I thought 'What the Heck'

While I was falling off the Best Buy wagon and buying some technological needs, I also passed by the DVD section where I saw the Battlestar Galactica DVD set. The new series, not the old one with Lorne Greene. I liked the old show as a child, but if I see them now, I realize how corney some of them were. If I remember correctly, the kid on the show had a pet 'dagget' (let me know if that is not what it was called) which looked like a Halloween costume gone bad. A person is dressed up as a cyber dog/teddy bear. Anyway, I picked up BG because I remembered Woody referencing it a few times and I got the impression that it was good. He doesn't blog about it as much as he does Firefly, but after watching and liking Firefly on his recommendation, I thought 'what the heck?' and bought the BG DVD set. I started watching it last week and am done with the entire series already. They were incredibly good. Everything that I wish the old series could have been. The effects are great (except for maybe when they show the robotic Cylons running), the acting is good, and the story is supurb. It basically follows the old story, but with a few changes. In case you've never seen the new series, I will not spoil anything. The biggest change, however, is that the Cylons are able to look, feel, and act like humans. That doesn't spoil anything since it is something that you learn in the opening sequence of the debut mini series. This is the best change because it adds a level of intrigue and suspense that the old show lacked. Back in the old series, humans were good, Cylons were bad and looked like robots. It was very black and white. Honestly, I am suprised that this new series hasn't been picked up by one of the big networks. It is an excellent show and is far better than some of the crap that's on these days. I really want to see season two. Does anyone know if it is airing already? If so when?

Something I find amusing about the human appearing Cylons is that the male Cylons look gruff and like they could be bad guys, but the female cylons are beautiful women. They put the blonde in all sorts if skimpy outfits and have teaser shots of her half nude and the Asian woman is equally attractive, though they do not play up her sexuality as much. Fellas, in case you are paranoid about being duped into having sex with a Cylon agent, be aware that when they get it on, their spines glow red through their skin. So, I suggest different sexual positions with your lady so that you have a view of her back occasionally and can easily identify if she/it is human or Cylon. Just don't let on that you suspect that she is a Cylon. They are quite strong and will most likely whup on you if discovered. Just a little advice from me to you.

System of a Down Concert Rocked

The playlist:

SOLDIER SIDE
BYOB
REVENGA
KNOW
NEEDLES
DEER DANCE
SUGGESTIONS
PSYCHO
CHOP SUEY
KILL ROCK N ROLL
SAD STATUE
VIOLENT PORN
MR. JACK
CIGARO
COCAINE
BOUNCE
ATWA
FOREST
LOST IN HOLLYWOOD
QUESTION!
WAR?
PRISON
AERIALS
TOXICITY
SCIENCE
SUITE PEE
SUGAR

They also threw in Hypnotize, the title song of their upcoming CD, claiming that it was the first time they ever played it live. It was a bit of a mello song, but was still good. In a nut shell, System of a Down kicked ass!! Soldier Side pumped everyone up because we all knew that BYOB was going to come right after it. I would have prefered that closed with newer music, but Suite Pee and Sugar are two great songs. I was a bit suprised that more of the music wasn't from Hypnotize, but what they played kicked ass. My ears are ringing and my voice hurts from screaming. They played almost every song I could have wanted them to play. The stage performances were a little different here and there, like when the guitar player used a voice synthesizer durning War?. A little strange, but a good effect. If I wanted them to play everything exactly like on the CD, Why bother going to a concert?

The Mars Volta was pretty good. I don't know that I'd pay to see them as a headliner, but they had moments when they kicked ass. The guitar player and singer bounced up and down a lot and were all over the place. The crowd went a little crazy when one of the band members took up a flute, circa Jethro Tull. It seemed like no one ever heard a flute played before. He played it well though. I think that I would have liked them more if I was more familiar with their music. It was like a jam session mixing aspects of Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd and Rush (Caress of Steel).

The worst part of the whole show was the opening band, Hella. THEY BLEW CHUNKS!! I have no idea where they were dug up from. It started out with the drummer coming out and playing a bit of a solo, then the guitar player came out and joined in. It sounded like the grand finale of an 80's rock show. Only, it wasn't a finale, it was the show. After about five minutes of guitar solo and drum solo grotesquely combined into a level of musical hell that I never experienced, (and I was in a garage band for a few years) more band members came out with more instruments and they all started playing solos. Only they were all on top of each other adding to the musical chaos, and my head ache. The singer, if you could call him that, started wailing and screaming about genocide or something like that and maybe poop, we couldn't tell. The show ended in an reverse order from the beginning. The band members left, the guitar player left, and finally, (after a few more minutes if drum solo) the drummer left. Honestly, I am giving Hella more of a write up than they deserve. It was aweful. There were boos, and then cheers when they finally left the stage. The drummer was really the only good part. He had some serious chops. He had to, he played a fast paced drum solo for the entire show. Whatever happened to keeping time for the music?

