This collection of entries is from April 2003.
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
Fog Delayposted at 07:51 PM | Link | Baseball § |
It's green
Well, with the lights out in the office space, you really know when the weather moves in outside the windows. It's actually green outside. There's a Severe Thunderstorm Warning in effect. It's getting darker. Still raining, of course.
posted at 02:58 PM | Link | Mundane § |
So, I've been walking around like that?I happened to look down at the sleeve of the polo shirt I'm wearing and I see something white sticking out of the sleeve. What the hell is that? Turns out I've been walking around the office this morning with a fabric softener sheet hanging out of my sleeve... what a great look...
posted at 12:15 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Finally wet
It started raining on the way home last night and it rained overnight. Woke up this morning and it was dark. Man I love waking up to darkness and rain. Not storming, mind you. Just rain. The sounds of rain on the roof. Love it. The drive to work was slow because of the rain, but it still moved along - except for those people that seemed mesmerized by the raindrops on their windshield, driving 5-10 mph under the limit, actually causing more traffic problems. Usually all of them also had another issue - driving in the rain without their headlights on. (Illinois state law requires you to turn on your headlights if you have to use your windshield wipers. Weird, eh?) The office is nice and dark. I don't have the overhead lights on, just task lighting in the cubes. I love this weather.
posted at 08:08 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Same side of the road
Well, they've switched the westbound lanes of Golf Road onto the pavement on the south side of the road. Guess that means that they're going to tear-up the north side first. It was starting to rain on my way home, so I can already see one problem - lane markings. In the rain, in the dark, these lane markings get pretty difficult to see. Hopefully there won't be any major accidents while this is going on. It should all be finished in 5-7 months from now...
posted at 05:58 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Hmmm... I can believe it...I guess I'm not really surprised by this. I mean, if you watched the show, you had a feeling that it could go this way... Jack Osbourne in rehab
posted at 03:37 PM | Link | Odd § |
*snork*Holy crap, my allergies have really kicked in. This is the worst in years. Must be the drought plus dogsitting. I'm miserable. I hate feeling like this.
posted at 08:38 AM | Link | Mundane § |
The May Day Project
Hmmm... this seems right up my alley... snap a photo every hour or so showing what you were doing at that point of the day on Saturday May 10.
posted at 08:22 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, April 28, 2003
Gracie - Day 1So far, so good. Gracie made some really odd noises last night when we were trying to fall asleep. Sort of like she was blowing her nose or expelling air through her nose to get rid of something, and it seems totally involuntary. Weird. Carol took her with her on her morning walk, and she came home at lunchtime to let her out again. Poor Gracie just seems a little confused. Me - I've got sinus problems, most likely my dog allergy. I've got a headache, too. Oh, I got my hair cut on the way home tonight. No big deal, it's just that I don't do it as often as I should.
posted at 09:36 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunday, April 27, 2003
Gracie
After the game, we went to my mom's for dinner. The main reason for going over there was to pickup Gracie. Mom, Diane, and Melinda are spending this next week at the Venetian in Las Vegas, and Gracie needs a baby sitter. So, she'll be spending the week with us until Saturday, when we will pass her off again. She looked really confused during the drive out to our house. Hopefully, everything will work out all right this week.
posted at 10:10 PM | Link | Mundane § |
White Sox 3 - Twins 1
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What and absolutely gorgeous day for baseball. It's the first Willy Wonka Kids Day of the year, so during the Twins' batting practice, the entire White Sox team was out on the field signing autographs. New this year - autographs for kids 13 and under only - no adults. That pissed-off some autograph seekers. We were at our seats, way before the start of the game, when our friend Teri came over! She and Mark and Joey and Danielle got company tickets for today's game (they were 3 sections over and 10 rows up). Teri looks great. We haven't seen her in a while (since the Wolves game). We have to get together again soon. The game started out with a rare occurrence: Jerry Manuel got thrown-out of the game for arguing a call at first base. Estaban Loaiza is still coming up as the surprise of the pitching staff - 7 innings, 6 hits, but only 1 run. He's 5-0 with a 1.25 ERA. And in another rarity - Brian Daubach stole home on a double steal - first time since '96 for the Sox. Sox win the series, so that's a good thing... though they're still 4½ behind Kansas City...
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:29 PM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |
Saturday, April 26, 2003
White Sox 7 - Twins 4
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Back at TPFKAC™ for our first official night game with fireworks. The fireworks, instead of being assembled on the asphalt in the player's parking lot, are now on top of scaffolding, about 5 or 6 sections high. The fire marshall allowed them to do that so the Sox could keep the outfield seats open (they had to "evacuate" and close them for the fireworks over the last few years). The game is moving along OK. Jon Garland is actually pitching OK after quite a few horrible starts. Yesterday, a few guys got hit. In the bottom of the 5th, Ordonez gets hit in the back (after getting hit in the 9th last night) after hitting a home run in the 4th. (BTW, Frank Thomas homered before Maggs, and had a homer yesterday. go, Frank!) When the top of the 6th comes around, Garland hits Doug Mientkiewicz, and gets immediately ejected - without warning. Well, that sent coaches running out of the Sox dugout, followed by the rest of the players, which was followed by the Twins dugout, and before you know it, the bullpens empty... no fighting, just a lot of yelling and posturing... but Garland gets thrown out as well as center fielder Armando Rios as well as the Twins' reliever Latroy Hawkins. haven't seen that many players on the field since the Detroit debacle a few years ago. Anyway, Garland did well - struck-out 5 guys on 4 hits (OK, 2 were home runs), so he was performing well for a change. This meant that we had to get someone from the bullpen, even though no one was warming-up. They brought out Tom "Flash" Gordon. You know this is a problem when a security guy on the field lays his head back and rolls his eyes when they announce Gordon. Well, he came out and pitched 2 1/3 1-hit 3-strikeout innings. A very nice performance. Then the closer - Koch - comes in for the 9th and gives up a 2-out 2-run homer from pinch hitter Cuddyer. He may be good, but damn this guy is scary.
the fireworks, well they're not as good. You can tell they're further away, and it just feels "bare" without any fireworks inside the park. I don't know, I just don't like it. The new sound system is a plus, but it's just the same old fireworks all from one location that feels further away.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:59 PM | Link | White Sox § |
I hope he found his way homeOn the way to the Sox game tonight, we stopped at the Des Plaines Oasis to grab something to drink for the ride. On the way out, an older gentleman approached me, and very tentatively, spoke "Excuse me, could you give me some directions?" He had white hair and a white goatee. I of course said yes, and asked "where to?". He again, tentatively said "Carol Stream."
He was heading east and Carol Stream was at least 20 miles west. I started, in general, telling him that he would have to get back on the tollway, but get off and get back on again to head west. He started fumbling with a shirt pocket, producing a few index cards, and continued searched for something to write with.
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Carol handed me a pen from the front seat and I handed it to him. He had a look about him of being a little rattled, and after telling him, in generalities, how he needed to get turned around, it was getting obvious that he need more detail than that. The feeling I got was that he didn't know the area that well. So, slowly, I gave him the directions to get back on the Northwest Tollway going west. Then we worked out the Carol Stream directions. When I mentioned he should get off on 53 South, he perked up. He knew 53. And then I had him get off at North Avenue and her perked up again. He seemed to know North Avenue just fine.
The two of us went through the directions again, and then he read them back to me. It sounded like he got it. He asked, more than once, how to get out of the Oasis parking lot.
Then, just on a lark, I asked "Where are you going?"
That's when he said it.
"I'm going home. Main and Geneva. I just got a little lost."
Oh, my God. My heart sunk. "A little lost." Oh Christ... is he OK? He's old enough that, heaven forbid, he could be starting to "lose it" and maybe not be able to find his way home.
I bid him Good Luck. He didn't know how to respond to that. He then looked like he was looking for where he parked.
He was parked right next to us. We waited in our car, drinking the water and soda we just bought, and watched him pull out and onto the tollway. Carol felt the need to write down his plate number and description of the car.
