So, the Tokyo trip is back on and I booked the flights/hotel..
Flying out on Saturday morning Oct 18th and arriving in Tokyo on Sunday Oct 19th. Staying at the Keio Plaza Hotel.. Flying home on Friday Oct 31st and land late at night..
I am trying to get tickets to the Central League's Climax Series.. That name is awesome! It's the equivalent of MLB's League Championship Series.. Don't know how much those tickets are going to run me but whatever price it is it's worth it...
I found both of Chen Kenichi's restaurants, they are both a short train ride away from the hotel.
I found Hiroyuki Sakai's restaurant, but it appears to only be a banquet restaurant.. I am going to need to call them and find out for sure. It is also a short train ride away from the hotel...
I have started a google map of things to see while in Tokyo.. If you've ever been there and have places you think I should see let me know..
I also added Ghibli Museum, the Baseball Hall o Fame, Tokyo Disney and the Tokyo Dome to my map.
Tom (another instructor) gave me a Tokyo travel guide he got while in Tokyo so that will help to find other stuff as well.. But, anything you think I have to see please let me know..
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Studio Ghibli sells tickets three months in advance and only from certain locations. The closest agency is in Manhattan?! I just called them and left a message.. According to the website they still have openings for most of October. I will have to go there on either Saturday or Sunday while I'm there, I will post an update when I hear back from JTB (the booking company)..
Got a form from JTB, filled it out and faxed it back.. Now, I guess they call me and let me know which day I get a ticket for.. I asked for Sunday 10/26 as my first choice and Saturday 10/25 as my second choice..
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The Climax Series tickets don't go on Sale till Oct 13th. I will need someone who can read Japanese to buy me a ticket when they go on sale.. I might call the hotel during normal Japanese time to ask them if they can just get me a seat.. Might be the best way to do it.
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I called Shea stadium and got them to contact Evon for me! He just called my cell phone but I was talking to a Japanese co-worker about the Climax Series tickets so I got his number and will call him back.. Yeah for Shea Stadium ticket office... The lady asked why I wanted them to ask him to contact me.. I said because the stadium was being knocked down and chances of us getting seats together next year are pretty slim and we wanted to keep in touch.. She finally agreed and called him for me.. :)
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Tonight is the first communal dinner.. Sara is hosting this one at her house.. We will have Sara, Ryan, Rene, Jessie, Matt, Sile, Daniel, Rene, Sara's friend Kristen, her two daughters and myself.. We are all making some food and bringing it over.. Hopefully this will be the first of many.. :D
---Comic of the day
http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/images/map-en012.pdf
(ok, not really a "comic" but it's really cute)
---Thought of the day
"Mama's thinking family dinners weren't too much to ask for.. " - Glen Phillips
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Johnny Be Good
"When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter. " - Bill Murray
Fuck winter! That's what I say.. Another long winter of listening to how the Mets collapsed! They didn't collapse this year, if you look at where this team was when Manuel took over it was a miracle we were even in a pennant race in September. The Mets last year were in first place the entire season till the last weekend, this year they were not in first place till August 13th and were never more than a handful of games in front of the Phillies. How can you call this year a collapse? They fought a hard battle since Manuel took over, they just fell short..
Once again the Mets will not be playing October baseball, once again they played a do-or-die game on the last game of the season and once again they died.. This year at least it was a close game all the way.. Perez pitched a good game on three days rest.. Scott Schoeneweis got the loss by allowing a solo home run to the only batter he faced!
After the game they had a really nice ceremony to close the place down.. I have to say that if there was going to be more games there the ceremony would have felt pretty lame when they shut down the lights as Piazza and Seaver walked off the field.. In a way I'm glad that yesterday was the last game at the Stadium, Post Season would have been awesome but it would have cheapened that ceremony... The ceremony was simple but very nice, first they announced a bunch of historic Mets who could not make it (or in some cases didn't want to come back).. I was a bit upset that Nolan Ryan, Todd Hundley and Mookie Wilson were among those that didn't attend. I understand why Todd didn't show up but I don't understand why Mookie didn't show up. Keith Hernandez said on SNY the other day that Mookie was not showing up because he didn't like the way Omar Minaya fired him when he took over. My guess is that Todd didn't show up because of the Piazza love-fest.
If you don't know - Todd Hundley was the Mets catcher in 1997, he was injured in August and was told he needed surgery. Instead of shutting his season down he continued to play because the Mets were in a pennant race, once Atlanta clinched the division Todd was shut down and went to have surgery. The plan was he would be back around the all-star game in 1998. In 1998 the Mets traded for Mike Piazza while Todd was still on the DL. Todd asked Mets management why they got Piazza (a Catcher) when they had him, did this mean they were dumping him? At the time the Mets were owned by Wilpon and Doubleday, Wilpon told Todd in no uncertain terms that he was the Mets catcher when he got back from the DL and as a gesture gave Todd his 1986 World Series ring to hold on to till the Todd could win his own in a Mets uniform. Hundley worked his way back from the injury and rejoined the team at the end of July, when he got there they handed him an outfielders mitt and said that with Piazza behind the plate they really needed him to play LF?! He tried to play LF and could not. Hundley and Piazza were both free agents at the end of 1998 and the Mets let Hundley go to free agency and signed Piazza to a big deal. Hundley took Wilpon's ring and still has it to this day.
Over 40 players/announcers showed up including the late Bob Murphy's wife, Ralph Kiner, Willie Mays, Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, Gary Carter, Keith Hernanez, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Bobby Ojeda, Jesse Orosco, Tim Tuefel, Wally Backman, Lenny Dykstra, Howard Johnson, Rusty Staub, Lee Mazzilli, Ron Swoboda, Ed Kranepool, Jerry Koosman, Yogi Berra, Cleon Jones, Al Jackson, Bud Harrelson, Ed Charles, Craig Swan, Dave Kingman, Robin Ventura, Todd Ziele, Edgardo Alfonzo, Al Lieter, Tom Seaver, Mike Piazza and Johnny Franco.
"It's a sad day, but a happy one," Franco said. "It's a sad day that all the great memories I had a kid and as a player aren't going to be here, but a happy day because a new stadium is going to be here and there is going to be great tradition over there. We used to take the train over here. We used coupons from the side of milk cartons and used to sit up there in the third deck. "
Everyone came out and lined up along the 1st and 3rd base lines as they were announced. After everyone was announced they all touched home plate one last time before Tom Seaver threw one final pitch to Mike Piazza.. After the pitch Piazza and Seaver walked out of the stadium through the CF wall while the lights in the stadium were slowly shutting off.. It really seemed a fitting end to Shea.. The only thing I would have changed would have been the Catcher catching the last ball..
I am not a Mike Piazza fan, I never was... Sure, the guy could crush a baseball but there is so much more to baseball than hitting.. He was a crappy fielding catcher, he called a horrible game and he was a dick to his team mates.. When he left LA the Dodgers pitchers were celebrating because they didn't have to pitch to him anymore, when he left NY the same thing happened. When he started getting older the Mets asked him to play firstbase so they could keep his bat in the lineup, he said no because he wanted to break the all time home run record for a catcher and if he played firstbase he wouldn't be able to do that. When he left the Mets he refused to be a DH for Oakland and they dumped him to San Diego where he finally retired after breaking his stupid record. The only thing I give him any respect for was when the Mets first signed him he said that he didn't care who he played for he just wanted to be the first $100,000,000 ballplayer, he may be a dick but at least he is honest about it.
So, which catcher would I have put there? I know you think I would say Todd Hundley, but although Todd Hundley has the record for most home runs in a single season by a catcher and was a great guy to the fans and his team I would probably say Gary Carter. Carter, like Seaver, is in the hall of fame. Granted his plaque is of him in an Expos hat, but that's only because the hall of fame asked him to do that since the Expos didn't have any representation in the hall of fame. Gary did a lot for charity and was always a class act, he was the only member of the 1986 team that was clean and sober. Plus it would have been the 1969 World Champion Tom Seaver throwing to the 1986 World Champion Gary Carter. Todd was a great catcher for us for a long time, but his name being in the Mitchell Report earlier this year sorta sullied his reputation and do you really want your last stadium memory being black marked with steroids?
Well, on to 2009 and Citi Field.. I hope they call me soon to offer me some form of package for next year. I can't find Ivon's card.. Shit.. I got his card the game I went to with Lynz, I will look in a few more spots.. I have to email him when I find it so I can get copies of the pics he took this year. I would really like to work out next years seats so that we are sitting near him (and if possible the family on the isle) again. I really feel like us in Section 17 were all a big family and I will miss them if we can't all get seats together next year. I know Ivon knows how to get in touch with them so as long as we all stay in touch maybe we can work something out for seats next year. The Mets in 2009? First order of business is a closer, Wagner will not be back for all of 2009 and we obviously need a real closer. I read today that Manuel will most likely return as our manager again which is good, let's see what he can do with an entire year this time.
----
It's 2:00, I should probably go eat.. I guess the only thing left to say is Lets go Cubs!! Hopefully they can win the world series this year.. It would be the first time in 100 years. The Cubs lost the first official World Series in 1906 to the White Sox, they won the World Series in 1907 and 1908 and have not won since..
---Comic of the day
http://mchat.comicgenesis.com/d/20080827.html
---Thought of the day
"Way down in Louisiana close the New Orleans
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B Good
He never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play the guitar just like he's ringin a bell
Go, go
Go johnny go go
Go johnny go go go
Go johnny go go
Go johnny go go go
Johnny be good"
Fuck winter! That's what I say.. Another long winter of listening to how the Mets collapsed! They didn't collapse this year, if you look at where this team was when Manuel took over it was a miracle we were even in a pennant race in September. The Mets last year were in first place the entire season till the last weekend, this year they were not in first place till August 13th and were never more than a handful of games in front of the Phillies. How can you call this year a collapse? They fought a hard battle since Manuel took over, they just fell short..
Once again the Mets will not be playing October baseball, once again they played a do-or-die game on the last game of the season and once again they died.. This year at least it was a close game all the way.. Perez pitched a good game on three days rest.. Scott Schoeneweis got the loss by allowing a solo home run to the only batter he faced!
After the game they had a really nice ceremony to close the place down.. I have to say that if there was going to be more games there the ceremony would have felt pretty lame when they shut down the lights as Piazza and Seaver walked off the field.. In a way I'm glad that yesterday was the last game at the Stadium, Post Season would have been awesome but it would have cheapened that ceremony... The ceremony was simple but very nice, first they announced a bunch of historic Mets who could not make it (or in some cases didn't want to come back).. I was a bit upset that Nolan Ryan, Todd Hundley and Mookie Wilson were among those that didn't attend. I understand why Todd didn't show up but I don't understand why Mookie didn't show up. Keith Hernandez said on SNY the other day that Mookie was not showing up because he didn't like the way Omar Minaya fired him when he took over. My guess is that Todd didn't show up because of the Piazza love-fest.
If you don't know - Todd Hundley was the Mets catcher in 1997, he was injured in August and was told he needed surgery. Instead of shutting his season down he continued to play because the Mets were in a pennant race, once Atlanta clinched the division Todd was shut down and went to have surgery. The plan was he would be back around the all-star game in 1998. In 1998 the Mets traded for Mike Piazza while Todd was still on the DL. Todd asked Mets management why they got Piazza (a Catcher) when they had him, did this mean they were dumping him? At the time the Mets were owned by Wilpon and Doubleday, Wilpon told Todd in no uncertain terms that he was the Mets catcher when he got back from the DL and as a gesture gave Todd his 1986 World Series ring to hold on to till the Todd could win his own in a Mets uniform. Hundley worked his way back from the injury and rejoined the team at the end of July, when he got there they handed him an outfielders mitt and said that with Piazza behind the plate they really needed him to play LF?! He tried to play LF and could not. Hundley and Piazza were both free agents at the end of 1998 and the Mets let Hundley go to free agency and signed Piazza to a big deal. Hundley took Wilpon's ring and still has it to this day.
Over 40 players/announcers showed up including the late Bob Murphy's wife, Ralph Kiner, Willie Mays, Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, Gary Carter, Keith Hernanez, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Bobby Ojeda, Jesse Orosco, Tim Tuefel, Wally Backman, Lenny Dykstra, Howard Johnson, Rusty Staub, Lee Mazzilli, Ron Swoboda, Ed Kranepool, Jerry Koosman, Yogi Berra, Cleon Jones, Al Jackson, Bud Harrelson, Ed Charles, Craig Swan, Dave Kingman, Robin Ventura, Todd Ziele, Edgardo Alfonzo, Al Lieter, Tom Seaver, Mike Piazza and Johnny Franco.
"It's a sad day, but a happy one," Franco said. "It's a sad day that all the great memories I had a kid and as a player aren't going to be here, but a happy day because a new stadium is going to be here and there is going to be great tradition over there. We used to take the train over here. We used coupons from the side of milk cartons and used to sit up there in the third deck. "
Everyone came out and lined up along the 1st and 3rd base lines as they were announced. After everyone was announced they all touched home plate one last time before Tom Seaver threw one final pitch to Mike Piazza.. After the pitch Piazza and Seaver walked out of the stadium through the CF wall while the lights in the stadium were slowly shutting off.. It really seemed a fitting end to Shea.. The only thing I would have changed would have been the Catcher catching the last ball..
I am not a Mike Piazza fan, I never was... Sure, the guy could crush a baseball but there is so much more to baseball than hitting.. He was a crappy fielding catcher, he called a horrible game and he was a dick to his team mates.. When he left LA the Dodgers pitchers were celebrating because they didn't have to pitch to him anymore, when he left NY the same thing happened. When he started getting older the Mets asked him to play firstbase so they could keep his bat in the lineup, he said no because he wanted to break the all time home run record for a catcher and if he played firstbase he wouldn't be able to do that. When he left the Mets he refused to be a DH for Oakland and they dumped him to San Diego where he finally retired after breaking his stupid record. The only thing I give him any respect for was when the Mets first signed him he said that he didn't care who he played for he just wanted to be the first $100,000,000 ballplayer, he may be a dick but at least he is honest about it.
So, which catcher would I have put there? I know you think I would say Todd Hundley, but although Todd Hundley has the record for most home runs in a single season by a catcher and was a great guy to the fans and his team I would probably say Gary Carter. Carter, like Seaver, is in the hall of fame. Granted his plaque is of him in an Expos hat, but that's only because the hall of fame asked him to do that since the Expos didn't have any representation in the hall of fame. Gary did a lot for charity and was always a class act, he was the only member of the 1986 team that was clean and sober. Plus it would have been the 1969 World Champion Tom Seaver throwing to the 1986 World Champion Gary Carter. Todd was a great catcher for us for a long time, but his name being in the Mitchell Report earlier this year sorta sullied his reputation and do you really want your last stadium memory being black marked with steroids?
