Friday Before Christmas

Things are as crazy back in Rochester as ever. Snow is on the way as per the theme of December 2007! The stockings are hung by the chimney.... nevermind.

So on this Friday before Christmas, with all the panic to get those last second Christmas gifts - wrap them and put the pretty little bows on them - finishing those Christmas cookies or Christmas meal preparation - loading up on egg nog or other favorite holiday "beverage"...... we tend to miss the fun things in life. So today I hope to help remind you of the laughter that makes the season bright.

Remember the Noah taking photo of himself every day for 6 years video? (If not, GO HERE Well Sunday's Simpson's episode saw a Simpson remake of this! Remember that imitation is the greatest form of flattery... or something like that.



Love the acne part with the increasing numbers of Oxy! Showing how The Simpsons is still the greatest show on Television!!! And if you can tolerate the music, here's a better "daily photo video" that shows a much more drastic change to the video's star!

Want to see the newest thing coming soon to cars?? The Disappearing Car Door!!



A pretty sweet video of animated ping pong balls playing the song heard....



And if you're looking for some last second Christmas gifts for me.... Get me a set of the Knee Defenders! Product to use on the airplane to prevent the idiot in front of you from reclining his chair. If they work, they'd easily be worth the $15!

Of course a game for you to enjoy all weekend! Not Holiday related, but try to take pictures of Superman flying. Challenging at first but easily beatable.

Have a good weekend! GO VIKINGS!!! And go fantasy football team hopefully pulling me out a 3rd place finish (I lost last week).

DA-BULLS

Here are some pictures from Sarah and I visiting the Bulls (they lost)... was pretty freakin' sweet though!

Sarah took the one of the cheerleaders! I wasn't going to stop her!

On The 7th Day Before Christmas.....

One week and counting... what am I counting you may wonder?? Well it's Christmas morning, but not due to Santa Clause reasons - it's because that's when my flight to Florida for a week in the Sun leaves!!

A wonderful weekend with the Girlfriend and friends in La Crosse/Madison. The concerts went well with a surprisingly large audience in attendance on Saturday night. I usually don't enjoy Christmas Concerts due to the SAME music pretty much played every year. This year's program seemed less painful than in years past so I didn't have a totally whore-ific experience for December 2007! (yes, i spelled it wrong on purpose.... think about it). Next concert is Groundhog's Day in February, I will enjoy the time off.

I'm in Chicago enjoying some time with my hot girlfriend. She is now an owner of her first Coach purse (a real one... what kind of bad boyfriend would buy his girlfriend a fake Coach purse!) and I am now the owner of a kick ass digital picture frame for my desk at work and a pretty sweet Garmin GPS system. I'm still learning the ins and outs the GPS system - but the picture frame has wireless capabilities built in so I can download pictures from my Kodak account, or transfer pictures from my laptop all done over wireless! Pretty cool stuff!

Best present though was Sarah scoring us some Bulls vs Lakers Tickets for TONIGHT here at the United Center!!! I know this matchup would have been better back in the 1990s, but it's still neat to be going to my first Bulls Game! I've been on the floor of the United Center (for U2 concerts) where Jordan and Pippen hit 1000s of shots - plus been in the upper deck for yet another U2 concert - AND been to a BlackHawks game (St. Patty's day many years ago with a free Green hat)... but never a Bulls game. I'm pretty pumped! Sarah and I went to look for a Bulls hat to wear, but all of the NBA hats we saw were what I would call "gangsta" style! What happened to the day of normal hats? So no hat tonight unless I see one at the game. And for the 99.9% of you who don't follow the NBA in the post-Jordan era.... the Bulls are 8-13 (4th from last in the East but still 6 games AHEAD of the Timberwolves overall) and the hated Lakers are 14-9 (4th in the West) with the biggest Ball Hog in the NBA!

Speaking of big wins though, the Vikings made me proud last night to have won against the Bears and continue the miracle turn around season that it has been! GO VIKINGS!!!

