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This is an archive collection of entries from my main personal blog, My Mundane Mid-Life.
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This collection of entries is from June 2005.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Rain!We finally got a thunderstorm! We haven't had any rain in weeks and we finally got our own little storm - complete with high winds and torrential downpour.
The bad news is that it lasted all of 10 minutes.
10 minutes doesn't make up for weeks of no rain.
Back to square one.
posted at 05:50 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Big Brother 6 Cast Announced THEME
Well, here we are in it's sixth year... gone is the house that we've come to know for 5 years (demolished to put up an office building). Instead, the "house" is now on the soundstage that CBS used for "Yes, Dear".
So, it starts next week. The Australia and UK versions have been underway this year for a while now (we're at about day 54 in Australia and Day 34 in the UK). These other versions have daily shows, showing recaps of the days activities. The UK has a second show, earlier in the day, that's a live show that also has guests and is sort-of like a "chat show" as they would say. Each has their own live eviction shows, done outdoors in front of large, rabid audiences. The Australia version has a Friday Night Live Games event, lasting a couple of hours, where the houseguests compete for 3 awards: The use of a "Rewards Room" (with food, alcohol, room service, DVD's etc. for the winner and a chosen guest), the assigning of tasks to the houseguests (yes, they have specific roles and tasks that have to be performed daily in house), and the ability to deduct "points" from any of the week's nominees, thus saving a friend or even themselves, but also risk re-shuffling the list and they may wind-up being a nominee themself).
Each show has something else we don't have: major activities for the houseguests to do every single damn day, risking their food budget money. This gives them something else to do - something somewhat interesting to watch - since the US houseguests don't seem to do a frickin' damn thing all damn day except sleep and sunbathe. Both Australia and the UK air their Nominations live, and each still has the main core component from the original Endemol recipe intact: the public votes out the nominees, not the houseguests,
In general, these shows are a hell of a lot better to watch and a hell of a lot more entertaining than what Shapiro & Grodner pulls off in their measly three shows a week.
read more of this entry »
CBS REVEALS THE IDENTITIES OF THE 14 NEW HOUSEGUESTS COMPETING IN "BIG BROTHER 6"
Sixth Installment of Series Premieres on Thursday, July 7th on the CBS Television Network
All New "Big Brother 6" Twist Revealed
Houseguests Will Move into a Brand-New Home and Location
Julie Chen Returns as Host
CBS announced today the identities of the 14 houseguests who will compete in BIG BROTHER 6, as well as the new creative twist that will play out during the summer broadcasts.
This is the BIG BROTHER 6 Summer of Secrets. There are secrets in the house, secrets in the game, and this summer -- every houseguest has a secret.
For the first time, every houseguest will be entering the house and playing the game with a secret partner -- someone they know from the outside world. Friends, co-workers and significant others will play the Big Brother game as secret duos. The twist is that each secret team believes that they are the only pair in the house (pairings will be revealed to TV viewers during the first live broadcast on July 14). Each twosome knows that if they can keep their secret and end up being the last two people in the house, the winner will win $1,000,000, the biggest cash prize in Big Brother history, with the second place finisher winning $250,000. If a twosome does not make it to the final two, the winner will win $500,000.
"Big Brother" follows a group of people living together in a house outfitted with dozens of cameras and microphones recording their every move 24 hours a day. One by one, the houseguests will vote each other out of the house. At the end of three months, the last remaining houseguest will receive the grand prize.
This season, houseguests will move into a brand-new two-story home, including a built-in pool and Jacuzzi in the backyard. Like the contestants that will inhabit it, the new house is also full of secrets and surprises that will be unveiled throughout the summer.
BIG BROTHER 6 debuts on Thursday, July 7 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Following the premiere, BIG BROTHER 6 will be broadcast each week on Tuesdays (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT), Thursdays (8:00-9:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) and Saturdays (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT). The Thursday broadcast, hosted by Julie Chen, will feature the live eviction of one of the houseguests.
