One tiny little story that bothered me a lot

I was reading the paper this morning and came across this little 3 paragraph story and probably spent an hour thinking about it. So you don't have to go away and come back, I'll risk copyright infringement and just paste the whole thing here:

Washington state had the 14th-highest per-capita personal income in the country
last year, according to preliminary federal data released today.
According to
the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, per-capita personal income in Washington
rose to $37,423 last year from $35,479 in 2005, when the state ranked 16th
nationwide.
Connecticut had the highest personal income last year, $49,852;
Mississippi ranked lowest, with $26,535. The national average was
$36,276.
Washington's 5.48 percent growth rate in per-capita personal income
in 2006 was the 15th-fastest rate among the 50 states and above the 5.2 percent
rate for the nation as a whole. Louisiana had the fastest 2006 growth rate, 25.5
percent, though that figure was distorted by hurricane damage in 2005 and
subsequent population loss and rebuilding spending.

Ok, first off, how can the print a statistic like that without any further explaination? How is per-capita income calculated? I would assume that it is a mean, but not necessarily. With some of the huge outliers we have in our state (Bill Gates and Paul Allen for example), how could the mean possibly be that low? Is this figure actually the median income and the writer of the article doesn't realize that per capita makes it sound like a mean? Or are the outliers removed before the calculation? And who is included in the calculation? Every man, woman, and child in the state, or only those that are employed?

Anyway, after I was able to get beyond that, I was still shocked by how low that figure is. I read an article a few weeks ago saying that the median house price in King County (actually it may have been just in Seattle, I can't remember for sure) was between $385,000 and $400,000. Again, that figure may be a little off, because the article listed 2 figures, one including townhouses, and one just including houses. If memory serves me correctly, it was $385,000 including townhouses. Anyway, the point of it all is, how in the world can people afford housing if their income is so low. Granted, the mean income in King County is probably significantly higher than most of the rest of the state, but still, a 2 income family is still going to have a difficult time affording a house.

So, long story short, these numbers just don't add up to me. Like I said, I couldn't stop thinking about this for half the morning. I really need to see some more concrete data, preferably split up by region. Maybe then things will make more sense. Unfortunately I'm too lazy to go look up those numbers. Plus my 360 is calling me. So hopefully I won't lose any sleep over this, but at the moment I've got some video games that need to be played.

Pickle Phobia

This has to be fake. Still, it's pretty damn funny.

I think I broke my toe tonight

It doesn't hurt when I'm not standing or walking, but it's getting fairly swollen and it's already black and blue. Actually black and brown. I'm not sure what I did to it. I don't know how I keep getting these injuries that I don't remember how they happened. I guess I'll have to taper off the kicking for a while.

Hollywoodland

I watched Hollywoodland on Friday. If you're unfamiliar with the story, basically it's about a private investigator hired by George Reeves' (Superman from the 1950's tv show) mother to prove that his death was a murder, not a suicide. So right there you know it's going to be a happy movie. I'm too tired right now to write a good review, but let me just say that the film starts out kind of intriguing, but falls apart at the end. I didn't know anything about the real George Reeves' life other than he played Superman. I don't know if that would have helped or not. He is portrayed as being pretty pathetic by a bloated Ben Afflek with a big fake nose. If George Reeves was half as pitiful and half as bad an actor as Ben Afflek, then I truly feel sorry for the guy. Adrian Brody played the PI. I don't know what it is about him, but I kind of like Adrian Brody. Anyway, the untimely death of George Reeves didn't interest me too much, but getting a glimpse of what Hollywood was like in the 50's I enjoyed. Overall, an average movie at best. 5/10.

360

I finally stepped into the next generation and got myself an Xbox 360. I'm probably going to be losing a lot of sleep in the coming weeks. Thank you Safeco for that generous annual bonus!

Sevendust Show

Saturday was the big night! The doors were scheduled to open at 7:00, and since I'd been looking forward to this for a long time, I got downtown nice and early. They were playing at the Showbox, on first and pike, across the street from the market. I decided to park up on 9th because I know there's always free street parking around there, and because there is a police station there and I thought that my car would be safer there than most other places downtown. That meant about a mile walk, but I was nice and early, so I didn't mind.

