I Gotta Name This?

Since August???

2010-03-01T11:40:00.002-05:00

I doubt anyone will read this since it has been MONTHS since I've posted. Seems like most blogs have been killed by FaceBook or Twitter. I don't Tweet, but I do have FaceBook.

Anyway, not too much to report. I really hope that the snow melts soon. It is starting to get depressing.

Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone in Blog Land.

Greatest time of year

2009-08-15T10:22:00.002-05:00

Can you feel that? You know. The electricity in the air that preceeds football season. I can feel it. I crave it. It is only a few more weeks until the OSU football season kicks off and the Browns have their first pre-season game tonight. Shit yeah!

I'm sure the Browns will probably suck this year, maybe pulling out an 8 and 8 record. I wish they would get better, but it just never seems to happen. It is the bane of being a Cleveland sports fan. One think I wish they would figure out is what the hell they are doing with two potential starting QBs. Anderson has done well the past few year, but the Browns used their first round draft pick to grab Brady Quinn a while back. Now, he is sitting on the bench getting paid a ton to be a 2nd stringer. WTF?

The Buckeyes are picked to have a good year in the Big Ten. I see them being dominant in the league until their trip to Happy Valley. Penn State always makes me nervous. The REAL road bump in this upcoming season will be when USC comes to town. I fear that this game could get ugly unless OSU's offense will be able to match USC's production. We will have a lot of young players on defense. The offense should be good if the young recievers starting this year can step it up. Prior will have a TON of weight on his soulders to make things happen.

On a side note, my bowling league starts in less than a month. WOO HOO!!! I caught myself looking at bowling balls on the web. I don't need one, I just like looking at what's new out there. Our league merged with another league this year, so now we have 20 teams instead of 12. It shoud be interesting to see how things work out with the new teams and bigger league. Personally, my main goal (beyond winning) is maintaining a 200+ average. I bowl a few games here and there over the summer with mixed results. I tried two different bowling alleys near my house and did terrible at on and OK at the other. Last week I bowled at my normal bowling house and rolled a 204 and 216.

Zombies Zombies Zombies!

2009-08-10T08:59:00.002-05:00

What can I say? I love killing zombies. Well, Xbox zombies, at least. If I saw a real zombie, I would probably pee myself. Anyway, I think I can say, with a great deal of honesty, that I could play the Call of Duty World at War zombie levels for the rest of my Xboxing days. The first zombie level was OK: a small map with limited weapons. The second was much more fun: a bigger map with more challenges, more weapons, traps, and player perks. The third was even more fun with even more weapons (Wonder Waffe), more traps, and more challenges. A new zombie level came out for COD WAW last week and it is AWESOME WICKED FUN!!! It is also wicked hard, but that is OK. The map is huge and there are even MORE weapons, traps, and challenges. Then add a teleporter, a weapons upgrade machine, and exploding monkeys, and you get GREAT good times. Yes, I said exploding monkeys. I played last night with a group of online people and had loads of fun. I had a Wonder Waffe (lightening gun) and a ray gun (both updraged to more powerful weapons with bigger clips) and exploding monkeys. They look like wind up monkeys that play the cymbals, but they attract the zombies and then blow up. Wicked fun. We did really well until I ran out of ammo. The Wonder Waffe shoots a bolt of electricity and if you hit a zombie, it spreads to all of the zombies around it. It is great for groups, but not so much for individual zombies. That is where the ray gun comes in handy. I can't wait to play again. The WAW people could make a complete zombie game and I would be happy beyond belief.

Harry Potter was pretty good

2009-07-19T11:47:00.003-05:00

I went to see the new Harry Potter movie yesterday with Jessica and the kids. It was a pretty long movie, but Gabe and Ally did pretty good with it. They talked a little and started to move around a bit, but they weren't too bad. The movie was pretty good. I have been a little frustrated with the last few films because they seem to be a little lacking to me. The first few books were shorter, so it was pretty easy to get all of the relevant information into the movies. However, as Rowling's writing improoved and the stories became more elaborate, the movies have had difficulty getting all of the good action and story telling into a feature film. The movies have all of the main action and story, but they seem rushed to cram everything into 2 1/2 hours.

What they were able to cram into The Half Blood Prince was pretty good. There were some good action scenes and character development. The love triangles were done pretty well and there was a good mix of comedy in there as well. Jessica already wants to go see it again. I could stand to wait until it is on DVD, but if she really wants to take me to a movie, I won't complain. My one beef with the film is that it seemed very anti-climactic to me. Yes, what was supposed to happen happened, but it just seemed rushed. The final chapters in the book were action packed and then very somber and sad. The movie made the last two chapters happen in about five minutes. Oh well. All in all, it was a pretty good movie. They just are never as good as the books.

Which is better? Trek or Gate?

2009-07-09T09:29:00.003-05:00

As you know, I am a huge Sci Fi fan. I am not a stay in my basement dressing up like Spock kind of fan, but I must admit that Sci Fi is my favorite genre of movie and TV show. BSG is my favorite sci fi show, but I also watched all of the Star Trek series and am currently watching Star Gate shows. I started backwards, with Star Gate Atlantis, but lately have been watching SG1. The other night, I started to wonder which series I liked more: Trek or Gate. I think I am actually leaning towards Gate. I guess they are different 'verses, with different qualities, but Star Gate Atlantis and SG1 are both well written and exciting shows.

Of all of the Star Trek shows, I guess Voyager was my favorite. Lots of space battles and a good story line. It is really rather similar to SG Atlantis in that, both shows take place in distant galaxies. Both deal with exploring the galaxies and dealing with aggressive aliens in those galaxies. Probably these similarities are why I like Atlantis so much.

One thing I thought interesting was how the different series used sexuality. Star Trek did little to hide the flaunting of women. The original series had half nude green girls and skirts cut REALLLY high. TNG had Troi in tight outfits all the time, but decreased number of the sexy aliens. DS9 had little in the line of sexy women beyond Dax and of course, when Voyager started to loose ratings, they added 7 of 9 to the cast. Hot Borg in skin tight outfits. Even Enterprise followed the sexy girl formula with T'pal, a Vulcan in skin tight outfits. I guess Star Trek people thought that a scantily clad woman was essential to a good show.

Star Gate is a bit different. The women are treated in the show more as equals since the story is based in our society present day. The 'sexy' women are dressed in military garb and the actresses are 'typical' women. None of them are oozing sexuality, but when put in certain situations and outfits, they pull off the hot girl role very well. Of course, the very first SG1 episode has a full frontal nude scene, but it went with the story line and wasn't in there just to seel a sex image. It sounds strange, but I actually like Star Gate's approach to women better that Star Trek's in-your-face flaunting of women. Don't get me wrong, when 7 of 9 walked around in her unitard, it was nice. However, there is something to be said for subtle sexuality. Like, when a lady puts on a nice dress instead of her daily work clothes.

Wow. Did I ramble on about nothing forever? Sorry.

Grumpy much?

2009-06-18T12:45:00.002-05:00

I don't know why, but I have been in an awful mood over the last day or so. It started last night and continued this morning when I got a parking ticket on my van. I moved into the street so that the kids could shoot hoops. I just pulled out and parked facing the wrong way. Did you know you can get a ticket for that? I now owe the city of Columbus $20 for parking next to my house in the street so that the kids could play. How stupid is that?!?!?

Excited about movies

2009-06-15T07:53:00.002-05:00

I saw some new movie trailers this weekend. OK, I had seen them before, but I am still excited about some films coming up. I saw the Transformers preview online and it looks pretty exciting. Some of the new Transformers introduced look a little strange, but the movie still looks pretty good. Putting Megan Fox in hot little shorty shorts always makes for good entertainment.

GI Joe looks interesting. It could end up being too cheesey to be good, but I still want to see it. Seeing Snake Eyes in the trailer is pretty cool though. By far a fan favorite from the cartoon. Well, my favorite at least. The only thing I may not like is the exo-suit thing. Not part of the original Joe show, but it could add for some cool special effects. We'll see.

I can't tell you how much I want to see the next Harry Potter movie. Half Blood Prince is probably my favorite book in the series. Very dark, very exciting. Is there anyone left in the world that hasn't read and loved these books?

I also saw the first trailer for New Moon, which is the next movie in the Twilight series of books. I know. It is a series intended for teen girls, but you put werewolves and vampires in the same story line and you get something pretty exciting. There are some parts in the books that make you want to put it down for being too girly, but then the good parts make up for that. It looks like another good film.

Anything else I need to see?

Another Facebook Victem

2009-06-07T10:26:00.002-05:00

My blog is being neglected lately. It is a good blog. It never bites or pees on the carpet. I just don't seem too interested in keeping up with it these days. I am not going to take it into the woods and shoot it, but I don't see myself posting too often in the future. Maybe a weekly update now and then. Mainly the reason for this is bercause of Facebook. I don't post on that as much either, but it seems like more people check my Facebook page than my blog. Poor blog. So, for frequest updates, I am on Facebook, or you can just check here from time to time for bigger posts of bigger events.

New Toy

2009-05-31T22:32:00.002-05:00

So, my PC went ka-put last week. It's had an OK run, since I bought it several years ago. I would like to say it ran perfectly, but I would be lying. It was oober slow and multi-tasking was impossible. I took it to Geek Squad to see if it would be an easy fix, but I was told the error message usually meant my hard drive was failing. Minimum repair cost, $300. So, I said forget it and bought a lap top. I am a total impulse buyer. I knew I wanted HP, which is what I have been using lately, but I was torn between screen size and battery life. I went with the better battery life, in case I wanted to travel with it. I figure that I can hook up my HD monitor when I am using this at home. I still have another PC for Jessica and the kids to use, but I wanted a lap top so that I can do stuff upstairs when watching TV with the family. This one is pretty nice, I guess. It has 4 USB ports, a webcam, mic, HDMI input, plenty of memory and is pretty quick. The biggest downer is that I couldn't save my music that is on ITunes on my old computer. This means that I have to upload all of my CDs again. After about an hour or so, I am up to the letter C. I have a hundred or so more to do still. UNGH!!! Luckily, I had the forethought to save all of out family photos onto a removable flash drive. I can't imagine losing all of the family pictures. Anyway, I might be posting more often, now that I have computer access in places other than my basement.

A Week In the Life......

2009-05-29T14:30:00.002-05:00

Time for a weekly recap:

-Ally turned 4 Monday. She had fun at her party. We got her a new bicycle, which she seems to like alot. It was basically just a few family members and friends, but I think fun was had by all.

-I am having a hard time watching the Cavs series in the NBA play offs. It is frustrating knowing that they have the best record in the NBA, have swept their first two series, but now are barely hanging on to life, being down 3-2 to the Magic. They have had big leads in two of the games they've lost. Each game has been close though, so I guess anything can happen still.

- Does anyone think it is possible that a network will realize how great Firefly is and let Joss make a few more seasons? I am hoping that Dollhouse keeps going too, but I am watching Firefly today (again) and I am amazed at how great this show is. How it only lasted one season on the air makes no sense to me what-so-ever.

- Poker game tonight. I have not been doing too well lately. I have played well, but my luck has been crappy. Hopefully things will change for me tonight.

Does Anyone Esle Find This disturbing?

2009-05-22T07:58:00.003-05:00

Has anyone seen the White Castle commercial for their pulled pork sandwiches? You know. The one with the person in the pig costume dancing on stage like a stripper only to end up doused in barbeque sauce. That commercial creeps me the fuck out! I think it is because they are painting pigs in a sexual light. OK, maybe they are painting people in pig costumes in a sexual light. Still, doesn't this creep anyone else out? At least, it fills me with even more desire to avoid White Castle.

Ouch

2009-05-18T09:11:00.003-05:00

This weekend my parets came for a visit. Partially because Ally's birthday is next weekend and they wanted to bring her a gift and celebrate a little, but mostly they came to give me my annual infusion of plants for my garden. So, I was super busy planting things in my garden. I also planted a whole bunch of plants and flowers in my fron flower bed. I tried to put in a lot of perennials so that I don't need to re-plant every spring. Still, I put in a bunch of annuals too. It looks pretty good, if I say so myself. My dad helped alot. He is crazy about getting things planted just right. He is very meticulous about his gardening. That is fine by me. It means that it is done right. So basically, I dug the holes and he planted. It worked out pretty well. I did all of the annuals myself though. That was a chore! I love spring time. Fresh tomatoes in the summer....YUM!!!

FINALLY!!!

2009-05-10T10:24:00.002-05:00

As mentioned, Jessica and I went to see the new Star Trek movie last night. This took some doing since Jessica lothes the old Star Trek show and movies. Actually, she just doesn't like William Shatner and Leonard Nemoy freaks her out. A fun fact: As a baby, William Shatner was on the same plane as Jessica and her mom. He (the Shat) commented on how cute Jessica was. Anyway, back to the movie. I mentioned that Jessica had dragged me to see Twilight, which I had resisted, and I liked it. Anyway, she agreed and we went. The first ten minutes of Star Trek were the most intense ten minutes of possibly any movie I have ever seen. It was AWESOME. The rest of the movie slowed down here and there, but the first ten minutes alone made the movie worth the $16 we paid. The rest of the movie was very VERY good. It gives some history of Spock and kirk, and also goes into how the crew met and came aboard the Enterprise. I won't go into the plot too much, but it was similar in some aspects to Generations, when Picard met Kirk. (Spock meets Spock) I can understand how some people (die hard Trekkies) might not like some aspects of the movie. It basically changes some of the aspects of the Star Trek verse that are present in the entire history of the movies and shows. I will say that I liked the casting. It was a little hard to see Sylar as Spock, and I kept expecting zombies to attack and Scottie chuck records at their heads, but beyond that, the casting was spot on. The story was good and the effects we stellar. It is definately worth paying to see Star Trek in the theaters. It is a visually stunning film. A- (the minus is because Smock and Uhura were hooking up. That was one thing I didn't like much.)

Going Boldly Where No One Has Gone Before

2009-05-09T12:12:00.002-05:00

To an exciting Star Trek movie. Hopefully. My report tomorrow.

