Comment from out of nowhere

I'm not sure who invented the seedless grape, but whoever it was, my hat's off to you.

Miss America

Congratulations to Miss Oklahoma on winning this year's Miss America competition. Did anyone even know this was going on right now? I was unaware that the competition was even on until I saw the news story that the winner was crowned. Remember the days when people actually cared about Miss America? What happened? It even draws less attention than the Oscars, which are a complete waste of time despite having the distinct advantage of having attractive young women in swimsuits. What in the world do the Oscars have that anybody cares about? Joan Rivers annoyingly whining about what people are wearing is, by itself enough for me to avoid watching.

Anyway, I just found out that Miss Washington this year is from Silverdale. Some of you may know that Silverdale is where I attended high school and where my parents still live. Nobody I went to school with looked like that however. I'm very impressed at how ambitious she is: Career Ambition: Work for a Non-Governmental Organization. That is particularly interesting since she is currently majoring in political science. Keep those sights set high Miss Washington.

Giving them the quick once over, I'd have to say my favorites are Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, and Michigan. I think I'd have to cast my vote for Miss Michigan, although, the more I look at the pics, the less sure of that I am, so I'm going to stop now before I change my mind.

And one last note, the Miss Scott competition doesn't care about what talents you have, what interests you have, or how you do in the interview. It is limited to the swimsuit competition and the evening wear competition. Maybe I'd throw in a punt, pass, and kick competition to keep it interesting, but then again, maybe not.

What is going on in Japan?

This weird looking shark was found off the coast of Japan.

This giant squid was caught by fisherman off the coast of Japan.

And finally, this dolphin with 'legs' (actually just an extra set of flippers, but the media and presumably some 'scientists' as well are calling them legs) was also found off the coast of Japan.

All of this can only mean one thing. Some pretty serious nuclear testing is being done in the waters off the coast of Japan or some toxic waste is being dumped there. Either way, this will soon awaken the wrath of Godzilla who will then procede to destroy Tokyo. The only hope at this point is to build a Mecha-Godzilla to fight him.

Useless trivia!

Dom Perignon, the man commonly recognized for perfecting the process of both making and bottling champagne, was a Benedictine monk.

Are you ready Weaver!

I sure am Kuni! You guessed it, the Mariners signed Jeff Weaver. Yes, they also signed Arthur Rhodes, but since I don't expect him to make it into a game in a Mariner uniform barring a disaster, that's not a move even worth talking about. Now to get back to Weaver, this move I initially looked at as a horrible act of desperation, the good people at USS Mariner and Lookout Landing have changed my point of view a little. Basically, Weaver is a pitcher who has never lived up to expectations, and was so bad last year that the Angels waived him. He was picked up by the Cardinals and went on to have 3 good games in the playoffs including a game 5 world series win. Initially I had assumed that Mariner GM Bill Bavasi was choosing to look at 3 good playoff games as evidence of untapped potential while ignoring 5 or 6 years of below average pitching.

So what exactly changed my mind? Well, the USS Mariner threw a bunch of stats and projections at me arguing that there is a good chance he could come in and have a decent season. Not good mind you, but not bad either. The projections suggest that he might have between a 4.5 and 5 ERA and eat up close to 200 innings. That's not bad for a #5 starter. And given the fact that he was just signed to a 1 year deal, there isn't a possibility that we're stuck with him for a long time if he doesn't work out. Also, we didn't give up anything to get him, so in the end if he doesn't work out, all it cost us is money. That logic is kind of hard to argue with. This may turn out to be the best offseason move.

Caffeinated Donuts

This just in: scientists have not been able to cure cancer, but they have been able to invent a caffeine filled donut. Each donut has the same amount of caffeine as 2 cups of coffee. On a personal note, I love coffee and prefer my caffeine in that format, but I would still be willing to give the donuts a shot. I'm not sure if this is something Starbucks will get behind or not since it will probably cut into coffee sales, but then again, if it will get non coffee drinkers into their stores, I'm sure they'd be all for it. And it occurs to me that I have not yet had any coffee today so I better sign off and go get some.

Tijuana Police

If you run afoul of the law in Tijuana, be prepared to be shot with a ball bearing. You heard me right, according to this story, police in Tijuana have had their guns confiscated and in their place have been issued a sling shot and a bag of ball bearings. The police are suspected of collusion with drug dealers and their guns were confiscated to inspect and test to see if they match up with weapons used in drug related crimes. I'm not sure how effective the police will be, but I think now is the time for me to start planning my crime spree south of the border. Rock beats scissors, but AK-47 beats sling shot.

