's probably because I am an idiot.

The Indians were down 7-2 to the lowly Royals and showed exactly 0 chance of playing well in the game, so I turned it off and went to sleep.

First thing in the morning I see headlines "Indians score 11 in the 9th to stun the Royals." The Royals had 3 errors in the 9th inning. I saw the highlights and it wasn't pretty, but I'll take it.

I had the benfit of spending $299.32 on one new tire today. A nail pierced the tire diagonally and went through the side wall, so there was no way to repair it. Yay.

The worst part is that the MSRP on that freaking tire is $351.95 each, so I practically got a bargain.

2004 INFINITI G35 Sedan w/Sport-Tuned Suspension with a manufacturer's standard tire size of P215/55R17.

I could've got it from Tire Rack for $238, but then I'm going to pay at least $20 for shipping and $40 to get it installed anyway.

New top 10 candidate.

Candace Nirvana.

Named like a porn star, but actually just a model. She was in an Axe Body Spray ad.

Hot!

I'll be at Cedar Point tomorrow, so once again you'll have to do without my comments for a weekend.

The Indians blew it tonight. You can second guess until the cows come home, assuming you have cows, but Millwood was under 100 pitches entering the 9th and looked like he could've finished it. Nine Bob Wickman pitches later the Indians were losing.

I saw an awesome house tonight. In fact it was so awesome that I'm not going to bid on it. It felt more like a vacation house or a resort than it did a regular house. I don't even know if I could live there full time, but since I don't have the money to buy a second house when I don't even have a first one, I will be moving on... but not before I give a glimpse.

Here's a post I made from back on March 1st of this year.

"Daniel Gilbert is officially the owner of the Cavs now. In the summer he's going to change the name of Gund Arena to something useless I'm sure.

If he renames it to the Quicken Center or something like that then I'm going to burn down Cleveland Browns Stadium."


Get ready to move Browns, because the stadium is coming down. The idiot Cavs renamed Gund Arena to the Quicken Loans Arena and want people to call it "The Q." You can't tell people what to call the place. Just for that, I'm going to refer to it as the Quickie Mart.

I was at the Indians-Yankees game tonight. For the most part it was well played. Alex Rodriguez obliterated a home run. If it wasn't out of the stadium in left it's only because it was a line drive. Leiter looked bad for the Yankees and Elarton pitched pretty well for the Indians. It was practically a perfect night for a game. It might have been in the low 80's but there was a consistent breeze, so it wasn't uncomfortable at all. A fine night overall, made even better because the Indians won.

A few months after Palmeiro vehemently denied ever using steroids, he was just suspended for doing just that. I wonder if this will cost him any hall of fame votes that he was going to get. It also makes you wonder that if he's doing it, who else is doing it? His body doesn't look huge compared to anyone else's, so does that mean that Bonds with his size 15 1/2 head is on them? It certainly looks more plausible now.

Also on the steroids front, whether it's fair to Jason Giambi or not, I wonder if his immediate turn around might be due to more steroid use. He's already admitted to using them in the past, so why not again? If he isn't, then his turn-around is a great story. But if he is...

5 more coasters have been added to my collection. Here is the full list, for your viewing pleasure:

