This collection of entries is from October 2004.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Family Frights
Today was a nice, bright, windless, but chilly day. Our total count of Trick-or-Treaters: 61. Last Year was 69. The year before: 79. Had the family over for dinner, thinking that we'd be busier than we were. The only problem was trying to handle the dogs (Chelsea and Gracie) when the doorbell rang. It was hard to keep them gated in the family room because Carol was trying to get dinner set up.
posted at 09:26 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Wolves 1 - Mighty Ducks 4
read more of this entry »
I was watching the warmups, paying attention to the Cincinnati team and realized that there was a whole bunch of "protaganists" on that team this year.
First we have our own Kurtis Foster who was with the Wolves for the last 3 seasons and set a record for the fastest slapshot during an AHL All-Star Game (101 mph!). Now, he left because of a trade. The person I was surprised to see was Goaltender Frederic Cassivi who was also with the Wolves for 3 years. I have no idea how he got there. Then we had our regular protaganist Sheldon Brookbank, and the player with one of our favorite names - Cory Pecker. The absolute surprise for us was former Utah Grizzly Zenon Konopka! Ah yes, who could forget that game last season...
The Ducks score first, only 45 seconds into the game. It was all downhill from there. It's the typical early-season don't know how to play together issues. That, and we aren't shooting. Oh, and Kari Lehtonen not seeing some shots.
Hell of a lot of penalties, thanks to Referee Justin St. Pierre. Yes, most were good calls, but he did have a bunch of questionables.
(Boxscore - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:44 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Thursday, October 28, 2004
The Amazing Race 6 cast is announced THEME
CBS has finally set the schedule for The Amazing Race 6 and it will start on Tuesday, November 16 (taking the Tuesday Night slot of "Clubhouse").
The cast has also been announced (see below for the list).
UPDATE: Saw a new commercial this evening - no doubt about it, the start of the race is at Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park in Chicago! Check out the video here.
read more of this entry »
- Adam Malis, 27, personal trainer, Los Angeles; Rebecca Cardon, 29, personal trainer, Los Angeles (formerly dating)
- Avi Schneier, 32, high school teacher, New York City; Joe Rashbaum, 32, advertising-agency owner, Ventura, California (high school friends)
- Don St. Clare, 69, physician, Portola Valley, California; Mary Jean St. Clare, 66, interior designer, Portola Valley, California (married 20 years)
- Freddy Holliday, 34, pilot-model, Miami; Kendra Bentley, 25, model, Miami (engaged)
- Gus McLeod, 50, former CIA agent, Gaithersburg, Maryland; Hera McLeod, 24, special-education teacher, Los Angeles (father/daughter)
- Hayden Kristianson, 25, model-actor, Los Angeles; Aaron Crumbaugh, 25, model-actor, Los Angeles (dating)
- Jonathan Baker, 42, entrepreneur, Los Angeles; Victoria Fuller, 32, model-artist, Los Angeles (married)
- Kris Perkins, 30, student-waitress, Long Beach, California; Jon Buehler, 29, restaurant partner, Scottsdale, Arizona (long-distance dating)
- Lena Jensen, 23, student, Pleasant Grove, Utah; Kristy Jensen, 26, model, Pleasant Grove, Utah (sisters)
- Lori Harvey, 33, professional wrestler, Molino, Florida; Bolo Dar'Tainian, 38, professional wrestler, Molino, Florida (married)
- Meredith Tufaro, 26, licensing manager, New York; Maria Sampogna, 26, registered sales assistant, New York (best friends)
« hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 05:54 PM | Link | Amazing Race § |
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
I think it's safe to say The Curse is broken
Congrats to the Boston Red Sox for sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series!
I think it's safe to say that you have broken the Curse of the Bambino!