All in all, I am SO glad that I went to the show. It would have been the best show I've seen (aside from Rush, who will forever be number one in my book)if the opening band wasn't so aweful. I think the Korn show I saw ranks a little higher, only because Staind opened for them. I seriously wanted to leave during Hella.

Going to concerts always makes me feel a bit dirty. The girls that go to these shows are all too young and dress too sluty. Sure you can say, "well don't look, perv," but it's impossible unless I close my eyes, only because they are everywhere. What's wrong with parents letting teen girls wear pants that barely come up to above their ass cracks and tops that a little more than bras? One girl was wearing a top so small that her boobies were already popping out, and then half way through the show she took her top off and was only in her bra. (She was sitting in front of us, I wasn't stalking.) I just hope that the style changes before Alydia is a teen. I'll certainly do my best to make her think that frumpy sweat suits are in. I don't want guys like me looking at her in that way.

Good game, but not great

OSU rolled over Iowa yesterday, 31-6. A blow out yes. Should it have been a bigger blow out, absolutely. The defense was awesome. Iowa was forrtunate to get 6. The offense looked pretty good too. Troy Smith looked like the QB the OSU has always needed. He was mobile and accurate and the offense made short work of the Iowa defense. Why, you ask, do I say 'good game, but not great?' Well, there were three huge mistakes by OSU, or the game would have been 52-6. The Bucks fumbled twice inside Iowa's 10 yard line and Ted Ginn finally ran back a punt that was called back because of an illegal block. Essentialy, these mistakes took 13 to 21 points off the board for OSU. Still, Ohio State completely dominated Iowa. If they would have played this well against Texas, they would be undefeated right now.

I Ohio State is off next weekend, so I have to hold myself over by watching Michigan at Michigan State. Right now, Michigan is not looking good, so Michigan State could very well be the team that Ohio State needs to beat to claim the Big Ten title this year. Minnesota beat Purdue, Wisconsin beat Michigan, and Ohio State clobbered Iowa. Purdue, Iowa, and Michigan were supposed to be the elilte teams in the Big Ten this year. Michigan State rolled up 61 points on Illinois. Are you kidding me? That's a point per minute. Now, M. State, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are all undefeated this season and Ohio State plays all but Wisconsin this year. Now, remember that Penn State has been warming up on smaller, less talented programs so far, so when the Buckeyes roll in to Happy Valley on the 8th of October, it could be a bit of a wake up call for the Nittony Lions. Well, from what I have seen, Ohio State is playing the best football of all of the Big Ten teams. Of the seven games lefft in the season, the teams to watch out for are Penn State, Michigan State, and scUM. The team up north are always a threat to the Buckeyes, no matter what the standings are at the end of the year. I have a pretty good feeling that the Bucks can win out and play in a BCS game. It may not be the title game, but I don't know that I would feel that good about playing USC in the title game. I suppose that I had the same feeling when they played Miami and that turned out pretty well. Maybe the Nation's top defense can handle the nation's best offense. It'd sure be a pretty good game to watch.

Que Es EL Mars Volta?

Did I pick up the wrong version of the CD? I only ask because it's half english and half espanole so far. Se hable espanole un poco, but it's not my strong suit. I checked the CD case and it didn't say anything about being a Spanish version, but I am a bit dense, so I may have missed something. So far, I am a bit torn on my opinion of the CD. When they rock out in what is obviosly a song, I like it, but when the fo 4 or 5 minutes with just wierd filler stuff, I start to lose interest. Right now it sounds like birds chirping. I can go outside to hear that. And now it sounds like a psychodelic acid trip with a bird chirping in the background. Now, trumpets. It definately has a Pink Floyd vibe to it, cerca Dark Side of the Moon. Well, the jury is still out on this one.....I just wanted to give them a try before seeing them open for System of a Down tomorrow. It's going to ROCK.

