One Game Left

I only have one football game to look forward to this year/season. After the Browns blew it last Saturday against Cincinnati, they needed Indianapolis to pull through and beat Tennesee. No such luck. After pulling their first string offense, the Colts looked like St. Mary's School for the Blind playing against the Titans. Now, the Browns are out. They are the only ten win team in the NFL not to make the playoffs. Granted, I don't think they would have survived the all road game schedule they would have faced if they did make the playoffs as the wildcard, but it would have been nice to see them have a shot. Now, I don't know if I can get excited about the NFL playoffs. I usually pull for Indianapolis, but after they let me down, I just can't get excited for them. As we Cleveland fans are used to saying: there's always next season!

The one game I have to look forward to, of course, is the BCS National Title game in seven days between Ohio State and LSU. LSU is picked to win by 4 or 5, but I think either team has a legitimate chance of winning. I like that the Buckeyes are under dogs. They may go into the game with a chip on their shoulder. My only concern is that LSU has two mobile QBs to choose from and a mobile QB is one thing that the Buckeye defense has trouble with. Anyone remember a guy names Juice Williams? Still, I a hopful for an OSU win and National Title.

I guess am looking forward to today and tomorrow as well. Some pretty good bowl games coming up. (OK, so I am excited about more than one game. So what?) Is it weird that the Indiana/Oklahoma State game is going to be on the NFL Network? I will probably watch Wisconsin take on Tennesee, M*ch*g*n against Florida, and Illinois against USC. I try to hope for all Big Ten teams in the bowls, but I must admit I am a little torn for the UM vs Florida game. This may be a game that I hope for all of the players to get food poisoning and the schools must put in the marching bands to play. Honestly though, I see UM getting their asses kicked by a tough Florida squad. It will also be interesting to see if Hawaii can finish an undefeated season against the team that could be playing in the BCS title game.

Ever Google Yourself?

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Four Days of Fattness

I have madeup my mind that this coming year, 2008, starting January 1st, I am going on a major diet. No more drinking booze. No more Christmas cookies. No more fast food. Add some excercise. I am hoping to get back down to my college weight by summer. It will be difficult and improbable, but it is a change that I need to make. I haven't weighed myself for a long time, but I know that I need to drop some pounds. So, that means that these last four days are the last days for me to be a bad boy. I won't be a glutton, eating nothing but cookied and carbs, but I will allow myself a few favorites before I impliment my diet. I will probably get some Roosters (like Hooters or BW3's, but better) and some Chipotle. The rough part is going to be no more beer, whiskey, or wine. the diet books say that some alcohol is OK, but I usually put my liver to the test and drink too much. The easiest way to do this is to just not buy anymore.

The hardest part about dieting, for me, is taking the time to prepare all of the foods that I am allowed to have. It takes time to make a nice salad and grill some chicken. Plus, it is hard to make these foods interesting everyday. What I usually do is make a big bag of salad and cook up several chicken breasts and eat off them sor a few days. Another negative is the cost of the diet. Eating salad and chicken or steak gets pricey. Still, I need to do it for myself and for my kids. I don't want to be that dad that never does anything with them because I am too fat and tired all the time. After all is said and done, I may post my before and after weights, but I don't want people to know how much I weigh now, until I have lost all I want to lose. I only hope that there are no major stressers in my life while I try to lose weight. I am a stress eater and drinker.

Go Colts!