Did I just see Jimmy Fallon and Rachel Dratch on the field after the game?
posted at 10:56 PM | Link | Baseball § |
Lunar eclipse
Just spent a good 25 minutes outside watching the eclipse and trying my damnest to get any kind of picture of it. I really wasn't as successful as I wanted. I almost forgot about the eclipse - in fact I had my robe on and almost ready to go to bed when I remembered, got dressed, and walked around the dewy grass in my socks.
posted at 10:53 PM | Link | Space § |
Very nice morning
I love walking out of the house in the morning to take out the garbage and being overwhelmed with how nice a day it is going to be. The air is calm, the sun is up but there's a good amount of haze. The leaves are just about all off the trees, littering the lawns, sidewalks and streets. It's not exactly warm - the high 50's - but that lack of wind makes the difference. I actually just stood on my driveway and just surveyed the neighborhood. It was quiet - all of the school buses had completed their pickups and there wasn't a sound in the neighborhood except for the traffic on Golf Road at the edge of our development.
I live for these days and for that little time on the driveway.
The ladybugs have invaded again (well, not the real ladybugs, but the "faux ladybugs" beetles). It's amazing how many get into the house and I just don't know how they do it. I think I saw Chip eat one of the patio door screen.
Speaking of Chip, his sneezing is not better at all, so it's off to the vet on Monday.
posted at 11:23 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
One weekOh, please, let the time pass quickly this next week. I'm tired of all the political rhetoric right now. I just want it to be OVER. I'm tired of the radio and TV ads. I'm tired of the mailings. I'm tired of the phone calls/ (When did the phone calls becime customized? "Hi Michael, this is Dennis Hastert...").
Nothing's changed my mind in the last 4 months and nothing is going to make me change in the next week - let's get this over with already!
posted at 08:30 AM | Link | Current Events § |
Monday, October 25, 2004
FuzzyOh, oh... I'm having problems staying awake. Each day is compunding the problem, Today, I can't stay awake, ALL DAY LONG. I'm falling asleep in front on the TV, in front of the computer. Yje hours are spinning right by today and I don't have a clue how to grab onto the passing time and ride it and wake up. It's a pretty damn weird feeling.
posted at 04:25 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Garage Sale Part DeuxLooks likes the Garage Sale was a moderate success. I guess attendance was way down today compared to yesterday, so some "big ticket" items (you know, $30 is "big ticket" for garage sales...) went unsold.
posted at 10:39 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Wolves 3 - Admirals 2 (Overtime)
read more of this entry »
7,194 is more like it for attendance on a Saturday Night. The team is - boring. A lot of up and down, nothing flashy, nothing strong.
It was boring.
The only saving grace was taunting the Admiral's Simon Gamache, who used to be on the Wolves and knew exactly what to expect from us when he went into the Penalty Box.
It looked like we were going to lose 2-1 when Travis Roche scored with 1.7 seconds left in the game, and then won it it overtime with another goal.
We were all shocked and screaming at the top of our lungs that we were able to do this!
(Boxscore - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:16 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Garage Sale
It was a lousy, rainy morning but my sister Diane, Melinda, and Carol were holding a Garage Sale and my mom's house (since there's no car in the garage there, they thought it would be the perfect location). It was an opportunity to get rid of some "junk" (isn't that what Garage Sales are for?) and make a little cash. This afternoon the sun came out - hope they're doing OK! Day Two is tomorrow.
posted at 02:09 PM | Link | Family § |
Friday, October 22, 2004
Maybe next weekI may have a short contract starting late next week... at least it's at a good rate. We'll see if it works out.
posted at 03:08 PM | Link | Work § |
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Rememories
Got bored again so I decided to see a film that's not out in wide release. I went to the AMC South Barrington 30 to catch a matinée (1:45pm) of The Final Cut.