So, I'm offically working from home now. I brought my computer home and got it all hooked up. They asked me, "do you feel comfortable setting your system up by yourself?" I answered, "Do you mean 'Do I feel comfortable plugging an ethernet cable in the back of my computer? Em, I think so." It's amazing how little some people know about computers though. Thankfully I am not one of those people. It was either doing it myself or waiting until Monday when someone could come do it for me. I'll do it myself thank you very much. I couldn't bare another weekend at that place. Now I have a good sterio to listen to and a TV to watch. "Wow, that would be great to put six packs of Be..uh soda in." A Tommy Boy reference
indicating that I have access to adult beverages if I get too overwhelmed. Just kidding. I won't drink on the job. (much) :-)

The Buckeyes have Iowa at home today. It should be a good game, but it has lost some of it's national importance since both teams have lost a game. Iowa Lost to Iowa State and Ohio State lost to Texas. Before that, both teams were ranked in the to ten. This is still a match up between two top 25 teams, but the chances that either of them will play for the National Title has decreased greatly. For Ohio state, they will need to win out and Texas will have to lose (probably). Thanks to the BCS, Ohio State could leap frog Texas, even if the Longhorns win out. Their strenght of schedule is not as good and Ohio State's. It is, of course, possible that if USC loses a game, Ohio State and Texas could be matched up in the Rose Bowl. I would love that. Back to Iowa, they would need to win out and alot of teams would have to lose for the Hawkeyes to have a chance to go to the Rose Bowl. Well, it should be a good game today. It have been raining, so hopfully Ohio State can get their running game going. If not, it could be a long game with bad results. Hopfully, Ted Ginn Jr. will be able to break into open field today. He's been relatively quiet all year.

GO BUCKS!

Should I forgive Best Buy?

I haven't shopped at Best Buy for over a year. Why? They have bad customer service, they pissed me off, and I hold grudges. I won't get into it much except to say that they wouldn't replace my cell phone when the battery stopped holding a charge just because the screen was cracked. Apparently a cracked screen negates their replacement plan. Never buy those by the way. They are a rip off. The usually only last a year or so and the manufacturers warranty will work just as well. The only thing a replacement plan will do is pad the bottom line for the retailer. Anyway, I need to get some computer related stuff. I could go to CompUSA or Circuit City, but they are a bit out of my way now that I'm in Hilliard. Plus, Best Buy was my all time favorite store until the above mentioned phone incident. they have everything that you would need in the line of electronics. Plus, movies, CDs, books, Xbox games, the list goes on forever.

What I need is a hub so that I can have RR internet on my three computers. I also need an ethernet cable. While I'm there I was thinking about buying a DVD player for the basement, a home theatre speaker system for the living hoom, a CD, and an Xbox game. Could I go to Target and get these things? Maybe. The selection would be smaller and I may not be able to get exactly what I need. Actually, banning Best Buy for live may be a good thing for me. I need two things from the store and look, I add four more items.

I got angry yesterday. I wrote out a long post about the upcoming game and some other stuff. I had links going to Woody, and Bryan. Then, when I came back from lunch my computer was off and I lost the whole post (I was in the middle of it). Pissed me off. I'll try to rewrite it again tonight or tomorrow. I have too much to do today.

Sports in general

Yes, two blogs in one day. What can I say? I feel productive today.

Well, the Buckeyes rebounded and won their game this weekend over Sand Diego State. I believe the final score was 27-6. Really it was a bit of a dull game. It started off a bit scary with SDSU ripping off an 80 yard TD pass on their first play. They then held off Ohio State for a while before the offense started moving. Honestly, the offense is looking a lot like they did last year, and that is not too good. There were more dropped passes and fumbles. The game would have been a lot closer if SDSU hadn't turned the ball over on their own one yard line. The Bucks were able to punch it in for a touchdown. The TV guys kept going on about how Troy Smith was doing so well and talked about the yardage he was gaining, but to be honest, he didn't really impress me too much. Zwick came in on the last series and threw 6 of 7, or something like that, while they were running out the clock. I really hope that the guy that replaces the Smith/Zwick QB pair in a few years is better than the both of them. The running game looked pretty good with Pittman hitting some holes. The thing that bothers me is that every other team to play San Diego State this year has scored 40+. I know Tressel doesn't run up the scores on other teams, but it would have been nice to see that the Buckeyes could score at will against a weaker opponent. It may be that they were a bit flat after the close loss to Texas, but with Iowa coming to town this weekend, they can't afford to be flat. Iowa is going to bring their A game this Saturday. I have to admit, after the last two games, I am a bit worried about Iowa. Yes, they lost badly to Iowa State, but playing a Big Ten team always seem to fire up the players. Hopefully, they will turn it around and put up big offensive numbers to match the defense.