A few thing

2009-05-07T13:18:00.002-05:00

1. Manny Ramirez is a dumb ass. I don't follow baseball much, but when one of the "top" players gets suspended for using illegal drugs, after all of the press and attention that has been on drugs in baseball, you HAVE to be a fucking idiot. COME ON!!! You have a list of what you can and can't use, so get your perscription, read the lable, read the banned drug list, and then decide if you should take the drug. I have always disliked Manny. "Manny being Manny" is a phrase that makes me throw up a little in my mouth. Translated it means that he is an idiot and a dumb ass, but hey, he can hit the ball well, so who cares? Well guess what, Dit Shit. You got caught cheating and you are out.

2. Can someone please do something that will keep Brett Favre from coming back to the NBA? "I retire." "I'm back!" I retire" "Maybe I'm back!......for my old team's rival!!" Enough is enough already! Retiring means you are done. There should be a rule in the NFL stating that, if you retire, you are allowed ONE comeback. Not two, not three. Who the hell does he think he is? Rocky Balboa? I am SO sick of Sports Center being filled with stories of Favres comebacks to the NFL.

Sorry, I just hate when two stories monopolize my sporting news.

Big Tournament tonight

2009-05-01T10:47:00.002-05:00

Sorry that I am lacking in posts lately. Not too much to post about lately, I guess. Plus, I feel like a broken record sometimes. Anyway, I am planning on playing in a poker tournament tonight. It is way out in BFE (Baltimore, about 40 minuted from me) but it is a big game. There should be 70 players, or so. I usually play in cash games, so a tournament will be a bit of a change of pace. I played in this game last year, and there are a few rules that I am not a fan of. First, if your chip stack is below the big blind (if you have 100 in chips and the BB is 125) you are out of the game. That happened to me last time. Second, if someone goes all in, their chip count is the maximum bet. So, if they have 200 and go all in, you can only call the 200. This is done to iliminate side pots, which I don't get. I guess it gets confusing with side pots, but it limits what you can do in the hand. If I have pocket aces and 4000 in chips, and someone goes all in for 200, I can't raise to get other players out of the hand. This leaves good starting hands, like the aces, vunerable to drawing hands (straights, flushes, etc.) I was dealt a good hand last year, someone went all in, I couldn't raise, and I lost the pot to a weaker starting hand. Still, these rules are a small price to pay to have the chance to play a big tourney for a big prize pool. I think first place gets over a grand. Anyway, I am looking forward to the game and a chance to text my poker skills.

Better Off Ted - Give It a Try

2009-04-23T08:33:00.002-05:00

If you have not watched Better Off Ted, I highly recommend it. It is HI-larious! It is about a product development company. I know that sounds dull, but the products are outrageously, silly and the characters are equally silly. I really can't go into the details of the stories. Really, it is something that you have to see for yourself. One of the funniest episodes involved the motion sensors in the labs that turned on and off the lights in rooms. New sensors were installed that were cheaper and worked by detecting the light reflecting off of the skin of the workers, but it had one glitch: the sensor did not recognize black people. It was hilarious. Rather than fixing the system, they hired white people to follow the black people around so that they, the black people, could do their work. This cause issues in the legal department, who claimed that they needed to open the position to black people, which in turn would require the hiring of more white people. Portia DeRosi is one of the characters and she had a great line in the show. It went something like, "We should not be focusing on the fact that the system can't see black people. We should be proud that we have a system that can see Asians, Hispanics, and Jews." I laughed my ass off. Every episode I have seen has made me laugh out loud. Everyone that likes to laugh should watch Better Off Ted.

Making Memories

2009-04-16T08:35:00.002-05:00

I guess "Saving Memories" would be a more appropriate title. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I have started my 10th year working for Nationwide. It is definately the longest I have ever been at a job. I am not sure if I will be doing this for the rest of my life, but for not, it works. Anyway, for my 10th year anniversary, Nationwide let me choose a gift. I got to choose from items like a golf club (driver), a DVD player, poker chips, and other items. I chose a LCD picture frame. It probably wasn't the most expensive of flashy item, but I have wanted one for a while. If you are unfamiliar with them, you can load digital photos on a memory card and display them on the LCD screen as a slide show. The only card I has was 4MB, so I could only unload a few pictures. So, I checked the best buy ad and they had 8 GB memory cards for $20 off. Now I have a good five minute slide show going on. Another think I saw was 8 GB flash drives $20 off. Now, I have all of my digital pictures saved on my computer and a flash drive. I tried putting them on CDs, which I have done for most of them, but it was getting tiresome.

Fun Night, Living Up To Its Name

2009-04-10T10:31:00.002-05:00

Last night was the last night of bowling for my league. We ended up in 4th place, which is OK. Last night's games were, basically, meaningless except for a handicap bracket we do to make things a little more interesting. The #1 position bowler on team A bowls against the #1 person on team B, #2 bowls #2, and so on. You take your score plus handicap and the high game moves on to the next round. The next round whomever won the #1 position game bowls against the #2 position and the #3 position bowl the #4 position winner. The two winners bowl against each other in the third game. There are eventually six final winners and of those, the top four high series with handicap win money. I won first place and took home $50! Woo-hoo! On top of that, I bowled my second best game ever. A 266. I was perfect through the first 8 frames. My ninth ball looked perfect, but I left a solid 5 pin. I was irritated. It is the closest I have been to a perfect game. When I rolled a 279, I rolled a spare in the 4th frame, so I knew a 300 was not possible. Still, it was a good run.

On top of a good night of bowling, I played cards very well afterward. I won almost $90. I was getting pretty good cards and played them well. I lost a few big hands here and there, but won more than I lost (obviously). It was pretty nice. I went to bowling with $17, knowing that I didn't need to pay this week. I came home last night with $180+. Good times.

Something Kinda Cool

2009-04-06T15:28:00.002-05:00

I got a call yesterday from US Bank. Usually, I don't answer calls from banks or mortgage companies, but this one came up as a 614 (Columbus) area code, so I anwered. I had a loan though them before, so I thought maybe there was something important. I was wrong. Kind of. What happened is this: When we go to Giant Eagle, our local grocery store, we put the kids in the Eagle's Nest. It is a play area that you can take your kids to while we shop. We like the Eagle's Nest and so do the kids. Anyway, the Eagle's Nest was having a coloring contest for Easter and it was sponsored by the in-store US Bank. Well, Gabriel won second place in his age group and Alydia won first place. US Bank wanted to let us know that we could pick up their prizes. The prizes weren't anything too big, but the kids were super excited and proud of each other. It was so cute. I need to go to Giant Eagle so that I can see the pitcures.

Spring is in the air!

2009-04-03T15:26:00.002-05:00

I love the Spring. Winter is coming to a close and the warm air is starting to roll in. It's time to stop sitting on my ass all the time and get out into the yard. I have already done quite a bit in the back. I trimmed my roses, butterfly bushes and other shrubbery (NIEGH!) in the back. I still need to clean out the flower beds and get the garden ready. I think I am also going to expand my flower beds in the back. It is a pain in the ass, but it is something I would really like to do. The goal (eventually) is to have my entire back yard surrounded by flower beds all along the fence. It will take me a long time, but if I do it little by little, it will eventually get done. I am really bad about planning though. I would like to be able to get a variety of plants that match in color and range in size so that there is there is the greatest visual impact. I also need to worry about poisonous plants with the kids and dogs.

Weekly review

2009-03-30T13:59:00.002-05:00

There hasn't been too much going on lately. You probably guess that by the lack of posts. My bowling league is coming to a close, which is a bummer, but I think I am going to join a summer league this year. I want to maintain my good skills. I am going to end this year with an average just under 200. A 199 is awesome in my book. I would say that I am probably in the top ten of my league. A 220 average would be nice, because I would be able to joint the PBA, but as far as a local men's league goes, 199 is not shabby.

Spring always makes me happy. I have a LOT to do outside. The garden is the priority, but I also need to spray weeds in flower beds and put stuff on my grass. I keep playing with the idea of hiring True Green, or something like that, to spray my weeds. The pokey weeds get pretty bad in my back yard. I want to put some lattice around my deck so that the dogs can't get under there anymore. I have some already, it is just a matter of putting it up. I also think I am going to add a flower bed in the front. I will put a rock border around it a perhaps plant a weaping cherry tree and suround it with tulips. I don't know for sure. Maybe I will just cut down the ugly tree we have out there now and put the cherry tree in its spot. The tulips are a must though. I had a bunch at my old house. If I had more time and more money, I would put in a munch of flower beds all around my back fence. Now I get to contend with a chronic back issue too.

Remember when I said my back was hurting? Well, I have arthritus (sp?) in my lower back. Let's hear it for an older person ailment showing itself in my 34 year old back. Awesome. There isn't anything I can do about it other than take anti-inflamatories and asprin. Like I said, AWESOME. The pain hasn't been too bad lately. Still, it makes me less likely to want to do things that require me to get up and move around. Still, I always find a way to get done what needs to get done.

Full tilt

2009-03-27T16:36:00.002-05:00

I've played poker online before, both on my computer and on my Xbox, but never for money. Well, that has all changed. Today, I opened an account on Full Tilt Poker. I started out safely, playing only with pretend chips, but today I put in $60 just for a little bit of gambling fun. And fun it is! So far, that $60 is over $300. I really don't know how or why. I am not a great card player. I guess I am getting good cards. Plus, insteadof playing people, I just play my hands. If I have a good hand, I bet. I have been doing pretty well. I did have two hands that really hurt though. One hand I flopped a flush but one of my opponents caught a full house. Then it happened again. Only I had a straight. I started playing Texas Hold'em, and I won a little over $100. Now I am playing Omaha, which is a little different. It is played like hold'em, but you get four cards to start out. It is wicked fun. You have to use two and only two of you cards, plus the five community cards, to make your hand. Basically, you look at your four cards and see how many hands you could make. What can draw into a straight, or a flush? If you have enough good combinations, you are usually good to go. I usually play if I have 4 or more good starting hands. For example, if I have A, K, 2, 5, with two hearts and two clubs, I have two flush draws (the hearts and clubs) and four straight draws (A-K, A-2, A-5, and 2-5). It is a lot to keep track of. When people are betting, the pots can get really big. Fun times.

BSG Bummer

2009-03-23T07:33:00.002-05:00

Well, BSG is all done. The show finale was this past Friday. I must say, I was a little bummed to see the show end, but am glad that it is over. The last season was pretty weak an the finale was pretty lame as well. The show started out great and sustained for several seasons, but this last season had the feeling like they were just throwing eposides together just to fill up the last season. The last few episodes were full of flash backs that made no sense and seemed pointless to the show. There was one good battle scene in the finale, but then the show just kind of gave up on itself. The questions were never really answered. Oh well. The one thing that I really wanted to know was, what the hell was Starbuck? She died, came back, found her own corpse, and then vanished again. Wasn't she supposed to be lead the human race to their doom? It made no sense to me. I guess if you think about it, the way the show ended,with the flash forward to the colonist's future being our present, maybe Starbuck did lead the people to their doom. If "all this has happened before and all of this will happen again" then the human race must be in some sort of loop that repeats. They advance their technology, build the cylons again, get killed by the cylons again, kill the cylons again, and then start all over. Again. I guess the BSG people wanted to make a statement about how technology would be our doom.

I Bowl With Teenaged Girls

2009-03-19T09:29:00.002-05:00

Well, not really, but there are similarities. First, let me tell you a few rules we have as a team:

1. We play poker. $1 ante the first two games, $2 ante the last game. If you get a strike or a spare, you get a card. If you bowl a turkey (three strikes in a row) you get a bonus card. If we all bowl a strike in the same frame, we all get a bonus card. If you bowl a gutter ball on the first ball of your frame, you must put an extra dollar in the pot. The person with the best had at the end of the bowling game wins the pot.

2. We kind of do a beer frame thing, where if everyone but one person gets a strike in the same frame, the person that does not get the strike is supposed to buy the next pitcher. We don't really enforce this because we usually only buy one pitcher each per night. So, if the person that gets stuck already bought a pitcher, we let it slide.

3. (the important on to the story) If you bowl below 100, you must go to the front desk and have your name and score announced over the PA. Basically, we want to you "man up" if you bowl like crap. It's a bit of a deturant. We don't normally enforce this one either. It is something we are supposed to do, but when someone bowls under 100, it doesn't always happen. (I never bowl under 100. I get mad if I am below 150.)

Last week, Rick bowled a 97. It was the last game of the night and after, he went straight to the front desk. It was suprising because, as mentioned above, we usually let it slide. Rick is the weakest link on our team, he has had his poor scores announced before, but we usually have to do it for him (which is why we usually let it slide). Anyway, a minute or so after Rick is at the front desk we hear the announcement congratulating JESSE for his 97. Well, Jesse was not happy by this. Going into the tenth frame, Jesse had 8 strikes out of 9 frames. He had a great game going. As expected, everyone in the league started laughing and poking fun......at Jesse. Jesse got distracted and screwed up in the tenth frame. He blamed Rick. Since I am in the last position to bowl, I missed all of this, but apparently Rick and Jesse exchanged words. No blows were exchanged, but Rick basically quit the team and Jesse was not saddened by this. WHAT???? Are you kidding me? I was very much reminded of some of the tiffs and spats that were common back in my highschool days. I tried to mediate, but to no avail. Jesse won't budge, Rick won't budge. Craziness.

Going Dancin'

2009-03-16T08:52:00.002-05:00

Ohio State has made it into the Big Dance. After a pretty good season and a good showin in the Big Ten tournament, Ohio State get the nod as an 'at large' selection into the Men's basketball tournament. The Big Ten tournament was pretty fun to watch. OSU made it to the finals after beating up on favored Michigan State. they lost in the finals to Perdue, but that is OK. They showed they can roll with the big boys by taking out MSU, but won't be too cocky. I don't know how far they will go in the tourney. they should make it past the first round, but will likely meet #1 seed Louisville in the second round. If they play as well as they did against MSU, I think the Buckeyes have a good shot at going pretty far in the tournament. I guess we shall see what happens. All in all I am glad they have done well so far and hope they put on a good showing for the little respected Big Ten.

Who Watched the Watchmen? I did. B+

2009-03-09T06:57:00.003-05:00

There may be some spoilers!!!!