Well, it was... good. I thought it was odd that it was video projected instead of being on film. The film had an interesting concept - everyone in the future would have the option to implant an organic chip in their child that will record (audio/video) everything in your life (I think, based on clips in the film, that the chip is implanted in eutero) from birth until death. Then, instead of a normal wake, the family and/or friends would hire a "Cutter" to edit all of the recorded material into a feature-length movie that's called a "Rememory" that is shown at a Remembrance ceremony that is held at what is a cross between funeral parlor and movie theater. There are interesting ethics issues that come up when dealing with this kind of material and the movie tries to show how they could all play out - though a bit unsuccessfully. Recommendation? Wait for cable - if that.
posted at 03:46 PM | Link | Movies § |
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
YES!
Congratulations, BOSTON! You made me watch your games because of the way you played and it was an honor to watch! You did something no one in Baseball (and it turns out - no one in Basketball, either) to come back 0-3 to win 4-3. A tip of the hat to you!
posted at 11:18 PM | Link | Baseball § |
Wolves 5 - Aeros 4 (Overtime)
read more of this entry »
Well, I knew it was going to be an odd night as soon as we walked into the Allstate Arena. As we walked down the stairs to our seats, I said to Carol, "Hey, they've got new uniforms." (referring to Houston). Caro looked up and ... fell down the stairs, It was all in slow motion and I've seen this a hundred times before - she has bad ankles, so seeing her rolling down the stairs just wasn't surprising to me. It WAS surprising to everyone else around us, so a lot of people came running, Carol was and is fine - her ankle hurts a bit and her knee where she hit the concrete, but she's fine.
Who didn't look fine was our goaltender Kari Lehtonen. He just isn't seeing the puck well. Who scored our first two goals? Steve Maltais, which means that as of the first 15 minutes of this game, Maltais scored the only goals (5) for this team this season.
The crowd was back down to what would be normal for a Wednesday night - 3,428. None of us seemed to know how the game was going to end. Kari was called for throwing his stick at the puck (which the replays showed he didn't) which game Houston a Penalty Shot that they scored on. It ended by Cory Larose breaking the 4-4 tie in overtime.
It looks like the standard "don't know what the team is doing at the beginning of the season" time.
(Boxscore - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:11 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Now, THAT's baseball!
My baseball season may be over, but man are these great games to watch! OK, yes, they're epic, but, damn, the play and the twists and turns just suck me in to watch, which I haven't done in years!
posted at 11:06 PM | Link | Baseball § |
Monday, October 18, 2004
Palindrome miles
I looked down at my odometer today and had to take a shot.
Symmetry - catch it.
posted at 04:54 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunday, October 17, 2004
No changeHere we are 4 days into antibiotic treatments and poor little Chip doesn't seem to be responding. His sneezing is changing a bit, but his nose is still wet with a discharge. His fur around his little tiny nostrils is getting a little matted. When he sits still enough and he allows you to pet him, him just sucks up all the lovin' he can. You can look into his eyes and tell that he's not feeling well, but you can only tell that when he's not running at high speed around the family room, dodging behind the patio door curtains and jumping up on the couch. In other words, he's acting like he's just fine. He just doesn't sound fine. AT least now I don't have to wrap him up in a towel when I feed him his meds - I just pick him up, flip him over on his back and cradle him in one arm while I have the syringe in the other hand. It's like he knows what's happening and he allows it to happen, though he doesn't really like it.
I hope he starts responding soon - I'm getting worried.
posted at 10:21 PM | Link | Bunnies § |
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Wolves 1 - Griffins 5
read more of this entry »
Oh, God this was painful.
Home Opener for the Chicago Wolves. It was nice seeing all of our Hockey Buddies again. Other than the changes on the ice for new rules (red lines behind the nets showing areas that the goalies are restricted from entering and the huge 24" blue lines), the only other changes to the Allstate Arena are new matrix boards and new (brighter) lighting.
14,877 were there for the Home Opener. We kind of expected that due to the normal draw the Wolves have plus the NHL fans that don't have any hockey to watch, along with the people that took-up the Wolves offers for Season Tickets based on the lockout actually happening.