The Browns won their first game this year. I may not have to keep my Browns shirt in the closet after all. They got destroyed by Cincinnati last week. This weekend they played Green Bay and were able to win by two. It is a bit scary how badly the Cleveland defense can play at times. I didn't see the whole game, but the Browns went up by 9 in the waining moments of the fourth quarter and still only won by two. I hate to say it, but Bralen Edwards showed that he is the real deal by catching a long TD pass. It was actually a rather short pass, but his speed was too much for the Packers DBs to catch. If the defense could stop teams from scoring, they may actually have a decent year.

The Columbus hockey team (The Bluejackets) had a preseason game last night. I think they lost 2 to 3. I am not a huge hockey fan, but I do enjoy going to a game every once in a while. Nationwide sell thier employees discounted tickets since they own the arena. It was a bumer that they had that hold out all last year. I am more of a hockey fan then I am a baseball fan, so I usually follow the season and watch the playoff games. I am a Bluejackets fan first, but also like the Red Wings and Penguins. I don't follow the Pens as much since they got rid of my favoriet player, Yamir Jager. Well, hopefully, the Jackets will win enough to compete for a playoff spot this year.

Cleveland in looking well in the playoff picture in baseball. (I'm mildly interested, remember?) They are 1 1/2 game up on the Yankees for the wild card and 3 1/2 behind the White Sox (?) to win their division. They have been on a bit of a win streak lately. I may actually pay attention to the baseball playoffs if the Tribe makes it in. It seems like in the past few years, they have been finding ways to screw it up.

Harry Potter preview

I was watching TV last night and while flipping to Lord of the Rings :Two Towers, I caught a new preview for the new Harry Potter movie. It looks really good. I probably won't like The Goblet of Fire movie as much as I've liked the other movies because I am reading the book right now. For the past movies, I had either seen the movie before reading the book or read the book long enough before seing the movie that I forgot details. Since I am reading (re-reading, actually) The Goblet of Fire so close to the release date of the film, the details will be fresh in my mind. Already I have a few complaints, mostly about the casting:

Made Eye Moody - In the movie, doesn't look how I picture him from the book. He is supposed to be scarred and gnarled, but the actor looks a little too cartoon character. Plus he is supposed to have a magical eye that can move 360 degrees in any direction, but in the movie it acts like a normal eye.

Fluer - She is supposed to be half Veela (a magical siren type woman who is supposed to be irresistible to men. The actress is pretty, but not as pretty as she should be (according to the discription in the book)

Viktor Krum - In the book, he is supposed to be surley and brooding. In the previews, he looks as thought he could be a stand in on the OC. Too pretty.

Madame Maxime - She is supposed to be big like Hagrid. In the preview, she is tall, but skinny. Not quite what I imagined.

It is disappointing that, after nailing the casting on so many of the charactors, they seem to be slipping on how they cast new charactors. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, the Weasley's, Snape, Malfoy, everyone looks like the book discribes them. Now, I'm not saying that the casting is terrible, it's just not as dead on as it has been in the past. Another thing that bothers me is that the layout of Hogwarts is different in the different movies. The first two movies kept the layout rather similar, but the third movie was very different. The biggest difference that I noticed was that Hagrids house moves from right next to the castle to the bottom of a big hill. I know it's due to the new director and all that, but I would think that they'd try to keep the background the same from movie to movie.

Anyway, I am excited about the movie coming out in November. I will enjoy it, but will probably be disapointed in some aspects of the film.

Help!

Well, it's Friday. I have this weekend off, so I get to try to catch up on some sleep. I say try because it greatly depends on if Gabriel and Alydia let me. I really need to try to get the garage organized too. It'd be nice to park in the garage come winter time.

Bowling went well last night. It was the first wee of our new season. I usually bowl out of my mind on the first week and set an average that I can't possibly hope to keep. I think I had a 215 one year. I started off pretty well with a 193 and 198, but then tanked out with a 161. I can keep a 183 average. I need to get some new shoes. My current bowling shoes are starting to fall apart a bit. We won't know if we won any of the games last night because our handicaps haven't been figured out yet. What a handicap does is level the playing field a bit. It is based off of 90% of the difference between your average and 210 pins. For example, my average is 183, so you'd subtract 183 from 210 (27) and then take 90% of that number. So, my handicap is 24. You then add your handicap to the total pins you bowl each game. It is supposed to make things more competative so that a team that has a bunch of 130 bowlers can keep up with 190 bowlers. Make sense?