Felix Hernandez in shape

I guess I've got to soak up all the Mariners good news before the season starts and I inevitably can't wait for it to get over. Today's news is that Felix Hernandez has shown up in great shape. Apparently after struggling last year because of being overweight, he got into the gym in the offseason. Hopefully this means he is taking all aspects of his game seriously and we will see a dominating Felix this year. This could be very good for the M's since I'm not sure any of the other 4 starters can win a game this year.

Van Halen and Roth together again?

According to this story, Van Halen and Diamond Dave didn't learn their lesson the first 2 times around that they hate each other and are ready to give it one more shot. Supposedly they are on the verge of signing a deal to do a 40 show tour. If they make it through show 6 without Eddie or Alex threatening to kill Dave or walking off stage, I'll be amazed. And as much as I love Van Halen, I'm not sure I'm very interested in seeing some seriously broken down old rock stars limping out on stage on their replacement hips. A couple months ago I saw an extremely creepy picture of Eddie on another blog and I think I'd have nightmares after seeing a full length concert of that. This one goes down as a bad idea in my book. I think I'd even prefer seeing them get back together with Gary Cherone than David Lee Roth.

9 O'Clock Cock Fight

I tuned in to the 9 o' clock cock fight on KISW this evening and was pleasantly surprised to hear 2 of my favorites going head to head. Reigning champ Disturbed was going for win #7 with 10,000 Fists against Sevendust's new song Driven. I got my vote in for Sevendust and last I heard it was a dead heat, but I missed the winner. Hopefully they'll post it on the web site tomorrow.

Anyway, I encourage, no, make that demand, that you all check out the new Sevendust tunes that you can listen to in their entirety here.

I don't think that Disturbed has made a video for 10,000 Fists, but this fan video is pretty good.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

I finally got around to seeing Pirates 2. I actually think it was ok, and undeserving of all the bad reviews I saw. That being said, it wasn't without it's problems. The special effects were overdone, and the action scenes were over the top. I think they could easily cut 30-40 minutes of that fluff out and just have stuck to the story and it would have been better. Some of the action scenes dragged on so long that I kept looking at my watch waiting for them to get over.

I read a lot of reviews complaining that the plot was confusing and disjointed. I didn't really think that was a problem. The only thing I found that made it hard to follow was that it was continually being interrupted by the afore mentioned action and special effects sequence. I was actually pleasantly surprised by a darker plot than the original. While that does make it less appealing to kids and my mom, I appreciate a little more terror being added to the pirates. I think pirates are supposed to be scary, not goofy. There were a couple recycled jokes, which always irritates me with sequels, but I've come to expect it.

That brings me to Davey Jones. This is one really cool looking character, but there is just something about the actor that plays him, Bill Nighy, that bothers me. Even through all of the prosthetics and make up and special effects, his mannerisms still came through clearly. Every scene of his reminded me of his character in Underworld, which also irritated me a little.





My only other complaints are that Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom's parts were cut down too much and the movie focused too much on Johnny Depp. Now I don't feel that 5 stars is enough for me to rate a movie on, so I will be using a 10 star system. I found this to be a flawed, yet enjoyable movie that is good if you're not looking for serious cinema, and so I will give it 6 stars.

Useless trivia!

Coca Cola was first marketed as "the best cure for a hangover," and early production contained trace amounts of coca leaves, which, when processed, render cocaine.

You heard it here first

Actually you heard it here first, 82 wins for the M's this year. The USS Mariner is predicting a more solid season out of the M's than I am. I'm imagining another 70 win season after the boneheaded moves that Bill Bavasi pulled in the off season (why hasn't that guy been fired yet?). I've been trying to avoid talking about the M's for 2 reasons: 1. the season is still a long way off, and 2. every time I think about the off season trades it angers up the blood. But since this is the first good news I've heard in a while, even if it is only theoretical good news, I can enjoy it. Plus, the guys over at USS Mariner really seem to know what they are talking about.

In other Mariner news, I found this interesting where is he now article on everybody's favorite, Bucky Jacobsen. It sounds like his career is pretty much over, but I'd still love it if the M's, or anybody for that matter, except the A's - screw them, brought him back and gave him one more shot. How can you not love a big, fat, goofy, fun loving power hitter? He's like Jay Buhner only bigger. Ah the nostalgia. Ok, I'm back now, and Bucky should be too.

