| And so, I got tired of The Bullshit(tm), and walked down to the park for an evening of practicing my disc golf. Beautiful weather, fresh-cut grass, I didn't really care that I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from 20 paces. It was a good session. |
| posted at: 23:55 | permanent link to this entry |
As the Celtics have discovered to their chagrin, Phillips Arena is, in fact, a fully armed and operational battlestation. :D At the same time, similar to Josh Beckett in '03 NLCS, and Dustin Pedroia in last years' World Series, several Hawks have made the change from "professional basketball player" to "major league basketball player. The result: my suspicions were confirmed with Epic Wins in game 3 and 4, at home. The Atlanta Hawks are a playoff-caliber team, the Arena is no fun to visit, and the Celtics leave town with their heads ringing like the rails they were run out of town on. This is a beautiful thing. |
| posted at: 02:01 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| The knuckleball. |
| posted at: 01:53 | permanent link to this entry |
Senator Obama's "nutty preacher problem", so described in an earlier post, is now a microcosm of his entire campaign. Pastor Wright, when given an opportunity to voice his opinions after the bulk of controversy has subsided, has revealed himself to be quite rigidly locked in the methods, practices, and agendas that have made him. In short, Jeremiah Wright is a card-carrying member of Senator Clinton's voter base. It really should come as no surprise that Pastor Wright is being shipped around with as loud a megaphone as Clinton's supporters can find, letting Obama's "mentor" frame his own case for guilt by association. We are reminded that in the opinion of the American School, Obama is at best a heretic; the upstart who is not "black enough" (to coin Marvin Arrington's debate slant),in terms of both "patronage" and adoption of the faction's insularity, to rank as a worthy member of either the tribe or its chosen political party. Let's be clear about a few things. This revelation is a much more concrete problem than the contrivance that is "Bittergate". However, this is another instance, however closer to home it may be, of the existing conflicts within both the Democrat party, and African-American power structure. Mr. Wright, and the direct opposition to Obama's platform, is also an electorally lethal tool in the hands of the school of thought whose stock in trade is the exploitation of such differences. |
| posted at: 01:53 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Owls. |
| posted at: 05:53 | permanent link to this entry |
| Rowland's Office has picked up on the Braves' balky offense. I played with some stats, but got highly inconsistent data, so I'll re-check over the weekend, using better data (from baseball-reference.com this time). |
| posted at: 18:23 | permanent link to this entry |
| Hey, look: Wizards/TSR have a silly "D-n-D name generator", where you enter a few letters from your name, select chosen (or random) character specs, and receive a dungeon-esque sounding name to impress your friends and influence gamers. This started out fun, until I got to the newer listboxen fields to select your character's...
"Profession?" "Fame?" What the hell kind of Web 3.5 (beta) bullshit is this, anyway? When I was a kid, we started with 1 level, a junk sword or dagger, maybe a spell, and a will to not spend another half-hour rerolling. And if we were lucky, we had more than 4 hit points. And we worked our way from the bottom up, kobold by kobold, orc by orc, rat by smelly-ass rat, zombie by decomposing zombie. We went in Search of the Unknown. We launched raids from the Keep on the Borderlands. We took sail to the Isle of Dread, and taught that Tyrannosaur what 6d6 really meant. We killed the High Priest of Waterdeep, and for good measure, killed the beholder that priest opposed. We set up guilds, keeps, and towers; and then we led armies to victory. And when our days were short, we sought immortality. And we were fucking good at it. Baker? Blacksmith? Lackey? Valet? They're all pseudonyms for Normal Human. Normal. As in, "What your pansy-ass character does to share the pain of your miserable day job." As in, "I'm a Wizard/Bard, and it's O.K. I work all night and I sleep all day." Save vs. Death Ray, or get off my lawn. |
| posted at: 16:05 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Chipper Jones will hit .400+ for the 2008 season. |
| posted at: 02:16 | permanent link to this entry |
| The clever folks that create PA are in line with what I usually think of Twitter. |
| posted at: 14:33 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Favorite partner for peanut butter sandwiches: jelly, jam, or preserves? |
| posted at: 10:51 | permanent link to this entry |
I love the suicidal Creme Egg commercials. Nobody ate them (presumably for Easter, in the U.S.), so they have to "let their goo out" somehow. Obviously, the support networks for Creme Eggs are somewhat lacking, as dialogue is somewhat limited with a one-word ("goo") vocabulary.