Well, on to 2009 and Citi Field.. I hope they call me soon to offer me some form of package for next year. I can't find Ivon's card.. Shit.. I got his card the game I went to with Lynz, I will look in a few more spots.. I have to email him when I find it so I can get copies of the pics he took this year. I would really like to work out next years seats so that we are sitting near him (and if possible the family on the isle) again. I really feel like us in Section 17 were all a big family and I will miss them if we can't all get seats together next year. I know Ivon knows how to get in touch with them so as long as we all stay in touch maybe we can work something out for seats next year. The Mets in 2009? First order of business is a closer, Wagner will not be back for all of 2009 and we obviously need a real closer. I read today that Manuel will most likely return as our manager again which is good, let's see what he can do with an entire year this time.
----
It's 2:00, I should probably go eat.. I guess the only thing left to say is Lets go Cubs!! Hopefully they can win the world series this year.. It would be the first time in 100 years. The Cubs lost the first official World Series in 1906 to the White Sox, they won the World Series in 1907 and 1908 and have not won since..
---Comic of the day
http://mchat.comicgenesis.com/d/20080827.html
---Thought of the day
"Way down in Louisiana close the New Orleans
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B Good
He never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play the guitar just like he's ringin a bell
Go, go
Go johnny go go
Go johnny go go go
Go johnny go go
Go johnny go go go
Johnny be good"
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Onion & Crab Egg Foo Yung
Tonight I went over Sara and Ryan's house for dinner and some great Crab Egg Foo Yung from the Chinese place near their house. We also watched the Onion movie which was amazing. If you have not seen it yet rent it.. If you have no idea what the heck the Onion is? The Onion is a fake news website..
Over the years a bunch of people have tried to get me into the Onion, I always enjoyed the stories they would send me but I never really got into it.. I think this movie might make that finally happen.. I added the Onion to my random links, if you have not checked it out you should do so..
Remember that the Onion is a FAKE news website, if you want real unbiased news you should check out the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.. Seriously, it is the only news program worth watching.. Jon is one of the last great news anchormen.. If you don't get cable you have no excuse, if you are reading this blog it means you have internet.. All episodes of the Daily Show are viewable online for free at the Daily Show's website..
I've also added TED to my links section as well speaking of things people keep trying to get me into.. :) We watched a really good TED Talk after the Onion movie so maybe I'll pay more attention to that site too..
Over the years a bunch of people have tried to get me into the Onion, I always enjoyed the stories they would send me but I never really got into it.. I think this movie might make that finally happen.. I added the Onion to my random links, if you have not checked it out you should do so..
Remember that the Onion is a FAKE news website, if you want real unbiased news you should check out the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.. Seriously, it is the only news program worth watching.. Jon is one of the last great news anchormen.. If you don't get cable you have no excuse, if you are reading this blog it means you have internet.. All episodes of the Daily Show are viewable online for free at the Daily Show's website..
I've also added TED to my links section as well speaking of things people keep trying to get me into.. :) We watched a really good TED Talk after the Onion movie so maybe I'll pay more attention to that site too..
Lets go Cubs?!
Johan Santana pitched a complete game shutout! The last time that happened on 3 days rest was "the Doc" in 1987.. The Mets scored 2 runs and that was more than enough as Santana was in complete control today.. Now all eyes turn to Milwaukee and watch the Cubs and hope they can beat up he Brewers...
This at least means that tomorrow's game is important.. Lets go Mets!!!
This at least means that tomorrow's game is important.. Lets go Mets!!!
Ya Gotta Believe
Can't the republicans come up with a different shtick? I didn't watch the debate last night, I really don't need to waste my time.. The only reason to watch debates is if you are unsure who you are voting for.. Why do the republicans feel the need to use the liberal label as if it's the worst insult you can use..
This is an interesting "fact check".. Might be the first time in a long time that CNN is actually saying people should look at facts?! What an idea for a news network...
In other news - Paul Newman died today at 83 of cancer. He did a lot of good in his life and it's unfortunate that he is no longer with us.. Good luck on your next journey..
----
I was talking to Lynz this morning and somehow we got on the topic of Bill Clinton.. Imagine how awesome it would have been if when he was confronted with having sex with Monica Lewinsky he just said something like "yeah, I had sex with her. Man, that chick gives great head".. Think of it, no impeachment, no scandal.. Would have been even better if Hillary had said "What my husband does with the whores who work for him is his business and I don't know why you (the media) feel the need to make it public"...
----
I ordered three books today. Yes, actual books.. I am even going to read them.. I ordered "the Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse", "4400: The Vesuvius Prophecy" and "4400: Wet Work". The Chocolate Bunnies was released on Audio but only Abridged.. The 4400 books have not been released on Audio and there is no plan to release them..
----
Today's Mets game is currently in a rain delay, they have a scheduled start time of 1:45.. We really need the Miracle Mets this weekend or else they will be watching October Baseball for the 2nd straight year...
---- Comic of the day
http://www.xkcd.com/290/ (Replace Mario Kart with Watching Baseball)
---- Thought of the day
So much of the problems in the world are caused because people are afraid of what others think.. If everyone who did things "against societal norms" would admit it publicly I think we would find that "societal norms" are very different from what everyone thinks they are..
This is an interesting "fact check".. Might be the first time in a long time that CNN is actually saying people should look at facts?! What an idea for a news network...
In other news - Paul Newman died today at 83 of cancer. He did a lot of good in his life and it's unfortunate that he is no longer with us.. Good luck on your next journey..
----
I was talking to Lynz this morning and somehow we got on the topic of Bill Clinton.. Imagine how awesome it would have been if when he was confronted with having sex with Monica Lewinsky he just said something like "yeah, I had sex with her. Man, that chick gives great head".. Think of it, no impeachment, no scandal.. Would have been even better if Hillary had said "What my husband does with the whores who work for him is his business and I don't know why you (the media) feel the need to make it public"...
----
I ordered three books today. Yes, actual books.. I am even going to read them.. I ordered "the Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse", "4400: The Vesuvius Prophecy" and "4400: Wet Work". The Chocolate Bunnies was released on Audio but only Abridged.. The 4400 books have not been released on Audio and there is no plan to release them..
----
Today's Mets game is currently in a rain delay, they have a scheduled start time of 1:45.. We really need the Miracle Mets this weekend or else they will be watching October Baseball for the 2nd straight year...
---- Comic of the day
http://www.xkcd.com/290/ (Replace Mario Kart with Watching Baseball)
---- Thought of the day
So much of the problems in the world are caused because people are afraid of what others think.. If everyone who did things "against societal norms" would admit it publicly I think we would find that "societal norms" are very different from what everyone thinks they are..
Friday, September 26, 2008
Fh-aU-uCK!!!!
Coming into tonight's game the Mets were 1 game behind Philly and tie with Milwaukee.. The Marlins scored with only 4 pitches thrown, the Mets came up trailing 2-0. The Mets had the bases loaded with 1 out in the 1st and could not score!!! Stranded 3 more in 2nd, 1 in 3rd, 1 in the 5th, 6th and 7th! You don't strand that many runners and expect to win.. Can some please buy a fucking hit while we have men on base!!!! FUCK, FUCK, Fh-aU-uCK!!!!!!!!
Pelfrey allowed 3 runs in 6 innings.. The bullpen allowed 3 more runs just to make sure the Mets had no chance of coming back...
As expected the Nationals played their minor league team and the Phillies crushed them 8-4! The Brewers are beating up the Cubs 5-1 in the 8th.. So now the Mets are 2 games behind the Phillies and 1 game behind the Brewers..
Oh, and to add to the frustration of tonight... Jessie's laptop showed up and apparently the hard drive had unseated itself.. I opened it up and pushed the hard drive back in but now it appears that they put the wrong image on the machine (wrong model number in Windows)...
Pelfrey allowed 3 runs in 6 innings.. The bullpen allowed 3 more runs just to make sure the Mets had no chance of coming back...
As expected the Nationals played their minor league team and the Phillies crushed them 8-4! The Brewers are beating up the Cubs 5-1 in the 8th.. So now the Mets are 2 games behind the Phillies and 1 game behind the Brewers..
Oh, and to add to the frustration of tonight... Jessie's laptop showed up and apparently the hard drive had unseated itself.. I opened it up and pushed the hard drive back in but now it appears that they put the wrong image on the machine (wrong model number in Windows)...
How much is that doggie in the window?!!
The Mets released a seating chart for Citi Field.. The pricing is pretty grim.. This year we paid $27 per seat, in order to get the equivalent seats for next year I would have to pay $115 per seat! To keep my price point the same I would have to get Upper Promenade Reserve Infield seats which would be $25 a game. I might be interested in Promenade Box Seats for $35 but those are in the outfield and I think I would rather be higher up to be in the infield.
So, the Mets are all proud because they have cheaper seats than the Yankees for next season. The Mets most expensive ticket is $495, the Yankees most expensive ticket is $2500!! Those prices are per seat per game by the way… The Mets cheapest ticket is $19, the Yankees cheapest is $20…
Rainy sleepy days...
Are John McCain and Sarah Palin really real?? Do people really think this duo of idiocy can run the country? I guess you figure if one idiot in the white house can cause eight years of excellence just imagine how much more excellence two idiots in the white house can bring.. /sigh
Just watched My Name is Earl - two half hour episodes aired last night.. Both very good, the 2nd episode had a really funny line when Randy was talking to his mom.. I'm not going to put the quote in here because if you watch that show and have not seen the episode I don't want to ruin it.. :)
Lots of rain this weekend.. Hopefully the Mets can get their final three games in and sweep the Marlins.. The Mets are 9-6 against the Marlins this year.. The Phillies are playing the Nationals this weekend, the Phillies are 9-6 against them too.. Should be an interesting weekend.. The best part of the schedule is that the Brewers are playing the Cubs... If the Brewers lose the Mets and Phillies might both make the playoffs..
---- Comic of the day
http://xkcd.com/246/
---- Thought of the day
"Those who do not study the past get an exciting opportunity to repeat it." - Jon Stewart
Just watched My Name is Earl - two half hour episodes aired last night.. Both very good, the 2nd episode had a really funny line when Randy was talking to his mom.. I'm not going to put the quote in here because if you watch that show and have not seen the episode I don't want to ruin it.. :)
Lots of rain this weekend.. Hopefully the Mets can get their final three games in and sweep the Marlins.. The Mets are 9-6 against the Marlins this year.. The Phillies are playing the Nationals this weekend, the Phillies are 9-6 against them too.. Should be an interesting weekend.. The best part of the schedule is that the Brewers are playing the Cubs... If the Brewers lose the Mets and Phillies might both make the playoffs..
---- Comic of the day
http://xkcd.com/246/
---- Thought of the day
"Those who do not study the past get an exciting opportunity to repeat it." - Jon Stewart
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Vote for Pedro
Napoleon Dynamite made the "Vote for Pedro" shirt famous around the country.. That movie did not start the "Vote for Pedro" shirt, that shirt started when Pedro Martinez was on the Red Sox, hence the red lettering on the shirt. When the Mets signed him four years ago they released a little seen blue version of the shirt...
With his four year tenure coming to an end I for one would like to thank Pedro for the time he spent on the Mets... He has always been a stand-up guy and has been a great team player, even when hurt he did alot to help this team by keeping their spirits up..
Tonight as he left the mound with a 3-3 tie he pointed up at the crowd and pumped his fist to show his appreciation for the New York fans..
I know he is old and often injured but I would support the Mets signing him again for another year, he would make a great 5th starter next year.. As a #1 or #2 he is not a good choice, but with Santana, Maine, Pelfrey, Perez and Pedro I think we would have a great starting staff..
If the Mets don't re-sign Pedro I wish him luck wherever he ends up.. I know he mentioned earlier in the year he was considering retirement because of his ailing father, but if he plays again you know he will help out whatever team he ends up on..
----
Interesting Pedro note.. Pedro pitched 9&1/3 no hit innings in 1995 while with the Montreal Expos, Pedro gave up a double in the 10th inning before leaving the game. The Expos bullpen let that run score so Pedro Martinez is the only pitcher to have pitched 9+ no hit innings and lose the game!
----
When Pedro left the game our bullpen (Rincon) gave up 3 runs, thanks to some has-been heroics of Ramon Martinez and Robinson Cancel and the great tag avoidance skills of Ryan Church the Mets tied it 6-6 in the 8th. 9th inning - Reyes lead off single, stolen base and Beltran's single puts the Mets 1 game behind the Phillies.. The Brewers and Pirates are tied in the 9th and Phillies are not playing tonight...
--- Comic of the day
http://xkcd.com/209/
With his four year tenure coming to an end I for one would like to thank Pedro for the time he spent on the Mets... He has always been a stand-up guy and has been a great team player, even when hurt he did alot to help this team by keeping their spirits up..
Tonight as he left the mound with a 3-3 tie he pointed up at the crowd and pumped his fist to show his appreciation for the New York fans..
I know he is old and often injured but I would support the Mets signing him again for another year, he would make a great 5th starter next year.. As a #1 or #2 he is not a good choice, but with Santana, Maine, Pelfrey, Perez and Pedro I think we would have a great starting staff..
If the Mets don't re-sign Pedro I wish him luck wherever he ends up.. I know he mentioned earlier in the year he was considering retirement because of his ailing father, but if he plays again you know he will help out whatever team he ends up on..
----
Interesting Pedro note.. Pedro pitched 9&1/3 no hit innings in 1995 while with the Montreal Expos, Pedro gave up a double in the 10th inning before leaving the game. The Expos bullpen let that run score so Pedro Martinez is the only pitcher to have pitched 9+ no hit innings and lose the game!
----
When Pedro left the game our bullpen (Rincon) gave up 3 runs, thanks to some has-been heroics of Ramon Martinez and Robinson Cancel and the great tag avoidance skills of Ryan Church the Mets tied it 6-6 in the 8th. 9th inning - Reyes lead off single, stolen base and Beltran's single puts the Mets 1 game behind the Phillies.. The Brewers and Pirates are tied in the 9th and Phillies are not playing tonight...
--- Comic of the day
http://xkcd.com/209/
Cancelled?