Scooters

Someone, who shall remain anonymous for his own protection, has been trying to talk me into buying a scooter. Though my hatred of high gas prices is pretty strong, it still isn't to the point that I can see myself putting around town on a scooter. While it has always been a dream of mine to roll into Sturgess on a scooter purely for entertainment purposes, I can't really imagine owning one. Is it possible to look cool on a scooter? Let me change that. Is it possible to not look like a total dork on a scooter? I'm not sure that my fragile ego could take that kind of blow at this point in my life. So the question to all you readers out there, and I'm pretty sure there is at least 1 of you: what would it take to get you on a scooter? And if you want one, I can put you in touch with somebody.

Should a grown man really be on one of these?

More irritation with gas prices

According to this article, gas prices have dipped below $1.90 a gallon in Ohio, and yet I can't find a station around here for under $2.60. Would somebody please just tell me who I need to stab to keep from getting screwed at the pump. I'm almost to the point where the electric car is sounding like a pretty good idea.

***Update***
Not only does this town have way lower gas prices, but apparently the black labs in the area are eating gorilla glue. I'll tell you, labs will eat anything.

Dedicated fan

Now this is dedication. A pregnant woman in Chicago had a due date of Monday and did what any good fan should do. She induced labor on Friday so that there was no chance of her husband missing the Bears game because the baby was being born. That woman is a keeper my friends. I've got to find me someone like that.

Them Bones

As you may have noticed by now, one of my favorite things to do on the internet is watch videos. Lately I've really been enjoying finding videos that I haven't seen in a long time, as well as live music videos, most of which I've never seen before. Anyway, what I've got for you today is one of the coolest videos ever from a Seattle band. I can't really put my finger on what it is about this video that I like so much, it's just cool. Plus it's one of the hardest rocking songs you will ever hear, so if this doesn't get you pumped up, you're probably dead. A little side note to add here, at one time after seeing this video, I decided I would grow myself a super long goatee like Layne Staley has got. Granted this was many years ago, so the memory is a little fuzzy, but it seems like I went a good 2 months without shaving it. At that point it was about an inch and a half long, looked absolutely terrible, itched a lot, and just generally annoyed me a lot. That's when I finally gave up on that dumb idea. Luckily the memory is still good enough that I remember how much I hated it, so I won't be trying that again any time soon, but maybe one of my readers who doesn't have a job or works from home and therefore doesn't have to look decent would be willing to give it a try. Anyway, enjoy the show.

New Saddam Hussein video

Apparently a new video of Saddam Hussein has been leaked to the internet. I'm sure this is going to upset more people that these images keep being leaked out.

Hannibal Rising

I just saw my first preview for Hannibal Rising, and I must say I'm interested. I loved Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon and would love to see more of the back story on Hannibal Lecter. I do have some reservations however. My biggest reservation is that I've seen the movie Hannibal which was an absolute disaster. 2 of the 3 movies in the franchise have been outstanding, but the third one was such a stinker that I have to approach this new movie with trepidation. The second reservation is that it's coming out in February. Traditionally, movies coming out early in the year suck. Think about it. What's the best movie you ever saw that came out this time of year. See what I mean. Third, I don't recognize anyone in the cast, and more to the point, the young actor playing Hannibal really didn't convince me that he's up to the part based on what I've seen. Still, these things aside, I'm very interested in seeing this movie.

Jeff Samardzija signs with the Cubs

In a move that I find very surprising, Notre Dame star wide receiver Jeff Samardzija decided to sign with the Chicago Cubs reportedly for 5 years $10 million. Since he was going to be a first round pick in the NFL draft in April where he would make a lot more money, this is surprising news to me. Even more surprising is that he sounds like he's not interested in being a 2 sport athlete like Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders. He's just planning on playing baseball. Maybe my love of football is clouding my perspective on things, but this is a real shock to me. Maybe like Drew Henson, he'll play a few years of minor league ball and decide he's never going to make it to the big leagues and turn back to football. Who knows. It's kind of a shame to see such a talented player completely give up football though.

News items

I saw this article in the Seattle Times today. State legislators have finally put an end to all the talk of replacing the broken down I-99 viaduct with a tunnel. The idea of forking over billions of taxpayer dollars so that some real estate developers could get even richer off of the newly available waterfront land always rubbed me the wrong way. I say that if the guys who are going to get rich off it really want the tunnel, let them foot the bill. Besides, I always liked the scenic view you get from atop the viaduct. I don't like the idea of giving that up so some yuppie jerk can have a condo there. That jerk would be much happier with a view of my car driving by. Take my word for it. I'm glad to see that plan go down in flames. Now if we can just get a new 520 bridge built with twice the lanes and maybe some express lanes, we'd be getting somewhere. Of course, I know that wouldn't make much of a difference in the traffic since the bottleneck isn't the bridge, it's the limited number of lanes/large number of onramps leading up to the bridge in both directions, but let's just solve one problem at a time. Give me my bridge.