I don't say that just because the Colts have been my 'play offs' team in the past few years(the team I root for in the play offs, since Cleveland is never there), I say that because the Browns need a Colts win to make the play offs this year. I am not sure how it all works out, but if both Cleveland and Tennesse win this weekend, the Titans go to the play offs, but if they both lose (or if just Tennesee loses) Cleveland will go to the play offs. Weird, huh? I don't really know how that math works out. Anyway, we Cleveland fans need Indianapolis to start Peyton and the rest of the first team offense for at least a half, so that they can build a lead, win the game, and bump the Browns into the post season for the first time since........ I can't remember. I am feeling a little doubtful about Cleveland's chances, after blowing their chance to clinch a play off spot by losing to Cincinnati last week. What the hell was up with that? Anderson threw back to back interceptions that lead to Bengals TDs in the last minute of the first half. TAKE A FUCKING KNEE ALREADY!!! It was really terrible. All I can say is, if the Bungles (oops) Bengals lost that game (which they almost did) they should have all returned their salaries and wrote the city of Cincinnati a letter of apology. Anderson should do the same for Cleveland, since he basically blew the play offs with his piss poor performance. I think he threw four interceptions in all: two leading to Cincinnati points and the other two halting Cleveland scoring drives. They definaltely looked like the Cleveland Clowns of years past.

Happy Christmahanaquanzikmidan!

No matter what your religion, nationality, race, color, or creed, Happy Holidays! I hope that you get to spend your time with friends, family, and loved ones.

Christmas has been pretty good so far. I was able to sleep until 9:00, if you can believe it! Considering I have two little kids, I figured I would be up at the crack of dawn. The kids all seem to be happy with their gifts. The big ones were: Noah - Ipod Shuffle Gabe - a Robosapien Alydia - a talking playset for her dolls. They were all pleased.

Again, Happy Holidays! Time for me to go eat some cookies!

Christmas Rant

I hate wrapping presents. Actually, truth be told, I SUCK at wrapping pictures. However, year after year I seem to get stuck with wrapping duties. I guess I don't mind, but I get very frustrated with the task. Not the easy square angle boxed items so much, but the weird kid toys that come in a container with a round side, a cut off corner, and weird angles. I hate those. The problem is, every damn toy out there is contained in a weirdly shaped box. The probability of a neatly wrapped toy is next to nothing. Honestly, some of the gifts I have wrapped look like they were wrapped by a two year old. I doubt that the kids will care though, they are just going to rip it all of in a few days. Still, any toy manufatcurers out there reading this post: USE SQUARE BOXES FOR FUCK SAKE!!!!!

Wood? Really??

So, Jessica and I are approaching our fifth wedding aniversary (01/06). It's hard to believe that it's only been five years....it seems like an eternity! JUST KIDDING!!! Seriously though, I really can't believe it's only been five years since we went to Las Vegas to get hitched. There have been ups and downs, but all in all I think we are doing very well. At least we aren't planning on separating or anything. We have some great kids, a nice house, are financially independant (more or less), and have good times together. What more do you need? So, I was wondering what one gets for one's spouse on their fifth anniversary. I firgured it would be something nice, like gold, wine, china, or something sentimental. Nope. Apparently, the fifth anniversary is the wood anniversary. "Happy anniversary, honey! Here's a stick!" I guess it could be something like furniture or a wooden picture frame, but wood seems like a pretty weak gift for the fifth anniversary. Considering I know people that have been married, divorced, and remarried in less than five years, I would think that a fifth wedding anniverary would rate something a little more flashy. I think maybe I just like spending money too much because I think of jewelry or other expensive gifts when I buy presents for my sweetie. The only bummer this year is that Jessica has to work on our anniversary this year. I guess I can cook a nice dinner or something before give her a twig. Maybe I will give her a homemade certificate good for one tree to plant in the spring. It can be our love tree! How cheesey! Seriously though, I know she wants a weeping cherry tree, so maybe that's not so bad of an idea.

Fuck you Nintendo. Fuck you and the Wii you rode in on!