Found out a few things that were/might be cancelled today...
Firstly - Nathan and Lyn are not going out to the Berks now so I am probably not meeting them for dinner tomorrow, I may meet them for lunch and maybe somewhere closer to them.. Waiting to hear back..
Secondly - Jessie and John are not getting together tonight so me and Jessie will have a somewhat quiet night at home.. Quiet if you call me yelling at the Mets game for a few hours quiet.. :D
Thirdly - My class for next week was moved to Tom so I am not teaching next week...
Fourthly - My Tokyo trip is probably going to moved to Tom, I will find out about that for sure either later today or tomorrow...
As with everything in life those are both good and bad..
Good that Nathan cancelled? Well, hopefully I'll still see them for lunch and then I have the night open for any new adventures that might come my way..
Bad that Nathan cancelled? Well, sure.. Now I don't have any plans for tomorrow night..
Good that Jessie and John are not hanging out? Sure, it gives me more time with her.. :D
Bad that Jessie and John are not hanging out? Sure, now I have to spend time with her.. :P
Good that next week I'm not teaching? Yes, my schedule will be more flexable so I can be where I need to be when/if I'm needed
Bad that next week got moved? Now I have to probably sit in the office for a few days and spin in my chair trying to keep myself busy...
Good that Tokyo got cancelled? Sure, now I will be home for the World Series which I have a ticket to if the Mets make it..
Bad that Tokyo got cancelled? Well, that depends on the Mets and their ability to win some fucking games... If they don't make the World Series I would sure as fuck rather be in Tokyo then watching the Metless World Series!
Firstly - Nathan and Lyn are not going out to the Berks now so I am probably not meeting them for dinner tomorrow, I may meet them for lunch and maybe somewhere closer to them.. Waiting to hear back..
Secondly - Jessie and John are not getting together tonight so me and Jessie will have a somewhat quiet night at home.. Quiet if you call me yelling at the Mets game for a few hours quiet.. :D
Thirdly - My class for next week was moved to Tom so I am not teaching next week...
Fourthly - My Tokyo trip is probably going to moved to Tom, I will find out about that for sure either later today or tomorrow...
As with everything in life those are both good and bad..
Good that Nathan cancelled? Well, hopefully I'll still see them for lunch and then I have the night open for any new adventures that might come my way..
Bad that Nathan cancelled? Well, sure.. Now I don't have any plans for tomorrow night..
Good that Jessie and John are not hanging out? Sure, it gives me more time with her.. :D
Bad that Jessie and John are not hanging out? Sure, now I have to spend time with her.. :P
Good that next week I'm not teaching? Yes, my schedule will be more flexable so I can be where I need to be when/if I'm needed
Bad that next week got moved? Now I have to probably sit in the office for a few days and spin in my chair trying to keep myself busy...
Good that Tokyo got cancelled? Sure, now I will be home for the World Series which I have a ticket to if the Mets make it..
Bad that Tokyo got cancelled? Well, that depends on the Mets and their ability to win some fucking games... If they don't make the World Series I would sure as fuck rather be in Tokyo then watching the Metless World Series!
That's not how it works Buck'o
I have so much to say and nothing to say all at the same time.. So much is on my mind today as we get closer to the end of the week.. This week has been a rollercoaster for many people and all we can really do is hold on and wait for the ride to smooth out..
I know that everyone has hard choices in their life..
Whatever I Fear by Toad the Wet Sprocket
"Theres almost nothing left
You eat my kind for breakfast
What did I expect?
To come here and find anyone?
Find open arms to greet me
And friends to feed me
I sicken myself so much
And you eat my kind for breakfast
You eat my kind
Whatever I fear the most is whatever I see before me
Whenever I let my guard down, whatever I was ignoring
Whatever I fear the most is whatever I see before me
Whatever I have been given, whatever I have been
Seeing myself this way
I am a monster I believe
And seeing is believing
Is there no doubt left
When I poison myself
And poison leaves no appetite
I sicken myself so much
I sicken myself so
Whatever I fear the most is whatever I see before me
Whenever I let my guard down, whatever I was ignoring
Whatever I fear the most is whatever I see before me
Whatever I have been given, whatever I have been
Did we expect these things to change
By waking up and suddenly there they are
And all I needs a starting place
And nothing ever seemed so hard...
Whatever I fear the most is whatever I see before me
Whenever I let my guard down, whatever I was ignoring
Whatever I fear the most is whatever I see before me
Whatever I have been given, whatever I have been"
Once you have the starting place you need to start, I think it's easier to see the starting place than it is to actually start moving on the road..
Spirit by the Waterboys
"Man gets tired, spirit don't.
Man surrenders, spirit won't.
Man crawls, spirit flies.
Spirit lives when man dies.
Man seems, spirit is.
Man dreams, the spirit lives.
Man is tethered, spirit free.
What spirit is man can be
What spirit is, man, can, be"
I'm sorry, there is no comic of the day.. Maybe I will post on later if I feel in the mood..
---Thought of the Day
The greatest thing about advisors is that they offer advice, sometimes that can the be the worst thing about them too.. Listen to your advisors but in the end make the decision that's best for YOU.. "what spirit is, man, can, be"
I know that everyone has hard choices in their life..
Whatever I Fear by Toad the Wet Sprocket
"Theres almost nothing left
You eat my kind for breakfast
What did I expect?
To come here and find anyone?
Find open arms to greet me
And friends to feed me
I sicken myself so much
And you eat my kind for breakfast
You eat my kind
Whatever I fear the most is whatever I see before me
Whenever I let my guard down, whatever I was ignoring
Whatever I fear the most is whatever I see before me
Whatever I have been given, whatever I have been
Seeing myself this way
I am a monster I believe
And seeing is believing
Is there no doubt left
When I poison myself
And poison leaves no appetite
I sicken myself so much
I sicken myself so
Whatever I fear the most is whatever I see before me
Whenever I let my guard down, whatever I was ignoring
Whatever I fear the most is whatever I see before me
Whatever I have been given, whatever I have been
Did we expect these things to change
By waking up and suddenly there they are
And all I needs a starting place
And nothing ever seemed so hard...
Whatever I fear the most is whatever I see before me
Whenever I let my guard down, whatever I was ignoring
Whatever I fear the most is whatever I see before me
Whatever I have been given, whatever I have been"
Once you have the starting place you need to start, I think it's easier to see the starting place than it is to actually start moving on the road..
Spirit by the Waterboys
"Man gets tired, spirit don't.
Man surrenders, spirit won't.
Man crawls, spirit flies.
Spirit lives when man dies.
Man seems, spirit is.
Man dreams, the spirit lives.
Man is tethered, spirit free.
What spirit is man can be
What spirit is, man, can, be"
I'm sorry, there is no comic of the day.. Maybe I will post on later if I feel in the mood..
---Thought of the Day
The greatest thing about advisors is that they offer advice, sometimes that can the be the worst thing about them too.. Listen to your advisors but in the end make the decision that's best for YOU.. "what spirit is, man, can, be"
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sidelines II
Had a good time today.. I went with Sara to drop Rene off at school and we went to the Willi Brew Pub for lunch.. The Willi Brew Pub has Murphy’s Irish Stout on tap.. It is was a little waterier than it is in Ireland, but the taste is there! I was very happy with it.. After lunch we went to the co-op so Sara could do some shopping and then had to hurry back to get Rene..
Talked with AJ for a long time tonight before the Mets game.. It was good because I had not talked to him in a long time and we had a lot of catching up to do.. Watched Boston Legal tonight, it was a great episode to start off the season, it really is one of the best shows on TV, it will be sad if it really gets cancelled this year..
Onto the Mets and the sidelines… John Maine was activated today, he pitched again this afternoon and his pitches were 92-93 MPH! We jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead but Perez gave it all back and then it became a battle of the bullpens.. The Mets had 1st and 3rd with 0 outs in the 7th and didn’t score and they had the bases loaded with one out in both the 8th and 9th with no runs scored!! The bullpen finally faltered in the 10th and the Cubs took a heart breaking game.. How do you strand 8 runners in the last three innings and expect to win? Fuck, Fuck, FUCK!!! The Brewers beat the Pirates which means the Mets and Brewers are now tied for the Wild Card. At least the Braves, let by Chipper Jones, crushed the Phillies today so we are still 1.5 games out of the Eastern division..
Talked with AJ for a long time tonight before the Mets game.. It was good because I had not talked to him in a long time and we had a lot of catching up to do.. Watched Boston Legal tonight, it was a great episode to start off the season, it really is one of the best shows on TV, it will be sad if it really gets cancelled this year..
Onto the Mets and the sidelines… John Maine was activated today, he pitched again this afternoon and his pitches were 92-93 MPH! We jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead but Perez gave it all back and then it became a battle of the bullpens.. The Mets had 1st and 3rd with 0 outs in the 7th and didn’t score and they had the bases loaded with one out in both the 8th and 9th with no runs scored!! The bullpen finally faltered in the 10th and the Cubs took a heart breaking game.. How do you strand 8 runners in the last three innings and expect to win? Fuck, Fuck, FUCK!!! The Brewers beat the Pirates which means the Mets and Brewers are now tied for the Wild Card. At least the Braves, let by Chipper Jones, crushed the Phillies today so we are still 1.5 games out of the Eastern division..
Postseason cluster fuck
Just got my Post Season tickets to Shea.. We got Mezz Reserve Section 27 Row H Seats 9-16.. So we are in the right level, the right side of the field but way in the outfield..
So, what games??
Home Game 2 of the NLDS
Home Game 1 of the NLCS
Home Game 4 of the NLCS
Game 4 of the World Series
So, the only day that I know for sure is the World Series which is Sunday Oct 26th at 8:00pm, as you may or may not know - I will be in Japan during the World Series so I have to figure out what to do about those tickets... (unless my classes get cancelled)
With Home Field Advantage the NLDS games are:
NLDS Game 2 Thursday Oct 2nd
Without Home Field Advantage the NLDS game is:
NLDS Game 4 Sunday Oct 5th
With Home Field Advantage the NLCS games are:
NLCS Game 1 Thursday Oct 9th
NLCS Game 7 Saturday Oct 18th
Without Home Field Advantage the NLCS game is:
NCLS Game 3 Sunday October 12th
All of this of course assumes that the Mets play well enough over the next week to make the post season..
So, what games??
Home Game 2 of the NLDS
Home Game 1 of the NLCS
Home Game 4 of the NLCS
Game 4 of the World Series
So, the only day that I know for sure is the World Series which is Sunday Oct 26th at 8:00pm, as you may or may not know - I will be in Japan during the World Series so I have to figure out what to do about those tickets... (unless my classes get cancelled)
With Home Field Advantage the NLDS games are:
NLDS Game 2 Thursday Oct 2nd
Without Home Field Advantage the NLDS game is:
NLDS Game 4 Sunday Oct 5th
With Home Field Advantage the NLCS games are:
NLCS Game 1 Thursday Oct 9th
NLCS Game 7 Saturday Oct 18th
Without Home Field Advantage the NLCS game is:
NCLS Game 3 Sunday October 12th
All of this of course assumes that the Mets play well enough over the next week to make the post season..
You can watch TV II
Last night I watched the season premier of Heroes.. At the end of last season NBC decided they would cancel 4400 which was a sci-fi drama that aired on their sister network USA. Apparently now they have decided to move the 4400 plot line into Heroes.. Why would they do that? Because 4400 was a better show.. Jessie's rebuttal last night was "Heroes has better actors".. If you have not seen 4400 I recommend watching it, they are coming out with a new DVD Box Set in Oct that will have longer versions of every episode, filmed but never aired episodes and lots of other stuff..
So, why am I saying they are taking their plot? In 4400 the scientist character found and isolated a part of the 4400 blood stream that caused special powers and created shot that would give you 4400 powers. In 4400 they called is Promicen, the scientist who made the shot was the first one to take the shot because he didn't want to test it out on other people. He ended up having his skin peel off and ended up getting 4400 powers. The shot became a political rally point, some of the 4400 were against handing it out and some of them thought they needed to give it to everyone. In Heroes last night the scientist character found and isolated a part of the blood stream that caused special powers and created a shot that would give you powers. The scientist who made the shot was the first one to take the shot because he wanted to have his own special power and when he woke up he noticed his skin was peeling off.. Now in Heroes there is some formula that has been hidden for generations, there are Heroes who want this formula/shot to be public and there are Heroes that want to hide the formula.. Huh, I think I saw this one already..
To me the difference between the shows is that 4400 was a serious sci-fi drama that took it's time in presenting the story (the time from figuring out that there was a part of the blood that was different to the time the scientist took the shot was almost an entire season in 4400, in Heroes it was less than 10 minutes).. Heroes is a flashy comic book style sci-fi show which feels the need to jump around and throw things at their audience in an almost MTV style..
Plus who else is sick of people dying all the time and coming back.. Oh, speaking of dying... One of the characters in 4400 was assassinated by another 4400 and ended up coming back as a messiah type character who believed that the 4400's job was to protect the people of Earth and that they (the 4400) were brought back to save the world. On Heroes Nathan was assassinated by another Hero (Peter) and ended up coming back saying how the Heroes were born as hands of god and they were angels whose responsibility was to protect the people of Earth and to help save the world!!
I really wish I made this stuff up... So, if you want to know how the 4400 story plays out you can either watch Heroes or read the new 4400 books. They published one in June, there is another coming in Oct and two more scheduled for 2009 which will finish the 4400 story arc. Although the 4400 books are not out on audio I'm choosing that route.
Heroes has been removed from my TiVo lists.. Based on a few people's advice I am recording next weeks episode of Big Bang Theory, figure I can give it a shot..
In other TV news: Daily Show and Colbert Report both won Emmy Awards, Boston Legal was up for 5 Emmy Awards and didn't win any..
In other non-TV news: The Mets won last night, I know it's hard to believe but the bullpen even managed to protect the lead in the 9th inning! Oh, and the Phillies lost!! We are not back to 1.5 games behind the Phillies.. We are 1 game up on Milwaukee for the Wild Card.. Houston and Florida are out of the Wild Card hunt.. So, with less than one week left in the season the playoff spots that up for grabs are: AL Central - White Sox lead the Twins by 1.5 games. NL East - Phillies lead the Mets by 1 game. NL West - Dodgers lead DBacks by 3 games. NL Wild Card - Mets lead Brewers by 1 game. If the Dodgers and White Sox hold on both Chicago and both Los Angeles teams will be in the playoffs.. The Cubs and Angels have already clinched their divisions.