You may be wondering why I titled today's post as 'Help!' Well, today is Jessica's birthday and I have no idea what to get her. I thought about some earrings, but if I keep getting her jewelry, she will start expecting it. Any ideas? I think I may just take her out shopping or something. That way she can get what she wants. Unfortunately, she and I a both people that buy whatever we need or want whenever we get the chance. It makes it hard to give people gift ideas. I'll make her dinner and get her a card and flowers too. Is that enough? I already made her a cake. I just like going overboard sometimes, I guess.

Bowling night

My bowling league starts tonight. Now, before you go thinking that bowling leagues are only for overweight drunks that just want to get away from thier families, remember, there are some skinny guys in my league too. It is nice to have a night to get out and hang out with the guys. It is a bit of a bummer because the kids are usually in bed before I get home, but it is a great way to blow off some steam. Our team name is 'Big Knockers'. You may think that it is a reference to large breasts (which it is a little bit) but in reality, it is based off of Major League (the movie) when Cerano crushes the ball and the manager says 'big knock baby, big knock!' We consider a strike to be a 'big knock'.

A few bummers about this year though, my buddy Jon has quit the team. He is a great guy and I really like hanging out with him. He's in a relationship with a woman that like him to stay at home a lot. We think that she's a bit controling, but the bottom line is that he's happy with her.

The second bummer is now I live 20 minutes away from the bowling lanes instead of the five minutes away I was before our move. That means less drinking. Or, after much drinking, going to Roosters for a late night snack and sobering up. That means being out super late though. It's ok to do that sometimes, but too many times I feel bad for leaving Jessica home alone with the kids. And I miss them too. It won't be as bad after I start working from home because I will be able to see everyone throughout the day.

One of the fun aspects is that Jesse, a guy on my team, and I always put a $20 bet on who will have the highest average by the end of the year. I usually win, but it adds a little spice to the mix. We both love to trash talk with each other.

We also have a small poker game with every game we bowl. Basically, everyone puts in a dollar and for every strike or spare you get, you draw a card. Split pick ups and rolling a turkey (three strikes in a row) earn you a bonus card and if you roll a gutter ball on your first ball of the frame, you add a dollar to the pot. At the end of the game, whomever has the best poker hand wins the pot. It adds a bit more fun to the night.

This year my goal is to bring my average up to 190. I've been around 175-180 for the past few years, but I think I'll be able to get up to 190. Some guys in my league average over 200 per game. There have been a couple guys that have rolled perfect games too. There are some crappy bowlers too. A couple guys averaged under 100. My biggest problem is consistancy. I can roll a perfect ball, but not every time. It's frustrating.

In Buckeye News, apparently, Troy Smith is going to be the all time starting QB for the Buckeyes. Although I think it is good to have one guy all the time, I don't think that Zwick got a fair shake. He turned the ball over less that Smith and had a lot of his passes dropped. Well, hopfully things will get back on track this weekend against San Diego State. In all reality, the Buckeyes should crush them. I just hope that they figure out how to 1. get the ball in the end zone and 2. get the ball to Ted Ginn. He didn't touch the ball nearly enough against Texas.

In more personal news, I am leaving work early today to go have a chat with Noah's teacher. He hasn't done anything wrong (that we know of) we just want to meet with the guy to ask some questions and try to get some help from him. Noah was not a very good studant last year. He didn't do half of his work and his grade cards were crap. So, we held him back in the fifth grade. There is no way that he'd be able to keep up in sixth grade in a better school district. His math skills are severely lacking. We figured that it would be better for him to repeat this year in the new school district rather than moving on and possible failing and having to repeat sixth grade. So, we are just going to chat with the teacher and see what he can do to help us monitor Noah's progress and motivate Noah to work to his potential.

Jessica's birthday is tomorrow. I have no idea what to get her. Maybe I'll just cop out and get her some flowers and a card. Maybe I'll take her out if we can find a sitter. She'll be 30, so I wanted to do something nice. I guess nothing will beat her 27th birthday when I bought her her diamond ring. I would get her a bowling ball drilled for my hand and hith my name on it, but that would just be too obvious.

I've been seeing Serenity commercials on TV. That makes me glad because the producers are thinking that it will be good enough tat they actually want to promote it. Of course, they also promote movies that are crap, but the previews for Serenity look great. I am much looking forward to going to see it.

I'm ok now....

I'm better after fuming for a few days over the OSU loss to Texas. It was a bullshit loss, but we've got more games in front of the Bucks to look forward to. The boy in Scarlet and Grey just need to win the Big Ten Title so that they can get into a BCS game. I think it will be possible to win out the rest of the season. The othe Big Ten teams that OSU will play have some definate chinks in their armor. That's all I have to say about that.