We looked bad out there. Who looked the worse? Our phenom goalie Kari Lehtonen who gave up 4 goals on 22 shots. He significantly misplayed at least one if not two of the goals and I don't think he saw they others at all. Not like him.
We lost up on Milwaukee last night 4-2. The man who had the two goals up there and our only goal tonight was Steve Maltais. Pathetic - were was everybody else? Oh, and we out-shot the Griffins 47-29. We have never opened the season 0-2.
Not a good start.
Got under the skin of at least one Griffin player - Darryl Bootland - who not only reacted to our taunts, but also flipped us off from the Penalty Box. Sweet.
(Boxscore - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:39 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Friday, October 15, 2004
Base on bored
My baseball season is over, so I went to the AMC South Barrington 30 to catch a matinée (1:45pm) of Mr. 3000.
Don't bother. I was hoping that it would be another classic baseball movie in the lines of Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Major League.
Nope. Crap. Lots of factual errors and anachronisms that I could not get passed. So, nice baseball photography but nothing else.
posted at 04:52 PM | Link | Movies § |
Thursday, October 14, 2004
No hockey? What about simulated hockey?So G4TECHTV (that crappy Comcast-owned network that took my beloved TechTV a stripped it clean of it's gadgetry and tech coolness) is simulating the entire NHL season and broadcasting the results in a 3-minute highlight show nightly.
I don't know how I feel about this.
posted at 10:11 PM | Link | Hockey § |
Bunny drugs
Well, Chip has had his second dose of his antibiotics - 0.9cc Trimethoprin Sulfa (first of 2 for the day). I hate force-feeding meds to a bunny. I don't want them to choke, and they get all pissed-off at someone taking a syringe and gently shoving it into their mouths and injecting the drug so they swallow it. It always feels that they're blaming me personally for the discomfort and being messed with.
And we've got 2 weeks of this to go...
posted at 09:01 AM | Link | Bunnies § |
Pulled the trigger too soon...Got a very early phone call this morning from my recruiter who wanted me to fill-in for someone that was supposed to be at a local hospital working all day just rebooting machines. I, of course, said yes - I didn't have anything planned, so I was more than willing to bail him out, but on my way out the door the hospital decided that they didn't want a replacement.
So, I am still home. Again.
posted at 07:38 AM | Link | Work § |
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Opening night?It's Opening Night in the NHL tonight. Or it was supposed to be. No Opening Night. Then again, there hasn't been any training camps or any exhibition games either. The owners have locked-out the players in a labor dispute.
The NHLPA made its first proposal in 15 months to NHL negotiators Sept. 9 in Toronto. it was immediately rejected and there hasn't been any movement since, and there's been rumors of the entire NHL season being lost.
All I know is that it probably means more people going to the Wolves games that we have to deal with. Our opening night is this Saturday!
posted at 08:39 PM | Link | Hockey § |
Sneezy Bunny
Our new "little boy" Chip has been sneezing for quite a while now. Indy sneezes all the time, but it's a "quiet" "dry" sneeze. Chip's isn't - his nose is wet and his sneeze sounds different. So, it's off to his first visit to our vet (the first all exotic animal hospital in the country). As it turns out, there's been some turn-over at the Vet's office, so Carol & I will be meeting a new doctor, too - Heather Bixler. Well, let's just say that we like Heather a lot and I think she liked Chip, too. Both the doctor and the tech just seemed to swoon over Chip as he came out of his soft-sided carrier in the examining room. So far it looks like we've been raising our rabbits absolutely fine and doing everything correctly.
However, Chip does have some kind of upper respiratory infection, so we're going to have to separate him from Indy (even though they're not "together" at all) Indy is healthy and is showing no symptoms, so Chips cage has to be moved away for a couple of weeks. During that time, he's going to be fed antibiotics twice a day to see if we can get rid of this sneezing problem.