Anyway, I'll be back in Rochester tomorrow sometime - pray for NO MORE SNOW!!!

Link of an interesting movie on the Earth and resources: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Don't Go Away Mad, JUST GO AWAY!

First off, apologies to my friend and #1 Brett Favre fan (pictures on the web to prove it!)- Maureen. I don't see the attraction, but then again people gave me crap for my Britney obsession. If she thinks Brett's all that and a bag of chips (when was the last time you heard THAT expression?), then so be it. I still don't like the Packers and I still look for a Vikings victory this upcoming postseason! I'll focus my dislike on the team and not the player.

BTW - the title for today has nothing to do with that, but rather this to follow:

So my thought for today is to gather a list of names, individuals, or even groups that I feel would be better off NOT getting any more publicity for next year. Call it an extension of yesterday's Santa wish list, or just quit publishing hourly updates to it all.

• Barry Bonds.... and the entire Steroid controversy in MLB. Does anyone really respect the overpaid athlete of this century anyway?
• Paris, Lindsay, Nicole.... any of them that walk around carrying a little dog like it's cool. It's not! Get a real job because you SUCK at acting, and your singing albums are only getting worse!
  
• Britney, Britney's kids (the only ones probably more sick of all this than we are), K-Fed ("dad of the year" in comparison), Britney's emotional condition..... you get the picture
• Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie - I admire her desire to create a better life for some less fortunate children of the world... but do we really need to give them all the photographers and headlines?
  
• Pam Anderson and her short term marriages to anyone in a rock band.
• The idiot males who find it necessary to cheat on their HOT wives/girlfriends... included are the idiots associated with cheating on Jessica Alba, Eva Longoria....
  
• Michael Vick.... enough already, let him go to jail in peace!
• The song "Hey there Delilah" by Plain White Tees.... song sucked the first 1000 times it was on
• Lead Paint in toys. No, it's not right but don't freak out so much about it happening!! The world is NOT ending! Quit watching Fox News and you'll realize that the world is NOT coming to an end!!
• War with Iraq, Iran, North Korea, whoever the "axis of evil" of the month is for Bush!
• Nut cases in general that by dwelling on the evil they bring to the world, you give them the fame they desire. Includes public shootings, people doing evil things to their children and others..... need to seriously address this as it continues to show the drop in the overall mental health of our country.
• Rising gas prices.... if $25 per barrel was enough for oil giants to break even a few years ago, then what kind of profits are they getting at $100 per barrel? Blows my mind!

Holiday concert in La Crosse this weekend, hopefully the snow holds off since we have enough to make it feel like Christmas. We're performing music from La Boutique (by Rossini arranged by Respighi) with some local ballet being performed with us on stage, L'Arsienne Suite by Bizet, and tons of recognizable (and non-recognizable) Christmas music! No bass solos yet again:(

Haiku of the Day
Playing bass like THIS
Is pretty kick ass, but no
I can't play like that!

Entertainment of the Day - Finally saw the FINALE of Pirates of the Caribbean.... kind of forgot what happened in #2 other than the dude with the squid like beard but THANKS to Wikipedia, I was updated just enough to follow. Lots of pirates, lots of sword fighting, lots of confusing plot twists.... Enjoyable, but still not my thing. Sappy at the end but that's just me.

Weblink of the Day - Despite getting lost on YouTube this morning looking for Edgar Meyer clips (there's more than I thought there would be!), Best Pictures of 2007 for you to enjoy!

Dear Santa,

Hiya BigMan! Thanks for the great response to my list last year. I realize that my list is late this year, but with the beauty of the Internet (I hear it's a series of tubes), I can get this letter to you in the matter of nano-seconds. What operating system you running now a days up at the North Pole? If you're using Windows Vista, then I'm afraid you might not get my email till after Christmas as you continue to get the damn thing working.

Here is my list for you, hope it's again not too much to ask for - I'm a humble person but like everyone, I like presents!