Blue Streak at Cedar Point
Cedar Creek Mine Ride at Cedar Point
Corkscrew at Cedar Point
Disaster Transport at Cedar Point
Gemini (Blue) at Cedar Point
Gemini (Red) at Cedar Point
Iron Dragon at Cedar Point
Jr. Gemini at Cedar Point
Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point
Mantis at Cedar Point
Mean Streak at Cedar Point
Millennium Force at Cedar Point
Raptor at Cedar Point
Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point
Wicked Twister at Cedar Point
Wildcat at Cedar Point
Woodstock Express at Cedar Point
Beaver Land Mine Ride at Geauga Lake Park
Big Dipper at Geauga Lake Park
Corkscrew at Geauga Lake Park
Dominator at Geauga Lake Park
Double Loop at Geauga Lake Park
Head Spin at Geauga Lake Park
Raging Wolf Bobs at Geauga Lake Park
Steel Venom at Geauga Lake Park
The Villain at Geauga Lake Park
Thunderhawk at Geauga Lake Park
X-Flight at Geauga Lake Park
The Legend at Holiday World
The Raven at Holiday World
Cornball Express at Indiana Beach
Galaxi at Indiana Beach
Hoosier Hurricane at Indiana Beach
Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain at Indiana Beach
Tig'rr Coaster at Indiana Beach
Carolina Goldrusher at Paramount's Carowinds
Fairly Odd Coaster at Paramount's Carowinds
Flying Super Saturator at Paramount's Carowinds
Hurler at Paramount's Carowinds
Rugrats Runaway Reptar at Paramount's Carowinds
Thunder Road (Forwards) at Paramount's Carowinds
Top Gun - The Jet Coaster at Paramount's Carowinds
Racer (Forwards) at Paramount's Kings Island
Batman The Ride at Six Flags Over Georgia
Dahlonega Mine Train at Six Flags Over Georgia
Déjà Vu at Six Flags Over Georgia
Mindbender at Six Flags Over Georgia
Superman Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Over Georgia
The Georgia Cyclone at Six Flags Over Georgia
The Georgia Scorcher at Six Flags Over Georgia
The Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Over Georgia
Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster at Six Flags Over Georgia
Revenge of The Mummy at Universal Studios Florida
Dueling Dragons (Fire) at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure
Dueling Dragons (Ice) at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure
Flying Unicorn at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure
The Incredible Hulk at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Walt Disney World - Disney-MGM Studios
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Walt Disney World - Magic Kingdom
Space Mountain - Alpha at Walt Disney World - Magic Kingdom
Space Mountain - Omega at Walt Disney World - Magic Kingdom

Manny Ramirez wants more privacy? That's why he wants to be traded? Let me tell you something Manny... you'd probably get more privacy if you didn't live at the Ritz Carlton. Since I know you live there, I'm guessing everyone in Boston does too... try moving into a house somewhere. I'm guessing you might even be able to afford a guard or 800. Walls and guards with guns tend to keep people away. The goal of a hotel is to get lots of people to stay there.

Just a word of advice for Man-Ram.

Here's the panoramic of Busch Stadium in St Louis.

Here are two panoramics of Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

I'm going to Kansas City. Kansas City here I come.

I believe this is year 6 of the baseball excursions. We're seeing the Royals versus the Blue Jays on Friday, the Cardinals versus the Cubs on Saturday, and the Reds versus the Brewers on Sunday.

I'll post the new panoramics as soon as I get back, and I'll have my updated stadium rankings also.

Little League update:

Willoughby Kiwanis - 30
The Other Team - 12

They are playing in the Round Robin tournament and (I think) if they win 3 more games they are the RR Champs.

They play Ridge Acres tonight.

Holiday World is building a new wooden coaster that will be ready next year. It's called the Voyage. I personally think it's going to be too tall... it will be 176 feet tall and will be the 3rd longest wooden coaster in the world. The only saving grace is that it will have a steel structure, so hopefully it will be somewhat immune to warping and the like. I've actually met one of the designers for it (at a wiffle ball party of all things) and he seems to be very good at what he does. The company designing it used to work for the company behind the Raven and the Legend, so I guess I shouldn't doubt them until I try it.

The house hunt continues.

I've found a house that is virtually identical to the house I bid on two weeks ago. The only differences (without looking on the inside yet) are that this new house is cheaper, has a bigger yard, and is brick with white "trim" instead of brick of brown "trim."

My brother's little league team had a chance to go to the city championship today. They were tied with the 2nd place team, but did not carry the tie breaker. They both played today, and in order to advance they needed to win and the other team needed to lose.

They played at 1:00 and won their game. The other team played at 3:00 and happened to be playing the #1 seed and only undefeated team in the league. Things were looking up for Willoughby Kiwanis (my brother's team.) The undefeated team was up by 5 with 1 out in the bottom of the 6th (they only play 6 innings). Then the unthinkable happened. 3 walks, 2 errors, 3 hits, and 2 blown calls at home plate later and Kiwanis is out of the championship game.