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| posted at: 12:37 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Has anyone seen SmartCars in the wild yet? |
| posted at: 12:09 | permanent link to this entry |
Test Drive: VW New Beetle, Toyota Prius, and Ford Falcon
This extended weekend has seen quite a few firsts, starting with the test drives of 2008 Toyota Prius and 1964 Ford Falcon. I've rented the Prius, and my friend owns the Falcon.
PriusIt's the future, and so far, I like it. I still haven't quite wrapped my mind around the concept of starting a car via "Power" button. 44MPG in traffic is f'ing wonderful, by the way; my current ride (the beloved Crown Vic) gets 18 in those conditions, on a good day. The bad: Prius' seats are too high, and has several annoying "dumb driver" features that may be standard on new cars these days. Weird: The selection of which features were implemented as powered/electronic or manual seems a bit schizophrenic; for example: the windows, locks, and shifting is electronic, but the cruise, wipers, and lights (interior as well) have the same manual control found in the smaller cars for the past 20 or 30 years.So, I made a round trip from Atlanta to Oxford, MS, including 4 hours of Atlanta traffic and 3 days of driving around Oxford, on 17 gallons. This sounds like a lot, but 17 gallons is usually enough for a one-way trip plus change. I got 48.x MpG going out, and 52.1 MpG coming back, while largely driving 65-70 MpH, with a few periods of < 60 and > 70 MpH. Prius' sweet spot seems to be in the 55-65 range; that's where I ended up getting the highest mileage (65+MPG). Also, there's much to be said for puttering around a parking lot on battery power. I've heard the tales of how Prius' stats are skewed in some way; after this test drive, I can say the complainers are Doing it Wrong(tm). FalconOld-school cruising: The 289 V-8, 3-speed column-shifted, 2-door Falcon Futura, fully restored to former cruising goodness. It has manual steering and brakes, bench seats, a steel body, dual-pane windows, and dual exhausts. The field of view of the rear-view mirror is actually smaller than the rear glass; that's something you never see anymore. Seriously, I kept thinking I was driving a convertible, because there wasn't a post or roof occupying most of the mirror's field of view. It's a reminder of what it's like to drive a heavy car with a real motor, and a definite throwback to a simpler time. There's a bit of lost art in letting a car drive itself, particularly out of curves.New BeetleThis car was ok to drive, and awesome to sit in. I have never driven a car with so much visibility that wasn't a convertible. It's like driving a spaceship of some sort. The 5-cylinder engine sounds like a regular engine with a timing problem, so that could take some getting used to. Also, there's no diesel option available until at least '09.After these drives, I'm officially in the market for either (a) Prius or (b) diesel Bug. |
| posted at: 12:09 | permanent link to this entry |
| Prior to the disc golfing adventure, I stopped into a Gamestop to check out what was new. The moral of that story is: with classic games receiving exclusive release status on the various consoles, I'll have to buy one of each. This would happen right after I bought a TV, so I'm looking at $1000-$1500 outlay to play video games. This makes me a sad puppy. :( What tempts me anyway: Sega has remade Alien Syndrome, a game I fed far, far too many quarters back when I was riding bicycles to the arcades. Between this, and the Wii's innate awesomeness, I might go splurge anyway. This is where yard sales come in handy. |
| posted at: 18:10 | permanent link to this entry |
| Continuing on the "try new things" theme for this weekend, I played my first 18 holes of Disc Golf yesterday, for a round score of +19. The course was cut through a wooded hill, and involved what I thought were very tight (5'-8') fairways and some semi-rugged, stump-covered terrain. Each hole was listed at par-3, for simplicity. "Golfing discs" are now on the want list. I actually hit a string of pars in the middle holes, and let a few easy putts get away from me. |
| posted at: 18:00 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Naugahyde. |
| posted at: 17:13 | permanent link to this entry |
| Ah, the good times. The Dodgers played in town this past weekend, and the Braves swept the weekend series. It's like having one's cake and eating it, too. The offense is starting to click on all cylinders now, and the bullpen is looking highly resilient. Now, we get the Nationals for a few games; let's see four or five in a row from the home team. |
| posted at: 17:13 | permanent link to this entry |