Following are the 14 houseguests, listed across in alphabetical order, who will compete in BIG BROTHER 6:
Maggie Ausburn, 26
Las Vegas, NV
Single
Emergency Room Nurse
Beau Beasley, 25
Pembroke Pines, FL
Single
Personal Shopper
Ivette Corredero, 25
Miami Beach, FL
Single
Waitress
Michael Donnellan, 28
Orange County, CA
Single
Artist
Ashlea Evans, 22
Plantation, FL
Single
Fashion Design Student
Howie Gordon, 34
Chicago, IL
Single
Meteorology Student
Sarah Hrejsa, 22
Chicago, IL
Single
Retail Manager
April Lewis, 30
Dallas, TX
Newlywed
Pharmaceutical Sales Rep.
Eric Littmann, 36
Boston, MA
Married Dad
Firefighter
Janelle Pierzina, 25
Miami Beach, FL
Single
VIP Cocktail Waitress
Rachel Plencner, 33
Parker, CO
Single
Horse Breeder
James Rhine, 29
Atlanta, GA
Single
Loss Prevention Manager
Kaysar Ridha, 24
Irvine, CA
Single
Graphic Designer
Jennifer Vasquez, 27
Plano, TX
Single
Arena Football League Dancer
BIG BROTHER 6 is produced by Arnold Shapiro & Allison Grodner Productions, in association with Endemol U.S.A.
« hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 01:37 PM | Link | Big Brother § |
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
StrawThe lawn is just about burnt-away. We haven't had rain in weeks, and if we did, it sure isn't a soaking rain.
Time to break down and start watering the lawn. We got a grub treatment for the lawn and it needs to soak in, so since it's not raining, we've got to water. I went out and got a sprinkler that I can move around the yard, but it's going to have to run quite a while to try and soak it as long as possible.
So, I went out and got a fancy digital timer today. I'm sure it'll work - at least once. I just hope I can come up with a schedule that makes sense that the timer will understand and execute faithfully.
Otherwise, all I will have is straw.
posted at 02:12 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, June 27, 2005
Donut?Went down to the cafeteria in our building this morning and found out that Thursday is their last day. There are a lot of people that are just no longer in our building. There have been some pretty large, multi-company layoffs, and some companies - our included - will be moving out to new/different facilities this year. (I'm supposed to be moving out in the November/December time frame last time I heard).
The cafeteria people were able to get out of their contract early, and some other company will be coming in and take over the next couple of months, though with some kind of stripped-down service. No more great soups for lunch. In fact, I heard no more hot lunch. I'm sure that means no hot breakfast either.
Today, it hit me hard - no pastries. My donut was not waiting for me like it has been every single morning I've eaten here. That white glazed donut with a little chocolate drizzled over it wasn't there. He stood me up. He's been so reliable.
I guess the relationship is over. I feel lost and alone.
posted at 08:50 AM | Link | Work § |
Sunday, June 26, 2005
White Sox 0 - Cubs 2
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Hotter today than yesterday. In the sun longer, too.
This much I will say: pitchers' duel. It was a great display.
Other than that, THANK GOD THIS IS OVER and we can concentrate on teams that matter.
Hated - absolutely hated - all of those fans that don't know where the hell they're driving going to the parks, don't know where their walking along the concourse, and don't know when to shut the hell up.
We still have the best record in baseball.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 07:15 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Saturday, June 25, 2005
White Sox 2 - Cubs 6
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We prepared for the worst weather-wise, but even though it was in the 90's, there was a breeze directly off the lake, allowing us to survive the afternoon from the weather.
We were talking to Victor before the game, and we had all come to the same conclusion. We hate going to these games. We hate the people that show up. We hate the Cub fans at the Cell. We're better off selling our tickets and watching the game in the comfort and safety of our homes.
Jose Contreras sucks and sucked. Gave up a grand slam in the 1st and that just tainted the whole damn game from there. I mean, he hit 3 batters, had 2 wild pitches, 105 pitches - 61 were strikes. He was just all over the place. Carl Everett and Jermaine Dye had back to back homers. Whoopee.
So much for that winning streak, dead after 8 games straight.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 07:12 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Friday, June 24, 2005
HedgingLet me go on the record here, before anything gets started this weekend.
It has nothing to do with NextFest at Navy Pier, or the wonderful gastronomical Taste Of Chicago that kicks off today.
No, it has to do with baseball, interleague play, and the damn Cubs-Sox series.
I hate this event. Just hate it. I just can't stand the people that show up at the park, get plastered, and start shouting asinine comments at people and just looking for a damn fight. It's both sides of the aisle, both sides are guilty. I just hate the environment. Makes it quite difficult to try and enjoy the game.