The second news item that caught my attention was this one. Apparantly a 9 year old boy from Lakewood was able to steal a car, lead police after a 90 mph chase, con his way onto not one, but 2 Southwest airlines flights without a ticket or identification, before finally being picked up by authorities in San Antonio. That really doesn't make me feel very good about the ineptitude of the TSA. And the boy is now back at home with his mother because the authorities won't put him in a juvenile detention center. Amazing.

Theme Song

I think everybody needs a theme song, and for a while I've felt like no song fits me better than I Don't Know Anything by Seattle's own Mad Season. If you haven't heard it before, here is Mad Season playing it live at the Moore (right in downtown Seattle for those of you unfamiliar with the Moore).





By the way, Layne Staley looks absolutely terrible in this, so let that be a lesson to stay off drugs (that means you Shelvis). RIP Layne.

Long hair

As most of you already know, I'm not a fan of getting my hair cut. Most of my adult life I have averaged about 2 haircuts a year. Right now I'm just barely past shoulder length due to a relatively recent cut (2 months ago? I'm guessing). Now my reasons for having long hair have nothing to do with rebelling against anything, my fading dreams of being a rock star, or even the fact that long haired dudes are so much cooler than everyone else (scientifically proven fact). No, it all stems from the fact that I just never liked getting my hair cut. As a kid I remember having trouble sitting still for that long, and to this day can't wait for it to be done. And after it's all over, I inevitably have some short pieces of hair down the back of my shirt and around my neck itching me until I can get a shower. I hate that. Add to that the fact that I always look and feel like a dork for about 2 weeks afterward until it grows out enough to start looking halfway normal again. Plus, I save a lot of money on barber bills.

My point to all this? You should all know by now not to expect a point to anything I say. Still, I can't help wondering at what point did long hair become socially unacceptable for men, and why? I can only assume evil. If long hair was good enough for George Washington, Beethoven, and Jesus, why not me? Seriously, did the pharisees and sadducees following Jesus around telling him to get a haircut? Maybe, but I haven't seen the evidence of that happening. Now all of you out there stop being tools of society and stop getting your hair cut.

Congratulations

Congratulations are in order for loyal reader Lyndsay on the birth of her first son! Happy birthday Owen. Get a baseball in his hand early, the M's need pitching. It's never too early to start working on his mechanics. And hurry up and get back to work, all this work isn't going to process itself.

Also, please enjoy this song selected just for you. When the Water Breaks by Liquid Tension Experiment

Useless facts!

That's right, it's time for another fantastic edition of useless facts. Today's useless fact is brought to you by Bill Bavasi, who has proven he's a useless GM for the Mariners.

Life Savers got their signature shape by accident, when the machine employed to press out a standard circular mint malfunctioned, inadvertently punching a hole in each.

Championship picks

I'm going to get my picks in early this week.

After going 1 for 4 last week, I'm a little gunshy, but I think I can learn from my mistakes. I've been wrong on the Colts two weeks in a row now, so I'm going to pick them to upset the Patriots. This is my longshot, and I will readily admit that it has more to do with my hatred of Tom Brady than any logical reason. Here's my half-assed attempt to bring logic to the situation though: The Colts D has really stepped it up in the playoffs this year. I have no reason to think they won't shut down the Patriots offense as well. Second, Peyton Manning stunk it up in the first 2 games, so he's due for a good game. Third, they finally have a money kicker and the game will probably go down to the wire.

In the NFC Championship, I'm going with the Saints. Honestly, no Chicago payback here, the Saints have been my NFC pick since the start of the playoffs. Brees, Colston, Bush, and McCallister have been unstoppable all year, and while the Bears have a good D, I really believe that they will be overpowered. Look for the Saint to come out throwing early and often, but switch to the run in the second half and really wear out the Bears D. I think what this really comes down to is that Brees is a lot better QB than Grossman and that will be the difference in the game. I'm saying Saints by 10.

Blade Runner

I was looking through my DVDs the other day for a movie to watch when I discovered a copy of Blade Runner. I don't remember buying it or receiving it as a gift. I also don't remember anyone loaning me a copy that I never got around to returning. It is a complete mystery to me where it came from, especially since I don't remember ever watching the whole thing. To the best of my recollection, I have only caught bits and pieces of it on tv. That being said, I have now watched it and highly recommend it. It's not really the futuristic sci-fi action movie I had imagined. That is more of a backdrop for the real story. To me it is more of a thought provoking movie about what constitutes life. Are the replicants really alive? Since we created them, does it give us the right to destroy them? Anyway, it's a good story. The acting is top notch, particularly from Harrison Ford. This movie came out before I'd lost respect for him. That came after seeing Six Days, Seven Nights. He hasn't made a good film since then. But I digress..... This turned out to be a pleasant surprise, but unfortunately I don't see any more movies on my shelf that I didn't know I had.