Chip made the trip pretty well - it was his first car ride since coming home from the Wisconsin State Fair back in August. He also handled his first medication feeding session really well. He's our first rabbit that hasn't tried shutting his mouth, jerking away and not swallowing the medication. We'll be doing this for two weeks, so hopefully 1) he'll cooperate and 2) he gets better.
posted at 06:15 PM | Link | Bunnies § |
That ol' whipsawing action...So, I got to work around 7, like I've been doing all this week. It's been dark as the sun doesn't come up until after 7, not to mention cloud cover lately.
Anyway, I'm walking to the deli, thinking about a coffee and a donut when my phone rings. It's the Account Manager for my contract company. It turns out that we've done such a great job getting the number of call tickets in queue down, that we're no longer needed. In fact, the count is so low, a lot of the people here don't have much to do, only the more difficult, long-to-resolve tickets. That's it.
I have half a day of work today and then it's back to unemployment, unless my company can find something for me (which I'm doubting).
I was just getting comfortable with this huge campus and was felt like I was just getting into the swing of things and now it feels like the rug was pulled out from under me. Again.
*sigh*
posted at 07:29 AM | Link | Work § |
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
How far of a walk is it?No doubt about it, I need a pedometer. I can't believe how much walking I'm doing from call to call throught the entire day. Yes, I need one...
posted at 02:41 PM | Link | Work § |
Monday, October 11, 2004
Christopher ReeveDamn.
I've never seen a celebrity fight so God damned hard as an advocate for anything in their lives as he did for Spinal Cord Research. He wanted and believed he would walk again.
I've got this nagging feeling that no one will take up the cause with the same convictions as he had.
This is just so sad... and it was all due to a typical problem with people and this type of injury - a pressure wound that had become severely infected, resulting in a serious systemic infection, and then before you know - cardiac arrest and coma.
A link from Erin: The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation
posted at 05:24 AM | Link | Current Events § |
Sunday, October 10, 2004
ExhaustionTrying... to.. shake.. off.. sleep...
Not working...
Succumbing to slumber...
posted at 02:03 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, October 09, 2004
Dread Pirate Rupert
I drove out to Algonquin this afternoon to go to the Grand Opening of a new Galyans. Now, we've got a Galyans in Schaumburg that we go to often, and the Schaumburg one is a lot bigger than this new one in Algonquin, but I drove out here not to shop but to see someone. I went to see America's Favorite "Pirate" - Rupert Boneham.
The line to meet him was enormous and really net letting up, so there was no way I was going to meet him personally. I sort of camped-out by his table, taking pictures, which allowed me to listen to him interact with everyone and get a good idea of his character.
When I watched Survivor Pearl Islands and Survivor All Stars as well as the America's Tribal Council, that I liked Rupert. He seemed real. He seamed to care, he seemed "honest", and he truly seemed to enjoy his time in the show.
I was wrong.
He is double and maybe even triple what I thought.
He was engaging. He took time with every single person going through that line. He made sure he shook their hands. He made direct eye contact. He talked to them by name. He thanked every single person for coming out. When he talked about his time in the game, it was as if he just got off the island yesterday, speaking about details that you know he feels in his heart. He speaks well of some people (Like Sandra, the Pearl Islands winner, and Rudy) and he still talks about issues he had with a certain Mr. Fairplay.
The way he treats kids is wonderful and magic, working hard to win their hearts if they weren't already won before stepping forward to the show's only legitimate Pirate.
I watched a handler briefly talk to him, talking about that people may have been upset about the amount of time he was spending with people in line. It's obvious that those weren't the people at the front of the line who were meeting him, for each and every one of them just soaked-up his energy and everyone walked away with a smile.
I can't say anything bad about the guy. He is real.
posted at 02:18 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday, October 08, 2004
Rainy dayWhat a crappy day - the temperature is barely in the 50's and it's been raining since well before dawn. Can't complain, though. It hasn't rained around here in weeks. And you know, it's really not that obnoxious. It's that fall rain - light but steady. It's not really windy at all, so there's no additional leaf loss. I'm starting to feel like there's no real "Color Change" happening in the neighborhood - we're losing leaves to wind and dryness, not rain or color change.