I went to see Watchmen this weekend. I was looking forward to the movie, mostly because the trailers kicked ass. I honestly had no idea what the graphic novel was about, other than it was a superhero type story. It is set in the 80's and is in a world where America won the Vietnam war, Nixon never left office, and the Cold War is raging. Oh, and there are masked vigilanties that catch criminals. The story does a lot of flashbacks between the current set of heroes, called the Watchmen, and the original group, called the Minutemen. There are connections between to two groups that are really the catalyst of some of the plots. Also, the 'heroes' are only that because they focus their energies on catching bad guys. In general, some of them are flawed people with violent tendancies and contrast greatly when compared to groups like the X-men or Fantastic Four. I guess what I am trying to say it that they have little regard for the life of the bad guy. One of them is a war mongering psycho and another is a sadist nut job. There are others that aren't as bad, but they clearly have an 'above the law' attitude. It was really a very interesting film. There was a twist at the end that you could kind of see coming, but other than that, the effects were spectacular, the characters were interesting, and the action scenes were bad ass. The one thing I couldn't quite get was, why were these people considered superheroes? Aside from Dr. Manhattan, a blue man with the power to do, basically, anything, none of the Watchmen seemed to have super powers beyond the ability to kick ass. Maybe it was all super speed and strength. Other than that, no one could fly, shoot eye beams, or control the elements. It added a neat demension to the film,in that it seemed like these were normal people that put on masks in order to stop crime. I think I want to get the graphic novel so that I can get the whole effect.

Aside from the general goodness of the movie, Watchmen had one of the sexiest love scenes I have ever seen in a movie. Silk Spectre II and Nite Owl II go out and do some crime fighting and after, they hook up in their ship. The Silk Spectre II is probably the hottest superhero ever to grace film. I think it is a combination of her hot latex outfit and my latent teen superhero sex fantasies that made the scene so hot. (sorry for that glimpse into myself that may have made you all throw up in your mouths a bit.)

My one beef about the film: Too much blue dong. Dr Manhattan was turned blue in the acident that gave him super powers, and apparently, he no longer feels the need for clothes. When out in public, he would wear a suit or a cod piece, but in general, there was a lot of blue dong when he was on screen. It was CGI blue dong, but still, blue dong. A great update to the movie would have been to make Dr Manhattan a woman! :-) (Sorry. more latent teen perviness!)

BSG Bye Bye

2009-03-06T17:12:00.002-05:00

Well, there are only a few episodes left of one of my favorite shows, Battlestar Galactica. The show has been great over several seasons, but I think it is a good thing that it is coming to an end. The edgy, exciting, high speed, kickass show has crawled to a crawl-like funeral march. It's sad really. I have enjoyed the show SO much and now I am looking forward to it being over. I'm not too sure when BSG jumped the shark. Maybe when all of the remaining Cylons turned out to be main characters in the colonial fleet. Last Friday's episode was almost a 'goodbye' episode. Galactica is falling apart and is projected to be useless sooner rather than later. Friday's episode had Adama walking around lovingly carressing the inner supports in a drunken stuppor. I'm really not too sure how the show can end to my satisfaction. Earth was a bust and I don't see three or four episodes being enough time to resolve all of the show's conflicts. Well, I am hoping for the best.

New Glasses, Back Pains, and Guy's Night

2009-03-01T17:27:00.003-05:00

I went to the eye doctor last week to order some new glasses. I mostly wear glasses now rather than contacts because I work from home and glasses are easier. I have eye insurance, so it is pretty cheap for me to get new glasses. I think the pair I am getting is $70, including the exam. Without insurance, they would have been over $400. This is the one insurance that is actually worth what I pay. It is a good thing because the glasses I have are all scratched.

My back has been killing me the last two days. I am not sure why. The only thought I have is that I pulled something bowling Thursday. It seems to be getting worse though. Maybe I slept on it wrong or something. I have been trying to stretch and have been taking pain pills, but nothing seems to be helping. Hopefully one more night will make it better.

Tonight it going to be just me and the boys. One of Jessica's co-worker-s mothers passed away and Jessica wanted to go to the funeral in Toledo. So, she is taking Ally up to T-town tonight where they will be staying with my parents. Then, Ally will spend the day with my parents while Jessica goes to the funeral. My parents and Ally will enjoy it, at least. As for me, I wanted to go bowling, but my back (see above). Maybe I will take my .38 and do some target practice. I haven't done that for a while.

Do People Really Do That?

2009-02-28T08:44:00.002-05:00

I was playing around with Face Book a little bit just now and I came across something interesting. I have received and sent flair and other things to friends, but today I tried to send something to Jessica and came across a snag. I was going to send an "I love you" bear to her (I know, I am sweet) and I saw it cost 100 gift points. Thinking that gift pioints were something that I would just have, I proceeded only to find that you have to buy gift points. This is new to me because I have received paranormal gear and flair, as well as other free gifts, so I thought that all gifts are free on Face Book. Usually, when you send things, you get the ability to send things yourself. Anyway, you really need to pay money for gift points. Weird. Face Book is fun and all, but I am not going to pay money on a social site. Is that weird?

A Sci Fi Summer

2009-02-27T14:57:00.004-05:00

OK. I admit it. I am a sci-fi geek. I am not as bad as some people who may dress up in Star Wars garb, but I enjoy sci-fi TV, movies, and books. The next few months are looking to have some high quality sci-fi movies coming out. I am looking forward to:

Star Trek: JJ Abrams is taking a crack at the Star Trek franchise. The trailers look great. I just hope Sylar as Spock does not cause too much of a distraction for me. Due out May 8th

Watchmen: I have to be honest, I don't know much about this comic book/ graphic novel. However, the trailers look terrific. The effects look good and the story line sounds intriguing. The TV has been flooded with Watchmen trailers, so I hope it is not one of this movies that sucks beyond the trailers.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine: Wolvie is my favorite X-man. I am not totally in love with Hugh Jackman and Wolverine, but the trailers I saw for the movie so far look good. Anyway, It is about Wolverine origins, which is always interesting. It looks like they are trying to make out Wolverine and Sabretooth as brothers or something. We'll see how they adapt this story to film.

Terminator Salvation : I've like the Terminator seeries since the beginning and really like the TV show (Sarah Connor Chronicles) so I was pretty psyched about Salvation. I think Christian Bale is John Connor (also plays Batman). I like him, but am not really a fan of one actor taking on more than one major icon in movies. Much like I am not thrilled about Syler and Spock being the same actor. Still, Salvation is about the story after Judgement Day. The machines are running amuck and the human resistance is starting to fight back.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - What do I need to say about this? If you haven't read the book, DO IT!!!

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Michael Bay again. Ungh. I liked the first movie, but am not looking forward to Revenge of the Fallen. I guess I will watch it, but the trailer I saw looked like a bad Roger Rabbit knock off. You remember Roger Rabbit? The live action mobie with cartoons added in? Well, the Transformers trailer I saw looked like a cartoon with real people thrown in the mix. I don't mean ILM kick ass animation, I mean old school cartoons with prople thrown in. It may suck.

I want to catch all of these in the theater. Terminator can wait until DVD, but I think that the rest should be seen on the big screen. What else do I need to see this summer?

Xbox Revisited

2009-02-26T11:19:00.002-05:00

So, lately I have been getting a little tired of the same old same old Xbox games I have been playing. Mostly because I play shooters online non-stop. I played Halo 3 for the longest time, then moved on to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and lately Call of Duty: World at War. I played the solo games, of course, but my main game was the multi player action. Fun times. I guess I am getting tired of the multi player stuff. So, I am taking a bit of a break. I went back to Halo 3 and played the solo game on Heroic, which is one step higher than the normal difficulty level. I guess I am better at shooters now because I breezed through it. Now, I am going through Bioshock again. It is another shooter. Fun times. I don't know what I am going to do if a new game doesn't catch my attention soon. I was thinking about getting Guitar Hero or Rock Band , but I don't if I would like them. I may play Dead Rising again or Fable 2. It's weird, I have Left 4 Dead and Quake Wars, but they really don't seem to be doing much for me. Any new or cool games I should check out?

A Night of Near Superhero Proportion

2009-02-23T08:34:00.002-05:00

Bowling was pretty fun Thursday. Granted, bowling is usually always fun. I enjoy it more whn I roll 600+ series, which I have been doing lately. My average is 196, which is probably the best I've ever maintained through a whole year. I would like to see it pop up to 200, but I doubt it will happen this late in the season. Anyway, back to Thursday. I was having a rough go at bowling in the first game . I was rolling where I wanted to roll and everything felt good, my ball was just coming up a little soft in the pocket. This means I was too far right of the head pin. In the 7th frame, I think I has a 115, which is about 30 pins behind where I need to be to hit my average. My team was struggling too. We were down about 60 pins. I made a quick change and nailed five strikes in a row and ended up with a 190+ helping my team win by 20. The second game I hit a 200, we won again. The third game I was doing pretty well, but my team was struggling again. We were down significantly. I rolled five more stikes to finish off my game and we ended up losing by only two pins. Damn. A near superhero performance. Still I ended up with a 616 series again, which always makes me happy. We bowl the first place team in our league this week. We are only down 11 points in the standings, so winning would be huge for us. They ae all good bowlers though.

Should I worry?

2009-02-19T14:53:00.002-05:00

I have been getting all sorts of magazines lately. Only I don't order magazines. I used to, but I am letting my subscriptions run out. I always would order a magazine, thinking I would read it, but I would get bored or the content would not be very interesting, so I decided to give up on magazines. However, I have been getting several magazines lately. Specifically, Rolling Stone and Spin. Maybe a few others, but I am not sure of all of the titles. Really, I just get them and then throw then in the recycling. My concern is that I may be charged for these somehow. I have not received a bill or any other verification that I would be getting a new subscription. I suspect that Noah may be ordering them under my name thinking that I would just throw them out or give them to him. He never asks about them or for them, so I could be wrong. has anyone ever had problems with magazine subscriptions? Would there be any reason for them to be sent to me without my asking for them?

Lovin' Those Brits

2009-02-16T10:16:00.002-05:00

I am seriously starting to enjoy British television a lot lately. I have been a huge fan of Doctor Who ever since the new version of the show has been airing. I also watched a BBC series called Robin Hood, which was pretty good. Recently I found a BBC series called Jeckyll, which was a modern day Jeckell and Hyde story and was pretty good as well. I now have a new BBC infatuation in a show called MI-5. In a nut shell, MI-5 is a spy show. James Bond is a member of MI-6, which deals with international spying and MI-5 focuses only on internal matters in the UK. It has been highly entertaining. The seasons are not very long, only about 7 or 8 shows per season. The stories have been very interesting and there have been some pretty well known guest stars. Giles, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. House, from House, and the doctor from Star Trek DS9.

Probably one of the most interesting things I have seen is the show's treatment of America. There have been a few shows regarding visits from Prez Bush and each visit from Dubya had lead to protests by the British people. Granted, I don't like our ex prez either, but I found it a little suprising that protests of our ex president have been central in this show. It makes me wonder if everyone in Europe hates all Americans or just our dumb ass ex prez.

Anyway, if you are looking for a new show to watch, MI-5 has been great fun for me.

Test

2009-02-15T17:03:00.000-05:00

I am looking at my blog and I can't see any of the posts. What the?????

Bathroom remodel

2009-02-15T11:27:00.002-05:00

We are working on changing around one of our bathrooms this weekend. Actually, Jessica is doing most of the time consuming work while I am working this weekend. I am just planning on taking credit. Just kidding. I am doing the tool work and she is painting. She actually did a pretty good job taking down the old mirror, the old lighting, and the HUGE towel bar mounted to the wall. The job really isn't all that big. It is our half bath that we are fixing up. The towel bar was a little extreme. It was one of those that you could use as a shower towel holder. We bought a new one that is for a hand towel as well as a new shitter paper holder that matches. My biggest thing I wanted was a medicine cabinet. Most of our medicines are in one of our kitchen cupboards, which irritates me beyond belief. I try to get some thing out of the cupboard and five pill bottles fly out at me. Well, not any more! Is it silly that I am excited by nothing more than a medicine cabinet?

BSG Revelations and the Dollhouse

2009-02-14T09:19:00.003-05:00

So, last night's BSG episode was pretty informative. We learned a lot about the Cylons and their origins. It turns out Tigh's wife, Ellen, is also a Cylon, which we learned last week. The most interesting thing to me is that Cavil, or a Cavil model, knew all of the final five Cylons. When Ellen resurrected, a Cavil was there with a centurion in a room that looked like a cell. It is my guess that only one Cavil was designated to know the truth about the final five in case one of them died and they resurrected. Kind of like a caretaker. Otherwise, it would have implied that all of the Cavils knew who the final five were and still allowed Saul to be tortured and still fracked Ellen while watching the other five lead the resistance. I have to believe that only one Cavil knew of the final five's identities, or the show would lose a bit of credibility for me. I guess it is not unreasonable that all of the Cavils knew who the five were, because he was quite vocal about the others not learning their identities, but again, if Cavil knew that Ellen and Saul were Cylons, his actions on New Caprica would not make much sense.

We also learned that, apparently, the final five were the first five in the Cylon family tree. They created models one through seven. This being the case, if Cavil knew about Ellen, it would be like he was fracking his mom. Iew. Anyway, we learned a lot about the 'skin jobs' last night. It was not an exciting episode, but it was informative.

I also watched Dollhouse last night. I am undecided about my feelings towards Joss' latest attempt at a TV show. I LOVED Buffy, Angel, and Firefly, so I think my expectations about Dollhouse may be a bit high. The show has an interesting concept. People enter the program, get their minds wiped clean of all but the most basic memories and thoughts, and basically become puppets that can have any memories and skill sets downloaded into them. At first, I thought it would be some government project, like creating super spies, but it is more like a high tech whore house. If you want a hot woman for the weekend that has all of your likes, dislikes, sexual preferences, and is basically your ideal, you can rent one. If you need someone that can kick ass and be the perfect bodyguard for a specific situation, you can rent one. Anyway, the pilot was entertaining and interesting, but I am not sure how long Dollhouse will last. Joss' main problem is that he pushed the boundaries of TV and doesn't just make different versions of CSI. So the typical TV watching American sheep don't seem to get him. I do though and I hope Dollhouse stays around for a while.