I may have mentioned previously that Jessica and I have been looking for a Nintendo Wii for the kids for Christmas. Ok, Ok.... it is for us too, but mostly for the kids. Well, the Nintendo Wii is about as easy to find as a VD-free hooker in the ghetto. No, scratch that. A VD-free hooker is probably easier to find (not that I would look for one of those). Needless to say, the search has been frustrating. The reason for this is because Nintendo has been holding back production to keep demand high. This has created a Cabbage Patch Kid type frenzy when it comes to finding a Wii. I went to a Game Stop a while back and there was a line foe a Wii just because there was a delivery coming in that MIGHT have a Wii included. There were none. Anyway, yesterday, I found out that both Best Buy and Target were supposed to have Wii's available. So, I got up at 7:00 thinking I would get to Best Buy before they opened. I did, behind about 100 other people that got up earlier. So, I went to Target. There was no line, but when I got to the door an employee said they passed out tickets for the Wii at 7:00. I tried another Target and was told they passed out tickets for the Wii 15 minutes before I got there. If I would have went there first, I would have gotten a ticket and a Wii. Seeing as how this is the second time that I have checked multiple stores for a Wii, I have decided to call it quits. If Nintendo doesn't see fit to provide enough Wii's for the hundreds of people that want one for their families, I say, "Fuck you Nintendo!!" I have my Xbox and have had hours of fun with it and will have hours more to come. If I happen to see a Wii in the future, I will pick one up, but I am no longer going to actively search. It's not that important to me. Besides, we have already bought the kids enough stuff for Christmas.

I Am Legend - Worth Seeing in the Theater

I like sci-fi/horror movies. More specifically, I like the zombie genre: Dawn of the dead, Night of the Living Dead, Resident Evil.....these are all fun movies to me. I can't say why, maybe I just like being scared. Anyway, I Am Legend is the same type of film. Jessica and I went to see it last night and I really enjoyed it. It was really much better than the films I mentioned above. I was right in my post earlier this week. I Am Legend is very similar to Resident Evil and 28 Days Later. Will Smith play a survivor of an outbreak that has wiped out a large part of the world's population. I won't go into details though, because it was a really good movie and worth watching. Will Smith gave a really good performance. Some of the effects were a little fake looking, but they were not bad enough to be turned off by them. There were enough good scares and good plot twists and turns to make this a fun movie to watch. It was weird though. at the end of the movie, people clapped. I don't get that. I guess they are showing their appreciation for the film, but the actors and film makers can't hear them clapping. What's the point?

I was really excited my one of the previews that I saw: The Dark Knight. It is the Batman Begins sequel. It was weird, because I was thinking to myself, "Self, I wonder if there is a new Batman movie coming up sometime soon." just before the trailer started. The movie looks pretty good. The villian this time is The Joker, played by Heath Ledger. I was suprised by this because Heath Ledger is such a pretty boy and he looks hideous as The Joker. I must say that I really like the route that they took for these new Batman films. They are bringing out more of the darkness of the story rather than trying too hard to make the movies look like the comic books. Batman was good with Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker, but then the films just got silly. Anyway, I am excited about this movie.

Best Poker Night Ev'

I played some cards last night after bowling. Considering the shitty shitty night of bowling I had, it was apparent that all of my karma was going towards playing poker. I couldn't buy a strike to save my life and out team got DESTROYED every game. Anyway, the highlight of the evening was poker. One of my poker buddies lives close to the bowling alley and usually has a cash game on Thursdays. I mentioned a few posts ago that I was doing well lately in cards. I am up about $200 since the beginning of November. Not a bad chunk of change. Well, last night made that chunk of change over a month look laughable. I was hitting hand after hand and playing them well. There were only a couple hands that I play where I was upset with myself. I started out with $20, played with it for a while, went up, went down, up again, and then lost it all. I bought in for another $20. I played with it for the rest of the night. Went up, and up, then down a little, and then back up and up some more. All in all, I turned my $40 total buy in into $339. WOO-HOO!! Honestly, some of the winnings were due to luck, but I think most of them were due to playing well. I am amazed at how much money some of the guys lost last night. One guy, Benny, went to the ATM three or four times. He was easily in for at least $200. I guess he can afford it, but I only play with $20 or $40 before I quit. Anyway, I stopped keeping track officially, but I think that I am now even in my poker winnings and losses. I am rather pleased with myself. I hope that it is a sign that I am actually getting good at playing cards, rather than just being lucky.