• A work free Christmas vacation.... I know, even you can't deliver that
• A Vikings playoff run with an included win AT LAMBEAU (think Jan 9, 2005)
• More jail time for the princesses of Hollywood.... good thing they don't have to try to get a REAL job where official jail record is a required question.
• My own personal yacht.... I don't want a huge house or fancy cars in life - but a yacht would be pretty friggin' sweet!
• A helper monkey. Someone to clean the house while I'm gone during the day, plus I can train him to cook and play catch!
• A manatee sighting while we're in Florida over Christmas!
• A new president (preferably one that rhymes with Brogama.... not a lot rhymes with "Obama") - I know you can't deliver on this till January, 2009 but please make our time until that date go faster and with fewer (a LOT fewer) wars!
• Alternative energy source.... there's this thing called "solar" that could be the answer if the world would only focus on it for a while. Think of what we could figure out by focusing the smart people on that rather than nuclear testing.
• No more problems with my teeth! Root canals are NOT fun despite the contrary opinions.
• Less commercials on the radio... may have to look into XM Radio at this rate as the political campaign commercials only increase till November:(
  

And most importantly

• A full year of happiness with my new hot girlfriend Sarah!!

Good luck traveling, we have lots of snow already - Please do NOT bring any sleds to my bowling team as only bad things happen with those things.

Haiku of the Day
Emergency Room
Last two times I've been sledding
Once for me, Once not

Entertainment of the Day - Snoop Dogg is always a good way to brighten a bad day, but back to movies.... I watched the new Die Hard this past weekend. I am surprised at how the continued episodes in the life of John McClane still entertain with lots of action and newer appropriate technological plots to ruin the world. The only part I didn't fully enjoy was the airplane part, a little unrealistic in that part. It also has the kid from the Apple/Mac commercials.

Weblink of the Day - My favorite holiday song and my favorite version of all time. With cattle prod goodness!!

Reflections on Santa

So last year I asked for some things from Santa and here's how I fared:

• ISU victory in football (and now basketball just for good measure) - CHECK!!
• Prince tickets in Vegas - Prince in Minneapolis will do - CHECK!!
• No harddrive or computer crashes - CHECK!!
• No more Pussy Cat Dolls - CHECK!!
• More White House resignations - CHECK CHECK!!
• New iPod (old one just couldn't get fixed) - CHECK!!
• New conductor for La Crosse Symphony - ON IT'S WAY!!
• New CD from Beastie Boys - CHECK!!

So not bad, still waiting for:

• Exit strategy from Iraq - won't get that till after the next elections.
• New Studio CDs from Garbage and U2
• Lower Gas Prices.... giving up on this one
• No cowbell and no hula-hoop either.
• And no date with Britney... found someone even better though!
• Vicinity reunion.... will they ever reunite to please their Rochester Fans!?!?!?!?!
  

Pretty good if I do say so! Santa must like me. I'll have to work on my list for 2007 and send it out tomorrow. I know I'm behind, been that kind of month.

Call me a Grinch, but I'm already sick of the Holiday Music everywhere you go - mainly because it's the same stuff over and over again. My Christmas/Holiday albums that I pull out this time of year?

• Neil Diamond "Christmas Album" (Volume 1 and 2) - Neil's still kick ass
• John Denver and the Muppets - before Kermit's voice changed
• Wynton Marsalis "Cresent City Christmas Card "- the jazz album that I seem to be the only one who likes it
• Take 6 "He is Christmas" - good stuff yo!
• Empire Brass "Joy to the World"
• Elvis "Elvis Christmas Songs" - of course, you need some Elvis!!
  

Still wondering how to get a Wii this year? Good luck! Don't worry, they're still as fun as last year when they were hard to find! And more fun games are on the way (including Mario Kart for Wii).

Anyway - have a good day! Lots of ice in the midwest, we just got some snow up here in Minnesota with more on the way..... definitely a White Christmas.

Haiku of the Day -
Hating the excess
Snow, work, commercials, music...
I know, I'm a Grinch!