Posting Pics

2009-02-13T07:36:00.002-05:00

I added some new pictures to my Flickr site. There are some of my team's bowling shirts. We wore them last night to some pretty good reactions. Some of the other teams made fun a little because we were all wearing the same thing, but I think they were just jealous. Some strangers, including a VERY cute girl, said they liked them. We didn't bowl great, but the shirts added some fun to the evening.

There are a few pictures of my completed poker table online too. I was really suprised at how relatively easy ti was to put together. I would say, all in all, the production too about five hours and cost me a little over $200. I took some crap last night from my poker buddies about how I made a Barney table. I think that the purple felt looks good. "Tight" I think the kids are saying these days.

There are also pictures from Gabe's birthday. It seems like all of the pictures of Gabe show him making weird faces or closing his eyes. He had a good time though. Oh and cute pictures of Ally. No, not cute....adorable! And here's Ally and Noah with Brutus. I think Gabe finds people in suits, like Brutus and Mickey Mouse, a bit creepy. Ge was a little leary of Brutus and steared clear of Goofy when we were at Disney.

Anyway, enjoy!

Can you believe he's 7?

2009-02-12T08:43:00.002-05:00

It seems like just yesterday that I was crapping my pants at the thought of fatherhood. I'm sure I felt like every first time parent: full of doubt, fear, and a general sense of holy-crap-what-do-I-do-now? Fun times. I finally got used to the idea, then excited, and then elated to see my little boy. That was seven years ago. Am I really that old? Jessica had to work on Gabe's actual birthday, but I made him a cake and he asked for cheese burgers for dinner. We got him a few presents, some Transformers and Bakugons (some weird ball creature things that turn into robots) and he seemed happy. Yesterday, we continued the celebration by taking the kids to Dave and Busters. It is an arcade typle place that has a lot of games you can win tickets for prizes. Gabe had a blast, so it was well worth the trip. It was a good few days.

A Pleasant Suprise

2009-02-05T10:12:00.002-05:00

In an attempt to find new and exciting things to get via NetFlix, I tried out Stargate Atlantis. I had seen the movie Stargate and thought it was OK, but I had never seen any of the shows. I am glad to say that Atlantis has been hugely satisfying to me. I thought about getting Stargate SG1, but something about seeing McGayver every episode turned me off to the show. Maybe I will have to try it later. Anyway, Atlantis is a great Sci-fi drama with a good story and good effects. It has become a show that I am excited to watch.

I am also excited that seasons 2 and 3 of Doctor Who are available to watch online via NetFlix.com. I added them to my online queue, so that means that I can watch the episodes online through my Xbox on my flatscreen TV. I forgot how truely great these seasons of Doctor Who have been to watch. I am delighted to revisit them. Wheeping angels, Daleks, The Master......enough said.

I think I am going to try to build a poker table

2009-01-31T10:39:00.004-05:00

I have a few folding poker table tops, but have wanted a "real" poker table for some time. The table tops that I have have room for 8, but they don't really fit my kitchen table and aren't the best quality. My friend Mike builds poker table tops that you can put on a table that are pretty neat, but I kind of want to make one of my own. I looked online and found buildyourownpokertables.com which has some pretty good step by step instructions for the table. It is pretty much how I expected. You cut out the shape you want, cover it, and put on your bumper around the edge. It looks like you can also add cup holders and other things if you want. I am going to have to print out the specs and maybe ask my friend Mike for some help. The way he does it is a little different. His tables are modular so you can make the table into an eight seater or a ten seater. They are very nice, but I want to try to make my own. His bumpers are wood and I want to try to make mine with foam and leather. My one concern is that I want to make only a table top so that I can put it on my kitchen table when I have a game, but I fear that these instructions may make a really heavy table top. I will need to think it through and see what happens.

Finally, a GOOD BSG Episode

2009-01-31T10:28:00.003-05:00

Over the last few episodes, my favorite show, Battlestar Galactica, has basically be stinking up my television. It has been a great disappointment over the past few weeks. The plot slowed, the drama became watered down, and any action was almost absent. The big reveals and cliffhangers were boring and not very shocking. Last week was OK, finding out a few odd secrets here and there, but last night's episode was finally back up to par with the episodes that have made BSG stand above all other shows on TV (in my opinion, of course). There was action, plot twists, drama, and all around BSG goodness. I am finally interested in what is going to happen next and was on the edge of my seat for almost the whole show. I'm not going to get into any details, but there is some serious doubt on who may live and who may die next episode. YIKES. I really don't have any idea how this show may end. I hope it finishes up as well as it started. I can still watch the BSG premiere mini series and be riveted.

Dreams or Nightmares? You decide.

2009-01-31T08:19:00.002-05:00

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you are stuck in one of your old 'college' or 'high school' type jobs? You know. The kind of jobs that you work so that you can eat and buy stuff while in school. Well, I had one of those dreams last night. I was waiting tables at Friendly's. It was weird. It wasn't a terrible dream with mosters after me or anything like that, but I was waiting tables in a busy dining room with all of the customers from hell in my section. If you ever waited tables, my section was filled with all of the people that run you ragged and then tip you a dime. Theone that stands out, probably because she was predominant in the dream, was a little old lady. The elderly are notorious bad tippers no matter how good the service may be. Anyway, she had me running back and checking ingredients on things she was considering ordering, she was changing tables every five minutes, she was back in the kitchen harassing the cooks, and basically being a pain in the ass. The dream turned funny when she was asking me if an ice cream treat she wanted contained any ice cream. She was sitting in the deep fryer basket at the time. By the time I came back to show her the box of ice cream to prove to her that there was, in fact, ice cream included, she was gone. Then I was forced to work with teeny bopper girls that were trying to hog all the tables and I wasn't making any money. Thankfully, I woke up. All in all, although it wasn't a terrifying dream, I think I would prefer dreaming of zombies trying to eat my brains.

It wasn't as bad as a really bad Friendly's dream I had a long time ago. I was the cook and there was a time stamp that the waitresses used to show when the orders were put in to the kitchen. The bad dream came in when we finished cooking all of the orders, were getting ready to close up, and more orders were time stamped. I didn't see the orders, I just hear that terrible stamping sound. This went on for a while and really made me have a bad nights sleep. That was years ago. Anyway, I wonder why I had a dream about a place I worked at over ten years ago.

Bowling Blarg

2009-01-30T11:34:00.003-05:00

My bowling game is seriously starting to frustrate me. The last two weeks, I am driving myself crazy. I am not sucking completely, and am actually still carrying a 196 average. What is driving me crazy is how inconsistant I am. The last two weeks I rolled over 600 series, but I was all over the spectrum. Last week I started out with a 246 but followed it up with a 160 and then a 190. Last night I started out with a 244 and followed it up with a 150 and then a 215. I am SO frustrated with starting out strong and then taking a dive. My biggest issue is hitting spares. More specifically, the spares on the right hand side of the lane. Even more specifically, the ten pin. I actually got a new ball entirely dedicated to picking up the ten pin. It slides and goes straight instead of hooking. It works perfectly, but I have not had a really good chance practice with it. So, I am still about 50/50 when it comes to the ten pin. This frustrates me to no end. If I were to hit my spares, I would easily have over 200 as my average. SO frustrating!

Poo is great

2009-01-29T07:51:00.002-05:00

Well, poo in the potty is great. Alydia has been a great pain in the neck about potty training. We would ask her to try and she would say, 'Tomorrow." or "I will in five days." So finally, I told her that she was wearing underwear from now on and that she had better not mess them up. She has been going on the potty ever since. I am SO psyched! No more buying Pull Ups at $10+ a package. We will be able to afford more stuff for me!

Bloggin' Blahs

2009-01-26T08:20:00.002-05:00

I, like Mona, have been pretty bah-humbug about blogging lately. Her reasons, lack of material and using Facebook more, my reasons, lack of material and plain old fasioned laziness. I have facebook too, but don't use it for too much. I just haven't had much in mind for blogging. I lead a boring life, I guess.

I guess I can bitch about TV. I am pretty mad that I am so invested in Lost and BSG. Both shows started out GREAT with mind blowing plots, good acting and great effects. Now, they are kind of pissing in the hay. I watch the Lost premire last night and was SO confused. Maybe I should re-watch the other episodes to try to remember last season, but I don't think it will help. Lost just jumps around too much. If you blink, you miss what is a flash back and what is supposed to be current day. BSG is a little better, but the story has gotten stale and a little boring. I think they are trying to add shockers into the plot to shake things up though like (*****SPOILERS********)

Adama and the prez in bed together and Chief's baby not being Chief's baby. I guess the uprising lead by Gaeda is adding a little bit of interest in the show, but I don't know what can happen in the shows final episodes that will make me feel good about the show's ending. Are they seriously letting the final Cylon reveal to be Sol's dead wife? Boring.

The Next Firefly?

2009-01-16T07:25:00.002-05:00

Did anyone know that Joss Whedon, creator of three of my favorite show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly, has a new show coming out in February? It is going to be called Dollhouse and is about a group of people that have their minds wiped regularly and imprinted with new memories for different reasons. It sounds a little weird, but Joss has been TV money in my mind. The show is going to air on Fox, and as usual with Joss' shows that fall out of the main stream, it is already getting the shaft. Fox has been moving the air date around and switching the day the show will run. It is almost they are shelving Dollhouse before it can get going, much like they did to Firefly. I LOVED Firely's short season, so I am DEFINATELY going to give Dollhouse a try. If nothing else, Eliza Dushku will be some nice eye candy. She was in Buffy and made some appearances in Angel. From the commercial I saw, it looks like when she gets her new memories, she is lying nekked on a table with little towels or something covering her naughty parts.

Hey Woody

2009-01-15T07:22:00.002-05:00

If you read Woody's blog, you know he is not as excited about 24 as he has been in the past. I guess I can understand why. Last season was a memorable as a fart in the wind. I remember that Jack left the country. Other than that, I don't recall much of the show. 24: Redemption was pretty good, so I decided to DVR the new seacon of 24 for watching on my days off. So far, 24 has been pretty good. I am still amazed by the ease that Jack gets out of jams and gets the bad guys. I don't believe that this sort of thing could happen in real life. I know that there are soldiers that could kill me with a piece of paper if they put their mind to it, but I just can't think that one person could get himself into so many jams and come out alive. Oh well. That is why we have suspension of disbelief. Just because I can't truely believe in Jack living such a blessed life doesn't mean that I can't enjoy the plot twists and turns of the show 24. So Woody, don't be afraid of getting into 24. So far it is pretty good, and there is a hot red head by Jack's side through the first three or four hours.

A Good Night

2009-01-09T11:49:00.002-05:00

Thursdays are great. Am I a broken record? I know I spout off on how much I love going out with my friends Thursdays. Really, it is my only chance to blow off steam in the week. I guess I play on my Xbox most other days, but I am still at home, probably cleaning or cooking as well. Thursdays are just about me and having a good time. I was getting pretty grumpy stuck at home three weeks with Christmas and New Years Eve both falling on Thursdays this year. All work and no play make Eric something something. Last night I bowled well except for my first game. 160 followed by two 220+ games. I was pleased overall. Poker went OK. I lost my first $20 playing sloppy, but cleaned up my game and left up $20. Considering we only had 5 people playing, that is pretty good. All in all, fun times.

A Tough One to Swallow

2009-01-08T07:46:00.002-05:00

The Fiesta Bowl was a tough one. Ohio State played a tough game against Texas and was leading by 4 with two minutes in the game. Of course, Texas scored the winning TD with only 16 seconds to go. Texas seemed to get alot of favors from the refs. Oh well. I am not too bitter. I half expected OSU to get blown out. Instead they kept it close and lead for most of the game.

Big Game Tonight

2009-01-05T08:48:00.002-05:00

Ohio State is taking on Texas tonight in the Fiesta Bowl. I am not too optimistic about the Buckeyes chances, but anything is possible. They are a good team that has been flat a few games this year. Texas, on the other hand, is a great team that lost one game in the final seconds and got screwed out of the National Title game. Texas is going to have a huge chip on their shoulder, but Ohio State is going to have a 'nothing to lose' mentality towards the game. I don't think anyone, outside of Ohio, thinks that the Buckeyes can win tonight. I think that the spread is 8 points. Hopefully, Ohio State will have a good game and proove to the country that the Big Ten can still roll with the big boys.

One thing that really gets me is all of the weird names of the bowl games. It's less about the sport and more about sponsorship and money. Not the Orange Bowl, it is the FedEx Orange Bowl. Not the Gator Bowl, it's the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl. The best is the Capital One Bowl. they aren't even trying to make it look like anything but a bowl game created to make mo' money. Let's not forget the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl. I think they should call that one the Focker Bowl. It kind of makes you wonder about the games without sponsorship in the name: Motor City Bowl, Emerald Bowl, Independence Bowl........aren't these games good enough for some company to glom on to? I also can't believe the number of bowl games. There are 40 or more bowl games and only 120 or so teams that are able to play in the games. So, 8o of the 120 teams get a bowl game. Seriously? Why not just let everyone get their 'participant ribbon' bowl game. Just think of the possibilities. M*ch*g*n could have played in the Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Bowl this year.

Zombie Killin' Fun

2009-01-04T11:36:00.002-05:00

I discovered a little fun tid bit on my newest Call of Duty game. After completing the whole game, a new level is opened. It is a level full of Nazi zombies for you to kill. GREAT fun. You are stuck in a building with several windows blocked off. Slowly, Nazi zombies start to tear down the barriers and try to eat you. You start off with a pistol, which sucks, but you can buy more weapons when you gain points. You can also open additional rooms and better guns are in the different rooms. Shot guns are pretty effective in large groups of zombies, but you have to watch out with grenades. They tend to blow the legs off the zombies, which leaves you with zombie torsos crawling on the floor trying to bite your knees. The game doesn't really go anywhere, but it you go up levels the more zombies you kill. Higher levels mean more zombies and faster zombies. It is creapy fun.

Anyone remember Buck Rogers?