We're in the middle of a pretty damn intense heat wave. Temps today are supposed to be around 96, with a Heat Index of 105.
Things happen in an environment like that.
Now, that being said, I don't have a good feeling about the outcome of these games either.
The Sox start the series 9 1/2 games in First Place in the AL Central, with a record of 49-22, the best in all of baseball.
Means nothing in this series. It's all about the outcome of these three games. And even though we lead the series 2-1 so far, I'm not sure we''ll come out winning this series. There's something in the back of my head that feels we can't do it right now. We've won the last 7 games - can we continue it? It seems like a longshot to come out on top for the weekend.
I don't know, it's just a feeling.
That's it. Go about your business.
UPDATE: Score of today's game: Sox 12 - Cubs 2
posted at 08:52 AM | Link | White Sox § |
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Furlough DelayedI was supposed to be furloughed again all next week. I got a reprieve for a while - I've been busy with an internal audit on the customer that I manage at work, so I guess I'm needed. So, instead of canceling the furlough, they've postponed it until the end of July.
I was sort of looking forward to the week off. Of course, not getting paid for that week is a bummer, but still. Would have been nice.
Now I have to wait a month.
I can do that.
posted at 04:51 PM | Link | Work § |
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Heat, Cold, Gas, and PlantsThis week is shaping-up poorly.
It looks like this whole damn week is going to be a scorcher, hitting the high 90's by the end with high humidity. Oh, and no rain either.
I'm coming down with something. My lungs are filling up, I've lost my voice. Feels like a cold. A summer cold. I don't think it's my allergies this time around. I feel really funky.
On the way to work this morning I passed my neighborhood gas station that I always fill-up at. I filled-up 6 days ago for $2.35/gal (OK, it's the premium stuff). Today it jumped to $2.52/gal! 17 cents in 6 days!
Just as we hear that gas prices are falling! HA! Damn Independence Holiday! The demand is going to go up the next week or so because of the holiday travels and this just feels like price gouging! Damn the oil companies!
Diane stopped by again today to finish-up her planting. She added more hostas and daylillies to some of the empty spots in front of the house and put down mulch on the other planting areas. That should help some of the daylillies in front of the garage - because of the pitch of the soil, some of the dirt would was away down the sidewalk when I watered. This should help retain the dirt and even the water.
The last big step is to lay down a fabric weed barrier in the front before we put down the mulch. Diane is pretty much against this, but it's something I insist on. I've used this stuff before, and it's great to 1) keep the weeds out and 2) keep the decorative "topping" (in this case - cypress mulch) out of the dirt. I've used it with stone in the past and it worked well. It's just hell to install, so I volunteered to do it next week while on furlough.
Just hope a cool front moves through so I won't die laying the fabric next week!
posted at 06:51 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Welcome to SummerSo, they days all run together and they all feel the same, only the season changes. Today is summer - another hot, muggy day that we've been having for a while now.
Seems my allergies must be kicking-in again - it's all settling in my chest. I love having - as they say - a "productive cough". Yech.
Looked out the front window this morning and 2 of the 3 Black-Eyed Susan's look like there's absolutely nothing wrong with them - it's as if someone came and replanted new ones overnight.
The third one? Not so much. Wilted and whithered. Will water again tonight.
Hey, make sure you wander over to say Happy Birthday to Erin when you get a moment.
posted at 08:12 AM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |
Monday, June 20, 2005
Damn. I killed 'em.Because of the ballgames over the weekend, my watering schedule got out of whack. I watered early on Saturday and skipped watering yesterday.
Bad move.
The three Black-eyed Susan's that Diane planted are toast. Actually, one of them is really toast - it's all shrivelled up, worse than the other two. It was the only one that had a flower on it when Diane planted it.
God, I feel bad. I didn't think it would make much of a difference to skip that time. Everything else was just fine, just not those Susan's.
I watered them anyway. Anything can happen. I'm still too new to this watering thing.
posted at 07:41 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunday, June 19, 2005
White Sox 4 - Dodgers 3
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This game had failure written all over it before it even started. Let's see, ESPN National Game. Bad news - Sox don't do well on National TV. Game 3 of the series that we're winning 2-0 - Sox don't sweep. They just never seem to get there. Jose Contreras pitching - catcher A.J. Pierzynski has said that sometime even he doesn't know what Contreras is going to throw.