---- Comic of the day
http://xkcd.com/112/
---- Thought of the day
What percentage of time needs to be ok/fun/non-argumentative in order to say that it's a healthy relationship/friendship? Well, what's a passing grade in school? What percentage of games do you need to win to be considered a good team? What percentage to be considered a great team?
So, why am I saying they are taking their plot? In 4400 the scientist character found and isolated a part of the 4400 blood stream that caused special powers and created shot that would give you 4400 powers. In 4400 they called is Promicen, the scientist who made the shot was the first one to take the shot because he didn't want to test it out on other people. He ended up having his skin peel off and ended up getting 4400 powers. The shot became a political rally point, some of the 4400 were against handing it out and some of them thought they needed to give it to everyone. In Heroes last night the scientist character found and isolated a part of the blood stream that caused special powers and created a shot that would give you powers. The scientist who made the shot was the first one to take the shot because he wanted to have his own special power and when he woke up he noticed his skin was peeling off.. Now in Heroes there is some formula that has been hidden for generations, there are Heroes who want this formula/shot to be public and there are Heroes that want to hide the formula.. Huh, I think I saw this one already..
To me the difference between the shows is that 4400 was a serious sci-fi drama that took it's time in presenting the story (the time from figuring out that there was a part of the blood that was different to the time the scientist took the shot was almost an entire season in 4400, in Heroes it was less than 10 minutes).. Heroes is a flashy comic book style sci-fi show which feels the need to jump around and throw things at their audience in an almost MTV style..
Plus who else is sick of people dying all the time and coming back.. Oh, speaking of dying... One of the characters in 4400 was assassinated by another 4400 and ended up coming back as a messiah type character who believed that the 4400's job was to protect the people of Earth and that they (the 4400) were brought back to save the world. On Heroes Nathan was assassinated by another Hero (Peter) and ended up coming back saying how the Heroes were born as hands of god and they were angels whose responsibility was to protect the people of Earth and to help save the world!!
I really wish I made this stuff up... So, if you want to know how the 4400 story plays out you can either watch Heroes or read the new 4400 books. They published one in June, there is another coming in Oct and two more scheduled for 2009 which will finish the 4400 story arc. Although the 4400 books are not out on audio I'm choosing that route.
Heroes has been removed from my TiVo lists.. Based on a few people's advice I am recording next weeks episode of Big Bang Theory, figure I can give it a shot..
In other TV news: Daily Show and Colbert Report both won Emmy Awards, Boston Legal was up for 5 Emmy Awards and didn't win any..
In other non-TV news: The Mets won last night, I know it's hard to believe but the bullpen even managed to protect the lead in the 9th inning! Oh, and the Phillies lost!! We are not back to 1.5 games behind the Phillies.. We are 1 game up on Milwaukee for the Wild Card.. Houston and Florida are out of the Wild Card hunt.. So, with less than one week left in the season the playoff spots that up for grabs are: AL Central - White Sox lead the Twins by 1.5 games. NL East - Phillies lead the Mets by 1 game. NL West - Dodgers lead DBacks by 3 games. NL Wild Card - Mets lead Brewers by 1 game. If the Dodgers and White Sox hold on both Chicago and both Los Angeles teams will be in the playoffs.. The Cubs and Angels have already clinched their divisions.
---- Comic of the day
http://xkcd.com/112/
---- Thought of the day
What percentage of time needs to be ok/fun/non-argumentative in order to say that it's a healthy relationship/friendship? Well, what's a passing grade in school? What percentage of games do you need to win to be considered a good team? What percentage to be considered a great team?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Lay down your arms and gather your friends, gather your friends!
Dianne called Jessie tonight and I answered the phone cause Jessie was playing with the litter pan.. Well, turns out Dianne has a blog on livejournal, from her site I found Alice Riley's blog and Joe Dolce's blog..
Added them to my links gadget..
As Glen says, "lay down your arms and gather your friends".. This blogging thing is a great way to keep up with people.. If you have a blog or know someone I know that has a blog shoot me the link.. :D
And a little laugh, or cry... John McCain ad?
And one to certainly bring a smile to your face.. Peanut Butter Jelly Time
Added them to my links gadget..
As Glen says, "lay down your arms and gather your friends".. This blogging thing is a great way to keep up with people.. If you have a blog or know someone I know that has a blog shoot me the link.. :D
And a little laugh, or cry... John McCain ad?
And one to certainly bring a smile to your face.. Peanut Butter Jelly Time
Heros never falter!
Just got back from lunch a little while ago.. I love that spot, we have been there so often that now the little forest creatures are coming out to hang out with us.. Today a few chipmunks came almost to touching distance.. They are not afraid of us at all which is awesome! I love the views, every time we are there we see something new.. Today I saw a beautiful spiders web high up in the trees, it was glistening in the sun light, unfortunately I moved and lost it and couldn't find it again because the sun moved too.. Sometimes I wish I had cameras in my eyes to take pictures of all the beauty in the world..
Part of me is really sad that winter is coming, we will have to make sure we get there a few more times before it gets real cold..
An old favorite to lighten the mood.. Robert Tilton, I swear some of these have to be real!!
---- Thought of the day
Never pretend you like something just because your partner does.. It's hard to deal with the fact that maybe you and your partner don't agree on music/movies/food but it's better to know now than to find out later.. Especially when finding out later also means finding out that you've lied all this time about liking it..
Part of me is really sad that winter is coming, we will have to make sure we get there a few more times before it gets real cold..
An old favorite to lighten the mood.. Robert Tilton, I swear some of these have to be real!!
---- Thought of the day
Never pretend you like something just because your partner does.. It's hard to deal with the fact that maybe you and your partner don't agree on music/movies/food but it's better to know now than to find out later.. Especially when finding out later also means finding out that you've lied all this time about liking it..
"Appearances can be... deceptive"
Last night Jessie got a new phone, she got the Dare by LG. It's a pretty cool phone actually, I don't know if I could deal with the touch screen but it does vibrate when you click on "buttons". One thing I really do like the big ass-screen, I brought the baseball game up on the phone last night during dinner and you could see the score, the runners, the batter and the pitcher all on without having to scroll down. On my phone you only see the score, for everything else you need to scroll down. I guess when you need no buttons you can have a ginormous screen..
Burn After Reading was a fantastic movie, I always expect great things from the Coen brothers and they have yet to disappoint.. Some of their other movies were Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, and Big Lebowski.. This movie was about - so, not going to tell you what it was about.. If I told you what it was about it would sorta ruin it I think.. Well, I will say that Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand work at a gym in Washington DC and find a CD with some "shit" on it, they try to return the CD to John Malkovich's character and things get out of hand.. If that cast was not good enough, lets add in George Clooney in his funniest role since "O' Brother, Where Art Thou".. JK Simmons (the father from Juno), Richard Jenkins (the dead father from Six Feet Under), and David Rasche (the guy who played Hammer on TV).. Brad Pitt was such a different character for him, he really did an amazing job! I would recommend any Brad Pitt fan see this movie if no other reason than to see his performance..
Watched the season premier of How I Met Your Mother last night when we got home, it was good.. Reminded me of why I like that show.. I didn't watch Heroes or Boston Legal so no comments on how great it was when Snape killed Dumbledore please.. :)
In other news.. Another day, another loss.. The Cubbies beat up the Mets last night and of course the Phillies beat the Braves again which means we are now 2.5 out of first and only 1 up on the Wild Card.. If there is any bright spot in NY right now it's that John Maine is cleared to pitch, they are expecting to activate him on Thursday.. Why so long?? They said they want to give him today to rest and then have him throw again on Wednesday before activating him.. His pitches apparently had movement but still didn't have the speed they want out of him.
So, ESPN today had an almost good article about Shea Stadium, if you copy the article into a word document you can cut out the bad paragraphs and you would have an article talking about the charm of Shea, you could also cut out the good paragraphs and you could have an article talking about what a shit hole it is.. I give ESPN credit for at least trying to write a non Yankees based article about NY.
I was reading Sara's blog this morning and for those of you who don't read it (or for that matter know who she is).. She posted a link to an amazing guitarist yesterday, check him out.. His name is Andy McKee and he makes an amazing sound out of one guitar.. It reminded me alot of Rodrigo y Gabriela, maybe not quite as fast, but equally impressive..
Speaking of impressive, I went to check out Bella's Gourmet Market to see if they had a menu online.. What I found was one of the best websites I could imagine for a local store.. I feel so bad for them I almost want to create them a free website..
Anyway, I'm off to the great land of Shower for a bit.. After that I'm heading down to meet Lynz for lunch.. Still never heard from my grandmother about tonight, I'll probably call her on the way to lunch..
btw - the blog title is a quote from the movie last night.. In case you were wondering..
---- Comic of the day
http://xkcd.com/70/
---- Thought of the day
It's too early in the day for thoughts of the day.. I will probably write another blog later today and that one will have the thought of the day.. :D
Burn After Reading was a fantastic movie, I always expect great things from the Coen brothers and they have yet to disappoint.. Some of their other movies were Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, and Big Lebowski.. This movie was about - so, not going to tell you what it was about.. If I told you what it was about it would sorta ruin it I think.. Well, I will say that Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand work at a gym in Washington DC and find a CD with some "shit" on it, they try to return the CD to John Malkovich's character and things get out of hand.. If that cast was not good enough, lets add in George Clooney in his funniest role since "O' Brother, Where Art Thou".. JK Simmons (the father from Juno), Richard Jenkins (the dead father from Six Feet Under), and David Rasche (the guy who played Hammer on TV).. Brad Pitt was such a different character for him, he really did an amazing job! I would recommend any Brad Pitt fan see this movie if no other reason than to see his performance..
Watched the season premier of How I Met Your Mother last night when we got home, it was good.. Reminded me of why I like that show.. I didn't watch Heroes or Boston Legal so no comments on how great it was when Snape killed Dumbledore please.. :)
In other news.. Another day, another loss.. The Cubbies beat up the Mets last night and of course the Phillies beat the Braves again which means we are now 2.5 out of first and only 1 up on the Wild Card.. If there is any bright spot in NY right now it's that John Maine is cleared to pitch, they are expecting to activate him on Thursday.. Why so long?? They said they want to give him today to rest and then have him throw again on Wednesday before activating him.. His pitches apparently had movement but still didn't have the speed they want out of him.
So, ESPN today had an almost good article about Shea Stadium, if you copy the article into a word document you can cut out the bad paragraphs and you would have an article talking about the charm of Shea, you could also cut out the good paragraphs and you could have an article talking about what a shit hole it is.. I give ESPN credit for at least trying to write a non Yankees based article about NY.
I was reading Sara's blog this morning and for those of you who don't read it (or for that matter know who she is).. She posted a link to an amazing guitarist yesterday, check him out.. His name is Andy McKee and he makes an amazing sound out of one guitar.. It reminded me alot of Rodrigo y Gabriela, maybe not quite as fast, but equally impressive..
Speaking of impressive, I went to check out Bella's Gourmet Market to see if they had a menu online.. What I found was one of the best websites I could imagine for a local store.. I feel so bad for them I almost want to create them a free website..
Anyway, I'm off to the great land of Shower for a bit.. After that I'm heading down to meet Lynz for lunch.. Still never heard from my grandmother about tonight, I'll probably call her on the way to lunch..
btw - the blog title is a quote from the movie last night.. In case you were wondering..
---- Comic of the day
http://xkcd.com/70/
---- Thought of the day
It's too early in the day for thoughts of the day.. I will probably write another blog later today and that one will have the thought of the day.. :D
Monday, September 22, 2008
On the move again!?
Between the 2006 and 2007 seasons Major League Baseball did a shuffle of Minor League affiliates.. In that shuffle the Mets got rid of the Norfolk Tides and took on the New Orleans Zephyrs.. Now just two seasons later the Mets are dumping their affiliation with New Orleans and are taking on the Buffalo Bisons as their AAA team... So, what does that mean for the Zephyrs? They are of course going to become the AAA team of the Florida Marlins.. The Marlins old team (the Isotopes) is being taken by the Dodgers.. Where does it all end??
All in all six teams are moving affiliations before the 2009 season.. The thing that's really odd about this whole thing is that the teams don't really change, what happens is that all the employees of the 2008 New Orleans team move to Buffalo for 2009 and so on..
Buffalo Bisons - from Indians to Mets
Syracuse Chiefs - from Blue Jays to Nationals
New Orleans Zephyrs - from Mets to Marlins
Columbus Clippers - from Nationals to Indians
Las Vegas 51s - from Dodgers to Blue Jays
Alburquergue Isotopes - from Marlins to Dodgers
All in all six teams are moving affiliations before the 2009 season.. The thing that's really odd about this whole thing is that the teams don't really change, what happens is that all the employees of the 2008 New Orleans team move to Buffalo for 2009 and so on..
Buffalo Bisons - from Indians to Mets
Syracuse Chiefs - from Blue Jays to Nationals
New Orleans Zephyrs - from Mets to Marlins
Columbus Clippers - from Nationals to Indians
Las Vegas 51s - from Dodgers to Blue Jays
Alburquergue Isotopes - from Marlins to Dodgers
This week - the Update...
So, only a few hours later and my week looks much different.. Tonight I am going with Jessie to Verizon and Burn After Reading.. My dad is joining us for dinner and the movie..
Tomorrow - I called my grandmother and left her a message about dinner tomorrow..
Wednesday - Jessie is going to Yoga, I have no plans yet but if Lynz and John can't find a babysitter I'll be hanging with Anja.. :)
Thursday - Dinner with Lynz..
Friday - Hang at house and watch Mets/Marlins and/or play the Wii
I am working from home the rest of the week too which means at least one picnic and lots of reading on Invista.. :D
btw - I'm almost done listening to Gypsy Morph which is the last book of the Genesis of Shannara series.. If this series was not Terry Brooks I would think it was a good series, but.. Terry tried something new in this series and I think he failed.. Certainly the worst Terry Brooks series.. I guess when you have 27 books you are allowed to have 3 bad ones..
Tomorrow - I called my grandmother and left her a message about dinner tomorrow..
Wednesday - Jessie is going to Yoga, I have no plans yet but if Lynz and John can't find a babysitter I'll be hanging with Anja.. :)
Thursday - Dinner with Lynz..