Red Robin Waitresses

I went to Red Robin for lunch today and noticed something unusual about the waitresses there. Every one I saw there had a wedding ring on. Since none of them looked older than 21 or maybe 22, I have a hard time believing that many women that young could all be married. This led me to the theory that before work, they all slap on a wedding ring as part of the uniform to keep from getting hit on all day. Is this a common practice, or is it really possible that they were all actually married?

198

I tipped the scales today at 198. The first Monday after Thanksgiving weekend, I stepped on the scale, peered over my giant gut, and saw 213. I nearly called in sick to work due to uncontrollable sobbing. I did make it in to work that day though, and decided things had to change. It feels great to be back under the 200 pound barrier, but I'd like to get down to 175, so I've still got a long way to go. I've got to make sure to stay away from the tasty tasty donut shop right next to the office, and the all you can eat Mongolian Grill. If I can do those 2 things, I just might be able to pull it off.

Playoff picks

Visiting another site reminded me that I haven't gotten my football predictions in yet. So, really quickly here because one of the games is scheduled to start in 6 minutes:

Colts - Ravens: I'm going with the Ravens, primarily because Manning always chokes in the playoffs and I know the loss is coming either this week or next. I'm going with this week.

Chargers - Patriots: Chargers all the way. The Patriots seem to be magic in the playoffs, but they just aren't good enough to take the Chargers.

Saints - Eagles: The Saints offense is too much for the Eagles defense, and without McNabb, the Eagles offense won't be able to keep up. The Saints win by 14 in a shootout.

And the one you've all been hoping for, Seahawks - Bears: Seahawks win. Primarily because I'm blinded by my hometown love, but also because the Seahawks should be able to run the ball effectively with a more healthy line than they've had most of the season and because Tommie Harris is out. Also Grossman has been terrible down the stretch and will give the Seahawks several gifts before being pulled in favor of Griese. By that time it will be too late.

Irony

I was outside with my camera today to take some pictures of the snow and decided to document the vehicle in my complex that always makes me laugh. Here is the bumper sticker on said vehicle - vote for the environment. What is funny about this is that it's on the biggest gas guzzling SUV you can imagine.







This one. I don't know if this is supposed to be a joke or if it just shows the hypocracy of the environmentalist, but I always thought it was funny.










Anyway, here's what I originally went out to take a picture of. Some snow building up on the half frozen lake at my complex. I'm not sure why, but I really like the look of snow on a frozen lake.

Latest Futurama news

I haven't been able to find any more information on the new episodes in quite some time, but according to Wikipedia, this is the latest. Oddly enough, the comedy central web site doesn't say anything.

On April 26, 2006 The A.V. Club, published an interview with Futurama co-creator Matt Groening, in which he discussed plans to create four straight-to-DVD movies. Groening noted that co-creator David X. Cohen and numerous writers from the original series would be returning to work on the movies.[14]
On June 22, 2006, Comedy Central announced that at least 13 new episodes were to be produced, to air with the reruns in 2008. Comedy Central also confirmed that Billy West, Katey Sagal, and John DiMaggio would return for the new episodes, with a 2008 debut planned;[2] however, an unofficial fan site reports that the new Comedy Central episodes would consist of the straight-to-DVD movies, each split into 4 episodes (making 16 new episodes) rather than additional new material.[15] According to an interview with David. X. Cohen [16], the Futurama team are around half way through writing the new season, and Rough Draft Studios have just started animating. The new season will be set two years after the events of the last season, and will re-visit Fry and Leela's relationship and unanswered questions about Nibbler, dark matter and Seymour the dog. A new character has been confirmed, an evil alien nudist named Nudar.
The first movie, currently under the working title Futurama: Bender's Big Score, is in production. The film is written by Ken Keeler and David X. Cohen, and will include return appearances by the Nibblonians, Seymour, Barbados Slim, Morbo, Robot Santa, the "God" space entity, Al Gore, and Zapp Brannigan.[17] In an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Al Gore confirmed that he would appear in the movie, playing his disembodied head. David. X. Cohen later confirmed that he would also appear in the new season, and would be involved in a storyline which will show "what really determined the outcome of the 2000 Presidential election".

Anyway, enjoy this clip. It contains one of my favorite jokes: you're killing me.

Did you know....