The crowd was down from yesterday - 27,350 - but it's probably because it's Sunday Night instead of a day game, like normal. But they were really into the game. This series has just been exciting - and it just doesn't seem we're out of it.
It was the 21st White Sox comeback victory this season along with the club's fifth three-game sweep. Cliff Politte - a reliever - is now 5-0! And Dustin Hermanson closed - something we haven't seen in well over a week - for his 16th save.
And here it is - 23 days away from the All-Star Game, and we're 7 1/2 games in First Place, with still the best record in all of baseball (46-22).
It was a wonderful, electrifying experience to be at these games.
And yet, after all that, I still don't have a good feeling about the games this weekend against the Cubs...
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:34 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Saturday, June 18, 2005
White Sox 5 - Dodgers 3
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Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap... I haven't felt this alive and this excited at a ballgame in a long, long time...
Today was "Turn Back The Clock" day for the Sox, as we "re-live" the 1959 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They have not been back to Comiskey Park since the World Series (OK, it's not the same Comiskey Park, and the new place is not even called Comiskey Park anymore...)
Before the game they introduced 10 players from the 1959 team (hardly any first-stringers - I don't think they're alive or ambulatory).
The Sox wore 1959-style uniforms. This is my favorite uniform of this team. (Yes, they've had 51 different uniforms since 1901). These were cream-colored pinstripes. The Sox logo in the chest actually was piped in red. So were the numbers. I remember having a Sox uniform when I was a kid. It was so cool. I remember wearing it one night to Comiskey to see a twi-night doubleheader (I think it was against the Athletics... the Kansas City Athletics).
So, the team tonight wore the bulky, wool uniforms, and showing respect for the uni, they all bloused their trousers so you could see their socks. Cool look.
During the game, all of the graphics on the scoreboard were done in the same colors and typeface of the programs and scorecards from 1959. Again, a good touch. They even played a song that was popular at that time (Let's Go Go Go White Sox! by Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers).
No matter what, I cannot do justice writing about what it was like to be at this game tonight.
First off, Freddie Garcia threw 40 pitches in the first inning. I hate seeing stuff like that.
We were losing 3-1 in the bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, with only 3 hits under our belt. We get 2 runs on a walk, some good baserunning and a few hits. The game is tied. Then, with a 3-2 count on him, A.J. Pierzynski homers and we win 5-3.
The place went up all 36,067 of them. The team went nuts. It was loud, It was electric. I can not describe the feeling and do it justice. I can't. It felt like a playoff... or even better. It was wild. People were actually singing that damn Let's Go Go Go White Sox song. Everyone is pumped.
Wow.
Electric.
(Boxscore)
« hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:16 PM | Link | White Sox | 1 comment § |
Friday, June 17, 2005
Wearin' the new onesI know I shouldn't be doing this, but I've been wearing my new RayBan's all day. Even at the computer, I haven't been taking them off and I can see fine. All this time I'm usually in my office without my glasses on because I can see the screen better without them. Today, I can see the screen fine. In general, I can see pretty well today, so I guess the prescription is correct after all.
posted at 04:21 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Thursday, June 16, 2005
That explains a few things...Earlier this week, carol get fed-up about not seeing well and made appointments for the two of us at Lenscrafters to get our eyes checked. It's been almost three years, so I guess it was time.
The tests went fine. What happened next I wasn't ready for.
The technician brings me into the exam room and dials up what she thinks is my rough prescription into that wild contraption that you stick your head into... you know the one, I just don't know what they call that thing... ("Now which one is clearer.. one... or two..."). he doctor comes in, and we get to work, first on the right eye. I'm looking at a projected target on the wall behind me through a mirror on the far wall. There's only three letters projected: "L F O". No problem - we go through the whole fine-tuning thing and get that all set for the right eye.
Onto the left eye. Wait a minute... something's not right.
read more of this entry »
I struggle through the first couple of tweaks, as it's difficult to actually see the changes between them. I'm starting to think that the tech dialed-in the wrong starting point. I tell this to the doctor, and as I'm describing what I'm seeing, she says not to worry about it right now, do my best and we'll go in.
The problem was I could see the "L" and the "O" clear as a bell. I really couldn't discern the two horizontal lines of the "F". It never got clear. It never looked as sharp as the the "L" and the "O". Something was wrong and I could just feel something was up.