Friday - Hang at house and watch Mets/Marlins and/or play the Wii
I am working from home the rest of the week too which means at least one picnic and lots of reading on Invista.. :D
btw - I'm almost done listening to Gypsy Morph which is the last book of the Genesis of Shannara series.. If this series was not Terry Brooks I would think it was a good series, but.. Terry tried something new in this series and I think he failed.. Certainly the worst Terry Brooks series.. I guess when you have 27 books you are allowed to have 3 bad ones..
Finally ordered...
Sitting at work.. Cleaned out my inboxes and am about to start reading my new class... But first, the internet browsing and blogging.. :D
I finally ordered two things I've been really wanting.. First - I got a Pinwheel Coin Purse and secondly I got an iPod case!
It's Monday.. Oh so fun to be at the office.. I am planning to talk to my boss this afternoon about working from home the rest of the week.. Hopefully he will let me, I get more work done plus the kitties like having me around.. :D
Looking forward to this week? Tonight's up in the air, I'm either going with Jessie to look at getting her a new Verizon phone and going to see Burn After Reading or I'm going to go to Lynz's house for dinner with her and Anja.. I'll find out later as the day progresses, it's probably going to be the first option but we will see how the day goes.. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday have nothing planned yet.. I am supposed to do dinner with my grandmother one of those nights. Friday night and Saturday Jessie is going with Sara to Borderlands meetings. I am going out with Nathan on Friday night. Saturday night I think I'm going to meet up with Lynz and Anja after they get back from the CT Ren Faire and Sunday is the last regular season game at Shea.. It might be the last game at Shea if the Mets don't get their act together real fucking soon!
Another loss yesterday puts us 1.5 games behind Philadelphia and only 1.5 games up on Milwaukee and Houston. It was one of those painful losses, we were leading till the end when out bullpen fell apart again.. Where is John Maine? He is supposed to throw another simulated game today at Shea to see where his velocity is. I really hope he can help out in the next week.. The Mets play the Cubs for four games starting tonight. The Cubs clinched their division so they hopefully will be playing their B-Team to rest their A-Team for the playoffs. The Phillies play the Braves who hopefully won't lay down for them..
Heroes and Boston Legal both premier tonight.. I can't believe they are ending Boston Legal this year because of an argument that ABC got into with the creators. They are planning only 13 episodes which will put the show at exactly 100 episodes. Ironically the show is up for a record number of Emmy awards this year! I hope it wins them all so ABC will have to keep it on the air.. That's what happened with Scrubs two years ago.. NBC tried to cancel the show but it won a bunch of Emmys and they were forced to bring it back..
---- Comic of the day
http://mchat.comicgenesis.com/d/20080201.html
---- Thought of the day
No matter what you do you can't escape shopping on the Internet.. I have searched high and low since before Cork for an iPod case I liked and I have been searching since Cork for a coin purse.. Within an hour and a half I found and ordered both of them on the Internet.. It's no surprise that retail stores are going out of business.
I finally ordered two things I've been really wanting.. First - I got a Pinwheel Coin Purse and secondly I got an iPod case!
It's Monday.. Oh so fun to be at the office.. I am planning to talk to my boss this afternoon about working from home the rest of the week.. Hopefully he will let me, I get more work done plus the kitties like having me around.. :D
Looking forward to this week? Tonight's up in the air, I'm either going with Jessie to look at getting her a new Verizon phone and going to see Burn After Reading or I'm going to go to Lynz's house for dinner with her and Anja.. I'll find out later as the day progresses, it's probably going to be the first option but we will see how the day goes.. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday have nothing planned yet.. I am supposed to do dinner with my grandmother one of those nights. Friday night and Saturday Jessie is going with Sara to Borderlands meetings. I am going out with Nathan on Friday night. Saturday night I think I'm going to meet up with Lynz and Anja after they get back from the CT Ren Faire and Sunday is the last regular season game at Shea.. It might be the last game at Shea if the Mets don't get their act together real fucking soon!
Another loss yesterday puts us 1.5 games behind Philadelphia and only 1.5 games up on Milwaukee and Houston. It was one of those painful losses, we were leading till the end when out bullpen fell apart again.. Where is John Maine? He is supposed to throw another simulated game today at Shea to see where his velocity is. I really hope he can help out in the next week.. The Mets play the Cubs for four games starting tonight. The Cubs clinched their division so they hopefully will be playing their B-Team to rest their A-Team for the playoffs. The Phillies play the Braves who hopefully won't lay down for them..
Heroes and Boston Legal both premier tonight.. I can't believe they are ending Boston Legal this year because of an argument that ABC got into with the creators. They are planning only 13 episodes which will put the show at exactly 100 episodes. Ironically the show is up for a record number of Emmy awards this year! I hope it wins them all so ABC will have to keep it on the air.. That's what happened with Scrubs two years ago.. NBC tried to cancel the show but it won a bunch of Emmys and they were forced to bring it back..
---- Comic of the day
http://mchat.comicgenesis.com/d/20080201.html
---- Thought of the day
No matter what you do you can't escape shopping on the Internet.. I have searched high and low since before Cork for an iPod case I liked and I have been searching since Cork for a coin purse.. Within an hour and a half I found and ordered both of them on the Internet.. It's no surprise that retail stores are going out of business.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
International Day of Peace
The Greater Putnam Interfaith Council held festival to celebrate the United Nations’ International Peace today in Rotary Park. Me, Jessie, Sara and Rene went and had a great time.. The day started out with me and Jessie eating breakfast on main st. After breakfast we went to VSC and then to Rotary Park. Jessie went home to get chairs and I held out places on the lawn..
The first band was Uncle Rhubarb & the Hokum Hotshots, they are a bluegrass band that recently added Elizabeth on Trombone, they played 5 songs (Elizabeth sung on one and played the trombone on one). After them they had a smudging ceremony and then ten prayers for peace (one for each faith represented). Once the prayers were over they introduced the Methodist Church of Putnam's Children's Choir which was one, count em', one sixteen year old girl.. She came up and apologized that everyone else couldn't make it. She then belted out a really good song all by herself, I was very impressed..
After her they had the Pomfret Community School Choir sing a few songs which they had apparently only rehearsed three times.. They were very impressive too for not rehearsing.. After they left Sally Rogers sung a few more songs before the mic was opened up to the audience to come up and say a few words.. One kid came up and ended reading an entire Mark Twain short story on war, they were supposed to have a three minute limit but I guess they felt they didn't want to cut the kid off..
After that we did a walk for peace to the other side of the river where they had temporally put the new Putnam Peace Pole. The pole is going to take a one year tour around the surrounding towns and next year at the Peace Festival they will announce it's permanent location.
When we got back from the walk Echo Uganda (or at least some of Echo Uganda) played for a half hour. There was only 6 of them today and they really didn't have the energy level they had last night. When they arrived I chatted with them a bit and they were all excited to play and happy to see the crowd, when we got back they were almost listless.. I guess the festivities went long than they were supposed to so Echo Uganda didn't go on till a lot later than they were supposed to.
We got a really cool accordion poster at the peace celebration, Jessie got a coexist bumper sticker, and we got Echo Uganda's studio CD.
We, (me, Jessie, Sara, Ryan and Rene) went to dinner at the new Mexican restaurant (Casa Mariachi) in Putnam, they have maybe the best salsa ever made.. The food was pretty good too, but the salsa was the best part of the meal..
---- Comic of the day
http://mchat.comicgenesis.com/d/20071019.html
---- Thought of the day
Why do they feel need to put religion and faith into everything? Couldn't this have been a peace festival with no faith ties? If they had cut out all the unique prayers they could have had more music.. I guess they figure only religious people want peace..
The first band was Uncle Rhubarb & the Hokum Hotshots, they are a bluegrass band that recently added Elizabeth on Trombone, they played 5 songs (Elizabeth sung on one and played the trombone on one). After them they had a smudging ceremony and then ten prayers for peace (one for each faith represented). Once the prayers were over they introduced the Methodist Church of Putnam's Children's Choir which was one, count em', one sixteen year old girl.. She came up and apologized that everyone else couldn't make it. She then belted out a really good song all by herself, I was very impressed..
After her they had the Pomfret Community School Choir sing a few songs which they had apparently only rehearsed three times.. They were very impressive too for not rehearsing.. After they left Sally Rogers sung a few more songs before the mic was opened up to the audience to come up and say a few words.. One kid came up and ended reading an entire Mark Twain short story on war, they were supposed to have a three minute limit but I guess they felt they didn't want to cut the kid off..
After that we did a walk for peace to the other side of the river where they had temporally put the new Putnam Peace Pole. The pole is going to take a one year tour around the surrounding towns and next year at the Peace Festival they will announce it's permanent location.
When we got back from the walk Echo Uganda (or at least some of Echo Uganda) played for a half hour. There was only 6 of them today and they really didn't have the energy level they had last night. When they arrived I chatted with them a bit and they were all excited to play and happy to see the crowd, when we got back they were almost listless.. I guess the festivities went long than they were supposed to so Echo Uganda didn't go on till a lot later than they were supposed to.
We got a really cool accordion poster at the peace celebration, Jessie got a coexist bumper sticker, and we got Echo Uganda's studio CD.
We, (me, Jessie, Sara, Ryan and Rene) went to dinner at the new Mexican restaurant (Casa Mariachi) in Putnam, they have maybe the best salsa ever made.. The food was pretty good too, but the salsa was the best part of the meal..
---- Comic of the day
http://mchat.comicgenesis.com/d/20071019.html
---- Thought of the day
Why do they feel need to put religion and faith into everything? Couldn't this have been a peace festival with no faith ties? If they had cut out all the unique prayers they could have had more music.. I guess they figure only religious people want peace..
Up too late.. And so are you...
Yes, I totally stole this blog title from Jessie's blog name.. :)
I hate it when your body won't let you sleep.. I am mentally and emotionally exhausted right now, but my stupid body is still awake.. Anyway, I guess I will post an update to tonight...
I mowed the front lawn today, the grass had not been cut in a long time so my mower was draining after the front of the lawn. After our BBQ in August I put the tubs we used for drinks in the front of the house by the hose so I could clean them out, unfortunately I never got around to cleaning them and then they filled up with rain water. Me and Elizabeth dumped them today, I had to scoop out water until they were light enough for us to carry.. Now they are upside down outside, I am hoping to clean them tomorrow morning.
After the lawn I went to an Echo Uganda concert in Willimantic, we met at Subway and had dinner before the show.. The concert was great and I ended up dancing for a bit with a bunch of people including one of the guys from the band.. They are playing tomorrow at the Peace Festival at Rotary Park in Putnam after Uncle Rhubarb & the Hokum Hotshots (the band Elizabeth is playing in). Looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow, anyone want to join me?
Got home and went over to Elizabeth's for a few minutes, went for a walk and took a nice bath with a Lush Bath Bomb.. Now I'm hanging out watching a Bobby Flay's Throwdown from May.. Jessie is still out on her date, probably will not stay up till she gets home unless she gets home soon..
Update from NY.. Mets lost today and the Phucking Phillies won so we are back in 2nd place.. :( John Maine pitched his simulated inning today and felt no pain, the bad news is that his velocity was down, apparently his fastest pitch was 87MPH instead of his normal 94MPH. He is going to pitch another simulated inning on Monday to see if his velocity is better. If his simulated inning on Monday has proper velocity he will be activated on Monday night, if he is still slow on velocity they will probably wait to activate him and of course if he has any pain they will shut him down and he will go have surgery..
One of the funniest things tonight was when we were leaving Subway.. Anja had gotten a bag of Sun Chips and Lynz had asked what was in them, Anja said "Hey Mom, you can't eat wheat and those have wheat in them".. LOL
I am not putting a thought & comic of the day in this blog, although it is technically Sunday right now I am counting this blog as another Saturday blog.. Hey, it's my blog and if I want to I can call this one a Saturday post..
Well, I'm off to bed.. Maybe.. :P
I hate it when your body won't let you sleep.. I am mentally and emotionally exhausted right now, but my stupid body is still awake.. Anyway, I guess I will post an update to tonight...
I mowed the front lawn today, the grass had not been cut in a long time so my mower was draining after the front of the lawn. After our BBQ in August I put the tubs we used for drinks in the front of the house by the hose so I could clean them out, unfortunately I never got around to cleaning them and then they filled up with rain water. Me and Elizabeth dumped them today, I had to scoop out water until they were light enough for us to carry.. Now they are upside down outside, I am hoping to clean them tomorrow morning.
After the lawn I went to an Echo Uganda concert in Willimantic, we met at Subway and had dinner before the show.. The concert was great and I ended up dancing for a bit with a bunch of people including one of the guys from the band.. They are playing tomorrow at the Peace Festival at Rotary Park in Putnam after Uncle Rhubarb & the Hokum Hotshots (the band Elizabeth is playing in). Looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow, anyone want to join me?
Got home and went over to Elizabeth's for a few minutes, went for a walk and took a nice bath with a Lush Bath Bomb.. Now I'm hanging out watching a Bobby Flay's Throwdown from May.. Jessie is still out on her date, probably will not stay up till she gets home unless she gets home soon..
Update from NY.. Mets lost today and the Phucking Phillies won so we are back in 2nd place.. :( John Maine pitched his simulated inning today and felt no pain, the bad news is that his velocity was down, apparently his fastest pitch was 87MPH instead of his normal 94MPH. He is going to pitch another simulated inning on Monday to see if his velocity is better. If his simulated inning on Monday has proper velocity he will be activated on Monday night, if he is still slow on velocity they will probably wait to activate him and of course if he has any pain they will shut him down and he will go have surgery..
One of the funniest things tonight was when we were leaving Subway.. Anja had gotten a bag of Sun Chips and Lynz had asked what was in them, Anja said "Hey Mom, you can't eat wheat and those have wheat in them".. LOL
I am not putting a thought & comic of the day in this blog, although it is technically Sunday right now I am counting this blog as another Saturday blog.. Hey, it's my blog and if I want to I can call this one a Saturday post..
Well, I'm off to bed.. Maybe.. :P
Saturday, September 20, 2008
"Old" Ballparks??
Something you may not have thought about.. We all know that Wrigley Field (1914) and Fenway Park (1912) have been around for a long-ass time (or long ass-time if you read XKCD) but did you know that all of the below stadiums have been built since 1990!