What a load of crap. A team that is 18-0 is not supposed to blow a 5 run lead in the bottom of the 6th.

As quickly as plans come together they can fall apart.

Buying the house I wanted was contingent on the seller buying the house they wanted.

Unfortunately, when they went to sign the purchase agreement for the house they wanted they learned that the person selling that house had sold it from underneath them. A new buyer came in and offered a higher amount for cash and the person took it.

It sucks, but everything happens for a reason.

Yahoo Fantasy Football
League ID : 192357
Password: waffle
JOIN!

Signing papers has been delayed a few days, but another major hurdle has been passed. It won't be long before my name is on the papers and I officially am in the largest debt of my life.

Bobby Abreu put on a terrific show tonight in the Home Run Derby. In fact, after I finished watching his first round I didn't really feel like watching anyone else, so I basically skipped to the finals.

I have agreed in principal to buy a house. I believe we'll be doing the paperwork on Monday.

The bid was countered and we found out that the minimum that they would accept was appreciably more than my maximum amount. So basically we're putting that on the back burner. They are moving at the end of this month, so they may end up coming down.

Why did Michael Redd sign with Milwaukee? Could it be because LeBron wouldn't commit to staying in Cleveland? I think so.

I put in a bid today. Hopefully I'll hear something soon. As soon as I do, I will be sure to not post anything about it.

I'm having a roofer examine the roofs of two houses tonight. If either one of them is fine then I will place a bid. I've been expecting to place a bid for a long time now, but every time I think I'm ready we find something new that we need to look into.

'Midwest' Discovered Between East And West Coasts


NEW YORK—A U.S. Geological Survey expeditionary force announced Tuesday that it has discovered a previously unknown and unexplored land mass between the New York and California coasts known as the "Midwest."

The Geological Survey team discovered the vast region while searching for the fabled Midwest Passage, the mythical overland route passing through the uncharted area between Ithaca, NY, and Bakersfield, CA.

"I long suspected something was there," said Franklin Eldred, a Manhattan native and leader of the 200-man exploratory force. "I'd flown between New York and L.A. on business many times, and the unusually long duration of my flights seemed to indicate that some sort of large area was being traversed, an area of unknown composition."

Jennifer Garner got married today. To a duck.

What do you think, I got that insurance?

What insurance?

The one you really need to have. If you don't have it, that's why you need it....If you get hurt and miss work, it won't hurt to miss work.

Affleck!

Stupid duck.

How many additional withholdings does it take to balance out your federal taxes? I realize it's different for everyone, but instead of loaning the government your money at 0% interest, it's better to have more of it withheld upfront. I don't want to have to pay anything at the end of the year though. Right now I'm basically breaking even. Hopefully with a house I will have a lot more deductions and thus get to keep a lot more of my own money.

I think I'm currently taking 0 withholdings. Do you think I can bump that up to 3 and still be ok? How much of an impact will that have on my takehome salary? Is anyone here an accountant?

Beuller? Beuller?

Looked at more houses tonight. Didn't see anything particularly exciting. One house was stuck in the 1970's. One house was just a little too small. One was probably foreclosed and it showed. One just didn't do anything for me.

If the one I'm most interested in is still on the market Saturday, I'm going to place a bid.

I saw Batman Begins tonight. It was pretty good. I'd put it on par with the first Batman. I don't think it was kid appropriate though. One of the villians uses hallucinogenic drugs and they show visuals from the victim. I imagine they could be quite scary to younger kids (things like maggots crawling out of your face, etc.)

It had a darker more serious tone that I thought was appropriate while not being so dark for no reason (i.e. Batman Returns.) That audio was good and the acting was adequate. Katie Holmes' character could've been played by anyone.

On my scale I'd give it a 6. Would accept as a gift / would pay money to rent.

House hunting. Taking. All. My. Time.

I'm heading out of town tomorrow. I'm going to the New River Gorge in West Virginia to go white water rafting. I'll be back Sunday, so until then I don't imagine I'll be able to update this, so feel free to write whatever comments you like.