Second day on the job and this 7am thing - though it could work for leaving earlier, really sucks when you're not used to getting up early (and when you've realized you're not a "morning guy"). Went out to handle some tickets by myself this afternoon and wound-up working right through lunch. This place is so damn big, I'm having trouble getting oriented and understanding which way I'm supposed to walk to find somebody's cubicle. It'll all work out - someday.
posted at 05:49 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Wolves 2 - Griffins 1 - Preseason
read more of this entry »
Carol and I went to a Chicago Wolves preseason game at a local ice rink. It was nice seeing the ol' boys again. Somehow, this year it seems easier for me to make the transition from watching baseball to watching hockey. I was happy to see Kari Lehtonen with us again, even though I'm sure it's because of the lockout so that he can get more time in the net. We've got a few really tall guys this year, like rookie Lane Manson who is listed as 6' 9", along with Brian Sipotz who is listed as 6' 7". Hopefully, they will stay with the team and contribute. That's the problem with preseason - you just don't know who you've got on the team and you try not to get too attached to them because they could be gone in a week. Speaking of a week, opening night is a week from this Saturday. They better work on the Power Play before then...
(Boxscore - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:47 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Throw BackWell, I started a new job tis morning, working for a company that had a long-standing Deskside Support contract for a company and has since lost the contract to another company who is supposed to take over the duties "soon".
I don't want to do Deskside Support, but, hey, it's a job. But talk about going back in time... It's NT 4 and Token Ring! Yuck! And it's about 5,500 people in one complex of buildings. Talking about walking! Oh, and I don't have a cube - there are none availble. So no cube, no chair, no phone. Oh, and I have to start at 7am tomorrow. *yawn*
Flipside? It's nine miles from my house. Nine. Know how fast I can get there with traffic flowing in the opposite direction? And the main cafeteria (yes, there are multiples) is bigger than some Food Courts I've seen at some malls. And the quality is way above average.
posted at 04:06 PM | Link | Work | 1 comment § |
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Yard Work
My sister Diane picked up our Mom and drove out to my house this morning to, well, "attack" the bushes in front of our house. The ground cover we had is just shot and needed removing as well as some other plants and bushes that just haven't done well over the years (not to mention the weeds that were out of control). Then diane decided to trime our Hawthorne tree - a great decisiion because now it looks more like a tree (if you know what I mean). They wound-up staying about an hour longer than they thought because it was just taking time trying to put the branches into those big brown paper lawn garbage bags. It really looks different out front and it sounds like Diane is coming back next week to try to "rework" our "dirt" which is just crappy clay and rock.
posted at 03:49 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
I forgot how warm that isI got a phone call from a technical recruiter that I've worked for a lot in the past. He had a lead for a short contract position in my own town. How cool would that be? Well, it would actually be for one company that has a desktop support contract for another company (though they lost the contract to still another company, but apparently the transition is going well).
So, even though I had the appropriate background checks done last year for the NMCI job, I never had to take a drug test. In fact, I don't remember the last time I had to take a drug test - wait, I remember once - 1978. So, I had to drive off into an industrial office park in Elk Grove Village to find a medical center that specializes in that sort of thing. The odd/weird/unsettling/cool thing was that the, um, sample (when it was, um, ready) was put into a a thing that looked like a Mr. Coffee and the results "would be sent to the company within 10 minutes"! Cool! But it's still an odd little time going someplace to pee into a cup...
posted at 05:04 PM | Link | Unemployment § |
Monday, October 04, 2004
When I win the Lotto...I think I just found out what I'd do with part of my Lottery winnings... when I hit the big one... someday...
Nieman Marcus (in their wonderful Christmas Book) has something called a Lifetime AAirpass from American Airlines. Imagine being able to book any open seat in any cabin of any flight within American Airlines. Yes, even First Class.