Entertainment of the Day - Movie #2 from this weekend - Superbad. Yes, this movie is pretty funny. Yes, the movie can at times be "over the top" with it's crude humor. Better than Knocked Up but not nearly as good as 40 Year Old Virgin. Just one man's opinion. Lots of F-bombs and sexually suggestive commentary throughout!

Weblink of the Day - A cute video that reminds me of my mornings with Mojo when he lived with me!

Keeping You Distracted Since 2005

Happy Birthday to Pitzen (not Titzen) - it was yesterday....

I finished my trim work Saturday - pretty easy stuff to do given the right equipment! So I think my house "upgrades" are finally done for now, with some minor framing to do yet. Otherwise, the house is finally at full "show and tell" status.

More snow this past weekend which kept the annoying crowds to a minimum on Saturday night while I tried to do some Christmas shopping. I was able to watch a nice long day of football on Sunday.... always a good thing!

And as the 7th seed in the Fantasy Football playoffs, I took out the #2 seed, 133-74!!! A win next week will guarantee some money!

And with all that extra time this weekend, here's what I found while surfing the web (all aimed at delaying your "work" for Monday morning):

Christmas Carol quiz, how well do you know the lyrics to the Holiday songs you are hearing all over as you shop??? I only scored a 78% on the quiz! Guess I'm used to playing the songs, not actually singing them. That and I've been known to make up my own lyrics from time to time to make them more humorous!

How well do you know your sugar cereals from the past 20 years (or more)? I pulled out an 80 on this one which goes to show that I either ate too much sugar cereal as a kid (not really the case) or I watched too many commercials during my cartoon years that always focus on cereal it seems.

Funny commercial for Skittles (my all time favorite candy) that I keep watching over and over and continuing to laugh!!



For those who still remember Kellie Pickler (American Idol/Idiot with an IQ of maybe 20). Here's a video to make you cringe to know she's making millions of dollars yet is MUCH dumber than a 5th grader:



And my favorite find from the weekend.... a horrific pageant entry involving dancing and Star Wars played on the trumpet. Too bad they use her full name so she'll never be able to run and hide! Love the choreography!!



Haiku of the Day
Concert this weekend
Holiday music again:(
A performing whore

Entertainment of the Day - Another nice thing about slow weekends is the ability to get caught up on movies. First off was Ocean's 13 which was a huge improvement over Ocean's 12. Pretty good flick overall and much more reminiscent of the first one. I still think Bernie Mac is the best of all of them:)

Weblink of the Day - Wondering what cartoons I watched growing up (and still have a tendency to watch the animated stuff), here is one person's analysis of the theme songs to 15 cartoons. Funny how when compared, He-man and Transformers did have horrible intros. And I think DuckTails was so popular based on the theme song!

Friday Friday Friday!!

And a blog today makes 5 BLOGS THIS WEEK!!!! Been a while since that's happened!

Couple of other License plates that were found after yesterday's discussion:

BRRRRR: "car loans to get you through the winter"
CABNFVR: "car loans to get you oot and aboot" (again making fun of northern accent)
HAFPIPE: "car loans for your sick 1080" (I like this one.... 1080 is a move done with the half pipe in X-games - 3 full revolutions or 360 degrees x 3! Not sure I would do this one with a car though!)
HOTDISH: "car loans for your sweetie pie" (they call it a hot dish up here, not a casserole like it was in Iowa)
LEFSA: "car loans for Grandma" (not a big fan of Lefse, and not sure why they spelled it wrong. Thankfully my Grandmas don't make lefse)
LUTEFSK: "car loans for Grandpa" (I don't like fish)
SNOBYRD: "loans for your great escape" (for the people flying south for the winter... smart people)
UFFDA: "loans for Scandahoovians" (common saying up here)
WLDTHNG: "loans for all the hockey fans" (Minnesota Wild)

Ok - enough of that. After some more snow (more on the way this weekend), the Brews Brothers took 5 of 7 last night from the arch enemies (Shooters) in the weird green shirts.