New Yankee Stadium - New York Yankees (2009)
CitiField - New York Mets (2009)
US Cellular Field - Chicago White Sox (1991)
Camden Yards - Baltimore Orioles (1992)
Citizen's Bank Ballpark - Philadelphia Phillies (2004)
National's Park - Washington Nationals (2008)
Turner Field - Atlanta Braves (1997)
Progressive Field - Cleveland Indians (1994)
Target Park - Minnesota Twins (2010)
Commerica Park - Detroit Tigers (2000)
Great American Ballpark - Cincinnati Reds (2000)
Minute Maid Park - Houston Astros (2000)
Busch Stadium III - St. Louis Cardinals (2006)
PNC Park - Pittsburgh Pirates (2001)
Miller Park - Milwaukee Brewers (2001)
Ameriquest Field - Texas Rangers (1994)
Safeco Field - Seattle Mariners (1999)
Petco Park - San Diego Padres (2004)
Coors Field - Colorado Rockies (1995)
Chase Field - Arizona Diamondbacks (1998)
AT&T Park - San Francisco Giants (2000)
Tropicana Field - Tampa Bay Rays (1990)
These two are not "new" but were drastically redone:
Edison International Field - Anahiem Angels (Renovated in 1999)
Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City Royals (Renovated in 2007)
Remaining "old" stadiums:
Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles Dodgers (1962)
Roger's Center - Toronto Jays (1989)
Dolphin Stadium - Florida Marlins (1987) - Moving to Miami Ballpark in 2011
McAfee Coliseum - Oakland A's (1968) - Moving to CISCO Field in 2012
Also notice how many of them have corporate names!
New Yankee Stadium - New York Yankees (2009)
CitiField - New York Mets (2009)
US Cellular Field - Chicago White Sox (1991)
Camden Yards - Baltimore Orioles (1992)
Citizen's Bank Ballpark - Philadelphia Phillies (2004)
National's Park - Washington Nationals (2008)
Turner Field - Atlanta Braves (1997)
Progressive Field - Cleveland Indians (1994)
Target Park - Minnesota Twins (2010)
Commerica Park - Detroit Tigers (2000)
Great American Ballpark - Cincinnati Reds (2000)
Minute Maid Park - Houston Astros (2000)
Busch Stadium III - St. Louis Cardinals (2006)
PNC Park - Pittsburgh Pirates (2001)
Miller Park - Milwaukee Brewers (2001)
Ameriquest Field - Texas Rangers (1994)
Safeco Field - Seattle Mariners (1999)
Petco Park - San Diego Padres (2004)
Coors Field - Colorado Rockies (1995)
Chase Field - Arizona Diamondbacks (1998)
AT&T Park - San Francisco Giants (2000)
Tropicana Field - Tampa Bay Rays (1990)
These two are not "new" but were drastically redone:
Edison International Field - Anahiem Angels (Renovated in 1999)
Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City Royals (Renovated in 2007)
Remaining "old" stadiums:
Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles Dodgers (1962)
Roger's Center - Toronto Jays (1989)
Dolphin Stadium - Florida Marlins (1987) - Moving to Miami Ballpark in 2011
McAfee Coliseum - Oakland A's (1968) - Moving to CISCO Field in 2012
Also notice how many of them have corporate names!
DP?
Last night me and Jessie went to Club Hell to see Sin of Angels, Steel Assassin and Wargasm. The show was, ummm.. Well, lets talk about dinner first.. Dinner was really good, we ate at Trinity Brew House which is right by the club. I had a Cheeseburger with Buffalo sauce and blue cheese which was very good, the beer was alright..
So, back to the concert.. I would recommend you never go see heavy metal at Club Hell, the place is way to small for the volume they were pumping out. The first band's instruments were so loud that you could not hear the vocals, you could see the lead singer moving his mouth but you could hear nothing. We ended up going outside and listening to most of the first band from the street. The door man was giving me and Jessie shit for being "too old" but every time the door opened he would cringe because of the sound and he had ear plugs in outside. The second band was just as bad so we ended up leaving after a few songs..
This morning I was laying in bed thinking of the acronym DP. If I were to say "she really wants a DP" what would you think? If you have a dirty mind you probably think DP means Double Penetration, if you're more baseball oriented you might think DP means Double Play and finally, if you're a LAIRE geek you might even think it's a Dark Paladin. So the real question is, is she watching baseball, playing laire or looking for a threesome? I know what your thinking, can't you be looking for a threesome while playing Laire? Most people who play Laire are indeed looking for a threesome.. What about a DP of DPs? (a double penetration of dark paladins).. :D
After we finally got out of bed we went to Bill's Bread and Breakfast and then went to a Holistic Health Fair. Breakfast was good as usual, the holistic health fair was ok. They had a few cool things, one thing that was awesome is that we found a organic farm in Woodstock CT. They are called Wrenhaven Farm and they are on 99 West Quasset Road in Woodstock, they have a stand that's open 24 hours a day. They sell produce on the honor system, they have a scale and a cigar box for money so you can go up anytime you want to get stuff. They are about a 5 min drive from my house which is awesome!
Tonight?? Jessie is going to meet a guy, Mike, from OKCupid in Wallingford CT. My plans are very much up in the air. When I'm done with this blog I am going to mow the lawn and then wait to hear if I'm being called in from the sidelines.. Elizabeth is home sick tonight so if I stay home I will invite her over to eat and watch the Mets game.. Speaking of sidelines and the Mets, John Maine threw 10 pitches Thursday and Friday, today he is pitching a simulated inning to live batters. If that goes well and he has no pain in the morning he will be activated on Monday to take our vacant closer role..
That's it for now.. I hope you all have a wonderful night and I'll check in with y'all later.. :D
---- Comic of the day
http://mchat.comicgenesis.com/d/20071017.html
---- Thought of the day
The best things in life are not things.
So, back to the concert.. I would recommend you never go see heavy metal at Club Hell, the place is way to small for the volume they were pumping out. The first band's instruments were so loud that you could not hear the vocals, you could see the lead singer moving his mouth but you could hear nothing. We ended up going outside and listening to most of the first band from the street. The door man was giving me and Jessie shit for being "too old" but every time the door opened he would cringe because of the sound and he had ear plugs in outside. The second band was just as bad so we ended up leaving after a few songs..
This morning I was laying in bed thinking of the acronym DP. If I were to say "she really wants a DP" what would you think? If you have a dirty mind you probably think DP means Double Penetration, if you're more baseball oriented you might think DP means Double Play and finally, if you're a LAIRE geek you might even think it's a Dark Paladin. So the real question is, is she watching baseball, playing laire or looking for a threesome? I know what your thinking, can't you be looking for a threesome while playing Laire? Most people who play Laire are indeed looking for a threesome.. What about a DP of DPs? (a double penetration of dark paladins).. :D
After we finally got out of bed we went to Bill's Bread and Breakfast and then went to a Holistic Health Fair. Breakfast was good as usual, the holistic health fair was ok. They had a few cool things, one thing that was awesome is that we found a organic farm in Woodstock CT. They are called Wrenhaven Farm and they are on 99 West Quasset Road in Woodstock, they have a stand that's open 24 hours a day. They sell produce on the honor system, they have a scale and a cigar box for money so you can go up anytime you want to get stuff. They are about a 5 min drive from my house which is awesome!
Tonight?? Jessie is going to meet a guy, Mike, from OKCupid in Wallingford CT. My plans are very much up in the air. When I'm done with this blog I am going to mow the lawn and then wait to hear if I'm being called in from the sidelines.. Elizabeth is home sick tonight so if I stay home I will invite her over to eat and watch the Mets game.. Speaking of sidelines and the Mets, John Maine threw 10 pitches Thursday and Friday, today he is pitching a simulated inning to live batters. If that goes well and he has no pain in the morning he will be activated on Monday to take our vacant closer role..
That's it for now.. I hope you all have a wonderful night and I'll check in with y'all later.. :D
---- Comic of the day
http://mchat.comicgenesis.com/d/20071017.html
---- Thought of the day
The best things in life are not things.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Circles and Lines
Last night me and Jessie went over to "3rd Thursday" in Willimantic. 3rd Thursday is a street festival in Willimantic that they do on the 3rd Thursday of every month during the summer, they have street vendors, food and live entertainment. We met up with Lynz, Anja, Lynz's friend Berk, and her daughters. It was good to finally meet Berk, she is very cool. After meeting up we had some dinner and some ice cream before heading to the beer garden to have a drink and watch a good blues band called the Kingpins (http://www.willimanticstreetfest.com/entertainer.htm?id=wgb4bktx).. We hung out there for a bit before walking Lynz and Berk out so they could get the kiddies to bed..
On the way back to the car we saw a fire dance show and of course had to check it out.. Jessie's comment to me when we saw the fire from afar was "try not to sleep with any fire dancers on the way to the car" - LOL! I can understand her concern because of my past fire dancing experience and desires.. The girl was wearing pink camouflage pajama pants that were way to big for her, they looked like Hammer pants so she really didn't turn me on.. The guy however was pretty hot.. We watched them for a bit before finishing the walk to the car.
After they (Lynz, etc) left me and Jessie went back to watch the rest of the fire dance show. The girl ended up dancing with a flaming hula hoop which was really hot. After the fire dance we went into a store called Bench Shop and I got a new sticker for my car and a really awesome patch. I have to figure out where to put the patch, any ideas? I was thinking of maybe putting it in my car on the dashboard but I don't know how realistic that is. I could also put it on my laptop bag.. But, I am really up for ideas...
After the festival we went to a drum circle.. There was a nice lady who was showing people how to hit notes on the drum. I drummed for one song before switching to a Tail Shaker (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13122972) which was much more my style and my hand was already hurting from drumming on one song.. Jessie however took very well to the drum, her arm hurts now but she had a great time. Apparently the guy who owns the Bench Shop holds drum lessons every Wednesday for $5! Possible future plans?
----
So, lately I've been thinking about Lines.. My cousin and her boyfriend are talking about shifting their relationship to a poly relationship. I am talking to them trying to show them the benefits of poly and the pot holes of it. This brings up a good point about Lines, the line between friend and girlfriend/boyfriend is one that comes up.. Is that line sex? If you have been friends with someone for a long time and have sex with them once are they now your girlfriend/boyfriend? Is there an amount of sex you need to have with a friend before they are a boyfriend/girlfriend? I am friends with Jessie but obviously there is more, is that "more" a paper that says we're married? I am friends with Lynz but obviously there is more there too, what makes the difference between friends and boyfriends/girlfriends? Does distance make the difference? I guess it's safe to say that whoever you don't have sex with is just a friend, but just because you have sex with someone does not really mean they are more than a friend.. I guess this is why Jessie hates labels.. :D One thing that I will say for certain, if you are having sex with someone and are NOT their friend you're just having random sex (which is not a bad thing if everyone is ok with that)..
In the same vein where is the line between friend and acquaintance? I have been told that I call too many people friends when what I really mean to call them is an acquaintance.. I tend to put the friend label on almost everyone I hang out with, I think it's because I feel that everyone I enjoy hanging out with is a friend. If you bring joy to my life and I enjoy spending time with you then you are a friend right?
Random quote I just heard on the Daily Show "John McCain, the only P.O.W. who was brainwashed after his release"
---- Comic of the day
http://mchat.comicgenesis.com/d/20070917.html
---- Thought of the day
What's the point of labels? Do you feel better if you can call someone who you care about a girlfriend/boyfriend?
On the way back to the car we saw a fire dance show and of course had to check it out.. Jessie's comment to me when we saw the fire from afar was "try not to sleep with any fire dancers on the way to the car" - LOL! I can understand her concern because of my past fire dancing experience and desires.. The girl was wearing pink camouflage pajama pants that were way to big for her, they looked like Hammer pants so she really didn't turn me on.. The guy however was pretty hot.. We watched them for a bit before finishing the walk to the car.
After they (Lynz, etc) left me and Jessie went back to watch the rest of the fire dance show. The girl ended up dancing with a flaming hula hoop which was really hot. After the fire dance we went into a store called Bench Shop and I got a new sticker for my car and a really awesome patch. I have to figure out where to put the patch, any ideas? I was thinking of maybe putting it in my car on the dashboard but I don't know how realistic that is. I could also put it on my laptop bag.. But, I am really up for ideas...
After the festival we went to a drum circle.. There was a nice lady who was showing people how to hit notes on the drum. I drummed for one song before switching to a Tail Shaker (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13122972) which was much more my style and my hand was already hurting from drumming on one song.. Jessie however took very well to the drum, her arm hurts now but she had a great time. Apparently the guy who owns the Bench Shop holds drum lessons every Wednesday for $5! Possible future plans?
----
So, lately I've been thinking about Lines.. My cousin and her boyfriend are talking about shifting their relationship to a poly relationship. I am talking to them trying to show them the benefits of poly and the pot holes of it. This brings up a good point about Lines, the line between friend and girlfriend/boyfriend is one that comes up.. Is that line sex? If you have been friends with someone for a long time and have sex with them once are they now your girlfriend/boyfriend? Is there an amount of sex you need to have with a friend before they are a boyfriend/girlfriend? I am friends with Jessie but obviously there is more, is that "more" a paper that says we're married? I am friends with Lynz but obviously there is more there too, what makes the difference between friends and boyfriends/girlfriends? Does distance make the difference? I guess it's safe to say that whoever you don't have sex with is just a friend, but just because you have sex with someone does not really mean they are more than a friend.. I guess this is why Jessie hates labels.. :D One thing that I will say for certain, if you are having sex with someone and are NOT their friend you're just having random sex (which is not a bad thing if everyone is ok with that)..
In the same vein where is the line between friend and acquaintance? I have been told that I call too many people friends when what I really mean to call them is an acquaintance.. I tend to put the friend label on almost everyone I hang out with, I think it's because I feel that everyone I enjoy hanging out with is a friend. If you bring joy to my life and I enjoy spending time with you then you are a friend right?
Random quote I just heard on the Daily Show "John McCain, the only P.O.W. who was brainwashed after his release"
---- Comic of the day
http://mchat.comicgenesis.com/d/20070917.html
---- Thought of the day
What's the point of labels? Do you feel better if you can call someone who you care about a girlfriend/boyfriend?
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sidelines
Been thinking alot about being on the sidelines, watching things unfold around you and knowing you have no impact on what happens.. Sure you can talk and support but when it comes right down to the action you have just to sit and watch.. Is this really a bad place to be? For some it is..