4,200 daily flights to 250 cities in more than 40 countries around the globe. For the rest of your life. Period.
The problem is the price (hence the need to win the Lotto) - $3,000000 (a second card is only $2,000,000 so it'll be $5,000,000 per couple.)
posted at 08:19 PM | Link | Odd § |
XPrize Won!On October 4, 1957, Sputnik, the first satellite, was launched by the Soviet Union.
Flash forward 47 years.
The second-qualifying flight by SpaceShipOne was successful, as the craft made it -according to an Edwards Air Force Base radar track - to 368,000 377,591 feet, well over the 328,000 feet required as the defined threshold of space, beating the X-15's top altitude of 354,200 feet (67 miles) set on August 22, 1963.
The pilot this time was Brian Binnie, and there was absolutely no indication of the 29 rolls that Mike Melvill experienced last week.
posted at 09:16 AM | Link | Space § |
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Anniversary DinnerDiane and Melinda took Carol & I along with Mom out to dinner to continue to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary from last month. They picked a place called erwin (yes, it's with a lower-case "e") on Halsted. The place was nice, small, and for some unknown reason, we felt young there - the clientèle seemed to be skewed older, like 50's-60's. The menu was small and limited (Mom wound up getting a hamburger). Now, don't get me wrong - the food was good, I just thought the menu was limited. Sitting at the table next to us, which we didn't realize until she got up to leave, was Rachel Barton.
posted at 10:39 PM | Link | Family § |
Season OverWell, the baseball season is officially over for me. I mention this every year because this is the official time when I slip into a funk until pitchers and catchers report to camp next year. My team - the Chicago White Sox - finished 83-79, 2nd in their division 9 games behind the Twins and out of the Wild Card race by 15 games. To be blunt, they had been out for at least a month and realistically even longer than that. We had the first half of the season and just crumbled in the second half. Everyone did - offense, pitching, even defense. But still, it was a good year.
Baseball is life and mine is in suspension until next year.
*sigh*
read more of this entry »
Injuries to Ordonez, Thomas cost White Sox big NANCY ARMOUR Associated Press
CHICAGO - When Torii Hunter leveled catcher Jamie Burke with a shoulder block at the plate the last week of July, it appeared to be the final, crushing blow to the Chicago White Sox's playoff chances.
But really, Chicago's season had ended weeks earlier, when Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez went down with what would be season-ending injuries.
"We had some key injuries, it hurt us big," right-hander Jon Garland said. "But we can't say that's the cause of why we lost. We still had to go out and play baseball, and there were times when we didn't do it."
The White Sox ended the year 83-79, the fifth straight season they finished .500 or better. But that's three games less than they won last year, a finish that cost Jerry Manuel his job. Worse, it left Chicago nine games behind scrappy Minnesota in the AL Central, a bitter disappointment for a team many picked to win the division coming out of spring training.
The White Sox led the division as late as July 24 but lost 11 of their next 13 - including a three-game sweep by the Twins - to plummet out of the race.
"When your goal is to win the division and you don't win it, then there is no silver lining," Paul Konerko said. "That's the way I look at it."
The White Sox do have things to build on. New manager Ozzie Guillen's enthusiasm was infectious, and players and fans alike responded to it. Konerko rebounded from his slump last season to hit career-highs with 41 homers and 117 RBIs. Carlos Lee hit .305 with 31 homers and 99 RBIs, and showed he can be equally dangerous defensively, finishing as the only qualifying outfielder in the major leagues to have a perfect fielding percentage.
Center fielder Aaron Rowand made the most of getting the chance to play every day, hitting .310 with 69 RBIs. And Juan Uribe emerged as a pleasant surprise, showing the consistency he'd lacked in Colorado by hitting .283 and driving in 74 runs.
But without Thomas and Ordonez, the White Sox had little chance of winning their division. Ordonez was hitting .311 with eight homers and 34 RBIs when he had surgery June 5 to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. He came back July 8, but played in only 10 games before a fluid problem forced him back on the disabled list.