The opposite of misogynism is philogynism. And the female version of misogynism is misandry.

Oil prices

Oil prices have now dropped to $52 a barrel, the lowest price since May 2005. And somehow, gas prices have not dropped at all. I consider myself a pretty smart guy, but I just can't figure out why it is that oil prices rising results in increased gas prices, but oil prices dropping doesn't result in lower gas prices. I find the whole situation very irritating. Perhaps I need advanced degrees in economics and physics to even begin to understand the complexity of the oil industry, but I really can't help thinking that we are just getting screwed. I really think that oil companies take advantage of every hike in oil prices as an excuse to raise gas prices, but then conveniently never drop the prices again. And maybe there is even some horizontal price fixing going on. I suppose if it ends up reducing our dependence on foreign oil or reducing the number of hideous SUV's on the road, then it might end up being a good thing, but right now I just find it exceptionally irritating. I'm really tired of paying a fortune to fill up my car.

On a side note, I did a quick search for articles on price fixing among oil companies and found a ton of articles. I don't really feel like wading through them right now to find something that might be credible, but perhaps later. Stay tuned.

One last thing, according to gaspricewatch.com, the national average is currently $2.25 a gallon. We are really getting screwed around here.

Today's useless fact

The original package of M&M's contained brown, yellow, orange, red, green, and violet-colored candies. Violet was dropped in favor of tan in 1949. The red ones were also taken out of the mix, in 1976, but not because they contained red dye #2, rather, it was because company officials were afraid that customers would think they did.

Screwed by the weather. Again.

Well, the big snowstorm got me again. It was just bad enough to make the commute home 2 hours and 45 minutes. Now I'm not going to complain about that because I know a lot of people had it a lot worse, but here's what I will complain about. Somehow, after all that, I ended up with only about an inch and a half of snow in my area. With all of the abandoned vehicles and jack knifed busses I saw on the way home, I assumed I was in for a day off. Not so. Some jerk came along and plowed all the streets in my area and the traffic was fantastic the next morning. All the busses were running on schedule. All this meant that I couldn't just call in to work and go back to sleep. At least all the people that did stay at home made for a fantastic commute home at the end of the day. And at least I didn't lose power this time. But is one day off really asking that much? What good is any of this inclement weather if I don't get to stay home? Maybe next time.

Bill Parcells: 'I've Always Hated Football'

According to this article, Bill Parcells has always hated football. It's a pretty interesting read. Apparently, "taking your hatred out on others, no matter how satisfying it may be, no matter how much those stupid wide receivers deserve it, is not really right."

Enjoy your retirement Bill.

Today's useless fact

100 shares of McDonald's stock purchased for $2,250 when first offered in 1965 was is worth more than $4 million today.

In the news

I came across a few interesting items in the news today. Apparently an office in Bangkok has introduced nap time for it's employees. This is a concept I have been pushing for for a while now. I often feel I could use a good siesta in the middle of the day. When is this country going to catch up with the rest of the world?

Second, 'plutoed' has been named 2006 word of the year. You can expect to start hearing that from me regularly. I'll start out with the Mariners chances of making it to the post season have plutoed since Bill Bavasi took over as general manager.

Finally, this story made me laugh out loud. The subject matter is a little on the vulgar side, so it may not be a good work click, but there are no images to worry about.

Fun on the bus

Part of the fun of being a bus patron is the strange people you come across. Today I sat across the aisle from a creepy looking guy who was dressed like Jesse James from West Coast Choppers, including the West Coast Choppers knit cap with the iron cross. His hands and neck were covered with tatoos, including a stylish F U C K across his fingers. Other than his face, the rest of him was covered up, but I imagine most of it was also tatooed. Now this in itself didn't really bother me too much, it was when he began talking to the poor woman sitting next to him that I began to think something was wrong. At first I thought he was either drunk or high since his eyelids were drooping and his speech was a little slow and slurred. I changed my opinion to mentally ill when I heard him begin explaining that he hoped he would be able to get that sex change he wanted within the next year or 2. He was concerned, however, that his criminal record may disqualify him from being eligible for the operation. Now this poor woman sitting next to him sat there listening to everything and adding comments like 'I see' and 'yes, that's a problem'. Unfortunately I didn't hear a lot of what he said, but trust me when I say the rest of it wasn't much more comforting. So all of you who insist on driving everywhere, this is what you're missing.

Queensryche Last time in Paris

Last Time in Paris is a song I always liked, but unfortunately it is a non album track and I think the only place it can be found now is on a crappy soundtrack (Adventures of Ford Fairlane) that is no longer in print, or an import version of Empire with bonus tracks. Anyway, the point is that this is a difficult song to get a copy of, and ever since my tape deck ate my copy of this song, this is the best I can find. The audio isn't very good, but it's better than nothing.