Bonus from yesterday is that my Trail Blazer is once again happy with me. She got new brake pads and rotors all around, new fuel pressure regulator (was leaking gas... no wonder I thought I was smelling gas in the past few weeks), replaced front sway bar pivot links (the rattle I've had in the front for 2+ years), changed front differential (had metal shavings in it!!)... after all that he called to tell me it was done but that they had to keep jumping it to get it started due to a bad battery. 100k miles on original battery (5 years almost on the dot), so I had a new one of those thrown in as well. So yeah, she's happy again! I don't believe in a lot of superstitions, but I do believe that cars have a spirit of some sorts that if you keep them happy, they'll return the favor! Kind of like a car karma or something.

The playoffs have begun in Fantasy Football. I'm the 7th seed and have a tough matchup this weekend. Hoping for a poor showing by Dallas (my opponent has both Romo and Owens!) and a miracle Sunday for the rest of my team! Will know on Monday if I am done for the season or not. College football is on hold till the bowl games, and some interesting NFL matchups this weekend with Pittsburgh and New England the biggest attention grabber. Good weekend to get caught up around the house and on some new movies!

Haiku of the Day
White Christmas this year
As long as it doesn't stop
My Florida flight

Entertainment of the Day - I suggested THIS VIDEO but Pat suggested THIS VIDEO.... see which one you like more. And you'll have no doubt which one of us is cooler!!

Weblink of the Day - Looking for that last second Holiday present for your loved one? Something that says "I love you and Christmas isn't the same without you?"... try one of these Star Wars tattoos that say "I'm crazy and want everyone to know it". Or some rhino poop..... seriously!

Say What?

Think Bank (formally Think Credit Union and formally IBM Mid American Credit Union) has way too much money on their hands. As do most banks around the US!! With 20% interest on credit cards, and most Americans carrying a decent chunk on credit cards, no wonder Think Bank has money to not only change their name (requires new signs, new business cards, new everything) as well as build a couple hundred more bank offices (new staff, new building). Why would Rochesteronians want more restaurants, or more fun places when we can just have more Banks built up in this town!! Do people actually use banks anymore? Not sure how considering they're only open 9-4 Monday - Friday. But that's another rant waiting to happen.....

The one thing I will give Think: with all their money, they have indeed come up with a clever advertising campaign. They're using license plates on billboards all over town to get people thinking about new car loans, new house loans, taking more money out of the bank systems. They're also increasing accidents I'm sure as the plates aren't as easy as one would think.

MN NICE: "Car loans if you want. If not, that's OK too" ---(Minnesota Nice)
KC BBQ: "Car loans for those with a sophisticated palette" --- (Kansas City BBQ)
WNDYCTY: "Car loans that won't blow your budget" --- (Windy City)
Then they get tricky:
B W C A W: "Car loans for adventures, not the adventurous" --- (Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness... I had to ask on that one)
4CSTSNO: "Should I get all wheel drive?" --- (Forecast Snow)
DALOOT: "Car loans for our friends up north" (Daluth with a northern accent)
AUN GO4 --- from memory, but I'm close (Golden Gophers... MN Golden Gophers and Au is the symbol for Gold)
72PTFLP --- 72 Petaflop Blue Gene system made here at IBM Rochester.... fastest computer in the world
GOTVINS (some comment about baseball) --- Go Twins, but I never understood why the W was replaced by a V..... is there some accent thing involved? This one is on 52 going north just past the Broadway exit.
FE2O3 (some comment about a new car) --- This one was the one I saw yesterday (next to ATM by the corner cafe for the IBMers here on site). I finally figured it out!! Fe2 O3 is the chemical name for Iron Oxide which is in a solid condition, just like RUST... thus why you should get a new car loan! I feel pretty smart on that one.

Which other ones am I missing? There really are a lot of them and some are trickier than others.