2009-01-03T10:56:00.002-05:00

I got off of my NetFlix system and haven't had any DVDs to watch lately. I have been getting movies that I know Jessica wants to see, so I haven't been able to watch a disk and send it back the same day. Plus, the holidays put a kink into the Post Office deliveries, so not as many movies coming in. So, I have been watching the 'B' movies and shows that NetFlix has available online. I went through Jericho, which was great, and now I am watching Buck Roger in the 25th Century. If you don't know, Buck Rogers is a 1980s astronaut that gets frozen in space and then thawed 500 years later. I used to watch the show a lot as a kid, so I am pretty much refreshing my memory. It is great seeing the cheesey effects, the cheesey acting, and the rediculous 80's view on what futuristic clothing would look like. Basically, all the women wear lycra pants that are super tight and tops that show off boobs and bellies. They look like futuristic hookers. Fun stuff. It isn't a great show, but it is fun to watch.

I also got a DVD of Babylon 5 in the mail. I thought I would give it a try, since it went on for so many seasons. It must be good then right? I haven't decided yet. It made me wonder though. What is better? 80's special effects that are basically models and props, or newer CGI effects that that are obviously fake and a little rediculous looking? Babylon 5 is DEFINATELY not a product of George Lucas's crack team of animators. I think I am going to go with the retro look. Yes, it is cheesey and plastic looking, but at least it has a real look. The cartoony CGI stuff in Babylon 5 might actually throw my interest in the show.

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T09:59:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. I never really got into New Year's Eve too much. It just seems like another day and time to buy a new calendar to me. It used to be exciting when I was a kid because I was allowed to stay up late. I still stayed up late, but I was playing Xbox. Pretty exciting, huh? New Year's Day was kinda fun though. I went bowling with two of my bowling teammates. The bowling alley that we go to had an all-you-can-bowl special: 3 hours for $10. We rolled seven games. Fun times. I used one of the games for practicing picking up the ten pin. It is the hardest spare for me since my ball hooks so much. I think I got it figured out now. Honestly, it will help my game a lot.

My resolution is to lose weight and cut back on my drinking. Honestly, I think these two are linked. I drink too much which makes me have more calories in my diet. Also, when I drink, I snack. I am going to try Adkins or South Beach again. They worked out pretty well for me in the past. The hard part will be motivating myself to excercise. Ungh.

Why Buckets of Water Were Invented

2008-12-26T07:13:00.002-05:00

I may have mentioned that Jessica's dad, his 'friend' James, Jessica's brother Toby, and Toby's girlfriend Jen were coming over for Christmas dinner. This was the plan, at least. What was not the plan was that James would bring his ex's yippie shit of a dog, Toby. (Not to be confused with Jessica's brother, Toby.) First off, as soon as the little shit (a miniature poodle and some other little shit dog mix) of a dog got in the door, it started yipping and yelping when our dogs were checking him out. Take the finger nails on chalk board sound, add a cat being strangled sound, mix them up, and make the sound ten times mote annoying and you get the sound that comes out of that rat-dog's mouth. I had to take some Advil for my head. Then, the little shit squeezed through our gate keeping our dogs out of the living room and he took a piss on the carpet. I wanted to kick it, but instead I picked him up to take him out and he continued to piss on my hand. It was the first time that I can remember being pissed on. I wanted to kill the fucker. Then, after it pissed on my carpet and pissed on me, James was letting it crawl all over our less than a year old couch without asking if it was OK to let the half crap of a dog be on the couch. We don't let our dogs on the couch, but apparently, James feels he can do what ever the fuck he wants in my house. Our dogs, seeing this little shit on the couch, started jumping on the couch to get to the little shit, so I yelled at them to get down. I thought that might be a hint to prompt James to ask if his "dog" could be on the couch, but no. He just let the piss factory stay on my $1000+ piece of furniture. Needless to say, I was in a grumpy mood because of this. How do you tell your father-in-law's 'friend' to get his half-turd of a canine to get the fuck off the furniture? If only I had a bucket of water and five minutes alone. Dogs smaller than cats should not exist.

Oh The weather Outside is......FUCKING COLD!!!!

2008-12-22T07:39:00.002-05:00

0. That was what my car's thermometer indicated. 0 degrees. Shit! We went to my parent's house for the weekend and were hoping that zero was the temp up in the Toledo area and Columbus was a bit warmer. Thank goodness we were right. 3. That is what my car said as we pulled into our driveway. BURR!!!!! Needless to say, the dogs haven't been enjoying the fact that they need to go out to pee and poo.

Anyway, we had a nice time at my parents' house. The kids LOVE going up there. They get to see my parents, who they love, and play with my 20+ year old Transformers and GI Joe toys. We also got to see my brother, his wife, and their baby Will (short for William). Will is cute and very sweet. I played with him for a litle while, which I would do normally (babies make me nervous) and I made him laugh alot. I guess he likes unkie Eric.

The kids were happy to be able to open presents early. Gabe got some Transfomers, Ally got a new doll house that she LOVES, and Noah got an Air Hog romote control plane that is broker already. I told him to hold it in the car, he didn't, an Moose (our dog) crunched it. He also got a PSP game that we plan on exchanging for a Nintendo DS game (we're getting him one of those). All in all, it was a fun trip. Too much food and too much drink. I definately need to diet when the holidays are over.

Stuff

2008-12-19T08:30:00.002-05:00

Last night was a fun night. Yes, bowling night. I bowled well, played cards well, and almost won $1000+. The bowling lanes has a 'super strike' jackpot. If you bowl a strike every frame designated on a little piece of paper, you win the jackpot. I had all the striked needed the first game and the second game. And almost all the way through the third game. I needed strikes in the ninth and tenth frames.....three in a row. My ninth frame ball was perfect and solid in the pocket......and it left a solid seven pin. Solid. It sucked. Still I bowled well, 650+. It was also free drink night. Not all of our drinks were free, just one per bowler. We added a shot of tequilla to our usual pitchers of beer. I was then given another free drink coupon, so another shot.

Poker was fun too. I won $80. I am suprised about that since I got beat up on early in the night. I had AA and got my butt kicked by a full house. Then I started hitting hands and winning pots. Good times.

Ever see one of those cartoon falls?

2008-12-18T07:49:00.003-05:00

You know, when the cartoon character hits a patch of ice, flies up into the air, and then falls flat on his back? That was me yesterday. Taking Gabe out to the bus stop, I was dumb and forgot about the freezing rain we had all night. I hit the first step outside out front door and went down like a ton of bricks, flat on my back. Needless to say, I am sore today. Really sore.It could have been a lot worse though. The things that helped:

-There are only three steps to our front door, so it was a relatively short trip.

-My momentum was enough to carry me all the way down, so I didn't hit my back or my head on one of the concrete steps.

-My feet went straight out and I didn't have time to react, so both my arms and legs were out of the way. If I landed on one of my arms or if my legs were under me, I could have broken or sprained something. Sure my back hurts, but a blown knee or broker arm would have hurt more.

-Better me than one of the kids or Jessica.

All in all it could have been a lot worse. My back should feel better in a few days. Honestly, when I hit, I thought I was going to be laying there waiting for Gabe to call 911. It was more of a shock than anything. It was hard getting up because I would try to plant my foot and it would slip again. I mean, it was REALLY slippery. Golly, I really hope these pain killers kick in soon.

December? Really???

2008-12-15T10:06:00.002-05:00

Not only is it December, it is almost Christmas! Only 17 more day in 08! Time just seems to fly by now that I am getting oldish. It seems like just yesterday I was posting about how happy I was about Spring time and now it is almost Winter. Oh well.

We aren't doing anything too exciting for the holiday season. We will be heading north to see my parents and brother's family. Did I ever mention that I am an uncle now? Anyway, I'm sure there will be too much food and drink there and the kids will have Christmas #1 with my parents. Then, in between our work schedules, we will have another Christmas, this one actually on Christmas day, with Jessica's dad and his 'friend'. We will cook too much food and have too much drink. The fun part, of course, is watching how excited the kids get. It's strange, Ally is already questioning the existance of Santa Clause. She's three, remember? I guess she is scary smart. I'm not sure how she is figuring it out, but she is already skeptical. Weird, right? Gabe is cute though. He wrote letters to Santa for everyone. Yesterday I cut out some trees out of paper for the little kids to decorate. I think they enjoyed it. Gabe made big, more detailed decorations and Ally made little dot ornaments that covered the trees.

Last night was kind of fun. Gabe had a reading assignment to complete, so he read the book to me and then we answered some questions about the book. He amazes me when he reads. He know so many big words. I don't think I could read half as well and he can in 1st grade. I really think that early childhood education is much more advanced then when I was in school.

the Songs that Made The Cut

2008-12-12T12:10:00.002-05:00

I can't find the post, but a while ago I asked people for ideas for songs for me to download from ITunes. 80's songs, specifically. Actually, I kind of wanted songs that reminded me of my younger years and were of a 'hair band' quality. You know, those cheesey 80's songs that you hate to love. Well, here are some of the songs that made the cut:

Radar Love - Golden Earring
Wait - White Lion
Runaway - Bon Jovi
We're Not Going to Take It - Twisted Sister
Youth Gone Wild - Skid Row
Tainted Love - Soft Cell
Should I Stay or Should I Go? - The Clash
What I Like About You - The Romantics
I Wanna Rock - Twisted Sister
Come on Feel the Noise - Quiet Riot
Love Song - Tesla
Final Countdown - Europe
Round and Round - Ratt
Don't Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
The Way it Is - Tesla
Paradise By the Dashboard Light - Meat Loaf
Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Poison
Foreplay - Boston
Only Time Will Tell - Asia
Talk Dirty to Me - Poison

Questions? Comments? Did I miss any 'must have' music?

Fucked Up Dreams

2008-12-11T08:10:00.003-05:00

I don't know why, but I have been having the most fucked up dreams lately. Fucked up. That is really the only way to describe it. Monday night is a bit fuzzy, but I distinctly remember Wayne Brady (from Who's Line is it Anyway and Don't Forget the Lyrics) in a superhero outfit, standing in a heroic pose in a bedroom. The weird part was there was a four post bed and the posts were fallic shaped. He was standing in front of one of them so that the post looked like a four foot tall erection. It was really quite funny, aside from the fact that I dreamed of a black man with a four foot boner coming at me. Now, it was NOT sexual, it was more like watching an episode of SNL.

Last night was the most fucked up dream that I can ever remember. It was kind of a fun dream, but fucked up. It was sort of in the Star Wars universe. Well, there were Jedi and Vader. I think I was one of the Jedi or a Han Solo type guy. We were attacking a Star Destroyer to rescue someone. The fucked up parts were: The Jedi had flaccid light sabres, so it was like they were whipping around rubber hoses. The ship we went back to was commanded and staffed by GI Joes. When we made the rescue and returned to the ship, the shouted "Yo Joe!" And when I returned to my quarters on the ship, there were two hot girls that wanted me to pleasure them.

I know what you are thinking. Both dreams probably have something to do with my sex life. Well, I don't want a black man (much less Wayne Brady) coming at me with a four foot cock. I also do not have problems with a 'flaccid light sabre'. Two hot girls at once would be ok, but I don't see that happening, what with me being overweight, almost middle-aged, and...oh yeah!....married. I guess sometimes a fucked up dream is just a fucked up dream.

Going Bowling

2008-12-08T07:57:00.002-05:00

Ohio State is going to a BCS bowl again. I don't know if I am exactly thrilled about the match-up they drew though. Ohio State gets to go to the Fiesta Bowl to face snubbed the Texas Longhorns. Ohio State has done well in the Fiesta Bowl, winning the last three times they appeared. That is probably the main reason why they got the bowl berth. Ohio State fans travel well and generate big television ratings. I don't know if I like their chances of winning though. I always keep the faith and will cheer on the Buckeyes until the last tick of the clock, but the offense has struggled at times. On top of that, Texas should be in the Title game (in my opinion). They beat Oklahoma soundly, but for some reason, Oklahoma got invited to the ball. The Longhorns are going to take out their frustrations on the Buckeyes in a big way. Still, I will remain hopeful. Ohio States two losses came to the two teams matched up in the Rose Bowl and who both could also be considered for the BCS title game.

NetFlix fun

2008-12-04T09:03:00.002-05:00

I talked a little about how I can watch netFlix movies and shows on my Xbox the other day. It is a really cool feature of the new Xbox Live format. You have to have a NetFlix membership though. Anyway, I started watching a show called Jericho using this feature the other day. Has anyone seen Jericho before? First, I was a little offended because I thought the show was calling me a ho. J-Eric-Ho. I know. Silly, right? Anyway, I was very suprised by Jericho. I also found the name of the show ironic. In the Bible, God had a beef with the walled city of Jericho and commanded Joshua to lay siege. At least I whink that is how the story goes. Anyway, the show Jericho is about a town that survives a nuclear holocaust. See why the name is ironic now? Not knowing how the whole show goes, I am half expecting the series finale to be called 'The Fall of Jericho.' As you can imagine, people have difficulty coping with the loss of major US cities and the loss of general luxuries (power, food, medicine, etc.) Plus, some of the unsavory people turn to criminal acts and underhanded practices. Like the store owner who startes charging $20 for water, for example. I won't get into the plot too much, but I am really enjoying the show so far. It is on NetFlix's 'watch instantly' list, so watch it online.

Thanks Woody

2008-12-01T07:34:00.002-05:00

I have been meaning to use the new Xbox Live interface as a post, but I keep forgetting. His last comment gave me the reminder I needed. I totally missed the announcement that things were going to change for Xbox Live. Actually, I got the email from Xbox about the change the day after the new format was up on my Xbox. I am not too sure what I think about it. It looks like they ripped off the Wii a bit. You get to create an avatar who, as far as I can tell, just stands there while you browse the menu. It is a little strange to be honest. One of the things I am excited about is that I can watch stuff that is available to view online through Netflix on my Xbox. I just have to put some 'view it now' movies into my queue and my Xbox can find them through my network so that I can watch them on my TV upstairs. Granted, it is mostly old movies, but sometimes they have some good TV shows and B movies. Other than that, the new Xbox lay out seems like a whole lot of window dressing for the same old stuff. You can still do all of the same old stuff that you could do on the old interface. Still, it looks sharp and more high tech.