I got in line at 6:55. At that time the line had extended around the corner and I was right in front of Johnny Rocket's restaurant. This meant that I got to listen to oldies until the line started moving. Unfortunately that didn't happen for another 35 minutes, and at that point there were some very impatient rock fans who were sick of oldies. No violence ensued, but at one point, the entertainment included one disgusting drugged up looking old (I'd guess mid 50's) lady dancing provocatively for the line. After a while, she began begging for cigarettes, and I'm not sure I heard correctly, but I could have sworn she was offering - for the sake of keeping this clean, let's just say 'favors' - in exchange for cigarettes. That's an experience you don't often encounter outside a relatively large city.

Anyway, the line started moving, and around the corner, I found out that 3 Finger Jack was performing. I'm not really into his music, but after half an hour of oldies, it was a nice change of pace. And this was about the time I discovered my big error in judgement. Security was outside saying that any cameras would be confiscated. I had checked the Showbox web site earlier and saw that it said cameras were allowed unless the performers didn't want them. The web site said if they were not allowed, they could be checked at coat check, so I figured I might as well bring my camera. Well, it turns out they were not allowing you to check in cameras which meant a walk back to my car, which was about a mile away. At this point it had started raining, so that made it that much more fun. At 8:05, I finally made it back and got inside. At first I thought that this had worked out quite well because the opening act - Invitro (who were pretty bad) - were almost done. I only had to listen to 2.5 songs before they got off stage.

I wasn't so lucky it turned out. 20 or so minutes of swapping gear later, Diecast took the stage. They were a little better, but still not good. But at least they didn't take themselves too seriously as they had Diecast inflatable women for sale along with the standard t-shirts. And their heavy metal cover of the Kenny Loggins classic Danger Zone was at the very least amusing.

So, 20 or so minutes later, I find out that crap, there is a 3rd opening act. At this point I was not only very impatient, but also pretty annoyed and just about ready to start booing. It didn't help that Red was one of the dumbest looking bunch of dorks I've ever seen (think about your stereotypical alterna-crap/pop punk band). Anyway, they were the best of the bunch, and I would go so far as to say they were tolerable. But they weren't Sevendust, and that's what I wanted. And after hearing the cliche 'what's up Seattle' about 100 times, I'd had enough opening acts. At least I was amused by some of the goofballs in the crowd, particularly the 3 guys who showed up wearing Spartan style helmets made of aluminum foil.

Sevendust finally took the stage, and it was worth the wait. They put on a great show. The sound was very good, and the band played flawlessly. They put on a very high energy show. So high energy in fact that Morgan Rose somehow managed to break his snare drum stand, causing about a 10 minute delay. I don't know how you can hit a drum hard enough to break the stand, but he pulled it off. Lead singer Lajon Whitherspoon was very gracious and not your typical ego maniacal singer. He spent a lot of time talking about how much it meant to the band to have people come out and see them and make them feel welcome. The rest of the band was great too, with a lot of high fiving the front row and throwing picks and drum sticks into the crowd. The crowd was into it as much as any concert I've been to. Lots of jumping around, fists pumping, singing, and shouting. There was some moshing and crowd surfing, but security was pretty tight and put end to all of that pretty quickly.

The show finally got over at about 12:30, and by the time I got back to my car, I had been standing for about 6 hours and my feet hurt like hell. It was a great show though and they played a lot more old stuff than I was expecting. I can't wait for them to come back. This is the closest thing I can find to what it was like there:

I Love and I Hate Costco

I love Costco. I love the good prices and great selection. I love the fact that you can get things there that you can't get other places. Things like these delicious parmesan, garlic, and herbs pita chips that I'm enjoying as I'm waiting for my steak with crumbled gorgonzola on top (both of which I also picked up at Costco) to cook. By the way, if you haven't tried putting a little gorgonzola on top of a good steak, you don't know what kind of deliciousness you're missing. It may sound like an odd combination, I know it sounded odd to me before I tried it, but believe me, it will change your life.