My other thought for the day is to ask for prayers for the Omaha mall shootings. It still baffles and saddens me when I see these tragedies, and to happen in the MidWest which at times seems shielded from things... but not this. It reminds me that I feel our mental health as a country is worsening. With the economic issues, the business challenges that continue to apply pressure on the American work force, the influences of TV and society in general, the additional stress that continues to rise on all Americans..... No real way to address this, but I wish someone would. Anyway, enough soap box for today.

Haiku of the Day
A prayer of thanks
for safety and protection
from all the evils.....

Entertainment of the Day - A men's A Capella group singing a funny holiday song for your amusement/entertainment.

Weblink of the Day - A simple fish shooting game... yeah, you heard me right

Singing in the Snow

It's crappy outside here in Rochester. Well, better this morning than last night - but it's definitely white with a lot of snow outside. Roads are slick, idiots are driving like they forgot how to drive in snow..... either going 20mph faster than everyone else or 20mph slower than everyone else. It was enough snow to cancel rehearsal last night in La Crosse - which along with our normal no-Thursday rehearsal for the December concert (easier music for the Holidays).... we are performing next weekend with only 2 rehearsals!!! This should be fun and exciting!

So with my evening off last night, I did what every person that gets snowed in does.... stained some trim and watched Hairspray. It's the latest musical movie in the current musical movie craze. Overall, it was ok - but John Travolta was pretty funny, and Christopher Walken again showed himself as one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood!!

But after it was over, I was trying to recall how many musical movies there have been lately.... I think the resurgence started with Chicago (which I really didn't like) and obviously the amazing impact of Dreamgirls last year! There is definitely a new market from movie musicals that hasn't been seen since the 50s and 60s (think of original productions of Bye Bye Birdie, Oklahoma, etc.).

My favorites through the years? Well since I'm both a fan of music, movies, as well as having an appreciation for musicals (insert smart ass comment here Patrick....), here are my favorites:

Old School Movies

• West Side Story - Still one of my favorite movies with tremendous music by Bernstein. I can appreciate the great dancing in there ("MAMBO") as well as the tragic Romeo & Juliet-esque storyline.
• Guys and Dolls - Marlon Brando (when he was a chick magnet... not the "Scary" Brando of post-Godfather fame) and Frank Sinatra make this a quality flick.
• Music Man - "Trouble right here in River City.... with a capital T, rhymes with P which stands for pool...." some of the strangest lyrics but it also is the basis for one of the greatest Simpson Episodes (think Monorail)

The Acid Trip Era

• Have to start with Pink Floyd's: The Wall - Still not sure I fully understand this movie but then again, I haven't tried watching it high or on acid... maybe something to do this weekend?? Good music though
• Tommy by The Who. Who? Yes! Great music and the incredibly beautiful Ann Margaret who in this movie was a real knock out! (Later of Grumpy Old Men fame). This would be my suggestion of a movie needing a remake for anyone reading who has influence. Could still use half the original cast (Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Jack Nicholson, Elton John) if you wanted to.
  
• Jesus Christ Superstar - Some of the greatest music in there and the movie version has some great performers (and dancing).

The Middle Years of the 80s (not much to get excited about):

• Little Shop of Horrors - With Steve Martin and Rick Moranis.... pretty funny

Modern "Hollywood Editing" Era

• I did enjoy the movie version of The Phantom of the Opera - Andrew Lloyd Webber's version of course. I am still not comfortable with the altered version (which has become standard based on the version I saw in Vegas) but it has some great special effects that wouldn't have been possible in the 80s when it was written
• Dreamgirls - I did think this was very well done, plus Beyonce is HOT HOT HOT!
  

Feel like I'm missing one or two, but anyways... there's my list for your enjoyment!

Starting to Feel Like Christmas

I think I'm finally getting in the Holiday Spirit.... with all the snow and ice, with the decorations around town in full swing, and of course hearing Holiday music everywhere you go.