December DVDs = Me Spending Lots of $$

Ah, the Christmas season. Time for lights, family, food, and mass DVD releases of summer movies. This is always an expensive time of year for me. So far, I have bought the following:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - I saw this in the theater, but these movies are all so good. If you have never seen them or read the books, get out of your hole. The stories are really good.

Pirates of the Carribean At Worlds End - The third enstallment of this movie franchise. I also saw this in the theater, but I had the kids with me, so I was distracted and missed alot. It is a good movie, but the first one is better. Kiera Knightly is hot, but she needs to eat something. WAY too skinny.

Bourne Ultimatum - Another third movie. This is a really fun spy-type film. Matt Damon is a pretty good actor. He definately has made better movie choices (after Good Will Hunting) than Ben Afleck has.

Lost: Season 3 - I don't know why I watch this show. It is so frustrating to me. Every question that is answered poses new questions. I guess it is a show that I love to hate and hate to love. there is supposed to be alot of extra content on the DVDs, so hopfully I will get a few answers.

Next Tuesday: THE SIMPSONS MOVIE!!! I have not seen it yet. Yes, I am that guy. I wanted to, but having three kids restricts the amount of time you get to go see movies.

I think Jessica and I might go see I Am Legend this Friday. It looks like a pretty good film. I like Will Smith as an actor. The story looks like it may be like a Night of the Living Dead or 28 Days Later type film, where the majority of the people are infected and there is only one survivor. Still, it looks like there will be some originality in this film.

BSG bummer

I was watching BSG Razor on DVD. It had some extended scenes that were OK. If you saw the Razor "flashbacks" on Sci-Fi.com, then you saw most of the extended scenes. Mostly it was a young Adama kicking Cylon ass in the old war. There were some other good special features, including interviews and deleted scenes. I found it really disturbing when the actor playing Lee Adama was interviewed and he had a British accent. He sounded like a nancy boy. Anyway, there was conflicting information in the special features. One of the writer/creators said that the final Cylon may be revealed this season. Thus, implying that there will be more seasons. Then, there was a season four preview which said that it was the final season of Battlestar Galactica. WHAT???? This bums me out a bit. I seem to think that one season may not be nearly enough for BSG to wrap up satisfactorily. There are so many questions and loose ends from season 3. I hope that they are not going to use vague explainations to wrap up all of the lingering questions. They probably will though. Anyway, it is supposed to start in March.

General Stuff

A Rant - What's up with DVD sleeves? Do you all remember when CDs came in those huge cardboard boxes? I thought they were neat because I would keep them and hang them up on my walls in my bedroom, but the music industry put a halt to the use of these boxes in order to become more green friendly. Less cardboard used, fewer trees cut down. I got it. Now, the DVD industryhas started the same practice. Not all, but several DVDs are packaged in sleeves, both cardboard and plastic. What the hell for? Nine times out of ten, the box is identicle to the main DVD case: same pictures and same information on the back. I just don't get it. They waste space and make it harder to get into the DVDs. I usually just throw them away.

Bowling - I got one of my bowling balls worked on this past week. I have three, but really only use two. The one I got worked on is the older of the two, my Brunswick Zone. It is probably the more aggressive of my two bowling balls, but I don't use it as much because it was drilled wrong. I guess my hand has changed some through the years. Anyway, I got inserts put into the finger holes. They are rubber sleeve thingies that go into the finger holes to improve grip and reduce finger irritation. Well, I used my Zone last night and rolled a 648 series (216 per game average). I was pretty excited.

Poker - I won more money last night. We played a little bit after bowling at the ally. We have done it before, but this time the security guy told us that the assistant manager didn't want us playing anymore. We didn't have any money on the table, but were using chips. I guess they (the manager) were worried that the chips would violate their liquor license. Well, at least we played long enough to win $30. I am now up $230 for the past month. Nice. It probably would have been more because some guy at the ally asked to join the game and he lost $11 in three hands. All to me, actually. I am on my game, but I need to keep my head about myself. Last time I won a lot, I started playing sloppy and lost it. I am trying to hone my game enough so that I can do better next time I attempt the World Series of Poker even in Indiana coming next year in April. I am going to try to play in as many games as I can up until April.