We left the oasis, and eventually pass the gentleman, in the right hand lane, heading toward the O'Hare exit, just like I told him.
God, I feel terrible and helpless. I hope to God he was able to make it home alright. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:55 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday, April 25, 2003
New lanes open
The drive home wasn't as bad as last night, but still not normal. One of the things I noticed, though, was closer to home. During the day today, they opened new temporary lanes on eastbound Golf Road. It looks like the construction is ready to start, now screwing-up my morning commute as well.
posted at 05:41 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday 5 - Last
Time for another Friday Five...
1. What was the last TV show you watched? This morning's Today Show (well, just a little bit of it while I was getting ready to go to work)
2. What was the last thing you complained about and what was the problem? Traffic on the way home last night - see the entry
3. Who was the last person you complimented and what did you say? Oh, oh... I don't remember... that doesn't make me a bad person, does it?
4. What was the last thing you threw away? Three DAT tape cleaners, just a few minutes ago
5. What was the last website (besides this one) that you visited? that would be Christine's Big Pink Cookie
posted at 09:19 AM | Link | Friday Five § |
Thursday, April 24, 2003
Do you HAVE to do that now?
My drive home at night has gone from 30 minutes to an hour, thanks to road construction in Schaumburg. Meacham is now only one lane (instead of three), and the idiots that are driving north are blocking Higgins (thinking that they're actually going to get all the way across when the light is changing). This is causing traffic on Higgins to back up through the Forest Preserve. Traffic is tight - stop and go. Then I see one of my Pet Peeves (though I haven't written this one up yet): the lady behind me is reading a book. While she's "driving". What the hell is she reading that's so intriguing that she she is willing to risk bodily injury to herself and those around her that she can't put the book down to drive???
posted at 06:25 PM | Link | Mundane § |
I survived...Looks like I survived Take your... Child... to Work Day. It was a heck of a lot noisier and uncontrolled (at least on our side of the floor) than I expected. At least we all had pizza and cake today. Interesting seeing who's kids are well behaved and who's... well, aren't.
posted at 03:12 PM | Link | Work § |
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
*sniff*
I've been sneezing all day, my eyes are tearing, and with it being a quiet day on the phone, I've been falling asleep all afternoon. I think I just figured it out - I think my spring allergies are kicking in. How did I figure it out? The sighting of my first dandelion - which happens to be right outside my patio door.
posted at 05:30 PM | Link | Mundane § |
W-H LivesOK, let's see if you can follow this...
Back in 1999, I went to work for a consulting company in Chicago called Whittman-Hart, as a Notes Administrator for the company's infrastructure (not as a consultant for the company). I had used them on a project back in 1996-97 to bring my then company's Corporate HQ onto Notes. I liked the company, they had a good rep in the industry, so I was very excited to join them. The CEO, Bob Bernard, formed the company in the mid to late 80's (if I remember correctly), and in 1999 Whittman-Hart had a market capitalization of $4.47 billion. Not too shabby. Then comes the merger that Bob steered with USWeb/CKS to create an Internet consultancy, marchFIRST - 9,000 employees worldwide and about $1 billion in annual sales. I was now officially with a dotcom. And then - *BUST*. Bob sells parts of marchFIRST that was the core of the old Whittman-Hart to his buddy Andrew "Flip" Filipowski at divine (in a sweetheart deal), just before marchFIRST declares bankruptcy (and subsequent liquidation). I'm then at divine on a 60-day contract for transition services for "Divine Whittman-Hart", which ended June 1, 2001 and ended my journey. But, to continue the story, divine doesn't do well either, and it, too, declares bankruptcy (after being sued for fraud by one of its own subsidiaries).
Flash forward to today. Bob Bernard outbids everyone and buys back what remains of the former Whittman-Hart Inc., for $6 Million, which will go to marchFIRST's estate to defray more than $1 billion in pending claims. And so the circle goes...
posted at 09:29 AM | Link | Work § |
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
Wolves 3 - Bears 2 (Overtime) - Western Conference Quarterfinals - Game 5
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WOW. I really didn't think that we'd win tonight. The Wolves lost game 3 in Hershey and I really thought that was it. then, on Sunday, somehow the Wolves won 6-0. I still don't know how that happened - especially when Dan O'Rourke refereed the game. Tonight - Dan O'Rourke is there again. Great. Hershey scores first, we tie it up. The game was just too even. We were never really in control.
Odd thing happened in the first few minutes of the 2nd period - they were running birthdays on the matrix boards, and when it came to this 15-year-old- girl, all her friends that were with her started screaming. Well, not screaming as much as it was screeching. This screeching hits a crescendo just as the Wolves are crossing the blue line to attack - and the next thing you know everybody stops. The officials look at each other. the players look at each other. Next thing you know, O'Rourke is skating over to the off-ice officials and there's a little commotion in the box. Nicole the usher goes down and then takes off. It turns out that the players and officials stopped play because they thought the screeching was a whistle. (I have to give O'Rourke props for this game - although he was in the middle (as in, in the way) of two plays, he called an even game and let the boys play.)
We score again in the second, but Hershey ties it in the third, and we end regulation in a tie. I stood up during intermission and looked around at the faces of everyone on our side of the stadium. There was no look of confidence. There was hardly a fire in their eyes. Nobody had a good feeling about going into overtime with this team. I talked to Bob and Kevin and we all agree - we think Steve Maltais shouldn't play in the overtime. He looks tired, he's old... we haven't been happy with his play at all. Same with Rob Brown, who's retiring after 16 years. Last year, during the playoffs, the Wolves faced elimination four times, and each time got the win.
This time, at 1:20 into the overtime, after we swarm their net, Maltais scores the game winning goal, knocking Hershey out of the playoffs. Our next foe: the Grand Rapids Griffins with a best-of-7 series starting up there on Monday.
(Large video of the celebrating from our seats - AVI 37.3Mb 148 seconds)
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:39 PM | Link | Wolves § |
I am a zealous proselytizer
What an odd location for this article - the Fashion and Style section of the Sunday New York Times. It's an article about the "cult" of TiVo evangelists with a great comparison: (there are) as many TiVo-praise Web sites out there as there are hairs on Robin Williams but has an odd comparison that I don't like: Mr. Hawkins said that among his friends, there is a rift between those who get it — in his view, TiVo owners — and those who don't. "It's like the abortion issue," he said. Ouch. TiVo should not be associated with that discussion.
posted at 11:48 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Field of Morons
Carol told me about this article in last week's Trib that I didn't see, so I had to find it and read it online.
Oh, this so pisses me off... The Skutnik brothers said they did it because they love the game, and only meant to excite the crowd when they partially disrobed, leapt from the stands and raced across the playing field Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
Whaaaat??????? Excite the crowd??? It's illegal, you friggin' moron! "You go to a game to have a good time. You just want to pump up the crowd," he said.
"I love the game. I just wanted to be close to the baseball players," said Tom Skutnik, 20. "The game was awesome. We ran out on to the field, it felt good with everybody rooting us on." Of course, during the interview, they're wearing Cubs jerseys and hats... and the Ump Jumper (Eric J. Dybas, 24, of Bolingbrook) is a Cub fan, too... A close friend and roommate, Tony Consalvo, 21, said he was surprised by the accusations leveled against Dybas, who he said is an avid Cubs fan. Consalvo said Dybas isn't usually the type to cause trouble, especially on Tuesday's night's scale.