Anyway, as much as I love Costco, I can't seem to be inside for more than about 15 minutes before I start getting the feeling that I have to get the hell out before I hit somebody. I absolutely can't stand being around so many people that don't watch where they are going and will walk/push their cart into me because they don't seem to notice other people in the store. Add to this the people that will completely block an aisle and not seem to notice, and it's more than I can tolerate. I will admit to intentionally bumping into people that are blocking an aisle, but I'm not proud of that. Well, not very proud anyway. I know this isn't Costco's fault, but it honestly does keep me from shopping there on days when I don't think I can put up with it. Maybe if they put horns on the carts so I could honk at people, that would help. At least it would make me feel better. And it would somewhat suppress the urge to shout,"get the hell out of the way."

Plus, the parking is terrible at my local Kirkland Costco, and they don't have a gas station. I think the next closest one is Issaquah though and that's too far to go unless I'm already going to be in the area.

Various Nonsense

Well, I haven't had much to say lately. For some reason, I've been exceptionally tired lately. I haven't been sleeping enough and I just feel like I don't have much free time. It didn't help that I had to go work for the Mariners after a full day at the regular job. It was extremely difficult to stay awake through it. But I did get to hear a videotaped message for team president Chuck Armstrong telling me that he expects the Mariners to win the division this year. I however do not share that optimism. If they finish the season above .500 that'll be good enough for me. I'm not sure that isn't an unrealistic goal though.

I'm flipping around on the tv right now and just came across Fools Rush In on TBS. It's not quality cinema by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have to say that Salma Hayek is one gorgeous woman. I will fight anyone who says differently.

I was checking out youtube tonight for some Manowar videos. I was told that they are unquestionably the most rediculous heavy metal band on earth, and now I'd have to say that's true. If you were ever hoping to hear a song with a motorcycle engine solo and lyrics like:
Time To Burn You Losers Better Learn
No One Controls Our Goddamn Life
We'll Do Just What We Feel Riding Horses Made Of Steel
We're Here To Burn Up The Night
then you're going to want to check out this video.

Norton Systemworks sucks. For several years now I've relied on Norton to keep my computer virus and error free, but every year it uses up more system resources and slows everything down a little more. This year's version is completely intolerable. Not only do start up and shut down take forever now, but every so often, it randomly starts checking something and damn near chokes my system to death. I can hardly do anything until it finishes. If somebody has tried MS's version or knows of some better alternative, I'm all ears. I've had enough of Norton.

300

Well, I finally got around to watching 300 this weekend. While the Molitor described it as 'freakin awesome', I would have to just go with 'freakin watchable'. Since I knew it was based on a comic book I wasn't expecting any historical accuracy, and yet I still found myself disappointed at how inaccurate it really was. In the historical battle of Thermopylae, there were no mutant ninjas, giants, hunchbacks, giant blobs with swords for arms, or any of the other goofy crap they decided to throw in the movie. I don't know if there were any elephants, but I'm certain that not only in this battle, but not in any battle in history did anyone ride an armored rhinocerous into battle. These laughably rediculous moments, however, still didn't bother me as much as the fight scenes. The whole success of the Spartan army was based on the phalanx. They even mentioned that more than one time in the movie. Every soldier was responsible for protecting the soldiers next to him. However, every time a battle started up, the phalanx couldn't break up fast enough and turn into an over the top, eye rolling free for all. Throw in the fact that the Spartans were supposedly fighting for their freedom (the 'freedom isn't free' line was a nice touch) despite the fact that Spartan society was quite oppressive, and it's just a little too much to swallow.

While these things were difficult to get past, I also had a big problem with the corny speaches, the hammy overdramatization of everything, the constant slow motion battle scenes, and the overbearing soundtrack. I guess for many, part of the appeal of the movie may have been the lack of realism, but for me I felt it could have been toned down a lot and some more realism would have made for a more compelling story. On the other hand, while this was an exceptionally violent movie, the lack of realism made it seem more like cartoon violence and there was really nothing disturbing. It was more like watching a roadrunner cartoon than the D-Day invasion from Saving Private Ryan.

These things aside, it was still a fun hack and slash movie along the lines of Gladiator (although I think they kind of ripped off the end of Gladiator a bit). If you can turn off your brain and divorce yourself from reality for 2 hours, you can enjoy some good action and above average special effects. Just try to forget everything you know about history and certainly don't learn anything about the real events until after you've seen the movie.