Seahawks Highlights

I've been trying to figure out how to embed this video of the highlights of the Seahawks game, but apparently my lack of knowledge of HTML is holding me back again. You're just going to have to live with a link to another site.

Special thanks to .....

..... uh ..... this guy, for putting aside his loan officer duties long enough to pick up a fumble. I sure hope Marcus Trufant is ready to go by next week.

Tony Romo

After seeing repeated highlights of Tony Romo sitting on the field or on the sidelines looking dejected after botching the hold, and after seeing interviews with him saying how terrible he feels, I can't help feeling just a little happy.
I hate the Cowboys, and the overhyped Romo has been irritating me all season long. The final straw was his undeserving selection to the pro bowl. And so seeing him and the Cowboys take this loss so hard just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So cry me a river Romo, I won't feel sorry for you.
This second picture really makes me proud.

And one more just for fun.

Useless trivia!

Peanut butter was invented by St Louis physician Ambrose Straub, who, concerned about the nutrition of his elderly toothless patients, concocted a health-food product that was high in protein and easily digestible.

Jerramy Stevens - MVP

I can't begin to express how glad I am that Stevens finally decided to start catching again. This was his best game since.......ever. I guess he doesn't want to be unemployed next year after all.

That was one of the strangest nail biters I've ever seen. I think that botched field goal by Dallas, as well as Stevens not dropping a pass for a whole game is a sign that God is on the Seahawks side in the playoffs. Throw in that bizarre safety, and there isn't any doubt. Look out Chicago, the day of reckoning is at hand. Or it will be next week. You get the idea.

Now the rumors are flying about Parcells retiring. Nothing would make me prouder than for his last NFL game to be a loss to the Seahawks. So long Bill. It's time for you and Brett Favre to catch up on your fishing.

More useless facts

There are 1,218 peanuts in a single twenty-eight ounce jar of Jif peanut butter.

One more reason not to drink diet pop

......other than it just tastes terrible. According to this article, you are significantly more likely to become overweight or obese if you are drinking diet pop than if you are drinking regular. All of you statisticians out there (most likely just you Greg) know that correlation doesn't equal causation, so there is still speculation over what this data really means. Some think that this is because people drinking diet drinks feel like they are cutting back and so indulge in other areas and end up consuming more calories. Others feel that consuming artificial sweeteners stimulates youre appetite and you end up eating more as a result. It could be a combination of the two, but I seem to remember seeing a study a while back that found that aspartame in particular stimulates your appetite (and has other potential side effects like memory loss), so I am leaning toward the latter. Anyway, the point is, don't drink diet drinks. They taste vile anyway.

Useless trivia!

There are approximately 1,750 O's in every can of Spaghetti O's.

Genetic engineering gone wrong

This is just creepy. I found this story today about a cow born with 2 faces. I can only hope it still tastes good.

Steve Largent

With the Seahawks starting the playoffs tommorrow, I feel I must invoke the spirit of not only the greatest Seahawk of all time, but the greatest wide receiver of all time. May Deion Branch, Jerramy Stevens, and Darrell Jackson become possessed with the spirit of Steve Largent and not drop any passes.

NCAA record for Notre Dame

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Notre Dame and all their fans for setting a new NCAA record by losing their 9th consecutive bowl game. They managed to pull it off in style to, getting absolutely manhandled by a vastly superior LSU team. It really couldn't happen to a better team.

Seriously though, when are the pollsters and BCS gurus going to stop ranking Notre Dame way too high every year just becuase they draw a big tv audience? I really have a hard time stomaching them running up the score against patsies and only playing maybe 3 decent teams a year so that they can get a good enough record to play against a way more deserving team in a big name bowl.

Ripping audio from a DVD

Once again, I find myself asking for technical help. Does anyone out there know how to rip audio from a DVD? I have some concert DVDs that I would like to convert some of the songs to mp3 format so I can take a copy with me everywhere I go. Is this possible without having to buy some software or download some questionable software that may or may not be spyware or adware and ruin my computer?

Today's useless fact

There are seven loops in the squiggle atop every Hostess cupcake.

Nick Saban accepts job at Alabama

After weeks, possibly even months, of denying that he had any interest in coaching Alabama, Nick Saban signed an 8 year $32 million dollar contract with the Crimson Tide today. I don't know if there is some legal reason why coaches have to continually lie about their intentions or if it's merely a tradition, but it is growing tiresome. That being said, he is a proven winner and as a Bama fan, I hope he returns them to prominence. Roll Tide.