"Every once in a while, when he gets a few beers in him, he acts a little bit nutty," Consalvo said. "He's a cool guy. He has a lot of talk in him but he usually doesn't do anything about it." A little bit nutty... well, at least these idiots are banned from the park now...
posted at 10:01 AM | Link | White Sox § |
Can you catch up?I've been exhausted lately. Part of it is actually being outside and going to ballgames (fresh air = good). Part of it is just spring allergies that kick-in and get my sinuses screwed up, causing me to drag a bit. Then it feels like I'm just not getting enough sleep. I can't get myself to sleep a couple of extra hours on the weekends. I don't even take naps (though every once in a while I try). Know what time I went to bed last night? 9pm! OK, so my legs were twitching so bad I had to get up for a while, but I was back in bed by 10:30. So, I'm starting to wonder - can you ever really catch-up on your sleep? And then I hear about this sleep study that was done that says: Chronic restriction of sleep periods to 4 h or 6 h per night over 14 consecutive days resulted in significant cumulative, dose-dependent deficits in cognitive performance on all tasks. Hmmm... the kicker is the conclusion: chronic restriction of sleep to 6 h or less per night produced cognitive performance deficits equivalent to up to 2 nights of total sleep deprivation, it appears that even relatively moderate sleep restriction can seriously impair waking neurobehavioral functions in healthy adults. This suggests that sleep debt is perhaps best understood as resulting in additional wakefulness that has a neurobiological “cost” which accumulates over time.
posted at 08:56 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, April 21, 2003
Mr. Personality
OK, ignoring the Monica Lewinsky aspect of the show, I have a one word summary about "Mr. Personality": creepy. Just plain creepy. The whole Man Behind The Iron Mask/Phantom of the Opera mask-thing just makes the whole show feel... well, creepy. I can't explain it. Creepy. Very unsettling. It did have a Reality Television moment though, when one of the rejected suitors (Robert the mascot!) rips into our lovely bachelorette, Hayley Arp, and you can almost see the concern/fright on her face as if she was wondering if the producers had any security personel hanging around.
posted at 09:43 PM | Link | Reality TV § |
Better TrafficOdd - the traffic today was so much lighter than Good Friday. The parking lot is emptier, too. It's either: too many people ate too much on Easter and they're just getting a late start this morning, or people are on a vacation (spring break/Easter week). In any case, great traveling times. It's a pretty gloomy day, though and my office is absolutely freezing.
posted at 07:55 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunday, April 20, 2003
Family EasterAfter the game, we jump on the Dan Ryan and get on the Stevenson and head west. We're going to my cousin Jane's, who is having the family Easter get-together this year. I feel like I'm driving to one of those places where, on those very old ocean navigational maps there would be a marking that says "There be dragons here". We rarely, if ever, travel to the south suburbs, and heading for 143rd Street in Orland Park just seems like a foreign land.
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The drive is actually much shorter than I thought, and we get there in no time. Jane and Richard's place, though small, is just gorgeous and is laid out so well, that it feels much larger than it is. I, unfortunately, parked myself near this great homemade cheeseball of sour cream, Buddig ham and green onions. I couldn't stop myself. Pretty soon, the entire cheeseball is gone, prompting the ceremonial unveiling of Cheeseball II. Dinner was great, with Richard handing grilling a pork roast with two different marinades, and the traditional fried noodles (well, traditional for us). Dessert was way out of hand - by the time Myrina unpacked the two cakes for Emma's birthday, there was also on hand the apple pie, plus the 3 different ice creams and 8 different cookie selections, oh and brownies as well... there was enough food on the table for everyone to take their own complete dessert! I've never seen so much desserts before at one of our gatherings. It was a typical, loud, good time gathering. We enjoyed ourselves. Then we had to figure out how to get back to the Tri-State in the dark to get home. We made it just fine. I'm stuffed, though. Gonna be a rough night... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:18 PM | Link | Family § |
White Sox 4 - Indians 7
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Ouch. Back at TPFKAC™, and in the first inning, our ace Mark Buehrle gives-up back-to-back home runs. I wonder if he's ever done that before? Well, I don't panic yet since it's only in the first. He hasn't given up more than two runs in any of his first four starts. Maybe he just needs to settle down. Well, he doesn't. He gives up 7 runs in 4 1/3, and his ERA goes from 1.57 to 3.27. Today was the day I wanted pitch count - and it's not on the scoreboard! The pitch speed is back. (I need to talk to somebody about this...) Our offense wasn't that stellar either, considering their pitcher Jason Davis had an ERA well over 8.00. Well, now it's down to 6.97. Ordonez now has a 16-game hitting streak, and Carlos Lee hit another homerun - he's hit one in his last 4 games. You can see it in his swing that he's got that mindset that he's going for the fence. 14,975 paid - was emptier than that for an Easter Sunday. We've never been to the park on Easter, but it does call to mind the opening of Bull Durham and The Church of Baseball: I believe in the Church of Baseball. I've tried all the major religions, and most of the minor ones. I've worshiped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I heard that, I gave Jesus a chance. But it just didn't work out between us. The Lord laid too much guilt on me. I prefer metaphysics to theology. You see, there's no guilt in baseball, and it's never boring... which makes it like sex. There's never been a ballplayer slept with me who didn't have the best year of his career. Making love is like hitting a baseball: you just gotta relax and concentrate. Besides, I'd never sleep with a player hitting under .250... not unless he had a lot of RBIs and was a great glove man up the middle. You see, there's a certain amount of life wisdom I give these boys. I can expand their minds. Sometimes when I've got a ballplayer alone, I'll just read Emily Dickinson or Walt Whitman to him, and the guys are so sweet, they always stay and listen. 'Course, a guy'll listen to anything if he thinks it's foreplay. I make them feel confident, and they make me feel safe, and pretty. 'Course, what I give them lasts a lifetime; what they give me lasts 142 games. Sometimes it seems like a bad trade. But bad trades are part of baseball -- now who can forget Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas, for God's sake? It's a long season and you gotta trust. I've tried 'em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball.
( Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:15 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Easter Bunnies
I am re-posting this entry from last year.
I know I don't get a lot of traffic here at this Blog, but, please, take a moment to read this and help out this cause.
Carol and I have a pet rabbit named Indy (She has her own WebCam over on the Right-hand side of the page, if you want to visit). We love Indy, and have loved the rabbits that have been part of our life over the past 20 years.
Every year, at Easter time, people think about buying a rabbit for their kids. Bunnies really are great, but they have special needs and care and are not like dogs & cats. There are many rabbits that are abandoned each year after Easter when the kids lose interest or when they become a burden to the owners.
If you have a website, please visit the House Rabbit Society's Easter Page and get a banner to put on your page until after Easter (April 20 for those that don't know) to help raise awareness of the problem (I've got mine over on the left side as well). There are also PDF's to print up and post in your cubicle of wherever if you'd like to do that to help spread the word (as well as a damn sad poem that just just rips at our heartstrings).
Indy thanks you and Carol & I thank you.
posted at 07:59 AM | Link | Bunnies | 1 comment § |
Saturday, April 19, 2003
White Sox 12 - Indians 3
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Back at TPFKAC™. We get to the park way early, but that's OK. Today is Dog Day, so we head over to Gate 1 to watch everyone arriving with their dogs. Carol just loves this stuff - she gets to see dogs, pet them, guess what they are (She's good) After an hour, we went inside. It's our first time in our seats, since it was so frggin' cold the last time we were here. We didn't know what to expect today, so we over-dressed a lot - it was 71 at gametime. The parade of dogs before the game was a blast. (Here's a quick video - it's a 13-second 3.91Mb AVI.) We got to experience another new item at the park - a new sound system. Louder, clearer, wider frequency response. Much better. During the game, we notice something else - a spot on the scoreboards in the corners for pitch count! Unfortunately, it replaced pitch speed (no more radar gun), and it's just a total pitch count - no totals for balls or strikes. Well, at least it's something. I want it all (total, balls, strikes, and speed).
The game itself is crazy. By the end of the first, we're winning 6-0. By the end of the 5th, we're winning 9-1, and only one of those runs are earned. Cleveland has 4 errors. We have one - a throwing error on Stewart, the pitcher, which was not even close to 1st base and went into right. (It was so bad, Konerko, on 1st, never made an attempt to try to catch it.) Carlos Lee looks like he's just swinging for the fences. He's not being patient at all. Of course, in the 8th, he meets Aaron Myette a former White Sox pitcher, and tags him for a 3-run homer.