So, the house is coming together a little bit more. It's so hard to get things unpacked when Jessica an I have both work. It's near impossible to do anything while watching two kids all day. I'm starting with my office in the basement now. My parents got me a desk for when I start working from home. I would be working from home by now, but they want me to train some people on how to do my job. So, I need to put the desk together and then start decorating. We also need to go through everything and figure out where to put stuff. The kitchen and out bedrooms are mostly finished now, but the garageis still full of boxes. That will be my next project. We are getting some stuff unpacked at least. My drive way looks like a grave yard for boxes. I need to figure out what to do with them all. Probably try to find somewhere to recycle them.

Texas did not beat Ohio State........

Ohio State lost the game. That is the only way I can put it. Did Vince Young dominate the Buckeye defense? No. They all but shut down the Texas QB. The first two series of the game, I was worried since he seemed to drive the Texas offense down the field at will. But then, the linebackers of OSU shut his ass down. So why did OSU lose the game? In my opinion, one bad call by the officials and bad offensive play calling. The bad call: the game winning TD. The receiver was clearly bobbling the ball as he was going down and you can see the ball bouncing away from him at the end of the play. Reply just couldn't determine that he dropped it for sure because of the bad camera angles. In my opinion, it was NOT a TD. Now, I am a huge Tressel fan. However, I am tired of his conservative play calling in big games. He's starting to look like Cooper back in tha day. Run, Run, Run, Punt. Ohio State has one great receiver in Santonio Holmes and the fasted guy on the field with Ted Ginn. Line them up, run them both deep, and throw to whichever one has single coverage. They did it once to Holmes for a TD. Also, it drove me nuts how he kept switching QB all game. If you want Zwick to play, let him play. If you want Smith to play, let him play. when Zwick was pulled after two sets of downs, I was angry. He had one, maybe two passes dropped causing that fourth down situations. NOT HIS FAULT! Then bring Smith in. Run, run, run....eventually, Texas is going to figure that out. When you add a missed field goal (caused by a 5 yard loss on the previous play) and a dropped TD pass, you give the game away. You can say that Texas was giving the game away with it's turnovers, but those were caused by spectacular defensive plays (mostly by Hawk). In my opinion, Hawk was the OSU player of the game. He had more game changing plays that the entire offense put together. Come on, when Texas gives the ball away three times on their end of the field and you can only get field goals?!?!? Pittman ran well, and both QBs did OK, but neither one of them were all too great. That game was SO aggrevating to watch. I'm done with it now. Now we just need to look at winning the Big Ten title. The only hopes that Ohio state has now of winning the National Title is by winning out and hoping that Texas stumbles somewhere. Of course, since Michigan and Iowa both lost, that means that the OSU strenght of schedule factor is going to decrease. I'm through with it now.

It's Friday!!

I am amazed. I am actually mildly interested in baseball. I rarely watch a game, I barely pay attention to the highlights on Sports Center, but right now, I am just a little bit interested in MLB. Not enough to go into a whole post about it, but I have some interest. The Indians (the only team I like at all aside from the Cubs) are in the lead for the wild card to get into the playoffs. They are 1/2 game ahead of the Yankees (a team I don't like). I don't like baseball because the season is so damn long (over a hundred games a season). A team can lose 60 games and still be in the playoff race. Plus, there are so many player trades every season, it's impossible to know a team roster from one game to the next. But anyway, I am slightly interested because the Indians are still in the playoff hunt over the Yankees. That's all.

Cook out plans are for the Penn State game this year. The past few have been Wisconsin game cook outs, but the Bucks don't play the Badgers this year. Too bad too. They didn't look too good in their season opener against Bowling Green allowing 42 points in thier 56-42 victory. Anyway, this year we chose October 8th and the game being played in Happy Valley. Hopfully, the Buckeyes will be able to make it the not-so-Happy Valley this year. Penn State has been down the past few seasons, but there is talk that the Nittony Lions may be better this year. We shall see. Personally, I think that Joe-Pa needs to step down. He is a legacy at Penn State and in college football, true. However, he is getting up in the years. No one in their right mind will fire him, but someone needs to have a private talk with him and tell him that it's time to hang up the whistle. Woody Hayes is an Ohio State legend, but his time came too. It's just the way of things. Anyway, the cookout. The game starts at 7:00 or 7:45 pm so I'm figuring that I'll spark up the grill around 6:00. We'll have tons of food and drink, as usual. I'll send an email out to everyone later with directions and more specific information. Yes, Bryan, I wil get Long Island Iced Tea fixin's. You'd just better not have to crash on by couch again. We'll have the usual cook out foods, brats, burgers, and chicken of sort. This year, we will actually have enough room for people to sit comfortably. The new basement isn't as big as the old one, but the living room is bigger and out dex kicks ass. It should be a good time. Amy, if you and Johnny make it, sorry that you will not be able to partake in the alcoholic libations, but we'll have plenty of grub to satisfy your preggers cravings. Out of town people may want to try and find someone to stay with since it is a late game. We can probably handle a few people, but that's all.