Last season John Maine was one of the best starting pitchers we had, this year he started out really good and then developed a bone spur in his shoulder.. He tried to pitch through the pain and ended up pitching real bad, they finally shut him down for a few weeks and when he got back he was just as bad, the answer? Surgery, more rest? Well the final answer is surgery which he will have after his season is officially ended but they decided to let him rest.. After three more weeks of rest he finally threw the ball the other day, he threw around 30 "tosses" and felt no pain - ready to pitch?? He thinks so, the pitching coach and manager say otherwise.. Yesterday he tried to convince his manager and coach that he was ready, instead they gave the ball to a guy with a lifetime 8.62 ERA.. Here is a quote from John Maine yesterday, "You know, I can come in here, get dressed, talk and joke with everyone. Go out and stretch. But once the game begins, I'm not part of the team. There's nothing I can do to help us. I wish there were. I just hate this."
So, what do you do when you're on the sidelines? Listen, watch, support and wait.. Those things are much more important than you think.. Sometimes the people in the action will miss what's going on around them, they can only see the part of the action that they are dealing with, the people on the sidelines can see the whole stage in front of them. Watch that stage and listen to what people say (and when I say listen, I don't mean hear their words, but listen to what they are actually saying with their words and their body language).. If you do that then you are in a better position to support those in the fray.. Think of how many people's job it is to study games after they are over to see if the pitcher is tipping his pitches by the way he stands or by the way he holds his glove or the angle of his arm while getting set to throw.. Being on the sidelines is just as important as being in the game sometimes..
There are two types of leaders, there are those that lead from the front line and those that lead from the back.. "What can we learn from following leaders, who lead from the rear, where are they now?" (SkyClad's History Lessons) I am very much a front line leader but I can tell you there are benefits of leading from the rear. When fighting on the front line you only see your ally to your left, your ally to your right and the opponents directly in front of you right? I suppose if you're good you can see a bigger pocket than that (which I am), but you still can't see the whole battle field, especially if it's a wide spread battle.. Do you need to see the bigger battle? Sometimes you do.. With that said, I still prefer to be on the front line.. I've been leading from there all my life, it feels good and it feels comfortable, from there I have complete control over my little spot on the field.. I am learning how to lead from the rear, how to watch those I care about fight without jumping to their side.. A big part of that is having confidence in those you are leading, in knowing that they can handle the fight.. The bigger/harder part for me is knowing that sometimes they don't need you to jump in.. I want to always feel that I'm needed, if they can handle the fight without me what am I still important? However being in the rear you can watch how people fight both alone and together, you can help them after the fight to learn from mistakes they might not know they are making. You can help them after the fight to see what the other people are doing around them. You can see when the enemy is mounting a big push just over the horizon.. I learned a lot of this while healing from my injuries this year (first my partially torn rotator cuff and then my ankle/tendon issue).. However much I learned it was still nice to get back on the line when I could..
Everyone is on the sidelines from time to time and everyone is on the front lines from time to time. Very few people feel equally as comfortable in those two spots.. When on the sidelines remember that those in the fight need your support..
----
In other news.. Last night was awesome, I made dinner and brought it over Matt & Sile's apartment.. We had a "bit" to drink and had an overall good time, both at Matt's and after we got home.. :D
Huh, I've been at work for almost 3 hours? I guess I should do some work?? Tonight is 3rd Thursday, me and Jessie are planning on going over there to see some live music.. Speaking of live music.. Glen is coming back to MA in October, Oct 16th and Oct 31st.. I will just be getting back from Japan on Oct 31st so I guess that means I will be going to see him on Thursday Oct 16th.. Sounds good right? Well, Jessie is going to see Hanson with Sara.. Anyone want to go see Glen with me on the 16th?
OK, *now* I need to get back to work.. :D
---- Thought of the day
I hate driving all the way to work when all I’m going to do here is sit in a dark empty classroom and randomly browse the internet.. I can do that so much more effectively from home.. :D
Last season John Maine was one of the best starting pitchers we had, this year he started out really good and then developed a bone spur in his shoulder.. He tried to pitch through the pain and ended up pitching real bad, they finally shut him down for a few weeks and when he got back he was just as bad, the answer? Surgery, more rest? Well the final answer is surgery which he will have after his season is officially ended but they decided to let him rest.. After three more weeks of rest he finally threw the ball the other day, he threw around 30 "tosses" and felt no pain - ready to pitch?? He thinks so, the pitching coach and manager say otherwise.. Yesterday he tried to convince his manager and coach that he was ready, instead they gave the ball to a guy with a lifetime 8.62 ERA.. Here is a quote from John Maine yesterday, "You know, I can come in here, get dressed, talk and joke with everyone. Go out and stretch. But once the game begins, I'm not part of the team. There's nothing I can do to help us. I wish there were. I just hate this."
So, what do you do when you're on the sidelines? Listen, watch, support and wait.. Those things are much more important than you think.. Sometimes the people in the action will miss what's going on around them, they can only see the part of the action that they are dealing with, the people on the sidelines can see the whole stage in front of them. Watch that stage and listen to what people say (and when I say listen, I don't mean hear their words, but listen to what they are actually saying with their words and their body language).. If you do that then you are in a better position to support those in the fray.. Think of how many people's job it is to study games after they are over to see if the pitcher is tipping his pitches by the way he stands or by the way he holds his glove or the angle of his arm while getting set to throw.. Being on the sidelines is just as important as being in the game sometimes..
There are two types of leaders, there are those that lead from the front line and those that lead from the back.. "What can we learn from following leaders, who lead from the rear, where are they now?" (SkyClad's History Lessons) I am very much a front line leader but I can tell you there are benefits of leading from the rear. When fighting on the front line you only see your ally to your left, your ally to your right and the opponents directly in front of you right? I suppose if you're good you can see a bigger pocket than that (which I am), but you still can't see the whole battle field, especially if it's a wide spread battle.. Do you need to see the bigger battle? Sometimes you do.. With that said, I still prefer to be on the front line.. I've been leading from there all my life, it feels good and it feels comfortable, from there I have complete control over my little spot on the field.. I am learning how to lead from the rear, how to watch those I care about fight without jumping to their side.. A big part of that is having confidence in those you are leading, in knowing that they can handle the fight.. The bigger/harder part for me is knowing that sometimes they don't need you to jump in.. I want to always feel that I'm needed, if they can handle the fight without me what am I still important? However being in the rear you can watch how people fight both alone and together, you can help them after the fight to learn from mistakes they might not know they are making. You can help them after the fight to see what the other people are doing around them. You can see when the enemy is mounting a big push just over the horizon.. I learned a lot of this while healing from my injuries this year (first my partially torn rotator cuff and then my ankle/tendon issue).. However much I learned it was still nice to get back on the line when I could..
Everyone is on the sidelines from time to time and everyone is on the front lines from time to time. Very few people feel equally as comfortable in those two spots.. When on the sidelines remember that those in the fight need your support..
----
In other news.. Last night was awesome, I made dinner and brought it over Matt & Sile's apartment.. We had a "bit" to drink and had an overall good time, both at Matt's and after we got home.. :D
Huh, I've been at work for almost 3 hours? I guess I should do some work?? Tonight is 3rd Thursday, me and Jessie are planning on going over there to see some live music.. Speaking of live music.. Glen is coming back to MA in October, Oct 16th and Oct 31st.. I will just be getting back from Japan on Oct 31st so I guess that means I will be going to see him on Thursday Oct 16th.. Sounds good right? Well, Jessie is going to see Hanson with Sara.. Anyone want to go see Glen with me on the 16th?
OK, *now* I need to get back to work.. :D
---- Thought of the day
I hate driving all the way to work when all I’m going to do here is sit in a dark empty classroom and randomly browse the internet.. I can do that so much more effectively from home.. :D
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Illegal v. Legal Immigrants
I'm hanging out at my friend Matt's house.. Being here reminds me of a rant blog I wanted to post the other day..
Matt went to Australia for work for a few years, while he was there is met a girl named Sile. Did you know that the Australian word for girl is Sheila, that's a running joke, but anyway back to the story.. So Matt met Sile and ended up having a great start to a great relationship, Sile and Matt ended up having a son while in Australia.. Matt decided he needed to come home for a few reasons, 1st - his dad was not doing good health wise and 2nd - he was just plain homesick..
Anyway, Sile tried to come over to America with Daniel but the American government wouldn't let her because of dumb ass visa issues.. Well, Matt came over here and Sile went home to Ireland with Daniel... Matt and Sile fought for 11 months to get her a "fiance visa", a fiance visa is good for 3 months..
So, Matt and Sile got married on 8.8.08 which is an awesome day to get married.. Now that they are married they had to get Sile a "wife visa".. The wife visa is good for two years, at the end of that time Sile will need to either apply for citizenship or to get a permanent resident visa.. So, as if the "wife visa" is not enough they need to get a "travel visa" which will allow Sile to travel back to Ireland for visits.. Oh, and wait... They need a "working wife visa" for her to get a job while here too!
Sometimes I wonder what's wrong with this country... If you were ever wondering why people are illegal immigrants just think about what this country does to you when you try to do it the legal way...
On another note... The Mets won today!! End the 2007 deja vu talk now!?!
I have a bunch of other stuff I wanted to blog about tonight but I ended up hanging out here and drinking a bit too much so I will blog about that stuff tomorrow...
A toast?? To good food, good drink, good fire and absent friends..
Can you see the fire while your eyes are closed?? Study the light patterns and in there you will see the flames... Once you see the flames you can dance with them...
---- Comic of the day
http://www.xkcd.com/425/
---- Thought of the day
Why is is that a relief pitcher can pitch a perfect 8th, but when you put him in the 9th he can't get a fucking out!!
Matt went to Australia for work for a few years, while he was there is met a girl named Sile. Did you know that the Australian word for girl is Sheila, that's a running joke, but anyway back to the story.. So Matt met Sile and ended up having a great start to a great relationship, Sile and Matt ended up having a son while in Australia.. Matt decided he needed to come home for a few reasons, 1st - his dad was not doing good health wise and 2nd - he was just plain homesick..
Anyway, Sile tried to come over to America with Daniel but the American government wouldn't let her because of dumb ass visa issues.. Well, Matt came over here and Sile went home to Ireland with Daniel... Matt and Sile fought for 11 months to get her a "fiance visa", a fiance visa is good for 3 months..
So, Matt and Sile got married on 8.8.08 which is an awesome day to get married.. Now that they are married they had to get Sile a "wife visa".. The wife visa is good for two years, at the end of that time Sile will need to either apply for citizenship or to get a permanent resident visa.. So, as if the "wife visa" is not enough they need to get a "travel visa" which will allow Sile to travel back to Ireland for visits.. Oh, and wait... They need a "working wife visa" for her to get a job while here too!
Sometimes I wonder what's wrong with this country... If you were ever wondering why people are illegal immigrants just think about what this country does to you when you try to do it the legal way...
On another note... The Mets won today!! End the 2007 deja vu talk now!?!
I have a bunch of other stuff I wanted to blog about tonight but I ended up hanging out here and drinking a bit too much so I will blog about that stuff tomorrow...
A toast?? To good food, good drink, good fire and absent friends..
Can you see the fire while your eyes are closed?? Study the light patterns and in there you will see the flames... Once you see the flames you can dance with them...
---- Comic of the day
http://www.xkcd.com/425/
---- Thought of the day
Why is is that a relief pitcher can pitch a perfect 8th, but when you put him in the 9th he can't get a fucking out!!
New Layout
So, after careful consideration I decided I didn't really like any of those blog layouts.. So, enter un-lazy man!
I took the time (about 47 minutes) and edited the template I had to be three columns! Took a bit of work to edit the pictures in Paint Shop and re-upload them so they would be the right size and for some reason the padding was wrong on the main entry section but I cleared that up with a bit of trial and error...
So.. Here is my new template/layout.. Hope you like it..
Other things today?? Well, I had a bunch more meetings at work and found out they are trying to move three of my ILT classes to Centra-Live classes. Centra classes mean I get to sit in a room all by myself with a webcam and talk to people who are sitting at their houses logged in taking the classes.. They are looking to make this change in Q2 of 2009.. Two of the Three they are changing are classes I normally travel for.. That does not really mean less travel because I am picking up a new class in November which has a lot of travel involved..
I have to run to a meeting.. I will post another blog tonight.. It will have the comic and thought of the day..
I took the time (about 47 minutes) and edited the template I had to be three columns! Took a bit of work to edit the pictures in Paint Shop and re-upload them so they would be the right size and for some reason the padding was wrong on the main entry section but I cleared that up with a bit of trial and error...
So.. Here is my new template/layout.. Hope you like it..
Other things today?? Well, I had a bunch more meetings at work and found out they are trying to move three of my ILT classes to Centra-Live classes. Centra classes mean I get to sit in a room all by myself with a webcam and talk to people who are sitting at their houses logged in taking the classes.. They are looking to make this change in Q2 of 2009.. Two of the Three they are changing are classes I normally travel for.. That does not really mean less travel because I am picking up a new class in November which has a lot of travel involved..
I have to run to a meeting.. I will post another blog tonight.. It will have the comic and thought of the day..
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Template?
I sorta want a template that's three columns. All of the default Blogspot templates are only two column. With that said I found a few websites that have bunches of templates.. I have narrowed it down to these five finalists.. Please let me know which one you think would be best for my blog...
http://greengrass-btemplates.blogspot.com/
http://duna-btemplates.blogspot.com/
http://verao-btemplates.blogspot.com/
http://rounders-btemplates.blogspot.com/
http://inewspaper-btemplates.blogspot.com/
I would love it if you ranked them from best to worst in a comment or in an email..
Heading to bed..
http://greengrass-btemplates.blogspot.com/
http://duna-btemplates.blogspot.com/
http://verao-btemplates.blogspot.com/
http://rounders-btemplates.blogspot.com/
http://inewspaper-btemplates.blogspot.com/
I would love it if you ranked them from best to worst in a comment or in an email..
Heading to bed..
Leader of the Free World
If America wants the president to be the leader of the free world perhaps we should open our elections up to the entire free world.. Think of this, every person in the world gets to vote.. Each country gets a certain number of electoral votes depending on if you're an ally or not. That way the educated world can out vote the stupid fucking ignorant assholes in America!!!
I actually removed someone I have known since High School today from my Myspace page because of a bulletin they posted!
I am so sick of dumb-ass Americans who hear some outlandish thing on the stupid 24 hour news networks and then believe it without looking it up to make sure it's not some stupid fuck reporter making shit up because it makes good news!
/rant
I actually removed someone I have known since High School today from my Myspace page because of a bulletin they posted!
I am so sick of dumb-ass Americans who hear some outlandish thing on the stupid 24 hour news networks and then believe it without looking it up to make sure it's not some stupid fuck reporter making shit up because it makes good news!