We used to hate going to the Cleveland series. That was back when they sold out Jacobs Field and people drove from Cleveland to come to the game. Again, loud and extremely obnoxious and arrogant fans. Those days are gone - they don't sell out, they're not that good, and hardly anybody makes the trip any more. Now, if I can never see the prick of a Cub fan sitting in front of me that was obnoxious (who was giving customer service guys grief for having his ticket checked - get used to it asshole, that's the way it's gonna be from now on, thanks to The Ump Jumper), I'll be happy. His buddies were trying to apologize for him, but he just got louder and louder. Bastard.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 05:02 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Friday, April 18, 2003
Of knuckleheads and bobbleheadsWell, the Chicago Tribune has picked-up on the Ump Jumper in "Of knuckleheads and bobbleheads" and the potential promotions that they would like to see at TPFKAC™:
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- Half-Wit Wednesdays. Those who act like they have IQs of less than 50 get in for half price.
- Alsip Night. A shirtless William Ligue Jr. throws out the first pitch -- then is cuffed and led off the field as the fans roar.
- Fujifilm Mug Shot Day. Get in a scuffle with security and get a free portrait.
- Idiot Bobblehead Giveaway. Authentic novelty item featuring The Guy Who Attacked The Umpire Tuesday Night (First 5,000 kids).
- Dog Day/Rowdy Night. Let the rowdies run onto the field, then have fans turn their dogs loose to chase them down.
- Turn Back the Clock to Al Capone's Chicago Week. Players would wear Borsalinos, black jerseys, white ties and fake scars.
- Sox Players Bet Against Themselves Friday. A nod to the glory days of 1919.
- Handcuff Night. First 5,000 adults to run onto the field during the game get a commemorative bracelet.
- Smirnoff Ice Half-Price Tuesday. Fans who bring a drained six-pack get in cheap and get to sit next to the visitors' dugout.
- Royals Appreciation Day. Kansas City players and coaches charge the stands.
- Hooligan Demolition Night. To chants of "Hooligans suck," Steve Dahl sets off a fireworks display that shoots rowdies high above the White Sox's exploding scoreboard.
« hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:46 PM | Link | Baseball § |
Friday 5 - Celebrity
Time for another Friday Five...
1. Who is your favorite celebrity? Hmmm... don't know... maybe Sandra Bullock...
2. Who is your least favorite? Any "diva" (and diva, in my book, is not a good attribute), especially Mariah Carey
3. Have you ever met or seen any celebrities in real life? I worked with Broderick Crawford and Tony Cox on a pilot
4. Would you want to be famous? Why or why not? No - I don't have any impending "need" to give up my private life like they do. If it was for a short period of time, a "flash in the pan" sort of thing, that would be doable - as long as the thing that "caused" my fame wasn't negative (like, oh, I don't know... me running onto a field at a baseball game (something I would never do)). Now, if my fame was not due to being in the public eye, but I could be famous and still be just another Joe on the street, sort of an anonymous sort of fame, and it only comes up in conversation - then that's way OK by me. I'm more of a "behind the scenes" kind of guy anyway. I wouldn't mind it at all.
5. If you had to trade places with a celebrity for a day, who would you choose and why? I really don't have a choice - like I said, though you may get praise from others for what you have done, there's always someone out there that either doesn't like the same work, or just doesn't like you. I don't have a need to trade and I've never thought about it.
posted at 09:36 AM | Link | Friday Five § |
Working on Good FridayIt's been a long time since I worked on Good Friday. During my 20 years in corporate life, I always had it off. It just feels a little odd going to work - but then again it doesn't. Though I keep hearing how the expressways are flowing and that everything is "traffic-free", my commute was no different this morning that any other day. When I pulled into the parking lot, it was just as filled as a regular working day. My guess is that this Christian holiday has been pushed-off the books for many businesses, for whatever reason. It just feels weird. Carol is off today. She let Indy out before I woke up, and Indy promptly ran upstairs and started digging at a pillow that was under my nightstand. What a way to wake up - now, don't get me wrong here. Being awakened by a bunny is actually quite nice and sweet, but she's not normally allowed upstairs, so it was just something I didn't expect this morning.
Update: Whoo Hoo! We're out at 3pm! Hey, ay least it's something...
posted at 08:05 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Thursday, April 17, 2003
QuietThis has got to be the quietest day on this job. The phone just isn't ringing today. I'm doing some laptop configurations while I have a moment. It's even quiet in the office - the CFO was here this morning and a few people are out today. It's also very dark and gloomy outside, so it just adds the perceived isolation. I like this... I haven't even had a chance to play pinball today... (did I mention that our department has a pinball machine? I'll have to talk about that sometime...)
posted at 04:44 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Ump Jumper Top 10
Dave just isn't letting it go... again... just like last time. Tonight's Top 10 List:
Top Ten Excuses From The Guy Who Attacked The Umpire
10. "I thought it was 'Attack A Defenseless Umpire Night'"
9. "Let's see you drink 15 beers and not do something stupid"
8. "Look at all the endorsements the shirtless father and son lunatics got"
7. "I wanted to impress Royals shortstop Angel Berroa"
6. "Umpire? I thought he was a vampire"
5. "It was Royals-White Sox game -- somebody's gotta make it exciting"
4. "You never heard of a little thing called 'spring fever'?"
3. "Pete Rose bet me I wouldn't do it"
2. "You're just not yourself when you've got shingles"
1. "From my angle, he looked exactly like Uday Hussein"
posted at 11:07 PM | Link | TV § |
Wolves 3 - Bears 5 - Western Conference Quarterfinals - Game 2
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Well, this game sucked. The boys played flat, without emotion, without determination. We had a 10-game home playoff streak (since last year) that was broken. They looked tired and a bit confused. Hershey was just faster & Stronger. We went through both goalies and still couldn't stop them. There was one, intense moment in the 2nd when, being down 4-1, we had just a long beat-'em-up-shoot-the-hell-outa-them series of plays that got us 2 more goals, but we came out in the 3rd pretty much like we were in the 1st and went nowhere. Even at the end of the game, when we had a 6-on-4, 2-goals down, we couldn't even get on the board. Can somebody say "Wake-up Call"?
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:06 PM | Link | Wolves § |
The Ump JumperWell, the Chicago Tribune has dubbed the idiot last night the "Ump Jumper". Seems apropos. The haven't charged the idiot yet. But it also seems that the fallout has just begun: Kansas City general manager Allard Baird told The Kansas City Star his team would not take the field Wednesday unless he was satisfied with the security. Royals spokeswoman Chris Stathos said Wednesday the team would report to the stadium, but that the decision to play would be made at game time. Oh, great. This is escalating just because of a bunch of punks that just don't get it. The Cubs' GM has a great point: "You still couldn't prevent a person, one lunatic or whatever you want to call it, from trying to get his 10 seconds of fame. I don't think you could ever say you're going to prevent it completely in any stadium: football, basketball, baseball, whatever," he said.
posted at 02:16 PM | Link | Baseball § |
Blogging in today's Chicago TribuneHere's a nice article from today's paper on how media outlets just don't undertsand blogging - either what it is our how powerful it can be.
posted at 12:17 PM | Link | Blogging § |
Spike?Now, who thought this was a good idea? TNN changing its name to Spike. Oh, I guess it was this guy: "We just like the idea of having a guy's name," said Albie Hecht, network president. "We thought that was smart and fun and irreverent."
posted at 08:34 AM | Link | TV § |
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
No!!!! Not Again!!!
Nooooo!!!!!! Kansas City comes to town to play the White Sox... and another fan jumps out of the stands, this time he attacked first base umpire Laz Diaz. Shades of the Tom Gamboa attack by the shirtless father and son team last September. Know what's the pisser??? This was the fourth time during the game when fans ran out onto the field!!! We are soooo screwed. I wouldn't be surprised if Major League Baseball made a formal complaint, or at least a request, to get the whole security "thing" under control before the All-Star Game rolls into town. This just so pisses me off. These weren't baseball fans. these weren't Sox fans. these were assholes that decided to go to a baseball game and just screw around. Well, buddy, I hope your ass gets thrown in jail for a while. Stay the hell out of my park!