One final note that has more to do with other people's reaction to the film than the film itself, is I'm surprised, and somewhat amused to hear people refer to it as 'right-wing propaganda', 'anti-arab propaganda', 'revisionist history', etc. It never ceases to amaze me how worked up people will get over a movie. Particularly a dumb action movie like this one.

Long story short, I give this a middle of the road 5.5 out of 10. I'd say it's above average entertainment, but I can't quite bring myself to give it a full 6. I want to, but then I keep thinking of all the rediculous male bravado throughout the movie and I can't quite do it. But then again, purely out of spite to those who are so offended by it and want to call it propaganda, I think I will go ahead and bump it up to 6. Go catch it somewhere cheap, get some popcorn, and try not to think too much.

Another Steroid Scandal

According to this story, pro wrestling has now been rocked by the steroid scandals that are permeating the sports world. Is nothing sacred anymore if we can't count on our wrestlers to be clean? If you're like me, you thought that pro wrestlers had too much dignity and moral fiber to stoop so low. Well, now that image has forever been shattered. Can wrestling survive now that it has been tainted? Is there anything they can do to win back the public's trust? I personally don't know that I'll ever be able to watch wrestling again, however I hope that all the hillbillies, stoners, and mentally disadvantaged people in our society who can't get enough wrestling don't become too disillusioned by this and lose the will to keep going.

In Memory of Andrew Wood

On March 19, 1990, the music world lost Andrew Wood, lead singer of the Seattle band Mother Love Bone. Just before the release of their debut album, he overdosed on heroin. The remaining band members went on to form Pearl Jam, but I can't help wondering how things would have turned out if he hadn't died. The album Temple of the Dog was released in his honor, and supposedly the Alice In Chains song 'Would?' and the Soundgarden song 'Jesus Christ Pose' were written about him. He is now buried in Bremerton. I always liked Mother Love Bone and wish he hadn't died so young. It's hard to believe it's already been 17 years.

Under 21?

Well, something happened to me today that I thought would never happen again. I got carded in a restaurant lounge. Now I realize that a lot of places have a policy of carding everybody who doesn't have gray hair, but I was actually told by the waitress that I look like I might be under 21. Since I'm now 34, I found that rather shocking. I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or if my immaturity is that apparent. When asked what my secret was, naturally I replied drinking the blood of virgins.

Free Coffee

On March 15th, make sure to go to your nearest Starbucks between 10 and noon for a free 12 oz drip. I'm not sure what the occasion is, but any opportunity to get something free from Starbucks must be seized.

Stories From The Past

I was reminded of this story earlier today and thought I'd share since it's fairly entertaining. This story took place about 10 years ago in Seatac. I was there picking up my room-mate from the airport. Now I was on my way there, driving down 99 when I looked over and saw someone walking down the sidewalk. This person was wearing a very short leather skirt, fishnet stockings, and tall high heels. Since I had grown up in the suburbs and was not exposed to the seedier side of life, I thought to myself,"hey, this is my first hooker sighting." As I drove past, I looked over and quickly realized that the hooker had an enormous adams apple. So, it turned out that my first hooker sighting was actually my first transvestite sighting. I know what you're thinking, and that is, this next sentence is going to begin "$20 later....." Sorry to disappoint, but this is not that kind of story. To this day I don't know the going rate for a dude in a mini skirt I'm proud to say. Anyway, as a young impressionable man, that experience burned itself into my memory. Come to think of it, all these years later I'm still not sure if I've had a legitimate hooker sighting. I guess I need to start spending more time in the bad parts of town.

Pick of Destiny

I now have a new contestant for the title of worst movie I've ever seen. I just fininshed Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. I can't begin to tell you how stupid this movie was. I didn't laugh a single time. If you're looking for an hour and a half of drug jokes, bad music, and enough profanity to make Sam Kennison blush, then this is the movie for you. Otherwise you're better of avoiding this stinker. I honestly feel like I lost some respectability just by watching it. But at least it wasn't Spice World.