Other fun Xbox stuff is that I bought the new Call of Duty game and another game called Left 4 Dead. The COD game is pretty fun. The solo mission was pretty short, but we first person shooter buffs get COD for the multi player feature. There are some fun maps and neat changes. The best and worst thing is that, after killing seven in a row without dying, you get to call out the dogs. In the previous game, you would call out a helecopter. People can hide from a helecopter. You can't hide from the dogs. The new COD game is also much more graphic. When you hit a land mine, you get to watch your legs get blown off. Gross, but cool.

I got Left 4 Dead because I enjoyed Dead Rising so much. It is a zombie game. L4D is different from Dead Rising. You get to go around killing zombies, but you are limited to guns. No, swords or chain saws.....yet. Another difference is that the zombies in L4D are SCARY. They shamble around slowly, like traditional zombies, but when they see you or hear you, they get fast and run at you like in the new scarier zombie movies. One neat aspect is that you can play online with three of your friends. There are four characters in the game, and you can choose to play as any of them. The game tracks your kills, so you can compare stats with your killin' buddies. Fun stuff. It is a scary game though. I have jumped a few times when getting jumped by the undead.

Happy Turkey Day

2008-11-29T13:12:00.002-05:00

I have been off since Monday, so that is why there have been a lack of posts. I just wanted to take a sec and wish everyone a lovely holiday. I LOVE Thanksgiving dinner food. It is one of the best meals ever. Still, it takes all day to make everything, so that must be why it is a one year deal. Still, YUM!

I must be a teen girl

2008-11-24T15:26:00.003-05:00

Jessica is a big fan of vampire books and movies. She has read all of those Ann Rice books and has seen the movies. We have been watching True Blood, a vampire show on HBO, and she has also read these 'teen' books that have come out recently. I don't know the author, but the first book was made into a movie and is called Twilight. Jessica has read all of the books in the series that are out and she dragged me to the movie that came out this past week. I was a little sceptical at first, since it was basically being promoted as a teen flick. Still, I kind of like the vampire movies too. All in all, I really liked this film. Yes, it a teen type movie, and there were a few things that we a little lame, but it was entertaining. I liked Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight was pretty much on the same level. It had funny stuff, pretty people, action, drama, good vs. bad......not a bad movie. I don't think it is for everyone, but I think I may start reading the books after all. Jessica said the books are on the same level as the Harry Potter line, so I may enjoy them.

I need help

2008-11-23T12:46:00.002-05:00

When I bought Fable 2, it came with a $15 ITunes gift card. Nice, huh? Well, I usually don't download my music, since I decided that I like buying the CD so that I have something tangible to hold on to, so I need to find 15 songs to download. I think I want to make an 80's play list. I like hair bands, nut not enough to really buy a whole CD. Anyway, what are some good 80's songs? I checked a VH1 list of the top 80's songs and was pretty disappointed. Not too much I would consider downloading. I guess there are some OK songs, but I want those songs that you can't help but sing along to. "Tainted Love", for example. So, what do you all think? What are those songs from the 80's that make your foot tap and booty shake? Keep in mind, I have most of the good hard rock songs from the 80's like Rush, GnR, AC/DC, and things like that.

Will there ever be a play offs?

2008-11-22T09:35:00.003-05:00

Well, today closes up Ohio State's regular football season. The Buckeyes have had a pretty good season. I see it as only a one loss season, since the loss at USC is really the only true defeat of the season. Yes, Penn State was ahead of the Buckeyes when time expired, but the buckeyes beat themselves that game. No fumble and the Bucks have one loss. Oh well. The Buckeyes will probably go to a good bowl game, possibly BCS, so I will have one more game after todays match up against the Wolverweenies.

I hope that the NCAA will pull its head out of its ass and allow the BCS to die and finally set up a play offs. Granted, OSU would probably miss the cut off this year, but there always seems to be someone on the outside feeling that they should be playing for that crystal football. Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is. They could still have all of the money making bowl games, and even incorporate the bowls into the playoff system (8 teams go to 4 BCS bowls, the four winners advance, and so on). If anything, they would be able to make more money with the extra games. I just don't get it.

Well, as previously mentioned, Ohio State plays M*ch*g*n this week. I think the Buckeyes are a 20+ point favorite. This game always worries me because records really don't mean much. The favored teams have lost a plenty of times in the past. I feel confident that Ohio State will win, but I won't start celebrating until the clock reached double zero.

GO BUCKS!!

Blah-ging

2008-11-21T07:44:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I guess not too much interesting going on. Kind of a 'blah' week. Sure, the OSU vs M*ch*g*n game is tomorrow, but I am having a hard time getting up for the game. I'm sure I've mentioned that already. I am even skipping out on the day long OSU Alumni gig today, Hyper-Friday. Basically, the TBDBITL alum get on busses, get drunk, and play pep bands around Columbus. Fun times. Getting drunk is optional.

Question: is it weird to have a dream about a girl that you dated double digit years ago? I had a weird dream last night about a girl I used to date way back in the college years. Nothing dirty, just hanging out. She had a little girl with her, which was the weird part. I guess after all this time, children would be a possibility. Still, it was weird because she had errands to run and left her kid with me. Other than my kids, I do not see myself as the guy people would trust their children with.

I bowled OK last night. I had a 580 series. I keep hovering right at my 190 average. That is not bad, but I still am pretty frustrated with myself. I am nailing strikes, but missing probably 80% of my spares. That really irritates me. If I leave a split or a hard spare, I am OK, but easy one pin spares should be automatic. I may go to the bowling alley some time soon to just practice spares. I think a large part of it is that I have been throwing my first ball a little differently the past few weeks (slower). Since I roll the ball slower, it breaks more. When I throw a spare ball, I try to roll is straighter, but if it rolls slower, it breaks more.

A so-so poker week. I won $140+ Wednesday and lost $40 last night. Wednesday was a good luck night, last night was bad luck. I started winning early lst night, but lost my mojo when I flopped a flush and lost the hand to a full house on the river. It was about a $80 hand. Still, I played OK and made some good reads. I made my first $20 last several hours and only lost the second $20 because I was irritated and made too many dumb calls.

Stuff

2008-11-17T09:30:00.002-05:00

Ohio State won this weekend and moved up into the top ten of the BCS poll. I do not forsee them getting into the National Title game, but a BCS Bowl game would be nice. I just would not be thrilled about a USC rematch. True, the offense is better with Wells back in the game a Pryor running the offense. They are certainly a hot and cold team. They kicked the crap out of Michigan State and Northwestern, but looked flat and weak against Penn State and USC. It is the 'big game' this weekend against M*ch*g*n. The Wolverweenies are having their worst season EVER with 8 losses already, but rivalry games always have a way of bringing the best out of a squad. Ohio State should be OK though. I don't think 'Rich-Rod' gets the rivalry enough to get the motivate the Maize and Spiew.

I bought Gears of War 2 last week. I think I have an Xbox addiction. I finished Fable 2 again. I wanted to take a break from it before starting over again as a bad guy. I was able to find and shoot all of the gargoyles and I bought all of the big properties I wanted to buy. I will play again as an evil person in a while. Anyway, Gears of War 2 is pretty fun so far. It is a shooter, but from the third person point of view. It is a little weird to get used to at first, but is a neat change of pace. The game really makes you feel like you are in it as the main character of a movie. Fun stuff. As with all shooters though, the button schemes are different from every other game, so it makes it hard to play Call of Duty 4. You expect to throw a grenade and reload instead.

Oh Yeah. There's a Game Today

2008-11-08T08:54:00.002-05:00

Well, the OSU season has lost some of it's excitement now that the National Title and the Big Ten Title are both pretty much out of the picture. Sure, every team above OSU could lose the rest of their games like last season, but that is highly unlikely. In case you care, my prediction for the title game is Penn State against Texas Tech. Ohio State should go to the Rose Bowl if they can win out, but they would likely play USC again. Yikes. Anyway, today Ohio State plays at Northwestern. Northwestern is a much better team this year than they have been in the past and this game is not a sure win for the Buckeyes. They SHOULD win, with the better talent, but their execution has been weak. Still, I am not a fair weather fan, so I will be watching and cheering on my Buckeyes. GO BUCKS!!

Fun night....mostly

2008-11-07T08:41:00.002-05:00

I had a pretty fun night last night. As you may know, Thursdays are made for bowling and poker. It was actually a 'hot and cold' night. First the hot part of bowling. I was hitting my mark from the word go. My first game was a 241. I started out with five strikes and then missed. My second game was better at a 258. Then, (I think it was the beer) I started screwing up. I threw a few splits, missed a few easy spares, and rolled a 165. Nice 90+ pin drop off, eh? I hit my 650 goal I mentioned yesterday, but could have rolled a 700+. It upset me a bit. On top of that, the team we bowled against was HOT. They kicked our asses. They had a new guy on the team and he rolled a 220 average. Yikes. The other guys did really well too and my team was a little off.

Poker went the same way. At first, our usual game was called off because no one had shown. So, My bowling buddies started a little game at the bowling ally. It turned into a decent sized game of 8 players until the bowling ally management asked us to stop. I won $30 there. I then got a call from our usual poker site saying game was on. I went over there and dropped $20. I got terrible cards. Still, all in all I had a fun night. I stayed up too late. I am dead tired now.

good things

2008-11-06T10:50:00.002-05:00

Barack won. I think this is cool for us little people. Maybe not so much for huge corporations though. Hopefully he and the new Democrats will make our country what it should be and help out us poor folk. This is the first time ever I was excited about an election.

I really can't say enough about Fable 2. It is like video game crack to me. I thought I was addicted to Halo 3, but this is something bigger. I get lost in the world of Fable 2 sometimes. I crave it other times. It may actually start becoming a problem for me if I can't get it under control. Just kidding. I am getting excited though. There are 50 gargoyles around the Fable 2 world that, if you shoot them all, will give you the 'ultimate reward'. Three of the gargoyles require that you buy pricey buildings in order to find them. So, I would find items on sale in one region and sell them for a gain in another region. It is best to do this with weapons. One blacksmith gave me such a huge discount that I was able to double my money a few times. So far, I have bought two of the buildings and shot 49 of 50 gargoyles. The last one requires that I finish the main game, go back into the world, and buy one last building for $1 mil. I have a half mil in gold now, but am not too sure if I can top the 1 mil mark. Still, I will be excited if I get it. I am not too sure what the 'ultimate prize' will be and how fun it would be to get it after the game is pretty much over. I am playing as a female now. A lesbian though, because I thought it would be weird to flirt with the male characters in the game. I have my girl dressed in a goth outfit with black makeup. I don't know why. This game is crazy fun.

I am still holding my bowling average in the 190s. I has a rough go the first week of rolling my new ball, but the last few weeks I have done well. Currently, my team is in second place and we bowl the #1 team tonight. I am hoping for a big night. I am happy with myself when I hit my average, which means a 576 series. I am shooting for a 650 series this week though. If I get on track early, I should be able to hit it. My new ball is working exactly the way I hoped.

Go Vote

2008-11-03T14:59:00.002-05:00

Thank goodness that all of these obnoxious political ads are about to come to an end. Only a few ore days of hearing about the evils of Barack Obama. Sorry John. I'm not buying it. I have heard far too many things coming out of Obama's mouth to believe all the nasty half truths coming out of McCain's camp. I haven't heard anything about how McCain is going to help me other than letting the rich keep getting richer off of the goods and services that my family needs to survive. I don't mean I want small businesses to be overly taxed so that I can save on health care, gas, and food. I mean that the companies that are making billions selling the products I need should be put into check a bit. For example, the financial companies that we are bailing out are still paying out millions of dollars in bonuses to the people that fucked up the economy. That should not be happening. Medical companies ignore some deadly diseases because they are not profitable enough to cure. That is bullshit. Gas companies are posting record earnings while I can only put a half tank of gas into my car. I'm just glad I don't need to drive to work anymore. My meager money would become even more meager. Well, in that nut shell, I am planning on voting for Obama.

I am also voting to pass the Hilliard school levy, and probably voting for the casino in Ohio. The ads of the casino are confusing because they contradict each other. One side say that the casino owner could pay no taxes, the other side say that plenty of money will go to Ohio. My friend Jesse put it into perspective for me though. Honda has a factory in Ohio. Those profits go to Japanese companies. Why would it be so bad for a casino, creating thousands of Ohio jobs, to send its earnings out of state? Ohio is still going to get its $20mil out of the deal. Plus I doubt that law makers would propose a law that would screw the state. There has to be some checks and balances put in so that Ohio doesn't get screwed. Besides, the main sponsor for the ads against the casino are Indiana casinos. They don't want all that Ohio money they earn staying in Ohio. I know that, if the Ohio casino has poker, I probably won't go to the Indiana casinos at all.

What the Hell am I Supposed to do Tomorrow?

2008-10-31T10:26:00.002-05:00

It looks like Ohio State has a bye week tomorrow. I hate bye weeks. I guess it is not too bad, considering the heart breaker last week. I guess there are still some good games tomorrow to keep me occupied. I guess I will have to pay attention to my kids or something. I guess there's always my Xbox!

I Screwed a Prostitute Yesterday

2008-10-30T06:37:00.002-05:00

Did that get your attention? Well, it's true. Twice. Ok, ok.....it was in Fable 2, the latest game I am obsessed with. I lost some of my character's goodness, and risked my character getting some VD, but thought that the option of hookers in a game was hilarious. Seriously though, if you like games that you can get lost in all day, Fable 2 is GREAT. GREAT. GREAT!!!! Not only are there the main quests that get you through the game, there are side quests that make the game more interesting. Plus, unlike some games where, if you kill bad guys then the area is clear for the rest of the game, bad guys keep popping up from time to time when you are walking through the landscape. There are also fun treasues all over the place. GOSH I LOVE THIS GAME!!!!!

I think I need to get Showtime

2008-10-27T10:55:00.003-05:00

I have been watching a lot of shows that have been on Showtime lately. I thought that HBO had the corner on great shows with the Sopranos, butit turns out that Showtime has some really good stuff too.

I started watching Dexter online though NetFlix. It is about a serial killer, named Dexter, who also works for the police and a CSI type guy. He is kind of like a vigilante in that he only kills people that he knows are bad guys. It sounds a bit out there, but it is a really good show.