On top of all this, my left eye is a mess - it has been discharging mucous for the left couple of days. It's read and irritated. On top of that, it also tears a lot and that's been going on for years.
Time for dilating the pupils, take some pictures, and do some close-up study.
Result? The doctor thinks that I may be developing a cataract, right in the center of the lens. It looked a little cloudy, and that's why I couldn't see the "F" like I used to.
Damn. Like father like son. Cataracts. It's just starting though, and who knows how it will progress, so it's going to have to be something to watch going forward.
I also got a prescription for some eyedrops for the left eye. It might be allergy related, so she wanted me to try this for two weeks and see how it goes.
Picking out frames sucks. Now, it's hard to tell what's a Men's frame and Women's frame - in fact, they're going unisex now, so I just can't tell.
I pick out a pair of rimless frames, smaller than I used to have, and another set of RayBans for my sunglasses. The sunglasses will be ready tonight, but my other glasses will take 10 days. (what happened to this "done in an hour" crap?). The sunglasses, when ready, don't feel right. I mean, they feel OK, but the prescription doesn't feel right. I'm told to wear them a while and make sure. I can always come back. Maybe it's these damn dilation eyedrops. I mean, things look s little "wonky", so maybe, even though they're wearing off, it's not back to the way they should be.
Well, we'll have to see how this whole vision thing goes... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 08:22 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
GreenMy sister Diane stopped by the house this morning and continued her hard labor at making our plot of clay and construction debris into something that would actually grow green plants, some flowering.
I still don't know how this all started. I think she's just really into gardening and has been doing it both their house in the city and the house up in Michigan. She's befriended the local landscaper up in Michigan, so she must be getting tips and has just really found something she just likes to do.
On top of that, the idea that we have property that has absolutely no plants on it (well, no living plants on it), must have sent her over the edge, I guess.
read more of this entry »
I just can't remember Diane ever saying that she was going to step-in and takeover our sad situation. But she has. And I'm not going to stop her.
I mean, let's face it. Between Carol and I, we don't have any interest at all in gardens. Carol's got that whole bee-phobia thing, so flowing plants were always out, and even though we had a landscape architect start us down a path at least 10 years ago, we never really kept up with it. That, and certain areas in front of the house that must have had issues with the soil, just made anything we planted in certain areas just die.
So, even though I've been talking about this in recent weeks in the first person, Diane's been busting her butt out there trying to get the soil right and trying to come up with ideas that fit our lifestyle (i.e., low or no maintenance). Planting doesn't appear to be too much of a problem - it's trying to prep the soil that sucks. Our soil is REALLY bad, and the closer you get to the house, the more construction debris and rocks you find, embedded in that thick clay. It takes a lot of work getting the crap out of there, replacing the soil with something good, adding peat where needed.
So, she was back out there today (I could tell because I could see her SUV in our driveway through our WeatherCam). I knew when she got there and I knew when she left. And - now that I've worked alongside her - I know that she really doesn't take breaks so she was out there digging planting and transplanting today.
Sure enough, when I got home, I saw what the next phase was - more hostas and daylillies, as well as some Black-Eyed Susan's. She's got all kinds of hostas, one that actually flowers (which I didn't know).Then in the really big effort, she transplanted a pretty sad burning bush from the front of our house to a spot near where the yews sat only yesterday, along the side of the house. That's not where she wanted to go - she had a spot all picked-out next to the garage, but as she started digging there, she just hit a tangle of roots from a nearby ash tree... not to mention being really close to the gas line going to the gas meter on the outside of the garage.
TRANSPLANTING BUSHES SUCKS. I know - I did it when we transplanted the two yews to the side of the house from the front of the house about 10 years ago. (I think it was longer). I don't know how she did it by herself.
She's come up with some great, simple ideas that seem to work... except for those transplanted hostas that aren't dying but aren't exactly flourishing either. I'll keep watering and we'll wait until next year to figure out what their condition really is.
All of this writing is just to make sure that I say Thanks to my kid sister. I sort of don't know why you're taking your precious time to do it, but do you realize how much we appreciate it? The whole front looks a lot better than, well, ever I guess. I like it better than what the landscaper did years ago. It fits our lifestyle better. It make the place a bit more inviting.