Note: I blame the White Sox for this. Look, I know these kind of "fans" exist at Wrigley, but you don't see this happen nearly as often. Why? The design of the park. The walls are brick, usually a good height, and depending where you are located, your seats may be a bit above the ground, all making it difficult to get onto the field. A few years ago, in their zeal to squeeze more revenue from the fans that actually show up at TPFKAC™, the White Sox added rows of seats down each line. By doing that, they brought the level of the seats down to field level, and put up a rail that - if you stand right next to it - hits you below the knee. That's right - to get onto the field, all you have to do is step over a rail that is only as high as your knee. WTF???? Who the hell's idea was that? Well, guess what? There's more fan incursions now than there used to be - gee, I wonder why??? So, White Sox, what are you going to do about this??? I am sooo pissed...
posted at 10:00 PM | Link | Baseball § |
TPFKAC™Look, I'm going on record here... I can't get myself to call that place US Cellular Field yet. It's still Comiskey to me, so cut me some slack until I "transition". Maybe I should be calling it "The Park Formerly Known As Comiskey™" or TPFKAC™.
posted at 12:43 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Two days of blissOK, maybe bliss is the wrong word, but, damn it's nice outside! I just couldn't stay inside at lunch so I went out to grab am italian beef sandwich. I just don't know what to think with two days in a row having temperatures in the 80's. OK, so it's a little windy today, but after the crappy weather we are prone to have, this was like paradise! Well, OK, not paradise... I mean, this is Chicago after all, and it's April and the temperatures are supposed to drop like a rock into the 40's, just in time to go back to Comiskey for another series this weekend...
posted at 12:42 PM | Link | Mundane § |
5 years on...I know today may be Tax Day, but this day holds another connotation for me. I worked for a company 7 months shy of 20 years when I was let go. That was 5 years ago today. Being with a single company for almost 20 years (especially when you're in the IT industry) isn't heard of very often anymore. Nonetheless, I was one of the few. I'm finding it hard to believe it's already been five years. You get used to a company, an industry, your coworkers, that it just seems part of you, even though it's already been five years on...
posted at 10:10 AM | Link | Work § |
Monday, April 14, 2003
84 DEGREES!!!???!!!OK, we were freezing our asses off at Comiskey... oops... US Cellular Field just over a week ago, and now I'm melting... I got home to find a house that's almost 80 degrees inside. Mother Nature is soooo screwing with us... It's going to be impossible to sleep in this heat.... I just can't get myself to turn on the air conditioning, knowing it's going to drop back into the 40's on Thursday... I'm sitting around in a t-shirt and shorts, and it's not a pretty sight...
posted at 06:21 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Well, this is a bit unsettling...
Just a quick word of warning: If you happen to be driving past O'Hare, either on Higgins or the Northwest Tollway, and you happen to see clouds of thick, black smoke, DO NOT PANIC. An airplane probably did not crash at O'hare, and there's no accidental fuel spill that caught fire. It's just, as stated in info on the airport, PERIODIC FIRE DEPT TRNG AT N SECTOR OF THE ARPT. There are two airframe carcasses (for lack of a better term) that the fire department sets on fire every once in a while for training exercises. So, in other words, don't panic.
posted at 12:14 PM | Link | Odd § |
No Bull?One of my favorite baseball movies has got to be Bull Durham. There's so much in that movie about how I feel about the game. Great quote, great storyline. Well, The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum located in Cooperstown, New York was going to hold a celebration April 26-27 marking the 15th anniversary of the movie. Notice the word "was". I am ssoooooo pissed. Why? They canceled the celebration. OK, now why did they cancel???
read more of this entry »
"In a free country such as ours, every American has the right to his or her own opinions, and to express them," Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey wrote to Tim Robbins in calling off the anniversary party. "Public figures have platforms much larger than the average American's, which provides you an extraordinary opportunity to have your views heard - and an equally large obligation to speak and act responsibly. We believe your very public criticism of President Bush at this important - and sensitive - time in our nation's history helps undermine the U.S. position, which could put our troops in even more danger. As an institution, we stand behind our president and our troops in this conflict."
WHAAAAAATTTT?????????? And then, he's got to re-state this in a press release????
April 11, 2003
STATEMENT BY
Dale Petroskey
President, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, is a special place. The Game’s greatest players, managers, umpires, and executives are honored here, and it’s where The Game’s rich history is preserved. Those who have served in the U.S. military are also honored here. Active duty and retired military personnel receive free admission, and last Memorial Day, a plaque was dedicated to honor the 64 Hall of Fame members who have served this country in the armed forces during wartime.
As much as The Hall of Fame honors our armed forces, this institution should never be used as a platform for public pro-war sentiments – nor public anti-war sentiments. Given the track record of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, and the timing – with our troops committed in Iraq – a strong possibility existed that they could have used The Hall of Fame as a backdrop for their views. Mr. Robbins and Ms. Sarandon have every right to express their opinions. But The Baseball Hall of Fame is not the proper venue for highly-charged political expressions, whatever they may be.
So, he censored them before they even had a chance to speak, even though they weren't going to say a damn thing about the war???? This celebration was about a friggin' baseball movie!!!!
Robbins said this week that he had planned to talk about baseball, not the war and politics.
"This was just a celebration, a chance to see some friends from the movie and make what's become almost an annual trip with our boys," Sarandon said.
"As far as I knew, we weren't speaking. I wasn't even planning to wear makeup. And to politicize baseball is to violate the spirit of what it's all about," she said.
Damn you all to hell, President Petroskey.« hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:26 AM | Link | Current Events § |
Sunday, April 13, 2003
Nigerian scams from ZimbabweDid the Nigerian scam change countries?
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Return-Path:
Received: (qmail 17529 invoked from network); 13 Apr 2003 23:25:41 -0000
Received: from a71091.upc-a.chello.nl by web-xperts.com with SMTP; 13 Apr 2003 23:25:41 -0000
From: "."
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 01:26:19
Subject: From Zimbabwe
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Sir,
URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
I was the chairman of contract review panel in my country before the problem of the land reform program in my country Zimbabwe. Before the escalation of the situation in Zimbabwe I recovered $16.8Million US dollars from over inflated contracts by some government officials. But I was a member of the opposition party the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change), and the ruling Party, (ZANU PF) has been against us. So I had to flee the country for a neighbouring African Country which I am currently residing.
Before the escalation of the situation in Zimbabwe I had not reported the recovery of my findings to the panel. So this money was in my possession and I lodged it in a security company here in Africa and currently this money has been moved to their security branch in Europe. I have been trying to fly to Europe but it has been difficult for me to get a visa from Africa. So I want you to help me make claims of this fund($16m) in Europe as my beneficiary and transfer the money to your account or any account of your choice before I can get a visa to fly down. So that we can share this money.
I have agreed to give you 10%,which would be ($1.6Million dollars) of this Money for your assistance, and 87% would be mine and the other 3% would be set aside for any expenses that we may incure during the
course of this transaction. And part of my 87% would be invested in your country in any profitable business propossed by you.
We have never met, but I want to trust you and please do not let me down when this fund finally gets into your account. Please if you are interested, get to me through the email address below to enable me feed you with more details and all necessary documentations.
Please treat this as confidential
Best regards.