I then decided to give Californication a try. This one stars David Ducovney of X-Files fame as a writer that moved to LA and is now a sex fiend. It is pretty good too. He hooks up with this really hot girl in the first episode only to find out that she is the 16 year old daughter of his ex-wife's new boyfriend. Oops. It's a funny show.

This weekend, I started watching Weeds online, also though NetFlix. It is about a suburban housewife whose husband dies. In order to support her family, she starts selling pot in her neighborhood and around town. I think I am addicted to this show now. It is kind of funny, kind of crazy, and definately good.

All three of these shows are on Showtime. HBO is OK still and we watch Trueblood on it, so I guess in order to keep my satellite bill the same, I need to drop Cinimax and order Showtime. Sure, I will miss the soft porm on 'Skinimax', but that's OK. :-)

Fuck

2008-10-26T10:18:00.001-05:00

OSU lost. They had the game won, fumbled the ball, and lost. Fuck.

Oh yeah, and I'm older now. Fuck.

Big Game Tonight

2008-10-25T07:39:00.002-05:00

Ok, the biggest game of the year to date. #3 Penn State is invading the Horseshoe tonight. ESPN's Game Day will be there and this is shaping up to be the game of the week around the nation. I'm not too sure how I feel about this game. It should be close either way. Both teams match up pretty well with great defenses, good running games, and mobile quarterbacks. Penn State might have the edge in the passing game unless Ohio State switches Boeckman in and out of the game. I guess Pryor is doing fairly well passing, but he is still a bit tennative and takes too much time trying to find a reciever. Kick off is at 8:00 tonight.

There are more big games today. #8 Texas Tech vs #23 Kansas, #6 Oklahoma vs #1 Texas, #7 Georgia vs #13 LSU, #2 Alabama vs Tennessee, Kentucky vs #10 Florida. Let's just say that, if a bunch of underdogs win today, Ohio State could be back in the National Title hunt. I'm not sure if that is a good thing, since the whole country (except for Ohio) would hate Ohio State back in the National Title hunt. Still, six teams ranked ahead of Ohio State could potentially lose today. Still, we need to take care of business tonight before looking ahead to bowl games.

Go bucks!

Fable 2

2008-10-24T09:45:00.002-05:00

I posted about Fable way back in the day. It is a quest type game where you go around killing bad guys with a sword, crossbow, and magic. I really loved Fable. I played it through three or four times. You can play it to be a good guy or a bad guy and the story changes depending on your choices. TONS of fun. Anyway, Fable 2 is out now for the Xbox 360. I bought it and am loving it just as much. I can play it all day and not notice the time fly by. Though the game is pretty the same as the old version, there are some neat changes.

1. you get a doggie. In the old game, there were treasures buried and hidden all over the place. the same is true in Fable 2, but instead of hunting for the trinkets yourself, you have a dog that sniffs things out for you. It also helps you fight.

2. The game is set 500 years after Fable. Most of the magic is gone from the land and technology is creeping in. Aside from bows and crossbows, you can buy pistols and muskets. I haven't used one yet though because I have a good crossbow that works well.

3. You can get married in both games, but in Fable 2, you can also have kids and go to whores. I think it is funny. If you go to a whore, you could catch a disease, so of course, they provide condoms too. What a great game! I haven't found a whore yet, but since I am playing as a good guy I don't want to partake in the hookers. It might make my good guy status decrease.

4. One negative change is that there are alot more things that your character can do. It sounds good, but in the old game you could assign spells and actions to buttons. In Fable 2, you can access all sorts of things, but you have to press the right bumper botton, select what you want, and then your action takes place. It sucks in a fight when you want to use a specific spell and are hindered by the lack of speed and ease.

All in all, Fable 2 is a load of fun. If you like this sort of game, I highly recommend it.

Plenty o' Posts

2008-10-23T06:50:00.002-05:00

I keep thinking of things to post in the evening, but then forget what I want to post about. I think I thought of three things last night, but can only remember one. That's OK though. It is a pretty involved subject. I think....

True Blood is now playing on HBO. You may think, "A TV show, Eric? Not very involved...." When I saw the trailers, I didn't think much about it and doubted I would like it very much. Jessica is really into vampire stories though, so we watched it. Now, I think I am going to call this one of my favorite shows to watch. Of course, BSG, Doctor Who, and some of my other favorite shows are off the air at the moment, so I may just be filling in the void.

True Blood isn't like your every day vampire story. It has some of the same weaknesses and similarities to other vampire stories. Sunlight, fire, and stakes through the heart can kill them. However, they have reflections, no fear of crosses or garlic, and in this story they have come out of the vampire closet, so to speak. They live in the open. True Blood is what they call synthetic blood so they don't need to eat people all the time. This show really has alot of interesting aspects. The main character, Sookie (I know, right?) is able to read people's minds and she falls for a vampire named Bill. Apparently, she can't read vampire minds, so that is a big turn on for her. There are prejudices between vamps and people and a killer on the loose to add to the drama. It's quite interesting. I recommend True Blood if you have the chance to see it.

I almost called this post "I Saw Rogue's Boobies." Anna Paquin plays 'Sookie'. For those of you that remember, she was Rogue in the X-Men movies. She isn't exactly who I would have cast in the roll of the (in my opinion) the hottest X-Man. I had a huge teen-comicbook-fan crush on Rogue in my teen years. My teen-comicbook-fan crush list went Kitty Pryde, Gen 13, Rogue, Mystique, and Jean Grey. If I put them in order, I would make Mystique #1 because she can change her shape. Want a badonkadonk butt? She can do that. Anyway, understanding that I had a teen comicbook crush on Rogue, when Anna Paquin showed her boobies on True Blood, it was interesting for me. There was nothing spectacular about them, other than the teen perve inside me thinking to myself, "I just saw Rogue's boobies!" It was actually a bit suprising to me because I didn't think Anna Paquin would do a nude scene. She was always a bit innocent in anyother films I had seen her in.

New Ball

2008-10-16T13:42:00.002-05:00

I went out and ordered myself a new bowling ball yesterday. It was a bit pricey, but there is a mail in rebate for a $100 gas card. You better believe I'm sending that in ASAP. It is called a Brunswick Twisted Fury Solid. I didn't get it online though, because I don't trust them to drill it correctly. I could buy it online and have it drilled at the pro shop, but they usually charge $50 to drill an online ball. They would prefer that you buy the ball in house, which is what I did. I pick it up tonight. I would rather have picked it up yesterday, but they were sold out of the ball I wanted. Plus, for some reason, most people get 15 pound balls rather than 16 pounders. I prefer 16 pound balls. Otherwise I roll the ball too hard. Hopfully, it works out well for me.

Sad Game

2008-10-12T12:59:00.002-05:00

Jessica and I went to watch Ohio State look pathetic as if chalked up a win against Perdue. It was a good time, but a boring game. The only touchdown scored was when OSU blocked a punt and returned it for the score. Other than that, Ohio State scored three field goals and Perdue one field goal. With the running talent on the field of Pryor and Wells, there is no way that the Buckeyes shouldn't have run all over the worst defense in the Big Ten. The only thing to hang their hat on is that the Buckeyes defense was pretty impressive, holding Perdue to only three points. I had the best seats of my OSU watching career. We were in B deck, so we were out of the sun for the whole game. Plus there were TVs there so we could see replays and catch other scores from the games around the country. Toledo beat Michigan? Seriously??? hehe.

We took the kids with us, along with my parents, and we all watched the Skull Session. It is the pre-game warn up of the Ohio State Marching Band. the kids seemed to like it. We got there late, so we had to take seats way up in the nose bleed section. I was a little irritated. My parents used to go to every Skull Session when I was in the band. I felt that they should have remembered that we would need to get there sooner to guarantee good seats. Oh well. The kids also got to meet Brutus the Buckeye and hit a bass drum.

A Broken Record

2008-10-10T06:53:00.002-05:00

I am repeating post. Well, kinda. Revisiting topics, I guess.

- Another good week of bowling. As previously mentioned, my team has been undefeated so far this season. There is still a long way to go though. Last night we bowled out nemisises (plural nemisis...nemisees?) a team that always takes us to the wood shed. They tried last night. Three of their bowlers had 600+ series (three games of 200+) Luckily, my buddy Jesse and I were pretty hot too and were both over 600 as well. Add in out handicap from our weaker bowlers and we were able to split the night. We won two games, but lost the team series point. We are still in first place by one point. I rolled a 234, 171, and 221. I missed a few easy spares, so I am still a bit miffed, but I was hammering strikes.

-more politics (sorry) - I watched a little of the Presidential debate this past week. I couldn't stomach much of it though, since half of the talking was done by McCain. It made me want to vote Democrat even more. Everything he said seemed to be in avoidance of every question he was asked. His best tactic seemed to be to say, not what he would do in a certain situation, but what Obama would do to make things worse. The most amazing thing he said was in response to a social security question. "How will you fix social security?" or something to that effect. His response was SO wishy washy. Something like, "We know how to fix social security. We always have." He then avoided the question completely and did not answer. When Obama called out McCain in regard to taxing health care and the fact that our $5000 health care crredit would go to insurance companies, NOT us, all McCain could do was sputter "Do the math." over and over. Oh, and if he said, "My friends" one more time, I was going to reach into my TV and choke him. (if the Secret Service read this, I would NOT do that to Mr McCain. It is only an expression.

OSU vs Perdue - I get to go to the OSU game tomorrow. Whoopie!! It is a 3:30 game so I get to sleep in a bit. I love going to OSU games. After the close one last week at Wisconsin, I am looking forward to Ohio State rolling up some big numbers against the Boilermakers. Plus, it is always a treat to see the Marching Band and relive old memories. GO BUCKS!!

A fun weekend

2008-10-06T08:33:00.002-05:00

I had myself a pretty nice weekend. Friday started out playing poker. I didn't win anything, but I always have fun playing cards. Actually, it was a frustrating night of cards. There were a lot of hack players there. There's really no way to win against hack players when they get lucky. For example, I flop two pair (AA 7 7) bet big, get called, and the caller hits a better two pair on the turn (AA 10 10). I played it right, had the best hand going in, and got out drawn. Oh well.

Saturday, Jessica's grandpa, his lady friend, Jessica's aunt, uncle, cousin, dad, and dad's special friend were all over for dinner. I grilled some brats, burgers, and hot dogs. I had to drink alot during the OSU Wisconsin game. It was a great game to watch, but stressful. I guess football is a little boring when your team blows someone out, but it is much more relaxing when the game is in the bag. OSU went up first on a stellar run by Beanie wells. Re was on fire Saturday. The game went back and forth, requiring a last minute drive by OSU to pull out the win. It was exciting.

Sunday, we went to campus to watch Jessica's cousin play in a softball tournament. She is Ohio State's center fielder. OSU played three games, but Jessica and I took Gabe and Ally home after the first game. It was actually fun to watch. Brittany (Jessica's cousin) struck out a few times, adanced a runner that would score on a ground out, and then hit a double. Probably the most entertaining part of the game was all of the cheers. When a batter was up, the rest of the team would do a cheer for her. Each cheer was specific for each player. Also, they would razz the other team. If the pitcher threw a walk, the team would do a cheer about throwing balls. It was a hoot. OSU won the game we watched, but I am not sure about the other games.

After the game we watched, we actually too the kids to a nearby farm for a hay ride. We rode on a wagon pulled by a tractor, get to go through a cord field maze ( I kept calling it the maize maze), then we picked out pumpkins. There was also a pony ride that Ally LOVED, weak petting zoo (two cows and two rabbits), and a few inflatable things for the kids to bounce on. It was fun.

Good Night of Bowling

2008-10-03T09:17:00.002-05:00

Thursday is bowling night again. Thursdays are great. Anyway, I was on my game pretty well and bowled my first 600 series of the season. 200, 235, and 170. I was a little miffed about the 170, but will take a 600 series any week. I primarily use two balls, a Raging Inferno and a Zone, both Brunswick. On oily lanes, I tend to use my Zone. It seems to break harder on oily lanes. Anyway, I used my Zone last night and it was hammering the pocket. FUN. I still missed a few easy spares, which drives me crazy, but all in all I am please with bowling so far. I am right around a 180-190 average. My team is doing well too. After three weeks we are undefeated and on top of our league. Is it a 26 week league though, so there is still a long way to go. I still might get a new ball this year, but so far my Inferno/Zone duo are doing pretty good.

Circling the Drain

2008-09-29T14:34:00.002-05:00

I rarely talk politics. I rarely follow politics. Honestly, I don't understand enough of it and I get too bored by politics to really try to learn, but lately things have been happening that are scaring me a bit. To be honest, I fear that our country is going into the crapper big time. There is the money black hole that is the wars in Iraq and Afganistan, the soaring oil costs making it hard to travel, and now the proposed government buy outs of the banks ond mortgage companies that are in trouble. All in all, 'little guys' in this country, like me, could be looking at some financial issues in teh future. As it is, I have a hard enough time paying all the bills and having enough left over for any 'me' things (movies, bowling, poker, etc.) Now, I don't really know as much as I should to judge the government, but it seems to me like the current administration and the Republicans are in large part at fault. If all of the Democratic commercials stating that this Republican and that one give tax breaks to rich folk (who can afford taxes) and have allowed gas companies and the medical fields to over charge us middle class Americans all these years, I say it is time for a change. When Clinton was president, I broke my arm and paid no money for hospital bills. Noah broke his arm this year (under Bush's reign of terror) and I had to pay over $2000. Oil companies are allowed to break records with their earnings while I am forced to put a quarter of a tank of gas in because I can't afford a fill up. Billions of our tax dollars are going to Iraq, where they have billions of dollars in oil reserves. Seems to me that we should have stuck some kind of deal where they give us some oil for all of the help we are giving them.

I went to my aunt & uncle's house a while back and we saw a political commercial. My dad was there and said he didn't think much of McCain's choice in running mate and my uncle said Obama scared the hell out of him. I have no idea why, seeing as how he has been the only candidate that has said what he is going to do to help America. McCain's adds are all about bashing Obama. I think that my uncle is worried about all of the governemental regulations that Obama would put into place to help regulate big companies and keep them from screwing us poor folk. Well, isn't this govenement buy out of these banks the same thing? the government is trying to get up to pay for the banking blunders of these monster companies. At least Dubya is. Maybe the economy will fall apart, but I feel that these companies and their shadey practices caused this problem. If I lost all my money, would the government writeme a fat check to pay for all of my needs?