You put in an awful lot of labor and I have to honor that work with my Zen Watering to make sure that it lives on. I just have to remember to do that, since I've never really done it before.
Thank you for taking your precious time and driving all the way out to our house to toil in the soil and making our place look better. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 08:23 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Those are gone...
I mentioned back in April about the two yews on the side of the house.
I have been in denial for too long - the one bush is more than dead and the second one - though it looks healthy - started to turn yellow on some selected branches underneath.
Time to start over.
My 20 year old yews that I originally planted with my dad and transplanted to the side of the house are now gone. Just empty dirt is left, just begging to have something done with it.
posted at 05:45 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, June 13, 2005
Well, THAT'S over...
We would have been going to Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals tonight.
Would have.
The Philadelphia Phantoms swept the Wolves, 4-games-to-0 last Friday, in front of 20,103 fans, the largest crowd in American Hockey League playoff history. Chicago (12-6) was swept for just the third time in its 11-year postseason history. The Wolves, who lost by more than one goal for the first time this postseason, managed just four goals in the four games, the fewest in a four-game playoff series in franchise history.
Sad, very sad. I mean, the Wolves had to be made of something to claw their way to the top of the West Conference, only to be handily swept in the finals. They were significantly outplayed. It was like there was a totally different team out there for the finals.
So, on the plus side, the Wolves have been in the playoffs every single year of their 11 year existence. They've been to the finals in 5 of those 11 (.450!) and have won 3 of them. That, my friends, is not a shabby performance for the franchise.
It was just shabby this series.
*sigh*
posted at 08:27 AM | Link | Wolves § |
Sunday, June 12, 2005
BroadcastCaught a broadcast of the Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! on NPR that we attended of last Thursday.
It was actually edited more than I thought it would. There was an entire game cut out (a Limerick challenge, that Mo Rocca chimed-in with the caller that produced some great laughs).
The editing was great, though. You really couldn't tell the edit points. I was impressed!
posted at 10:06 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Yellow
I was excited to see that something good has become of my watering. I went out tonight to do my daily watering when I saw it - one of the daylilies in front of the garage actually bloomed! It was just a nice yellow flower, standing up tall where nothing has bloomed in years... OK, maybe decades... guess the watering is helping something...
posted at 07:55 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday, June 10, 2005
Cubs-Red Sox SpinAll I've been hearing in the local media is this damn Cubs homestand against the Red Sox, and how they haven't met since the fateful 1918 World Series (a nice summary is at The SportingNews). Well, I'm taking solace in the fact that, yes, they haven't met since then, but the Red Sox have never played in Wrigley Field. Huh? Why? How? Well, during the 1918 World Series, the Cubs management decided to play their home games some place that had more seating capacity - Comiskey Park!
Update: Cubs take the series 2-1, loosing the Sunday Night ESPN game 8-1.
posted at 08:41 AM | Link | Baseball § |
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me!
I've been a fan of NPR for a few years now. Don't know why I started listening, but on long drives I really enjoy listening. Their news stories are much longer and full of information you just don't get anywhere else. Some of the shows are great, too. One of our favorites that Carol and I listen to every week is produced by Chicago Public Radio and usually airs multiple time over the weekend - it's a "game show" called Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me!. This year, they're broadcasting in front of a live audience all summer. So Carol and I along with Diane & Melinda went down to the Bank One Plaza Auditorium to watch the taping.
Now, mind you, this is a radio show, so the stage was sparse (2 podiums, a table, and... a multicolored disco light). It's a nice little auditorium that seats about 500 people. At about 7:30pm, the lights dimmed, the unmistakable sounds of the Allan Parsons Project started up, along with the disco light. Yes, they introduced the cast like the Bulls intros.
Today's show had Carl Kassel (NPR newsman and the show's Official Judge and Scorekeeper) Peter Sagal, the Host, and tonight's panelists Mo Rocca, Paula Poundstone and Richard Roper.
The broadcast is just under an hour but the session lasted about an hour and a half. As Peter told us up front, things will have to be redone, either immediately just because of speaking flubs, or later after the show was complete, to "fix" bad readings of lines or somesuch. We were asked to stay for the "redo's" so that we could absorb sound and match the original content!