EMAIL- h7000y2k@netscape.net
NOTE: YOU CAN READ ABOUT PROBLEMS IN ZIMBABWE FROM THE LINKS BELOW
http://www.1freespace.com/beetee/nov19_2001.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/918781.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/715001.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1063785.stm
« hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 08:17 PM | Link | Odd § |
Wolves 3 - Bears 2 - Western Conference Quarterfinals - Game 1
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So, the AHL Playoffs begin. The Bears are quick and, at times, aggressive. The Wolves played flat, never keeping the pressure up. Passing sucks, as it has all year. On power plays, they need to shoot more and quit playing that ticky-tacky passing drill crap. It just burns the clock and they seem to never come away with a score, even on a 5-on-3. Not a very impressive win. 3,318 in attendance - better than the first round last year. Of course, we have to suffer through the entire playoffs with those damn Thunder Stix as promotional giveaways.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 06:06 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Saturday, April 12, 2003
Finch GirlWhen we pulled-up to my Mom's house, I saw a baby bird flopping in the street. I thought I was going to run over him when I was parking. Carol thought that it was too early for baby birds to be out. Well, I parked and looked out the window. There he was. It was beige with an orange beak. Just looking at me. I opened the door and he hopped over to me. Carol came over and scooped him up. It was a finch. He was just a little confused. He seemed in one piece. We put him in the bushes in front of Mom's house (after, of course, we pet him and talked to him and reassured him). I checked on him 5 minutes later and I couldn't find him. He must have been fine, gathered himself together and took off.
Figures that I didn't have my digital camera with me today...
posted at 10:33 PM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |
Michael Palin's SaharaHow the hell did I not hear about this??? Michael Palin has another travel show on the air, this time it's Sahara. I loved, Around the World in 80 Days, Pole to Pole, and even Full Circle. Now he's going around the Sahara - The size of the United States with a population the size of Norfolk. He's got such a great sense of style working on travel shows. He's just great - be sure to check it out on Bravo.
posted at 01:23 PM | Link | TV § |
Tax ManNothing like waiting until the last minute to start your taxes. Got them done and filed in a few hours, thanks to TurboTax. Refund from the feds but owe the state. Must be the unemployment, capital gains, or maybe Elvis Night.
posted at 12:06 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday, April 11, 2003
*ho hum*I don't know what's up. I started blogging a bit about the war, as I got wrapped-up in the start of it. I didn't lose interest, I just got busier. Busier at work, meaning I couldn't sneak in surfing for a while and posting an item or two. then, you know, when you're busier at work, you don't get home as early as you used to, so you have a nice dinner with your wife whenever you get home. Then there's this damn crazy bunny that "loves her dad" that demands some of my time (albeit, not all that much as she loses interest and wants to go play or chew on something). And all of a sudden, the day is gone, you need sleep to be able to "handle" the users that call all day asking for help. And then you realize that you just burn your time, and you don't have the opportunity to write in the blog. I used to write more here, now it's just turning into a journal.
I apologize to those people that surf in, see what's here, and then just pass on into the darkness, without leaving a comment to speak of. Look, my life is dull and boring. I'm not sure if it always was, but it just feels like it's been that way for a while. Does it bother me? Well, I guess... but you know what it's like when you have a robe that just feels right when you wear it? It's comfortable. It fits. You know in advance what it feels like. You know what it looks like, what texture it has, even what it smells like (OK, we won't go there...) Is this a bad thing? Not really, at least I don't think so. Comfortable is good. So if you don't like what's here, my apologies. It's just my life. You can go ahead and move along. If something here interests you, please come back and visit again, maybe leave a comment or two, sign the GuestMap. (Hey - got a blog? Wanna buy some shares???)
It's just my life...
posted at 09:48 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday 5 - Music
Time for another Friday Five...
1. What was the first band you saw in concert? Hmmm... that would be highschool... Styx played a few of the dances I went to, but this is a concert... could have been Chicago & The Beach Boys at the Chicago Stadium... maybe Cat Stevens at the Stadium... Seals & Crofts at Arie Crown? John Denver? The Stadium? damn... I don't remember...
2. Who is your favorite artist/band now? Don't know. Nobody stands out in my mind right now.
3. What's your favorite song? Can't pick a single favorite. Does anybody have just one favorite song?
4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be? I'm torn - guitar because it's a bit portable, or piano
5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why? I've said this before. Frank Sinatra - the Rat Pack years. It's not only his music, but it's also the era and his reputation, true or false. He was just so damn cool for his time. Not shocking or stunning as Elvis or The Beatles were, just cool.
posted at 12:20 AM | Link | Friday Five § |
Thursday, April 10, 2003
Downtown
I work out in Des Plaines, but today I was going on a road trip of sorts. I had some laptops I had to swap at the "corporate" office downtown. I've never been there. In fact, I have never even met anyone from downtown. I grab the laptops and hit the road. What a gorgeous day - not a cloud in the sky. The drive downtown was great - until I got to the Ohio ramp, which was backed-up. I followed everybody's directions and pulled into the parking garage. that's when I realized that the address of the building didn't mean too much - the building was called One Magnificent Mile. I knew this building! There's a lot of retail in here and a few good restaurants. I head for the elevator, get my guest pass and go upstairs. I walked into the office area and introduced myself and everyone seemed delighted to see me! This, of course, made me very suspicious. I swap one laptop, and the person brought me around and introduced me to everyone and, of course, everyone was nice. I've talked to all of these people on the phone before, so now we were both placing names and voices with faces. I had one more laptop to go - the CFO's, so we went up to that floor, played the same introductions again and was received the same way again. All it all it was a great little trip. It was good meeting everyone, and even a little valuable having a few minutes to talk with the CFO about a small incident that happened last week (that I don't think I talked about here). When I was driving back to my office, I had thought back on my impressions of the "corporate" office itself. Not the people, the office. For where it was located, and for being a "corporate" office, quite frankly - it sucks. Visually, it does absolutely nothing to enhance the image of the company, and I think it actually detracts. Plain walls, no trim, crappy brass nameplates. No color. Very nondescript. Not great office furniture. A lot of clutter. The design is a rat's nest of narrow corridors that wander everywhere. It feels cramped. I'd rather work in Des Plaines than in the office. I hadn't realized that in all of the companies that I've worked at, they all had a certain look at "corporate" that established the feeling of the company. Let's just say - I don't like the feeling of that office. Someone needs to spend money on this place to change this "austere" look - and it's not a "good" austere either. Yuck. But still, great day outside. The CEO's admin's window overlooks Oak Street beach. Very cool. I really didn't want to leave the downtown area, but I had to get back - after all, no one was answering the phones at the Help Desk...
posted at 06:21 PM | Link | Work § |
Wednesday, April 09, 2003
All-Star Game Tickets
I got home from work to find... an invoice from the Chicago White Sox. there it was - my invoice for All-Star Week tickets. Yes, the whole week: Radio Shack All-Star Sunday (All-Star Futures Game and Legends and Celebrity Softball Game), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day (All-Star Batting Practice and Century 21 Homerun Derby), and, of course, the 74th MLB All-Star Game, parking for each day, and tickets for the John Hancock All-Star FanFest at McCormick Place.
Because we've only got weekend season tickets, we won't be in our normal seats (since there's three season ticket packages occupying the same seats), so we will be out in Section 105 - Right Field. Downside: not out normal box seats, a bit further away from the action. Upside: WAY COOL LOCATION for the Homerun Derby!!!!
I've got to get this invoice back to them with some money...
posted at 06:19 PM | Link | Baseball § |
Dodgin' iceIt's another bright, sunny morning for a change. The drive into work was way interesting. Seems that all of the overhead power lines have ice collected on them from the snow and drizzle we've had. The sun was warming them just a little, so entire pieces of ice "rods" were falling from any wire going across any street, some pieces over 10 feet long. Then there was this idiot in a old Cadillac that didn't clean off his car since the snow fall. It, too, froze up, so entire sheets of snow/ice were blowing off his car, hitting others. Great. I just want it to warm up a bit...
posted at 11:09 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, April 08, 2003
*yawn*Not much to talk about today. I'm in a fog - I think the weekend caught up to me. I'm exhausted and just want to veg-out. Got some brand new laptops at work that I need to configure - wickedly fast Dell Latitude Pentium 4 2 GHz. They're so fast that during POST it's almost damn near impossible to hit the F2 key quick enough to get into setup before it boots the OS. Watched the 100th episode of Changing Rooms on BBC America. Designers Linda Barker and Laurence Llewelyn Bowen traded their own houses. It was good to see the designers freek-out over getting their own places done by someone else. Now they know what it's like to have a designer let loose in their own homes!
posted at 09:56 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, April 07, 2003
Bye bye Jerry... not gonna miss ya
One of the two most hated sports executives in Chicago, Chicago Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause, quit today. Lots of mixed emotions in the community about this - a lot of players loved him, but I don't know of a single fan that didn't hate the guy. The fans won't miss him, and maybe, just maybe, the Bulls can start getting their act together.
posted at 07:10 PM | Link | Bulls § |
What the... ?