Multi-post bloggin'

1. Tin Man - The Sci Fi Channel is getting some pretty good programming these days. This past week, Sci fi aired a mini-series called Tin Man. If you are not familiar with the show, it is based off of the story The Wizard of Oz. It is not the same story that the old movie told. It is losely based of the same story, but is more modern. Thee is a Scarecrow type character, a Cowardly Lion character, and a Tin Man Character, only each character is a bit different from classic story (the Tin Man is a police officer. The badge is made of tin Get it?). I won't go into details too much, but it is definately worth watching. You can see it on SciFi.com and I think it is being aired again this weekend.

2. Superbad = Super Hilarious!!! Get the DVD.

3. BUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRR - It snowed about six inches here yesterday. I like the first snow of the year. It is very pretty. I also like it snowy for Christmas. It just seems like it's not really Christmas unless there is some white powder on the ground. Beyond that, I wish the weather was a constant 80 degrees and sunny. Occasional rain is nice too, but the first days of Spring is the best time of year in my book.

4. How my mom stole Christmas - This year my mom told me that she is not buying presents for "adult children" this year and that we are not allowed to buy anything for her. Talk about bah humbugging Christmas! She said that it is because she hates shopping because she never knows what to get anyone. I like that this happens the year AFTER I buy them a DVD player. I was expecting to cash in this year. Plus, we usually hand out pictures of the kids this time of year for presents. I guess she doesn't get any this year. I have a way around it though. My parents' anniversary is Dec 28th, so instead of Christmas presents, they are getting anniversary presents. She is going to hate it.

5. In regards to above, we have almost all of the shopping done for the kids. Noah is getting a Ipod shuffle and some other odds and ends, Gabe is getting a RoboSapien, which is a remote control robot and some Transformers and other toys, and we are getting Aldia some dolls and toys. Actually, we only need to get things for Ally still. The boys are taken care of. We also want to get a Wii, but they are hard to find.

6. Wii's are hard to find. We have checked WalMart, Target, and GameStop. Each place tells us they are sold out and are expecting a shipment any day. I would try to order one online, but I doubt I will find one at a reasonable price that will ship in time.

Here we go again!

Once again Ohio State is in the BCS National Title Game. Nice. Honestly, I was perfectly content playing in the Rose Bowl, but then West Virginia and Missouri both lost Saturday night. It's a Festivus Miricle! The Buckeyes will meet the LSU Tigers, which is the match-up that everyone wanted before both teams lost late in the season. I think it is going to be the best match-up in the country, but I also think some teams got boned. For example, Georgia was ranked 4th last week, behind Ohio State (3rd), and both the #1 and #2 teams lost. Shouldn't that mean that the #3 and #4 teams should become #1 and #2? Then, there is Kansas, the only "big conference" team with one loss. Finally, Hawaii was undefeated this season. Sure, they had the weakest schedule in the nation, but they won all of their games.

Honestly, I don't know too much about LSU. I know that they are good and that they won the SEC title. They dropped two games, one to Kentucky and the other to Arkansas (both in triple OT), but they won six games against top 20 teams. They have a good QC, a 1000 yard rusher, and several good receivers. Also, their defense is tough and hard hitting, much like the Ohio State defense. I think that the LSU offense will give the OSU defense fits, buthopfully the Buckeyes learned their lesson when it comes to playing a team with a QB that can run. I believe that I have heard that LSU is favored in the game by five points. I am hoping that this game will resemble the 2002 BCS title game. No one thought that Ohio State could do anything against Miami, but the Buckeyes shocked the world by winning the game. I am excited to see what happens. GO BUCKS!!!