Pi Day

Pi Day is fast approaching. This Wednesday, March 14 (3-14, get it?), math nerds everywhere will celebrate this wonderful numbers. I think we all remember our first Pi Day as one of the momentous occasions of life. Unless I forget, I think I will celebrate by eating some pie. I promise, however, that I will not tell any pi jokes. Sadly, after being a math major in college, I do actually know some. They will go to the grave with me though for the good of mankind. Does anyone have any big celebrations planned, or have any pi parties to attend? With any luck, one day we will not have to go to work on pi day.

And if you value your time at all, please, please, for the love of God, don't watch this video. Granted, the production values are unparalleled, but don't say I didn't warn you.

If all the copies aren't already gone from the video store, you might cosider watching the movie Pi. It got pretty good reviews, although I watched it several years ago and remember it being pretty bad. I honestly don't remember much about it though.

R.I.P.

Brad Delp, lead singer of the band Boston was found dead in his home on Friday at the age of 55. So far I haven't been able to find any speculation as to the cause. I wasn't a huge Boston fan, but there were several songs I did like.

Also, goodbye Richard Jeni. The comedian died Saturday of a gunshot wound to the head. His girlfriend said it was a suicide, but police are still investigating. Sad news. Jeni was a very funny man.

Heroes

I watch less and less tv all the time, and only part of it is that the quality is steadily diminishing. I can't for the life of me understand why anyone wants to watch the glorified karaoke bar that is American Idol. But I digress. The other reason is that serial shows seem to be all the rage now. Started by 24, there are too many shows that if you miss an episode or 2, you're lost. Since I don't want to plan my life around being home to watch a particular show, and since I don't have a DVR, this is a problem for me. I have been able to keep up with Lost since the good people over at ABC have made the episodes available with limited commercial interruption online. And now I've discovered that you can also watch Heroes online. I caught 3 or 4 episodes during a marathon a while back and despite the fact that I didn't know most of what was going on, it interested me. I watched the first 2 episodes online this weekend and with a little of the back story am now beginning to get hooked. What in the world did people do before the internet?

Worst of the Worst

I came across this countdown of the 100 worst reviewed movies of all time this weekend. As with any top anything list, nobody will agree on anything, but it's still fun to look at. I haven't looked at the whole thing yet, but will proudly say that I have seen the #1 worst movie of all time. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. Yes that is an extremely dumb name, and despite the fact that I remember almost nothing of the movie except that it starred Antonio Bandaras and Lucy Liu (which already bumps it up a notch in my book), I can safely say that I have seen many worse movies in my time (including The Cooler which I just saw a few days ago).

What's the worst movie I've ever seen? Off the top of my head, I know there was one particularly horrible movie that I absolutely hated but can't think of the name of it right now. I do remember Plan 9 From Outer Space being pretty bad. Anything with Ben Affleck is excruciating, but Armageddon in particular I hated. Dark Man was pretty aweful. Ah yes, I remember now, Timecode, despite pretty good reviews, was the most excruciating movie to watch ever. It just doesn't get any worse than that.

I Hate Daylight Savings Time

And I would gladly kill any man, woman or child to make it go away. Anyone who thinks it's a good idea is in need of a serious beating. Luckily for them, I will be too tired most of this week to administer any quality beatings.

Where's My Apples?

Either senility is setting in or, I don't know what the other option is. I went to the store on Saturday and know for certain that I bought some apples. Well, I went to get one out of the refrigerator today only to realize they are nowhere to be found. I checked everywhere I could think of, including my car, thinking I must have set them down somewhere and forgotten them, but they are nowhere to be found. How in the world could I lose a bag of apples? I can't imagine I could have left them in the cart and not noticed. I also can't imagine I could have put them down somewhere so clever that I can't find them again. The only answer is that I'm somehow losing my mind. Unless.....no, I also can't imagine somebody broke into my place and stole them but left everything else.

Various Updates

After seeing the History Channel special on the Battle of Thermopylae, reading some good reviews, particularly one acclaimed reviewer who described it as not simply awesome, but 'freakin awesome', I've convinced myself I want to see 300. I think I can get past the fact that the visual style is goofy looking, that the stunts are way over the top, and that the writer is the same guy who wrote the steaming pile of crap Sin City. So unless somebody talks me out of it quick, I'm going to watch 300.