I added a picture of a Lego Stadium that someone built. It's pretty cool. Not too sure where the picture came from, but hopfully I won't get in trouble for posting it.

Biggest Game Ever?

An article in The Other Paper, a free Columbus news paper, is claiming that OSU vs Texas this Saturday in the 'Shoe is the most anticipated home game in Ohio state (recent) History. I added recent because they only looked at games since 1970. They used a formula (Novelty + National Importance + Players + Coaches + 'Bonus Buzz' = Total Score) to determine the top seven most anticipated games at Ohio Stadium played since 1970. Here are their findings:

1. #4 OSU vs #2 Texas 2005 First match up ever. Loads of National Title implications.
2. #4 OSU vs #3 Oklahoma 1977 OSU 28 Oklahoma 29 First meeting with the Sooners and a top 5 match up
3. #5 OSU vs #4 Michigan 1970 OSU 20 Michigan 9 First time both teams were undefeated
4. #5 OSU vs #6 Penn State 1978 OSU 0 Penn State 19 rare Penn State visit
5. #7 OSU vs #15 Notre Dame 1995 OSU 45 Notre Dame 26 First Irish visit in 60 years
6. #8 OSU vs #1 Iowa 1985 OSU 22 Iowa 13 Iowa was on route to win the National Title
7. #2 OSU vs #12 Michigan 2002 OSU 14 Michigan 9 OSU needed a win to go to Tempe and play for the Title

Personally, I have only witnessed two of these game that I can remember. I may have saw the 1985 game against Iowa, but do not specifically remember. I was only 11. As such, I would change the top games to include the 2002 game vs Michigan (needed a win to play for the title baby!) and the 1995 Notre Dame game. Since I was in school for the Irish game, and a member of the band, I would get way pumped for games like that. OSU vs Texas is getting huge hype. ESPN Game Day is going to be in town and there will be over 1000 reporters in town covering the game. In the past, the most has been 900. ESPN.com has stories all over about the game and ticket prices. I remember once, when Woody visited Bryan and I for the Michigan game, he brought $20 expecting to buy a ticket. Bryan and I laughed a bit and then pointed him to the Union and told him he could watch there. Five minutes into kickoff, there's Woody with a grin on his face. He paid $20 to get into a Michigan vs OSU game! Anyways, these tickets for the Texas game are selling for $2000 a pair. Back to the point. In my memory, this IS the most anticipated game in OSU stadium history. Notre Dame was big. Michigan is always big. But this is the first meeting between two huge football teams. It's not like Texas going to play against the Akron Zips who are just happy that more fans will come to the game to see Texas play. The attitude in Columbus isn't that the Buckeyes will play Texas this weekend, the attitude it that the Buckeyes are going to beat Texas this weekend. The difference between now and when Notre Dame came to town is that both teams have title hopes, both teams have great talent, and both teams have great histories.

Another article in the Other Paper is quoting a Texas sports writer that graduated from OSU. The article states that the sports writer said that Texas needs to win more than Ohio State does. There is a quote stating that "Going into the season, the thinking in Austin was, as long as they don't lose too badly up in Columbus, they'd have a chance in the National Title picture." This has changed now that the other two big opponents that Texas will face, Oklahoma and Texas A&M, have already lost, weakening the strength of schedule aspect of Texas' season. OSU on the other hand still has to face Michigan and Iowa, two highly ranked teams. Ohio State could lose this game early, and still be in the National Title hunt if they win the rest of the games with solid wins over Michigan and Iowa. Personally, I'd rather win them all. I have faith in my boys this year. I also like that quote because it gives you the sense that Texas fans are expecting a loss. Of course that's one guy's opinion and he is an OSU grad, but I like thinking that there is fear in Texas. A night game in the Horseshoe, under the lights with over 100000 crazed fans cheering on the Buckeyes is going to be amazing. I only wish I could be there. I don't have two grand to spare though. Maybe I should get Woody to come with me and see if his magic could work again. Maybe he could get a pair of tickets for $40.