So, Braves fans: here we are, with two on and two out in the top of the fifth, up 2-0, changing pitchers. Specifically, we are removing a starter who has given up two hits and three walks over 4 2/3 shutout innings, That's one out shy of win eligibility, IIRC. Why are we changing the pitcher? Because YOU did the WAVE when your team was in the field. What the hell, people? We have enough trouble winning a game these days without you fools screwing up our pitching any worse than it already is. Yet there you go, following the lead of some fools in the rightfield corner who can't keep it in their pants for a half-inning. Up and down, all around, to the delight of said fools in the rightfield corner, and to the distraction of Jeff Bennett, who promptly lost all semblance of control. A double and a walk later, we're sending Bennett to the showers to protect a two-run lead, and expending another half-game of relief pitching. The best part? We drew two walks and hit a homerun to lead off the bottom of the fifth, expanding the lead to 5-0, and giving Bennett room to pitch another inning or two. But no, we were already in the bullpen. So, which two relievers were used when they shouldn't have been: Ohman(1 1/3 inning), Carlyle (2/3 inning), Boyer (1 1/3 inning), or Acosta (1 inning)? Remember last season, when all our relievers started sucking because their arms were wrung out by August? No, I guess you don't, because you chased our starter with the Wave. What you might remember is the part where we sent Blaine Boyer to hit for himself with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh. Didn't that look silly? Why, yes it did. And it looked silly because we needed Boyer to pitch the eigth inning, because you chased Bennett with the Wave in the fifth. I haven't been paying attention to the promotion schedule, but I don't recall hearing about Friday being Craniorectal Night. I'd support the addition of that promotion to the schedule, though. It would work similarly to the "prostate cancer days" promotions, in that a mobile clinic would give free screeings for craniorectalism. Additionally, this clinic could provide optional treatment for those found with the condition. |
| posted at: 04:05 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Favorite Polyhedral Die: 4-sider, 8-sider, 10-sider, 12-sider? |
| posted at: 04:03 | permanent link to this entry |
Look at this nonsense. I cut this sage back to stumps in February. I'll have to cut this back again, just to keep it from drought-induced death during the summer. The oregano is even crazier, but I don't have an adequate picture yet. And, the thyme is covered in blooms now. Spring? It's more like: Sproing! |
| posted at: 16:53 | permanent link to this entry |
| Don't look now, but the Hawks are in the playoffs! So, they're the 8th seed, big deal. They're playing the Celtics, and I feel this matchup isn't as bad as the seedings imply. Also, the Gwinnett Gladiators open their second-round series in Charleston on Saturday. If I wasn't headed the opposite direction this weekend, I'd take a weekend trip out to the coast. Games 2 and 3 will be played in Duluth on Monday and Tuesday. |
| posted at: 16:42 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Steaks. |
| posted at: 09:44 | permanent link to this entry |
| So, all those "free" lunches at training had a price after all. The days of cooping up in air-conditioning have produced Lesser Plague, and it's still hanging around. Hopefully, I'll get rid of this junk before Saturday. |
| posted at: 22:46 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Favorite pitch: Fastball, Slider, Curveball, Change-up, Knuckleball. |
| posted at: 20:16 | permanent link to this entry |
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| posted at: 19:25 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Finding the path. |
| posted at: 18:10 | permanent link to this entry |
| I don't know which existence is worse on my page: the picture of Hillary Clinton, or the NewsMax ad that put it there. -1 for Adsense. |
| posted at: 23:33 | permanent link to this entry |
| The Gwinnett Gladiators (aka Thrashers' AA team) are in the ECHL playoffs. I saw the first two games of the opening series, and the goaltending looked a lot better than a 3-seed. The home side has swept the opening round against the Rangers' AA team, providing a bit of revenge against last year's Thrashers debacle. Gwinnett is now waiting to play either Augusta or Charleston later this week(end). Here's to a long playoff run, and not just for the opportunity to go watch ice hockey on Memorial Day again. :) In the process of attending two such games, I found good crawfish boil across the street from the Arena. I'm always circumspect about places that claim to have good barbecue, but the New Orleans' fare is top-notch. One or two more playoff rounds, and I'll have a new addition to the dining page. |
| posted at: 23:27 | permanent link to this entry |
In the wake of Incidental Chicken