I'm also very interested in seeing Zodiac. I'm always up for a good serial killer thriller, particularly if it's based on a true story. Throw in some good reviews and I'm in. If either of you readers have seen it, let me know.

Oh, and the one last movie on my list is Idiocracy, thanks to Shelvis. I had never heard of it before, and I'm probably going to hate it since Mike Judge was involved, but I am a fan of the Wilson brothers (although I prefer Owen to Luke), and I really cracked up hearing what the #1 rated tv show is in the year 2057. I know it's some low brow comedy, but I'll give it a try.

I think the Van Halen tour might be postponed since Eddie is now in rehab. I figured David Lee Roth would have had some inflamitory remarks, but this is all I could find from him:
"Ed is indisposed and working toward a better future here," Roth said. "If Ed ever dries up, this is going to be a stadium act, man…What's happening here with this [Hall of Fame event] is part and parcel of the same spiral that screwed up the tour."

After having listened to Sevendust - Alpha more thoroughly, I will give it 7 stars out of 10. There are some good solid tracks on there, particularly Aggression and Beg To Differ (which I think will turn out to be one of their classics), but some of the so-so songs bring the listenability down a bit. The Saliva album - Blood Stained Love Story - on the other hand, is almost a total waste. Other than 2 ok songs, the rest of the album is filled with crappy balads and a couple of songs that sound like Nickelback rip offs. Don't waste your time on that album.

The Seahawks have been a little busy, picking up a couple safeties, releasing Grant Wistrom, and re-signing Pork Chop. It looks like Ken Hamlin's days as a Seahawk are now over, which is too bad, I kind of liked him. And I'm not sure Deon Grant is an upgrade. Besides, I think he's kind of a dirty player and I think we overpaid for him. I'm also a little sad to see Grant Wistrom go because I thought he was a good team leader despite mediocre (or worse) stats.

300

Thursday at 9:00, the History Channel is going to have a special about the battle of Thermopylae. This should be pretty interesting, and anyone interested in the film 300 should check it out. I'm usually pretty interested in historical films, but this one appears too comic booky to me and seems to stray to far from the actual historical events for my liking, but I'll probably check it out anyway.

It's Here!

After much waiting, I finally got my copy of Alpha. After giving a quick once through, my first impression is that this is not their best album to date, but there are some solid songs on there. Of course I had already heard Deathstar and Driven and liked them both, and I would like to add Beg To Differ, Confessions of Hatred, and Aggression as the real strong songs. Just the right mix of melody, harmony, and music so heavy it makes small children and wusses run in fear. On the down side, a few of the tracks seem a little too slow and emotionless to me. Some piano even makes an appearance on Burn. That was quite surprising. I'll have to do a follow up later when I've listened to it more, but for now I'd say it's pretty good.

And it was only $10 at Best Buy. That was a nice surprise, and to top it all off, they suckered me into grabbing the latest CD from Saliva as well for only $10. I haven't listened to that one yet, but there's no way it can be as good.

It's Like Eating A Delicious Shoe!

Yes this is something I found myself saying out loud today. Lately a fair amount of unusual phrases have been coming out of my mouth. I attribute it to a lack of sleep. Anyway, on to the explanation.

This afternoon, to get away from the mind numbing boredom that was crushing my spirit, I took a stroll down to Trader Joe's with a couple of co-workers. While there, I was persuaded to get some dehydrated mangoes. That sounded tasty so I grabbed them.

I popped one in my mouth on the way back to the office and was immediately met with "so what do you think?" The first one I grabbed happened to be particularly tough and I was gnawing on it like a dog with a piece of rawhide, so I said the first thing that came into my mind and to the best of my recollection, the conversation went like this, "it's like eating a shoe."
"But a delicious shoe?"
"Yes, it's like eating a delicious shoe."

And so it turns out that once you get past the fact that some of them are a bit in the chewy side, they are actually quite tasty. Before it was time to go home, I found myself staring at an empty bag. I think that slogan should actually be written on the bag somewhere. Think how many more they would sell. So they get the coveted Scott seal of approval. Do yourself a favor and go get a bag of those dehydrated mangoes, because they are in fact like eating a delicious shoe.