/rant
Quotes...
Jessie had a link on her IM Away message this morning.. The link was to an article on naturalnews.com.. I really like the article so I have pasted it here. I know, I could have just pasted the link but I didn't like the format of that website (too many frames)..
"(NaturalNews) So many relationships are based on either selfishly taking, without giving, or alternatively living someone else’s life and simply giving the other person what they want, to keep the peace. When looking for a happy, peaceful life make sure you match your brain, heart and your gut feelings; you will need all three to handle a successful relationship.
From experience, it is my opinion that by far the important ingredient in a relationship is communication. Working on a relationship means creating an atmosphere where people can grow on every level of their being, whilst conversing together with respect and caring. It is about being true to one's self and loyal to each other. To communicate means to deal honestly with the good and the bad and being mature enough to know and being capable of accepting each others' strengths and weaknesses. In that environment, love must grow.
Is your partner meeting the criteria that you have set for a relationship? Are you being treated the way you wish? Are you being treated with compassion? Are you being treated with respect? Does the other person match their actions with their words? It’s so very easy to say, “I love you”, but there is a world of difference between loving someone and being in love! What is your intuition saying? Are they matching your standards? Are you being manipulated? (Some people are experts at manipulation.) Importantly, are you happy?
If you are receiving most of the above criteria, then congratulations -- just make sure you are giving in return.
Always remember, you don’t need a partner at any price. You need a partner for the right reasons.
We make all our decisions based on our knowledge, experience and emotions, and must accept responsibility for the repercussions. Have you learnt from any past relationship mistakes? Or are you on a continuum?
Cast off the baggage of uncertainty, fear and continuums. Neither the past nor the future can intimidate you when you affirm that you are a spiritual being that can love and be loved as never before. Make certain that you have the right partner who brings sunshine and happiness into your life, with no hassles. Do not accept less.
Only then will you have the right partner to dance to the rhythm of the music of the universe with.
Excerpt from Michael's book 'Solutions with Pearls of Wisdom'. Using 30 years of experience as a Naturopath."
Everyday I type my blog in a text document on my computer that way I can paste it into the blog server without risk of the website freaking out and losing everything I wrote.. Anyway, at the bottom of this text document I have something I wrote up while talking to Elizabeth about what I felt she should be looking for her in her next boyfriend. Elizabeth had been going off on what she wanted/didn't want in her next boyfriend and many of the things she mentioned were all superficial stuff.. I came up with this list of things she (and anyone else) wants in a boyfriend/girlfriend. Reading this article today made me think that maybe I should post what I have in this text file..
"Treats you like you deserve to be treated..
Help you grow as a person and support you in all of your choices..
Give of himself till it hurts to make you happy..
Encourages you to be happy without him.."
Is that really ballsy to quote myself??
I was wondering around the Franklin facility today catching up with people who I have not seen in a long time.. I saw a really awesome picture on someone's cubicle, it was so cool I had to take a picture and share it..
Two more things before I go to lunch.. I went to that tattoo place in Putnam called Widow's Mark (Widow's Mark Tattoo Studio), they were closed but they looked cool from what I could see in the window.. I am going to go back today to talk to the guy, wish me luck..
I'll probably post again later today/tonight..
---- Comic of the day
http://mchat.comicgenesis.com/d/20070907.html
---- Thought of the day
"All generalizations are false, even this one!" - I saw this on someone's cubicle today and actually stopped walking to think about how true that statement is..
"(NaturalNews) So many relationships are based on either selfishly taking, without giving, or alternatively living someone else’s life and simply giving the other person what they want, to keep the peace. When looking for a happy, peaceful life make sure you match your brain, heart and your gut feelings; you will need all three to handle a successful relationship.
From experience, it is my opinion that by far the important ingredient in a relationship is communication. Working on a relationship means creating an atmosphere where people can grow on every level of their being, whilst conversing together with respect and caring. It is about being true to one's self and loyal to each other. To communicate means to deal honestly with the good and the bad and being mature enough to know and being capable of accepting each others' strengths and weaknesses. In that environment, love must grow.
Is your partner meeting the criteria that you have set for a relationship? Are you being treated the way you wish? Are you being treated with compassion? Are you being treated with respect? Does the other person match their actions with their words? It’s so very easy to say, “I love you”, but there is a world of difference between loving someone and being in love! What is your intuition saying? Are they matching your standards? Are you being manipulated? (Some people are experts at manipulation.) Importantly, are you happy?
If you are receiving most of the above criteria, then congratulations -- just make sure you are giving in return.
Always remember, you don’t need a partner at any price. You need a partner for the right reasons.
We make all our decisions based on our knowledge, experience and emotions, and must accept responsibility for the repercussions. Have you learnt from any past relationship mistakes? Or are you on a continuum?
Cast off the baggage of uncertainty, fear and continuums. Neither the past nor the future can intimidate you when you affirm that you are a spiritual being that can love and be loved as never before. Make certain that you have the right partner who brings sunshine and happiness into your life, with no hassles. Do not accept less.
Only then will you have the right partner to dance to the rhythm of the music of the universe with.
Excerpt from Michael's book 'Solutions with Pearls of Wisdom'. Using 30 years of experience as a Naturopath."
Everyday I type my blog in a text document on my computer that way I can paste it into the blog server without risk of the website freaking out and losing everything I wrote.. Anyway, at the bottom of this text document I have something I wrote up while talking to Elizabeth about what I felt she should be looking for her in her next boyfriend. Elizabeth had been going off on what she wanted/didn't want in her next boyfriend and many of the things she mentioned were all superficial stuff.. I came up with this list of things she (and anyone else) wants in a boyfriend/girlfriend. Reading this article today made me think that maybe I should post what I have in this text file..
"Treats you like you deserve to be treated..
Help you grow as a person and support you in all of your choices..
Give of himself till it hurts to make you happy..
Encourages you to be happy without him.."
Is that really ballsy to quote myself??
I was wondering around the Franklin facility today catching up with people who I have not seen in a long time.. I saw a really awesome picture on someone's cubicle, it was so cool I had to take a picture and share it..
Two more things before I go to lunch.. I went to that tattoo place in Putnam called Widow's Mark (Widow's Mark Tattoo Studio), they were closed but they looked cool from what I could see in the window.. I am going to go back today to talk to the guy, wish me luck..
I'll probably post again later today/tonight..
---- Comic of the day
http://mchat.comicgenesis.com/d/20070907.html
---- Thought of the day
"All generalizations are false, even this one!" - I saw this on someone's cubicle today and actually stopped walking to think about how true that statement is..
Monday, September 15, 2008
You can watch TV..
I just set our TiVos to record the upcoming 2008-2009 TV Schedule..
In case your wondering, here's what I plan to watch:
Monday:
How I Met Your Mother
Heroes
Boston Legal
Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Tuesday:
Throwdown with Bobby Flay
Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Wednesday:
South Park
Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Thursday:
My Name is Earl
Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Friday:
Monk (I have the entire 2008 summer seaon on my TiVo - Didn't watch one episode yet)
Saturday:
Legend of the Seeker
Sunday:
Family Guy
Iron Chef America
Also recording House for Jessie on Tuesday nights.. And Scrubs is on the horizon for whenever they plan to start airing it.. Apparently Scrubs is moving from NBC to ABC this year, it will start later in the year because they didn't even start filming them yet...
In case your wondering, here's what I plan to watch:
Monday:
How I Met Your Mother
Heroes
Boston Legal
Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Tuesday:
Throwdown with Bobby Flay
Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Wednesday:
South Park
Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Thursday:
My Name is Earl
Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Friday:
Monk (I have the entire 2008 summer seaon on my TiVo - Didn't watch one episode yet)
Saturday:
Legend of the Seeker
Sunday:
Family Guy
Iron Chef America
Also recording House for Jessie on Tuesday nights.. And Scrubs is on the horizon for whenever they plan to start airing it.. Apparently Scrubs is moving from NBC to ABC this year, it will start later in the year because they didn't even start filming them yet...
Focus on the positive.
Don't you hate when you're driving and you think of something awesome that you want to make sure you add to your blog.. Then you get to work and you forget.. What a crappy thing to have happen.. So all day I sit at work and I can't remember what the hell it was that I thought was so insightful. I mean isn't that why we blog, to show the world just how insightful we can be? Sure, it would be easy to just Wright up a bunch of dick and fart jokes but there are so many out there already, speaking of which - what's worse in your opinion a hot dog that's too small for the bun or a hot dog that's too big for the bun? In one case you just have this mess of hot dog that you can't quite put mustard on because it falls off and you certainly can't put chili or kraut on it because there's nothing to hold it on the dog.. In the other case you might as well just eat a loaf of bread.. Hmmm..
Anyway, where was I.. Insightful things.. I'll get there.. This is a linear blog right? I might as well start back to what made me forget my friggin thought to begin with.. I was driving to work this morning and I (and almost everyone else on the road) got pulled over for speeding! I know what you're going to say "when you speed ALL the time eventually you get caught", and you would be right, but you could also bugger off.. The MA cops had a guy sitting at Exit 100 in CT clocking everyone's speed, they had a ton of cops sitting at Exit 1 in MA with the two right lanes blocked off and a guy in the left lane pointing at everyone who was speeding! My question is can the MA cops put a guy in CT to clock people? What are the rules for crossing state lines?
So, on to work.. Busy, busy, busy, busy.. I am not going to whine about work, at least not in this forum.. :) Went down to eat around 1:30 and the cafe was already closing, the sandwich girl had not cleaned up so she let me order.. I had ham & swiss on a wrap with mayo, lettuce, tomato and basil. Ok, no more about work today..
After work I went to my foot doctor, I am going to have surgery on my right Achilles tendon on Nov 19th with the left foot to be scheduled after that one heals a bit. Did I say no more about work? I lied.. My boss is going to give me the week of Nov 19th off platform so I can work from home with my foot elevated..
On the way home I was chatting with Lynz and I suddenly remembered what my insightful thought was!! I was all excited, ironically though as soon as I logged in to start typing this I forgot!! :( I have been typing up the day in hopes that it would jump back in there... Oh well.. On to dick and fart jokes? Nah, I'll leave those to Mr. Smith, he is the real master..
So, I wanted to mention a really awesome band my friend in Chicago showed me.. There is an acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela which will blow your mind away.. This video is them doing Stairway to Heaven on two guitars, nothing but two guitars!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNc5o9TU0t0
If you have not yet you should check out my "Random Links" section.. If you have something that you feel people who read my blog would be interested in shoot me a link and I may post it over there.. Things I really want are links to my friend's blogs so that I can have one place to go for all my blogging needs..
About to head to dinner.. I am going (if they are open) to check out the Putnam Tattoo place finally.. I figure I keep going further and further away to find a good tattoo place and I keep crapping on the one right down the street because "it can't possibly be good if it's that close"..
And two more things that came to me while Jessie was checking for spelling errors.. First - Queen has a new CD (http://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Rocks-Queen/dp/B001DU8T6S) coming out!!! I am so friggin happy I think I make myself wet everytime I think about it!! Second - RC is the best cola!!
---- Comic of the day
http://www.xkcd.com/400/
---- Thoughts of the day
Just because you have an insightful thought does not mean it's always a good idea to share it.. I did remember what my insightful thought was finally but after all of that I decided in the end I should not post it.. I guess today's thought of the day is that some thoughts are meant to be internal thoughts only.. Wizard's Eleventh Rule?
Remember to focus on the positive thoughts and positive things in your life. The more you focus on those the happier you will be which will in turn make you focus more on the positive things.. It's a happy spiral!
Anyway, where was I.. Insightful things.. I'll get there.. This is a linear blog right? I might as well start back to what made me forget my friggin thought to begin with.. I was driving to work this morning and I (and almost everyone else on the road) got pulled over for speeding! I know what you're going to say "when you speed ALL the time eventually you get caught", and you would be right, but you could also bugger off.. The MA cops had a guy sitting at Exit 100 in CT clocking everyone's speed, they had a ton of cops sitting at Exit 1 in MA with the two right lanes blocked off and a guy in the left lane pointing at everyone who was speeding! My question is can the MA cops put a guy in CT to clock people? What are the rules for crossing state lines?
So, on to work.. Busy, busy, busy, busy.. I am not going to whine about work, at least not in this forum.. :) Went down to eat around 1:30 and the cafe was already closing, the sandwich girl had not cleaned up so she let me order.. I had ham & swiss on a wrap with mayo, lettuce, tomato and basil. Ok, no more about work today..
After work I went to my foot doctor, I am going to have surgery on my right Achilles tendon on Nov 19th with the left foot to be scheduled after that one heals a bit. Did I say no more about work? I lied.. My boss is going to give me the week of Nov 19th off platform so I can work from home with my foot elevated..
On the way home I was chatting with Lynz and I suddenly remembered what my insightful thought was!! I was all excited, ironically though as soon as I logged in to start typing this I forgot!! :( I have been typing up the day in hopes that it would jump back in there... Oh well.. On to dick and fart jokes? Nah, I'll leave those to Mr. Smith, he is the real master..
So, I wanted to mention a really awesome band my friend in Chicago showed me.. There is an acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela which will blow your mind away.. This video is them doing Stairway to Heaven on two guitars, nothing but two guitars!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNc5o9TU0t0
If you have not yet you should check out my "Random Links" section.. If you have something that you feel people who read my blog would be interested in shoot me a link and I may post it over there.. Things I really want are links to my friend's blogs so that I can have one place to go for all my blogging needs..
About to head to dinner.. I am going (if they are open) to check out the Putnam Tattoo place finally.. I figure I keep going further and further away to find a good tattoo place and I keep crapping on the one right down the street because "it can't possibly be good if it's that close"..
And two more things that came to me while Jessie was checking for spelling errors.. First - Queen has a new CD (http://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Rocks-Queen/dp/B001DU8T6S) coming out!!! I am so friggin happy I think I make myself wet everytime I think about it!! Second - RC is the best cola!!
---- Comic of the day
http://www.xkcd.com/400/
---- Thoughts of the day
Just because you have an insightful thought does not mean it's always a good idea to share it.. I did remember what my insightful thought was finally but after all of that I decided in the end I should not post it.. I guess today's thought of the day is that some thoughts are meant to be internal thoughts only.. Wizard's Eleventh Rule?
Remember to focus on the positive thoughts and positive things in your life. The more you focus on those the happier you will be which will in turn make you focus more on the positive things.. It's a happy spiral!
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