| And so, there was fried chicken on Sunday evening. And it was good. The experimental side dish (stuffed roasted red bell peppers) was sufficiently good to warrent a second attempt, with less crumbs and more vegetable (maybe beets). All in all, it was a good showing. |
| posted at: 21:57 | permanent link to this entry |
My WA has slipped a bit, down to .431 now. But we're still a long way until the book season, and anything can happen in between April and October. The latest entries:
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| posted at: 21:43 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Oregano plants can grow to stand over two feet tall. |
| posted at: 18:14 | permanent link to this entry |
| This evening, I'll take the kitchen(-ette) for a real test. It's much too small to conduct a full-fledged Catfish Incident, so incidental chicken will occur this evening instead. This will look similar to New Year's dinner, just substitute some other veggie for the black-eye peas. |
| posted at: 11:23 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Favorite pizza style: Chicago deep-dish, NY-style, neapolitan, frozen. |
| posted at: 11:19 | permanent link to this entry |
| I'm still quite optimistic about the Braves' season. Going 4-1 against the Eastern division is more a sign of the season than the 1-5 record against Pittsburgh and Colorado. Note that we're actually getting long starts (Hampton's latest disaster notwithstanding). Still, That snowout in Colorado was likely the best thing that could happen for this team. Take a day off and get ready to skunk Washington, which is what's happened so far. One run in two games is exactly what the opposing teams should be scoring. :) |
| posted at: 11:19 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Carpenter bees. |
| posted at: 12:31 | permanent link to this entry |
| I've added an Adsense blurb to the left-nav column, and will play with different types and positions over the next few weeks. Mainly, I'd like to see what the Great Google Cloud produces, and try to relate those results to this blog . Hopefully, the results will be entertaining. ooo, it's pagable! The first ad displayed for this blog: "Cosmetic surgery in Georgia". This is going to be fun. :D |
| posted at: 17:44 | permanent link to this entry |
So, I've completed two weeks of training on some software product or another, which my employer has been using for a few years now. The details of this product and training are immaterial; though I've come to two general realizations:
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| posted at: 17:38 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Fonts: serif or sans-serif? |
| posted at: 10:03 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Currency tracking at Where's George?. |
| posted at: 00:57 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Is Google's "Android" OS for mobile devices just for mobile devices? |
| posted at: 00:57 | permanent link to this entry |
| The Thrashers are done with a dismal season best summed up by Darren Elliot's observation: "Thanks for your {Fan} support; it's been the only consistent thing all season." True though it may be, it was good to see the home side close out with a win, especially against Tampa Bay. Now, it's time to turn our attention to the Hawks and Gladiators, and their respective playoff runs. Since I'll be in that neck of the woods next week, I'll go see the Gladiators playoffs Tuesday and Thursday. Mainly, I'd like to see Kowalski record 50+ saves again. But wait...what's that sound? It's the lament of dejected Mets fans. That means the Braves have done the deed yet again, taking both games of a rain-shortened weekend series. I really, really like what I see so far, bullpen issues aside. Braves are 3-3, with all three losses coming in extra innings (Nats, Pirates, Pirates). Three games of double-digit scoring, and there's even been a manufactured run or two along the way. The team ends the first week batting in the .280 range. And now, four games in the Colorado rain and snow. Gross. |
| posted at: 18:52 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Rainy Saturdays and "True Sundays". |
| posted at: 03:05 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Grilled pita bread. |
| posted at: 01:35 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| BCC, forwarding, or separate email? |
| posted at: 11:49 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Morning People. |
| posted at: 08:24 | permanent link to this entry |
| April is the month when the sun gods were born, speeding their light through the cold as divinity transcends the refuse; when hope springs anew with full bloom; when baseball begins in earnest, and every team is viable; when closets turn into a clash of sweaters, jackets, coats and short sleeves; when the grass smells sweet for the first time, and ivy, still dormant, plots its growing season. |
| posted at: 01:00 | permanent link to this entry |