Dirty Car Art

I found this link today of a guy who draws pictures on dusty car windows. Some of them are very good. I'm a little surprised no-one has thought of this sooner.

It Smells Like A Steak And Seats 35

An idea came to me today that somebody should cover the Canyonero song from the Simpsons. Since Devon is currently the only person I know in a band, it's up to him. And now I've got the song stuck in my head. Anyway, enjoy.

M's lose again

The Mariners lost again today and are now 0-6 in spring training. It's going to be a loooooong season.

NFL News

It comes as no surprise that the Denver Broncos signed Travis Henry today. They have an unbelievable ability to attract quality running backs. I wouldn't be surprised if both he and Mike Bell somehow managed to top 1000 yards next year.

What did come as a surprise though was the Dolphins releasing TE Randy McMichael. He was a quality pass catcher and would look good in a Seahawk uniform. The cut seems to be a financial move and not a performance move. It's time to bring him to town.

This just in: the Seahawks finally made a move, signing Atlanta Falcons DE Patrick Kerney to a 6 year, $39.5 million deal. This should provide some much need pass rush for the Seahawks, and will probably make Grant Wistrom expendable. We're still in a bidding war for TE Daniel Graham, but I'd much rather have Randy McMichael.

Super Mario Brothers

This is far more entertaining than I ever would have guessed. And watching this, this appears to be far more difficult to play than I ever would have guessed also. Maybe it's just the nostalgia kicking in, but I really enjoyed this.

I can't wait

Pacman Jones is a moron

I know that when you go by Pacman, that should go without saying, but I came across this article about him and convinced he's going to be in jail in 6 months or less. When your dealer says you've got a drug problem, you better listen. Here's an exerpt:

"We gotta slow down, man. We gotta get him focused on football, man. He's
focused on too much other s****," Moore said.
NewsChannel 5 obtained
wiretapped phone conversations between Moore and his friends. In one
conversation he talked about Jones throwing his money into gambling, putting
thousands of dollars on college games to make a quick buck....
"You know, I
was talkin' to him the other day about smokin', and he was like man, if I didn't
smoke I couldn't take all the stress that I'm dealing with right now,'" Moore
said....
"[Titans coach Jeff] Fisher's being as patient as a m*****f***** as
he can. Fisher gotta win. Fisher trying to win...He ain't putting up with that
s***," Moore said....
"He gotta concentrate on season...that ******* drug
test coming up," he said. "We telling him he needed 33 days before he took his
******* test; dry-out, and he didn't...that's let me know right there that he
ain't taking his ****** job serious."

NFL Free Agency

NFL free agency kicks off early on Friday, and already some interesting moves have been made. The Broncos traded Tatum Bell for Dre' Bly, giving them one of the best defensive backfields in the league. I also suspect that this means that are going to find some way of drafting either Adrian Peterson or Marshawn Lynch. The other surprising move was the Steelers cutting Joey Porter. I'm also a little surprised, although less so, that the Saints cut Joe Horn.

It looks like there are a lot of good players out there this year, and since the Seahawks are light on draft picks, I expect them to pick up a player or 2. I suppose it's all a fanciful dream to imagine that the could get Nate Clements, but a top CB would be nice.

Next on the shopping list would be a quality guard. Maybe Eric Steinbach from the Bengals or Kris Dielman from the Chargers.

I also like the idea grabbing Jamaal Lewis cheap and letting him split time with Alexander. Send him in for the short yardage situations.

I would also like to get a big fat run stuffing DT, but don't see anyone in free agency who interests me too much.

One last note, I have added a link to what I consider to be the best draft website on the net. NFL Draft Countdown. The guy who writes it really knows what he's talking about.

For Devon

Based on the derisive comments regarding Sevendust from co-worker Devon, I assume he wants more. So in his honor, here is Headtrip live at Woodstock.



And embedding is disabled for this video, but this has got to be the sweetest and cutest little girl in the world. Seeing something like this makes me rethink my whole not wanting kids stance.