There are only two rules in Fight Club.

The first rule is that you do not talk about the Indians winning streak.

The second is that you DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE INDIANS WINNING STREAK!

I got terrific news again today! I am rich beyond my wildest imagination! Ohio has a program for new homeowners where they give you 4.99% interest or 2% of the cost of the home as a rebate. Unfortunately since I am so fabulously wealthy I do not qualify.

I watched the Tyson - McBride fight tonight on Showtime. I'm glad I didn't pay $45 to see it on pay per view (not that it was really ever an option). Tyson looked completely washed up and never really made much of an effort to do anything. I guess the thing that interests me about Tyson still is just the memory from almost 20 years ago when I watched him destroy everyone in his path.

My Infiniti dealer is absolutely terrible. Is it too much to expect them to return my calls when I try to schedule an appointment? I'm freaking trying to give them money and they don't even bother to respond. I've just send off a letter to the Infiniti Customer Relations, but I don't expect anything meaningful to happen. I'll probably get a call from the manager and then nothing will actually change.

I'm anxious that see the new CBA get signed in the NBA so that I can see what investments the Cavs are going to make in the off season. They should have roughly $25 million in cap space, but at least $10 million of that will be eaten up if they re-sign Z. Would Ray Allen or Michael Redd come here for $15 million? I think so. Would they come here for $12 million though? Not so sure. With that extra $3 million the Cavs could go get someone who can play defense. They desperately need that. I also wouldn't mind seeing them re-sign Tractor Traylor, even though they just cut him.

I think the latest Jessica Simpson video is the best piece of anything that's been shown on MTV in 5 years.

I went and saw my youngest brother pitch in Little League yesterday. He's in the majors (12-14). I had to leave after the 5th inning but his stat line at that point was 2 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts.

Not too shabby.

The following tale is a detailed account of a dream that I had:


Places in the dream
Cleveland
Pittsburgh
Chicago
Ft. Worth
Dallas
Holden House in Pennsylvania

People in the dream
Jay Leno - cutting up onions (because he is my cook?)
Hugh Hefner - driving Fred Sanford's truck
Pamela Anderson - passenger in Fred Sanford's truck
Richard Pryor - I either am Richard Pryor or look like Richard Pryor. He is being chased by the cops or looked for by the cops at the Dallas airport
Alvin and the Chipmunks - I ate breakfast with them at a Waffle House



I was supposed to fly to Ft. Worth to meet my brother, but apparently I just went to the airport and got on the very first plane I could find. My original ticket was from Cleveland to Ft. Worth, leaving at 2:58 PM and arriving in Ft. Worth at 1:58 PM. Instead I arrived in Pittsburgh with my mom and bought a house, the Holden House. It was huge, had about 50 rooms and I remember the door buzzer went through a subwoofer, because I couldn't hear the buzzer so I turned up the bass and then I could hear it. There were also a lot of doors to the outside that were literally right next to each other. When I went into the kitchen I could see Jay Leno outside the window cutting up onions, so I can only assume that he was either my cook or my gardener.

From there I magically ended up back on an airplane to Chicago. I remember the captain saying "2 hours down and 6 hours to go" just as I was waking up. That didn't sound right, so that's when I looked at my ticket. I asked the guy next to me what time it was and all he said was "it's 55 after." I informed him how that was not particularly helpful. The next thing I know I was taking back off in Chicago, but not from the airport. The plane was getting onto the highway and going around a pretty sharp right turn. The pilot just lifted off and banked to the right. There were some really big power lines over there, like 500 feet tall. I was wondering if we were going to fly into them, but the pilot just kept banking and turning to the right. Eventually we were upside down - in a regular passenger jet. A girl apparently walked onto the plane as we were in the air and sat down in the back. At this point it looked more like a flying bus than an airplane. I didn't want to talk to her so I turned around and pretended I didn't see her.