I really hope that the rest of America is tired of the Republican shenanigans and vote Obama. I don't see that McCain is going to help us middle class people. Wee need someone that is actually going to change things for the better.

A Few Things

2008-09-28T16:21:00.002-05:00

Last night Jessica and I went with our friends, Barb and Brian, to the Movie Tavern to see Tropic Thunder. It has Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr in the main roles, with Tom Cruise and Matthew McConnahay in bit parts. Basically, it is about a group of actors that are kind of has beens and primadonnas shooting a war movie that is about to be shut down. The director gets the idea to put cameras in the deep jungle and maroon the actors in the middle of nowhere to try to get them in the moment. Hilarity insues. It was kinda dumb in some parts, kinda silly in others, and down right hilarious in other parts. It has some fowl language and adult comedy, so it is not a kid movie. Pretty good though.

Ohio State looked good Saturday. They beat Minnesota. Beanie Wells was back and looked good and Terrelle Pryor looked like he is getting comfortable in the starting QB roll. The defense held Minnesota pretty much all game. The Gophers scored twice in the fourth quarter making it seem like the game was close, but the defense was rotating its starters out. It was a fun game to watch.

The Browns won their furst game today. woo-hoo! They beat the Bengals in a battle of the bad. I mean a battle for Ohio. this was not a good game to watch. Yes, the Browns won, which pleased me, but they looked terrible half the game. The Bengals looked terrible the whole game, so it worked out.

Oh Golly. We must REALLY suck

2008-09-26T06:49:00.002-05:00

I haven't talked about it, because it makes me a little pissed, but after Ohio State got their asses kicked by USC, I thought to myself, "Wow. Either those guys are REALLY good, or OSU is really not good this season." It was total domination by USC over Ohio State. The dreams of the returning 18 starters dashed in one night. I was able to get over it, eventually, and started looking towards the Big Ten Season. Maybe Ohio State could salvage their season with a trip to the Rose Bowl. Now that the offense seems to be working a little better, maybe OSU is still top of the Big Ten. Maybe. Let's face it though, Ohio State's wins were hard fought and against opponents that they should have dominated. Now, last night happened.

Last night I watched the USC Oregon State game. You remember, USC that kicked OSU asses by 32 points. Well, they lost to Oregon State 27-21. You remember, Oregon State that lost to Penn State 45-7. Guess what, OSU and Penn State meet later this year. If the numbers say anything, OSU should lose to PSU by about 72. This is what I want to know. Did OSU play their worst game and USC their best game and then USC play their worst game and Oregon State their best game? I can only hope that is the case. I think the Buckeyes are on the rise. My only fear is that they win out, got to the Rose Bowl, only to meet USC again for another ass kicking.

Best Star Wars Game Ev'

2008-09-25T07:38:00.002-05:00

I went out and got Star Wars: The Force Unleashed last week. I wish, at first, that I hadn't. I was pretty busy and was itching to play. I finally got the chance Tuesday, and IT IS AWESOME!!!! I have played all sorts of Star Wars games on all sorts of gaming systems. I have all three games for the super Nintendo and I have both Knights of the Old Republic games for my Xbox, the Legos Trillogy for my 360, and a few more here and there. I loved the KOTOR games, but my one complaint was that it was not very fluid play. It was like playing Dungeons and Dragons. You get one attack, they get one attack. Then you hope you do more damage than your enemy. TFU lets you tear into sll sorts of Storm Troopers and other bad guys. Even Rancors and AT-STs. FUN. Plus you get to duel with other Jedi and Sith. FUNNER. I am even able to Force grab TIE Fighters and slam them into other TIE fighters. FUNNEST!! Currently I am stuck at a spot in the game, so I may need to get the guide book to see what I need to do. Plus, there are bonus things hidden all over the place. I want to find them.

Even if you are not into Star Wars games, this is one that you should at least rent for a little while. It it the most fun I have had with a single player game since Fable. Oh, but the way, Fable 2 is out in October. Just in case you want to buy it for me.

Got Some Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

2008-09-22T06:30:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a pretty fun day. For a Father's Day/Birthday present, I took my dad and the boys to see the final home game for the Indians. I know I have stated that I am not really a huge baseball fan, but I have been trying to follow the Indians more this season. Of course, like most Ohio teams seem to be of late, they have not done too well. They are one game over .500 for the first time since some time in April or May. Not good. At least not play offs good. Oh well. Anyway, the crowd was pretty big, even for the meaningless game: 36000+.

It was a great day to go to a baseball game. It was sunny, not too hot, and there was a nice breeze coming off the lake. Our seats were pretty good too. We were in the outfield, just down the first base line. It would have been nice if we were a little closer to the field, but we could see everything pretty well and we didn't have to climb into the nose bleed sections. The boys really seemed to enjoy themselves. I think Gabe got a little bored after a while. The best part about it is that the Indians won. They were lighting up the Detroit pitchers. The final score was 10-5 Tribe.

One thing I did NOT like about the game is the same thing that keeps me from going to most sporting events: the insane price of refreshments. A pop = $4, a hot dog = $4.50, beer = $6.75. Luckily, I won playing cards last week, so I had plenty of cash. I am, however, considering suing the Indians for large head discrimination. Adjustable hats don't fit me and I need a large sized fitted hat for me melon head. The souvenier shops did not have my size. Since I was planning on buying a hat at the game, I did not bring one of my own, and now have a bit of a sun burn on my forehead. Still, good times.

The Best Night of the Week is BACK!

2008-09-19T06:40:00.002-05:00

Ahh Thursday. How I love thee. Let me count the ways. First, it is the day before Friday, so that is all good. Second, poker is played almost every Thursday at my firend Hasan's house. Some nights are good, some are bad but usually a night out playing cards is fun. The main reasons Thursdays are back on top of my favorite days of the week? You guessed it! My bowling league started up again this week. LOVE IT!! I bowled OK. Pretty average for me, actually. My first game was a little frustrating. I missed some easy spares and ended up with a 150+. The second game was better, a 190+ and my last game was a 200. So, I am starting the year off with about a 180 average. I would love to carry a 200 average, but after years of bowling and not improoving, I don't see that ever happening. Still, I have a blast on bowling nights.

Poker was good too. I started out really rough, going from $30 to $10 in about an hour. I was getting terrible cards and playing even worse. I started getting good cards though and ended up with $130. It was mostly due to getting good hands, but I started playing better too. We play mixed games now, so instead of just playing Texas Hold'em, we play Omaha, 7 card stud, 5 card draw (like in the movie Maverick), and Pineapple (like Hold'em, but you start with three cards. After the flop you discard one). The best hand I got was four threes in a hand of five card draw. I was dealt three 3's, so I discarded my other two cards and was dealt another three and a king. It was hard not to jump out of my skin. The best part about the hand it that someone raised before me. I re-raised, got called, and raked a good sized pot. Fun stuff.

Ike treated us like Tina

2008-09-18T10:28:00.002-05:00

Sorry. That is a rather crude way to say that the remnants of Hurricane Ike swept through our area and did a lot of damage. Our house seems to be OK. I need to check out the roof a little better though. I think we may have lost a shingle or two. I'm just not too keen on climbing up there. Our neighborhood was pretty banged up though. Our next door neighbors had a tree knocked over and several other trees in the area were down. Plus, we lost power and our cable services. We were lucky enough that our power came back on after a day. some areas of Columbus are still without power. My cable access is still down though. This means I have no internet and can't work from home. That's right! I'm coming to you like from Nationwide's Rings Rd building. I had to bring my PC to plug into some extra monitors. Fun stuff. I lucked out and found two working monitors with an active ethernet port nearby so that I didn't have to hunt around forever. Hopfully I will be able to return to my work from home status shortly.

Big Game today

2008-09-13T08:04:00.002-05:00

Ohio State is a big question mark for tonight's match up against #1 USC. Will Beanie Wells play? As of last night, the answer is 'no'. Will the defense be able to stop a powerhouse offense like UCS? Considering it could barely stop Ohio, I am not sure. Will the offense be able to function without it's #1 running back? Well, this is the kind of game that twenty of last years starters returned to play. They came back to win a National Title. I think that the emmense about of experience will win out here. The veteran defense will shut down the young USC quarterback and Boeckman will pick apart the defense. GO BUCKS!!!

I hate Carson Palmer

2008-09-11T07:21:00.002-05:00

I was watching Sports Center yesterday and I heard something that made me hate Carson Palmer. I already didn't like him much sonce he is on the roster of the Browns' in state rival, the Bengals, but now I just down right hate the guy. I would say hate is a strong word, but in this case, it really isn't. Being a UCS quarterback now playing in the state of Ohio, I guess someone interviewing Carson Ass-Plumber abouthis thoughts on Ohio State. His reply was something to the point of his hating OSU and not understanding why Ohioans are so gung ho about the Buckeyes. Hmm...maybe because they are the most talented ans successful football team in Ohio? Yes, I say that the Buckeyes are the most talented team in Ohio, even with two NFL teams in the state and being a Browns fan. OK. that may be a strong statement, but Ohio State has certainly had more success latey than the Bengals or the Browns. That point asside, my message to Carson Palmer is this:

Mr Ass-Plumber, you play for a team in the state of Ohio. Do you thing that, perhaps, maybe some of you fans might also be fans of Ohio State? Stop showing the state that you are a fuck-o and show a little tact. Or at least start winning some titles before bashing the only team in Ohio that has been playing in any title games lately. Oh, AND OSU wins their conference.

PS. You are a dick.

Rough Weekend

2008-09-08T08:05:00.002-05:00

It was a rough weekend for my football teams. True, Ohio State won, but they looked like crap and could have easily lost against MAC school Ohio. If it weren't for a fumble recovery and a punt return for a touchdown, we would we talking about the slim chance of a Big Ten title, rather than another shot at a National Title. The defense was pretty good and only allowed OU one score, but the offense without 'Beanie' Wells was pretty pathetic. Honestly, I think that it was a case of the Buckeyes looking ahead to USC and not taking OU very seriously. In the fourth quarter, when the game was in doubt, the Buckeyes turned it up and took over the game. They played like they should have the entire game. The main problem was OU's mobile quarterback. I just hope that USC's guy is a slow pocket passer. One thing about the game that suprised me didn't happen in the game. Lou Holtz was talking nice about the Buckeyes after the game. I am so used to commentators OSU bashing. Lou said they would be fine against USC. Maybe he remembers the but kickings the Buckeyes gave to Norte Dame back when he was coach. Anyway, thanks Lou.

The Browns looked awful yesterday. They let Dallas move the ball at will and the offense was ineffectual. This is supposed to be a good year for the Browns, but if they can't hang with the NFL elite, there is really not much point in going to the play offs. I guess they have a bunch of injuries right now, but their schedule isn'y going to get any easier.

Glad no one esle I know is single...

2008-09-04T10:17:00.002-05:00

OK. I'm not going to name any names, but I am most likely going to a wedding this fall. If you are a regular reader and read the blogs of other people I know, you may be aware of this upcoming wedding. In October. The fourth, to be precise. If you are not aware, let me say that I went to school with this person and he is a big sports fan. At least I THOUGHT that he is a big sports fan. I guess could be wrong though. A true sports fan wouldn't plan their wedding on a football Saturday. Would they? Especially on a day that #3 Ohio State plays #11 Wisconsin. Not to mention #1 USC and #18 Oregon. I have dealt with this before. Back when my friend Ben got married, it was on a football Satarday and I think OSU played Illinois. The reception was at a country club and all of the OSU fans were in the bar crowded around the TV. Yes, I will DVR the game and will probably find some way to listen to it on the radio or something, but people should really take into account the Ohio State Football season when planning their weddings, birthdays, baptisms, etc. It is a late game, at least, so I will be able to avoid being one of those guys at the wedding with a mini TV, cheering at an OSU touchdown during the 'I-dos'. Ahhhh. The things one does in the name of friendship.

Big Ten Blues

2008-08-31T10:19:00.002-05:00

As expected, Ohio State rolled over Youngstown State 43-0. The defense was stellar, allowing only 74 total yards. The offense did well, but could have done better. Yes, they scored 43 points, but they had to settle for a few fieldgoals after getting first and goal. All three quarterbacks saw playing time, which is great. Boeckman is still the clear starter, but freshman phoenom Terrelle Pryor ran for 52 yards and an 18 yard touchdown. He was also 4 for 4 passing his first drive. Fun stuff. The bad thing is that, Heisman hopeful, Beanie Wells fell lame in the second half with a foot injury. X-rays were negative, but there isn't too much more information than that. Maybe a dislocated toe or something like that...... Hopefully he will be well enough to play in the big game coming up against USC.

I called this post 'Big Ten Blues' because, aside from the powder puff teams that the Big ten school should whomp on, Big Ten teams did dismally. Illinois lost a hich scoring game to Missouri, Michigan State lost a close one to California, and the shocker of the day was Michigan losing to Utah 25-23. Actually, it wasn't much of a shocker to me. I am predicting that Michigan is going to have a dismal season this year. A new coach, new starting QB, new offensive scheme.....it is going to be a long season for the boys in blue. So sad.

Still, even though I have a bumper sticker that states that my favorite two teams are Ohio State and whoever's playing Michigan, the opening week losses by the above stated teams to quality opponents makes the Big Ten look bad. Everyone has been Big Ten hating lately and the SEC and Pac Ten are the conferences to beat. The Big Ten seems to have become a big joke in the NCAA football circles. Unfortunately, Ohio State has contributed to this. The Big Ten's top team has been smoked in the big game two years running. If they go to the big game and lose again, the Big Ten will be even worse off.

Greatest City EVER

2008-08-29T06:59:00.002-05:00

As you know, I work for an insurance company. I deal with a lot of people's information (names, birth dates, address, etc) and I just came across the GREATEST city name EVER. I am going to post a link to a map or something, just so you know it is legit. Some of you may not get it, but I'm sure some of you will get a kick out of this. Anyone want to move to Frackville PA? I am going to be tickled by this for hours!

16 hours until kickoff! Woo-Hoo!! GO BUCKS!!!