As for other coach news, the firing (a mistake if you ask me) of Jim Mora Jr. by the Falcons has lead to rumors of the UW firing Ty Willingham in order to hire Mora. Mora is a UW graduate and has publicly stated that his dream job would be coaching the Huskies. If we had anybody but Willingham, I might jump on the band wagon, but I'm a big Willingham fan. He took over an absolute disaster of a program and I honestly think he could lead the Huskies to a PAC-10 championship next season. Just because he has taken longer turning things around than some people expected doesn't mean it's time to give up on him. I think that firing him now would lead to at least 2 more years of mediocre football.

The other firing that I think is a big mistake is the Cardinals bailing on Dennis Green. I think he is the best coach the Cardinals have ever had and his firing only continues the tradition of ineptitude by the Cardinal organization. Down the stretch, the Cardinals were really starting to look good, and this firing will ensure that the Cardinals will continue to suck for years to come. If they weren't in the Seahawks division, this would be a very disappointing move.

So there you have it, 2 very good coaches are now unemployed. Neither will be out of work very long unless it's by personal choice, and maybe one of them will fill the newly vacated Miami Dolphins position.

Seahawks in the playoffs

I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that the Seahawks will win their game against the Cowboys despite sucking mightily the last 4 games and having 35 cornerbacks injured. I think the D-line will come up big and get some pressure on Tony Romo and he will choke. We'll get the corners up in bump and run and have the DE's rush hard on the edges to contain Romo. I don't think the Cowboys running game is good enough to move the ball consistantly against us. As long as we can keep them from coming up with some big plays, this is a winable game. We'll need a good showing from the offense though so that the defense doesn't get fatigued. This means that Shaun Alexander will need to step it up and the butter finger trio of Branch, Jackson, and Stevens are going to have to hold onto the ball for a change. I'm predicting another big game from Hackett and a lot of draws for Mack Strong. Matt Hasselbeck looked a lot better last week, although it was against the Bucs, but it's still encouraging. So there you have it. I'm going to say there will be a lot of field goals and the Seahawks will win 16-10 and then most likely get blown out by the Bears the next week.

It looks like those back stabbers over at cool standings have changed their mind from last week and are now predicting a Cowboy win. The Seahawks are down to a 3.3% chance of winning the Superbowl. Baltimore is their current pick to win it all.

As for my picks for the rest of this weekends playoff games: Indy won't be able to stop Larry Johnson and the Chiefs will ride him to a win. Philly is going to blow out the Giants. And the Patriots are going to show the Jets how you are supposed to play when you get to the playoffs. These picks are guaranteed to go this way. Take my word for it.

Useless fact of the day!

The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.

Fiesta Bowl

I just finished watching the Fiesta Bowl and have to say that it was one of the most exciting games I've ever seen. After getting out to a big lead early, it looked like Boise State had choked after giving up 15 points in a span of about 15 seconds in the 4th quarter to fall behind by 7. They showed a lot of heart though, pulling out all the stops and pulling every trick play out of the playbook with less than a minute left to drive 80 yards and score and go into overtime. Overtime was filled with more trick plays as Boise State went on to beat heavily favored Oklahoma 43-42. The excitement didn't end there though as running back Ian Johnson took advantage of the limelight to propose to his girlfriend. That was a nice touch. Still undefeated, I say bring on the national championship controversy. I only hope that the Seahawks can show half that much heart in the playoffs.

Million dollar idea

This one is a little risque, so if you are easily offended, you should probably stop reading now. After seeing several used book stores, I can't help wondering why there are no used porn stores. What do people do with their old porn, just throw it away? If the internet has taught me anything, it's that there is money to be made in the adult entertainment venue. Mostly what I think is best about this idea though is the name of the business. Second Hand Porn. It is the perfect combination of simply descriptive and revolting inuendo. So there you have it. That idea is free for anyone to use, and if you do, please don't tell me about it.

Useless fact of the day!

On average, a Twinkie will explode in a microwave in 45 seconds.

Feel free to conduct your own experiments and report back to me later.

Nuclear weapons

I came across this article in the Kitsap Sun today. Apparently, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (I've never heard of that group so I don't know how credible they are), one quarter of the US nuclear arsenal is sitting in the Naval base at Bangor. Now, for those of you not familiar with Bangor, it is situated on the Kitsap Peninsula, between the cities of Poulsbo and Silverdale, about 20 miles from downtown Seattle.

I guess I don't really have a point here. I just thought it was interesting. It kind of makes you proud, and concerned at the same time.