We land in Dallas and my mom is there again. We go out to breakfast at Waffle House and sit with Alvin and the Chipmunks. Meatwad might also be there but I'm not sure. From there we go to what I think is my house, the Holden House in Pennsylvania, except we're still in Dallas. Hugh Hefner and Pamela Anderson drive up in Fred Sanford's truck. It's really front loaded, so they park and go into the house. I start to unload it, but all I grab is a sleeping bag, a chair, and some cardboard tube box. My mom takes the sleeping bag and says something about how heavy it is. After that I tell her that I have to go to the airport, so she drives me there in some blue van. Once we get there, I realize that it's not safe because the cops are there looking for Richard Pryor. Why I'm concerned about that I don't know. I think I might be Richard Pryor at this point, or I might just look like him. Either way I decide that I can't risk flying to Ft. Worth from Dallas because the cops might catch me. Then I realize that it's only a 35 minute drive, and that's when I leave.

By the afternoon of July 5th I should know if I'm the owner of a house.

I only give me about a 10% chance though since I know there are other bidders but not how many yet.

For some reason I think the Pistons are going to repeat. The Spurs are a very good team, and I don't know why I think the Pistons will beat them, I just do.

If I had to guess, I'd say that Detroit's hustle will carry them.

Forgive me Angie. I just saw the promos for the new Real Gilligan's Island and I must say, you make a great Ginger. Does that mean I'll watch that show? Probably not. I do remember watching the Mole though, so if I can watch that crap then just maybe I'll stop in now and again and see you prancing around on the beach.

The 2006 Purdue football schedule has 13 games... I seem to remember that the NCAA doesn't want a playoff because it would interfere with the students studies. Hmmm. Where is the NCAA outrage that Purdue cares nothing for it's students? Oh. It's not there? Interesting. I guess when it doesn't interfere with the precious BCS, the students are about as important as penguin crap.

Just give us a freaking playoff! The ratings would be out of this world. The bowls wouldn't suffer either you dumbasses. Does no one watch the NFL playoffs just because they aren't the Super Bowl? Last time I checked, they watched all of the playoffs. Does no one watch round 1 games of the mens basketball tournament? I think not. People will watch. If you build a playoff, people will watch!



As for the 2005 schedule, if there was ever a year when a good Purdue team could win the Big 10, then this is it. All they need to do is catch a few breaks here and there (which will not happen, but if it does it could mean a 10 win season.) Here's my prediction for the season:

Akron - W
@Arizona - W
@Minnesota -W
Notre Dame - W
Iowa - L
Northwestern - W
@Wisconsin - L
@Penn State - W
Michigan State - L
Illinois - W
@Indiana - W

Here's my quickie review of Gran Turismo 4...

What is with the freaking load times? Seriously, they had 4 years to work on it and I still have to wait for 20 seconds every time I touch a button? What the heck?!?!

As for the game itself, I'd rate it lower than GT3. There isn't anything that makes it seem new. Sure, it has a new interface. Sure, there's more cars. Sure, there's more tracks. Do any of those things make it more fun? Not to me. Even the Logitech Driving Force Pro doesn't help the fun factor.

The load times completely take you out of any immersion that you feel in the game. Overall it just feels like I've played it before and there's nothing in the game that calls to me to want to play it.

The new B-Spec mode is a nice addition so that I don't have to sit through 1000 miles of endurance racing, but I actually find myself using it on virtually every race. I put it on 3x and tell my driver what to do so I can move on to the next race.

Where's the online revolution? Not here. How is this a vast improvement over GT3? It's not.

I rate Gran Turismo 4 as a completely average game in every way.

It should be time for a new top 10 list. The trouble is, I have no motivation to create such a list, and the list never really changes. Maybe that's because there is no new blazing red head to dethrone Angie Everhart.

The list needs a new red head. Any suggestions?

The Purdue men's basketball team has received a verbal commitment from Gordon Watt, a 6-foot-7 transfer from Boston College.

"I was impressed by the Purdue coaching staff's desire to win," said Watt, who averaged 1.3 points as an Eagle. "At Boston College, I experienced a 20-game winning streak, and I like the idea of coming to a program that has re-emphasized excellence.