What a week

Well, the move is done. I am tired, sore, and broke. We were actually out of our old house a day early. Since the guy buying our house never told me where to leave the key (he couldn't make it to our scheduled closing time) I just left eh keys and the garage door opener in the house and locked the door. Screw him. He can get a locksmith if needs to. I figured that they would give him the key that was in the lock box, but apparently, there is some confusion as to where that key is. Oh well. Not my problem. We have all of our stuff at out new house, mostly in the garage or basement. It's a huge mess right now. There is no way I would have been able to move move without hiring mover. It was a bit more expensive than I would have liked, but it was worth it. Two Men and a Truck did a good job. The guys were nice and didn't damage a thing. The people moving out of our house on the other hand put a huge dent in the kitchen wall and tore out the water hook up for the washer and dryer. We are trying to get them to pay for the fixing of the damage. Oh, and there is a huge spot on our living room that is unpainted because they didn't bother to move the entertainment center before painting. We covered it up fairly well with a big piece of furniture, but it is still a pain. The Barney purple room is now a nice green dining room. It too primer and two coats of paint. Also, We got Noah's room painted. We still have alot to do though. Thanks to Bryan and Rick or the help clearing out my storage shed.

I have alot to catch up on sice it's been almost a week since my last posting. Ohio State won their home opener against Miami (OH) 34-14. The 14 points scored by Miami were in the closing minutes of the game and came against the Ohio State second team defense. The starting defense completely shut down Miami's (pretty good) offense. It put a warm fuzzy feeling in my stomach. The offense looked pretty good too. Zwick made more good plays than bad, and there was some positive things from the running game. Bryan has some more on the game and a picture that he took posted on his blog. I won't go too much in to detail since I only saw bits and pieces of the game, what with the moving and all. The game this weekend is huge. OSU vs. Texas. I feel pretty good about this game after watching the defense last Saturday. The Miami QB was flattened a few times by the diferent blitzes that the Bucks threw at him. Texas is a diferent story (I think they scored 60 points last week), true, but I think that the Scarlet and Grey will pull it out.

A realization last week: While watching an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I had a bit of a suprise. Mal, from Firefly, was a semi-regular in the last season of Buffy. I knew that he looked familiar. The guy that plays Mal also played a bad guy named Caleb on Buffy. Sorry to the more divote Firefly fans, but I do not know his actual name. Caleb was a pretty good bad guy and the actor played him well. It's no suprise that Joss kept him on for Firefly.

I have several things coming up that I am excited about. I am going to see System of a Down September 25th. I bought two tickets and will be taking the wifey along. She is not a huge System of a Down fan, but she likes them well enough to enjoy the show. The Mars Volta is opening for SOAD and I'm trying to get Bryan to make me a CD of some of their music. The show is also part of the 'Blitz Bash'. The local radio station is having a concert in the arena district and a ticket to SOAD will get you into the Blitz Bash. I doubt that we will go since it's an all day thing. Serenity is coming to cinima at the end of the month. The trailers look good. I hope to see it the theatres, but with three kids and a wierd work schedule, I may have to wait until it is out on DVD. Also, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie is going to be out in November. Still a few months away, true, but I am looking forward to it none the less. I am reading the book (again) and am getting close to the end. I forgot how good it is. It's a shame that they will need to cut alot of it out for the movie. Otherwise it would be four hours long probably.

Two Days until the Move

That's right. All of our waiting is coming to an end. We get to move into our new house in two days. It will actually take three days to do everything. We are spreading things out so that we are not overwhelmed. I bet you are all tired of reading about our move, so I will spare you the details. I stayed home today to do some stuff, but actually don't feel too good. I slept most of the day. Strange for me to do so.

Well, there isn't too much for me to type about. The closings for both of our houses were Tuesday and both went down without incident. We now own our new house officially. The people that sold it to us seemed really nice. The guy that bought our house couldn't bother to make it to our closing on time, so we signed everything and he showed up later to sign everything he needed to sign. Since I've never heard from him, I have no idea how to get him the keys. I'll probably just leave the door unlocked and leave the keys in the kitched. The guy has been nothing but a pain in my ass, so I don't see that I need to go out of my way to make things convenient for him.

So, if anyone feels like coming over to help out, or just to see the new house, let me know. Thanks to Herb for the offer of help, but I feel bad asking you to drive all this way to help us move. I'd rather you come to our cookout and have a good time. The plan is still to have the cookout on October 8th (the Penn State game). I have to work that day, but we should be ready to go by 6:00 or so. Lots of food, lots of drink, lots of good times. I hope everyone will try to make it.