Thomas was hitting .271 with 18 homers and 49 RBIs, and leading the American League with 64 walks and a .434 on-base percentage, when he went on the disabled list July 10 with a stress fracture in his ankle.
"When you see Aaron Rowand coming up and then you get Carlos Lee, Paul Konerko, Magglio Ordonez, Frank Thomas - that sits in the back of your mind," Garland said. "I don't care if they're not hitting the ball well, that still sits in the back of your mind. You might not want to fall behind a guy, you might not want to go around a guy to get to somebody else."
"But things happen," Garland added. "That's just the way the game goes."
While Thomas has promised to be back next year, there's no guarantee about Ordonez. He's a free agent this offseason, and contract talks broke off earlier this year with the two sides believed to be far apart. Ordonez made $14 million this year and was looking for a deal similar to the $70 million, five-year contract Vladimir Guerrero got from Anaheim last winter.
The White Sox also have to shore up their pitching. Mark Buehrle was his usual solid self, and Freddy Garcia was 8-4 after being acquired from Seattle. After them, though, the rotation is somewhat shaky.
They traded 21-game winner Esteban Loaiza to the Yankees, getting Jose Contreras in return. Contreras flirted with a no-hitter Sunday, but it was his first win since Aug. 28. Garland finally had his first winning season in the majors, but he was 12-11 with a 4.89 ERA. As for the fifth starter, the White Sox have tried several options with limited success.
The bullpen needs work, too. Shingo Takatsu showed he can close games in the United States as well as Japan, converting 19 of 20 saves. But the White Sox could use another setup man.
"I don't think I'll be able to watch a full playoff game," third baseman Joe Crede said. "It drives me up a wall thinking we should be out there. But it makes you want to get the next season started. It makes you hunger for it more the next year." « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 03:44 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Jimmy at 40
Would you believe I went to a Square Dance tonight? My cousin Jimmy turned 40 and his family is throwing him a Square Dance party - at the same VFW Hall that he and his wife used for their Engagement Party Square Dance back in 1993. The difference? A heck of a lot more kids, which I think frustrated the caller a bit, since the kids don't have the skills to be able to keep up with some of the more advanced moves as the night progressed.
posted at 11:05 PM | Link | Family § |
Our First Robot
Last night, Carol & I went out to purchase something we've wanted for quite a while.
We now have 2 bunnies, and... well, if you've ever had bunnies, you know that even though you can potty train them, they still, um... leave "bunny beans" all over the place.
read more of this entry »
We saved up money and we went out and bought a Roomba Discovery. (Of course, a 20% Off coupon from Bed, Bath and Beyond didn't hurt!)
I pulled it out of the box and charged it up overnight. This morning I tried starting it up and it threw an error code, which forced me to call Customer Support. There was a problem with the Cliff Sensors. I was able to get it going after about 5-10 minutes and it went on it's merry way, vacuuming the family room. Like Oprah said, this thing is not only amazing but it's mesmerizing to watch.
Chip only freaked-out once when the Roomba went right for him. Other than that, he was just inquisitive. Same with Indy. The Roomba did a wonderful job. I put it back into it's recharging station. It's not a fast charge, and it took at least 3-4 hours to charge. But I had to see it again, so I ran it again on the max cleaning setting. Toward the end of the session, I had the trouble with the sensors again, forcing me to call again, and got some valuable information on cleaning them. Not only was the rest of the session a success, the Roomba found it's docking station when it was running low on juice. It just, docked, turned itself off, and started recharging itself. This time - i my mind - it seemed to work even better, maneuvering around the furniture and up and down different layers of carpeting and rugs. I was surprised how much bunny fur the thing sucked-up (not to mention hay and, well, the aforementioned "beans").
I think everyone should get one of these little guys! « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 02:33 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday, October 01, 2004
*nose wiggle*posted at 07:05 AM | Link | Memes § |
|