Special props to Illinois for going to the Rose Bowl to play USC. I fear that they may get their asses kicked, but hope that they show the country that the Big Ten is not the push over conference that everyone seems to think it is. Also, it looks like M*ch*g*n will get to have thier asses handed to them by Florida in the Capital One Bowl. Honestly, I hope the boys in blue win. I always try to support the Big Ten in the bowl games. I won't cheer if scUM wins, but I will be glad if Florida loses. Here is the bowl schedule.

Der Dutchman is Der Delicious

For Thanksgiving, I picked up my cousin Carrie and we went up to my parent's in Toledo. Carrie lives in Marysville, which is northwest of our house (in Hilliard) and is on the direct path to my parents' house (if you take the back roads). On the way home, we got a little lost and ended up in Plain City (in between Marysville and Hilliard). As we were trying to find our way, we passed a resturant called Der Dutchman. The name reminded me of the show Dead Like Me (only on DVD, but a really good show) because the characters all meet at a place called Der Waffle Haus. I really wanted to go to Der Dutchman because it has 'Der' in it's name. Sure, der is only German for 'the' but I am a simple person. So, last night Jessica and I went out with our friends Barb and Brian and we ate at Der Dutchman. It has a normal menu and a buffet, so most of us got the buffet. It was pretty limited in choice, but the quality was outstanding. Imagine all of your favorite comfort foods: ham, chicken, roast beef, meatballs, mashed potatoes, stuffing, beans, corn, YUM!! It was a little pricey for a buffet, but TOTALLY worth it. We walked in, sat down, and was done in under an hour. It was amazing since the parking lot was jammed packed.

After dinner, we went to Barb and Brian's house and played on their Wii for a bit. I think it convinced Jessica that we need to get one. I am fine with that, since it was pretty fun. We played the bowling game and I boxed Barb once. My only concern is how I will connect it to our TV which already has sat TV, DVD, and the Xbox connected to it. I guess I will need to figure it out. The boxing game was fun and made me sweat a little.

As a side note, it looks like the Buckeyes will be playing for the National Title again this year. Both West Virginia and Missouri lost. The only question is going to be which team will meet the Buckeyes. The experts seem to think it will be LSU. I am a little nervous about the Buckeyes playing in the title game again after last year's ass whipping they received from Florida. Hopfully, they have learned a lesson and will not take their opponents lightly. GO BUCKS!!!

We Find Out Today

One one hand, it sucks that the Buckeyes' fate is in the hands of other teams, but on the other hand, all they need to do is sit, wait, and see what happens. Ohio State is number 3 in the BCS rankings behind Missouri and West Virginia. Both teams play today, Missouri against Oklahoma and West Virginia against Pittsburgh. The best shot for OSU is that Oklahoma beats Missouri. It has happened already this season. Honestly, I am happy no matter what happens. It has been a good season for Ohio State. #3 in the country and whooping on M*ch*g*n is a great season in my book. If both Missouri and West Virginia win, Ohio State still goes to the Rose Bowl for a probable game against USC. Not a bad deal. Honestly, a match up with West Virginia scares the crap out of me. The way Illinois mobile QB tore us up is a pretty good indicator that WVU would run through our defense as well. Well, I guess what happens happens. No matter what happens, Ohio State is going to get to go to a good Bowl game.

I have been doing pretty well playing poker lately. I'd say that, over the past month, I am up about $200. I was keeping track of the exact amount of my winnings and losses, but I was getting depressed watching the negative amount increase. I am basing this turn around on the movie Rounders. It is about poker players. I had become too cautious ad was playing my cards more that I was playing the players at the table. Texas Holdem is more about reading the players and betting on what you think they have than it is about betting on the cards that you have. For example, last night, I had two 5's in my hand and totally bought the hand. There was a king, queen, and some other cards all higher than my 5's. I kept betting the whole way, knowing there was no way I had the best hand, and was able to win me a big pot. Good times.