Now that the Holidays are on their way, if you're not in the Holiday spirit yet, hopefully the following links will help get you in the mood:

• Santa and his Reindeer interactive site... still a well done webpage with hours of fun!! Well at least I enjoy it for hours and hours!
• Holiday Lights Video #1
• Holiday Lights Video #2
• Holiday Lights Video #3
• Holiday Lights Video #4
• White Trash Christmas - still something humorous about this one
• Santa and Reindeer singing White Christmas
• and possibly the greatest one - DING FRIES ARE DONE!!!

Anyway - hope this helps get you all in the spirit!! 21 Shopping days left!!!

Reflections of the Weekend Past

In six parts

1. Special Birthday
My great-grandmother turns 99 YEARS OLD today!!! Happy Birthday Granny!!! That's an amazing accomplishment and equally amazing that I still have a great grandmother alive while I have just turned 30!

2. Iowa
Went to Cedar Rapids to hang with the girlfriend and parental units. We had a great weekend enjoying the lights of Iowa City (one had a couple hundred Santas, the other had lights synced to music... BOTH were well done), the snow/ice of Saturday (ok, that wasn't so enjoyable), and the company of family! The weather conditions did limit the crowds at the outlet mall in Williamsburg on Sunday which was fine by me!

3. Weather
The snow I can handle... the ice that coated pretty much most of Iowa and southern Minnesota was a pain in the butt. The roads were ok yesterday driving home, some blowing snow between Waterloo and Spring Valley on Hwy 63, but otherwise it was tolerable. What was NOT tolerable was falling on the ice on my driveway on the way to get the mail upon my return. I laid there on my back for about a minute, part to estimate the damage done to my aging body (I decided I could wiggle everything with only a little pain so nothing was broken other than my pride), but also part to develop a strategy to stand up and return to the safe zone of my garage. The strategy was to roll in circles till I could use the snow I just shoveled out of the way of my garage as traction for my shitty shoes. It worked, but I remain pretty sore as of this morning.

4. College Football
What a joke of a season that ends up with LSU (2 losses) and Ohio State (shitty conference) ending up in the National Title Game. I don't feel either team is playing the best right now (the only regularly followed sport that doesn't reward the teams who are playing well at the end of the season) and am kind of surprised that Illinois is in the BCS, while Missouri who was #1 as of Saturday afternoon, is NOT! Note that Missouri beat BOTH Illinois (week 1) and Kansas (last weekend) this season. Will anyone actually watch LSU vs OSU? Will anyone watching actually care who wins? Undefeated Hawaii gets no BCS bowl even though their conference was probably just as tough as the Big 10 this past year.

5. Holiday Shopping
I have been receiving 2x the emails of "specials" from my regular subscriptions - and about 4x the junk mail catalogs. Thankfully I have a large recycling tote that is on the way into my house so the stuff never even makes it through the door! But I have read (and heard from folks) that the Wii is yet again becoming hard to find for the Holidays..... glad I have mine!

6. Wii
Speaking of Wii - both Super Mario Brothers 3 (think of the flying Mario with the Raccoon tail) as well as Double Dribble (with the extreme close up slow motion of the dunks) are out for the Virtual Console. Yet another 2 reasons I don't have a desire to leave the house now! Still waiting on Contra (greatest game ever) and Blades of Steel (with fighting goodness) and then I'll be a little more content with the selections!!

Haiku of the Day
Snow and ice falling
Making travel a pain now
THANK YOU FOUR WHEEL DRIVE!!!

Entertainment of the Day - I watched License to Wed last week that was a movie I hadn't heard of till it was out on DVD. Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, the guy who plays Jim on The Office, and about half of the rest of the crew from The Office. Pretty funny movie actually. Check it out if you need a good laugh.

Weblink of the Day - To stimulate your brains this morning (when you all probably want to go back to sleep), try clicking on the color of the word (not the color spelled out in the word) on the options at the bottom of the screen. Gets faster and faster as you go - don't blink!!! Song is pretty annoying so you may want to turn down the volume!!