The cast was great - Paula was quick-witted in her great, odd style, with great one-liners that probably won't make it to air. Even though she was hot, Mo beat her to the punch in his own way and was drawing huge bursts of laughter throughout the show. I'm sure a lot of his stuff will wind-up on the cutting room floor, but it was great for the show. Richard had a few great lines as well, as one of the running jokes going throughout the show had to do with Anne Bancroft, The Miracle Worker, and not being recognized for her best dramatic role.
There's a segment of the show that's called "Not My Job", where they ask someone well known to answer three questions about a subject they know nothing about. Tonight's call-in guest was S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren of Law & Order fame) and questions had to to with the production of what may be the worst movie of all time - 'Manos' the Hands of Fate. Unfortunately, she went 0-for-3, so the contestant didn't get Carl Kassel's voice on their home answering machine.
We'll have to see if some of the running gags/lines make it into the final edit: Anne Bancroft, Millard Fillmore (and East Aurora and his Noodle Roller), and "it's just us here" - Paula's line after being reprimanded for swearing between segments because there are kids in the audience (which everyone questioned what kid would ask their parents to go to a radio gameshow about current events!)
GREAT TIME, fun time. We want to do it again this summer!
UPDATE: Listen to the show here.
posted at 11:28 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Blooming
Well, my Zen Watering is also helping our Hawthorne tree - it started to bloom.
Cool.
OK, key point to Zen Watering: has to be a bug-free night. Feel like I'm twitching to spray the bugs out of the air too often. Nice and quiet in the neighborhood. Hmm... another important note: - become one with your equipment. Learn it. Embrace it. I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting enough water pressure out the nozzle. I lost track of how the nozzle worked. There's a thumbscrew type of adjustment on the back that adjusts how the valve opens. It's wasn't tightened, so I didn't have full control of the water flow. Must always have full control for Zen Watering.
Went to Home depot and have replaced all of my hose connections with brass quick-connect fittings. Once I did that, every leaky part of the hose and hose cart stopped leaking. Yes, become one with the equipment...
posted at 07:25 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Watering Zen
Was driving to work this morning when I realized that a house across the street and 2 houses down was TP'd over night. Haven't seen that in a while.
Tonight, while watering the plants that Diane planted, I realized something: 1) I hate gardening, but 2) I love watering.
I have obviously picked-up the watering gene from my dad, who used to love to water the plants and water the grass - by hand at times - just because he could. He'd be out there for hours. I'm starting to see what he saw in it. It's just... peaceful. I don't know, you stand around, hose in hand, and just spray. Oh, and if you get a good nozzle, oh, that's the best. It's not the old brass, straight nozzle. I've got a fancy one that has multiple patterns on it that you just rotate into position to suit your need. Mostly for me, it's "shower" mode - you want a nice gentle shower for these plants and bushes. Some of the plants are doing well, so you don't want to injure them. Then, sometime, you just have to use the "jet" setting to put out a high-pressure stream, not to water but clean up the concrete or decorative landscaping brick. Well, OK, I use it when the hose doesn't reach - I set the nozzle to jet, squeeze the trigger just a bit, and arc the water onto some plants that I just can't reach any other way. But, it's satisfying. Peaceful. Relaxing. If the night is bug free, at sunset, oh... that's just perfect. I'm really digging this...
posted at 08:22 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, June 06, 2005
It better be goodWe went back to Ethan Allen tonight to order the media cabinet we looked at about two weeks ago. I guess we got a little spoiled working with La-Z-Boy and others, because when the lady told us it may take 6-8 weeks we were shocked and appalled. That long for a piece of furniture? I piece of furniture that we NEED to have so that when we buy our big, wide-screen HDTV projection TV, we have something to put it on? How can we watch TV without that? HOW CAN WE WAIT 6-8 weeks to watch HDTV? Then we started rationalizing that we were in a "real" furniture store and things had to be made to fulfill the order and we were just used to companies having warehouses full of stuff to sell...
We felt better when we found out that our piece should be in the local warehouse in two weeks.
I guess our negative feelings about the delay had nothing to do with the furniture, but rather we've been pumped up for weeks about actually going out and getting a big, wide-screen HDTV projection TV, and our feelings were just amped-up after going to my cousin Kathy's over the weekend and seeing their new big, wide-screen HDTV projection TV.