I'm double checking the calendar... yep, it's April 7 all right... there's 3 inches of snow outside. (So much for that North Side home opener). Sometimes it just feels like God is messing with you...
posted at 08:47 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunday, April 06, 2003
Wolves 4 - Rampage 6
Holy crap, are we tired...
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Carol and I get to our seats right after the doors opened and just about fell asleep, waiting for our buddies to arrive and the game to begin. The last game of the season, and not a great crowd - 6,244. And then we find out who's ref-ing the game: Dan O'Rourke, the same guy that we had problems with last month. This can't be good. Well, actually, it's not too bad. He's doing a pretty good job and he's letting the teams play. Good. We're losing 3-2 after 2 periods, and there's been a few nasty fights. You can tell that things are really getting to these teams, especially when there's fights after the horn sounds for the end of the period. The 3rd period rolls around and something happens. Somewhere along the way, O'Rourke starts calling bad penalties and totally ignoring others. The fans are in an uproar. But it's not only us - the broadcasters don't understand what he's doing and are at a loss for what's going on. Coach Anderson is livid and is an interesting shade of red. Dallas Eakins does a no-no: he starts waving a white towel like an Iraqi trying to surrender, and that gets him thrown out with a gross Misconduct penalty. Things got bad. The conspiracy theories fly - why does the AHL have against us? Anarchy ensues.
But - there is one thing that holds everything together. The game means nothing to the Wolves, but it means something to Steve Maltais. In the course of the game, he manages to get a Hat Trick (all power play goals), which ties him for the all-around scoring champion of the AHL. When the Rampage had the game in hand, Coach Anderson let Maltais stay on the ice to try to get the one point he needed to the scoring title. Coach even pulls Maracle for an extra attacker to help out (though it cost another goal in the empty net). Then, with 5.6 seconds left in the game, J.P. Vigier got a goal with an assist by Rob Brown and Steve Maltais, giving him the one point he needed to get the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the leading scorer in the American Hockey League for the 2002-03 season.
San Antonio outshot us 37-25 (we only had 4 shots in the 2nd period). But, the seeding gets shook-up and we won't see them in the first round. Our first Quarter Finals playoff game is next sunday against the Hershey Bears.
And then it's time to leave the arena, drive home and collapse. I hate this time of year when hockey ends when baseball begins. Was a good time, though...
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:23 PM | Link | Wolves § |
White Sox 10 - Tigers 2
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Oh, this feels like it's getting old... straight to the Stadium Club again, as we wait to rescue more people from the cold. Janie and Jeff showed up and we rescued them and brought them upstairs for a little buffet, sandwiches, desserts and drinks in the warmth of the club to watch the game. Unfortunately, the end section of the upstairs area is dead - meaning no PA, no TV's. Hopefully, that will get fixed soon. Anyway, what a great start for Josh Stewart. It was his first Major League appearance, and he went 6 2/3 innings. He gave up 7 hits and 2 earned runs, and had only one strikeout, but it was a good start. Now, when he got pulled, it was 1-1, with one man on that scored to give the Tigers the lead. Well, when the bottom of the 8th came around, the Sox scored 9 runs in the inning and won the game 10-2.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:20 PM | Link | White Sox § |
David BloomSo, he complains about leg pains and cramps. Not a big deal - we all seem to get them every once in a while. Hell, riding around in a specially modified M-88 tank recovery vehicle for as long as he has must make you uncomfortable. But, I'll bet you, there's no way in hell either he, his family, the folks at NBC, hell even the 3rd I.D. that he was with could have seen this coming when David Bloom died of an apparent pulmonary embolism. This news is just an absolute shock. You see a guy, younger than you (he's 39, I'm 46) and you see someone that seemed to really enjoy his work (something that I truthfully cannot say). He was always on top of his form, no matter what he covered - OJ Simpson, the Washington Sniper, the war in Iraq... riding a mechanical bull for the Weekend Today Show or getting dunked in a dunking tank on the plaza. I really enjoyed this work and was fascinated with his little gyro-stabilized camera and reports from the desert. It's sad, just damned sad to lose a guy like this. He had this wonderful way of making the story "fit", and making it understandable to us doofuses out here. You hear of other correspondents dying, you hear of coalition forces dieing, but hearing about his death has a different "feel" to it. Just one of sadness and loss, perhaps because he was good and perhaps it was because it wasn't as a casualty of war (though, in the grand scheme of things, it probably was). I know NBC will miss him, and I guess I will too.
posted at 09:48 AM | Link | Current Events | 1 comment § |
Saturday, April 05, 2003
Wolves 4 - Rampage 3
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San Antonio really matches-up pretty well with the Wolves, which is not necessarily a good thing. No one scored on power play chances on either team. The boys were up 4-1 after 2 periods, and almost blew the game in the last 5 minutes of the game and we barely got out alive. After the game was what has now become the annual "Shirts off their backs" promotion, where fans, over the course of the season, won the opportunity to get a game-worn alternate jersey from a player, on the ice, after the conclusion of the game. (I just can't imagine how they smelled...) It's also Fan Appreciation weekend, so every got a scratch-and sniff card... wait... that's scratch-and-win card to get Wolves merchandise trinkets, and some good stuff up to a trip to Las Vegas. No good winners for us, though. Very sad on the way out of the arena - tonight was the last Adopt a Dog night of the season and we saw at least one dog that didn't make the cut. Was somewhat sad seeing the dog and it's handler looking a little depressed. End of the regular season tomorrow with same team... should be interesting, as it looked like there was quite a bit of tension out there. Also, the Wolves have 98 points for the season - would be nice to finish with 100, though it will mean absolutely nothing for the seeding in post-season play. the Rampage, on the other hand, could fall from their 5th spot (we're 4th) and we may not play them in the first round (and, after looking at tonight's matchup, it could be a doosy of a series that we may not get out of successfully).
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:21 PM | Link | Wolves § |
White Sox 7 - Tigers 0
OK, so would you trade your 37 degrees and cloudy with light rain for 32 degrees and partly sunny?
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I admit it - I wimped out. We went directly to the Stadium Club once we got to the park, and parked ourselves on some seats with a view to watch the game. Just couldn't do it. Walked around briefly before the game to see all of our buddies in our section and let them know we were here but upstairs. It didn't feel too out there without my coat on, but game time temperature clocked-in at 32 degrees and winds at 15 mph.
I was disturbed yesterday that I didn't hear the usual stadium announcer Gene Honda. When I didn't hear him again today, I just had to go to Customer Service to find out what was happeneing. It turns out that Gene is doing NCAA tournements, so he was unavailable for the weekend. *Whew* - I mean, he's the "voice" of the stadium and not the person who was there that sounds like Tom Schaer (I think it really was Schaer).
The game was great. Mark Buehrle pitched a good game - 8 innings, 3 hits. Rick White cleaned-up in the 9th and we had a shutout - 7-0.
(Boxscore)
And it's off to go home and peel-off the layers of clothing we had put on so we can put on our jerseys and go to the Wolves game. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:20 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Back onlineWell, the cable guy left - I have a brand new RCA cable modem, and I'm back online. Too tired to write with so many games in such a small amount of time, not to mention FTP'ing my images someplace else and changes hundreds of webpages. Oh, well, it'll get done some day...
posted at 08:54 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday, April 04, 2003
White Sox 5 - Tigers 2
OK, this was NOT fun. The traffic was much lighter than I had expected, so we got to the park 1 hour before the 3:05 game time. It's cold, windy, raining.