He's not too bright is he? He's apparently not too good either. That's the perfect combination so that Painter can "re-emphasize excellence." Desire to win and actually winning are worlds apart. I don't remember hearing about Keady not desiring to win. How about Tiller? He must not have a desire to beat Michigan or Ohio State. Why stop there? Why can't some team owner in Cleveland finally hire someone that DOES have a desire to win? Once the have that desire, watch out world! We're going to win! And if we don't win, at least we're going to have a desire to do so!

Hooray for desire! Desire to win equals championships!

If a house fell out of the sky and landed on you, would you live in it?

Don't people always appear to be more menacing when they're riding an elephant?

Why don't I have a garage?

Is it possible to housejack someone or does that automatically create a hostage situation?

If my car spontaneously combusted and turned into solid gold bricks, would I want to be it in at the time?

Would you accept a "free" house on the condition that one of the rooms always had to be full of worms?

Would you rather have legs for arms or arms for legs?

With my latest trip to Atlanta, the number of different roller coasters I've ridden now stands at 56 and the number of different parks I've been to is 10.

Good news everyone! Juan Gonzalez came off the DL today to make his first start of the season for the Indians.


Oh wait. Bad news everyone! Juan Gonzalez pulled his hamstring after one at bat and is going back to the DL.

Here's what I want for my birthday...

I want the Cavs to re-sign Z to a reasonable contract (no more than 10 mill per year) and then I want the Cavs to go out an sign Ray Allen or Michael Redd. That's it. That's the list.

Also, I hate the Browns.

I will be in Atlanta for the weekend and will not be back until Tuesday, so you may have to wait a while before I can feed your comment habit again.

How stupid do you have to be to try to re-enact Star Wars at your home by filling fluorescent light tubes with gasoline and then lighting that gas on fire?

Apparently not so stupid that no one would try just that... Two people did just that in England.

How does that plan get laid out?

Person 1: I've got a great idea! Let's re-enact Star Wars at home! I even know how to create the light sabers.

Person 2: Awesome idea. How do we do that?

Person 1: I've got some used fluorescent light tubes laying around...

Person 2: But how do you we get the glow down? We don't have millions of dollars to spend on special effects.

Person 1: Hmm. You're right. That's tricky.

Person 2: Ah-ha! I've got it. Let's pour gasoline in the tubes and light it on fire.

Person 1: Brilliant!

Person 2: Brilliant!

The arcade cabinet arrived today and it's fantastic. Just so you people know, it's housed in an old Terminator 2 cabinet, but it in fact plays everything because of MAME.

Here are pictures for all of you to marvel at the glory of the arcade machine and the vending machine together at last.

The following tale encompasses my thoughts of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
If you don't want anything spoiled then don't read this.



The highs:

1. The acting was not nearly as poor as in the first two movies.
2. The writing, while still sub-par, also wasn't as bad as in the first two movies.
3. Space battles!
4. James Earl Jones' voice!
5. Plenty of lightsaber goodness.
6. Tied in well with episode IV.
7. There was actually some powerful imagery (in the Jedi temple before Anakin dispatches the children.)
8. Jar Jar was in it for maybe a total of 20 seconds.
9. Chewbacca.



The lows:

1. I didn't like the "camera" work in the space battle. I would rather see it from a range rather than be attached to a moving/spinning ship.
2. Darth Vader sounded like a pansy at the end when he found out Padme was dead. I was expecting more of an emotionless bad ass.
3. Most of the Jedi masters didn't put up much of a fight... especially versus the Emperor. Within 3 seconds 5 of them we dead. Who promoted so many crappy masters is what I want to know.
4. Jar Jar was in it.
5. The Emperor came off as too psycho to me. I could've done without some of the maniacal laughter.



All in all it was definitely the best of the new episodes. I'd still rate it 4th in the series though. Was it entertaining? After the first 20 minutes, yes it was. Would I accept it as a gift? Yes I would. Will I purchase it? Maybe.

So, with that said, I'd give it a rating of 8. Would Purchase if I was in the mood and happened across it.

I'm going to see Star Wars today in a DLP/THX theater. If it's not good there, it can't possibly be good. I fully expect wooden acting and terrible dialogue. Overall, I'm not expecting too much.