It's all about the HD that I'm missing with my TV...
posted at 08:00 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunday, June 05, 2005
White Sox 4 - Indians 6 (12 innings)
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Seems like every time I write about going to a baseball game, I'm complaining about the weather. Guess what? Yes, I'm complaining again. It's like I'm never satisfied. Today it's because it's sunny, upper 80's (normally, I wouldn't complain about that one iota) but excessive humidity. Oppressive humidity. The kind that sucks the breath, and yea, even the life out of you. My body doesn't tolerate this mix very well at all. Walking up the stairs to the concourse from our seats leaves me light-headed and weak-kneed. The high humidity - high temperature in front of a cold front coming through is stirring-up the atmosphere. Though it never really "rained" at the park, there were tornado warnings south of us.
We were hoping that Mark Buehrle would have one of his usual quick games. Yes, that would make everything right.
Wrong. He gave up 3 runs over 6 and a third. The game got real sluggish (maybe it was just me getting sluggish). Anyway, Tadahito Iguchi - after absolutely screwing-up a double play possibility in the 4th by touching 2nd and running-off the field, only to have made Out Number 2 and not 3 to end the inning - hit a 2-run homer in the 7th and tied the game. Considering the double-overtime last night, and the fact that Carol hasn't felt good since Thursday, and I was feeling funky from the heat, we left in the 8th. The game went 12 innings and we lost, thank you normally solid Dustin Hermanson, walking 2 and getting a throwing error to let the winning run in.
Hey - Frank Thomas FINALLY got productive with his first home run in the 10th. It didn't help - that just tied it up again (we were down one at the time).
We still left 11 on base.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 06:25 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Wolves 1 - Phantoms 2 - (2OT)- CALDER CUP FINAL Game 2
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TWO OVERTIME PERIODS...
The First Period looked like Thursday night. Bad blood, dirty hits, no scoring. We scored first in the 2nd, but Philly scored 10 minutes later. Then, in the 3rd, the whole tempo changed. We stayed in their zone, we pressured them the entire time. I started feeling better about our chances. Then came the overtime... and it was much of the same. Hardly any penalties at all, the time flew. We outshot them 14 to 2, keeping up the pressure. Then came the 2nd overtime, and we lost 3:50 into the period.
Now we're down 0-2 going to Philadelphia.
I have this bad, sinking feeling that we've seen the last of hockey this season.
(Boxscore - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:38 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Checking-out the family
Carol & I skipped the Sox-Cleveland game this afternoon to go to my cousin Kathy's for a family party to celebrate some summer birthdays and Alex's graduation from grammer school. We had a torrential thunderstom before we left. When we got there, everybody was still inside, but the sun came out and eventually we all spilled outside to enjoy some decent weather.
Unfortunately, we left after 6 o'clock to go the Wolves game - I mean it is the finals for the Calder Cup...
posted at 06:32 PM | Link | Family § |
Friday, June 03, 2005
Bunny Zen #1
For lack of anything else to post, I give you 30 seconds of Bunny Zen - it's Chip, having a snack, watching the White Sox on TV. Indy is in the background (4Mb 30-second DIVX AVI)
posted at 09:47 AM | Link | Bunnies § |
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Wolves 0 - Phantoms 1 - CALDER CUP FINAL Game 1
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When it comes to professional hockey this season, The Calder Cup becomes the most important trophy. Without the NHL, without the Stanley Cup, THIS series is the be-all and end-all of hockey this year.
And we're in it.
It was a WONDERFUL 1st period - high intensity, lots of shooting. The the 2nd period rolled around and some other team replaced the Wolves on the ice. They looked... rusty? Tired? Confused? Out played? Yes, all of the above.
Lots of chippy plays. Going to be intense. I don't like losing the first game. At home. In fact, I'm concerned.
(Boxscore - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:27 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
I didn't think I looked that bad...
Went to a place near the house to pick up some sandwiches for dinner. Gave the woman behind the counter my order. She punches-up the list into the register. Saw the total amount go down before she said how much it would be. Didn't pay attention to it. Stood in line, waiting for the order to get assembled. Picked-up the order and left.
As I walked across the parking lot to my car, I looked at the receipt.
I got a 10% discount!
I'm only 48 years old - did I look that bad???
posted at 06:24 PM | Link | Mundane § |
*nose wiggle* x 2posted at 06:47 AM | Link | Memes § |
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