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We go up the ramps and walk out onto newly rehabbed outfield concourse, only to find still more cold, wind, and rain. The tarp is still down on the infield. We walked around a bit, checking out the new signage over the aisle entrances, complete with plants in hanging baskets. The rehab looks good - all of the concession stands look better, with brick facade, aluminum counters, awnings and signage. The new Mitsubishi Diamond Vision in the scoreboard looks gorgeous. The even replaced the old matrix scoreboard in left with a new one, which now has a better display of the lineup and inning-by-inning scoreboard.
Carol & I part ways for a bit, as I want to take some photos in case the game gets called. I meet-up with our buddy Jeff, who's also walking around the outfield concourse. Eventually, we meet the rest of his group and all of us go huddle in the main concourse, waiting for the rain to die down. We wait. And we wait. Jeff & his crew split, and Carol and I finally meet-up with our other buddies Janie & Gary. Again, we go under and wait. We decide to see if we can find Jeff on the other side of the park, so we go over there and wait. And look. And wait. (I think by now, you get the picture.) It's dark outside, the lights aren't on yet, and there's this blinding flash of light and loud crack of thunder - like the lightning strike was just on the other side the park. This goes on for a while. It starts getting lighter outside. The grounds crew pulls the tarp back - just to empty it and puts it back. There is now a huge lake in short centerfield. But Roger Bossard knows how to build a drainage system for a park, and sure enough, within 10 minutes, the tarp comes off permanently, and the game finally starts after two friggin' hours. We're cold and uncomfortable before we even get into our seats in the outfield.
It's cold. At least it's stopped raining. But a two hour rain delay means an additional two hours of drinking for those absolute friggin' idiots of fans that only show up on opening day. You know the type - usually in their 20's, usually male, usually not giving a damn about the game, just having a grand friggin' time drinkin'-swearin'-spittin'-partyin'. I'm sure Cub fans are used to it - we don't see idiots like this at Comiskey... Ooops! Crap. I Mean - U.S. Cellular Field. Yes, their signage is everywhere. They even have a Cellular Store at the Park. Cripes.
Game time temperature was 37 degrees with 22mph winds. Yech. Esteban Loaiza looked really good in his start, giving up only 3 hits in 6 2/3 innings. The team really needed to play Detroit to get the feel back to what it's like to win (They were 0-3 after getting swept by Kansas City). Also Billy Koch gets a nice solid close, striking out the side in the 9th (after his really poor showing in Kansas City).
(Boxscore)
After the game, we all went over to Janie & Gary's for dinner and drinks. We get home way too late to start-off our 5-game weekend (Sox-Sox-Wolves-Sox-Wolves). « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:58 PM | Link | White Sox § |
This is not going to be fun...I'm at home, on a Toshiba Libretto that I have that's hooked up to my cellphone for internet connectivity, just so that I can say: It's 40 degrees outside. Raining. Thunder. White Sox home opener at 3:05pm. Seats in the outfield (meaning - no cover from the rain), and the team opened the season 0-3. It's going to be in the 30's on Sunday - I hope they call the game. Anyway, don't know how often I'm going to post. We'll see.
posted at 11:02 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday 5 - Stand in the place where you live
Time for another Friday Five...
1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life? let's see... 1 apartment, 1 house before I got married 1 apartment and 1 house since I got married.
2. Which was your favorite and why? The one that we're in now - because it's mine (Whoops... OK... ours)
3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why? Hmmm... stressful, not exciting. Exciting afterwords.
4. What's more important, location or price? Location. I want to live where I want to live, and not have to live somewhere because I can afford it.
5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)? First off, house has to be wired. I want multiple CAT5, RG6 and fiber to multiple locations in each and every room. Since I don't have one now, gotta have a basement. Huge wooded lot (gimme an acre or so). yes, pool - heated. Big bathrooms, maybe a steam shower. Media room, data center (yes, complete with raised floors and proper HVAC). Doesn't have to be big. I don't know, I haven't thought about it too much...
posted at 09:56 AM | Link | Friday Five § |
Thursday, April 03, 2003
Forget what I said, I'm still not getting service...So, the service rep on the phone last night gave me the address of the local Comcast office to go swap my modem. I took off at lunch, drove almost all the way back home to swap the modem, when I was very curtly told that they don't do hardware swaps and that the person on the phone gave me wrong information, and that I can only get the modem swapped during a service call. Bastards. I now have a service call 8am on Saturday, and the windows closes at 10am. The had damn well better have a modem with them that works and have me up and running by 10:01am Saturday. Bastards.
posted at 02:52 PM | Link | Mundane § |
My TiVo may rat me out...Just because I have DirecTV and TiVo and not cable TV, the feds can find out what I'm watching and I don't like it. Damn that Ashcroft... Under the USA Patriot Act, passed a month after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the feds can force a noncable TV operator to disclose every show you have watched. The government just has to say that the request is related to a terrorism investigation, said Jay Stanley, a technology expert for the American Civil Liberties Union.
Under Section 215 of the Act, you don't even have to be the target of the investigation. Plus, your TV provider is prohibited from informing you that the feds have requested your personal information.
"The language is very broad," Mr. Stanley said. "It allows the FBI to force a company to turn over the records of their customers. They don't even need a reasonable suspicion of criminal behavior."
David Sobel, general counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington think tank, said the Cable Act of 1984 gives cable operators greater protection against the Patriot Act. Cable companies do not have to release an individual's records unless the feds show that the person is the target of a criminal investigation. Even then, the individual must be notified of the request, which he can then challenge in court.
"The Patriot Act does not override the Cable Act," Mr. Sobel said.
You couldn't blame the satellite TV industry for feeling a little vulnerable these days. DirecTV, for instance, collects a large amount of individual data, such as program package orders, pay-per-view orders and even online purchases via the DirecTV-Wink interactive shopping service. The Justice Department could ask DirecTV to disclose whether you subscribe to Playboy or purchased Viagra if it would help an investigation.
posted at 09:31 AM | Link | Odd § |
Wednesday, April 02, 2003
Better serviceI had a much better conversation with a Comcast person tonight. Turns out - it's the cable modem itself. Motorola is recalling a bunch of them for a wrong chip and my serial number is one of the lot. So, I need to get the modem swapped, so I'll be down for days. In other words, I'll be sparse here (along with no graphics and images here) until I can my broadband connection up and running again.
posted at 07:32 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Fuming...I'm still at the office, waiting on a callback about a circuit that's down when Carol calls me. She got home to find a voicemail from Comcast from 8:30 this morning saying the tech was here - where were we? This after we (Comcast Keith and I) explicitly agreed upon that the tech will only come after 5pm. Damn utility bastards, they're all the same. So Carol calls Comcast and, well, "rips them a new one" so to speak. While she's on the phone - the line goes active, just like when I made the first call. She's waiting for the tech to call back now. Then while on the phone to me, the line goes down again.
You know what the sad thing is? This is not unusual in the industry. How many times have you heard a story like this or have been a victim yourself of poor service?
posted at 04:40 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Down again...And so, my crappy Comcast Broadband goes down again at 07:11am this morning... bastards...
posted at 08:36 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
Still crappy broadband connection...Ok, so yesterday, after the apparently useless phone call to Comcast, when, after my broadband connection went down at 08:46am and mysteriously came back at 06:26pm (just after hanging up the phone) I wake up to find that the connection is still there. Great. I go to work, do my normal work duties, try to access some things at home and... no connection. WTF. Sure enough, the connection went down at 10:09am. Well, it was down until 10:06pm tonight, when it just magically started back up again. Great. I love DirecTV. I hate cable. Broadband cable connectivity is starting to piss me off after all these years. Bastards. Anyway, I have a "tech" coming out tomorrow to see what the hell is going on.
posted at 10:21 PM | Link | Mundane § |
*nose wiggle*posted at 06:30 AM | Link | Memes § |
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