I'll report back my impressions.

After all the trouble between Indiana and Detroit this year, I think they certainly acted in the right way last night. When you have a Hall-of-Fame caliber player retiring, it's nice to see some actual sportsmanship come out of a league where we are used to seeing everyone playing for a SportsCenter highlight and for their own statistics.

Roller coaster designers are coming up with new rides that they could never manage to get me to ride. Ride designers are going even further than coaster designers. If you want proof, just view this photo and this photo from atop the Stratosphere tower in Las Vegas. The ride is called Insanity, and is appropriately named.

Imagine a swing attached to a merry-go-round. As the merry-go-round goes faster and faster the swings fly out further and further. Now imagine this happening at 70 MPH while you're dangling 30 feet over the edge of an 800 feet tall building. Brilliant!

Six Flags Magic Mountain has a ride called X. The cars for the coaster sit outside of the tracks and the special track allows the cars to rotate independently of the track. That means you could be going through a loop but be spinning in the opposite direction. I know what that feels like. It feels like you just tried to drink a gallon of milk in a hour and then puked twice in the process.

I've seen video of it where it's going through a cork screw to the right and the cars are spinning backwards. I can only imagine how many people are sprayed with vomit while waiting in line for it.

Lastly, if you'd like to see what it's like to ride Cedar Point's new ride maXair, just watch this movie. I might ride that. Maybe. Going backwards doesn't suit my elderly body very well though. Spinning either. Since this ride spins you constantly and you have no idea whether you're going forward or backwards, maybe this isn't the ride for me. Maybe.

This just in. I raised my GPA to 3.73 and I haven't had Taco Bell in over 2 months.

It's like I believe in the complete opposite of everything I stood for at Purdue.

The vending machine moved downstairs 1000 times easier than it did upstairs. Gotta love that gravity. The arcade art work is printed up and should get to me in a week or so, and then the cabinet will be completed within 2 weeks of that. My place will be a veritable fun house of unused toys.

Today is the big day. I'm moving the vending machine downstairs.

This statement may lead you to pose two questions. First, why is the vending machine upstairs? Second, why do you have a vending machine.

The answers are because I am an idiot and I don't know.

The Pacers should not be hanging with the Pistons at all, and yet here they are. They're up 2-1 in the series. Why does it seem like no one is talking about them? Why didn't Carlisle getting coach of the year talk? Is it because they put themselves into this situation? Is it because they don't have any charisma? If this was the Lakers all we'd be hearing about was how great Kobe was and how he carried the team this far. I don't know how they're doing it, but people need to give them credit for getting to this point when other teams would have folded up and went home 4 months ago.

School's out for Summer. I handed in my final project in my last class, and now I am free for three months.

It's not looking good for the NHL. The ESPN ratings are out and ESPN's Bowling Night is getting identical ratings to last years Stanley Cup playoffs. Not too good.

It would seem to me that there's a relatively easy fix too... widen the rink to Olympic standards and get rid of one player. There'll be a lot more up and down action and not nearly as much holding and slow down. It would be more interesting to watch.

Those freaking bastages on the association board decided to install shrubs practically right on top of my car (there is less than a foot of space between where I park and where the plants start now). Now there is no sense in even washing it because literally within 2 hours it is completely covered in pollen or whatever the particulate happens to be.

I've tried washing it in the morning, doesn't help. I've tried washing it at night, doesn't help. I've tried watering the plants, doesn't help. I'm out of ideas and it just pisses me off.

There is no stopping the stuff from flying all over (and sticking to) my car.

I'm going to have to trim the crap out of those things.

We had a perfect weather day today. It was the perfect temperature and it wasn't too windy, but there was a pretty nice breeze. Everyone is familiar with the saying the glass is half full or half empty... Well today, the glass was full of nice weather.

So what does this mean? It means that tomorrow the glass will be half full of thunderstorms and then on Thursday it will be snowing. On Friday, the weather will come and steal all of the glasses and throw them out the window.

I'm very disappointed to learn that Jennifer Garner is pregnant.

Ben Affleck is stupid.

The first person to come up with a force field for your car that keeps it clean when it rains will make a lot of money.

So, with that said, someone go out there and develop a force field for my car that will keep it clean.

Creating art is very time consuming. I've spent about 12 hours so far and don't even have a full two prototypes done for my arcade cabinet. Ryan completed one in about 2 hours.

It takes me 4 times longer and they're not even as good as his.

That might be why he does graphic design for a living and I don't.

Last week, the federal government released a new food pyramid. Not just one, but twelve.

Apparently the different food pyramids are designed for meeting different people's needs. I'm going to guess that mine is a mile high tower of tacos, 1000 feet wide at the base.

Also, none of the guidelines really seem to apply to my lifestyle. They measure servings in cups, where as I measure servings in gallons.

Which pyramid is right for me? Tell me government! I demand satisfaction! A lot of my tax dollars went into creating these pyramids and I don't see one that has a thousand foot base and is a mile high while entirely made up of tacos. Or even chicken and cheese calzones that are then dipped into Miracle Whip all the while consuming 8 glasses of milk. Where's that freaking pyramid? Huh?

I'm sure you've all heard the saying "April showers bring May flowers."

Well, what do April snow showers bring? They bring May blizzards.

Someone forgot to tell Winter that it isn't supposed to be 70 degrees in February and then snowing in May!

May. This is May. May and snow go together like Purdue mens basketball and McDonald's All-Americans... that is to say, not at all.

Amusement park trips this year:

Six Flags Over Georgia
Paramount's Kings Island
Cedar Point


and possibly Geauga Lake, though I doubt it.



If anyone is interested in attending Cedar Point this year, let me know and maybe we can set something up.

I need suggestions for the next car I should buy.

I like the Nismo Altima SE-R, but with the Nismo parts it costs about $4000 more than my G35. Plus, it has 43 less horsepower than the new G's and is FWD.

The Maxima used to be sporty, but now it's just soft.

I like the Acura TSX, but it's vastly underpowered in my opinion.

I don't want to ever buy a BMW.

There isn't much in the way of American cars that interest me. Chrysler has some interesting things coming out, but they aren't really my style. The GTO is blah. I can't even come close to fitting comfortably in a Corvette (not that it would be practical here in the Arctic circle.)

Toyota and Lexus styling are about as bland as oatmeal covered in flavor-away to make sure it was extra dull.

I like the new Mazda styling but even the RX8 doesn't interest me all that much.

The only Volkswagen I think is decent is the R32 VR6 and they haven't made that for two years.

I like the Audi S4, but don't think a V8 is prudent with premium gas requiring weekly plasma donations.

So there you have it, I've shot down everything and now need suggestions.

I saw Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy and Napoleon Dynamite today.

The Guide was pretty good, but was slow for about a 20 minute stretch.

Napoleon was just odd. I caught you a delicious bass. What girl wouldn't love to hear that? I did like Pedro's protection force though.

My new Gran Turismo 4 setup should be arriving soon. I bought the Driving Force Pro force feedback wheel and pedals and the Xlerator stand for it.

My living room will be just like the arcade.

Wheeeeee.

Beginning in 2006, Notre Dame will earn an automatic BCS berth with a top eight ranking in the final standings, Weiberg said. Also, under a new arrangement, Notre Dame is now guaranteed BCS money every season -- even when they don't play in a game.


Yet another reason to hate the BCS.

I haven't heard about how great Brandon Kirsch looked running an offense while trying not to get tagged.

For people in the know, who are the starters at skill positions?

Did they cut Kyle Smith yet? I haven't forgiven him for dropping that interception against Wisconsin yet.

Where's Joey Harris when you need him?

I got home from school tonight and there was a wasp looking me right in the face. It just snowed yesterday and today there's a freaking wasp in my house.

Hello Spring? Are you there?

It went from Winter to Summer apparently.

Wasps don't live in the Winter, so what the heck is it doing in my house? Partying? Well guess what, go party somewhere else. Your kind aren't welcome here.